“Dróttning Nerthus?” Now, my response is in my mind. I’m not sure how I know, but I realize this conversation needs to be completely between us, with no words spoken out loud.
“Dróttning? I should not be surprised she would hold such a title. And yet I am.” He steps closer, his vacant eye sockets focused only on me. “Nerthus once was an ally to the elves. Your companion knows well what that friendship produced. But her support did not last.”
“You lived when the elves were free?”
“I died in the war for their freedom.”
“Did you fight for the elves?”
“I did, little elf.”
I spin to look at Fhord, but he’s still paying us no attention. “You’re sure he can’t hear us? His mind is powerful.”
“These words are only for you. His words will follow.”
“Why did Nerthus turn on the elves?” I feel as if my entire existence will depend on his answer to this question.
“Nerthus craved the power held by the dragons. She wanted to lead them without challenge or opposition. But the dragons ever were aligned with the elves. Nerthus could not let that stand.”
“The elves are all imprisoned, and Nerthus controls the dragons now. Do you know how?”
“Those events followed my death. The stories have not reached me here.” He paused, watching me for a moment. “But it does not surprise me. Elves are powerful, as you know. Nerthus would need to constrain them, lest they rise again and retake their rightful place in these lands.”
“Why does Fhord want me to know how you died?”
The draugr’s face shifts slightly to glance at Fhord, and then turns to me again. “That he must answer. But I will share my story if you wish.”
“Will you tell me your name first?”
“I am Konungr Erik. I ruled in the Far North until my death.”
I lean forward, dropping my chin to my chest in a respectful bow. Now I really have questions. I’ve lived here for ten years and have only heard rumors of the Far North. Those willing to acknowledge its existence say the Dróttning has had people killed for discussing it.
After a few moments I lift my head and smile. “Thank you for telling me your name. Please tell me of your death.”
“Know first that the dragons rejected Nerthus, although she craved that bond more than any other. More even than a mating bond. She held great power and was presented as a candidate at many hatchings. Never, though, was she chosen.” Erik’s head pops up as one of his hands lifts in a dismissive gesture. I spin to watch another of the draugr back away into the forest, then turn my gaze back to the dead king.
“Nerthus waged war to wrest control of the dragons from the elves. She fought dragons, elves, gods, and humans in her quest, but many stood by her side. Too many. None knew who would prevail. And then the fates brought us here. Where we would meet our doom.” The ache in his voice echoes through me, leaving a gaping hole in my gut. His pain feels as stark and fresh as the day he received his death wound.
“What happened?”
“I know not how, but as our swords clashed, the land seemed to come alive, sucking away every elf who fought by my side. Half of my army disappeared, all of their dragons with them. Gone, as if they never existed.”
“Elves and their dragons? Nobody else?”
“Only the elves and their dragons.”
“How?” I’m not breathing, my need for his answer stilling every part of me. This is everything.
“Our books hold stories of those who can journey to another place or time. I had always dismissed it as myth, lacking substance. But I have come to believe those stories hold deep truths. That some unknown magic that day, in this place, took our fighters from us.” Erik raises his head, almost as if he’s sniffing at something, and then shifts his attention to me again.
“We have not much time, and I still must answer your companion’s questions. My death came quickly after that, at Nerthus’s hand. Without the elves or the dragons on our side, we were defenseless.”
“And then the gods did this to you. Why?”
“Nerthus beseeched them, and they complied. She holds us here and could release us if she chose.”
“Do you know why only elves and their dragons disappeared? And if they really went somewhere else?”
