Band, Bond, and Bind | @themysticmaiden
It glinted from between two of the more distant peaks on the horizon, peering upward like some great shining eye that stared down the mountain pass and straight to the tall towers of NornKeep. Balder leaned upon the stone of the parapet, wondering how it must be for the queen to see the enemy she had sworn herself against so clearly over the mountaintops. Could he see here as well?
Of course he could. The All-Father could see anything he wished, do anything he wished.
And yet he had done nothing.
Balder glanced down into the courtyard of the Keep, watching as the men followed their drills and the orders of the Colonel while his squire Agnar took to teaching the new recruits. The boy had come far, he considered. His new-found respect and diligence was a far cry from the indolence and arrogance he had shown Balder before. He would make a good captain--in time.
Folding his arms over the cold stone, Balder breathed in deeply. Time was something that there might be precious little left of here--if he could not adequately face what was to come.
But if he could--if he were to be victorious . . .
The thought settled into a small, hopeful smile as he watched the younger recruits struggling to follow the more complex maneouvres. One young boy stumbled, falling to the ground in an awkward clatter of armour he had not yet grown into, and Agnar rushed around the block of boys to help him up.
If he were to be victorious, Balder thought, images of small hands in his own as he helped them up, helped them to walk, to learn, to grow . . . if he were to be victorious, there would be much to look forward to.
He turned slightly at the sound behind him, a familiar footstep out onto the walkway of the parapet, and his smile only widened.
Much to look forward to, he thought, and only one with whom he wished to share it.