Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 222: CCXXII. The Testimony

"Did you have to be what?" 

" To be sacrificed... the Inguz rune... is used to bless sacrifices" she continued.

"What? Do you mean they were going to kill you as a sacrifice? To whom? The God Heimdallr?" asked Dag, as his hands began to sweat, imagining what that poor girl had been through.

She said no with her head. 

She looked him back in the eye and placed a finger on her right eye, then pointed to Dag's face.

He paused a moment to think. 

"It can't be... they wanted to offer you as a sacrifice to the Frostsinners, right? The Xis!" he exclaimed after reflecting for a few seconds, hoping to get it wrong.

As soon as she heard that name, Ragna shuddered and stuck her head between her legs, beginning to tremble unchecked.

"Offering a sacrifice... it is a pure act of submission! How can they worship the Xis and Heimdallr at the same time? Something's wrong! What about Freydis?! What happened to her? Did they kill her? And how did you escape?" he continued, who was beginning to lose his temper.

She breathed deeply, seeking the courage to continue, and then said: "Freydis saved me... she asked to take my place after they marked my forehead... but when they tried to do the same to her, she tried to fight and I... I ran away like a coward! I'm sorry!" 

Ragna began to cry, while Dag did not know what to answer.

"Luckily for me, I was able to find a boat and... I escaped from Vaeren Island! But I can't help but think of her, her face and that of my comrades, mercilessly killed. That's why I abandoned my Clan... I am not worthy of being a Shieldmaiden and of fighting for the great and wise Odin! I'm sure the Alfather feels disgusted for what I've done! I abandoned a friend of mine to save my miserable life!" she wept, despairing and lying on the bed.

*bom*bom*bom*

"Ragna! My child, that's your voice! Open the door, Ragna! Is he hurting you?! Why are you crying?! Ragna!"

Outside the door, the girl's father began to scream, after hearing again about his daughter, who had not said a word in almost a month. 

Dag got out of bed and went to open the door.

As soon as the key made the last click in the lock, the man opened the wooden door and quickly entered the room, slinging toward his daughter, hugging her and taking a defensive position, looking at Dag in an intimidating manner.

"What did he do to you? Did he try to touch you?!" continued the man, agitated.

"No... he didn't even touch me... we were just talking..." said her, as her father hugged her, happy to hear her voice again.

"What you have done is not cowardly. Your life is no less important than that of others. I'm sure the great Odin would be happy to see you fight again for your Clan, you need to give a purpose to your life, staying in this room lying on the bed will not help you forget" Dag said, walking down the aisle, as Gridd looked confused.

"Dag!" yelled Ragna, preventing him from leaving.

He paused, listening to what the girl had to say, turning his head slightly towards her.

"Thank you..." 

"Don't thank me. Not until my hands will be stained with their blood" he replied, continuing to walk to the exit, followed by Gridd, unaware of what had happened in that room.

Without adding anything else, the two men left the house, while Ragna hugged her parents, crying.

"Then? What happened? Are you telling me something?!" exclaimed Gridd, walking next to Dag, looking forward, thoughtfully.

"They're all dead. Ragna is the only one who managed to escape... that rune engraved on her forehead is called 'Inguz'... I think it serves some sacrificial rite".

"What? All dead? Sacrifice rite? I don't understand!" 

"Those bastards were going to offer Ragna as a sacrifice when Freydis asked to take her place to save her life. The strange thing is that the sacrifice itself, but the fact that, according to Ragna, was not for Heimdallr..." Dag continued.

"And for whom? Oh... Oh no, don't tell me it was a sacrifice for the..." 

"For the Xis. I don't know how, but even those bastards are somehow related to the Frostsinners".

"But... but what happened to Freydis? Is she still alive?" asked Gridd again, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Ragna doesn't know, because she managed to escape, thus saving her life. But Freydis, despite her fighting prowess, I don't think she survived. She was alone... alone on an island of heretical and evil warriors! And I wasn't there! She was abandoned by her companions and her man!" exclaimed Dag, pulling his long blonde hair in anger and touching his forehead, without stopping walking towards the wooden elevators to the Rocky Crown.

The rest of the way, Dag and Gridd continued to talk about Ragna's story, trying to interpret her words and understand what might have happened.

Within tens of minutes, they returned to the Crows Of Odin fortress on the Rocky Crown and again joined their mates and Sander, who were still seated at the table, as they had left them.

"Dag, Gridd! So? Did you find that girl?" asked Karl, happy to see them again.

"Yes. And I even managed to talk to her. Only she told me exactly what I never wanted to hear" Dag said, who after sitting down at the table, told them Ragna's version of events, explaining what had happened that day on Vaeren Island. 

When he finished speaking, there was a few seconds of silence, which was broken by Sander's words: "Even just thinking we wanted to make peace with those heretical murderers disgusts me. I feel very sorry for your woman, as well as for the other warriors of mine who lost their lives because of us Masters, who allowed them to leave. We have to set up an attack plan, they won't expect that now!"