Folk Tales of the Gap - The Romance of Buri and Hildr

This is a tale told in the Old Lands, from whose shores the first settlers of Bodil's Gap sailed. It is preserved in the oral tradition of the Bodvi, a cultural artifact from their distant kin and forbears across the sea. It is told here in broad strokes.

The Romance of Buri and Hildr

The hero Buri is mortally wounded defending a fort from trolls, and the valkyrja Hildr comes to bear him away to Bolgmót's hall on the field of Valvangr. Instead of dying, however, Buri's life is saved by King Hjalmar's physician. Hildr decides to wait and follow him, for surely so bold a warrior will quickly find a new battle in which to perish. 

Buri soon recovers from his wounds and is richly rewarded by King Hjalmar for his part in defending the fort. In thanks for his lavish treatment and for saving his life, Buri becomes one of the King's huskarlar. Chief among the gifts Buri receives from the king is the sword Haugarfylla, which he wields in battle after battle. As his fame grows, Hildr is more and more impressed and frustrated by Buri's failure to die. During a particularly bloody battle, she takes the form of a shieldmaiden to confront him on the battlefield, hoping to finally claim him for Bolgmót. The two clash so ferociously that lesser fighters flee from the sight of them. They fight so long the sun sets and the moon rises, and the battle only ends when the light of the moon reflecting off of Haugarfylla dazzles Hildr, allowing Buri to shatter her spear and take her captive. 

The King's army returns home with their prisoners in tow. Buri and Hildr speak more than once on the voyage. Buri compliments Hildr on her prowess, and Hildr reveals that she is not truly a member of the enemy army, but joined the battle solely to face Buri for reasons of her own. Buri tells her that if he had heard stories of a shieldmaiden of such skill he would have sought her out as well, and promises that she will be not be mistreated—Buri will speak on her behalf to Hjalmar in order to keep her from harm, and will instead ransom her back to her family. Over the length of the journey, their affection for each other grows.

When Buri returns to the King's court, the prisoners of the battle are taken to be executed. Buri goes before the King to present Hildr and state his case for her. The King is immediately smitten by Hildr's beauty, however, and refuses Buri's claim on her as his personal prisoner. Instead, Hjalmar demands that Buri gift her to him to be his concubine. Buri is caught between his promise to serve the King and his promise to protect Hildr, and chooses Hildr. He refuses to hand her over and proclaims that he can no longer remain in the King's service. King Hjalmar warns Buri that if he leaves on such poor terms the gifts of affection between them will become tokens ill luck to remind Buri of his broken oath. But Buri persists, stating that Haugarfylla has never failed him before and that he will continue to put his trust in it. Buri departs with Hildr, but after he leaves the King dispatches some of his men to follow after the pair in order to kill Buri and capture Hildr once more.

Buri and Hildr make camp for the night after riding for a day, and Buri asks Hildr where her family dwells, that he might return her to them. Hildr, by now in love, warns Buri that he should not seek to meet her sisters, for it would surely seal his fate if he were to encounter them. As Buri asks what she means, Hjalmar's men arrive. They call out to Buri, asking him to give up Hildr so that they will not be forced to kill him. Buri refuses, and the men enter the camp to attack. Buri and Hildr fight side by side, but when Buri wields Haugarfylla against his former comrades the blade breaks and he is struck a killing blow. As he falls, Hildr sheds her mortal disguise. At the sight of the valkyrja's radiance the attackers flee, and Hildr cradles Buri as he dies, promising him that they will be together in Valvangr very soon—for when he breathes his last breath, she will bear him away to Bolgmót's hall to join the einherjar. Buri tells her that he will regret not getting to spend a mortal life with her before that time and then expires. Taking him up, Hildr summons her raven-black steed and rides up into the shimmering aurora.

I've been busy lately with the initial layout of the book for Bodil's Gap, which I want to have ready before taking the project to Kickstarter for more art—which is why I haven't been posting campaign notes for the past couple of weeks. I've been wanting to get a quick post out, though, and this seemed like a good opportunity to try something new: the Folk Tales of the Gap.

The Romance of Buri and Hildr is something I wrote as a prop for one of my playtesting sessions, which featured a bard telling stories at a wedding. I really like how the story turned out, and I thought that Buri and Hildr was worth sharing. I think it makes a really good illustrative example of the folkloric tone I've tried to take while writing the Gap—the narrative may not be terribly original, but I think it strikes the right archetypal chords to feel genuine. The love between a mortal and a spirit, a character becoming trapped between conflicting promises, a prediction of doom that proves prophetic, ill-luck stemming from a broken oath... all of these motifs give the story a fairy-tale texture that I adore, and which I've tried to replicate in Bodil's Gap.

If you like this kind of thing, let me know and I'll feature more folk tales of the Gap moving forward.