Here's the second part of the pilot. Hope you read all of the disclaimer last time, cuz I'm not writing that all again.
"This means I am speaking"
'This mean I am thinking'
*This is a sound effect*
This means this is a flashback
This means it is a combat line from the game in the speaker's language
"{This means someone is speaking in their native language, latin, japanese, etc}"
For Balance, For Honor
Could this day get any worse? What had begun as the glorious battle that she had thirsted for since making the journey down to this ramshackle fortress had quickly devolved into a spectacle straight out of one of the old stories, the earth ripping itself apart and lightning raining from the sky.
When the shaking began, her men's morale shattered, screaming that it was the wrath of the gods, enraged for some slight, some claiming it was for "consorting with Jotun-kin" followed by curses on her name and family line as they scattered.
The Jormungandr cared little of what they thought, nor whether the tremors and the weather were indeed the fury of one of the Aesir or even her god. Right now, she was more concerned with staying alive. She had come too far to suffer an ignoble death.
Thus, she rushed towards the pier amongst the chaos, hoping her crew were preparing her longship to disembark. She was instead met with the sight of a Warden and an Orochi fighting on the deck of her ship, swinging precariously over the raging waters and ice floes.
Now here she was, staring down the would-be ship thieves who had yet to answer her ultimatum. She glowered at the two, especially the knight, the sight of his steel plated form on her vessel making her blood boil. They stood across from her and each other in a triangular formation, maintaining an equal distance between them.
All their eyes shifted back and forth, just waiting for the others to make the first move.
She clutched the shaft of her hammer tightly, wringing the leather straps impatiently until she could not wait a second longer.
"RAAAAAH!" She bellowed, raised her hammer to the flashing sky and charged towards the Knight. He ducked under her wild swing and attempted a quick thrust. She batted the rushed attack away with the back of her padded leather fist, leaving him open long enough to ram the head of her hammer into his stomach. There was a resounding clang as the plate metal absorbed most of the blow, yet he stumbled back from the force and wheezed.
Before she could capitalize further, she heard clothed footsteps behind her. Spinning around, she caught the descending katana against the ridge of where her hammerhead met the shaft. Now in control, she pushed back the samurai's blade and gripped her weapon in both hands, swinging back and forth, forcing the Orochi back lest she risked her head.
"Coward!" She spat, running after her with her hammer pulled back for a downwards smash. The other woman raised her sword to block, unprepared for when she released a hand and twisted her body, bringing the hammer upwards instead. The metal block knocked the katana from her grasp, sending it clattering along the deck of the ship and completely open for the Viking to grab onto the harness of her armor with her free hand.
"Óverðugur!" She yelled and bashed the other woman in the stomach with her knee. Her opponent let out a gasp in pain, the air being forced from her lungs. She then shoved her back, the dazed Samurai stumbling in vain to keep upright, only to fall to the wooden floor.
Her prey now helpless, she raised her hammer overhead and swung. The Orochi looked up, eyes widening as she saw the bludgeon careening down at her. She rolled to the left and the floor splintered under the force of the raw power of the attack.
"Stay still dammit!" The Jormungandr growled in frustration and brought her hammer up for another attack, only for the Orochi to roll to the right and make her miss again.
Splinters sprayed in her face.
She was really getting tired of making holes in her own ship.
"Enough!" She jumped forward and planted her boot right on her target's chest, holding her in place. The Orochi grabbed the leg pinning her down, but she was too strong.
She raised her hammer to the sky with both hands, preparing to cave in her foe's skull in one hit.
"Just d-OOGH!" A metal clad form crashed into her side, a heavy length of steel slamming across her back. It gouged a deep furrow in her thick leathers and just barely cut the skin underneath.
"GAH!" She screamed and blindly lashed out behind her with her hammer, glancing off the side of the Warden's helm, leaving a small dent in the metal.
They both staggered back from each other licking their wounds. She slouched against the side of the ship, the stinging on her back getting overshadowed by the hot rage coursing through her veins. Shaking the stars out of his eyes, the Warden met her gaze and lifted his blade up once more.
A thump from the side. They both turned to see the Orochi teeter and get to her feet, katana back in hand, her eyes burning with determination. It seemed that the Warden had saved her, whether he had meant to or not.
The Jormungandr scowled, pushing off the railing. Didn't matter if they were cooperating or not, she was still going to kill them by herself.
They all screamed in unison, as they all raised their weapons and charged.
An ominous groan echoed, making them all pause and look up in time to see the crane winches squeal and the remainder of the rope go. They all looked at each other in surprise right before the ship fell out from under them.
The ship plummeted for several seconds before finally-
*CRASH!* The Jormungandr and her two opponents hit the deck, tumbling like stones. She groaned, pulling herself up the side and looked over. The ship had fallen from the crane and inelegantly landed on a tall iceberg next to the fort wall, on the top of it's sloping shape.
She slapped her hand on the side, growling whilst she clambered back up, glancing back to see the interlopers doing the same. Not missing a beat, all three of them grabbed their weapons to immediately continue their brawl.
"Stop!" They all froze again at the sudden call. They all looked up again to see a man sliding down the rope still tied to the stempost. It was only when he landed on the decorative snakehead did the three combatants register who he was, indicative by his robes and the staff clasped in his free hand.
"Get out of here {Eastling}!" She spat. "Unless you want to once again poke your nose in where it doesn't belong!"
"Please. I mean no harm!" He held out a placating hand, hopping down from his perch to the deck, the Warden and Orochi turning their weapons to the new arrival.
"Horse shit!" The former muttered, his grip tightening on his sword.
"What he said!" The other agreed, feet pacing anxiously.
The Jormungandr's eyes flitted between the two of them. Their backs were turned, she might be able to get the upper hand thanks to this distraction. Before she could enact a plan, he continued.
"Lower your weapons, please! We all came here for the same purpose, yes?" He tapped his foot against the floor. "This maelstrom is only getting worse. If we don't leave now, we're all going to die!" He gestured to the sky, lightning resuming to arc across the sky and the Earth and sea becoming more turbulent.
The two swordsmen hesitated, glancing at each other and the Viking glaring from the stern.
"What do you propose?" The Orochi asked.
"A temporary alliance. We cooperate with each other until we reach safe shores. Then we can tear ourselves to pieces!"
"An alliance? With three of my sworn enemy? Tch!" The Warden shook his head. "I'd rather just let you kill me and save all of us the time!"
"Even if we did, what's to assure us this isn't a trap?!" The Orochi demanded.
"There are three of you and one of me. I wouldn't dare!" The Shaolin shrugged. "You'd better make a decision. None of us can sail this vessel by ourselves. Either we battle and the victor dies to the elements, or we all live to fight another day. What will it be?"
They all went silent, the howl of the wind and the crash of waves filling the gap.
The Jormungandr watched in disbelief as the two swordsmen she had been fighting slowly lowered their blades.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"Your words ring true, monk. I do not desire to die here!" The Orochi admitted, keeping an eye on the other warriors while slowly returning her katana to it's sheath.
"An alliance of necessity then. For now!" The Warden nodded, his voice betraying how reluctant he was feeling.
The Shaolin sighed in relief. "Now we just need a born mariner!"
They all turned to the only seasoned sailor present, at the back of the ship.
She sneered. "What?. You really think I'm going to band together with you interlopers?. That I'm just going to forgive everything your kind has done, especially his?!" She pointed hatefully at the Knight.
The Shaolin shook his head. "I'm not asking you to let go of the, what's the word, animosity you feel to all of us. But if you don't sail us out of here, we, including you, are going to die. Is that how you want life to end? Getting crushed by a rock or drowning in the ocean? I thought Viking's prefer a glorious death?" He stated, taunting her with the upturned corner of his lip.
She bristled, gnashing her teeth. The idea of cooperating with the very people she had sworn to destroy made her want to rip out her tongue. But what hurt her even more was the fact that she knew he was right. Dying from a natural disaster instead of a triumphant final battle was a fate worse than death for one such as she. Working alongside her enemy was one thing, but to have no songs sung in your name, to have your name fade from memory, she couldn't stand the thought. As painful as it was, she had no choice.
"Nnng! Fine!" She brusquely placed her hammer on the deck with a thud. "I'll get us out of here, but listen closely. This is my ship and that means you all do exactly what I say. No excuses, no hesitation. And once we get ashore, I promise you all…"
She clenched her fist, cracking her knuckles as she glared at them all. "I will crush every single one of you, starting with him!" She glanced at the Warden, who stared back.
"The feeling's mutual. Now if you're done threatening me, what are your orders…" He made a loud swallowing sound, as if the words coming from his mouth were making him physically ill. "Captain!"
She smirked vindictively. If nothing else, she will die with the memory of that satisfying moment. It was short lived as another flash and clap of thunder drowned out all sound for a moment, right before the tremors became even wilder, planks and bricks getting pulled out of the fort walls from the force of the winds.
"{Eastling}!" She barked. "Climb up the mast and let the sails loose!"
To his credit, the monk only nodded, promptly ran to the wooden pillar and began scaling up.
"Málm maður! Mýrarfótur!"
The two swordsmen looked at her in confusion.
She rolled her eyes. "Metalman, pull up the anchor! Swampfoot, untie the ropes from the stern and stemposts! I'll get this tub in the water!" She ordered.
Begrudgingly, they glanced at each other and moved to either end of the ship, getting to work.
Shaking her head, she turned and pulled an oar from a side compartment, then leapt off the side. Her boots hit the snow with a crunch, the top layer of the iceberg covered in enough of the powder that she didn't slip. She ran around the back of the stern, stepping over the rudder and jabbed at the ice under the hull with the pointed end of the oar. She chipped away until there was a sizable hole, then jammed it in.
Gripping the pole with both hands, she pulled back and grunted when she felt the weight of the ship. Biceps bulging, she kept applying pressure in her attempt to pry it ship from the ice.
Meanwhile, the Orochi's clothed fingers fumbled with the coarse knot wrapped around the fangs of the decorative snakehead.
"Damn it all!" She cursed under her breath. Fed up with the stubborn knot, she reached back and pulled out her tantō and began sawing at the cords with the small blade.
At the front, the Warden had his boot against the side as he kept pulling the rope connected to the anchor. Huffing, he tug length after length back, the cord and the weight making the task seemingly endless until finally, a heavy rock held in a wooden frame hit the lip of the railing and tumbled over.
"Woah!" He jumped back not wanting to hurt his feet at a time like this.
Above their heads, amidst the rampant gusts of wind, the Shaolin was clutching the mast, one hand on the top, the other frantically picking at the small knots holding the sail up. Understandably, this task was a little difficult considering the circumstances.
"Come on… you little..!" He hissed, then something past the sail caught his eye. He yelped and ducked as a torn Ashfeldian banner with a jagged pole flew overhead, nearly taking off his bald head. Interpreting that as an indicator that he needed to pick up the pace, he tugged at the knots with renewed energy. With one last yank, the last one came undone.
*FLAP!* The weathered, but sturdy canvas unfurled. The fabric was coloured with orange and sea green stripes. Emblazoned on the front, as if in defiance of the mighty storm, was the white image of a great serpent, biting its own tail within a ring of runes.
With a twang, the rope on the stern snapped, sending the cord flailing in the wind.
The ship was ready to sail, now it just needed to be freed.
"Hnnngh!" The Jormungandr puffed, her fingers red and burning from where they were wrapped around her improvised lever. Her end of the oar was lower than before and she could just see the keel had lifted an inch.
*SNAP!* Disaster struck however, as the pole splintered. "GAH!" She gaped and teetered onto her back, progress lost as the ship thumped down.
Dazed, she shook her head, pushing herself up. She glared at the piece of lumber still held in her fist and pitched it away with a snarl. The stump flitted through the air off the iceberg, falling down to the water below.
Her eyes narrowed. The water. It was super turbulent, that had been established. But…
The tides were low, bizarrely so. Every so often, the water receded and she could spot glimpses of the sea bed, rocks and shipwrecks. She briefly recalled witnessing something similar years ago, right before…
She jolted and a cold tremor coursed through her.
They needed to leave, fast.
Hectically, she leapt to her feet and slammed her shoulder against the ship. It didn't budge. She did it again. And again. And again.
But to no avail.
She slumped against the hull, sliding down to her knees. Her fist weakly knocked on the wood, all fight in her lost.
It was no use. She couldn't get the ship off the icefloe and into the water. There was no time for her "crew" to assist her and she doubted they'd be strong enough.
She looked up to the heavens, shakily breathing as she silently cursed the Norns, despising them for weaving her fate as such.
Before anything could escape her throat however, her eyes met that of her ship's sternpost. The snake's hollow wooden eyes bore into her, a question upon their lashing tongue.
What will you do now?
Her mind cleared and she experienced a moment of clarity.
She needed help.
One hand went to her shark tooth necklace, the shredding cartilage on a cord. Holding one of the teeth between her finger and thumb, she lifted it against her palm.
"{Great Scale Father, slayer of Odinsons and bringing of the end, hear my plea.}" She whispered to the wind like one would a lover. "{The fury of the gods is upon me and I must survive to serve the great cause. Slake your thirst upon my blood and give me the strength to prove myself unto you.}"
A quick swipe and a stab of pain, but she didn't even wince. With a flick, drops of crimson fell to the roiling sea.
She got back to her feet and placed her palms against the keel, her blood dribbling from her right. She stomped her boots into the ice behind her, getting a grip.
And she pushed.
"HRAAAGH!" She screamed, asserting her challenge to the storm itself. The ship remained still.
Yet, she pushed harder. Her biceps bunched and her legs strained. Her blood thundered in her skull, veins bulging under her skin, threatening to burst. The ship shifted.
'It… is not… my time.' She vowed.
Then, a glimmer along her arms. Lines of light, like luminescent chalk.
The ship began to slide along the ice, jostling the warriors onboard. The Orochi looked over the side and gazed in awe.
The single Viking woman was moving the ship.
Her arms ached and her lungs burned, but she kept pushing. She planted one foot in front of the other, spitting scornfully at her body's protests.
The bow of the ship hung over the edge, snow crumbling down the sheer drop down the ramp like surface of the iceberg.
"YAAAAAH!" She bellowed one last time and gave one last shove.
The ship jumped forward a couple feet and started to slide on it's own, making her stumble and fall flat on her face.
Panting heavily, she chuckled. She did it.
Craning her head up, she smirked in satisfaction at the sight of her vessel sliding halfway over the edge.
Then she frowned, noticing it moving faster.
Her eyes shot open.
"{Shit!}" She swore, scrambling up and breaking into a sprint as her only means of survival tipped over and shot down the smooth ice without her. She leapt after it, almost tripping over her own feet in her haste. The ship was picking up speed, the raised end of the iceberg looming closer.
She pumped her limbs as hard as she could, gradually closing the distance to the rear of the ship.
She held out her arm, hand wide open to grasp the sternpost. She could just reach it.
The bow hit the lip of the berg and the ship jumped.
With one last burst of power, her legs coiled and she sprung, hand outstretched. She fell closer and closer…
Only for her nails to scrape against the side.
Gravity took hold and she watched helplessly while her salvation drew further away and she began to plummet to the sea.
'Damn it.' She cursed, but there was nothing she could do. Closing her eyes, she bitterly resigned herself to her fate.
But suddenly, instead of cold water, she felt a clothed hand latch onto her wrist. Jolted out of her stupor, she opened her eyes and she couldn't believe what she saw.
Hanging precariously off the edge of the ship and acting as her only lifeline was the Orochi. The ship hit the water with a splash, leaving her towed behind her vessel while she desperately tried to hold on. The waves crashed against her, knocking her breath away, the salt setting her hand and back aflame.
"Hnnngh! By Kami, how much do you weigh?!" The Samurai grunted, leaning back and pulling her high enough that she could grab the side and haul herself over, flopping onto the deck in a wet, bloody mess.
She wrenched her hand back, pushing herself back up and fixing the swordswoman with a glare, which the smaller woman cooly returned.
"I'm not thanking you!" She ground out.
"Wouldn't dream of it, just get us out of here!"
"Agreed, now would be nice!" They both scowled at the Warden holding onto the mast, the Shaolin at the bow, who seemed a little green at the moment.
The Viking scoffed and she got to her feet, moving to the stern.
"Well, you all better hold onto something!" She grabbed onto the tiller, looking forward. "It's going to be a bumpy ride! {Eastling}!" The monk looked at her. "Eyes forward! Guide me towards open waters!"
He gave a nod, pulling himself up the side of the sternpost.
With that, she began to steer her ship away from the cliffs. Up and down the ship bobbed, getting tossed around like a bottle. The winds pulled the sails taught, then ropes and wooden boards groaning as the storm threatened to rip them out.
"Rocks on the right!"
She pushed, turning the rudder and letting the ship turn left. They passed the jagged peaks, just barely revealed by the tumultuous waters.
A wave slammed against the starboard side, dousing them all and trying to pull them overboard, but they held tight.
"Left side!"
She turned again, avoiding another outcropping.
"There's a big wave coming! Hold on!"
"Nngh!" She grunted, fighting against the currents and swiveling the ship towards the right so they wouldn't get capsized. At the angle they were at, the nose thankfully angled upwards and they crested over the wave.
For a moment, the Jormungandr could see the bay ahead laid to bare. Encircling the estuary were the massive stone escarpments. Normally considered an advantage in funneling enemy ships into the confines of the river, the natural formations were keeping them locked in, the only way out being the narrow passage at the foot of the mountain sized carving of a Viking king, etched into the cliff face.
The more pressing issue at the moment however, were the larger Knight and Wu Lin ships coming from either direction. Whether their crews had completely lost control or they desired to take their enemies down by ramming into each other didn't matter to her at the moment. At all three ship's current trajectory, they were all heading for a crash.
"SHIPS! SHIPS!" The Warden cried.
"I KNOW!" She shot back, heaving the tiller as far to the left as she could. The ship slowly turned again, painfully so as the two oncoming vessels surged toward each other. It was going to be close.
*KER-SMASH!* The two larger ships slammed against one another. Wooden shards and bodies flew through the air, both of them flying over the four warrior's heads. Some of the men were still screaming before being plunged into a watery grave.
Fortunately for them at least, they managed to narrowly avoid getting crushed, their little ship forging ahead while the wooden hulks behind them began to sink.
"Damn, that was close! But I don't see any other ships, we should be clear!" The Warden let out a sigh of relief.
"Not yet!" He and the other warriors turned to face her. "We're not safe yet!"
"Oh? What happened to you savages being infallible sailors?" He mocked.
She pointed past him. "That!"
They followed her direction towards the darkened horizon beyond the river passage. It took a second, but she knew from how they all stiffened that they saw it. The warnings had all been there. The shifting of the wind and the receding of the tides. She was the only one to know what it all foretold.
Along the entirety of the ocean ahead was a single line of white. The single greatest wall of water they had ever seen. And it was rapidly getting closer.
"A tsunami…" The Orochi whispered in awe.
"We're too late!" The Shaolin hung his head.
"Seriously?!" The Warden threw his arms up. "We survive all of that just for it to be meaningless?!"
"It appears so!" The Samurai shook her head. "I suppose that if I'm going to die anyway…" Her hand drifted to her sword.
"Good idea!" The Knight growled, reaching for his own.
"No!" The Shaolin stepped in between them and held out his hands. "We mustn't turn on each other now. There must be something we can try!"
"Well, unless you can fly us over that wave, killing you all is the only idea that makes sense right now!"
The three continued to bicker, all the while the forgotten Jormungandr raked her brain, trying to come up with something, anything.
Another rumble shook the Earth, drawing her gaze towards the cliffs. A series of low groans echoed and large fissures climbed up the shoulder of the looming statue, stones and dust falling to the water.
Then she got an idea. An absurd idea. A plan so insane that it couldn't possibly work.
She grinned.
'Oh well. Better to die trying.'
She pushed the rudder to the right, abruptly shifting the ship. The arguing warriors yelled and stumbled as she steered it towards it's new bearing.
"What the hell are you doing?!" The Knight demanded.
"I've got a plan!" She answered as they jumped off another wave.
Off to the right, she could hear if not feel a low roar building as the breaker got closer.
"Sailing right for a cliff is not a plan. We need to-OOF!" The Shaolin protested, receiving a kick to the stomach, knocking him back.
"You wanted me to sail us out of here and that's exactly what I'm going to do. So sit down and shut your hole!" She ordered, the sheer conviction in her voice making him and the swordsmen pause in their attempts to stop her.
A rumbling and roaring of wind. They looked and saw the wall of water, rising nearly as high as the statue nearby. It would be upon them in less than a minute and swallow them whole.
"Come on… come on!" She muttered, her fingers wringing the tiller as the ship moved a little too slow for her liking. It inched closer and closer to the foot of the statue until they were several meters away. Only then did she leave her post, unhooking a large, rectangular stone mallet from her belt.
Gripping the handle in both hands, she glared at the statue above them. She placed one foot back, flat on the deck and kicked out with the other. She began to spin, swinging the mallet parallel to her in a wide, swooping arc.
The other warriors gave her a wide berth as they watched, completely lost. She ignored them, keeping her focus on her footwork as she continued to spin, going faster and faster.
The howl of the oncoming wave echoed in her ears. But she ignored that as well, resuming her seemingly mad whirling, making her mallet whistle in the cold air.
She grit her teeth, blood throbbing in the back of her skull. She only had one shot at this.
She began to shift her arc upwards, pointing towards the statue approaching on the port side.
She spun once.
Twice.
Then she released.
"VIÐ HAMAR ÞÓRS!" She roared, the mallet shooting out of her hands in a burst of force. It flew skywards, it's weight defying the winds buffeting it from all sides and keeping it on course.
Right at the statue's right cheek.
The mallet struck the stone surface, then fell into the sea with a heavy plunk.
"Was that supposed to do something?!" The Orochi demanded.
She promptly shut her mouth at the dull sound of stone splitting. Originating from the point of impact, a series of fissures opened in the statue's face, spreading down the front of the Viking.
"You might want to hold on to something!" The Jormungandr warned as she leapt back on the tiller, pointing the ship past the side of the cliff and right at the tsunami barreling down on them.
Bewildered and beyond terrified, the other three warriors could do nothing but obey, the Warden grabbing onto the mast, the Orochi to the side and the Shaolin the bow.
Dust and rocks sloughed off the statue, then all at once, it's house sized head came free. It slowly tipped forward, looming over the ship directly below it.
"You're mad!" The Knight cried.
The Viking only gave him a wide grin. "Just a little!"
Their world grew dark as the stone head's shadow fell over the ship, plummeting down. The wave crashed over the sides of the estuary cliffs, rushing forward to consume them.
"WAIT FOR IIIIIIT!" The Jormungandr cried, her ship just barely clearing the cliff. The world went silent, like the cacophony that was the storm and devastation was sucked out in an instant as the head fell right where they had just been.
Then with an earth shaking clap, it struck the water, creating a deep chasm in the cold fluid for but a moment.
Then the ocean exploded, a mighty geyser erupting under the back of the ship and tossing it straight into the air. The mast protested loudly as the force of the blast filled the sails, pulling it higher and higher.
What happened next, no one but the passengers would witness and scarcely believe. A Viking ship, soaring through the storming sky like a dragon.
"AHAHAHAHA! FLY VINDSVEIPUR! FLY!" The captain cackled maniacally as her vessel gild, all the while her crew held on for dear life.
Directly ahead, the gargantuan wall of water roiled, almost looking as if it was trying to reach as high as it could to catch its prey.
The warrior collectively tensed as they climbed higher, the crest of the wave drawing near.
In a burst of white foam, the bow plowed through the top and landed on its downward slope.
"NOT TODAY RAN!" She crowed victoriously while she steered her ship down the wave's tail.
"Gods…" The Warden gasped, sinking to the deck with his arms still wrapped tightly around the mast. "What just-what just happened?!"
"I… I think she just flew a boat!" The Shaolin answered. His face promptly turned a pale green and he violently retched over the side.
"Not bad for a savage eh?" The Jormungandr laughed at their frailty. "Takes more than a foul tide to make us puke our guts out.
What about you Mýrarfótur, huh?" She turned her head to Orochi who was now standing at the side, her gaze elsewhere. The smaller woman didn't respond, let alone rise to her provocation.
"Hey! I'm talking to you! What're you looking at?!" The Viking turned her head past the stern. Her smile fell and the two men behind her stepped up to get a closer look and whatever words they had died in their throats. They watched, in rapt disbelief as the wave they had just barely escaped continued on it's warpath.
It swelled and with a fearsome explosion of sound and wind, it washed over the shore. The stone cliffs and hillsides crumbled under its power, even the steadfast Valkenheim oak trees proved to be no match as their roots were ripped from the Earth. A few warships still sailing in the estuary had nowhere to go as they were flipped over and crushed underwater, their crews sinking along with them. Nothing could withstand the flood's power, least of all, the River Fort. The wall of water engulfed the fortress, fortifications and war machines getting swept away and whatever fires were left were smothered. If anyone there was still alive, they wouldn't be anymore.
All four warriors watched in disbelief as their goal was shattered and erased in a single instant. All the fighting, all the death, it had all been washed away.
"It's… all gone!" The Shaolin said in a hushed, horrified voice.
"My ships… my men… am I the only one who made it out?" The Warden asked aloud, to which he was given no response.
"By Kami, it's still going!" The Orochi pointed out as the flood continued unabated over the surrounding mountains and valleys, burying more and more of Valkenheim in it's depths with no end in sight.
The three voiced their fear, but unnoticed by them, the Jormungandr looked out upon the devastation with wide eyes, not filled with horror, but awe.
"It really came..!" She gasped, her mouth opening and closing like a gaping fish. "She was right. Ragnarok has come!"
Before she could contemplate any further, another wave slammed into the side of the boat, throwing all the passengers around and reminding them they were still in the middle of a horrific storm. Shaking off her amazement, she pulled herself to her feet.
"Alright, that's enough staring. Get back to your posts and do as I say if you want to live. It's going to be a long night!" She yelled and began to bark orders, sending her crew scrambling to their positions.
And so the little boat sailed South, bobbing up and down the treacherous waves, lest they join their drowned comrades. Little did the warriors know, whether they liked it or not, they had embarked on a great journey, one that would shake the foundations of their world and the one they had yet to find in the great beyond.
So? What did you think? Leave a review telling me if you enjoyed it or if I wasted the better part of a year writing this. Either way, this is Mandalore the Scribe, signing off. Stay tuned for my other project coming later this month.
"Óverðugur!" = "Unworthy!"
"VIÐ HAMAR ÞÓRS!" = "By Thor's hammer!"