Once upon a time there was a family who lived in the Iceland. Iceland is not what you think. It is not a land of ice but a land of great splendor. We lived in a nice house and did not have to worry about anything. My father, Balder, was a hero in the war against other norsemen from the mainland. We were force to move to this land that no one wanted because the men did not like my father, but this is not my father’s story, it is my sister’s.

Before I go too far, I do need to tell you a little bit about my family. My name is Birger. I am the oldest of 10 children. I am the rightful heir to the throne my father and mother sit on. I am also a coward. I was called upon to do a task but I could not. I did not know what was expected of me so I did nothing. My sister, Dusty, was not a coward. She and my brother Dustin knew what needed to be done and that is why I am here to tell you the tale.

Dusty was only 12 when we were told of the stories of the jotnar. I did not believe any of these stories, but my brothers and sisters all thought these to be true. I guess because I had heard the stories longer, I had become immune to the charms. “They have giant teeth and claws. They will try to come and eat you.” My father always started the stories like this. I did not know if he truly wanted us to fear these creatures or wanted us to be tough. I think it was the latter.

Dusty thought she would go and kill one for father. This would make father so proud she wrote in her diary every day. I know I should not have read them but I had to see why she choose to go after the creature. The day before my 20th birthday Dusty came to me. “Birger, Do you think father would be proud of me if I found a jotnar and killed him?” I looked at her and smiled. “Dusty, you are far too young to be thinking about that sort of thing. I know you think father does not care about you but you do not know some of the tasks he has given your brothers over the years. Please do not go looking for a jotnar.”

That night after Dusty went to sleep I prayed. I prayed to the one god I thought would understand. “Iounn, goddess. I ask of you today to take the silly and childish ideas my sister has in her mind away. I want her to be safe. That is all I ask.” I went to sleep hoping that I would not hear of the jotnar again.  The next day I awake to a celebration. One that all my siblings were to attend. I looked around at one point and Dusty and Dustin were gone. I looked at my father and told him we must go looking for them. He did not believe me when I told him what Dusty had told me the night before. My mother believed me. “Gunmand! You have a son and daughter out there! Go and find them!”

The next thing I knew, all my brothers and I were on horses and going out to look for our siblings. We looked everywhere we thought we would be able to find them. My father looked around and heard a noise. “Jotnar!” I turned around and before I could ask my father if he was serious I looked and there he was. 12 feet tall ugly looking 2 headed creature. I would say he looked like a troll but that would be an insult to the trolls. I looked over and Dusty and Dustin were trying to fight off the creature. I tried to move to get to my younger siblings but we were attacked by a habrok. I had never seen this hawk like creature. It was almost as big as the jotnar.

My father and brothers tried to fight off the creature while I tried to go help my sister. I could not get there fast enough. Before I reached them, the jotnar had Dusty in his arms and ate her whole. The sharp teeth and claws were not useful for this creature. I was in shock and all I could do was yell. My father and brothers finally got rid of the hawk and I was left standing there with nothing to say. My father looked at me and said “She was too bold. She did not know what she was undertaking. She should have left it to you.” I could not say anything. I could barely breathe.  

Upon returning home my mother could see on my face what had happened. She gave me a hug and whispered “You did your best to protect her. You can do nothing more now.” I could not accept that. My little sister was dead because I could not or would not go with her. This 12 year old girl was braver than I could ever be. I knew then what I would have to do. The next day I left in search of the jotnar. I did not tell anyone where I was going, I just went in search of my sister’s killer.

I searched for three weeks and finally found him. He was about to eat another young kid when I attached him. We fought for what seemed like hours. He smiled at one point and said “I remember you. Your sister was delicious. I hope you are as well.” “You will never find out.” That is all I said to the creature. I stabbed him in the chest. He did not know what hit him. He fell to the ground and died that day. “Dusty! If you can hear me I wanted to thank you! You have taught me to be a braver man than I ever thought possible! I will now be the man I should be.”

I returned home the next week and told my family what happened. I know this sounded like a sad story and it was. That is not what I want you to take from this story. I learned from my sister that being brave is not something that comes with age or experience, it comes out of love. I learned that love is the strongest force for all of us. I became a great man because of my sister and will be a better king because of her. So I wanted to share with you the story of a brave little girl who wanted to make her family proud, and she did. If you get only one thing out of this remember courage does not have a size, shape or gender. You must have only believe something is wrong and want to change it.