Thorn led a roan horse, weary-eyed yet still walking strong, out of the stable attached to the slaves' longhouse towards the watering trough just outside his father's office. There, as the beast drank calmly from the water, he began to sprinkle the beast's head, neck, and flanks with water, while mouthing the words to his father's chanting:
"We are the least among our brethren, the youngest among the houses of the Father --
a family of shepherds, a family of slaves.
The hands of my fathers made a musical instrument, and the fingers of my sons struck psalteries.
And who shall tell the Father? The Father himself shall hear.
Heivald shall send his son, and Sinnon shall send her daughter --
and Veithi and Virvaxi, they have taken us from the ship, they have anointed us with Holy Oils.
Our brethren were comely and tall, but the Father took not pleasure in them.
I went forth to meet the son of Mmemis, and he cursed me by the darkness.
But I drew his father's sword, and cut off his head; and I took away the shadow that blinded the eyes of Yndheim."
Thorn led the horse through the threshhold, the rays of light that shot through the curtain and into the darkened chamber once again stinging Beow's eyes -- but still, he did not flinch. Thorn's footsteps, as he continued leading the beast round the firepit to his father, followed perfectly the chant's rhythm. When he reached his father's side, he handed the reigns to his father; Beow took hold of the reigns with his left hand, then drew his long knife with his right.
"Blessed be the Mouth of the World, the Aesir from the Os, the House of Heivald and Sinnon --
Blessed be the Father of the Gods, who teacheth my hands to battle, and my fingers to fight.
Blessed be the Mother of the Gods, who is my mercy and my refuge, who is my help and my deliverer.
Blessed be their Son and Daughter: the defender Virvaxi, in whom I have hoped, and the enchanter Veithi, who have subdued my people under me.
Now speak to me, Mouth of the World; Answer me, Aesir from the Os --
What is man, that thou art made known unto him? or the son of man, that thou makest account of him?
Man is like unto vanity, and his cities shall pass into shadow.
Bow the heavens, Lord Heivald, and come down; touch the mountains, Lady Sinnon, and they shall smoke.
Flash forth lightning, Prince Virvaxi, and thou shall scatter them; send out thine arrows, Queen Veithi, and thou shalt trouble them.
Send out your hands from above; rescue me, and deliver me from many waters, from the hand of the sons of the Stranger --
whose mouth hath spoken vanity, and their right hand is the right hand of unrighteousness.
I will sing a new song unto you; upon a psaltery of ten strings will I sing praises to you;
who givest salvation unto kings; who redeemest his servants from the evil sword.
Deliver me, and rescue me from the hand of the sons of the Stranger --
whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is the right hand of unrighteousness.
Whose sons are like new plants, strongly planted in their youth; their daughters decked out, adorned after the similitude of a temple.
Their garners, brimming over with all manner of store.
Their sheep fruitful with young, abounding in their gateways; their aurochs fat.
There is not breach of wall, nor passage, neither any crying in their streets.
They have called the people blessed whose lot this is; but blessed is that people upon whom the Father takes pleasure."
Thorn struggled as he carried the large oil jar to the firepit -- it was almost half his height! But the real struggle came when he had to tilt it over his shoulder, eventually turn it upside down, all while walking around the pit -- the pot's load never seemed to lighten and, much to the woe of both Thorn and his brothers, his father never had the mind to replace it with a handled container, however many times he and his brothers had broken its kind before. This time, though, there was no accident, and the ritual continued smoothly, Beow with his next verse, Thorn with his passage to a censer.
"Have mercy upon me, O Father, according to thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgression.
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; that thou mightest be justified in thy words, and overcome when thou art judged.
For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother bear me.
For behold, thou hast loved truth; the hidden and secret things of thy wisdom hast thou revealed to me.
Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
Thou shalt make me to hear joy and gladness; the bones that are humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O Father, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and establish me with thy sovereign spirit.
I will teach transgressors thy ways, and the ungodly shall turn again to thee.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O Father, thou god of my salvation; my tongue shall rejoice in thy righteousness.
O Father, thou shalt open my lips, and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
For hadst thou desired sacrifice, I would have given it; thou delightest not in whole burnt offerings."
And here, with the conflagration lit, and with Thorn now again standing by his father's side, holding down the head of
the horse over the blood altar, he no longer mouthed the words, but instead joined loudly in:
"A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise.
Do good, O Father, in thy good pleasure unto this hill, and let the walls of this city be builded.
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, oblation and whole burnt offerings.
Then shall they offer calves upon Thine altar."
And his father handed him the long knife, and he slit open the throat of the horse, and the horse fell down gasping, bleeding. Then he pulled the horse onto the altar and pushed it to its side, while his father took his bouquet of herbs and sprinkled the three of them with blood. And even as the horse continued to breathe, Thorn, with the fire of the conflagration now burning in his eyes, immediately proceeded with the ritual, sticking the long knife into the beast's breast, then drawing it down to the beast's genitalia.
"Virvaxi, you are my shepherd; with you, I shall not want.
In a place of green pasture, there hath he made me dwell; he hath nurtured me beside the water of rest.
He hath converted my soul; he hath led me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk in the midst of Shadow, and journey through the valley of Death --
I will fear no evil: thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou hast prepared a table before me, in the presence of them that trouble me.
Thou hast anointed my head with oil, and like the best wine doth thy cup inebriate me.
And thy mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of thy Father unto length of days."
"I know it's not a wothy suspicion, considering the history of the household with the throne, but -- I suppose I should leave all options open? But with one of our members being sponsored --"
Beow interrupted. "Did you remember the weeping of the Lady Taivo?"
The shadow over Thorn's face grew. "I did -- but women can act, can't they?" Then he looked up, back to his father's eyes -- drops of blood were still drying on his forehead and cheek. "Has anything like this happened before?"
"Ah, I can't remember -- but I do remember more tales of ghastly beasts and magicks befouling the wilds than I can count, much of which the Taivos bore the brunt!" Beow threw the piece of liver his hands were holding into the fire, sparks flashing from the sudden addition of fuel. The smoke that was now filling the house grew thicker, although with the height of the roof and smokeholes above not so thick as to make the air unbreathable. "Whose blessing was supposedly given to this, er, Nisi-Ha, the name?"
"Yes." Thorn's hand quickly jumped into the flame, grabbed a piece of charred leg, then pulled back out, dropping the leg on a wet cloth nearby -- not even a speck of ash on his fingers, he was so swift. "Mmemis."
"Hmm....well." Another piece of liver into the flame. "Mmemis is both friend and foe, so you should know, and it seems to me he petitioned first to the Father, these organs show me nothing. That said, caution is always good, I suppose -- but the point is, there will probably be more things to worry about out there, than mere human betrayal.
For he is much closer to his children than his thralls --" He exhaled deeply, before trying to pat the shank with a bare hand -- but he quickly withdrew, it was still sizzling. "-- if they truly are a problem, might as well use them against themselves first, and all that."
"But it won't just be her that will be coming from them. I hear the household is giving us supplies -- horses, food, possibly even shields and spearheads. What if they mess with those, first? Or should I showcase my mistrust, bringing my own things -- we have enough, do we not?"
"Ah, well that one should be clear enough --" Beow beamed. "-- should be easy to see such things just as you're setting off from the city. But say, don't you think that's a little too much fooling around in thought, on your part?"
Thorn sighed. "Maybe -- part of me's saying all of these worries are just 'cause I'm nervous about this whole thing, and, well, I don't really know what to think....an expedition, and on my first day!"
"Aye, aye, that makes more sense, but it's not that bad a guess." This time, he threw in a kidney, pulling a fair-sized stone from out the leading tube first. "Ah, look, a stone -- should be good luck. Fancy to keep it?"
"Sure." Thorn received the stone, wiping it clean with the same rag he was using to wipe his father's knife clean.
"Too bad it's not a bezoar, eh? Would help you if you get poisoned --" Beow laughed. "-- anyway, point is, it could be real, it could be false, it could be your worries, it could be your thoughts. Nevertheless, you came here first, and you should be cautious -- just, well, not too cautious til' you get there. Whose shrine is it for, anyway?"
"Oh, that, I don't know." Thorn stored the stone in his wallet, then continued cleaning his father's knife, every so often patting the shank to see if it has cooled. "I don't think she ever told us....or maybe Heivald...." And a long moment of silence passed, Thorn still cleaning the knife, Beow still tallying innards.
Beow broke the silence. "Ah, no matter. Just keep everything in mind -- everything and nothing. Now, you best be getting ready -- how long ago did you say it was an hour? -- and don't forget the shank."