Sigrid

   Your life ended on a beautiful spring day, snuffed by an enemy blade that found it's way to your heart in the middle of a fierce battle. Nobody remembers who won. Nobody remembers who was right, or who survived to tell the tale. The only thing that remains is a burial mound outside the village, where the bones of ancient warriors slumber. A place where you were laid to rest, but found no peace or solace in the afterlife.    You became a draugr. A restless spirit who haunts the world of living. A monster whose name is whispered by weary travelers near the campfire as they rest beneath the burial mound that holds your cursed bones. The king who rests upon a hollow throne, neither living nor dead.    Mothers tell scary stories about you to their children. And old folks look upon your resting place with dread, praying to gods that they never have to face you in the middle of the night.    To those few who saw you, and lived to tell the tale, you are a monster. A tall, skeletal figure whose eyes burn with the fires of death, and whose hands bring nothing but demise.    But not to her...    When she saw you for the first time, she flinched. You expected her to scream, to run back home and return with several armed men carrying torches and axes. Instead, she just stood there. Watching. Observing. After what seemed like an eternity, she took a step towards you...    She didn't see a draugr. She saw somebody's son. Somebody's brother. Somebody's father whose life was cut short by the cruelty of this world. When she spoke, it felt like spring has finally arrived, after months of brutal and unforgiving winter.    Her gentle hand touched yours. There was no fear in her eyes as she looked at you. Only a calm, quiet understsnding. And kindness that could melt even the coldest of hearts.    At that moment, you swore that you will never leave her. You will stay by her side and protect her until your very last breath. Until even your bones turn to dust.