As the fires from the battle the night before began to die down, a Valkyrie stood above a large body. The body was once her father, Gudmundur. Viking villagers and warriors worked together to pick up the pieces of the once standing storehouse and city. Agda knelt next to her dead father and placed a hand onto his lifeless shoulder.
She spoke something quietly and wiped away a tear. A Viking warrior walked up the steps that led up to Agda. Once he got to the top he waited for her. Agda stood up and turned to the warrior.
Agda: "Is it true? Are the Knights gone?"
The warrior nodded.
???: "They're gone. Though they seemed panicked before they left. Like they had forgotten something or someone"
Agda nodded at his response and grabbed her shield from her back.
Agda: "How many civilians survived?"
???: "Not many. The Knights were ruthless in their attack"
Agda: "How much food was left?"
???: "Little to nothing. Just enough to go around"
Agda felt the anger build up inside of her. She gripped the handle on her shield and took in a deep, slow breath.
Agda: "The knights always call us barbarians and monsters. And yet they burned our land and slaughtered our families and think nothing of it. I don't think they understand that raiding is apart of our culture. We don't just raid for the sake of chaos"
???: "They're hypocrites, that's what the knights are. The selfish tin heads are just as ruthless as the war born"
Agda knelt over her fathers body and picked up his sword. Agda remembered when her father would let her use it once she graduated from wooden sticks during her training. Agda held the sword with a firm grip and turned to the Viking warrior.
Agda: "Help with the clean up process in the lower area. We need as much help as we can get if we want to recover"
The warrior nodded and ran down the steps he had taken before. Agda waited a few seconds before she could no longer hear the warriors footsteps. Once she thought it was safe, Agda closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She lifted her head to the sky and let out a long exhale.
After the exhale, Agda let out a long whistle. Soon Agda could hear flapping wings and opened her eyes. An eagle soared towards her. Agda extended her arm and the eagle landed. The eagle gripped Agda's arm and tilted its head towards her. Agda took a golden band with ornate Norse engravings on it. She held it to the eagle who grabbed the band with its beak.
Agda: "You know who you take this to"
The eagle began to gain air as it left Agda's arm and flapped its wings. The bird flew into the air and soared into the direction of an ancient shrine. The shrine of Jörmungandr.
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Apollyon stood on the edge of a frozen waterfall. She could not feel the ice or the cold wind, but she could feel a hand suddenly place itself onto her right shoulder. Apollyon gasped and turned her head to see who the hand belonged to. Apollyon's eyes widened as she saw her former husband, Hans, standing there.
Apollyon: "Hans?"
Apollyon put a hand on her chest and looked around the area surrounding her. What was happening?
Hans drew back his hand and looked at Apollyon with confusion.
Hans: "Alice? What's wrong?"
Apollyon: "You're not real. What type of dream is this?"
Hans chuckled and nodded his head a single time in the process.
Apollyon: "Then you confirm that you aren't real. What is the reason with you being here?"
Hans: "To tell you that what you have done and what you are going to do is incredibly bad. Not just for Heathmoor, but for our son"
Apollyon: "Jürgen is learning along with my Blackstone Legion. All of Heathmoor will know of my ideals. They're all going to learn their places in life. I'm also making sure that Jürgen doesn't become weak like you did"
Hans grinned at Apollyon's and spoke.
Hans: "You are right, he is learning. But not on his own. He isn't making many choices by himself. He's being controlled by you and that Black Prior general"
Apollyon: "You think I'm controlling him?"
Hans nodded.
Hans: "You're telling him what he HAS to be in this world. You're forcing him to do things that he is not comfortable with and telling him that what he is doing is right. When he was with me I told him what he COULD be. You've even told him plenty of lies and half truths"
Apollyon: "Half truths and lies? Our world is built on those things. I've told Jürgen lies and half truths to protect him"
Hans kept his eyes on Apollyon.
Hans: "Protect him? You're losing his trust with every lie! He's starting to see through your schemes! That's why he's been contemplating the thought of leaving!"
Apollyon: "Now you're lying! He would never leave me! I'm all he has left you bastard!"
Hans: "If I was lying to you about anything I said I wouldn't be here talking! This would be an utter waste of time!"
Apollyon: "I will let Jürgen know of the pain you caused me! You robbed him of his real mother and lied to him about his entire life! What do you believe he will think once he realizes you lied to him since the day he could understand your words? You lied to him too, thinking that you were protecting him. So do not criticize me for something you too are guilty of doing"
Hans: "But there is a difference between you and I. I lied to give him a childhood that wasn't filled with uncertainty and fear. But a childhood filled of good memories and a loving, caring family"
Apollyon: "I'm trying to help him find who he truly is. That is why I've lied to him. That's why I've twisted facts. He just needs a push, that is all"
Silence fell between the two as Apollyon stood in thought. Finally Apollyon crossed her arms over her chest and spoke.
Apollyon: "Have you ever thought about his purpose yet?"
Hans turned back to Apollyon and shook his head.
Hans: "What are you saying?"
Apollyon: "Maybe he isn't the good man you think you know him as. Maybe he is the villain and he just doesn't realize it yet"
Hans: "That's a lot of maybes"
Apollyon: "I'm just saying that it's a possibility. But I do think it's a likely one. I'm alive, you aren't. I can teach him to be a wolf. He will have a place beside myself and our daughter"
Hans: "Your ideas are sick, Alice"
Apollyon felt anger as she heard her real name.
Apollyon: "Do not say that name! That weakling is dead!"
Hans: "So you call yourself weak?"
Apollyon: "That weakling and myself are two different people. She is long dead now. Apollyon is what remains"
Hans lowered his eyes in slight sadness. His chest felt dark.
Hans: "There was a time when I still loved you. Even when I left I never felt the same without you"
Apollyon turned her back to Hans.
Apollyon: "I never forgave you for what you did to me. I will never forgive you, even now"
Apollyon formed a sword in her right hand and held it tightly.
Apollyon: "Now if you excuse me, I have to return to Jürgen and help him"
Hans had a face of anger on his face. He looked Apollyon in the eyes and yelled.
Hans: "He won't follow you and your ideals! He isn't a ruthless killer! Jürgen is a good man who will see through your bullshit!"
Apollyon's eyes burned with fury and she raised her sword. She threw a downward attack to Hans with all of her strength. Hans held his hand out to Apollyon just before her sword cut into him. But instead of his skull splitting open and blood being the product of the wound, Hans exploded into black ash. Apollyons eyes went wide as Hans disappeared, his scream still echoed throughout the frozen forest.
Apollyon lowered her sword and looked down to the ground. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.
Apollyon: "The Young Wolf will learn"
-To be continued-
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