Floki (
gods_that_haunt_me) wrote2015-05-30 09:16 pm
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OOM (during the 4 year jump)
I work like a Dwarf through the seasons.
My toil is fraught with frustration, and blessed with inspiration.
The gods move me. They give me every reason to wake up with the sun. To make love to Helga. To seek the trees with which to build my boats.
This is my existence. And I would not trade it for anything.
It is early spring, when the first warm breath of wind mingles with the receding chill in the air. The water reflects a cloudless sky. A perfect time to stay outdoors from morning to evening. Working, and delighting in the work.
With every pull on the draw knife, a plank of wood takes shape. I see what it will become; I see how it will be a part of the ship.
The ship itself is yet a skeleton. On its bones I will lay the flesh and smooth its skin, a living thing. I see it all in my head, and I pray to the gods to help me make my vision real.
My toil is fraught with frustration, and blessed with inspiration.
The gods move me. They give me every reason to wake up with the sun. To make love to Helga. To seek the trees with which to build my boats.
This is my existence. And I would not trade it for anything.
It is early spring, when the first warm breath of wind mingles with the receding chill in the air. The water reflects a cloudless sky. A perfect time to stay outdoors from morning to evening. Working, and delighting in the work.
With every pull on the draw knife, a plank of wood takes shape. I see what it will become; I see how it will be a part of the ship.
The ship itself is yet a skeleton. On its bones I will lay the flesh and smooth its skin, a living thing. I see it all in my head, and I pray to the gods to help me make my vision real.
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And he mellows at the memories coming back to him through the mist.
"Yes," he says quietly, pensively.
A pause.
"It has been a long time since I thought about the magic place. Without giving us a door, it seems as if it has forgotten us, too."
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He then glances at his cabin up the sloping hillside.
"Helga is making stew today. Will you stay and eat with us later?"
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"Just the ordinary ones. We wouldn't want you getting lost on the way home."
He gestures for Ragnar to follow.
"Come say hello to Helga, and then we can take a walk."
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As they approach the little house, a slave girl is leaving with an empty bucket to fetch water. Then Helga appears in the doorway, looking like a wood nymph, wearing a flowing green dress and strings of beads around her neck. Upon seeing the two men coming up the path, a smile brightens her face.
"Ragnar, welcome!" she greets him, surprised and pleased to see him.
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"I don't know how she does it, Ragnar," Floki says as he wraps his long arms around her from behind. "It's as if every morning she springs from the ground like a flower, even in the winter."
"Oh, Floki," she murmurs up at him, rubbing the back of his hand, before turning back to Ragnar. "I hope you've been well. How are Ubbe and Hvitserk doing?"
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"What!" Floki protests. "I have three states: wild, asleep, and hungry."
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"For Ubbe and Hvitserk, hungry is part of wild," he muses.
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"And speaking of hungry," he goes on, "Ragnar is staying to eat with us." He then whispers loudly near her ear, "So put some more mushrooms in the pot!"
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"I'm sure you will," she says, and she turns around in Floki's arms, reaching up to bring his face down to her level so she can kiss him. "Now go run along and play."
"The lady of the house has spoken, Ragnar," Floki says with a grin, and he starts moving off toward the dense forest surrounding the house.
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"The trees that offer themselves must be replaced. Just like our men who fall in battle. We wait through the seasons for the saplings, tree and human alike, to grow big and strong until they are ready. I never take a tree if it isn't ready; that would only spell doom for the ship."
Floki pats the three trunk and moves on, looking over his shoulder at Ragnar.
"Rest assured, the trees that I take for this ship will all most certainly be ready."
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They walk along for a little while as the forest embraces them.
"So, Ragnar," Floki then says, "where will you be taking us to raid this summer?"
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"By summer? Not this one. I could try, but this is not a ship that can be rushed. No ship ought to be rushed, but I know that this one will be special."
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