The Flame-Bound Bride
Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom of snow and stone, there lived a queen named Grímhild. She was a clever and cunning woman, and above all, she loved power. She had a daughter, Gudrun, whom she wished to wed to the greatest hero of the age: the dragon-slayer Sigurðr.
But Sigurðr had already pledged his heart and hand to a fierce and noble maiden named Brynhildr, who lived atop a mountain ringed with fire. Only the bravest man could pass through the flames to reach her, and Sigurðr had done just that. He had crossed the fire, won her love, and sworn an oath to be hers forever.
This did not please Queen Grímhild.
With her knowledge of potions and enchantments, she brewed a drink that clouded Sigurðr’s mind and made him forget Brynhildr entirely. Under her spell, he believed he had never loved anyone but Gudrun, and soon, he married her.
Meanwhile, Grímhild had other plans for Brynhildr. She wished her to marry her son, Gunnar. But Brynhildr was proud and unyielding. “I will only wed the man who dares pass through the fire to reach me,” she declared.
Gunnar tried, but the flames would not let him through.
So Grímhild turned again to Sigurðr. “Help your brother-in-law win his bride,” she said. Bound by loyalty and unaware of his true past, Sigurðr agreed. Using magic, the two men swapped shapes. In Gunnar’s form, Sigurðr crossed the fire once more.
Brynhildr, seeing what she believed was Gunnar achieve the impossible, honored her vow and became his bride.
But the truth cannot stay hidden forever.
In time, Brynhildr learned the cruel trick: it was not Gunnar, but Sigurðr, who had passed the flames. Worse still, she discovered that Sigurðr had forgotten their love, taken another bride, and betrayed her—though he had done so without knowing.
Heartbroken and burning with fury, Brynhildr sought vengeance. Her sorrow turned to rage, and in the end, her wrath brought ruin. Sigurðr was slain, and Brynhildr took her own life beside him.
Grímhild, ever scheming, was not finished. With Sigurðr gone, she forced Gudrun to marry again—this time to Atli, Brynhildr’s brother. Gudrun, wise and weary, begged not to go. She knew Atli would one day destroy her family. But Grímhild would not listen.
The tale ends there, with the shadows of fate gathering close. Some say that the cursed ring once held by Sigurðr doomed all who came near it. And though no songs speak of Grímhild’s end, many believe that the curse found her too—and claimed her, as it did all the others, in the end.
And so the kingdoms fell into ruin, and the fire that once protected a bride became the flame that burned them all.
The end.
Metals Type: Zinc Alloy
At the Woodland Gatherer we find & create all things boho and whimsical, for the wild & free vibes we love the most.
We aim to stock the kind of things that inspire imaginative play, in all ages, because we believe that the imagination is the stepping stone to creative thinking - a highly undervalued, yet incredibly useful, thing in all areas of life.
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