The Edda of
Heidi Jurgensdottir
A Tale of Skyrim in the Fourth Age
Kylee Jain Ridley
Prelude
The sun set, as it always did, behind the walls of Solitude, the fiery orange glow of the orb slowly dissipating into the black velvet of night. Jurgen Ulfsson sat on the front stoop of his home, as he always did, watching the sun disappear behind the walls of the city. He inhaled deeply, for Jurgen Ulfsson loved the scent of the mountain flowers that grew in the city he loved. He'd spent his entire life here, and he'd believed that his family would do the same for generations to come. That is, he'd believed so until Ulfric Stormcloak had declared war on his own people, and set the whole of Skyrim at one another's throats. The war had cost him two of his sons, and nearly had cost him his wife and daughter. Now, though there seemed to finally be an end to the madness of a bloody civil war, Jurgen was uneasy. His beloved daughter, Heidi, had gone missing somewhere between Solitude and Falkreath, and though he had faith in his daughter's skill and strength as a fighter, Jurgen Ulfsson knew that there were far more terrible things out there in the wilds than just one frustratingly elusive Nord.
Jurgen's wife, Britt, still set about the nightly rituals of preparing the evening meal, still setting places for three more besides Jurgen and herself. Her grief was great, especially for one so young. Britt was several years younger than her husband, though the years of sorrow had taken a toll on her youth. Still, she was a fiery woman, and Jurgen felt much, much younger in her presence. She had made things bearable for him over the last few weeks, with the loss of both Henrik and Magnus, and Heidi's disappearance, and he was most grateful. Still, he sat every night on the front stoop, whispering a silent prayer to Akatosh to return his daughter to her family. It was his ritual, and he would not give it up any more than Britt would cease to set three additional places.
Jurgen had always believed that Heidi was destined for the Legion, even more so than her brothers. Since both Henrik and Magnus had enlisted in the Legion, however, Legate Rikke, the adjutant to the Imperial General Tullius, had forbidden her entry, telling Heidi that it would fall to her to continue her family's line should her brothers fall in battle. Woe betide those who had gotten in the path of Heidi Jurgensdottir that night, for she would have dispatched them forthwith to Sovngarde with a swing of her axe. Heidi was no meek maiden, and spent more than her fair share of time working in the fields of Hjaalmarch, felling trees and plowing fields in anticipation of sowing seed. Though Jurgen himself owned no farm, his daughter was well-known amongst the farmers of Hjaalmarch, and she worked tirelessly to ensure a good harvest for every one under whom she'd labored. She'd grown fine and strong, easily a match for any man in Skyrim. Many a Nord lad had pursued the fire-haired woman, and every last one was turned on his head. Heidi had no time for romance, and the men of Solitude had been her partners in crime during her youth, and she could never see them as anything else.
No, Jurgen Ulfsson knew that the way of the warrior was the way his Heidi would follow, and he knew there would come a time that she would go her own way. She'd heard there was work in Falkreath Hold, reinforcing the Hold's guard against the incursions of Ulfric Stormcloak, and she'd packed and left Solitude behind as quickly as she could. Jurgen knew better than to try and persuade her to reconsider, and gave her his blessing as she departed. That, unfortunately, was several weeks ago, and no word as yet from the court of Falkreath's jarl as to Heidi's arrival. Jurgen knew that Heidi would have sent word immediately upon arriving at Falkreath, for she knew he worried. That there had been no word was a sign to Jurgen that something had gone awry. He'd considered making the trip to Falkreath himself, to visit friends and to seek out any information on Heidi's whereabouts, but Britt expressly forbade him to do so, threatening to leave if he dared try.
She was a fiery woman, after all. There had been no question; Heidi was her mother's daughter. However, Jurgen's only concern was for his daughter's safety, and at this moment, there was just no information for him to have. So he sits, even now, as the sun sets over the walls of Solitude, whispering to the Divines for her safe return.