Yes,answered Sif, a shade nervously.
And now you have bound yourself to this man, despite your commitment to becoming a spellsinger?
Yes,admitted Sif.
Baedi was silent for a moment then said,I do not know if this may be. Mind you, as both woman and man, my own life is an example of the fact that identities can be more complicated than they first appear. You will not find me standing in judgement over you, but you may not find the same is true of the other Elders,Baedi warned.
I understand,said Sif.I will face whatever I must.
I’m sure you will. Safe travels on your voyage here! Should there be need, reach out to me again, thesame way. Hopefully, we can soon teach you the song of travelling and do away with the need for ocean voyages.
I hope so!replied Sif, excited.Fate willing, I’ll see you soon.
Fate willing.said Baedi, gently ending the connection of mind to mind.
Sif slowly and carefully brought her consciousness back from its travels, returning to the here and now. When she opened her eyes, Hakon was sitting on the opposite side of the fire, staring at her.
“Sacred Freyja!” swore Sif, startled. “Hakon, don’t do that again without warning me.”
“You looked…gone. As if your spirit was somewhere else,” said Hakon curiously. “Yet you were singing something under your breath. What was all that about?”
Sif worked to calm herself from the start Hakon had given her. “That was spellsinging. The art I am attempting to master. I was talking to Baedi, in the Ironwood.”
Hakon’s eyebrows rose. “Just now?” he asked. “You were talking to someone many miles away?”
Sif nodded.
“That’s incredible. I wish I had possessed that skill on the Long Road to Miklagard,” said Hakon. “So many times, I wished to talk to you, to hear how you were doing, and to share what I was seeing.”
There was something so earnest in the way Hakon spoke, it reminded Sif of when they had been younger, before they had gone their separate ways. It felt like a lifetime ago, reminding her of how much had happened since then, but it was also comforting.
“You must have seen some incredible things,” said Sif, feeling oddly shy.
“Such things!” said Hakon. He shook his head. “Things I’m not even sure how to describe. In Miklagard they had these chariot races—four horses tethered to little carts with two huge wheels, that go as fast as lightning. They raced for different teams, reds and blues, whites and greens, and people lived and died by their allegiance to a color! And the stadium, Sif, you should have seen it! It was called the Hippodrome, and it would be packed with a hundred thousand people, all screaming for their team!” Hakon’s eyes shone as he recalled what he had seen.
Sif sat in fascination. In truth, the idea of this strange stadium terrified her. The entirety of the Jomsburg and its surrounding settlement was lessthan five thousand people, and that felt like more than enough. “I cannot even imagine such a thing,” she confessed.
“I will never forget it. And the stadium crowd was no more than a tenth of the whole population of the city,” said Hakon. “Sometimes we would go on parade, the Emperor’s Varangian Guard, and the streets would be lined with people trying to see the Emperor’s savage barbarian fighters.” He chuckled.
Sif frowned. “Barbarian?”
“Their name for us. They think we’re savages.” Hakon waved a hand dismissively. “City living and safety has made them soft. They fear anything that looks wild and untamed.”
“Huh!Theysound like the primitive ones,” said Sif. “Afraid of their own shadows.” Sif did not like the thought of these faraway city dwellers sneering at her people, especially at Hakon.
“They have their skills,” replied Hakon. “The buildings they make!” Stone upon stone, up into the heavens. Walls, three times the length of a man in their thickness! There are fortunes to be made there—they are a rich people. But no,” he concluded, “they are not our people. A few seasons among them was enough.”
“Did you—” began Sif, then paused to order her thoughts. “Was there anyone special for you in Miklagard?”
“No.” Hakon eyed her from across the fire. “I will not lie and say there were no women at any time, but no joinings that meant anything. Just the demands of the body.”
“Oh,” said Sif, feeling somehow both relieved and confused.
“And you?” asked Hakon, his eyes intense upon her.
Well, I started this conversation. And I’m not going to lie.
“In the Ironwood, we were taught…certain things. About pleasing men, turning them to our will. There were journeys to Visby, there were men there. But not anything that meant anything,” Sif said, echoing Hakon’s words.
