He transitioned from muttering to himself to a sigh to a response. “This is nyot a favor to you, or even Aegir. I just vant you to die by my hands, nyot theirs,” he exclaimed and then leapt back from me and swung out his gambantein.
As he did so, it felt as if ropes had been tied to my arms and legs, causing the veins that ran through them to grow fat and stretched from blood that had no way to escape. My heart also began to beat slowly and hard, starving for the blood it so needed to pump. Solas grew closer and closer as I crumbled to the ground under his influence. “Wh-why are you doing this? I…hhhelped you.” I wheezed from suffocation.
“Because you defied fate,” he shouted. “I have long foreseen this day and long thought of how to end it and you had to ruin it. All of this vould have been so much simpler if you’d simply been the pawn you vere supposed to be.” Through the blood now oozing out of my eyes, I was able to define some shadows. Blobs of red darker than the rest that vaguely resembled a crowd. From among these blobs, some of them charged toward Solas with rage in their voices.
A mighty wave roared and sprayed over me. “Do nyot stand between a priest of Aegir and vhat little of his job he has left.” Solas spoke slowly and clearly, as to make sure the outraged Agrian would understand. “Especially vhen he stands over the sea.” Drawing his full attention back to me, he began to squeeze tighter on the water within my body. In response, I began to crawl over to Solas. “Nyo! Nyo! Stay vhere you are, do nyot defy my vill anymore!”
I just ignored the command, even as my veins began to burst all over me and my chest grew cold from lack of blood. I laid a single finger onto his bandaged foot. “I healed your wounds, willingly gave my life to save you and your people, and even destroyed the ship of your enemies…And this is how you repay me?” With that, I gave one command thought and dispelled the magic in the wrappings. Starting from my finger, the paper began to burst into flames, swiftly climbing its way over both his legs. He fell to the ground with one last cry of pain as I collapsed as well, still conscious.
With Solas now on the floor with the pain of his burns back, pressure was released. I breathed deeply as my heartbeat returned to normal. My eyes hurt even more, however, not having taken kindly to the pressure. “What horrible things have we done that these people would blame us for their present state?” came the voice of one of the Agrians.
I closed my eyes to ease their burden. “It’s okay, I’ve done worse…” It occurred to me then that I’d destroyed yet another ship, and thus was stranded here again. But I was content with that. “I think I’ll stay here a while.”
Chapter 14
Five Years Later
A stray beam of light beckoned me awake and I found myself sitting beneath a willow in some ancient field. The hill I rested upon surveyed the wide expanse, my sight only being broken by trees and a small pond at the foot of the hill. Many young maidens played along the edge of that pool. One of them seemed familiar to me, but in a way so alien I couldn’t recognize her.
A slender, radiant hand was then rested on my shoulder. I turned around and to my surprise, the hand was but one side of the woman. The other side was in fact much different—pitch black and withered, just as Hel, queen of the dead, was described as being. Beside her was another woman. I guessed it was Freya from her beauty and resemblance to Freyr. “Your friend, Alodia, has been doing fine here in Niflheim,” she said to me. Something clicked together in that instance and I looked back at the familiar woman. “All ailments and blemishes she had on Mannheim have been removed.”
It occurred to me then that she was indeed Alodia. It was just that time and her lack of blue skin made her difficult to recall. I stirred myself to go down and greet her, but I stopped myself as it occurred to me where I was. “If I’m in Niflheim, did I…”
“This is but a dream, not even I am truly here as we speak. What you see now is merely a portrait of what it is like for Alodia,” Freya said, anticipating the question. “After your success in attaining peace, the time has come for us to thank you.” Alodia then paused as she looked up at me. Ecstatic to see me, jumping in the air, waving her arms just before one of her friends tackled her.
“So, is this your gift to me? Confirmation that Alodia has a joyful afterlife?”
“No.” A breeze came by, stirring up the smells of spring. “On behalf of the Aegir and Vanir, I give you our blessings in your career as the general of the First Agrian fleet.” A white haze began to mist over my eyes as I presumed I began to wake up. “That is all I gave you this vision for.”
I then awoke where I had truly fallen asleep, on the road, in the back of a cart. I popped my head out to see how close we were to our destination. We were now passing through a forest of young trees. The forest was mostly aspen because of the great fire that tore through here those few years ago, but some young pines were strewn about as well. “We’re nearing Alodiaton, sir,” the driver said from the front of the vehicle.
“So I’ve noticed, Reko,” I responded, stroking my braided beard. It still felt kind of awkward to hear Elderbear referred to by its new name, even if I was the one who suggested the name to signify all of the changes that happened. Horns were blown as we began to enter through the gates to the town and humans and svartalfar came to greet me. They all gave me a loud cheer as I stepped out of the cart and stood before the draped statue in the town square. The time had come for me to make that speech, as the crowd hushed. So I took my place beside Reokashothi and took a deep breath.
“Half a decade ago, I came most unwillingly to your land,” I started. “That was half a decade ago, however. That was back when I was convinced Agrians were the scourge of the land, and those sentiments were returned in equal. That was before the arms of friendship were persuaded open and petty feuds were put to rest. That was before I became Erland of Two Homes.
“But now those days have passed, and we are all better for it. Thanks to this new Agria-Shaloor trading pact, great strides have been made in either culture’s technology. And thanks to Reokashothi’s cooperation, her vassals, the dark elves have agreed to retire to a life amidst us humans.
“I soon sail off to distant places, to find all of our common enemy’s hiding places, and bring them to the courts of law that they have universally broken. But before that, I go to reunite with my family for a short time. Before that too, on behalf of Kutaa, king of the Agrians, I make the new name of this town Alodiaton, in honor of my dear departed friend. May she enjoy her life in those halls until the Ragnorok.” I grasped the cloth and pulled it off of the statue. Everyone cheered as the rechristening of the town was made official, and I laid my eyes on the statue for the first time. The statue of Alodia was clothed in simple maid’s garb, as I had requested. And as I should have expected, it was made of pure silver. A teardrop dribbled down my cheek as I thought about that. If only they knew about her skin, tinted by the quarry of those mines. Those same mines as this ore was taken from.
Quietly and calmly, I boarded the headship of my fleet, a new ship that was named a caravel. The sails were unfurled, sounding like the roaring of thunder and the flight of doves all at once, something befitting of the product of peace being used to bring justice upon sea-bound criminals. With the sun above my head and the wind heading where I was facing, I ordered the crew to set sail. As I looked behind me, Alodiaton began to become fainter and fainter, until the light from that statue was all I could see.
* * * *
It was a few days before we managed to reach that island my family lived on. Under normal conditions, such a large ship as I was on wouldn’t be able to maneuver around the rock barrier safely, but thanks to the expertise of the crew and the advancement in ship building provided by the Agrians, we managed to sail past them. I ordered my men to stay on the ships while I mounted the stairway up to the house. Geese and goslings still fluttered about, but the house itself had become a dull gray from weather. I stayed my hand at the door for a moment. It felt kind of strange, waiting
for this moment for so long, fighting with almost every last bit of my strength for that first year, but now feeling reluctant to do it. After five years, would they even recognize me? I’ve grown quite a bit in that time and the beard alone would throw anybody off course of my actual identity. To them, I might be some stranger, or worse an Agrian bent on destroying them all.
Certainly, I sent letters to them, they even responded to them. Father, Mother, my sisters, they all knew I was coming, just not when. Home, where I grew up, was so far away from Alodiaton, we couldn’t sort out an official day. The best I could go off of was that this was, based on my notes on the calendar, the very day I was first lost to sea. But still, my nerves got the better of me and I let go of the handle and took a step back.
What was more, how would I really feel about my family now? In my time with the Agrians, I had spoken to every volvu and every man who was competent with runes, and all of them told me the same thing as Solas did those years ago. Yes, they were still my family, but my family was engineered to mock a god. That made it sort of hard to talk to someone normally.
The door creaked open, and my father opened the door. Aged, but still holding fast to the youth in his hair and skin. “Oh, and who are you?” he asked, surprised by the Agrian official standing before him.
As he waited for an answer, I just breathed heavily and tried to recall the words I rehearsed to say now. I smiled. “Father, I’m sorr—” Father was never one for speeches when I last met him, and he still wasn’t. When the word “Father” escaped my lips, his whole body exploded into happiness and he swept me off my feet in his excitement.
“Mom! Girls! Get started on that food! Erland’s back!” A loud cry of excitement came from deep within the house as my father hugged me. He led me in to the main section of the house, where everyone was sitting. All of my sisters and their husbands and children were crammed into that room. I felt completely at ease, like nothing was the matter with this family.
Hidden within the group of children was one girl who seemed kind of shy. She huddled close up to Mother. “And who’s this?” I asked Mother while I crouched down to her. The lass, startled by me, hid halfway behind Mother.
“This is your youngest sister, Alfhild.
I smiled and laughed a small bit. Finally, I had been given the chance to learn what that child from five years ago was named. “Battle of alfar,” I said in wonder of the irony. “It’s almost as if you knew what happened to me when I was taken away.”
“And why is that?” one of my brothers-in-law asked.
Taking a seat, I regaled my family with the tale of all that happened to me—from Solas, to the alfar, to the attack of the raiders. Father seemed uneasy when I mentioned Solas and Elderbear, and not being able to hold it back, I took a break from the story. “When I was in Agria, Solas said he was your brother. Is it true you were exiled as a troublemaker?”
All my sisters and brothers-in-law were shocked by the news, and Mother held Father’s hand. The nieces and nephews were all still young, and paid no attention to the remark. “It is…somewhat true,” Father said. “You see, son, Solas was my older brother and he was married first. The woman he married, I won’t name for her own respect, was a volvu. He was very proud and honored to have been wedded to one as she, but then came a day when he discovered she was of Shaloor. In his anger, he killed her on the beach. Knowing just what the price of killing a volvu at all was, he framed me for it. He used his very own wife’s pearl necklace as the false proof, even. I’m sorry I didn’t say this earlier, but I hope you understand.”
Judging by the faces all about us, it seemed clear that now was not the appropriate time to discuss this. So, I did my best to clear the tension. “How about I tell you all a joke I heard on the ride here? An Agrian and a Shaloor walk into a bar…”
The End
Publisher’s Note
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About Benjamin R. Babst
Ben Babst is the lead baker and co-owner of Brothers’ Olde-fashioned Bakery, a bakery that specializes in gluten-free and allergen-aware foods. In writing, he focuses mostly on humor and fantasy in the worlds of Ilagtten, a world that draws upon a wealth of northern European culture and Norse Mythology, and Polaia, a setting of his own creation. Ben’s attempt in designing Polaia is to create a culture and religion that feels as authentic as the real world.
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