Chapter Four
Sif sat by the fire and slowed her breathing.
Although thoughts of Hakon were never far from the surface of her mind, she did her best to clear her mind and focus on the flickering flames.
Slowly, gradually, Sif brought the song of greeting to her mind, her lips silently mouthing the words she had learned.
As she felt her consciousness deepen, Sif sang softly.
As the rhythms of the song formed a pattern in her mind, Sif sent the song outwards, travelling over the seas, passing over the land, finally reaching the heart of the Ironwood. Sif felt the vibrations change as someone else picked up the song, repeating it with her.
The way had been opened. In her mind’s eye, Sif saw the face of Baedi come into focus, smiling at her.
Well done, Sif, said Baedi. Most impressive, and on your first attempt as well!
Sif glowed at the praise. Thank you, she said. I wanted to try this sending because there are things that have happened that the Elder Sisters need to know.
Baedi frowned and said, Go on. Sif told the story of her dream, Freyja’s message, and subsequent events. When she had finished, Baedi said, You were right to share this. I will pass your news on to the other Elders, and we shall investigate things as best we can.
Good, said Sif, relieved to share the burden of her knowledge. I will make my way to Visby with Hakon, Gunnar, and anyone else we can gather.
This Hakon, said Baedi. He is the one you spoke of when you first came to the Ironwood, yes?
Yes, answered Sif, a shade nervously.
And now you have bound yourself to this man, despite your commitment to becoming a spellsinger?
Yes, admitted Sif.
Baedi was silent for a moment then said, I do not know if this may be.
Mind you, as both woman and man, my own life is an example of the fact that identities can be more complicated than they first appear.
You will not find me standing in judgement over you, but you may not find the same is true of the other Elders, Baedi warned.
I understand, said Sif. I will face whatever I must.
I’m sure you will. Safe travels on your voyage here! Should there be need, reach out to me again, the same way. Hopefully, we can soon teach you the song of travelling and do away with the need for ocean voyages.
I hope so! replied Sif, excited. Fate willing, I’ll see you soon.
Fate willing. said Baedi, gently ending the connection of mind to mind.
Sif slowly and carefully brought her consciousness back from its travels, returning to the here and now. When she opened her eyes, Hakon was sitting on the opposite side of the fire, staring at her.
“Sacred Freyja!” swore Sif, startled. “Hakon, don’t do that again without warning me.”
“You looked…gone. As if your spirit was somewhere else,” said Hakon curiously. “Yet you were singing something under your breath. What was all that about?”
Sif worked to calm herself from the start Hakon had given her. “That was spellsinging. The art I am attempting to master. I was talking to Baedi, in the Ironwood.”
Hakon’s eyebrows rose. “Just now?” he asked. “You were talking to someone many miles away?”
Sif nodded.
“That’s incredible. I wish I had possessed that skill on the Long Road to Miklagard,” said Hakon. “So many times, I wished to talk to you, to hear how you were doing, and to share what I was seeing.”
There was something so earnest in the way Hakon spoke, it reminded Sif of when they had been younger, before they had gone their separate ways. It felt like a lifetime ago, reminding her of how much had happened since then, but it was also comforting.
“You must have seen some incredible things,” said Sif, feeling oddly shy.
“Such things!” said Hakon. He shook his head.
“Things I’m not even sure how to describe.
In Miklagard they had these chariot races—four horses tethered to little carts with two huge wheels, that go as fast as lightning.
They raced for different teams, reds and blues, whites and greens, and people lived and died by their allegiance to a color!
And the stadium, Sif, you should have seen it!
It was called the Hippodrome, and it would be packed with a hundred thousand people, all screaming for their team!
” Hakon’s eyes shone as he recalled what he had seen.
Sif sat in fascination. In truth, the idea of this strange stadium terrified her. The entirety of the Jomsburg and its surrounding settlement was less than five thousand people, and that felt like more than enough. “I cannot even imagine such a thing,” she confessed.
“I will never forget it. And the stadium crowd was no more than a tenth of the whole population of the city,” said Hakon. “Sometimes we would go on parade, the Emperor’s Varangian Guard, and the streets would be lined with people trying to see the Emperor’s savage barbarian fighters.” He chuckled.
Sif frowned. “Barbarian?”
“Their name for us. They think we’re savages.” Hakon waved a hand dismissively. “City living and safety has made them soft. They fear anything that looks wild and untamed.”
“Huh! They sound like the primitive ones,” said Sif. “Afraid of their own shadows.” Sif did not like the thought of these faraway city dwellers sneering at her people, especially at Hakon.
“They have their skills,” replied Hakon.
“The buildings they make!” Stone upon stone, up into the heavens.
Walls, three times the length of a man in their thickness!
There are fortunes to be made there—they are a rich people.
But no,” he concluded, “they are not our people. A few seasons among them was enough.”
“Did you—” began Sif, then paused to order her thoughts. “Was there anyone special for you in Miklagard?”
“No.” Hakon eyed her from across the fire. “I will not lie and say there were no women at any time, but no joinings that meant anything. Just the demands of the body.”
“Oh,” said Sif, feeling somehow both relieved and confused.
“And you?” asked Hakon, his eyes intense upon her.
Well, I started this conversation. And I’m not going to lie.
“In the Ironwood, we were taught…certain things. About pleasing men, turning them to our will. There were journeys to Visby, there were men there. But not anything that meant anything,” Sif said, echoing Hakon’s words.
Hakon seemed to turn inwards. For a moment, there was no sound but the crackling fire.
Then he straightened, took a deep breath, and said, “From our pasts, let us hold onto their memories, for they make us who we are. But our beginning—you, and me—that happened yesterday. I don’t think we need to concern ourselves about other men, other women.
Now we have each other, and that’s what matters. ”
Sif felt a kind of lightening of a load, as if something heavy had been lifted from her shoulders.
“It’s true,” she said. “Now, we have each other,” Sif repeated. “This is our beginning.”
They smiled at each other.
“So, when it comes to beginnings,” said Hakon, “was there anything you learned from the Ironwood?”
Sif shook her head. “I had more to tell them than they had to tell me.” She kept Baedi’s doubts about Sif’s relationship with Hakon to herself. She asked, “And what about you? Did you speak with Thorfin?”
Hakon sighed and fiddled with a branch on the fire. “No good news there at all. My father told me that crews like Thorfin’s sail for gold and glory but little else. He was right. Thorfin and his crew will not sail against an unknown threat with no prospect of fame or profit.”
“So we are alone,” said Sif.
“Gunnar is with us,” said Hakon. “That’s not nothing.”
“You’re right,” agreed Sif. “Two swords are better than one.”
“In some circumstances,” said Hakon, with a hint of mischief in his tone.
The two stared at one another for a moment, and then they both fell into laughter.
“I’m only going to say this once,” said Hakon, grinning. “You will only ever see one sword in the bedroom, and that is mine.”
“Yes, my Lord,” replied Sif, laughing.
Hakon’s expression grew somber. “We’re really doing this, Sif. Venturing off together to face an unknown enemy.”
Sif nodded.
Hakon got to his feet and stepped around the fire. Sif got up as well, moving into his arms.
“If this is my fate,” whispered Hakon into her ear, “I can think of no one else I would want to share it with.”
Shutting out the rest of the world, the pair fell into a deep and passionate kiss, letting their love serve as a shelter from the uncertainty of their future.
***
Hakon wrapped his cloak more tightly around himself and Sif, who was snuggled into his chest. Stray wisps of golden hair escaped the little tent that Sif had made with Hakon’s body and his thick wool cloak.
The wind off the sea was brisk. The crew of the longship had wrapped themselves tightly against the unseasonable cold. The sky was grey, the sun hidden behind a screen of dark clouds. Hakon watched his brother walk back and forth before the ship’s mast, rubbing his hands and stamping his feet.
“Bit cold for this time of year, isn’t it?” said Gunnar to Egil, the ship’s captain.
“So it is, lad. Bit of a blow coming down from the North. Happens,” said Egil.
“Hmm,” replied Gunnar, neutrally.
“I don’t remember this voyage being so cold,” mumbled Sif into Hakon’s chest. “But I do like it right here.”
“So do I, my love,” said Hakon, snuggling Sif a little tighter and reflecting on the glow of happiness her closeness brought to him.
Hakon was no stranger to sea travel—days had spanned to weeks on the Long Road to Miklagard and back—but he had never travelled while sheltering a beautiful woman in his arms.
There is much to recommend this as a way to travel.
That night, as he looked up into the sky, there were no stars to be seen. The clouds lay as thick as they had through the day.
“How will Egil steer our course, with nothing to guide him?” said Hakon.
“He has a sun crystal,” replied Gunnar. “Even on the cloudiest of days, he will know where the sun is.”