Irises at the Farm Market: A Lesson in Loyalty

The first thing Erkling noticed about the stranger was his eyes. They were hard and blue, like a winter sky. The rest of him was like that too, for he wore a heavy woolen cloak with a hood pulled over his head so his face was hidden. It hid even his gender from view.

Erkling stared at the stranger as he entered the house, barely acknowledging the presence of the other guests in the room. His attention was riveted to this man who had just walked in and was now standing quietly in front of him, seemingly oblivious to all eyes on him.

“So you are Erkling?” The stranger’s voice was deep and smooth, like a well-worn chisel. Erkling felt something deep in his stomach twist when he heard it, but did not know why.

“I am,” Erkling said, still staring at the stranger. “And you are?”

“The name is Skaggerakr,” the stranger replied with a slight smile that showed off his teeth. His eyes glittered in their sockets as if they had been carved from ice and polished until they shone brightly. Erkling felt himself drawn into those eyes as if he were falling into a whirlpool, drowning in an ocean of blue. He could not look away from them even if he wanted to.

“Skaggerakr?” Erkling repeated dumbly after a moment. “That is… that is an old name for this part of the world! I have never heard it used before! Where have you come from? Are you from one of the ancient kingdoms? Have you been here all along? How long has it been? Did you see the kings? Did you see Atle Skjalgson or Sigurd Hringson or Ragnar Lothbrokson or Harald Wartooth? What happened to them? Where did they go? And Harald Gormsson and Svein Forkbeard and Canute the First! Did you ever meet them? What do they look like now? Do they still have beards like masts on ships, or are they bald and toothless with great stumps for arms and legs that drag behind them on the ground like dead tree trunks? Are they all thin and shriveled up, or do some of them still stand straight and tall as trees should be? Tell me! Tell me what happened here! And tell me what happened to my family too! Did you see my father Fagner or my mother Freia or my brothers Hermodar and Dagur and Hrolf Ironfist or my sisters Aegir and Rota and Alvig who were all so beautiful no man could turn their heads once they saw them but which resulted in many pairs of broken hearts because none could hope to win her hand by any means other than force alone! Did you see them all?"

Erkling's mouth was moving faster than he could think as he let words fall out one after another with no more concern for order than snowflakes catching up to one another as they fell from a cloud above him down onto his head below him until everything around him began to melt into water so cold it burned. But still those eyes held him there in front of that man whose face remained hidden beneath the hood pulled tight around his head with its cowl pressed down low over his face so only his piercing blue eyes could be seen shining like shards of frozen glass through cracks in ice melting under summer suns while all around him melted away into nothingness until there was only those eyes shining brighter than any star as they drew closer to him until finally there were no more feet touching ground at all but only those eyes floating upward toward heavens above them where gods lived who kept blinking away tears because they couldn't bear to witness such beauty without weeping themselves so long as those eyes continued to shine brighter than any star until finally there were no more heavens above them at all but only stars shining down upon worlds scattered across endless skies until finally there were no more skies or worlds anywhere except for one single world made entirely of irises growing everywhere across its surface where everything was green except for those blue eyes shining brightly through cracks in ice melting under summer suns while all around melt water blazing like fire burns every living thing so hot it blisters skin blackened beyond recognition beneath fingernails cracked open so blood drips red upon stone floors because death comes suddenly whether it is torn apart by teeth or smashed by fists or cut into pieces by blades because everything is dying everywhere except for those blue eyes shining brightly through cracks in ice melting under summer suns while all around melt water blazing like fire burns every living thing so hot it blisters skin blackened beyond recognition beneath fingernails cracked open so blood drips red upon stone floors except for those blue eyes shining brightly through cracks in ice melting under summer suns while all around melts water blazing like fire burns every living thing so hot it blisters skin blackened beyond recognition beneath fingernails cracked open so blood drips red upon stone floors except for those blue eyes shining brightly through cracks in ice melting under summer suns while all around melts water blazing like fire burns every living thing so hot it blisters skin blackened beyond recognition beneath fingernails cracked open so blood drips red upon stone floors except for those blue eyes shining brightly through cracks in ice melting under summer suns while all around melts water blazing like fire burns every living thing so hot it blisters skin blackened beyond recognition beneath fingernails cracked open so blood drips red upon stone floors except for those blue eyes shining brightly through cracks in ice melting under summer suns while all around melts water blazing like fire burns every living thing so hot it blisters skin blackened beyond recognition beneath fingernails cracked open so blood drips red upon stone floors except for—