Men hoisted spears, shields, and swords,
cantering from of the trees and circling the house.
They pounded about the yard, blood up,
bent on revenge after zigzagging lies.
No one saw the truth, past or future,
except the seer who’d gathered his family inside—
his warrior sons and wife, no less fierce,
and allies from the farthing—for stouter defense.
The saga turned on a choice: Because the lodge
was nearly impenetrable, the attackers could ride away
and face payback to come or destroy all
by fire and face God for this shameful offense.
The offenders burned it all down. The order
for the wasting raised the question of what trolls
and berserks had crashed the party to allow this.
The party didn’t count on someone escaping.
As flames ravaged the home, the sons inside
urged their brother-in-law Kari to flee.
Reluctant at first, he agreed, vowing
to honor them as their avenging angel.
When the gable walls of the house collapsed
and smoke fell heavily on the frame that stood,
Kari hurled a flaming timber from the roof,
backing the assailants off his flight to the forest.
He leapt to the ground, hair and clothes on fire,
spirited to the trees by his righteous new purpose.
A warrior supreme, he would settle scores
for the Godless burning of the seer and the family he loved.
First, a legal case was brought in the assembly,
and its wrenching back and forth led to a settlement:
lives valued, payments, burners banished.
It wasn’t enough for Kari. His feud remained.
He trailed the burners and brought them death and fear
of death until he went so far
his pursuit became a pilgrimage, seeking honor
in the man who’d ordered the seer’s house defiled.
The burner welcomed him, and they reconciled
and turned from the bloody games.
Copyright © 2025 by Sam S. Dodd