Chapter 12: The herald of Odin
Chapter 12: The herald of Odin
Sven pulled a fishbone out of his mouth and exhaled while stroking his beard; Elin, next to him smiled.
“Did you like the food, Sven?”
Sven nodded as he stood up. “Elin, I don’t know what I would do without your food, I’m lucky to have a wife like you.”
Elin laughed as she ordered the slave to clean the table. “I’m glad you liked Sven, but now we have to go see Einar.”
Sven from the table took his fur hat. “Come on later, we have to see Asgot.”
The two left the great hall and began to walk down the small dirt road; as they advanced, they could see their new Viking slaves carrying some wooden tables and some objects towards the center of town.
Eskol, who was taking care of the slaves, noticed the presence of Jarl Sven and his wife, so he walked towards them. “Good morning Jarl, I hope these slaves have not disturbed you.”
Sven approached Eskol and gave him a hug. “You don’t have to be so formal, Eskol, we have been companions in arms since childhood.
But tell me, how are these slaves behaving, have they given you trouble? “
Eskol shook his head. “Not at all, Sven, I think after a few months of hard work, we will be able to assimilate them.
If they don’t want to, we can simply force them to watch Kassia open a body so that they lose their spirit. “
Sven laughed and gave Eskol a little bump on the shoulder. “You’re a bastard, you know the last group of slaves were scared shit when they saw one of their companions being opened alive.”
A smile formed on Eskol’s face trying to control his laughter. “They are all great warriors until they become Kassia’s test subjects, then they will beg for their lives.
I feel that torture is better than the use of the blood eagle; it is a shame that even with our methods, they keep trying to come and attack us. “
Sven’s face became serious. “It is something that we cannot change Eskol, who commands Christians to have wealth and not have enough strength to defend it.
At least our ice island is far enough away, we may not have much wealth, but we have enough strength to kill or enslave any Viking who tries to attack us. “
Sven clenched his fist as he looked at the slaves. “It’s a shame we don’t have enough people; otherwise, I’d like to launch some attacks on the southern Christian kingdoms.”
Elin put her hand on Sven’s shoulder. “You don’t have to worry about it, Sven, I’m sure our son can lead our people to greatness.
He has the best of the two strongest people our tribe has ever seen. “
Eskol crossed his arms and nodded, “That’s true, Elin, your father took the tribe to places as far away as Miklagard and Sven saving our tribe at its most difficult time.
Only time will tell where Einar will take us; by the way, Sven, could you ask Kassia why she cut some pieces of skin from a calf yesterday. “
Sven scratched his beard. “I’ll ask Eskol, sometimes I don’t understand what she’s doing either, but I’m sure of something.
She is the best doctor in our village, although perhaps the only person who could not save was my father-in-law. “
Elin sighed and hugged Sven’s hand. “My father was very ill, he also decided to die as a warrior and not in bed.”
Eskol sighed, “A great man, the Jarl Eero, may his soul enjoy Valhalla.”
After this, Sven and Elin said goodbye and continued on their way; when they were about to leave the town, they heard the voice of Godi Asgot, who was running towards them.
“Jarl Sven, please wait.”
Sven turned his face and looked at old Godi Asgot running towards him, so he put his serious look. “What’s wrong, Asgot, they attack us, or why are you running.”
The Godi Asgot breathed with some difficulty as he put his hand on his chest. “Sorry to interrupt your trip, Jarl, but I would like to accompany you; I only need a minute to catch my breath.”
Sven looked at his wife, and Elin could only exhale as she put her hand on Asgot’s back. “Don’t worry Godi, we’ll just wait for you, but why you want to come with us.”
Asgot caught her breath and carefully withdrew Elin’s hand. “Thanks, Elin. I’m better now.
I wanted to accompany them because I heard from Ibssen that Einar said he had made a deal with Odin. “
Elin was surprised by the words of the Godi and simply did not know what to answer, Sven for his part held his chin while narrowing his eyes. “This can be a good or bad thing.”
Asgot looked into Sven’s eyes and confidently said, “I don’t know, I didn’t get a chance to hear the story Ibssen was telling, but we can find out that it was the deal Einar made.
Either way, Kassia takes care of him, so his life is not in danger. “
Max, who was sunbathing outside the hut Kassia, could see three people approaching in the distance, so he walked towards the house.
Kassia, who watched the alcohol condense, didn’t pay attention when Max walked in; she was just a little surprised when Max put his face on her shoulder and spoke into her ear.
* We have guests, a woman with red hair, a man with a fur hat and another man with a white tunic and fur trimmings. “
Kassia regained her senses when Max just spoke in her ear, “It should be your parents and Godi Asgot; I guess you’re going to prepare the place, you need me to do something.”
Max smiled and put his hand on Kassia’s shoulder as his face turned serious. “Don’t worry, all you need to do is translate everything I say and endure the smoke that will be in the house.
I really wouldn’t want to use your hashish cake, but I have no other way to convince my parents but remember my words, Kassia. “
Max stopped his speech while remembering the time he participated in a raid on a drug booth. “Under no circumstances will you use that thing again, it may make you feel that you can do many things, but it will all be an illusion.
Drugs are the best way to destroy a person or a society; believe me, I have seen many people lost on their drug trips. “
Max said as he remembered women without clothes with needles in their hands and even some dirty street kids who seemed to have stolen just so they could have a little dope.
Kassia was shocked as she saw one of her vases on her mantel. “I never had plans to use that thing, I just had it stored away as a strange material that an Arab merchant sold me a long time ago.
But how did you know it is that thing with such certainty. “
Max exhaled as he walked to the ledge, where he pulled out a greenish-brown cake-shaped square. “Because of the aroma and the way it’s made, this thing is derived from the resin of the marijuana plant.
At the military engineering school, they taught us how to identify different types of drugs; I also had the misfortune to see this and other drugs destroying the lives of countless people in some drug raids. “
Max’s hand-cut a piece of the square and threw it into the fire; after this, he closed the wooden window and later saw Kassia.
“Marijuana has a compound called THC, it is a psychotropic that affects the nervous system.
Oh, in simple terms, it is the cause that one feels relaxed or more capable of doing things. “
Kassia began to listen to what Max said, but as she spoke more and the smoke in the hut gradually increased, she began to feel relaxed.
For his part, Max also began to feel the effects of the hashish, so without wasting time, he took four deep clay plates and placed a copper coin inside.
After this, he put enough alcohol on them and decided to wait for his parents to arrive while enduring the smoke that gradually filled the hut.
When Sven, Elin, and Asgot arrived at Kassia’s house, they were surprised when they heard a beautiful melody that seemed to come from a flute.
Sven very carefully knocked on the door of the house, and after a minute inside, Kassia’s voice invited them to come in; when they opened the door, they were taken aback by the amount of smoke in the hut and their inability to see what was in it. Inside.
But after entering completely, Kassia asked them to close the door, so Godi Asgot did it, and the moment the door closed, the flute melody began to be played with more force, so the gaze of the three looked the place where the sound came from.
At that moment, they could see a small light from a burning piece of wood which was placed in four different places, each time the fire touched those areas, a green flame gave life to the interior of the hut.
The green fire revealed Einar, who was dressed in a purple robe and a wolf skin on his head, while passionately playing a small wooden flute.
The melody of the flute, smoke, and the four green flames made Sven, Elin, and Asgot feel that they were in a place belonging to the gods.
Unconsciously they walked in front of Einar, who gradually finished playing the flute; when the music ended, Max, who had his eyes closed, opened them and began to speak.
“Beati qui Ingrediuntur templum.
Ego sum qui autem vocatis Einar ego sum ego praedicator by Deo ferunt.
Audi me quod vidi et video quod testatum “
Kassia, who was sitting at the side of the table, began to translate Max’s words.
“Blessed are those who enter my temple.
I am who you call Einar, I am the herald of the god Odin.
Hear what I saw and see what I witnessed. “
Max then began to tell his fantastic story, without his noticing, Asgot started to get on his knees as he could see in Einar’s eyes the reflection of the great god Odin.
As the fantastic story progressed, everyone in the room lost the concept of time, including Kassia, who could only see in Max a figure that had divinity and not the man that he was.
When the story culminated, the green fire on the plates suddenly went out, awakening everyone from their spiritual journey in which Max led them.
In the vision of the four people, the present Einar ceased to be a person and became a herald of Odin.
Max smiled and invited his parents and the Godi to get up from the ground and take a seat.
“Primam harum ex Deo sunt videre Othinus.”
You are the first to see the reach of the god Odin.
“Verumtamen verba mea, quoniam vanae sunt, si non possunt demonstrandum”
But my words will be worthless if they cannot be demonstrated.
Max’s hand pointed at Kassia.
“Et in paucis diebus possit videre aliquid in alborem lucere in cute tuum Kassia”
In a few days, you will be able to see some spots on your skin in Kassia
“Vereor ne haec sint remedium variola”
You should not fear because these points are the cure for smallpox.
After saying those words Sven, Asgot, and Elin gasped due to the astonishing revelation that Einar made.