Winter"s tight grip began to ease two full moons after the Yule feast. Though frost still hung heavy in the air, the wind and snow that had for so long ravaged the area had finally receded. With growing confidence, Sigurd"s guests left the security and warmth of the halls and ventured outside to stretch their cramped and weakened limbs. The cold air burned the sour household odors from their lungs and replaced them with the freshness of pine and the tang of the sea.
For Hakon, spring"s glorious rebirth dulled the painful memory of the winter Yule. The snow melted on the slopes of the fjords, transforming the waterfalls into glimmering showers that dispelled the gloom in Hakon"s heart. Tiny buds formed on the limbs of sleeping trees; blades of grass sprouted from the thawing ground; robins
