Lair of Beasts [Book I in the Curse Of Blood Saga]

Chapter X - What am I?

1367 AD

The winter months were by far my least favorite of all the seasons. The perpetual darkness and arctic winds, that consequently claimed the life of one of the small kitchen boys my second year, confined me to the castle more often as not and I found myself, rather than relishing my childhood with gamboling gaiety, becoming an avid student and a quick study.

Godwin was so much pleased with my accelerated progress that he promised me a very costly gift if I continued my excellent academic development. By the following Christmas, having proven myself worthy of Godwin's almost unattainable approval, he bade me follow him to the courtyard.

"I promised you a gift, Ariana. This way, if you please," said he in the mysterious manner I was now so accustomed to; though I spent hardly any time in the man's presence except at mass and meal times.

He led me through the courtyard and to the mews where the falcons were roosting. There he presented me to the head falconer.

"Master Gavin has something to show you."

I nodded and followed the falconer in somewhat of a daze. I was incapable of speech, unable to breathe for the excitement coursing through me, for I was almost certain I had guessed at the valuable gift Godwin was now bestowing on me.

I came to a stop beside Gavin as he gently transferred a little merlin from her perch, where she had been tied with a leather cord, and onto his thick wrist. She was a compact little thing compared to some of the other neighboring ladies who were ruffling their feathers in annoyance at being disturbed.

"Every lady should have a falcon, Ariana. Happy Christmas," said Godwin.

He had no sooner confirmed my suspicions when I practically flung myself into him as frenzied elation overwhelmed me with its intensity. I had caught him in a tight embrace and I did this without thought, so thrilled was I with his generosity, but before my misgivings had time to emerge and before I could castigate myself for my capricious reaction, Godwin placed a large hand over my head with a patient smile, as if I were no more than a mere kitten given to queer fancies.

Blushing, I unwound my arms from Godwin's robes and moved to face a bemused Gavin. The little merlin, thankfully, had not witnessed my arbitrary performance for her head was covered by a leather hood so that only her beak was visible. I longed to see the color of her eyes, but satisfied myself instead with admiring her bright yellow, dainty claws.

"Gavin will train with you both in the afternoons and perhaps you will be hunting together as early as the spring. Till then, I suggest you think of a worthy name for this noble creature."

"Thank you, my lord! Verily, I cannot thank you enough!" I was practically gushing.

Godwin inclined his head in acknowledgment of my profuse gratitude and then left me to get better acquainted with my falcon. I named her for Diana: the goddess of the hunt; a perfectly pagan name. It suited her beautifully for was she not also an inmate of Nørrdragor — the most pagan of any place I had ever been.

Christian doctrines were certainly the common practice here, but there seemed to be a tinge of old world mythology that was subtle, yet palpable. I had become more aware of these strange, eerie manifestations the older I became and the more I chose to see. The hand-fasting itself had been a pagan rite. Even some of the tapestries depicted the old gods, like the one in Godwin's solar: the giant wolf, Fenris, biting off the hand of another god, Tyr.

It was everywhere I chose to look, from the runes and poems that decorated the great hall to the little silver necklace, from which hung the sacred World Tree pendant, that Anne wore around her neck. Yggdrasil, the mythical ash tree, was also rife within Nørrdragor — whether on tapestries, carvings, or pendants — and at first, in the early days just after my arrival, I had thought it represented the apple tree in the garden of Eden, but — having since read enough to know better — I now knew that that too held no Christian meaning.