rebirth of the old

prologue: Divided mind

"Squawk, squawk!" The sound of seagulls echoed throughout the town of Frostheim.... 

It was the year of 876 . The wind howled stronger than ever with a bitter cold that wafted through the air of Frostheim. It was just another day in another life. The sound of the blacksmith smashing his hammer on a newly forged sword. The blood that dripped from the carcass of an excellent hunt. Frostheim was an unforgiving place, especially for the faint-hearted who could not stomach the mud-filled roads and badly sanitized houses. Sounds of disagreement between merchants echoed repeatedly at the docks, coins were dropped and jingled all over the floor as if they were writing the music for a new Christmas song. Many foreigners from the Far East found the use of wood as material for housing to be weak and old but they continuously forgot that this was Norway where the winters were cruel and unforgiving and offered little to its subjects. 

What grabbed every person's attention was the longhouse where the Jarl and his family lived and ruled. The longhouse was located in the center of Frostheim. It was long and tall, and its doors were made of good oak wood. Its tables were filled with gold ornaments as well as huge amounts of meat that were barely cooked and the smell of mead clinged to the air as if it was the star attraction of the feasting hall. Last but not least, the chair of the chieftain himself! It was a truly magnificent example of craftmanship as it had a long white fur coat that draped the top of it.

"Stomp, stomp". Out came Eric, the chieftain of the wolf clan, he stood at 1.8 meters tall, had boots made out of thick animal leather and wore a fur coat as well as body Armour.  Olga (Eric's wife) followed; she too was a tall burly woman who also had a fur coat that she wore.  Everyone in the hall was taken away by the beauty of Olga's blonde and wavy hair as opposed to the long and disheveled beard that her husband, Eric, seemed to show off willingly. 

It was just another day like any other day of the year.  The fishermen were fishing, hunters were hunting, and the traders were trading. 

The whole of Frostheim soon barged into the longhouse and asked the Jarl where his son and daughter were? The chief replied: " Ingrid and Sven have taken my raiding crew to raid the southern town Stavanger."  As the chief slowly sipped his mead and drifted into sleep, a sound burst through Frostheim. 

" Honk! Honk!" 

" Ingrid and Sven have been spotted entering the fjord!"

 The horn seemed to have made a sound so loud that it resounded that of Gjallarhorn (The horn owned by Heimdall who is the watchman of the Aesir gods).  Eric and Olga rushed to the docks where they welcomed Ingrid and Sven in open arms. Ingrid asked her father, " How are you father? I have been away for so long that I forgot the smell of your mead-soaked beard! HAHA!" Eric responded with a big laugh that shook the ground! Olga proceeded to hug Sven (Olga's son) with happiness. Even though Sven was preoccupied with carrying the loot that was pillaged from Stavanger he made room for a hug with his mother and wore a smile on his face. 

Ingrid wore a large and wide grin on her face as her family and her walked into the longhouse to feast!

As she walked to the longhouse which had been her home for so long, she stood for a moment in the mud, and thought frequently about entering Valhalla. She hadn't been able to focus recently on matters of the family instead, her attention was Valhalla. She knelt on the ground with a heavy heart and clenched her fists telling herself that she was destined for Valhalla. 

" Ingrid! Come faster, you're going to miss the speech!" shouted Sven. Ingrid stood up and ran all the way to the longhouse.