Chapter 9

I’m certain you all have heard the phrase, ‘searched high and low for it’; well the girls did that. Time was running out for Regan. He was going to die and no one could be found to cure him of the poison. The thought was to ask Loki. That was but a fleeting thought though; the gods were obsessed with only one thing now, Ragnarok. Besides, no god would care what happened to a human.

Freya cared but only because of the girls. Spirits they might be but that was enough of a reason for her to care. Freya looked at the contorting body of Regan and came to a simple decision. He would die by her hand and as a god, the power to change him into a spirit would be hers.

It may have been a simple gesture for a human but that he accepted and treated Ingrid the same as Sigrud and Diana went a long way for her to reach such a decision; that too he was dying with very little time left to chat details. She would make it so.

The Black Riders did as they were told. Far and wide they ranged the Western and Southern lands. When they returned their story was nearly the same; what they saw was a wasteland, stripped bare and decaying. The troops that had be assembled, nigh some 30,000 as most of the dead had been counted, had left their lands undefended.

Those tribes in the East had seized the opportunity and quickly assembled their forces. It was a series of battles, more like ‘punitive’ actions against old foes. Women, children and old men left to guard the villages stood no chance. It was not to take and hold territory nor possession of goods although this was done, but rather it was a long-awaited retribution.

Funny, ‘retribution’, this was exactly the purpose the girls now held on to only now their enemy was not who they thought, but either the Northern folk over the mountains or the invaders to the East.

Ingrid thought it strange, so much has occurred in so short a time. Time, Regan’s demise became another thought. Little Diana merely made an observation and said, in passing, one word. Ragnarok! All nodded as if that explained everything. That event was to happen soon. The human world was foretold to start again after it. One man and one woman would survive and their offspring would replenish this world.

It was a conclusion reached independent from that of Freya but now it was a common thought that returning Regan to the human realm was not a good thing to do.

As time was nearing an end, the girls prepared for battle. As Valkyrie, their entire existence was death and destruction then apportioning souls. Odin and Loki could contend at Ragnarok, the girls would ensure Freya emerged unharmed from it. They would trust their mothers to care for the human now.

Just as Odin and Loki called upon all they knew to join in this epic struggle, so too were calls, no pleas, put forth to assemble for the battle against East and North. It mattered little now, both regions would need to be destroyed and the souls given in support of Freya for Ragnarok.

To eliminate the Eastern armies first was considered most prudent. They were already formed and prepared for war, only this time they would be the prey. The beasts of old were once again called upon as were the magic users as well as rare things now only remembered in legend. Excitement prevailed. The lust for battle, blood and victory permeated all around.

It was the wolves and Black Riders that made the initial contact with the Eastern armies. There were four of them and they appeared to be returning home. No count was made but the estimate brought back by a Back Rider was between 8-10,000 men plus a bagage train for each army awaited them. It would be a nice addition to the ‘gift’ the Valkyrie would give Freya.