Brother...…If only I knew fate had you... I would've held on to you for as long as I could…..
"Sound and sight are all gone yet. I can feel coldness on every part of my body and the swaying of the beautiful ocean. The wood on the boat smells sweet like an aroma I've smelt a thousand times, yet I know I will never smell it ever again. Then it's all gone, and I see her, a beautiful woman with half her face shrouded in mystery. Everyone knows her face, the one they call Hela, and as she reaches for me, I take her hand and leave as another woman holding my heart screams so loud yet beautifully I want to run to her and hold her, but I can't, and then the dream ends. Mother, what does this mean?"
"Oh my sweet snowdrift, dreams are dreams you must use the wisdom of Odin to guide your path. Hela couldn't have you unless Odin granted it. Trust in the All-father."
A part of me knew what my mother would say she's the matriarch of our clan, Ingrid, Great Mother of the Raven Clan. We follow Odin as our patron god and are taught to lead with wisdom and strength every day of our lives. In many ways, I admire her dedication, but I'm calling out to her, yet she feels so far away focusing on wisdom, not her son, but I must make her proud. "I do trust him, mother, just worried that's all. I will use what you taught me and focus on what's more important, preparing for the Trail of Fate. Is Ta outside training or has he gone to the great hall for blessing for the trail tomorrow?"
Ingrid smiled, then spoke, "That's my boy. Yeah, he's in the great hall; he already finished training this morning."
"Already? Dammit, he's always training without me!"
"Hey, language!"
"Sorry, it won't happen again."
"Mhm hmm, you said that yesterday… Your brother is just trying to be the best so he can protect you. Don't worry about it. Just go get your brother and get your blessing so we can start the trial." She stands up from where she was sitting and moves with the grace of a dancer and kisses my forehead. "You two will be great warriors of the Raven clan. I love you so much."
"I love you too, Mom. See you later, and may Odin guide your path." I say as I leave.
"And yours," she says as silently as I leave.
As I leave and head towards the great hall, I take in the environment on the way. Sometimes I forget how beautiful the village and the people are. The warriors in training swinging their axes and the Uruz warriors meditating, their runic tattoos glowing. I can't wait until I get my runic tattoos. I hope Odin blesses me with a great gift or... one that protects me from my dreams….. As I approach the great hall, I touch the runes on the door, saying "ᛟ" Othala, our ancestral building, the very first one blessed and given to us by Odin. I push it open and I see my big-headed brother praying to Odin.
"Let the spear guide my way, Ravens guide my sight, and let it strike true at the heart of my enemies, for if I should fall, let the hall of Valhalla welcome me and steel my heart for Ragnarok forever more. Fonn, must you stand behind me and watch me? Why don't you come pray, hmm?"
Always the religious brother, no wonder he's so blessed in his dedication; he could probably fight blind with faith alone. "Of course I will Ta was just watching, that's all." I say, smiling from ear to ear. Then I proceed to say the same prayer, and after I finished, my brother looked at me and, like always, knew what I was thinking.
"What's wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play coy with me. Something's bothering you, and that smile you just did was so fake it was nearly insulting!"
"It's the dreams... they've gotten worse…. I saw Hela. I think I'm going to die. I don't know when or how, but I'm scared Ta."
My brother didn't say anything; he just looked at me for a second. Then suddenly he grabbed me by the head and hugged me and said, "Thank you for telling me, and I want you to know the dreams you are having are horrible and scary, but is it going to stop you from living life and being happy? You have a personality that is beautiful, and despite the dreams you had all your life, no matter how small or big, you never told anyone until now, and yet you still were great at being yourself. I admire it, and I'm proud of you. Let the dreams be dreams and be vigilant, but also remember we all die someday, but you must choose how you want to be remembered."
I nearly wanted to cry. How does my brother do it? No matter what happens to him, he pushes forward and says just the right thing. "Thank you, Ta."
"Anytime head to the square, Mom should be ready, and it's time to start our trial. You ready to become the warriors of the Raven clan, Fonn?"
I thought about what he said more before answering and used that confidence for the trail ahead of me. "I was born ready!"
"Oh really? What about the time you got scared when a mistletoe fell on your head and screamed like a little girl?"
"Hey! You swore to never speak of it!"
"To no one else but Odin most definitely has seen it and is probably laughing at you."
"We'll see who's laughing once I beat you to the square." As soon as I say those words, I push him as hard as I can to make him fall and knock some flowers and shrubs onto him, and run as fast as I possibly can to escape what might be my last day in Midgard if he catches me. As I'm running from him to the square, I make sure not to knock people over. When a kid passes, I jump as high as I can, narrowly missing him and yelling "SORRY" for nearly scaring the kid. As I pass by my uncle Hower, the blacksmith, I knock over his favorite axe. He tries to grab me, but I slide as soon as he reaches, and he yells at me, "FONN WHEN I CATCH YOU I WILL…." But I'm already gone and have the square in my sights. It's about 100 feet away when a girl comes out of the alley and immediately hits me full speed. It hurt like hell, but I instinctively grabbed her and wrapped her up to protect her from falling. I hit my head and see white.
"H…." Huh? "He…." What? "Hey… get up are you ok?" I must have blacked out and her shaking me I making my head hurt worse. "Yea I'm ok sorry for knocking you over your not hurt anywhere are you?"
"No, I'm fine. You broke my fall, and I kind of pushed your head back to break my fall, so that's why you hit your head."
No wonder I saw white, I thought. I'm surprised this isn't what caused Hela to come. " It was mostly my fault. I should've seen you," as I stand up and help her up, I say just in case. " If you would like, head to my auntie. She's the village healer, okay? I don't want to have caused you any…." Just then, I feel something hit my head. As I grab it and look at it and immediately throw it, "Ahhhh," mistletoe. How did it get there?
The mysterious girl began to laugh. "Ahahaha, your scream is higher than mine. Don't worry, I'll protect you from the mighty mistletoe."
How did it get there that's impossible…..
That's when I hear my brother Ta laugh so hard he was grabbing his stomach. "HAHAHAHAHA, that's for pushing me. EVERYONE BEHOLD FONN DEFEATED THE MIGHTY MISTLETOE!!! FONN! FONN! FONN!"
Well, I guess today's the day I kill my brother. My mother will probably forgive me. "With Odin as my witness, brother, you die TODAY!!"
"Oh shit!"
"Nahhhh, don't run. I haven't touched you yet!"
I immediately start running after him at full speed. My brother may be faster, but what I must do will correct the balance of the world. We nearly reach the square, and when he's in my reach, I jump onto him and put him in a full nelson and pray to Odin that he will forgive me. My brother broke a promise, and he must pay, but that's when a shadow comes over us, and both my brother and I felt fear. That's when we looked up and saw our dad, the Jarl of the Raven Clan, Agnar the Iron Blood.
Aug. 18, 738