(A/N: This is the first of the Brotherhood Arc chapters that focus around his lost Half Brother, Breyerkolt that he grew up with before he was captured by the main antagonist of this story revolving around him. This idea came from God of War: Ghost of Sparta since it involved his brother Deimos and the main antagonist was Thanatos, the God of Death who had a daughter named Erinys. This time around it's a Priest who delivers a warning about the destruction of the Archipelago not by the hands of the Romans but by a rising warrior who is marked with tattoos of a fearsome shroud. That's all there is to be mentioned about him and of course he had a daughter of his own who will be killed, I just hope you like this. Enjoy)
Long after the defeat of the Captain Vopiscus Captio and the Remnants of the Roman Legion who invaded the Barbaric Archipelago, as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III rescued Fishlegs from becoming a slave forced into a gladiator where he was not expected to survive all by the likes of the evil remains of a once great and now fallen empire; a young Mikekolt and his twin who was his half-brother named: "Breyerkolt (BRIAR-KOLT)" were out having a training session in the timberlands of their home island. They were using swords and shields to spar with each other, especially since the Romans did invade their home and tried to conquer their land after the fall of their empire. Mikekolt happened to be wearing his barbute helmet with seamless diamond pattern plates in place for leather plating, with ram horns that started out with the middle having a medal in the center while the armored horn was curved like a snail shell; going around two times until it branched off and curved backwards all in a perfect circle that had it's outer edge look like it was a paint stroke that started out smooth but went thicker until it reached the empty space. The inner armored ram horn was beaked forwards like shoulder guards before having a tight gripped handle wrapped around with ribbed leather bandages, with the rest of the ram horn being horizontally edged to the sharpened point that curved backwards and a tad downwards as they were a fair medium to large size. Finally, the ram horn was casted in a very deep and dark metallic bronze color along with the barbute helmet he wore
Breyerkolt on the other hand was also of Greek origin and was tattooed with scar like marks on his body and his armor was also based on such mythology, he had a total fondness for jackals and rams as well. He had drenched hair that was like a flattop which was spiked forwards and up like quills, with choppy layers like Mikekolt's but he was growing more of a mullet since it made him look like a fearsome warrior; which is what he wanted to be when he grew up with him. He wore a gambeson with shoulder guards belted on, as well as wearing lighter pants than him; he didn't wear gloves since he didn't have Raynaud's Disease and another thing is that he had the same number of freckles on him. But the most important thing about him was his tattoos he was given to become fearsome to his enemies; they were made from the darkblood of the beasts they ride and bond with mixed with the smoldering ashes, having to be cooked before applying onto the skin. Most primarily designed to be like battle scars and featured on both his face and upperchest, looking like they've penetrated his skin deeply and exposed his very tan to very dark brown filth covered bloodstained bones; also looking like he was being seared by lava bathed chains and shackles that were constricted everywhere around him like snakes that coiled onto him. Finally, it seemed that he had powers of his own; but did not appear any different from all the others
"Hahaha, not for long will you ever catch me!" Breyerkolt's youthful voice called out to the half-brother who chased him down
"Return back to me, coward!" Mikekolt told back to him as they both proceeded to run back into the village in front of their house where they resumed their training session afterwards
Mikekolt swung his blade against Breyerkolt's shield with him blocking before parrying it back at him, of course they were just jabbing each other with their swords and making a swing or two at each other since they weren't doing any harm. Mikekolt sent a kick to his direction which he managed to block twice but was sent backwards towards the other side slightly. "Do not submit, I will not let you fight from your back!" Mikekolt taunted as he sent another few kicks against his shield
Breyerkolt was struck down but kicked up some dust against his brother's face, blinding him before bashing his shield against his; resulting in a power struggle as they both pushed each other between themselves in the middle, both sides were gaining the upperhand as some of the villagers watched them both spar with each other knowing that they could not be split apart from each other. Mikekolt threw him off and continued his frontal strikes, sending his kicks against him every now and then before Breyerkolt continued his sword jabs against him
The brothers continued their training session as Breyerkolt swung his sword against his chest with Mikekolt stabbing his sword against his shield, landing another kick to leave him vulenrable before running and jumping to swipe his blade down against his defense; getting parried backwards before pushed to the ground as he could only block with his sword and push him up until he was able to stand and bash his shield across his face. This sent him kneeling to the ground once again before he sent some dust against his face, resulting in a second power struggle that would most certainly be the last; "Do not let your defense be broken, Breyerkolt!" Mikekolt told him as he continued to hold the line before he bashed him forwards and knocked him down, viciously holding his blade against Breyerkolt; although he had no intentions on killing him as he began to teach him this lesson
"A fearsome knight does not let his back fall to the ground beaten, even in death he does not stop fighting until he bleeds from his fangs and his hands; you are a fearsome warrior, are you not?!" Mikekolt sounded angry but was just teaching him so that he can be what he wanted to be when they grow up, his sword was near Breyerkolt's neck and responded
"Yes Mikekolt, I am one brother" Breyerkolt had his eyes closed before Mikekolt held his arm out for him to stand, getting off from his chest
"Now let's move brother, this fight will not end until we both live" He took his hand and stood up by his brother, when there was a sudden sound coming from ahead of them. There was a rain of flaming arrows that struck down on the houses a mile away from them, warriors and villagers were scrambling all over as the fires surrounded them; there were Dragon Marauders attacking but there was more to this then they knew:
After the Romans were defeated by the united forces of the tribes within the Archipelago, a self proclaimed priest who declared himself a messenger to Lord Bolverk had come to deliver a warning that deliberately fell onto the deaf ears of the people. His name was Alesandric whose name meant Mankind's Protector, he had declared to the people that the oracle has foretold him a warning that the destruction of their home they live within would not come by the hands of the Romans who seek revenge for their resistance in surrendering their home to them to rebuild their fallen empire and now hated the Vikings with immeasurable fury; but the hands of the rising warrior who possesses tattoos that are the signs of their doomed fate, whoever controlled the rising warrior controlled the fate of their home. That was the words of the oracle who informed him, with no one listening to what he had to say; he had taken it upon himself to do the task by himself alone
Alesandric wore a black and banana yellow golden mitre with two flaps on both sides on the front and on the back, the designs on the front depicting the man himself with Freki and Geri by his side; as he did proclaim himself to be a champion to Bolverk. He wore some dark pebble and shadow grey priest robes with inverted budded crosses on the collar edges of his sleeves that were ripped and wore some armor on the outside, with a chestplate that resembled spider legs down on to his waist diagonally; with vambraces and a crosier resembled a inverted cross staff that had some added medium sized inverted Olympian torches which dangled about on both sides. Finally, he was a nasty little priest who enslaved children by delivering false warnings to the people before capturing them
He found both Mikekolt and Breyerkolt as he recognized his tattoos, rearing back on his horse he had under his control with the usage of Deathgripper Venom; he trampled his brother and threw him to the side before taking Breyerkolt with him, who struggled to free himself out of Alesendric's pain strengthening grasp. Getting back up and refusing to let Breyerkolt be taken away from him, he gave out a fearsome and husky yell before running and jumping to strike with his sword; he was about to land the strike against Alesendric's head when he smacked his wide crosier against his face, punching him in the skull afterwards as Mikekolt was sent flying far away from him
Mikekolt crashed against the walls of the Armory that broke and collapsed to the floor, where he collided against the stacks of weapons such as swords, axes, spears, halberds, maces, flails and hammers along with shields and with some armor sets falling atop of him; the young lad was bleeding from the skull above near his forehead's starting point where his choppy layers of hair that grew out into thick bangs in the future. Alesandric snarled and laughed evilly at his attempts to rescue the rising warrior whose fearsome tattoos spelled out the doomed fate of their home before leaving, with his brother calling out to him. "Do not leave me brother!" As Breyerkolt was taken to be imprisoned and punished for all eternity until his death, Mikekolt could only raise his hand and reach outwards helplessly: "Breyer..." He coughed up some blood as the voice of their father and mother was heard:
"Mikekolt! Breyer! I want my sons found, go out there and find them now!" Roachkolt ordered
"Mikekolt! Breyerkolt! Where are you? Return home my sons!" Herkatlore called out
That was the final time he saw him as although he did not believe him to be dead, he would go forth to remember him by memory of his half-brother; he would not get a fearsome tattoo matching his since his beliefs that he lived still remained in him, but he would instead forge a shield designed after him and brush on his skills on fighting with a sword. He wanted to make sure he did not fail to save him again wherever he was out there being taken away by that evil priest. This is what the shield looked like:
Mikekolt's Shield was a medium to large wankel shaped shield with diagonal edges on the bottom followed by a straight line afterwards, while the top having a even castle battlement merlon and embrasure pattern; it's left and right sides were lightly edged to the sides while his bronze armored ram horns were on the top left to right sides as they featured reinforced tip Deathgripper tusks that went outwards slightly to the sides. There were two long strips of dogcollar spikes that went downwards from the armored ram horns, with a black rook tower that had a bleeker beige to manchester tan colored outlines around the chess piece found on the bottom that was a medium size. On the top was a bleeding fang baring and visibly scarred wolf to jackal that was barking directly at the one who looks at it's face, also adorning the ram horns that were armored and having it's dual cobra fang earring like wearing ears reared back; featuring multitudes of wide strips of locks that were all facing backwards over it's head and towards it's upwards standing back, it's scars matched that of Breyerkolt's fearsome scars of war tattoos. There were two large pyramid studded spikes that were separated but close to each other on the top and bottom on both sides, being used for some extra offensiveness strikes against his enemies. Finally, it was all in a very deep and dark metallic bronze color reinforced with Volcanripper Metal with a very dark crimson and very deep maroon tint like the Darkblood of the Dragons; featuring two diagonal belt straps for his left arm as it was positioned like that for him to ram into his enemies and bash them upwards across their faces and bodies just like that
Being that he was just not strong nor tall enough to use this shield effectively as well as the fact that he was too young to wield it, he placed it inside of a chest that was found below a trap door underneath the Armory in between his house and the Blacksmith's building; one day he will come to find him with the help of Rainserviper before taking his leave, soon the others returned in order to tell him of the tragedy. They could not find his brother anywhere and although this made him upset, he would not think of it anymore as missing did not mean dead to him; his father had other plans to continue searching for him. For now his memory would not go forgotten even as the years passed when he would turn from a teen to a man, no one would recognize him as he's changed drastically in his time of imprisonment and punishment for his destiny to bring destruction to the Archipelago
In the present day at the School of Dragons where the students were all inside elsewhere on this island, a rainy season had come to the Archipelago as there were nothing really much to do on days like these; the seas were raging and there were was storms striking violently as Bladehead was out with his Skrill to enjoy the weather out here, on behalf of his Dragon as he hasn't missed a day like this. The meantime however there was a young man who had yet to begin his journey
Mikekolt was at his desk within his studyspace all students were individually given on their own, he was wearing a spider black to charcoal brown colored tunic that was armored with Volcanripper Metal underneath with a very dark olive green twin Dragon knotwork pattern of a trim all around his collar; the sweater of course had markings of red maple leaves with all of them having the color palette of the Fall season that consisted of the following colors: brick, true, chili, deep tomato, normal tomato, rust, red orange, vivid pumpkin, pumpkin, fresh mango, burnt, terracotta, pure fall orange, deep peach, peach, chocolate brown, camel, marigold, gold, cream yellow. His crocodile and stingray skin pants not only had a faint but thick and very dark ravenna to messina brown to coconut husk and desert tan pattern; but also featured many scales as well on both in between and the outside as they made up the thick vertical stripes pattern, he wore this underneath his scaly croptop as it was flatly laid against his black tanktop. He was also thinking about having to layer his whitetail fawn vest with some scales as well that match the exact same spotted and striped pattern that was all around him. Finally, his gloves were off and revealed that he had very light cream to egg shell color hands due to his Raynaud's Disease; with some very dark fig and eggplant purple to ebony black with some berry red to tortilla brown and faint sun yellow surrounding his knuckles
He had nothing on his mind as of now, he had taken his place here as a student at the School of Dragons. All of the blood that was spilled from those who stood in his way, the relentless battles against the Dragon Marauders and the Dragonroot Company was bringing him here in this moment in time. Gruffnut was punished for his deception and although his enemies had beckoned, he would not listen to what excuse they had to make up. It wasn't until some haunting white flashes along with the sounds of whipcracking startled him, with echoing screams and visions of him in the past; this made him look around with these visions flashing before his eyes and mind
He was a young boy sparring with a second young boy who lived with him and his parents, both of them wielded swords and shields; having a training session together home at the timberlands in their island with the scene switching to the priest who kidnapped the young boy and took him away from him, declaring that he belonged to him now and he will die in rescuing the rising warrior whose tattoos spelled out the doomed fate of the Archipelago that he abandoned years before. The scene flashed to the boy calling out his name in fear as he was being taken away, reverting back to the priest who laughed evilly at his attempt to save him as he could only helplessly reach out for the boy. The voice of his parents calling out to them both and calling them his sons were heard along with a vision of his grandfather asking for his help were heard. Everything returned to reality as Mikekolt felt disoriented, especially when his grandfather called out his name weakly
Mikekolt knew this was not a vision but a warning from his grandfather, however in terms of living in a sea faring homeland with no one but the Dragons he loved; nothing was ever as it seemed to be as he left his desk and exited out from his studyspace, where he headed out in the rain that made it's downfall onto him. Finding Rainserviper over by the cliffs of the Lookout where he was taking shelter to stay dry from the weather, placing a large cloak over themselves as they took off from the School of Dragons; they flew over the Archipelago and made their way over to the north where his grandfather live, encountering a fleet of ships from his Tribe sailing towards his destination as well. Where they happened to be sailing out to defend the island from the invading Dragon Divers who were attacking, so why not go on ahead and join them in this fight? They landed onto the deck of the main ship with his Dragon slithering under some shelter as he continued to stand by his side, but unfortunately he had been followed from behind by someone he did not want to deal with; his search for answers set him here to look for his grandfather at his island, he was not going to be denied about what he wanted to find out about as he turned to face the one who followed him here
"This is not a wise plan and course of action Mikekolt, it was just a daydream from your boredom caused by the rainy season; nothing more than that, you are in desperate need of some rest after that heat stroke caused you to fall from the sky" A female Dragon Rider tried to discourage him out of his own safety
"What happened a long time ago that I have not forgotten is not of your concern, what happened was my fault; but this time I can change what happened to... him" Mikekolt turned away from her
"Perhaps it's something that's better left unchanged, there's more to your predicament than you know about; please... don't do this" Her discouragements fell onto deaf ears as he responded back in a rather hostile tone
"My grandfather wants me and I am going there even if it kills me!" Mikekolt defied as the female Dragon Rider took off afterwards, she will be back as he could feel that she will not give up until he's been denied of his chance. It was then that Rainserviper growled as they were about to face off against some of their attackers
Mikekolt turned to face the attacking Dragon Divers who were climbing on board the deck from the sides, surrounding them as he brought out his original sword to defend himself against these marinal hunters who lurk in the seas all around their home. The battle began when the first one attempted to stab him with the cutlass in his hand, only for him to have his visor cracked by being bashed in the helmet on the side by the pommel; with him getting his knife to stab him in the brain afterwards as he fell to the floor of the deck. Another tried to slash at him with his trident before Mikekolt parried him with his sword and stabbed him with his own weapon. It seemed that Volkbara knew what he was doing and decided to lure him out here thanks to his strategic mind
As he shoulder rammed into the third Diver and took care of the remaining ones, the sailors called out to him saying that the enslaved and Dragon Root infected Skrills they've unleashed are destroying the fleet; Mikekolt growled as he did not want to see those species right now, nevertheless he kept on fighting the attacking Divers who were boarding on the ship with Rainserviper smacking them off from the ground before smashing their bodies with his quill adorned serpent tail. Every and each one who fought against the duo were slain and thrown overboard, especially now as the lightning began to strike sporadically about in specific spots on board the deck. The doors opened up and the sailors called out to him to head into their ship's bow, something that neither of them hesitated in doing as they made their way to the front; with some of the Divers busting through the walls on the sides, having the waters leak and splash into the boat's interior. Rainserviper fired his quills and quickly ended their lives right away without a second to waste, kicking open the door to the other side as they saw the chaos unleashed
Lightning began to violently throughout the seas of the Archipelago as the Diver's Skrills they used their Dragon Root harpoons on to cause chaos during the storms like these, waiting for the right moment in time so that they could bring ruin to these sailors and cause total chaos to the Dragons who lived in their habitat; making sure that they will be forced to move closer to their domain near their borders where they'll have them in their grasps. However that was not all that was happening as they've also enslaved and enraged a few Titans as well: both of them being Shellfires and Submarippers and both of them enraged to the point where they were fighting each other. They're seriously hellbent on stopping Mikekolt from reaching his grandfather, most likely out of revenge for the death of his cousin Brimlad but is he really that close to him is out of the question. The battle did not last very long at all as the strikes of lightning continued to become more frequent, as the flashes were blinding them and they could not see anything at all; they were reaching the island but the fight between the two enraged Titans of the Shellfires and Submarippers infected with the highly concentrated and oxidized harpoons were creating a vortex, forming a deep and raging abyss to the bottom of the sea as the fleet was losing all control and their fate was doomed from the very beginning
The lightning strikes grew ever more faster and deadlier as they were closing in to the island before the entire fleet was caught in the middle of the fight between them, smashing against each other and breaking into pieces; but when both of the poisoned Titans rocked into the fleet of ships along with the multitudes of lightning striking them all at once, Mikekolt was sent flying backwards overboard as he could only hang onto the edge. He attempted to hold on just long enough to climb back on board before both of the enraged and poisoned Titans collided into each other, this caused him to be violently thrown off board with Rainserviper diving into the waters to rescue him with no second in hesitation; it was a shame that they could not save the rest of the innocent sailors who were drowned by the wrath of the Dragon Divers as they will pay for this one day, for now he's come here to see his grandfather who summons him to his home. Perhaps he may know the reason that he wanted him at his home, Roachkolt mentioned that he was a very sick man and that he was living out the rest of his days; although he never mentioned what he was infected by but he is bound to find out
Mikekolt was brought over to an deep cavern by the sea within a canyon to seek shelter from the storm, drying him off with his heated scales before moving on through the roofed cave; whose path were leading them further inside below the island they were making their way through to the other side where the entrance to here was. He stayed close to Rainserviper's side throughout the entire time as they climbed their way up from the canyon where the cavern was located, it mattered very little to him if Drayko and the others were tracking him down by this point; he just wanted to know about what his grandfather wanted to tell him
HTTYD
As soon as the storm in the early morning stopped raining and ceased to allow the midday to come, they continued forwards through the drenched land as they were now on ground level before climbing up the stairs to the temple like house where his grandfather lived in; the rain cascading down the steps like waterfalls as they reached the front doors, looking back one last time before entering with Rainserviper by his side like always. Closing behind them afterwards as all around them appeared to be like a illusion of sorts where it resembled his memories of when he and him were young, in the timberlands where a young Mikekolt and his half-brother were sparring in a training session together. Walking to the scene as with each movement unfolded the events when his father came by to tell them: "Come now brave warriors, the battle has been won; your mother's cooked up your favorite dinner. Hope you still love a mountain's worth of creamed beef on toast because it's an all you can eat!"
"Alright, let's go brother; Rainserviper's gonna have all of it if we're half a second late!" Young Mikekolt's voice called out
"Our favorite, just can't want to eat after all this training sessions!" Young Breyerkolt's voice called out as well
Both he and his half brother immediately raced back to their house as Mikekolt and Rainserviper enter through the doorway, the illusion vanishing as his aging grandfather rested on his deathbed. He was covered with robes all over his body and given a blanket that was laid on him, he had shoulder length silvery hair along with a beard that rested on his chest; he turned to face his grandson who approached him with Rainserviper slithering over to him, just to give the aging old man some comfort as he was coming down with tuberculosis. His voice especially sounded weak when he told him: "How I have missed you, Mikekolt"
"I heard your voice in my head call out to me for help, you wished to see me?" He asked him
"There's not much time left for the both of us Mikekolt, your half-brother does not have much time left either; you must help him" He flashed back to the moment in time when his half-brother was taken, he couldn't help him as he reached out to him; returning back to the moment when he mentioned his half-brother's name:
"Breyerkolt?" Mikekolt asked
"He lives even as two years passed, trapped in torment deep within a high tower overlooking the seas; it is where the abandoned temple that offers sacrifice and tribute to Bolverk stands as of this day. Listen to what I have to say: the shield my son kept in the basement of the Armory in between the Blacksmith and Tavern back at your home, he's hidden a map in a modified secret compartment he built into it. It's in the chest hidden in the trap door of the stone floor. The map will lead you to your brother, the road will not be gentle and reuniting with him will not be a happy ending; but you must help him Mikekolt, he needs you more than ever as the Priest of Bolverk continues to punish him for being the one who will bring destruction to the Archipelago..." His grandfather covered his mouth in order to prevent infecting his grandson with the evil and fatal tuberculosis he has always emerged victorious over thanks to the healers; but now he could fight it no more as it was contagious, not to mention was capable of killing someone
"Why would he not tell me this?" Mikekolt asked as he was not angry with his father, but was more or less curious; unless he had reasons of his own to not tell him
"My son wanted to make sure where he was taken off against his will, before you would be able to rescue him. But first... I ask you to kill me before this tuberculosis does" His grandfather asked of him
"No, I've killed more than my own share of family members; I'm not taking any more lives away from them" Mikekolt refused when he remembered about what he did to Gruffnut, punishing him for trying to have his cousin killed as well as killing other people's family members weather or not they asked him to; most did not however
"It's alright my grandson, everything will be over now" His grandfather assured him
Without a moment of hesitation in him, Mikekolt stabbed his grandfather with his original sword before removing the bloodsoaked blade from his chest used to give him a peaceful ending as he would rather die quickly than to let his tuberculosis kill him slowly from the inside. Now that he was going to ascend to the golden halls of Valhalla, he had a few final words to tell his grandson before leaving:
"Finally, I am free from this burden on my shoulders; find your brother Mikekolt, return home. Find Breyerkolt... he needs you, it may seem that way for him that he may never forgive you; he will not kill you either as you know him better than anyone else. The Priest of Bolverk who took him away will attempt to stop you from reaching the temple, his daughter will warn you not to seek out it's location elsewhere within the Unnamed Islands; kill that bitch and you do more than to anger her father. Return to Owl Gut Island and take that map, I have given you the last of my advice; my help can go no further as your mission to find him is all I ask of you. May fate grant you passage to your brother, as the warrior who calls himself Drayko relies on your victory against the priest..."
With his grandfather's final breath he released his burden that rested on his shoulders and finally sought out the peace he asked for, but as for Mikekolt the inner rage that builds from within seems to be just a few miles away and it was approaching with heat; the discovery of his brother's fate will lead him on many detours back to his home, nothing was going to stop him now as he ignited his Phoneixripper and cremated his grandfather's body after wrapping his corpse up. It was time for them to leave as Breyerkolt needs him more than he could ever think that he would
As the two of them left the burning body of the former's now deceased grandfather to await the time of when Ragnarok of the Norse Pantheon approaches, they exited through the two large doors and descended from down the stairs that led up to the cremating body who had given him the information he needed; looking back at his grandfather one last time before he'd assured himself that he will find Breyerkolt, even if he has to kill someone for getting and not moving out of the way for his task up ahead. The midday still remained although the sun was shrouded by the clouds of the sky, further foreshadowing his task up ahead that told him directly: "We will never let you return back to where your birthplace was, Mikekolt" But that mattered little to him, he will find him no matter what and he will not lose him again; that is a brother's broken promise after his failure to defend and keep the both of them from being seperated from each other
Just as they reached the edge of his former grandfather's island it was here that a elderly man whose face looked damaged and that death from old age was poisoning him, his outer body was being infected with black shrouds for eyes and various scars with silvery hair was diggin' a grave; he was clearly evil and hellbent on stopping Mikekolt as his seemingly benevolent voice spoke to him
"You should take heed there child, nothing good will come in your quest at all you know; we know of the dangers up ahead and everyone's going to stop you one way or another" Rainserviper growled at him, how dare talk to him like this?
"I give no fucks about whoever stands in my way" Mikekolt crossed his arms as Rainserviper nodded, agreeing with him because no one's gonna stand in his way
"I assure you that this is a warning about what will happen if you continue to treat them like this. You proclaim to love them and you walk with the Dragons, yet you spit on them like their scales were in need of polishing, seeing them only as tools to get to places faster. What fool and you Mikekolt, are the biggest fool of them all" The elderly man chuckled at the end as he was not joking, he was really insulting him
"Nothing matters to me and once I find him... I'll see to it that my task is completed" Mikekolt turned his head away, he couldn't find the right words to say and quickly added on that he's not stopping
"Ah yes the rising warrior with the tattoos that spell the doomed fate of the Archipelago, try if you must but you will not succeed in doing so; in fact you'll never find him. This is all that awaits you at the end of your journey of salvation, like these poor sailors who lost their lives to the horrible storm before them" The elderly man showed him
"Not before I save and have Breyerkolt by my side" Mikekolt growled, now he was really getting pissed off
"Be wise there young child as I mean no harm from a family reunion of yours... and turn back now, do not seek the Temple of Bolverk; these scars you see on my aging bones and my body will be all that you find when he expresses just how much he's been thinking about you, but you will die in the end before that happens. Best not disturb me now son, I've got a lot of work ahead of me; you will come to occupy this grave very soon" The elderly man laughed
Mikekolt however was through listening to his taunts and used both of his swords to swipe downwards against the elderly man's skull, digging deep into his flesh before his blood spurted outwards and his body collapsed to the floor; proceeding to dump him into the ocean overlooking the bluffs. "Let's go, Rain" Mikekolt told him calmly as he mounted on his back and took off to the skies once more, his greatest task and freedom from being trapped in self hatred for the failures of his past lay before him; at the Temple of Bolverk, where his brother is imprisoned
They knew how far they will have to go in order to reach the south of where their home was, Rainserviper decided to take a shortcut through Fireworm Island as it'll cut down the distance between here gliding over the oceans and near the southern borders of the Archipelago; no harm in doing just that as wherever the Temple of Bolverk was, it's gotta be somewhere far away from their home but it could be closeby otherwise. While they took this shortcut he thought back to when he and him were young boys, happened a long time ago and the time he was taken by Alesandric was years after the Romans invaded the Archipelago and after Valka was taken by Cloudjumper; here they were in the village sitting on the roof of the Blacksmith's forge and they were discussing what they wanted to be when they grow up, it was clear to him that he wanted to be a fearsome warrior but for him:
He wanted to be a Blacksmith just like Bladehead who always put his focus to countering the back half-assed flaws that all the others did when they forged the weapons and armor that'll be enough to help out making the body count rise as well as defend themselves against their attackers. Now just look at him as he didn't think he would end up having to attend his class to become incredibly tolerant of his violent outbursts, but not the presence of Storm due to what he could do to him if any of Bladehead's students anger him; he's more than happy in his class since he can use his skills to help reinforce exactly what he wanted to strengthen to the prime of whatever's in his arsenal's primal power. He bet that Breyerkolt's finally gotten to be what he wanted to become when he grew up just like him, but he felt like that he may not forget about what he did to him nor forgive him for abandoning him after failing to save him; he might as well beat him up because he had to let him win, he is his brother and his retribution for what happened to him will not be denied
He may have been using that shield he made in memory of his brother but he just can't bring himself to look at him without remembering the failures of his past, now he's going to do the impossible and save his brother that he loved; once again he spoke within his mind to assure himself about his mission: "I am coming for you brother" He looked out to the distance where they'll be able to find him with the map that was with his shield at the Armory
Landing on the outer site of Fireworm Island due to the scent of death piercing the snout of Rainserviper's senses and instincts, they found the source of the scent where the Fireworms were gathering around as it appeared to have been a fire pit of burning bodies; specifically those who were killed to make him turn back. It was then that a illusion of a deceased body began to speak with the Priest of Bolverk's harsh and throat clearing inducing voice began to come through: "Be warned Descendant of Tiburonkolt, do not pursue this foolish path you are taking; the Dragon Hunters forbids it!"
"The Hunters have no power over me Alesandric! Where is my half-brother?" Mikekolt stated
"If you presist then not even Bolverk and the Norns will stop me from ending your life right here and now. Drayko was very unwise to have chosen you to become one of them" The Priest of Bolverk declared
"Do not stand in my way Alesandric, or the blood of your informant will not be the only one I shed today!" Mikekolt warned him thinking back to the Gravedigger he killed for taunting him, he was not in the mood to be stopped in his path
Afterwards the illusion of the dead body faded before slamming against the wall so hard it was enough to emit a sound of bones crunching on impact, as one would guess the warning fell on deaf ears but Alesandric was always one step ahead; he knew that he wouldn't listen to what a old man like him had to say. Without any more interruptions they used Fireworm Island as their shortcut to reach their home quicker than they usually do, they wanted to get there and get the map as quickly as possible without letting Breyerkolt endure another few seconds of being punished and tormented in the hands of the man who claims himself to be a priest. A few hours went on as there was nothing that had them on the edge just yet, at least not until they encounter a second warning from the Priest of Bolverk as it could be anywhere waiting for them to happen really
He started to recall the memories he had with his half-brother because if they weren't having their training sessions and sparring against each other, they were walking about throughout the village; drawing in the timberlands, hanging out with Rainserviper without anyone else knowing and thinking about how they'll turn out to be while foiling his bullies' schemes to make sure he's not around. Now that last part was just sad really because Roachkolt is not around too much for him anymore, his mother's not living with him anymore not because out of divorce but because she's dealing with a stalker and his father's hunting him down; once he's been taken care of she will come home and everything will be back to the way it was. All of this thinking made his blood drain from his skin which was making him turn into his rather evil shadow born from his darkest moments. Rainserviper found out about his evil shadow a long time ago when they first met as they were alone with each other, he was silent and his skin was polar hell upon contact; even worse were those black veins that looked like he was poisoned. He didn't like it when Mikekolt was entering this phase so he purred to him so he wouldn't have to think about those sad memories, once they find Breyerkolt they can replace them with happier ones
When they were only just three miles away from reaching their home however it was here that they both found a woman killing a Viking from their tribe, she had the same clothing as her father and it didn't seem like she was benevolent either; this was the Priestess of Syr, the disguise of the Goddess Freyja just as Bolverk was the disguise of Odin whenever they had the need to enter Midgard without attracting too much attention from the others. She looked up to see them approaching her and it was then that she decided to speak to them, knowing full well that he was ignorant of the consequences that he cared little about:
"Hear me Descendant of Tiburonkolt, your brother belongs to my father and none defy what the Norns of Fate decree; that is how it must be, you will face only death that awaits you at the temple who offers tribute to the all-father of the pantheon. You must not tamper with the justice we have done for the right of the Archipelago, you will destroy everything here should you emerge victorious in saving what you cannot save; the fate of your brother is only going to be your end" She told him with Mikekolt showing very little difference
"The fate of my brother is what began my task" He crossed his arms
"The Norns do not deem victory for you or your journey in stopping the Dragon Hunters, you will never find peace for the failures of your past nor what you've become thanks to your sheer ignorance to our warnings" She invoked his anger as he yelled
"I am what the Priest of Bolverk has made me because he took my brother away from me!" Mikekolt brought out his Tiburonkolt's Tomahawk and chopped it's blade into her face as she spoke her final words to him before dying:
"We will never... let you rescue your brother, you cannot... change the fate of others-" She was interrupted when Rainserviper stabbed his fangs into her body, dumping her into the waters below
Mikekolt was through listening to the warnings of others and from this point forward, he will continue onwards without being pestered and fucked in the ears with obnoxious messengers trying to tell him to turn back now. He and Rainserviper knew that the death of his daughter will bring great sorrow to him but will not sit well with him either, he defied the Priest of Bolverk; very soon Alesandric's fury will rain down on them. But for now he got onto his back and took off, it didn't matter to him one way or another. He's coming for Breyerkolt and there will be no one getting in his way
Just by the sound of that makes him look like a cold blooded killer, but that's what's happens when somebody decides to make a false prophecy from the oracle who's not really a oracle; whoever he was talking about, this oracle's a impostor alright. He might've even captured all of the other children before him, if he did then that's all going to end right here...