Episode 6: The Fields of Wounded Love

Gundar opened his left eye a crack, bracing himself for disappointment. He saw light and bright colours and a red-haired figure in a green gown.

"Lili!" He opened both eyes wide, held out his arms, and leaped forward. The ground under his feet swayed from side to side. When he glanced down, he saw that he was on a narrow sliver of rock over a dark abyss. Gasping, he jumped back to the safety of the platform he had been standing on. His head started to swim and his stomach churned. Heights had always tested his courage to the utmost.

"Gundar!" Lili cried. "Don't look down! Look at me! Trust your heart!"

Enough, Gundar told himself sternly. I swore I would do anything for Lili, and now I must do this. If I perish now, I perish with my beloved close by. I can ask nothing more from the gods than that.

He fixed his gaze on Lili and stepped forward with brash confidence, pretending that he was walking in the banquet hall of his own palace. To his amazement, his footing was solid and sure. A dozen steps, another dozen, and he was face to face with his beloved. She seemed older and sadder than he remembered her, but the green flecks in her eyes had the same life as ever.

"My love!" Gundar reached for Lili, but she dissolved as he touched her and reappeared several paces away. He leaped forward again, arms outstretched. The same thing happened.

"Alas," Lili said. "I am only a shade. Though you see and hear me, my true self remains in exile in the Rhydamanth Fields of the Netherrworld, where the spirits of wounded love must dwell."

Gundar fell to his knees before her. His eyes had been dry when he put the torch to her funeral pyre; but now, he wept with bitter longing. She stood watching, her face as tranquil as before.

"Don't you care?" he sobbed. "Don't you care that we are separated forever, that we will never touch each other again?"

"The dead do not feel things so intensely," she said. "As the eons pass, our passions and memories are washed away, until we are as innocent as the newborn. Then, I am told, the spirits of the earth and sky claim us as one of them. Some become birds; others are re-born of women's wombs."

Fairy tales! Fairy tales! Gundar's logic cried. I am dreaming, seeing what I want to see. He stood up and looked around. The abyss had vanished, replaced by a polished stone floor. The great hall was now full of row upon row of banqueting tables decked with every imaginable kind of food. Doors swung open, letting in a great crowd of brightly-clothed lords and ladies, who chattered brightly like a flock of multicoloured birds.

"Come!" Lili invited him with a wave of her hand. "Enjoy what the moment has to offer!"

"Can we ever be reunited?" Gundar asked.

"If you can find the entrance of the Nether Regions and strike a bargain with a clever guide, it may be possible to draw my life out of the earth. But I must warn you -- many have tried such a feat, but none have succeeded."

Gundar's nostrils began to quiver. Though he could not touch Lili nor smell her perfume, the food seemed real enough. He realized that he was ravenously hungry.

"Come!" Lili said again. "Quickly, before all the places are taken!"

They sat side by side at the nearest table. Gundar grabbed at the roasted capon before him, half-expecting it to be air. But his hand clutched warm, greasy meat. He ripped off one of the legs with a flourish, mouth watering and stomach growling.

"Gundar Baldursson -- NO! You must not eat!"

Gundar turned around in suprise. His father had appeared at one of the doors in his full kingly regalia, and was striding across the floor in undignified haste.

"Put it down," Baldur ordered. "If you touch but a single mouthful, you will be lost in the land of dreams forever!"

Gundar put the capon leg back on the plate, resisting the urge to lick his fingers. "Is that where I am?" he asked. "That land of dreams? Is any of this real?"

"Of course it is!" Lili said. "Pay him no heed. He is an old man, full of disappointments. What could be wrong with staying here in this hall with me and feasting forever?"

"You are young -- there are many adventures yet to come," Baldur said. "If you remain here, you will lose them all."

"But you will gain me!" Lili cried. "Is that not worth more than anything?"

"The choice is yours," Baldur said, and disappeared.

Gundar hesitated. He looked deeply into the green-flecked eyes he had loved so much, and then stood up. "I cannot stay. But I swear that I will seek the Nether Regions and find them, though it take the rest of my life."

The bright hall dissolved and swirled before Gundar's eyes. He seemed to be flying through the heart of rock until he reached a place of utter darkness. He swooned. When he came to himself again, he was lying on a pallet, tears running down his face.

"My lord!" A young peasant woman was looking down at him, the picture of concern.

Gundar struggled onto his elbow, his head swimming. The woman held a earthenware goblet of water to his lips. He took a mouthful, then spat it out.

"It's vile!"

"Yes, my lord. It is medicine from our lord Arestasis, to make you strong again. You must drink."

Gundar considered the possible consequences of disobedience, then drained the cup. "Do you have anything to eat?" he asked.

"I made some broth for you," the woman said. "And there is bread and cheese."

Gundar looked around the dimly-lit, cramped quarters. "Where am I?"

"This is the swine-herder's hut," the woman informed him.

"The swine-herder's hut! What am I doing in the swine-herder's hut?"

"The Lord Arestasis has instructed my father to teach you his trade."