Chapter Twenty

The Song of Lightening on the Hill

Once a male warrior from the north Veshel was famed for his savagery and fearlessness in battle and always leading the charge. He swung a mighty pole scythe cleaving through ranks of his opponent’s the only armor he wore were Pauldrons and a cloak made from his fallen pet a peryton enchanted to be as strong as dragon-scales. He then marched on the Astral sea seeking an even greater challenge. He battled for years in the Astral sea traveling on his mighty ship with his crew of ferocious warriors the ber-serkr who drew power from Veshel even then.

Veshel learning dark magic and raising his warriors back to life whenever they fell in battle. None could stand against them or challenge Veshel and live. Seeking a greater challenge Veshel when to Danu-Talis to speak to the three Fates. The fates demanded one of his eyes as payment for what he asked, and he plucked it out and gave it to them; in return they returned his strength to that of his prime and turned all his twenty-four remaining undead berserks bones black with power and their eyes glowed with lightning crackling and restored unto them was their love for battle and their sense of taste and rage. Armed with revigorated youth Veshel changed Thorn the manifestation of earth and energy. The two clashed back and forth across the island of Valhöll until at last Veshel suffering many broken bones and scorched with lightening split Thorn in two. Taking his seat at the thrown on the island’s Great Hall and his undead berserkr feasted in his hall. Veshel seeking a wife looked to the other gods who shunned him due to his rage and savagery and what he had done to his own men,

So Veshel turned his gaze back to the mortal world to among his people and found the daughter of a king a warrior princess named Ravn. He sent his ber-serkr to the small northern kingdom and when the warriors saw the black bones and the lighting eyes crackling with rage, they were unable to stand and dropped their weapons and ran. The princess seeing all the soldiers of their land flee took up her aging father’s sword and she and her twelve handmaids went to face the ber-serkr. They met in the great hall and when the ber-serkr saw her they knelt, and Ravn stopped.

“Why have you come here?” Ravn asked.

“Our master has chosen you as his wife,” Malzar the captain of the ber-serkr spoke his voice like the low rumbling of thunder. “He has given his word that if you come with us voluntarily no harm will come to your family or kingdom and your father and mother will be given the dowry of a thousand kings.”

Ravn knew that she could not stand against the ber-serkr and she bowed but her handmaids stepped in front of her. “If our mistress goes then we must come as well,” they said knowing that this demand could lead to their death but sworn to loyalty to the princess as her personal guard known as the valkyrja. The ber-serkr went to the ship to wait for Ravn to say goodbye to her mother and father and three brothers and sisters.

Veshel speaking through his servant agreed and ship of solid gold laden with gems and silver landed in the courtyard of the castle. Ravn then journeyed over the land to the ship that awaited her. On the way three white ravens landed on her shoulders as they traveled along the cliff twelve peryton’s attacked them, but her handmaidens struck them down and took the skins of each of them and the antlers from their heads and feathers from their wings. Finding six eggs in the peryton’s nests they brought them with them. They boarded the ship and ber-serkr sailed into the Astral Sea and to the island of Valhöll.

There Ravn with the three white ravens on her shoulder bowed to Veshel and they were hand-fasted and Veshel took her to his bedchamber. Her handmaidens spent their days in the great hall with the ber-serkr fighting and training with them and spinning and weaving linen and silk given to Veshel as tribute. They took the feathers and skins of the peryton’s they had slain and made them into cloaks and enchanted them with the energy of Valhöll that rose from the earth each night taking the antlers they divided them up as gifts to the berserkr who sharpened them into daggers that they wore at their belts. The six eggs hatched and among them were two males and four females who grew over the course of a year and fought like dogs under the table for scraps of food and once they had matured laid clutches of eggs and to this day the island of Valhöll has herds of peryton who live in the caves along the underside of the island and prey on creatures and travelers who travel too close.

After a score of years, Ravn’s father died and the neighboring kingdom Icenhelm attacked and began to lay waste to her families kingdom. Ravn begged Veshel for help but Rahl the manifestation of light and earth intervened, preventing Veshel from going to smite the armies who ravaged Ravn’s kingdom.

“I can not interfere directly my love,” Veshel said to Ravn, “but all the souls of the men who fall in battle protecting your land if your handmaidens can gather them will feast in my hall and all those who falter and cower or flee will spend all eternity in the dungeons tortured for their cowardice and my men will aid your brother as they can.

So, the black-boned warriors came to the aid of Prince Illrigger now the king of Vonahamer. The handmaidens of Ravn enchanted their cloaks with flight and flew over the battlefield taking the souls of the fallen warriors and flying up to Valhöll where the souls feasted in the Great Hall and the cowards screamed as they hung from cages below Valhöll forever giving sustenance to the perytons who devoured them.

King Illrigger and this five hundred remaining men faced Two thousand soldiers from Icenhelm and bravely rallied his men to this final battle. Many of their swords had been broken and their spears were all gone and for every three men, only one of them were armed. Then Malzar spoke to Illrigger and gestured to the side of the river.

“Have each of your men who do not have a weapon go to the riverbank and pluck two reeds then when the army advances order them to throw one of their reeds at the enemy,” Malzar commanded.

Illrigger not knowing what Malzar intended but having no other options did as he was instructed and each of his men plucked a reed as long as their forearm. The enemy advanced with iron tip spears lowered and howled with victory. Then when they were axe throw away Illrigger ordered his men to throw their reeds and the reeds turned to spears in the air and the first rank of the enemy fell dead to a man. Then Malzar and the other ber-serkr stepped forward and began striking down waves of men with lightening, scythe, axe, and sword even as they were brought down, and their spirits rose to Valhöll were their bodies would reform in their tombs.

Malzar was the last to fall and when he did so, at last, the two armies were on even footing and the two kings of the army Illrigger and Karnen came face to face. The two armies stilled as the unspoken duel began each waiting to see which kingdom would be victorious. Karnen carried a sword but Illrigger picked up Malzar’s fallen scythe since his own sword had broken in the battle and fought with slashes and sweeping blows as the black metal met the copper sword of Karnen enchanted with magic from the first age. The two battled until the setting sun rose again and then at last Illrigger struck a mortal blow. Karen gestured to Illrigger to come closer so he could give his last words and Illrigger being a man of honor knelt close. Karen then stabbed a poison dagger into Illrigger side under his arm.

The handmaidens of Ravn enraged by this action dived into one group took Illrigger a noble king and warrior up to Valhöll and the other battled with angels of Rahl who came to take Karen’s soul. They beat back the angels and dragged Karen’s soul up to Valhöll and threw him into a pit on the island know as Helheim the entrance to the nine hells guarded by a savage beast known as Hell who would torture him until the end of time. The kingdom of Vonahamer then conquered Icenhelm and destroyed all altars and temples to Rahl and on the high places the men erected alters to Veshel and the women hung from witch trees feathers and sacrifices to the Raven Queen. The paladins of Veshel called themselves Illrigger after the King of Vonahamer and the Raven Queen’s brother and these warriors raise tribute for Veshel and are determined to die in battle and join their forefathers in Valhöll. The clerics and paladins of Veshel developed certain trials and rituals they had to complete to advance in power and ranks involving sacrifices to Veshel several of them involving the sacrificing of slaves who are often the decedents of the people of Icenhelm.