Prologue

The world spins and turns, slowly making it's way in orbit around the star, known to man merely as The Sun. Even though this is only a microscopic piece of the universe, the humans and all the other beings in the world known as The Earth, makes their way through life, striving to make a difference.

In the dark halls of the underworld of Oslo, the dark lord sat on his throne of bones, shrouded in thunder clouds, sending lightning blasts throughout the corridors of his fortress. From afar he could hear his hunched-back minion approaching. The minion, Raudun, limped ever closer to his master, knowing his doom was inevitable. He had failed his quest, and so it was surely his last. His fear was immense. and the curls on the top of his head was nearly falling off out of fear.
"I've been waiting for you", groaned the Master of Evil.
"Ehm... Yes... I've b....." stuttered the minion, but was cut short as his whole body was torn to pieces and flung around the room.
"All who fail tastes my wrath!" echoed the Dark One's voice throughout his whole stronghold, sending tremors through the intestines of all his slaves.

1. The Gathering of Light

Dark clouds rolled over the fjords, going up and down mountains, oblivious of the events taking place right beneath them.

Growing ever wearier, he knew his road was coming to an end. Here rest could be found, in the safe haven of Ulstin Island. The memories of his home in the far north were growing dimmer, but he knew that it would always be in his heart. The castle of Bodo would always prevail as the fortress of good in the barren north. Andreas lifted his head from the ground. He had been staring at the creatures moving in the dense underbrush, wondering whether they were edible. But now duty called, and he knew he would find a feast within the walls of Ulstin Fortress. Every limb was tired, but he moved steadily on towards the gates. The gates stood open, but he was greeted only by silence. Suspecting that something was amiss, Andreas walked in, mistrustfully noticing every shadow surrounding him. Inside he found nothing suspicious, only his two long lost friends, Hanne and Marte. They stood waiting in the entrance hall, clearly fatigued from their journey.

***

The wind blew her hair in every direction. Hanne let her hair live its own life, as her mind wandered out to the rolling waves in front of her. The sea was in uproar, as if mourning the loss of Flora's two great daughters.
"The ship is leaving," Marte said, interrupting Hanne's delving into the sea, "and we've only got this one chance to get unnoticed to Ulstin."
Not uttering a word, Hanne turned and followed Marte onto the vessel. Neither of them looked back at their village, knowing that the pain would be overwhelming, both for them and their homeland.
The ship traveled northwards, not knowing that the destiny of those aboard would change the lives of so many.

***

After unpacking all his gear, Andreas settled down in one of Ulstin's living rooms. Marte saw that he had settled well down in Ulstein, before she exchanged news with Andreas. They hadn't seen each other for many fortnights, and Marte listened intently for news of her uncle, who served in the northern armies. Hanne stood guard at the castle's outer walls, ensuring the calm of the newly-arrived.
"Why aren’t there any others here?" asked Andreas, a worried tone entering his voice, "Where is the rest of the group? And why are there no hosts in this mighty fortress?"
"They are yet to arrive, and the hosts disappeared shortly after we arrived. The inhabitants of Ulstin are known for their mysterious ways, which foreigners can't understand. But do not worry, they mean us no harm. We'll have no problem running this place until the host comes back, and Hanne is guarding the perimeters outside. But how are..."
Her words were cut short by a cry from the outside. First startled, Marte and Andreas soon relaxed when they heard the rejoicing words of Hanne:
"A menagerie from Ostland has arrived!"

The words were soon followed by Hanne and a band of four (although someone would say three and a half). First came Linda, her beauty alone lighting up the room more than natural lights ever could. Following her, Camilla tiptoed in, trying to look higher than her forty inches, though failing severely. Geir strolled into the room, his hair gleaming as if containing captured sun rays. By his side came Kristin, seemingly floating an inch above the stone floor, her face containing no trace of emotion.
"Where's the last one? Didn't Christina arrive with you?" asked Marte.
"Look before you ask", said a voice behind her, as Christina walked out of the shadows under the stairs. For a second, it seemed to Marte that the shadows didn't let go of Christina.

"How was the journey?" asked Marte. "Are there any news from the east?"
"No news that you haven't already heard." answered Geir. "The journey went well, though the decay is starting to show itself in the mountains."
"Then the times are as bad as I thought." contemplated Andreas. "But we'll have time to worry about that later, now we have to start making arrangements, so we're ready when the last two arrive. By the way, when are they coming?"
"Good to hear that you haven't forgotten me!" shouted Ingrid Elise, the mirth revealing the identity of the voice.
"Only Harald remaining," said Linda, "but he'll be absent for yet some days. He sent me a letter, telling of his missions in the south. I can tell you no more of his doings, but do not fear. He'll get here in time!”

3. A Flurry of Feathers

At the break of dawn, Ten Sing Norway had already crossed a great distance. The sun rose on the horizon, colouring the highest tower of Ulstin castle red, as the fellowship turned to get a last gaze of it. The road in front of them took a sudden turn to the left, leading directly to the ferry waiting for them several miles ahead. The group moved fast, with a light heart, despite the uncertainty of what was waiting them.

This uncertainty ascended to an anxiety when the group arrived at the ferry landing. Ahead of them, beyond the archipelago, a mighty mountain rose towards the still blushing sky. The peak of the mountain was wreathed in a bluish haze, making it impossible to see exactly where the summit and the heavens met. Feeling a bit uneasy about the journey, the group made their way on board the boat, which then began to prepare for departure toward the isle.

“Is that the place Petter talked about? Runde, wasn’t it?” Ingrid Elise’s voice seemed as mirthful as always. But there was a concerned expression all over her face.
“The mountain has numerous names, many of them in tongues that we are incapable of understanding, but yes, amongst the scribes and scholars of our world, it is known as the island of Runde,” said Kristin, in her usual, composed voice, seemingly unaffected by the worry amongst the others.

Contrary to what you would think while reading a story as epic as this, the voyage didn’t pose any problems. After a while, the ferry came to its landing, where a tall, evil character waited (the fact that he was evil was not known to Ten Sing Norway at this point, but soon they would know the true depths of his evil character).

“Greetings, travellers!” said the tall figure as they walked ashore. “I’m Raudun, the one to guide you during your trip on this mountain. Petter sent me for your protection, as the perils of Runde are great for those who haven’t treaded its ground before. Walk this way!” The group was a bit puzzled, as Petter had not mentioned this Raudun before. But he looked harmless enough, so they tagged along behind him.

The mountainside was steep, the path was narrow, and the party therefore moved with a slow pace on the way to the apex. Although it was a wearisome ascend, their spirits were lifted at the thought of the legendary birds that they hopefully would encounter.

All of a sudden, the company found themselves surrounded by an impenetrable fog, that made it difficult to see further than a few feet in front of them. They lost sight of each other, and one after one, started to panic. The members tumbled around in some sort of Brownian motion[1], with Kristin and Andreas as the only ones composed enough to take responsibility.

“Stop this madness! No use running around like fools,” Andreas cried out. When the rest of the troop calmed down, he continued: “Flock around me, and we’ll count on Raudun to lead us.”

“…But where is he?” Marte asked.
“He scouted the road in front of us when this fog arrived. Maybe he didn’t hear that we lost track of him?” Ingrid Elise said.
“Hello, where are you?” someone shouted in the distance.
“It’s Raudun!” said Linda. The tension in the group fell away.
“We’re trying to find you now” shouted Hanne, as they started moving towards the voice.
“Just come to me, and I’ll lead you out of the fog” answered Raudun.

They walked together, holding hands, so as not to get lost from each other. All of a sudden, Linda and Ingrid Elise, who walked in front, lost their footing. They slid down a steep mountainside, and the others were dragged along. Kristin and Geir held their stand for a second in a frantic attempt to prevent the others from falling, but the combined weight of the rest of the party proved too much. Suddenly, they all found themselves in midair, with nothing to hold on to but each other. They screamed out in terror, and braced themselves for the impact, which would surely be fatal.

As they plummeted downwards, they soon came clear of the fog. The view of the surrounding islands and mountains was astonishing, but no one had time to offer a thought to that. The imminent doom was on everyone’s mind, to the extent that no one noticed the approaching flock of birds. A hoard of the majestic Lunde birds suddenly flew all around them, and began grabbing hold of all nine of them.

“It seems like you needed some help!” cried a voice. “And why are you falling like this?” Behind them, their long awaited companion Harald swooped in. He had arrived at last, at the best moment possible, riding the winds on a flock of birds.

“Harald!” shouted Linda. “How good to see you! And thank you for saving us.” They had stopped falling, and were now levitating by the grasp of hundreds of Lunde birds, which seemed to be almost tame.

“We were betrayed,” exclaimed Geir. “A man called Raudun set up a trap to get us all killed.”
“I know,” answered Harald. “I came to Ulstin castle, where I was greeted by Petter. He had received word of a man, Raudun, who met you at the foot of Runde. He sensed the danger, and sent me with this cohort of birds to help you. Now we know that our plan has already been leaked. Therefore we must go to Ostland immediately, where we can begin the preparations for our quest.”
As he finished his sentence the birds had already changed their course, flying at high pace towards south-east.

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1)Brownian motion (named in honor of the botanist Robert Brown) is the random movement of particles suspended in a liquid or gas or the mathematical model used to describe such random movements.