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.
jo.field3@btinternet.com
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.”