Norway is a myth. People who believe this also think Greenland is the last land in the world. Of course it's not true, as the sagas about the settling of Vi'nland are clear that Norway is a real place far, far to the east, beyond Iceland. Norway is just the western edge of Miðgarþt, homeland of the humans, but the northern part of the world is where the orc-men made their home. It's a land of rocky coasts and long, narrow fjords. Inland, the mountains stand tall; and between them, the grassy dales.

In the far north, there lived a reindeer herder whose name was Akeho'ksaw1, but the Norwegians called him Ulvrin', which means The He-Wolf. He had a wife named Jo'fava, who was called Ylgrin', or The She-Wolf.

Over one of the many dales, a raven flew. She carefully scanned the ground as she went. At length, it seemed the raven found what she was looking for, as she swooped down to land in front of what appeared to be a grassy mound with a door in it and cawed. A man opened the door and, upon seeing the raven, invited her in with a friendly smile.

The raven grew in height, taller and taller until she was bigger than the man in the door; as she did so, her wings turned into arms, her talons became feet, and cloth grew out of her feathers. When the transformation was complete, an orc-woman stood in front of the doorway with staff in hand, wearing a dress and hooded cloak and a bag over her shoulder. Her hair was blond, her eyes dark green, her skin pale green. She stood nearly a head taller than the pale and fair-haired man in front of her.

“Good day, Ulvrin'.” She said and went inside;

“How's Gi'sli?” asked Ulvrin',

“Oh, fine, fine. He said to send his regards.”

Si'gvejg looked around the house. It was a single room roundhouse with an interior made of small logs and a floor made of tiny sticks. There was a fire pit in the centre with a smooth stone slab next to it serving as a table. A frail-looking and very thin young girl lying on a reindeer skin sat up as soon as the orc-woman stepped inside; “Si'gvejg!” She said with as much excitement as she could muster in her current condition:

“Hey Gi'ðesa! How're you doing?”

“Dad says I'm getting better, but I'm not feeling much better.” the girl muttered,

“She still has a fever,” Ulvrin' explained, “but she's been coughing up less blood and has been regaining some of her weight.”

Si'gvejg removed her shoes and cloak before kneeling next to the girl to check her temperature. She was indeed running a fever, and her breathing was ragged. Ylgrin' came into the house then, and the woman and orc-woman prepared tea while Ulvrin' went outside to work in the yard. Si'gvejg measured herbs and poured them into bowls to be crushed and mixed in the proper manner before adding them to the kettle of water on the fire. She sang this song:

That little thing, this little bit too

I differently mixing am, this drink mine

To thy better care, this my kettle

So do thou drink with care, this morsel from me2

Just then, Gi'ðesa's ragged breathing turned into a violent cough. The orc-woman turned around and hummed a tune, putting her right hand between the girl's shoulders and laying the left on her chest. Quickly, the cough subsided and her breathing returned to normal.

Gi'ðesa thanked Si'gvejg and the potion brewing went on. Si'gvejg added each ingredient in turn, humming as she stirred them together. At length, the process was finished and Si'gvejg took a cupful of the steaming liquid to her mouth. She breathed in deeply to take in the scent, then blew over it once. Immediately, it cooled to a comfortable drinking temperature.

“Now, drink.” she said, and Gi'ðesa did so. Si'gvejg checked her temperature again and smiled. “Feeling better now?”

“I think so.”

“That's great! With the luck of the gods, you'll be well soon!”

“Pity your king has been doing everything he can to break the power of your gods.” remarked Ylgrin'.

The three jumped when the door suddenly swung open and Ulvrin' rushed inside, closing it behind him.

“What's wrong Akeho'ksaw?” asked Ylgrin' in alarm;

“It's Chief Haralðr. He's coming with some of his huskatnar3.”

“What? I should warn Gjorbu!” Ylgrin' made for the door to put her shoes on, but Ulvrin' said,

“It's too late. They're almost here—they came from downwind, so I didn't notice them until just now.”

“Doesn't he have better things to do?” Si'gvejg asked,

“He knows you've been visiting us and he... suspects we've been breaking the new laws.”

There was no time to say anything else, as there came a knock at the door. Ulvrin' opened it to see Haralðr outside flanked by half a dozen well-armed orc-men.

“Good day, Ulvrin'”

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“Good day, Haralðr. Uh, come on in.”

The chief, who was almost head and shoulders taller than Ulvrin', stooped to get through the door and walked right into the middle of the house without taking off his shoes.

“Si'gvejg, what a surprise!” he said with thinly veiled sarcasm, “What are you doing here?”

“I'm here to help Gi'ðesa. She's sick with consumption, as you can see.”

Haralðr looked down at the girl, whose ragged breathing returned as she looked up at him in fear. “Oh?” he asked Si'gvejg, “And it's all strictly mundane medicine, right?”

“Of course. I no longer practice magic, as you know.”

“And that?” Haralðr nodded at the pot on the rocks next to the fire,

“Herbal tea. For the fever, and the cough.”

“I see.” Haralðr looked at Gi'ðesa again. “There's no need to be afraid of me, girl. I'm an agent of our good king O'lǫ'vr. He only wants what's best for Norsemen and Finns4 alike in his lands.” When he finished talking, an awkward silence fell over the house. After a few moments, the chief turned to Ulvrin' and said, “Ulvrin', where's your son?”

“Uh—he's around here somewhere, I'm sure. Probably out in the woods—you know how young boys are.”

“I believe I saw reindeer nearby on the way in. Those are yours, aren't they?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Then he must be watching them, right?” Without another word, Haralðr went outside.

“Jo'fava, stay with Gi'ðesa.” Ulvrin' ordered and followed the chief. Si'gvejg put on her shoes and hurried after them.

They crested a hill near the house and found the small herd of reindeer. Laying down nearby was a wolf. The wolf raised his head when he saw them approach but otherwise didn't move.

“Oh look,” Said Haralðr with mock concern, “A wolf near your reindeer. We'd better take care of that one, hadn't we?” He nodded at one of his huskatnar, who pulled out a bow, nocked an arrow, and took aim.

Ulvrin' let loose a scream of rage and launched himself at the orc-man: as he did so, his skin and clothes turned into grey fur, his hands and feet became paws, and his face elongated into a wolf's snout. The man with the bow yelled and just managed to get one arm up in time to keep Ulvrin' from tearing his neck open.

“Get him off!” shouted Haralðr; one of the other huskatnar grabbed his shield from his back and rammed Ulvrin' with it, tossing him away. The Finn quickly got back to his feet and started snarling fiercely at the six orc-men arrayed in front of him, with the seventh hanging in the back cradling his mangled arm. Gjorbu, the other wolf, started towards his father, but Ulvrin' barked at him and the boy stopped.

“Ulvrin', Ulvrin', Ulvrin'.” sighed Haralðr as he unsheathed his sword, slowly walking toward the Finn, “You know shapeshifting is illegal without special permission from the king.” He stopped several paces from Ulvrin', who was growling louder, looking from one to another, waiting for them to make the first move. “I know shifting comes as naturally to your kind as running does to us, but... law and order must be upheld.”

Before the chief could give the order to attack, there was a howl from the direction of the house. He turned around to see another wolf running up from behind. Ylgrin' stopped next to her husband and faced the orc-men. “You're a bold woman Ylgrin', but stupid. Who'll take care of your sick daughter? Get back inside now!” Ylgrin' growled. “So be it.”

Haralðr swung his sword, but as Ulvrin' moved out of the way, there was a flash of light, temporarily blinding all the orc-men; when Haralðr looked up again, he saw Si'gvejg in front of the two wolves. Her eyes were closed; she twirled her staff while muttering to herself until terror fell on the huskatnar and they started backing away.

One, however, bravely stepped forward, thrusting at Si'gvejg with a spear, but she knocked it aside with her staff and, stretching out her fingers toward his chest, she clenched them together tightly. The huskatðr's eyes opened wide as if he saw something coming towards him: he shrieked, clutched at his heart, and fell backward dead.

Si'gvejg opened her eyes and locked them on Haralðr; “Leave now, and no else needs to get hurt.”

The chief grunted; “I'll let you live for now. But we'll be back.” Two huskatnar picked up their dead comrade and the group left. As they went, they passed the house and Si'gvejg saw Gi'ðesa had been watching.

“Gi'ðesa, you shouldn't be out here!” Si'gvejg ran over to the girl,

“What... what did you do to that orc-man?” She asked with a shaky voice; her eyes were wide in fear, but she didn't try to get away when Si'gvejg kneeled and put her big hands on the girl's tiny, frail shoulders.

“I did what I had to do.”

“Thank you.” Si'gvejg heard Ulvrin' say from behind her. He added a curse with a drawn-out sigh.

“Um... Dad?”

“What is it Gjorbu?”

Gjorbu, who was now in his human form along with his parents, said; “I'm... I'm sorry.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, you can't shift anymore. What were you thinking?”

“I... know, but... I can't help myself.”

Ulvrin' sighed again, “I know, son. You're at that age.” he looked at Si'gvejg and cursed the king.

Si'gvejg said; “Haralðr will be back with more orc-men, and in only a few days, no doubt.” she stood as she went on, “You should leave. You have kin in the mountains, don't you? That's where the rest of your people are.”

“Ah, the passes are still blocked this early in the year, and besides, Gi'ðesa can't travel over the mountains in her state.”

“I'm fine!” Gi'ðesa lied, “Really, I am!”

“Of course you are, sweetie.” Yglrin went to her daughter's side and ran her fingers through her hair.

“Come stay with me and Gi'sli then. We'll protect you.”

“Oh, we couldn't do that.”

“Why? You won't be a burden, we'd be glad to have you. And in these times...” Si'gvejg sighed, “King O'lǫ'vr is threatening the old gods and the old ways of both your people and mine. We need to stand together in times like these.”

Ulvrin' stared out at the mountains longingly for a while. “I settled here ten years ago when Gjorbu was just an infant. It was profitable here,” he chuckled bitterly, “you Norwegians really like reindeer sausages.” Still gazing at the snowy peaks, he finally added, “I always thought I'd go back one day to die in the land of my fathers.”

“Maybe you still will. The fate of mortals is in the hands of the gods, whatever O'lǫ'vr's Frankish priests might say about their god.”