The Voyage

The ocean water splashed violently over the side of the ship, and lightning cracked the sky with endless whips of thunder. It was the fourth day of the journey, the last two consisted of a storm only Thor could muster. It was as if Odin had cursed them to perish at sea. Were they making a mistake traveling to conquer this new land? Yrsa thought to herself, but immediately banished it. No, I believe this is my purpose! she encouraged herself silently, as she slumped into the soaking wood. Looking up at the sky, full of shimmering stars, she knew Thor was showing his excitement for their journey.

Yrsa silently recollected her mother twisting her hair into intricate braids for her first voyage at sea, those braids were now soaked with salty ocean water.

As she fiddled with one sopping braid her mother’s voice crept into her head. “Don’t be nervous daughter, you are capable and will easily adapt.”

“What if I never come back?” she replied earnestly, hoping for comforting words.

“That is up to the Gods to decide,” her mother replied solemnly.

Snapping back to reality as another wave crashed into the ship, Yrsa knew her mother was right, but wanted some reassurance before she embarked. It was up to her to comfort herself, after all she was named for the strength and protectiveness of a bear. She clutched her relatively small shield to her chest; painted in bright blues and white was her namesake, a fierce grizzly.

...

“LAND!” one of Yrsa’s brethren shouted, waking her from a small nap.

Soon every shield maiden and man was scrambling up to see. In the distance was a tree line, it seemed so small but quickly became a vast stretch as they crept closer.

“Shield wall!” As soon as the words escaped, everyone lifted their shields in unison to create a dome shape protecting them from various projectiles.

It felt like an eternity to Yrsa, her arm began to cramp from holding steady and silent, until she felt the weight of the ship make contact with earth. With a slight surge forward and back the ship came to a stop, and ever so slowly the shields came down to reveal there was no immediate threat. There was a small stretch of sand leading up to a vast forest that was impossible to see through.

“Stick together in shield formation until we reach the edge of the forest! We don’t yet know what is beyond the trees,” their Hersir called out.

Making an arrowhead shape with their shields up, shoulder to shoulder, they marched in silence into the vast forest. All Yrsa would hear was the crunching of leaves and fallen twigs as the ship behind them was replaced with looming trees.

Suddenly the whoosh of an arrow flew past Yrsa’s right ear, barely missing her shield that was protecting her upper body and face. Simultaneously arrows thumped against her comrades' shields. A shield maiden to her left grunted in pain as an arrow pierced her thigh, but she barely faltered.

“Low and FORWARD!” shouted her Hersir, and in swift unison, they bent their knees and charged forward.

Some were letting out fierce battle cries, while others slammed their shields with axes. Before Yrsa could fully comprehend the situation, they were in the midst of battle. Their enemies had shiny metal armor, and long two-handed swords.

“Their armor is weak at the neck!” she heard through the clamor of shields and swords.

One soldier charged at Yrsa. Reflecting on her training, she blocked the sword with her shield and dipped low, countering with her small axe into her enemy's neck. He crumpled with a gurgling scream, and as she ripped her axe free blood spurted from the wound all over Yrsa’s face. Another enemy was running at her full speed; realizing she didn’t have the proper stance to counterattack, she stayed low and with her shield slammed the soldier’s knees and using her weight launched him over her. The soldier slammed hard, and the metal armor scraping together made an odd clanging sound.

Yrsa glanced quickly at her surroundings and noticed a small rock formation where she could protect herself from all sides. She made signs to her comrades who could see her to follow, pointing to the formation, and they nodded in understanding. She immediately sprinted towards the formation, but did not notice a small stone upturned in a strange way. Her toes caught the stone, and Yrsa was tossed forward over the large rock formation, her head slamming hard. She felt the world spin, colors and shapes warping rapidly until her vision went black.

...

Yrsa’s head swam. She attempted to focus on what was in front of her but could barely make out a blurry tree line. Her head was throbbing with pain, but before she could think straight a tiny voice sang to her.

“Are you okay?”

Quickly, she glanced around and saw a small girl wearing strange clothing. Yrsa’s instinct was to jump up and raise her shield and axe.

“Wow lady, you must have hit your head pretty hard. Were you out with your friends LARPing or something?” questioned the small girl, whose hands were on her hips looking up at Yrsa.

“LARP? What?” Yrsa was lost.

“You know, live-action role-playing? Pretend fighting? That’s pretty good fake blood on your face!” sang the little girl as she pranced up to Yrsa.

“I just landed here with my clan; this isn’t fake blood, I just killed three soldiers,” said Yrsa bluntly.

“You’re really taking this seriously!” laughed the little girl. “I like your costume!” She tugged on Yrsa’s trousers.

Realizing slowly that she was no longer in danger, Yrsa relaxed and looked around. “Where are we?” she asked calmly.

“In my backyard basically! But it’s huge, so I don’t blame you for getting lost!” replied the girl.

It was warm out, the sun beating down on Yrsa. When she left home it was dreadfully cold.

“What…. Is this Sumar?” Yrsa could feel the panic rising in her chest.

“Is it what?” the girl responded. “Do you need to call your friends or someone? You can come to my house, my mom will let you borrow her phone!” She sounded excited at the idea of bringing home a visitor.

“A phone? What is a… phone?” asked Yrsa, becoming more panicked by the second.

“Maybe we need to take you to a hospital… I think you definitely hit your head too hard. Follow me!” The girl pranced off in the opposite direction.

What do I have to lose? Yrsa thought to herself as she followed the girl.

...

Soon the tree line broke, and they approached a building, unlike anything Yrsa had seen. It was a strange color, impossibly large, and stone pillars lined the front.

“Come on in! I’ll get my mom!” she said, as she bolted through a door.

“MOM!” Yrsa heard the girl yell. “I brought a friend who needs help!”

The first thing Yrsa noticed after walking through the door was a huge square shape displaying strange images.

What is this place? she thought to herself.

“Hello?” called out an older woman’s voice.

Yrsa turned and saw a beautiful woman, with soft green eyes and flowing hair kissed by flames.

“Are you okay? Ava said you hit your head pretty hard playing some game with your friends?” the woman asked, as she handed Yrsa a mug of water.

“I… I’m fine.” Yrsa was trying to think smart about this, maybe her brethren were still out there.

“Okay…” the woman trailed. “Do you know how to get back to your friends?”

As Yrsa was trying to decide what to do, she chugged the glass of water and handed back the mug. “I am grateful to you,” she said. “I am starting to remember, thanks to your brave daughter.”

Ava beamed up at her.

“I’ve told her not to talk to strangers.” The woman laughed awkwardly. “But she always feels the need to help people.”

“Well…” the woman continued, “If you know where they are, you should probably head back so they don’t worry.”

“Indeed, thank you for your kindness,” Yrsa responded. “And thank you Ava for saving me.”

Ava practically danced to Yrsa’s words. “Hey, do you think I could LARP with you and your friends sometime? We could play in my backyard!” Ava’s eyes were glistening with hope.

Yrsa could see the woman getting agitated with her daughter, clearly because she was so naive. Yrsa grinned to herself, a seed of thought growing by the moment. “I think that could happen one day,” she said softly and patted the girl’s head.

...

On Yrsa’s trek back, it dawned on her that this must be some sort of magic. Was Odin testing her?

She couldn’t doubt it. She decided to head back to the place she fell and examine what magic befell her.

It didn’t take long to reach the same rock formation; Yrsa’s tracking skills were superb. She crouched into the dirt and looked closely at each rock. As she was going over the center rock, Yrsa gasped when her eyes connected to runes carved in the rock. She recognized them instantly, some of the fabled runes Odin found when hanging from Yggdrasil.

Why would that be here? she thought to herself. Was Odin truly testing me? She had no choice but to believe it now. She placed her hands on the runes, closing her eyes and focusing, but nothing happened.

“Think!” she yelled in frustration to no one.

It dawned on her after a few moments in silence: she had hit her head on the rock. She reached up and touched the sore spot for the first time. It felt warm, and wet. When she brought her hand back into view her fingertips were sticky with blood.

“Blood!” She grinned to herself, and with her axe she slowly sliced her hand with the blade.

Immediately blood began to pour out of the wound. Yrsa stretched out her arm and, exposing her palm, dripped blood over each rune. Suddenly the runes began to glow an iridescent blue. Not long the blue shifted to a deep purple as each rune absorbed the blood, practically sucking it from the stone. It grew darker around Yrsa, as dark clouds rolled in a deep thunderous roar that shook her and the rocks. She grinned up at the sky, welcoming Odin to take her back.

In a vicious whirl of colors and thunderous lightning, Yrsa was pulled forward and almost instantly shot hard into the earth. Yrsa scrambled for her axe and shield, frantically looking at her surroundings. It quickly became clear she was back, and the battle was over. Her brethren had won. Many of them were already drinking ale, and some were resting against trees eating mushrooms. When she reached her Hersir, she pulled him aside.

“Odin has tested me, and has shown me where to go,” Yrsa spoke, a hint of excitement in her voice. “May I address the others?”

Her Hersir nodded and motioned for everyone to give their attention to her. “Yrsa has words for us!”

Yrsa was sure of herself now. Odin had indeed sent her on this journey for a reason.

“I have discovered a wealthy land for us to raid with endless treasures! If you will have me, I will lead us to this realm! Odin has shown me the way!” Yrsa finished by pumping her fist in the air. “FOR ODIN!”

Soon everyone in her clan began hitting their shields in unison and chanting louder and louder. Yrsa grinned to herself. She was on the precipice of greatness.

...

What did you think of the story? Were you surprised that Yrsa wanted to go back and conquer the land she was transported to?

Thanks so much for reading!

-Clever & WTF