The Lost Valkyrie - Prologue

Author's note: This fantasy story contains very little sex, and the sex it does have is more romance than erotica. There is no sex in this chapter.

I got a comment suggesting more world-building, and it made sense. This prologue gives some foundation to the story.

******************

His name was Arne, the Eagle, a name given to him because of his sharp eyesight and excellent aim, able to shoot accurately with a bow at great distances. And his Lord was glad to have him along for the fight they were about to enter.

Arne was a Dane, and land with many small kingdoms and earldoms. And fights like this one were common.

The two small "armies" stared at each other across the small field-of-battle-to-be, both determined and ready.

"Be ready, men," Arne exhorted those nearby. "This is going to be bloody."

These fights were terrifying, but everyone on Arne's side knew this battle was necessary. A neighboring king had been allowing raids from his land to come over to the lands of their Lord, and as that other king pretended to be unable to stop them, the raids had continued and gotten worse.

The other king was trying to take their valuable land, land that was critical for its good farming yield. Good farming land was at an absolute PREMIUM in Arne's village - and every other village. So much of the land in which they dwelt was sandy, boggy heath that was difficult to farm, at best.

And today was the proof Arne's Lord was right to act. When the King had gathered his men and set out to punish the raiders coming from the other kingdom, instead of finding raiders, behold! Here was the gathered might of the neighboring king to confront them!

Arne's Lord spoke out. "So, my Lord, you cannot control the raiders coming from your land, but you can gather a force to come out and keep us from controlling them? Maybe you should just speak the truth so we can decide what to do next!"

The other Lord responded. "There is no decision to make. Go back to your land, my Lord. You are not welcome here, and if you stay, you will find only pain."

The men around Arne murmured angrily. Many of their homes and farms had been among those raided, and the other king had just made it clear he had no concern for their losses.

"Well, then," Arne's King said in a loud voice. "You won't stop people coming from your lands and attacking my people. And you won't let us handle this 'for you.' I think if you want us to leave, you're going to have to make us. My Lord. Let the Gods choose between me and thee!"

Such disputes were a regular occurrence. The loser of this fight would either lose land holdings or if the fight were more one-sided, the loser might even become a mere vassal, their land re-divided in ways more favorable to the new King.

Now the two opposing forces prepared to face off. But Arne's side had a secret. The man's king had taken him aside and given him some specific instructions.

"When the battle starts, you hold back behind our line, and you wait for their king to be in range. And when he is, you shoot him with your bow. We'll end this battle with fewer men hurt or killed, on both sides."

That sounded good to Arne! Nobody wanted to lose men unnecessarily.

"Yes, my Lord. It shall be done," the archer agreed.

As the two groups moved closer, he began to look for his shot.

But as the men prepared to charge each other and join the battle, there was heard off to the side of the battlefield a horrific sound. A bloodcurdling scream coming from the cover of the trees of the forest!

And there were more of them after.

The strange, tortured screams of rage chilled Arne to the bone, and he could see the other men around felt the same. None of the men were looking at each other, anymore. Instead, they all looked toward the noises, wondering what they meant.

"Allfather, save us." one of his friends cried as a nightmarish creature emerged from the treeline.

"By the gods, WHAT IS THAT," another cried out.

It was a snarling, evil beast, its fangs dripping with something that looked venomous, its taloned hands snapping at the air in front of it as it glared over at the men with an expression that could not be mistaken as anything other than pure rage and hate. As the men stared at this new threat, transfixed, it lifted up its head and screamed its pitiless, desolate call to the heavens, the terror echoing back and forth between the mountains.

"I've never seen one. But that looks like one of the demons from the stories we've heard," one of the other men near Arne said in a near whisper.

And, as if at the fiend's signal, a host of additional beasts like it emerged from the forest behind. Soon, the group numbered around 25 of these hideous creatures.

Nothing unites men more than a common enemy, and so it was this day. The two groups hastily formed a single line as the demons charged at them. Though the men numbered almost 100, the demons didn't pause for a second, and with good reason. The average demon is worth many human men in battle!

As the horde approached, still screaming, some of the men simply lost heart and fled in terror. A few clapped their hands over their ears, trying to keep the noise out. Others stood motionless in their shock.

Arne took command of every archer. "Nock... draw... loose! Nock... draw... loose! Bring them down, men!"

The Eagle's exhortations brought some out of their shock, and a steady flurry of arrows began to find their marks in the demons. The men in front cheered!

But the demons barely seemed to be slowed by the arrows. After a few rounds of arrows had been shot, some looked like pincushions, but they ran on, ignoring whatever pain they were in! In another few moments the beasts had closed with the warriors, and they broke against the shield wall hard enough to send men flying backward through the air.

The brave warriors tried to use their numbers to isolate individual demons and take them down, attacking from more than one side at once. But like with the arrows, stabbing a demon seemed to barely harm it, and the fury of the demon's counterattacks took men out of the battle one after another.

Men had their throats torn out. They had their heads ripped off. Venomous fangs bit into shoulders, leaving their victims writhing in agony as they died. Men ran in terror, only to be dragged back to their deaths. Archers shot wildly in panic, hitting friend or foe before their arms were pulled off.

Meanwhile, Arne kept his head and fought with grim determination, and there were other men beside him. All of his arrows spent, Arne was almost as good with his blade, and now he defended his king from the furious assaults of their infernal foes.

"We're going to get out of this alive, men," the brave archer called out. "Let's give these beasts hell!"

But then a stray arrow tore into his leg. As if they sensed his weakness, several demons leaped forward as he stumbled, tearing at him with razor-sharp talons and leaving him mortally wounded.

As he lay on the ground in a spreading pool of his own blood, Arne pondered his life. The man felt in his heart he had many good years of life left to him! And now he was dying: he could FEEL the life draining from him.

"How did it come to this," Arne wondered to himself. It was wrong, all WRONG. "The gods are cruel, and my fate is cruel." If he'd had the energy, the man would have wept bitterly.

Just then, Arne thought he heard a horn call from the heavens. He wondered if he were only imagining it. But no! There was another musical call coming down from above!

And soon, a beautiful figure appeared in the sky above, descending on white wings to land gently beside him. Though she was dressed as if for battle, with breastplate, forearm, and shoulder guards and her blade slung on her back, her face was gentle, her touch soft as she took him in her arms and cradled him.

"Brave warrior, today you will enter Valhalla," she told him.

So it was true, Arne thought. When you died, if you were a man of valor, the Valkyries came to take you to heaven!

"This isn't so bad," Arne thought to himself, gazing up into the eyes of his own personal angel. His angel had deep brown eyes, exotic dark skin, and beautiful long, flowing brown hair. And she was kind. The man had never seen anyone like her. He was enraptured!

The Eagle tried to speak. "If I were not married, I'd be in love, right now." All that came out was a croaking whisper; nevertheless, it seemed she heard him, and she smiled.

"Your wife must be a fortunate woman."

"Wha... What is your... name," the man gasped. It was laborious to speak.

"I am Hildi. Fear not. It will not be long, now."

As he began to drift away, Arne was content. And at first, he didn't care much when he saw more Valkyries drop softly to the earth nearby, each one as beautiful as the others, and each in her unique way. Some had long blonde manes, while others had hair the color of raven's feathers. And others had locks as red as a sunset.

Some seemed like pale-skinned ice-maidens, cold and lovely. Others had darker skin and seemed warmly exotic to the warrior as he watched them all.

But then one of them said to the others, "Make sure to destroy those demons. Not ONE of them leaves here today! They've made a MESS of the fates of these brave men!"

The one speaking caught Arne's attention, because she seemed angry about what the demons had done, and her fury glittered in the heavenly light that shone around her as the other Valkyries rushed to enforce her commands.

By the gods, Arne wouldn't want this creature angry at HIM! She looked fierce!

And she spoke of their fates. Maybe Arne WASN'T supposed to die, today. Arne was an intelligent man, and this situation seemed like it deserved some thoughtful consideration. But he felt so weak.

"Wha..s... h r.. na e..." he tried to ask. Speaking was so hard, that the words sounded like barely a croak, this time.

"That is Helga," Hildi said with a tender smile, still seeming to understand him perfectly. "You rest now, warrior."

No, this wasn't so bad. Not so bad, at all. And the next moment, Arne was gone.