#while in ingvarr
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Varian: I can’t believe you live nearby, and you won’t let anyone crash at your place.
Hugo: You people already know too much about me.
Nuru: I know exactly three facts about you, and one of them is that you won’t let any of us crash at your place
#while in ingvarr#imagine they all went to Don's house#hi mom#i brought friends#including your nemesis son#varian and the seven kingdoms#hugo varian and the seven kingdoms#vat7k incorrect quotes#nuru vat7k
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Hello to those SIX people who are reading this(I'm so proud of myself)
Okay, we all know this cliche like "character A shows character B something beautiful, B says "so beautiful", and A agrees while looking at B" yes yes, but imagine this with Varigo
HEAR ME OUT OKAY-
Due to the fact that there are many factories in Ingvarr (or something like that) there is always a fog covering the sky, which makes the sun very hard to see, and this upsets Varian a little, because he's from the Corona, and the symbol of Corona is the sun (and also Varian misses Rapunzel)
SO Hugo notices that Varian is homesick and wakes him up early one morning to take him to the roof of one of the abandoned buildings to watch the sunrise, AND THEN EVERYTHING HAPPENS
they're watching the sunrise together, and Varian's like "wow it's so pretty" and Hugo's being gay gay homosexual gay for his best friend and says "yeah, I know" WHILE LOOKING AT VARIAN BECAUSE HE'S A SIMP AND WE ALL KNOW THIS
Okay, that's kind of a weird explanation BUT THANKS FOR READING THIS
#varian and the 7 kingdoms#varian and the seven kingdoms#vat7k#varigo#varian the alchemist#hugo vat7k
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I did a thing
Thanks to @shelobussy for giving me the idea for this little one shot! You didn't think I was serious, did you? But I was, oh, I was.
Desc: Hugo and Varian run into a problem while helping at VBS (vacation Bible school for those unfamiliar. It's literally summer camp but Christian). Warning for minor cursing, past homophobia.
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"And... it's locked." Hugo sighed and slid down the door of the closet. "Who designed this thing? Why would a door auto-lock when you close it?"
"Why wouldn't it?" Varian had already sat down. "If you hadn't dropped the key we would be out of here."
"You're always blaming me for stuff. This isn't even the right closet! This is the damn communion supply closet, and I told you the cleaning supplies were down the hall, but no, Heaven forbid I be right."
"I got turned around! Half the hallways out of the sanctuary look the same anyway." At least they wouldn't starve, though Varian might rather starve than subsist on grape juice and crackers that looked and tasted like Styrofoam. And would it be heretical to eat and drink communion elements outside of the ceremony? Surely God would understand, like that story with David and the sacred bread.
"Uh, earth to Freckles," Hugo's annoying voice cut through Varian's thoughts. "How are we gonna get out of here? The VBS has, like, four chaperones for the middle schoolers including us, we need to get out."
"Can't you pick locks, Beanpole?" Varian had never seen Hugo lockpick, but he looked like the type to know how.
With his long undercut blond hair, piercings, alternative clothing style, and flamboyantly gay demeanor, Hugo wasn't really the sort of person Varian would expect to be a youth group leader, but West Ingvarr Methodist Church prided itself on diversity and inclusion. Varian couldn't help but think, though, that even if it wasn't a sin, Hugo didn't need to make being queer his whole personality. Varian certainly managed not to.
"I can't pick this kind of lock. I don't know the inside mechanisms of the automatic doors. And I'll thank you not to use that tone when asking. I don't why you think you're better than me-"
"I don't think I'm better than you-" Varian began.
Hugo snorted. "Could've fooled me. Anyways, I could maybe figure out how to disassemble the lock, but I don't think Pastor Robin would be very happy with me."
"So we're stuck here," Varian groaned.
"Until someone comes along and sees the key on the ground, yes. Don't look at me like that, Freckles, I'm not pleased about it either. You're stuck in a closet with someone you hate, I'm stuck with someone who hates me."
"I don't hate you. You're annoying as- as heck, and loud, and honestly I don't think you should curse around the kids-"
"They're middle and high schoolers, they've heard the word 'shit' before. Besides, I know what it is. You don't like the way I dress, the way I talk, you don't like when I talk about my homosexuality-" Hugo said the last word like he was an old man deeply offended by it.
Varian rolled his eyes. "That's not it. If it makes you feel better, I'm literally bisexual. I just don't think you need to talk about it as much as you do-"
"Freckles, what would your life be like if you had had an openly queer leader in the church when you were those kid's age? Because I'll tell you right now, mine would have been a hell of a lot better. You can keep your internalized homophobia to yourself, but I'm going to be who I am. And I'm going to be for those kids what I needed." Hugo finished and turned his head away, arms crossed.
Varian couldn't think of a thing to say. He tried not to think about it much, now that he was out of Old Corona, and two years into college, but he remembered growing up in a church very different from West Ingvarr. Forget it being unsafe to be queer, Varian had dyed a streak of his hair blue when he was fourteen and been looked at like he was the devil's child into he finally broke and dyed it black again. Eventually, fifteen-year-old Varian had decided he couldn't take it anymore, and ran away. It'd quickly gone wrong, and he'd fallen in with a very bad crowd before his father found him, and promised they would move away after Varian tearfully confessed the reason for his rebellion.
All that to say, Hugo was right. Varian cringed thinking it. But Varian had been unfair in his judgment of him, and it was the right thing to do to admit that.
"I'm... sorry." Varian finally said. Hugo didn't turn his head, but his eyes flicked over and his eyebrows rose slightly. "I think... I let my biases color how I judged you, and that was... unfair and not very 'Good Christian' of me. I... really don't hate you, Hugo."
Hugo turned his head, and Varian could see him holding back a smile. "Thanks for the self-awareness. I forgive you, I guess."
Varian scoffed. "Thanks, 'I guess'."
"Well," Hugo began, obnoxious grin on his face, before pausing. "I think I hear footsteps! HEY? IS ANYONE THERE?" He yelled, forcing Varian to cover his ears.
"Yes, ominous voice? Wait. Hugo, is that you?"
"Yep!" He replied. "Varian, we're in luck! Okay, Yong, there's a key on the ground. I need you to slide it under the door, alright?"
"I don't see a- oh! There you go!" A second later, the bronze key appeared by the door. Varian and Hugo stood up, and unlocked the door.
"Feels good to be free!" Hugo declared, stretching.
"We were only in there for twenty minutes," Varian commented, grinning.
"Yeah, but twenty minutes stuck with you? Basically twenty years."
"Shut up, Beanpole," Varian pretended to punch Hugo's arm. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
#fics that i am the sole audience for#vat7k#fanfic#varigo#fanfiction#varian#tts varian#varian tangled#hugo vat7k
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What’s your take on the family dynamic of Hugo meeting Varian’s aunt, uncles, his pseudo-adopted sister and her husband.
I apologize for every single typo you're going to find on this post
in regards of his family on the earth kingdom,
his heart would ache with pure envy wishing he had the same. varian has a huge extensive family while he has nothing, he doesn't even have a proper home nor family, he was abandoned in an orphanage and later he was left out to wander in the streets until donella found him, and even though he knows she loves him she still exploits him for her own advantage but he's too scared of being abandoned again so he never calls her out for it
at that point i don't think hugo knows about varian's past yet, therefore he still has this "wealthy spoiled boy" narrow view of him, so he grows resentful towards varian around that time. because, varian's so lucky in life, he has the tremendous advantage of growing up in a much more loving environment, advantage hugo did not recieve. he'd wonder that if he had grown up in better conditions he would now be doing great things, maybe he could've grown to be the royal engenieer from ingvarr, maybe doing great inventions to help other people instead of being an awful person to everyone
it goes like that for the first days they're staying with varian's family, he is more distant than usual and has been isolating himself due to the shame he feels for being envious over that. varian really doesn't notice it until much later because he hasn't been paying attention to hugo rather than his family members for the most part, so hugo can't help but feel left out, because everyone else in the team is having fun with varian's family but him
at some point varian tries to talk with him once he feels something is off- but hugo just pushes him away until varian gets rightfully frustated and gives up. it's not the first time hugo has done this with him to avoid showing vulnerability, but it still makes varian upset
now, hugo meeting eugene and rapunzel!
as for eugene, i'm one of those people who think it would be hilarious when they see each other at the castle, because of the criminal history they share with one another, like the whole deal about hugo dropping a piano on eugene years ago and eugene still being pissed about it?? that never gets old.
HOWEVER, i think their relationship goes deeper than that, not only because they met when hugo was still a kid but also because now that hugo has started to live with varian it's obvious this is new for him. finally having a home, proper food, and in general luxuries he always dreamed about as a kid, is overwhelming for hugo, and eugene gets it because he's been there too.
even if he's VERY skeptical, he can't help but feel empathy, specially when he sees hugo is really trying to make up for varian, so he shows his care in very subtle ways, sometimes more direct-like even if hugo maks fun of him or gets snappy thinking eugene is trying to ridiculize him when he says certain things that speak through his soul, making him feel vulnerable as ever-
as slowly as he realizes eugene is genuinely trying to be nice, he starts being nice too (in his own way)
finally as for raps *panting for breath*,
i have doubts about my take on this one, i'll just say whatever comes to my mind, sincere apologies
his first interaction with rapunzel gives him a bad feeling because of how kind she's being the whole time, even though he became good friends with princess nuru, he still couldn't help not distrusting royalty as a whole. and with rapunzel being queen, he feels a bit intimidated because of this, *yes* he does loosen up eventually when he gets to know her better, however even if he were to throw a snarky comment or two towards her, he's surprisingly respectful, not out of fear, but out of pure admiration
apart from this i believe that at the beggining he would get kind of spooked when realizing how good she is at reading people and being a positive influence on them, he finds it as annoying as it is amazing, esp when they have mushy talks about not having emotional barriers and opening your heart to the affection of others— in which he just wants to curl up and die
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(4/10) Alive Ulla Part
Back after the last part I published
XD
Ulla arrives to home, Pitchfork with Donella
For reasons unknown , Pitchfork is declared a member of the 7 Kingdom alliance
Some people ask why, she knows about the Dark Kingdom destruction but keeps the secret remembering how much Quirin was serious about his national secrets.
Don tries to get her business done here until she realizes most people recognize her from her school days and she wants out.
Teacher Croix's son encounter her and they have a words battle, she is sure she is more intelligent than him, but feel unsatisfied.
Donella reinforces her desires, knowledge to get money, power and glory.
She wishes to lead the best underground armory supplies, manipulate governments into wars against each other, until she is the only capable governor left to control everything on the shadows.
Don convinces Ulla about try to resolve the 7 trials to get to the Eternal Library , Ulla agrees with enthusiasm.
Her parents Holda and Tenax give the blessing and they depart, next stop, Galcrest.
They discovered there is supposed to be an order, so, next stop, Bayangor.
The first trial is done, hooray ~, after too many tries.
It's going to be Christmas soon, so, even when Don thinks it's ridiculous, they go back to Pitchfork to spend the holidays at Ulla's parents home
Ulf also came, yeahhhs, twins reencounter ~ also he bought his fiance, they will marry next year, congrats bro, next year meant next month.
Holliday finishes and the whole family goes to Nesdernia together, preparations for the weeding, house building, also get prepared for having a baby, oh, Ulf asks for preparations for twin babies, awwww~.
Donella thinks is a waste of time, tries to find how to make her business here, but these people are pacifists, she keeps searching potential clients while helping Faber family.
All the family were making blue prints about the house but Ulf and his friends insisted this needed to be eco-friendly, so they take it as an intelectual test.
Donella got sick of waiting and asked Ulla to accompany her to the Demanitus trial here, but they discovered this was not the turn for this one, so, Donella felt stuck.
Ulf noticed how Don was angry during the day , so he invited her to have a local drink, then he as an especialist on family dynamics, asked her about her family, she deflected as much as possible.
But he insists, and adds his new habilites of divination to tell her where is her mother and father, advise her to go and visit them, try to reconciliate.
She is angry at this advise and nosy actitudes, so she left, then she talked with Ulla about how her family was pampering Ulf too much, he is feeling like the big thing just because he is getting married, and because he is the big white men among tanned people (unlike her back at Ingvarr , everyone discriminating her )
Ulla is surprised by this, and wants to know what exactly Ulf told her so she is this angry , she barely gives an answer and says she is going to leave soon and work somewhere else, Ulla doesn't want her to go.
Ulla and Ulf spare the lunch time to have a talk, she wants to know what he told Donella , he says as a therapist, he shouldnt reveal this personal kind of information to anyone, but well, Ulla is not anyone , is his very twin sister and twin soul.
He detected Donella was neglected, the border of abandonment, her mother ate few, saving the rest , she imitated and gave her savings to her mom, both got very thin, later when would discover she saved the food of her "payment" to give it to another men (who was not Donella father) in order to please him and have a romance , he aceptes the food and got a better health, but provided no romance.
Donellas mother kept doing this, unhealthily, Donella lost motivation to stay along her mother, she would have liked her to do something nice for her daughter, but it seems like there was no interest, no longer feeling hungry due to this new way for living, Don left, her food saved no longer for her mother , but to sell, few coins and she would pay the door man to let her go.
So she did, live on the borders of Ingvarr felt nice, there was no food, she felt no hunger, she had no dreams or motivations ,she would just walk around until getting tired and waking up to repeat, and she did it a few days before getting "adopted" by Ulla and Ulf parents.
The he saw she needed to go back and search for her mother to talk about the past, the neglect, and invite her out the mines, heal their relationship, but -
Oups I have to go, see you around 🪷🎁🪷🎀🍊🌷🌺🪻🧭🎀💎🥥☀️🔰🥭🫧🫧🌻🌸🌼🌸💐🌸🪷🌹🌷🌼🍁🍂🪴🍀❄️🌈🫧🌊🌤️⛅☀️💫🌙☄️🌠🌌
#varian#tangled varian#tts varian#varian the alchemist#varian tts#rta varian#rapunzels tangled adventure#varian and the seven kingdoms#vat7k#hugo vat7k#vat7k donella#donella vat7k#vat7k ulla#ulla vat7k#Ulf Vat7k#Vat7k Ulf#cyrus vat7k#vat7k cyrus#Varian's extended family#Vat7k extended family#Vat7k Amber#Amber Vat7k
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Hello, mutuals, my kith and kin, time for a super specific historical beef!
I know, it's been a while.
I stumbled on the post below in the Ukraine tag and I was very surprised by it. Usually when I go to that tag, I'm annoyed by pro-russian bigots and tankies, but this time I was annoyed by a stupid Normanist take! Fun!
This blog, which gives me bad vibes so I used a screenshot instead of reblogging, claims that the Kingdom of Kyiv is a 100 percent Viking-made, and those dirty Slavs had no ability to govern themselves.
I say: Bullshit!
And let me make it very clear that I don't agree on anything with putin. He is a psycho and war criminal who uses his own pseudohistorical delusions to justify his imperialist conquest. Both him and the author of this post are wrong.
Let me tell you why:
Our main source on the early Kyivan Rus is The Primary Chronicle by Nestor, also known as The Tale of Bygone Years. It's not a contemporary source. Nestor wrote decades after the most recent of the events he's describing, using the stories he had heard himself as well as earlier Byzantine chronicles. Thus, as you can imagine, it's not super accurate in places, and sometimes the author leaves pretty big gaps in the narrative that historians have worked to fill in.
For example, King Igor (aka Ingvarr) came to rule Kyiv after the death of his predecessor Oleg the Clairvoyant (aka Helgi), who himself had come to rule Kyiv after two guys called Askold and Dir. Nestor calls Igor Rurik's son but timeline-wise the math isn't mathing, so it's much more likely that he was Oleg's son, or nephew, or something like that. Igor marries Olga (aka also Helgi).
And then something really weird happens.
Ingvarr and Helgi have a son with a super unusual for a Viking aristocrat name - Svyatoslav.
And then Svyatoslav has three sons named Oleg (one more Helgi), Yaropolk, and Vladymir.
Vladymir ends up taking the throne and, being a massive manwhore, has a bunch of kids - most of them have Slavic names and some have Greek names. Vladymir is succeeded by Yaroslav the Wise.
It may not seem like a big deal but the King of Kyiv and his wife, who were both Viking nobility, suddenly decided to name their heir and only child a Slavic name. And after him, the old traditional Northern names completely go out of use in the dynasty.
Which means that somewhere in the early Xth century, which is not at all long after the establishment of the Rurikid dynasty in Kyiv (mid IXth century), there was a monumental shift in the Kyivan court politics that urged the foreigners on the throne to make a public effort to assimilate with the local population. We don't know what happened. Nestor never told us because he either didn't know himself or didn't think it was worth mentioning, but this monumental shift is right there, between the lines.
And you are going to tell me that the local Kyiv elites had no say in the government? That Rus Statehood was completely imported and foreign? That the Kingdom of Kyiv was invented by the Scandinavian conquerors?
I say: read the fucking sources, twats!
#Kyivan rus#this is my roman empire#as kids say these days#super specific historical beef#and don't get me started on putins insane take GDL#or I'm gonna write until the whole website crushes and then have a brain aneurysm
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[[Kay, so the whole thing seems to fit so no need to link it but I'll still drop the link to the Doc in case it's easier to read there than here.
Link
No TWs needed for this one, at least I don't think so but as always lemma know if there needs to be for something in here.]]
Norway
November 17, 880 C.E.
06:07
Jelani burst through the door while clutching a small bag containing the last of the potions and salves Sanaa ad Loke had made to deliver. While standing at the door he looked around the snow-covered village, at that time the village would be buzzing with the sounds of people greeting each other as they made their way to whatever chores or jobs they had but the village was quiet and mostly empty. It was usually at that time that Jelani would be making his way over to his grandfather to help herding and tending to the sheep but today was a little different. Most of the people in the village had gone to help a village that had been attacked by knights, word of the attack reached them in the north and to help Ingvarr had sent a few of his people to offer aid and protection from further aggression. Most of the houses were empty and there was a silence in the atmosphere that felt almost uneasy. Jelani was used to seeing many people around the village at that time, some going to check on the cattle, others to relieve guards of their post so they could rest, the blacksmiths were on their way to make weapons and armor though most of their time was spent fixing broken or old pieces that held up buildings and houses.
The ten-year-old boy ran towards the stables to see if Loke's horse, Helga, was prepared. To his surprise Helga was ready but neither his brother nor his parents were anywhere near the stables. Jelani looked around but before leaving he reached out to pet the old mare's snout. Helga was the oldest of the mares but the gentlest one. She was used to being patted and scratched by everyone in the village, young and old, her age had granted her a patience that at times felt almost supernatural. Helga stretched her neck and sniffed Jelani's open palm as he stood on his toes to pet her.
“Hello, Helga.” Jelani said in a playful tone as he gently patted Helga's nose.
“There you are, little one!”
A voice boomed excitedly behind Jelani as he was lifted into the air. As he was turned around, he smiled when he saw his grandfather smiling back at him. Haakon gave Jelani a tight hug but before walking away he petted Helga.
“Your parents are looking for you. Why didn't you wait?”
“I'm sorry, papa. I just wanted to see what was taking so long.”
“Oh, you're that excited about the journey?”
“Yes!”
“You're not even a little scared?” Haakon laughed as he walked back to his son's home with his grandson in his arms.
“Uh-uh.” Jelani answered enthusiastically.
Haakon let out a hearty laugh as he hugged his grandson tightly. Truth was he was nervous about letting Jelani go to the village that had been attacked. Knights tended to hang around an area they’ve attacked to wait for allies to show up to provide aid and attack the allies. To make matters worse there was a recent spike in raider activity and these were brazened. There was also the matter of the distance. If it’d been up to Haakon neither of his grandsons would be making the journey to deliver supplies and medicine but Loke insisted, he wanted to help and where one sibling went the other was right next to the other. Ingvarr and Sanaa were sure it was perfectly safe. Loke was a mature, capable and fiercely protective man so neither saw anything wrong with letting their thirty-two-year-old son look after his ten-year-old brother. Haakon trusted Loke to take care of and protect his younger brother but there was an uneasiness stirring within him. As they reached Ingvarr's house Haakon put Jelani down but before he could run off to find his parents Haakon held him back and knelt to look him straight in the eyes.
“Jelani, I need you to listen to me closely, all right?”
Jelani turned and paid attention. Haakon’s tone had turned serious, and he wanted to see why.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, little one. However, this is the first time you’ll be away, so I need you to promise me that you’ll be good, and you’ll listen to your brother, all right? You do everything he tells you to when he tells you to.”
“I will, papa, don't worry.”
Haakon forced a smile on his face, he was worried, and he grew even more so as the uneasiness in his stomach grew. He looked at Jelani up and down as he rested his hands on his small shoulders and afterwards hugged him. He desperately wanted to tell him and Loke not to leave but he had no real excuse to tell them. Telling them not to go off the strength of a bad feeling didn't seem like a good idea. He was probably nervous to see his youngest grandson away for that much time.
“Oh, my sweet, there you are.” Sanaa called out and Jelani ran to his mother and gave her a tight hug. Ingvarr joined his wife and son and Haakon smiled as he looked at them as Loke emerged from the house and picked up and carried Jelani as he hugged his mother.
“Is everything ready?” Haakon asked as he stood straight, the uneasiness in his voice was almost noticeable.
“Yes,” Loke confirmed, “We should start heading out soon. We have a lot of area to cover.”
“Maybe I should go instead of you boys.”
“Father, don't be ridiculous.” Ingvarr interjected as he chuckled. “Your shoulder isn't fully healed yet. You should rest.”
“My shoulder feels fine.”
“Ingvarr's right.” Sanaa said as she walked over to Haakon and placed her hand on his injured shoulder and gave her father-in-law a warm smile. “You should rest. Besides,” she turned to Loke with a wide smile and pride in her face, “Loke is more than capable of handling this and looking after his brother. I wouldn't trust anyone else.”
“Thanks, mother.” Loke sheepishly said as he tried to hide his face by lowering his gaze as well as the enormous smile that quickly formed upon hearing his mother give such high praise.
Haakon, having given up on trying to stop his grandsons from making the journey to the village, hugged Loke and whispered something in his ear. Loke seemed confused by the words his grandfather uttered but nevertheless he nodded and returned the hug. The old berserker then turned to Jelani who was still in Loke's arms and reminded him of what he’d asked of him earlier. Jelani nodded enthusiastically.
Loke and Jelani said their goodbyes and made their way to Loke’s horse who was ready with their supplies and the supplies Sanaa had prepared for the village. Loke mounted the old mare first and got settled comfortably and then reached down so Jelani could grab hold of Loke’s arm and once he had a good grip Loke lifted his little brother and sat him in front of him as he knew Jelani liked holding onto the reins.
Both set off and headed south. Loke figured it would take them an hour and a half to reach the southernmost part of the island where they’d have to cross into the mainland, the stretch of water was less than a mile wide but usually there were boats in the area that frequently offered passage to others into the mainland so crossing with Helga and the supplies wouldn't be much of a problem. From there it would take them roughly eighteen to twenty hours to reach the village.
The journey to the shore was pleasant. Both siblings got along wonderfully and neither ceased to amuse the other. Despite their twenty-two-year gap both often found plenty of common ground and often spent hours talking. The hour and a half it took to reach the point to cross into the mainland was spent talking about Loke, Ingvarr, Sanaa and Jørgen’s latest brush with slayers that had made their way onto the island and had threatened a small village of werewolves. The four of them managed to repel the slayers before they could do any real harm. Dealing with slayers was like dealing with raiders and bandits, they had no real organization, lacked any real discipline, were mostly opportunistic cowards that heavily relied on the element of surprise and most of the time they were very unprepared. The only thing that drove them was their hate for anything that wasn't human or humans who mingled with non-humans. Aside from that they weren't a real threat. However, something within their ranks was happening. Stronger, bolder, skilled and organized numbers were appearing amongst the slayers. Survivors of their attacks heard slayers refer to these individuals as knights. They were better equipped, knew how to fight and were organized, every move they made was deliberate and calculated. The same hate that invigorated slayers drove knights but unlike slayers knights were observed using magic and other tools slayers deemed corrupt or sinful yet they banded together. Rumors of a group led by knights and backed by slayers had been circulating for about a year, but it looked like the rumors were true. Loke would be lying to himself if he didn't say he felt some level of worry over these knights. They seemed like a threat and the fact that they managed to snake their way into the mainland meant it was only a matter of time before they would find their way onto the island and set their sights on their village. He kept his worries to himself though, there was no need to worry his brother about potential future attacks. He wanted this small journey to be about both of them, he wanted his little brother to have some fun on his first excursion away from their family.
As they reached the shoreline Loke stopped the old mare and dismounted when he saw a group of armed men trying to push back a small boat with elderly people, children, what looked like injured men and women, and a middle-aged woman in it. The woman seemed angry while the elders looked to be a mix of worried, frightened and slightly ashamed.
“Stay here.” Loke said as he looked at the crowd.
“What are they doing?” Jelani asked as he observed the crowd with a bit of caution.
“I’ll find out.”
Loke made his way to the men and the boat. He could hear both parties arguing about trying to gain entry to the island and the other denying them passage. Loke looked to the oldest of the armed men and immediately recognized him, he was a disheveled, scarred old man in his seventies, with hair as white as snow and gray strands between, he had a long unkempt beard and a dead right eye. His body language was as foul as the words he spat at the people in the boat.
“Alvíss? What's going on?” Loke asked as he approached the crowd.
“They're trying to get into the island, and we keep telling them they have to go find shelter elsewhere.”
“Why?”
“Are you blind and deaf, boy?” Alvíss asked with a bitterness in his tone that Loke did not appreciate. “Knights attacked the mainland. Three villages are gone, and five others are barely standing as it is. Now mainlanders want to come to the island supposedly seeking refuge.”
“We are!” The middle-aged woman screeched as her frustration boiled over. “This? This is all that survived an attack by those knights! We're just trying to find a safe place to rest and catch our breath.”
“And how do we know you're not knights trying to attack us?” Alvíss retorted.
“Because you all would have been dead by now.” Loke responded. “If they were knights, they would’ve come prepared and armed. They would’ve easily run you all through and tossed your carcasses aside and kept walking. Now tell your men to stand down! This is absurd! These are scared and injured people, there's children and elderly in that boat, not knights!”
Alvíss’s men lessened their grips on their weapons and looked back and forth between Alvíss and the boat as if waiting for Alvíss to give word on what to do. Loke was right, knights were ruthless and didn't resort to undercover tactics to gain entry into places. Once they had a target in their sights, they usually walked up to it and set it on fire regardless of who was in it. Alvíss was terrified, he wasn't going to admit it, but he was terrified of these knights. He was a human living alongside non-humans and that alone was grounds for knights to execute him as if he were a werewolf or a vampire or any other non-human. He looked back at his men and saw their demeanor lessen, their weapons were mostly down so he sighed heavily and ordered them to keep them down.
“So be it…but these mainlanders are not welcome in our village.”
Loke shook his head in disappointment as he walked past Alvíss and helped the woman pull the boat to shore. He helped the people onboard get off the boat safely as most were either old, injured or small children. Once they were all safely off the boat Loke walked over to Jelani and grabbed his own supplies he had in a bag, patted Jelani on the head while smiling at him and walked back to the group. He handed his supplies to the woman and pointed towards his and Jelani's village.
“Follow the shoreline north and once you reach several ships and boats docked on the shore turn inland to the east. My village is there. On foot it should take you about two hours to reach it. For the sick and injured among you, find my mother, Sanaa, she can help. For everything else ask for my father, Ingvarr, he’s the chieftain. There's some food and water in the bag as well as a bit of salve in case you need any along the way. I promise, you won't be turned away.”
“Have you gone mad, boy?” Alvíss interjected as he pulled on Loke's shoulder to turn him around to make him face him. “What if the knights that attacked them are following them? You’d lead straight to your people. To your family!”
“They're more than welcome to try. We're well over three hundred berserkers, over eighty werewolves of all breeds, over twenty vampires of almost all ranks, realm jumpers, daefiernos of all kinds, dozens of some of the hardiest humans you’d never want to come across, and the most powerful arcanist berserker the world ever saw. I like our chances.” Loke finished his sentence with a mischievous smile that formed as he boasted about the people of his village Alvíss so quickly deemed in danger. However, as he continued to look at Alvíss his smile and expression turned bitter as his next words were coated with venom. “Unlike some people we never turn away those who need help.”
Loke watched as Alvíss, and his men retreated from the area. He was sure they’d return to harass other mainlanders trying to find refuge from the attacks but there was nothing he could do at the moment. His main priorities were to take care of his brother and deliver the supplies to the village. After watching the men leave Loke turned to the woman and the rest of the refugees with a softer stance and expression.
“I’m sorry about Alvíss, he shouldn't have been doing this. My brother and I can escort you back if you need. We only have one horse but–”
“Believe me, you’ve done more than enough, and we can manage. We’ve made it this far; we’ll make it to your village. Thank you.”
Loke and Jelani watched the small group march on. He felt horrible about not escorting them himself to make sure they made it to the village safely, but he also had the supplies his mother put together for the survivors of the village he and Jelani were traveling to. With a little prayer to the stars for the group's safety he turned to Jelani and helped him off the old mare. Both got Helga into one of the boats and Loke rowed them across the water. Jelani offered to help but Loke entrusted him to keep an eye on Helga even though the mare was unnaturally calm. It would take a serious cataclysmic event to rattle that old mare and even then, some believed nothing could. Once on the other side the boys made sure to tie off the boat once they got Helga out of it. They mounted up and continued on their way south to the village.
“Why did Alvíss try to stop the mainlanders from coming to the island?”
“He's just afraid, little one.”
“Of what? They didn't look like a threat.”
“They're not but…sometimes people get scared and act irrationally. Some even turn hostile like Alvíss did. It's alright to be scared but just make sure your fears never cloud your judgment. Do you remember that werewolf that lost control of himself during a full moon?”
“Aye.” Jelani recalled the incident. The werewolf in question had lost his charm after a fight with a bear he fought off his land. When he couldn't find the charm, he resorted to locking himself in his home that night but he somehow broke free and found his way into the village looking for prey.
“Father, Uncle, Grandfather, and I were afraid when we confronted him. It could've been so much easier to drive a silver blade through him and then bury him in the morning, but we knew better so we restrained him ourselves until dawn. Just because we were scared it didn't mean we were going to turn our backs on someone that needed help. It wasn't his fault.”
Jelani remembered how scared Sanaa was that night. Her husband and her eldest son were pinning and holding down an out-of-control werewolf during a full moon. Few living beings could go hand to hand with a werewolf yet the four of them dared to in order to save the lives of the people in the village and the werewolf's life. They’d spent a few hours wrestling the beast to the ground and once they did, they piled up on him to keep him from attacking anyone else. It hadn't been easy but over one thousand five hundred pounds of near unbreakable armor and muscle kept the werewolf in place until the rising sun ended his thrashing. The man was remorseful and ashamed for having caused so much trouble, but he was grateful none of them resorted to hurting or killing him. Loke walked away with a lot of bruises and a few open wounds that bled profusely but Sanaa quickly took care of them. Loke held no grudge against the man, he was just glad no one was hurt.
“You didn't look scared that night.”
“I was terrified. All I kept thinking was that I needed to keep him from reaching Mother and you. Yes, I was injured a little, but no one was hurt, not exactly. Sometimes doing the right will frighten you but you just have to push through it. All right?”
“Yes.” Jelani giggled as Loke tickled him.
The boys kept riding south and did not stop or slow down. With Loke's supplies in the hands of the refugees there was less food for them, but Loke figured he'd hunt down a rabbit or some other small game to make dinner after setting up a camp for the night.
They rode for hours until Loke figured they had an hour before the sun would set. He looked for a comfortable spot and once he found one, he tasked Jelani with starting a fire while Loke hunted down a rabbit for both. Before leaving Loke told Jelani not to leave the camp as neither of them were very familiar with the area and he could easily get lost. Once Loke headed into the woods Jelani got to work on building the fire, he’d done it several times. He knew how to arrange the wood and how to start the fire as well as how to keep it roaring. When he finished, he walked over to Helga and retrieved his bag and removed two apples, he gave one to Helga who happily ate the apple and the other he cut in half. One half for him and the other for Loke.
Jelani sat by the fire and patiently waited for his brother to return. Out of boredom he pulled at some of the grass counting each blade of grass he pulled out when suddenly he heard a noise in the distance. Both he and Helga looked up to where the sound came from but there was nothing between the trees. The forest fell silent again, no animals could be heard, much less insects and it worried Jelani. He turned to Helga and saw the old mare’s ear swishing back and forth as if trying to pinpoint the location of something that was unnerving her. As soon as he stood up to comfort her the sound erupted from deep in the forest. This time Helga’s ears were pointed back, and Jelani could see the whites of her eyes as she stared in the direction of the sound. He had no idea what it could be. He turned to Helga and calmed her down, it must’ve been something serious as Helga wasn't known for being easily startled. As he soothed the horse, they both heard the sound again, only this time it sounded louder and this time it really scared him.
“Loki?” Jelani called out of instinct. Whenever he felt frightened or was in pain the person he always called out to was his brother.
“Loki!”
No answer. The forest fell quiet again and fear began to stir in the pit of his stomach. A thought then crossed his mind that chilled his bones. What if the sound was his brother screaming? What if his brother was in danger or was hurt? Jelani rushed to his bag and retrieved a small blade and then made sure Helga’s reins were secure, once he did, he ran in the direction of the sound.
As he ran through the forest, he called out to his brother but there was no answer. As he ran around, he listened carefully in case he heard the sound again but after a few minutes he’d gotten turned around and was now lost. He couldn't tell which direction the sound had come from or where their camp was.
“Looookiiiiiiii!”
Fear and desperation were clawing at him as he quickly looked around for any signs of familiarity. He was so far from the camp he couldn't even see the fire he’d started. As he inhaled to yell out for his brother again, he heard the sound coming from behind him but this time it sounded clearer and louder. It sounded like a strange scream, it felt almost inhuman to some degree. Jelani had no choice but to follow the sound and hope that whatever was making that sound wasn't hostile or in danger.
Jelani kept walking in the direction of the sound and soon came across a large clearing and what was once a camp in the middle of it. The grass and shrubs were black, and the smell of smoke was still in the air though faint. Items, clothes, weapons, vegetables, firewood and other items were thrown about either completely burned or half burned, what hadn't caught fire was broken and some other items were thrown about. He looked around carefully as he debated whether he should explore the area or go back to camp. Curiosity won out in the end, so he slowly made his way into the rundown camp to see what was making that unsettling sound. As he got closer to the middle of the camp he noticed several sheep carcasses along with what appeared to be two cats and five dogs. All the animals had been burned but one of the dogs had been decapitated. Jelani stared at the corpses of the animals and felt sick. He wondered what these animals could have possibly done to incur such violence, especially that one particular dog. With a heavy sigh Jelani continued on his way to see if there were any people in the camp.
As he made his way through the rubble, he found a pile of clothes on top of a haystack. The clothes were vibrant in color and looked clean and unaffected by the fire. He grabbed a tunic from the pile, it was much too small for him meaning that at one point there had been small children in the camp. When he set the tunic back down, he noticed a toy next to the pile. It was a wooden toy carved in the shape of a dog sitting on its hind legs with the front paws up to its chest as if begging. The curly tail was pinned to the back and in its mouth were several flowers. The toy was around three inches tall, the finish was smooth, especially with the paint, it was colored black with gray details. The toy resembled Haakon’s dog. Jelani knew taking it without knowing who the owner was would be wrong, but the state of the camp seemed to indicate that something terrible had happened, so he grabbed the toy and moved on.
He kept walking forward and a horrible stench hit him hard enough to cause him to cover his nose. There was the smell of smoke but something else he’d never smelled before; it was rancid and had a strange undertone he couldn't identify. As he walked forward the smell got stronger which caused him to gag but he tried his best not to throw up. It’d been a few minutes since he heard the strange sound and part of him was glad, but another part was worried.
A few feet from the camp Jelani came across a pile of horribly burned items, the smell seemed to be emanating from that pile. As he walked towards it a trio of wolves stuck their heads up and stared at Jelani. In turn Jelani froze out of fear and as he stared at them, they stared back. Each of their faces was covered in blood and gore and while two of them backed away and proceeded to run away the third one bared its teeth and snarled at Jelani for a few seconds before running away. Once the wolves had run off Jelani exhaled but as soon as he focused on the pile he began to shudder. The pile was composed of badly burnt bodies and at the top where the wolves were was a person looking right at him. Due to the extent of the injuries it was hard to tell if it was a woman, a man or other. He swallowed hard as the person weakly stretched their arm towards him and uttered in a gravelly voice, “Help…”
It was the sound he’d been hearing the entire time. Jelani clutched the toy close to his chest as he whimpered and backed away from the pile of bodies though he couldn't stop staring at them. As he backed up he was grabbed and picked up while his eyes were covered. He cried and thrashed due to the fright of being surprised as well as seeing such a horrific sight.
“I told you to stay at camp! Why did you leave?!” It was Loke who picked him up. He hugged him tightly while keeping his face close to his chest so he wouldn't look at the pile of bodies. Loke stared in horror at the sight before him. Body after body crudely thrown on top of the other, some had been mutilated, others were missing limbs, the state they were in was so gruesome he couldn’t tell what he was staring at. As he continued to look at the horrible spectacle he noticed several of the bodies belonged to children in the same state as the adults and he shuddered as he tightened his grip on his little brother.
“I’m sorry, Loki, I’m sorry!” Jelani cried.
“Are you hurt? Are you alright?” Loke frantically asked as he put him down making sure his back was to the bodies and checked him for any injuries.
“I’m–I’m alright.” He stuttered as he cried.
“You cannot just run off without me, Jelani. It's dangerous out here.” Loke wiped away Jelani's tears and picked him back up. He quickly turned and headed back to the camp, he wasn’t sure if the people responsible for that massacre were still in the area and he didn’t want to risk his brother especially after seeing that the people responsible for such a horrific act didn’t seem to care if children were involved.
As Loke rushed back to the camp Jelani wrapped both arms around his brother's neck and buried his face between his neck and shoulder to avoid looking at anything. The image of that badly burnt person stretching their arm out towards him asking for help kept replaying in his mind over and over again. He wasn’t sure how long it would haunt him, but he wanted to avoid seeing anything else that was just as gruesome or worse. Back at camp Loke sat him down close to the fire and wrapped a blanket around him to keep him warm. As day turned to night the temperature dropped significantly and Loke wanted to make sure Jelani was both safe and warm. As they ate Loke noticed Jelani picked at the food and barely said a word, after Jelani ate the little bit that he did Loke noticed the toy Jelani was keeping close to him. He sat next to his little brother and brushed his hair back to get a better look at his face. Jelani looked up at him with a concerned look on his face that made Loke upset.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Are we in danger?”
“No, we're not.”
“That camp back there, there were children in it, and I saw them in the pile and there was this one person yelling for help while wolves ate them alive. They were all burned and…” Jelani paused as he tried to find the words to describe what he saw and what he currently felt. He was afraid not only for himself, his family and his village but for others as well. These knights everyone was talking about frightened him in a way no other things did. It scared him as much as seeing his older brother try to keep an out-of-control werewolf pinned to the ground while he bit him. The one thing he remembers vividly from that night was Sanaa's worried face and the blood pouring from Loke's wounds. “What if we run into them? Those people that did that to them?”
“We won't. We’ll head out at daybreak and before you know it we’ll be at the village. We're only three hours away from this point.”
“What if they find us while we sleep?”
“I’ll keep watch, little one.”
“All night? That's not fair, I’ll stay up with you.”
“No. You need to sleep.”
“But–”
“I’ll sleep when we get to the village. It’ll be alright, I promise.”
Jelani snuggled up to Loke's side, rested his head on his lap and sighed contently as he pulled the blanket over his shoulders and grasped the toy he took from the camp. He pretended to be asleep at first as he still believed it was unfair that he would get to sleep but Loke couldn't so he could keep watch over both but after a few minutes he fell asleep on Loke.
After Jelani fell asleep Loke relaxed a little and wrapped a blanket around himself. He smiled as he looked at Jelani and gently placed his right hand around him as his blanket covered the upper part of his body. Loke then looked to Helga to make sure the old mare was alright and after looking at her for a few minutes and seeing the old girl relaxed Loke felt as Jelani hugged his right arm in his sleep. A smile formed on Loke’s face as he looked at his sleeping younger brother and he suddenly found himself fighting off the urge to grab him and hug him. He gently caressed him with his thumb and then looked up at the night sky. Thousands of shimmering stars were spread across the sky and his mind drifted to the stories his mother would tell of her people, the Nyota. Stories of warriors whose blood had starlight embedded into it, whose lustrous skin and eyes were adorned with stardust, who wielded power beyond anything anyone could ever imagine. Stories of their culture, of their practices, divine secrets, festivals and celebrations all centered around the very cosmos. To him it sounded exquisitely beautiful. As he continued to look up at the night sky and focused on the space between the stars, that space that seemed to swallow all light, he saw a faint glimmer sliding across the sky and let out a quiet gasp as he continued to stare in awe. According to his mother, her people looked to four goddesses made from the very cosmos itself for guidance, three of them: Aberash, Nuru, and Berhane were said to live among the Nyota. However, there was a fourth goddess that lent her wisdom and guidance though she did so from far away. Nomathemba is said to live in space circling the planet. It is said that if she were to stop circling the planet for even one second a horrific terror beyond the scope of understanding would find something hidden on Earth and would come after it. Nomathemba herself chose to act as a guardian in the hopes of staving off a disaster from which nothing could possibly survive so she continuously circles the Earth until she is sure the threat has been neutralized or until existence is somehow halted. It’s said that her size is so massive that if she were to ever come down from space in her true form she would envelop the Earth five times over. Whenever she was seen among the Nyota it was only ever a projection of herself. However, she could constantly be seen in the spaces between the stars. Once you knew what to look for, beautiful faint colors reflecting off her impossible hues, the subtle glimmers across the sky signified her protective presence.
Of all the stories his mother told them, Nomathemba stuck out the most to Loke. A being of immense power chose to spend eternity protecting an entire planet full of people and creatures who most likely don’t even know she exists and even if her presence was to ever be revealed to the world he was sure there would be several people who would disrespect her as people tend to do to things they can’t seem to understand. That selflessness alone earned her his admiration and appreciation as well as a type of devotion. Ever since he first heard of her when he was a boy she inspired him to protect those he loved and those he didn’t that needed help, not for glory or reverence but because it’s the right thing to do even if it’s a difficult task.
The night passed by with an odd tranquility that Loke was grateful for and once the sun began to rise over the horizon he sighed happily and looked down to see Jelani still asleep next to him. He was aware he said they’d get a move on at daybreak but as he watched his little brother sleep he felt a bit guilty about waking him up so early though between the two of them Jelani was the one that was always awake before him, in fact, he was almost always awake before most of the village.
“Is it morning yet?”
Loke was caught off guard and looked down to see Jelani sitting up and rubbing his eyes as he yawned. He couldn’t help but chuckle and give him a pat on the head that ended in a gentle scratch.
“Aye.” Loke answered. “Did you sleep well?”
“I did.” Jelani smiled but just as quickly as his smile appeared it turned into a concerned frown as he remembered that Loke had volunteered to stay awake all night long just in case. “What about you? Were you awake all night?”
“Yes, but it’s alright, little one, I’ll get some sleep tonight in the village.” Loke smiled at Jelani to reassure him that he was indeed alright despite having spent the entire night awake. Jelani stared back with doubt and a concerned look on his face, but Loke gave him a kiss on the forehead and said, “I promise, now go wash up while I gather our things, then we’ll eat breakfast and head to the village. If the weather is favorable, we should be there in three to four hours.”
Jelani nodded happily and went to grab a few items from his bag. As they rode through the area yesterday they noticed a small creek which is mainly why Loke chose the spot to make camp and spend the night. Once he had the items he needed he grabbed a bright red apple and fed it to Helga.
“Jelani?” Loke spoke up so Jelani turned to look at his older brother who was folding the blankets, “Wash up and come right back. Please, don’t wander off.”
“I won’t.” Jelani responded as ran off to find the creek.
“Is he your son?” Loke was startled enough to drop the blanket. He turned around to look at the source of the voice. A pale woman a few years older than Loke idly stood behind him. Her curly dark brown hair was loosely tied, and she wore furs adequate for the current temperature, her faintly red lips housed a smile though her dark gray eyes seemed off to him. Her posture and stance seemed friendly and Loke didn’t see a weapon of any kind on her but a strange feeling overcame him, so he looked at her cautiously.
“No, he’s my little brother.”
“Oh,” The woman’s smile widened, “he’s beautiful.”
“Yes, he is. Can I help you?”
“Mmm, no, I’m just passing through.”
Loke noticed the woman avoided looking at him directly and instead kept looking in the direction that Jelani had taken off to and every hair on his body stood on end. He moved himself to stand directly in front of the woman though he put enough space between them in order to gain a start in case he had to run to his brother or to maneuver in case she drew a concealed weapon.
“Are you traveling by yourself?”
“Yes, I am.”
Every single one of Loke’s senses were on high alert. The woman’s behavior seemed odd. She kept her answers to his questions brief and vague and while there was nothing wrong with that this entire scenario felt dangerous to him. Natives to the area were aware that the area they currently found themselves in had no nearby villages, the nearest one was three to four hours to the southeast and the closest one to that one was two hours away to the northeast. No matter where she was going she had a lot of ground to cover and Loke noticed a lack of supplies on her, no bags, no equipment, and no horse either. There was also the matter of her accent, it felt forced, like she wasn’t a native speaker of the language. Loke was well aware that depending on where in the country you found yourself in your accent would differ. His and Jelani’s accents were from those that lived in the north of the country, specifically the northern islands dotting the mainland. Those that lived in the middle parts of the mainland had a different accent and those that lived in the southernmost regions had another type of accent. Loke had heard all and was familiar with them all yet he couldn’t place hers. While a person’s accent seemed like a silly and trivial thing to worry about everything about the situation he currently found himself in didn’t seem trivial much less silly. As she averted her eyes to look to where Jelani was once again he moved to block her view.
“Where are you headed to?”
“Visiting old friends.”
“Really? Where are these friends?”
The woman didn’t answer this time, she just stared at Loke and widened her smile, yet her eyes were demonstrating an entirely different emotion, as her body tensed up her eyes intensified with what Loke could tell was annoyance. Loke had a particular talent for reading body language, facial expressions and being able to tell when someone was lying, and he was damn good at it too. The only person he told about this talent was his mother.
“Loki?”
At the sound of Jelani’s voice the tension in the air dissipated. Jelani hurried over to Loke when he saw the woman and stood close enough to grab onto his leg. This was something he often did to silently let his brother know he was either scared, uncomfortable, in some type of pain, or to let him know he needed him. Jelani had walked back to camp silently and stood still when he saw his brother and the woman talking. Even Jelani could sense that something was wrong by Loke’s serious tone so he quickly made his way to safety, his brother. Loke in turn placed his hand on Jelani’s right shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze to let him know he was acknowledging him while keeping his eyes on the woman. In turn the woman eased her tension, looked down at Jelani and smiled as she crouched down to get a better look at him.
“Hello.” she said in a loud and friendly voice. “So, what is your name?”
“It’s probably best if you continue passing through. We wouldn’t want to delay you any further.” Loke intervened, before the woman could continue to ask Jelani questions he pulled him behind him to shield him from the woman and forced her to focus on him instead of his brother. Now that Jelani had returned from the creek he dismissed the woman. He hadn’t done so before because he wanted to make sure Jelani was with him instead of at the creek where the woman would be able to do anything without Loke knowing.
“I’m in no hurry to get to where I’m headed.”
“Good-bye.” Loke’s tone was beginning to turn harsh, and the woman picked up on that and so did Jelani who tightened his grip on Loke’s leg out of fear. The woman stood back up and without saying a word she left making her way north. Loke kept an eye on her until the forest obscured his view of her and he was sure she was gone, then Loke grabbed Jelani’s hand and walked him over to Helga and sat him on the mare, he quickly put the supplies Sanaa had made on Helga and walked to the front and handed Jelani the reins.
“Who was she?”
“I don’t know. Stay on Helga, if I tell you to run you ride to the village.”
“What about you?!” Jelani yelled out in concern.
“I’ll catch up. You keep riding southeast and you do not stop for any reason. Understood?”
“Yes…” Jelani quietly agreed as he lowered his gaze to hide the tears forming on the corner of his eyes. Loke slowed down when he realized Jelani was frightened and hugged him. “I’m scared.”
“Don’t be. I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you, you know that right?”
“What if something bad happens to you?”
“Nothing bad will happen to either of us.”
Loke wiped away Jelani’s tears and smiled at him. What he really wanted to say was that he preferred something bad to happen to him rather than it to happen to Jelani. From the very night he was born Loke was determined to take care of his brother and shield him from everything that would mean him any harm even if it meant using himself as the shield. He would gladly forfeit his own life if it meant sparing Jelani’s. Of course, a scared ten-year-old boy wouldn’t want to hear that, so he comforted him. After Jelani stopped crying Loke grabbed their belongings and hurriedly put them away and put them on the mare. This took a total of ten minutes and then he made sure the fire they had was safely snuffed out to avoid creating a fire in the forest. Once Loke was sure everything was packed and ready he hopped up on the mare and the three of them left the area and rode southeast to get to the village.
After a while Jelani calmed down enough to start laughing and talking. With the strange woman appearing out of nowhere and interrupting their morning neither sibling was able to eat breakfast so along the way Loke grabbed one of the bags and took out some fruits, mostly berries and such, for them to eat. After about an hour and twenty-four minutes of riding through the thick snow-covered forest Helga suddenly stopped in her tracks, Loke urged her to continue but the old mare’s ears twitched in all directions and subtly moved her body from side to side. She heard or smelled something that was making her very nervous. Both siblings looked around for whatever was causing Helga so much distress but neither of them saw or heard anything. As a precaution Loke tried to conjure his axe though he found he couldn’t, something was preventing him from conjuring the axe and as he kept trying he kept looking around.
“What’s happening?” Jelani asked nervously.
“I’m not sure, little one.” Loke said as he kept his left hand extended to try and conjure the axe and wrapped his right arm around Jelani.
All of a sudden Helga let out a loud scream and took off startling both siblings. As she ran Jelani, who had the reins, tried to regain control of the old mare and pulled on the reins as hard as he could to make Helga stop but she wouldn’t. Meanwhile Loke tried his best to hold on to Jelani so he wouldn’t fall off Helga as she ran through the forest as fast as her legs could carry her. As Loke held on to Jelani he looked up in time to see a tight rope being pulled and as a last-minute reaction he pushed Jelani down and tried to lower himself, but he hadn’t been quick enough. The rope missed Helga and Jelani, but Loke wasn’t as fortunate, he slammed into the rope around the chest area and was forcefully knocked off the horse and hit the ground hard on his back. The hit and the slam were hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs so as soon as he was able to breathe in he began to cough uncontrollably while trying to sit up. When Loke regained a little bit of control over his coughing a large and older man walked up to him and slammed his foot on Loke’s chest forcing him back to the ground.
“Do not move!” Another man yelled as he aimed a bow and arrow directly at Loke’s face. Next to that man was another one aiming a short bastard sword at his chest while the man pinning him down gave Loke a sinister smile.
“We’ll deal with this one and then we’ll find the boy.”
As the three men looked at each other Loke had reached for a blade he always kept with him as a backup. Once he had a good grip on it, he stabbed the man aiming an arrow at his face in the foot and as he yelled he slashed at the man holding the sword and cut him just above the knee. As the two men recoiled the third one lifted his foot off Loke, so he quickly stood up and squared off. The man looked on in confusion until he looked at Loke’s hand and saw a knife in his hands and smiled again.
“Clever. Not many of your kind carry man-made weapons. Why bother when you can conjure them with your trickery?”
Loke starred the man down, he knew what he was without needing to announce himself to him. His furs were soaked in what Loke could only guess was werewolf blood, the necklace of fangs around his neck were fangs that once belonged to vampires and the claws decorating his gauntlets were that of various other non-human creatures. They particularly hated berserkers because they couldn’t take any prizes off them. Once a berserker was dead their armor and weapons vanished back to wherever it was that they resided in until they were conjured. There was also the fact that berserkers were well over eight feet tall with massive pieces of armor and colossal weapons. No matter how strong slayers were they’d never be able to carry or wear berserker armor and weapons. Slayers loved to adorn themselves with the body parts of their victims, but these slayers were smart. Loke noticed several small dampening stones among their adornments, which is why he wasn’t able to conjure his weapons or his armor.
The man with the sword had recovered and let out a furious roar as he ran towards Loke with his sword held high to most likely swing sideways to cut him across the body. As the man swung his sword Loke dodged it as the sword clumsily missed him though it was still a little too close for comfort. As the sword slammed into the ground Loke turned his upper body and as the man, who had bent over slightly as his full weight had been used on the swing of his sword, was starting to raise himself back up Loke plunged his knife into the back of the man’s head instantly killing him. Without wasting time Loke removed the knife and turned to face the archer who had taken aim at him. As Loke threw the knife the man fired his arrow. Both projectiles quickly flew towards their intended targets. Loke’s knife dug into the archer’s left cheek while the archer’s arrow hit Loke on his right arm. The arrow cut him deeply but at least it hadn’t gone through his arm, however, the cut in his arm was bleeding profusely and he began to panic. Loke was what several people in the village called a “bleeder”, any significant injuries led to him bleeding in an almost out of control manner. When he was eight years old, he nearly died from a horrible gash he acquired from an accident while he practiced some sword fighting techniques with some of the other boys. Had it not been for his mother’s quick actions and knowledge Loke would’ve died that day.
Loke inhaled and shook his head. He didn’t have time to worry about a cut in his arm, he needed to get to Jelani in case there were more slayers in the area, there usually were. They were known to kill non-humans of any age without prejudice, so he needed to stop them from harming his brother. As he took a step forward the third man turned him around and ran his bastard sword made of silver through Loke. The cold blade had passed through him from underneath his sternum and exited out the back missing his spine by a few inches. Loke took painful and shuddering breaths as he looked at the slayer with a pained and almost angry look on his face, in turn the slayer couldn’t help but smile as he slowly pulled the blade out. The pain was so intense that Loke had lost his balance and was collapsing to the ground, but the slayer held him up as he continued to watch him struggle. Loke gathered his strength and in one swift move he head butted the slayer in the face breaking his nose in the process, as the slayer recoiled, and the wound caused his eyes to tear up Loke used the opportunity to fall on him and punched him as hard as he could for as long as he could. After he was losing his strength due to blood loss Loke stood up and walked in the direction where he’d seen Helga run off to. The more he walked the weaker he got but he willed himself to keep going at least until he could find Jelani.
After a few minutes Loke fell on his knees and hunched over as he coughed. He pressed his right hand against the stab wound and looked at his hand to see it covered in blood, he then looked down to see an alarming amount of it all over himself. He pressed his hand on the wound again, the pain caused him to shudder loudly and hang his head. He tried hard to stand back up but found it difficult.
“Loki!”
At the sound of his name being called Loke looked up and saw Jelani riding over to him and panic began to swell within him. He tried to stand but the pain was unbearable and to make it worse he felt weak and dizzy.
“Run…” Was all he could say as he hunched over and tried to hold himself up with his left arm as he clutched his chest with his right arm.
“Loki?!” Jelani cried out with concern in his voice as he stopped Helga and dismounted. Due to the mare’s size and his stature Jelani fell to the ground but quickly stood back up and ran to his brother. He fell on his knees as he held onto Loke and looked with absolute horror and fear at the amount of blood on him.
“Why did you come back?” Loke asked.
“To find you.” Jelani said as he grabbed Loke’s left arm and began to pull on it. “We have to go before they find us!”
“Listen–listen to me. Listen to me.” Loke stuttered between breaths. He forced himself to sit up and placed his left hand on Jelani’s cheek. “Get on the horse and run, you run, and you don’t stop or look back no matter what you hear.”
“All right, I’ll help you get to Helga, and we’ll go.”
“No! Je–no, Jelani, you have to leave me here. I’ll hold them back and you run and get to the village.”
“What?! No, I’m not leaving you here!” Jelani began to cry as he tightly hugged Loke who in turn hugged him back.
“You have to, little one. Either way I won’t make it to sundown, but I can at least hold them back so that you can.”
“No, don’t say that!”
“I promised that nothing would ever harm you and I intend to keep that promise until my last dying breath.”
“Please don’t leave me…” Jelani whimpered as he buried his face on his brother’s neck and cried.
“And I never will, little one.” Loke whispered as he hugged his brother. He gathered his strength and picked Jelani up and made his way to Helga. He sat Jelani on the saddle, but he wouldn’t let go of Loke as he continued to cry and beg him not to leave him.
Eventually Loke pulled Jelani off him and handed him the reins; among the supplies was a dagger which Loke removed and held onto to at least have a way to fight the slayers back.
“Loki, please?”
Loke looked up. He hated seeing Jelani cry and if there was anything he could do to ease his pain he would, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he bled to death, by staying behind he could at least spare his brother from seeing him die next to him and at least keep his promise to protect him even if it meant dying at the hands of slayers. Loke gave Jelani one last hug as he said, “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Jelani replied as he hugged him back.
Loke gently pressed his forehead on Jelani’s for a few seconds and then kissed his forehead and with the dagger in one hand he smacked Helga with the other and watched the old mare and his little brother run east towards the safety of the village. After a few minutes he looked up at the sky and begged the stars and the cosmos to keep Jelani safe once he was gone. With some renewed strength and determination Loke held on to the dagger and walked back in the direction he’d come from to hold back the slayers.
As he made his way through the forest he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a row of ten horses and their riders all staring down at him. Their faces housed gleefully wicked smiles as they looked at him. Loke took a deep breath as he scowled at them.
“Well,” A familiar voice said and from between the riders came the slayer that had run Loke through, his sword still had Loke’s blood on it, “It seems like this one may still have some fight left in him.”
The rest of the slayers laughed but Loke continued to scowl at them. The more time they wasted mocking him the further away Jelani got.
“Where’s the boy?”
“Why worry about a child when…you haven’t even killed the adult?”
The rest of the slayers chuckled in amusement though their leader hadn’t found Loke’s remark funny. He inhaled deeply as he sucked in air through his teeth and exhaled quickly. He dismounted his horse and stood in front of it as he looked left and then right and four of the slayers drew their bows and aimed their arrows right at Loke.
“You look half dead to me.” The slayer replied. He looked and pointed at one of the slayers and said, “Find the boy and bring him back, he couldn’t have gotten far yet.”
The other slayer nodded and took off. As he rode past Loke he grabbed the dagger tightly, aimed and tossed the dagger at the slayer. The blade sank deep into the man’s back who yelled out and tried to grab it but as he did, he lost balance and fell off his horse. As Loke turned to face down the lead slayer the four archers had fired their arrows. One hit Loke on his right lung, another hit him on his right thigh, one hit his left shoulder and the last one hit him on his lower abdomen. Somehow Loke was still standing despite the pain, the dizziness, and the blood loss. He stood still as he tried to breathe though he found it difficult.
The slayer made his way towards Loke and kicked him in the chest causing him to fall back and land on his back. The landing exacerbated the pain and caused him to cough which made it all the worse as his right lung collapsed and filled with blood. The more he coughed the more blood flowed up his esophagus until it was coming out of his mouth in a red foam. The slayer stood over Loke and smiled as he took in the sight. He took the arrow that was stuck to Loke’s thigh and pulled it out as hard as he could, he did the same with the arrow in his lower abdomen and sat on him while staring at him and smiling. After a few seconds he turned to face the rest of his men and ordered them to find Jelani.
Loke swallowed hard as he watched the slayers take off to the east and tried to take a deep breath but found he couldn’t because of the pain. The slayer sitting on him leaned forward and creepily caressed his throat with his hand as he whispered, “You want to know what’s the best part of hunting down abominations like you? Getting to watch you slowly die. Looking you in the eyes as your life is slowly drained.”
In defiance to the slayer’s eerie claim and obnoxious laughter Loke spat blood on his face. He wanted to say something, but the pain was too much for him at that point. The slayer laughed and was about to say something as well when all of a sudden, a tremendously loud and booming, droning sound exploded from within the forest. Both men looked to where the sound was coming from and stood still and quiet. Loke noticed a faint fog slowly carpeting the snowy ground but was just as confused by it as he was by the sound. As the slayer frantically looked around the sound erupted once more, only this time it sounded louder. It was loud enough to cause the branches of the trees to rattle so hard that the snow covering them fell to the ground.
“What is that?” The slayer asked out loud as panic began to set in. He got off Loke and tightly gripped his sword in both hands as he looked around the forest for the source of the sound. He circled around Loke who was calm. The sound was intimidating but for some reason he didn’t feel the panic that the slayer was so obviously consumed by.
With every minute that passed Loke could feel himself fading, it was getting to the point where it was difficult to keep his eyes open. The only thing in his mind was Jelani and he hoped against hope that he had gained enough distance to safely make it to the village where he’d be safe from the slayers chasing him. With the last of his remaining strength Loke managed to sit up and leaned on a nearby tree and tried to keep his eyes open. He watched as the slayer paced back and forth as he took a defensive stance just in case whatever was making that sound made its way towards him. Perhaps it was due to the loss of blood, but Loke noticed it was getting increasingly cold and the fog was getting higher, he had no explanation for it nor did he care, he knew he wasn’t long for this world so he sat quietly and waited never once regretting his decision to put his brother’s well-being before himself.
As the slayer stared into the forest a low rumble could be heard in the distance and he quickly turned to it as he pointed his sword forward but the more he looked between the trees the more his face turned from angry to frightened. The rumbling grew louder and from the forest nine of the ten horses his men were riding ran past him. The stampede of frightened horses kept running past him though he noticed not one of his men were riding the frightened beasts. Not far behind the stampede the tenth horse emerged from the forest; only this one had a rider on its back, or at least half a rider. The lower part of a man’s body had somehow remained on the saddle but as it rode past Loke the remains fell and hit the snow-covered ground and the slayer ran to investigate.
The remains had been frozen solid, the skin along the pelvic area showed signs of tearing not cutting, whatever had done it hadn’t used a blade to cut the man’s body in half, it had torn him in half. The slayer examined the body further and found the bones, the blood and whatever organs remained were also frozen solid. In his panic he rushed over to Loke who was so weak that he closed his eyes.
“You, monster!” He yelled out as he crouched next to Loke and pulled his head up by his hair. When Loke didn’t open his eyes the slayer shook him and once he saw Loke’s eyes slowly opening he pointed to the frozen remains of one of his men and yelled, “What in the holy father’s name can do that?”
Loke looked to where the slayer was pointing to and saw the frozen remains he was yelling about, but he had no idea what could have done that. The action of tearing a body apart seemed almost bestial and the only thing Loke could think of were werewolves but the fact that the parts were completely frozen seemed impossible for a werewolf. Not to mention he knew of no werewolf that would leave that much flesh on the bone like that. The best Loke could do was groan which angered the slayer.
“You godless, useless wretch!” He exclaimed as he lifted his sword into the air but before he could strike Loke he froze as the sound that had managed to strike fear into his very core erupted once more, only this time it was so close he felt the rumbling deep within his chest cavity. With the deafening sound so close both men realized that it was two sounds emanating from one source. The first sound was a droning boom and after a few seconds a guttural roar unlike any either of them had ever heard came forth and ended in a prolonged snarl.
Loke looked past the slayer and in between the tops of the trees he saw something moving slowly like a predator stalking its prey. He didn’t know what it was, he wouldn’t be able to guess even if he tried. He’d never heard that sound before. As he watched the colossal being move through the trees it faded away.
The slayer raised his sword up and looked behind him when he saw Loke looking up. He figured he’d seen something but wasn’t able to react to it much less say anything. The forest had gone silent, only the wind could be heard eerily blowing from the north. The only other sound that could be heard was the slayer’s own deep and panicked breathing as he looked around. Suddenly right before their eyes something manifested itself before them and in one swift move it grabbed the slayer by the throat and lifted him into the air as it stared and snarled at him.
Loke managed to open his eyes at the sound of the slayer whimpering and struggling to breathe and saw what was causing him so much distress. It was massive, it looked like it stood at the very least eight to nine feet tall. Its legs were long, muscular and digitigrade, each of its two feet had three toes that ended with long, sharp black claws while the fourth toe, the largest one, appeared to be upright with a sickle-shaped enormous claw at the end of it. Further up was a slim yet powerful pelvis and torso that looked completely humanoid, loosely draped around the lower waist was a black cloth that dragged behind it as it walked. The silky material was adorned with bright golden details along the split of the side. On its back were six massive dark gray feathered wings with black details, four of them pointing upwards and the two lower ones pointing down; the middle wings were the biggest and longest ones. Golden metal dotted the spine and split into sections where the ribs were located. At the end of the spine was a long tail that started out thick and ended thin, the gold also covered the top of the tail. Its strong arms ended in humanoid looking hands with five fingers each ending in long black claws, the forearms were covered by elegant black gauntlets with golden details. Each bicep was adorned with two golden rings. The neck was covered by bright white fur, it was puffy enough to cover a bit of the shoulders, it almost resembled a mane except it only covered the neck. The head was hard to come to terms with, to Loke it looked like an off-white skull, he couldn’t exactly identify what type of skull as it looked like an elk’s, or it could be a goat’s or a sheep’s or a reindeer’s. He wasn’t sure, it looked like all of those but none at the same time. The skull-like head housed some very sharp looking dark gray teeth as well as some very long and very sharp and thick canines. Its eyes, all six of them, didn't seem to have any irises, just blood red sclera that had oval-shaped pupils that ran laterally. The top of the skull-like head had four massive black horns. Two horns shot upwards with a slight curvature to the back while the other two curled backwards and ended pointing to the front. Aside from the horns on the head the creature had an intricately woven crown floating over its head. It shone beautifully like a solar halo but dressed in golden light. However, the right side of this crown seemed broken with parts of it impossibly floating near the crown and head of the creature. The right sockets had cracks that went down to the jawline and pieces of the crown were embedded into the cracks.
It was unlike anything he’d ever seen before and yet he felt no fear as he looked at this terrible being. He felt a sense of tranquility that he attributed to being so close to death, at first. Looking over the being again, Loke focused on certain details like the skin of the being. It was a rich dark brown identical to his mother’s skin tone and for a fleeting moment Loke thought this was a manifestation created by his mother and with the little energy he had he slightly smiled. At least he’d get to see his mother, the woman he idolized since she came into his life, before he died. However, he kept looking at the being and focused on the gauntlets, the colors were different but that they had the exact design as the ones his father’s armor had. The cloth around the waist was a different color but it wore it like the cape his mother’s armor had and then a different thought crossed his mind.
As the slayer struggled to free himself the being holding him by his neck intently stared into his eyes while emitting a chilling rumbling hissing sound. As all six eyes locked onto his the man slowly stopped struggling and in a matter of seconds his entire body went limp, except for the look of sheer terror he sported. He looked as if he had just learned of a terrible and inescapable fate and all he could do was weep. The tall being simply opened its clawed hand and let the slayer drop clumsily onto the fog and snow-covered dirt but he quickly scrambled to stand back up. Once he stood back up, he lifted his right hand up to his right cheek and dug his nails into his own flesh while staring at the being. Loke watched as the man frantically scratched into his own skin until he drew blood and little by little he began to tear into the flesh. Once he began ripping off small patches of his own skin the slayer began to cry out in agonizing pain. His face contorted into one of agony and horror as tears formed in his eyes, yet he wouldn’t stop ripping his skin off. At one point he managed to get a good grip of the pieces of loose skin on his cheek and pulled on it with such force that he tore a chunk down to his neck exposing both muscle and bone and it made Loke recoil.
“Help meeeeeee!” The slayer cried out as he gargled his own blood while he looked at Loke.
Even if Loke hadn’t been mortally wounded and so low on energy due to blood loss and pain he still wouldn’t lend aid to the man, never to a slayer or a knight or anyone that harmed others, especially someone who threatened to do harm to his own flesh and blood. Loke remained still as he watched the slayer cry in agony while he tore off his own flesh. When he yelled for help again the being let out a groaning hiss and the slayer turned around and began to walk away all the while he was still screaming in agony and tearing off his flesh.
Both Loke and the being watched him walking into the forest until he could only be faintly heard in the distance. Loke then turned to look at the being, despite everything there was still no fear within him. The being slowly walked towards Loke and once he was next to him it crouched down and sat next to him, a gentle and soft purring replaced its horrible roar and guttural hissing. It stretched one of its hands out and gently placed it on Loke’s face. It was surprisingly soft but somehow cold yet warm against his skin. With its thumb it wiped away some of the blood that fell out of Loke’s mouth and Loke leaned into the hand and closed his eyes for a moment. The being then leaned forward and gently pressed its forehead against Loke’s who then opened his eyes halfway and with the last of his strength he lifted his bloody right hand and gently placed it on the side of its face.
“At least…I got to see you…one last time, little one.” Loke closed his eyes, inhaled and for the last time exhaled. As his body went limp his hand dropped beside him, and Jelani remained perfectly still as he closed his eyes and stopped purring. He remained still for a few minutes as Loke’s body leaned on him. After a while he opened his eyes again and gently laid the lifeless body on the ground, he looked up at the sky and sighed. While still looking at the sky he reached up to his crown and grabbed one of the floating pieces of the broken side and lifted his other hand. Using the small shard, he made a cut along the middle of his palm; his blood was as black as the night sky with platinum swirled in it. He took the bloody golden shard and carefully opened Loke’s mouth and gently placed the blood-covered shard on his tongue and closed his mouth. Jelani then laid down beside his brother’s body and watched and waited.
The light of the rising morning sun broke through the horizon and as its warmth washed over his face he let out a soft groan. He sighed deeply but then suddenly he opened his eyes in a panic and stood up quickly. As he looked around in a panic, not entirely sure what he was looking for, he walked forward and bumped into a small pile of wood. He tried to slow his breathing and looked up to see Helga staring at him as she chewed on some grass, the old mare snorted and went back to eating grass, she seemed calm, almost as if nothing had happened. He looked around and saw a fire still burning, his blanket on the ground, a second blanket near his and a bag of supplies between the blankets. Suddenly Loke remembered the events that had happened though he wasn’t sure how long it’d been since it happened. He gasped loudly and checked himself for injuries, but he found he didn’t have any, he didn’t have any blood, cuts or even any scars from the injuries he received. He kept searching for any signs of injuries, injuries he was absolutely sure he had received when he faced the slayers.
“Loki, what are you doing?”
Loke turned around and he let out a shuddering gasp as he covered his mouth with one of his hands when he saw Jelani standing a few feet behind him. He looked like his usual self, not the hulking strange being he’d seen. He ran over to him and hugged him tightly, a little too tightly, as he tried to hold himself together.
“Are you alright?!”
“Yes!” Jelani answered as he pulled himself away from Loke so he could breathe as Loke was holding him too tightly. “Are you? You’re acting strange.”
“I am.” Instinctively Loke pressed his hand to his chest as if to make sure he wasn’t injured and when he noticed he felt no pain he smiled and hugged Jelani again, a little gentler this time. “Thanks to you, I am.”
“What do you mean?”
“You–you don’t remember? You…the–” Loke looked at his brother and saw the confusion and uncertainty on his face which confused him in the process. He looked over at the tree where he had leaned on when he saw Jelani. There was no blood and the snow at the foot of the tree wasn’t disturbed at all. In fact, the more Loke looked around the more normal everything seemed, which made his confusion all the worse.
“You really don’t remember? What is the last thing you remember?”
“We were on our way to the village and along the way something scared Helga and she ran off. You fell off and when I managed to regain control of her, I came back to get you, but you said you didn’t feel well. You made camp and you went to sleep at midday and didn’t wake up until now.”
“Well…I remember falling off the horse but that’s…not what happened…” He trailed off as he realized that maybe the entire experience had been so exhausting to Jelani that maybe he forgot the events. Maybe he was still too young to retain his memories after shifting into that other form Loke saw. Whatever the reason for his lapse in memory Loke decided it was best to drop it and let it be. For now. He knew he had died; he was well aware of that fact. He may not have been in pain at the moment, but he vividly remembered what it felt like when that slayer drove that sword through his abdomen, he remembered being shot with several arrows and the burning pain of his collapsing lung and how much pain it caused him to breathe. He could still recall how much it scared and hurt him to slowly bleed to death, but the worst fear was knowing the slayers had gone after Jelani and Loke was far too injured to do anything about it. No amount of pain would make him regret dying to save his brother’s life.
As he looked at Jelani the image of that other version of him remained clearly in his mind. No matter how tall or intimidating he looked he was still his little brother. Loke didn’t know how he had come back to life, but he was absolutely sure it was thanks to Jelani, the only regret he felt was the fact that Jelani didn’t remember what he’d done for him.
“Are you really alright, Loki?”
“I really am, I promise, little one.” Loke answered with a smile and hugged Jelani again who in turn returned the hug as tightly as he could, which made Loke laugh. “Now, go untie Helga while I pick up the blankets.”
Jelani rushed over to the old mare and greeted her cheerfully as he untied her reins. Loke walked over to the blankets and rolled up Jelani’s and neatly placed it in the bag. As he reached down to grab his blanket he noticed that there was a feather on it, he picked it up and noticed it was cold to the touch but the more he looked at it the more familiar it looked. The feather was dark gray with some black details on it. All of a sudden, he remembered what his grandfather had whispered to him before he and Jelani left the village, and a wave of shock overtook him.
“Look for the frozen feathers. They’ll keep you boys safe.”
As Haakon’s words echoed in his mind Loke gasped and then stared at the feather in his hand. Technically the feather wasn’t frozen, but it was very cold. When Jelani appeared in that other form Loke had noticed a sudden drop in the temperature that made even him feel chilly. How could Haakon have known about the feather? Loke wasn’t sure but he thought it would be best if he kept it between him and his grandfather for Jelani’s safety. He looked down at the feather one more time and smiled. He neatly tied and secured it to the end of a small braid he had on the left side of his head and continued to roll up the blanket and put it in the bag. When he put out the fire, he made his way to Helga and Jelani and secured the bag on the mare and then hoisted Jelani up on the mare reserving his spot on the front so Jelani could hold on to the reins as he usually liked to do.
“Oh!” Jelani exclaimed as he looked at his brother and touched the feather he tied to his hair. “Where did that come from?”
Loke remained silent for a minute and hoped that seeing and touching the feather would jog his memory of the events but going by the look on Jelani’s face Loke was sure it didn’t work. He simply smiled and said, “I found it on my blanket.”
“It’s cold, I wonder what it belongs to.”
“Maybe we’ll get to see it someday.” Loke replied as he climbed up on the horse. Once he was sitting comfortably on it, he patted Jelani on the head and said, “Are you ready to head out?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s go.”
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Hugo, Nuru, and Yong start a competition to see who can get Varian the best birthday gift every year. While they’re on the road Nuru wins with a telescope and after their journey Yong wins with a fireworks show about their trip and then Nuru wins AGAIN and Hugo is like “ok enough if this.”
Contacts donella and ever couple of months or so for a year she shows up with a caravan of stuff that Hugo puts somewhere, but nobody knows where.
Flash forwards to Varian’s next birthday. Hugo gives his present last. Walks the all out to a long dried out clearing a bit outside old corona. There’s a wooden fenced in area with a gate.
Everyone is curious. Varian opens it up and it’s…junk
Lots of junk that don brought over the last year. Piles of old parts and metal sheets and broken tools. Yong and Nuru are about to laugh
“You got him a dumpster? For his birthday?”
But then they look over at Varian and he is absolutely thrilled. Close to tears almost
“YOU MADE ME MY OWN SCRAPYARD FOR MY BIRTHDAY?!?”
Bc Ingvarr is more advanced so the stuff they just throw out is stuff that takes Varian days to prepare in the forge.
Hugo just had a shit eating grin on his face
Hugo: yeah goggles. And you knooooow I was thinking our first project could be that thing you’ve wanted to work on for a while-
Varian: WE GET TO MAKE MY MOTORCYCLE?!?
Hugo: yeah, Donnie said that she was pretty sure she saw most of the parts we need tossed in here somewhere.
And Varian is just so excited to spend hours digging around the trash finding parts and piecing everything together and for the rest of the day after they drag him away from shifting through junk and getting cuts and bruises everywhere and bring him back to the party, he’s covering Hugo’s face with kisses and being sickeningly doting
Nuru and Yong hate Hugo, just a lil bit, because damn that bastard he nailed it.
#varian#varigo#vat7k#varian and the seven kingdoms#Hugo is such a jerk about it too#he’s gonna torment Nuru and Yong for the rest of their lives#even when they win again he’s just like#‘oh hey this is almost as good as that time I-‘
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| Transmission stable. Broadband signal expanded.
| Exiting sleep mode...
| Engaging external and internal functions...
| Initiating the awakening of the Creators...
| Reverting the Arkship's following sections from conservation mode﹕
>>> Command and Control (Bridge) Operational Capacity﹕ 100% (up from 95%)
>>> Observation Decks' Functional Capacity﹕ 100% (up from 14%)
>>> Living Quarters' Functional Capacity﹕ 100% (up from 0%)
>>> Engineering District's Operational Capacity﹕ 100% (up from 10%)
>>> Medical Facilities' Operational Capacity﹕ 100% (up from 0%)
>>> R&D Laboratories' Operational Capacity﹕ 100% (up from 22%)
>>> Hydroponics and Farming Rings' Operational Capacity﹕ 100% (up from 79%)
>>> Military Installations' Functional & Operational Capacity﹕ 100% (up from 92%)
>>> Recreational Areas' Functional Capacity﹕ 100% (up from 0%)
| The Arkship has been rendered fully operational.
| Activating sleep-pods...
| Total number of awakened inhabitants (not including individuals currently on 'Oegvann')﹕ 1,610,318,431.
| Expecting arrivals from Hibernation Quarters and sleeping facilities on 'Oegvann' Orbital Ring.
| Scheduling mass medical check-ups...
| Due to a large percentage of individuals choosing to hibernate on 'Oegvann' Orbital Ring, most medical examinations there are happening in-situ. Our automated units are monitoring their condition closely, should any dangerous side-effects arise.
| The Kin species favour sleep-pods for hibernation due to vastly reduced risk of hibernation-related diseases and ailments intrinsically present in such an activity. The fact that some chose to forego the warning and hibernate on-world without one is considered a bold step towards colonisation of the habitat and acclimation to the environment inherently different from the Arkship.
| Engaging observational view of the orbital ring...
| In absence of the Creators, the habitat has been fully modelled into the close image of our long lost homeworld, Vegva. Its vistas, flora, and fauna will be a sight to behold for any tourists, exobiologists, or xenoantropological experts should we receive requests to visit 'Oegvann'.
| Engaging on-world view of 'Oegvann'...
| Our Ogharegh (the facilitator of consensus) Ingvarr-Onrul Urtgael'gar has been present with the people on 'Oegvann' in the early days of colonization, when this platform had deemed it safe for stepping foot, and stayed with the others on-world to make it through hibernation with minimal side-effects. He is observed with the autonomous units and other personnel inspecting farms.
| The main megalopolis of Ydvarganna has been restructured significantly from the shacks and slums you might have seen before in our earlier transmissions. While the majority of the territory still remains proudly rural, Ydvarganna received major upgrades to seamlessly blend into the nature surrounding it, offering housing not just to the Kin, but to all kinds of flora and fauna, including pollinators, domesticated animals, and airborne fauna. We have built this habitat to our design, yet we must have as minimal of an impact as we can on it.
| In the Voegr Path, or the set of commandments believed to have the origin from the Gods, the Kin have a certain saying from goddess Farria, the deity of Restoration and Growth﹕
" Take from the wild what you need. Give back what you borrowed. "
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I just found out that for a while Christmas was actually banned in Scotland (literally three hundred years) so here’s a fun Christmas poll
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What I love the most about varigo is how they set up their relationship in season one of the show and the way they just casually kissed throughout it and held hands and stuff and then vat7k opens up on their anniversary like!!! King shit!!! It makes Hugo’s decision to work with donella again so impactful, right after the episode where he overheard Varian talking to Nuru about proposing too just aughhhh!!! Hugo doing anything to protect him even if it means losing him!
LISTEN okay I'm actually going to talk about this because I've gotten a ton of hate anons recently for being an avid Hugo stan. Sorry to my mutuals who have never seen vat7k and are tired of listening to me scream about another blonde twink off main lmao.
So I know this is a really polarizing topic, but people who look at Hugo and think he's toxic or abusive for working with Donella while dating Varian just don't get it. Like, did they watch any of the Hugo centric episodes?
Hugo's decision to work with Donella after Varian confesses his feelings to him (and subsequently jumps straight to "I MUST MARRY THIS MAN" which frankly is Such A Varian Move imo) is literally a direct parallel of what happened with his parents, like verbatim. In episode 9 (Tales from Ingvarr) there are multiple flashbacks to Stefan choosing to work for the "industrial mob" to protect Sylvia. I remember when the episode came out and people whumped the shit out of him DESPITE the fact that he was choosing a career path that killed people, just to protect the person he loved.
We even get that really cool transition fade from Stefan to Hugo after the former makes the deal with Lord Croftanare!!! It literally could not be any more obvious that Hugo's decision to go through with Donella's plan is to protect Varian.
Also not to project my issues onto every blorbo who makes the brain cells go vroom, but it's also learned trauma response for Hugo to push everyone away. Like we saw it in the episode where he ran into his ex "boyfriend" and in that one ep (can't remember the name, too lazy to look it up lol) where he and Caine are a cell together and have to work together to escape. Like I literally can not scream TRAUMA BABY loud enough for the anons to get over themselves.
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A remake of a previous map of Corona I made last year or so, inspired / taking influence from the Bitter Snow series by bestworstcase.
Worldbuilding notes:
Corona
A prosperous member of the Seven Kingdom alliance, whose otherwise pristine appearance is blemished with internal strife and a tumultuous past.
Points of Interest
Equis Border – Corona originally controlled most of Lorraine River and the southwestern coast of Lake Alsace (red line), but lost its territory to Equis in a rather embarrassing war that involved seals, manatees, and a colossal flying squid (black line). It’s a contentious point between the two kingdoms, as Kongsburg lost is outlet to the sea and the Lorraine valley was a major agricultural region. Not helping the matter is the current sovereign, King Trevor, renaming the lake and river after himself in an escalation with his petty, childish feud with King Frederic of Corona.
Kongsburg – The largest city in northern Corona. It’s a major port on the southern shore of Lake Trevor and economically speaking, been feeling the pinch of losing its outlet to the sea. There have been numerous scuffles between Coronan and Equisian ships over fishing rights. Rumors of the colossal flying squid harassing Coronan warships and snatching Coronan fisherman are unconfirmed but steadily growing.
Pingora Mountains – First of the two mountain ranges that split Corona into three parts. The tower Mother Gothel used to imprison Princess Rapunzel lies among the foothills, tucked way in a secret ravine. The region is heavily forested, filled with creatures and supernatural that can be very hostile to humans. Despite that several copper mines and logging sites maintain an active presence.
Herzingen – The capital of Corona and the fourth largest city in the kingdom, after Anburch, Alcorsīa, and Charcāthēn. The island formed the nucleus of Corona from which it has grown from annexing the adjacent coastal settlements and then expanding across the mainland. A defensive wall bisects the island and city into an affluent upper side clustered around the Der Sonne Palace, the seat of the monarchy, and the working class lower side that is connected to shore by the Shampanier Bridge. Beneath the city lies a honeycomb of secret tunnels built by King Herz der Sonne during the War of Unification with Saporia and they are of vital security to the Royal Guard of Herzingen.
Nathair River – The largest river in Corona, the kingdom’s primary breadbasket, and former source of conflict between regional powers. Originally hosting the city-state of Anburch and the Confederation of Wolfsburg-Kassel, both were annexed as Corona expanded over the Pingora Mountains. Now the river is divided between Corona controlling the lower valley and Franconia controlling the upstream and headwaters.
Saporia
A former kingdom that once prospered from its trading routes in the southern continent and abroad.
Points of Interest
Corona Border – The red line indicates where the border fluctuated across Nathair valley, with Corona pushing south to the mountains while Saporia pushed north to stop the encroachment. This ended up being one of the main causes of war between Corona and Saporia. The following union between the two kingdoms stopped the fluctuations and firmly placed the border flushed with Pittsford.
Janus Point – A rocky, steep promontory that stands between Artois and Cuxhaven. An ancient tree stands at its center, surrounded by a stone henge left crumbling from years of neglect. Zhan Tiri used to be worshiped here.
The Havasok – The second of the two mountain ranges that divide Corona into three parts, extending through Franconia and into Ingvarr. Steeper and larger peaks from those found in the Pingoras. The highest seven peaks are known as the Painted Ladies, known inspiring artists worldwide for their untouched beauty. They also formed a natural boundary between Corona and Saporia.
Mount Demanitus – The highest peak in Corona, hosting the ancient Demanitus Device inside. Originally named Zemplén by Saporians, it was renamed to honor Lord Demanitus for defending Corona against Zhan Tiri’s tyranny.
Zsófia’s Pass – A secret mountain passage between Mount Demanitus and Mount Impel that General Zsófia Shampanier used during the Nathair War to circumnavigate Coronan defenses along the river’s south bank, launching a counteroffensive that sliced the valley in half with the capture of Wolfsburg. Later, Shampanier and Herz der Sonne used it launch their conquest of Saporia with their combined armies. The passage was named in her memory.
Artois – Currently the fifth largest city in Corona, was the third after Alcorsīa, and Charcāthēn when Saporia was independent. Situated on the Nathair River Delta, it benefits from being the only major Saporian city not marred with strife and poverty, due its economy not disrupted by Coronan law. Saporians here mostly been assimilated into Coronan society and seen as ‘model citizens’ for others to follow.
Lake Hévíz – The largest freshwater lake in Corona and Saporia, draining into the sea via the Slaná River. Between the lake and the city of Pilsen lies a vast stretch of swampland called Mlaștina Doamnei, infamous for supposedly being Zhan Tiri’s original home in Coronan folklore. There have been several attempts to drain the swamps for practical land use but Saporians fiercely push back each time, citing the concern for ecological conservatism.
Alcorsīa – The second largest city in Saporia. It was once a wealthy city benefiting from being the terminus of several lucrative trade routes, notably the one that serviced Argentum and the other Hellenic states. Following the conquest of Saporia, the city experienced a gradual economic decline as Corona rerouted sea routes to Herzingen and Cuxhaven, the land routes through Charcāthēn, Pilsen, and Artois. It is now known for its destitute and neglected infrastructure, which feeds into growing tide of separatism in Saporia.
Charcāthēn – The largest, oldest city in Corona and the former capital of Saporia. Charcāthēn was sacked and burned in the climax of Corona’s conquest, its riches carted back to Herzingen as spoils of war and chunks of its surviving inhabitants fleeing to Marne and Pittsford, setting up diaspora communities in consequence. The city is a hotbed of Saporian separatism and has been the epicenter of several uprisings against Corona. Today it remains more or less under a military occupation by Coronan forces.
#Fandom chit chats#Kingdom of Corona#Kingdom of Saporia#Double Sun AU#I liked how this one turned out#I left the other states blank because#There would be too much to cover dfkbkfdbkv
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One-Shots or AUs within an AU I kinda wanna do.... but haven't decided yet
Because I have no chill and was trained to write at bullet speed from the age of seventeen (most random of facts about me, but at 17 I used to write what was essentially Minecraft fanfics for a living. You ever read one of those gaming magazines for kids? They have the little stories in them. Ever wondered who wrote them? Apparently random 17 year olds willing to work for a lot less than adults but sure did boost my confidence), here are some of the fics my heart wants me to take a shot at.
1.- Outlaws! There's a throw away joke in Two Princesses from Eugene about how instead of returning to Corona he should have taken the girls to become thieves!
And, it's a joke but... how cool would Eugene teaching Cassandra to fight and steal be? How cute would Rapunzel questioning each stolen item and their impact be?
And then I wrote it down, BIG MISTAKE, and realized I could do a whole thing with Cassandra stealing from The Baron because stealing from thieves isn't wrong (probably Eugene's words), then they're in big trouble. They decide to take down The Baron as the trio they are and... I have more plans but incase I write it I'll leave it there.
2.- What if the guards weren't so useless? Frederic and Arianna getting to be raise children? What if the guards managed to track down the tower WAY earleir.
Imagine the guards raiding the tower, Cassandra hitting the guards with her broken broom absolutely terrified, protecting Rapunzel. They bring the two girls down from the tower, Arianna is of course immediately like, "We keep both of them together."
Imagine little Cass and Raps running around the palace. Imagine them sitting on Frederic's lap while he is doing royal duties because they want to be with their parents? The advisers talking about boring stuff making them fall asleep. I just want more fluff.
3.- Knights. A knight comes to visit Corona and although Cassandra has accepted the guards as Corona's knights, the armour and the sword and the horse looks straight out of her storybooks. She starts to ask him questions and follow him around and is just cute and excited.
Knight-man seems a bit uncomfortable but Cassandra is the princess so he allows it, until he finds out Rapunzel is the crowned princess and decides Cass isn't worth his time, telling her she's annoying and can go away.
Captain finds her with her sword in the training area moping and he tells her he finds her enthusiasm endearing and some people weren't worth her time.
(Not sure exactly where in the timeline this goes it's just an adorable idea).
4.- The Contest of the Crowns. This supposedly happens in the six months between movie and series, so technically it should have been in Two Princesses but, I just didn't.
I know what it would be, Cassandra and Rapunzel together, learning new skills, having fun, Arianna and Frederic super worried at the last challenge.
Them showing Ingvarr the amazing fighting skills of Corona's princesses.
I think the main reason I didn't include this in Two Princesses is actually because I plan to focus a lot on the other kingdoms when we get to season 3, and I'm still working on the plotting there so I might want to wait until I know how I want to handle each kingdom before writing this fic.
5.- The Day of Hearts: Dates! I've already re-written the day of hearts episode, Eugene and Rapunzel go on a few dates but they aren't written about because they simply aren't the main focus. But I could write a short fic of just the dates and these two being cute. I love Eugene and Rapunzel and I just don't write enough of them in my fic.
6.- Eugene never comes. Where Eugene never did go to the tower and Cassandra took a far more active role in Gothel's death.... My brain can be dark sometimes.
7.- A fic about food. Gothel calling Rapunzel chubby in the movie always struck me. I've hinted at issues in the fic, from Cassandra worrying about not having enough food between her visits to Arianna pushing them to eat. But I haven't dived deep because I know it's triggering to a lot of people (honestly when done wrong, me included).
But a standalone, something you can skip if you aren't up to it, that'd be fine and I do love diving into these topics. But also, I don't know if I'd be up to it, some things are better in small chunks? Dunno.
8.- A Corona Law Deep Dive. So we've seen Cassandra take interest in law and this continues throughout the series, and I'd kinda just love a small fic of laws Cassandra doesn't agree with or sees as needing modifying, her making her arguments, maybe even presenting them to Frederic and what the new laws could look like.
Maybe even show them in action?
Would also give me a chance to look into Corona's criminal underworld which was hinted at so well in Before Ever After then never really made use of in the way I expected.
9.- The Captain earns his retirement. The girls basically getting into more trouble than their worth. But the captain being loyal and protecting them from everything anyway.
10.- Eugene on Corona. Basically takes place during Two Princeses while Cassandra and Rapunzel are stuck in the palace and features Eugene just doing normal things, but also hiding each time he sees guards, almost stealing because he forgets he's not supposed to do that anymore... and so on, so on.
A deeper dive into Eugene's adjustment period because there definitely was one!
11.- BONUS: Arianna and Frederic at the holidays. mitcondrialdna actually requested this on Ao3 and it sounds like an adorable idea, a fic about Frederic and Arianna at the holidays before Rapunzel's return. If I were to do this, I'd probably choose only one or two holidays and do several different years so as to show the stages of mourning and how they each handled the situation differently while supporting each other.
And this is why I need a journal just for fanfics and specifically just for this AU. Yes, I have a problem. No, I do not have any intent to fix it.
Anyway, if any of these sound like something you'd want to read, tell me so I can prioritise, I definitely need to write some one-shots just so I don't keep writing TOO far ahead of what's being published. (one-shots are bonuses, they never interrup the dayly uploads of the fic making them perfect for decresing scheduling differences).
#tss fanfic#tts fanfiction#tts#tangled the series#tangled the series fanfic#tangled the series fanfiction#tangled fanfic#tangled fanfiction#fanfic#fanfiction
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The Flames Howl in Vayne
Warning: This transmission is protected under the Emperor's Holiest Inquisition. Unauthorized attempts to breach these records will result in excommunication and termination
~Begin Vox Log~
It was just as Lady Inquisitor Rihannon had informed us. a nearby forgeworld within the same sector as Ulie Neil had fallen to the ruinous powers. We know not if it was the doing of the Blessed Raven or if these forces had any connections to her or her allies. We had arrived on world with a small force under the command of Haegr while I remained in orbit to monitor. Haegr only had the hammers of astrid, the flames of fafnir and a singular pack of wolves by his side. Against them stood 3 karnivores of House Vayne. They fought bravely but it was for naught. The world was lost the moment we arrived.
Those eradicators under the command of Ingvarr Blackhelm showed much bravery today. They ran forward and with their combined strength fell one of a karnivores in a matter of moments. They continued to fight almost bringing down their leader but the rest of the hunt fell sorely behind making us loose that advantage. I feel no fear but I must be cautious in upcoming battles.
I've heard rumors and sensed omens that point to traitor astartes and genestealer cult activities in the sector as well. All Father knows what else may come. Inquistor Rihannon fears that with most of the veterans and greyhunters of both the primaris and firstborn currently out on a campaign of their own that the bloodclaws currently under my command may not be enough. I understand her concern. These primaris recruits are headstrong and with so few experienced brothers fighting along side them I worry that they may get themselves killed.
I believe a soluntion may lay in the crystal caverns beneath our fortress. I remember the legionnaires trapped within. Perhaps with some aid we can free the veterans of a long lost era to fight alongside their brothers once more.
Ulfric Seiðrfang- Hail The Allfather-
~End Vox Log~
For context: I am participating in an organized play event at one of the local GW stores. And I can earn points for writing lore about the armies progress. So I decided to write them from ulfric's perspective even if I don't use him in the actual games. I decided to post them here for both archival and RP purposes.
#ulfric#ulfric seiderfang#warhammer 40k#space wolves#warhammer40k#wh40k#ulfric seidrfang#40k rp#40k lore#warhammer 40k homebrew
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Anya of Ingvarr Reference Sheet
Did up a reference sheet for my TTS/RTA OC, Anya of Ingvarr.
#tts#rta#tangled the series#rapunzel's tangled adventure#anya of ingvarr#oc#i also realized while doing this that i need more experience drawing angles other than the classic 3/4 turn#xP
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(4/10) Alive Ulla - Part 5
Have a nice day you all 🧬🍁🍎🖼️🧫🍎🧭🧭🍁🍎☀️🧪🍇🧭🍁🧫🌾🍎🍁🧭☀️
Here I am, once again, trying to get this done before I get distracted again, but as you can see I am easily distracted.
Right now, I mean, two weeks ago, I used that feature "voice to text converter", so you might see some words wrongly chosen.
I'll try to correct everything before posting, but if I am in a hurry, it will get confusing as always.
Back to the post 📯👾⚗️🧪
Next thing I imagined was all these happening :
Donella on her own - Part 1
A.1 Donella finished her school regulation with great success, no graduation , also she was sick and tired of the environment she got, so she thanked the Faber family and got back to her native land Ingvarr.
Now being older and wised , she noticed the actual state of this place.
A.2 I kind of imagined this Kingdom fell into a vicious economic cycle because of the following factors:
A.2.1. Maybe Ingvarr is supposed to relate to real history of England colonizing Iran, but the great difference that the native Iranian Royal family survived the wars and won. (On a post, there was told how Ingvarr was inspired on Persian culture)
So instead of getting a colonization by europeans with overexploitation of minery and land, we got a kind of "Mercy agreement" about letting english kingdom to stay, but not as slaves or war prisoners, but as employs.
A.2.2 Yet ,they still got some wary sentiment, becoming racists, so they didn't let these people to afford too much, they would work a lot but earn little.
Ingvarr royals rised the prices of the school materials, building materials and groseries on purpose, it would look fair because they would actually bring the best of the best from far away lands, cheap things were not on sale.
Only the owners of the mines, of the lands, war veterans, teachers and birth certificated original families of Ingvarr would be able to buy these goods.
A.2.3 Then, what would the citizens/migrants habitants of Ingvarr would buy with their payment?
After each shift of work they get their meals, so no hungry at the streets (unless you got unemployed ) , as well the work uniform, the money would be for paying the entrance and exit of the big doors, outside each town, specially outside the kingdom, buy your way out and way in.
A.2.4 Mothers and kids usually had not an employ, so, forgotten by the royals, the payment would be saved for them, the workers would hide some food and sell it, get some old clothes and adapt them.
That's why they had too much hurry into making kids have a skill to join the mines, children labor became a common thing.
A.2.3 Kids who wanted to play and have some freedom would get expulsed from the mines, having to face the fury of their parents, what would happen next?
Them trying again but stopping playing around to help the family finances, or maybe get away, becoming children of the streets.
A.3 After looking around a while, Donella entered the Royals section, so fancy and full of military, mostly women, children playing on the park, scholars getting out from their building, a colorful market, lots of houses with unique architecture, until reaching the palace.
A.4 She asked for a meeting with the head of maids, she wanted to join, the guards asked her to wait , the call would be sent, they followed protocol, after some hours she got invited in for a work interview.
Donella presented herself, showed her certificate of studies and named her skills, of course, the head of the maids made racists comments, thankfully, those got drowned down after she made intelectual comebaks, impressed, they would welcome her to the maids team, along with warnings about harsh punishments in case of bad behavior.
She as the reserved and hard faced woman she is, agreed with a humble speech and a promise of hardwork.
A.5 She had a plan and she was going to follow it
5.1 Endure, no need to make friends or earn someone else's trust, just be the one doing a good job, so she won't get fired.
5.2 Hide trinkets, coins and anything valuable, hide it on the trash and save them for later, as a way to do "ant robbery" , unnoticeable and slow.
5.3 Once she gets to clean military gear, memorize designs, so she would make a imitation of them, next, improve them, then, sell it , to the royals or to other kingdoms, that depends on the future circumstances.
A.6 Her first big mistake, not getting true private storable spaces, so she would need to get a lock to shut her notebook with the designs, materialize the improves would have to wait.
A.7 Of course, the racism and commenting behind her back were stressful, so she lost concentration and talked back, getting caught on a cat figth with another maid, of course, she wouldn't win, she knew she was bound to apologize but decided she wouldn't add to the humillation and let them decide a punishment for this unsubordination
A.8 Work on the stables for a whole week, of course she made a great job on the castle staff doing the cleaning chores, but people here were loyal to their warnings, she would meet here lots ....
Oups , I run out of time, let's be faster :
Donella met lots of male Persian/Iranian guys
One of them was Cyrus
Both wanted more money and power
Cyrus was supposed to be one of the grandsons of the veterans, a live of riches not as secured as the grandsons of the owners of the mines, so , he needed to start his own business
He liked Donella plans, so he would make her his business partner in secret
He was the one presenting the improves to the weaponry house, so he got the credit and the payment.
Donella and Cyrus got their first salary, she wants to go to the market but Cyrus insist he must be the one saving the money or , it would be suspicious if a maid of the palace suddenly has a lot of coins or new products on her bedroom or pockets.
Donella feels robbed and untrustful , but each time Cyrus carry her to his place to work, he showes her how her money had been untouched, reminding her about how , once they have enough, they're going to move from this kingdom somewhere they can be richer and more free.
Her punishment finished and she came back to the indoors chores
Some other Persian guy from the stables came to the headmaster of the maids and asked for Donella, eager to buy the "adote" of her and marry her.
The maids in the castle divided into the ones congratulating her and wanting to be friends as fast as possible, so they could get invited to the wedding, and the ones who would get angry at how unfair this was and how she doesn't deserved this, so they would secretly sabotage her way, scare her with the disvantages of being the wife of a Ingvarr men, and tell the soon to be bride how a bad woman she was.
The headmaster of the maids, as protocoled, started an investigation about who were Donella parents, so this guy could pay his adote to them.
Donella of course was furious, this guy was going to ruin her way to a live of riches and freedom... Or what if not? Maybe she would take advantage of this.
Cyrus contacted her on the night, informing her about how this guy spyed them and wanted to steal her away from him, so he would be the one getting the new business afloat, that guy is no a dumb searching a pretty woman.
Donella tells Cyrus that, as far as it seems, she can get her objectives with this new guy as with Cyrus, so , what can he offer for her to choose and get more benefits?
He added he would make sure she would not only work for this business and then get locked like this other guy like to do with his employees, total freedom for going all the Seven Kingdoms if she likes, as long as both get their money
She liked it, both knew they couldn't say "no" to a men buying a wife and stay as they were, so, both played dumb while making preparations to move.
Cyrus buyed her a uniform similar to the one he usually wear, so she could leave the maid one on the bedroom, the clothes were expensive and she could get an unnecessary problem with the local police if she didn't give it back to her boss.
She payed her way out to the door guard, leaved a letter about quitting.
Now, Donella and Cyrus would-
Oups, I have to go, seee you next time , thanks for reading 🍎🌲🪷🌿🎊🥝🌀🌷🍡✨❄️🌸🍡❄️💐🧬✨🌤️🪩🌤️🧬🧪🌤️🧬🎹🍎❄️🍡🎹🧬🎹🌤️🍊🧪🧬🌤️🍊❄️🍡✨❄️✨🍡🥝🥭🍉🥭🌠🎊🌠🎊🌀🌿🍓🌳🧬🍎🧬✨🍒🍒✨🧬💐
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#varian#tangled varian#tts varian#varian the alchemist#varian tts#rta varian#rapunzels tangled adventure#varian and the seven kingdoms#hugo vat7k#vat7k#vat7k donella#donella vat7k#vat7k cyrus#cyrus vat7k#vat7k ulla#ulla vat7k
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