Chapter Text
List of Characters
Geir Dagrsson – Gale Dekarios
Mýrún Aosdottir – Mystra
Þara - Tara
Møyfrid - Morena Dekarios
Dagr - Gale’s late father
Cadwallon - Cazador Szarr
Ӕlfstan - Astarion Ancunín
Káta Pállsdottir - Karlach
Lækný Vlaakiðsdottir - Lae’zel
Sigrid Arnaldrsdóttir - Shadowheart
Wulf - Wyll
Danr - Dammon
Pehtwine - Petras
Deorwyn - Dalyria
Leodmar - Leon
Ӕbbe - Aurelia
Ymma - Violet
Uhtred - Yousen
Sӕbeorht - Sebastian
Ulferth - Ulder
Dunnstan - Chamberlain Dufay
Vígdís - Viconia
Godric - Gortash
Osgyth - Orin
Cyneric - Ketheric
Baldred - Balthazar
Goda- Godey
Atheric - Abdirak
Isgerd - Isobel
Ӕsileif - Dame Aylin
Mildríðr - Minthara
Hwlcyn - Halsin
Ifanna - Jaheira
Miki - Minsc
Ris - Rath
Carys - Kagha
Glossary
Chapter 2
Old Norse terms:
- gyðja: priestess; can refer to both female deities and women who held positions of spiritual authority.
- seiðr: pre-Christian Norse magic, primarily associated with women.
- seiðmaðr: a male practitioner of seiðr.
- völva: seeress, known for her role in divination, prophecy, and practice of seiðr.
Old Norse phrases and expressions:
- Heimskr saxar: Stupid Saxon.
- Óðins skegg!: By Odin’s beard!
Chapter 3
Anglo-Saxon terms:
- buhr: a fortified town, popularized by Alfred the Great.
- hæðen: heathen
- hæðencynn: heathen/pagan people
- wicing: Viking (singular)
- wyrd: the Anglo-Saxon and Norse concept of fate or personal destiny. Though predetermined, it was a more active form of fate given that an individual could influence their own wyrd through their behaviour or actions.
Anglo-Saxon phrases and expressions:
- Ece Drihten: Eternal Lord
- God ure helpe: God help us.
Chapter 4
Old Norse terms:
- kyrtill: overtunic
- morgen-gifu: compensation paid to the bride to ensure her financial security and for her sexual availability or virginity.
- mundr: a dowry; a payment to the father of the bride for control of the right of protection and legal guardianship.
Anglo-Saxon phrases and expressions:
- deoran: darling
Chapter 5
Old Norse phrases and expressions:
- statt: stop, stand down
Anglo-Saxon phrases and expressions:
- Eow het secgan þeoden min, þæt he eower æþelu can ond ge him syndon hider wilcuman: My lord sends this message: he knows your kin and bids you welcome.
- wesaþ hale: hello (pl.)
- wes þu hal: hello (sing.)
- sigedrihten min: my victorious lord
Chapter 6
Old Norse phrases and expressions:
- Ýmirs frosteistna: By Ymir's frosty balls
- handsal: the transference of a right, bargain, or duty to another by joining hands; considered a formal, legal agreement.
- heiman-fylgja: the dowry, which was given to and administered by the husband to be kept as a trust.
Chapter 7
Old Norse terms:
- Norns: a group of deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies. Often represented as Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld, who weave the threads of fate.
Anglo-Saxon terms:
- witan: the king's council in the Anglo-Saxon government until the 11th century.
Anglo-Saxon phrases and expressions:
- Ic gelyfe on ænne God ælmihtigne þe ealle þing gesceop and geworhte: I believe in only God almighty, creator of all things.
- And ic gelyfe and georne witon þæt Crist Godes sunu to mannum com for ealles mancynnes ðearfe: And I believe and fully know that Christ, God's son, came to man for all of mankind's need.
- And ic gelyfe þæt ða godan and wel Cristenan þe her on worulde Gode wel gecwemdon þonne on an sculon into heofonum faran and ðær siððanwununge habban mid Gode selfum and mid his englum a on ecnesse: And I believe that good and full Christians who are obedient to God in this world shall then, at once, go into heaven and there afterwards, dwell with God himself and his angels for eternity.
Chapter 8
Old Norse terms:
- fóstbræðralag: "foster brotherhood"; an agreement in which two or more unrelated Norsemen agreed to create a bond socially equivalent to kinship.
Chapter 9
Old Norse terms:
- Æsir - the principal group of Norse gods
- ljósálfar - "light elves", considered the greatest and most beautiful elves in Norse mythology
- skald - an early medieval Scandinavian poet, often found in royal courts and tasked with performing music, composing poems, and otherwise providing entertainment
Anglo-Saxon terms:
- hearpe - the Anglo-Saxon lyre, characterized by a long, shallow and broadly rectangular shape and played by plucking the strings
- scop - the Anglo-Saxon counterpart to a skald
- bēot - a ritualized boast to proclaim one's acceptance of a seemingly impossible challenge in order to gain tremendous glory for actually accomplishing it. Bēots were usually performed in a mead hall, involved reciting one's past deeds, and followed a specific spoken structure.
Chapter 11
Old Norse phrases and expressions:
- Þarftu að vera í því? - Do you have to wear that?
- Ok skilja okkur eftir óvarinn? Ek efi þat. - And leave us undefended otherwise? I don't think so.
- Jæja. Þat er ljótt. - Well, it's ugly.
- Fátt er ljótt á Lækný. Né þú. - Nothing looks ugly on Lækný. Or you.
Old Norse terms:
- skógarmaðr - a full outlaw. There were two types of outlawry: partial and full. Full outlaws were banished from their community and often forced to go into hiding in the wilderness to avoid being killed by the people they wronged, hence the term ("skóg" - forest; "maðr" - person).
Anglo-Saxon Terms:
- scirgerefa - a sheriff. In the Anglo-Saxon context, sheriffs were responsible for collecting taxes, enforcing the law, and generally keeping the peace in a specific county.
Chapter 12
Old Norse phrases and expressions:
- Sá ek hversu hann leit á þik. - I saw the way he looked at you.
- brjóstbarn - suckling baby
Chapter 13
Old Norse phrases and expressions:
- Hvers konar maðr veit ekki hvernig á að berjast? - What kind of man doesn't know how to fight?
- Sá sem hefir alt haft annan til at berjast fyrir sér. - One who's always had someone do it for him.
- Nokkuð harmræðilegt, í mínum huga. Aumingja maðurinn átti aldrei möguleika. - Kinda sad if you ask me. Poor bastard never stood a chance.
- Mælir þú norrænu? - Do you speak Norse?
- Tak þú skjöld! - Take your shield!
- Tak þú spjót! - Take your spear!
- Ert þú búin? - Are you ready? (to one female)
- Já! - Yes!
- Lær - Thigh (a strike downwards diagonally at the upper leg with intent to trip or cripple)
- Øxl - Shoulder (a cut across horizontally to hit the upper arm or shoulder)
- Til baka - Back (an order to take a step back)
- Magi - Belly (the killing blow; delivered with a thrust through the stomach)
- Ek várkann fíflitt. - I pity the fool.
Anglo-Saxon Terms:
- cnearr - otherwise known as <em>knarr</em> in Old Norse; Viking trading or cargo ships. Wider, deeper and shorter than the iconic longship, and could take more cargo and be operated by smaller crews.
Chapter 14
Old Norse phrases and expressions:
- Ek sammála. - I agree.
- Ok þú, minn sonr? - And you, my son?
- Skál! - Cheers!
Chapter 15
Old Norse phrases and expressions:
- Ek em Sigrid. - I am Sigrid.
- Þú ert Ӕlfstan. - You are Ӕlfstan.
- Þat er hundr. - That's a dog.
- Eldrskot - fire shot
- Ispíckur - ice spike
- Eldrleiptr - fire lightning
Chapter 16
Old Norse Terms:
- hnefatafl - a Scandinavian board game in which attackers try to capture a king defended by fewer pieces trying to escape to a corner of the board. Basically Viking chess.
Anglo-Saxon Terms:
- seax - known in Norse as a knifr, a small sword or dagger. Seaxes exist both in long seax variety and in smaller blades of various lengths.
Chapter 19
Old Norse Terms:
- berserkergang - a trance-like battle frenzy experienced by elite Norse warriors, or berserkers who fought with uncontrollable ferocity, superhuman strength, and an apparent immunity to pain or fear. The state began with shivering, teeth chattering, and a chill, followed by a surge in body temperature, swelling, and facial redness. During their rage, berserkers were indiscriminate, cutting down both friend and foe, and the intense and often unstoppable state was typically followed by days of weakness, exhaustion, or deep depression.
Brythonic Terms:
- Beltane - an ancient Gaelic festival celebrated on May 1st (or evening of April 30th) marking the beginning of summer, falling halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice.
Chapter 20
Old Norse Terms:
- kú-reki - primrose. The primrose in this chapter is specifically English primrose with a purple mutation.
- norðrljós - the northern lights
Brythonic Terms and Phrases:
- Awen aganaf, o dwfyn ys dygaf, auon kyt beryt. Gogwn y gwrhyt, gogwn pan dyueiw, gogwn pan dyleinw, gogwn pan dillyd, gogwn pan wescryd, gogwn py pegor yssyd y dan vor. - The Awen [divine inspiration] I sing, from the deep I bring it, a river while it flows. I know its extent, I know when it disappears, I know when it fills, I know when it overflows, I know when it shrinks, I know what base there is beneath the sea.
Gods/Religion/Mythology:
- Cernunnos - the Celtic horned god representing nature, fertility, wild animals, and the forest. Often referred to as "the lord of the wild things".
- Freyr - the Norse god of fertility, prosperity, good weather, flora, and the harvest.
- Sigurd - one of the most famous Norse heroes, Sigurd is best known for killing the dragon Fáfnir.