Neledh || ONC 2023

Prologue | Eira

The world was white when Thora's daughter was born. Her child was too small and cold, the other villagers gossiped that she wouldn't make it.

Thora and her husband Skule cried bitter tears as their daughter drifted away.

Their cries were heard by a benevolent god who came down from heaven and blessed the child with health and a long life. The child that had been sleeping between her parents' warm bodies, started to cry and with her, her parents.

Their little daughter wouldn't be lost to death after all.

The next morning the village came together and saw that the child had survived the night and was healthier than ever.

"A miracle was granted to this child, therefor her name from now on shall be Thyra. Let's celebrate this new life and be merry for last night the gods were among us."

The town celebrated till deep into the night, but the parents stayed in their small home. Their hearts wept tears of gratitude for the god that gave them a miracle. They vowed to each other that their daughter would serve the gods and goddesses to repay the life debt.

True to their word they sent Thyra to the temple when she turned ten years old. Leaving her with the priestesses who would teach her the ancient rites.

The priestesses were nice and Thyra genuinely enjoyed living there, but it wasn't what she wanted to do with her life.

The days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years.

New girls came in every week, wanting to serve the deities above. Some of them stayed for years till they found someone and left to marry. Thyra didn't see the appeal of the boys in the village they would gush about. Her eyes drawn to Iben's curves whenever their paths would cross.

Iben who danced in the shadows with goddesses from above.

In the end it didn't matter what her own ideas were, as Iben took matters into her own hands.

"You've been looking at me. It's nice and I like it, but I will leave the sanctuary next solstice. If you want to do more than look you should say so and we can leave together."

The exchange had left Thyra flabbergasted as she had never, though she had late at night, entertained the thought to be with a woman what the other priestesses wanted with men.

She knew the whispers of course, about a goddess who had lived together with her female lover till the world separated them forever.

Days passed and she still didn't know how she should proceed. She liked to be a priestess, and married people had to leave. Was it worth the risk to be with Iben when she had no idea how the world outside the sanctuary would be?

In the end fate made the decision for her. She was tasked to get food from the market in the village down the mountain were she encountered a wedding. A girl marrying a boy who was just as young as his bride, smiling and looking longingly in each others eyes.

Thyra was struck by their youth in stark contrast to her own aging mind. This could have been her daughter, by blood or adopted. This was what she had dreamed of as small girl still living with her parents.

Yes, she loved living in the sanctuary and working as priestess. But more did she want a family to call her own.

Iben was lifting water from the well when Thyra ran into the courtyard towards her.

"I want it, if you also want it. I don't want to stay here forever no matter how much I love this place and its people. If you let me, I will go with you and leave the next solstice. Following the road fate has laid out for us, till the gods have decided our time."

The smile she received could have melted the snow that painted the courtyard white.

When the winter solstice passed they left the sanctuary together and wandered the county. Staying in the forests and living from the fruits of the land. They had a vague idea of were they wanted to go to, visit their parents and maybe settle down in a village.

In the end they didn't travel far, as they came across a community of former priests and priestesses. Though many other people had joined the community, warriors among them, the spirit was the same as in the sanctuary and they even had a small shrine.

The touch of a goddesses was upon them, ensuring eternal life for all that followed her.

That was where they build their house and started a home.

Summer became autumn, autumn became winter, winter became spring, and summer was once more upon them. A year had passed in a heartbeat, their house had become a home, and the village had become their family.

The warrior had left during the early days of spring to plunder the nearby land and collect resources for the winter. But with them leaving the village became vulnerable to other attacks.

When autumn came an orphanage was needed, and the many adults in the village were asked to look after the children that had no longer parents to rely on.

That was how Eira came to live with Thyra and Iben. A child so small and helpless, though no one dared to say so in front of Eira herself. She was eight winters old already, her parents had been warriors who had laid down their lives for the village.

Eira was born and raised in the same spirit.

The touch of the heavens was on her. The people whispered that a deity had manifested themselves between Eira and the attackers who had killed her parents, killing everyone whose eye landed on them.

Thyra thaught her the many rites for the deities and the management of a household, while Iben took her to the training fields. Together they learned the art of war.

Year after year Eira watched the longships sail southwards, while Thyra and Iben watched their daughter yearn to join the warriors. They hoped she would stay another summer, in the relative safety of the village at the end of a fjord.

When she turned fifteen, Eira asked her parents if she could go, she had mastered her weapon of choice and was an accomplished sailor. Thyra and Iben knew they couldn't stop her, in five years she would be her own woman, her asking permission showed how much she cared about their approval.

Eira set sail that spring and returned during the autumn. Tanned by the sun and with new scars on her body, the biggest grin on her face as she embraced her mothers at her return.

-

[edited]

February 1, 2023