Appendix • Deremr's Tale

After Kalahan and his warband have a vision of the Corpse Hall, in which they meet a Valkyrie they believe to be Kalahan's mother, Deremr takes Kalahan aside during the feast to tell him the full tale of his mother and father's meeting, and his part in it.

## Transcript

*Your mother and your father met the way many do in the north. It was spring. Riferen. Same time of year it is now. That year, we had already begun our journey northward. There was news of trouble in south, so we did not want to linger. On our journeys, your mother was never content to be still. You are a lot like her in that regard. When we travelled, she would often disappear for hours. Days, sometimes. Hunting, or exploring, or fighting whatever dangers she could find. I cannot say I was never worried, but she was capable. Strong.*
*But, one time, she did not come back. Longer than usual had passed. So I went to look for her, hoping I would find her alive or not at all. The idea of finding her dead, alone in some snow bank…it was not a thought I could endure. What I found instead was, in my mind at the time, worse.*
*I was still younger than I am now. More foolish, though that is not an excuse.*
*Your father. Arlak. I cannot say how he had come to travel north. I do not know the reasons. When Helde found him, he was alone, surrounded by a pack of more than a dozen wolves, all dead. He had killed them all, she told me, with his own bare hands. She followed the trail of blood to their den, where she first saw him. A goliath: ashen skin, painted with tattoos that marked him a great warrior of his people. Alone, he would not have survived much longer. His wounds were too many and too great. But she was impressed by his ferocity. She saw a kindred spirit, and tended to his wounds. She saved his life.*
*I do not know how long they spent in that cave. When I found them, she was in love. And I was angry.*
*You must understand. At the time, we were at war. Iron Lords were pushing back against Ursine League, and we were proud Urski. This was our land. We did not suffer invaders. In my eyes, he was the enemy. I tried to convince her to see that. Tried to show her that the tribe would never accept it. Her own people, her family.*
*It did not matter to Helde. She swore she would fight anyone who opposed it, and she would have. She would rather have torn her old life apart, than lose the chance of a new one. I could not get her to see reason. Gods she was stubborn. It did not matter, in the end.*
*Next morning, Arlak was gone. I think, having lost so much himself, he did not want Helde to do so as well.  It was good intentions, and I was happy problem had resolved itself. We went home, and never talked about it again.*
*But...Helde was never the same after that. When it became clear she was with child, it only grew worse. She grew distant. Quiet. Angry. She seemed intent on doing to our enemies what she could not do to me. I tried to...I tried to bring her back. To convince her it had been the right decision. But she never listened.*
*When she died...when I found her there, surrounded by bodies. I...she was my daughter in all but blood. And I had failed her.*
*And then there was you. Your mother’s hair and eyes, but your father’s face. You were a reminder of my mistakes. A constant reminder. Mistakes I swore I would never make again. Even without ever knowing her, you became more like your mother than you know. Fierce. Strong. Brave.*
*When you left to find your way...part of me was relieved. It was as though by finding your father you could turn back time. Undo my own wrongs. A foolish belief.*
*I will live with this regret for the rest of my life. I deserve this, I know that. I can only hope that she has forgiven me, and that you will as well.*