Huginn's Yule

"It is so, Lord," all his men said, and so too said more than a man or two of those who had followed Hengist into this Hall, for certainly none who stood here now would follow Hengist out.

"Now, men who were once Hengist's housecarls but are now without a Jarl, and all know Hengist had no sons, I lay a geas on you, and it is yours to choose your fate, for you are brave men, willing to fight and die for your Jarl even after his death, and this is to be respected. Thus, my skall this night shall make a song of this battle, praising all who fought, and once this song is sung, all shall praise the valiant carls of Hengist, together with the prowess of the warriors of Thorstein, for honor is due to all but Hengist, who was fool enough to insult my mother."

Thorstein smiled now, and his smile was for me, and I returned that smile, for King though he was, he was a dutiful son who respected and honored his mother.

"Now, warriors who once followed Hengist, a choice I give you. Serve my mother, the Lady Fan, as her guards for a season, and I shall take you into my service and take you South with me when the time comes in the spring, and I have raised a host, or accept my decision as to your fate, for I am the King here, and this is my Hall."

"Why should we who are warriors serve the..." This Guðlaf glanced at me, and he was a brave man indeed to question the King in such a manner and at such a time.

My hand raised my blade a little, for the first of them who said Witch Woman would die, and his eyes met mine, and he did not flinch, but he knew death when he saw it, and this one did not care to die at my hand, I knew, and I smiled, a little.

"...Lady Fan, who is your mother, and the Old Wolf's wife, and a sword-maiden indeed."

"Why?" Thorstein said. "Why indeed, and surely you have not sat at my mother's knee and heard the tale of how she met my Father, or you would not ask such a question."

Now he looked to me, and his eyes said to me that he wouldst not kill these men, not unless it was needful, for he had lost warriors this night. Faithful housecarls, and they would need to be replaced, and he would need to gain more men, in order to serve his ambition of a kingdom and a new home for the folk, carved from the rich lands to the south, and to take the followers of Hengist, whom I had slain, into his service, this would gainsay all who said ill of him over Hengist's death, and I looked back and I nodded, for this was wise of him, and his fame and renown would grow for showing such mercy to the defeated, and that Hengist's men would take oath to him would show that they held him in high regard despite the death of their Lord, and warriors would throng to serve under such a leader.

"It is a long tale, and one that my Mother has not before shared with the folk, but I ask my Mother now, before all my warriors, to tell this tale so that all may know it is an honor to swear as guard to a lady of such courage and renown. And to you, warriors of Hengist, I say this. Be my guests on this Yuletide Eve, swear again to me to keep the peace on this night. Sit, feast, drink of the Yuletide Ale, listen to my Mother's tale, and should, in the morning after you have thought long on this, you consider it an honor to serve as the Guard of my Mother and my Hall whilst I lead a war-hird against the Wulfingas to the north who trouble our borders, tomorrow eve, I will welcome you into my service as housecarls, and after that, we will talk of what the future will bring after the Geats have been humbled, for plans I have, and warriors such as yourselves I will need come the Spring."

"And if we do not choose this, Lord?" he asked, and he was indeed a man of courage to say such words.

"Your lives are in my hands, Guðlaf Orms-son," Thorstein said, and now he bared the wolf's fangs. "Entitled am I to enslave you, or sacrifice you, hanging you high from the trees in the Grove of Wōdan, for Wōdan welcomes the blood of men such as you, and you have attempted to kill the King. Entitled am I to carve the eagle on your back, to cut the ribs from your backbone, and draw your lungs there out in the blood eagle, giving you up to Wōdan in thanks for the victory I have won this night."

"That is your right, Lord," Guðlaf said, but he paled, as did his companions, those one score and ten who remained alive, for the blood eagle was not such a fate as any man would welcome.

"Glad I am that you acknowledge this, Guðlaf," Thorstein said. "For even though you attempted with your Jarl to kill me, I am not a King as would bestow such a fate on warriors as courageous and skilled with weapons as yourselves who yet live, for mine own carls are indeed battle-honed, as you yourself can see, and you are men of much battle-skill to have lived this long against them, and also you are men with such honor as to fight on after your Jarl died, for such is the action that honorable men would take, but also you are wise, for you do not fight on hopelessly, when hope is indeed offered. Thus, I offer you this choice. Listen this night to my Mother's Tale, and if you should decide such a woman is not worthy of your service, I grant you leave to depart with all you possess, having sworn to never again take up weapons against myself or any member of my family, down to the third generation, and this geas I will lay upon you, and your children, and your children's children in return for your lives. That is my word."

"King Thorstein, you are indeed a King worthy of your father, King Harald Wolfs-Fang," Guðlaf said. "Content am I and my comrades with your justice, and listen this night to your Mother's tale we will, and our decision you shall have in the morning, in obedience to your wishes."

"Release them," Thorstein said to his housecarls. "Return now to your table, for while when you entered this Hall, four tables were needed for you and your comrades, now but one will suffice, and sit you now, stay and feast as honored and welcome guests, but as blood has been spilt this night, your weapons I shall hold until the morrow, for tempers may well flare when the yuletide ale is drunk, for strong is my ale, and good it is to drink much, though in the morning your heads may regret this."

"Grateful are we that our heads will be in a position come the morn to experience such regret," Guðlaf said, and all present laughed, and even I smiled, for he was a man of wit, as well as courage, and all could see he was indeed a man of honor as well as courage, for he stepped forward without hesitation and handed his sword to a carl of Thorstein's, trusting the King's word, and he was the first, but he was not the last, for all his battle-comrades followed his example.

"Place the dead along the walls," Thorstein commanded. "So that at the last, they too may hear my mother's tale and perhaps recount the Lady Fan's words in Valhalla, where the Einherjar too may listen, for there, surely, the Old Wolf stands, as proud of her deeds in death as he was in life."

"All except for the body of Hengist, and he was kinslayer and foresworn, so his body shall be burned by the fire, and I command this as his kin, and King also."

The thralls fell to work with a will, for Thorstein was a firm master, but fair, and his thralls did not suffer unnecessarily, and soon the walls were lined with the bodies of the slain, three score and ten of Hengist's carls, and two score of Thorstein's men, and those two score, they were all men I knew well, and when the thralls were done, a hundred and ten sightless bodies sat upright against the log walls, and all agreed that this was a fitting backdrop to this yuletide feast, for the tale of such an audience would lend much to the retelling of this night, and I looked around for the old one-eyed man, but he was not there, and he was not amongst the bodies or the injured, and if he was wise, he would have slipped out the doors and away.

"Tell all here now your tale, Mother," my oldest son said at the last, sitting once again now on the King's seat at the head of the High Table.

His warriors sat at the benches to either side of the firepit, the chief warriors near to the fire, those of lesser status seated at the middle and outer tables, and the dead seated along the walls, and the Yuletide Peace was now restored, albeit the smell of roast pork and freshly shed blood and the shit-stink of death permeated the air around us, but in this Hall that was not an unfamiliar scent, and that pork was not such as men would eat, but the smell of the roasting meat gladdened my heart, for the son of Horsa would trouble myself and my children no more, and he had been childless.

I, I looked out at this barbarous throng and at the dead seated along the walls to either side, sightless eyes and pale lifeless countenances staring at me, and inside myself, I shuddered with horror at the ghastly sight, but after two score years of marriage to Harald Wolfs-Fang, I had seen far worse, and so I said a silent prayer to the Buddha, and obeyed my son's request.

"Bring me my erhu," I commanded one of my daughters, and she hastened to do my bidding, while all made themselves comfortable.

Those who were wounded finished the bandaging of their wounds, or watched as my daughters completed the stitching of their cuts and gashes where this was needful, and some must bite on wood as their wounds were stitched, but none would leave the hall, however sorely they were wounded, for all wished to hear my tale, and even Aelfwyn, whose guts had been sliced open to spill on the floor, and who knew he would die, he asked for his guts to be bound up within him, and to be placed at the forefront of the folk, so that he might listen and take all in.

"For all know there is no recovery from such a wound as this, and I am bound for Valhalla this night," he said. "But I would wish to hear and remember this tale of the King's Mother before I ask the King for the mercy-knife, that I might recount such a tale as will be told as I feast with the Einherjar."

All present acclaimed his words, and his friends and kin, and all the carls who were once Hengist's, they came forward to bid him farewell and utter words of praise for his courage and to praise his battle prowess, and indeed, Rig, a carl of Hengist's, smiled a lipless smile, for his upper lip had been cut away, and bloody and awful was the raw smile that remained, still dripping blood, his teeth forever now bared as are a skull's teeth, and his friends joked that his new name should be Skullface, and all laughed, including he, but he stood before all, at the side of Aelfwyn, and his words were of praise.

"A master of the sword is Aelfwyn, for none before he have ever gotten though my guard to bloody me, as my battle-friends will vouch, but Aelfwyn's blade hewed through my guard, and all may see the result, for I was never beautiful, but Aelfwyn has made no improvement," and his smile was such as sent a shudder through me, and all present agreed his countenance had not been improved in any way, and that Aelfwyn's sword-skill was beyond compare, at which words I said nothing, for these words were said in honor of Aelfwyn, and to aid in his passing.

"Honored am I to have exchanged blows with a warrior such as Aelfwyn, and surely he will be welcomed into Valhalla, and I myself will place the pennies over Aelfwyn's eyes, and make a sacrifice over his grave, and when my time comes, as all men's time must come, I will count myself honored to be his shield-brother in Valhalla."

"Honored I will be to welcome such a comrade at my side," Aelfwyn said, and his hand gripped Rig's in a white knuckled grip, and all knew he suffered, but silently, as was fitting, and all respected his bravery and courage, for most men would have asked for the mercy-knife immediately, but such was his desire to hear my tale that he bore the pain stoically, and Rig sat by his side and gripped his hand as a comrade, and all agreed that this was fitting, for Hengist's carls had been worthy adversaries, men of courage and battle-skill and honor, and many spoke up, telling them that they would be welcome as shield-friends within the hird of Thorstein, and my son was well-pleased with their words.

And those who were hale were busy calling to the thralls and the servant girls for ale and more meat, for this would be a lengthy tale, and all here knew it, but at last, all were ready, and Thorstein stood and called for silence, and silence fell, for all wished to hear my tale.

"I hight the Lady Fan, and my maiden name before my marriage to King Harald Wolfs-Fang, the Old Wolf, was, in the way of my people, the Princess Yuan Fan, for my father, Prince Yuan Cheng, was a Prince of the Royal Dynasty of the Empire of Northern Wei, a General of Armies, a commander of men and a feared warrior, as were my older brothers, and now begins my tale of Huginn's Yule," I began, in the manner of my husband's people, and under my fingers, my erhu played a lament for fallen Northern Wei as I spoke, and the song I played was "Rain in Jiang-Nan," and alas, none but I knew that.

(An aside: If you'd like to listen to this as you read, search for "雨碎江南 二胡版 Rain in Jiang Nan_Erhu Cover" on Youtube)

Those notes of sadness accompanying my words, uttered now in the barbarian tongue spoken by my husband and his people, and by my children, for they knew not the tongue of my own ancestors beyond a few words, and all listened, for this was a tale I had never told before to the folk, of how I came to this land, though all knew my husband had found me alone in the far lands to the north and east of Miklagard and brought me here, although to most, Miklagard was naught but a tale told on a long winters night, and none of the warriors who had then accompanied my husband now lived, and of all here, only I was alive who had seen far-of Miklagard, which, fabled as it was, was but a town compared to the great cities of my homeland.

"It is a long tale, this tale of Huginn's Yule, and it begins many long years ago. Two score and five years ago, when, as a girl of but fifteen summers, I was summoned into the presence of the Emperor Daowu, ruler of Northern Wei, together with my Father, the great General and Prince, Yuan Cheng.

I will tell you now a little of my homeland, of Northern Wei, for none here but I know of the far-of country from which I came, and it would take a man three long years on horseback, riding every day from dawn until dusk, to reach the land of my birth, and indeed, I left home as a girl of fifteen, and I was twenty years of age when King Harald brought me here, to his hearth and his folk, and almost every day of those five years was spent on the road, on horseback or, after I wedded Harald, riding the sea-steed beside my husband as we sailed the whale's way.

Now my homeland, Northern Wei, it is a land that lies far beyond the lands of Gardariki, far beyond the great River Vlaga, of which some here have heard, for it is the river down which my husband, King Harald, had led his dragon-ships, sailing the great inland sea that lies to the east, and raiding the peoples to the south who are wealthy beyond all dreams of avarice.

That river Vlaga, and that inland sea into which it flows, they are a year's travel and perhaps more from here if you row east, up the rivers, and then down the great river that flows to that sea on which Miklagard is set, and if you sail east along that sea, you will find another great river up which you row for weeks, and then you will portage to the Vlaga, but that is only the first stage in that journey to my homeland, which lies far beyond the Vlaga, far across the great steppe, the grasslands that stretch forever, where distance is measured in months of riding.

Beyond the Vlaga, around which the Murom's and the Mordvinians dwell, and they are people like as to the Finns, then there are the lands of the Magyars and the Bulgars, and after them, the lands of the Xiongnu, and beyond the Xiongnu, whom some call the Huns, are the Rouran, whom men here know as the Avars, and beyond the Khanate of the Western Avars lie a range of great mountains, clad in snow and ice, reaching to the very sky, and lest any doubt me, I have crossed those mountains myself, and weeks upon weeks of travel that took for my escort and myself, and many died in that crossing, frozen to death or fallen from the paths into the deep gorges.

On that route, there are many enemies, for out there on the great sea of grass, every man is an enemy, so it is doubtful that any may now retrace that journey, and indeed, of all my escort of a thousand warriors and a hundred women sent with me by the Emperor and my father, I was the sole survivor, and that was chance and luck, not skill, for neither was I the most beautiful of the women, nor was I the most skilled with the sword or the bow, and of this you need not now ask, for I will tell you when my tale reaches those parts, so needs you must be patient.

Now beyond those great mountains that reach to the sky lie the great deserts, the Takla-Makan, the Gobi, and others, deserts where there is no water for thirty days at a time, deserts where the sandstorms will eat a man down to the bone in an hour if he is without shelter, deserts where the sun will boil a man's brains within his skull, and he will drop dead from the heat, and in winter from the cold, and beyond the great deserts are the cities of the Xiyu, the Kingdom of the Tuyuban, the realms of the Zhang-Zhung, and many others.

Only after you have crossed these lands do you reach the distant western borders of the land that was my homeland, the great Empire of Northern Wei that stretched across two thousand miles from east to west, so vast that weeks of travel on a fast horse are required merely to reach the western border from the capital of Luoyang, and vast and powerful was that Empire, before which Miklagard itself would be but an outlying fortress, and I say this as one who has seen Miklagard with mine own eyes, for great were the cities of Northern Wei, wealthy were her people, strong were her armies, and all envied her."

And all the while, as I began the telling of this tale, my fingers plucked and played my beloved erhu, drawing out the notes of that song, a plaintive lament for fallen Northern Wei. I was not the last of her people, of that I was sure, for even with Northern Wei fallen, many would live, many would have surrendered, changed sides, formed new allegiances, but I had heard also of the fate of my father and brothers, and indeed, of the Emperor and his family, and all that had mattered to me was dead, for my father and my brothers had led their armies to the bitter end, never betraying the Emperor, never betraying that fealty they had sworn, and, remembering, sadness filled my heart, and I played from my heart, for my homeland was gone down in defeat, and all I had loved as a young girl was lost long ago.

"My homeland, Northern Wei, is a land of people such as myself, black-haired, with eyes and features such as my own, and it was not, in those days of my youth, a land of peace, for my people were never peaceful. Skilled were my people with the sword, the spear and the bow, and from the far north were we, long ago in the distant past, riding our horses across the green grass in summer, the white snow in winter, and all the world was at our feet, conquering all with our bows and our swords and our spears, and many were the peasants that tilled our fields, many were the wealthy merchants whose trade we taxed, strong were our armies, as iron were the hands of our warriors, for as all know, without a firm hand, thralls will seek to throw off the rule of their masters.

Entered my people into the lands of the Han many centuries ago, allying with the Jin Dynasty who then ruled all the lands of the Han, but the Jin Dynasty weakened, as to the south in these days, the Rome-folk have weakened, and after the War of the Eight Princes, my people came to rule their own kingdom, carved from the body of the Jin Empire, and this became in time the Empire of Northern Wei, and our soldiers were mighty, defeating and driving back the Rouran to the North, and the armies of Southern Qi to the south, and we came in time to rule all the north, from the great sea in the east, to the desert in the west, and as far as the endless steppe to the north, and ever we sought to conquer Southern Qi, and bring all the Han under our rule."