Journey of an Einherji - The Sword of Summer

Volkswagen das Viking Boat

I laid face-flat in a sunlit meadow.

I raised my head slowly. In the distance, wildflowers dusted rolling green hills. The breeze smelled of lavender. The light was warm and rich as if the air had turned to butter. It was a terrible light for pictures, it would make any photo look too bright.

I stood up slowly. To my right stood Blitz, and to his right stood Magnus, who was looking around, with a dreamy gaze. I looked at Blitz and realized that he was holding his pith helmet at his side. My thoughts felt like they were moving through jelly.

"Blitz." - I called - "Why aren't you-"

"Blitz, your hat!" - Magnus exclaimed.

"It's okay, kid." - the dwarf said, no trace of stone in his face - "This isn't regular sunlight. We're not on Midgard any more."

He sounded like he was talking through wax paper. The squirrel's yap had left a high pitch sound in my ears and a few horrible, corrosive thoughts in my mind.

"Ratatosk..." - Magnus couldn't finish the sentence. 

It was understandable, hearing the squirrel's name made me want to curl up under a sheet, like a kid afraid of the dark.

"Yeah." - Blitz said - "His bark is literally worse than his bite. He..." - Blitz looked down, blinking rapidly - "He's the most destructive creature in the World Tree. He spends his time running up and down the trunk, carrying insults from the eagle who lives at the top to Nidhogg, the dragon who lives at the roots."

I looked towards the hills. Faint sounds of music seemed to be coming from that direction, or maybe it was my brain hallucinating.

"Why would a squirrel do that?" - Magnus asked.

"To damage the tree." - Blitz said - "Ratatosk keeps the eagle and the dragon whipped into a frenzy. He tells them lies, rumours, nasty gossip about each other. His words can... well, you know what his words can do. The dragon Nidhogg is always chewing on the roots of the World Tree, trying to kill it. The eagle flaps his wings and create windstorms that rip branches and cause devastation throughout the Nine Worlds. Ratatosk makes sure the two monsters stay angry and in competition with each other, to see which one can destroy their end of Yggdrasill faster."

"But that's... crazy." - Magnus said perplexed - "The squirrel lives in the tree."

"We all do, kid." - Blitz grimaced - "People have destructive impulses. Some of us want to see the world in ruins just for the fun of it... even if we're ruined along it."

"That's not destructive impulses." - I said - "That's madness and stupidity."

Ratatosk's chatter echoed in my head: You can't help anyone. You will never see your parents again. The squirrel had try, and nearly succeeded, to drive me to despair, but I could see how his bark could stir other emotions: hatred, bitterness, self-loathing.

"How did you two kept your wits?" - Magnus asked - "When the squirrel barked, what did you two hear?"

I stuffef my hands in my pockets, trying my best to not bite my nails. Magnus doesn't know when to keep quiet. Blitz ran his fingers across the brim of his pith helmet, pinching the edge of the black veil.

"Nothing I don't tell myself all the time, kid. We should get going." - He trudged off towards the hills.

Magnus turned to me.

"Shut up. I don't want to talk about it." - I cutted him off.

We crossed a stream of picturesque little fog sat on a lily pad. Doves and falcons spiralled through the air like they were playing tag. I half expected a chorus line of fuzzy animals to pop out of the wildflowers and start singing. I half expected that didn't happen, I didn't felt like finding out I was in a Disney movie.