The Children of Fenrir: Eir

Chapter 2

I scanned the horizon for the dome of the temple in the fading light. It would only be appropriate to first leave an offering to Fenrir and the other ancestors, that they would bless my return and grant me wisdom in my work. From there I would inquire about the whereabouts of the alpha’s longhouse. People greeted me as I passed by, though I doubted many recognized me. My family had not lived in Solsilva when I was a pup, my parents were farmers and lived in a village farther south. We had visited often, though. Solsilva was the center of our clan and the solstice ceremonies occurred here as well as all major celebrations. There was also, of course, the temple.

The air was full of voices and the smell of cook fires. In the distance, someone was singing and raucous laughter burst out of a longhouse as I passed by. Something about being here felt right, fated almost. I had a sense of being precisely where I was supposed to be. I breathed deeply, filling my lungs with the smell of home. 

As I approached the rotunda I placed my left hand on the door frame where the wood was worn smooth from the hands of my clan passing through. I walked into the smokey gloom of the domed building. Everything was as I remembered it, the fire burned in the center of the room and Fenrir’s likeness stood across it, carved in wood and dominating the space. He was dark with age and soot, sitting on the folds of gleipnir and the hand of Tyr. The polished jet eyes reflected the flames of the fire and I climbed the steps, kneeling before the flames. The robed wise warrior came from the shadows carrying a knife. They handed it to me and I sliced my palm, holding up a fist and watching my blood drip into the fire, silhouetted in the bright flames. 

I silently beseeched Fenrir and the wise ones that had gone before, for their guidance on my path. I wanted to ensure they knew my deep desire to serve our clan, to help build the strength of our people, and to be a strength of our people. I asked to be blessed with the wisdom to know what to do with all the knowledge I had been given. I asked for health and happiness for my future charges. I asked that I would have the strength to meet the demands of the task ahead of me. I held my hand open, releasing my prayers to the world. I watched the cut on my hand slowly close and looked up into those jet eyes.