Norv woke to a tapping on his window. He had been sleeping in his recliner these days.  Through bleary eyes he looked out the patio door to the cramped balcony.

There beside the charcol grill and the plastic patio chair was a goose.  A large white goose with and orange beak and black markings in front of its eyes.  It started tapping on the glass again and spread it wings.

That goose is huge, thought Norville as he got up put on his bathrobe.  That wing span looks like about 8 feet.  What was a huge white goose doing on his balcony? A memory floated to the surface.  The valkyries were also known as Swan Maiden.  That was no goose.  It was a swan and it didn't look happy.  That woke Norvile up and he quickly went to the patio and slid the glass door open.

The swan walked in with regal grace. It shook the cold out of its feathers.  It fluffed up and blurred a bit.

Norv fell to his knees so quickly he threw out his back.

Standing before him was a woman in silver amour.  She was well over six feet tall. Her sandles weer made of soft leather and tied with ribbon.  She had a long dress that hung in soft folds from her shoulders. If he had to guess, Norv would have said that it was unbleached linen. It was covered with a silver scale shirt. Household tools hung from her belt.  They were tied on with long leather thongs.  Norv could see a whetstone, a pair of sissors, and a small pouch.  A clock of swan feathers was pinned at the shoulders by two large oval bronze broaches.  Stings of amber beads  hung between the two broaches.  She had a crested helm of silver, trimed with brass.  Silver chain mail hung on the back on the helmet.  And she held a spear.  A very big spear.  With a pointy tip.  A pointy tip that was aimed at Norv's head.

"Art thou the one who extended an invitation to my Lady Freyja to come and clense this land and reap our harvest of the heroic?"

Norv's voice failed him.  The physical presence of such a creature overwhelmed him.  He struggled with is words for a moment.  The valkyrie narrowed her eyes to let him know that he if he didn't speek soon, he would lose the ability forever.  Norville found his voice again.

"I am he.  My name is Norvile Van der Linde.  And by what title should this humble servant use to address you, milady?"

"I am no one's lady," she said firmly, raising the tip of her spear and resting its base near her foot. " I am Skuld, She Who Is Becoming.  You may refer to me as Skuld."

"I am not wordsmith enough to fully describe the compliment your presence gives to my humble abode.  You glow with honour and vigor.  Your eye is keen and your wrist is powerful. In what small way can one such as I serve you?"

"Thy words are pleasing to my ear.    My Lady Freyja has sent me as an advance to herald her coming. She thought it best that a contest of skills should be held in her honor.  I am here to prepare the way.  Dost thou know how I might hire some bards to tell of this event and advise the populous of it's coming?"

Norv's mind raced.  What would be the best venue for a godess?  All he could come up with as a modern equivalent was an Ultimate Fighting.

"I think it best to hold what is called in these lands an 'Ultimate Fighting' event.  Fighters are paired off in an enclosed octoganal area.  No weapons are used.  It is based on the pysical skill of the participants.  The fight ends when one of the fighters yield."

"Ultimate fighting? Are you sure that the poeples of this land are not given to hyberbole?"

"I assure you they are not.  The various discipline of martial arts wanted a means to test their differing styles in an open competition."

"It sounds like an adequate proposal. How many days do you need to prepare and for warriors to travel?"

"A week would be sufficient time to allow for travel. The difficulty is in paying for the use of the arena and playing for the ... bards to announce the event.  My means are limited and I am unable to secure appropriate [surroundings]."

"My Lady anicipated this need and gave me sufficient to cover our needs." She produced a large sac from under her feathered cloak.  She placed the bag on a clear spot on his counter.  She opened it and revealed coins of various sizes and metals.  Norville knew nothing of ancient coins, but the sac contained a fortune based on the metal value alone.

"Your lady is indeed wise.  This amount is very sufficient to do this right."

 

 

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