The Light and Dark by Adele Evershed

"Juniper wood, I need more, or the boat will not be made."

Einar believed, like the rest of his clan, that a boat would be doomed without an equal heft of juniper to rowan. But Heior came from the purple valley, she was small with eyes as dark as bruises and she thought whoever uprooted a juniper would be dead within the year. She tried to persuade her tree of a husband, Einar, to build from some other wood, but he complained other wood was hard to find.

The sun month was almost there, and Einar still only had part of his boat carved. He returned in a worse mood each night, and the Hnefatafl game they played after supper, lay forgotten. Einar needed to be ready for the sea harvest. If he did not have a boat, they would have to rely on what he could trap in the forest, which was never enough. The men would hunt seals and walruses sufficient to feed their families. And if the Goddess Ran truly smiled, they might even snag a whale. A man who did not join the catch did not get any sea bounty to dry and store to see his family through the slaughter months.

One night as they ate their nettle soup in silence, the sting of Einar’s discontent seemed to salt the broth. After she had cleared away the bowls Heior set up Hnefatafl their old game; she placed the light and dark pieces on the board. Eyes cast downward Heior asked, "Come Einar let us play, it might take your mind away from your worries.” Einar grunted but took a seat and picked up a dark piece. The game seemed to sooth him, his brow unfurrowed, so Heior decided to say what she had been thinking for a while, “Why not just use rowan, juniper is unlucky?" Einar stood up so quickly the wooden tafl board shook. He snapped, "It's either matched rowen to juniper or neither! Build with one fire tree, and your boat will surely sink! An unbalanced vessel will always let water in.” When he saw his wife’s expression Einar softened his tone and said, “I’m sorry, I forget you were not born by the sea but these things are important Heior. We do not believe the juniper tree is unlucky, and now you live here with me you must forget your old beliefs. Man and wife need to be in balance just like a boat.” And although Heior nodded, she wondered if she would ever think of the juniper tree as merely boat building material.

Heior knew she should not use her magic. On their joining day, she had promised that she would leave it in the folds of her valley. Yet seeing Einar's hulk bent over each night was drawing the warmth from her bones, so one night when their home was full of Einar’s sleep rumbles, she went deep into the forest. She promised herself it would be the last time she would use her spells, and she whispered to the trees that they should keep her secret.

The next night Einar swung the door open wide, he picked her up, and on his breath, she caught the peppery pine scent of juniper berries. "Heior, I found a dell of juniper, deep in the forest, where I swear there were none before. The berries were ripe for eating, so my blood is thick, and my boat balanced," he said as he swung her around.

When it was time for Einar to leave, he woke Heior with a kiss and said, "Rise quickly, or you will miss the boats." Heior hurriedly dressed, getting to the beach just as the men rolled their boats down to the shore. She pressed a light piece from their Hnefatafl game into Einar's palm.

"To remind you—come home to me," she whispered. As she watched, the boats became apple pips on the waves, and Heior prayed she had done right by magicking the rowans into junipers.

After the hunting months, the men returned quietly, but Heior still woke, a cold finger stroking her spine. She saw a dark piece toppled on the floor even though she had put the game away when Einar left, and she knew he had not returned with the other men. One of the woman was sent to tell her that Einar’s boat had been sunk by a monstrous wave as wild as Odin’s beard. Einar and his craft were pulled down into the murky deep and although the men spent hours looking for him all they found floating on the water was the light piece from their Hnefatafl game.

The next day Heior went down to the sea, and although she was alone, when she looked down there were two sets of prints in the sand. As her heart thundered louder than the waves, Heior whispered, “Wait for me my love”. Heior knew what she had to do next; she had to uproot a juniper tree.