9789180975537

THE WOLF CROS S

TheWolfTale

Part 1

TheWolfCross

©A.N.Lexén 2024

Publisher: BoD–Books on Demand,Stockholm,Sweden

Printer: BoD–Books on Demand,Norderstedt,Germany

ISBN:978-9-1809-7553-7

HÄRJEDALEN

THE FLATRUET MOUNTAIN RANGE

FLATRUET

MESSLINGEN

FUNÄSDALEN

graveofeva

TÄNNÄS

THE EGGSHELL TARN

HEDE

Mountain Trollhammer

Forestofthehare

TRollforest

he sun

Sun mountain

Range

MillForest RU forest

Old

LAKE OF SVEG

Burn forest

SVEG

TANDSJÖBORG

SOUTH TO DALARNA

NORTH TO HÄRJEDALEN

Noppimäck Forest

Blec k heartforest

Barkforest

High Forest

Wool forest

HELL'S WATERFALL

Tame forest

DALARNA

Mas

Forthe reader:

The places in Sweden describedinthe bookare real,sometimes combined with mythological legendsand localstories.

Formorein-depthinformation aboutthe gods,goddesses,and beings describedinthe book, theinformation is collectedinNorse mythology, Sami mythology, Finnishmythology,Russian mythology, Baltic mythology, Slavic mythology, Greekmythology,Roman mythology, Jewish/Christian mythology,and in olderfairy talesand folktales. This also appliestothe magical objectsfound in thestory.

Thereare hidden secretsand hidden connectionstoolder talesinthe book for thosewho want to search,because that’s always thecase– thesearch ispartofthe adventure!

A.N. Lexén

TheAuthor’sWords

Thisworld is dying, Ifeelitinthe wind andinthe ground –yes,even in my soul!WhatI am abouttotellyou is ourcommonstory,the storyof wherewecamefromand whereweare going.

When Ilookupatthe nightsky,I findithardtobelieve that theuniverse is threatened –not by anything that we cansee or detect,but by adarkness that is imprisoned. Adarknessthatoncealmostdevouredthe galaxies. Throughthe efforts of theelves,eight magicalrings were forged from the golden dust of theWorld Spirit,shielding thedarknessfromthe worlds.

In ordertoprevent therings from beingmisused,and accidentally unleashing thedarkness, they were distributedamong thefamiliesofthe godstoguard untilthe endoftime. Threeweregiven to theAesir gods, who, like warriors,had ledthe fight againstdarknessand were hailed as heroes.One wasgiven to thechildrenof Kronos,the giants whowerethe first to walk in ourworld.One wasgiven to thefairies,the guardiansof magicfromAvalon. Onewas giventoMimer,the guardian of theworld spirit.And onewas giventohumans, whowerecreated in theimage of thegodstoguard Middle Earth– thegathering placefor theremaining worlds of theuniverse. Theeighthringwas then sealed in thebowelsof theunderworld.

Butthe peacedid notlastlong, as anotherweaponwas forged in secret. In Álfheimr,Wayland,the master smith of theelves,was consumed by jealousy andrage. He,who hadforgedthe rings, considered himselfentitled to be theguardianof them,and when he wasnot entrustedtoany of them,his soul wasdarkened. Blindedby hishatredofthe gods, Wayland forged, with thehelpofdarkness, Gambantein,the dark swordofvengeance,tofreethe darkness andonceagain plunge theworldsintoits abyss. It wasnot long before thedarknessbegan to seep outintothe universe again, andthe people turned on each other. Thegiants, whohad previously fought againstthe darkness,wereensnaredbyWayland’s promises of power

andfoughtagainst thegods. Even theelves,the wise godswho watched over thegiftoflife, begantofightamong themselves.

Then,whenthe humans,whose hearts were most easily deceived,betrayed theircreatorsand beganto summon demons to theworldswith thedarkmagic of Wayland, adarktimebegan forthe people of Middle Earththatcametobe knownasthe “DarkAge”, when darkness reached theveryheart of Middle Earthand allhopeseemedlost.

Then Mimerand hissonsintervenedbydefeating Wayland. He and histwo brothers were banished to adistant place, andthe smith’ssword washiddendeepinthe rootsofthe WorldTree. TheFates,servantsofthe WorldTree, succeededinclearingMiddleearth of theimpending darkness, although some of thedarknesshad takenrootinthe hearts of thehumans andcould notberemoved –ifso, thehumanswould be wipedout.

Now, when theold god repeatsthistome, andasksmetotellyou,know that thewars, diseases,and catastrophes that have plaguedhumanityin thelastcentury area sign that theveilof darkness is once againthinning out. Thereisnot much time left,the visionsI have been having aredark andscary.Itistimefor me to tell youabout thoseinwhose handsour fate lies,and abouttheir struggle that will determinethe future of allofus. Throughmyvisions,Ihaveseenthem, andbythe gods’ intervention,Iam allowedtofollowtheir adventureand tell it to you.

A.N. Lexén

Prologue

The womandartedthrough theforest, with thewindwhippingaround her. Herhurried footstepssplashedthrough thedarkness, herarmscradling apreciouschild.Despite thecover of night, sheknewshe wasnot safe. Shecould feel thechild’s breath againsther skin as shehurdled over logs anddodgedthrough thetrees.Her heartpounded in herchest as sheran blindly, unsure of wheretogoorhow to protectthe child.

As sheemergedintoa clearing,the soundofdestruction echoed through theforest. Sheknewher pursuerwas closebehind, anddesperation filled herevery step.Justasshe thoughtshe couldrun no further, an armreached outfrombetween thetrees,and yanked herintothe shadows. Before she couldscream, thestrangerclamped ahandoverher mouthand pulled her andthe childtothe ground.

Herheart racedas sheheard thesound of herpursuer’s footstepsdrawing closer.But then,inthe distance,the skyexplodedinblack flames. The woman’s fear turned to confusionasshe watchedher pursuerstepout of the trees, bathed in adarkfire.

With batedbreathand tremblinglimbs,the womanwaitedanxiously as herpursuer rushed away from thespotwhere sheand herrescuer lay pressedagainst theground. Thegriparoundher mouthrelaxed,and she abruptly pulled away from thepersonholding her. As sherecognisedthe manrisingfromthe ground,she looked puzzled.

“Whatare youdoing here?” sheasked.

Theman,withlonggolden-brownhair, smiled at herand putone hand onher shoulder.

“Savingyou,itseems,” he answered.

Thewoman embraced him. He held herfor alongtimebeforeshe finally letgoand looked around nervously.

“Whatifhecomes back?Where will Igo?”she whispered, wiping the tears from herface.

Theman pulled somethingout of hisbag,and thewoman gasped in amazementasshe examined thestringedinstrument.

“IsthatwhatIthink it is?” sheasked.

He nodded with asmile.

“Wehavefound asafeplace foryou,the oldman is waitingfor us,” he answered.

With newfound hope,the womancradled thechild in onearm andlaid theother armaroundthe man’swaist.

As theman pluckedthe stringsofthe instrument,agustofwindsuddenlyswept them up into thesky. Thewoman looked down in aweasthe worldbelow grew smallerand smaller, untilshe andthe manvanished with aflash.

Unbeknownst to them,the dark firehad eruptedonthe very spot were they hadstood just momentsbefore. Andastheysoaredaway, they never noticedthe furiousfigure with jet-blackhairthatfelltohis kneesand let outaroarofanger into thenight.

Sixteen-year-old Wille andfourteen-year-oldHugo, twobrothersfromthe small village of Horndal,are likeother teenagers, dealingwith love troubles, strong friendships,and school fatigue –atypical teenage lifewhere nothingunexpected happens

But fate has different plans,and afteraterrifying nightmare, Wille receives apeculiarnecklacefrom his mother.Soon he realisesthat reality is notwhatit seems,and Hugoishiding aheavy secretfromhim.

When anew guystartsinWille’s class, it becomes thebeginningofanadventurethat takes Willeand Hugo,alongwith their friends Oscar and Lovisa,far away from their hometown.The journey takesthemthroughdenseforests and over mighty mountains,all while beingchased by demoniccreaturesand malevolent beings.Their guideisa mysterious,talkingwolf that leads them northtowards the mountainous regions near theNorwegian border.

This is thestory of Wille and his brotherHugo,who oneday discoverthat they aregodsand mustleave their home in thehumanworld to make theirway to thegods’ realm in Asgard.

It becomes an intensepursuit wheretheyare hunted by forces of evil and mustcollaboratetostay aliveuntil they reachsafety.Theymust confront the darknesswithin themselves, andtheir friendship is puttothe test as they face dangerous decisionsand terrifyingenemies.

However, they also meet newfriends whoshow them that friendship and love areworth fighting for.

Atale of adventure, magic,sorrow, andterror–but also humour,friendship, love,and embracing one’s true self