By the Ese!

The skalds told no tall tales - truly this was a sight worthy of the months of hard travel. Seven months along muddy trails, across rough-shod routes, down sheer gullies and through dense thickets. Even the sleek paved roads that crossed the imperial themata like scars proved no welcome rest for my weary paws. Yet there it finally was, just as the spinners promised! The golden heart of the greatest of cities. It broke through the fog like a second sunrise, banishing the shimmering mists back into the bay, as if night would never again hold sway.

The sight was enough to cease the bickering of my trail-companions. They came to a sudden halt, tails still and mouths ajar, while their eyes betrayed their mix of fear and wonder. When they did finally find their tongue, their words came in a guarded hush and whisper. 

Aeflaed, with his pale eyes and paler still fur, spoke first.

“Surely to mimic the sun they must hold some divine knowledge?” He looked to the others for agreement, no longer so sure that the path ahead was wise.

“Perhaps, or perhaps some skillful trick of elder times,” Telu replied, clutching a stray tuft of her mane and weaving it into protective locks.

Hengst, a grey wolf and greatest in size among us, rumbled and pushed through us, barely breaking his strike as he continued his march towards the city. “Bah!” He growled, glowering at the golden dome. “You’re fools to think the gods would ever share such gifts with those hairless hides.” He snapped his teeth together and stuck his tongue out, as if his displeasure was enough to dispel the sight. For a moment the dome only seemed to glow brighter as the sun continued to rise, only to then recede in a flash.

“See?!” Hengst laughed, his tail wagging in delight. “Only a mere reflection.”

The others joined the grey wolf eagerly, laughing and following in his wake, as if bound to him by invisible strings. None of them seemed to notice or care that Hengst’s bravado was not so flawless. That for a moment when his assertion was uncertain, his tail quivered like the rest. But we were a band of rough looking Llhei-carn, hailing from various tribes. Only the companionship of a shared road united us, so, naturally, we rallied around the biggest wolf among us, despite his flaws.

Resisting the urge to follow at the heels of my rag-tag pack, I took one last look from the crest of the hill before descending into the wide valley below. I sniffed the air and drank in its rich scents, watched the elegant spires and glittering minarets rise from the lingering shadows of dawn, joining the great herald of dawn. 

My ears twitched as fragments of prayer drifted on the wind, unable to make out their meaning as they stirred the great city to embrace the day. I wanted to remember the importance of this day and commit each detail to memory. For while Fate goes on as she ever shall, from this day I’d finally have a wyrd to say to her about it. Miklagard, they said, was the place where you made your own fate, and I intended to make a worthy song of it!  

Pleased, I let a smile flutter across my face as I picked up my feet, plunging over the hill’s crest and into the shadows hovering along the below road. As spectacular as the sunrise had been, it would still be some time before dawn banished the final pockets of night.