Standard Disclaimer Time! I do not own Lezard, Lenneth, or the game Valkyrie Profile. That honor belongs to Square Enix and Tri Ace. I make no money off of this story. This is done purely for entertainment purposes. And that I have too many ideas! XD
-Michelle
There are things she is used to. Situations and circumstances that are repeated in her life, again and again, and only the faces of her tormentors change. They are not always with her long. Some have only held her for the briefest of time. While others have made the attempt, wanting to possess her, only to fail. To Lenneth, it matters not who wins, who loses. Her situation remains the same. A prisoner. Valued for her beauty, her strength, her abilities. Hunted down like an animal because of them, hurt and used because of them.
Lenneth has been little more than a slave, a toy. God after God, and other equally powerful beings wanting her. Using her. She's been assassin, guardian, even Chooser of the slain. But most of all, she's been a whore. Forced to spread her legs again and again, her masters taking up position between them. Seeking pleasure from her, taking it. Enjoying her body, her beauty, her screams.
It's been like this for as long as Lenneth can remember. Ever since she had first been created, her so called father Odin, abusing her. She's played emissary between the Gods and the other races, gone as far as to decide the fates of the mortals whose souls hang in the balance. She's seen the destruction and rebirth of the nine realms, survived it all, and yet little has changed.
Lezard won't be any different, Lenneth tells herself. He will use her, may even tire of her one day. But eventually, someone stronger will come along. Someone who knows just a little more, someone who is faster, or more powerful. That someone will take her from him, and the cycle will begin again. Lezard won't even merit a footnote in the long history of Lenneth's life. He'll be less than nothing, he'll be forgotten.
As forgotten as any other who has come before him, only a handful of names sticking out as memorable. But never special. Lenneth holds no love in her heart for those who have come before Lezard. For those who have held her chain. Not even her so called father, her creator Odin, merits anything more than her disgust. She doesn't even have the energy to properly hate, Lenneth resigned to the fate destiny had laid out before her. She has after all been created to be a slave of the Gods, Odin himself crafting her to be everything another could covet.
Lenneth is of pleasing form. Her beauty that break taking touch of ethereal. Odin himself saw to her creation, his own hands molding her form. Gifting her with the attributes that attract so many to her. Her unblemished skin, pale like porcelain. The long, winding hair, a shimmering platinum blue that reaches down to the back of her knees. Her piercing blue eyes that sees far too much of the evils done to her, and for her. And soft pouty lips that are almost never kissed.
She is more generously curved than befits the warrior Odin sometimes has her be. Lenneth's body seems designed for sin, and no one, not even her Creator, has been able to resist the siren's lure of it. Lenneth has been used, degraded in some of the worst manners possible by those who seek to own her. Her body has born the bruises, the imperfect marks that fade from her skin but remain a stain on her soul. She's been hurt, beaten and burned, punished for her lack of affection towards those who would rule over her with an iron fist.
Lenneth has endured this for countless millennia. The faces change, bodies hovering over hers. Pounding relentlessly inside her. Choking her with their need, their all consuming desire. She's long since stopped reacting to them, burying her grief, deadening her emotions. Sometimes her lack of resistance, her abandonment of her emotions, angers her masters. Some want everything from her, to take every last bit of her soul in their hands. They want her joy, they want her tears. They want Lenneth to want them as much as they want her.
They've never tried to win her loyalty through kindness. Never tried to actually love her. They only lust and covet. Hurting her with this obsessive need to possess that only succeeds in destroying them all. Wars have been fought over Lenneth, people have died in the attempt to posses her. To steal her away from those who have had her. Lenneth can't even laugh over this, knowing it is sheer madness that surrounds her. It has to be, for there can be no other explanation for the lengths others will go through to possess a single soul. Especially one as dirty and used as hers is.
Lenneth understands it will always be like this. She will always be sought after, always made a slave. It is foolish to hope for anything more, to dream of a better future. And yet for one brief moment in the never ending eternity, the dreams she tried to refuse, had been realized. Lenneth had been set free, by her own hand no less. Taking power, and using it to elevate herself up from slave to master.
A bitterness fills her. And all because it might have been better to not have tasted that forbidden freedom. Lenneth now knows what she has been missing, what has been denied to her. And she is miserable for it. Miserable and longing for even one-second more, Lenneth wanting with every fiber of her being. She is not used to wanting anything. Certainly she never wanted her masters' touch. But freedom? It is something she has come to desire, to yearn for.
Lenneth had thought her days as a slave were over with. Odin himself had been killed, and she had not shed a tear for his passing. Lenneth had known others would come, the Goddess going off to face the latest in a long line of those who clamored to claim her for their own. His name had been Loki, the God half Aesir and half Vanir. A being who had fit in neither world, he had ruthlessly slain Odin in an attempt to bring about Ragnarok. But the ending of Creation wasn't his only goal. Loki had wanted to remake the nine realms, bring in a new world with new people living under his rule.
It was a mad ambition, but no less twisted than anything else those in power attempted to do throughout eternity. Lenneth might have welcomed the oblivion Loki could bring, if not for one small fact. The mad God had wanted Lenneth by his side. Not as his queen, for what God would deign to share power with that who was no more than a slave? Who could never be more than a victim.
Lenneth still wasn't sure what had happened. How she had stood up against Loki. How she had won the battle. By all rights he should have overpowered her, and yet in that moment she had evolved. She had become something more, something strong enough to take out a would be tormentor. Millennia of abuse, of anger, of disgust had built up inside her. Lenneth had used those long bottled emotions, to strike down the God and take from him the power needed to save Creation. To rule over it and more importantly, to rule over herself.
The freedom that followed had been glorious! No longer was she ordered around. No longer did Lenneth have to beg permission to do anything. She could walk, talk, even laugh and no one would question her. Lenneth's choices had become her own, the Goddess delighting in making decisions. In trying things she had never tried before. She'd build up her own kingdom, Lenneth filling it with the souls of mortals. Ruling over them with a far gentler hand than had ever been shown to her.
For the first time, eternity had not felt like a punishment. Lenneth could appreciate paradise, and the many splendors of the nine realms. Her heart had soared, Lenneth falling in love with the world she had ruled over. Loving the people there, and watching over them. Guiding them to grow and return that love she felt a hundred fold. The people themselves flourished, and they adored the Goddess they worshipped. Some perhaps too much, Lenneth never realizing the danger that was being groomed inside the heart of just one of the many mortals of the world.
She couldn't be vigilant every hour of the day. One mortal wouldn't have stood out for her notice, not when there were millions of them. She was in the thoughts of them all, loved, worshipped. Never had she dreamed anything sinister could form of that love. Or that such traitorous desires could be acted upon. It was Lenneth's folly to underestimate the mortals. To think she was safe from the fate that had tortured her for most of her eternity.
Lezard Valeth. That is his name. That is the madman who should never have had the power to take away Lenneth's new found freedom. And yet that is exactly what he is trying to do, the man finding a way to unravel time. To travel back some several hundred years, and play havoc with the past. He's rewritten history, manipulated time for his own ends, and violated laws like a savage. He's done it all for her. To lay his hands upon her flawless flesh. To twist her body against her, use it for his own desires.
Lenneth doesn't understand how exactly Lezard has managed to do what he has done, how he has managed to transcend his mortality to become something else. To become something far more dangerous than a human could ever be. But through his manipulations, he has become a God. A God that not only rivaled Odin, but surpassed him in power. And through the obtaining of that power, the world, the future had become endangered. As had Lenneth's freedom.
Lezard had left Lenneth no choice but to follow after him. To travel back in time, hoping to somehow undo the damage he had already done. Lenneth had had no other choice, no other way to save the world that she had grown to love. To remain in the present, was to be wiped away with the rest of existence as the new timeline forcibly replaced the old. But there had been a danger in going to the past, a price that had to be paid, whether Lenneth was willing or not.
In going to the past, her powers had diminished. Lenneth had become less than what she once was. She was no longer the powerful Goddess, the one who had vanquished Loki and had ruled over Creation. She was back to being that pitiable creature, the slave everyone desired. How could she ever hope to alone stand up against the new God? Lenneth couldn't, the Goddess seeking out allies. Finding the few souls who might be capable of stopping Lezard's madness.
She could count on six fingers the number of her allies. It was a pitiably small party, consisting of far too many that had all too human blood coursing through their veins. The princess of the fallen kingdom of Dipan was petite, and could barely hold up her own sword. And yet she was fueled by her determination, her desire to set things right. Besides her was the ever present figure of the half elf, a man who would have once been a vessel for Odin to use as he saw fit. The two of them should have been dead, but in this altered past, they lived to fight on.
There was another with human blood, a large, overly muscular man who wielded a blade nearly as long as his body. He was in the employ of the Valkyries, two battle maidens Lenneth could almost call sisters. They too had been created by Odin, though never had they suffered in quite the manner Lenneth had. She bore no grudges to them for the lives they had led, for having an existence that would seem carefree in comparison to her own.
The final member of this strange party, was a shock to Lenneth. It had nothing to do with what he was, Lenneth not caring that the vampire was Lord of all the Undead. But she remembered her dealings with him in a different time. A time when Brahms himself had sought to claim Lenneth for his own. She remembers the words he had spoke to her, the delusional look in his crimson colored eyes as Brahms talked about Lenneth being the one to comfort his soul through the long eternity of their lives. He had never gotten the chance to do more than speak to her, the vampire finding himself ill matched against Odin. Lenneth found it an ironic twist of fate, to now be working so closely with one who had coveted her once upon a time.
It made her leery of the vampire, Lenneth expecting betrayal at any moment. But she didn't chase him away, conscious that this man was an ally of the others. A trusted companion they had come to value. Whereas Lenneth was wary, she couldn't deny he was powerful. A power that might make a difference against the new God. She didn't dare hope that the vampire alone could defeat Lezard, but Lenneth thought he might prove useful as a distraction. Brahms might even tire out Lezard enough for Lenneth to finish off the would be ruler of Creation.
She'd worry about what would happen after Lezard had fallen. The task of repairing the damage timeline was Lenneth's to undertake. These six that accompanied her, would not favor a history where some of them were already dead. They'd rather forge a new future, one where they could be happy and prosper. Lenneth was working against them, her true intentions hidden. She did not want to remain in this era, did not want a future where she was weak enough to be forced back into the role of slave. Lenneth would fight her own allies if it came down to it, the Goddess determined to hold onto the freedom she had briefly tasted.
But before anything could be decided, before the alliance could unravel, they had a usurper to face. An arrogant mortal who had transcended from his humble beginnings, stealing power for himself at the cost of so many others. Lenneth kept from scowling, walking with an indifferent expression as she trailed behind her allies. They were climbing a steep staircase, the steps carved into the rock that sometimes crumbled under foot.
At the very top of the staircase, was a cluster of trees. Their gnarled limbs were without leaves, branches weaving together, to form a thorny canopy that worked as both ceiling and fence. There was only one opening to enter into whatever they guarded, and a bright, shining light that glowed golden spilled out between the cracks in the canopy.
The steps led to the opening, the determined party entering inside. The vampire had to stoop downwards to fit, his hair brushing against the lowest of the branches. Lenneth stepped forward, and instantly the light went out. They were left all blinded, blinking rapidly in an attempt to adjust to the sudden darkness. The branches seem to rustle, and then a chill wind was upon them. Blowing with enough force to cause them to fall back, everyone dropping to their knees.
They couldn't hear much of anything over the wind. Certainly they couldn't hear the sound of footsteps approaching. But the power was too immense to suppress completely, the very feel of it drawing near causing all to react. Lenneth herself felt an unwelcome shiver through her body, the Goddess raising up on one knee to stare at the approaching man.
He certainly didn't look like a God. At least not like any divine being she had been familiar with in the past. His thin frame hardly looked the type to hold the amount of power emanating off of him, his body more pampered mage than brawny warrior. But this man walked with a confidence, an arrogance born of what he had accomplished. The wind did not touch him, his brown hair staying unruffled. He was smiling, amethyst colored eyes touching upon each person's face, before they came to rest upon Lenneth. A surprising warmth filled his gaze, his smile softening as he looked at her.
"Lenneth Valkyrie..." He purred out her name with a familiarity Lezard had no right to. "I knew you would come."
Her braided hair was being blown back by the wind, the allies around her struggling to stand. Somehow she rose, making the movement graceful even at the effort it had taken her. "Of course I came." Lenneth told him, her own gaze meeting his. "There was no choice but for me to follow after you. To stop the damage you continue to do to our world's past."
"A crude but effective lure." Lezard said, shrugging as though what he had done wasn't one of the worse crimes ever. "But there was little else I could do to get your attention..."
She opened her mouth to speak, but the vampire beat Lenneth to the retort. "Pathetic wretch!" Brahms snarled. "All this was merely to satisfy your lust?"
She colored, Lenneth feeling the warmth fill her cheeks as well as several gazes on her. They were surely assessing her, wondering what her appeal was to have driven Lezard to go to such lengths. She felt anger boil within her, Lenneth feeling humiliated in response to the lust Brahms rightfully accused Lezard of having. It made her speak, the words springing from her embarrassment. And with them came anger, Lenneth pointing a finger at Lezard.
"You have blindly twisted nature, and destroyed worlds like a savage!" She accused. "As creator of the world that spawned you, I shall exact justice upon you!"
Lezard was seemingly unfazed by her threat, the man adjusting the glasses on his face. Those eyes shouldn't hold such delight in them, Lezard shouldn't be pleased by what Lenneth had said. And yet he was, staring at her with the oddest of smiles. "That icy gaze sends chills down my spine..." Somehow Lenneth managed to keep from sputtering in response, her own eyes narrowing into a glare.
"What is your game, human?" sneered one of the Valkyries. It was the one with the black hair, the one named Hrist. Her hand hovered over the pommel of her sword, but Hrist had yet to draw it. "Do you think to rule over all now that you are a God?"
He didn't even look towards the other Valkyrie, keeping his unsettling gaze on Lenneth. "Rule over all is but a fleeting fancy." He spoke to them all, though the way he stared at Lenneth, it was clear she was all who mattered among the group. "I have but one desire...to rule my beloved Goddess."
~Of course.~ Lenneth thought, her heart sinking at hearing those words. She had already known what his intent was. What had been the driving force behind his insane actions. And yet it pained her to hear the confirmation, to realize that this man was just like all the others from her past. Determined to own her. It was sheer madness, and yet it was happening. But Lenneth was determined to keep her fate changed, to retain the freedom she had been enjoying for months now.
"That will never happen." Lenneth wished she had the confidence she had just voiced, the Goddess drawing her own sword. The group around her reacted to the sight of her sword drawn, each moving into an aggressive stance with their own weapons out and in their hands.
Lezard shifted in place, his own posture taking on a defensive air. In his hands, the divine spear Gungnir appeared, the double bladed weapon almost as long as Lezard was tall. "You may try to deny it all you like." Lezard still looked at her as he talked, his smile lessening as he turned noticeably more serious. "I rule not only all matter, but time as well. You are here because I will it!"
"Enough talk!" She hissed, tension coiling in her legs. She was preparing to lunge forward, ready to thrust her sword into him. Lenneth didn't think it could end with just one strike, not when Lezard was the inheritor of Odin's power. At best the sword thrust would only annoy him. "You play with fire, and you will get burned!" She never heard his retort, Lenneth springing forward. Her arm was already raising, ready to slash downwards in a cut meant to tear open his chest. Gungnir was brought up, Lezard easily blocking her sword. But even as Lenneth fell back, another sword was swinging at Lezard. From the size of it, it was that human male, the Valkyrie's einherjar who tried to lop off Lezard's head.
Every time one warrior was knocked back, another would be there to take his or her's place. Even the tiny princess of Dipan lifted her sword in battle, trying to stab, thrust, even sever parts of Lezard. The vampire lord used his own claws to attack, and the Valkyrie's weapons sang with their movements. Sometimes a blow would land on Lezard, the cut slashing open clothing, tearing into skin. But such wounds served to do little buy annoy the God, Lezard's new found divinity healing the wounds before they could bleed even one drop.
Lenneth fought valiantly, trying not to give in to despair. She noted how Lezard was adapting to his powers, and it made her fear how much stronger he would become once he grew into his divinity. It made her desperate to end this now, Lenneth understanding they had little chance to win the longer the fight continued. She continued to fight, watching as her sword tip sliced open Lezard's cheek. Just as quickly it healed, the new God seeming unaware of the fact he had been struck in the face.
The fight would last for hours. Blow for blow being exchanged. A sword shattered, and the humans grew exhausted. The Valkyries and the vampire continued, tireless where the humans were not. The wind continued to blow, trying to force them off their feet as they fought. It was a battle that rivaled the one where Lenneth had fought against Loki. But unlike that fight, this battle would have a different outcome.
It was when Lenneth was standing practically shoulder to shoulder with the other two Valkyries, that Lezard's trap was revealed. He had been toying with them all along, waiting for the three Valkyries to be close enough together for a specific purpose. They were practically lined up in a row, when the ground beneath them began to glow. The lights were bright, but not enough to blind them. The light cast a blue glow on their skin, a visible wall of it surrounding them. It close in over their heads, trapping them inside a dome.
The very air seemed to make them choke, Lenneth struggling to breathe. Her sword fell from her hand, Lenneth clawing at the air, at the light that prevented her from leaving the dome. The other two Valkyries were attempting the same, their own weapons forgotten as they took gasping breaths. Somewhere a woman screamed, pain coursing through Lenneth as a white glow began burning runes into the floor beneath her very feet.
She couldn't even gasp with recognition, Lenneth knowing what those runes meant. Lezard was attempting to do the sovereign's rite, a spell meant to call back a Valkyrie's soul from her body. It was a spell few knew, and even less could perform. And yet Lezard was casting it with ease, fighting off Brahms as he focused his energy on hurting the Valkyries.
Lenneth could feel her body weakening, her soul twisting. Screaming with a pain she couldn't voice, Lenneth heard Brahms snarl out a desperate plea. "Stop! What will happen with no place for the Valkyries to be reborn or summoned?"
She couldn't see too well, Lenneth aware of movement out the corner of her eye. The vampire's vicious curse signaled an attack that had failed. And then Lezard was speaking, his voice calm, almost serene. "That means nothing to me. I am creator of this world. Is time you realized that fact."
Lenneth never heard Brahms' answer. She simply no longer had ears she could use. Her body was being abandoned, her soul drawn out of it. She tried one last time to scream, and then everything went black.
To Be Continued...
So I worried I'd have to do the scene exactly like in the game. But after watching it, I only kept a few lines from it. I'm glad to finally have this chapter finished!
This is a slight AU...Much the same as the game bu with some twists.
Michelle