The Saga of Njerd Grimbreeks

by Jarl Gregory of York

THIS TALE begins when Njerd, a likely though as yet unknown bondi, chanced to walk along the great fjord of Obetia one summer day, and thereby saw the great Lemming War Band at sword practice. Many blows were struck and much shouting and clangor of arms was heard throughout the entire fjord, so that even Njerd, sometimes called "The Rock," could see that something was happening.
"Ja, ja, ja!" he said, as his face came alight with the prospect of men doing serious injury, to one another with clubs and swords. "I tink I going to hit someone."
And ever after, when the prospect of hitting someone came into his mind, his face would light up as it had that day and he would jump up and down, with the words, "Ja, ja, ja!" on his lips, for Njerd was a man of few words and he liked the sound of "ja" very much.
Soon, though, he proved his worth with sword and ax and was accepted into the warband, for the Lemming men had need of bondis to stand like rocks in the face of their many enemies. They always gave Njerd the honor of "first rock," which meant that he has to stand in the front line. The reason for this, as Jarl Perigrynne pointed out, was because when Njerd began to shout "Ja, ja, ja!" ever louder, there would be no Lemming men between him and the enemy, who being enemy, were considered expendable, at least to Jarl Perigrynne.
Njerd did have some trouble at first with the word, "line," much to Jarl Perigrynne's dismay.
"No, Njerd, that is a circle!" Perigrynne would shout, pointing to the shieldwall, some ten yards behind Njerd. And so on.
As punishment for forgetting what a line was several times each afternoon, the cruel Lemming men said that Njerd would have to wear breeks made of a ghastly purple hue and studded with spots of an unhealthy yellow. These Njerd fell in love with, and so the plan did not work as well as been hoped. It was rumored for a fortnight that his lady must wrap her head each night in several layers of black wool, so that sleep would come to her despite the glow of those grimbreeks.
Many were the men, monsters, and marshalls slain or blinded by Njerd Grimbreeks in those days, not the least of which was the snow demon Bjazi, who Njerd dispatched with one mighty blow. And many an enemy line fled in terror at the sight of Njerd charging down upon it, and always, somewhere in sight--usually--were his friends the Lemmings, grim in their own right though by then colorblind.
Here ends the first fragment of the Saga of Njerd Grimbreeks.

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