Vikings: The Truth About Lagertha And Ragnar

Prologue

Lagertha

The slope was slippery as she fought her way up the steep incline. The wind sliced through her with a sharpness that felt like flint first thing in the morning. Glancing skyward, she watched the dark clouds roil and seethe. The drops hit her a moment later. She grunted, knowing her treacherous journey was about to get even more difficult.

The seidhr's cabin was just ahead. She knew this but still carefully picked her way along the narrow path. Last winter, her uncle had slipped and broken his ankle at this very spot. Haste was not an option.

The hut was old, older than time the seidhr had told her when she was a child and wavering over the sagas she had heard told and retold over the long winter months. Sensing her distraction, their seidhr had told the children gathered around the large fire in the centre of her parent's long house the story of how she had become the wise woman for their village.

But now it was time to watch her footing and not be lost in her childhood memories. She had a question to ask and she would not sleep well until it had been answered. Or, perhaps she would sleep worse. Shaking her head to clear that last thought, she dug her nails into the branch at her side. It was smooth, well weathered, from all the people that had travelled before her.

Each step she took was a step her ancestors had already done before her. It was a comfort. She looked skyward as the thunder cracked overhead and brightened her way for a moment. A thank you was mumbled under her breath to the mighty Thor. A second of bright light was a good sign, she decided.

Her feet slipped as the rain steadily increased until she could not tell where each drop landed. Still she fought her way forward. The journey was hard, but there was a reason for that. A question asked was always a weighty decision. The seidhr had no time for stupid questions asked randomly. Instead, the long, difficult trek was supposed to clear the mind and help a person decide if their question was important enough to warrant the journey.

***

"Sweet Lagertha," the old woman said as she scratched on the door. "What are you here for?"

"I have a question for you." Lagertha sat down at wise woman's feet, laying out a selection of goods for an offering. The gods would not speak through the woman if she did not have an equal valued gift for them.

Bony fingers reached out, touching the cloth, the salted fish and the roots that were probably getting too old, but were the best of what she still had stored. It had been a long winter after all.

"Everyone is always asking questions." The seidhr ran the dried herbs under her nose, the movement releasing the dusty scent of sage that hung in the air briefly, before it tangled with the wood smoke and dissipated.

"I need to know who I will marry," Lagertha asked, always direct. It was in her nature. She couldn't see the point of wasting hers or the seidhr's time with small talk.

"Ah, you ask of marriage." The seidhr rocked back onto her feet before returning the sage to the other offerings. "All women seem to want to know of their future husbands."

Lagertha waited. The woman would answer her question, or not. If she seemed impatient, the answer would only be delayed. Patience was something she always struggled with and their village seidhr knew this. Any chance she could help teach her a lesson, she would. Lagertha bit at the inside of her cheek and then tucked her hands underneath her robe to hide how clenched together in worry they were. It wasn't that she feared getting married, it was just that she hated not having much of a choice in it.

"Of all the questions I get asked, Lagertha, I think the most common is from young women such as yourself asking about who they will wed." The seidhr poked a gnarled stick at the fire, helping the flames dance higher in the dim room. "I see their fear, their hope, and their excitement. However, I do not see that on your face, Lagertha. Why is that so?"

Lagertha lowered her gaze. What was it she felt, she wondered? It was a question she had to ask, yes. But it was not because she wanted a husband, or for her adult life to begin. Instead, she was hoping the seidhr would say there would be no one in her life. That her life would be her own and not belonging to someone else.

"I don't need a husband." Lagertha set her jaw and raised her steely gaze to meet firmly with the woman across from her.

"You may not, my dear. However, your family does."

"I know." Neither of them blinked as the silence lengthened between them. Lagertha finally sighed. "Can you tell me if I will marry then?"

More silence. Finally, she lowered her eyes rather than have the wise woman bear down into her mind any longer.

"Let me have a look for you."

Lagertha expelled a long steady breath, trying to silence it rather than alert the seidhr to her relief.

***

As she left, Lagertha held her sacred offerings close to her chest. She was relieved to know she would eventually rule on her own, having no man preside over her. However, knowing she would be married thrice indicated she would have a very long wait to endure before she could step out from the weight of responsibility, perhaps nearly a whole lifetime.

She could hear the water before she saw the waterfall. A thin sliver cascaded from high above and splattered down over the rocks, landing, finally, in a small pool that quickly disappeared into jagged rocks. It was not the prettiest place to worship, here in the land known for its waterfalls, but it was her favourite.

Placing the items down on the flat rock that had seen generations of offerings and sacrifices, she arranged each item carefully. She gave her blessing to the wight that resided there, in the air and the water and the ground that she walked upon. Her destiny reached out with long slender fingers, eager to clasp her and pull her forward into her predestined future.