The First Valkyrie

by S. C. Coleman

  Only one man knew why the Dark Queen Magiya had traveled with them to Gelajri. That was the Queen’s Guard Commander. He who had lit the green fire and summoned the dark powers. Many knew of the green fire, but only General Hamo and the Commander knew how to summon it. Back in Numa, the Queen’s Guard Commander journeyed to the temple of Magiya. In front of the high statue of the queen, he lit a blazing fire. The smoke engulphed the ceiling and escaped through small holes in the sandstone. The commander lay down on the sandy ground and fell asleep. He woke to the sound of rain. He was completely soaked, and the flames of the fire had turned an eerie green. He watched the reflection of the flames in the wet ceiling. Water drip, drip, dripped on his forehead. The Commander then realize that the ceiling was not reflected the flames. He gasped in horror as the flames had spread out from the fire pit. The engulphed the floor and rose up the walls like ivy. The interior of the building was swirling in green flame. He got up and ran outside. The rain came down like a flood and the sand had become dangerous to walk on. The commander slipped and fell on his hands and knees. Tendrils of green fire were escaping through the slits in the temple roof. The fire reached up towards the sky. Like claws on a bird, the fire moved higher and higher. He knew, without a doubt, these flames could be seen from the city, but the fire did not stop. Soon, it seemed like the whole sky was set ablaze by green fire. In the pouring rain, the Queen’s Guard Commander watched as a snake of fire moved through the clouds. He removed his helmets and his eyes blinked uncontrollably. The droplets of rain assailed his eyes and fell down his nose. Though he could not tear his eyes from the green snake of fire, he was able to stand and reenter the temple. The fire had gone out and the inside of the temple was dark. This was the first time any had lit the green fire. Tired and hungry, the Commander sat back onto the wet sand and waited until morning. He dared not travel though the moist desert, especially not at night.

  The following morning, when the Queen’s Guard Commander returned to Numa, the Dark Queen was waiting. General Hamo watched outside Numa’s north gate, still hidden behind his metal veil. The Dark Queen sat atop another black horse next to General Hamo. They awaited the commander’s return with the entire host of over three thousand men. Upon the Commander’s arrival, General Hamo swung his arm and the march began. Moving was slow at first, no one wanted to leave the city. As the sunbaked walls of Numa faded into the distance, line of men and horses picked up the pace. Towards the back of the caravan, singing arose. The men loudly sang the oldest of Bahl marching songs. These were all outlawed by the Dark Queen. She seemed not to care and rode her horse in stoic silence. General Hamo and the Queen’s Guard uttered no words. They rode at the head of the formation. Meanwhile, directly behind the Queen and her guard, the Bachi broke into the most profane of song. The bandits turned soldier sang of sacking villages, the rape of peasants and royalty, and they finished with a song about melted flesh with fire. Finally, the whole marching force began to chant the same poem. The old desert dwelling hymn washed over General Hamo, causing memories of his fallen friends to wrench his heart. The hymn, titled by the common folk, the Sand Thief spoke of a man that led a Queen to her death.

  Out in the endless desert, I see a man and woman. So, say I. (Single speaker)

  In this mirage of the heat. (The army)

  That is their Queen of the enemy, she is a goddess. So, they say. (Single Speaker)

  Who, oh Who, is thine enemy? (The Army)

  That enemy that burns the flesh and blinds the eyes. So, we say. (The Army)

  Kill that enemy and wear her skin as a cloak. (The Army)

  Yet, I see the man and woman. The desert melts their flesh. (Single Speaker)

  Drink their flesh that you may take their shape. (The Army)

  The sand is hot! The Sun is bright! My sword is broken! (Single Speaker)

  The sand is hot! The sun is bright! My sword is broken! (The Army)

  The chant repeated over and over, eventually lulled General Hamo into a trance. The heat waves moved like tendrils of smoke across the sand. The dunes turned to rock and clouds covered the sun. The trance lifted when the chanting slowed and faded. They had arrived on the Grey Plains of Northern Bahl. General Hamo had not counted the days in the desert. The army had stopped a few times to make camp. The sun baked the landscape and the moon froze it. A few men were lost to frost and mirages. In the sand, General Hamo saw his lost companions. They awaited him at the well of the afterlife. The Dark Queen was ever by his side, however. She would determine when he would step into the blue pool. The power of Queen Magiya would never allow him to cross over. This was the deepest fear of General Hamo. He, above all others, refused to question her again.

  ***

  On the wall of Gelajri, General Hamo stood high on the battlements. He watched the tide rise on the beaches below. Ships had been spotted on the horizon only an hour ago. There were only a handful visible and fog was beginning to roll in. This, the third time of the mist’s coming, General Hamo knew a great battle was about to take place. The horns of Gelajri were sounding off and on, with a space of three breaths between horn blasts. The Commander of the Queen’s guard stood arrived on the top of the battlements. The two men, standing next to stoic watchmen, watched as the ships and the Queen vanished in fog.

  “Will you join the men on the beach, General?” The commander looked over at General Hamo, but he gave no sign of recognition. “I will depart then.”

  “Commander!” A soldier came panting up the wooden steps of the wall.

  “Hold a moment, catch your breath.” The Commander rested a hand on the soldier’s shoulder.

  “There are so many.” Barely able to utter a word, the soldier bent over with his hands on his knees. “No time to repair.” The soldier gasped in another gulp of air. “The fort is lost.”

  “Do not worry, those ships will not make it past the rocks in the see. If they do, we will be waiting for them on the beach.”

  “Commander, the tide.” The soldier stood and raised his hands above his conical helmet.

  “Yes, yes, I am aware of the tide. Even so, there is no way the ships can cross over the rocks. Were any of the fort repairs complete?” The Queen’s Guard commander could not hide the worry in his voice.

  “Yes, wall breaches we repaired with oak and pine. The only breach we could not patch is on the western side. It is too large to completely repair. We have no time, commander.” The soldier’s eyes were filled with panic and fear.

  “Now would be a good time to show yourself to the men, General.” The commander spoke to the un-answering Hamo in dismay. “Very well, have a force of spearmen and skirmishers ready to defend the breath. I will depart for the beach now.” The Queen’s Guard Commander descended the battlements and ignored further pleas from the frightened soldier.

  ***

  In the hundredth and fourteenth year of Her Majesty, The Queen Magiya, on the seventh day of the passing of the moon crescent, Bahl was invaded by foreigners. This would mark the first time in a hundred and fourteen years since Bahl was invaded by a foreign power. Of course, to those that supported the Dark Queen, it had been over three hundred years since a foreign force invaded. The ships broke out into a long line as was common before landings. Their boat heads bad been fashioned into ravens, snakes, wolves, and bears. The lead ship, bearing the black raven of Gutaca the Brown was the first to land. The Commander of the Queen’s Guard had been wrong. The tide carried the ships safely over the natural rocky breakwater and onto the beach. There a large resistance forces of horses and skirmishers waited. Chariots, cavalry, slingers, and javelin throwers waited in patent terror. The horns of these men sounded very different from the Bahl metal ones. Their war cries were vicious and blood curdling. The came out of the sea like possessed beasts. First, arrows peppered the beach to cover their arrival. In this battle, the fog cover, created by Queen Magiya, aided the landing raiders. The Bahl resistance answered back by throwing javelins and launching stones into the unkno
wn. A few hit their mark with thuds and cries of pain. However, the arrows creating havoc among the beach defenders, seemed to induce more wails of pain. The trading of missiles lasted only a few moments as Hinn men charged up the rock beach. The Queen’s Guard Commander raised his sword and the cavalry charged to meet the attackers. General Hamo had ordered the Queen’s Guard and Bachi to remain in the fort. So, the Commander was the only soldier wearing the silver crescent on the field. The skirmishers had already started fighting the fierce raiders on the beach. As in most battles, most of the skirmishers had already broke and ran. Hundreds were trampled by their own comrades in the cavalry charge. The Queen’s Guard Commander slammed into a Hinn warrior with his horse. Hurling javelins, he impaled two men and then drew his sword. He had not realized the charge had met fierce resistance. This left him one of the few that managed to break through the shield wall. He turned his horse to face the rear, but an axe caught his horse in the throat. The Queen’s Guard commander was pulled from his horse by the hands of a six-foot-tall man. The Commander, now laying on the damp rock, struck upwards at the strange warriors. The Commander’s enemies all wore different colored paint on their faces. He felt terror take ahold of him for the first time since he joined the royal army. He fought fiercely with panic in his muscles, but it was futile. His last sight in the world was an axe blade closing his eyes forever.

  ***

  Eleesa and her Danfear companions arrived in Ulsgard to astonished faces. Atop Marco’s fury haunches, she looked around at all the frightened faces. No one had resisted their entrance into the open city. It was doubtful the Hinn ever ventured into the mountain caves. If they did, the tunnels below the mountain would swallow them whole. Eleesa wondered why no eyes watched these caves and why there were no guards at the northern gate. The town had mustered a small resistance force that awaited her arrival at the Ulsgard hall. Serafina, Diodo, and about a hundred warriors stood before her. Some wore armor while some had on night shirts. Some of the defenders only wore breeches or loin cloths. They had formed a tightly packed shield wall. They peered through the cracks at Eleesa and her giant companions. The Hinn defenders let out a battle cry from behind their shields. The Danfear answered with bellows that shook the defenders. The shield wall began to slowly move back as the Danfear walked towards them.

  “Hold!” Eleesa shouted in the Hinn language. Jut echoed her commander in the Danfear language. The giants halted just before charging the shield wall. Eleesa rode up in front of her giants. She now stood within striking distance of the shield wall. “Where is Herbjarg? I am Eleesa, the traveler. Where is Diodo? Where are my friends?” Eleesa and Marco paced in front of the formation. The bear’s heavy paws clawed the earth and his snout bared a mouthful of long teeth.

  “I am here!” Eleesa heard Diodo answer in Bahlic but he was quickly silenced by Serafina.

  “Hear me! Defenders of Ulsgard! Good people of Ulsgard!” Eleesa’s young voice had lost all the fear she had once possessed. The frightened faces of the town’s inhabitants began to appear in windows and alley ways. “Would you fight for such a frightened and spoiled queen as this one? We come here in peace, yet you would great us with wood and iron!” Eleesa unslung her shield and pulled the axe from its leather straps.

  “I am not frightened of you, girl!” The voice of Serafina bellowed from behind the shield wall.

  “Then stand and fight me!” Eleesa dismounted and struck the shield wall with the flat of her axe head.

  “Mountain friend! Fight without fear!” Jut shouted to Eleesa and she looked back. Nodding, Eleesa dropped her shield to the ground. To Eleesa’s surprise, the shield wall parted. Serafina strode out in a green and gold dress. The Hinn-Danfear queen held a shield and sword. Eleesa backed away in crouch. The Shield wall broke and the Hinn warriors formed half of the battle circle. The Danfear formed the circle’s other half. Marco, the mountain bear, sat down on his haunches in the circle. He watched the two combatants calmly. Serafina did not bother to lift her shield. She simply walked at a slow pace towards Eleesa. The young olive-skinned girl answered the Hinn queen by moving side to side. Eleesa remained in a crouch with her axe between her and the queen. Serafina towered over Eleesa and waited for Eleesa. The girl answered by raising her axe and leaping at the queen. The battle had begun. Eleesa used all her speed and strength to try and pry away Serafina’s shield. The Queen easily deflected each charge. Eleesa, after a few attempts, had collected wounds on her back and arms. Blood stained Eleesa’s furs and sweat poured down her neck. The young girl roared and finally struck the edge of Serafina’s shield. This attack only batted the shield aside, but Serafina was now open. Eleesa, raising her axe over a shoulder to block Serafina’s sword, tackled the tall queen. Serafina refused to be budged until Eleesa hooked her heel with the axe head. The girl and woman toppled to the ground. However, the victory was short lived. Serafina threw Eleesa off her and sliced the young woman’s cheek with her sword. Serafina expertly rolled to her feet and looked down on Eleesa. The sword of Serafina was raised to strike Eleesa. Serafina had placed a foot upon Eleesa’s axe shaft. This would be the end of the Eleesa the Daughter of the One. A bear had no knowledge of the Hinn customs in combat. He jumped up and closed teeth around Serafina’s blade. The Queen’s eyes widened with terror. The sword blade snapped in the bear’s powerful jaws. Serafine backed away and held up her hands. Not even Eleesa was quick enough to stop the carnage that followed. Marco, moving a in a blur of grey fur, closed his jaws around the Queen’s neck. Her body was lifted into the air and tossed about like a doll. With her neck broken, and blood streaming from her neck, the eyes of the once mighty queen froze in death. The mighty bear threw the queen away like a rotten fish. He then reared on his back paws and let out a roar. Everyone in the crowd, the Danfear and the Hinn, all lay down their weapons and bowed their heads to the ground. Eleesa, panting, looked on in shock. So fast had everything happened, the young olive-skinned girl felt as though she was dreaming. How had all of this happened? How had she arrived at this strange land? Why did such a mighty beast fight for her? While Eleesa attempted to process the day’s events, Marco lay down on the ground and licked his snout. Eleesa rose to her feet and walked over to the bear. She looked around at all the unmoving people around her. Their faces were buried deep in the dirt. Only the sound of the sea breeze drifted over the wooden huts. What would happen now?

  The Drums of War

  Eleesa, outfitted for battle, had been given the armor and weapons of the Queen. The armor and weapons, too large for Eleesa to bare, had been modified to a smaller size. The town of Ulsgard had banished their overlords from Furvik. Queen Serafina’s supporters loaded ships and left for Furvik, disgraced and poor. Their things had been taken by the men of Ulsgard. Now, the body of Queen Serafina lay in a long wooden boat. Before leaving, her supporters could place some treasures with the queen. Under Jut’s guidance, only an axe had been given to Serafina for defense in the afterlife. The Queen’s sword had been mended and Eleesa now wore it at her waist. The Furvik men would surely return with another invasion force. When they did, Eleesa would be the objective of revenge. Her and her mountain companion Marco. Another boat had been prepared for burial, it held six bodies and a plethora of treasures. The family of Herbjarg had been put to death under the queen’s command. Their bodies had been hidden among the rocks. Diodo had narrowly escaped execution by promise to right a saga of Queen Serafina. He had completed this saga of the Queen. However, he in formed Eleesa that Serafina would only be a character. Eleesa was the subject of his writings. She begged him not to tell her story but Diodo would not be dissuaded.

  Eleesa watched on with tears in her eyes Herbjarg’s family ship was lowed into the ground. The ship was large, and all his family rested together. Segruide, who Eleesa still called her friend, had been torn apart by animals. The other bodies possessed the markings of decomposition and feeding animals. Wooden limbs and death masks were given to the most brutally molested bodies. The drums
and horns of final rest played melancholy tones on the wind. Men with no hair and wearing grey robes made a circle around the burial mounds, once the bodies were in the earth. They all raised their hands and called to the sky in the Hinn tongue. The rest of Ulsgard, surrounding the priests, kneeled on the ground and cried to the sky. Marco, the Mountain Bear, pushed his way through the people. He stopped in the center of the congregation and lay on the ground. The priests lowered their hands and looked on in contempt. Eleesa looked over at Jut who was smiling.

  “What are your burial rights?” Eleesa realized how much she missed conversation. It helped take her mind off all the friends she had lost.

  “We take our dead into the mountains and leave them for the crows. These are selfish rituals your people practice. Life is a circle for us. Where there is death, there is also life. Creatures of the earth nourish us and so to do we nourish them. This is life dear Friend of the Mountain.”

  “You are the strangest of people I have met.”

  “As are you, Friend of the Mountain.” At Jut’s words, Eleesa smiled and looked back at the ceremony. The priests continued, despite the large bear in the middle of the mounds. Two large pyres were lit on the top of each mound. The smoke clouded the sky and a chant arose from the crowd. Eleesa joined in, though she was unfamiliar with the Hinn words.