What burns in me, flows in you.
With thisring, I bind my soul to yours,
Flame to tide, fire to ice.
From this night forward, I am yours. Forevermore.”
Skadi solemnly accepted the gleaming sword and handed it reverently to Ylva. With a graceful nod to Skårde, she tookBláhjarta,the heirloomblade which had belonged to Skjöld’s grandfather, King Harald Bluetooth, and offered it to her betrothed. She untied his band, set with the same duo of gems as her own, and placed it on his tattooed finger.
“You saw me through water
And freed me with flame.
I heal with the waters of your visions
And breathe thefrostfireyou wield with your Dwarven shield.
With this ring, I give you my vow.
In ice and fire, water and flame, we aresoulbound.
From this night forth, I am yours. Forevermore..”
Thegoðidipped the ash twig into the silver bowl of sacrificial blood and marked Skjöld’s and Skadi’s brows. As he anointed them, his hallowed voice carried across the snow-swept clearing. “By water and flame…by fire and ice…, by the gods who witness and the vows you’ve spoken, I bind your souls as one.” He raised the bloodied twig to the starlit sky, then walked past the bonfire to Bodo and Sif.
The thick brown fur of Bodo’s wolfskin caught the firelight as he withdrew his sword and offered it to Sif. While she held it across outstretched palms, he untied the amethyst ring from the gleaming hilt and slid it onto her finger. He declared his vow from the depths of his lupine soul, every word carrying the fierce loyalty of the wolf within.
“You saw me broken,
And did not look away.
You forgave what I could not forgive in myself.
With this ring, I give you my vow
To walk forever at your side,
Through shadow and storm.
I am yours, Sif.
From this day forward. Forevermore.”
Sif reverently handed Bodo’s sword to her mother Vilde. She then turned toward Bjarke, who held Thorfinn’s first sword,Bjargvörðr—the Cliff Guardian with which he had defended thePays de Caux.
A profoundly grateful smile stretched across Sif’s pretty face as her eyes met Thorfinn’s, the foster father who now stood in the place of her own. She solemnly took the gifted sword from Bjarke, placed it gently in Bodo’s scarred, swarthy hands, and untied the silver band with the amethyst stone that matched her own. As she placed it upon his finger, she spoke her vow, loud and clear.
“You saw worth in the thrall that I was,
Though I had nothing to offer.
In your loving eyes, I felt beautiful for the first time in my life.
You gave me your fierce lupine heart, and with this ring,
I give you my wedding vow.
I will stand with you. In light and shadow.
