■■■ on ✧ brokenWINGS┊ic

[Justified Grudges]

Unreal. Untimely. The words echoed in the outcast's head as the image of the mangled bodies of
former comrades burned in the back of his mind. Limbs twisted and eyes wide open in sheer
terror; they stood no chance for no chance was given to them. Anyone with a shred of sense left
in them would had fled the scene, but the lack of malevolent presence and evidence of quick
killing made Rowan linger. Voices he once heard laugh, hands he once held; for the sake of his
former family, he reached out to those who wished him harm.

Rowan might have doomed himself, but at this point, it didn't matter. They were coming.

"You two have gotten me into some trouble." He disclosed to the pair of graves before him;
the Heills used as place markers gleamed in the light of the sun, casting their own shadows upon
the freshly moved dirt. "But I suppose whatever happens from this point on will be because of
my own misfortune." He gave a thin smile that held no hope before turning away. Rowan
didn't look back as he left the small grave site for the rendezvous spot that he had arranged for
the arriving Valkyrie.

The spines were hard to miss: they protruded from the ground as a persistent reminder of the
lives lost. Rowan pressed his bare hands against the bark of the nearest tree; he felt anxious and
that anxiety turned into dread as the voices of those seeking him flooded his senses.
Immediately, he pressed his back against the tree's bark, opting to stay out of immediate sight
while further suppressing his remaining vandr aura the best he could. To him, it was the only
logical way to show that he lacked hostility, but he wasn't dimwitted enough to leave himself
unarmed, without a Heill, so this was the next best thing.

The much too familiar tone of a woman's voice made him shudder and claw at the hem of the
hood attached to his cloak, prompting him to pull the fabric over his head. He knew that voice;
the voice of a leader who he once called friend. No matter how hard he tried to shake out every
memory of past bonds forged, the faces of those who had came into his life burned brightly like
the sun and its unforgiving, eye searing glare.

Eydis.

Her vow that no harm would come to him as long has he brought no harm to them sounded
honest. He wanted to believe her, but Rowan could only believe in those he trusted and he
trusted no one.

The second voice made him feel nothing. It was cold and unfamiliar and because of that,
Rowan was thankful. The less memory of a person, the less remorse he felt. But in place
of that remorse was dread. The blond pressed his chilled palms together; he felt cold and
vulnerable without wielding his rapier, ready to disappear with his speed and endurance
gifted to him from the vandr blood in his veins. But if he was going to act, he needed to do so
now. Their patience wouldn't last forever.

"I have no reason to fight." He chided, removing himself from his hiding place and stepping
out in the open. Still, he kept his distance, avoiding stepping any closer to the others. Red eyes
remained down cast while he laced his pale fingers together in a solemn manner. "I'm only
here to mourn." He turned his body half way, and paced a few steps to left in order to gather
up his thoughts while avoiding looking the Valkyrie in the eyes. Anything but that; he would do
his best not to look at the windows of the soul and empathize with anyone. That would only bring
him more pain. "But I'll make this quick so that you two can be on your way, hopefully with
good fortune." He stopped walking and let his arms fall to his sides. Suddenly, the minimal weight
of his rapier against his waist felt ten times heavier as he recalled stumbling onto the scene the first
time, but he decided not mention what he was even doing in the dangerous mountain range at the time.
After all, this situation wasn't about him.

"Both Valkyrie were deceased when I found them; the bodies were nearly fresh, so I predict that
they had only just passed about two hours before I found them." He paused to lift his hands to
his head, pushing his hood back and rubbing his temples as he tried to remember every detail.
"They were impaled with spines much like the ones you see here. Their weapons. . . they were
sheathed, which leads me to believe they were caught by surprise. . . by what, I do not know. I
dared not to go hunting for it. I couldn't even sense any vandr aura when in the area when I
arrived."

He sighed. Releasing this information was almost therapeutic for him. Knowing that this event
wouldn't go ignored brought a little ease to his weary heart, but the feeling was short lived
because of the fear of what was to come next. Yet, he let his gaze dart to the side, at nothing in
particular as he recalled a one more piece of information. "If you wish to see them off, they've
both been buried already, a few meters north from here."

He had been eager to leave as soon as he arrived but thinking that he would be dismissed would
only be foolish. Instead he turned his back to them, holding his silence as he waited for a response.
If the Vanguard were true to their word then he would have no fear of harm being inflicted upon
him, right?

[malurus coronatus]

DIG UP HER BONES BUT LEAVE THE SOUL ALONE
malmalmalmalmalmalmalmalmalmalmalmalH E A R T _ W I T H _ A _ G A P I N G _ H O L E
LOST IN THE PAGES OF SELF MADE CAGES _ ♛ _ LIFE SLIPS AWAY AND THE GHOSTS COME TO PLAY
█████████████████████████████████████████████ ██ ███ █ ████████████████████
x
malmalKISSING DEATH AND LOSING MY BREATH_ KISSING DEATH AND LOSING MY BREATH _ KISSING DEATH AND LOSING MY BREATH _ KISSING DEATH AND LOSING MY BREATH
malmalmalmalmalmalmalTHESE ARE HARD TIMES FOR DREAMERS

The moment Rowan appeared on the scene, Eydis took note of his clothes. Slightly more haggard, less well kept. But then, what had she expected. Rowan had been on the run all this time. And, interestingly enough, had learned to hide his aura. Though Eydis was no expert sensor, she should have felt his presence at such close range. She tucked this information away for when she had to give her report to Viviane. The fact that he was able to do so meant he was definitely not Awakened. Whether this was a relief or disappointment, she could not say for sure.

Cautiously, she weakened her grip on Hvita, taking a more relaxed stance. Even if he had not fully given into his vandr side yet, he could still be out for blood. It was easy to speak lies. Still, she listened carefully to his words and digested them carefully. Impaled by spines, weapons sheathed, taken by surprise. None of the details he mentioned sounded any good, and a pit of worry grew in her stomach. Was this the work of a fafnir, then? She had never heard of a vandr of fafnir capable of hiding its aura.

Slowly, she approached one of the spines sticking out of the ground, not the one Selith had shot at only moments earlier, for whatever reason. She stared at it a few moments, drinking in the pale blue-green colour and the fact that it was slightly translucent, then carefully wrapped fingers around it before jerking it free of the earth. All the while, her eyes remained trained on Rowan. The material was cool under her grasp, chilled by the northern air. She would have to bring some back to the Keep for testing. Perhaps there would be something in the records about a vandr of similar capabilities.

"Is this all the information you have?" She questioned, approaching Rowan as she collected more specimens. "Have you remained here this whole time? Have you seen anything pass by the area?"

Tugging a length of leather cord from her satchel, she tied the four spines she had gathered together, hoping it would be enough. Selith had already damaged one specimen, thereby making it less useful for testing or analysis, judging from the fracture his bolt had created. If the Keep wanted to break these, they would do it on their own terms under a number of conditions that could not be controlled in the field. Then, she slung them over her shoulder, similar to how some of the Valkyrie with staffs for heill carried their weapons.

Once finished her task, she found herself only a few metres from Rowan, and he had finally removed his hood. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest as her eyes traced over the familiar lines of his face. "You buried Irene and Mira, then?" A large part of her was grateful to the other man for undertaking the task, making sure that she would not have to participate in the burial. As far as she was concerned, she had buried far more comrades than she would have cared to. And yet, there was another part that was spitting mad at Rowan for it. How dare he think he could bury them as tradition called for, as if he had the right to send them off that way. He certainly had not afforded those he had killed that luxury.

Her fist clenched tightly around the spine Selith had shot at, even though she had not originally intended to take it. She took a handful of deep breaths to calm herself and disregard the anger welling inside her. "I would." Eydis finally said. "I would like to see them off. Pay my respects to two of my brave sisters, and assure them that they shall not be forgotten. Selith?"

After hearing her companion's response, Eydis merely gave a nod to acknowledge that she had heard him. Readjusting her grip on the piece of vandr, she strode past the Einn. It took a great deal of effort to keep her eyes trained forwards, rather than staring at the man as she passed by him--more effort than she'd have expected. She had barely gotten past him when she detected a spike in the vandr aura in their surroundings. Previously, it had merely been the dull hum of Selith's presence, just on the side of weaker than most, but now it fluttered and was growing in strength. Her eyes cut immediately to Rowan, but that was not it.

"Something is coming! Prepare yourselves." Her voice cut strongly over anything the other two might have been saying, drawing attention to Eydis. Her grip tightened on the spine, causing the fracture to grow larger thanks to vandr-enhanced strength.

In the distance, she spied five vandr charging towards them. Two fenrir, a sleipnir, a jormungandr and a surt. The sleipnir was the fastest of the bunch, but was not the most dangerous. That honour fell to the jormungandr. Hefting the spine over her head like a javelin, she took aim at the serpentine body. Regeneration was a nasty property to fight against. After a couple of seconds, she saw her opportunity and let the make-shift spear fly. It glinted as it arced overheard, catching the sunlight, before piercing through the vandr's skull and impaling it to the ground, much like Eydis imagined Irene and Mira had been.

"One down, four to go," she announced, already reaching for Hvita. "They aren't particularly strong. We could take them, if we work together. Unless you plan to run?" She eyed Rowan speculatively. Though she was not about to admit it aloud, she did want him to stay. To prove that he wasn't completely different than she had imagined when they had served together in the Vanguard.

A small part of her mind registered that this was not normal behaviour for vandr. It was rare to see vandr work together like this, especially fenrir, which were territorial over their land. Only nixes were known to have a capacity for team work, and then there was the occasional jokul could control one or two other vandr. These were things they all learned at the Proving Grounds. Five vandr though. Well, four now, but originally five. She had never heard of anything that could control that many bodies at once. This was new, and just a little worrisome considering the information Rowan had imparted earlier.

"Have you seen anything like this before? While you were here in the area?"

[Roux-tsu]

thx caff for lending us your coding ahaha <3

The elding filed away with little fuss. Odila was glad to watch them leave; any longer and Ezra may have been tempted into continue goading the aetla who had spoken up. Her breath caught as his gaze pinned her into place. Uncertain whether to feel relief or hurt from Ezra’s words, Odila picked up her pace, following the elding and Ezra at a distance. A disturbing tranquillity fell upon her. There would be no prayers for those who were about to die, nor any for those who no longer held faith in their gods.

She veered towards the left, keeping to what shadows the trees could offer. It was to be expected, wasn’t it? Ezra had looked at her and saw a burden, a mere weakling of a Valkyrie meant to serve as a decorative piece to the Hunt. Small mercy that he had not deigned to shame her in front of the elding, she thought.

As poorly attuned to vandr aura she was, Odila’s senses had adapted to compensate for her weakness. She was far from perfect, just enough to keep her alive all this time. The lack of fenrir roaming nearby was hard to miss. The Valkyrie unsheathed her heill, steadying the grip with uncanny strength. Her boomerang was tilted, ready to be righted or thrown at a single flick of her wrist. She watched, transfixed, as a ymir loomed over the aetla and the other elding. Odd. There had been no signs of a ymir nearby previously. She bowed forward, leaping across rocky foothills. Her heart thudded in tandem with her steps; it was far more unsettling to consider the possibility that she had missed the signs.

Odila hung back, sprinting for cover in between trees. The aetla’s movements were admirably in sync. While watching them dance about the lumbering ymir was interesting, it was foolish to stay within the ymir’s reach. The third elding must have thought the same, her tiny figure flitting at a safe distance. Odila swung, her heill soaring to bash huge rocks into tinier pieces, deflecting another two boulders from the ymir. Better to let it rain pebbles than boulders. The boomerang returned to her waiting palm, its impact barely felt as she inspected the heill. There were neither cracks nor chips off the heill.

Her eyes sifted figures from the shadows. She hesitated. Ezra bounded off without warning, heading straight towards the impending danger the elding faced. As a flying tree whipped through the air. Odila gazed impassively at the elding, secretly approving of the valdir’s words. There was no time to lose when facing a ymir. Carefully she swung herself over the edge of a rock and dropped to a crouch, bracing on the tip of her toes. Her boomerang swept through the ymir’s tempestuous rage, partially diverting danger from the elding.

Ezra came to her, his voice stern and words ringing true. Odila nodded. They parted ways, her figure dashing along the safer boundaries before dipping inward towards the elding. She reached the Valkyrie’s child.

“Thirty minutes,” she said firmly, a quick assessment that the elding was still in good health. Her voice raised, boomerang whisking within the aetla’s sight. “Thirty minutes,” she repeated, then leaped away from the fray.

The vandr continued uprooting trees, mindlessly throwing them at all directions. The tiny things that dared hurt it were still darting about. Odila shuddered, glad have pulled out from its range. It was an oily swirl of pitiless violence and wrath. The ymir stopped, frozen midway plunging a tree onto the ground. Slow as it may be, its large arms suddenly lurched into motion towards the nearest elding, the tree dragged about to sweep across the grounds, toppling other trees and pushing down anything that was in its way.

Protesting howls answered; the fenrir had appeared! Two, one the size of a horse and the other nearly half of a man’s height, emerged from the rocky outcroppings. They lingered at the periphery, effectively boxing in the elding between themselves and the huge ymir. Odila tensed, realising that Ezra and herself were closer to the ymir now. The fenrir had not noticed the elding; the ymir, distracted by the newly arrived vandr, was slowing down a tad on its random throws. It was the perfect opportunity to strike!

[walking distance]

It wasn’t that the harpoon Sannul had used was broken entirely. Only its ‘cap’ with the toggling head had come off, and it wasn’t supposed to be removable once it lodged itself into his target’s skin. He was perfectly content to use it as a spear for the time being, but Cassis insisted that he replace it and he only looked at her in response. Nevertheless, he nicked his palm with the sharp tip of his heill, barely wincing as the blood began to run. Then he pressed the flat side of the harpoon’s head against his wound and closed his fingers carefully around it, making sure that his fingers didn’t get cut in the repairing process.

He almost smiled when Alexei made a face. It wasn’t difficult to tell when the blond wanted to say something and Sannul had learned that when the elding did speak, oftentimes it was worth listening to. So the valdir gave Alexei a small acknowledging nod and promptly scaled a tree, his light steps making quick work of the thick trunk and sturdy branches. Crouching on the thick of a tree limb he watched the two men with mild interest, especially when Lucile decided to go about doing things his own way. Sannul checked the progress of his heill repair briefly, focusing back on the ground situation when he noted his blood steadily materializing and hardening into a new harpoon cap. Not wanting to make another cut on his hand he applied more pressure to increase the blood flow.

As he was doing so, however, he noted a familiar looking tree—specifically, the largest one in Hvaeren, found in the heart of the forest. Despite being so observant, Sannul was surprised that they had managed to get so deep into the trees within a relatively short amount of time. He hadn’t grown much since the last time he came either. Spotting the tree sparked something in his memory that suddenly made him attentive and he scoped the area, making a small mental map. Below, the two elding were taking on a nidhogg and Sannul didn’t see any outstanding threats.

The valdir was fast but nowhere as graceful as Cassis, and instead of hopping lightly from branch to branch like a bird, Sannul opted to methodically pick the branches he landed on, selecting thicker limbs that could hold his weight and ones that were close in proximity. He kept an eye on the elding but his real goal lay in the tree a few good jumps away. When he had arrived at his destination, Sannul paused like he had been meaning to get a different perspective on the eldings’ hunt and then circled around the tree’s trunk, finding the familiar hole and reaching inside tentatively. He told himself he wasn’t expecting anything and he suppressed any idealistic hopes he might have had. But his heart rate couldn’t help but increase when his fingers brushed paper; as quickly and inconspicuously as he could, Sannul brushed off whatever dead leaves and small bugs rested on the letter and promptly shoved into his shirt. Then he climbed down a few branches for a better view of the hunt taking place, the hidden parchment against his skin burning curiosity into his mind.

Back when Thais was in the Vanguard, she and Sannul had grown exceptionally close—one might have called them lovers if their relationship hadn’t progressed so slowly, but Sannul was so cautious that they didn’t even have sufficient time to establish anything entirely concrete before she had become an Einn. Yet even in the years as platonic friends, they met up with each other after every mission to debrief like they had after training sessions as elding. A specific tree next to the largest one in Hvaeren was one of their newer meeting places and when their schedules got simply too busy, they had taken to leaving things for each other in the discreet indent inside the trunk. Sannul definitely didn’t expect to find anything this time, though. It would have been risky for Thais to come out of hiding wherever she was—but the gesture was appreciated by the valdir, who was reminded of how solitary he had been once Thais had gone. (Not that he minded, or so he liked to tell himself.) Still, she was alive, and was one in a short list of things Sannul could find peace in.

He forced himself to divert his attention from the letter and checked on his harpoon, which was already fully repaired. It never took long for caps to regenerate, being of a one-time-use nature, and Sannul swung his harpoon around experimentally before something caught his eye down below. “Elding, a jormungandr,” he warned, conscious not to allow his throwing arm to work on reflex. It was quite large for a jormungandr, perhaps the largest Sannul had seen in a long while and he found his hand on his goggles, ready to put them on and intervene should the situation call for it.

[super sexy tofu]

• Breathing exercises aside, Hildr felt her heart beat flutter. Keeping calm in dangerous situations had always been her strong suit. Iron willpower, that’s what Tira always called it. Whereas her sister had always been the heart, Hildr was the brain. Tira had a burning passion for the life of a Valkyrie. But Hildr...Hildr just followed along, making sure they could both stay alive. She’d never asked for this life, and she wanted nothing more than to start over.
  
  But who could start over when being hunted?
  
  Her heart thumped hard in her chest, that sweet adrenaline was starting to drip into her system.
  
  Heartbeat accelerated. Hands shaking. Breath rapid.
  
  How badly she wanted to just launch herself into the auras.
  
  No.
  
  She tightened her lips into a line. Losing focus would put them at risk. She couldn’t let her attention waver, otherwise her aura would start to show again. The shard of Jormungandr resting inside of her would start to be found, and anyone who had background knowledge of Eidorn would know that encountering a Jormungandr was unlikely.
  
  Hildr knew better. Life wasn’t so simple anymore. She couldn’t just travel from place to place anymore, being sighted meant the Vanguard would be able to find her. Being killed wasn’t something she wanted. Not yet at least.
  
  Her eyes flicked over to look at Thais.
  
  She knew that attempting to attack one valkyrie was moronic, and trying to fight two of them was a death sentence.
  
  But she moved closer anyway, Thais’ harsh whispers only background noise. Knowing what they were up against could give them the upper hand. Each step the Valkyrie took was near silent, so as not to alert the enemy. As soon as her eyes located the two Valkyrie, she brought a hand to her mouth.
  
  No. No. No. Dammit.
  
  Her heel locked into place, she kneeled down and out of sight. Breathing even more rapidly. Thais wasn’t an elding, she knew how to defend herself, but Azuriah Dieladyn would undoubtedly crush her. If she managed to get close enough the battle would be a brief one. Azuriah would rush in and crack Thais’ skull.
  
  “Thais.” Hildr’s voice was cold and flat. Dead serious. “If we engage in battle, it will be to the death.” There was no running from these Valkyrie, they could track them without even applying themselves. Hildr grimaced as her companion’s chains clanked together. Did it draw attention? “Do you honestly think I’m going to leave you high and dry?” If the situation wasn’t so serious Hildr would’ve snorted. “You might be able to fight a Vandr, but the number one Valkyrie?” An actual laugh. “You wouldn’t stand a chance. I think we need to get as far away from here as possible.”
  
  Or they would end up getting caught and ripped to pieces.
  
  Or riddled with arrows from Asriel.
  
  Even better.
  
  Hildr’s fingertips brushed over the handles of her blades, she noted that Azuriah relied on close combat. If Thais could keep her at a distance, they might have a chance. Hildr knew for a fact that no one would leave the battle unharmed.
  
  Except for maybe her of course.
  
  She parted her lips, allowing them to tug into a loose smile.
  
  Pfft. What a joke. Everything about the situation led her to believe they were ********. Absolutely, and positively screwed. She may as well jump up and scream “we’re here!”
  
  And for the slightest moment, she allowed her aura to show. Not because she wanted to, but because her concentration had slipped.
  
  Dammit.
  
  "My aura suppression just slipped." Was that a trace of fear in her voice?

[taenie]

taenie

Alexei stared incredulously at Lucile as he placed a foot on a tree root to demonstrate what he meant when he said he “weighed too much.” Even without armor, the moment the young man shifted his weight over to his foot, the wood beneath splintered. He was really too heavy. In that case, Lucile would have to constantly be on the move and play as bait then. There was too much risk in staying on the ground while fighting a nidhogg. It could attack from below and knock him off-balance, making him lose his footing. The earth was the nidhogg’s domain; trespassers were nothing but sitting ducks.

However, Alexei was not a man of strength. He drew power from his wit and cunning, and he wielded his mind as a weapon. Brute force was not a tool he had at his disposal, and thus, he never considered brute force as an option for a strategy.

“Anyways, I’m not dropping my sword, and I’m not one for waiting.”

Lucile’s sword went up, and then it went down.

It seemed like the entire forest was disturbed by the impact. The trees rustled their branches in protest; birds took to the air, startled by the sudden shock; animals scurried into hiding, frightened by the noise; and the earth shuddered under the weight of the swing, forming a crater around the elding. Even the nidhogg was alarmed; it could be felt tunneling away from the source of the tremors. But while they were able to subdue one vandr, they garnered some unwanted attention from another, and Sannul had warned them of it—a jormungandr was headed their way.

This was a bit of a problem. Alexei’s mind began racing, running through their situation in search of the best course of action. There were two vandr; one was an injured, temporarily stunned nidhogg and the other was a jormungandr. Judging from the slight edge in Sannul’s stony voice, it probably wasn’t a small one either. He had seven throwing knives left, and in case he ran out of ammunition, a short sword hung on his belt. Small arms wouldn’t be effective against a jormungandr. They healed too quickly for throwing knives to do damage, unless he was able to land the knives consecutively on any of its vital points. He wasn’t confident enough in his skills to try.

“Lucile!” He called out for the second time, “I’m going to draw the nidhogg away from here. You take care of the jormungandr.”

He paused.

“Be careful. May Azel guide your sword.”

The Vanguard was a community of kinship and comradery. Even between unfamiliar faces, there was a sort of familial bond amongst all of the Valkyrie. After all, many of them shared a similar story; many of them had the same hopes, dreams, and desires; many of them understood pain and suffering. Alexei wasn’t an actively sociable person, but he did care for those around him.

And with that, he was off. With one of his knives, he drew blood from his arm, allowing it to drip to the ground as he ran. To any beast, the scent of blood was an overwhelming one, irresistible to carnivores, and nidhoggs, like most other vandr, had a reputation for being ruthless hunters. The gentle trembling of moving dirt indicated to Alexei that his bait was successful, and that the nidhogg, which relied heavily on its nose to compensate for its poor eyesight, was following his crimson trail. He ran until he came across a clearing to fight in.

The nidhogg finally caught up to its prey, and it lunged forward from the earth, swiping its heavy arm across the air. Alexei reacted quickly, having expected the attack, and ducked out of the way, lodging a knife in its chest as it sailed overhead. He armed himself with two more knives and threw them at the nidhogg as it tried to retreat back beneath the ground. One found its mark squarely between the creature’s shoulders. The other missed. Four knives left. Blood continued dripping to the ground from his self-inflicted wound. Alexei scowled as he watched the tip of the nidhogg’s tail disappear into its hole in the ground.


Nidhoggs almost always attacked in an arc; they generally launched themselves upwards and outwards so that they could quickly burrow to safety in case they missed their attack. Alexei rested his back against the trunk of a tree and waited for his foe to strike again. If he could time it correctly, he would be able to pin the monster against the tree and finish it off, but if he moved too slowly, he himself would end up being pinned against the tree and then torn to ribbons by its powerful arms and massive claws. His body was tensed and wired to spring, and the air was charged with intense anticipation.

Now.

The nidhogg burst forth, and Alexei rolled forward, sliding underneath its serpentine form and narrowly avoiding death’s grip. In one mighty thrust, he buried his sword into flesh and bone until the blade had completely entered into its body and pierced the tree. The beast flailed, trying desperately to free itself. Its claws swung around blindly just barely out of range, and its tail thrashed about violently. It let out a horrifying screech that was abruptly cut off when Alexei drove one of his last knives through its skull.

He heaved a sigh and dropped backwards.

One down.

How was Lucile doing?

[shiny ponkan]

She waited by the trees, leaning against a trunk with her arms crossed and eyes shut, her concentration focused on the one thing she was best at. Azuriah would soon be finished with the fenrir. Her aura blazed brighter than any other, as expected of the Valkyrie of One. Most others would be surprised to sense this aura, as she took painstaking steps to make sure her true strengths remained hidden, but there was no need to do so around Asriel. They had trained together and graduated together and save for the sibling trio, they were the last of their generation.

Frankly, Asriel had not expected Azuriah to last this long, and had lost interest in her some years ago. But as their comrades fell one by one, Azuriah seemed to simply fortify her control even more. Perhaps it helped that she preferred to hide her aura and refrain from fighting all out. The more a Valkyrie relied on their vandr abilities, the quicker they would succumb. She eyed the other woman now, who was steadily making her way towards the grove of trees, her hands stained red. Asriel picked up her heill from where it laid against the trunk and nodded, positioning herself at Azuriah’s side as they began their greater foray into the ruins.

They walked in silence, Asriel’s attention still fixated on widening her sensory range, searching for anything, hoping for the source of those odd vandr spikes that the watchtower had picked up. Even though they were walking side by side, Azuriah’s aura had faded to nearly nothing, the woman’s aura suppression as skillful as always. The ruins seemed mostly empty, with only the slight pulsating of remnant vandr energy here and there. But as they continued further in, it became evident that one of those focal points was not as it seemed.

“Impressive attempt at aura suppression,” she said quietly to no one in particular but warning Azuriah of potentially imminent confrontation. Her partner’s suppression muffled her aura to barely a hum, but these two were not so proficient, and lessening distance between the pairs only made it more obvious to her. They almost seemed human, but not quite. From what she could sense at this point, she could guess their identities fairly confidently. Even though they certainly knew the rank one Valkyrie’s presence from her conflict earlier and probably knew of her presence as well since she had let her own minimal suppression slip whenever she focused on sensing, they were fast approaching.

Did they want to die?

“Hildr Kron, jormungandr, ex-rank 12. Her strengths are regenera—ah,” she paused abruptly, slowing her steps and clenching her bow tightly as the einn’s aura suddenly flashed through clear as day. It would be unnecessary to explain further, as Azuriah surely recognized it. “Behind her is Thais Ellaine, nidhogg, ex-rank 24. Her chained daggers will make it harder for you to get close, so I can take care of her if you wish.” She paused again, tilting her head as she pondered their course of action. “I am unsure if they come in peace, but the administration would want us to capture them.” Though it was true that she was unsure, it was highly unlikely they would come in peace, she thought as she braced herself for their meeting.

[hyperion blue]

Cassis was cartwheeling away even before the first crack had appeared in the ground, trusting her instincts to carry her body away from the source of the threat. All the same, she kept Alexei’s request in mind, and her knives stayed very firmly in their sheathes. She retreated to the safety of the treeline, kicking off from a trunk to swing herself onto a sturdy branch. With one foot braced in a fork and the other dangling idly in midair, she leaned over for a better view, absently pushing a handful of leaves out of her face.

Alexei’s movements had an air of calculated efficiency to them, though she could see that he didn’t have nearly the amount of experience to maintain a safer distance. More than once, he narrowly dodged a blow that would have cut to the bone, if it didn’t rip a limb off. As the nidhogg decided to retreat – she tracked the rumblings with an idle eye; now that she was consciously aware, it was a beacon in her mind’s eye – Cassis shifted her attention to Lucile. It was true that he moved more heavily than the rest of their group, and the corner of her mouth quirked at the realization that he simply planned to stand his ground. At least he knew his weaknesses, and could work to compensate for them

But then his sword lifted and the resulting crash was almost enough to make her lose her balance. An eyebrow reached her hairline before another itch at the back of her mind drew her attention, head swivelling as though she could stare through the mass of leaves and branches. Something else, so close to them?

Sannul’s shape was easy to pick out in the treeline, and she picked her way over, landing lightly onto a branch next to his. Immediately her arm snapped out and hooked another branch, even as the one she crouched on dipped and threatened to deposit her onto the ground.

”Ah, Sannul. What is the procedure for unexpected vandr on a hunt?” She gestured in the direction of the jormungandr with a roll of her shoulder, then swung her attention back to the fight below. ”That feels like it could kill the both of them. Should we intervene? Ah—no, it looks like they’ve sorted something out.” Alexei turned and ran, and only because she was looking for it, did she spot the faint splatter of red on the ground. She rolled her shoulder again, shooting a glance at Sannul as she bounced on her lower branch.

”I’ll go. I move faster than you, anyway. And it’ll be easier to weave myself into the fight once you mark out your range.” Unspoken went the assumption that they would be required to fight the jormungandr. Through no fault of Lucile’s, of course. Jormungandr were notoriously difficult to fight, and while Lucile seemed to have enough raw strength to crush one in a single blow, there remained the problem of actually being allowed to strike at a vulnerable spot. In fact, Cassis thought she would be impressed if the valdir wasn’t forced to join the battle by the time she returned.

She kicked off as the branch snapped upward, releasing her hold on the upper branch as she did so, and almost casually back flipped onto a higher one. Without bothering to wait for her perch to stop swaying, Cassis dove forward. A burst of speed and she was moving parallel to the Elding, a dark blur overhead shadowing his movements. She kept herself just a bit ahead of his position, so that the nidhogg wouldn’t be tempted to target her instead.

When they entered a clearing – their destination, if his movements were any indication – she found herself a nice perch and settled in. Absently tracking the knives thrown and running a tally in her head – how many did he have, anyway? – she couldn’t help but smile as they found themselves under her tree. The view was mostly blocked, so she simply locked her legs around the branch and rolled until she hung upside down, using one hand to hold some hair out of her eyes.

The resulting death knell was almost enough to shock her out of the tree. As it was, she was forced to make a landing before she actually slipped and broke her neck, and while the twist and drop was hardly impressive, she was close enough to confirm that the nidhogg was, in fact, dead.

”Congrats,” she announced cheerily, pulling an empty vial from her pouch and tossing to the Elding. ”A successful hunt, and a clean kill. You’ll no doubt fight better with a matched Heill, but that was quite a neat plan, for what little time you had.”

A pause, as she raised a fist to her chin.

”Ah, but does this mean we can step in now? Jormungandr are are always hard to fight, and that one was pretty big. Hmm… Oh, you should hurry up. Retrieve what you can and stay out of range if you can’t fight. I don’t fancy letting either of them die.” Cassis pulled a knife and tossed it idly, counting to twenty before drawing the other and letting her senses lead her back to the other pair.

[Sakura Meringue]

It was a mistake. Meri could easily see that now. Even with their level of synchronicity, the Aetla stood no chance against the rampaging beast. Though Lila’s moves were swift and precise, and she was driven by a kind of vigor for the battle Meri could never possess, just wanting to take down the ymir would never be enough. This was the type of creature that could pick off skilled Valkyrie even as they attacked it in a group. They would have to pull back and change targets if they had any hope of ascending that day.

Sidestepping a small shower of crumbling rock, Meri’s gaze was momentarily transfixed upon the large weapon that traveled back into the female valkyrie’s waiting hand. ’Isn’t that interfering?’ she couldn’t help wondering, but it was perhaps that intervention that prevented her from sustaining injury. Even with both Valkyrie hovering on the outskirts of the battle, her guard remained high and she kept herself further still from the mindless calamity.

Perhaps simultaneous to seeing the valdir pass through her line of vision, the newly intruding vandr auras reached her. She was not surprised however to find other energies moving in closer; the ymir’s destruction was likely far-reaching – rousing the curiosity of vandr in the area. But contrary to being a hindrance, the approaching vandr presented the elding trio with the opportunity they needed to escape the losing fight. Lila would most likely not appreciate the change in plans, but Meri would not compromise her chance of ascending because of another’s pride.

It was easier said than done to move herself closer to Beth; she often had to stop or even backtrack to avoid being hit by the flying wreckage. During one such pause, the fair-haired woman came to her with a message. ”Thirty minutes,” she repeated comprehensively, and once she was alone again, she turned from her attempt to reach Beth and Lila to seek out the valdir.

Tracking him was not difficult; his aura screamed with a similar flare to Lila’s; the only difference was his was stronger and the level of control he maintained was superior. In the safety of the open hills was where she finally found him – an ideal spot to observe them without the hassle of having to dodge falling rubble.

”Thirty minutes is more than enough time to get ourselves killed,” Meri remarked, all signs of the modestly meek child evaporating from her demeanor. ”Lila acted with too much haste – deciding to go for the first vandr that crossed her path. I refuse to leave my fate in someone else’s impulsive hands, so I am exercising my right to make a judgment call and request you intervene in this fight. We can find another target.” As she spoke, her attention was balanced between Ezra and the aforementioned battle, and she couldn’t help but wince as she watched the ymir effectively use a tree to uproot other trees in its path. More unnerving than that was how close it had come to striking one of her teammates. Almost like an answered prayer though, two fenrir appeared – distracting and subsequently slowing the ymir. If ever there was a perfect time to act, that was it.

”I leave it to you then,” she offered as parting words. Her feet moved quickly – hardly seeming to touch the ground – as she pushed forward back into the heart of the danger. Though with the ymir’s attention diverted, she was able to navigate the craters in relative safety.

”Beth,” she called when she was certain the other woman was in earshot. Coming to stop beside her, Meri allowed herself a few breaths before continuing. ”We’re changing targets. This vandr will be impossible for Lila to take out on her own. In order for a kill to count, the Valkyrie overseeing the hunt can’t get involved, but I have already asked for assistance.” If what she had seen of Lila was any indication of her constant nature, Meri was certain she was glad to be talking to Beth in that moment. She knew Lila’s pride would be wounded once Ezra and Odila took out the ymir, but in most cases, it was easier to recover from a wounded pride than a wounded body. ”I’m sure you must have sensed them by now – the two fenrir coming down from the hills. They will be no match for yours and Lila’s teamwork; I believe our best chance in making a kill lies in facing off against them – so long as we can keep them backed up in the open. They will have too much of an advantage if they reach us here.” Her eyes swept over the battle-scarred landscape – noting each fallen tree and hazardous trench – all obstacles that would do them more harm than good. She only hoped Beth understood and followed her train of thought.

[second day sea]

”Oh my.”

He winced as yet another tree went spinning through the air and bowled over a few others, wondering absently if the Valkyries who did this sort of babysitting jobs were ever penalized for poor showing by their charges. So long as they didn't put him on some permanent sentinel duty, he supposed any "punishment" the administration could put him through would be nothing new.

If he recalled correctly, he and Eydis had done way better than this. Sure he had come out all beaten and bloody, but they had toted home a bagful of nixes. Well, Eydis had done the heavy lifting and Ezra struggled with his sole jokul prize, but if the current standoff was any indication, the three elding today weren’t bringing home anything but wounded egos. Two Fenrir had appeared; more coming all the while. There would be death today; they could all smell it in the air. Just as he was reconsidering his overly generous offer of thirty minutes, a figure broke free from the trees and climbed the low foothills to his position.

“Thirty minutes is more than enough time to get ourselves killed,” she began.

”You’re welcome.” Ezra grinned.

She continued as if she hadn’t heard. The valdir listened, not taking his eyes from the fighting between the trees. She was proposing the valkyrie get involved, hmm? He weighed his options. On one hand, it was seemingly inevitable that they would be forced to action, if not to outright save the elding, than to at least take down the straggling vandr that the commotion was attracting and to prevent the situation from becoming irreparable. The fact that the girl had come to request it of him made it easier to justify. And, it was getting painful to watch the fiasco go on for much longer; he kind of wanted to thank her for her interference. On the other hand though…well nothing really. Ezra just balked at the thought of taking orders from an elding.

He didn’t speak as she did, but he couldn’t help but glance at her once or twice with some grudging admiration. Perhaps she wasn’t so cowardly after all. For a second he could understand why Eydis was so partial to the little thing, uselessness and all. As quickly as those thoughts came, he swiped them away with a hand, waving her off simultaneously. ”Yeah, I got it,” he replied.

He didn’t move immediately, biding his time as he tried to figure out the more detailed intricacies of the plan. Priorities were mixed between preserving the elding’s safety—especially the prized aetla pair—and staying out of their way. Reluctantly, he had to admit that the elding were capable of fighting. That they had lasted so long in such unfavorable situations was proof of that enough. With the right heill, they probably could have taken the ymir down by now. ”But you don’t have any and you’re utterly helpless,” he complained aloud even though there was no one to hear, unclasping his cloak. It fell to his feet in a crumpled heap and he kicked it away distractedly, already relishing the new-found freedom of movement.

Meri had disappeared back amongst the trees; he could just make out her coming to a stop beside the dark-haired aetla girl. The annoying one continued to fight and he couldn’t help but look pitifully at her efforts for another second. He fought back another sigh, reminding himself to focus. His eyes combed the trees, seeking out Odila and hovering upon her small figure for a few seconds. There was no point in running over to tell her face-to-face, she’d have to follow his lead. She would follow his lead, right? He had been clear earlier about her staying out of his way, but surely she could figure out a plan when she saw one.

Well, he wasn’t about to waste time asking her.

His aura pulsed forth and inwardly he smiled, welcoming the release, welcoming the rush of blood in his ears, the feeling that his strength could not be ignored. There remained the slightest weariness from his earlier scuffle with the nixes, but even that faded into the back of his mind as his sight sharpened and his breathing quickened. He grinned, seeing the ymir’s movements catch as it tried to comprehend this newest addition to the fight. He saw it turn, saw it try to find him among the rocks with its stupid little brain. He added a little more to the mix and could feel the vandr’s own aura finally flare in response, taking the bait. Another tree went flying, this one aimed somewhat in his direction.

He laughed aloud, darting out of the way but refusing to go closer towards the vandr. It went thudding in his wake as he skirted to the right, drawing the ymir in the opposite direction to the two fenrir. As he hopped nimbly from rock to rock, he took care to spare unnecessary movements, even as he let his aura rampage. Neither he nor Odila had the right weapon to kill an ymir with one hit. Just getting close enough to those flailing arms would be difficult enough. But when had Ezra Spari ever refused a challenge? His voice carried in the wind, sing-songy and light.

”Come on, you damn monster, you know you want to play.”

[Brethil24]

▇ ✦ ⋮⋮ SMOKE THAT BILLOWS FROM HER DREAMS
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXBETWEEN XX STIFF XX FINGERS XX OUT XX TO XX SEA



Still pondering the topic of the unusual spikes in aura, Azuriah found herself not quite comprehending what Asriel was saying at first. Aura suppression? Had the source hidden itself? But very few vandr displayed the ability to do so. Did that mean they were dealing with a Fafnir? Or some kind of super smart Jokul? Instinctively Azuriah tried scanning the surroundings herself, though of course she didn’t turn up much of interest. It was one thing for Asriel to detect suppressed auras, she was normally quite pleased to just get a general direction and strength from her targets.

It was only when Asriel started listing names and ex-rankings that Azuriah understood what was going on, though it still took her a moment to recognize the first name; the aura might have helped a bit. Right right, Hildr. From that incident a few months back. It was a very sad thing, but not exactly unexpected. People got upset when people they cared about died. And they got more upset when they were the ones who’d done the killing. And upset people tended to do bad things. Not that that excused deserting the vanguard, but still. It made sense. The second name required very little thinking at all. Azuriah blinked. Ah. Yes. Rowan’s friend. She rubbed her hand nervously against her chest until she found what she was looking for.

The ring was too big for her littlest finger but too small for the rest, and even if she could wear it on her hand it’d likely break the moment she began fighting. So instead it hung from her neck, tucked under her shirt, just a few inches away from her badge. Gold. Diamond. It was simple, and it matched, and it was just close enough to familiar enough to make her pull it out sometimes and squint and wonder. The diamonds were about the size of the ones on her badge. And there were three, and they were spaced out in a way that didn’t feel too close or too far. Had the band been that narrow? Was Rowan’s finger quite that size? She wasn’t sure. She hadn’t looked in a while.

Maybe she should have looked harder.

But that was beside the point. Rowan was dead. He died in Loraeth. The ring was from Vanis. So it couldn’t be his. And Thais was Thais was a very different person. Who was here right now. And hadn’t killed anyone. Yet.

Azuriah frowned, maybe because of a bunch of little things, but definitely because she was feeling unsure. Did the organization want the two of them captured? They’d sent Ezra after Hildr last time, and well. Ezra wasn’t really the capturing sort. But then maybe Ezra was supposed to just capture her, and he’d gone overboard. Which would be a very Ezra thing to do.

Either way, Azuriah didn’t really feel like killing either Hildr or Thais. And it wasn’t like she’d been given a mission to kill Hildr or Thais. Which probably meant it’d be fine if she didn’t. Ah, though she should probably still try and catch them. It’d be no good to let them run away.

Azuriah gave a small grunt before nodding for good measure. No need to turn down a nice offer. “Yes. Hildr too. If she tries to run.” While she was sure that between the two of them they’d be able to track down and surprise Hildr if she managed to slip away, it’d still be better to take her down now. The less time for healing the better.

With their ‘strategy’ now in place, Azuriah tucked away her aura before taking off at a brisk walk towards where she’d last felt Hildr. It wasn’t really necessary to be sneaky, since the two had probably noticed her earlier when she was fighting. But it was almost like habit now, hiding her aura before a potential fight. It made her feel ready. Plus all the crumbling buildings meant there were plenty of places to hide if she wanted to.

A flicker of movement caught her eye, and Azuriah came to a sudden stop, her gaze sliding between the two of them before settling on Hildr. Did she look peaceful? Maybe not? Though she wasn’t exactly good at noticing such things. Azuriah continued to stare thoughtfully, her stance loose and ready in case either of them tried to bolt or attack. Eventually she spoke up. “Will you fight? Or come peacefully? …You can’t run.”

[Fausty The Lamp]

“Be careful. May Azel guide your sword.”

Lucile craned his head backwards to get a glimpse of his fellow eldling running off. "I wish you success." A few rare words from Lucile for Alexei. Speaking and communicating with his 'comrades' would have to be something he'd have to acclimate himself to, for now that much was fine.

It seemed that Alexei was intent on fighting the nidhogg all on his own. Well that was fine, Lucile wasn't all that well versed when it came to fighting as a team. The fewer people that were around the fewer friendly causalities there would be when Lucile decided to swing his sword in full force. Realistically with his fighting style, he could probably handle either vandr but Alexei's compatibility with a jormungandr would be poor so it was best he took care of it. Anyways, this jormungandr was his responsibility, it was his strike that stirred up the serpentine like vandr and drew it here.

Lucile grabbed his sword with both hands and lifted it out of the crater that he had created when he decided to shake up the nidhogg. Resting the weight of the blade on his shoulder, Lucile followed the movements of the jormungandr as it rushed over from the depths of the forest. The second that it noticed Alexei's blood trail it rushed towards his fellow eldling's location. A quick response came from Lucile in the form of another earth shaking strike, cutting off the vandr's path and skimming a part of it's nose. A suffocating aura of blood-lust was emanating from Lucile as he lifted up his sword again. There was no way that he was going to slip up in her presence, never in her presence.

The vandr turned its head and faced Lucile, there was no way it was going to turn its back on him now, not with him basically directing his very clear intentions at it. The jormungandr didn't fear Lucile and his blood-lust but it was very much aware of his presence now. It was like one beast challenging another beast. The serpentine like vandr twisted its elongated body and stared at Lucile for a moment before winding up its body and whipping its tail towards Lucile.

Lucile responded to the jormungandr by mimicking its movements. One hand gripping his sword, Lucile spun around whipping his sword to meet the jormungandr's tail, skimming it along it's length. The jormungandr cried out in momentary pain as the wound he caused started to mend itself. Lucile decided to not give the monster a moment's rest and used his circular momentum and the weight of his blade to fling himself at the jormungandr. Though he felt the strain of wielding his heavy sword, Lucile worked through the pain and flew towards the vandr at a blinding speed. Both hands now on his great-sword, Lucile swung the blade straight down intent on cleaving the snake like vandr in two and crushing it into bits.

The clever vandr twisted its body away from Lucile and managed to avoid Lucile's attack. It cried out as the shallow cut began to slowly mend itself mere seconds after occurring. In a minute or two all of the damage(what little of it that it was( that Lucile had delivered would be healed up and the vandr would be back at full strength(for the most part anyways).

Pressing forward, Lucile charged at the vandr swinging his sword relentlessly and recklessly, intent on using overwhelming force to defeat it. The vandr essentially danced with Lucile in a flurry of sword swings and tail whips. For each swing that he threw at it, the vandr would dodge or endure the blow(then heal) and respond with a swing of its tail. For each swing of its tail, Lucile would attempt to block with his back swing as the monster tried to strike him at odd angles, trying to minimize the damage he took, though it wasn't all that effective. Lucile bled for each swing of the tail and felt his bones shake for every block he tried. His sword cracked with each swing it took from the snake, and it was clear it was out of his league.

The vandr seemed to have an arrogant look in its eyes as they continued this endless dance, it knew that if this kept up it would come out on top. And even if he wasn't showing it Lucile's muscles were pulsating with pain punishing him for pulling off such ridiculous inhuman maneuvers without rest. He has originally planned for his first strike to kill the monstrosity but it was too fast and flexible to catch off guard so easily and none of his swings were cleanly connecting.

Well there was one way to make sure his hit would connect, it wasn't going to be easy though.

The jormungandr swung its tail one more time towards Lucile but the eldling didn't seem to have the intention of dodging or blocking the blow. Lucile stabbed his sword into the ground and took a stance as the barbed tail flew at him. The vandr's attack connected with Lucile's body, cracking ribs and crushing an organ or two. Lucile could feel some blood come up where air was supposed to go down, bone grinding against bone, and his vision becoming hazy from exhaustion. However, he did not come out of the exchange without something because Lucile was holding onto the tail firmly. The snake of a vandr struggled to get free from his grip but with Lucile putting his all into it, it wouldn't get away any time soon.

Breathing in deep, Lucile strained every muscle in his body to lift the jormungandr, barely lifting it off the ground and managing to slam it's head against a nearby tree. Though his side was bleeding profusely, Lucile had the feeling of accomplishment momentarily wash over him as he examined the damage he had caused to the snake. The vandr was momentarily stunned but, Lucile wasn't done yet.

Peeling his sword out of the dirt, Lucile dragged it along the ground to over where the head of the jormungandr's head laid. It was stunned but not dead, so that meant he had to finish the job. Lucile hefted his sword far above his now creepily grinning face. He turned the blade on its side, clearly cutting the serpent like vandr with a now dull edged sword wouldn't work, so crushing would have to do. His sword came swinging down from above and smashed the vandr's head against the ground, cracking it and kicking up a cloud of dust. He felt his everything strain as he lifted the sword up again, his body was clearly screaming at him to stop but he had enough in him for one more swing. This wasn't necessarily a quick and clean take down that's required to deal with jormungandr but it was effective enough.

"Ha...." An exhausted sigh escaped Lucile as he dropped his sword, well what was left of it, and stood up. His appearance was dyed eerily red, so much so you wouldn't be able to distinguish the blood from his wounds and the vandr's blood. Then again, Lucile didn't seem all that bothered by anything at the moment. With the still bleeding wound, the exhaustion and all of the muscle pain he should be feeling, he should be unconscious but the adrenaline and his 'thoughts' seemed to keep him awake and alert. He wiped the blood from his eyes, "I wonder where she went?"

The vandr began to move again twitching ever so slightly. Lucile was blind to the still moving vandr with all of his focus on looking for Cassis. Apparently he had underestimated the vandr's regenerative abilities. The jormungandr lifted its head up off of the ground again and wound up its body, throwing its tail at Lucile, nailing him in the back.

[voleur deception]

Eidorn was once beautiful, called the City on the Sea because of the high cliff it sat upon. The city built down through the cliff itself, setting up networks in the tunnels and caves that already existed. Denying the protection of Valkyrie and the Vanguard, Eidorn erected four giant walls, thirty feet thick and made of smooth stone. Though the Vanguard respectfully remained outside of Eidorn and limited themselves to the surrounding regions, it seemed as though the walls were a success.

Until, of course, Eidorn fell.

It came silently at first. The caves beneath the city drained, leaving dark, dripping rocks. The world above did not notice the walls that were protecting them had become their doom. Then the water came, crashing into the city and only the four walls stood strong, sealing in those they had been built to protect. Wave after wave flowed, washing out everything through the tunnels beneath and leaving nothing but stone where there had once been a city.

Today, the four walls have only just begun to fall. They have crumbled in places, beat down by wind and wave, but still provide some shelter for those trying to escape prying eyes. There is nothing left of the city but a few tattered remnants, already falling apart due to the passage of time. Only the deeper levels of Eidorn, where the homes had been carved directly out of the cliffs still stand, but those are merely skeletons of what used to be. The ocean has reclaimed everything.









She was waking up.

She had slept soundly all this time. The days passing were nothing more than the most miniscule of changes in the water and seasons went by without notice. Over twenty years had gone by in this manner, but they could have been just a single hour for all she cared. Still she slept, peacefully, peacefully, nestled in the sand, protected by the rocks, safe from the world. She had always loved the ocean, had visited Eidorn, the city on the sea, as often as she could. The waves had always been calming, the horizon the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was only natural then, that she returned to the ocean for her final slumber.

But she was waking up.

Her memories had served as dreams. She could have walked amongst them as long as she liked, comforted by familiar places and well-known faces. Golden-eyed Maria, who made jokes in all the most inappropriate moments. Gentle Helen, who had always shared her food with the street orphans. Shy Celeste, who only ever spoke when Helen had asked the questions. Quiet, beautiful, perfect Rayn, who had been there always, always at her side, always with a gentle smile reserved only for her. She missed them, loved them, longed to see them. But only in her memories were they present.

And she was waking up.

Her dreams were growing sharper with a realism she did not like. The water grew cold around her, the rocks sharp, and the world loud. She was waking up, called from her slumber by a voice she did not recognized but had to obey. Gone was Maria, gone was Helen, gone too Celeste. And gone was her Rayn, whose gentle smile was growing twisted in fear and pain and grief—in death—the last face she had ever seen.

She was waking up and she did not like it.









The water twisted around it, shattering the rocks beneath its feet, making the earth tremble. It surged upward, following the light. Its shadow cut across the sandy ocean floor, leaving waves of displaced sand in its wake. The sun-streams moved gently through the water, bubbling and twisting like glass curtains. As it rose, it caught the light on its scales, gleaming with slants of gold and green and purple. But only for a second, only flashing once madly as it broke the surface and reared its head.

Water streamed from its body in torrents, but it hardly seemed to notice, searching the sky for something. Its body was sleek and dark, lit by almost glowing streaks of blue, the same color as the water. Tremulous wings lifted from beneath the boiling water, cold and dark and heavy. They stretched in the air, sending droplets of water scattering all around its long, sleek body. For a moment, all was quiet. Then the wings hit the water with an echoing slap that shook the ruins perched upon the shore. Again. Again. Faster and faster. Its wings began to beat madly and its tail lashed the water and then its body began to rise, breaking free from the surface.

It hung aloft in the air, a pendulum just before it began to fall. Then it opened its mouth and screamed.


infoO1 ┊✧ KEY POINTS
key points✧ the fafnir surfaced a few hundred yards off the coast
key points✧ easily twice the size of a whale, around 60m in length and ~260tons
key points✧ serpentine body, with large claws
key points✧ she has not seemed to notice group one, but if she has she has not made a move to attack
key points✧ her attention seems to be distracted by something towards the north
key points✧ Asriel will realize immediately that this is the source of the aura she's been picking up
key points✧ Sorrel is too strong to be killed or taken down, even if all four were to work together
key points✧ they may notice that vandr in the area have scattered, heading away from the shore

infoO2 ┊✧ OBJECTIVES
objectives✧ for Azuriah and Asriel; try to bring in Hildr and Thais
objectives✧ for Hildr and Thais; try to escape Eidorn alive

[shiny ponkan]

While the Valkyrie of One forged ahead, Asriel remained where she stood, for moving any closer would only be disadvantageous for her. Briefly pulling her gaze away from the other woman’s receding figure, she glanced at her surroundings, her eyes searching the area for possible cover, noting with relief several walls less decrepit than the rest. Her attention immediately returning to her partner, she shifted uneasily as Azuriah came to a stop and spoke.

Flinched as a monstrous aura suddenly surged through the ruins of Eidorn, permeating the ruins with its oppressive power.

She rarely doubted her senses, but could this really be all from one nidhogg?

The rumble of the earth resounded with the sounds of waves crashing against the coast. She was prepared for the shaking that came milliseconds later, bounding forward towards Azuriah in step with the reverberations of the further crumpling of what derelict structures remained.

“That is the source of the odd spikes I sensed earlier,” she whispered with slight but noticeable unease in her voice. “It is directly off the coast, feels like an exceptionally strong nidhogg but not quite—”

She gasped as darkness fell upon the ruins, as the creature eclipsed the sun.

Of course, she recognized the sight and the feeling now. The fafnir screamed, stretching its wings towards the sky, clenching its large claws and whipping its powerful serpentine tail back and forth. This beast had once been a nidhogg Valkyrie just like herself. So this is what she would be like if she awakened, she mused briefly.

She studied the fafnir’s aura. Traces of her human existence were faint but there, as after all, awakened Valkyrie were said to differ from other vandr because they retained a sense of self. What she could sense she did not recognize though, so this fafnir had likely awakened before Asriel and Azuriah had ascended.

She could feel her arms pulsate, the embedded claws responding to the overwhelming vandr energy. She realized suddenly that the remaining vandr that had been lurking around the ruins had all scattered, retreating from this one in fear. This fafnir was likely too powerful even if they worked together with the einn, let alone attempting to fight by themselves. Surely everyone else recognized this.

She leaned towards her partner, her hair brushing against the other woman’s shoulder as she murmured into Azuriah’s ear. “The fafnir has not noticed us yet. We should use this time to secure the einn if possible, until it attacks, in which we run. Even with you here I doubt we would be able to fight it off.”

Having said all she needed to, she leapt backwards to distance herself from the einn, a hand reaching for an arrow, her bow in the other at the ready. With this much pressure upon them, there was no telling what Hildr and Thais would do.

[The Ducko]

Sweat formed on her brow as she stayed ahead of the ymir’s strikes, eyes hungry for a weakness. Not far away, she heard that more vandr had approached. A flash of vision from Beth’s calming pool of a mind showed her they were nixes. She moved to adapt her stance for multiple foes, but Ezra quickly swooped down and executed them with brutal dominance. Turning her attention back to the Ymir, she continued exchanging blows with it. It was getting slower, but she was endlessly furious at the inefficiency of her normal sword. This was taking too long- it would be a miracle if she was even able to substantially weaken it. The female Valkyrie approached and told them they had thirty minutes to take down the beast. Lila was furious and wild, but all her efforts didn’t change the fack that she was a fledgling. She hadn’t the strength, nor the equipment .The ymir was angry, and it began uprooting trees and throwing them mindlessly. Her connection with Beth wavered for an instant, and Lila had to concentrate to maintain it. Suddenly, she felt a something from Beth. It was like detecting a familiar scent. In the next instant, a small pack of fenrir came bounding from the surrounding trees. Beth put herself between Lila and the Fenrir.

Lila saw the ymir’s distraction and did not hesitate. Nimbly she jumped onto the ymir’s huge arm and ran up it, launching herself as she neared its head. Turning her body in mid-air, she landed on back of the creature’s fat neck. Instantly, she raked her sword through the softer flesh on the vandr’s shoulders, opening a jagged rift in the back of its neck. As she did so, her pupils shuddered and she welcomed an inch of the true vandr power to enter her body. As her sword went up, her muscles bulged and claws appeared from her fingernails. When she brought down the blade, it was with much more force than she could muster on her own. Blood splattered up to her forearms before she quickly pushed off the ymir as it yelled out, aiming to land further away from the fenrir in order to focus down the ymir. There was no question in her mind; even if she couldn’t physically do it, she would have to.

As she fell, the ymir thrashed out unexpectedly and there was no way she could move herself out of the way. Its blow was nowhere near full power, but it sent her hurtling towards the ground at Beth’s feet. Beth moved forward and braced herself, catching Lila as she fell. The two slid back through the dirt and slammed into the trunk of an uprooted tree. Beth immediately got up, and moved over to engage the two fenrir and keep them off Lila. Puffing, Lila’s stomach was a knot of pain. Gathering a salty pool in her mouth, she spat out blood and pushed herself to her feet. Looking at the clearing, her vision was not stable. The blow had shaken her, but there was no time for rest. This was their hunt; her chance to prove herself. Beth was holding up her end of their team, but Lila couldn’t help but feel a world of frustration at her inability to pierce the ymir’s defences. As hard as she tried, without a heill and the strength of a valkrie, there was only so much violence she could wreak.

While her passion often got away with her, in this instance she was able to see the truth. As Ezra moved to take over the ymir, she wiped a stray speck of blood from her lips and nodded at him. Even if he was a p***k, she knew he could’ve easily let them die. Lila felt that if they had been required to take down the ymir, it would not have been without its consequences if they managed to at all. Beth’s cool collection was letting her breathe, and as she did so her slight awakening withdrew. She knew her ability, and the large fenrir was no pup, but she could slay the fiend.

Beth had been entertaining them, deflecting their attacks. She had managed to use the enormous one’s own strength against it, smashing its skull with her shield as it launched itself at her full-throttle. It was by no means defeated, but it was momentarily stunned. The smaller fenrir jumped and bit into her forearm, but Lila’s blade was faster than its jaws, and she violently hacked off its head before it could tare at Beth’s skin. The kill was clean, but was only made possible because it was caught off guard. The larger, far deadlier beast faced them now, with its horrible mouth drawn into a hungry sneer.

As Beth pulled away her bitten arm, blood splattered to the ground, but she did not flinch. Her face was even, and as Lila watched her she felt an immense sense of gratitude that for some reason this woman was willing to die for her. She would not like Beth as an enemy. The determination in her eyes was invigorating. Lila took her time with the bigger fenrir, and they circled each other, sizing one another up.

“Good boy,” she cooed, taking out her smaller knife.