The Tale of King Vrage's Sons

The Tale of King Vrage's Sons

[This ancient epic poem tells the story of King Vrage's sons.]

That was a good king,

that Vrage, called the Gifted,

with great strength and much warwyrd,

he conquered much of Merethland...

...He was no fool, he knew

that a single man, no matter how great,

would not bring all the elves to heel. One lifetime was not enough...

...Sons I need, said the King,

strong and agile and clever,

to finish what I have started here

and to avenge me when I'm killed...

...the weaponsmith Durendaalo, an elf slave,

forged good Vrage-King three weapons,

of steel and of black ore of godsblood,

for his sons to inherit after they were born...

...so did Vrage's gifted work begin...

...with Myrmasil, the hill giantess,

he begot a son, Hrygg, called the Strong,

a man taller than the tall trees,

and who swung the mighty Godsblood Axe...

...with Vitnija Moon-Mad, a daughter of Hircine,

he begot another son, the huntsman Ulfgyir,

who chased his prey faster than an arrow flies,

and who wielded the keen Godsblood Spear...

...with an elven princess of no name,

he begot the clever Vrigyn, called Half-Blood,

whose eyes were fire and voice golden honey,

and whose belt carried the hidden Godsblood Seax...

...seventeen years later did Vrage fall,

in battle -- where else? -- in the ashy moors,

against the war-elves of Oran the Red,

and the crows of Kyne carried the news to his sons...

...They said: Our father we shall avenge,

we shall break the elven king's armies,

we shall breach his walls and topple his throne,

we shall burn his great hall to the ground...

...and, by Shor, they did as they spoke,

the armies were broken, the walls breached,

the throne was toppled and the hall burned,

and on royal flesh did their weapons feast...

...Vrigyn Half-Blood said: well done,

sweet brothers. We have vindicated our House,

in Shor's Halls they drink to our names,

now let us carry on, until no elf stands!...

...for winter after winter they waged war,

and ruled the land, and waged war again,

those clever sons of Vrage, called the Gifted,

until their deaths, in battle, where else?...

...and with them were their weapons buried,

Axe-Hrygg under the mountain, in Hryggsholv,

Spear-Ulfgyir in the woods, in Ulfengraf,

and Seax-Vrigyn by the sea, in Dwimmereld...

...and as seasons change, but men do not,

and winters end, but wars do not,

so were Vrage's sons avenged by their sons,

and their sons after them

until the day the sons of Skyrim left Merethland.