Valkyrie In The Making - Beget

"So, I can assume you are not from this village or any other, for that matter." Vali said.

"Why do you assume that?" She asked defensively.

"Well, you had never heard "The Walking of Angantyr", you have never had strong mead, and you have a wide eyed wonderment at everything you see. Therefore, I must deduce that you have never been in a village, even a small one like this."

"This is a small village? But there are so many people!"

"Most are passing through, like yourself, or selling their wares, like myself."

"You aren't selling anything." She snickered after gulping down two more slugs of mead.

"I am. My words, people pay for fantasy." He said, leaning in closer to her.

"I see." She said, attempting to stop the sudden slurring of her words.

"Well, where did you appear from?" He insisted.

"East of here. Two, maybe three days walk. My home was in the woods, by a stream and hills, it was beautiful."

"Was?"

"Was."

"What drove you from a place of such beauty?" He asked as he moved next to her on her bench, sitting so close she could smell the sweet scent of the mead on his breath.

"My mother died, four days ago. A coughing illness. She had been worsening for months, it is good she was released from her pain." She said, dreamily. Relieved by this sudden realization.

"What of your father?"

She backed away from him, closer to the window and looked out.

She saw him, on top of the Great Hall, watching her.

"He has been gone for some time now." She said, thinking, calculating. "Four, possibly five years."

"He left you and your mother?" Vali asked, sounding shocked.

"No. Never. He went with some men to explore the new land to the north. He heard that it was rich, good land and wanted to see it for himself. He was going to send for us if it suited him, but he never returned. Mother kept thinking he would return, but I think he is with her, drinking of Odin's cup." She began to feel tears well up in her eyes. She never spoke of her father, his loss was too much for her to bear, then and now.

"Perhaps he is still alive, I hear that land is hard, but good for those who work." Vali said, gently, not wanting to upset her more.

"I don't think so, but I plan on finding out for sure." She said, looking out the window again, making eye contact with her guide, finally realizing where they were headed.

Balmy

The tavern was dark and incredibly smoky, as if the smoke from the large fire that burned in the center of the room had no where to escape to.

Briggita had never been inside a place like this, probably shouldn't be now, he father would be ashamed of her. But the promise of talking to this man longer was enough to lure her in. There were men at the bar, laughing, singing, telling stories and being incredibly jovial. But in the dark corners of the tavern sat lone souls, staring deep into their cups, despair hanging around them, mingling with the smoke. She wanted to stay away from those corners.

She was feeling woozy from the smoke and the noxious fumes that surrounded her.

"Here, sit." He said, escorting her to a bench close to a window that had a small crack in the corner, letting in small wafts of air. "I will get libations for us to enjoy." With that, he turned and went to the bar, she assumed to get whatever libations he was speaking of. A small breeze came through the window, refreshing her. She scanned the square, what she could see of it, trying to catch a glimpse of Muninn. She hoped he had not left for good, it scared her to think of going on without him.

"This should do the trick." He said as he placed two large mugs, overflowing with  liquid down on a small table in front of the bench she sat on. He pulled up another bench, close to the table and leaned forward, getting as close to her as possible. He raised his mug to her. "Let us toast!"

She raised her mug as well.

"To great adventures and discovering the unknown."

"The unknown" She repeated dreamily. They clanked their mugs together and she drank deep, as her father had taught her.

What greeted her was not what she was expecting. It was mead, but nothing like what her father had made. His was sweet and soothing, used in illness, sleeplessness and festivals. This was sharp, bitter and burned. She felt it hit her stomach and warm her from the inside out.

"I can see it is a new experience for you." He chuckled.

"Yes. I have never had mead that was this strong." She coughed, taking another sip, hoping it would soothe her throat and her nerves.

"They make it so those fools will spend all their hours and all their coin here." He said, indicating the corners of the room. "I like it because it lights one up, so long as one does not have too much."

"Yes, I can see that it can have that effect." She said after another gulp. Her whole body now felt warm, and she was starting to calm down a bit, forgetting the noise, the smoke, and the sadness and only seeing those lovely blue eyes. "I am Briggita."

"They call me Vali."

Valkyrie In The Making - Inure

They had been talking for the better part of an hour, Muninn observed as he quickly glanced at the sun, then darting his eyes back to Briggita and her new "friend". He did not initially think would have taken her this long to see through his tricks and falsehoods, but then again, the easiest prey were always those who had been sheltered from the world. The purest, most innocent.

This will be her first test.

Suddenly, the man gestured towards the nearest Tavern, nudging her in that direction. She stopped and looked to the sky, but did not see Muninn, so she agreed and began to walk to the Tavern with a man she had just met.

As they reached the door she entered first, but before he stepped foot into the questionable establishment he glanced back, immediately locking eyes with Muninn, and gave him the slyest of sly grins and then entered the darkness of the tavern.

All Muninn could do was let him win this round, and wait, faithfully for her to come back.

Valkyrie In The Making - Bifurcate

"To have come hither, all alone
To this land of shadows, was sheer folly,
Over fen and fold fires are soaring,
Graves are opening:  let us go quickly.


Fear not the fire, fear not the graves:
Although the island be all aflame,
Never shall warriors while they live
Yield to terror.  Tell me the way.


The herdsman had taken to his heels already,
Fled to the wood, far from the maiden,
But the fierce heart in Hervor's breast
Swelled up at the sight of these things."

He gave a flourishing bow and the small group clapped once the poem had ended. His silver voice rang in her Briggita's mind, all she could do was stare at him as he hopped off of the stage and began to speak to his admirers.

Only Muninn's loud crows in her ear broke her reverie.

"Ouch." She said as she tried to shrug him off of her shoulder, but he dug his talons in and would not budge.

"Naw!" He yelled as he looked at her disapprovingly.

"You are hurting me." She said as he dug in deeper, drawing blood.

"Are you experiencing difficulties with this friend of yours?" A smooth, melodic voice asked from behind her.

She turned and was faced with those ice blue eyes and an amused grin.

"Naw! Naw! Naw!" Muninn yelled as he puffed himself up and flapped his huge wings, creating a barrier between Briggita and the entrancing stranger.

"It seems my presence is disturbing your friend. I will take my leave of you." He said, bowing low to her and backing away.

"No!" She blurted out. "Wait, I will calm him. Will you wait here, I'd like to speak with you about that story you just told."

"It would be my pleasure." He cooed, giving her a knee-weakening smile.

She walked to the center of the square and took Muninn off of her shoulder and lifted him up on her forearm to face her.

"I do not understand your behavior, but I do no like it. I would like to speak to him and I will, regardless of what you think." She said firmly.

He cocked his head, shot her an indignant look and flew away. She did not see to where, because she was already turned back to the man.

"I am sorry about that. Now tell me, where did you hear that story?"

As they began to talk Muninn landed on top of the Great Hall and watched patiently.

Some things must be learned through experience.

Valkyrie In The Making - Proscenium

They walked until midday, by then they could see the gates to the village. It seemed small, but safe. Briggita thought she may be able to sleep indoors that evening.

The village was surrounded by a rickety wood fence, it looked as if it had been hurriedly built long ago. But the homes looked sturdy, mostly built from stone, at least the farms and stables that laid outside of the city were.

Nobody seemed to notice her passing by, perhaps they were used to stangers.

A small door in the large front gate was open and they entered. It was the only village Briggita had ever seen, so it seemed cramped and large. The stone and wood built homes and taverns and stores seemed to be built on top of each other. The dirt road was busting with wagons, merchants selling their wares and villagers walking to and fro. She was at a loss as to what to do. Muninn, who was now perched on her shoulder seemed to be at a similar loss.

She just kept walking, hoping an idea of what to do would come to her. One thing her parents had not taught her about was village life and what to do in well-populated areas. They lived a very secluded life, her father only went to town once a year to sell his furs and leathers, but she was never allowed to come.

"No place for a girl, or anyone else. It's unnatural to live so close to other people. Those villagers couldn't survive one day in the woods, they are not real men and women." Her father would say.

So, as a result, she was more lost here than she was out in the wilderness. Soon they came to the village square. It was just a small open area in front of a huge wooden structure that Briggita guessed was the main building in the village, her father had told her that every village had one of these large structures.

To her left she saw a small group of people gathered together, watching something. She decided to see what these people had found so interesting. The closer she came to the group the more restless Muninn became, he fidgeted, as if nervous.

"It's all right, I just want to see what it is that they find so interesting." She said as she petted his head, trying to calm him.

What she saw once she got close enough was a man on a small, hastily constructed platform, speaking beautiful words, words she had never heard before. His voice was clear and smooth, as soothing as the sounds of rushing water or the cooing of a dove. He was a thin, but obviously muscular man. His face was angular, every line was clear and pronounced, so that his every expression could be seen by even someone yards away. He had a mop of short, curly black hair that sat on top of his head and fell into his eyes, and his eyes were the bluest blue she had ever seen. They twinkled with...something, joy, perhaps? No, she didn't think it was joy, but something deeper than that, whatever it was she was instantly entranced.

Valkyrie In The Making - Raffish

When she woke the sun had already risen fully and her head felt heavy. Had the vision been a dream? It must have been, but there was a bump on her head that told her perhaps it wasn't a dream at all.

Muninn was putting twigs and leaves onto the smoldering fire, attempting to coax flames from it once again. He was fanning the fire with one of his wings when Briggita finally sat herself up.

"Oh, stop. I'll do it." She said groggily as she poked the fire with a stick. He continued to add kindling until small flames began to spring from the pit again.

"Well, now what?" She asked as she set her stick down. "We're just going to put it out as soon as I get myself together."

"Naw!" He crowed, flying over to the edge of the stream.

She followed and saw two large fish laying on the bank, both still alive.

"Did you catch these?" She asked, with much disbelief in her voice.

He puffed himself up and walked back to the fire.

"I suppose you did." She said as she hit the first fish with a rock, killing it.

She found that her head had cleared once she had finished eating. She gazed at Muninn, wondering how this mysterious raven not only caught the fish but knew exactly what she had needed.

He noticed her looking, cocked his head and gazed right back.

She believed he knew more than she had thought. That this was a smarter raven than most, for in his gaze she saw wisdom and understanding.

"Perhaps you should be leading this journey after all." She said, and with that he jumped onto the over hang and said, "Nawh!"

"All right, I'll get everything together." She said as she got up and began to gather her things together.

"Nawh!" He crowed as he took off in the direction of the village.

"I may have no idea how he found me, but I am happy that he did" She thought to herself as she threw dirt on the fire. She looked off into the distance, watching him fly away, she never considered turning around and leaving her guide. For something about all of this felt right, somehow.

And as the last embers of flame flickered out she began following her strange, new friend.

Valkyrie In The Making - Curfew

She walked for two days without incident, gathering wild fruits, vegetables and plants along the way. Her mother had taught her well; She learned by drawing pictures of the good things to eat and memorizing the horrific effects of the bad.

They had followed the stream and at the end of the second day she sighted smoke in the sky, smoke that was obviously coming from many homesteads, perhaps only a dozen acres away.

"Reare." Muninn exclaimed as he turned and flew back towards her. She had learned early on that he was leading this excursion, not her, and she noticed that his noises were becoming more varied the longer she stayed with him, as if he had created a secret language shared only by them. He landed on her shoulder.

"Reare." He said again, only in a softer, gentler way. He had learned that to speak loudly in her ear would get him expelled from her shoulder.

"Yes, I see." She said to him. "I wonder what village it is?"

In her 16 years she had never traveled more than a day away from home, and that was only on hunting expeditions with her father and for that they went south.

"I suppose we will find out tomorrow." She sighed, realizing it was too late to get close to the village before dark. Besides, she planned to have a good meal that evening as she had killed a hare earlier in the day and wanted to cook it before it went bad.

She found a small overhang of rocks a little ways away from the bank of the stream, "This will do just fine." She said, satisfied with her lodging for the evening.

"Kime Kime" Muninn agreed.

She built a fire, cleaned her hare and hung it over the fire to cook, she laid the fur out to dry, perhaps she could sell it in the village. As the hare baked she gathered twigs and leaves together to make into a bed later.

Only during this time of the day would Muninn leave her for a short period, she assumed he was finding food, as she never saw him eat. He would return after a short time with twigs, leaves and feathers to nestle down in for the evening.

The meal did her good, as did the last bit of bread from her sack, she laid back on her makeshift bed once she had her fill and gazed into the fire. She always loved watching the dancing flames, they had a hypnotic effect that would lull her to sleep, it's the only way she could catch a wink of sleep in the final days of her mother's life. As she stared at them they began to more in mysterious ways, different ways.

The shape of a young girl appeared, not much older than herself, she had a man with her, a large man, an imposing man. His large hand was grasping onto the girl's hand and he was pulling her along, as if they ran from something. The girl's face turned toward Briggita and she saw her own face looking back at hers, smiling a sly, satisfied smile.

Briggita sat up quickly, so quickly that she hit her head on one of the overhanging rocks.

"Did you see?" She asked Muninn, but he simply looked at her pointedly before setting himself down , curling up and going to sleep.

She shook her head to get the image out of it and laid down again. She didn't remember falling asleep.

Valkyrie In The Making - Incarnadine

She woke sometime in the early morning. The fire was still burning, but one could not tell what had been burned, although the smell on her body gave it away.

Muninn was nestled up among some twigs nearby, he did not get up as she walked past him to the stream, but he watched.

She let the frigid water rush over her and wash the past month away. The smells of phlegm and blood, the sounds of hacking coughs and prayers to Hel for release and the sight of her mother's life slowly drifting away.

By the time she got out of the water the sky was showing the faintest bit of light. She walked back to the hut, throwing her clothes on the smoldering fire and continuing inside.

The blood her mother had coughed up was still visible. Dried onto the linens, sunk into the straw beneath. Briggita made a point of not paying it any mind as she put on a fresh set of clothing and began gathering together all of the food that was left in the hut and putting it in her father's old hunting bag.

Muninn had entered the hut and was watching her intently. Patiently waiting.

She took the two things of any worth to her, her mother's Jasper necklace and her father's Mjollnir amulet and hung them both around her neck. She took what little coin they had and hid it in her boot, along with her hunting knife. She then threw a couple of animal hides over one shoulder, the bag of food was slung across her body and she decided it was time.

Muninn bounced off of his perch and flew outside, he knew well enough to give her a moment alone.

She took one more look around, remembering the stories she was told in front of the fireplace, the lessons she had learned at the table, the animals she had gutted and cleaned in the corner and the love that had filled this homestead.

Sighing, she stepped outside, into the misty newness of the morning. Muninn was placed on a low branch, waiting.

"Well, which way?" She asked, considering her options, turning herself around, taking stock.

"Caw!" Muninn cried as he lifted off his branch and flew off, away from the rising sun.

"West, then." She said as she left her childhood home behind her.