Prince Odin, The First | ✔

           A very long time ago, in a land of myth and a time of Greek gods, the destiny of a great kingdom rested on the shoulders of a young prince. His name, Odin. The responsibility of ruling his kingdom, Asthra, had fallen on his shoulders at the tender age of fourteen. The young prince had however not been deterred. He ruled his kingdom valiantly. Listening to the respectable counselling of his special advisers, he became the wisest prince to have ruled Asthra. The people couldn't have asked for a better prince.

          When prince Odin had just began his rule, he noticed some barbaric laws and practices his people had been engaging in for centuries. Practices such as slavery and sacrificing virgin girls at the end of the month to the gods as an offering. Prince Odin frowned at such laws and quickly had them abolished. He declared that instead virgin girls be used, animals and fruits, the best of their kind, should be offered unto the gods. The people loved him for the positive changes he had made in their practices. They cherished him and adored him for being fair and just in all his dealings with them.

            Prince Odin loved to hunt. It was all he enjoyed doing during his leisure time when he wasn't either fighting a war or having meetings with his fellow noblemen. He loved the satisfying thrill he got whenever he made a good catch, which was on almost every hunting trip. He always felt proud of himself but never bragged nor boasted about it.

            One day, he set out on a hunting trip with his Kingsguard. After a long day's work of steathily tracking down a Moora, a large beast that looked like a deer but had antlers the size of a full grown moose, he finally pinned it down with one perfectly aimed arrow. The prince was giddy with excitement. It was rare to catch a Moora and when one did he could sell it for a fortune. In the prince's case, he was only eager to have a feast at his castle with the the meat of his dead prey.

             His Kingsguard had only just placed the prince's catch in their royal carriage when they heard a splash and a short yelp come from the river not far from their carriage. The young prince wondered what the sound had been. He made up his mind to check it out when his Kingsguard advised against it, telling him that it might be Chaos, the god of strife and confusion, trying to lure them into his trap.

           The prince had almost given in to the advice of his Kingsguard when suddenly, another splash came to them, this time louder. Not being able to hold in his curiosity anymore, he turned left and headed towards the river.

          The Kingsguard, unhappy at his Prince's over curiosity, followed after him. The Prince, who had been ahead of him, got to the river before he did. When he finally arrived, he met the prince standing still, seemingly rooted to the spot, staring out to the river. The Kingsguard followed the Prince's line of sight until his gaze fell on a fine, fair lass, sitting in a small boat in the river, throwing her fishing net into the river and pulling it out without any catch. Her red hair and white frock had been partly drenched but she didn't look to care about that.

           He shifted his gaze from the girl and looked at his Prince. From the look on Prince Odin's face, anyone could tell he was mesmerized by the red haired girl. He had just stood there, mouth slightly agape watching her.

Then, the prince turned suddenly to his Kingsguard and asked, "Do you know who she is?"

"No, My Lord, I have never seen her before," the Kingsguard replied.

Just then, the young lass noticed their presence, scrambled to her feet on seeing the royal accessories the Prince and his Kingsguard had been carrying and genuflected every so gracefully.

         Ashura was awestruck. She had never seen the Prince before and had only the royal bow the young man in front of her carried to let her know it was actually him. Only the elderly commonfolk were allowed to be at public gatherings in which the Prince had been present. This was to allow orderliness. She was not yet old enough to be at any of those gatherings and so had to make do with the tales of his undeniable handsomeness and bravery in all the wars he's fought and won at a young age. But, here he was, standing right before her and watching her fish like he was a mere commonfolk.