RECAP: Erik and his friends have landed on Alfheim in search of transport to Nidavellir. A new ally named Mimir promises to take them to his family’s estate, but his family might not be as willing to help as he is.
We left Ragnvald to continue studying and explored the city as we waited for evening. We learned that it was called Brandrheim, which wasn’t its original name, but the new name given to it after an elf named Brandr defended it from a Ginnunson. That’s what the mural on the front of the city’s hall depicted. Apparently, the title of Chief was passed down through the ancestors of Brandr, keeping the rule over the city in the family. The rule of the Chief didn’t extend beyond Brandrheim. Brandrheim was a city state. It had been that way since its founding, and the elfs there were content with that.
Evening fell, and we returned to the library, where we found Mimir and Ragnvald waiting for us. Mimir let us climb into his land speeder so he could take us to his family’s estate. It was cramped, but we all managed to fit. Since I was the biggest, I was allowed up front with Mimir while the other three squeezed together along the back bench.
Mimir drove us outside the city towards a giant manor surrounded by an energy fence. The manor glowed with bright yellow lights that shone from inside. The shadows of night began to overtake the light of day, and so the glow of the house shone all the brighter.
The speeder pulled up to the gate. A robot sat in a booth wearing a suit and cap. “What is your business at the Svipalson family estate?”
Mimir cleared his throat. “To visit my family.”
“Please state your name.”
“Mimir Svipalson.”
“Please be prepared for a retinal scan. Do not be alarmed.”
A device shot out from the booth and pushed close to Mimir’s face. Mimir flinched a little and pulled his spectacles off his face. The device glowed green. It paused in front of his right eye and whirred for a moment before retracting back into the booth.
“You are clear to enter. Enjoy your stay, Mimir Svipalson.”
The large gates clanged and screeched as they parted. Mimir drove the speeder through. The rest of the ride was in complete silence. The color had vanished from Mimir’s face. His grip on the steering handle tightened. It must have been ages since he’d seen his family. He couldn’t be that terrified of them, could he? I began to wonder what we should expect from the Svipalsons. Were they as friendly as I had thought, or was that nothing but a hope?
Lights glowing on the driveway directed us to the front entryway. Another servant bot waited for us there and opened the door for Mimir. “Welcome back, young master.”
Mimir nodded wordlessly as he stepped out of the vehicle.
The rest of us were left to open the doors for ourselves and follow Mimir up the steps to the front door. The door was wooden and wasn’t nearly as large as the doors to the hall of Brandrheim.
The manor itself was large. It wasn’t so massive as the hall, but it was certainly more decorated and detailed. Artistic designs and windy swirls of silver covered the walls and front pillars. While the mural in front of the hall told the legacy of the city state, the designs and patterns here told of wealth and attention to detail.
Mimir knocked on the door, and it was opened a moment later by yet another servant bot. It bowed as we entered. Our footsteps clacked on the tiled floor and echoed through the entry hall. A round, green carpet sat in the center of the room directly beneath an extravagant chandelier floating in place and covered with hundreds of candles. The wax dripped then was evaporated as it hit an invisible shield, which rippled for a moment at the point of contact.
Trond pointed at the chandelier. “I need one of those for the house.”
“What is it that your family did to accrue such wealth, Mimir?” I asked.
Mimir opened his mouth to speak, but it was Ragnvald who answered. “They preserve their family legacy through published records sold as books and a museum in the city. Not to mention the inherited wealth from the previous two generations.”
“And what did the previous two generations do?”
“The last family generation did the same as the third is doing now. The other established the family legacy.”
Before I could ask what the legacy was, a door to the left opened, and a woman wearing a bright red dress appeared. Her hair was put up in a style I’d not seen before, and she wore more jewelry than I imagined her small frame capable of carrying. Her face held hints of wrinkles, but it seemed that she put money into making those vanish.
The woman’s eyes flicked over to Trond, Ragnvald, Hilda and I before returning to Mimir. “It’s been so long.”
She raced across the room and held him tight. I didn’t understand why Mimir had been afraid before.
Then the woman slapped him across the face.
“Where’ve you been?”
“I told you I got a job at the library.”
“Why are you here? Did you come to take some of our money?”
“I’m not here for the money,” Mimir said. “I came because I met some people who need help which we can provide.”
The woman’s glare fell on us. “I see. So, you brought others who seek our wealth.”
“They don’t care for the money either. They just need passage. That’s all.”
“If they need passage, they can get on a public transport.”
“There are no public ships that go where they’re going. They need help, mother.”
The woman hesitated. She looked at Trond, Ragnvald, Hilda and I individually, holding us in her gaze for longer than necessary, then huffed. “We’ll talk over dinner. The servants have just finished preparing it. We’ll set more plates out for your friends, but they will not get seconds.”
Mimir squirmed. “Mother, is that really—“
“It’s alright,” I said. “We’re very grateful for your hospitality and generosity.”
I bowed my head slightly and hoped that wasn’t too much. When I looked back up, the woman wore less hostility on her face.
“Come. I’ll show you to the dining hall. Oh, and you may call me Mrs. Svipalson.”
****
The table was massive, and it was covered with food. Reddish-orange garlands weaved between the polished dishes, the color standing out against the green tablecloth. The dishes holding the food were all silver while the goblets, utensils, plates, and bowls sitting in front of us were gold. Whether they were real gold or not I couldn’t tell. But given the amount of wealth I had seen thus far, I had to assume they were genuine.
We dined in relative silence with the occasional compliment and thanks given to the family from Trond, Hilda or myself. Ragnvald didn’t speak a word. The family occasionally asked one other about how their day went and asked the servant bots for more of one dish or another. The air in the room felt stiff, and I caught more than one glare in our direction.
When the eating was finally over, the man sitting at the head of the table—who I assumed to be Mr. Svipalson—wiped his mouth and spoke. “You’re all friends of my son?”
I finished swallowing before answering. “We’ve only just met him today.”
“I see. And you came to him because he is a Svipalson?”
“We knew nothing of your family, much less Mimir’s connection to it. We were simply seeking help, and Mimir said you might be of assistance.”
“I see. So, he bragged of our wealth and his lineage.”
“He did nothing like that. He simply wanted to help us in our journey.”
“And what sort of journey is it?”
“We seek the help of the dwarfs to defend our clan on Midgard from giants.”
The entire family, both young and old, laughed, except for Mimir. His face turned red.
Mr. Svipalson exaggerated his amusement by wiping imaginary tears of laughter from his face. “You’re going to ask the dwarfs for help?”
“Yes,” I said. “We’ve found no alternative thus far.”
“What about the kings of Midgard? Will they not help?”
“They will not. We were fortunate to meet with one, and he refused to help defend our people.”
A younger man who looked to be about the same age as Trond’s son spoke up. “In what reality are you living in where giants attack a meager human clan? This tale is false, meant to use our sympathy against us. This is a trick.”
Mimir looked at us with wide eyes. “Is that true?”
“Of course not,” I said. “This is no trick. We were attacked by giants for reasons we do not yet fully understand. We seek answers, but it may be some time before we get them. My priority now is to defend my people first and find answers second. We can’t learn their motives if we’re dead.”
Mrs. Svipalson shook her head. “I knew you were after our wealth. These… tales of yours will not deceive us. You must think we will blindly jump at just the thought of saving the innocent because of our heritage, but we’re not so stupid as that. We see right through you.”
“I still don’t quite know what your heritage is. Where does all of this wealth come from?”
The family laughed again.
“Mimir told you of our wealth,” Mr. Svipalson said, “but he didn’t tell you where it came from?”
“If you’d be so kind, I’d like to learn more about your family’s legacy.”
The old elf sitting on Mr. Svipalson’s right cleared his throat loudly. The rest of the family was silent. Their grins faded, and they stared at the elderly member of the family. This one must have been of the previous generations of Svipalsons. The generation which upheld the family legacy after the previous one established it.
“Brandr the Brave,” the old elf said, “had two children after defending Alfheim from the first ginnunson over two centuries ago. The first was his son, who was his heir. He was the first Brandrson and became Chief of Brandrheim after his father passed. The other was his daughter, who was my wife. It was her whom Brandr tasked with maintaining the legacy of his heroic deeds. Not out of ego, but out of the want to inspire others and remind the citizens of Brandrheim where they come from. It was a humble task that has been twisted and deformed for the sake of—“
“Thank you, father,” Mr. Svipalson said. “Now, you see our lineage. Heroes. That’s what we are. Heroes of this city and the whole of Alfheim. But you knew that, and you tried to twist that legacy against us. What will you do now? Tell the citizens of Brandrheim that we betrayed our legacy because we wouldn’t help you? Who do you think they’ll listen to? The strange group of offworlders, one of which appears to be a traitor to the Valkyrie order, or the family which has made them prosper for centuries?”
Hilda held her gaze, a fire blazing behind her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but I feared what might spill from her lips.
“We don’t mean to taint your legacy,” I said. “If you will not help us, that is your choice. I thank you for your time and for the meal. You’ve been most hospitable, but I’m afraid we’ve overstayed our welcome.”
Mr. Svipalson grinned. “That you have, as has our son. Mimir, if you ever bring ‘guests’ to our estate again, you’ll never be allowed to set foot on these grounds. Do you understand? You should be grateful we still allowed you back after all these years.”
Mimir nodded and muttered an apology under his breath. I felt a fire ignite behind my eyes, but I pushed it down. There was no need to make a scene for the sake of these fools.
I stood to leave, and the others and Mimir followed my example. One of the servant bots escorted us to the front door. It closed the door behind us, and Mimir let out a sigh.
“I’m sorry, friends.”
“For what?” Trond said. “You brought us to your family, you gave us the chance to plead our case and asked for their help, and they said no. You have nothing to apologize for. If anything, we should be thanking you.”
“Thanking me? After that? I’m ashamed to call them my family. They should treat you better.”
“We’re outsiders intruding on their property,” I said. “They wanted a dinner, and instead they had negotiations with people they’d never met before. I understand the hostility.”
“We weren’t like this when my grandfather was still the head of the household,” Mimir said. “He and my grandmother understood the legacy of Brandr. They upheld it. They used Brandr’s wealth for good. Now here’s a group in need of nothing but transport, and they refuse to offer their service. They forget what made our family great. It wasn’t that we made ourselves better than those around us, but that we lowered ourselves to be their servants.”
“I thank you for your humility, Mimir. But even so, I will respect your family’s answer, and—“
Sirens blared, very similar to the ones within Brandrheim’s limits. But we were on an estate miles from the city. We were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing.
Ragnvald whimpered. “Is that another one of those beasts? Is it here?”
“Yes,” Mimir said. “I fear one approaches, though I doubt it’s a different monster than the one that tried to descend on Brandrheim.”
“We’ll die!” Ragnvald said. “We’re in the open, exposed and defenseless. This journey was fated for destruction as I said before. This is our end.”
“We’re not defenseless. Our estate has its own laser canons build up around the property. They might not be as powerful as the ones Brandrheim has, but they don’t need to be. Remember, we only need to scare the beast, not kill it. But come. We should take shelter anyway.”
Mimir led us back inside the manor, pushing the door open himself this time. He led us back into the dining room, where the rest of the Svipalson family was getting up from the table to evacuate the room.
Mr. Svipalson glared at us. “What are you all still doing here? I thought I told you to leave!”
“Father, there’s a ginnunson outside. I’d like to request we take shelter here until the monster has gone.”
Mrs. Svipalson’s eyes expanded. “You mean you wish for these outsiders to stay at our home longer?”
Mr. Svipalson’s upper lip curled, but he sighed. “Fine. I suppose I can’t have my child out in the open while a ginnunson is out there. Come. We’ll go to the shelter.”
Mimir’s grandfather pushed himself out of his seat with great effort, and the younger Svipalson boy wrapped his arm around the old man, supporting him as he trudged across the dining room. None of them seemed to be in a hurry, so I breathed deeply and tried to calm my mind. We were in no danger. There was no need for fear.
The unearthly roar sounded from outside and shook the manor. Dishes rattled and the table quaked. The laser canons zapped. Red light flashed through the windows. Then the alarm ceased, and a beep sounded from unseen speakers inside the house. The ginnunson roared louder than ever.
Mr. Svipalson gasped. “No.”
A small metal orb floated through the air with four snake-like arms trailing behind it. The floating machine stopped in front of Mr. Svipalson and flashed a screen in front of him.
Mr. Svipalson went white. “Forget the shelter. Get to the hangar.”
Mrs. Svipalson covered her mouth, and she choked out a sob.
“Father?” asked the younger Svipalson. “What’s wrong?”
“One of the lasers hit the beast.”
“But that’s a good thing, isn’t it? That means it’s hurt?”
“Nothing can hurt a ginnunson, boy. That thing has learned that our defenses are useless against it. It knows we cannot harm it. It’s coming for us.”
“Where’s the hangar?” I asked.
Mr. Svipalson whirled on us. “What makes you think you have a right to evacuate with us?”
“I have no right, but I know you are good people at heart, and so I believe you’ll let us survive with you.”
“See?” Mrs. Svipalson said. “They’re manipulating our empathy against us!”
“You cannot come with us. Take Mimir’s land speeder and head for Brandrheim. I wish you luck.”
“If you do not take us to the hangar, we will follow you anyways. You will lead us to your ships, whether you want to or not.”
Mr. Svipalson snarled. “Fine. Come with me.”
The manor shook again, but there was no roar this time. It must have been the ginnunson coming closer, but I did not understand how it made the structure tremble. We raced through the manor, weaving through the halls while Mr. Svipalson shoved open each door as we reached them. I half-expected them to leave Mimir’s grandfather behind, and I’m sure they would have if their youngest didn’t stay with him.
We burst through the back doors of the manor and onto the grounds of the estate. A massive circle had been dug a hundred feet into the ground, structured with concrete. Within the walls of the circle were metal doors, which I had no doubt hid the Svipalsons’ personal ships.
The younger Svipalson pointed up at the sky and screamed. I followed his gaze and froze in my steps.
The thing was too big to take in with a single glance, but I could see enough to know that the mural on the walls of the hall didn’t do these monsters justice. Colors glowed and trailed off the leviathan’s body. It twisted through the sky, moving seemingly at a snail’s pace, but I know it must have been traveling faster than even a land speeder. I felt as though my eyes couldn’t focus on it. My mind ached and worked to fully comprehend what I was looking at. It almost seemed blurry, as though the creature was so unlike anything I’d seen before it was beyond understanding. I squinted at the beast, and its roar made my body tremble.
A hand grabbed my arm, and Trond pulled me inside a small building with the rest of the group. We clambered onto an elevator and the doors closed. We descended, the moment all but silent as we all panted and gasped. I tried to understand what I saw in the sky, but it was like trying to remember a dream. The more I thought about it, the more the images faded away.
The elevator trembled, and the lights flickered. There was a loud boom like thunder, but it could not have been a storm. I couldn’t see it yet, but I knew in my heart that the ginnunson had just consumed the Svipalsons’ manor.
The elevator door opened up to a concrete tunnel stretching to our left and right. Mr. Svipalson took the right path, and the rest of us followed. The ginnunson roared again. Ragnvald screamed. I covered my ears as I ran. My hearing didn’t recover from that moment.
We finally found a ship, which was styled in the same way as the manor. The door opened, the ramp lowered. Mr. Svipalson marched over to a wall and slammed his palm on a button to open the hangar door. A speaker buzzed, and the door slid up into the ceiling. The strong stench of sulfur filled my nose. The air stung my eyes. I didn’t understand at first what I was experiencing, then I realized whatever this was must have come from the ginnunson.
The Svipalson family hurried on board the starship, Mr. Svipalson ushering the others in. Mimir was the last of the family to enter. I placed my foot on the first step of the ramp when I felt a hand on my chest. I looked up.
Mr. Svipalson shook his head. “Not enough room for you, offworlder. Find your own survival.”
Mimir protested, but his father pressed a button and the ramp began to retract. Mimir fought against his father and managed to squirm through the doorway just before it finished closing. The door didn’t open back up.
The ship’s engines roared to life, and the ginnunson outside screamed.
“Come on,” Mimir said. “We have to find another ship.”
We followed close behind him as he sprinted through the different hangars. There were several craft designed to fly across the planet, but nothing suited for interstellar travel.
That was until we came across the small private yacht.
Mimir ushered us into the sleek, polished craft and opened the hangar door. The smell of sulfur spilled inside once again. I let the other three enter the yacht before me, ensuring they got in safely. I helped Ragnvald as he struggled up the ramp. He managed to climb inside, and I entered after him.
Mimir was last. He sat in the pilot’s seat and didn’t bother putting on the restraining belt.
I sat in the seat next to him. “I hope you know how to fly this thing.”
Mimir flicked switches and pressed buttons. “More or less.”
The engines whined. After a moment, the yacht lifted into the air. Mimir gently guided it through the open door.
The world around us shook. The monster crashed into the ground and destroyed half of the personal space port. Aircraft burst into fireballs. Concrete and dirt flew through the air. Mimir was still moving too slow. Chunks of concrete slammed into the yacht. I grabbed the throttle from him and pushed it forward.
The yacht zipped faster. Mimir struggled to avoid colliding with the ginnunson and lifted away from the port. We flew towards the starry night sky. The glow of the other craft’s engines was ahead of us. The ginnunson lifted up toward the sky as well, moving far faster than we did. Ahead of us, it suddenly turned. It rammed the other ship, destroying it instantly. Mimir screamed and was paralyzed with emotion.
I pulled him out of the pilot’s seat. I hadn’t flown a spaceship before. I barely knew how to drive a land speeder. But if Mimir was incapable, then someone had to step in.
I veered in the direction the ginnunson had turned. It arced around, heading back to the estate. I followed it, pushing the throttle further and traveling down its length. It still seemed blurry, as though my eyes didn’t want to see it. I’m afraid that, if I was capable of looking at the thing clearly and understanding it, my mind would be too overwhelmed. I’d go insane at just the sight of this unknowable thing. Maybe the blurriness was my mind protecting itself. I was thankful for that.
I managed to pull away from the ginnunson and aim for the stars once again. Now that the yacht was fighting against gravity again, its speed slowed way down. I pushed the throttle as far as it could go, but it still wasn’t as fast as I’d have liked.
There was a monitor on the control console showing what was happening behind us. There was a fiery crater where the Svipalson manor had been before. Massive trenches tore through the ground. Each one was several miles long. I couldn’t see the ginnunson. It wasn’t ahead of us, either. It must have flown away to find other victims. Alfheim would have a crisis on their hands. That thing wasn’t afraid of laser defenses anymore. They’d have to find a way to kill it, and fast. For a moment, I considered staying to help. But what good could I do against a monster such as that?
It wasn’t long before Alfheim fell away behind us. The stars filled the yacht’s viewport, putting the swirling branches of Yggdrasil on display.
I glanced over my shoulder. “Mimir, how do I use the Bifrost engine?”
There was no response. Only dry sobbing from behind me. I couldn’t see Mimir, but I assumed it was him.
“Mimir?”
Hilda stood. “Give him a moment! I’ll fly. Get out of the seat.”
I complied, and Hilda took my place. She used the ship’s computer to calculate a route, then pressed a button. The space around us became distorted, then unraveled into blue, yellow, and green energy. We were finally on our way to Nidavellir.
Thank you for reading chapter 7 of Ravengard!
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I'm liking Mimir's character so far!
There were a few spots where I felt emotions could have been communicated through sensory details or character actions (i.e. just stating "frozen with emotion" feels a little on-the-nose), though with a party as large as this I get that this can be hard to manage.
I like seeing a bit more of the monster things, though the coincidences leading to them acquiring a starship are adding up fast. The group made some choices and survived, though that was more luck than skill it would appear.
To be frank, there were a few times this chapter that felt info heavy without much connection to the real story. Why would our group care about the family's legacy? Why would the family even invite them to dinner if they were going to turn them away seemingly regardless?
These undercut the interesting aspects of the chapter pretty heavily in my reading experience.