“Of course. That stupid, stupid curse.”
“What can we do?” Odin asked. His glace whipped over briefly as he led the chariot and Freya attempted a weak smile.
“Frey will never allow the curse to be broken, of that I am certain,” Freya said, pinching her bottom lip between her thumb and forefinger. “Plus, it is too late now, Helgi is dead already. Svafa is hanging on, though.”
The goddess sighed deeply. She remembered Loki’s words, of how he thought they could win in the end time battle of Ragnarok. According to him, all they needed was a hybrid race of humans that were fuelled by the blood of the Valkyries.
Freya had been reserving her opinion on the matter until such a time that Svafa and Helgi had children before boldly proclaiming that this match was wrong. Even as she believed him, she also didn’t want to agree that Loki was right.
Regardless, the thought of a victory at Ragnarok filled her with a thrill of anticipation. She hated to admit it but she was excited at the prospect and had hoped for Svafa to bear children. To have her hand forced, as Loki worded it, without having to admit to the trickster god that he was right, that she was following his direction. If Svafa had children, it would mean the fates had willed it, that they were admitting their future could be changed, even as she knew the runes had told her otherwise about this match.
After all of her years of study in the runes since Loki’s first proposition, she knew more about the possible outcome now. These children would have to be born not only from the blood of a Valkyrie but from the blood of an ancient human line. Helgi didn’t fit this description. This knowledge had filled her with desolation. But, with Helgi dead and Svafa dying, there was a surge of optimism she hadn’t expected. She could see a potential way around their fates, around the fates of them all.
“Why are we rushing, then?” Odin asked. “Should we just let the fates unfold?”
Freya sighed. She hadn’t spoken to Odin of Loki’s plan and didn’t know how he would react. Time was of the essence and it could either work to her advantage or not. Odin rarely made rash decisions, his gift of knowledge had come at too high a price for him to rush blindly into situations. But he was fond of the Valkyries and they were like his own children. It was her only hope.
“I think Svafa and Helgi’s lives are important, not just because Svafa is a Valkyrie but because she might be able to alter our future.”
Odin pulled up the reins and the chariot slowed temporarily as the cats leading the way hissed their displeasure. He looked over at Freya, his face dark as its one-eyed stare bore down on her. “What do you mean?”
He relaxed his hold on the reins and the cats quickened once more. However, Freya knew that he could just as easily pull them to a halt, depending on her next words.
“I have consulted the runes and Loki has confirmed it, with the Valkyries we have the potential to prevent our loss at Ragnarok.”
She closed her eyes as soon as the chariot jolted to a stop.
“Loki!” Odin laughed. “You believe the words of that trickster?”
“I didn’t,” Freya said quietly. Opening her eyes, she gazed at Odin, hoping he could see her urgency, her honesty on the matter. “But the runes are never wrong.”
“The runes are open to interpretation, though.”
“I have consulted them on many occasions,” she implored. “They have always given me the same answer. Svafa is important. So is Helgi.”
Odin reached out, his hand cupping her jaw and she leaned into his touch. “But Helgi is dead.”
“I know,” Freya replied.
“I ask you again, then, why are we rushing?”
“Perhaps there is a way to change this,” Freya said. “I think we might still stand a chance.”
Chapter 21: SVAFA
Svafa felt the warmth of blood against her skin as it left her body. The welcome cool of death crept up from her toes.
Yet, death never arrived for her.
Instead, she lay on the ground as though paralysed, her eyes staring ever upwards.
Hedinn and Sigar had rushed forward and were clasping at her as though they had ownership of her body.
“Why am I not dead yet?” she whispered as tears leaked from her eyes. She gazed upwards, searching the sky for the gods, ready to beg them to claim her life, to give her a welcome death. The blue sky was empty, not even clouds graced it and it felt like an insult like the gods were turning their backs on her for taking her fate into her own hands. She grimaced as hot tears seeped out.
“Where are you, gods?” she whispered. She wanted to reach up at shake her fists at the sky but her body was weak and wouldn’t allow it.
Fighting back further tears she lifted one hand feebly as a cloud appeared in the ominous sky.
Finally, she thought but she didn’t really know what she meant.
The cloud bloomed, widening and solidifying until it seemed to take on its own persona. Svafa concentrated on it, her whole world singling in on the small feature. She remembered back to her younger days when she and her fellow Valkyries would lay out on the green grass of Folkvangr and imagine the clouds taking on different shapes, willing more into the images than what was really there.
Now, Svafa saw a boulder growing and morphing, becoming a cat. A small puff off to one side took on another shape and Svafa imagined the shape of the feline was playing with something, rolling, a pebble across the sky. She smiled at her imagination.
The clouds altered again, the cat growing in size until it looked intimidating and Svafa fought the urge to shy away from the white creature. The pebble rounded out, becoming another beast by its side.
Blinking, Svafa felt her eyes closing, the ruminations tiring her and she hoped death was finally coming to welcome her home. As she blinked slowly, the clouds shone down on her, blinding her with their brilliance.
Why were they doing that?
She opened her eyes again, forcing them wide as she battled against her weariness.
Freya appeared in the clouds. She was riding her chariot and the Valkyrie gulped in surprise.
In what felt like only a blink of her eyelids, the goddess was kneeling by Svafa’s side.
“Why aren’t I dead?” Svafa asked once more. She wanted nothing more than to lose herself in the oblivion of death, knowing she wouldn’t be forced in to Valhalla like the warriors she selected were. Also knowing that with her annihilation she would no longer feel the agony of Helgi’s demise.
The goddess leaned in. Her cold hand was like a salve. “What happened here isn’t fair, I know that. Hedinn laid a curse against your love.”
Svafa tried to look at her brother-in-law but couldn’t turn her head. “Why?”
“It doesn’t matter. And, truthfully, it wasn’t entirely his fault. However, a curse is a curse when done on Yuletide eve in the presence of a troll-woman. So, we had no choice but to let Helgi’s fate unwind as it did.”
Svafa blinked, her mouth open with surprise as she tried to speak. “It’s not fair,” was all she could manage before Freya put her fingers to Svafa’s lips.
“However, I also know how much you craved a love such as the one you and Helgi had. So, I am giving you a second chance. I am taking you home. You shall be reborn once more as a Valkyrie. You will have another chance at finding Helgi again.”
Svafa closed her eyes and smiled.
***
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SNEAK PEEK AT BOOK #2 – Curse of the Valkyries
PROLOGUE
“It’s time,” Freya said as she gazed down upon the kingdom.
“If you say so,” Odin replied. He sat beside Freya and reached out to clasp her hand. Rubbing his thumb back and forth over the top of Freya’s hand, he gazed over at her.
Freya had been mulling over the return of Svafa since the Valkyrie had died many years earlier. Her sisters were capable of their tasks, that of bringing the war-ready home to Valhalla. However, it felt wrong to have only eight of them when the number had always tallied nine.
“How should we do this? Odin asked. “I mean, Helgi will come back as a new person. But, what of Svafa?”
Freya’s brow furrowed as she thought on the problem. “I think it will be too hard to bring Svafa back as herself. Not only will it be hard for her having to wait for her lover to be born and grow, but for her sisters as well. Knowing Svafa previously, they will expect her to remember everything and I don’t think that’s how all of this works.”
Freya sighed. She wished they could bring Helgi back before they did so with Svafa. And, maybe it would be easier for Svafa to maintain her own name and be the same person. But they couldn’t bring back one without the other. Their lives were intertwined and could no longer be pulled apart.
She felt the shuddering cold of premonition. Would Svafa and Helgi be ever destined to be reborn? To return to the realm of Midgard over and over again forever more?
Freya had usually discouraged love between the Valkyries and mortal men. It wasn’t that there was anything inherently wrong with this sort of affair. However, the Valkyries tended to love way too fondly for their humans. Considering, the Valkyries would outlive a man every time, it made their love more passionate, more frantic. Then, when the mortal died, there was always trouble.
She wished she had never agreed to allow Svafa and Helgi to be reborn. It seemed so unfair at the time. They had only been married a short time and Helgi’s death had been the result of a stupid curse, not or fate, or battle.
Plus, there was the fact the runes had confirmed what Loki had told her. Svafa was important, as was Helgi, regarding the end times. If the gods ever stood a chance of surviving Ragnarok, Freya had no choice but to resurrect Svafa and Helgi.
Invoking magic, the pair had been given another chance.
But Freya hadn’t understood the implications.
She had never been involved in this sort of spellwork before so she had no idea what to expect out of the situation. Loki told her it would be a simple task. That there would be no ramifications. However, Freya didn’t believe him. A change to the fates such as this never went without consequence.
No, she should never have listened to the trickster god.
Chapter 1: HELGI
Helgi wiped his brow. Sweat poured into his eyes along with the blood that was clouding his vision.
The noise of the battleground assaulted his senses. Rolling off him like a giant wave that wanted to drag him under. He was so exhausted that he was almost ready to have the undercurrent drag him out, to let him feel oblivion.
Looking across the field, now muddy and slick with so much blood, he saw a woman. She stood tall in the midst of the conflict and not a spot of dirt or crimson red touched her pale grey gown. Ash blonde hair was pulled back tightly and the bulk of the ponytail hung down over one shoulder. Her hand reached out to him and Helgi could never remember seeing such a lovely vision.
Helgi wiped his eyes once more and the woman disappeared. He laughed. It was short and bitter. He had heard of men going crazy during the rigours of war and didn’t want to be considered one of them.
“Hunding!” he roared into the fray, raising his battle axe high above his head. “Show yourself!”
The Saxon king called Hunding was the reason Helgi was here. He needed to avenge his father’s death at the hands of this king. Nothing would matter until Helgi’s foe was dead and gone.
Hunding would end up in Valhalla if he was slain today. It was not what Helgi really wanted, to have that king residing alongside his own father in their afterlife. However, he had faith that his father would make Hunding’s life a misery.
Helgi cut through the crowd in front of him. He could see a vicious brawl occurring not far ahead and he suspected that was the centre of the day’s activity.
“Hunding! You’re a coward, respond to me!”
A head whipped around at the sound of Helgi’s voice. Hunding’s eyes widened with recognition. Rushing forward, Helgi bellowed an incomprehensible sound.
The king stood tall, raising his own battle axe and waited for Helgi to bridge the distance between them. In a matter of moments, Helgi stood in front of the foul king.
“I will kill you today,” he said before lunging forward.
Hunding laughed and spat at Helgi before raising his shield in defence of Helgi’s blow.
The action infuriated Helgi but he curbed his ire. Hunding was taunting him, trying to make Helgi rush and leave himself open to attack.
Helgi knew this because it is what had gotten his father killed at the hands of this man.
Instead, Helgi raised his shield. Pulling his weapon back behind the shield, he danced from foot to foot.
Reaching forward, Helgi thrust his axe at the man, not to actually inflict real damage but to gauge how Hunding fought.
In response, Hunding did the same. Helgi tried to put into practice techniques he wouldn’t normally utilise in an effort to feed the man misleading information. He hoped Hunding wasn’t doing the same thing.
Finally, Helgi got a feel for Hunding’s fighting skills and reacted more aggressively in what he believed was the man’s weakest defence.
His prediction had been correct and Hunding buckled under the attack. Helgi didn’t allow Hunding a chance to regroup or to retaliate. Instead, he unleashed a double attack that saw his weapon bearing down on him, showering him with wicked blows.
Finally, one made contact with human flesh. Still, Helgi did not relent. He was only fifteen years of age, so was filled with the sort of stamina that Hunding was now lacking considering his advanced age.
Helgi unleashed his fury onto the man, striking over and over again. Hunding initially tried to retaliate, yelling in anger and swinging his axe.
However, at some point, the man became silent. He struggled against the onslaught, using his strength to protect his body from Helgi’s blows rather than to bellow his anger at the young man.
And then Hunding was silent because he was dead.
It took Helgi a while to realise this fact as he was busy bashing in the man’s head.
Finally, the knowledge filtered through and Helgi stopped the attack. He hefted his bloody weapon high into the air and shouted out his victory as loud as his weary body could manage. Dark blood and scraps of flesh rained down on his head but it didn’t bother him in the slightest.
Off in the distance, the pale woman appeared once more and Helgi smiled at her as he whooped in glee.
REFERENCES
Have you enjoyed this book and are curious to find out more about the Valkyries and the culture they came from? Below is the list of books I have used in my research into the Vikings.
When one starts to delve into the history of the Vikings, it seems there are only a few major sources. However, myriad resources, as well as various translations and scholarly tomes and articles, delve into various stories involving the Valkyries.
Where possible, I have included links to electronic versions of these resources so you can directly access these resources from your electronic device. Many, being so old, fall outside of copyright, so are freely accessible.
Quite often, I have linked to the scanned copy of the document or book on Archive.org, which will offer various formats to either view or download the item. Archive.org is an online resource where out of copyright books, documents, letters, video, etc. have been scanned, uploaded and, where required, digitalised, by Google so that people can access these resources easily.
Project Gutenberg is another online resource aiming to bring out of copyright manuscripts within the reach of everyone. If you prefer to use this resource, you can simply visit Gutenberg.o
rg and start searching.
Where I have not been able to directly link to online sources of these documents, I have included a link to the item on ISBNsearch.org so readers can find places to purchase copies as required through various reputable outlets. When all else fails, I have linked directly to the publisher.
Anglo Saxon Chronicle. Edited from the translation in Monumenta Historica Britannica and Other Versions by the Late J. A. Giles D C.L. New Edition. (1914). London G. Bell and Sons, Ltd.
Danish History Books I-X, The. Grammaticus, S. (2016). Perennial Press This edition includes the original copy of the Gesta Danorum from the version available free online at the Gutenberg Project that has been translated by Oliver Elton (Norroena Society, New York, 1905) and edited, proofed, and prepared by Douglas B. Killings.
Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson, The. Thorpe, B. (translated) (1906). Norroena Society. This edition has been translated by Paul Murray, Stephen Schulze, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team and is available on the Gutenberg Project.
Icelandic Sagas. These sources are many and varied. The best place to start researching this source is probably the website, Icelandic Saga Database. It must be noted, however, that not all of the sagas listed on this website are available in English.
Norse Mythology. Gaiman, N. (Great Britain, 2017). Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings, The. Haywood, J. (1995). Swanston Publishing Limited.
Poetic Edda, The. Bellows, H. (translated) (New York, 1923) The American-Scandinavian Foundation.
Prose Edda, The. Sturluson, S., Gilchrist, A. (1916). Brodeur.
Saga of the Volsungs, The. Bylock, J. (translated). (United States, 1990). Penguin Classics.
Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok, The. Waggoner, B. (Connecticut, 2009). The Troth.
Viking Poetry of Love and War. Jesch, J. (2013). The British Museum Press.
Women in Old Norse Society. Jochens, J. (1995). Cornell University Press.
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