Special: The Fate Tree

Special: This episode is a bit of a sneak peek into Season 6, anticipating an early episode in which it'll be used. It was fun--but challenging--to write, but shares some things that will quickly become relevant.

Here's the text:

Urðaþollr 

Along the high Spine,      heaven-reaching world-roof, 
The mountains rise      marching north and south. 
Rain-wet clouds scowl,      send their riches east and west. 
From the old and lofty hold,      our halls and homes of stone, 
Here too great wealth flows out:      not wealth of water or gold, 
But of weary folk      fleeing for fear or fame, 
Seeking fleeting gain      on sea-foam steeds. 
They leave their fathers’ lands      to look for loathsome gold. 

How sad it is to sing      of souls now lost, 
Of blood-bought home      with blades hard won, 
Now sold for want of gold      and lusting eyes. 
Brave names, brave deeds      are borne in lasting names: 
Brísingr, who held the pass      with but a torch against a host; 
Of Grimr and Moinn,      good brothers that stood when others turned; 
And Vili the wordless:      in wilderness he fought the deadly beast. 
These lives are bound in us,     are laid into our streets. 

I feel upon my head      the heft of godly sight 
To know ahead of time     how days unfold. 
On a day when green lights shine      a gate of air appears; 
From it comes our hope      with friends from far. 
Their coming warms our hearts      but hastens dark times. 
I fall at their feet,      these fearsome ones, 
Yet in their glow      I find all fear is gone. 

Their hands will find a way      to form the fate-tree, 
To use the magic      of music, water, light, earth 
To fatten the trunk,      unfurl the leaf, 
To prepare from it a haft,      a hefty spear-haft 
The clan may raise     to call to young and old. 
Its blade will catch the sun      and send word through the land 
That Rindis is not lost      to reaching dark. 
Its spirit is alight      and speaks of war. 

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Our spot for Battlebards uses music from Battlebards! We hope you like our use of:

• Capital City - Middlegate - Score Music by Shams Ahsan

We're glad you're sharing our story; we really appreciate your support and hope you enjoy what we've created together. We're having fun sharing our adventure with you each week, and we'll only get better with time! If you like what you hear, please take the time to leave us a review on iTunes, since that bumps us up in the ratings and lets others join in the fun. For quick updates on a more real-time basis, follow us on Twitter (@stackodice) and on Instagram (@stackodice), where we'd love to hear from you. Or if you want to share a question or idea with us, drop us a line at stack.o.dice@gmail.com.

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We didn't use any Creative Commons sound effects or music in this show. Check out freesound.org anyway; it's a fantastic resource for completely free sound effects.

We used some excellent Battlebards sound effects. If you like what you hear, check them out at battlebards.com. If you sign up for a Prime account, be sure to use our special code, stack, and you'll get a 20% discount on your subscription.

Here are the sound effects we used in this episode:

• Forgotten Chamber - Tomb of the Dead Kings - Score Music, by Phillip Johnson

And now, on with the show-- we're excited to tell a story with you.