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Sidroc the Dane

Page 48

by Octavia Randolph


  It was late afternoon when Sidroc found his uncle. He was back at Weland’s stall, collecting the newly mated spears, when Yrling passed, coming from the mare’s paddock. He fell in with Sidroc, admiring the new spear-points, which his weapon-smith had embellished with an incised pattern chiseled into the hard metal at throat and socket.

  A quantity of spears were always kept at the ready in holders in the hall, but each man had also his favourites, especially of the shorter, lighter throwing spears. Yrling and his nephews kept theirs within the treasure room, and they walked together so Sidroc might place these two new shafts there.

  Yrling had closed the treasure-room door behind them; it was ever kept thus. The single window set high in the wall let in strong light; a sharp yellowy oblong striking the wood floor boards, making the slow moving motes of dust dance on its path.

  Sidroc had not been inside since the bride-ale. His eyes were drawn to his uncle’s low bed. It was transformed. Feather-cushions sat piled in abundance at its head, and over its breadth lay a throw of squared wolf-pelts, sewn together. The thickness of the fur, in shades of grey, black, and cream, gave strong contrast to the many hard surfaces of the room, and beckoned the eye.

  “I am expecting news,” Yrling said. “A rider.”

  Bed, cushions, and wolf skins were pushed out of Sidroc’s mind. Four Stones had sent out its own rider to seek news of Hingvar and Svein.

  “What I hear will tell me what I must do,” his uncle went on.

  “But you will ride, either way,” Sidroc posed.

  For answer Yrling gave a nod.

  Sidroc did not expect to hear more, not now. And the rider had yet to appear, to sway his uncle’s decision, whether to aid or oppose the two brothers.

  His nephew’s eyes returned to the bed.

  “It is soon to leave your wife,” he said.

  “Já,” Yrling allowed. “Riding away – ” he did not finish, only gave a shake of his head. “But the return,” he grinned, and himself looked to the fur-caped bed.

  “I have no child,” Yrling went on, “not that I know of. With my wife I hope to have many. Sons and daughters both.”

  Sidroc gave his own nod. Sons were needed to fight, daughters to wed and forge alliances with. Any offspring from the Jarl of Four Stones and the daughter of Ælfwyn of Cirenceaster would be both valued, and valuable.

  Sidroc’s next words were no idle praise. “If your sons take after you in arms, and your daughters after their mother in beauty, all Lindisse could be yours.”

  Yrling gave a short laugh, but with it an affirming nod. “Right now securing Cirenceaster is what concerns me. But if more of Lindisse comes my way...”

  The pause that followed was broken by Sidroc. They were still standing not far from where he had propped up his new spears. There was a small table and two short benches in the room, but neither made for them. Like much of importance, what Sidroc wished to say was best said on his feet.

  “I have had need to speak to you,” he began. “It is, in its way, about your wife.”

  He had Yrling’s full attention at this.

  “The lady she has brought with her – I want her for my own.”

  He read the surprise in his uncle’s face.

  “She has, I think, nothing,” is what Yrling said. They could hardly count the pony in her list of material assets; and his nephew had plenty of good horses.

  Sidroc shook his head.

  “She has all I want. I have silver enough, and soon I will have gold. But it is only she I want, as my wife.”

  Yrling looked at his nephew, and considered his declaration. He nodded. “Then I will tell Ælfwyn that the maid must wed you.”

  Sidroc was swift in his answer. “Nej.”

  He did not want her by force. He searched his mind to find something in Yrling’s past to compare this to.

  “Your chestnut mare, which you were so proud of back in Jutland. You bought her young, half-broken. You gentled her yourself, for you saw her value. You saw her spirit, and her beauty, did not want to crush either.”

  He let this stir his uncle’s memory, and settle in his mind.

  “It is the same way with me, and this maid. She – she is like a shield-maiden. She has a fierceness about her, which I do not wish to harm.”

  Yrling could do nothing but assent. “Then she is yours,” he agreed. “No other will claim her.” He began to grin. “Whether she will take the bit willingly is up to you.”

  Sidroc left both treasure room and hall. He stood a moment in the forecourt between hall and stable, saw his bay stallion there in the paddock. In the mare’s paddock was another of his horses, a young bay mare, never bred, in every way a match to the stallion. Looking at her he recalled his vow, unkept, to Freyja, to make Offering to this Goddess.

  Out on the road he had lain with a hungry woman of Lindisse and afterwards gazed at the night sky. An image of the woman he would want as his own came to him, of that Bright One he had been told of by Åfrid when he was still a boy. He had vowed that night to honour Freyja, to make Offering to her, so that she would bring that woman to his side. He had not. Now, despite his neglected vow, she was here.

  It was coming dusk. He walked through work yards and kitchen yard, and out through that door through which he had stormed in one cold dawn, sword drawn, to take this place. The path, well-travelled through the Winter-dried growth, was there, leading to the Place of Offering.

  He went there, to a place of death, a trench filled with broken weapons and the tattered carcasses of sacrificed animals. But one thing alive was there, at the edge, its boughs spreading under the dimming sky, tight buds ready to unfurl fresh leaves. It was the beech tree. As he looked it seemed to reach for him.

  He was back at dawn, having taken a lump of amber and a small silver mantle-pin from his store of treasure. He would burn them together, offer their beauty in service to the Goddess. Freyja was Goddess of love and lust, and in claiming her share of fallen warriors to bring to her jewelled hall in Asgard she too was Goddess of war. There would be war ahead of him, he knew.

  He turned his back on the trench with its scent of death, and its rotting statue of Odin. He went to the beech, so womanly a tree, its buds full of promise, like she who he desired. He had oil-sprinkled charcoal with him, and the striker he always carried. He knelt at the grasping roots of the great tree, and stacked stones to cup his flame. The charcoal sparked, a red ripple of fire sliding across its surface. The amber smoked, the silver softened. The two began to meld and mingle, the tree-gold of amber, and the circle of precious silver, falling inward on each other at the fire’s touch, running together until they were one.

  Here ends Sidroc the Dane. Here begins Book One of The Circle of Ceridwen Saga.

  Now that you have finished my book, won’t you please go to Kobo.com and write a few words about it? Your review is the very best way new readers have of finding great books! Thank you so much.

  The Circle of Ceridwen Saga:

  The Circle of Ceridwen: Book One

  Ceridwen of Kilton: Book Two

  The Claiming: Book Three

  The Hall of Tyr: Book Four

  Tindr: Book Five

  Silver Hammer, Golden Cross: Book Six

  Also by Octavia Randolph:

  Light, Descending

  The Tale of Melkorka: A Novella

  Ride: A Novella: The Story of Lady Godiva

  You've read the books - now enjoy the food. Your free Circle of Ceridwen Cookery Book(let) is waiting for you at www.octavia.net.

  Ten easy, delicious, and authentic recipes from the Saga, including Barley Browis, Roast Fowl, Baked Apples, Oat Griddle Cakes, Lavender-scented Pudding, and of course - Honey Cakes. Charmingly illustrated with medieval woodcuts and packed with fascinating facts about Anglo-Saxon and Viking cookery. Free when you join the Circle, my mailing list. Be the first to know of new novels, have the opportunity to become a First Reader, and more
. Get your Cookery Book(let) now and get cooking!

  The Glossary of Terms and other background information follow.

  The Wheel of the Year

  Candlemas - 2 February

  St Gregory’s Day - 12 March

  St Cuthbert’s Day - The Spring Equinox, about 21 March

  St Elgiva’s Day - 18 May

  High Summer or Mid-Summer Day - 24 June

  Sts Peter and Paul - 29 June

  Hlafmesse (Lammas) - 1 August

  St Mary’s Day - 15 August

  St Matthews’ Day - The Fall Equinox, about 21 September

  All Saints - 1 November

  The month of Blót - November; the time of Offering

  Martinmas (St Martin’s) - 11 November

  Yuletide - 25 December to Twelfthnight - 6 January

  Winter’s Nights - the Norse end of the year rituals, ruled by women, marked by feasting and ceremony

  Anglo-Saxon Place Names, with Modern Equivalents

  Æscesdun = Ashdown

  Æthelinga = Athelney

  Apulder = Appledore

  Basingas = Basing

  Beardan = Bardney

  Bryeg = Bridgenorth

  Caeginesham = Keynsham

  Cippenham = Chippenham

  Cirenceaster = Cirencester

  Defenas = Devon

  Englafeld = Englefield

  Ethandun = Edington

  Exanceaster = Exeter

  Fearnhamme = Farnham

  Geornaham = Irnham

  Glastunburh = Glastonbury

  Hamtunscir = Hampshire

  Hreopedun = Repton

  Jorvik (Danish name for Eoforwic) = York

  Legaceaster = Chester

  Limenemutha = Lymington in Hampshire

  Lindisse = Lindsey

  Lundenwic = London

  Meredune = Marton

  Middeltun = Milton

  Readingas = Reading

  Sceaftesburh = Shaftesbury

  Snotingaham = Nottingham

  Sumorsaet = Somerset

  Swanawic = Swanage

  Turcesig = Torksey

  Wedmor = Wedmore

  Witanceaster (where the Witan, the King’s advisors, met) = Winchester

  Frankland = France

  Haithabu = Hedeby

  Norse Place Names:

  Aros = Aarhus, Denmark

  Laaland = the island of Lolland, Denmark

  Land of the Svear = Sweden

  Glossary of Terms

  alvar: a stretch of barren (yet often beautiful) limestone landscape, supporting rock-loving lichens and mosses.

  Anskar: (also, Ansgar) Saint Anskar began as a Frankish monk, born in Amiens. He was sent to Denmark as a missionary, and had success in converting King Erik of Jutland. He was permitted to build a church and to preach in Ribe in 854, but his adherents lapsed into heathenism following his departure, and death in Bremen.

  Asgard: Heavenly realm of the Gods.

  brewster: the female form of brewer (and, interestingly enough, the female form of baker is baxter…so many common names are rooted in professions and trades…).

  browis: a cereal-based stew, often made with fowl or pork.

  chaff: the husks of grain after being separated from the usable kernel.

  cooper: a maker of casks and barrels.

  (to) coppice: the act of sawing a healthy tree down, and allowing a ring of straight, round shoots to spring from the trunk; these were much desired as spear shafts and strong flexible poles.

  cresset: stone, bronze, or iron lamp fitted with a wick that burnt oil.

  dísir: female household spirits, celebrated at Winter’s Nights feasts.

  ealdorman: a nobleman with jurisdiction over given lands; the rank was generally appointed by the King and not necessarily inherited from generation to generation. The modern derivative alderman in no way conveys the esteem and power of the Anglo-Saxon term.

  fulltrúi: the Norse deity patron that one felt called to dedicate oneself to.

  fylgja: a Norse guardian spirit, always female, unique to each family.

  Gandr: Norse magical spell-work. Norse culture was steeped in the belief of sorcery and spell-work. Galdr was another form, and was performative magic, in which the spell was sung. The use of magical charms and amulets, love potions, and curses was widespread. Women were typically the practitioners of magic, and the Goddess Freyja was revered for her magical prowess. Odin too practiced magic, unusual for any male figure. Seidr was the deepest, most dangerous form of magic, taught by Freyja to Odin.

  hackle: the splitting and combing of fibres of flax or hemp with opposing brush-like tools.

  hamingja: the Norse “luck-spirit” which each person is born with.

  hamr: in Norse belief, a person’s outer appearance and form as it appears to human eyes.

  hugr: in Norse belief, the essential nature of a person, hosted by the hamr, or outer shell. The hugr could be that of a wild and ferocious beast; an “ulfshugr” was a man with the essence of a wolf.

  Jutland: the large peninsula of Denmark, joined to modern day Germany at its southern-most point. The western coast of Jutland is on the North Sea, across which lies Great Britain.

  kith and kine: kin – family members – and cattle.

  knorr: also knarr. A merchant ship.

  lur: a horn of bronze or wood, with a long curving neck, used to summon folk, marshal forces, and call cattle, in the Viking age.

  medlar: a bushy tree, part of the rose family, which gives small, brown, and delicious fruit, eaten raw or cooked down into jams or sauces. Medlars were valued as they gave their fruit in Winter, when anything fresh was scarce. The fruit needs to rest, or “blet”, so that it begins to ferment to reach its full flavour, thus it is a good keeper.

  Midgard: the “Middle Earth” of men.

  morgen-gyfu: literally, “morning-gift”; a gift given by a husband to his new wife the first morning they awake together.

  quern: hand tool for grinding grain into flour. The domed top stone (the “handstone”) often of sandstone or limestone, sits atop the quern stone, with the kernels of grain in between. The top stone is turned by a wooden dowel inserted in a hole atop the dome. This made grinding grain possible for almost all households.

  rauk: the striking sea- and wind-formed limestone towers on the coast of Gotland.

  seax: the angle-bladed dagger which gave its name to the Saxons; all freemen carried one.

  scop: (“shope”) a poet, saga-teller, or bard, responsible not only for entertainment but seen as a collective cultural historian. A talented scop would be greatly valued by his lord and receive land, gold and silver jewellery, costly clothing and other riches as his reward.

  shingle beach: a pebbly, rather than sandy, beach.

  skald: a Norse poet and singer of Saga tales, comparable to an Anglo-Saxon scop (see above).

  skep: a bee hive formed of coils of plaited straw, built up into a conical shape.

  skeggox: steel battle-axe favoured by the Danes.

  skirrets: a sweet root vegetable similar to carrots, but cream-coloured, and having several fingers on each plant.

  skogkatt: “forest cat”; the ancestor of the modern Norwegian Forest Cat, known for its large size, climbing ability, and thick and water-shedding coat.

  skogsrå: “Lady of the Forest”; a womanly wood spirit who protected woodland animals, and yet guided hunters she favoured.

  Skuld: the eldest of the three Norns, and she who snips the Thread of Life, signalling death. Her very name means “debt”. The Thread of Life is pulled out to length by her daughter Verdandi, and spun by her granddaughter Urd.

  spotted fever: typhus.

  strakes: overlapping wooden planks, running horizontally, making up a ship’s hull.

  symbel: a ceremonial high occasion for the Angle-Saxons, marked by the giving of gifts, making of oaths, swearing of fidelity, and (
of course) drinking ale.

  tæfl or Cyningtæfl (“King’s table”): a board game of strategy.

  thegn: (“thane”) a freeborn warrior-retainer of a lord; thegns were housed, fed and armed in exchange for complete fidelity to their sworn lord. Booty won in battle by a thegn was generally offered to their lord, and in return the lord was expected to bestow handsome gifts of arms, horses, arm-rings, and so on to his best champions.

  thrummy: from the noun “thrum”, meaning the rough, uneven ends of the warp strings left behind on the loom when the fabric is cut free. “Thrummy hair” would then be tousled, uncombed, or uneven.

  trev: a settlement of a few huts, smaller than a village.

  Tyr: the God of war, law, and justice. He voluntarily forfeited his sword-hand to allow the Gods to deceive, and bind, the gigantic wolf Fenrir.

  Tyr-hand: in this Saga, any left-handed person, named so in honour of Tyr’s sacrifice.

  wadmal: the Norse name for the coarse and durable woven woollen fabric that was a chief export in the Viking age.

  verjuice: “green juice”; an acidic juice from unripe grapes or crabapples, much used as we would vinegar.

  völva: a female seer in the Norse religion, accorded much respect for her ability to predict the future. Völvas employed magical chanting and singing, the eating of herbs and potions, and the use of a scepter-like wand in their trances. (See Gandr for more on Norse magic).

  woad: a free-growing herbaceous perennial plant, its leaves used for its astringent, antiseptic, and blood-staunching properties, and to produce the colour blue for fabric dying.

  wither: the highest point at the top of the shoulder of a horse or deer, marked by a projecting knob.

  withy: a willow or willow wand; withy-man: a figure woven from such wands.

  wool-wax: (also wool-oil, wool-fat) All earlier names for lanolin. Lanolin was extracted from sheep's wool by boiling washed wool in water. When the pan was left to cool, a milky white grease would be floating on top - the sheep's waterproofing. The globules were further refined by squeezing them through linen cloths. Lanolin was invaluable as a simple remedy for chapped and roughened skin. Blended with powdered or crushed herbs, it served as a medicinal salve.

 

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