Dead Chaos (13 page)

"Bryn, wake up. Bryn, are you okay?" Sigrun and Aimee both faced me, shocked expressions on their faces as they waited for my answer.

"Yes, yes I'm fine," I gasped and took another shuddering breath. Behind the girls Aidan and Joshua looked on, concern clear on their faces. "It was just a dream, nothing more."

"What was it about? Maybe you'll feel better if you talk about it," suggested Sigrun.

I considered not telling them. Considered keeping the dream to myself. But something told me they deserved to know. What if the dream was some kind of message for us? They were all here with me, and what if the dream meant we were in danger?

"It was a dream. It’s the second time I've had this same dream," I said, taking a deep shuddering breath and tasting the blood again. I swallowed and continued. "I'm in a field overrun with Warriors and Ulfr and gods. There are giants too, Jotunns and Surts and even Nidhogg. It felt like all the races of the nine realms were fighting in this one place. And there was so much blood. So much death. Loki was fighting Odin this time. And Vidarr was about to kill Fen."

"Oh my," said Sigrun. Then she rose to her feet and said, "Oh my. I think I know the place you are dreaming of, Bryn."

"You think it's a real place?"

"Well, sounds like the place the prophecies say is the location of the great war of Ragnarok. It is called the Vigrid Plains," Sigrun said. But a shadow of what looked like fear flitted across her features. Then she continued, "And the Vigrid Plains is located in Jotunnheim, not far from the Yggdrasil."

"What?" I breathed the word out in shock. "You mean it's near here?"

"Yes. We will reach it sometime this morning. We have to pass the Plains to reach the Tree of Life."

I was quiet, unsure of what to say about the fact that I would soon be facing a place I'd assumed was nothing more than a horrible dream. More like a nightmare. I could still taste the copper on my tongue.

"So I dreamed about this place and it was real. What about the rest of the dream? Could it also be real too?"

"You mean Vidarr trying to kill Fenrir?" asked Sigrun.

"Yes, and Loki stabbing Odin in the back?"

"It could be a premonition or a foretelling of some sort,"
offered Hugin as he fluttered down to me.

"So maybe it's best to assume that some of it were true. Sigrun do you know this Vidarr person?" asked Aimee.

Sigrun nodded and said, "Vidarr is a son of Odin, god of Silence and Vengeance.

"Yeah, I've seen him," I said. "And he certainly wasn’t happy that Odin accepted the Ulfr's pledge. He actually broke his silence to voice his disagreement with Odin's choice."

Sigrun paled and nodded and I noticed the rest of the team had drawn closer.

"
And in your dream, you saw him kill Fenrir?"
asked Hugin.

"No, he was about to kill him when I woke up," I said, somehow glad I hadn’t seen that. As it was, just the thought of Fen dying made me want to bawl my eyes out. What I really needed now was to stop thinking about the dream. It seemed to have affected my whole body, even the pit of my stomach roiled in response. "Okay, I think we'd better get moving."

As I got to my feet, the rest of the team set about rolling up blankets and collecting bits and pieces. We cleaned up the cave, then put out the fire while Joshua buried our trash in the soil just outside the caves entrance.

Soon we were tramping along, following Sigrun and heading for Yggdrasil. As inevitable as it was, I dreaded the thought of passing the real Vigrid Plains.

As long as I didn't have any more dreams, maybe I'd be fine.

***

Boiling black clouds rumbled overhead, and thunder grumbled every so often. Jotunnheim certainly didn’t have the cheeriest weather. I guess they didn’t need a weatherman to predict the day’s weather, either. Always cloudy, never sunny.

Sigrun had led us across an endless field of craggy rocks until we reached a mountain range. My spirits crashed at the thought of scaling the monstrous mound of rock when Sigrun pointed out a pass that ran through the belly of the hulking, granite beast.

We headed for the pass at a brisk pace. I bet everyone else felt the way I did; no way did I want to be stuck in the pass. Just the thought of being caught beneath the weight of so much black rock was enough to make me break out into a run and head screaming for the exit on the other side.

But I took a deep breath and tried to calm my hammering heart.

Joshua stepped in beside me, and I felt calmer with him walking next to me. I suspected it was Aimee's idea to keep him and Aidan apart. A quick glance behind me confirmed my suspicions. We walked along what seemed like a crack that ran deep through the very center of the mountain. The sides of the pass closed in on us and I made it worse by looking up, seeking a glimpse of the sky as if just the sight of the angry clouds would lessen the tightening in my chest. But it was a worthless exercise.

Only darkness greeted my eyes as I strained to see the sky. I sighed. "It won't be long. We're almost there," said Joshua. He was right but it still didn't make me feel any better.

"It's weird. I felt nothing when I went to Swartelfheim to retrieve the goblet. And there, I had to go deep into the Dwarf mountain and stay there for a long while. But this mountain is different. There's just something about it that makes me really uncomfortable."

"I know what you mean," he said. "It's almost as if someone is watching us."

I looked up and around but all that moved was Hugin as he soared ahead. At least he'd alert us to any dangers.

I hoped.

We made it to the exit without anything untoward befalling us. And as we passed out of the mountain, we gathered to stare at the wide expanse of land before us.

"
The Vigrid Plains,"
said Hugin from his perch on Sigrun's shoulder.

"Wow," breathed Aimee. "That's beautiful in an eerie kind of way."

The plains, dotted with trees, extended for miles. A range of dark, craggy mountains encircled the plains so far in the distance they looked like black shadows on the edge of the horizon.

We made our way down a small path littered with rocks and stones until we stood level with the Vigrid Plains. An icy shiver ran up and down my spine as my eyes spasmed and I again saw the very same land filled with fighting men and blood and screams. It seemed the images in my dreams were now superimposed in front of me as if I were watching a ghostly reenactment.

I shuddered and must have moaned because I heard Joshua's voice and felt his arm around me. "Bryn, are you okay?" His voice held more than a touch of worry.

I blinked, trying to get those horrible images out of my head. I focused on Joshua's face, stared at him until the other images faded, I was breathing evenly, and all I could see was him.

Sigrun came to me too. "Bryn, perhaps it would be good for you to look at the plains and see them as they are, empty and . . . dying."

As she spoke the word "dying" I focused on the land before me and realized how right she was. All the trees I'd noticed were dead or dying, blackened branches held out like emaciated fingers. No grass grew on these plains, just dried, cracked soil.

And not a drop of blood in sight.

I sighed and stared at the plains. It didn't matter that the land was dying. All that mattered was that my dream hadn’t come true. Not yet, anyway.

Hugin fluttered to my shoulder.
"Brynhildr, I would suggest your dream is a foretelling. I believe your dream may be a vision of the actual battle of Ragnarok. And perhaps that vision is so tied to this place that it may be very strong in this moment."

"You're right, Blackbird. I can barely stop the visions from coming. It's taking all my energy."

"Is there any more you can tell us about the dream?"
asked Hugin.

"No, I think I've told you everything I can remember."

"Then there is no point in allowing the visions to return especially when it is so emotionally taxing for you,"
the bird said firmly.

I nodded and Sigrun murmured in agreement when I repeated what Hugin had said. "We should be on our way. We still have a long journey ahead of us," she said as she looked to her left. "We follow the edge of the plains and come to another pass. Yggdrasil is just beyond that."

I stared off into the distance, cursing the additional pass, but grateful the end was in sight.

***

Hours later, as the light began to eke from the dull sky, with aching bodies and throbbing feet, we made it through the second pass safely, leaving the dying remains of the Vigrid plain behind. And for the second time in one day, we walked out of a mountain pass to be greeted by a stunning sight.

We stood at ground level this time, in awed silence as we stared at the great ash tree that was Yggdrasil. I craned my head to see the top of the tree and wondered if perhaps the tree was the reason the land of the frost giants had such a high sky. The tree reached such great heights that the tops of it were invisible as they disappeared into the dark clouds above.

Yggdrasil certainly looked out of place in this barren, dark land. Its branches hung heavily laden with leaves. I gasped as I took in the size of its trunk. I was certain it would take hours for anyone to make one revolution of the tree's enormous trunk.

The roots were just as impressive. They snaked out from the base of the trunk, lifting and surging as if they rode invisible waves. Many of the roots were larger than a commercial airplane, although there were plenty that were only the size of a passenger train. No normal sized roots here at all.

I looked at Sigrun, who smiled back at me. "We are here, Bryn."

Thanks
, Captain Obvious.
I gave Sigrun an affectionate glance. Hugin cawed high above us, as if in agreement.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Aimee. "Let’s go explore this amazing tree."

We hurried toward Yggdrasil, eager to get there as quickly as possible. Which was easier said than done as we'd misconstrued the size of the tree and the distance we had to walk to get to it. Soon we slowed to an easier pace.

"This tree is incredible," said Joshua, his voice filled with awe.

"Yggdrasil is the Tree of Life. It spans all nine realms and holds them all together, connecting them into one living universe. And not only that, the roots of the tree give rise to all the rivers of all the nine realms," said Sigrun.

"Wow," Aimee said in almost a whisper.

"And we find the Norns beneath the roots of the tree?" I asked.

"
Yes. Their existence is entwined with the tree and its roots and the universe that Yggdrasil holds together. None can survive without the other,"
Hugin intoned, his deep, soul-singer voice at odds with the sobriety of the words he uttered.

We drew closer to the tree, Hugin making another pass above us. Suddenly he cawed aloud again, the sound so unnaturally loud and desperate we all stopped in our tracks. Hugin flew straight at me and turned at the very last moment to land on my shoulder.

"What happened?"

"
There is something wrong with the tree,"
Hugin said.
"Though the boughs are heavy with leaves, there are a great number that are dead or dying. I fear that the tree itself may be ill or may even be dying."

When I repeated Hugin's words to Sigrun she gasped. "Hugin, how can you say such a thing?" She stared at the bird, horrified.

"I am sorry,"
Hugin said looking at me then at Sigrun.
"I am not jesting. It is quite true. Much of the leaves are dying and that must mean the tree is also ill. We will need to find out what is wrong."

"Then let's not waste any more time," I said and hurried toward the tree again. What was happening to the Tree of Life? And what did that mean for the worlds it fed? "Sigrun, if the roots of Yggdrasil
are the origin of all the rivers of all the worlds, does that also mean that should the tree die, then the worlds would run out of water?" And although I asked her the question, I already knew the answer before she said yes.

The ground beneath our feet changed from smooth soil to lumpy, bumpy and uneven terrain as we reached the root system. Here and there, roots popped out of the soil only to make a loop as big as a house, and snake back into the ground, leaving us to walk beneath the arches they made.

I stopped to inspect a pile of something solid and white covering a small area of one of the bared roots. I flagged Sigrun down. "Do you know what this is?"

"Oh yes, that is the mud the Norns make using the water from the well of Urd. Urd is a holy well with the purest water in all of the realms. The Norns take care of the tree, and they use the mud to repair any damage and to help the tree to live longer." Sigrun sighed. "It is said the tree itself has always been dying very slowly, but that the process will take centuries to complete."

I felt a bit sad to know the tree of the universe was dying. Aimee echoed my thoughts with her question. "But, if the tree is dying, what does that mean for all the worlds?"

"Everything has a cycle. Everything must come to an end and the same goes for the tree. It's like anything else in the universe. A time of birth, a time of life, and a time of death. And then it all happens again," Sigrun said sadly.

"So the end of the world is coming?" asked Joshua.

"Ragnarok is the end of the world and it is inevitable."

"Isn't Ragnarok the battle that Odin is supposed to die in?"

"That is what has been foretold." Sigrun nodded. "But sometimes a foretelling is not always correct."

"Is that why Fenrir was able to change his mind and pledge himself to Odin?" asked Aimee.

"Yes, exactly. He said his future is not set in stone. He felt he could change his part in Odin's death by being a loyal follower and not allowing himself to be in any position to endanger the All-Father’s life."

Before anyone else could ask any more questions, a large shadow passed over us. A shadow dark enough to draw goose bumps to our skin. I looked up and shuddered. An eagle, easily the size of a hang-glider, swooped down, heading straight for us. Its silence was eerie and frightening. I could hear the rush of feathers as the bird flapped its wings, increasing its speed as it aimed for us.

I remained frozen to the ground until I could see the sharpness of its yellow beak and a reflection of Aidan and myself in the vicious bird’s eyes.

***