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On his way to feeding the animals, Lothar thought about the day’s unexpected events. Dining, even with the knee-bender, reminded him of the friends he had back in Oseberg. Good comrades who challenged him and his skills in friendly battles. Friends to go hunting for bear or elk, share stories of their kill, or go net fishing as well, returning with enough to feed the village for a week.
Lothar recalled, as a child, he’d used hooks to catch fish. Now, he enjoyed the challenge and quickness of the skill necessary in the hunt for food, going after the meal, not waiting for it to come to you. The power of the final battle displayed for all to see in the end, although hunting just enough of what you need, and nothing more.
Lothar strolled over to the sheep pen and spread dry hay around so each would have enough to eat, and then to the corral for Sinséar.
Returning to the hay shelter, Lothar spied a small section of knotted branch in the corner. He picked up the wood, removed the bark, and examined the smooth texture. He withdrew the knife from his belt and whittled away bits of wood, making intricate cuts here and there.
Lothar examined the final shape. The carved figure was of Odin holding his beard. He asked for Odin’s help after the knee-bender had departed, and now here was his image in his hand.
Perching himself on the rail, Lothar stared at the figure. Odin’s long beard signified ageless wisdom, a symbol of his leadership of all the Gods that Lothar believed in. He realized the meaning of what he carved. Odin challenged him to face a new direction in his life, to choose from the traditions of his people or the other path Lothar envisioned—loving Dara.
After examining the figure, Lothar noticed Odin’s beard was larger on one side. He began shaving down the area with his knife.
“There you are,” Dara blurted.
“Ahhh!” Surprised, Lothar sliced across his thumb with the knife, then instantly put the injured digit in his mouth.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“Another question,” he slurred with his thumb in his mouth. He glowered at Dara when he heard her snort.
“Questions are a way to be strong, not show weakness, by challenging answers to determine a path to choose,” she countered.
He removed the injured thumb from his mouth. “Very well. I have been thinking about home.” He examined his thumb. The bleeding stopped.
“Are you returning home soon?”
“I have been gone several seasons, and I want to return.” He placed the knife back into its sheath. “My father has not been well since my mother’s journey to the afterlife two years ago.”
“You mentioned your father is the chieftain. Correct?”
“True, and if he should journey on, I hold the right as his successor there.” He showed the cuffs to her again. “These were given to me as heir, to signify my right to become chieftain, when his journey comes.”
“What about your brother?”
“Ulin has limited rights to lead our people. As third in line, he cannot claim the role of chieftain until after my father and I are dead. He has to have both cuffs to assume leadership, proving that we are no longer able to do so.” Lothar knew if his father had joined his mother in the afterlife, Ulin would quickly turn the village back to raiding after the many years their father had ceased going ‘a-Viking’ and become a lucrative trader.
“How are you going to get there?”
“By ship.”
“There are not many trading vessels that come by during this season.”
“Hmmm,” Lothar murmured. “I know the weather this time of year can affect the journey.”
He looked at Dara, and his head and heart desired to protect her. He knew he must return home and, Odin willing, prevent any attacks in the area by his village. He worried he may already be too late.
He jumped from the rail, landing next to her. “This represents Odin.” He handed her the carved figure. Lothar watched Dara cradle the wooden image in her hands, then turn the figure while she studied it further.
“He appears to be in a stance of power,” she observed. “Tell me more about this God.”
“Odin is the leader of all the Gods, such as Thor, the God of thunder, and Loki, a trickster who has tempted and given other Gods trouble.” He gazed at her while he explained further. “There are other Gods we believe in, as well as Goddesses. Valkyries are part of them, nine powerful women who choose, from amongst the dead, the valiant warriors who go to Aegir’s Hall or to Valhalla.”
“Your description of Odin sounds like Goddess Danu.”
“Tell me about your Goddess.”
“Danu is the mother of the Gods, as well as the Moon Goddess. She watches over all of us as we sleep, protecting us as a mother would her children. She brings water from the sky to fill our rivers and wells, providing life for all her followers.”
He watched Dara twist the manacle on one of her wrists.
“We, the Sisters of the Stone Circle, pray to Goddess Danu. As Priestess, I have been given these by the Goddess, and only she can remove them.”
“Interesting.” He raised her hand and gently turned the manacle around her wrist.
“After Colleen was taken last year, I went to the stone circle one night during a full moon. While I meditated, a voice spoke to me. I closed my eyes and listened. The voice told me I am the Priestess, chosen by the Goddess and the stones. Next, there was silence. When I opened my eyes, I found these manacles upon my wrists.”
“You talk to Stones...” Lothar scoffed.
“Only when they have something to say, unlike men who talk, but say little,” Dara retorted.
“I wasn’t sure if you were crazy or not.”
“These three swirls interlinked together represent Danu as a Triple Goddess, in three stages of her life, as maiden, mother and crone. I consult Danu through meditation at the circle of stones. Where do you speak to Odin or your Gods?”
“I listen to my heart,” Lothar revealed. “I can call for his wisdom about the path chosen.”
“Odin and Danu are quite alike.”
“I want to know more about Abbott Sean and that Christian God of his,” Lothar stated.
“I have seen some of my Sisters of the Stone Circle and other locals relinquish the old ways. Their change, whether from truly believing that this Christian God will make a difference, or that they are just following the King. Nevertheless the number of people following traditions has dwindled.
“My...” she started. “The King still permits his High Druid, Rowland, to practice the fire festivals to appease the farmers with their crops, while these Christians alter the aspects behind the fire celebrations for their own use. I feel our way of life here will irrevocably change and I will be the last one still following the ways of the Goddess.”
Lothar said, “In talking with the knee-bender, I found these Christians continue to believe that, in the end, their religion will be their salvation. I’m unclear about why he sought me out today. I will find out more.”
He gently closed his fingers over her fingers on the wooden figure as he looked into her green eyes.
“I would like to learn more about your goddess,” he said huskily.
“I sought her out today for guidance, regarding those I care for.”
“Including me, I hope.” He raised her hand and pressed his lips on the back of it.
“Especially you.” Dara flushed.
“Please enlighten me to what your Goddess said.”
“The path that I choose will have enormous challenges. I am the one to choose what path I take.”
“I understand.” Lothar hesitated as he gazed into her eyes, stroking his thumb along her hand. “I have seen us together in my mind. I desire to be with you. Should you choose to take the journey with me, I can promise to hold you in my heart, protect you with my body, and share my soul as we travel our path together.” Lothar gazed into Dara’s emerald eyes.
“I want you to be part of my journey. Even though I know we will face challenges, my life would not be complete without you,” she breathed.
Lothar lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers. He heard her moan with pleasure. Lothar smiled deeply while he held her close in his arms.
“What of your people, Lothar of the North, would they welcome an outsider to their clan?”
“My father told me about his violent younger years and how he rescued a woman from Francia. He loved her and she became his wife. He made her a promise that he would cease his raiding when I was born. He soon found profit in becoming an expert trader, and is a respected chieftain. My father loved her greatly before she journeyed to the afterlife.”
“I want an answer.”
“I will not say, for the people will tell you themselves.”
“We can remain here.”
“Where people ridicule and scorn you.”
“There are others like Colleen.”
“I’d like to meet her, if she truly is a friend of yours.”
“She was captured last year by a group of Norsemen. I haven’t seen her since.”
Lothar stiffened at the mention of Norsemen. “One of the local king’s men could have taken her.”
“No. He would never do that.” Dara shook her head. “Colleen had traveled south to visit her relatives in Linn Duachaill; the village was raided while she was there.”
Lothar took a deep breath and closed his eyes. People from his homeland could be responsible for taking Dara’s friend. He tried to imagine where they would have taken her, to his homeland in the north, east to the land of the Slavs, or to the newly opened markets in the south with the Caliphate. He exhaled and opened his eyes.
“Maybe she will return one day.”
“Perhaps,” Dara said wearily.
“Enough for tonight.”
Lothar held her hand while gazing at Dara. She looked up at the blanket of blue with sparkling stars above, her skin glowing in the moonlight. He stepped behind her, inhaling the scent of heather in her hair, then lightly touched her shoulders, and groaned when she molded her body against his.
Lothar knew he must cease his actions. His body ached to be with her. His shaft strained against his leggings she was driving him mad with lust. He could take her right now, force her legs apart and relieve himself into her as a savage Viking berserker. But his heart wanted more, someone he could trust.
He also knew he needed to return home.
Lothar stepped around her. “I need to take a quick swim,” he said.
“You’ll catch your death. I can see my own breath in the moonlight.”
“I’m extremely warm now, Valkyrie,” he said huskily. “I will return.”
