A Gods Favor

A Strange World

Elora hit the ground and cried out in pain as she felt her shoulder dislocate on impact before tumbling down the pile of scraps she'd landed on. When she stopped at the bottom she took several moments to catch her breath. Loki's dagger still pushed into her flesh as she lay on her stomach and she couldn't put weight on her right arm to get up. Her head was pounding too, almost like the very air around her was trying to burrow into her skull with a thousand tiny chisels. Face pressed to the grime she did her best to look around but all she saw were piles and piles of junk and scrap. Where was she and how in Odin's name had she gotten here? Better yet how the Hel did she get out? Closing her eyes and counting to three she pushed hard against the ground with her left hand and groaned as she rolled over her dislocated shoulder to end up on her back where she could see more junk falling from giant portals in the sky. Her usable hand shook as she reached up to grip the dagger in her side and she let out another small squeak when she yanked it out before quickly tossing it aside and resting a glowing hand on the wound.

Slow, she felt so very slow. Almost like moving through molasses and she couldn't tell if it was from the blood loss or the pounding air around her. What was this strange place where the atmosphere itself seemed like it was trying to hurt her. Dizzy, but no longer bleeding from her abdomen, she rolled again and pushed herself to her feet before looking around for something to jam her shoulder against to pop it back into place. She could heal the pain and bruising afterwards but she couldn't magic the joint into its correct position. She stumbled around for a bit, dodging falling object and not finding anything she thought she could use before footsteps and trudging through the mess around her rang out.

A group of strangers came around one of the larger piles, all wearing mismatched clothing, cloaks and masks, and they slowed when they noticed her.

"Excuse me," she called out, one hand pressed against her aching shoulder. "Can you tell me where we are?"

The one in front took off his mask to reveal a white painted face. "She doesn't look like much of a fighter." There were groans at this but the man smiled. "But that just means we'll have a good dinner tonight."

There was a chorus of cheers and laughter as the group raised their arms to the sky.

"If a fight is what you want I can give it to you," she slashed her good arm through the air and several of the people in the front were thrown sideways as she herself stumbled. The dizziness rushed through her again and she thought she might vomit as the world spun but she planted her feet.

The others came at her as their comrades rose from the ground and she reached out to the piles around them. Small bits of metal shot forward into their ranks and a few of them fell but a large one reached the front and held up a glowing gun. When a net shot from it the scraps dropped and a shield appeared before her stopping the net midair. The shooter let out a frustrated scream and Elora smiled.

"Remember," her shield dropped and a giant metal tube rose beside her before being jettisoned at those still standing. "You wanted a fight."

She felt a sharp prick against her neck before electricity burned through her body and she dropped to the ground.

A beautiful woman with long dark hair and silver markings on her face rolled Elora over and stared down at her as she gasped for breath. "With skills like that you should fetch a nice price."

Electricity shot through her again and Elora blacked out.

-

Elora awoke strapped to a moving chair as lights flashed around her and a voice spoke but her brain was still foggy. While it no longer felt like her brain was trying to break out of her skull to escape the pounding she was still dizzy and she couldn't open her eyes without the light sending sharp shocks of pain through her. As she tried to move she realized her shoulder had been set but it was still terribly sore. The chair sped up and the lights around her began flashing wildly.