Everything in italics, is a dream.

Ragnar carefully placed the woman on the bed, looking at her naked form for a moment longer, before pulling the furs around her. In truth, he still didn't know what to think. The day had already been strange enough; when he had ventured out that morning, all he had been thinking about was finding something that would mean that he had meat to eat that evening. Yet instead of returning with the stag that he had been following, or even a couple of rabbits; what he had, was a mare, with wings, that was now a woman. The king taking a seat next to her, suddenly realising that he had forgotten all about the injury. The Northman carefully pulling one of the furs away to reveal her arm; the limb now bleeding again from a deep jagged cut that stretched down from her shoulder. Ragnar making his way over to the supplies that he had brought with him, yet the simple ointments that he had in his bag would not be sufficient to aid with the healing of such an injury. The king deciding that he had only one course of action, that he would bind the wound as best he could, and then when the morning came, he would carry her back to Kattegat. The Northman making his way back to the bed, so that he could bandage the arm.

                                                         >>-----------------------------------<<

Ragnar looked around; his eyes widening as he realised that he was no longer huddled up on the floor next to the fire, but in a forest. Yet this was not the forest that he would normally hunt in when at the cabin. No, this was forest like none he had ever seen, with trees so tall that he could not see their tops. He could feel a strange warmth, despite the heavy canopy and the low mist that hung around his ankles. And somewhere, in the distance, he could hear the song of bird and the sound of a rolling river. The king slowly moving forward, taking in all around him; sure, that this must be a dream, but to what end, he could not say.

Suddenly he heard a rustling, the Viking instinctively reaching for his sword, only to find that he was unarmed. Ragnar digging his feet into the soft ground, girding himself for a fight, only for his eyes to fall on the same stag that he had been following all that morning. The stag that had led him to the winged horse. The deer looking at him as it had done that day.

"Wait!" Ragnar called out, as the beast turned and quickly made his way deeper into the trees. The Northman finding himself following, hoping that this time the creature would lead him to something that might help the woman. His feet moving quicker than they normally would, the king running effortlessly, as he jumped over fallen branches and broken trees. The stag though, annoyingly, still always just out of his reach. Yet then, it was just a breath in front of him, Ragnar reaching out in hopes that he might touch it, but instead, almost stumbling over his own feet, as the forest, without warning, filled with the brightest of lights; the once simple farmer having to shield his eyes from the glare. But then it was gone, as quickly as it had come, it was no more. Ragnar lowering his arm, and slowly opening his eyes; taking a step back, as he was greeted by yet another strange scene; two men, much like those that he had seen looking over the mare, were sat on tree stumps, a chess board placed between them on a third stump. The pair musing silently over the pieces.

"Is she alive............?" The tall, more slenderly built man enquired; not turning his eyes away from the board, as he slowly picked up a piece and placed it on a different square.

"She................?"

"The mare............." The man quantified, as he and the other finally looked at the king. Those same three eyes that Ragnar had seen earlier, seeming to stare into his very soul.

"She is alive, but no mare. She appears as a woman, now.........She has lost much blood. The wound is deep........" This information causing the younger appearing man to turn to the other. It obvious that he was no pleased by this information.

"You are taking her to Kattegat........?" The pale haired, larger man asked in a voice that seemed to make even the forest tremble. The king daring to take a step forward, as he nodded in reply. The one-eyed older man smiling, as he took one of his opponent's pieces.

"When you get her to your home, you will take her straight to the seer. One will be waiting there, that can help." He continued, before turning his eyes back to the Northman.

"No harm is to befall the girl, do you understand me, Ragnar, son of Sigurd? She, the winged mare, are more important than you know........to all of us." The old man added. Ragnar only able to nod again in reply.........."

                                                          >>-----------------------------------<<

Ragnar woke with a start. His heart beating at a pace, as he looked at his surroundings. He was back in the cabin, back next to the fire. His eyes flying to the bed, grateful to find that the woman was still lying under the furs.

The men: the king thought, as he pulled his own fur up over his shoulders; they could only have been the gods, there was no other explanation for any of this. It could only have been Odin and Loki; but why the beautiful creature was so important to the gods, and what had been meant by this woman being important to all of them, Ragnar did not know. All he did know was that when the sun began to appear over the horizon, he would dress her in whatever old clothes he could find, and then carry her all the way back to Kattegat.