Shield Maiden Read online

Shield Maiden

  Written by Richard Denning

  Copyright 2012 Richard Denning.

  First Published 2012.

  Publisher website:

  Book Jacket design and layout by Cathy Helms

  www.avalongraphics.org

  Copy-editing and proof reading by Jo Field.

  [email protected]

  Graphics and map by Gillian Pearce

  https://www.hellionsart.com/

  Author website:

  www.richarddenning.co.uk

  Anglo Saxons Runes are Germanic Font 2 from:

  https://www.fontspace.com/dan-smiths-fantasy-fonts/anglosaxon-runes with permission from Dan Smith

  For Matthew

  The Author

  Richard Denning was born in Ilkeston in Derbyshire and lives in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, where he works as a General Practitioner.

  He is married and has two children. He has always been fascinated by historical settings as well as horror and fantasy. Other than writing, his main interests are games of all types. He is the designer of a board game based on the Great Fire of London.

  Author website:

  https://www.richarddenning.co.uk

  Also by the author

  Northern Crown Series

  (Historical fiction)

  1.The Amber Treasure

  2.Child of Loki

  Hourglass Institute Series

  (Young Adult Science Fiction)

  1.Tomorrow’s Guardian

  2. Yesterday’s Treasures

  The Praesidium Series

  (Historical Fantasy)

  The Last Seal

  The Nine Worlds Series

  (Children’s Historical Fantasy)

  Shield Maiden

  Chapters

  Chapter One - Anna

  Chapter Two- Ellette

  Chapter Three - The Horn is found

  Chapter Four - Gurdrunn

  Chapter Five - Kendra

  Chapter Six - The secrets of the Horn

  Chapter Seven- Flight

  Chapter Eight- Svartálfar

  Chapter Nine - The Fort

  Chapter Ten -Valkyrie

  Chapter Eleven - Barrow

  Chapter Twelve - The Horn is Lost

  Chapter Thirteen - The Horn is Stolen

  Chapter Fourteen - Raedann Escapes

  Chapter Fifteen - Anna Uses the Horn

  Chapter Sixteen -Brisingammen

  Chapter Seventeen - The battle of Scenestane

  Chapter Eighteen - Anna’s Army

  Chapter Nineteen - Anna Flees

  Chapter Twenty - Asgard

  Chapter Twenty One - Shield Maiden

  The World of Shield Maiden

  Chapter One - Anna

  It’s not fair!” the girl shouted as she stabbed her short sword down into the oak table, leaving it vibrating in the wood. Her deep green eyes fixed the man on the far side with a furious glare.

  “Father, it’s not fair! Why can Lar train as a warrior and not me?” she asked him, her arms folded in front of her chest and her foot tapping the reed-strewn floor in impatience.

  The man she was talking to sighed, as if this was an almost daily argument, which it was, and as if he despaired of ever getting his way with this, his twelve-year-old daughter, which he did. He stepped forward, pulled the knife out of the table and held it out to the girl, handle first.

  “Anna, we have been through all this before. Your brother, Lar will follow me as headman of the village one day and must be a warrior. You in turn will marry a warrior or a lord of another village and raise children.”

  “Lar is younger than me. I don’t see why he should be the leader. Raedann tells me there have been warrior women before now - shield maidens - and even queens and ladies who have led their folk in battle. Why not me?”

  Her father, Nerian, looked at her helplessly and, as was his habit when he was at a loss for words he scratched the bald patch in his brown hair.

  “Your father has many cares, child.’ These words were spoken by a man standing further down the hall, staring at the embers that burned in the fire pit running the length of the building. ‘You should not distress him with these ideas. Nor should you take note of what that tinker, Raedann, says.”