Chapter Text
I spent what felt like ages wandering through a solitary darkness and an impenetrable fog, at the beginning it was just that, darkness and fog, I guided myself with my intuition more than with my senses but the deeper I got into wherever I was, the more confusing the situation turned.
The first thing that happened was that the floor suddenly seemed to open to a void and I fell, I expected to hit the ground when I was done falling but instead a huge wave swallowed me whole, as I opened my eyes the darkness was no more, instead I could see the distorted shape of a Viking ship struggling on the surface of the water, the waves rocked the ship hard as the thunder and lightning shook the sky, suddenly the ship was swallowed by the sea, people jumped from it in a futile attempt to save their lives but the waves took them to whichever direction the sea wanted to take them, it looked as if Rán was purposely wreaking havoc so she could collect more trinkets and treasures on her nets, I tried to swim towards the surface but as I did so, the mast of the ship came sinking on my direction, I was fast enough to dodge it but what I saw left me more perplexed that if the mast had hit me, tied to it was Ivar, his eyes were closed, his hands clutched tightly to the ropes around him, I screamed his name but only a handful of bubbles came out instead, I tried urgently to swim towards him but before I could reach him something pulled me out of the water.
I opened my eyes and found myself surrounded by literal chaos as a war was unfolding and I was in the middle of it all, shouts came from every direction as well as the sounds of metal clashing against metal and the thud of weapons being interjected by wooden shields, no one seemed to notice me, I ran across the open field but the warriors were so numerous that no matter how far I went, I was still trapped on that bloody scene; a potent male voice shouted orders from across the field, I tried to see who the voice belonged to but the man was too far away, I could only see him standing tall in front of numerous warriors that had yet to take part on the action, he was taller than many, his mere silhouette was enough to intimidate me, it irradiated power, he stood confident on the battlefield as if it was his playground and as the battle kept unfolding right in front of him he seemed to gain energy and become even wilder and more powerful; out of nowhere a myriad of arrows were shot in his direction, the men behind him covered themselves with their shields but he on the other hand received the shower of arrows with open arms, as if it would glorify him, when the arrows stopped falling he still stood firm, untouched, unfazed, almost divine.
I raised my eyes to the sky as a bunch of crows circled the field, then I looked around, there was no battle anymore, only silence and a pile of dead bodies remained, thunder clashed on the sky as the crows seemed to multiply in number, I saw someone walking through the corpses, someone too familiar and yet too distant, it was an old man, his long gray hair was visible from under his hat, he was dressed in a dark tunic and held a wooden cane on one hand, on each of his shoulders rested a raven, and they seemed to whisper on the man’s ears, I knew who he was, I recognized him immediately, the old man kept walking around the bodies, inspecting them, at times he nodded in approval and at others he just kept walking with an empty expression. I didn’t realize when the clashing in the sky had stopped being thunder to instead become his voice, until he called my name “Eira” it was like a lion’s roar, the crows started to fly a he spoke, maybe startled by the sound, I couldn’t blame them “I have brought you where your soul belongs” the man continued “unfold your fate, and push them to theirs” there was no space for questioning as a group of crows surrounded me, making me lose my balance and falling to the ground, I couldn’t see anything other than black feathers for a moment and then the ruckus stopped.
A sharp pain shot through my abdominal area and my back as sweat gathered on my forehead, I felt the urge to scream, to growl, the pain left momentarily but it came back stronger every time, someone held my hand as growls escaped my mouth, someone cleaned the sweat off of my forehead as they whispered words of encouragement that I couldn’t quite make out, there was a hand pressing on my middle part “it will pass soon” I heard someone say “be strong” it was easier said than done, with every shot of pain my vision became blurrier and my head felt lighter, I heard a cry in the distance, my heart beating faster than never before, relieve washed over me but before I could make out the situation, the image changed again. The walls of the room I had been in grew taller, darker and narrower, over me I could see trees and a cage big enough for a grown man to fit into suspended in the air, I tried to stand up but my body was weak, my head ached and I felt something warm dripping from my forehead, I raised my hand to check what it was and I realized it was blood, I felt one of my eyes was so swollen I couldn’t open it, I was thirsty but I couldn’t move, my attention was diverted when I felt something moving up my leg, and then I felt the same around my entire body, that was when I realized I was trapped in a pit full of snakes, they began to bite me as if they had been waiting for me to notice them so they could start their performance, with every bite my blood seemed to transform in pure fire that burned me from inside out, the pain was excruciating and it repeated itself with every snake that took its turn sinking its fangs on my body, I couldn’t imagine how many different kinds of poison ran through my body at that time, hot and cold flushes overcame me, my muscles were rigid and my mind absent, I knew I was there to die, but I also knew that it would take some time.
I closed my eyes as I accepted the embrace of the death but it never came, instead I was welcomed by the noise of war once again, when I came into my senses I was fighting my way through the battlefield, sword on my hand I moved swiftly as if I had been trained for war, my hands felt bigger and rougher, my legs were longer and stronger, my small frame was no more as instead broad shoulders and a good height replaced it, I was someone else, I advanced blindly skillfully wielding my sword not caring about how many I killed or hurt as long as they were the enemy, then I found myself in front of a too familiar man, someone I loved dearly, he was covered in blood and dirt as he fought against my people, I charged towards him, his eyes were wide as our swords clashed, he recovered fast and attacked me back, we stayed like that for a little while, none of us giving up, then I saw a chance and I took it, I directed the blow of my sword directly to his neck, he was expecting it, he closed his eyes waiting for it to arrive, but I just couldn’t do it, I stopped the sword right next to his neck and then I retreated, I couldn’t do it, I turned around to face a different man and behind me I heard him scream in despair, it broke my heart.
The sounds of the battle came to a halt and I became myself once again, it took a little time to process where I was, I was seated at the head of an enclosed but very wide space, the atmosphere felt solemn and powerful, I breathed in as my arms found their place on the arms of my seat, I felt a light touch on my hand as a gentle thumb stroked the back of it rhythmically, I turned to my side to see who it was, but as I did so, the room filled with fog so thick I couldn’t recognize who the gentle touch belonged to, the only thing I could make out was a male silhouette, his aura was stern but warm, dignified but wild, tough but loving… I felt something weighting on my head, carefully I moved my hands to inspect what it was and not believing my touch I decided to take the object off, my eyes widened when I realized it was a crown, the delicate looking object felt familiar yet foreign in my hands, it was adorned with small engravings of ravens and protective runes, looking at it made me smile fondly, it gave me a feeling of safety and satisfaction, I put the crown back on my head as I stood up from my seat, as I did so the room was filled with cheers and clamor, but no one was there, or at least I couldn’t see anyone as the fog persisted, I made my way running down the room until I reached the door and with one last look back I went outside. I walked aimlessly through the snow embracing myself trying to keep some sort of warmth in my body, I looked around taking in the view of frozen nature surrounding me, the pine trees stood tall and dark contrasting greatly with the whiteness of the environment, everything was so peaceful, I looked up to the sky bathing into the light of the winter sun feeling oddly at ease, I let my eyes close as I enjoyed the tranquility of the moment wanting for it to last forever, but of course, my wish wasn’t granted, the quiet mood was broken by something or rather someone tugging at the skirt of my dress, I looked down and found a little boy looking attentively at me, his eyes were big and bright and seeing him smile made me instinctively smile back, he didn’t say a word as he grabbed my hand and pulled me with him as he began to run, in no time I was surrounded by children laughter and I couldn’t help but laugh as well, a small group of children ran around me as they played tag, my heart felt full at the sight of the innocent game and how happy that moment was, “if only life was more like this…” I whispered to myself.
Dark clouds and rampant thunder began to cover the sky, the cheerful ambiance seemed long gone, and with no warning at all a crowd of ravens descended on me, I felt their ruckus of wings and cackles, no matter how hard I fought I couldn’t free myself, more ravens seemed to join the flock creating even more chaos if possible, they felt heavier and heavier as they oppressed me into the ground, the snow was cold on my back but it didn’t matter, my eyes were closing, and nothing seemed important anymore.
I was lying on a soft surface, the smell of moss and greenery surrounded me as my body was being rocked rhythmically back and forth, and the cold wind caressed my face, my eyes were closed as I listened to a few words of farewell, the voices of the ones who spoke were unknown to me but my heart ached at the pain that permeated every word, I didn’t want my farewell to be painful, I wanted to open my eyes and tightly embrace those who spoke and stay with them, accompany them until their lives came to an end, but I knew I couldn’t, after all, my time on earth had already ended; the voices went away and nothing happened for a moment until the sound of arrows being shot broke the silence, and then fire engulfed me, contrary to what one would expect it was nice, it didn’t hurt, it was warm, almost comforting, I heard the cracking sounds of wood succumbing to the fire, and it wasn’t long until I fell into the water, as my body sank deeper and deeper into the cold fjord my heart felt lighter, my mind was calm, and after what seemed like an eternity I felt free at last.
A sensation of liquid filling my lungs made me sit abruptly on my bed, I gasped for air as I opened my eyes, I blinked a few times before I could take in where I was, when my sight was clear at last I was met with two pairs of eyes, one warm, green and relieved, the other blue, cold and confused, “She’s awake!” I heard a potent voice cheer from my side as a pair of strong arms embraced me, a few moments later my room’s door opened with a loud bang to reveal none other than Queen Aslaug she smiled fondly and I tried to reciprocate but the best I could do was form a weird smirk due to my very dry lips “Dear child” she said getting closer and cupping my face with her hands “we thought the gods would take you from us”.