Well, brother, I shall be happy to tell you of the Arturan Bear.
This is the great and unending song of the Vansir, passed down by word of mouth through the centuries, from Fijorm (fee-yorm), the first Lore Keeper. Though much of our Lore was lost when invaders came to drive us from our lands, there is still much wisdom kept by the Lorekeepers. In times long forgotten, the Vansir lived in a chaotic plane known as Jotunheim (yah-tun-hime), under the tyrannical rule of the Jotuns (yah-tuns), a wicked and cruel race of giants. This was before we possessed the secret of steel and wielded only weapons of stone. The Jotuns knew the secret of steel and knew the ways of Galdr (galdar), and used these advantages to keep us under their dominion and forcing us to mine ore, gold and silver for them.
Then all the Vansir came to be united under one banner, Valja (Val-ya) the Strong. It was her might, combined with the wisdom of Wyrdin the Wise that the Thunder tribe, first of all the tribes, was forged. Valja had two sons, Threy and, me, Bijorgrin (Bee-yorgrin). Threy was the strongest of all the Vansir and their greatest warrior. I was was agile and sly and--some say--troublesome.
But it was I, Bijorgrin, who snuck into the Jotun stronghold and tricked the Jotun smith, Goban, into revealing the secret of steel. With this new knowledge, I fled from the castle and returned to the Vansir. Threy was given the first sword of steel and took the fight to the giants. As his victories grew, he became known as Threy the
Jotun-Slayer. In a series of bloody battles, Valja successfully lead the Vansir from Jotunheim into an unfamiliar realm. But the Jotuns were determined not to allow us
to escape very far. The giants sent their mightiest creature, The Arturan Bear, a gigantic, monstrosity of great power, to hunt down the Vansir. Valja knew that her people, even with Threys might, lacked the strength and numbers to defeat the legendary Jotun beast. It was only a matter of time before the Arturan Bear would overtake them. Valja chose to
make a stand and die gloriously in battle.
Meanwhile, Wyrdin the Wise had a vision that led him far from the Thunder tribe, to a great mountain. He climbed to its summit and found a huge well, within a short, circular wall of stone. At the well Wyrdin met an old man who called himself Asbrand. Asbrand explained to Wyrdin that he had been called to the Well of Wisdom to receive a gift. He explained that the well contained many secrets.
Wyrdin asked what gift had the well for him and Asbrand replied, "The knowledge of magic. A most wonderful gift, is it not? What would you give to the Well in exchange? What do you possess that you value greatly,enough to honor the worth of the wells gift?"
Wyrdin thought and then replied,"My right eye."
Asbrand accepted and Wyrdin sacrificed his eye andgained the knowledge of earth magics, becoming the first Shaman of the Vansir. Wyrdin returned to the Vansir and
found that no time had passed. He told Valja of his new knowledge and devised a plan to save them from the Arturan Bear. A magical chain of gold was created that
would imprison the beast. While they still would not be able to slay the creature, the chain would bind its power. The only problem was how to get close enough to place
the chain upon the bear.
(chuckles) I came forward and said, "Leave that to me."
As the sun began to set, the Arturan Bear arrived. It called out its challenge.
I approached this stupid Bear and said--if my memory is good--"Great and Terrible One, we Vansir know that it is futile to flee you. We wish to die gloriously in battle with you and wish to honor our last and greatest foe with a gift."
"Gift? What gift?" growled the Arturan Bear. The beast was, like its Jotun creators, a greedy creature.
I replied, "A magical golden necklace whose radiance will never fade nor will it break. But should you attempt to take it by force, the magic would be dispelled and the necklace would crumble to dust. We would gladly give it you. It would grace so mighty a neck as yours, Oh Powerful One."
I presented the chain. And it was my convincing manner and the sparkling gold that had caught the Bear's interest.
"Very well," agreed the Arturan Bear, and so I stepped forward to place the chain around its neck.
Before I drew near, however, the accursed beast growled, "But before I allow you to place it round my neck, one of you must place their head in my mouth. If there is any
treachery, I will snap the head off at the neck and swallow it whole!"
I confess to you, brother, that I was caught off guard by this and hesitated.
But one of the Vansir warriors, Ullrig (ool-rig) the Honorable, understood what must be done and stepped forward and offered his head. The Bear agreed and Ullrig placed his head into the monster's mouth. I slipped the chain around the beasts neck and at once, the Arturan Bear sensed that he had been magically imprisoned and his power dimmed. His powerful
jaws closed and tore the head off of Ullrig. Ullrig died his permanent death but the bear was successfully trapped.
At that moment, the Vansir were surrounded by an army of comprised entirely of women, who introduced themselves as the Vra, a race distantly related to the Vansir
and the sworn enemies of the Jotuns. Through magical means, they gathered the willing spirits of valiant warriors who died in battle and from them made the Einherjar (eynhayr-
yar), an army of ghostly heroes dedicated to defeating the Jotuns. They held the Jotun forces in check, keeping them from slipping into other worlds.
The Vra explained that it had ever been the purpose of the Jotuns to find new realms to conquer. The Vra had watched the Vansirs progress from Jotunheim with growing interest, but then were kept away by the aura of the Arturan Bear. The Vra explained that, in a recent battle with the Jotuns, their queen, Brungelda (broon-gel-da) was killed and they were without a leader. Impressed by Valja's leadership and strength, they offered to make her their queen. Valja agreed and took her place as their leader.
The Einherjar were then given a second task. They were to guard the Arturan Bear and keep it from following after the Vansir. But the Vra and the Einherjar knew that
the Jotuns and The Arturan Bear would grow in power and prophesied that the beast would one day be freed and come for the Vansir. To prepare against this day, the Vra
lead the rest of the Thunder tribe, under Threy's leadership and Wyrdin's guidance, to the world of Tyrra. They tasked the Vansir to grow as a people and achieve acts of glory and bravery, so that when they died their final deaths, they may take their honored place among the Einherjar, strengthening their numbers and prepare for the Grand Battle.
Well, brother, that prophesied day has come. The Vra and the Einherjar are defeated and the evil Jotuns have freed the Arturan Bear...the Grand Battle is coming.
-Bijorgrin the Hospitable Loremaster
------------------------------------------
