The Valkyrie, Is?lde as she decided to call herself now, made her way to the village of her would-be student.  Early June was a perfect time to start this assignment, not too cold, and never too hot in the north. She was not exactly sure who she was supposed to mentor, she just knew that he was a Viking shipwright; and if you''re looking for a shipwright, you may as well start in the most prestigious ship building village of Norway - Elg Hjem, "Home of the Elk", was originally settled generations ago because of its coastal proximity and access to the forest and game which housed and fed the villagers. Now, the village is extremely prosperous from building canoes and longboats of all types for the most influential Kings and Jarl''s in the north of mainland Europe.  It is close to what will one day become T?nsberg, Norway.


    Using her uncanny angel abilities to get the lay of the land, or as modern people would understand - flying on her angel wings, she flew back and forth over the village like some flying drone with laser mapping abilities. She memorized every square inch of the village, from the southeast where the boats of all sizes were assembled, to the northwest, where the raw lumber was brought in and processed.


    With the reconnaissance completed, she got down to business: disguised in a typical home spun skirt and blouse of the local women, Is?lde discretely made her way into the village from the south, close to the shipyard, fifty meters or so away from the saltwater inlet where finished boats were launched. There was a good-sized river running past the village into this saltwater inlet - it made for the perfect place to build and launch boats. The countryside was covered in old growth oak, elm, and ash- perfect supplies for boat building.


    The village was a flurry of activity late in the morning. Everyone was working together like the parts inside a Swiss clock. Young black smiths in training were making rivets and nails while the master smiths were beating out oar locks, swords, and axes – the tools that made the Viking''s so unforgettable. Other men and women were at looms making sails and cloth, or, at cook fires preparing lunch. Smaller children, not yet in their teens, were playing with wooden swords and shields under the guidance of veteran warrior men and women who already paid their dues with hard labor and combat. Everybody had something going on, there were no idle hands- she also noticed that everyone was working with a good-natured smile on their faces, amazing!  This was several generations of sons and daughters with spouses and children, cousins, working in conjunction with the whole family.


    The more Is?lde studied her surroundings, the more she noticed the sheer genius and ingenuity of this clan. The layout of the village was a model of efficiency. The lumber was harvested north of the village and brought into their milling area. The mill was incredible! Beyond the typical hand splitting of the trees to create the planks, the millwrights had giant steel planes mounted between old growth trees and used a swinging log, like a giant hammer, to force the large raw pieces of timber through the planes to create the individual planks.


    The planks were hand milled to exact specs and hauled by mules, south, down a road to the shipwrights. The road through the village down to the water was amazing, it was paved with large flat pieces of granite and basalt that made the travel with the wooden carts much easier on those mules. When the carts passed the smith''s, those carts with smaller loads of lumber would pick up materials that needed delivered to the shipwrights.  The paved road was wide enough for traffic in both directions, to and from the assembly area. The rest of the village''s clinker style log houses were set on the eastern edge of the village, about halfway between the mill and the shipyard. A bit further to the east of the homes was a huge longhouse. The long side closest to the village was actually a series of doors that could be opened and turned into something resembling an amphitheater. In true Viking fashion, it was used daily, for the evening meal, as well as the other important village wide events throughout the year.


    Is?lde had taken in enough of the village, she decided it was time to find the shipwright she was going to teach.  As she turned south to leave the area of the blacksmiths and sail makers, she heard loud voices that quickly became agitated shouts. Is?lde picked up her pace, not too fast, she didn''t want to draw attention to herself in her first thirty minutes in the village. In all the hustle and bustle of the assembly yard, she could see three angry men, clearly outsiders with their bumble bee looking accoutrements, animatedly shouting at one particularly bullishly shaped Viking man, who was walking toward them.


    It was clear the "bull shaped" man was in charge - while he was sauntering directly toward the yelling man and his companions, other villagers drifted to far edges of this confrontation. Anticipation of a scuffle was oozing from the body language of the "bee boys"; they were coiled like springs ready to release, hands on their weapons, eyes flitting across the locals.


    Is?lde took note that this shipwright...undoubtedly her student, she could feel it now - was handsome...for a human. His brassy, light brown, shaggy hair pulled back in a leather thong and his long beard braided down the front of his thick chest, pushing the limit of his home spun shirt. Notably, he was not as tall as the visitors, but made up the difference by being much broader than the trio he faced. His arms were solid like weathered oaks and hands like iron bands that looked like they could crush stone...and he was calm, that scary calm before a wicked storm. Is?lde chuckled to herself,  she thought the look on his face was akin to that of a bull eating grass, being intimidated by a rabbit These three visitors were failing at the intimidation ploy.


    The outsiders were equipped for battle; domed helmet, wooden shields, painted yellow and black alternating like a four pieced shaped pie, hanging from their backs and matching yellow tunics and black trousers. Each had a short sword in a scabbard on the weak hand side, and a small axe stuffed into their belts on their strong hand side- all close to or taller than six feet.


    "Okay Magnus'''', the leader said loudly to the bull shaped man, "the Jarl wants his boat, and he wants it now."


    "Oskar, I am so glad you are here," Magnus calmly replied - condescendingly, "you can go back and tell Jarl Sigurd that he has to wait his turn. He should have come to me sooner with his request and down payment...we work first come, first serve, and he was not first."


    Apparently, Oskar thought getting loud would be helpful in his cause, "Look Magnus, I won''t say it again, if you don''t get the Jarl''s boat done and ready to sail, there will be consequences...the Jarl won''t wait for you to finish the other boats, he wants HIS boat now!"


    "I am done talking to you Oskar." Now, had Magnus been a bull, he would be raking the ground with his hoof, prepped to charge, "You cannot, cannot come into my village and threaten my family and friends. Threats, you moose dropping, is a definite way to get your ass beat." Tore was violently pointing as Oskar, "You, and especially the Jarl, know that we are not beholden to any of the clans, we are only bound to ourselves. That is for the good of all of us, all the clans. We are the best, and fastest, at what we do, he will have his boat when he has his boat! You need to leave; we will sail the boat around to him when it is done, in two months."


    "Well, that''s not going to work Magnus, we are going to..."


    Oskar did not get another word out as Magnus crossed the two meters in between them and knocked Oskar flat with an elbow to the chin. Magnus rolled low and to the right, taking the next man in the solar plexus with his large wooden mallet. The last man drew his short sword and began to stalk toward Magnus, the mallet flew at the man''s head at the same time Magnus sprung forward diving into a roll and as the fighter blocked the flying hammer, Magnus grabbed the man in a classic double leg take down. Rising up and through, he drove the man into nearest stack of lumber, knocking his head and sending him into a stupor. In less than fifteen seconds, all of Jarl Sigurd''s men were incapacitated and Magnus hadn''t even broken a sweat...impressive. Now that Is?lde had witnessed this display, she definitely knew Magnus was her student and it would not be as hard as she initially planned.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Is?lde finished making her way down to the edge of the building site to follow up on the destruction. Magnus was directing some of his foreman, "Roderick, get some buckets of water to dump on them, point them in the direction of their boat, and kick them in their arses to get them moving." She snuck around to his right, just out of his reach, and asked, "So, you really made a mess of things here, now, didn''t you?" Magnus turned to her, "I have been waiting for that moment for a long time...wait, I don''t know you...can I help you with something?"


    "I want to buy a boat." Is?lde smirked.


    Magnus just looked at the tall, blonde, fit woman, dumbfounded, "Okay, so...I''m not sure what''s going on at this moment, it all seems a bit weird to me. The Jarl''s men and a pretty woman show up at the same time to get me to make them a boat, hmmm?", he growled, "Please go have a seat over in my hut and let me finish getting these idiots conscious and back to their ship." Magnus pointed her over to the east, to a small open side wood building. The building was large enough for four or five people to stand comfortably and contained a table and two chairs. The open side was actually a large door split in the middle and hinged on the corners, so it could shut and enclose the space. Ingeniously, there were adjustable slats built into the door that could be moved up or down to keep prying eyes out and let plenty of light inside. Is?lde made her way over and sat in the chair furthest from the table.


    Magnus finished getting the Jarl''s men out of his hair and the building crews back to work. He did a quick double check of the sight, turned around toward Is?lde, and paused taking a deep thoughtful breath. Many ideas were running through his head: the confrontation with the Jarl''s men - the Jarl knows the rules, this beautiful woman asking to buy a boat, and she seemed to think that he was afraid of Jarl Sigurd. Things to ponder for sure. One thing was clear to him though, she was not a typical Viking woman. He could sense something about her, something he just couldn''t put his finger on - like being stalked by a wolf in the forest, you can just see them out of the corner of your eye, but you cannot look directly at them, or they vanish – but you know it is there.


    He made his way to his hut, to sit at his work bench with the mystery woman, "Gunther!", he shouted at his page, "Please bring some ale and two mugs." Magnus quickly drank in the sight of this woman. She had beautiful long blonde hair and intensely blue eyes. She was slender and taller than average with a powerful physique – not soft. She held herself with an air of authority...not arrogance, she moved like a puma through the forest, she need not fear any natural predator, she was an apex predator.


    "Okay" Magnus sighed, "one thing is taken care of, let''s see about you. You seem to know a little bit of what I am about, so, what in the name of the Allfather are you about? Maybe we should at least start with your name?"


    She smiled broadly, and sat more upright taking in deep breath, "My name is Is?lde, and I as well think the Allfather can shed light on this situation...I have been, in fact, sent here by the Allfather. You and I, Magnus, have some work to do."


    "Gunther!" Magnus shouted, "Change the ale to mead and hurry up!" Magnus proceeded with a slow and deliberate face palm and swipe down, "Is?lde, right, that is your name?" She nodded and smiled in confirmation. Magnus asked, "This is a significant bit of information, and I don''t know what to think of it. Most of the people we know don''t believe in an "Allfather", just the "One father" - Odin, so, claiming to be from the Allfather makes me wonder, even more, what you are about." Is?lde just sat there, back straight hands clasped in her lap, smiling broadly. "Okay - the easiest wat to get to the bottom of this mystery you present – prove it. If you''re not telling the truth, then – well... I don''t know what we will do. I should tell you though, we don''t appreciate anyone mocking the Allfather, like I mentioned - how can you prove yourself, Is?lde?"


    She stood up smiling, like a child seeing her father on the boat dock after weeks away from home, in front of Magnus and laid her right hand on his left shoulder. She pushed her consciousness into him washing away any doubt that was in his mind. The doors to the hut slowly shut by Is?lde''s will, the shades tilted up slightly to limit people being able to see inside. Is?lde took a step back, so she had room to change - the air shimmered around her as she transformed into her angelic battle form- she was donned in leather cuirass and battle skirt. The leather was accented by platinum colored chain mail, shoulder pauldrons, and plating. A short sword angled off on her left hip and a two and a half hand broadsword sheathed on her back. The broadsword leaked some sparkly looking energy that dissipated as it hit the wooden floor. Her angel wings were mostly furled, as she could not fully extend them in Magnus'' shop...she inspired Magnus. Not just an angel like the ones his grandparents told him about, but also, like a Valkyrie from the sagas of old. He was speechless.


    Magnus, captivated by her form, took one step from his chair immediately to kneeling with his head bowed. She stepped forward, leaned down, and gently placed her right index finger under his chin to lift his eyes to hers. "You do not ever have to kneel to me Magnus. I am in service to the Allfather the same as you. In most senses, we are equals, we just come from different backgrounds. Please rise." He rose and asked, "I don''t know what to say Is?lde. You just really want a boat?", he asked with a grin.


    Is?lde snickered and then she shimmered again as she returned to her original guise. "Magnus, we are going to work something out, and I am going to get one of your boats. What we should do first, is figure out what we are going to do about Jarl Sigurd whose men will show up here in a few days, I am sure. I have no plans on going anywhere, so questions about who I am and what I am doing can wait these few days."


    The two new friends sat back down in their respective chairs. Magnus was still taking in the beauty sitting next him – big grin and sparkling eyes. Is?lde was very concerned though, "What are you going to do about the Jarls men coming to your village, Magnus. By the look on your face, I don''t think you are taking this seriously. You fight like no man I''ve ever seen, but how will the rest of your village fare against an experienced fighting force?"


    Now it was Magnus''s turn to smile like a kid on the dock, "Oh Is?lde, I have been waiting for this moment for a while... Jarl Sigurd is an asshole. He has been pushing people around for a long time - flaunting and abusing his power. He keeps his men in check just enough as to not soil his honor, for it''s honor that is keeping the other Jarl''s from taking a stand. He pushes them, and then pulls back – pushes, and then pulls back. Sigurd takes more offerings from his farmers and smiths, he keeps more of the plunder than his men fight for, and he keeps more slaves for his sick perversions – he has no honor. Now, he came to my village and threatened us – I don''t have to let that stand. We are highly respected by all the other clans, even ones across the sea to the east and the south, so when he shows back up here and we beat his ass and take his chiefdom, nobody else will dispute us. One major bonus for us though...see those three fella''s working on those two boats there?"  Magnus points to her left, down by the water, Isolde nods in affirmation. "One of those fellas is from Jarl Halfdan''s and two are from Jarl Leif''s villages - Sigurd''s biggest rivalries. They are learning how to handle the boats we are building for them, by helping us build them. How is that for you? We have our own witnesses of Jarl Sigurd''s dishonor in progress." Magnus grinned.


    "You still haven''t explained to me how you think you can take on the Jarl''s whole clan?" Is?lde asked with a truly alarming tone, "There are what, maybe fifty or sixty people in your village, including women, children, and old folk?"


    "Well, there are actually over 250 of us, many are out of the village right now hunting or logging, or, even mining now that I think of it. We are much better warriors than boat builders, and we build the best boats. Even if we had to fight five-to-one, we would beat them." Magnus stated, his chest pushing out a bit and his shoulders squaring up as he was just thinking about a good scrap.


    "That is very impressive, or you are a serious liar. Why do you think you can take them on five to one? I have seen a lot of battles in my day, Magnus, and I have never witnessed too many people that could fight five opponents at a time."


    "First off – we won''t be fighting a direct one versus four of five, we have some protective measures in place that will allow us to pick them off as they come up to the village. My village has been down this road more than once in the past. We''re prepared. Beyond that, I think I should tell you the story of how we became the greatest fighters in the north...and west." His voice pitching up just a bit, tinged with just a hint of pride. "It is a great story, although a long one. We have several days before those idiots show up to the village, so, let''s get the story going, shall we?" Magnus shouted one more time, "Gunther, get the bloody mead out here, and now I need some cheese and bread! Hurry your arse up boy."  Magnus stretched his back and began his tale.