Old English Dictionary
Aethelflaed waited at the edge of the village until well past sunset. Outside small buildings, oil dripped from the last few torches like fiery rain falling to earth. In that one moment as the fire splashed down, all the elements converged: water, fire, air, and earth. Still, Aethelflaed waited.
A sleepy chicken peered at her from behind a wagon wheel. The animals were nervous, Aethelflaed noted. Everyone was nervous. Tales of the nightly terror had spread quickly. Livestock shredded. Homes painted with blood. The torches burned longer tonight than they had before. Families huddled together, sleeping or waiting like Aethelflaed.
Gaest, some called it. Aptrganga. A spirit. Seeking revenge.
The aptrganga was coming.
They speculated who it was and why it was there. Perhaps the boy torn apart by wolves. His mother and sister felt such shame and guilt for not watching him more closely. Or perhaps the old man who had starved last winter as he begged for food. He'd been burned hastily since the ground was too frozen for burial. Or maybe the girl whose father broke her legs because she ran away from her groom. Unable to walk, she had dragged herself to the sea to drown. Maybe the recent storms had washed her angry spirit ashore. Maybe.
Aethelflaed waited until the last torch died. She could almost hear the hiding villagers gasp in fear as their light vanished. Then she hefted her ax and stiffly moved one mangled leg in front of the other. This time, she would go for her father's prized pig. Or maybe for her father himself.
The aptrganga was coming.
She was already here.
Aptrganga: noun, a wronged spirit returning for justice
The Dictionary of a Thousand Truths
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