We are so sorry this took so long. D: It is SKILLED at being evil. Have no fear, we shall conquer the beast and hopefully have the other half up in around a month. Don't quote us on that, though. Thanks for the patience! :D
Aelia paused over the Forest of Spirits. Even from up in the air, she could see flashes of magic lighting up the trees. Small figures ran to and fro beneath the canopy. She focused on the area, hoping to get an idea of what they were going to be up against. I hope nothing too big. I wish I could have trained them.
Lenneth's voice broke into her mind. Aelia, I am going to give you a weapon for Lillium. It is not the strongest, but it is divine and will not break. It will have to do for now until another can be made.
Aelia held her hands out, and felt the bow and quiver materialize in them. Thank you.
What you will be fighting below is not more than I believe you can handle. If you need help, I will send it. Do not wait any longer. Go!
Aelia nodded and descended into the chaotic village. Elven soldiers ran around, trying to get children and the elderly into safe places before the real battle began. Hordes of small demons flew around, stabbing and casting spells at the soldiers. One came towards her, and she drew her spear and pierced the creature on it. It dissolved into mist.
"Aelia!" She saw Freya flying around the village shooting ether at demons as she went. "Where are your Einherjar? Bring them out!"
Aelia went to do so, then realized she didn't know how. "How do I—"
Freya snorted. "Any goddess ought to find it a simple task." She blasted another demon before it could attack her.
Aelia bristled. "Hey, if you don't want my help, I'll just go train my Einherjar elsewhere and leave you to handle this on your own." Aelia went to take to the sky.
"Mind your words, human."
"You mean Valkyrie, chosen by the Allmother."
"Be silent! Just reach inside of your soul and call them forth," Freya said snippily. "It is not a difficult thing." Aelia muttered to herself and attempted to do so, trying to speak to Abijal.
Abijal, you there? Wake up! There was no response. She tried to reach deeper. Hello? Can you hear me? No response. She concentrated harder. Abijal, Lillium, Trillium! Can you hear me?
Wha—what? Aelia? What is it?
Is it time to battle? Finally?
I in Valla now?
Yes, it's time for battle! Let's go!
She felt their souls stir inside of her. It was an unsettling feeling, as though mice were crawling around in her very being. She held her hand over her heart and tried to pull them out. She stopped with a small cry; it was like someone was pulling at her insides. She tried one more time, ignoring the unsettling sensation, and succeeded. She held them out and let them re-form on the ground. Abijal looked at the two girls, especially Lillium, somewhat skeptically.
"Who're they?"
"I Lil," Lillium said, pointing to herself. "Tha's my sissher, Trill. I love my sissher."
Abijal snorted. "You gave me a hard time, and then recruited Rapunzel there? Oh right, she has a cooter."
"She is kindhearted and willing to help, unlike you seem to be," Aelia snapped.
"She's a fucking retard!"
"Mean word!" Lillium cried.
"Hey!" Trillium raised her fist threateningly as Lillium whimpered. "You watch your mouth!" Abijal drew his sword with an angry growl.
"Knock it off, both of you!" Aelia cried. "We need to do this together! Abijal, shut up. Trillium, don't be so quick to raise your hand against your comrades."
"Yes, ma'am," they replied simultaneously.
"Lillium, I have something for you." Aelia pulled the new bow off her back. Lillium gasped. "This is a real bow, not like the one you've been using."
Lillium took it and smiled. "Wooow," she breathed. "Pretty!" It was pretty, Aelia agreed silently.
"And to go with that…" Aelia removed the quiver from her side and wrapped it over Lillium's shoulder. "These are real arrows, with sharp points. This is a weapon, not a toy, so you need to be careful with it."
"I will be, Ally-Goddess!"
Aelia smiled at the nickname. A group of Will-o-wisps had hovered into the area while they spoke and were shooting lightning at the elven soldiers. They fired arrows in return. The wisps were knocked back momentarily. "You see how the elves do it, Lillium?" Aelia asked.
Lillium gasped. "They pretty!" she cried. She ran toward the battle.
"Lillium, wait, there's a battle going on!" Aelia cried. She thought the girl was talking about the elves, until she reached her hand out to try and touch one of the wisps near her. "No!" Aelia shouted. She tried to stop her, but she was too slow. Lillium touched it, and was thrown backwards by a jolt of electricity. Aelia winced. Trillium rushed to her side, trying to calm her bawling twin, and smoothing her now-frizzed hair. Abijal tried not to laugh, but failed when Trillium shot a none-too-menacing glare his way.
"Abijal, watch it!" Aelia screamed. He twisted around and drew his sword. He blocked an attack from a black harpy. He swung at it. One of its legs came off and landed on the ground in front of Abijal. It screamed and dived at him, aiming its remaining talons at his face.
An arrow flew from behind Aelia and sunk into the harpy's forehead. The creature fell to the ground.
"Nice shot, Lil—" Aelia fell silent when she saw it was an elven soldier, and that her Einherjar was still crying helplessly. She sighed, then spun around and pierced a Hel-servant with her spear before it could petrify her. She leapt aside as stinking juices flowed from the giant eye. Two more came at her, and she impaled them while trying to keep an eye on Lillium. She groaned; Abijal had left the battle to yell at Lillium. Lillium, frightened of the huge man, had stood up and backed away, but Trillium had gotten into an argument with him.
"She's can't help it! Leave her alone!"
"This is a battlefield, you soft-hearted bint! Fight or die!"
"You cold bastard, my sister is handicapped!"
"THEN GET HER OFF THE FIELD! AAAEEELIAAA!"
As the two argued, and Aelia struggled with a fourth Hel-servant, Lillium tried to make peace between the two. She did a funny little dance to try and make them laugh; it was useless. Aelia finally slew the Hel-servant, and was about to step between them when Freya materialized in front of them. The argument ceased immediately.
"Are you not going to be heroes of Asgard?" Freya roared. "Heroes do not bicker over trivial matters during a battle! Aelia, get control over these fools!"
"I'll do that as soon as we stop being attacked!" Aelia snapped.
Lillium was crying again. An imp attacked her, and she screamed, flailing her bow at it madly. Both Abijal and Trillium jumped at the imp and tried to kill it. They missed the imp completely; their blades clashed and bounced off of each other. Freya shook her head and glared at Aelia. "You ought to find more skilled Einherjar. You are selecting warriors for the gods, not any average rabble you can find!" Before Aelia could reply, she disappeared. Aelia grumbled.
"Who the fuck is she calling 'average rabble'?" Abijal snapped. The imp yanked on his hair and let out a high-pitched titter, and Abijal snarled and stabbed at the imp. The tiny nuisance was cut in two. "Teach you to mock me, pathetic creature." He stomped on the imp's body, splattering it on the ground. Trillium winced, then swung her blade around as three more imps buzzed around them. Lillium had pulled out an arrow and tried to aim at them. She waved her bow frantically back and forth, not sure which way to shoot. One of the imps flew at her face and became tangled in her hair. Lillium squealed, releasing her arrow as she tried to fight it off. The arrow landed in the shoulder of a nearby elven soldier.
"Lillium!" Aelia screamed. She swiped her spear at the imp and knocked it away from Lillium. She removed a small part of Lillium's hair with it.
"Hair! Mah hair!"
"Forget about your hair, look what you just did!" Aelia screamed, pointing to the elven soldier, who was being led off the field by her friends. "You need to be more careful with your bow! It's not a toy, it's a weapon! It can killpeople!"
Lillium had fallen to her knees and wrapped her arms around Aelia's legs. "Nooooooo, I sorry!" she bawled. "Sorry sorry sorry! Nooooo!"
Aelia took a slow, deep breath. "Alright. It's your first real battle, and you're not used to a bow that strong, so I can understand, but you need to learn to keep your focus!" Aelia told her, pulling her off of her legs. "She's alive, at least your mistake wasn't lethal."
"No, I hurt the elf. I shupid and want to leave."
Trillium had noticed her sister's crying, and come over to them. "Lillium, you are not stupid!And don't just quit! You'll never learn that way!"
"Stop wasting your time over there and help me kill shit!" Abijal screamed.
"Go help him, I'll handle this," Aelia ordered Trillium. She nodded and left. "Lillium," Aelia said patiently, helping her stand. "Perhaps you should aim for bigger targets until you get better at this, so you don't hit anyone else. How about that one, over there?" She pointed at a Hel-servant that was terrorizing a young elven mage.
"Scary!" Lillium cried. She whined. "Scary eye with snakes!"
"Don't think of it as scary," Aelia replied. "Now try shooting at it."
Lillium aimed her bow, and fired the arrow. The arrow flew and hit one of the writhing snakes atop its head. It screamed angrily and turned around to glare at her. Lillium shrieked, pulling out another arrow.
"Keep your focus!" Aelia ordered. "If you panic, you won't fire accurately!"
Lillium took a deep breath and fired. She hit the advancing Hel-servant in its eye. It stopped and shook wildly in an attempt to dislodge the arrow.
"Good shot!" Aelia praised. Lillium smiled proudly, pulling out another arrow and firing, landing another shot in the eye. The young mage cast a spell, and the demon was frozen solid.
Lillium jumped up and down wildly. "I helped! I helped!" The elf smiled at her and ran away. Lillium waved at her happily. "Look, sissher, I helped!"
"Good work, Lillium!" Trillium congratulated tiredly, wiping away the imp blood that covered her face. Abijal was battling with two demon servants. He tried to block their spinning spears while Trillium attacked them from behind. They were taken by surprise, and the two demons soon fell to her Einherjar's blades.
Aelia nodded with approval. "Go retrieve your arrows," she said, then spun around when she heard something behind her. She and jabbed at a lesser demon that had been about to attack her. It dodged her blow, and swung at her again. It her in the chest and knocked her down. An arrow whizzed mere centimeters by its head. The demon looked up, as another arrow flew at it and landed in its leg. It jerked, not vocalizing its pain. An elven soldier came out of nowhere and cut the demon in half.
"I helped again!" Aelia heard Lillium cry.
Several more Will o' the wisps had joined in the fray. Three of them descended upon Abijal and Trillium, firing lightning at them. Trillium tried to slice at them, but they dodged her blows. Lillium fired an arrow at another, but the wisp disintegrated it, rendering it harmless.
Trillium finally managed to sink her blade into one of them. It began to glow a bright, angry red. She pulled it out and backed away cautiously.
"Trillium, it's gonna blow, move!" Aelia cried, running away from her own battle and trying to shove her Einherjar away from the wisp. It exploded, sending Aelia, Abijal, and Trillium flying into the air, and knocking over a few elven soldiers who had been around them. Abijal coughed smoke and brushed off his armor, standing up slowly. Trillium didn't move.
"Sissher? Sissher?" Lillium cried, rushing to her sister's side. The two remaining wisps attacked Abijal, and he tried unsuccessfully to fight them off. Aelia joined him in trying to fight them. She managed to slice into one, and, as it began to burn red, she sliced at it again, killing it. As it died, five more wisps replaced it, and a Hel-servant rose out of the ground.
This is not going well at all, Aelia thought angrily. We weren't ready for this, by any means. Lenneth! She called. What do I do? Help us!
Aelia jabbed her spear into the Hel-servant's eye, jumping as the fluids gushed out of the wound. Two of the six wisps attacked her, firing lightning at her. She jolted from the electricity. She stabbed at one, burying her spear into its center. Several elven soldiers had come to their aid, taking out two more wisps. Lillium continued to tend to Trillium.
She heard a voice chanting over the noise of the battle.
"Ye of detestable name and virtue, false apostle, thou are bayed back to the abyss!"
Oh Great Goddess, let that be an ally, Aelia thought as the wisp sent jolts of electricity into her body.
"SERAPHIC LAW!"
The beam of magic flew through the air and burned through the Will o' the wisps and several other surrounding demons; they disintegrated into nothing.
"Ha. Perhaps Lenneth should have chosen me for this job."
Aelia turned around to face the voice. "Mystina!"
"The one and only," Mystina said with a smirk. "Lenneth told me you asked for help. She didn't choose such a pathetic bunch of warriors as you did. Where are your standards?"
"Fuck off, bitch!" Abijal yelled, overhearing the conversation. "You have no place here!"
"I just saved your sorry ass, in case you've forgotten so easily," Mystina snapped. "Perhaps next time I'll leave you to die."
"Mystina, I appreciate your help," Aelia said quickly, before Abijal could respond. "We were overwhelmed. I haven't had time to train them properly."
"Hmph. At least someone shows some gratitude—sacred javelin!" she cried suddenly, and aimed her staff at something behind Abijal. Blades of energy stabbed at a lesser demon before it could attack him.
"Magic is the most cowardly of the fighting arts!" Abijal said angrily. "You stand behind the brave warriors and wave your staffs around as if they were oversized cocks."
"Me, get covered in blood and guts? When I know spells and have skills that can kill enemies from a distance in an instant?" Mystina replied coolly. "Never. Also, I just saved your ass. Again."
"I could have—"
"Shut up, Abijal," Aelia snapped. Abijal snorted, and ran back into the battle.
"Anyway," Mystina said, "Lenneth's orders were for me to remain here with you. She says you need a mage."
"We don't need some cock-waving pussy's help!" Abijal shouted back at them.
"Does that mean I can get rid of you?" Aelia snapped. Abijal snorted and muttered something about man-haters. "And thank you," Aelia said to Mystina. "We would appreciate your help."
Mystina laughed. "I'm amazed that you even picked him up."
"Lenneth guided me to him," Aelia told her while fighting off some imps that were clawing at her face.
"He must have some virtue, then."
Aelia thought back on what she'd seen of his memories as she fought. I suppose he does. I'm kind of stuck with him now, I may as well learn to tolerate the bullshit that I know he's going to start. "Maybe." She noticed Lillium on her own, battling with a Hel-Servant. Aelia watched her closely.
"Mystic cross!" Mystina cried, rolling her eyes as Abijal started screaming again. "Gratitude isn't one of them."
"He's a proud, caustic bastard and I'm sure I'll hate him," Aelia replied. "And I'm sure there will be dick-measuring contests and jokes about breasts every two minutes."
"Ally-Goddess!" Lillium cried. "I killed a monster! I killed a big snake eye thingy all by myself! I did it by myself! Proud of meee?" Sure enough, the Hel-Servant that she'd been fighting lay dead on the ground, pierced in various odd places by twenty or so arrows. Mystina clapped, somewhat sarcastically.
Aelia smirked. "Good work, Lillium! Keep it up!" Louder, she added, "Keep it up and you'll be a better warrior than Abijal!"
"Like fuck she will!" Abijal protested. Aelia snickered.
Lillium bounced happily. "I be a warrior and go to Valla! Valla, Valla, Valla…" She ran, encouraged, back into battle.
"Go and retrieve your arrows!" Aelia reminded her. She stopped, and ran back to the dead Hel-Servant to do so. Several harpies tried to strike Aelia from behind, but she ducked underneath them and impaled one on her spear. Mystina kept some of the beasts at bay and prevented them from attacking the already-swamped Einherjar.
"Stop trying to fucking help me!" Aelia heard Abijal screech. "I can deal with these fuckers on my own! I don't need pussy magic help!"
Mystina huffed and turned away from him. "As you wish, oh paragon of masculinity."
"Thank you!" he snapped, right before a demon smashed into his back and knocked him to the ground.
Nearby, Trillium had woken up and was trying to remove an overjoyed Lillium from her neck. Trillium pulled her off and stood, trying to catch her balance. Lillium helped her. Several imps flew at the two sisters and buzzed around their heads, tittering and poking at them with their little tridents.
Suddenly, the ground shook with the force of an explosion. Aelia jerked her head towards the noise and saw chunks of wood and earth thrown into the air as a huge, white-scaled serpent thrust its head over the tree line. The imps and other demons stopped attacking, and retreated into the woods.
Lillium whimpered. "Wha dat?"
"I don't know," Trillium replied. "It looks like some sort of snake..."
"It's a dragon," Abijal said, grinning, as he cut through a lesser demon who was attempting to run away.
"He's right," Aelia said. She watched the dragon disappear from view and felt the ground rattle again. "I really wish we'd had time to train first," she sighed.
Mystina cleared her throat. "Um, remember me? Former Einherjar of the Allmother? I certainly don't need training."
Abijal snorted. "I don't need training, either: I've been a warrior for twenty fucking years now! I've killed two-hundred dragons and—"
"And look what one of them did to you!" Aelia snapped. She looked over at Lillium and Trillium. Lillium was staring wide-eyed at the forest, her bow held tightly. A bird flew out at her and Lillium screamed. Trillium tried to cover her mouth.
Abijal whirled around and slapped Lillium. "Shut up! Do you WANT us all to die?"
Trillium let go of her screeching twin and drew her sword, swinging it at Abijal. Abijal blocked her attack and smacked her with the flat of his blade. She was knocked to the ground.
"HEY!" Aelia snapped. Abijal looked over his shoulder.
"She attacked me first," he said.
"You hit Lillium. That was uncalled for. Trillium?" She helped Trillium up. "Trillium, we do not attack each other like that! We are allies!"
"But he…he…"
"Yes, he hit Lillium. But—"
The air rippled and Aelia suppressed a groan.
"Is this how you command your einherjar: by letting them fight amongst themselves while Hel's creatures threaten the very World Tree itself?" Freya asked. "That beast is Grafvollud, son of Nidhogg. He must not be allowed to reach Yggdrasil!"
Aelia narrowed her eyes. "If you're so disappointed in me, then why are you trusting me with this battle?"
"Because the forces led by Arngrim and Kashell are occupied with Ofnir and Grabak, and Lawfer is leading the elven evacuees to safety," Freya said haughtily. With that, she disappeared.
"Was that... Freya?" Trillium asked. "I always thought she would be less..."
"Less of a sand-filled cunt?" Abijal supplied.
"Abijal-" Aelia began, then shrugged. "She might still be around."
There was a loud rour behind them. Aelia spun around to see Grafvollud knock a tree aside with a swing of his head. Lillium took off running in the opposite direction and Trillium made a grab for her hair before running after her sister. The dragon lunged forward.
"Sacred javelin!" Mystina shouted as Abijal ran towards the dragon. Grafvollud grunted when the spells pierced his skin, tearing off scales and revealing raw, maggot-riddled skin. Abijal slashed at the dragon's underbelly, his heavy blade making deep cuts in the thick scales.
"The fuck? There's no blood," he muttered, narrowly dodging the dragon's thrashing coils. Grafvollud stopped thrashing in pain, then swung his head around to face Abijal, his jaws open wide. Abijal swore, then ran back towards Aelia and Mystina. "Run!"
"Shit, he's right," Aelia sighed. She turned to Mystina. "Into the woods! Go, hurry it up!"
They reached the trees just as Grafvollud exhaled a thick, yellowish fog. The noxious vapor spread along the groud in a choking mist that stank of decay. Aelia stopped, coughing, and looked around at her surroundings through watering eyes. She saw Trillium and Lillium nearby.
"Ally-goddess!" Lillium said excitedly, then choked. She pulled the collar of her dress up over her nose. "Eeeughhh," she whined. "Ewww!"
"Just breathe through your mouth," Aelia told her. "I don't think it's poisonous."
"Ugh, it smells worse than Lezard's little experiments," Mystina said. She pinched her nose shut and shot a glare in Abijal's direction. "Thanks for pissing him off. Really," she muttered nasally before her attention turned to Aelia. "So what are we dealing with here? An undead?"
"We're dealing with a dragon," Abijal answered with a roll of his eye.
"I wasn't talking to you," Mystina snapped back.
Aelia closed her eyes and tried to sense Grafvollud's mind. She felt an ache behind her eyes and her head was suddenly filled with a low, droning sound that seemed to dull all thought. Beneath that, she was aware of a dizzying array of scents and strange sensations. The footsteps of the fleeing monsters became miniscule vibrations against her belly and she could smell the scents of treesap and living bodies. She scratched at her skin, trying to dispel the phantom sensation of burrowing maggots, then opened her eyes. "He's not undead, but I don't think he's completely alive either," she said. "I think this is his first time above-ground. He seems confused. And stupid."
"What should we do? I've never fought a dragon before," Trillium asked Aelia.
"Abijal has," Aelia answered. "Why don't you ask him?"
Trillium grimaced. "Do I have to?" she whispered.
Aelia pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just ask him," she said.
Trillium reluctantly walked over to Abijal, who was watching the dragon through the trees. She glanced back at Aelia, then sighed. "You heard Aelia," she muttered.
"You mean she actually wants an inferior male like myself to educate one of her vagtastic female warriors?" Abijal said with mock wonder. "Shit, I wish Nyoka could see this!"
"Forget it," Trillium said. "I'll just figure it out myself." She started towards the clearing and barely suppressed a yelp when Abijal grabbed her shoulder and pulled her backwards.
"Not so fucking fast," he said. "If you want to be a dumbfuck and get yourself killed, go ahead and fight him yourself and hope you'll figure out how to kill the fucker without dying first. I've led godshowever many soldiers on dragon hunts and there's always some moron who thinks he's some fucking prodigy. Want to know what happens to them?"
"They end up looking like you?" Trillium narrowed her eyes.
"Just shut the fuck up and listen to me," Abijal snapped back. "Fighting a dragon takes skill. You can't just run up to it, waving your sword around like a dick. Speaking of dick-waving-" He motioned Mystina over. "You too, mage-pussy! Maybe you can learn something useful!"
Mystina said something under her breath, but joined them anyway. Aelia walked over to the rest of them, Lillium following behind her. At least, Aelia noted, she no longer had her dress pulled over her nose.
"Not your type, is he?" Mystina asked Aelia with a smirk. She nodded towards the clearing to clarify who she was referring to. Grafvollud was coiled in the clearing, tasting the air with disgusting, moist slurps. "Still, you have to admit that a tongue like that is... intruiging."
Aelia frowned, but her reply was cut off when Grafvollud suddenly bent its head downward and dove back into the ground. Trillium watched it carefully and backed away. "Did it retreat?"
"No," Abijal snapped. "If you knew anything about fucking dragons, you'd know they don't fucking retreat that quickly."
Mystina smirked. "I think your Valkyrie could tell you a thing or two about fucking dragons—"
Aelia smacked her on the back of the head when Abijal started laughing. "Shut up!" she hissed. "I need them to respect me!"
Mystina smacked her back. "Hitting your allies sets a bad example."
Aelia ignored her and tried to sense where Grafvollud was. He was moving beneath the ground, directly below them. She felt dirt and rocks pushing against her face as the dragon burrowed through the soil. "He's right below us," Aelia said. "Stay still and don't talk. I'm going to try something."
"I'm not going to stand here like a pussy and—"
"Shut up, Abijal!" Aelia hissed. She felt Grafvollud's head jerk toward where Abijal was standing, and he sped upward through the earth. Aelia leapt at him and knocked Abijal out of the way as his head broke the surface and his jaws closed around air. Aelia jumped to her feet and raised her spear, but Grafvollud was already burrowing back underground. She spun around and glared at Abijal. "Now that you've seen why I told you to stand still and shut up, will you listen to me?"
"I could have taken him on! I'm a dragon hunter!"
"Shut up and stay put!" Aelia ordered quietly.
Abijal rolled his eye, but he stood slowly and didn't move. Aelia felt for Grafvollud again; he was already back underneath them, head moving this way and that, feeling for any movement. She was suddenly aware of other vibrations, too small for anyone not built to pick them up to sense, through the earth. He's reacting to them. It's almost as if… She realized he was also picking up images that he couldn't possibly be seeing from underground. Images of elves waving their weapons and staffs, images of trees, the bright sun in the sky. Maybe he's remembering.
Then she remembered Grafvollud had carved runes where his eyes should have been.
Aelia glanced at Mystina. "There are others."
"What?" Mystina asked.
"There are others. Other dragons like this. I can feel him communicating with them. They're doing so through small vibrations and some telepathy. I don't know if they're coordinating an attack, but not all of them are blind."
"So what do we do?" Mystina asked.
"What can we do?" Aelia asked back. "They're already beginning to attack, so everyone knows they're here. All we can do is keep fighting, and hope a sighted one doesn't make it over here to help him out."