Nearly 1million years ago the Giants of Dranfeld wandered the southern oceans. Each night they would revel in the starlight and as the sun began its climb above the horizon they would sink beneath the waves to sleep in caves or crevices to avoid the curse that the sunlight would turn them to stone. One evening though a family of three giants wandered east towards what would many many years later become Albion the child giant enjoyed playing in the waves and would pick whales up by the tale and toss them high into the air just to see them splash back into the ocean many miles from where they had once been. His parents watched his antics with amusement unnoticing the slow creep on the suns arrival. It was only at the last moment that the Mother Giant yelled a warning and the three of them tried to disappear beneath the grey waters. The Mother slipped under the surface just in time however the father in trying to help his son was caught mid dive just a short distance from where his son still gazing at the strange yellow ball he had never seen turned him to stone. The last gasp effort of the father saw him frozen as stone half in and half out the water mid attempt to submerge. Now the
twin islands of
Ungbarnaklettur (the Baby Rock) and Fađirrokk (Father Rock) stood as outcrops above the Sea of the Antalian. This was the tale that the people of Runarvik told about the islands, Geologistics though gave a different story and that was one of fire from the ocean floor. Fađirrokk had at around the same time people believed the Giants were turned to stone erupted from the ocean floor spilling red hot magma to form an island. It was then just a case of the mighty ocean and the hash winds eating away at the rock to leave a near vertical 180meter high squat rock island. Off to one side was Ungbarnaklettur, probably no baby giant and just a outlet of the volcano. The two islands though now formed a unique and interesting sight on the outer parts of Runaviks island chain. It sat around 5km west of Vestmanna and now that island had a base on it Elvar Odinsson cast his eyes on the giants.
At the break of dawn he had been pleased to see the sea was flat. He wasn't a man afraid of the ocean but he also wasn't a fool. If he was going to cross 5km of open ocean he would prefer it to be like a pool table and so joyful that his day was getting off to a good start he said a prayer to Njǫrd to protect him and the three others as they crossed to the squat islands. He was joined by three young men all excited about the day at hand. Like every member of the Odinist faith they knew the stories and they understood they were exactly that but to see the place with their own eyes brought them back to their youth. "Carsten" Elvar was stood with the waves gently rolling onto the toes of his boots as the inflatable motor boat bobbed just in front of him, "Help me push off"
"Yes sir." Carsten swung himself out the boat and joined Elvar at the rear of the boat next to the small engine. He was a skinny short man with his ginger hair to his shoulder but swept back into a pony tail neatly tied with a leather band. His bushy beard was already getting soaked from the spray of the waves as he and his mentor pushed the boat into the sea. "Jump in" Elvar ordered and Carsten hauled himself into the ship using the thick ropes that ringed the top of the boat. Elvar had hauled himself over the opposite side and was already firing up the little engine before Carsten got settled. "Henrik" Elvar called to the man sat in the front with a pair of binoculars. "Anything in the area?"
"No sir." Henrik was fresh out of University where he'd studied Engineering. He was keeping watch for anyone who may seem them make the crossing as the islands were technically off limits having been designated a bird sanctuary. It wasn't uncommon for the island to have boats visiting to view the birds but normally they didn't arrive until midday at the earliest so they had plenty of time for this crossing. Henrik kept his glasses sweeping the area while they merrily bounced their way over to the cliffs.
From their approach they came face to face with grey slabs extending skywards and in that moment Elvar could see why people had created such stories of the island. They were so imposing up close and the group stopped for a moment to marvel at what they saw. "Sir." The forth man, Garik gently nudged Elvar who had become fixated on a Mother bird that was feeding her chicks before diving into the water close by and coming up with a mouth ful of small shiny silver fish to carry back up. "We should get to work."
"Yes, yes....or course." Elvar laughed to himself that he had been caught out escaping into the world of nature. He turned the boat and they began tracking clockwise around the island. There were no beaches, no bays just sheer grey walls but after about ten minutes of sailing they rounded a curve in the wall and a narrow opening in the wall could be seen and Elvar set the boat towards it. They soon slipped through the gap which was only about three meters wide only to find a small curved bay with a beach so small the boat would fit but only just. Even that beach was backed by the grey wall and once they had pulled the boat up onto the beach they knew the real work was about to begin. They took climbing harnesses from their waterproof bags on the boats and Garik dusted his hands with chalk.
"Lets get going hey" Garik said more to himself than the others before he gave a testing pull on the rock. He seemed almost surprised that the million year rock was solid and soon had hauled himself up a good ten meters before he affixed a clamp into a notch between two rocks, he clipped his rope into it and began looking for the next point. Behind him the ginger bearded Carsten was watching carefully the route their lead climber took to replicate his moves and once he was happy Garik was safely high enough above him he set off after him. It took about twenty minutes to reach the top for Garik and slightly less for Carsten who was able to follow the rope up. Once they had summited they were faced with nothing but an expanse of green rough grassland a few tufts of grass marked where some of the birds had set up home safe from any predators. While the two men would perhaps liked to have stopped and enjoyed the moment they still had work and now began hauling up various bags of equipment attached to ropes by the two men below. "You know Carsten, if Tug of War was a Mundus Games sport by the time we've done here I think we could have taken gold" Garik chuckled as he felt the triceps in his arm begin to burn from the effort. He was a climber and so was used to the feeling. He'd been climbing since he was three with his grandfather who had been a Gothi for the remote mountain community on the mainland. The old man had still been climbing well into his 70's and Garik remembered the rough palms that had often patted him on the back when he had done something that pleased the old man. When Garik had last seen him though he'd been sat in an arm chair in an old people's home hardly able to lift a tea cup to his lips yet alone haul himself up these grey cliffs.
Once the bags were at the top Henrik and Elvar clambered up. For them it was much easier and quicker as the two men at the summit could almost pull them up. Once everyone was at the top Elvar got his phone out and snapped an image of the four of them, all grins with the sea behind them and Vestmanna in the distance. He examined the photo and when satisfied sent it to several numbers on his list including Asta Odinsson back in her old ancestral home. "We leave the ropes for others" Elvar explained as he picked up his large rucksack and once the others had he took hold of a large canvas bag with Henrik. "Short morning stroll" He pointed with his nodding head towards the interior of the island and the men set off singing a traditional song in praise of giants as they went. The bags they carried were heavy but felt even heavier after the climbing but the men were used to such hardship. They had practiced for about a year now, they were men who considered themselves pioneers and warriors and their bodies were conditioned accordingly. It also helped that the island was extremely small. At its widest it was just 300 meters wide and 700 meters long this therefore meant the walk wasn't long but it still saw them stumble a little on the rough ground before they found the spot. Elvar assumed this had at one time been the crater of the volcano and a spiraling cone descended before them and at the bottom, about 30 meters below them a cave. "That's the place." Elvar trudged down towards it and the other three were amazed that when they reached the cave entrance Elvar seemed to open a metal box and flick a light switch. Carsten gasped a little as one at a time a series of lights illuminated before them. Elvar hadn't told them entirely what they were doing here other than setting up a supply cache. "I didn't think they'd work." Elvar shrugged before dropping the bag he was sharing and headed inside followed slowly by the others. The cave continued to spiral in a clockwise motion but you could stand upright with ease. In places the men thought they could see signs where it had been widened or heightened. "I've not been here since I was 14." Elvar slid his woolen hat off his bald head as he rounded a corner. A small room opened out before him, it had a pair of bunk beds but no bedding, a shabby wooden table and a four dusty chairs. I'm amazed the batteries still worked. There in the corner was a network of long life marine batteries that were powering the lights. "Thirty years ago my father and his friends built this ready for the day we shall bring about. I had hoped he'd be here to see if but those Ĺlander arseholes killed him. Now we shall do what he couldn't. Welcome home." he embraced the four men who had joined the Gungnir with as much zeal as he had when he was their age. "We live in the belly of the giant....for now." The men laughed and watched as Elvar put his rucksack on one of the bottom bunks. "I call that one" the three others rushed to claim what they perceived as a good bunk like kids on a school trip causing another round of laughter. Elvar left them for a moment to unpack their own gear, sleeping bags, blankets, clothing etc while he went to a spot on the floor that was covered in heavy wooden planks. He carefully slid the end of one out and moved it peering underneath with a torch into the darkness. Dust drifted across the beam of light but he could see carefully wrapped in cloth the long shapes which he hauled into the relative light of the cave. He unwrapped it and was pleased that at first glance everything seemed fine with the rifle. Naturally it was no longer state of the art equipment but the wooden stock and underbody still looked in decent condition. The metal upper body was free from rust and looking at the inner workings they seemed to have survived in tact. He took three more from the space and checked them too. "Gentleman we are now the official military of the Odinist Republic of Gungniröar, welcome to the army."