The Guests of Odin

by Gavin Chappell

  They had a good wind, which Brana brewed with her magic, and it took them to the Hladey islands, where the woman who ruled them, who was called Hladgerd, greeted them. They stayed there in honour for some time, and when they departed for England, Hladgerd told them they would be welcome at any time.

  They reached England and came to the city of King Olaf. Halfdan gained an audience with the king who asked him who he was.

  Halfdan said, “I am a merchant and I seek shelter over the winter.”

  The king granted him this boon, and he secured his treasure in his ship, leaving his men to guard over it before going ashore again with Sigurd and Sigmund.

  One day they were walking in the city when they came to a wooden fence. Inside it was a beautiful garden and at the centre of the garden was a well-built bower. Halfdan asked his friends if they could run across the garden, and they tried. Sigurd got a third of the way across, Sigmund got halfway across, but Halfdan crossed the garden and came to the bower where he saw a young woman playing catch with a gold bauble. She dropped the bauble and couldn’t find it however hard she searched. Halfdan went up to her and gave her a large piece of gold.

  She thanked him, and said, “You are a very handsome man.” She added, “I wish my kinswoman, Marsibil, knew you because you have a lot in common.”

  She returned to her bower and Halfdan re-joined the brothers.

  The maiden was Alfifa, daughter of Sigurd, king of Scarborough, uncle of King Olaf. She gave her mistress, Princess Marsibil, the gold she had got from Halfdan and described him to her, saying, “He is your equal.” Angry with this, Princess Marsibil boxed her ear. Alfifa burst into tears and they spoke no more.

  Halfdan returned to the bower another day, when he saw the princess herself, combing her hair with a comb of gold. She told him to go away, but he gave her the grass Brana had given him. He went away, and she went to her bedchamber, where she put the grass on her pillow and slept.

  In the morning, she summoned Alfifa and commanded her: “Go to Halfdan and bring him to me.”

  Alfifa was resentful but did as she was told. When Halfdan came before the princess, she admitted that she could not stop thinking of him. She asked him to visit her often.

  By now, Halfdan was so popular with Olaf that the king had him sit beside him on the dais. When the landwarden Aki returned, he was jealous of Halfdan’s popularity, and he tried to turn the king against the foreigner.

  One night, when the king and his retinue had been drinking, and Olaf was asleep, Aki challenged Halfdan to a swimming contest. The contest was set for next day and everyone came, including the king. Halfdan wore his mailcoat, Brana’s gift. Aki leapt in, and Halfdan came after him. Halfdan held Aki under the water so long that when he let the landwarden go, Aki scrambled from the water and went home with all his men. Halfdan played many swimming games in the water and then returned with the king to the hall. The next day Halfdan told the princess about this, and she warned him to beware of Aki. “He will try to deceive you.”

  Aki next challenged Halfdan to a joust, to which Halfdan agreed. Aki had a horse named Longant, which was one of the best in England; only the princess’s horse, Spoliant, was better. When Halfdan told the princess what he had agreed to, she let him ride her own horse, but asked him to keep this secret. She sent Alfifa to the farmer who kept her horse, and the girl brought Spoliant back shortly after.

  In the joust, Halfdan unhorsed Aki. He became well-regarded because of this, while Aki fretted night and day, trying to think of ways to cut Halfdan down to size. He learnt of Halfdan’s sister, Ingibjorg, and decided that he would attack Halfdan by dishonouring her. When he came to her bower, however, she called on Brana, and Aki found himself stuck to the doorpost, and had to stand there all night, despite the cold wind and frost that came. In the morning, Halfdan learnt of this and came to see Aki, whereupon the landwarden found he could move. He left in anger, and plotted all the more against Halfdan.

  Aki invited the king to a feast, and Halfdan and his friends Sigmund and Sigurd accompanied him. The king and his immediate retinue drank in one place, while Halfdan and the others drank in a castle nearby. Aki plied them with drink. When they were all sleeping, he was going to set fire to the building and kill them all. When the foster-brothers’ clothes began to burn, a woman came out from the woods, entered the burning castle, and carried the sleeping men away. Halfdan awoke to discover Brana had rescued him.

  She scolded him for being fooled by Aki, but told him. “I cannot stay, since I have a week-old baby girl to care for back home.”

  She left him in anger, and the foster brothers awoke. They went to the king and told him what had happened. When Aki saw Brana, he and his men fled into the woods.

  The king returned home and prepared a great feast for Yule. One of the guests was Sigurd, king of Scarborough, and on the first night Princess Marsibil entered followed by her handmaidens, and Hild and Ingibjorg who sat beside her.

  King Sigurd asked Alfifa the name of the woman who sat on the princess’s right hand and Alfifa said, “She is called Ingibjorg and is sister of the merchant who came to the king that summer.”

  Her father told her, “Go to Princess Marsibil and arrange my marriage with Ingibjorg.”

  Alfifa did so, and Princess Marsibil asked him to discuss the match with Halfdan.

  The next day, the princess, King Sigurd and Halfdan met and the king asked Halfdan for his sister’s hand, which Marsibil encourage him to accept.

  Halfdan said, “I think it would be a good match if Sigurd married Hild.”

  He agreed to this, and Hild’s brothers agreed upon the courtship. The Yule feast became a wedding, and lasted for two weeks. King Sigurd gave gifts to many of the guests before returning to Scarborough with Hild, now his queen. Hild’s brother Sigurd accompanied them but Sigmund remained with Halfdan.

  Halfdan decided to leave England in the summer to avenge his father, and he told the princess of his intentions. She offered to give him twenty ships she owned, which were in the harbour. Halfdan thanked her, told his sister to remain Marsibil, to which she agreed, and took her leave of them both. He went to the king, thanked him for sheltering him over the winter, and took his leave, going with Sigmund to the ships that he had received from the princess.

  When Halfdan had gone, Aki came to the king and told him, “Halfdan slept with Princess Marsibil and she is with child.”

  The king believed him and angrily sent the landwarden with many men in pursuit of Halfdan.

  Halfdan and Sigmund were travelling through the forest when Aki rode to attack them. Halfdan and Sigmund stood back to back and defended themselves but Aki cut Sigmund’s feet from under him and killed him. Wrathful at Sigmund’s death, Halfdan slew all Aki’s men and took Aki prisoner, mutilating him horrifically and sending his broken but still living form on horseback to the king.

  Halfdan buried Sigmund in a mound and went to his ships where he told his men what he had done to Aki, and they approved. Then he set sail from England with his fleet, his own dragonship Skrauti in the vanguard. He reached the Hladey islands where Hladgerd gave him a warm reception and provided another twenty ships and crews to add to his fleet. Meanwhile, Aki returned to King Olaf with all his usual arrogance stripped from him. The king took one look at him and drove him from the court.

  Halfdan sailed away from the Hladey islands with his fleet and descended on Rugen. Soti and the other invaders hurried to battle on hearing of Halfdan’s approach, though none of the people of the island joined them. The two sides met on a level plain and then began a fierce battle.

  The Vikings fought ferociously and slew many of Halfdan’s warriors. Halfdan told them to defend themselves and not expose themselves to so much injury. They advanced and the tide of battle turned. Halfdan met Snaekoll, Soti’s brother, and slew him.

  When Soti saw this, he attacked Halfdan, swinging at him with his sword. Halfdan leapt into the air and Soti missed, his sword plunging into the earth. Halfdan cut
his legs from under him and he fell, mortally wounded. With his dying breath, Soti cursed Halfdan to forget all about Princess Marsibil.

  Halfdan and his men won the victory that day, but the curse was fulfilled. He became king but Princess Marsibil vanished from his thoughts.

  He was lying in bed one night when Brana came to him and told him to rise.

  “King Eirek of Constantinople has come to England to sue for Princess Marsibil’s hand. The princess has shut herself up in her bower and the king cannot reason with her.”

  It all came back to Halfdan, as if he had awoken from a dream. Alone he went to his dragonship Skrauti and set sail for England. A favourable wind blew up at once and Halfdan did not stop until he reached the harbour in England where he had previously weighed anchor.

  It was evening when Halfdan landed and he went ashore, soon coming to the princess’ bower. He climbed the fence and knocked on the door. Marsibil and Ingibjorg heard it, and Ingibjorg said, “I like the sound of that. I want to let our visitor in.”

  Marsibil gave her assent and Ingibjorg opened the door to her brother.

  The next day Halfdan went to the king and asked to marry Marsibil. King Olaf agreed, and it was arranged for King Eirek of Constantinople to marry Ingibjorg. King Sigurd of Scarborough was at court, and with him his daughter Alfifa and Halfdan’s blood-brother Sigurd, who were also getting married. The weddings were all held together. They all remained at court for two weeks in much splendour and the kings gave each other many gifts.

  King Eirek and his wife Ingibjorg travelled back to Constantinople where they ruled until they were old. Sigurd took Alfifa back to his home in Scotland to find that his father Angantyr was dead. He took the throne and they ruled the kingdom until their deaths, when Sigurd’s son Angantyr succeeded them.

  Halfdan took Marsibil back to his kingdom and they ruled there until King Olaf died. Then they ruled over England also and later Halfdan added Russia to his domain. They had a son named Richard, but Halfdan made his son-in-law Astro ruler of England.

  The Eternal Battle

  1. The Trolls

  Twenty-four years after the death of Frodi, King of Denmark at the hands of the sea king Mysing[5], in the days when Halfdan Brana’s Fosterling ruled over Russia and his son-in-law Astro was duke of England, a man named Erling was king of Upland in Norway. He had two sons, Sorli the Strong, and Sigvald, and a daughter named Ingibjorg. Erling found a man named Karmon to tutor them. When he was fifteen Sorli was highly skilled and stronger than any man in Norway; he was so big that no horse could carry him.

  When they were old enough, they became Vikings and fought many battles. Erlend gave Sorli five ships and many bold companions and Karmon also accompanied him on the voyage. He won the victory in every battle and soon he decided to return to Norway, but after a few days a great fog descended and they were lost. They sailed for several days without knowing where they were or where they were going. At last, they reached an unknown land where they weighed anchor. Sorli went ashore with eleven other men to scout out the area. The weather was mild and the land thickly wooded.

  They came to the side of a mountain and the prince and his men assembled in a clearing. Twelve men approached, huge and swarthy, with iron-rimmed shields and metal-studded cudgels. Battle broke out and after a short while the big men killed all Sorli’s companions but Sorli slew them all in turn. Weary, he sat down and rested before deciding he would return to the ships.

  Then he heard a noise from nearby and went to investigate. He went further into the wood along the mountainside until he came to a cave with a window in it. He peered through the window and saw a giant lying on a bed inside.

  Nearby, an old hag was butchering the bodies of men and horses. She addressed the giant: ‘Skrimnir, this was the last of our food.”

  Skrimnir replied: “I’m not surprised. That’s why I’ve lured here several ships of men so we will be able to restock our supplies after slaughtering them.”

  This made the hag happy and she went into a side cave. Sorli jumped in through the window and killed Skrimnir. The hag re-entered and attacked Sorli with a short sword. He tried to push her down a chasm but she seized him fiercely in her claws. They wrestled together but despite her troll-strength, she could not win the advantage. Then they both fell over the side of the chasm and landed on a ledge. Although the hag still had her claws sunk into him, Sorli gripped her round the throat and refused to let her go.

  She begged him for a truce and Sorli agreed eventually, “but it must be on the condition that within a month you fetch me armour that no blade can cut and a sword that hacks through steel and stone. Also, you must aid me whenever I call upon you.”

  The hag agreed and he let her go. They both climbed back up into the cave. She flung Skrimnir’s corpse down the chasm and put a cover over it, then led Sorli to a bed and gave him a drink. He got into bed and fell asleep.

  When he awoke the next day, he looked around the cave and found it to be full of treasures.

  The hag told him, “My name is Mana. You are in that part of Africa ruled by Estroval the Great. My husband Skrimnir and I have lived in this cave for forty years, supporting ourselves with the meat of men we brought here through witchcraft.”

  She gave him a game board made of gold, a lace-worked cloak and a gold ring that would ensure he would never be lost at land or sea. He thanked her for the gifts and prepared to leave.

  Mana said, “I will obtain the treasures you have demanded, and you can either remain on the coast or return to Norway and come back when you wish.”

  Sorli returned to the ships and told them what had happened. He asked Karmon for advice and the man suggested they remained on the coast until Mana obtained the treasures.

  One day Sorli went inland with twelve men and they came to the cave. When he entered, he saw the place was in turmoil and two hags were wrestling each other. One was Mana, the other he did not recognise. He drew his sword and told his men to aid Mana. He thrust his blade into the other hag’s breast but she sank her claws into Mana so the latter fainted.

  Then the hag grabbed a beam of wood and beat Sorli’s companions to death. Sorli hacked at her with his sword, slicing the flesh off her cheek and cutting the beam in two. She jabbed her claws into him but then Mana recovered and attacked. Sorli stabbed the hag in the belly so the sword came out of her back and she was dead. Mana thanked Sorli profusely and took him to see the treasures.

  She gave him armour that she had obtained from Emperor Maskabert in Serkland. It had been made for Pantiparus who ruled Greece after Agamemnon. No sword could pierce it, while the blade she gave him could slice through anything, steel or stone.

  Sorli thanked her for the treasures and they parted. He returned to the ships and sailed back to Norway where he told his father and friends what had happened.

  In those days, while Erling ruled Upland, the rest of Norway was under the sway of King Harald Valdimarsson.

  One day two brothers visited him from Morland, Tofi and Gardar. Gardar wished to marry Harald’s daughter Steinvor. The king said that every man in Norway would die on the battlefield before he gave his daughter to trolls and berserks like them.

  They met in battle but soon it became clear that the brothers were winning and the king retreated with the survivors of his army inside the walls of his town.

  King Harald held a council of war with his men and it was suggested that they send word to Upland and ask King Erling for aid. Harald sent twelve men to Erling’s kingdom and the king and his sons Sorli and Sigvald came at once to King Harald’s aid. Together they rode from the town and fought a battle against the brothers.

  One of their greatest warriors was a man name Lodin, who was a giant in appearance and rode an elephant. Sorli fought him and slew him, and when Tofi and Gardar saw this, they went berserk. Tofi rode at Sigvald who thought that the end had come until Sorli came to the rescue. But Sorli found that even his sword made no mark on Tofi’s body.

  They dism
ounted and wrestled and Sorli tore the skin off Tofi’s face, whereupon the troll transformed himself into a dragon, breathing venom and smoke at Sorli. Sorli cut the dragon in half but fainted from the venom.

  When Gardar saw his brother’s fall, he rode at King Erling in anger and the king took a fall. Sorli recovered in time to see this and he rode at Gardar and cut him in half with his sword. The brothers’ army fled and Sorli and Sigvald pursued them, killing everyone they caught.

  They returned to the battlefield and had it searched for the slain and wounded. King Harald and King Erling were brought back to their own towns and their wounds were healed, and a feast was prepared to celebrate the victory.

  Harald asked Sorli to choose his reward, and all the people encouraged him to ask for the king’s daughter, but Sorli said, “I am not so needy as to ask for payment for my services; rather it would be better if our fame spread everywhere.”

  Erling and his sons then returned to Upland, weighed down with King Harald’s gifts. Sorli stayed quietly at home that winter.

  In the spring, Sorli prepared his ship and told everyone he would spend that summer in raiding. Accompanied by Karmon, he sailed from Norway.

  He travelled widely, gaining treasure and plunder and capturing twelve ships, and taking prisoners including two brothers named Bork and Bolverk who were evil men and shape shifters with it.

  2 The Dwarf-Forged Sword

  In those days, Halfdan Brana’s Foster Son was still king in Rugen; his wife was Marsibil and their two sons were named Hogni and Hakon, who were men without equals and had also become warriors on coming of age.

  When still a child Hogni was carried off by a griffin and taken to its nest. Here he encountered the Princess Hild, who he rescued and later married, after returning to Rugen. Hogni was also famous for owning the sword Dainsleif, which was made by the dwarves. It never missed but always slew the foe and could not be unsheathed without taking a life.