Hello people, and welcome back to Frozen: Lords of Storm and Stone. Alright...let's hear what the good priest has to say to the good people.
Anna, Elsa, Lisa, Kristoff, and Olaf surrounded William as he remained on his knees before Sigmund.
"May I ask why you chose now of all times to come to the Valley of Stone?" Sigmund asked.
"My reasons for being here are many...not the least of which is to pay my respects, to the beginning of the most recent new year of your hopefully long and rich life." William said, then Sigmund smiled.
"You flatter me..." He breathed out.
"And...I have come baring a present, one of which your steward is the current holder." William said, then Ingmar entered...while holding a sword as long as a person, and everyone widened their eyes, gasped, or both.
"What...is that...?" Lisa asked.
"That, is the Sword of Yuri." William said.
"Yuri?" Sigmund asked, then William stood up.
"I will explain the whole story in due time, but first, I must wonder how the sword fits your hands." He said, then Sigmund stood up, and Ingmar held the blade, and extended the handle toward Sigmund. He then took the sword, looked over the handle, which was long enough for three hands to grip it, and he held out the sword with both of his hands. The sword turned out to be foot shorter than Sigmund's height, and he sighed deeply as he looked over the sword, then he held onto the handle with one hand, and rested the blade on his other hand.
"I haven't used a greatsword in years..." Sigmund breathed out.
"Truly?" William asked.
"Yes..." Sigmund trailed off.
"Well, could you try it out? If it doesn't fit you, I will gladly take it off your hands." William said, then Sigmund looked over the greatsword, then he looked at the others, and they all either smiled, nodded, glanced at the sword, or a mixture of the gestures.
"Very well then..." Sigmund said simply, then he stepped off of his throne, and the others backed away to the pillars on either side of the room. Sigmund then held out the greatsword with one hand, then he slowly gripped the handle with his other hand, and inhaled as deeply as he could. He then held the greatsword behind him, and slowly moved the sword from one side to the other with the same amount of technique he would use if he was swinging it with killer intent.
Sigmund then braced the greatsword behind him, and swung it from one side to the other with the speed and force one would expect from someone in combat. The others wisely remained on either side of the throne room, far outside of the reach of Sigmund's large blade, so hesitation had no say in the matter. Sigmund then raised the greatsword over his head, and swung downward, but stopped the blade from hitting the floor.
Afterwards, he looked down the length of the greatsword's blade as he held it out in front of him, then he braced the greatsword over his shoulder. He then swung several times at the area in front of him diagonally, and he channeled the momentum of each strike, and flowed into the next. The result was a chain of attacks that was not interrupted, nor was each strike uncooperative with the others.
When he finished, he held the sword to the side, and he looked over the blade again as he breathed deeply.
"Does this please you?" William asked.
"Saint William, this is an magnanimous a present for me, and it is for you to be in my fortress." Sigmund said seriously, then William smiled.
"I am honored to be of assistance." He said, then Sigmund looked at the sword again.
"It feels...almost alive..." He said.
"You have a keen sense for blades Your Lordship; that sword is well beyond that of a conventional sword. Admittedly, I have limited knowledge of your own sword, but there is a good reason that sword is sacred." William said, then Sigmund looked at William with widened eyes.
"A sacred sword...?" Sigmund whispered.
"Yes, one forged from meteoric iron, a metal considered holy by those who study and utilize it." William said.
"And you're truly giving this to me, without reservation?" Sigmund asked seriously.
"I can think of no better gift for our first meeting, although...I do apologize for giving it to you a week late." William said, then he chuckled.
"Saint William, why are you honoring us in this way?" Elsa asked.
"I think the honor is ours." William said.
"Ours?" Sigmund asked.
"The Lodge of Sacred Stars of course, I am not here only to see all of you, but to maybe shed some light on whatever requires it." William said.
"So you really are part of the Lodge..." Sigmund trailed off.
"I am indeed...and I have much news about our recent doings." William said.
"Such as?" Sigmund asked, then William sighed and looked away.
"After my encounter with Queen Anna, yes, I know who you are, I wandered the country, and rebuilt the Lodge to its former glory. It turned out that there were many members living in seclusion who had escaped Adrianna's wrath. Now...we have decided that the time is right to strike back at Absalom, and I have taken the first step right now." He said.
"By giving me this blade?" Sigmund asked, then William pointed at the sword.
"That blade belonged to Father Yuri, our Lodge's founder, and he is also the last and only person to have used that weapon." He said seriously, then Sigmund looked at the sword again.
"Then this is more of an honor than I thought..." He trailed off.
"I am also aware that you searched through a cabin in the nearby forest that once belonged to the Lodge." William said.
"Oh...about that, on behalf of everyone here, I'm really sorry about that." Anna said.
"No apology needed Your Majesty, that cabin has not been used in years." William said.
"Still...we figured it was still used given how it was in really good condition, but..." Anna trailed off.
"I told you, no apology is needed. Although, I trust that the book you found was of use?" William asked.
"Yes it was, indirectly..." Sigmund said.
"How so?" William asked, then Sigmund motioned to his war room.
"Follow me." He said, then he walked off, and the others followed him.
When they reached the war room, everyone else gathered around the table, and William looked around the room.
"I must say Your Lordship, this is the most impressive fortress I have ever been to." He said.
"Much appreciated Saint William." Sigmund said as he set the greatsword on the table, and sat down with everyone else.
"Now, what good did that book do you?" William asked.
"Well, it's a long story, but shortly after they arrived, Anna and her family were ambushed by Dietrich." Sigmund said, then William widened his eyes.
"The Red Wolf of Sweden...!?" He breathed out.
"Is that what they call him?" Lisa asked seriously.
"Yes...and as of now, he is the official backbone of Absalom's forces, in spite of his recent excursion." William said.
"What do you mean?" Anna asked.
"We at the Lodge have recently discovered a disturbing report on Absalom's army. He spent the better part of a month in Finland, and his army has grown tenfold." He said seriously.
"Oh no..." Sigmund whispered.
"He has also made new recruits, including ones who were formerly enemies of the Lodge, namely the berserkers." William said.
"Berserkers!? They're still around?" Sigmund asked seriously.
"Yes, and they are more powerful now than they were during the golden age of the Vikings. They not only possess more advanced weapons and armor, but they acquired magics that rival that of the spirits of the Enchanted Forest." William said.
"What? How!?" Elsa asked.
"Seidr magic..." William said.
"How do seeds give you magic like that?" Kristoff asked.
"That's just how the word is pronounced, but to answer your question in full, according to the Lodge's studies, Seidr magic was used centuries ago to fortell major events, like the results of a battle, or even a war. In some cases, Seidr magic was used to cure, or even cause sickness. Among the berserkers...I cannot say, but I have seen recent cases where they had a galdr, and witch said to use Seidr magic, perform it on them. The results were startling..." William said.
"Who was this witch?" Sigmund asked.
"And what were the effects?" Anna asked.
"The witch is no longer with us, nor are the other witches of her trade. As for the effects...well, the belief that a battle will play out in your favor can give a great increase to one's confidence." William said.
"No kidding." Kristoff said.
"But even more disturbing, is that these berserkers are said to be able to heal from any wound that does not kill them outright. Even the loss of an arm or leg means nothing to them." William said.
"You're kidding right!?" Lisa asked seriously.
"No, I've heard stories of these berserkers losing an arm in the middle of a battle, and they not only used their other arm to continue the battle in their infamous frenzy, but by the start of the following day, their arm was fully restored, as if they never lost it." William said, then everyone looked at one another.
"This is insane..." Anna whispered.
"Fortunately the berserkers are relatively few in number, especially compared to the mercenaries and vagabonds Absalom recruited to his crusade. However, because of their blessings, if one can call them that, the berserkers are fearless, even by the standards sets by their reputation." William said.
"I've read a tale about how dozens of soldiers trying to cross a bridge were cut down by a single berserker." Sigmund said.
"And it's highly unlikely that he had Seidr magic on his side..." William said, then Sigmund looked away.
"Wait, aren't the rest of the kingdoms doing something about him?" Anna asked.
"Unfortunately no, and the reason why is the question that's on the mind of everyone in the Lodge. Did Absalom bribe the other kings and queens? Are they too afraid to fight back? Or did Absalom somehow recruit these people under everyone's noses? It could be a mixture of these factors for all we know..." William said.
"Either way, this war just became more serious than I would dare consider..." Sigmund said.
"Then I could not have come a moment too soon." William said seriously, then Sigmund stood up, sighed deeply, and picked up the greatsword with one hand.
"I agree..." Sigmund groaned.
"Can you tell us more about this Father Yuri?" Elsa asked.
"Ah yes, he was a man with great vision, compassion, and ambition...all of which stemmed from his affliction according to the legend." William said.
"Affliction?" Elsa asked.
"Yes...he was a leper when he founded the Lodge." William said.
"A leper...?" Sigmund breathed out.
"Yes...according to the legend, when he first contracted it, he spent a great deal of time, effort, and coin on method to cure his disease. Alas, it was all for naught; his body failed him more and more as the years went by, so he turned to...less conventional methods." William said.
"Magic..." Elsa breathed out.
"That's right, and even though he could not cure his disease, he did acquire more knowledge of the nature of magic than most people could ever hope to acquire. In the later half of his life, he wrote down all of his findings, and made a vast library on the myths he discovered, and the studies he had made on magic itself. He did what he could to make sure that his teachings would be used for the good of mankind, but of course, there was only so much that one person could do. In his last moments, he laid on his death bed, surrounded by his wisest, and most benevolent followers, he saw to it that they swore to see his life's goal to fruition. He even refused to die until the last of the vows was sworn." William said, and everyone remained silent for several moments.
"Wow...just...wow..." Kristoff breathed out.
"And now, almost two centuries later, we stand on the eve of a second campaign in a war that endangers the entire country, and maybe the world...and Father Yuri's worst fears are in danger of being realized." William said.
"What does this war have to do with Father Yuri's fears, whatever they were?" Lisa asked, then William sighed deeply.
"It's because of Absalom..." He said.
"Absalom?" Sigmund asked.
"What does he have to do with this?" Anna asked.
"Because...he used to be a member of the Lodge?" William asked, then everyone widened their eyes.
"You're kidding right!?" Anna asked seriously.
"I almost wish..." William said.
"Then...why is he our enemy?" Kristoff asked, then Sigmund closed his eyes.
"Treachery..." He groaned.
"More or less..." William said.
"Uh, yeah, this sounds like treachery to me." Kristoff said.
"When he was part of the Lodge, Absalom studied the teachings of Father Yuri as enthusiastically as the rest of us...apparently too much so. He was a brilliant, but remarkably short-sighted student; he believed that the pacifistic use of magic that Father Yuri believed in was...too ineffective. Instead, he wanted to acquire whatever magic he was searching for in order to make a difference on a more absolute level." William said.
"So he found his lightning magic, and formed an army to accomplish whatever he has in mind?" Anna asked.
"Apparently so." William said.
"And the storms?" Elsa asked.
"Still a mystery; me, and the rest of the Lodge have used whatever magics we could to study the storms, but...it didn't work." William said.
"What do you mean it didn't work?" Anna asked.
"I mean that the storms couldn't be studied; it was as if they didn't even exist." William said.
"Troubling..." Elsa breathed out, then Sigmund looked at the greatsword again.
"What about this sword?" He asked.
"Ironically, for all of his time preaching about peace, Father Yuri knew that it wasn't always an option. On multiple occasions, he had to use that sword to defend himself, but later on, as his leprosy became too great, he passed the sword to a champion." William said.
"Did Father Yuri forged this sword himself?" Sigmund asked.
"Not entirely, his followers brought him certain materials, including the meteor the sword was forged from. When he was satisfied, he used the various magics he had acquired, directly, and indirectly, to form the meteor into the shape, and treat the metal itself in a manner not unlike the magic you yourself use." William said.
"Impressive..." Sigmund said.
"And now the sword is in the hands of the Lord of Stone...and I'm certain Father Yuri would approve." William said.
"Better Sigmund's than Absalom's, that's for sure." Kristoff said seriously.
"No kidding..." Anna groaned.
"So, my liege? Which sword are you going to keep?" Lisa asked, then Sigmund took a moment to think.
"Good question..." He trailed off.
"Well, let's test the difference in cutting power, shall we?" William asked.
"An excellent idea." Sigmund said as he stood up, and he went to the arena as everyone else followed him...including Ingmar after he took the greatsword.
When they arrived, Sigmund went to the center of the arena, and Elsa stood on the opposite side in front of him.
"This fortress even has its own training ground? Fascinating..." William breathed out.
"And we got alot of use out of it too, like we are now." Anna said.
"Which sword are you using first?" Elsa asked.
"My own." Sigmund said, then he drew his sword, and Elsa made two small ice towers half Sigmund's height, then she formed a foot-thick block of ice between them.
"Alright, first up, the reigning champion." Lisa said casually as Sigmund gripped his sword with both hands, and posed to strike the ice block. Everyone else waited and watched with their full attention on Sigmund as he looked at the center of the ice block. Eventually, he inhaled deeply, raised his sword over his head, brought it down on the ice block, and cut it in half as small shards of ice scattered in all directions.
Lisa then started to rapidly clapped her hands, and Anna and Kristoff watched her while smiling.
"How easy was that?" William asked as Sigmund looked his sword over.
"As easy as one would expect...unless Elsa softened it?" He said as he looked at Elsa.
"I have done no such thing; I made it as resilient as a wooden plank." Elsa said seriously.
"In that case...Ingmar? Father Yuri's sword if you please?" Sigmund said as he reached toward Ingmar, and the little golem marched toward him.
"Here you are my liege." Ingmar said, then Sigmund sheathed his sword, and took the greatsword as Elsa repaired the ice block Sigmund destroyed before.
"Now it's the challenger's turn." Lisa said casually, then Sigmund looked at the ice block, braced the greatsword over his shoulder, then he brought it down onto the ice block...and went through it with no loss of speed.
"Holy...!" Anna breathed out as everyone widened their eyes and looked over the two, cleanly-cut pieces of ice, then Sigmund picked one up, and ran his finger over the sliced part.
"A perfect slice..." Sigmund whispered, then William smiled and stood up.
"A perfect slice, from a perfect weapon." He said casually, then Sigmund drew his sword, held it in his right hand as he held the greatsword in his off hand.
"So, who's getting the sword you have now?" Elsa asked as Sigmund held the two swords side by side.
"I will keep them both." Sigmund said seriously.
"But my liege, how will you hold them at the same time?" Lisa asked.
"I have an idea..." Sigmund trailed off, then he used his magic to have the two swords levitate next to each other. Everyone then widened their eyes as the two sword melded into one another, and the result was a sword that was shorter than the greatsword, but longer than his original sword. Sigmund then held the fused sword, and looked over the enlarged blade that was of equal thickness from the handle, to the tip, but still remained narrow at the tip, but wider at the base.
William than let off a hearty chuckle as everyone else remained silent, and looked at each other.
"A splendid sight..." He said.
"I'll say." Kristoff said seriously.
"Looks better too, at least I think so." Lisa said.
"Be that as it may, I must wonder if Father Yuri would approve of this?" Sigmund asked.
"I would assume so, especially with who I gave his sword to, and even more so due to how his sword was combined with your own, and the hybrid between them has all the strengths of both of the original blades, and none of their weaknesses." William said, then Sigmund looked at him curiously.
"How do you know that?" Sigmund asked.
"I can sense the properties of that sword from here, and I am certain you can as well." William said.
"Yes...I can..." Sigmund breathed out.
"My liege, I will have you know that your new sword is too large for your scabbard." Ingmar said seriously.
"No need." Sigmund said simply, then he melded his sword into his breastplate...then William widened his eyes.
"A nice trick." He said.
"And a new one; I have attached my helmet to my breastplate, but it was only attachment, never fusion." Sigmund said.
"What should I do with this scabbard?" Ingmar asked, then Sigmund took a moment to think.
"Hold onto it." He said.
"As you wish my lord." Ingmar said.
"Let me guess, you're going to put a new sword into it, and give it to someone here?" Anna asked.
"Yes I do, but the question is 'who'?" Sigmund said, then Lisa raised her hand.
"Can I have it?" She asked, then Sigmund smirked.
"Funny enough, I had that idea before." He said.
"Can I have one now, please?" Lisa asked, then Sigmund glanced at Elsa, then she glanced at Lisa, then looked at Sigmund again.
"Alright." Sigmund said simply, then he put his hand on his breastplate, and a sword that resembled the same sword he used to have was formed from the metal.
"Thanks my lord." Lisa said as she walked toward Sigmund, then he had the sword levitate toward Lisa, and she took the sword as Ingmar held out the scabbard.
"Here you are." He said, then Lisa put the sword in the scabbard, took it, and looked it over.
"Didn't think you would get to use Sigmund's sword did you?" Kristoff asked.
"Not at all..." Lisa breathed out.
"Well, technically it's a sword based on the original, but still..." Anna said.
"And not only is the sword more special than it was before, but since it's part of the armor...so is it." William said, then Sigmund looked himself over.
"I didn't even think about that..." He breathed out.
"You think you could treat the rest of the weapons and armor in the valley like this?" Anna asked, then Sigmund raised his eyebrows.
"Later." He said seriously.
"Right..." Anna said simply.
"Well, this was fun and all, but I think we were in the middle of discussing business before we came in here?" Kristoff said.
"Right, and there is more business to discuss." William said, then everyone left the room.
The group then sat around the table as they did before, but Lisa, Kristoff, and Ingmar remained standing.
"Saint William, you said that Absalom wants to make a difference on a more absolute level...what do you mean?" Elsa asked.
"I wish I knew, but he was more than alittle interested in the lightning magic he uses today. According to what he talked about, the last time I saw him, he believes that magic is indeed a blessing and a curse as Father Yuri pointed out, but even a curse can be used for good." William said.
"What does that mean?" Anna asked.
"It means that to Absalom, there's no such thing as a wrongdoing; everything has a purpose, no matter how vile. In a way, he's right, but it doesn't change that he has gone too far, and needs to be stopped." William said.
"I agree completely." Sigmund said seriously.
"But how does he intend to do whatever he's up to, and why is he after Sigmund so much?" Kristoff asked.
"On the surface, this is little more than conquest, but I believe there's more to it than that...far more." William said.
"You mean he wants to take over Scandinavia?" Anna asked simply.
"And possibly more...and the magics at play have everything to do with it. But like I said, there's likely more to it than that." William said.
"What more could there be?" Lisa asked.
"I do not know...but at this point, it's unlikely that we will know anytime soon." William said.
"Either way, this idle speculation will get us nowhere. Absalom must be stopped, and we're probably the only ones who can." Elsa said.
"And we will...and even in death, Father Yuri is still helping us." Sigmund said.
"And the Lodge is available to you should you have need of us." William said.
"You're serious?" Kristoff asked.
"Quite." William said.
"But...last I saw you, you said Adrianna did the others in." Anna said.
"That is another thing I wanted to tell you about. Between now, and the time we met, I have wandered this country, and beyond, and eventually, I reconnected with other like-minded people, and rebuilt the Lodge." William said.
"That's excellent news Saint William, can they help us as well?" Elsa asked.
"I was about to offer that very thing, although unfortunately, there is little direct aid we can offer, but whatever knowledge Father Yuri acquired is available to you should you need it, or desire it." William said, then Sigmund took a moment to think.
"Well, that book we fond while we went through that cabin was more than alittle interesting. We even found some ruins beyond the valley that were apparently sacred to the Valkyries." Anna said.
"You mean the Nexus of the Nine Realms?" William asked.
"Is that what it's called?" Sigmund asked.
"Yes, and I assume the book you found spoke about it?" William asked.
"No, it spoke about why the Vikings used to hold it sacred; how the ones who fought and died there were immediately sent to Valhalla." Sigmund said.
"It goes deeper than that...far deeper." William said, then Sigmund stood up, and looked through a cabinet.
"Are you looking for the book?" Lisa asked as Sigmund moved a row of books aside one at a time, then he grabbed the one by the side of the cabinet.
"Here it is." He said, then he returned to the table...with the same book they took from the cabin.
"That symbol..." William trailed off as he ran his hand over the upside-down tree picture.
"Is that the Lodge's icon?" Elsa asked.
"No, it's Yggdrasil, the World Tree." William said.
"World Tree?" Sigmund asked.
"Yes...do you know of the nine realms in Norse legend?" William asked.
"Yes, the ruins we visited also had a library that mentioned them, to an extent." Sigmund said.
"No coincidence I'm sure, and Yggdrasil could play a major part in whatever stories that place has to tell." William said.
"But...we already went there, and we found little information there, at least any of value." Sigmund said.
"But you said so yourself Sigmund, we would find out if it has anything of value at the right time." Elsa said.
"And I don't know about all of you, but this looks like the right time to me." Kristoff said seriously.
"Agreed, you didn't have a member of the Lodge of Sacred Stars with you, and I would gladly put my skills, and my knowledge on magic to use for your cause." William said.
"Then it's settled, let's get back to those ruins." Anna said.
"Good luck to you all." Ingmar said as he bowed.
"Actually Ingmar, I want to come with us." Sigmund said.
"As you wish my lord." Ingmar said simply, then the family went to the door.
"You too Olaf." Anna said.
"Coming!" Olaf exclaimed, then he waddled after the group.
Hoo boy, Saint William had quite a yarn to spin did he? And Sigmund got himself a new toy, one that's basically Excalibur no less. Anyway, how many of you suspected that the ruins would be returned to at some point? Well, now the group can go see what else can be uncovered, and they have a new set of hands, and eyes with which they can dig out some gems...maybe literally, who knows?
Until then, please be sure to Rate, Review, and Share as the group goes to the new game plus version of the ruins. Stay tuned.