Like my siblings, I was born in the salt of the breach. Our father is Aegir, the giant of the seas, the storms and the fury. But Mem was not like the rest. She was of two legs, bright hair and no shell or shears, but hands that grasp stones. She was a ‘shield-maiden’, sharing the battlefield and the bed with her man, a ‘chieftain’ of his people. But they were betrayed. The chieftain was slain and Mem left for dead on this isle of stones, where she pleaded for anyone, be they god, giant or demon to answer her desire for revenge.
Father answered. With a passion to bring forth waves that shattered rock, they made me. He blessed me with salt. He blessed me with the voice to speak to his children of shear and shell. He blessed me so I might walk the seabed, my sibling beside me as my 'shield-warriors'.
As Mem told us, we followed the eastern star across the greater sea. We scaled the waterfalls and fjords until her home was found.
I emerged from the waters, met by young men. The first of these laughed. He joked he would take me as his woman, then crack my shell to cook my flesh. He did not laugh when I slipped my shears, gifts of Aegir, over his throat and squeezed.
The others of the Northmen came with weapons and wild words. They too went silent when my siblings swarmed their beaches.
Joachim Heijndermans is a writer, artist, filmmaker and SFWA member from the Netherlands. His work has been featured in a great number of publications, comics, podcasts and been adapted to television and film.
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