Remember when teru wanted to create an anthology of touhou fanfic a few years ago on the old boards, and no one ever wrote anything for it except Benny1 and Kefit? I started on something but am pretty sure I never posted it. Happy May Day.
Disclaimer: This story has no relation to the executive VP of Time Warner.
When we came to once again, it was to a most unexpected scene. Our longship had grounded itself upon the crest of a forested mountain, with no sea anywhere within our sight, only rolling hills. The air was warmer than it would be in the northern countries in this season, and the foliage thick, some of it of varieties we had never before seen. Though our ship had been damaged by the storm, it did not seem to have suffered additionally since, nor were any of the men who had not fallen overboard or their possessions missing. We had surely been brought here by witchcraft, but we seemed to be in no immediate danger.
Bjarni and Einar, being the most light-footed among us, were sent to scout our surroundings. They came back shortly, having seen nothing of interest except for one dirt path which wound its way down the mountain. The other end of the path led to a cleared area and a set of large wooden buildings, where they had sighted a girl in strange clothing, taking care not to be sighted by her in turn. They had seen or heard nobody else.
"Shall we take her captive?" asked Haakon.
"No. We are strangers here," I replied. "Let us first approach as friends, speak to her and discover what strange magic has befallen us. We may think of our pleasures afterwards, but I find that to be a matter of less importance." Thusly did we shoulder our weapons and make our way to the building, hailing the girl openly. She was dark-haired, with a strange cast to her skin - perhaps a Grecian, if I must guess - and wore a red and white robe the like of which I had not seen before.
The girl seemed surprised to see us, but did not run in terror, despite being a woman caught alone. I was impressed; the reputation of the Viking was well known in lands near and far. Had we arrived at a place that our kinsmen had not plundered, or was this merely one with the spirit of a shieldmaiden? I was not soon to ken this, for the girl replied to us in a tongue alien to my ears. "Ant? ƿa dare?" she asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.
I enquired of my men whether they had heard this speech. "It sounds Moorish," suggested Knut, who had once been to Iberia. "Such an elegant tongue must surely be Latin!" insisted Einar. It was of little use, since we men were warriors, not scholars; we spoke neither Moorish nor Latin. But we were saved from this argument by the appearance of another. "Hail, Vikings!" called the voice of another woman. We turned towards it, hands instinctively reaching for our weapons.
Standing there- no, floating there- was a maiden of incomparable beauty, with long tresses as fair as the wheat of the Anglish meadows. She wore a breastplate and armored skirt, both finely wrought, and had an ornamented scabbard. And she was smiling- at us. My band sucked in their breath at the sight of such a woman, and it would be a lie to claim that I did not as well. The woman spoke again. "I am Jucari, valkyr of Freyja," she declared with a confidence that none of us imagined to question. "It displeased Freyja that noble men such as you should die at sea, so she has brought you here to her realm of Gensokjo. There is a task here that you shall fulfill. Foul witches from Svart?lfheimr have entered this land, and it is your wyrd to do battle with them. Do ye ken me, Vikings?"
"Nan ga kit?r?nda, J?cari? Nanka sono kengho?" asked the girl, staring at Jucari uncomprehendingly. The rest of us, however, were on our knees. "We place ourselves at the service of Freyja, fair Valkyr!" I declared without thinking, speaking for all of my men. Indeed, I dared not think. My head swam, scarcely able to believe this situation. Though we kept piety to the Aesir like any good Norseman, we were mere plunderers, not the noble warriors who the sagas told of; why would Freyja send her valkyries to pluck us from the wrath of the sea? Was this some trickery?
Jucari cast a glance at the girl. "I shall cast a spell upon you, so that you may speak the tongue of Freyja's realm," she told us, and waved her hand in our direction. "This is R?mu," she said, indicating her companion. "She may look young, but she is a noble and valiant shieldmaiden. I shall have her assist you in your battle." So my guess had been correct. R?mu, for her part, put her hands on her hips and glared at Jucari. "I can understand you now, but I still don't know what you're talking about. Or who these people are," she said, with a familiarity that seemed almost impious.
"These are Vikings, warriors of the sea from a land far to the west," Jucari said, and looked at us. "Would you introduce yourselves? To me and her both. Freyja surely knows your names, but I am but a servant." And so we did. "I am Olaf Olafssen, leader of this band," I declared, thumping my hand against my chest. One by one, the other men spoke their names; Bjarni, Einar, Haakon, Knut, Ragnar, Sigulf, and ?orƿald. We were many more once, of course- a longship is properly crewed by thirty- but the others had been taken by the storm.
"Nice to meet you," replied R?mu. She did not sound as if she meant it.
"Well, are you ready to fight?" Jucari asked.
I chose my words carefully. "With respect, noble valkyr, my men and I have been on a sea voyage until now," I replied. "Is the enemy massing as we speak? If not, we would be better prepared for battle were we given a day to rest, eat and bathe." Around me, the others nodded in affirmation.
"...Bathe?" R?mu repeated, seeming surprised. I eyed her. "Yes, bathe. Did you think we were like the Saxons, who would sooner cleanse themselves in fire than water?"
I don't intend to continue this, but someone else is welcome to if you're man enough.
