Ermentrude's Knot. Candi J.D. Holme
a husband. You will learn to appreciate and maybe love the one you decide to wed. That is how it was for your mother.”
I looked up into his eyes and accepted my fate, at least for now. I hugged him again and left, disheartened. I think he was relieved that he didn’t have an argument with me.
“Let us know your decision, daughter! You must decide by summer’s end,” he said.
Turning back, I said, “I see that I have no choice, Att-a, so I will think hard upon this matter. I will tell you of my decision soon,” I assured him. I knew in my heart, what I would choose to do. I sent a message with a slave to my friend, Saskia, who lived in the next village an hour away.
Early next morning, I left home. I took the horse that my father had promised would be mine someday. I rode Brunhilda into the darkness and fog, to meet Saskia. After half an hour’s ride, I met Saskia at the river. We were both determined to live our own adventures.
“Saskia! I am very happy to see you! It was good that you arrived before the light of morning. Did you bring some food and water . . . warm clothing for the cool nights, and your weapons?” I excitedly asked.
“Ja! Of course I brought what is needed. Stop gabbing and ride with me now. We must ride far enough, so our kinsmen will not follow us. We must ride up the river bed, so our tracks cannot be seen. Let’s go, quickly!” Saskia was a fine horse woman and a sincere friend. She always told you what she thought and rarely changed her mind.
We both rode together finding our way through Middle Earth. We would search for a tribe to join, or a band of people going off to battle. We would find someone to love perhaps, but we would know their soul, and they would know our passions. We were sad to leave our homes and kin, but, we thought selfishly . . . only of ourselves.
“Ermentrude, let’s ride until we reach the forest upstream. We will make our breakfast and rest the horses,” Saskia said. The sunlight streamed through the lifting fog. “We must continue to ride, or we will be found and made to return.”
“I am so tired, but I will not fall asleep on Brunhilda.”
“I am so hungry, I could eat Brunhilda!” Saskia laughed. I always appreciated Saskia’s humor, but I quickly said, “No one eats Brunhilda! Not even the wild beasts in the forest.” We rode up the course of the rippling Wisla River, which flowed down from the Carpathian Mountains in the distance.
After several hours, we rested at the edge of a small forest near the Wisla. The great mountains rose above the vast, grassy lowlands. We could see for many miles, down the river from where we came. We unpacked our loaf of bread and cheese, gulped a bit of water with our meal, washed the dust off our faces in the cool river, and rubbed our sore behinds.
“Aaah! It feels wonderful to be off our horses with a bit of food and drink in our bellies, ne?” I said, as I swatted a fly from my brow. “Saskia, would you do me a kind favor?”
“Anything for you, my dear, best friend,” Saskia answered.
“Would you please tie my hair in a knot off my face? My hair gets in my eyes. I did not have time to tie up my hair when I left home,” I said. I was always conscious of my hair no matter where I roamed.
“Well, I didn’t have much time either, so I will first help you, and then you can help me with my tangled hair.” Saskia replied, shaking her reddish blond tresses. We quickly took turns tying each other’s unmanageable locks, for we knew we must ride for many hours before sleeping.
Mounted on our horses again, we traveled through the forest to gain some time lost in navigating the rocky river bed. We rode through a narrow and sparsely populated forest of trees, nothing similar to the dark, endless forests of the Albis (Elbe) River, which had been described by tribes that passed through our villages. We felt safe together with our swords and knives by our side.
Saskia brought an old ax that her mother had found buried years ago. It was probably from the early times when men first roamed the Middle Earth. Saskia thought it would be useful for chopping wood for a warm fire in the evenings. She was skilled in surviving the wilderness.
Her father had taken her along on many hunting trips and to a number of battles. He had no sons, so Saskia was treated as one. She was very independent. I tried to be as good as her, but I lacked some of her skills. She was a fine hunter. I was better suited cooking our meals, although I was a competitive fighter with my weapons.
We each knew many stories from our childhood. We spent the evening telling these stories to entertain ourselves, sitting around the campfire. The tales were of the brave warrior god, one-eyed Wodanaz, and of his wife, Frijjo, who was magical. Punaraz was the son of Wodanaz and Frijjo. Punaraz was known for his thunderous voice, and he wielded a hammer. The gods lived in Asgard, in Middle Earth, and one would have to cross a rainbow to get there. To the north, was Hal-ja, the land of the dead and giants. Another god, Loki could transform into any being, be it a creature or a man. Loki was the father of Hal-ja, the goddess of the dead.
These were the gods we worshipped and to whom we made sacrifices in our sacred groves. We carried their wooden effigies, the bear, the wolf, and the boar, into battle. We prayed to them for strength in battle and relief from floods and famine. They were involved in all aspects of our lives. Wodanaz was the ruler of Valhalla, where the brave warriors went in their afterlife. I hoped to go there in the end, as well.
The next day, we traveled safely past the Vandali people, a fierce tribe who lived upstream from the Gutthiuda. It was one of the tribes that had tried to take back our land long ago. We rode up into the highlands, just below the white-peaked Carpathians.
The summer air here was fresh and cool. That’s where we found a small tribe of people traveling along the upper Wisla. They were the Gepids, from what we learned from them. They were more peaceful than the Vandali, but still mighty in battle. They noticed us riding up behind them and looked startled at first, until they realized we were only two older girls. Our smiles won them over. They trudged slowly along on foot, and by horse and wagon. It was tough moving anywhere because of swampy bog and rocky outcrops on the steeper slopes. We decided to assist them in their journey uphill.
“Do you want us to give you help?” We asked with smiles that generated concern for their hardship. The people replied with warm smiles and nodded. We dismounted and let some children ride up on our horses, as we led them along the wagons. A younger man looked us over and saw that our weapons were not drawn, so he did not seem too concerned for his safety.
The men spoke the words of our tribe—“Gutthiuda?” they asked us. We nodded and walked on, telling them that we were from the Gutthiuda village at the fork of the Wisla River.
We gave the children some of our food, for they looked starved. They rode on our horses, four on each, hungrily shoving morsels of bread and cheese in their mouths. Their mothers raised cups of water for them to drink. The children’s eyes reflected the brightness of the sunny water in the river. They were very polite as they spoke, “Thaoks,” in our Gothic language.
“I wonder where they are going, Saskia?” I whispered.
“Probably returning home, since they live up here,” she answered.
“How do you know?” I asked her quietly.
“I have seen their villages before, hunting with my father. They are fun-loving people. They love to sing and dance in the evenings,” Saskia informed me.
“Maybe we will get to see them perform at their summer festival. Tomorrow night is the summer solstice,” I said.
“Wouldn’t that be thrilling . . . to experience another tribe’s festival?” Saskia said.
We walked on through the afternoon. It was late when we arrived in their village. The women helped us find some warm shelter, for in the mountains—it was still cold at night. Often there were storms that blew in, without notice. We were thankful for the women’s good care.
“I hope someday I can be a good mother to my children,” Saskia revealed. I always wanted little boys and maybe some girls.