A Dragon's Rising by Tina Glasneck

Author:Tina Glasneck [Glasneck, Tina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vie La Publishing House, LLC
Published: 2019-01-19T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Baldr

In the Viking village situated on the banks of the fjord, a large bonfire grew in height and depth, as the faithful uttered words of faith and sang songs of praise to the gods, but still surrounded by such beauty and delight, Baldr couldn’t take it all in. Thor laughed with the people, while Loki stayed close to the fire as if warming himself, despite the summer night’s warmth.

Today was a holiday for him. Wreaths hung adorning the area, including in the nearby fields, while some held on to their corn dollies to later light them in his honor.

Still, the air held a secret. Something was amiss.

Seated in their place of honor, Thor drank from an offered tankard, and Baldr leaned back into his seat. His vision glazed over, lost in thought.

“Death will find you, dear Baldr, son of Odin,” a wiry whispered voice of an old woman echoed in his ear, and from the corner of his eye, he saw her retreat back into the shadows.

Baldr shot up straight from his seat and gave chase.

The dark dreams wouldn’t leave him be. If the gods could be haunted, he might have believed the odd words, but until now, no one had died, and death was never an option.

He shuddered. He might be the first.

Light could not die or be squelched out. Still, the memories of the dream would not let him go, gripping tightly onto him like a dog gnarled and growled at a bare bone.

He bounded into a sparse house where an old woman sat making more corn dollies.

“My lord,” she said and nodded her cloth-covered head.

“Which of the Norn sisters are you that you speak to me of the future?” he demanded.

She waved him to a chair. “It is wise of you to see beyond what is present and that which still will come.”

“I am to die?”

Instead of answering, she retrieved a stick of wood from her pocket and began to carve it with a knife. The Norns could decide the fate of all beings, even the gods. No one was above their powers, not even Odin himself.

She remained quiet.

Sweat beaded on his forehead and dripped down his brow. He panted, unable to breathe, while his heart thundered in his chest.

“What is this strange emotion? What have you done to me?”

“I have allowed you to sense your mortality, as invincibility is what you’ve always known, but worry not, you shall not die by normal means. Your destiny of greatness will live on, but you must also walk the path set before you, as you have dreamt them to be.”

“The dreams? They are real?” he asked.

“In a way, they shall be.”

“What must I do?”

“From here, you are to head to the Phoenician pantheon and meet with Melqart.”

Baldr crossed his arms. He’d never had quite as good a relationship with Melqart as he had with the Greeks, like his friend Apollo. Plus, Melqart always seemed rather content in mischief, and he’d had enough of that with Loki.

“What shall I do there?”

“Through him, you will find the woman you seek.

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