Valheim, they call it. The Tenth Realm, a harsh land with no space for respite. 

It is told in legends of old that this is where Odin shackled and imprisoned his enemies, far away from the rest of the Nine Realms. But like a twisting weed, they fed on those around them and grew in power. Now Odin’s valkyries scour the lands of Midgard for the greatest of our warriors who had fallen in battle, to be reborn in Valheim and tasked with defeating Odin’s enemies. Most of my kind - warriors, revelers, thieves, gluttons, and other misfits - didn’t believe in such stories, myself included. I suppose I found myself corrected. 

Though my memories of life are hazy, I remember my death. I was fighting under the banner of Denmark against the Saxons. They had hired so many of us mercenaries that we nearly outnumbered the real soldiers. We were sieging a Saxon fort when they began firing on us with bows from the parapets. The last thing I felt was a sharp, searing pain in my neck - and then darkness. When I awoke, I was in the arms of a great bird with eyes and feathers of fiery red, carrying me through a harsh storm. Its talons dug into my shoulders enough to be uncomfortable. 

It left me in a clearing in a woods. Large stones, like the Stonehenge of the English Isles surrounded the clearing. Ornate, glowing carvings of monstrous creatures of all sizes, all wrapped in chains worthy of a God, covered each one of them. As I began to get my bearings, a great crow, half the size of a man, swooped in and perched on one of the stones, its eyes glowing like fireflies in the night.

“Greetings, warrior. My name is Hugin. You have been chosen by Odin to defeat his enemies. I wish you good luck,” the crow said, its raspy voice fitting its odd visage perfectly. Hugin narrowed its eyes. “You will need it.”

Before I could begin to question where I was, the crow flew off without another word. I began to look around myself when I heard it. A crack of lightning split across the sky with a thunderous roar. I turned to face the flash and I was confronted with a creature that even the most unhinged of berserkers wouldn’t be able to think up. A massive deer, with eyes of shining red and antlers like crystalised bolts of lightning. 

I stood in awe for a moment before the beast began charging at me. I dove out of the way, my body hitting the cold mud, my armour clanking together as the great beast stampeded past, knocking down trees as if they were made of paper. It let out another deafening roar as its antlers began to light up a brilliant teal and bolts of lightning began coursing towards me. I ducked behind one of the rocks. I wasn't fast enough. One of the bolts grazed my shoulder. A searing pain coursed through my side as my arm lit up with a teal light. 

I pushed through the pain. I needed to fell this creature; there was no running from it. I gripped my axe tightly in my hand. My weapon, my tool, my lifeline. It had carried me until my death in life - why wouldn’t it work in death too? I charged out from behind the rock towards my target, lightning still coursing through the air and my arm. Its antlers began to glow with arcane light once again. I dove behind a nearby tree, pure energy flooding the air around me, turning the nearby leaves to ash, but leaving me unscathed. 

I leapt out from behind my cover and began charging the beast again. It let out yet another haunting call, this time resembling more of a screech than a roar. It lowered its head and charged at me. I rolled out of the way, its antlers catching on my armour and tearing through it like cloth, before I buried my axe into the foul beast’s skull. It let out one final terrifying screech before falling limp to the ground. Its eyes and antlers no longer glowed with the godly energy they once did. 

It was then that the crow, Hugin, returned and perched on the antlers of the slain beast. Its beady eyes were still glowing in the early dawn light. 

“Congratulations warrior, you have fallen Eikthyr, the first of Odin’s enemies you shall be challenged with here in Valheim,” Hugin announced. “He will be far from the last."

I took a deep breath, my fate revealed…