by Griff Hosker
At Haustmánuður we harvested our crops. It was ten times the yield of the one on the island of ice and fire. We had enough for a winter of bread and beer. The bread ovens were lit and beer was brewed. When the first of the bread was baked, we drank mead and the berry beer we called Rek’s Blood. It was a heady brew. There were a couple of fights. They only resulted in blows and a bloody nose. Arne ended them but they also resulted in a liaison. I did not drink as much as the others. I saw Fótr and the elder of Rek’s sisters, Reginleif, heading off, hand in hand towards the forest. Fótr now had a beard and they were of an age but I did not want them rushing into something. I followed. They were loud and I was not. I saw them head for a clearing. We had been thinning the forest and they found a patch which had been warmed by the sun. They lay down and Fótr began to stroke Reginleif’s hair.
I stepped out from behind a tree and they both jumped to their feet, “Brother I…”
I held up my hand, “There is nothing untoward here. You came for peace and quiet. I understand that. However, this is the forest and it is a dangerous place.” I looked at Fótr. “We would not wish anything to happen to Reginleif would we? She and her sister are in our care. We are responsible.” I stared hard at him and he nodded. “Now if you wish to be as one then you need to seek the permission of the one who is responsible.”
He frowned and said, “That would be you!”
“Aye, little brother, it would. What say we go back to the hall and tomorrow, when your breath does not smell of wine the two of you can speak to me and tell me that which is in your heart.”
They rose and walked back to the hall. As we neared them, I saw Gytha watching us. They scurried past her and she smiled, “You take your responsibilities seriously. They are both young. Nothing would have happened.” She linked my arm and led me towards the feasting. “I worry that you take everything too seriously. You are young. Live.”
“But what of your dream; my dream?”
“What will happen will happen. You need not fear for the future. All of your present prepares you for the future. Your father, mother, Edmund are the work of Urðr, your past. Verðandi she weaves what we do each day. That is the now. It is what happens this day and what you do. Skuld is the mischievous one for she plots for the future. She has spun with her sisters and tied your thread to…” she shrugged, “I know not.” She nodded with her head towards Ada who was sitting by the bay and she was alone. “She needs comfort. She needs a man. There is no harm and no dishonour, Erik, what is it they are calling you now? Bear Killer.”
I shook my head, “I am still happy to be Erik the Navigator. I will go and speak to her. I do not like to see people unhappy.”
I went to the rock upon which she sat. The sun was setting in the west. It was a special place to watch the sun setting for it disappeared over the land but illuminated the sea. It looked as though the sea was on fire. She turned as I neared her. I smiled, “It is good to watch the sunset in the west and over land. Who would have thought it?”
She nodded, “You. When all of us believed you were foolish and then lost you held on to your dream. My son believed in you.” She shivered.
“Are you cold?” I put my arm around her and she snuggled into me.
“No, it is just that I thought someone was walking over my grave.” She smiled. “It was a phrase my grandmother used to use.” She squeezed my arm and looked fearful, “Is it the spirits? Is it Dreng?”
I thought about it and nodded, “It could be. He and the other boys often sat on this rock to watch the sunset. Perhaps his spirit is here. Gytha believes that whatever killed him came from this island.”
“Just like Dómhilda and her son Rek.”
“The bear is dead.”
She whispered, “I do not wish to be alone this night. I would have you lie with me.”
“I cannot be your man. It is not you, it is…” I tapped my head, “something in here.”
“I am a woman and I have needs. You are a man. That is all that this is.” She smiled, “For my part, I love you for you have done that which you promised and cared for my family. There are no bonds binding you.”
I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickling. I looked around and saw Gytha looking at me. She was smiling and she nodded. I stood and took Ada’s arm. “Come. I will try to give you comfort but I know nothing.”
She smiled and there was a glint in her eye, “Fear not. I know enough for both of us.” She led me to her sleeping fur. There were no others in the hall. She took off her tunic and I saw why she had shivered. She was naked. She held her hand up and I took it.
I woke in the middle of the night. I needed to make water. The hall was filled with sleeping bodies. Ada just murmured in her sleep but did not wake. Slipping on my breeks I headed outside. I saw the back of the night sentry. He was standing by the fire. I went to the trees and made water. As I headed back to the hall the sentry turned and I saw it was Arne. He was smiling.
“I thought to take a turn as sentry this night. You are now a man.”
“How…”
“The whole clan knows. It is good. There were some warriors who thought you preferred the company of men. I knew that was not true.”
I shook my head, “I will not be marrying Ada. She knows this.”
“Of course. No one expects you to. We all know that the Allfather has chosen you. Your seed will be in Ada. Perhaps she will be fruitful and bear a son. I would like a nephew but when you walk around tomorrow no one will judge you. If I am any judge Ada will become a different person now. She will become the woman she was before Ebbe died. Her life can begin anew.”
I said nothing. The whole clan knew and yet only Gytha had spoken. I stared out to sea.
Arne said, “The summer is done and soon we will have winter. When the new grass comes, I would take men to the other islands. In the fullness of time, we will need more land and more animals. Let us plan earlier this time eh?”
I nodded. The Norns were spinning.
Chapter 19
When Fótr and Reginleif came to see me, at noon when I returned from checking the lobster pots, I had already made my mind up what to say. Fótr drew himself up. He was getting as tall as me. “We would be wed, brother. You are her foster father and I must ask you.”
I nodded, “You are both young and this is a big decision.” I let my words hang in the air, like a sword about to descend. “You both wish this?”
Reginleif nodded and gripped Fótr’s arm, “We both wish it.” She smiled, “My mother was not old, Erik the Navigator. She had but fourteen years with my father. I am a woman now and I would have children. Fótr is a good man and he tried to save me and my mother. He was a friend of my brother. This is meant to be. Let us try to find some happiness.”
“Then when it is the winter solstice you shall be wed.”
They both looked disappointed. Reginleif more than my brother. “But that is four moons away.”
“And in four moons you will both be a little older and I hope, wiser. I have made my decision.”
Fótr said, “This is good. We will have the long days of winter to lie together.”
“Until then you do not misuse my trust.”
Gytha smiled when I told her. This is good for the clan. You are making it stronger. And Ada is now a different woman. I saw her this morning and she was laughing. Her children have seen a difference. You are a healer as well as a navigator.”
“My brother would have us explore the other islands.”
“That is good.”
I was surprised. I had thought our volva would have wished us to stay together. She seemed to read my thoughts, “The clan is growing. Remember Orkneyjar?” I nodded. “We two families were the only ones for many miles. Here we live in each other’s laps. It might create conflict. I am happy to live like this but look at Benni. He chose the woods. He likes the solitude even though his daughter lives here with Eidel. There will be others and that means we must spread. Your brother is a good le
ader. He is making the right decisions.”
What I knew was the sea. There I was comfortable. Perhaps it would be good to sail the snekke around the islands. Then I realized that I would only have Fótr with me. Sven was now married and had asked Arne if he could build a house on the western side of the island. He would be a hunter. My world was changing.
Even by Mörsugur, we had had no snow and although the air was cooler, we had had neither frost nor sleet. Even stranger was the fact that we still had daylight for hours each day. Even Gytha was perplexed and pleased at the same time. Our second crop was growing. We would have a spring harvest. Our routine was upset and we had to rethink it. Instead of hiding in our halls to keep warm we could continue to work. We began to clear, in the month before Mörsugur, another field closer to our hall. It kept the men warm, hewing the trees and it provided kindling. The logs were stored. We had yet to decide upon a use for them. Some men wished a knarr. There were some who wished us to trade but with whom? I joined the men to cut down the trees and I used one of the newly forged axes. Some men favoured building a second drekar while others spoke of building small halls for everyone. Arne showed his wisdom by remaining silent and allowing others to argue for him.
We put some of the logs to immediate use. We built a barn for the animals. We had shared a hall with them on the land of ice and fire but here we had no need. There were no cattle thieves here. There were no wolves to take them in the night. Once we had cleared the trees and begun to remove the stumps Arne divided the men into two and I joined Snorri to build the barn. Egilleif and Ebbe, along with Fótr joined me. Fótr now had a good beard and Ebbe had taken to simulating him. As we split some of the trees to make planks, he asked Fótr, “When you are married will you be a farmer?”
“I will be as my brother, Erik, I will be a sailor. There are islands to explore out there and the jarl wishes us to do so when the new grass comes.”
I had been thinking about this, “It may be, Fótr, that we can do that sooner. This clement weather has taken us all by surprise. This may be a land free from ice and snow. The days might not be as short here as they were even at Larswick. We have yet to reach the winter solstice. When we do I will decide. We might sail then.” I smiled, “Of course, you being a married man may not wish that!”
He had been teased by the other men and knew how to respond, “We will only sail in the hours of daylight. Being away in the day will make Reginleif even happier to see me when I return.”
“Foster father, could I come with you? My sister helps the women and my mother. I am coming to the age of a man.”
“Of course. It was remiss of me not to invite you. Just because I am your foster father does not mean that you have to follow me. You may not wish to be a sailor.”
He hefted some branches on his back and began to carry them to the woodpile, “You are more than a sailor, foster father.” He dropped them and returned. “You are a warrior. You slew as many men in the battle with the Danes as did the jarl. You slew one bear alone and helped to kill a second. You are a man to follow.”
Fótr had finished placing the wedges in the trunk and he stood, with his hands on his hips, stretching his back, “He is right, brother. Arne is the jarl but you are the one the young men try to copy.” He pointed to the bear’s teeth necklace I wore around my neck. I had drilled each tooth and threaded them onto a piece of thin hide. “Each time they see the teeth it is a reminder that you were the one who drove the bear from my body. You were the one who saved the girls.”
“Then perhaps I should not wear it.” I had chosen to wear it not as a badge of honour but a reminder to myself of how parlous life was. Rek had died because of the bear. I wanted the teeth to help me respect nature. I did so at sea but on the land, I knew that I had been reckless and that had been Rek’s undoing. He had tried to copy me.
“It matters not. They will still emulate you.”
That evening, as I lay in Ada’s arms, I told her that Ebbe had asked to sail with me. “That is good. He will be safe with you.”
“Sailing with me cost Dreng his life.”
“Aye I know but that was The Sisters.” She snuggled into me and began to nibble my ear. “I have news.”
I nodded absentmindedly. Most of Ada’s news was the gossip from the cheese making or the shellfish cleaning. “Aye?”
“I am with child. You are to be a father.”
I sat bolt upright, “What?”
Laughing, she pulled me down to lie with her again, “The bairn will be born at Sólmánuður. Perhaps he will arrive in this world on that most propitious of days, the summer solstice.”
“Are you happy about this? We are not wed.”
“Of course, I am happy. I chose you. You did not choose me. In fact, you went out of your way to reject me! I am the envy of many of the women. There are other widows who wish men. I was the one chose the last warrior.”
I had planned none of this. When I had chosen Dreng all those years before then my thread and Ada’s had been woven together. Her husband had died and the Norns had spun us closer. Dreng’s death had not severed the thread, it had tightened it. Wyrd.
Once we had built the barn we went hunting. The rutting season was on and there would be weakened stags who could be culled. There were older animals who might not survive the winter. Arne left six men to watch the halls and the rest of us took bows and spears to hunt Butar’s deer. We had not hunted them but we knew where they were. The sounds of the rut drew us. We had no dogs and that was a pity. Dogs would have helped us. Instead, we used the boys and the young men as hounds. Ebbe and Fótr were given fire hardened ash spears and they were sent to the flanks of our hunting party. They would drive the animals into our trap in the middle. Gytha had spoken to the hunters before we set out. She had spun a spell to protect us. We all remembered the bear. “Kill only the weak. The deer on this island are ours. We husband them as we do our cows and pigs. You will need to show strength and intelligence. You are the Clan of the Fox and you are clever!” Perhaps Arne should have spoken but the words, coming from a volva, seemed more powerful.
Fótr and Ebbe wore hide jerkins. They also had hide caps. I warned them of the dangers of charging deer. Fótr had laughed, “Brother, I helped you after one nearly killed you. You need not fear. I respect the deer and I will watch Ebbe.”
We left before dawn for the days were a little shorter than they had been. Arne led us so that we approached the herd from the west. The wind blew their musky smell towards us and we were between them and the scrubland they used for protection. I had my yew bow. The arrowheads had been recovered from the bear and I had used some of the poorer metal to increase my metal-tipped arrows to thirty. I had made a hide bag for them and I wore it around my waist. My skill with the bow and the power of the yew made me the envy of the younger warriors. Others had bows but most had spears.
We heard the clash of heads as the males rutted. With no predators to fear and no other men on the island, we could afford to take our time and watch where we placed each foot. We were in a long line. The boys on the flanks had ten paces between them but the warriors in the middle had just five. All could see Arne. We kept moving closer. The archers each had an arrow nocked. The deer were just fifty paces from us when one old female raised her head and sniffed. We had to attack now while they were unaware of our presence. Arne raised his spear and then brought it down. I sent my arrow into the side of the old doe’s head as the boys on the flanks began a clamour. They were boys and they had been reckless. They had advanced beyond the herd so that panic set in and the deer just ran in every direction. I prayed that Ebbe and Fótr had shown discretion. Then I had to concentrate as one stag, wounded already from the rut, led some females towards us. Arne and Siggi took down the male with their spears. I saw only young and I held my arrow. Then I saw an older male and it was limping. It still had heart and it gamely limped towards us.
I had an arrow nocked already. The tip was one I had used to kill the bear. I had name
d it Bear Heart. I aimed at the stag’s head. It lumbered towards me. Deer had thick skulls and my arrow would struggle to penetrate it but the eye was a target. I allowed the deer to close with me. The animal had widened eyes and its mouth was open. This was one angry deer. I waited until the animal was five paces from me. I released and prepared to dive to the side. The Allfather guided Bear Heart and my arrow flew straight and true into the eye. The metal tip struck the brain of the beast and it died instantly. Its dying hooves carried it closer and it sighed its death at my feet. I knelt and touched its skull, “You had a warrior’s death. It was brave and it was quick. I pray for such a death!”
I turned and looked at Siggi and Arne. My brother shook his head, “We are the brothers of the blade but you either have more courage than any man I know or you have the death wish! What if your arrow had missed?”
“Then you would have to be the foster father to Ada’s unborn son and I would be in the Otherworld!”
He shook his head and Siggi clapped me on the back. “I am glad that you are in this clan. You give us more to speak of than any other warrior! Life is never dull with you cuz!”
Fótr and Ebbe were unharmed although Gandálfr’s son Leif had been knocked to the ground and had a bloody coxcomb. His father had little sympathy for him, “You are as clumsy as your mother. Perhaps I should bring her next time!” He was raising his son a Viking.
The hunt meant that when the solstice came, we had plenty of meat for the feast. Fótr and Reginleif were married and the clan ate better than they ever had. Unlike the winters at Larswick and the land of ice and fire, here there was plenty to eat. We had daylight. We had berry wine and ale. We had bread from our ovens. We had lobsters and crabs. We even had that most luxurious of foods, honeyed oatcakes. Life was good.