AGENTS OF ODIN
It was
the eve after battle and Darsrak, the greatest of warriors in his
clan was plundering the
bodies of his fallen foes. It was upon this field of
battle that agents of the great god Odin would foretell a prophecy.
It was out of the shadows of the fading light that the great wolves
of Odin, Geri and Ferki, appeared before Darsrak. The fur of the two
wolves were black as night and their stature was to that of a horse
and they wore armor, identical in every way but for the colour. The
one on the left wore golden armor as brilliant as the sun and the
right one wore silver armor as cold as the moon. At first they
frightened Darsrak to no end and he would have fled back to his camp
were it not for the fact that the great beasts of hell called to
him.
"Greetings young warrior Darsrak, I am Geri and this is my
companion Freki. We are the loyal pets of Odin, ruler of Valhalla."
The beast with golden armor said, his golden eyes never leaving
Darsrak's.
"We have been sent by our master to tell you of the great things you are to do, the great things Odin himself has foreseen you are destined to do." This Ferki said with the faintest hint of a smile upon his wolfish face.
"Of what do you speak of demons?" Implored the red haired warrior.
The icy cool chuckles from the silver clad wolf sent a penetrating shiver down his spine. "You humans are quite the arrogant breed, aren't you?"
"We bring you tidings of your rise to power Darsrak where you will attain glory beyond that of your wildest imaginings as sole ruler of these lands. You will bring conflict and battle to your foes and destruction to their lands. You will plunder their gold and silver and bed their women who will bear you many sons. For all time you will hold a set at Odin's table in the Halls of Valhalla." The wolves spoke this as one slowly circling Darsrak, their eyes seemingly piercing into the very core of his soul making him feel uneasy, as though he were nothing but prey to these un-natural wolves.
"You have no need to fear us mortal," said Geri from behind Darsrak, his golden armor glowing in the dieing light," if we were going to kill you then we'd have already done so."
A fury of emotions were bubbling within the young lord to be. "Is what you speak of the truth, how can I hope to defeat such worthy advocacies?"
The wolves laughed, clearly amused by such questions, that my lord Darsrak, does not matter, said Geri, we speak the truth that is all you need to know. Now go young warrior, go and fulfill your destiny! With that Odins agents descended back into the darkness, leaving Darsrak to contemplate what they had told them.
So began Darsraks rain. He would come to be known by many different names, Darsrak the Conquer, Darsrak the Butcher, Darsrak the Destroyer, Darsrak the Unforgivable. With each passing year the more Darsrak would conquer. His armies marched up and down the land. Each battle becoming larger and more bloody. Each victory made Darsrak all the more crule.
In time Darsrak did fulfill the prophecy told to him many years before. He became the king of all that lay before him. He was wealthy and had many sons but was not loved. His past deeds would come back to haunt him. Those he had conquered in battle would not forget the atrocities he had committed. Soon revolt would plague Darsraks kingdom. A mere annoyance at first which soon became a major threat when the rebels began to unite.
In his final battle Darsrak found himself surrounded and outnumbered but he refused to surrender. By battles end, an old Darsrak lay defeated on the ground, a spear piercing his chest. It was then that Odins avatars appeared before him once again.
Geri stepped forward to speak first, you have fulfilled your destiny Lord Darsrak, he said, and now it is time for you to join Odin in Valhalla.
But why now? Sputtered a dieing Darsrak. You told me that I would become a great ruler.
Dark laughter filled his ears, and so you did, but great does not mean good Darsrak, explained Farki, in the end it was the choices you made that killed you.
Indeed, added Geri. Perhaps in the end you were too human for your own good but worry not Lord Darsrak, fore the grey wolf watches the halls of the gods. Others will rise to fill your place. The question is will they learn from your mistakes?
Darsrak would die with the howling laughter of wolves. A cold, lonely, bitter death fit for a human.-
