Chapter 24
A Crone stood above the new ship she now claimed as her own. So far this young and beautiful Crone in her thick furs had ten ships full of loyal Icecarls at her command and disposal. She aptly named them her children of revenge. For that was what her mission was. She wanted revenge for having lost all her sacred land and having to submit to the new regime. The hunting grounds were ancient and could be traced back to Grettir and the Ruin of the Ship. When the veil had failed her ice began to melt and all she that she knew were gone, plucked from her as if it was nothing.
To her it was the ultimate insult. Not only had the Chosen's folly caused her to lose her land, it also caused her to lose her family and it's honor and she would do anything to get that back. The wind started to pick up and it caused the Crone to reminisce of the fateful day the ice melted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hale! Hale where are you girl?" yelled her mother.
"Hale had gone out hunting by herself to prove her worth," said Jhal smiling at the girl's strong will to prove herself worthy of being his student.
"Call her back we need to move from this place quickly!" the Crone said.
Jhal looked at the Crone in confusion.
"Why do we need to move?" Jhal asked puzzled.
The Crone sighed and explained hurriedly.
"The ice is melting and we have to move from here or we will drown in the water," she explained.
"Forgive me but were these ships not used ion water once?" asked Jhal.
"Yes they were but they were also lighter and travelled in water that was not freezing. If our ship touches water it will freeze the hull making it heavier and it will sink with everyone in it!" the Crone said hysterically losing all calm and patience.
Jhal considered this and called for all hunting parties to come back to the ship, giving orders away to the messengers. The Crone and Jhal descended a near by ladder and onto the ice. They then went to occupy a sled and before they could move off they heard a loud and deafening crack. Before they could even ponder what the sound was their sled was pulled under the ice. The attached wreska struggled but were struggling vainly. The foot falls were causing more holes to form and everyone who saw what happened made their way to help their Crone. They were pulled under too and since the Ice Hunters were never the strongest of swimmers they drowned under the weight of their furs. The stronger swimmers did manage to swim hard enough to reach the surface but was not fast enough to escape the quickly forming ice.
Meanwhile. . .
Hale moved with ease on her skates over the ice. She felt freedom over the ice and felt like she owned it. Her mother would tell her stories of famous hunts made on the hunting grounds and Hale wanted to become a heroine just like in the legends. She hunted alone today and her target was a troublesome wild wreska. After a few minutes of searching she finally found it with its new prey. The wreska was large for its kind and seemed to be the most vicious. It had entrails all over blood stained mouth. Hale considered her options. There was perpetual light shining over the hunting grounds and although the ice was soft under her skates she pressed on knowing that she could take in a wreska.
Hale moved closer and readied her spear as she closed the gap. She knew she would only have a moment to attack it unawares. When Hale was ten stretches away she unraveled the rope on her shoulder and tied it in an unbreakable knot. She then threw it with all her might at the target. The harpoon-sized spear missed the wreska and landed in front of the creature near its front foot. Hale didn't curse for missing because it was what she was aiming for. As she predicted the wreska was startled at the sudden sound and backed away from its meal and tripped over the harpoon that it was unaware of. Its front legs fell with a raking sound as its hooves scratched up snow.
Hale moved in faster and picked up the end of the five stretch rope, leaning so close to the ice that she almost grazed her thigh. Hale spun as soon as she got the rope and kicked the ground hard so that she righted herself just in time to avoid a stomp from the wreska's back leg. Hale kicked off the ground and leaped up onto the wreska's back. Before the wreska could get up on all fours, Hale yanked the spear from the ice and slung the rope around the wreska's neck and tied the loose end to the other end of the spear. By the time the wreska got back up, Hale had already had a collar around its neck and was using it like a reign.
"Harrrrrr!!!!!" the beast wailed in its deep-throated voice.
"Come beast, submit," Hale yelled in her bell like voice over the wreska's howls of rage.
As if in answer the wreska started to buck and jump trying to dislodge the over confident girl. Hale answered with slams of her sharp skates to the wreska's ribs. The beast cried out in pain and anger and bucked more furiously. Hale stopped her slams and gripped the beast harder with her legs and pulled on the reign. The creature got on its hind legs and kicked its front legs in an attempt to make the crazy girl fall off his back. Hale held on tighter and didn't move, determination set in her face.
After a few more rounds of failed bucking the wreska finally submitted to the girl and fell to its knees to rest. Hale panted but was pleased with her efforts. Just then the veil boarder shrunk some more and the sun hit another portion of the ice in front of her. Hale knew it was time to return home before the ice got too soft and thin.
Hale pulled on the reigns and got the wreska to its feet and she directed it towards the direction of the ship. The beast complied , it was too tired to disobey. An hour or so later she found the ship and was surprised to see no one out on the ice. Usually there was someone out but Hale couldn't see anyone. As she neared the ship the wreska growled and moved a step or so back. Hale frowned and motioned it forward. The wreska refused to Hale's annoyance but then she noticed something in the snow and hopped off the beast to figure out what it was.
Hale wiped the powdery snow away to reveal a blue face under the ice. The face was of her mother. Hale cried out in shock and fell back with tears in her eyes. For the longest moment of her life she stayed still and looked on with horror in her eyes. Then she reacted mechanically. She removed the spear from the wreska's reigns and cracked the ice hard. It gave way easily and before her mother slipped away she lifted her out and held her in her arms. The cold lifeless body was stripped of all heavy furs, which explained why she got to the surface instead of sinking.
It was then that Hale vowed to take vengeance on all Chosen. She would have her vengeance whatever the price.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We are ready to move out," said a screechy voice behind her.
Hale felt goose bumps form on her skin. She didn't need to turn in order to know who it was. It was Harem, a spiritshadow from Aenir. He was a large lizard like thing of shadow. It pained Hale to have to rely on shadows to do her work but in this case she had no choice. The Chosen were many and there were not enough Icecarls to do her bidding so she had to rely on the word of this creature.
"Good, is your army ready to storm the castle?" she asked mechanically.
"Yesss," the thing hissed.
"Where are they then?" she asked the shadow.
Harem gestured to the deck and as he did a whole host of shadows large and small formed. Their eyes were as red as blood, a signature left by Hale herself. It would assure their obedience. The only shadow not to have red eyes was Harem. Hale looked at the group and muttered a word.
"Small. . ." she said under her breath.
Harem heard this and assured her there was more coming.
"We need more time to free some more of our brothers and sisters but it shouldn't take to long," hissed Harem.
Hale sighed.
"How much longer?" she asked getting impatient.
"A week," Harem said cringing a little.
Hale's eyes brightened dangerously as she heard the news. Then her eyes became dimmer. Then she said in a low dangerous voice laced with threat.
"I give you four days to complete the task,"
Harem bowed and dared not ask for more.
"Yesss it shall be done," he said and slithered away.
The shadows disappeared with a popping sound just as Harem left. The Crone sighed and went back to resume her gaze over the ice.
"Soon mother. Soon I will avenge you," she said in a whisper as a tear fell from her luminous eyes.
A Crone stood above the new ship she now claimed as her own. So far this young and beautiful Crone in her thick furs had ten ships full of loyal Icecarls at her command and disposal. She aptly named them her children of revenge. For that was what her mission was. She wanted revenge for having lost all her sacred land and having to submit to the new regime. The hunting grounds were ancient and could be traced back to Grettir and the Ruin of the Ship. When the veil had failed her ice began to melt and all she that she knew were gone, plucked from her as if it was nothing.
To her it was the ultimate insult. Not only had the Chosen's folly caused her to lose her land, it also caused her to lose her family and it's honor and she would do anything to get that back. The wind started to pick up and it caused the Crone to reminisce of the fateful day the ice melted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hale! Hale where are you girl?" yelled her mother.
"Hale had gone out hunting by herself to prove her worth," said Jhal smiling at the girl's strong will to prove herself worthy of being his student.
"Call her back we need to move from this place quickly!" the Crone said.
Jhal looked at the Crone in confusion.
"Why do we need to move?" Jhal asked puzzled.
The Crone sighed and explained hurriedly.
"The ice is melting and we have to move from here or we will drown in the water," she explained.
"Forgive me but were these ships not used ion water once?" asked Jhal.
"Yes they were but they were also lighter and travelled in water that was not freezing. If our ship touches water it will freeze the hull making it heavier and it will sink with everyone in it!" the Crone said hysterically losing all calm and patience.
Jhal considered this and called for all hunting parties to come back to the ship, giving orders away to the messengers. The Crone and Jhal descended a near by ladder and onto the ice. They then went to occupy a sled and before they could move off they heard a loud and deafening crack. Before they could even ponder what the sound was their sled was pulled under the ice. The attached wreska struggled but were struggling vainly. The foot falls were causing more holes to form and everyone who saw what happened made their way to help their Crone. They were pulled under too and since the Ice Hunters were never the strongest of swimmers they drowned under the weight of their furs. The stronger swimmers did manage to swim hard enough to reach the surface but was not fast enough to escape the quickly forming ice.
Meanwhile. . .
Hale moved with ease on her skates over the ice. She felt freedom over the ice and felt like she owned it. Her mother would tell her stories of famous hunts made on the hunting grounds and Hale wanted to become a heroine just like in the legends. She hunted alone today and her target was a troublesome wild wreska. After a few minutes of searching she finally found it with its new prey. The wreska was large for its kind and seemed to be the most vicious. It had entrails all over blood stained mouth. Hale considered her options. There was perpetual light shining over the hunting grounds and although the ice was soft under her skates she pressed on knowing that she could take in a wreska.
Hale moved closer and readied her spear as she closed the gap. She knew she would only have a moment to attack it unawares. When Hale was ten stretches away she unraveled the rope on her shoulder and tied it in an unbreakable knot. She then threw it with all her might at the target. The harpoon-sized spear missed the wreska and landed in front of the creature near its front foot. Hale didn't curse for missing because it was what she was aiming for. As she predicted the wreska was startled at the sudden sound and backed away from its meal and tripped over the harpoon that it was unaware of. Its front legs fell with a raking sound as its hooves scratched up snow.
Hale moved in faster and picked up the end of the five stretch rope, leaning so close to the ice that she almost grazed her thigh. Hale spun as soon as she got the rope and kicked the ground hard so that she righted herself just in time to avoid a stomp from the wreska's back leg. Hale kicked off the ground and leaped up onto the wreska's back. Before the wreska could get up on all fours, Hale yanked the spear from the ice and slung the rope around the wreska's neck and tied the loose end to the other end of the spear. By the time the wreska got back up, Hale had already had a collar around its neck and was using it like a reign.
"Harrrrrr!!!!!" the beast wailed in its deep-throated voice.
"Come beast, submit," Hale yelled in her bell like voice over the wreska's howls of rage.
As if in answer the wreska started to buck and jump trying to dislodge the over confident girl. Hale answered with slams of her sharp skates to the wreska's ribs. The beast cried out in pain and anger and bucked more furiously. Hale stopped her slams and gripped the beast harder with her legs and pulled on the reign. The creature got on its hind legs and kicked its front legs in an attempt to make the crazy girl fall off his back. Hale held on tighter and didn't move, determination set in her face.
After a few more rounds of failed bucking the wreska finally submitted to the girl and fell to its knees to rest. Hale panted but was pleased with her efforts. Just then the veil boarder shrunk some more and the sun hit another portion of the ice in front of her. Hale knew it was time to return home before the ice got too soft and thin.
Hale pulled on the reigns and got the wreska to its feet and she directed it towards the direction of the ship. The beast complied , it was too tired to disobey. An hour or so later she found the ship and was surprised to see no one out on the ice. Usually there was someone out but Hale couldn't see anyone. As she neared the ship the wreska growled and moved a step or so back. Hale frowned and motioned it forward. The wreska refused to Hale's annoyance but then she noticed something in the snow and hopped off the beast to figure out what it was.
Hale wiped the powdery snow away to reveal a blue face under the ice. The face was of her mother. Hale cried out in shock and fell back with tears in her eyes. For the longest moment of her life she stayed still and looked on with horror in her eyes. Then she reacted mechanically. She removed the spear from the wreska's reigns and cracked the ice hard. It gave way easily and before her mother slipped away she lifted her out and held her in her arms. The cold lifeless body was stripped of all heavy furs, which explained why she got to the surface instead of sinking.
It was then that Hale vowed to take vengeance on all Chosen. She would have her vengeance whatever the price.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We are ready to move out," said a screechy voice behind her.
Hale felt goose bumps form on her skin. She didn't need to turn in order to know who it was. It was Harem, a spiritshadow from Aenir. He was a large lizard like thing of shadow. It pained Hale to have to rely on shadows to do her work but in this case she had no choice. The Chosen were many and there were not enough Icecarls to do her bidding so she had to rely on the word of this creature.
"Good, is your army ready to storm the castle?" she asked mechanically.
"Yesss," the thing hissed.
"Where are they then?" she asked the shadow.
Harem gestured to the deck and as he did a whole host of shadows large and small formed. Their eyes were as red as blood, a signature left by Hale herself. It would assure their obedience. The only shadow not to have red eyes was Harem. Hale looked at the group and muttered a word.
"Small. . ." she said under her breath.
Harem heard this and assured her there was more coming.
"We need more time to free some more of our brothers and sisters but it shouldn't take to long," hissed Harem.
Hale sighed.
"How much longer?" she asked getting impatient.
"A week," Harem said cringing a little.
Hale's eyes brightened dangerously as she heard the news. Then her eyes became dimmer. Then she said in a low dangerous voice laced with threat.
"I give you four days to complete the task,"
Harem bowed and dared not ask for more.
"Yesss it shall be done," he said and slithered away.
The shadows disappeared with a popping sound just as Harem left. The Crone sighed and went back to resume her gaze over the ice.
"Soon mother. Soon I will avenge you," she said in a whisper as a tear fell from her luminous eyes.