The drops of water on his face woke Blader. His eyes flickered open to see Skalfi laying a cool cloth on his forehead, the water feeling good on his skin.

"Blader!" Skalfi exclaimed. "Thank the gods. We were so worried."

Blader stared up at the sky, white, fluffy clouds rolling past the light blue above. "What happened?" he croaked, his throat hoarse.

"The fire," Skalfi prompted. "You rescued that little girl? She's safe now. After Erik and I dragged you out of the river, the fire receded, vanished. We saved them, all the villagers." She grinned lopsidedly down at him. "Even though they're just rekkr, they're extremely appreciative. But you've been unconscious for an entire day."

"Blader?" Wolfsted's voice came and Blader shoved himself up onto his elbows to see his friend hurrying toward him. "Oh, good, you're okay!"

Behind him came Sodull and Erik, with two more people in tow. Blader furrowed his brow, blinking. "Vandri?" he asked.

The tall girl smiled. Her long blonde hair was messily braided and tied into a bun at the nape of her neck and she had a couple red scratches down her cheek. With her was a broad boy who was about five foot seven, with shaved blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Good to see you alive, Blader," she greeted. "This is Munin, my comrade."

Munin nodded, his expression grim. "You were in that fire?" he asked.

"Running away from it, anyway," Blader responded.

"We saw it, the loki fire," Vandri said. "It was miles high and Munin marked where it was. As soon as it vanished we came down here, to look for survivors. And we found you guys!"

Skalfi snorted softly, lifting an eyebrow. Blader believed he was the only one who noticed her reaction.

"It's the gang back together," Sodull grinned. "All six of us."

"Seven," Munin said.

"You weren't part of the gang," Erik informed him. "So six, with Vandri's plus one."

Munin scowled.

"So, what now?" Blader asked.

"We keep going," Wolfsted said. "We lost all of our packs in the fire, so we need to stay by the river, for food and water."

"Good thing we ate a good meal before that wildfire," Sodull commented. "Vandri and Munin have a little bit of food with them and their canteens, but with the seven of us, we can't rely on that to keep long. We've been fishing and we have some cold leftovers for you, Blader."

Blader raised himself into a sitting position, the damp cloth falling off of his forehead and onto his legs. Skalfi, sitting beside him, seemed ready to catch him in case he fell over, but Blader managed to stay upright. He still felt slightly dizzy, and his throat was parched, but he felt okay. He would be able to keep going.

"Here," Wolfsted said, passing Blader a canteen. "Drink up, your throat must feel awful."

Thankfully, Blader downed the water, the cool liquid seeming to chase the last lingering effects of the smoke from his throat. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and then, with a hand from Wolfsted, stood up.

"Well," he said. "What are we waiting for?"

"You, quite honestly," Erik said, and Blader let out a small laugh.

Skalfi handed Blader his weapons and Blader shrugged them onto his back. Everyone else took up their weapons, Vandri and Munin sliding theirs over their backs and Sodull tucking his newly acquired bow and quiver under his shield. Then they turned, glancing down the meandering river as it cut through the meadow.

"Let's go," Wolfsted said quietly, and the group set out, Erik handing Blader the strips of cold meat.

Walking along the riverbank, following its curve through the grasses, Blader felt the sun's rays on his skin and the cool wind shifting through his hair as he took bites out of the fish. He glanced over at Skalfi, walking beside him, and remembered how he had fixed his vision on her as he ran from the fire. Of all his friends, she was the one he had chosen as his goal, as the one thing he needed to reach to outrun the fire.

Skalfi turned and caught his gaze. "What?" she asked.

Blader shook his head. "Nothing."

Skalfi eyed him suspiciously. "Nothing? All right then." She glanced straight ahead, where Sodull and Erik were grinning and joking around, talking about some incident with a rotten fish that had occurred back in their school, but Blader saw her look back at him from the corner of her eye.

The sun sparkled off the water, the water itself making a pleasant sound as it flowed past the recruits. With the flowers in the gently waving grass, it made a perfect picture of a casual afternoon walk, not at all seeming to belong to a world where fire had just razed a village to the ground and dragons killed people without a second thought. It was too peaceful, too reminiscent of home. Blader could picture his sisters among the flowers, Ivan swimming in the stream. He could even see his parents, sitting on the bank just enjoying the sunshine. In his mind's eye, his mother didn't look so weary, his father so stern.

"What are you thinking?" Skalfi asked suddenly.

"About my family," Blader said.

For a moment, she didn't say anything. "Tell me about them."

So Blader began to talk, telling her about his parents, his stern father, his gentle but firm mother. Then Ivan, his brave, confident, self-sacrificing older brother, the one Blader had looked up to his whole life. Most kids looked up to the heroes of their family, their fathers perhaps, or their grandfathers or grandmothers. Certainly, he should have looked up to his grandfather, the great General Aetlun Thrym. But Blader had always looked to Ivan, for he always seemed to have the answers, to know what to do.

Then he told her about Hilda, with her self-confidence, her bravado that hid her fear and scars, her matter-of-fact way of speaking. Her skill in braiding, her easy way of talking to people. She could regale a room with her stories, the way she wove words together like strands of a braid. Except for the days when her fireshock was particularly bad, Hilda could breathe life and energy into a room.

And then there was Freyja, and her love for flowers and animals. Freyja was so full of life, in a way that Hilda wasn't. Hilda could make people laugh, if she had the inclination to. Freyja, no matter what, made people smile, made them acknowledge that life was good. Tragedy hadn't painted her with its dark colors yet. She was happy, and so she made others happy.

"I'd like to meet your family," Skalfi said when Blader finished telling her about them. "They sound great." He heard the slight wistfulness in her tone and wondered if she was imagining what it would be like had her father not been dishonored, if he hadn't taken his life, and if her family hadn't had to fall from grace.

"Tell me about your brother," Blader requested. When he saw Skalfi stiffen slightly, he amended, "If it's all right."

"It's fine," Skalfi said. "His name is Dom. Short for Othorjadom, my father's name, but we always called him Dom, since my father was Othor. It's a family name." Her lips twisted in a sad half-smile. "He's fourteen, still in school by some miracle."

"That was you," Blader said. "The reason he's still in school, that's because of you."

Skalfi considered that. "Then such a great sister I am, abandoning him to chase some crazy dream to be einherjar and dooming him to be a drop out."

Blader just looked at her as she took a breath. "Anyway, he's...I don't know, he's my brother. Argues well, sometimes too well. Everyone used to say he looked like my mom, but there are times I see my dad in him and it's scary." She fingered the dagger at her belt. "He's many things. A soldier will not be one of them."

A splash from the river beside them made them jump and the recruits all turned toward the water. They were just in time to see a scaly tail dipping below the surface, following a dark, serpentine form through the water.

"What the –?" Sodull started.

He was interrupted by a giant serpent rising out of the river, water glistening on its grey-green scales as it slithered down its skin. With fearsome fangs slicked with sickly green poison and slit-pupiled eyes that were filled with malice, the creature stared at the recruits, tongue slowly flickering out of its mouth. The serpent was huge, its body coiled beneath the water as it rose into a striking position.

"Wolfsted, you want to poke it with a stick?" Skalfi muttered.

"Too big for my taste," Wolfsted responded, eyes on the snake.

Blader slung his shield and sword down from his back, slipping his shield onto his arm as his sword rasped out of the scabbard. The others did the same, Sodull opting for his bow over his sword and shield.

The serpent hissed, striking out at Wolfsted. The Aldrian barely had time to raise his shield before the fangs were snapping closed against it, propelling him backwards.

Skalfi, Munin, Vandri, Erik, and Blader all raised their shields, weapons at the ready. Sodull placed an arrow on his bowstring, bringing the tip up to bear on the serpent. The first arrow he released narrowly missed the creature's eye and bounced off the scales, falling into the river below.

"How do we kill it?" Vandri demanded.

Wolfsted made his way back to the group, eyes pinned on the snake. "Working together."

"Jormungand," Erik muttered. "The World Serpent. Killed by Thor."

"Shields up at all times, try to get a jab in when it gets close," Blader said, right before the snake lunged forward and slammed into his shield. He was sent flying back, his bones jarring as he skidded through the grass.

"Oh," Blader moaned when he finally came to a stop. His back screamed in protest as he slowly sat up, glancing back to where his friends were.

Sodull had just fired another arrow, which landed in the serpent's eye. The snake immediately launched itself towards him and Sodull spun around, taking the blow on the shield strapped to his back. He was launched into the air, plowing into the grass. But as he was standing further away from the riverbank, the snake exposed itself more and Skalfi, Wolfsted, Vandri, and Erik charged the snake, hacking at its length with their swords.

The serpent whipped back towards the water, its head coming around at the last moment and slamming into Vandri, the closest of them to the riverbank. The girl was swept off her feet and knocked into the water with a splash.

There was no time to think. Blader was on his feet running back to them, Sodull drawing himself up out of the dirt, as Erik started his rush toward the serpent. No one had time to react before Erik was shouting, slamming the hilt of his sword against his shield in an effort to attract the serpent's attention.

The snake moved its glance from Vandri, who was treading water in a desperate attempt to stay afloat, to Erik, who was moving towards it. It struck out at the recruit, its movement lightning-fast.

It was too fast to accurately see what happened next. The best Blader could see was Erik lowering his shield at the last moment and the serpent snapping down on his sword instead of his shield.

Then everything stopped.

The serpent didn't draw back from Erik and as Blader skidded to a halt by his friends, he saw the blood dribbling out of the snake's mouth. Then the serpent's body twitched and Erik cried out in pain, falling back from the creature.

The serpent fell back towards the river, twitching and jerking, as Erik collapsed onto the ground, his blade landing beside him. He clutched his arm to his chest, his skin torn and bloodied and covered with a gooey green liquid.

Sodull ran to his friend, falling on his knees beside Erik, as Wolfsted and Blader rushed to the edge of the river. Vandri was slowly stroking toward the bank, trying to avoid the writhing coils of the snake's body as they thrashed in the water, mourning its own death.

Blader shed his shield and sword and jumped into the river as Wolfsted hesitated, looking pained as he watched Blader reach Vandri's side and help her swim the rest of the way to the bank. Wolfsted reached down, helping the recruit out of the river as Blader climbed out after her, grabbing up his weapons again.

Sodull and Skalfi knelt by Erik's side as they approached him, Munin hanging a couple feet back, looking unsure how to react. As Blader came closer, he saw the grisly wound in Erik's sword arm and instantly knew what had happened.

The serpent had bit Erik.

"You're going to be fine," Sodull told him, his voice edged with desperation. "You're going to be okay."

Erik looked at his friend, who was gripping his wrist tightly. His skin was pale and the edges of his wound were tinged green. "I don't think I will, this time," he said, his voice strained. "I think...the einherjar is your adventure, Sodull."

"This is our adventure," Sodull said, his voice breaking. "Remember? We promised. We swore we'd be einherjar together."

Erik gave Sodull a smile, a haunting, accepting smile. "Then be einherjar for me. I'm not going to be joining you, this time."

"You are einherjar," Skalfi told him, tears in her voice. "Erik, you are einherjar, no matter what. You...you sacrificed yourself for someone else. You are einherjar. More than any of us ever will be."

Blader, Wolfsted, and Vandri walked toward their friend, kneeling down in front of him. "Thank you," Vandri said tremulously. "I don't...I don't know anyone who would do that. Why did you?"

Erik seemed to think for a moment. "I don't know. I just...acted. It was instinct, I...I guess. Also...Jormungand, the World Serpent. Thor only killed him by sacrificing himself to do so." His eyes flickered down. "I suppose one of us had to die."

"Erik," Blader said. "I'm sorry. It shouldn't be you. You are truly einherjar. You have more honor than anyone I know."

"You are a hero," Wolfsted said emphatically. "True einherjar. Really."

Erik glanced around at them, his grin strained. Then he coughed. "Just...get out of here." Then his eyes flickered and his body stilled, before the life suddenly was gone from his eyes and Erik was gone, his body sagging limply against Sodull's arm.

/**/

*silence*

*plays Funeral For a Friend*

Dare I ask what you thought of that chapter? Of Vandri and Munin's entrance, of Skalfi and Blader's conversation, of the serpent, of Erik's death?

Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed it (you know, at least as much as you can, what with Erik's death). Please vote and comment, let me know what you think!

Skylar Wittenborn