Chapter Twenty One - Shield Maiden
And so they told the tale of how the horn had been found and how Anna had blown it and it had seemed to come to life. How that had brought not just Barghests, but Gurthrunn and finally, Kendra, to their village. Anna explained how she and her friends had sought out Gurthrunn and with his guidance had planned to return the horn to Asgard, only to be ambushed by Kendra. Then Anna described how she had used the horn to summon an army, and told of the battle between the svartálfar and Valkyries. All this was confirmed by Gurthrunn and Lydia, who chipped in from time to time.
Woden listened to the tale and after it had finished he said nothing for such a long time that Anna wondered if he was angry. Had she been wrong to blow the horn? Was she about to be punished? Her legs began to tremble.
“So,” Woden began at last, “much has transpired these last few days on mortal Earth. Some good and some ... not so good. The Valkyrie, Kendra, who betrayed us is out there in the Nine Worlds somewhere, plotting and trying to locate the lost treasures of the gods, also trying to raise an army to challenge us and free Loki. The Bifrost has been reopened and Heimdall tells me cannot easily be closed again. The roads and paths between the worlds are unlocked and that can only cause chaos.”
“Yet all is not bad. You have retrieved two of the lost treasures and returned them to us so that when war comes to the heavens, as it must, we will have some defence. Kendra’s plan failed because of your actions and that is good. Doubly so: good that she failed, although she got away, but especially good because out of this has been born a fresh hope, for Midgard has a new champion in you, mortal child.”
“Me?” Anna said meekly.
“Of course you,” the horn said in her head.
“Of course you,” Woden echoed. ”You have returned our treasures and I would not send you home without a reward to help you in the struggles that surely lie ahead.”
‘Struggles?’ thought Anna, ‘I don’t like the sound of that.’
“You will be fine, my sister will be with you,” the horn replied.
‘Your sister?’ Anna asked in her head, but the horn did not answer this time.
“So, mortal child, I give you this sword, the weapon of a Valkyrie,” Woden was saying, showing no indication that he or anyone else had heard Anna’s exchange with the horn, except for Heimdall, who was gazing down at her, a flicker of amusement in his eyes.
When Woden stood, Anna saw that he was even taller than Heimdall. He came down from his throne with a sword in his hand and offered it to Anna. Taking it from the god’s huge hand she gasped with joy, for it was a blade of great beauty. As her fingers wrapped around the hilt, the sword seemed to alter its size and balance ever so slightly so that after a moment it felt just right for her. At the same time, a strange, tingling sensation passed down her arm and then a voice spoke in her head, but it was not the sing-song, masculine voice of the horn. This was a strong voice too, but it was feminine.
“Chosen!” it said, and this time Anna knew what it meant, for she now felt that this had always been her sword. The weapon belonged to her and to no one else. Yes, it was her blade and together they would do mighty deeds.
“Yes we will,” the sword answered her thought. “I am the horn’s sister and my name is Aefre - which means ‘forever’ - for I will protect you as long as you live.”
Woden gazed down at Anna and almost, he seemed to smile. “The blade of a Valkyrie has never before been given to a child of your world. But you are now Midgard’s champion, so wield it well. I will send Gurthrunn back with you. His people know much of what has happened in the past and he can advise you on what might happen in the future. Indeed, I am sure he already knows of the dangers that will surely come.”
Gurthrunn bowed, but made no reply.
“How like a dweorgar,” Woden said. “Your race says little until it is needed. Very well. Go now, both of you and may your fate - your wyrd - watch over you.”
Escorted by Heimdall, they retraced their steps through Asgard until they reached the ledge, where the Bifrost still glowed and shimmered.
“Goodbye, Anna,” said the horn from Heimdall’s belt.
Heimdall put his hand on it and smiled, “Yes, goodbye, Anna,” he said.
She returned his smile and watched as he gave a small bow then went back through the door and closed it behind him.
Going back through the Bifrost, clutching Gurthrunn’s good arm in one hand and her new sword in the other, Anna once again kept her eyes shut. When she opened them she was relieved to see that Raedann, her brother and their friends were still there waiting for her at the barrow door.
Right from the start they were stunned by her new sword and all of them, but Raedann in particular, pressed her and Gurthrunn for every detail they could recall of Asgard and the gods. As they strolled back towards Scenestane Anna tried, but found it almost impossible to describe, for there was nothing like it in Midgard to relate it to and she did not feel she could do justice to what she had seen. Even so, the others hung on her words and little Ellette’s face was a picture of awe and envy.
“The gods were just like in Raedann’s stories, although perhaps even more impressive,” Anna finished her tale. “You were even right about Woden only having one eye, Raedann.”
“Of course I am right. But have I told you why he has one eye?” the tinker asked.
The children shook their heads.
“Ah,” he replied, “thereby hangs a tale, but I’ll cut it short. Woden wanted to be wiser than all the other gods, and so he visited the Well of Mimir, who is the wisest being known to the Nine Worlds and lives beneath Yggdrasil, the world tree. Mimir agreed to pass on his wisdom, but demanded Woden’s eye in exchange.”
“That’s dreadful!” Anna shuddered, “I hope I never have to visit Mimir, I don’t fancy losing a part of me!”
She was still thinking about it when they reached Scenestane to find the village folk all gathered in Nerian’s hall. Anna and Lar were delighted to see their father in his high-backed chair, awake and alert and apparently none the worse for his experience, although his hair was frazzled and there was a faint whiff of smoke coming from his tunic. It seemed that the lightning bolt had melted his sword, but the weapon had deflected the worst of the blast and he had been knocked out, but was otherwise unhurt.
The appearance of Gurthrunn in their village made many of the villagers very nervous, for they had not yet recovered from their battle with the dark elves, the bodies of which still littered the ground outside. Nerian and all the other adults had recalled the arrival of Kendra, but then almost at once they had fallen under her spell and what happened next was hazy. However, between them they had pieced it together and now were horrified as they remembered everything they had done, how cruel they were to the children and how misused they had been by the sorceress.
Meccus begged Gurthrunn’s forgiveness for the beating he had given him, then holding Ellette close, his eyes filled with tears and he kept apologising to her.
“It is all right, Father, I am fine,” she protested, trying to wriggle out of his embrace. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Iden was particularly distraught at almost destroying the sacred writings and thanked Wilburh over and over again for saving them. He had been overjoyed, he said, when he got back to the temple to find the scrolls intact and well cared for where Wilburh had placed them.
Nerian also apologised, particularly to Anna, but like Ellette, she brushed it away. “You were not yourself, Papa, there is nothing to forgive.” Thanking her, he now pressed the children for the full story of what had happened and so Anna had to repeat it all over again, including the events of the visit to Asgard.
As she came to the end, Gurthrunn at last spoke. “Anna and her friends have acted beyond their years and shown many talents and abilities. It is because of them that the village survives, but the threat is not over.”
“What do you mean?” Nerian asked.
“This land, Mercia - th
e very word means ‘the land on the border’, but when your ancestors named it so, they meant a border between the Saxons and the Welsh - now, however, it is truly the land on the border for the Bifrost is opened. The paths between all the Nine Worlds are available for any creature that would tread them. Your village is near those paths. You will need to be alert and cautious and you must be prepared for the dangers to come.”
The listening villagers gasped in alarm, but Nerian nodded and thanking the dwarf for his warning, turned to the children. “We have much to thank each of you for and it seems we may have to rely on your help again before long, although next time I hope you will not be quite so much on your own.”
He then stood up and moved towards Anna. “As for you, daughter: it appears that I may have been hasty in my decision of a few days ago.”
“What do you mean, father?”
“I mean that I have changed my mind. I was mindful of our traditions, as was Iden, when I refused to let you train as a warrior. These past few days suggest that we were wrong. Moreover, if the gods have decreed that you are our champion and Woden has given you that magnificent sword, then who am I to argue?”
“Do you mean ...”
Nerian smiled down at her and nodded.
“Yes, Anna. You may train as a warrior. You will be our shield maiden.”
The End