Why Vingans Aren’t Afraid Of Trolls

I put in a plea to the HW Digest asking for myths to support the Vingan Feats. This is what Bruce sent me. It explains Fight against Uz, Deadly Spear Throw, and possibly Find Lost Child. Definite value for money!

There came a time when the Great Darkness had fallen over the world, after Orlanth killed Emperor Yelm. When Orlanth set out on his great quest to return Yelm to the sky, and make right all the things that he had done wrong, he left his loyal thane Elmal to guard his stead and keep the people of the Storm Tribe safe. Elmal fought bravely and was a great inspiration to his people. He saved them from many foes and chaos monsters in this time, but there were many people in the Storm Tribe who were not under Elmal’s guard. Some were afraid of him and hid from his light, for they remembered how he had come from the Emperor’s court and did not trust him. Some just lived too far away from Orlanth’s stead, so that Elmal’s light could not reach them at all, and they had to face the terrors of the Darkness alone, with no defender.

There was one such family of cottars who lived high up in the hills where their flock roamed, and they were so far from Orlanth’s stead that they had only heard rumours of Elmal’s deeds. It came to pass that Zorak Zoran became hungry and began to prey on their flock. This went on for some time, and their was nothing that the cottars could do to stop him. Eventually, Zorak Zoran had eaten so many sheep that he was bored with them, so he came to the cottars one night and told them that the next night he would come back and eat their children.

It happened that Vinga Orlanthsdottir was nearby. She heard how the cottars wailed and cried aloud in fear for their children. She promised them that she would help, but they objected: “You are just a slip of a girl and Zorak Zoran is a great big troll!” And they wished loudly for some mighty warrior to come and save them. But Vinga said, “There is nobody here to protect you but me. I am brave and clever and determined, and I know I will win through.”

Vinga took up a sword just like her father’s, and waited for Zorak Zoran to return that night. Just as her eyelids had begun to droop, for she was tired after watching for so long, she heard the troll god approaching. “Stop there! I am Vinga Orlanthsdotter and I say you will not pass me to harm my kinsfolk!” she cried. She could not help her voice trembling slightly when she saw how much bigger than her Zorak Zoran was, but she was brave and still stood in his way.

Zorak Zoran laughed when he saw Vinga, and told her that, while she looked like a tasty morsel, there might not be enough meat on her to satisfy his hunger. He would rather eat the cottars’ fat children than her. She was tiny and her limbs were thin - he would save her till last so he could break her apart and use her arms and legs for toothpicks. Despite his threats, Vinga would not move out of his way. She grasped her sword in both hands and summoned storm winds that she had borrowed from her father out of the sky to smash Zorak Zoran, but he was too big to be blown away like this. He bashed Vinga with his lead mace and she fell to the ground, dazed. In one great GULP! Zorak Zoran ate the first of the cottars’ children who was a fat child, so Zorak Zoran’s belly was full for now, and he went away to sleep it off.

The cottars wailed and cried aloud for the loss of their child. Vinga promised them that she would help, but they objected: “You are just a slip of a girl and Zorak Zoran is a great big troll!” And they wished loudly for some mighty warrior to come and save them. But Vinga told them, “There is nobody here to protect you but me. My father’s storm winds have not helped, but I am brave and clever and determined, and I know I will win through.”

Vinga knew that she would have to fight Zorak Zoran again, and that she would have to be protected from his heavy blows. She went to see her sister, Babeester Gor, and she borrowed the Shield of Arran from her, that Babeester Gor had got from their mother. When Zorak Zoran returned, Vinga told him for a second time that he would not pass. She told him that she had learned from the fight she had with him earlier, and she showed him the Shield of Arran, which she felt sure would protect her from his heavy blows. Zorak Zoran laughed a terrible laugh and leaped forward to bash her with his mace. One! Two! Three! He struck mighty blows against Vinga! But the shield held and even though Vinga was hurled to the ground again, she was not hurt. Zorak Zoran growled in fury, and then he called upon the fire powers that he had stolen from Elmal at the Hill of Gold. Vinga’s shield could not protect her against this, and she was almost all burned up like a cinder. In one great GULP! Zorak Zoran ate the second of the cottars’ children who was quite a fat child, though not so fat as the first one. Zorak Zoran’s belly was still full, though, and he went away to sleep it off.

The cottars wailed and cried aloud for the loss of their second child. Vinga promised them that she would help, but they objected: “You are just a slip of a girl and Zorak Zoran is a great big troll!” And they wished loudly for some mighty warrior to come and save them. But Vinga told them, “There is nobody here to protect you but me. My father’s storm winds and my mother’s shield may not have helped, but I am brave and clever and determined, and I know I will win through.”

Vinga knew that it would not be long before Zorak Zoran returned not just to eat the last of the cottars’ children, but to break her apart and use her arms and legs for toothpicks. She was only too aware that the storm winds of her father and her mother’s shield had not helped her at all, so she gave them all back and decided that she would rely on her own weapons.

The next time Zorak Zoran came back, he expected to find Vinga with her father’s storms and her mother’s shield. Instead she stood on the path all alone, holding only a spear in her hand. She told him for a third time that he would not pass. Zorak Zoran laughed at her again and leapt forward thinking that it would be easy to bash her again with his mace, for she had no shield to protect her this time. But instead of trying to stand up against him like the last two times, Vinga dodged Zorak Zoran and stabbed at him with her spear when he ran past her. She hit him in the leg, and he roared with pain. But not as loudly as he roared when he found that his injured leg meant he could not run fast enough to catch up with her. Vinga sang a joyous battle song and ran around Zorak Zoran, skipping away every time he reached for her and poking him with her spear. Soon, Zorak Zoran began to cry with frustration. He was not used to being beaten, especially by someone so much smaller than him! He began to scream, and scream and scream with rage. He was so angry that he made himself sick, and he vomited up the two children that he had already eaten. Vinga leaped in to snatch them away from him and returned them to the cottars, who were sorry that they had ever doubted her. They promised to tell everyone they met how brave and clever and determined she was, and what a mighty warrior she had proved herself to be.

Humiliated, Zorak Zoran took his chance to slink away. But Vinga, filled with joy at her victory, would not let him get away as easily as this. She shouted aloud and hurled her spear at him, just before he disappeared from sight. Some say that she hit him so hard that she knocked him all the way back to Hell.

And this is why Vinga does not command the storm winds like her father, nor does she have an unbreakable shield like her sister. But she can throw a spear further than anyone else in the Storm Tribe, and her followers don’t have to be afraid of trolls at all…