Maritza is from a small farming village on the Elbe river in northern Saxony. As a young girl she felt a special connection to the old Gods, but as the surrounding villages turned more and more to the new Christian God, Maritza found herself ostracized, and eventually chased from her home for refusing to convert. As she fled upriver, she stumbled upon a group of Norsemen getting ready to set sail for their homeland,and she begged to go with them. Maritza was taken under the wing of an elderly Völva (a spiritual woman), Bruna, who taught her herbs, healing, and Seidr. When Bruna died, Maritza decided to travel and trade, expanding her knowledge of herbs and medicine. She traveled with many of her new countrymen to foreign lands, sailing as far away as Cordoba, North Africa, the Caspian Sea, and even the Byzantine Empire. Eventually, Maritza made it to England, trading her healing skills along the road for food and shelter (and beads!), when a rumor of Jarl Aesa’s camp reached her. After meeting the Jarl, Maritza was impressed by her cunning and strength, and offered the Jarl her skills as a healer and herbalist.
|