AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There were other dragons too, or so the myths and legends wove. But Odin wantedthisdragon. Thisman.For reasons he’d never revealed to Eir. Not that she expected him to.
Odin was the wisest of them all. No one dared question his edicts.
She’d been inventive about how to shirk her duty up to this point. With the average hero, a Valkyrie had only to tap him on the shoulder in battle to mark his soul for Valhalla. With anyone else, any Valkyrie’s touch would do.
But her warrior was different.
First, because he was not average in any sense of the word. He was a hero among heroes, a god among men. Second, he washers. The Norns specifically said that it was Eir who must bring him back.
She’d managed to skirt around this specific point by sending her sisters to tag him in the past, praying that they would be unsuccessful. They were.
But, now, Odin himself had consulted with the Norns. He had explicitly commanded Eir to act this time. There was no avoiding it.
And third, because this warrior wasn’t born of their world, created by their gods, he had toconsentto his Fate. He had to choose it willingly.
Which meant that Eir had to somehow convince him to come with her. To die in battle, pledge himself to a different pantheon of gods than those he might worship, and train to die in another battle.
The Great Battle to end worlds.
And lose his soul in the process, forever extinguished from the universe. The ultimate sacrifice.
After all this time that she’d watched him from afar, since the gods had given her this task, she could not bring herself to douse the brightest flame she’d ever beheld. Fleeting though her glimpses had been.
“Are you planning to stand there dithering all the long day, or will you join me for a brief respite?”
Eir glanced up from her private musings, unknowing that her feet had taken her to the edge of Fólkvangr, the goddess Freyja’s domain.
Eir smiled warmly at her favorite god and clasped the other woman in a brief but heartfelt embrace.
“Health and happiness, Freyja,” she greeted.
The beautiful, flame-haired goddess smiled in answer, beckoning Eir with a crook of her hand.
“Come, let us break our fast with honey, fruit and bread before your journey to the realm of men. You must store up strength to tackle the task before you, no?”
A table and two stools appeared in the field of flowers and tall grass nearby, complete with the refreshments Freyja described.
Eir took her seat as Freyja sat across from her. After pouring their wine, Freyja got right to the point.
“I know what Odin commands of you. You must resist.”
Eir paused in sipping her libation. This was news to her ears.
Freyja gazed at her steadily, unblinking.
“You know I have first choice of every fallen warrior. Odin must wait his turn.”
Eir regarded the powerful goddess carefully.
“You want the dragon warrior for Sessrúmnir?”
Freyja shook her head slightly with a mysterious smile.
“I want him to fulfill his Destiny. And I want you to help him, my beloved Eir.”
“I do not understand,” Eir murmured, treading lightly.
Gods were fickle beings. They could shower you with gifts one moment and send you to Hel the next.
Valkyries were forbidden, as with all of the gods’ magical creations, to interfere in the lives of men. Perhaps a small aid here and there might be forgiven. But Fate could never be circumvented.
“His Destiny is not Valhalla,” the goddess explained. “Do not take him to Odin.”
“Then what is it?” Eir asked. If she were to help the warrior, she needed to know.
Freyja lifted her shoulders insouciantly. Her lips quirked at the corners over the goblet she held, and her eyes twinkled with mischief.
But all she said was:
“That is up to you, my friend.”
