Moon Veil

The moon. A companion whose veil shines down on the surface of the lake, reflecting in Anton's fearful eyes. He looked up, hoping a hand would grab him and pull him out of the water, but that was just an irrational thought racing through his mind like the car that hit him.

He worked as a civil engineer in a major European city and outside it was cold, dark, and wet. The snow had turned completely black and muddy from the soot of the cars.

The night sky was cloudy, but the moon broke through the cloud cover, casting streaks of white light on the street. The lake mirrored this light, and the windows of the houses and fir trees in the background reflected it, blocking the city's lights and shrouding the lake in darkness. Crickets chirped, and the sounds of the city and music from nearby clubs echoed through the night like a soft breeze.

It was a normal Wednesday evening. Anton was riding his motorcycle home when a female figure with antlers caught his attention. She played a hand drum with bright blue symbols in a trance-like rhythm. In the moment of his distraction, he found himself on the wrong side of the road. He collided head-on with a car, was thrown into a lake, and slowly surrounded by the cold water. His strength faded as the moon brightened, until suddenly, darkness enveloped him like a soft woolen blanket.

He opened his eyes to a dazzling bright light breaking through the canopy of leaves. As he stood up, he saw a forest around him, the air dominated by the smell of birch. Dew dripped slowly from the leaves as he searched for something familiar. He recognized a green lake reflecting the cloudy but bright sky. Flowers were blooming, and only remnants of snow lay scattered on the grass. Shocked and confused, he examined himself for injuries and found he was perfectly healthy and uninjured. Intuitively, he walked along the lake, seeking civilization. After a while, he discovered a narrow path with branches hanging down. He followed the path, hoping it wasn't a wild animal track, and arrived at a stone circle.

The stone circle consisted of several moss-covered megaliths with ancient runic inscriptions. A fog enveloped the place, and in the center stood a large megalith that dwarfed the others. Surprisingly, the ground was covered with stone slabs and in the middle were rectangular, flat stones, with various large menhirs at the far end. He reached out to the stone circle, and suddenly it became silent.

As he touched the structure, a female voice called out to him: "Anton?! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

He turned around and saw five people armed with bows, looking like barbarians with war paint. One of them, a shaman, wore antlers and beautiful ornate patterns. Anton, confused, asked: "What kind of place is this?"

At that moment, the forest filled with the croaks of ravens, which flew overhead and briefly darkened the sky before landing back in the trees. The people whispered among themselves as the shaman began to speak and approached Anton.

"Anton... You are at the stone circle of Wóden..."

Upon hearing the name Wóden, foreign memories surfaced in Anton's mind, as if he were recalling forgotten things. At the same time, the ravens flew away from the stone circle.

"You are Frijja the seer, and we are in the Auli woodland near Iwòrzin in the Leslau region." Anton tried to make sense of the names he had mentioned, but none were familiar. 'Maybe I'm somewhere in Germany or Austria,' he guessed, trying to figure out who the others were. "You've been in the forest too long, Heinrich is drunk again and behaving sacrilegiously. Come with me to the longhouse." Anton followed the others, deep in thought.

As they walked along a broader path, Anton's mind raced: 'I don't understand this situation. Their behavior and appearance are like those of European natives, and I am one of them? Is there an absurd chance I am experiencing time travel or rebirth? What should I do?'

Frijja interrupted Anton's thoughts and pointed to the sky… "It seems the gods have an eye on you." The ravens of Wóden have been following us since we left the stone circle. However, that doesn't matter. Since the Jarl is in Danzig, you have to get your cousin under control."

"POLAND?!" immediately shot through his mind when he heard "Gdansk." Though numerous things were unclear, he now knew where he was. Maybe he could guess the time period by asking a few questions… He looked into his memories and recognized Thorvik, the tallest of the warriors, with blond curly hair, an unkempt beard, and a bearskin coat. He addressed him:

"Thorvik... do you know France or China or the USA?" Thorvik answered briefly and bluntly. "Nope."

Anton's younger brother, Gerald, with brown-red hair, slight freckles, and green eyes, looked at Anton questioningly. "U es ah, Schina? Should I know them? At most, I could imagine the Franks, who live westward beyond the river Oder."

'So I can rule out the 18th century.' "Thank you, Gerald." He turned to the entire group and asked:

"Do you know the Ottoman Empire, Islam, Christianity, or the Byzantine Empire?" An old man with muscular arms, snow-white hair, red eyes, and a croaking voice named Göll thought about it and raised his hand. "The empires don't mean anything to me. Describe the other two things to me, child."

Somewhat irritated to be called a child, Anton answered. "One is a religion with a moon and a star as a sign, and the other has a cross." Göll scowled. "The religion with the cross? I think it's called Calcedonia. It spreads like a disease throughout the continent. The religious tensions can be felt here, and these cross disciples spread their heretical beliefs among our neighboring states, the Quads and Vandals, with promises of Einherjer without war or death. What a shame!"

Frijja's expression grew serious, and she said, slightly snapping at Göll. "You know, elderly people, women, and children make up the majority, so such guarantees naturally attract more people... Warrior men are only a fraction. Besides, you also belong to the Old Göll..."

Göll grinned with his few teeth and answered: "And yet no one could ever escape my arrows, Frijja. These ancient bones still have some strength!"

Herul the Scout stopped and signaled the group to halt. He had white blond hair, blue eyes, many freckles, a crooked nose bent to the left, and a beard.

Everyone fell silent, and Herul grew tense. "Get ready," Herul whispered to the group. Anton armed himself with a wide branch he found on the ground. "What is lo..." Gerald covered Anton's mouth and signaled him to be quiet. Nothing happened for a long time until a deep roar was heard on a hill. A huge bison-like animal looked down at the group. The creature had two forearm-length horns on its head and a grim, threatening look. It stomped angrily on the ground, signaling aggression. "Slowly back away. Wisent are herd animals, where there is one, there are others." Suddenly, the heavy Wisent charged at the group.

Herul was taken by surprise and lay motionless on the ground. Frijja screamed: "Herul!"

The beast turned towards Anton, Frijja, and Gerald, charging at them. Anton froze in shock and couldn't move when Thorvik quickly grabbed the creature by the horns. Thorvik was pushed back almost ten meters but held his ground. The Wisent grew angrier and tried to push Thorvik away with more force. Thorvik's arms tensed as the horns abruptly broke off, causing him to lose balance and be pushed further back. He held the animal's head and, with great effort, knocked it over, pinning its head to the ground until it calmed down.

Anton was stunned, unable to close his mouth, and could only watch as Thorvik overpowered the massive beast. The only thing that came out of Anton's mouth was: "Huh?"

The animal, now frightened, watched as Thorvik tore a tuft of grass from the ground and fed it to the beast. After a short time, the creature calmed down and chewed on the grass contentedly before returning to the hill it came from.

Göll said: "Come on, we should get to the village quickly. Frijja, you need to heal Herul before he dies."