Grim Aegir Shapeshifting / Water Travel / Breath Weapons

Eirek had many berserks and champions in his forces, and four of them are named. There were two brothers; one was named Sorkvir and the other was Brynjolf. Big and strong they were, unruly and skilled in sorcery, and so full of spells that they could blunt blades in battle. Sorkvir was the stronger of the two, and an excellent jouster. The third man was a kinsman of the king named Thord and called the Bald Man of Hlesey, a big strong man. His family came from Hlesey in Denmark, and he had grown up there. His foster-brother was named Grim, called Aegir. This man was strong and wicked in every way. No one knew his origins or his family, because Groa the seeress had found him washed up in the beachwrack on Hlesey. She was Thord’s mother, and she had fostered Grim and raised him and taught him all sorcery, so that no one in the Northlands was his equal, because he was unlike all other men by nature. Some men believe that Grim’s mother must have been some sea-hag, because he could travel through both the sea and lakes if he wanted, and for that reason he was called Aegir. He ate raw meat and drank blood from men and livestock alike. And he often turned into the likeness of various animals, shapeshifting so quickly that the eye could hardly follow it. His breath was so hot that men found that it burned even if they were wearing armor. He could also spew either venom or flames at men, and in this way he killed both men and horses, and thus no one could withstand him. King Eirek had great confidence in him, and in all of these men. They never held back from doing wicked deeds.

[...]

King Eirek drew up all his host and ordered every man to work as a warrior should, and not to hold back any sort of strength which he might bring to bear. Grim Aegir said, “My lord, each of us is obliged to do the best he can. But if we beat King Hreggvid, we want to settle here, and I want to have a land to rule and the title of jarl. Your kinsman Thord shall come with me and shall take precedence over me, but Sorkvir and Brynjolf shall go with you and defend the land for you.” The king agreed to Grim’s proposal and said that it would be done.

Now both sides formed their ranks and advanced towards each other. King Eirek led one wing of his battle lines, and Grim led the other. The odds were much in their favor, as they had four warriors for each one of the local men. King Hreggvid arrayed his forces against King Eirek, and Sigurd Wool-Yarn faced Grim Aegir. Then the fiercest fighting broke out, with strikes and blows, arrows fired and stones flung. Every man on either side advanced with shouts and cheers. King Eirek’s berserks advanced ahead of the ranks and mowed down King Hreggvid’s men like brushwood, and they fell one across another. Sigurd Wool-Yarn saw that, and he struck left and right until he encountered Thord the Bald Man of Hlesey. He struck at him, but Thord blocked the blow with his bald head and the sword didn’t cut. After that, Thord struck Sigurd his death-blow, and he fell, winning great glory.

King Hreggvid saw that, and he was grieved at Sigurd’s fall. He spurred his horse and fiercely rode forward, slashing and stabbing men and horses right and left, so that everyone shrank back before him. The sword cut as if it were slicing water. The scabbard was all wrought with gold wherever that seemed to improve it, and on the pommel of the sword’s hilt there were loose life-stones, which drew poison and burning out of wounds if they were shaved into them. He charged towards King Eirek’s banner, so furiously that he had both arms bloody to the shoulders. At times he killed two or three men at one blow, until Grim Aegir and Thord came against him. They both struck at him at the same time, but the king defended himself so well that he wasn’t wounded. At that moment, Grim blew with such powerful sorcery that the king’s horse stumbled. The king jumped off the horse’s back, still striking to left and right. He piled up a ring of bodies around himself so high that it came up to his belt. He struck with both hands at Grim Aegir, but Grim blew at him so that his sword flew out of his hands. Then the king seized an axe and struck Thord on his bald head with the blunt end of the axehead, so that he lay unconscious for a long time. At once the king lifted himself up and leaped over the heap of slain. King Eirek came up against him and struck at Hreggvid with his sword, so that the blade broke in two but didn’t cut the armor. At that instant, Grim Aegir stabbed him with a sword from beneath, under the mailcoat, piercing him through. The king fell there, with great courage and great glory, and it seems that there has hardly been a more famed man in Russia than King Hreggvid. All his surviving men fled, though most of his men had fallen. Many in King Eirek’s forces had also fallen. The peace-shield was held up, and those who wanted to save their lives were granted a truce, but the rest, who didn’t want to serve King Eirek, were killed. And now the battle was over.

[...]

Now a favorable wind blew, and Hrolf and his men sailed out to sea. Their journey started out comfortably, but they noticed that there must be different weather high in the sky. The sea was topsy-turvy all around them, and great rumblings were heard from above. Mondul sat at the tiller of the last ship. He took a large stick and bound it with a black thread and dragged it behind the ship, in the wake.

One night, a warship was seen advancing against Hrolf and pressing a fierce attack at him. Mondul called out and said that no one should pay it any attention, but the sailors said that he was so terrified that he didn’t dare to defend Hrolf’s forces. They released one ship from the fleet and wanted it to sail against the other ship, but they had no chance, because the wind turned against the ship and drove it behind all the others. The last Hrolf saw of them was a huge walrus attacking the ship and capsizing it, and every mother’s son there was lost. The others were completely astonished, and men felt that their conflict wasn’t an even fight. They lost twenty ships in all before they reached Russia.

They anchored in the Don River and raided both banks, burning farms and plundering the livestock they caught. Many people went over to their side, and this way they got a multitude of men. They soon found out where King Eirik was with his host of men. Then they laid their ships up in an anchorage. Mondul took a boat and rowed around all the ships in a ring. Then he landed  and told the men to pitch their tents against a nearby cliff; “every tent must butt against the end of another.” When this was done, he untied his bag and took out a black silk tent. He spread the tent over all the other tents, so broadly and firmly that no holes were ever found.

They had entered Russia before Winternights. Mondul the dwarf said, “You must carry our stores from the ships into the tent, and finish the job in three days. Then you must go into the tent and not look outside before I tell you to.” Everything was done according to his instructions. Finally, Mondul went inside, but before he did that, he walked all around the tent.

A little later they heard the wind beginning to rise, roaring outside the tent. They felt it was a wonder. One man was so curious that he loosened the tent and looked outside, but when he came back in, he had lost his mind and his speech, and in a short time he was dead. The wind kept up for three nights.

Mondul said, “We won’t all come back to Denmark if Grim Aegir has anything to say about it, because he was the walrus that destroyed our ships. He would have treated all our ships the same way if I had not gone last, because he couldn’t come any closer than that stick which I was dragging behind me. He’s sent an ice storm at you, so that all of you would have met your deaths if the tents hadn’t saved you. Now twelve men have come down into the forest a short way from here, whom Grim has sent to King Eirek.

[...]

Now Sturlaug saw how Thord had done him such great damage that his forces were at the point of fleeing, and some were killed. He sought out where Thord was, but Thord turned to face him. Their combat was both fierce and long, until Sturlaug landed a direct hit on Thord. It landed on his bald head and failed no more than usual. The blow was so great that it split Thord’s head and his whole torso all the way through, so that he fell to the ground in two pieces. Sturlaug had accomplished an incredible deed. He dropped his long knife, and it pierced down into the earth and was never found. The books are in great disagreement concerning this event, for it is said in the Saga of Sturlaug and many other sagas that Sturlaug died of an illness at home in Ringerike and was buried in a mound there. But here it is said that after Thord’s fall, Grim Aegir came up out of the earth behind Sturlaug and struck him in the spine with a blade, chopping him in two at the middle. We don’t know which is closer to the truth.

Eirek his son saw this, because he was standing nearby. In his fury, he struck at Grim with his sword. The sword hit him on the shoulder and crashed against it as if it had struck a rock, but it didn’t cut. Grim turned to face Eirek and spewed such hot venom in his face that Eirik fell down dead at once. Everyone trembled at this sight, even though the battle was still raging and the slaughter was dreadful. When Hrolf heard the news, he flew into a rage, and he didn’t hold back Hreggvid’s Gift. He struck both hard and fast, so that everyone who had to face him shrank away. At times he killed two or three men at one blow, storming forward as if he were wading through a strong current.

[...]

The evening after the battle, King Eirek had gone into the fort to bind the wounds of his men. He had suffered heavy casualties and had lost all his champions: of all of those who had come with Grim and Thord, Sorli Longnose alone had survived. Many men from the provinces came to the king, night and day. King Eirek and Grim thought that they had Hrolf and his men well in hand, thanks to their superior numbers. Grim prepared himself with many spells through the night, as did Brynjolf. The arm wound that King Eirek took from Mondul’s arrow began to swell badly, and his hand was crippled.

Early in the morning, King Eirek rode out of the fort with all his host. He formed his ranks, and a shield-castle formed up around him. Brynjolf was to defend the shield-castle, but a man named Snak carried the standard, with Grim Aegir and Sorli Longnose on the other flank. The forces were so unequally matched that Eirek had six men for each of Hrolf’s.

When Hrolf saw that, he said to his men that they should not form ranks. “We will charge in detachments of thirty or forty in a group, so that we can’t be surrounded by their superior numbers. I will face Grim Aegir, and Stefnir and Torfi will face King Eirik. Dwarf Mondul, I expect you to counter Grim’s magic, so that he can’t murder our men with his sorcery.”

Mondul came forth. He’d come in a black cloak, and no part of him was exposed. Under one arm he had a large bag; the inside was made of animal skin, but the outside was gold cloth. He had a bow and a quiver in the other hand. Everyone found his outfit strange.

Grim went to where the slain men were lying, and rolled the dead men over and wanted them to rise up—but he couldn’t do it. His appearance grew so terrifying that most men didn’t dare to look at him, because his eyes were like fire, and black smoke and the foulest stench billowed from his nostrils and mouth.

Soon after that, both sides screamed their battle cries and charged each other. Grim bellowed so loudly that his howling could be heard above all the battle cries. He rushed forward ahead of his ranks, shaking a sack and driving a black mist out of it at Hrolf’s men. When Mondul saw that, he advanced and shook his bag, and strong winds blew out against the mist, driving the mist back into the eyes of Grim’s men. This struck them blind at once, and they fell on their faces and were trampled to death by their own men. Grim was enraged. He nocked an arrow on the string and shot at Mondul, but Mondul shot back, and their arrows hit each other, right on their points, and fell down. This happened three times.

At the same moment, fierce fighting broke out, as each man encouraged another with crashes and shouts, because Hrolf’s men were so bold that they held nothing back and acted as if victory was certain. Stefnir charged against King Eirek, and Torfi and Birgir went with him. They quickly cleared a path before them, and it would take a long time to recount their strikes and thrusts. They killed so many men that they could hardly be counted. Brynjolf also charged forward with Snak the standard-bearer, killing forty knights in the first onslaught.

Hrolf charged Grim Aegir and struck at him, but he turned into a flying dragon and escaped up into the air, spewing venom over Hrolf. Mondul was standing nearby and held the bag out underneath, so that it filled with the venom. He rushed at Sorli Longnose with the bag and poured it out in his face so that he fell dead. Grim turned into a man, even though he had killed nine men with the venom. He rushed at the dwarf and wanted to catch him, but Mondul didn’t want to wait and plunged down into the earth right where he was standing. Grim went down after him, so that the earth closed over their heads together.

Hrolf now charged, striking to left and right. Resistance slackened before him as one man fell across another. He needed to give no one more than a single blow. Everyone whom he caught with his sword got death in exchange for life. Both his arms were bloody up to the shoulders. His charge struck fear into most men. The battle was a huge slaughter on both wings.

The next thing that happened was that some men in the battle saw fifteen ships rowing to land as fast as they could. They laid up at an anchorage. A huge and warlike force came from the ships. Two men were the tallest of them all, wearing masks in front of their faces. They went straight into battle alongside Hrolf and attacked King Eirek’s left flank in force, and many in his ranks began to turn and flee. The masked men were the boldest, striking hard and fast. Now the battle was so fierce that there was never one like it before. There one might see many a shield cloven and many a strong helm shattered, mailcoats slashed and many men of high degree laid low. No one took warning from another’s woe. Spears, javelins, thong-spears, hand-axes and many other missile weapons were flung.

Hrolf now attacked the shield-castle and encountered fierce resistance. Grim Aegir returned to the battle, scowling horribly and killing everyone in his way. Birgir and Torfi came against him, along with both masked men, and they all attacked him with great valor, but they couldn’t wound him. He dealt them many large blows. They grew both wounded and weary.

At the same moment, Stefnir encountered Sval and struck at him with his sword. The blow penetrated the shield, cutting off what it hit and chopping the banner-staff in two. Sval struck in return, splitting Stefnir’s shield completely in two, but Stefnir wasn’t wounded. He struck at Sval, and the blow struck his helm and glanced off his beard and plunged down onto his shoulder, splitting his shoulder blade in two and penetrating his chest. That was the death of him, and King Eirek’s banner fell in the grass.

Brynjolf saw that and attacked Stefnir, with a grim expression: he was tusked like a wild boar. He struck at Stefnir, and each struck at the other, but Brynjolf’s strike didn’t cut Vefreyja’s Gift, and Stefnir’s sword didn’t cut Brynjolf. They struck at each other for a long time, and Stefnir grew exhausted, until his sword shattered below the hilt. Stefnir ran in to grapple Brynjolf, but he countered powerfully. Brynjolf bit Stefnir’s shoulder and ripped the flesh away from the bones, as much as he could get in his maw, because his teeth couldn’t bite through the cloak. Stefnir defended himself manfully; he clutched Brynjolf’s mouth with his hands and ripped off his face all the way to the ears. This left him quite unkissable. They wrestled for so long that the bout went first one way and then another, until Brynjolf fell on his back next to Sval. He clasped Stefnir’s back with both hands, so hard that Stefnir couldn’t turn anywhere. He had to protect his face as best he could, so that Brynjolf wouldn’t bite him.

Now we must tell about Hrolf. He attacked the shield-castle with great ferocity. He took many blows and thrusts and powerful attacks, because all of King Eirek’s mightiest picked warriors were there. He would have suffered dreadful wounds and great hurt there, if the cloak and the armor had not protected him. Hrolf killed seventy knights single-handedly, and then he broke up the entire shield-castle. King Eirek defended himself well and skillfully, crying out to Grim Aegir in a loud voice and begging him to help him and spare no one. When Grim heard that, he hurried over. By then he had killed Torfi and Birgir, wounded one of the masked men, and wounded the other mortally. Sometimes he turned into a flying dragon, but sometimes a serpent, boar, or bull, or other harmful monstrosities that cause the most hurt to men.

When Hrolf saw him, he spoke. “You’ll sink down in the earth again, as you did when we met yesterday. Come here, Aegir, and fight me if you dare, until one or the other of us falls.”

Grim said, “You’ll find out that I’ve come here,” and he struck at Hrolf, and Hrolf struck in return. There one might see the mighty blows and fierce attacks that each gave the other, but they never struck so hard that any of them landed. Their attack was so fierce that everyone nearby jumped away. Such flames leaped from their clashing weapons that the land was ablaze on all sides.

The tall masked man encountered King Eirek, and their fight was quite fierce. King Eirek carried his shield on his wounded arm, but he struck with the other arm frequently and hard, because he was the greatest champion. Their exchange ended when the masked man chopped away the king’s entire shield. After that he cut both feet out from under King Eirek and killed him. He laid down his life with great valor. The army took to its heels, and each man fled as best he could. Now the slaughter began anew, as the raiders boldly pursued the fleeing host.

Hrolf and Grim turned away from the ranks and fought with great boldness, until Hrolf split Grim’s sword down the middle with Hreggvid’s Gift. Grim made a mighty leap at Hrolf, who had to throw away his sword and grapple him. Grim raged so fiercely that he was wading through the earth up to his knees. Hrolf broke free, but had to save himself from falling. Sometimes Grim spewed venom at Hrolf, and sometimes flames. That would have meant death for him, if he hadn’t had the cloak in front of him, or the veil that Mondul gave him. Grim’s breath was so hot that it almost seemed to burn through Vefreyja’s Gift and the armor. Grim squeezed the flesh from Hrolf’s bones wherever he touched him. Hrolf thought that he had never been more sorely tested. He realized that he would die of exhaustion if they fought any longer. They stomped so hard that grass and turf were torn up wherever they went.

Hrolf saw Mondul come running. He seized a sword that lay on the field and swung at Grim’s leg with both hands, but it didn’t cut any more than if it had hit a stone. Mondul dashed back to the slain bodies and found Hreggvid’s Gift. He smeared his spittle on the edge and dragged the sword to where they were wrestling, because he couldn’t manage to carry or swing the sword on account of its weight. He managed to drag the sword onto Grim’s calves from behind, severing the tendons in his legs, and Grim fell. The dwarf said, “Hold him, Hrolf, so that he can’t get loose.”

Grim struggled hard and forced his way down into the earth, but Hrolf used his strength and held him back. Then Grim said, “You’ve got great luck, Hrolf, and you’ll become famous for killing me and for the mighty deeds that you’ve accomplished in Russia. A mound must be raised after me and set facing the sea, and all who dock there when they reach land will find certain death. I’ve set many deadly traps for you, because my heart warned me for a long time about what has happened now. I sent Vilhjalm to you to betray you, but you were destined to live longer. You wouldn’t have beaten me if that wicked dwarf hadn’t been there to guide you.”


- The Saga of Hrolf the Walker (Göngu-Hrólfs saga), Chapters 2, 3, 28, 31, and 33