The sky began to glow with the light of the setting sun. The evening sun, only a half-disc above the horizon, painted the sky a deep orange-red, like an egg yolk. The meadow atop this cliff continued to sway ceaselessly with the constant breeze. Though it appeared to be a vast, boundless expanse of land, this sacred area was actually encircled by the immeasurably wide ocean.
This place wasn't just an island in the limitless sea; it was also the highest mountain in the realm of Midgard. Only the gods knew the island's name was Jörð, where, once upon a time, the heavens and the earth converged and gave birth to the most powerful deity of the ancient age: Thor.
The Dísablót festival, decreed by All-Father Odin to celebrate the spirits of the various goddesses, was originally dedicated to Jörð, his first wife and the mother of Thor. However, a crucial secret known only to a select few was that, during this holy festival, the rainbow bridge Bifröst would appear secretly on this very mountaintop meadow, serving as the path for Odin to return here.
And one of those few who knew this secret was Berlynda, the former Valkyrie and the chief of Unit 23.
Berlynda had been waiting for the appearance of the Bifröst rainbow bridge in this meadow for four nights. Doubt suddenly consumed her: since this was now the Age of Light under the Great God Baldur, would the rainbow bridge still appear here during the Dísablót festival?
The journey to this island in the middle of the ocean was difficult even for a former Valkyrie like Berlynda. The Valkyries, nicknamed the 'Dark-Winged Angels,' didn't actually possess wings for flight as many believed. To fly, they needed to use magic power, which was far more complicated and strenuous than relying on sheer physical strength. For this reason, she chose to row a boat alone, crossing the vast sea to reach the island.
During the solitary twenty-four-day row across the ocean, Berlynda had the opportunity to reflect on countless past events, such as her appointment as the chief of Unit 23, thanks to the patronage of the beautiful and mighty Goddess Freyja.
The Einherjar warriors, selected and trained for the great war of Ragnarök, were systematically divided into 40 legions. Legions 1 through 20 were commanded by All-Father Odin at Valhalla, while Legions 21 through 40 were governed by Goddess Freyja at Fólkvangr.
Berlynda's position as the chief of Unit 23 meant her rank was extremely high—she was the second-in-command of the legions under Freyja's care. Given that Freyja's lost husband, the God Óðr, was absent, Berlynda's authority in the Fólkvangr forces was second only to Freyja herself. Because of this outstanding status, it was no surprise that her position was always a source of suspicion and gossip among the gods and warriors of Asgard.
However, Berlynda had absolute faith and reverence for Goddess Freyja. For her, the events of Ragnarök reaffirmed the undeniable greatness of the Goddess.
In that great battle on the sprawling battlefield of Vigridr, Goddess Freyja was tasked with confronting Hel, the Goddess of the Underworld and eldest daughter of the wicked Loki. Not only did Freyja decisively defeat Hel and the armies from the Underworld, but she also led the remaining forces to take over the fight from her brother, Frey, who had been defeated by Surtr and the formidable army of fire giants.
It was during this crisis that Berlynda received an order from Goddess Freyja to take Frey's body back to the realm of the Vanir gods, Vanaheimr, for resurrection. However, that proved to be their last farewell, because shortly thereafter, Goddess Freyja and Surtr perished together, bringing the story of the Warrior Goddess in that war to an end.
When Berlynda arrived at Vanaheimr, she learned the truth: no magic among the Vanir gods could resurrect a departed deity. It was at that point that she truly understood that the order to take Frey's body to this realm was, in reality, Freyja's way of ensuring Berlynda's survival—a demonstration of the great love the Goddess Freyja truly held for her.
Berlynda still shed tears every time she recalled these memories, even though her tears could not turn into gold, unlike the tears of Goddess Freyja when she searched for her lost husband, Óðr.
Berlynda had learned the secret of the Bifröst's appearance on the mountaintop meadow of this island from Goddess Freyja during a night they spent together. She also learned the story of the magic sword Sumarbrander, which could fight on its own. Frey, Freyja's brother, had asked his sister for the sword to use as a betrothal gift for the giantess Gerðr, only for the magic sword to eventually be lost.
Although Frey was Freyja's twin brother, their personalities were completely different. He was a man who preferred poetry and song over war, choosing to live with the Elves in Alfheim instead of being stationed at Fólkvangr to train the Einherjar warriors for the Ragnarök war.
Berlynda wept once more, filled with deep love and longing for Goddess Freyja. She quickly released her right hand from the object she had tightly grasped since arriving in the meadow to wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks. Then she looked back at the object, which was an orange-red sword adorned with several precious gems.
This sword was the lost magic sword, Sumarbrander.
Years ago, she obtained the magic sword Sumarbrander during an observation mission at Vinakarn village, one of the nine villages in the Einhyhimgur kingdom. There, she witnessed a fierce fight between a masked Elf warrior and a giant monster that looked like a bird but had the body and head of a woman.
The fight was intense and evenly matched. The masked Elf warrior wielded the fiery Sumarbrander in his right hand, supplemented by a Gladius sword in his left to counter his opponent. Even so, the half-bird, half-human female giant monster possessed extremely powerful ice magic, and the various coloured gemstones adorning her body constantly radiated strong magical energy.
The surrounding area quickly transformed into a frozen landscape. The boundary of the chilling cold expanded relentlessly. Fortunately, the Sumarbrander sword contained fire energy that could resist the ice power, preventing the ground he trod from freezing immediately. This kept the masked Elf warrior from being overly disadvantaged. (Although the legend says the magic sword could fight on its own, the fact that this warrior still had to use his right hand to control it suggests that unleashing the power for the sword to move and fight independently must require specific magic.)
However, the longer the battle dragged on, the more disadvantaged the masked Elf warrior became. The monster's ice power had consumed the area to the point where even the ground was covered in thick ice. The balance they once shared began to completely crumble; simply standing firm without slipping on the frigid surface became difficult.
The masked Elf warrior used the tip of the Sumarbrander to prop himself up on the ice, maintaining his footing while holding the Gladius sword with his left hand across his chest to defend himself.
"Surrender, then. Leave the Sumarbrander and I will spare your life," a booming voice that echoed throughout the forest came from the half-bird, half-human female giant monster. Her tone held a clear confidence in victory.
The masked Elf warrior did not reply, but his posture was filled with intense hesitation and thought beneath his mask. Exhaustion from resisting the cold and the pressure of the monster's threat had begun to wear him down.
"Put the sword down and leave," the half-bird, half-human female giant monster commanded with cold urgency.
The masked Elf warrior still gave no answer but stared at the source of the voice, gauging the distance between the two parties. He then made a critical decision. He shouted loudly, "...Take it!" Instead of setting the sword down, he quickly and violently hurled the Sumarbrander towards the giant monster's body! He then used that opportunity to pivot and retreat in the opposite direction, desperately aiming to escape the area as fast as possible.
The giant monster smiled smugly with satisfaction, even as she watched the powerful magic sword spinning and hurtling toward her. However, at that very moment...
Berlynda, who had been observing the entire incident from the beginning, decided to emerge from her hiding bush. The spell she had learned from Goddess Freyja was uttered softly but was filled with power:
"Hlýr vindr Vana (Warm wind of the Vanir), come to me!"
The Sumarbrander sword, which was flying toward the giant monster, suddenly stopped mid-air and emitted a bright, blazing orange-red fire. It instantly changed direction, soaring back through the air at high speed, stopping dead and plunging into Berlynda's right palm as if returning to its true master.
The masked Elf warrior had long since fled. He, though enraged, had to choose to survive. Because of his turbulent emotions, he was unaware that after his departure, the monster would face the legendarily skilled Valkyrie of the ancient age.
The Sumarbrander, glowing with flame in Berlynda's hand, instantly drew the monster's attention. Its eyes were filled with fury and greed upon seeing the treasure it desired snatched away so easily.
"You wicked witch! How dare you steal from me!" the monster shrieked, her voice vibrating through the valley. She completely ignored the escaped Elf warrior. Deep blue ice energy immediately surged from her jeweled adornments, forming dozens of sharp ice spears that shot toward Berlynda from all directions.
Berlynda showed no sign of panic. Her gaze was as serene as the deep ocean. The Sumarbrander in her hand was completely different from when it was wielded by the masked Elf warrior. The orange-red sword radiated heat like a small sun.
With a mere point of the sword toward the dozens of approaching ice spears, they immediately melted away into mist.
Berlynda then quickly spun and slashed the sword, generating a massive, fan-shaped flame that shot back toward the half-bird, half-human female giant monster instantly.
The half-bird, half-human female giant monster quickly conjured an ice magic barrier to withstand the attack. Despite this, the flames cut through the ice barrier. The flaming sword struck the monster's right shoulder immediately. The pain from the wound caused the monster's body to stagger. She now looked at the surrounding area, previously covered in her ice, and saw it rapidly cracking and melting. She realized that the Sumarbrander in Berlynda's hand was vastly different from when it was wielded by the masked Elf warrior earlier.
"Consider this a debt owed; I will let you go this time," Berlynda said to the giant monster before her, as she herself felt a sense of guilt for snatching the Sumarbrander in this manner.
The half-bird, half-ice monster seemed to assess her disadvantageous situation as well. She promptly declared, "My name is Harpnir. One day, I will come to take your life." With that, the giant monster flapped her wings and flew away. That was the origin of Berlynda's acquisition of the magic sword Sumarbrander.
Possessing the Sumarbrander gave Berlynda greater confidence, should she have to face Lylith, a younger Valkyrie with whom she had past conflicts. More recently, she had been contacted by the God Vidar to assist Enya, the sister of the High Elf Queen, in summoning a supreme Einherjar warrior using the spear Gungnir. The result was a tall, thin man with black hair who was given the mission to assassinate the Gods Modi and Magni.
From the aura and feeling emanating from the tall, thin man with black hair, Berlynda sensed something strangely linked to All-Father Odin. Thus, she decided upon a new plan: to travel to the island of Jörð and wait for the Dísablót festival and the path to Asgard.
Finally... the sky above her head tore open, and a brilliant flash of rainbow light shot down from the heavens. Berlynda stared at the majestic appearance of the Bifröst rainbow bridge. She intended to head to Asgard and go directly to the wide-open battlefield of Vigridr.
Berlynda's true goal was to perform a ritual to summon the soul of a supreme warrior at Vigridr, in exchange for the Sumarbrander sword in her hand. Her faith and conviction told her that the most excellent Einherjar warrior she could summon from that location could be none other than the spirit of Goddess Freyja.
Just the thought of meeting Goddess Freyja again caused Berlynda to weep uncontrollably once more. She then ran toward the Bifröst rainbow bridge for the one thing she had longed for during the past 700 years.
Nine days after the death of the witch Samantha, the former founder of the West Witch Gate village, Berlynda returned to the village. This time, however, she did not return alone but brought another petite girl with short hair.
The short-haired girl was later universally known as "Aki," whom all the villagers remembered as the second student of Berlynda, the village chief.