The Sage of Einar

"Pull!"

Sven yelled as he used all his strength to climb up the slope, pulling the great log with everyone.

Einar who was visibly tired held the rope in his hands with all his might.

Every step they took caused them quite a bit of pain as they could barely move forward because their trunk was constantly pushing them down.

After arduous hours, two of the warriors who were pushing in front stumbled and, as in a domino effect, they all released the ropes and the trunk descended the slope downwards.

A silence was present in the place, nobody dared to say anything because it had been an accident.

Einar who was somewhat frustrated walked over to his father and touched his shoulder.

"Father, we must make a pulley system if we want to climb the tree without much effort, so we must bring some materials and slaves.

If we work fast, maybe we can finish before dark. "

Sven who was somewhat frustrated exhaled and knew that they could only do it that way since otherwise, they would have to cut the log, ruining it completely.

Giving an order to Eskol, he ordered to bring the materials that Einar needed, while he and the rest of the warriors prepared a fire.

Taking advantage of the fact that he had time to rest, Einar sat on a small rock and closed his eyes as the heat of the campfire reminded him of a special event in his life.

"Welcome everyone to this course on how to learn to Ski.

My name is Margaret and I will be your instructor for the next few days. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to tell me."

 

Max, who had heard the words of the beautiful instructor, exchanged glances with her and during that short time, a spark arose between them.

 

When the ski lesson was over, Max walked over to instructor Margaret and smiled at her.

 

"Instructor Margaret, how about I buy you a drink or a coffee in the Spa cafeteria?"

 

Margaret, who looked curiously at Max, agreed to accompany him for a coffee since she had another class to teach.

 

In the Spa cafeteria, Max and Margaret started having a rather lively conversation, in which the two often laughed as they enjoyed the moment.

 

During the following days, the two of them met many times in the cafeteria for coffee during the afternoons, but sadly all the good things have to end.

 

On the last day of Max's college vacation, he approached Margaret and invited her to go to Mexico, while they saw the beautiful snowy landscape of the Scottish mountains.

 

Margaret who had liked spending time with Max accepted the invitation but told her that she would have to wait a bit since her contract was ending in about three months.

 

Einar who had remembered how he met his wife only smiled as he looked at the sky.

'I always wondered what you saw in my Margaret, but of one thing I am sure and that is that we were united until the end ...'

At that moment Einar was interrupted by Eskol, who told him that he already had the materials ready, so Einar got up and went to where the materials were.

The first thing he did was place two posts at the top of the hill which had to be buried as much as possible, to avoid they would break when they climbed the trunk. 

After this and using ropes, these were tied to the posts, with the intention of creating a pulley effect in which the tree could be climbed to the top with almost minimal effort.

After arduous work, the ropes and poles were placed, and the group of warriors was divided in two to begin pulling on Einar's orders.

Pulling hard and following Einar's instructions, the large log began to climb the hill and in just one hour it reached the top where it was pushed until it descended on the other side.

Having already passed the most complicated, all the warriors descended the hill and began to push the great log towards the center of the town.

Fortunately for everyone, they managed to reach the center of the town before the sun went down completely.

Quite tired, Einar ate something in the great hall and headed home as he only wanted to bathe and lie down between his two wives.

At dawn, Einar woke up and began his work for the day. In the center of town, he met Lars, who greeted him quite happily.

"Herald Einar, good morning, I'm glad you came, a great event happened on the coast.

A large whale ran aground and all the fishermen decided to distribute it, so now I have a large quantity of whale meat.

I don't know if you want whale meat or you won't seal meat from the day before. "

Einar was taken aback by the words and looked with glee at a large amount of meat on Lars's stall.

"Yes, I would like to buy you whale meat, but I would like more if you would talk to all the fishermen and bring the blubber from the whale because it has a strategic value for the village.

They will get paid a lot more profit when I process the fat and get oil. "

Lars, who was already using a sheet of paper to tie the meat, nodded, and after placing about five kilos of meat in a bag, he handed it to Einar.

"Count on it Herald, by the way ..."

Borg interrupted his grandfather when he came running up and showed him his wooden flute.

"Grandpa, I was able to play the song Herald Einar taught us!"

Einar seeing the joy of the boy laughed and shook Borg's hair "I'm glad you were able to play the song we have been training this week.

But remember that even if you have managed to play the melody, you must continue training because otherwise you will forget it and perhaps in the future you will no longer be able to play the flute. "

Borg nodded and showed his teeth to Einar, to later sit on one of the boxes that his grandfather had to play the melody that he had mastered trying to practice as much as he could.

Lars heard his grandson touch and looked at him fondly before turning to Einar.

"Herald, I would like to ask you if it is possible that you can sell me glasses like the ones you used to ski.

My son told me about the benefits, and how they prevent cold air from hurting his eyes.

I think it will be a good investment since in the sea the saltwater and the air often prevent me from seeing clearly, so more than once I have suffered an accident or other. "

Einar, who already had a good grip on the leather bag where his flesh was, stroked his chin "There is no problem in being able to sell you a pair of glasses with a wooden frame.

But unfortunately, you will have to wait a while longer until all the warriors have theirs because they are going to need them more because they are the force that protects our tribe. "

"I'm willing to wait Herald after all I've been without glasses for a few years. A few more months will only make me older."

After this Einar arrived at his house and prepared breakfast for his wives who after being awakened by a delicate kiss on their foreheads began their day.

When the three left their house, they went to the great hall since Einar was about to prepare the evaporated milk liquor.

In the great hall, Einar met his parents and with the help of his wives managed to start creating the liquor for the Yule festival.

The first thing he did was to place the evaporated milk in a large wooden pot, after this hot honey was placed and with the help of a large spoon it began to mix.

When it was all mixed into a homogeneous golden-colored mixture, Einar added the alcohol into the mixture until it was fully incorporated.

After a while, and with the help of a ladle, Einar tested the result of his work.

The sweet taste of the drink brought back some memories for Einar, so he looked proudly at the wooden pot and using the ladle served his parents in jugs.

While Kassia and Helmi were able to drink from their jug, when everyone tasted the drink Einar had made, their taste buds could barely process the great combination of flavors.

But of one thing they were all sure, and that was that they would put the mead aside to drink whenever they could the milk liquor that Einar had made.

Seeing that everyone liked his drink, Einar scratched his chin as he thought that if he only had the necessary materials, he could show them a wide variety of alcoholic beverages.

"Father, we must cover this wooden pot and carry it to the patio of the great room.

This way the snow and the cold outside will keep it fresh for when the Yule festival is around. "

Sven, who very silently approached the wooden pot, filled his jug with the milk liquor and nodded at his son's words.

"I'll ask Eskol to bring in a few warriors so that we can take out this big wooden pot.

But now we should start to lift the big log in the middle of the village.

By the way Einar, I know that this drink is for the Yule festival but that we should make it a common winter drink in our tribe.

It would be a very nice tradition that I am sure our descendants will appreciate, I just hope that the merchants who come bring cattle. "