Chapter 1: Longnight

Longnight had once again descended upon Nilfeheim, the second planet in the Solken system. Nilfeheim was a water planet with with very little dry land. During Longnight, the winter period that could last up to seven standard years, the oceans froze over, except for a region called the Uhim grounds. Hot vents and underwater volcanoes kept the water temperature above freezing.

Nilfeheim had been settled by colonists from Earth almost 3000 years ago. The settlers, belonging to the Viking Movement and the Church of Odin, brought along their own brand of rigid traditions and cultural ideas based on both traditional and romantic sources.

The origins of these traditions brought from distant Earth had more or less been forgotten and had over the ages developed in a very unique society with anachronistic rituals and rigid traditions of their own.

Much had happened on Nilfeheim during the last Shortsummer.

My Grandfather, the representative of Nilfeheim had been murdered. His death was part of a plot conceived by an Off World company seeking to gain the planet for their client, a large Seafood Company.

Their plan was to instigate a clan war and it almost succeeded as they were aided by the greed and the misguided ambitions of local clan lords and of course by the schemes of my step-mother, Gretel Hemstaad. She was driven by her hatred towards the Olafsons and her thirst of revenge.

The whole affair culminated in a planetary attack. A pirate hired by that criminal organization to erase all evidence attempted to drop a Planetary Incendiary bomb on Nilfeheim.

With the help of my friends I was able to stop the attack, virtually in the very last moment. We paid a very high price as my friend Astrid Mossberg had given her life while extinguishing a fire in the engine room of my space born submarine, the Poseidon.

The boat was so heavily damaged, it was not repaired, but had been cast in a block of transparent Duranium and sat on a base of Duro-Crete in the former Aesir Park of Halstaad Fjord.

The Aesir Park was now known as Astrid Mossberg Park.

It was intended as a monument to Astrid and to remind everyone how close Nilfeheim came to be completely destroyed.

The street passing Astrid Mossberg Park once called Siegfried lane was now named Erik Gustav Ragnarsson Lane and I was told a statue of him was ordered and would be placed before the entrance of the space port.

I had spent a lot of time with Tyr, the White Tyranno, riding on his back, exploring the vast oceans and seeing or rather feeling a world completely unknown to the Nilfeheim Norse.

As little variety Nilfeheim showed on its surface, it was rich of breathtaking features below the surface of its oceans.

Tyr was the largest Tyranno Fin in our Oceans, a huge white fish, sentient and alive long before even the first settlers arrived.

Tyr posessed vast psionic abilities and spoke to me telepathically, but now as Longnight had arrived he had to, just like the other non sentient Tyrannos retreat into their sleep mountains and would spend the cold period in a state of suspended animation.

Father had changed, since he was no longer under the spell of the psycho drugs his second wife had administered to him over so many years, but I had also learned that he was indeed responsible for the death of my mother and much of the torture he had put me through as the drugs only enhanced what was already there. Some of his evil deeds happened before Gretel got a hold of him with those drugs. I could never be certain if mother would be alive if he had not been under the spell of these nasty Shail will bending drugs. I knew I would never forgive him, but he tried to amend his ways by treating Elena like a real daughter.

My decision not to end his life was still tormenting me, and there was not a day going by I questioned it. My decision was founded in the council of Egill and Tyr and the fact that I did not want to be the next clan chief.

I hoped to leave the planet soon and apply at the Union spatial navy academy. Killing my father would mean of course that I had to take the reins of the clan and remain.

Elena was as it turned out, gifted with some psionic gifts of her own and Tyr had helped her to discover them. Or perhaps, as I suspected was the source of them.

She enjoyed her new role as first daughter greatly and father declared her to be in line to be the first female clan chief in Nilfeheim’s history if I decided to stay off planet, which was more than alright with me. Elena had become like real a sister to me just as if she would have born that way. I loved her very much.

I had married Sif in a pompous ceremony the day after Yuletide, but it was only a symbolic wedding and she had left with Egill to Pluribus, where she would complete Union school and then go to the University to study Political Sciences.

Egill the Hermit had become Nilfeheim’s Planet Representative at the Assembly and taken the post that had been vacant since the death of my grandfather.

Now, in retrospect, most everyone on Nilfeheim realized just how important planet representation was. I too understood what my grandfather had told me as he took me to Hasvik.

Sif and Egill had been gone now for almost four months now.

At first she had called me every other day, then every other week and finally she told me that she still liked me, but she had found a woman she wanted to marry after she was a full Union Citizen and then her calls stopped altogether.

Much had changed on Ragnarsson Rock, our Burg as well.

We still had Tanneries and we still manufactured leather the traditional way since it fetched higher prices, and the quality so I was told was superior to any modern process, but the stinking, revolting process was now done by machines and we even had twelve S-10 robots.

The bots didn’t mind the smells and worked around the clock. Taking a page out of Brunar Bendixen’s book, the Olafson clan was run much more like a business now and we exported fangsnapper meat, fur, leather, pearls and crab meat.

Father still insisted that we hunted for Tyrannos, but it was no longer the main focus and no hunting was done during Longnight anyway.

Elena, so it turned out, had a keen sense of business and loved helping active in that clan activity. The Olafson clan was the first who abolished the class of Low men and all families were raised to the level of Freemen and received fair salaries.

It was one late Friday afternoon; father was in town drinking with other clan chiefs at Hogun’s Inn.

Carl, the outcast and mercenary friend of Hogun, now was an Olafson Warrior, wore clan red and lived in our Burg. He had not stopped, but intensified, my training and advanced me to real fencing and with the more elegant rapier. This sword was much lighter than the traditional Nilfeheim broadsword, but it was much faster and when used in concert with the Main Gauche, a left handed dagger type weapon, it was very deadly. A fencing master could easily defeat a trained warrior with broadsword and shield. Carl was an expert and this way of fighting was quite different from the hack and slash technique used with the broadsword. Every stance, every move had a name and a counter move. To a Neo Viking it looked almost like dancing and caused much laughter and ridicule. It however changed quickly when the razor sharp tip of the rapier hovered before their eyes while the broadsword attack was still in full swing.

Of course a skilled broadsword fighter was not defenseless, and a heavy blade had its advantages as well.

I learned how to use Saresii blades, old Terran Katanas and a plethoria of other weapons. Carl seemed to know them all and was an expert usimng them.

Today I was fighting with my new sister in the snow covered yard before the High Hall. We wore protective leather, but used real steel weapons. Elena was learning fast and fencing with her was great fun. After an extended conversation (back and forth play of the blades) I attempted a successful “attack au fer” meaning I deflected her blade in the opposite direction of her attack and moved in and landed the coup lancé. My blade point sliced a little in the tough leather armor she was wearing and she stepped back curtsied and took off her fencing mask. She caught her breath and smiled. “You are becoming a real master, Eric. I would be dead now. You were playing with me the whole time.”

Even though it was bitter cold, I felt warm and bowed to her.”Don’t sell yourself short, dear sister. Your skills improve daily and I doubt there are many fighters on Nilfeheim who would stand a chance against you now.”

Her face lit up with her charming smile that made her eyes sparkle.”There is no one left on Nilfeheim who could best you. Even Carl said that.”

“Let’s go to Midril and see if we can score some hot chocolate.”

She agreed and then said as she walked beside me, “Besides you are not as handicapped as I am.”

“I sure didn’t notice any handicaps.”

She touched her breasts. “I am talking about these. They bounce around a lot and it is not very comfortable I tell you. It actually hurts sometimes. I bet you be half as good having a pair of these.”

I sighed and lowered my voice “You know my secret and sometimes I wish I had, but I am sure there has to be some sort of support. I remember Sif telling me something about bra’s and maybe there is something like that for doing exercises or friend Sigfrida has a hard leather armor shaped for women. She fights like a true Aesir. I ask her if she can spare one or make you one.”

She kissed me on the cheek.”Lucky me, I have a brother that knows more about these things than most girls.”

We entered the kitchen and Midril, who had raised Elena like her own, smiled at us warmly. “It is amazing what you two do out there. Everyone coming in telling me about how you two slicing good Nilfeheim air. I bet it got even too cold for you two out there. Go sit down I get Elena some Hot Chocolate and for Eric I make some coffee. If you wait a little, I got fresh sweet rolls in the oven as well.”

She left us alone after she had served the drinks as she was busy preparing dinner. Many things had changed on the Burg. Midril’s kitchen, however, remained the same and she was the undisputed queen in her own little realm. Elena watched her with a warm smile on her face.”I do remember Gudrun my real mother, but she hated me because I reminded her of the things Harkun had done to her. Midril raised me after mother died.”

I put my hand on hers. “When I was at the Pillar Burg, Egill or maybe Tyr gave me a glimpse of what it is like to be raped, while I was spared the actual act, to this day it has not left my mind and I can smell Harkun’s breath. Don’t hate your real mother for it. She died trying to defend you”

She turned with her eyes glittering with moisture. “I do not hate my mother but she hated me, sometimes I wish she would have been able to tell me otherwise. Harkun is dead, and before he died he lived through every crime he committed.”

For a while we sat there simply looking at each other then she said. “Come let us go to the space port tonight.

A girl’s night out. I like to go shopping and I would like to have Freya with me and we can remember the good times we had with Sif, Hedda and Astrid.”

I sighed. “While I try so hard to suppress it I want to be Freya again so bad, yet I hoped this sickness would leave me. I promised myself to go to the clinic and have it checked out.”

She got up.

“I think it is part of what makes you the person you are and I would be sad if you eliminate that part of you somehow. Neither Tyr nor Egill asked you to change. I am sure they would have.”

I sighed and got up as well.”Well one time more could not hurt I guess.”

Elena smiled.”I don’t think we are too old for Retro Emo either. Let’s go Sister.”

After we had our hot beverages and enjoyed the piping hot, sweet rolls, we went to the High Halls, No longer was I denied access and Elena was now living in what used to be Gretel’s rooms. It was completely re-decorated. Elena did not have any handmaidens either.

As always I got deeply excited when I shed my male persona and slipped into my female alter ego. I had not done so ever since we left the Bredenberg Burg.

Elena returned to her old looks just like when I met her at the space port, with the wild red pig tail wig. She had chosen a skintight black shiny mini-dress with a dangerous, plunging, laced neckline and a matching black jacket. Her legs encased in black fishnets and high heeled boots. “How do I look?” She asked, turning once around.

“Like a New Age Vampire on the prowls for male victims, the other word that comes to mind has four letters and starts with an S and ends with a T.”

“Perfect. That’s exactly what I was aiming for. Now it’s your turn and don’t be jealous, we can make you look just as slutty.’

“I am not jealous.”