hear a rising force

The child peered at Víðarr, gaze focusing on his chest instead of his eyes. He could only figure that the children had been rendered a bit odd by their turbulent early years, and he figures that much is alright. He couldn't pass too much judgement either-- not like he and his siblings were the most typical bunch.

She questions a heaven, to which Víðarr blinked slowly. "Our heaven is, I think, different." He smiled softly, gaze a bit far away. Sure, there were plenty of religions, plenty of tales about where you went when you die. In the viking king's mind, his eternal resting place will be in Odin's hall. "Our bravest, fiercest warriors, the ones who die the most glorious deaths, they are rewarded with a seat in Valhalla. The All Father's hall, where they feast and fight, and fight and feast. Every morning they wake healed, and every day they slaughter each other on the battlefield once more." The words are far more than Víðarr usually speaks, and the words come with such reverence. This is a man who longs to one day embrace this afterlife as his own. Víðarr plans to go to Valhalla, in the end. There's a shine in his eyes, nearly dreamy.

"I will teach you to protect them. As you learn, you ask the gods to lend you their strength." His words carry weight, the offer genuine. The viking king would work with the child, if that's what she wanted. "I will set you up with a religious mentor." Auðr could likely use the extra help, after all. If Jaybird wanted to learn, then she would have access to the knowledge.

"Speech"