And though one could not see it, if a person stood near enough, he could hear the tree's beating heart.
As the Heart Tree drank the wizards' blood up its veins and into its branches and leaves, it was impossible for the blood to return. As the blood never separated, the protective spell of the Unbreakable Barrier never sensed anything was wrong, so it never activated.
The level of blood in the pond went lower and lower. The level of blood in the pond was now at its lowest level. It needed to be drained just a little more so that the barrier would disappear entirely.
No one could stop and destroy the Heart Tree.
The black shiny bark of the tree was like tempered-steel, turning any blade.
Hammers and axes caused no damage.
The tree withstood the bitter depths of an Aarlund winter.
And fire caused no damage, either.
There was only one way to destroy the Heart Tree and few knew that secret.
Epilogue
Verdandi, one of the three Norns who live in Yggdrasil, stopped weaving, said: “Sisters, did you feel the change in the Tapestry?”
Urd nodded, then shook her head in disbelief, and said: “I have not felt that thread in the Norse Tapestry for many a year.”
Skuld exclaimed: “It is too soon. The runes Odin carved on Yggdrasil and the Midgard Serpent are not aligned to create the Sorceress. This must be an Eldritch Abomination. She makes a mockery of our reality. She must be destroyed.”
“Do not use Eldritch Abomination lightly, sister,” scolded Urd. “How do you know it is not time for the Sorceress to be born? It must be predestined.”
Skuld scoffed and said: “Here, I will prove she is an Eldritch Abomination, sisters, and not the Sorceress. I will cut her thread.”
“No!” cried Urd and Verdandi.
Verdandi urged: “We must remain impartial to the Tapestry.”
Urd violently nodded her head, said, “We cut threads that Yggdrasil or the Midgard Serpent tell us to cut, we do not make the decisions alone.”
But their words were too late. By now, Skuld had found the thread and snapped her scissors closed around it.
The thread did not cut.
Skuld looked shocked as did Urd and Verdandi, who could not believe their sister had tried.
Skuld said: “I still refuse to believe that thread is the Sorceress. She is an Eldritch Abomination. And if I cannot cut her thread, then I will find others on Midgard who will.”
Verdandi asked: “Who does that thread belong to?”
Skuld inspected the thread more closely. “Odd, Queen Astrid is the Eldritch Abomination,” she said. “But she was not born an Eldritch Abomination. Ah, I see she has been bathed in both magic of dark and light, chaos and order, Yggdrasil and the Midgard Serpent. She is no Sorceress, but someone has twisted the runes on Yggdrasil and the Midgard Serpent to favor her. This manipulation smacks of the elves and their necromancy. They have been eager for the Sorceress to return. According to their legends, she is the prophesized one that will lead the elves to rule over all the Norse realms.”
Urd scoffed and said: “Neither Queen Astrid nor the elves have the raw magical power needed to create a Sorceress. Bathing her in both light and dark magic should not be enough to create a Sorceress. But then again, we have never fully understood how a Sorceress is made, have we sisters.”
Verdandi looked ashamed. “I have never seen a Sorceress be born,” she admitted.
“We have,” said Skuld, pointing at Urd and herself. “I have seen two. Urd has seen one. We always had warnings, we could feel the runes on Yggdrasil and the Midgard Serpent slowly emerge from the shadows. This time does not feel right. It feels forced. As I said: Queen Astrid is no Sorceress, she is an Eldritch Abomination.”
“We may not interfere in the Tapestry,” warned Urd.
Skuld laughed, then said: “And which one of my dear sisters warned the people of Midgard about the Chosen? Do not lecture me about interfering, especially when the Sorceress may or may not be born. If an assassin cannot kill an Eldritch Abomination, then I will admit she is the Sorceress.”
–End–
Read THE PROPHECY OF ASGARD, the next story in THE SORCERESS AND THE NORNS epic fantasy adventure!
The Abomination of Asgard Page 32