The Lay of King Rafn: Third Stanza - The Sad Tale of Magni Dagnjr Leaps-Like-Salmon

After the betrayal of Good King Shorri, but surely still long before the memories of man, Shorri’s friend and closest advisor, him known as Magni Dagnjr Leaps-Like-Salmon, left his treacherous friends and set into the world with a host of 10,000 followers, who called themselves the Magni Gjandur. Together with his people, Magni wandered around the many kingdoms of Aur and became famed as a great teacher and sage.

As Magni was Shorri’s advisor, surely too he was advisor to Shorri’s father Padmijr, and to the king before Padmijr. In fact, Magni was so old that it was rumored he served with many kings in kingdoms now long gone and forgotten about, but from those lost kingdoms Magni kept a great many secret things, knowledge and precious objects hidden away in chests all throughout the the land of Mungard, which after Shorri’s betrayal had broken into a great many smaller kingdoms.

After Magni left the scene of his friend’s betrayal, he and his people traveled the kingdoms along with his beloved and beautiful wife, Asjurir and his husband Ros, for Magni had been so blessed by the creator to love twice. They travelled all around together and were universally loved by the people, giving gifts of knowledge and precious things left from the many lost kingdoms.

It was on their travels in a great kingdom of the north, then called Meretheim, where it was said the rim of the sky touched the top of snow-throat, that Magni encountered Akur, now a great and terrible dragon who had taken for himself the name Aldjuunr.

Aldjuunr had become very strong, and made many friends among dragonkind, who named him their king and followed him unquestionably. Together they had conquered the kingdom of Meretheim and made its people their subjects.

“HO HA HO,” Aldjuunr laughed a terrible laugh at the sight of his old rival, “what a sad fool brave Magni Dagnjir Leaps-Like-Salmon has become, wandering the world giving away the forgotten things he has hidden from me.”

But Magni was clever, and he gave a great many secrets to the men of Meretheim, teaching them the ways of magic and self-governance and how to overthrow the cruel dragons who ruled in that land in its early days. Many years later, they would revolt, but that is another story.

In the grove of Yvjarstaad, in the shadow of snow-throat, Aldjuunr confronted Magni Dagnjir Leaps-Like-Salmon.

“HO HA HO,” Aldjuunr laughed, “I have been watching you, Magni Dagnjir Leaps-Like-Salmon, and you remember things from old kingdoms, but you do not remember me!”

“I remember!” Magni said, “why do you think I trusted you to the care of my friend, Good King Shorri? So that you would be trapped in that sword for all time.”

“But your friend Shorri, that greedy man, is dead now, by my design, HO HA HO,” Aldjuunr laguhed, “his body has been thrown into the sky, and his heart I dropped in the reddest of mountains. Your hidden secrets will not avail you. I have broken that greedy man’s curse and live now of my own free will, with a hunger to swallow the world!”

And Magni Dagnjr became indignant. “You will know your place, and destroy no more kingdoms, beast Akur! I speak in royalty, and command you.”

“HO HA HO,” laughed Aldjuunr, “I have the blood of royalty myself, given to me by that greedy man, and I am freed of his curse, and in turn I speak in royalty and curse you!”

And Magni Dagnjr Leaps-Like-Salmon was helpless to fight it. He grew angry and blind and unable to love. “Revenge is my blood now, Devil!” He shouted, “I will make a home for myself in a dead land, and I will journey to the fallen kingdom of Ljggrheim where I will find my champion and bring a new dawn to spite you, King of Liars, King of Philanderers, King of False Prophets, King of Frauds, King of Betrayers, King of Userpers, Mutineers, and Thieves. I will take for myself the name Mehruunjir Dagnjr, king of calamities, and my only lover will be the blazing sun!”

And Magni Dagnir leapt like a salmon a final time, and his people leapt with him, to a dead land far away. And his beautiful wife and lovely husband stayed behind with their daughter, called Mered Nanjaa, and they wept for many days.

Now, King Rafn saw all of this from his high perch and got angry. He fluttered down to console them, and teach them the ways of Royalty. Now, neither of them were of royal-born blood, save Mered Nanjaa, who was half-royal by her father’s grace, and royalty was not in their nature, but King Rafn spoke slowly and quietly to them.

“See now, how you have no Royalty of your own,” King Rafn said, “but know that your beloved husband is gone, but his love and royalty remain.”

“But how,” Asjurir pleaded, “how to have his Royalty and love for our own?”

“You see now, the Blazing Sun, his mistress, left to us as a guide.”

“Aye,” Ros said, shielding his eyes, “But the sun is so bright, we cannot behold it for we would surely be blinded!”

“Wait until night, and I will show you something wonderful,” King Rafn said.

So they waited until the night was full of stars and moons and wonderful things never seen before.

“See there,” King Rafn said, pointing a wing at the two moons, which now shone brightly as never before, “There is the body of my father, beloved Good King Shorri, where I hung it to forever remind the Aedrir who usurped him of their own treachery, now lit by the reflection of the sun he has made for us.”

“Aye,” Ros and Asjurir said together, “we see that it is glorious.”

“And the stars,” King Rafn said with a wave of his wing, “they were made by his people, as a last beautiful gift.”

“Aye,” Ros and Asjurir said, “we see the beauty.”

“Then that reflection of his Royalty shall be your own,” King Rafn said, “but first become one, then bask and revel in it, and steal the reflected glory of his Royalty to make of it your own!”

So Asjurir slew Ros in happiness and ate of his corpse, becoming one with his spirit, body, and mind. And by the guidance of King Rafn reveled in his reflected royalty and made from herself an Ros a Queen of the world in the twilight and the dawn.

She went on to travel the world, guiding the Forest-Folk to lands elsewhere and shining upon the reflected royalty of her lost husband, that they could take many forms and become a people like unto a tower. She also grew to love the people of old Resdaajenheim, and they loved her as a queen.

But even in Royalty, she aged into a fickle and capricious queen, and King Rafn is keen to remind one to be careful around those of high station. But that, is perhaps, another story.