Legacy of the Valiant

Kai felt a sense of contentment in her life as Tove wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She pulled her closer and twirled Kai’s long flaxen braid impishly. With a grin, Kai glanced up into Tove’s playful eyes, set in a square face framed by light-brown tresses. Her lips were full and inviting, and Kai reveled in kissing them, but this was not the time. She loved stories about Sigrid and Elyn even more than Leiknir did.

In mesmerizing fashion, Torsten recounted story after story: how Sigrid had wrestled the great brown bear, ridden on a whale’s back, rescued a princess, and fought courageously on the battlefield. Then the mighty Elyn was introduced to the narrative, which included the stories of how she and Sigrid had been trapped in and later escaped from a troll cave, uncovered a malicious plot, and made peace between warring factions. The saga continued with the two magnificent shieldmaidens’ voyage to the Russ, where they discovered a priceless treasure sealed in an underwater cavern. To show their good will, they shared the spoils with the native inhabitants of the region, thereby gaining loyal allies. Torsten added their adopted daughter, Ingrid, to the tale. She had grown up to become the most beautiful woman in Sogn and had married the king’s son, Asbjorn Bloodaxe, who had recently assumed his father’s title.

Torsten related one incredible adventure after another, even an unbelievable tale of a voyage west to a green island, where the women discovered strange musical instruments and battled a tribe of men who wore skirts. When the moon was high in the star-studded sky, Torsten moved on to the newest part of the story—the portion that tugged at Kai’s heartstrings.

“Sigrid and Elyn shared a love as fierce as their swords, and neither man nor beast could defeat either valiant shieldmaiden,” he recounted. “Alas, ‘twas a sickness that brought the beautiful, flame haired Elyn to her grave. The older of the pair, Sigrid, was heartbroken at the thought her beloved may not share the same world as her in the afterlife, so at fifty-five years of age, the hero set out on a quest to find Bifröst, the rainbow which bridges the realm of Miðgarðr to Ásgarðr and the court of the gods.”

Kai twined her fingers with Tove’s, wishing for the connection to carry her through the end of the tale.

“Sigrid consulted a völva, who told her the gods move the bridge daily to keep mortals and jötnar from using it. At Sigrid’s urging, she employed her seiðr to part the veil between worlds and see where Bifröst would be in one moon’s time. Acting on the vision, the hero traveled far to the north, past the line where no trees grow, and did battle with a colossal white bear to access a cave, where she came upon the foot of the legendary pathway to the dwelling of the gods. Though Bifröst’s red stripe burned as fire, Sigrid pressed on. Yet once she had crossed the rainbow bridge, she found the god Himinbjorg standing guard lest anyone pass uninvited.”

“Sigrid would not be turned away,” Leiknir announced with confidence. “She told Himinbjorg who she was and demanded to make her case before Odin.”

Torsten smiled and ran a rough-skinned hand over his son’s head, mussing his hair. “Indeed. Nothing would stand in her way. Sigrid made a plea before all the gods to place Elyn with the slain warriors because, even though she had not died in battle, she had earned the same right as anyone who had. They agreed on one condition.” He held up a finger and scanned his small audience. “Who recalls what she must do?”

All three cried out, “Kill Jabbar the Giant!”

“Hey!” Torsten mocked dismay. “If everyone knows this story, why do I bother telling it?”

They laughed and Kai responded, “Because we love to hear your version best.”

Torsten winked and touched her soul with his smile. “Jabbar was the meanest, nastiest jötunn in all the nine worlds, and he happened to be hiding out in ours. He had been causing a lot of trouble and none wished to fight him. However, no reports of the disasters this biggest of giants had caused could quench Sigrid’s zeal. She battled him for three days and three nights, creating rumblings throughout the earth. At last, she defeated the monster, but not before he had delivered to her a mortal wound. The Valkyries came for her and when they brought her to Odin’s Hall, Elyn was already there waiting for her.”

“Did all that really happen, Father?” Leiknir asked in disbelief. “And if she and Jabbar killed each other, who was there to bring back the report?”

Torsten stirred the fire with a stick and gazed upward at the multitude of shining stars. “Many are the things we have not seen with our eyes, yet we know them to be true,” he said. “Can you see the air, or merely its effects? Can you see love, or is it something invisible you feel inside? Have you visited the far-away lands the travelers tell of, or do you accept their word about scorching deserts of sand and strange animals who dwell not in our forests? Who can say if Sigrid really crossed Bifröst and reasoned with the gods? We know Elyn died, and Sigrid would not rest until she secured a way their souls could remain together until the fateful day of Ragnarok. Is this not how you would like to believe the story ends?”

“I suppose so,” he answered and bowed his head.

Kai’s gaze followed Torsten’s heavenward, and she pondered the twinkling lights above. The thickest mass of them seemed to form a road—no, a bridge—stretching to some faraway place. Could this ribbon of stars be Bifröst, and were Sigrid and Elyn up there somewhere feasting at Odin’s table, enjoying rousing battles each day, exchanging stories with Thor and Tyr? She wagered they could teach the Valkyries a thing or two.

“I wish they were still alive so I could meet them,” Tove said. “I’ve met women who have taken up a spear or an axe to defend their village, but never a real shieldmaiden or a woman jarl.”

“Me too, but I know what a fearsome foe illness can be,” Kai murmured. “At least Sigrid could use her sword against the giant; what chance did Elyn have to defeat an unseen enemy inside her own body? I like to believe they are up there together even now.”