Cold, blackness, pressure. Only the prismatic light of the great fish scale cut through the infinite dark. Yet before the straining eyes of 'Little Fish', shafts of light barely stretched a few lengths ahead. Ever downward, he swam while holding the hand of the Aesir Chief who in turn held the Valley Knight's. The pressure on his head and body was growing unbearable! Little Fish knew his lungs wouldn't hold out much longer for making it possible to descend, he eventually released all his precious air!
None of this seemed right. The last time he found himself in the place the Priestess called, 'Between Life and Death' he'd been tricked into coming and was hopelessly lost. If not for the timely guidance of the giant being he named 'Sir Fish', he never would have found his way back to his new home in the Valley. Getting back home had been much easier as all he did was find the bottom of the pool he'd fallen into and swam to the surface. This time was very different. Now he had dove down into this strange place for the Priestess asked him to take the Chief to his faraway home.
Just as Little Fish's lungs were about to give out, he remembered through the power of the fish scale he could breathe underwater! Most important, once they passed beyond where they came from into the space between, breathing was possible with or without the fish scale. His lungs made the decision for him and he involuntarily gulped down a huge breath! Turning back to the two men linked to him, the boy could see they too were at their absolute limits. Out of breath Little Fish said, "Breathe!"
Unable to help themselves, the two men gave into the reflex and gasped like landed fish on a bank. Astonished the Chief blurted between gasps, "H-how... how i-is... this p-possible?" While trying to catch his own breath, Little Fish gave the only answer he had. "I... don't know. I do know while we are in the space between, we can breathe and talk the same as at home. Once we get where we're going, it'll be water again. I forgot I can breathe underwater with the fish scale. I don't know if while we hold hands you can breathe underwater too."
It was the Knight who said, "How will we know when we are back in the world we came?" Looking at the two men's concerned faces, Little Fish realized he hadn't thought of that. Thinking hard for a moment, the boy recognized he no longer felt the pressure or cold he felt as they descended. It was the same as when he met Sir Fish. To his recollection, when he thought hard about getting back to where he started the pain of being deep underwater suddenly came upon him and he swam to the surface. It was then the boy had an inkling of how traveling through the space between to another place might work.
Looking back at the two expectant faces, Little Fish gave his best guess. "Okay, um Chief, think about where you want to go again." The Chief doing his best not to be overwhelmed by all this, closed his eyes and imagined his homeland once more. In his mind's eye the rolling hills and expansive fjords became clear as waking. He even could see the forest pond he swam in as a boy!"
The Valley Knight could not imagine what his two companions were seeing behind their closed eyes. Suddenly, the big fish scale hanging upon the boy's neck changed from multicolored white to bright red. Above them shafts of blue light streamed downward to reach them in the depths. The Knight started to speak but only bubbles and muted sound escaped his throat!
Little Fish opened his eyes and could see the welcomed sight of a blue sky over water above them. He also felt the sudden weight and pressure of being deep under water take hold. As he expected, the fish scale allowed him to breathe but he wasn't so sure about that for the two men linked with him. Giving the Chief's hand a squeeze and pointing upward, the boy began the ascent to the surface.
After what seemed to be an arduous ascent, the two men broke through the surface of still water. Immediately afterwards, Little Fish shot from the water high enough for his feet to clear the surface with ease. Being the more cautious the Knight said, "All right, calm down. We don't want to let anyone know we are here just yet. Where are we?"
After a quick look at their surroundings, a broad smile crossed the Chief's face and he said, "By Odd's blood Little Fish, you did it! I'm home!" Heedless of the Knight's warning, the Chief enthusiastically swam to shore. In this unfamiliar place, the Knight could feel the forest's eyes glaring upon them. Little Fish's enthusiasm was stifled when looking away from the gleeful Chief to the Knight. The boy's apprehension grew considerably for the sparkles of sunlit water droplets fell from the Knight's curved black short sword as he exited the pond.
The Aesir Chief knew exactly where he was. Looking from the late summer forest canopy along the shore to the nearby mountains, he knew his village was but a half notch on the sundial's time distance to walk. He took in a deep breath of his homeland's air and grinned like he'd had his first woman. Turning, back towards his companions the Chief said, "Ah my friends, I will show you the great tree which as children we used to dive from...." To the Chief's surprise, both the Knight and boy were gone.
Annoyed, the Chief turned back toward the trees only to hear the sound of a spear hurtling towards him! Barely dodging the missile, the veteran warrior saw a dozen blonde-haired warriors break through the treeline with swords and axes at the ready. "Odd's Iron codpiece! The Vanir!" Drawing his sword from its soggy scabbard, the Chief saw the enemy of his grandfather's father charging forward with murderous intent! Just as a blonde-headed axeman prepared to hurl his weapon, a black arrow slammed through the side of his helmeted head causing him to flip over toppling three other raiders.
Ready to do what he could to help turn back his people's long departed enemies, the Chief side-stepped the fumbling raiders and cut down a spearman trying to avoid the tangle. Grabbing the dead man's shield, the Chief put to good use the long months of training the mountain guardians and the skirmishes alongside the Valley Knight. Swiftly, the Chief brought the borrowed ironbound wooden shield down in an angle unfamiliar to a Vanir swordsman shattering the raider's shield. The look of surprise and pain from his equally shattered arm were frozen on the raider's face after the Chief's broad sword's swift arc completed the follow through.
The raider's head bounced away after being kicked by a fellow raider rushing to impale the Chief. Kicking the still standing and spurting body in the chest toward his new assailant, blood splashed onto the approaching raider's face blinding him. The man's roar of surprise and anger was cut short as his own shield smashed his face in a spray of blood and broken teeth after clashing with the Chief's broad shoulder. Laughing the Aesir Chief roared, "Felled by the 'Fountain of Tyr'! Are there no warriors among you simpering dogs?"
Two more black arrows loudly proclaimed their marks found within blonde iron helmeted heads and the remaining raiders halted their attack. A burly younger blonde raider stepped forward pushing his halting fellows aside. "What sorcery is this? One man lays low half my men in but moments and has yet to receive nary a wound? You have the red hair of the settlers, but the dark skin of the Southmen. Who are you?"
The Chief was in no mood to exchange battlefield pleasantries. Suddenly with a loud report, a black arrow punctured the large iron boss of the lead raider's shield. The arrow came from a completely different direction with no archer to be seen. The Chief could not suppress an evil grin as the now fearful warriors flinched at the sight and sound. "Boy, you're in no position to demand names or anything else. Drop those weapons and shields and you may yet live to go back and bugger those yellow-haired oxen you call women."
Before the Vanir could respond, an arrow lodged itself through both horns of the leader’s helmet knocking it sideways and causing the chin strap to nearly choke him. It took every ounce of discipline the Chief had to not laugh at the raiders dropping their weapons like they were poisoned! The Knight was showing off, but it had the desired effect. The Chief allowed the leader a moment to untangle the helm from his head and then barked, "Now tell me why after three generations you scrawny pig-fuckers have come back to Aesir lands?"
The raiders looked at the Chief like he'd been struck mad. His amusement waning, the Chief grabbed hold of the leader lifting him from the ground. "Well boy? You plan on answering me or must a black arrow appear in your shit-hole to loosen your tongue? Why are you here on Aesir land?" Now fearful of the red-haired, red-skinned warrior the raider replied, "T-these a-are free lands! O-only a few settlers have come. We've come to collect tribute for our chief!"
Giving the man a shake the Chief growled, "Who is your Chief?" The Vanir replied, "Ragmar! Our chief is Ragmar!" The Chief looked at the man for a moment and then laughed in his face. "Ha! So you Vanir crawl out of your holes again with some turnip dick claiming the name of a chieftain long dead. Now that pissant unworthy of the name, claims tribute from my lands? By Loki's spiked cock! I'm gone for a few months and the weasels start moving in!"
Looking the raider in his eyes and in a calm and cool tone the Chief said, "Boy, take this gaggle of shit-birds back to that name stealing, boy-fucker you call a chief and tell him Svengald son of Sljandir Chieftain of the Aesir has returned. If your chieftain really wants tribute, he can come drop his breeches in front of my longhouse and bend over so I can give him an arse full! Now, get the fuck off my land before I show you something worse than magic black arrows. And take all these cock-suckers with you!"
The Chief hurled the Vanir bodily into the group of raiders knocking them over. He watched them closely as they gathered their wounded and dead then scurried off. Once they were out of sight, the Valley Knight broke cover with Little Fish in tow. Grinning broadly the Chief said, "And here I thought I'd already seen how deadly you were Sir Knight!" The Knight was not so enthusiastic as he replied, "There were others hiding amongst the trees while you fought. They and the runner will not speak of this incident." A stunned Little Fish looked at the Chief and held out five fingers and made the throat-cutting gesture.
The Chief rolled his eyes for the Knight had outdone him again. Shaking his head in confusion the Chief said, "It's the damnedest thing! It was in the time of my grandfather's father when last the Vanir made war on my people. They were first defeated by the founder of my tribe and as my people grew strong, the Vanir pushed on further west troubling us no more. To think they have returned after all this time ...." Moving closer to the taller man the Knight spoke softly warning, "There are eyes still upon us."
© 2011 H. Wolfgang Porter. All Rights Reserved.
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