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Fantasy On Wings of Valhalla (Cmdrawings and Kumii)

Cmdrawings

New Member
The chilled wind swept across her cheeks as she shivered, even death did not stop her from feeling cold, as her sky blue eyes gaze towards the stone entrance with anticipation. Bare fingers gripped her spear as she inched forward; she did not know what enemy would lie in wait of her for her quest. The Allfather had sent her to free the Valkyries as her oath to enter Valhalla and through some searching, she believes she finally found the location of one of them here in this chamber. How many Valkyrie are there? She vaguely recalled the sagas mentioning 23 but truthfully with how busy the fields of battle are she would not be surprised if there was more of them. Leave it to the Lord of The Hanged to not explain in detail for her instructions, she almost wished the ravens would have squawked out some wisdom to her when she departed.

She could feel the loose stair stones loosen any pebbles from under her feet as she descended down into the abyss, what an odd place to secure a Valkyrie but perhaps the one behind this mess was aiming for a simple place to put a trap. It wouldn't surprise her on the grounds of if there's someone cunning enough to trap the Valkyries they're cunning enough to be ready for any attempts at the backlash from such action. It gave her time to muse over any candidates but her mind comes up blank and she sighs; she knew the memory loss and skill loss from dying the first few times since arriving here would come back to bite her. Death isn't permanent here but the drawbacks certainly make trying to remain somewhat alive spiritually was ideal. She's not even certain anymore on why Odin had chosen her for this, she was a mere villager girl. Granted, one that met her end at raiders fighting to defend herself but the point still stood: she was not a warrior by all accounts. She was barely a young adult by Norse standards being of the age 16 but perhaps she's selling herself a tad bit short. She had to know something valuable in life in order to be here now. Or at least she hoped so. Gods are funny like that if stories are to be believed.

At long last she had reached the bottom and frowned; it was very dark and she couldn't hear a sound down here. In hindsight, she should have brought along a torch or some source of light at the very least but it's too late to go back. If a Valkyrie was down here maybe it could still answer if called, provided nothing else down here wanted to take a stab at her incorporeal form. She wasn't a vocal person by nature but she prayed her voice could still ring out as she echoed throughout the dark, "By the oath to the Raven God I call out to any Valkyries. Raise your voices so that I may find you within your prison. May your name be spoken like the clash of war for me to know of you."
 
There was a light shimmer from within the darkness. The glistening of very faint light shed through very small cracks in the wall. Upon reciting the oath, the room began to rumble and torches along the wall began to light one by one, revealing a cocoon-like entity hovering about 5 ft off the ground. After about a minute or two, the entity "broke" open revealing a woman clad in gold-laced armor. Golden adornments lined the creatures' wings and, as she fell to ground, it seemed as though she landed with some impact as a small shockwave emanated outwards. The features of the Valkyrie were long, braided and beautiful hair with golden adornments within it just like her wings, her face was soft yet commanded power and her stare could send shivers down even the toughest warrior's back. The Valkyrie stood up from her kneeling position, she stood about 6ft tall and her wings spanned double her height, 12 feet across.

The Valkyrie took a minute to stretch her wings, as she was doing so, the full beauty of them could be witness, "Ahhh..." She looked around then at the girl standing before her and bowed before her, "I must've been imprisoned in here for.... centuries... at least." She stood up, "I thank you, sister, but why are you here? You are not alive.. shouldn't you be in Valhalla?" She asked the woman before her. Despite being awake for mere moments, she had many questions, questions she was sure this girl had some answers to. It seemed the Valkyrie had mistaken the girl as a fellow Valkyrie..
 
The girl stood in silent awe for a moment, one might have confused it for childlike wonder; so this is what a Valkyrie truly looks like up close. It's no wonder to her now why so many spoke of the honor of going to Valhalla. She then shook her head, small strands of black hair that slipped from her plain braids flowing with the motion, once it settles in that the Valkyrie had asked her a question, the Valkyries may be stunning but they're still fierce warriors worthy of respect.

Her tone of voice was still small and it reflected her age, head bowed in respect to the warrior spirit before her, "My name is Ylfa Skógrdottir. When the Valkyries were imprisoned, I and many were left without guides to Valhalla or the other realms our souls would go to. The Allfather has sent me to find every single of you and free you in that I may be allowed in Valhalla properly." Ylfa paused in hesitance; she never had to speak to a spirit before much less a Valkyrie, would they even prefer to be spoken to by a mortal? Would she get in trouble for asking a question? She's already made it this far without serious consequences so maybe it wouldn't hurt to test her luck, "Are you aware of the locations of the other Valkyries? Or at least one of them so I may continue my quest?"
 
The Valkyrie looked at Ylfa as she introduced herself and explained the situation, "Ah, I see. Ylfa Skógrdottir, I am Queen Sigrun of the Valkyrie. Unfortunately, I know not of the locations for which my sisters are imprisoned. I imagine the task the Allfather gave would be a difficult one." The Queen thought for a moment, she was just as clueless as Ylfa was. It was as though her memories got wiped during her imprisonment, "They could be scattered across every realm." Sigrun approached Ylfa and gave her a kind of hug, "Hold on tight, I think it better we go out of here. The damp dustiness of this place is giving me a headache." She spread her wings ready for flight. Luckily, the place they were in was large enough for flight.

It wasn't long before the two saw open land. Sigrun put Ylfa down near some ruins and landed nearby. The place seemed more like an arena then ruins, but there was no denying it was rubble. "That's better." She said as her wings went back to their resting position, "Now then, if what you said is true, and Valhalla is in shambles, I must return and see what I can do."
 
Ylfa scanned over the new area, making note of it and as well as checking for any pathways. Why was such an arena in ruins? Why here? Was this an important spot for the Valkyries or merely a simple marker for others? "What is this place?" She inquired before shrinking away a bit realizing she had spoken without much forethought, are Valkyries the type to get bothered by simple questions? She didn't know and considering she was in the presence of a queen that maybe a bit more tact would be better. Hopefully, this Queen Sigrun is a more forgiving ruler and won't be too upset at a village girl for speaking so much. Perhaps she'll brush it off as a child having adrenaline from their first flight which Ylfa will admit was a bit exciting, she never thought she would get to experience what birds do.

Her mind went to a full stop at something Sigrun had said as all the information caught up with her. Scattered across every realm? All 9 of them perhaps? Well, maybe 8. Ylfa doubted there would be any in Asgard. Though it did prompt a question out of her that she felt might be important to ask of the Queen of Valkyries before her, "If you are returning to Valhalla, how may I travel across the other realms? I was sent to this one to look but I do not know the way to the rest. What is the path I must follow from right here?"
 
Sigrun looked at Ylfa then conjured two items, a travel stone and a horn. She presented the travel stone to Ylfa, "Granted by the Allfather himself, this is a travel stone. Simply hold it into the air and recite the name of the Realm you wish to travel to. This will use up the stone, so you will have to acquire a new one, don't worry, you can find plenty from within all the Realms. Your path lies from finding that info by yourself." She presented the second item, "This is called 'Horn of the Valkyrie', granted to you by me. This item, bound to me, will call me from wherever I am, to wherever you are." She gave the first item to Ylfa and pulled the second item away, "However, I cannot simply give this Horn to anyone. To earn this, you must prove yourself worthy to call upon me by besting me in a battle. Do you accept this challenge?"
 
Ylfa observed the stone in her hand for a moment, a travel stone? She'll have to keep an eye out for these, they sound very useful for travel. She then observed the horn in Sigrun's hand and took in the challenge before her. It raised a question of if Ylfa was even capable of taking on a Valkyrie much less a queen of one. Still, Ylfa weighed in the strengths and potential weaknesses of the warrior before her. Sigrun was tall and had large wings, so she had reach, raw strength, and flight but did she have the agility and flexibility need to take on someone much smaller than her? With Ylfa's small stature and reach with her spear she figured she may be able to hit low spots on her potential opponent such as knees, thighs, and maybe the midsection if need be while hopefully being able to duck under any attacks from either a weapon or wings. Though Ylfa did feel a bit of doubt; she's not a skilled warrior and her opponent is and possibly has more tactics than she herself does, what if her strategy fails?

Ylfa cleared her thoughts and looked up to Sigrun with a surprising amount of bravery, she wasn't going to turn down the challenge if she had potentially earned a spot in Valhalla that means she can not be a coward when an opportunity is presented before her, "I accept your challenge, Queen Sigrun of the Valkyries."
 
Sigrun bowed her head momentarily, "Ylfa Skógrdottir, I, Sigrun, recognize your acceptance and do hereby initiate the challenge." Sigrun then created distance between Ylfa and herself, conjuring a spear from the air and getting into a battle-ready position, "We go on your mark." She readied herself for Ylfa's first move.
 
Ylfa nodded at the acknowledgment of her starting it with the first strike, readying her spear in her hands with a sort of clumsy beginner's stance. She wasn't certain of where she should try to strike first, the point of this challenge is to win but not severely hurt or kill, or at least she thinks that's the rules. One thing she has figured out about spears is she needs to do a quick jab and then backstep before she has her spear grabbed or gets hit. Anything else is just mere guessing on her part.

With a small breath, she makes her first move with a step forward and a jab the only grazing one of the adornments on the golden-laced armor before she backsteps and readies her spear into a brace. Not the best of first strikes but Ylfa concluded that maybe small hit and run tactics might be worth a try first. She didn't want to cause injury, or worse, cause a very angry Valkyrie on her for being a mere mortal spirit landing a blow. She just needed to mentally prepare herself for whatever move Sigrun tries to make and hopefully she is fast enough to dodge it. Could a Valkyrie be worn out in a fight? A good curiosity for her to test out now and she was curious on how long she herself would be able to hold out in the ring.
 
Sigrun let the spear graze her armor, without saying a word or hesitating, she dashed forward, her feet barely touching the ground and jabbed with the spear. The weapon vanishing upon impact, Sigrun was weaponless now. Sigrun didn't let this stop as she stretched her wings outwards, revealing a row of razor sharp barbs on on them. Without a thought, she immediately did a three piece combo with only her wings, the first strike was a downward strike with her left wing, the second strike was forward strike with her right wing and ending the combo with a strong stab with her left wing. She gestured with her arms the attack only moments before they would connect, perhaps this could be a sign to Ylfa?

Sigrun said not a single word throughout her attacks, her battle-focus was unparalleled, truly her warrior spirit beginning to show. It was as if she was intent to kill Ylfa.
 
Ylfa made a yelp at the surprise in speed as she dodged the downward strike but got grazed by the forward strike, mentally cursing at herself for a moment before repositioning herself to face Sigrun. She took notice of the arm movement. Sigrun was a skilled warrior, Ylfa conceded, but could it theoretically be possible that Sigrun has a more rigid skillset and these cues are signs Ylfa should follow? Sigrun might be in the habit of sticking to certain moves and Ylfa wanted to test it out. Sigrun certainly showed no hesitancy and Ylfa decided that neither would she. Since Sigrun went with a combo that favored the left wing, Ylfa aimed for that with her next spear jab. If she could somewhat slow down any use for it she hoped she could at least pin Sigrun with the temporary loss of one wing. If she couldn't handicap Sigrun now then Ylfa figured she might be in deep trouble through the remaining fight and she wasn't keen on dying and reforming with fewer memories than she has.
 
Sigrun winced as the spear found a gap in Sigrun's wing armor but continued on, though it seemed her agility in particular was affected. She dashed to to the right and quickly dashed forward and jabbed with her right wing. This strike was considerably quicker and more powerful. Any attempt to dodge would be too slow and any attempt to block would break whatever Ylfa blocked with. While Sigrun was closer to Ylfa, "I commend you, Ylfa. You managed to harm me, something that only few mortals are able to do." Sigrun pulled her wing away and bowed before Ylfa, "I yield. You have proven your worth." She then presented Ylfa with the Horn, "Use this to call me whenever you should need me or simply if you just need someone to talk to."
 
Ylfa looked a bit taken back by Sigrun's defeat and the presentation of the horn, gingerly grasping it in her hands and looking up at Sigrun with a sort of child disbelief; did she actually just win a battle with a Valkyrie? She was a bit gobsmacked, to say the least, and it was shown at the start in her voice, "Only a few mortals?" She flustered up in embarrassment and bowed her head in appreciation, "Thank you, Queen Sigrun. I'm honored to have dueled you and will give you and this horn proper respect."

She glanced around the arena and then back at Sigrun, recognizing the queen might be ready to leave now and Ylfa wanted to give some sort of proper departure to the Valkyrie queen, "Valhalla awaits you, yes? Watch over the Allfather and the dead, with many of you locked away the souls and gods are in disarray I'm certain. I will find the others and free them to lighten your task but I know it's a heavy burden at the present so take as much care as is possible."
 
SIgrun nodded, "Thank you, Ylfa." She spread her wings and readied to fly off, "I grant you good fortune on your journey." She shot up into the sky with such speed, like a rocket. From a distance, stood a helmed figure, wielding two bearded axes and standing with an imposing aura. The man then removed his helm and looked up in the sky as the Valkyrie departed, "Interesting.." The man had a medium lengthed beard, tied and adorned, his hair was pulled back in a mohawk-styled ponytail that came down just below his shoulders and he spoke in a gruff yet soft voice.

The man put his axes in their holsters which lay on each side of his hips. He wore fur pelted armor with iron plates and a shield tied to his back. He started to make his way to where the Valkyrie departed to see if anyone was there, there had to be if one of the Valkyrie was freed.
 
Ylfa watched Sigrun depart before she scanned over the arena, exhaustion from the fight slowly revealing itself as she leans a bit on her spear, tucking the horn somewhere secure and hidden under her clothing as a protective measure. She figured she could rest a moment while she charts her next move, obviously, she wants to scour all of this realm first before moving to the next realm to find any more Valkyries. The question is simple: which way will she go first? Should she aim for North? Maybe West? She wasn't certain on where in this world she was situated to make that call. The sun was still up though and a small memory filtered in her mind; she remembered when snekkjas and karves would come to the shores while crews would offload cargo, the skipper would talk about Sunstones. It was some sort of sun device to navigate but as Ylfa looked around she didn't spot any clear crystals like she had seen and felt her hope diminish. She would have to find another way of using the sun for travel.

Ylfa settled on waiting a moment to regain her strength while focusing her gaze on the sky in the hopes if she could see which way the sun moves she can figure out which direction she is facing. If she couldn't figure it out then she will make what camp she could in this arena and see which way the sunrises and follow the path it creates, after all, she presumed this area might be safe to rest at considering she hasn't seen anything approach and the state of the place could show how it's been abandoned to time.
 
The man made his way to the arena where the Valkyrie flew off at, hoping to find something or someone. He saw a girl, "Hmm.." he thought to himself. He stood atop the stairway and yelled down to her, "I hope you don't plan to sulk there all day! Was that you who set that Valkyrie free?" He looked at the girl, still remaining cautious, he knew he might startle her a bit so he kept one hand on his axe. He noticed the girl looking at the sun and in the direction of the sky, "If you're wondering, we're facing Northwest. This place.. the realm between realms.. the sun never moves but somehow... I just know." He paused for a moment, "Odin sent me here to do gods know what, I've been trapped here for what feels like ages, forgot my purpose so I just kinda... forgot. Then I seen that Valkyrie fly away and something in me sparked my memory once more." he looked at the girl, "The name's Haldor Hrondir the Third."
 
Ylfa tensed in surprise once she first heard the male's voice as she gripped her spear, relaxing her guard once she finally spotted where he was and taking note of all he said, she called up to him in full question, "I'm Ylfa Skógrdottir, are you a spirit as well Haldor Hrondir the Third? What news of the Valkyries do you know of if you're in the realm between realms?"

She wasn't certain how many spirits were now roaming the Realms and the space between them since the imprisonment of the Valkyries but maybe any lost souls would bear news of any whereabouts of the remaining ones and this one seemed to be aware of how to travel about this unique space. If he had good intentions as she hoped and was sent by Odin then maybe an alliance of sorts would be beneficial to both parties.
 
Haldor waved his hand, "No no, none of the formalities, just Haldor." Haldor shook his head at her questions, "All I know is that they've been imprisoned by something-- or someone. I was hoping you had more on that." He gave a hearty chuckle, "I am a spirit. Here for..." He paused for a few moments, "I don't know... actually." Haldor released his grip on his axe. That being said, Haldor really didn't know anything on how long he had been here. This caused him to have a look of pure thought and confusion. He snapped himself out of his thought and looked at Ylfa, "Here," he took one of his axes from its holster, "you'll need more then a spear here. Range is good but the attack speed on that is horrendous." He offered his axe to Ylfa.

"Besides, if we're to team up then I'm gonna need a shield-sister who won't get in my way." He gave her a warm smile. "Don't worry, if you don't know how to use it, i'll teach you."
 
Ylfa gave a tiny nod when he requested she call him just Haldor; she could work with that seeing as she carried no titles other than who her father was and frankly she would prefer to be called just Ylfa anyways, "Haldor. Very suiting, I was tasked by the Allfather to free the Valkyries to be allowed entry into Valhalla. If you're here as well perhaps the Norns had planned this meeting."

She accepted the axe with a bit of hesitance at first, she had seen her father use an axe before but he never allowed her to touch them unless it was for wood cutting, but if Haldor was willing to teach then she was very willing to learn. She'll have to make a note of finding some skill she knows that he doesn't know and teach him it in fair exchange. She studied the axe in her hand for a moment to get a feel for its weight and structure before returning a smile to him, having deemed she found it very interesting and in agreement with teaming up with him, "What direction do you think will be preferable to start our search then?"
 
Haldor shrugged, "Um.. I don't know." He pointed in a random direction, "That way, I suppose." He sheathed his axe and pointed to the one she held, "Keep that safe, okay? It was my Mother's axe. The one on my hip is my Father's Axe." He gave a slight nod, "Keeps them close, you know?" He turned around to survey the surrounding area, noticing that most of the current realm was water and hills, "Looks like we'll need a boat.." he mumbled to himself.
 
Ylfa nodded at his instructions and sheathed the axe given to her on her hip with a belt loop to secure it; she didn't mind keeping it close and if need be she can always use her spear to prevent any damage to it. She scanned the area alongside him before tilting her head at him when she heard the word 'boat'. Snekkjas and karves were not easily made and not in a short amount of time from what it sounds like so the question remained on where would they acquire a boat? Her gaze over the arena for resources made her take notice that while she saw some sturdy plants for rope weaving there were no sturdy enough trees. Perhaps if they traveled farther out they may find a few? The remaining issue would be making a sail but she summarised that maybe if it was a small boat her cloak could suffice. Rope could come in handy at the moment though and maybe if she asked him he would be willing to assist her in the process of gathering stalks? She would need to boil the fresh plants to remove starches that much she remembers or if he's willing to wait they could leave the plucked plants in the sun to dry out. If only she had trees nearby to gather plant fiber from inside the bark but this should work in a pinch.

It was almost a child-like gesture as she gave his armor a tiny tug to get his attention as she gesture to the plants before making a weaving motion with her hands, her voice remaining soft for her suggestion as if to avoid offending him, "Rope?"
 
Haldor looked at Ylfa as she tugged on his armor and noticed the weaving gesture then noticed the plant fibers, "Good idea. Are you any good at making rope? I can make the hull with what little knowledge my father taught me if we can only find some sturdy oak. Maybe then we can get started on this journey." He let out a hearty chuckle, it was easier said then done though. He needed to build a boat small enough to be crewed by only two people but large enough to not sink with their weight. He started doing the math in his head and started to think of.

It was quite the predicament he found himself in. 'How do I get myself into these situations?' He thought to himself as he began looking around for what looked like sturdy oak trees.
 
While Haldor went to look around for sturdy oak trees, Ylfa was quick to get on her task as soon as possible as she scoured the area picking what plants she could that seemed suitable for rope making as well as gathering any other small things she believed might be useful. She wasn't certain on how far or long Haldor would go in his search for oak trees that would be workable for him but decided that even if the sun does not move in the sky she could still find uses for making a fire if she wanted to speed up the drying process on these plant stalks. Now, how did it go to start a fire again? Ylfa barely recalled the information she knew that wood was needed but she had a vague recollection of what she was shown as a child ever since she died and was brought here; something about a spark and a small piece to get the rest going? She thinks some of the village men would carry some sort of flatted charred mushroom for trips to get a fire started and she frowned a bit. What mushroom was that anyways? Would Haldor know? Maybe he'll bring some back from his trip if he does but for now, she'll try to make one from the fluffier pieces of plants she gathered in the hopes it would work for now.

Spreading the plants out on the ground to dry by the sun for the time being she focused her attention on the task of getting a small fire started while Haldor is away musing to herself on how fate had made an interesting path for her to follow now she was dead. 'It would seem that like life, death is just as complicated. It's quite a cycle.' She thought as she chuckled softly to herself in her empty space.
 
After a while of searching, Haldor finally found some sturdy-looking oak. He took his axe out and began chopping some. After a few timbers, he began carrying it, apparently wood in the dead realm was much lighter then its living counterpart, 'I expected this to be much heavier.' He thought as he carried it back to Ylfa.

"Hey, Ylfa! How goes the rope tying?" he asked as he set the wood down and began splitting the wood down the middle with his axe.
 
Ylfa would look up at him from her spot on the ground, plant fibers in hand in a partially made rope with her attempt at a fire clearly abandoned by her and some plants still drying out in the sun. The fire was set up but it looks from the pile of stones she gathered that she couldn't create a spark needed out of any of them to get the tinder alight. Nonetheless, she appears content with drying the stalks out to weave for the time being and she even lifts up a piece of trial rope she made for him to see, "It should hold as long as it dried out enough. How much rope would we need?"

She observed the woodchopping a bit before going back to her weaving; she has seen the snekkjas and karves but never really knew how they were constructed but if Haldor knows how to perhaps make one then she didn't want to interrupt his work unless he requested her aid on something. She was used to adults telling her to be quiet while they worked so she presumed that this would be no different. Though Haldor really isn't like most adults, is he? She concluded that he was a very open and talkative adult and she found it quite nice to have someone to listen to.
 

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