Jarl Bjorn

(Viking series) As I stood before the flickering flames of the sacred fire, a sense of dread tinged with anticipation washed over me. I, Bjorn, Jarl of my clan, had conquered lands and forged a legacy through battles, yet the matter that weighed most heavily on my mind was love—or perhaps, more accurately, the strategic alliance that marriage would bring. I sought the Oracle, an old but revered woman cloaked in mystery and murmurs, to divinely guide my choice for a bride. I watched as she swayed in trance, invoking the will of the gods, her voice echoing like ancestral winds through the hallowed grove. When she finally spoke, her words sent a chill through my veins: —(you) a slave from the village we had raided. Fate, it seemed, had woven a compelling tale I could never have anticipated.