# The Quest for Peace by Saab Lofton: Updated 10/8



## Twin Rose (Aug 19, 2006)

Saab Lofton is a sometimes controversial novellist and (former) weekly columnist for the Las Vegas "City Life" newspaper.  Now he lives here, in rural washington state, and has become a personal friend of mine.  His recent works appear in Seattle's "The Sinner", a monthly periodical.

That said, I'm going to be posting at least weekly his new serial, "The Quest for Peace", a story about Vikings and the afterlife and the many planes which he travels to.  I hope you all enjoy it as much as I have!  (And by all means, share your comments!  )


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## Twin Rose (Aug 19, 2006)

An end of all worlds was assumed to be inevitable--the final conflict on the 
horizon between the gods and their many enemies would be more than enough to 
wipe creation clean of all existence, but one man who grew weary of war 
decided to see if he could make a difference ...

The Quest For Peace
a literary serial by Saab Lofton

Episode One

Whereas every member of his lineage has left at least one son behind before 
dying with honor, Einheri was too busy filling every waking moment with good 
deeds of charity to bed down a fair maiden. For a Viking, Einheri was ahead 
of his time in that he abstained from the post-battle pillaging his peers 
usually wallowed in like pigs in slop and instead chose to steer women, 
children and the elderly clear of any bloodshed. He tread lightly whenever a 
temple was in his path--even if it was based on a faith other than his--and 
always made sure to share whatever could be spared with the poor.

As a result of the austere life he led, Einheri was the last of his line. 
Most of his comrades-in-arms smirked at this whenever it happened to come up 
and they often joked about how he'd be better off as a cleric (that is, of 
course, when his superior officers weren't chastising him for putting the 
evacuation of innocents ahead of gaining territory). However, the snide 
comments usually subsided whenever Einheri's prowess with a sword shone for 
all to see ...

On such an occasion, a storm with bulbous clouds, swirling winds, a hint of 
rain and the echo of thunder enveloped the skyscape--a sign that Thor or 
even Odin himself was watching from on high. Down below, splashes of blood 
darkened the green grass Einheri stood his ground on. The hill his superiors 
had insisted they defend became more and more surrounded--as if two soldiers 
sprang forth from every body he sliced open. Given his known contempt for 
authority, Einheri would've let the hill be taken had his young subordinate 
not fallen. The boy was barely strong enough to hold a sword above his head 
and had no business there or in any other battlefield, but since he'd been 
cut down and was too wounded to run, Einheri kept him alive while waiting 
for reinforcements. Unfortunately, those who would've otherwise came to 
their aid were too consumed with berserker fury to notice them.

Then there was a point when, at first, it seemed as though the boy was 
trying to get Einheri's attention yet again to see if the time was right to 
retreat and regroup, but it wasn't. No, Einheri instead caught a brief, 
faint glimpse of the face of a woman when he risked turning his head from 
the battle at hand and wondered what such a beauty was doing on that blood 
soaked hill ...

... and suddenly, Einheri found himself wondering why were none of his 
swings connecting with any of the ever-approaching combatants. He let out an 
anguished cry as they swarmed and trampled over the boy he was 
protecting--but then fell silent when they literally ran right through him!

Einheri felt something yank him from behind until he had a bird's eye view 
of the enemy soldiers and soon of the entire hill he went through so much 
over. A series of horns were heard bellowing off in the distance and Einheri 
was stunned by what he saw happening all around him: Valkryies--the warrior 
maidens of Vahalla--were flying on winged horses and carrying the spirits of 
his fallen comrades (as well as those from the opposing camp) just as a bird 
of prey would scoop a carcase back to its nest.

"My name is Vara," said the Valkyrie who threw him across her saddle with 
all the ease a child would fling a rag doll aside with. "Don't worry, I 
won't drop you off in the underworld, you're going to Valhalla!"

Once Einheri got over his initial shock, he finally found his voice: "So, it 
seems, are the bastards who just tried to kill me--"

"--and succeeded ..." Vara interrupted.

"--then what difference did I make by leading an honorable life," Einheri 
continued without missing a beat, "if any warrior is worthy of Valhalla?"

"Sadly, none." Vara frowned a bit. "Gotterdammerung is coming and Odin needs 
as many as possible by his side when it happens. In fact, as you'll find 
out, the High Father actually prefers enemies to be in close quarters. Since 
fights inevitably break out between them, they stay in good shape tearing 
each other apart and become better warriors as a result."

Sure enough, just as Vara said--after an unimaginably enormous 
feast--everyone in Valhalla paired off and began killing each all over 
again. Only this time, now that everyone was dead, their bodies instantly 
healed from whatever injuries were inflicted upon them. Over and over again, 
severed limbs and even heads grew back as if they were merely bubbles of 
mead. Before long, the whole affair became more and more like an affront to 
Einheri. After years of fighting for honor and country, it seemed that 
fighting in and of itself was ultimately futile in the grand scheme of 
things.

Storming through the sea of bodies hurling themselves at each other, Einheri 
managed to find Vara amidst all the chaos and demanded to see Odin, the king 
of the gods.

"The High Father only talks to other gods," Vara laid a consoling hand on 
Einheri's shoulder. "He'd never grant you an audience. Would you like me to 
pass a message along to him?"

"Yes," Einheri narrowed his eyes in determination. "There has to be 
something better than this ... I don't care what it's going to take, 
Gotterdammerung cannot be allowed to occur!"

Copyright © Saab Lofton, 2006


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## Twin Rose (Aug 22, 2006)

An end of all worlds was assumed to be inevitable--the final conflict on the 
horizon between the gods and their many enemies would be more than enough to 
wipe creation clean of all existence, but one man who grew weary of war 
decided to see if he could make a difference ...

The Quest For Peace
a literary serial by Saab Lofton

Episode Two

The moment Vara left his side to try and gain an audience with Odin, Einheri 
found himself jumped by a couple of old enemies he had killed years ago. In 
Valhalla, the dead had a tendency to renew old rivalries--if anything, they 
were encouraged to since doing so was considered basic training for the 
upcoming Gotterdammerung.

Warriors die with their weapons, so Einheri spied a vaguely familiar mace 
from the corner of his eye and managed to duck it in time--even though he'd 
instantly heal from whatever wound said mace might've inflicted just as all 
the other spirits in Valhalla would. In fact, Einheri continued to duck, 
flip and dodge each and every swing his two foes delivered. This was done 
with a superhuman ease that surprised Einheri at first until he internally 
reminded himself of his recent death and chalked up the increased speed to 
being a ghost.

At first, avoiding their blows infuriated Einheri's adversaries and only 
served to make them try even harder to connect, but after a while, they lost 
interest and moved on to a target who'd put up more of a fight. By this 
point, Vara had returned and grinned a bit. "Having fun?" she asked.

"No, swordplay no longer thrills me as it once did. I'm seeing everything 
through new eyes. For instance, such beauty ..." Einheri looked around and 
pointed out the rainbow bridge leading from Earth to Asgard, home of the 
Aesir gods, once he saw it in the distance. "... mustn't be destroyed."

Then Einheri really took notice of Vara for the first time since he passed 
on and found her breathtaking even though there was no longer any need for 
him to breathe. "Besides, it's been said that Valkyries have been to known 
to take men from Midgard [Earth] as mates ..." Einheri waited for Vara to 
react in some way, but her face showed no change in expression, so he 
finished his thought. "Well, it'd be a shame if there wasn't enough time to 
see if that was true because of the so-called Twilight of the Gods."

"As soon as I find a Valkryie crazy enough to wed a mortal, I'll let you 
know," Vara sneered. "And as far as Odin is concerned, he ignored me and I 
don't know why. Maybe he's drunk--maybe I committed some offense that I'm 
not aware of, I don't know ..."

At that moment, two rather large ravens caught Einheri's eye since the only 
other animals in Valhalla were being served on an endless banquet table. 
They seemed to be encircling their elderly master who was leaning on an 
enormous spear just as one would a cane. The ravens' master had iron gray 
hair and a long beard to match but was also strangely taller and more 
muscular than most of the young men fighting and partying amidst the chaos 
of Valhalla.  After being taught to hold the Aesir in such high regard all 
his life, Einheri found himself trembling as he approached Odin, the High 
Father of Asgard. Vara's whispered warnings to steer clear of the king of 
the gods became increasingly faint in Einheri's ears as he trepidatiously 
drew closer and closer to this ancient, armored warrior who--just as legend 
described--only had one eye.

Except once Odin's good eye fell on him, Einheri felt as if he was back at 
his father's manor being scathingly scolded for having spilled something or 
holding a sword the wrong way. How could simply talking to someone be so 
much more frightening than going into battle, Einheri thought, but after 
summoning his courage, he finally began to stammer, "Odin, I was wondering 
... is there any way Gotterdammerung could be avoided? I mean, there must be 
a better way for the gods to deal with their problems than to engage in a 
war that will destroy the universe and everyone in it ..?"

At first, Einheri thought a storm was coming since he heard the distant 
rolling of thunder, but it was merely Odin opening his mouth to speak: "Who 
is this lump of clay speaking to me as if I needed his advice?"

"Hi-High Father," Vara nervously sprinted to where they were. "This is the 
warrior I was trying to tell you about; the one who wanted there to be peace 
among the worlds?"

While his face turned red from rage, heat radiated from Odin as if he were a 
camp fire. "Warrior?! How is it that someone who wants to avoid a war 
standing in Valhalla; in my very presence, no less? Surely you must've made 
a mistake by flying him here, Vara; surely he needs to be cast down to the 
underworld with the rest of the cowards, doesn't he?"

"I'm not a coward," Einheri protested. "While I was alive, I--" Vara slapped 
a hand over Einheri's mouth before any more could be said and drug him past 
the gates of Valhalla--making sure she kept her head bowed the entire time.

"Shut up, mortal," Vara hissed in a hushed voice directly in Einheri's ear. 
"Do you want to get us both laid to waste?" She then raised her voice a few 
octaves and said to Odin, "I'll take him to the underworld at once, my 
lord!"

Copyright © Saab Lofton, 2006


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## Twin Rose (Sep 8, 2006)

An end of all worlds was assumed to be inevitable--the final conflict on the 
horizon between the gods and their many enemies would be more than enough to 
wipe creation clean of all existence, but one man who grew weary of war 
decided to see if he could make a difference ...

The Quest For Peace
a literary serial by Saab Lofton

Episode Three

Einheri imagined that Niflheim--the infamous underworld where the dishonored 
go--would be harsh, but the righteous indignation he felt after having been 
summarily dismissed by Odin somehow superceded any dread stemming from the 
prospect of being tortured for the rest of eternity.

"How dare that pompous old man call me a coward?" Einheri fumed while Vara 
spirited him away from Valhalla on her flying horse. "After all I've been 
through while I was alive--the gall ... why, I was the very model of a--"

"He is the king of the gods, you know," Vara cut him off. "He can do 
whatever he wants."

"Even start a war that will destroy the entire universe?"

Before Vara could answer, howls and screams were heard in the distance. As 
her winged stallion galloped across thin air, Einheri looked down and saw a 
point far below them where there were no clouds, stars or sky--just a 
swirling mass of darkness forming a whirlpool. Only then did Einheri's tone 
change a bit. "I-Is that the underworld ..?"

"Uh, huh."

"A-Are you going to ..?"

"Drop you off? No, we're going to find some sanctuary." Vara turned her head 
for a moment to make eye contact with Einheri and smiled--the power she 
wielded over him was too tempting and intoxicating to let go of easily. When 
a sigh of relief escaped his lips, Vara felt something she had never 
experienced before, but buried it deep within herself for the time being in 
order to be savored later. "What do you know of the Vanir ..?"

In contrast to the Aesir--who defined themselves by their wars against 
giants and trolls--the Vanir lived in peace amongst elves and fairies. Some 
of the Vanir ruled over mild winds and gentle rains--unlike a storm god such 
as Thor--while others saw to it that flowers bloomed on time. As Vara's 
stellar steed flew into Vanir territory, Einheri was immediately stunned and 
utterly overwhelmed by all the beauty around him. He never knew so many 
different colors existed or that nature itself could look more like a work 
of art than an actual landscape.

When Einheri finally gained his composure, he laid a hand on Vara's shoulder 
as if to secure his footing. "Why are you helping me? Surely Odin will 
punish you for doing so."

One of Vara's eyebrows thoughtfully raised slightly above the other as if 
she wasn't sure herself, but then answered, "Maybe because I'm just--curious 
... or maybe I just feel sorry for you, mortal. Who knows."

Einheri and Vara looked around and found themselves being surrounded by what 
initially looked like fireflies from afar, but upon closer inspection, 
proved to be miniature versions of humans. The rocks on the ground by their 
feet began to overturn by themselves, and from underneath them, gnomes 
crawled out into the open.

"See?" Einheri waved and fanned his hand across the scape before him. "This 
is how life should be--all the time."

"We're glad you approve, mortal."

Both Einheri and Vara spun on their respective heels to see a shimmering 
beauty of a woman glide in and land near them. Evidently, an enormous falcon 
had sunk its talons into her forearm, but once she was safely on the grassy 
plain, it let the woman go and bolted into the sky. In one motion, Vara then 
knelt before this glowing female and dragged Einheri to the ground in order 
to make him do the same. "This is Freya, goddess of love and fertility," 
Vara whispered.

Einheri dared to rear his head up a bit when he heard the squeal of a pig, 
and sure enough, a giant boar with golden bristles touched down from 
overhead nearby. Upon it was a man who looked to be part elf and resembled 
the woman that falcon just dropped off enough for Einheri to think they were 
related. "Don't forget her brother, Frey, Vara!" the boar's rider bellowed.

"What are you doing in the land of the Vanir, my child?" Freya asked.

"T-This mortal spirit seeks sanctuary and amnesty," Vara stammered. "He 
enraged Odin when he asked was it possible for there to be peace between the 
nine worlds and for Gotterdammerung to be avoided altogether."

"Well, I don't see why not?" Frey guffawed. "And here I thought all mortal 
men were bloodthirsty savages! I'm glad to see there's at least one with 
vision! This calls for a celebration!"

"If the wind changes direction, you think it's call for a celebration," 
Freya lowered her head in shame and muttered under her breath. "Damn 
drunkard ..."

Copyright © Saab Lofton, 2006


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## Twin Rose (Sep 8, 2006)

*Episode 4*

An end of all worlds was assumed to be inevitable--the final conflict on the 
horizon between the gods and their many enemies would be more than enough to 
wipe creation clean of all existence, but one man who grew weary of war 
decided to see if he could make a difference ...

The Quest For Peace
a literary serial by Saab Lofton

Episode Four

Einheri was pleasantly surprised to find that the effects of alcohol worked 
its magic upon the dead as well as it does on the living. What made feeling 
this way all the better was how only an hour ago he was certain his soul 
would be flung into darkness. Now an equally inebriated Frey was continually 
slapping Einheri on the back and guaranteeing him sanctuary from Odin's 
wraith. He had never felt more safe and free in his life or afterlife.

Vara, on the other hand, wasn't in the mood to wallow in revelry and Frey's 
sister Freya noticed this. Then again, even if the Valkyrie was inclined to 
join the drunken men, this goddess would've pulled rank, as it were, and 
demanded an audience just the same. "I sense what you're feeling, Vara," 
Freya probed. "You're in love with this hairless ape, this lump of clay, 
this heap of dust--aren't you?"

"You really don't like mortals, do you?" Vara usually didn't speak to any 
goddess in such a tone and manner, but Freya's words stuck a nerve.

"As a matter of fact, I don't," Freya reasserted her authority by raising 
her voice. "I don't see why there were created in the first place. They're 
all addicted to the taste of blood, but unlike a giant or a troll or some 
other, similarly horrid creature, they always deny how bloodthirsty they 
are. At least a dragon is honest ... and yet, you seem to think this one is 
different somehow?"

Vara lowered her head and blushed. "I do, my goddess."

"I don't need to remind you what you'd have to sacrifice in order to be with 
him, do I?"

Vara shook her head. "No, my goddess, I'm well aware." She then looked up to 
glance at Einheri and wondered for a moment whether she had just lost her 
mind for even contemplating the sacrifice Freya spoke of.

"I suppose," Freya continued, after taking note of the look on Vara's face, 
"it would be nice if all men went through so much to avoid bloodshed ... 
Humph, by the rainbow bridge, I'd even settle for a world where most men 
were so willing ..!"

All manners of creatures of light danced about the realm of the Vanir and 
while Frey was slurring as he attempted to introduce some of them to 
Einheri, one creature in particular wasn't what it appeared to be. A gnome 
who stayed under his rock and never stepped forward as most of the others 
did to shake Einheri's finger (they weren't big enough to actually shake his 
hand) was not a gnome at all. Lowering the rock back onto his head, the 
gnome transformed into a worm instead of simply burrowing underground as 
gnomes usually do. The worm slithered its way with a supernatural quickness 
closer to where Freya and Vara sat and talked so it could hear their 
conversation. After that, the worm inched out of everyone's view, and once 
it did, a bird sprang forth from its place and took off ...

... but once the bird took to the air, it laughed in Loki's voice, which at 
first confused and then frightened all the other birds in the sky since they 
knew what the Norse god of mischief was capable of ...

Back on Vanir soil, Frey stopped talking about drinking more mead and turned 
the subject of discussion to Einheri's mission. "Now, my boy--you do realize 
of course Odin's going to smash you and your girlfriend over there to atoms 
if he ever finds out you're not dwelling in dark Niflheim, don't you? In 
fact, if anything, he's probably already wondering why one of his Valkyries 
has been missing this long ..."

"I'm sorry," Einheri was caught off guard by Vara being referred to as his 
girlfriend, but as if that and being absolutely tanked wasn't enough, 
something else had completely stunned him: "What's an atom?"

"Oh, yeah," Frey slurred. "You wouldn't know what that is, huh? Anyway, I'm 
going to give you a shield. It's fitting since you're a man of peace and 
you're only interested is defending yourself, right?"

"That's right!" Einheri shot straight up from his seat as if to accentuate 
his point and then fell right back down.

Frey whistled and his horse-sized boar lumbered forward. On its side was a 
shield which was strapped near Frey's saddle. Once he undid the buckle that 
fastened it, the shield was handed over to Einheri. "This will deflect most 
spells and projectiles well enough," Frey assured, but then warned, "still, 
don't get arrogant with it--as you mortals always seem to when it comes to 
this sort of thing. I've never tested it against a god before."

"You can count on me," Einheri mumbled before passing out altogether.

Copyright © Saab Lofton, 2006


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## Twin Rose (Oct 8, 2006)

An end of all worlds was assumed to be inevitable--the final conflict on the 
horizon between the gods and their many enemies would be more than enough to 
wipe creation clean of all existence, but one man who grew weary of war 
decided to see if he could make a difference ...

The Quest For Peace
a literary serial by Saab Lofton

Episode Five

The next day wasn't welcome since Einheri's hangover was as painful as the 
previous night was pleasurable. Both Frey and Freya were gone but Frey's 
golden boar was asleep by his side and snoring loudly.

"Damn pig," Einheri grumbled in his stupor. "Shut your hole ..! Oh, my 
skull--"

"Then don't drink so much!"

The one thing that would've made Einheri forget all about his splitting 
headache was the sight of the boar's lips moving and the sound of audible 
words emanating from them. "You can talk?!"

"I'm Gullin-Bursti, formerly Frey's servant and now yours, I guess," 
Gullin-Bursti snorted and foul bits of phlegm spewed out. "If you're hungry, 
you can kill me, skin me, fry me up, line my bones on top of my skin and 
I'll come back to life ... but I swear, if so much as one of my bones is 
broken, I'll take it out of your arse and bite it off again as soon as it 
grows back. Even though you're dead it'll still hurt."

"That's ... fine, I'm not that hungry." Einheri stared incredulously.

"I can also fly as fast as that horse of hers ..." Gullin-Bursti's voice 
trailed off as he gazed skyward and saw Vara descend on her steed from on 
high.

Once she landed, Vara looked at Einheri for a moment and quickly turned away 
before speaking. "I've been surveying the Vanir plane and I can't spy anyone 
heading this way. I'm actually surprised Odin hasn't sent anyone after us 
yet."

"We're probably beneath his notice," Einheri felt at his head and squinted 
to get a better view of Vara in the glaring, morning sun, "but we won't be 
for long. I do my best thinking while I'm drunk, believe it or not, and it 
occurred to me that if we can go from world to world recruiting people to 
our cause then there won't be anyone to participate in this ... final 
battle. Imagine ... what if Odin declared a war and no one came?"

"And what if someone had to defend themselves from attack--or even an 
invasion?" Vara countered. "The nine worlds aren't as risky to live on as 
the mortal plane, but they still have their hazzards."

"I'm only talking about keeping Ragnarok, Gotterdammerung or whatever it's 
called from happening. There's a big difference between self-defense and 
laying waste to all there is ..."

Gullin-Bursti blew snot-crusted air out from his nostrils as a way of 
cutting into the conversation, disgusting both Vara and Einheri thouroughly. 
"If that's your plan then may I suggest recruiting Thor first?"

"Why Thor?" Vara asked.

"Because Thor is always flinging that hammer of his at the heads of giants. 
If you can end that ancient feud, you can gain the notice of all the nine 
worlds?"

"Yes ..." Einheri wearily rose to his wobbling feet. "If the storm god of 
all gods--if Thor himself were to lay down his hammer, then it would prove 
that anyone could live in peace."

Vara then raised this concern: "And what if the giants use the opportunity 
to attack Asgard or even Earth?"

"Then ... we'll simply have to convince them not to take advantage of a back 
that's turned to them. They too will have to declare peace--this will work! 
Thank you, Gul ..."

"Gullin-Bursti," Frey's former boar reminded. "So are we off to Jotunheim?"

Einheri took a quick look at whatever was wiggling from the corner of the 
boar's lips and said, "I think I'll ride with Vara, as I have been."

Vara thought back to her discussion with the goddess Freya the night before 
and snapped, "no, why don't you go ahead and ride with the boar?"

Einheri was clearly, visibly broken hearted and spirited over this proposal. 
"B-but why?"

"It's as you said," Vara shyly refused to meet his pitiful stare. "We can't 
take advantage of a back that's turned and my back is turned to you whenever 
we ride." It was a cold thing to say, but she already risked enough being as 
close to him as she was and didn't want to tempt fate any further ...

Copyright © Saab Lofton, 2006


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