Floki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gods_that_haunt_me) wrote2015-04-10 11:50 pm
gods_that_haunt_me) wrote2015-04-10 11:50 pm
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My horse bears me and my message from Jarl Borg swiftly over hill and dale into Horik's kingdom. It is a long journey of several days. Gray skies blot out the sun; cold mists blanket the night. But I ride, as Ragnar has entrusted me with this task.
And having the King's ear is no small privilege. It will not be wasted.
Horik welcomes me. I warm myself by his fire and dine at his table. When I have rested well, we take our horses into the woods, and we talk.
He says to me that he has heard that I tell stories of the gods. I do. Would he like to hear some? He would. So as the forest embraces us, I speak of Loki's children.
***
"Fenrir, the giant wolf, could not be constrained by any means known to man."
The King and I are now wandering on foot. The soft moss sighs under our feet and wet leaves whisper over our heads.
"So the Dwarves forged a chain. But not from metal."
Horik is listening.
I come across a spiderweb, its gossamer threads beaded with raindrops.
"They forged it from the things we cannot see and the things we cannot hear. Like the breath of a fish. The sound a moving cat makes."
Horik nods and turns to me.
"The roots of a mountain," he says.
And I smile as if he has seen where my heart lies.
"You know?" I ask him, astonished, and he laughs.
"Of course I know! These things interest me!"
The King does me such great honor in acknowledging this. He knows the gods! I am humbled and joyful, yet I must contain that joy for now. There is business of land ownership to be discussed. Now that we have this understanding, I feel I can broach it much more easily.
"I came to ask about Jarl Borg," I say, and the air between us grows serious. "He won't sell. He wants to make a deal."
The King makes a small but dissatisfied sound.
"I'm not interested in deals."
Hm.
"That would make it hard for Ragnar," I say, reminding him that he had sent Ragnar as his own personal emissary.
"Ragnar will come to the right conclusion," Horik insists confidently, "and make the right decision."
I must see things from all sides, and so must the King. Or else there will be war.
"Don't you care if the negotiations fail?" I ask.
But Horik seems to not be listening. Something else has captured his attention.
"Look!"
And he points to the spiderweb. A fly has gotten itself ensnared in its bejeweled threads. The black mistress of the web scurries out on nimble legs to stab her meal with poison and bind it with silk.
Horik smiles and moves off back toward our horses.
It is then that I see what he sees that the gods are showing him.
[Dialogue taken from Vikings Season 1, Episode 9.]
And having the King's ear is no small privilege. It will not be wasted.
Horik welcomes me. I warm myself by his fire and dine at his table. When I have rested well, we take our horses into the woods, and we talk.
He says to me that he has heard that I tell stories of the gods. I do. Would he like to hear some? He would. So as the forest embraces us, I speak of Loki's children.
***
"Fenrir, the giant wolf, could not be constrained by any means known to man."
The King and I are now wandering on foot. The soft moss sighs under our feet and wet leaves whisper over our heads.
"So the Dwarves forged a chain. But not from metal."
Horik is listening.
I come across a spiderweb, its gossamer threads beaded with raindrops.
"They forged it from the things we cannot see and the things we cannot hear. Like the breath of a fish. The sound a moving cat makes."
Horik nods and turns to me.
"The roots of a mountain," he says.
And I smile as if he has seen where my heart lies.
"You know?" I ask him, astonished, and he laughs.
"Of course I know! These things interest me!"
The King does me such great honor in acknowledging this. He knows the gods! I am humbled and joyful, yet I must contain that joy for now. There is business of land ownership to be discussed. Now that we have this understanding, I feel I can broach it much more easily.
"I came to ask about Jarl Borg," I say, and the air between us grows serious. "He won't sell. He wants to make a deal."
The King makes a small but dissatisfied sound.
"I'm not interested in deals."
Hm.
"That would make it hard for Ragnar," I say, reminding him that he had sent Ragnar as his own personal emissary.
"Ragnar will come to the right conclusion," Horik insists confidently, "and make the right decision."
I must see things from all sides, and so must the King. Or else there will be war.
"Don't you care if the negotiations fail?" I ask.
But Horik seems to not be listening. Something else has captured his attention.
"Look!"
And he points to the spiderweb. A fly has gotten itself ensnared in its bejeweled threads. The black mistress of the web scurries out on nimble legs to stab her meal with poison and bind it with silk.
Horik smiles and moves off back toward our horses.
It is then that I see what he sees that the gods are showing him.
[Dialogue taken from Vikings Season 1, Episode 9.]