God of Vengeance (56 page)

Olaf came and stood beside him and for a long while they looked out across the grey sea as the gulls shrieked overhead like they do when fish guts are thrown overboard.

When Sigurd turned back he saw Runa standing there amongst the bodies, staring at him, her golden hair loose to her shoulders and her face white as new snow, so that he blinked at the vision of her, wondering how something so beautiful could live amongst the stinking, butchered corpses.

‘We should leave, Sigurd,’ Aslak said, arming blood from his face. Floki was cleaning his axes. Asgot was slumped against the side panting like a dog. Bjarni and Bjorn were looking for plunder amongst the dead, and Bram and Valgerd were watching Sigurd. ‘We don’t want to be caught out here tied up when the jarl’s other ships return,’ Aslak went on.

Sigurd nodded but did not move. He looked up at the sky, half expecting to see a raven flying there, one of Óðin’s birds perhaps. Some sign that the Spear-God was present, that he had seen what had just taken place.

But there was nothing but the bruised clouds and the wheeling gulls.

‘So that is that,’ Olaf said.

Sigurd looked at him and nodded. But then he went back to the side and looked west, because west lay Avaldsnes.

And the king who lived there.

the Alder Man
: a spirit or elf of the forest

Asgard
: home of the gods

aurar
: ounces, usually of silver (Singular: eyrir)

berserker
: ‘bare-shirt’, or perhaps ‘bear-shirt’, a fierce warrior prone to a battle frenzy

Bifröst
: the rainbow-bridge connecting the worlds of gods and men

Bilskírnir
: ‘Lightning-crack’, Thór’s hall

blood
-
eagle
: a method of torture and execution, perhaps as a rite of human sacrifice to Óðin

bóndi
: ‘head of the household’, taken to mean a farmer or land owner

brynja
: a coat of mail

draugr
: the animated corpse that comes forth from its grave mound

Fáfnir
: ‘Embracer’, a dragon that guards a great treasure hoard

Fenrir Wolf
: the mighty wolf that will be freed at Ragnarök and swallow Óðin

Fimbulvetr
: ‘Terrible Winter’, heralding the beginning of Ragnarök

forskarlar
: the waterfall spirits

galdr
: a chant or spell, usually recited rather than sung

Gjallarhorn
: the horn which Heimdall sounds to mark the beginning of Ragnarök

Gleipnir
: the fetter which binds the wolf Fenrir

godi
: an office denoting social and sacral prominence; a chieftain and/or priest

Gungnir
: the mighty rune-carved spear owned by Óðin

hacksilver
: the cut-up pieces of silver coins, arm rings, and jewellery

haugbui
: a living corpse. A mound dweller, the dead body living on within its tomb.

haugr
: a burial mound

Haust Blót
: autumn sacrifice

Helheim
: a place far to the north where the evil dead dwell

Hildisvíni
: the ‘battle boar’ on which Freyja rides

hirðmen
: the retinue of warriors that follow a king, jarl or chieftain

hólmgang
: a duel to settle disputes

hrafnasueltir
: raven-starver (coward)

Hugin and Munin
: ‘Thought’ and ‘Memory’, Óðin’s ravens

huglausi
: a coward

húskarlar
: household warriors

jarl
: title of the most prominent men below the kings

Jól feast
: winter solstice festival

Jörmungand
/
Midgard Serpent
: the serpent that encircles the world grasping its own tail. When it lets go the world will end.

karl
: a freeman; a landowner

karvi
: a ship usually equipped with 13 to 16 pairs of oars

knörr
: a cargo ship; wider, deeper and shorter than a longship

kyrtill
: a long tunic or gown

lenderman
: managers of the king’s estates. Nobles.

meyla
: a little girl

Mímir
’
s Well
: the well of wisdom at which Óðin sacrificed an eye in return for a drink

Mjöllnir
: the magic hammer of Thór

mundr
: bride-price

naust
: a boathouse, usually with one side against the sea and a ramp down to the water

nestbaggin
: knapsack

Nídhögg
: the serpent that gnaws at the root of Yggdrasil

Niflheim
: the cold, dark, misty world of the dead, ruled by the goddess Hel

nithing
: a wretch; a coward; a person without honour

Norns
–
Urd
,
Verdandi and Skuld
: the three spinners who determine the fates of men

Ragnarök
: doom of the gods

Ratatosk
: the squirrel that conveys messages between the eagle at the top of Yggdrasil and Nídhögg at its roots

rôst
: the distance travelled between two rest-stops, about a mile

Sæhrímnir
: a boar that is cooked and consumed every night in Valhöll

scramasax
: a large knife with a single-edged blade

seidr
: sorcery, magic, often associated with Óðin or Freyja

skald
: a poet, often in the service of jarls or kings

skjaldborg
: shieldwall

svinfylkja
: ‘swine-array’, a wedge-shaped battle formation

tafl
: a strategy board game played on a chequered or latticed board

taufr
: witchcraft

thegn
: retainer; a member of a king or jarl’s retinue

thrall
: a serf or unfree servant

Valhöll
: Óðin’s hall of the slain

Valknuter
: a symbol comprising three entwined triangles representative of the afterlife and Óðin.

Valkyries
: choosers of the slain

Varðlokur
: the repetitive, rhythmic, soothing chant to induce a trance-like state

völva
: a shamanic seeress; a practitioner of magic divination and prophecy

wyrd
: fate or personal destiny

Yggdrasil
: the tree of life

THE NORSE GODS

Æsir
: the gods; often those gods associated with war, death and power

Baldr
, the beautiful; son of Óðin

Frey
, god of fertility, marriage, and growing things

Freyja
, goddess of sex, love and magic

Frigg
, wife of Óðin

Heimdall
, the watchman of the gods

Hel
, both the goddess of the underworld and the place of the dead, specifically those who perish of sickness or old age

Loki
, the mischief-monger, Father of Lies

Njörd
, Lord of the Sea and god of wind and flame

Óðin
, the Allfather; lord of the Æsir, god of warriors and war, wisdom and poetry

Rán
, Mother of the Waves

Thór
, son of Óðin; slayer of giants and god of thunder

Týr
, Lord of Battle

Váli
, Óðin’s son, birthed for the sole purpose of killing Höðr as revenge for Höðr’s accidental murder of his half-brother Baldr

Vanir
: fertility gods, including Njörd, Frey and Freyja, who live in Vanaheim

Vidar
, god of vengeance who will survive Ragnarök and avenge his father Óðin by killing Fenrir

Völund
, god of the forge and of experience

My hearty thanks to the following:

Bill Hamilton for his sage advice and for steering me through the skerries upon which I would otherwise no doubt founder. Simon Taylor for never doubting (at least not openly) that I could summon the tale and deliver it on time, and for his well-honed editorial eye. Elizabeth Masters whose Viking-like enterprise and energy ensures that this saga spreads its wings, and for bringing new backsides to the row benches. And to Steve Mulcahey for designing a jacket which is, to my eyes, stunningly beautiful and should, I hope, draw the eye like rich plunder. To Phil Stevens for rowing a Viking ship with me and for making up stories over mead. To Conn Iggulden who read an early version and kept me entertained by quoting lines he enjoyed via text and, though it must have pained the ex-teacher in him, only pointing out the odd error here and there. My HWA friends for their generosity and for organizing some brilliant ‘office’ parties. I would also thank you, far-wandering reader, for coming on this adventure with me and for your unyielding Viking spirit. What a crew we make!

Family history (he is half Norwegian) and his storytelling hero, Bernard Cornwell, inspired
Giles Kristian
to write his first historical novels, the acclaimed and bestselling
Raven
Viking trilogy –
Blood Eye
,
Sons of Thunder
and
Odin’s Wolves
. For his next series, he drew on a long-held fascination with the English Civil War.
The Bleeding Land
and
Brothers’ Fury
follow the fortunes of a divided family against the complex and brutal backcloth of a conflict that tore this country apart and ended with the killing of a king. In his new novel –
God of Vengeance
– Giles returns to the world of the Vikings to tell of the beginnings of Sigurd and his celebrated fictional fellowship. Giles lives in Leicestershire.

To find out more, visit
www.gileskristian.com

The Bleeding Land
Brothers’ Fury

For more information on Giles Kristian and his books, see his website at
www.gileskristian.com

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First published in Great Britain
in 2014 by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers

Copyright © Giles Kristian 2014

Giles Kristian has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781409043966
ISBNs 9780593066188 (cased)
9780593066195 (tpb)

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