She Came From The Sea

Bryn Thorn

"When gods make demands of men, even the spring tides dare not bar their way."

My father said this sparingly, and only when he was deeply morose. It was what he said when he remembered his final raid, before he lost his eye, fighting against the Swede's when I was just a little girl.

He said Odin ordered him to stand still as an arrow came towards him, and he obeyed. The arrow struck his eye squarely, and then the wood splintered, leaving the arrowhead in his eye.

He was a blacksmith by trade, only on the raid because his king had ordered it, but he said he 'didn't need two eyes to forge, as it was one less eye to squint, after all'.

He held the metal in place as I swung with the hundred pound hammer, slamming it onto the giant anvil harder than most men even dreamed of.

He raised a hand, and I halted, mid-swing, my muscles straining to a stop just before striking the white-hot metal.

I grinned and moved back as he stuck the new sword into a slender vat of oil, cooling it. I leaned against the hammer, and hummed. "What's next? Another repair?" I was bored, and not afraid to show it.

He chuckled. "Yes. Fetch Groll's axe, eh? Needs a new edge. Fool's gone and cracked it again."

I sighed and nodded, walking into the storefront.

---

I relaxed, finally, as the last of today's projects was finished. "I'll be at my shop, father, yeah?"

He chuckled. "Yes, yes. Go ahead, abandon an old one eyed man..."

"Alright, Bye." I smirked, and walked out, jogging towards the center of the small town. It was 'small' in that it only had a few buildings, but it was the biggest trade-center of all Sweden's coast, directly across the White Sea from Finland, and only a short sail around the horn for Norway.

I smiled at the small crowd of people outside my booth, and sat down on a stool next to my table. "Alright, come on, Laga, what do you want this time?" I sighed, smiling at my best customer.

She blushed and pulled off her tunic in one slick move, revealing firm breasts, which she quickly hid with her hands, turning her back on me modestly.

An unfinished mark, more of an outline, really, laid across her shoulders and upper back, riding her spine. It was a depiction of a raven, wings outstretched, which needed filling in. (Media)

I nodded and picked up my thickest bone needle, dipping it in black ink, made from a special concoction of mine, of both squid ink and blackberries, that was far darker, (and more permanent) than other inks, and motioned her to the table.

She laid on her stomach, and moved her hair out of the way, tensing up when she saw the needle, as always.

"Relax." I warned, and began gently tapping her skin in a sharp beat. I growled at her tensed muscles. "Tensing will ruin the art, relax, girl." I snapped. She relaxed her back muscles marginally, and I continued, smiling as the image came to bloody fruition slowly.

I dabbed at her skin with a cleaning rag, and leaned back. "Done. And my payment, Laga?" I asked as she donned her tunic again.

She stood, and looked at her back in my polished silver mirror, my most prized possession. She nodded at what she saw, and handed me a small bag of silver coins. "Here." She blushed a second time and kissed my cheek, running away.

I laughed and motioned to another man. "Ah! Forheim! Come, what do you need?" I asked.

A smaller man came forward, and lifted his sleeve to reveal his forearm, which I'd been adding a ring to every time he returned from a raid. He had nine, so far, and was awaiting his tenth, it would seem.