As a disclaimer: I do not own, nor make any money from anything I post on this website. This is a fun exercise and a creative outlet used for practicing my craft. There are also dark themes and trials that the characters within must overcome or fail. So, if you are sensitive to that kind of story, you've been warned to turn away here.
Chapter 5 - Skirmish
Ohildr floated on the still air beside her partner, judging the battle below. Elves, for all their vehemence on honor and glory, were quick to forgo such things in favor of supremacy. At first, their leader chose the disadvantage, being the greatest of their warriors and challenged them two to one. A worthy fight in her opinion. But as soon as he stood to lose his quarry, the others quickly swooped in to prevent their loss.
"Where is Avacyn?" Firja asked from beside her, the concern bleeding through her mask of indifference. "Why isn't she here?"
"Your fondness for the imposter is annoying," Ohildr said, watching as the outnumbered party was quickly surrounded after a quick escape attempt.
"She isn't an imposter, there's something abou-" she cut off as a light exploded from the sky rivaling the light of Starnheim, which was about as blasphemous as a coward, flashing before their eyes. In that single moment, the deceiver was high in the sky surveying the grounds, and in the next, she was between the elves and their prey.
"Great, here she is to steal all the glory," Ohildr said, tightening the grip on her scythe.
"She doesn't yet understand our ways, and besides, she confronts others as an act of protection. A noble cause I'd say," Firja said.
Pfft! "Just wait and see, she is an imposter! She isn't worthy of your praise or admiration," Ohildr scoffed. "She never will be."
Avacyn erupted, swooping her wings to fling a wall of snow between them sending her up and back into the sky. She leaped the barn in a backwards ascending arch, ceased her momentum revealing icy wings right where she would begin to slow, but flicked her body straight down with her wings towards the elves trying to sneak behind the barn. In no more than a second or two, she rounded the large building, two surprised elves in tow, and threw them at the others. Snow burst in her wake; she moved like lightning. The leader dodged while the two shadow elves were suddenly buried in wood elves. The elf fell upon the Valkyrie and attacked with a speed far greater than any normal humans', aided by magic, yet Avacyn dodged his attacks with ease. The cloak that she shamefully hid her powerless wings in, begrudgingly aided her flexibility and mobility in such close quarters whereas having large wings would be a detriment before the door which she stood defiantly. Ohildr would find a way to utilize them if she were in her place, she told herself. She would not yield her superiority to this… thing. She would not!
"Keep watching Firja," Ohildr warned. She may have respected Firja's wisdom, but her optimism? That was not Ohildr's way. She was a realist. Ohildr knew the truth that people will disappoint you. Only those that stand out, those that prove themselves worthy amongst all the other failures are the exceptions. And Avacyn would be a failure. Ohildr knew it in her bones. "She will disappoint you, I'm sure of it."
"She may, yet she may not. Her future is uncertain, though we may glance upon it from time to time."
Ohildr huffed at her partner's insistence that Avacyn be judged at all. From her perspective, the not-Valkyrie deserved the ultimate punishment. One that she herself would personally see to being fulfilled in the end. "I will take you to Istfell, wounded bird, even if it is the very last thing I'll do."
Avacyn was a blur of wind and snow. She had to fight off many foes who were coordinating their assault on the barn. Their leader was a brute of a man, and his attacks warranted caution as the gleam of magic on the edge of his blade caught her eye. For all her indestructibility, magical strikes could still cut through her skin if the blow was strong enough. As she had previously discovered, when Griselbrand pierced her with what would have been a mortal wound had it struck a human, before dragging her inside the Helvault. She had swiftly healed it while trapped, but by then the damage had been done and she was no longer there to protect her people. Maybe she was being overly cautious, but it was better to be wary than to be surprised as she had been before.
It was hard work, trying not to harm them too much, while also holding them back. She knew that one wrong move could kill one of these warriors, and that would only work against her goals of keeping her word to the best of her abilities. Feyra didn't want them dead? So, Avacyn would try to keep them alive. She had her spiked gauntlets in reserve as they were weapons she didn't want to use against these warriors just yet. The problem was, they were spread out. Moving to flank her, to attack from multiple angles and pin her down while someone could move towards the door or sneak around to the window. There were only six of them for now, and Avacyn was holding her own for the moment. But if the two not currently engaged in combat joined in, it may be too much, and she'd have to actually hurt them to subdue them.
The elf with the ax was also trouble for her, as he leaped for the door at every chance he had. She had to stay between them but was constantly pulled away as the others began circling the building. If she had her magic, she would just reinforce the barn's durability or put up a wall of light, but it was painfully slow in its recovery, mere drops of mana in an ocean-sized basin empty of all power. For now, she could only affect herself with what little she had, which blessedly began growing during her few days of rest here, but it wasn't nearly enough to compensate for her needs now.
She surged forward, never wasting any movement. Ducking under a flying ice dagger as she rushed for the leader, tackling him with an open palm while slapping the other big elf with an icy wing to the ground as he grunted. The ax in his hands flew into the air, landing at the base of the shed and knocking snow from the canopy above, burying it. More ice daggers flew her way as Avacyn turned towards the barn. One of the she-elves was covering another warrior's attempt to pull open the large door, she flung more icy projectiles at her once their eyes met. Avacyn deflected the attacks with her wings, and with a blurring step was right next to the woman. Her eyes bugged out and her next spell fizzled as Avacyn swung a nonlethal open palm at her, slamming her to the ground, hopefully knocking her out. Without stopping she turned again and assaulted the soldier with the shield in a series of punches, quick in succession, battering the wooden shield with cracks and occasionally swinging at his jaw to force him back. She suddenly changed tactics, ducking down and swiping his ankle underneath the edge of his shield, and in one swift spin flung him at the rising warriors behind her.
Where was the other one? A spellcaster of a kind. She should have been nearby, but she snuck away as the melee began. Their leader began another onslaught of strikes aimed at her neck and open clavicle, wisely avoiding her armor, but she effortlessly pivoted out of reach every time, searching for the hidden spellcaster. She sensed a surge of magic nearby and spotted the shadow of black in the white of snow, and a line of shadow flew at her, aided by magic. Avacyn caught it with a hand before it latched onto her stomach, a snake? She squeezed as she advanced, and it puffed into smoke in her fist. The elf's white cape had hidden her well in her snow-covered surroundings, but Avacyn now knew what to look for, and so spotting her would be easy.
The longsword flashed before her eyes before she could act against the revealed foe, and since it was too close to her eyes, Avacyn reacted, reaching up with blinding speed and blocking it with a clasping hand. Her fingers pierced through the fuller of his blade near the tip, surprising the elven man. He inhaled sharply as the cut on her hand was minor at best. She gripped the blade and jerked it forward, but he stubbornly held on. What little magic she had rushed forth to heal the cut, though she wished it hadn't, as pins and needles exploded within her hand because she used it in excess, and she faltered. He thrust his blade forward, now free from her grasp. Never dropping his guard while presenting his blade at her. The small one leaped into the fray once more, unleashing black magic that sprung around her like coils, though his magic missed as she moved out of his way.
He swore as he swung his short sword after another spell, sending forth another flurry of shadows against her alongside his swings. Avacyn, with an icy wing-aided leap, landed with her back to the door. The pins and needles subsided, and she moved again, trying to group them all together and push them away from the barn.
She could tell that the warrior with the enchanted blade was slowly learning her limits, so she moved faster, using instincts for battle she rarely used on the ground, and yet were drilled into her since the day of her first breath. For a normal human, such speed and agility were impossible. But for the Archangel of Innistrad? She wasn't even breaking a sweat. However, there were too many of them to keep track of due to her severely weakened state. And a lucky blow from a hammer struck her legs, likely an attack to bring her down to restrain, but it didn't work. The blow flung her leg forward, so she moved with its momentum and onto the elf's large round shield, with a swift thrust of her legs she knocked him down while she hurled herself up into the air.
Ignoring the swell of sensations in her leg, Avacyn looked past the attackers while mid-air to see Viggo holding Ambreya passing into the woods beyond the fence. Feyra followed close behind them with her bow at the ready to strike should an enemy notice their escape. Avacyn sighed a small breath of relief. At least her stand here would allow them to leave her behind. She twisted her body as she grabbed the hammer's shaft as she spun in the air, pinning the huge warrior by his neck with it, restricting his breathing. Shadows erupted from around them as the small elf wove his power through his comrade and she let go. If they managed to grapple her while she was without magic, she'd be finished and they'd discover their folly and go after their prey early. But before she could release him entirely, he flung his head back, knocking his head into her chin and he grunted in pain. She could smell the scent of something painfully familiar.
Blood. She smelled blood. She had spilled it again. Why had she spilled blood? Suddenly her hands were drowning in it. She stumbled back and looked down to see blood in the snow, creeping up to pull her down. The screams echoed in her ears and their geistly hands reached for her from the snow. That buzzing at the back of her neck began as a low rumble.
The hammer swung at her face, and she fell back further away from him. A shadowy snake nearly hit her face as she dodged weakly, and vines surged up from beneath the snow to entangle her feet. She jumped into the air, tearing away from them, and glided back to the door, where she stood ready but shaken by the sudden emotional outburst. This was no time for weakness. She had to subdue that noise in her head before…
They took advantage of her hesitation, and shadows erupted from the door, catching her off guard before she could press on. They pushed her down onto her hands and knees as their magical restraints began to secure themselves.
Avacyn grunted as her restraints managed to take her down, but still she resisted with all her might. "I… Will not… Be caged… Ever again!"
But blow after blow from blade and greaves knocked her back down and into the shadows, until her body couldn't keep up with their attacks. Finally, a powerful downward strike of a hammer enhanced with magic, swung to strike the back of her head. It sent her reeling into darkness where she was thrust into pure chaos.
Brunhr stood breathing hard as the mass of shadows stilled. His blade was notched where the strange woman had blocked his strike with holes still in his blade where she had grabbed it with her bare fingers. He had never seen anyone move that fast. One woman was able to withstand six trained opponents, how could someone move that fast? "Report, any casualties? Injuries?"
Njal kneeled next to Odessa who sat up slowly, rubbing her head, then she rushed up to Orrin's still form. "Orrin is alive, just down." She began to work on his bruises.
He stepped up, wary of the captive. Alvi and Mattiin followed. "Alvi, do you still have her?"
"Of course," he said with a note of aggravation in his voice. "Do you think I'd let her go after that?"
"Whatever you do, keep her down," Brunhr said and then started. "Mattiin, the barn!" Mattiin quickly kicked down the door and swore.
"They escaped out the back window!" he said, confirming Brunhr's fear as he stepped up beside him. There on the other side of the barn, an open window held a cloak from blowing away in the breeze. From the looks of it, it had been caught while they were escaping, and they had no time to retrieve it in their haste.
"Find them!" Brunhr shouted, slamming the door.
"Brunhr, Orrin is still down," Njal said. "We can't pursue them, and by the time we catch up they'll have the aid from that town we passed." Orrin stirred so Njal proceeded to heal the wound on the side of his head. He awoke soon after, dazed but awake. Brunhr surveyed their group. Everyone was alive, but battered, the warrior woman was no easy task. They had won the battle, but lost their objective, who would be arriving at the town soon enough with reinforcements. They could not assault the town with their meager numbers and might have to rely on other strategies.
"Call for Elaine and Keyla, we'll need them," Brunhr said and Njal complied. "We need to regroup and consider our options." Alvi swore and moved to kick at the woman in frustration, and Brunhr saw an arm thrust out from within the shadows, startling the elves. Its cold metallic talons from gauntlets she wasn't wearing before her capture grasped his leg before he could stop the boy.
"Did you think I was defeated?" The woman asked with blackened eyes. She had a crooked smile on her face as she pulled Alvi into the shadows with her. The shadows wriggled for a moment as Alvi was pummeled by many blows beneath the veil. His magic dispersed into smoke as she held him up beneath her looming shape. His crumpled form dropped onto the messy grounds with a thump, and as she straightened, she raised a bloody gauntlet at him and pointed. Was something buzzing? It gnawed at Brunhr, and his vision shook. Looking into her black eyes was a mistake as everything failed all at once. A sense of dread and emptiness filled his soul. Bloody tears dripped from her eyes, and she smiled. Determined, he lunged forward with his broken blade.
His strike moved as if he was swinging a mallet through water; the air was thick with magic, and she didn't even move or flinch as he finally struck her clavicle with the strongest edge of his sword. The bone beneath her skin stopped the blade with only a small cut, a trickle of blood pooled at the side of the blade, trailing down its edge. His arm suddenly burst with pins and needles, releasing his vision to darken as the magic affecting his eyes broke. He dropped his sword and held his wrist in agony. The wound on her exposed skin closed immediately. "Do you see? You never had any hope to defeat me," she loomed over him, or was he falling to his knees before her? "Yes, despair foolish elf. For I am the monster you fear. I am the nightmare that haunts your dreams in the night. I am the foe you cannot destroy. You wanted war? I'll bring you war, for peace was never a choice, right?" she had mimicked his words and his earlier bravado seemed empty. "Now you fight the Purifier."
That buzzing sound reached a crescendo as the others descended upon her. He was helpless to stop them as one by one they attacked the monster. She lunged forward past him, merely poked Mattiin in the shoulder of his dominant arm with a single finger, piercing him and shattering the ball joint underneath all his muscles. With her other hand she crouched and palm-struck him in the gut, sending him flying through the fence, and beyond the snowbanks into the woods. The strength of her attack was far greater than any she displayed earlier. Njal couldn't cast spells no matter how hard she tried, they just sputtered in her hands, so the maddened woman ignored her. Odessa flung ice daggers at a long distance which bounced off her armor unheeded, while Orrin was slow to swing his own sword, his damaged shield had been dropped so he wasn't fully equipped. She merely knocked him down again with an impassive backhand.
She looked down her nose at them, leaking blood, mocking them with heartless black eyes. She floated upward and silvery white feathered wings pushed out from behind the cloak as an aura of empathic vibrations erupted from her. She levitated there, emanating power, gently holding herself in place with gentle flicks with the tips of her feathery wings. Bloody tears lined her nose, her cheeks, and her ears. Njal crumpled to the ground covering her ears, screaming. While Odessa arched her back, her body shivered and morphed into a cloaked form with an intricate wooden mask before disappearing through an omenpath, which vanished behind her. Brunhr couldn't help but let the magic hit him as well and his ears bled, but he could see a faint glow come from the Valkyrie. Yes, he knew their futile attempt would end in failure. He picked up his blade, stood and swung anyway.
It shattered upon her forehead where her grip had weakened its temper. Orrin and the others sat up and winced at this powerful foe before them. Suddenly he could move, if only slowly, and the beast regarded the others. "Valkyrie!" Brunhr shouted, and she turned nonchalantly to him, inky black eyes shattering all semblance of confidence in his heart.
"My task is complete, demon. You need not struggle anymore," she said coldly as she struck.
Amber held onto her father's arm, afraid and confused. They were running in the woods at night, Mommy and Daddy had always said that being out at night wasn't safe. Where was Livyrsa? Why wasn't she here? At that, their bond solidified, and Amber felt the wolf's thoughts again. She looked back down the path, back towards home. Who were those people? What did they want from them? Why were they running? Why did she feel so sad suddenly? It felt like that feeling that Avakin was always showing in her eyes. Amber didn't know why, but she had a thought like she needed to help the Valkyrie. Something dark had blown up back home, and she could feel it off in the distance.
Livyrsa appeared from the woods to their side. For some reason, she felt through the bond they shared that the wolf was filled with regret. She didn't understand why, but she was here so everything was fine now.
"Daddy, put me down!" she called out. She wanted to go back and help. Avakin had come, and it felt like she was in pain again.
"Amber, I can't do that, not until we reach safety," Daddy said, breathing hard, and he held her closer to him than ever, nearly squeezing her.
"Ambreya, listen to your father. We can't stop now," Mommy said. She didn't have her cloak on, it had gotten tangled in the window when they went through it. When she was wearing it, her ears were like Daddy's, but now they were normal. So many questions, but she had bigger things to worry about. Her concern for Avakin was bigger than anything.
"But I need to get down!" Suddenly her bond strengthened with Livyrsa. Her wolf eyes glowed green as that bond flared, and she bit Daddy's wrist causing him to stumble. He caught himself, knelt and set her on the road. He swore quietly, grabbing his wrist which wasn't bleeding, thank goodness. Livyrsa quickly picked her up as she reached out for the wolf's neck. "I'm sorry daddy, but Avakin is in trouble! I have to help her! I can feel it!"
"Ambreya! Stop!" Mommy called after her, but Livyrsa was already running. The woods became less dark as they ran. Amber held on as many trees passed by them in their rush.
"Good girl Liv," The wolf barked and ran faster. "We need to find Avakin, take me to her."
Livyrsa knew where to go and dashed on that dirt path as fast as a raven could fly.
Elaine couldn't run fast enough. Keyla dashed ahead on her elk, heeding the call for aid. She had been charged with keeping that wolf away from the family, for wolves were sacred to the elven people and they dared not attack her. But something had broken Keyla's enchantment over the wolf, and it had run off. Keyla seemed to know right away what it was and would have gone after her had that darkness not overwhelmed every feeling around them through the woods. Elaine had instructed her to take her mount and back them up. Once she had arrived, she found Mattiin cradling a shoulder and catching his breath against a tree deep in the woods and far from the clearing where the battle was taking place. A long and shallow chasm in the snow showed her the distance Mattiin had slid, and it took her breath away. She knelt to heal his bleeding shoulder. She winced as the damage to his shoulder was much harder to heal than she could do with field healing magic. To repair this, she'd have to spend extra time doing so, repairing the structure of the bone, time she didn't have.
"Did the elf shoot you with an arrow?" she asked but couldn't find any trace of the arrow.
"No, she…" he grunted. "That monster stabbed me with her finger, not the elf." Elaine sucked in a breath as another surge of power emanated from where the battle was. "She did something to herself and now she can't stop. No one can stop her. Alvi was…" He was nearly in tears as he put pressure on his shoulder. His face hardened as he took a breath. "Go. Help them, I'll help when I get my bearings."
Elaine nodded, understanding. The mission came first. As she finally reached the edge of the woods, those who were up were fighting a losing battle against the woman wreathed in magic. It was a startling sight. Empathic waves of energy burst out from the Valkyrie, disrupting her companion's magic. But Elaine could tell that whatever the Valkyrie was doing was draining her own life force. She couldn't take more than a minute of it. She levitated in the center of the field batting away attacks. While out of range, she prepared a spell to prevent empathic intrusion, enchanting herself, hoping it would be enough.
Keyla bounded around the barn, shooting arrows at the solitary woman. Many of them bounced off her armor, but one stuck true on her leg, and the Valkyrie didn't seem to notice it at all. She however turned and raised a finger in their direction, and with a widening grin, the elk suddenly shook off her mounted rider, flung her into the air, and bounded for the woods leaving them behind. Such a terrible fear emanated from their foe, and the creature would not stand against such power, no matter how loyal it was to their master. Keyla shrieked before hitting the ground headfirst, and lay still. Elaine saw Alvi's unmoving body near the Valkyrie, and worried he was dead.
She moved closer to join them preparing her most powerful ensnaring shadows, which erupted beneath the woman. Her head spun to meet her so fast that those black eyes and wicked smile pierced her protections, disabling the spells and draining most of her mana in the process. How powerful was her life force? To withstand such a lengthy torment. Surely her body would begin to crumble with the expense of such self-destructive power. But many minutes passed and still the Valkyrie persisted.
Brunhr and Elaine were the only ones left. He found the ax and charged forward to engage her attention. She blocked his attack, batting the ax away. Her arms blurred through the air, wrapping around his head, and she was ready to snap his neck. Elaine reached for him, cursing her old and frail body, for she wasn't fast enough.
Another powerful magic source flashed off on the path. The Valkyrie dropped Brunhr to land next to Alvi, entranced by the magic. The light of Starnheim seemed to be in the palms of a young girl who rode that wolf Keyla had ensnared. It seems that Keyla was wrong about who had bonded the wolf. She raised her hand and that light, far brighter than any she had seen before, blanketed the world around them. Such a light had never been seen on Kaldheim before, pure white light. It didn't burn so much as illuminate everything, all shadows repelled by the odd radiance. The Valkyrie dropped to her knees on the ground, wiping away her tears of blood, smearing her face with it. Her eyes were no longer black but white as snow, and her wings had vanished. Her magic had disappeared as well, no longer piercing everything. She just knelt there, quivering, mumbling as her eyes darted across the mayhem she caused, before dashing off into the woods leaving everyone behind in long powerful strides. The little girl's power ceased, and her arm dropped, and she fell off the wolf, unconscious. If Elaine had her speed, she might've gone to retrieve the girl, but her parents arrived. So, Elaine hid, they momentarily surveyed the grounds and the defeated warriors, then picked the girl up and fled.
Elaine could not follow, for she wasn't as fast as the others, but she would be useful in other ways. She glanced at everyone to see if they were okay, Orrin and Keyla were fine, just unconscious. Odessa was nowhere to be found, and Njal was suffering from a mild case of mana depletion. Brunhr was the furthest from physical harm, but he was on the ground quivering in fear. Alvi lay there, not moving, so she rushed to his side first. She checked his pulse and sighed with grief, bringing his head up to hug him gently. He was dead, but Elaine would not have it. She had silently sworn to Mattiin to watch over this boy, and it wasn't too late.
She prayed to the Einir for guidance, but there was no response as she expected. She laid him out, straightening him out as reverently as she could. Then, kneeling over him began to exert her magic around him.
"To the Einir, I petition that my soul shall forfeit its breath of life to aid one taken too early from his journey," She held her hands out, chanting her final spell. "To the Valkyries, I grant my place in Starnheim to this elf, may his journey to the afterlife be halted. Allow him to live once more under Koma's gaze, may his path be carved in the glory that will no longer grace my life." She looked upon the Valkyrie that landed nearby, her black hair and dress streaming behind her smiling gaze as she braced her scythe to reap her soul. "To Koma, watch over this child of yours as he fights on your behalf." She nearly finished her spell as Mattiin passed into the clearing, his eyes wide with shock as he stumbled closer. She smiled at him and closed her crying eyes. "Return, my chosen," she said, falling to the snow, "and grant our people victory!"
Author's Note
And that is part 2 of the midpoint chapters! This was an intense chapter to write and my favorite one so far (split up as it had been from one extremely long chapter to three small chapters, then finally down to two) so I hope y'all enjoy it. I sure did. I cannot wait to finish up the next chapter and bring it to you.