After acquiring the mysterious ore they had gotten from the cave that was filled to the brim with treasures from the Vault, and a newfound enemy within Midgard, the Raiders, as the Family has taken to calling them, they retraced their steps back to the Temple of Týr. Calliope was beaming with excitement, feeling that she would be getting her new weapon very soon, a sight that both Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir enjoyed seeing from her. And she was especially happy to get out of the cold as Kratos used the elevator to lift them back up to the bridge.

"Well, someone certainly happy to be getting themselves a new piece of armament." Mimir spoke, looking over to the Calliope who was still holding the ore in her hand. "I can say myself that I'm curious as to what kind of instrument of combat Brok and Sindri will be able to make out of a rock like that."

"Wouldn't be the weirdest thing we've gotten for them." Atreus replied. "Remember when had to get them those ingredients for the Legendary Dwarvin Armor which apparently came in two sets?"

Kratos wished he could forget that. Several dragons, fortresses, and areas were brought to ruin because of a mad King's obsessions that required his sacrifice in the end. Leaving him and his son to pick up the pieces, literally, fighting any left-behind monsters along the way. And it was all for two sets of armor that were at prices more outrageous than the quest itself.

What was more outrageous, Kratos believed, was the fact that they couldn't withstand the cold of the winter they currently facing. He only hoped that he wouldn't have to go through something like that again anytime soon, since their survival, at this point, does not require doing any more requests for dwarves.

It only meant them doing favors for him.

"Πολέμησες με δράκους;! (You fought against dragons?!)" He heard Calliope exclaim. Apparently, Mimir and Atreus were talking to her about their past journey.

"That's right, Cal. It was insane, I couldn't believe we actually did it." Atreus answered.

"I thought I heard some roaring, lighting crackling and crystals bursting from my place at the mountain when we first met." Mimir remarked.

"Κάποτε νόμιζα ότι τέτοια πράγματα ήταν θρύλοι. Αλλά και πάλι, ο πατέρας είναι ο ίδιος ένας θρύλος. (I once thought such things to be legends. But then again, father is kind of a legend himself.)"

Both kids looked at their father, who remained silent during the whole conversation. It was the thought of him being called a legend, but he was not too fond of it; at this point, he would only ever be known for destruction and calamity, and that was all something he wanted to get away from. But history had repeated itself, and he's called the Gods of these lands, leading to Fimbulwinter. He wanted to believe it when he said, that the cycle ends then and there...but he feared it only started anew. And with that, he feared, meant only one thing for him.

Everyone around him dies, and everything is destroyed. But he will not allow it. He can be better. He will be better, for the sake of his children.

The lift finally reached the top of the bridge and the three made their way to the Temple's entrance.

"You know, Father did tell me about some Legends from his homeland." Atreus replied. "One of which is where I get my name from. Atreus of Sparta."

"Ναί. Ένας στρατιώτης από το σπίτι μου. Αυτός και ο πατέρας ήταν καλοί φίλοι κάποτε. (Yes. A soldier from my home. He and Father were good friends once.)" Calliope stated.

"Wait. Father...friends?" Atreus asked, actually bewildered by the fact that Kratos could consider anyone a friend.

A reaction that did not go overlooked by the man in question as he made a sharp turn and gave his son a look.

Atreus then chuckled nervous. "Eh, heh...sorry."

Kratos groaned before opening up the nearly frozen doors of the Temple again. They all walked inside and greeted the Huldra Brothers once more.

"Ah, you made it back." Sindri welcomed them. "Did these...new adversaries give you any trouble?"

"A bit. But, it's nothing we couldn't handle." Atreus remarked while his sister held up her blood-covered knife.

"Αυτό λειτουργεί πολύ καλά! (This is working very well!)" She said with pride, something her brother and father found amusing.

The fact that it was covered in blood, disgusting him aside, Sindri could guess what she was saying "Well...it's nice to see my work appreciated."

"Speaking of which, you fuckers find anything useful for the Helspits new weapon?" Brok asked

Kratos turned to his daughter and said "Η πέτρα, Μικρή Μούσα. (The stone, Little Muse.)" And that is when Calliope carried the gleamingly bright ore and placed it on the stable. Brok and Sindri immediately stopped at what other weapons they were working on to take a look at the crystal with peaked interest. They gave themselves a good look, examining it thoroughly, and talked about it with certainty of its uses.

"Hmm...with a few modifications, this could make any sort of weapon." Sindri believed. "Or maybe a hybrid! With the capabilities of shifting in stature if we can reverse engineer the elven architecture in their weapons-"

"Well, we don't need a bunch of nonsense runes and crap stiff sticks!" Brok said. "Based on what you showed me from this guy's sketches, I'm saying we can make ourselves another legendary weapon, even if it is for one of his little turds."

"I know that! I was just brainstorming! It's like you always accuse me of valuing a weapon's design over its purpose!"

"That's because you never let me hear the end of the time we made all those damn swords, shit, and that Hammer for them Aesir pucks!"

"Okay, Mjölnir has nothing to do with-"

Their bickering was silenced by Kratos slamming his hand on the desk. "Get to the point, dwarves. Can you make the weapon I requested for my daughter?"

Brok and Sindri looked at each other before the cleaner one of the two replied "Well...yes. It's possible. But with this sort of material, something we've...honestly never seen before, I'd say we have a chance at a little more than a spear. If I may...would you be so kind as to...show us your...journal again?"

Calming down, Kratos once again pulled out his own journal, flipped the pages to the design of the spear, and set on the table where the brothers got a good look at it. And Sindri tried to see if there was anything else he could work with, flipping a page to take a look at a xiphos, the traditional shortsword of the Spartan Army. Brok also caught a glance and he silently admitted that its design, as well as that of the spear, was something they could both work on with the golden ore.

"Yeah...this could work." Sindra then said, with Brok nodding in agreement. "Kratos, we may have a...special idea for your daughter's weapon. O-O-Only with your agreement, of course, we would like to make it so that the blade can properly match Calliope's stature at the moment...and grow with her in age and skill while you train her and..."

"As I have said, do as you wish and improve on the original design only." Kratos interrupted. "If you believe anything you craft will add to convenience, then so be it. But I do not wish to see machinations hinder her progress over curiosity."

"Of course! We know what to expect and I believe you'll be very pleased with the results." Sindri then carried the piece of ore over to the forgery, without the use of his fingers of course."

"We always deliver the best." Brok added. "Your little helspit will be rocking a weapon that'll put Mjölnir to shame!"

These were the same dwarves who made the Leviathan Axe for Faye, Kratos wife, and Atreus mother, or so they say. But, if they were really confident in their craftsmanship, the two saw no reason to doubt them as they had come through before with things that weren't even weapons. For now, they sat back and allowed the Dwarves to work their magic... figuratively, and literally. For a weapon of the caliber they were requested, it took time and patience to get it just right to meet both their expectations and those of Kratos. Fortunately, Kratos understood the value of forging a weapon, considering that the arms of Sparta were only as good as the soldiers who wielded them. He just had to be calm and reasonable with the process. And while they waited, Atreus and Calliope spent some time together, getting his sister to learn a bit more about their history, showing some of the artifacts a year before, albeit a bit frostbitten for sitting in the temple all this time. They even conversed with Mimir, who was glad to have someone to share all his tales with...

That is, if they could ever get Calliope to understand what they're saying.

Another thing they were still working on. While they waited, Atreus took the time to help Calliope learn more of the language. He understood her well, now it was time she did the same.

"Now name this." He says, gesturing to his bow.

"Τόξο." She replied.

"Alright, now listen...Τόξο, Bow."

"...B-B-Booow?"

"You're getting it!" Then he takes one of the figures from the shelf. "Now try this one."

"Ενα άλογο?"

"Αλογο...it means 'Horse'."

"...H-Horse?"

"That's it!"

Mimir laughed. "Fine job, lass. You'll soon be a sparkling conversationalist like Ol' Jörmungandr out there."

Atreus smiled as he turned to his sister. "Okay...now I'm gonna get you to say head."

Even Kratos couldn't suppress a smile. He very much enjoyed seeing Atreus and Calliope getting along and was proud of his son to try and teach her a few things about these lands. Atreus was doing much the same with his father, helping him to learn the written language and runes from when they found Lore scrolls or columns all over the land.

While Kratos teaches them to survive, it seems the student has become the master.

A little while later, their new weapon was done. Brok and Sindri presented to the Family a blade that was bright, golden, and shining from the ore it was crafted from. It matched the shape of xiphos while the handle, wrapped in black leather, was much longer to that of the original weapon.

"Now, I know you say you wanted a spear..." Sindri began to say, taking the weapon with both hands. "...Which is why we added this." And that at the flick of his wrist, Sindri extended the weapon to a full-blown spear, at least long enough to match Calliope's height at the moment. Then the dwarf hands the weapon over to Kratos, who examines it himself. It was definitely unique, to say the least, but he wasn't entirely sure if it was the right weapon for his daughter. While shown to be retractable and as he could feel, light in weight, it took some time before Atreus could learn to handle his bow, even if he was a quick learner. Both his children were, he would grant them that, but they were both victims of being sickly as well, making their bodies weaker, and for him, it was hard to tell which one of them had it worse.

But Calliope didn't look sick here, not now. She sure had enough energy to get up and see the weapon for herself as she came up beside Kratos.

"Θα είναι αυτό το νέο μου όπλο, Father? (Will this be my new weapon, Father?)" She asked.

Looking at the spear, and his daughter, Kratos got on one knee and presented it to her.

"Δείξε μου. (Show me.)" He told her. "Δείξε μου ότι έχεις τη δύναμη να το χειριστείς σωστά. Μετά από αυτό, θα δούμε. (Show me you have the strength to wield it properly. After that, we shall see.)"

Taking the weapon in her hands, excitement and pride filled Calliope's heart as she gasped the handle of the spear tightly, wanting the courage and the strength to claim it as her own. To use it in the thrill of battle and defend her family as she carries with her, in her heart, the Legacy of Sparta.

"Υπόσχομαι, Father. (I promise, Father.)" She said to him before turning to her brother. "Atreus, Πήρα το όπλο μου επιτέλους! (Atreus, I got my weapon at last!)"

"That's great, Cal! Maybe we can go for another sparring match!" Her brother replied. "This time, it'll be more than fair."

In the hopes that his daughter would get used to a weapon such as that, Kratos paid for it and bid the Dwarves farewell. They took the doorway back home and Kratos showed the back of the cabin to Calliope, where Atreus would often practice his archery. Though the snow was up to their knees, they were still able to move as much as they did during the dawn of winter.

"Alright, Calliope. This time, we hold nothing back, okay?" Atreus said as he brought out his bow.

"Είμαι έτοιμος, Atreus. (I am ready, Atreus.)" Calliope replied. "Υπόσχομαι να κάνω ό,τι καλύτερο μπορώ. (I promise to do my best.)"

Kratos stood aside, not wanting to interfere as his two children got into respectable stances with their weapons. As much as he did not want Calliope to get herself hurt, he's already seen great skill from her in previous battles and trusted his son to not seriously injure her.

"If the two of you are to survive, working together, then you must learn more about each other's skills by facing each other." He said before turning to Atreus. "Remember, boy. Only attack in defense of yourself, never as an indulgence."

"Yes, Father."

And then, Kratos turned to his daughter "Calliope, , ένας Σπαρτιάτης δεν αφήνει ποτέ την πλάτη του να χτυπήσει στο έδαφος. Στέκονται ανάστημα, ακόμα και στο θάνατο. (Calliope, a Spartan never lets their back hit the ground. They stand tall, even in death.)"

"καταλαβαίνω, Father. Θα σε κάνω περήφανο. Εσύ και η μητέρα. (I understand, Father. I will make you proud. You, and mother.)"

Smiling for a second, Kratos nodded and replied "Then, may the best warrior win."

And with that, their sparring match begun. This time, Calliope was the one to make the first, thrusting the blade of her spear toward her brother, who countered with his Talon Bow. The wood of the bow was strong enough to handle the impact of the blade as Atreus matched each of Calliope's moves, step for step before he went on the offensive and swung his bow at her, quickly and fiercely, forcing her to try and try and block his attacks as best as she could, but was pushed back by an aggressive swing. Her back met with ice-covered rock, but at least she kept her breath as she what was coming next, her brother launching arrows at her. She broke into a run around Atreus, who didn't let up on any arrows until he seemed to "run out", then she saw her chance.

Switching her weapon to sword mode, she went in closely and started swinging her sword similar to how her father does with his axe, having Atreus dodge and duck while backing away as his sister didn't seem to let up. But eventually, he got an idea where he used his bow to tangle the blade of her sword around its string, and with all his strength, pulled the weapon out of her hands and flung it away. The spear hit the back of the cabin's wall, right next to their father, who had his arms crossed as he assessed that Round 2 went to his son.

"That was clever, Atreus. Well done." He said before pulling the spear out of the wood and then walking over to his daughter. "Calliope, Έχετε ήδη δείξει μεγάλες ικανότητες. Θα έκανες μια χαρά Σπαρτιάτισσα. (You've already shown great skills. You would've made a fine Spartan.)"

He then gives the spear back to her. "Αλλά εδώ έξω, πρέπει να γνωρίζουμε όλο το περιβάλλον μας. Γίνε απρόβλεπτος. Για να μην πέσουμε εύκολα στη δική μας τακτική. (But out here, we must be aware of all our surroundings. Become unpredictable. Lest, we fall easily to our own tactics.)"

Taking the spear back, Calliope gripped it firmly, fearing she let slip through her fingers when Atreus tricked her. Kratos places a hand on her hand.

"Δεν μπορώ να σε εκπαιδεύσω ως Σπαρτιάτη. Οχι τώρα. (I cannot train you as a Spartan. Not now.)" He said to her. "Αλλά δεν πιστεύω ότι πρέπει. Εδώ έξω, δεν χρειάζεται να είμαστε στρατιώτες ή πεζοί. Πρέπει απλώς να είμαστε επιζώντες. ενάντια στο τσουχτερό κρύο και τα πλάσματα που κείτονταν μέσα. (But I don't believe I have to. Out here, we don't have to be soldiers or infantry. We simply need to be survivors; against the bitter cold, and the creatures that lay within.)"

Mimir also butted in, saying "That was rather impressive, Little Sister. A bit more practice and you'll stand by your Da and Brother in no time."

Atreus then came around adding "You almost had me a few times. I will admit."

All that they were saying to her, while she didn't fully get the gist of it, she could tell was meant to be comforting. She appreciated it very much as she held her weapon high, and faced her brother with a confident smile.

"ρεβάνς...Rematch?" She asked of him.

"Well, if you want, Cal." Atreus turned to Kratos. "...With Father's permission, of course."

"Continue to train until Nightfall." Kratos replied. "If there is any need to stop, then so be it. Let me know if anything's unwell. I will go search the traps for any caught animals."

"Of course, Father." Atreus spoke for both of them as they continued to spar for as long as possible. The more they fought, the more Calliope quickly seemed to catch up with her brother. And she didn't fall for the same tricks twice, quickly becoming aware of her brother's clever tactics as the next time he tried to catch her blade in his string, she countered by keeping the spear in her hands and pulling back, making sure to have her brother close in a clash.

"You're getting better, Cal!" Atreus said through labored breaths as his sister managed to tangle her new weapon in his bowstring

"Ευχαριστώ, Atreus. (Thank you, Atreus.)" She replied. "Αυτό είναι πολύ διασκεδαστικό! (This is very fun!)"

Both of them managed to back off and take a breather before laughing out of this draw. Atreus looked into the sky and could tell it was truly night as it was more dark than usual and gestured for his sister to head inside. After a dinner of boar that was caught in one of their traps, they all rested until the next day.

In the early morning, Atreus woke up to see his sister sleeping alongside their father. Having an idea in mind, something else to teach her, he got out of bed and sneaked his way over to her.

"Hey...Cal, wake up" He said quietly said to her.

The young Spartan Girl stirred awake to meet the eyes of her brother. While their father lay asleep, she picked herself up and made sure she was fully awoken to see what her brother needed.

"Sorry to wake you up so early. Usually at this time, Father and I would go and see if any other beasts have been caught in the traps we've set up. I want to share that with you."

"Κτήνη;...Beasts?" Calliope was getting better at recognizing words and learning what they meant.

"That's right, Cal. I'm gonna teach you about hunting." Atreus replied as he grabbed his bow and quiver, then gestured to the door. "Come on."

And with that, Calliope carefully left her father's bed and grabbed her knife and new weapon. They both quietly left the cabin and headed out into the wild woods to check for any traps that had been set off. Atreus and Kratos had planted practically hundreds of them around their grounds, and a little further beyond that. Since game was becoming harder to keep track of, they were being better safe than sorry. Neither of them would admit it, but they found it lucky to find things like rabbits or even a single dear around their land. Fortunate only seemed to favor these last few days after Calliope got settled in, but nothing was ever that easy.

And just a little bit today as well, as Atreus showed his sister some of the traps that have been set off. A few rabbits had managed to get caught in some of them, which in turn, gave them food. This, he did his best to explain to Calliope as he pulled the lifeless rabbits out of the traps.

"My mother was the one who showed me how to make the nooses and how to set them off." He explained. "Everything she knew about hunting, I learned from her."

"Αυτά τα καημένα τα κουνελάκια. (Those poor bunnies.)" was the only thing Calliope could say at the moment, and with his sister looking upset, Atreus caught on by what she meant.

"Yeah...I wasn't as thrilled as I thought I'd be when I first started. But you've already proven yourself, Cal. Don't give yourself a hard time."

He place his hand on her shoulder.

"Close your heart to it."

Calliope nodded in an attempt to understand, but something told her brother she was not fully convinced. He wished this could be going as well as their training, but it wasn't. She wasn't not too thrilled over the concept of death.

"How about this?" He said, walking over to some other trees and shrubbery, before getting down and pulling what looked like a truffle and some mushrooms. He showed them to Calliope. "You can go find some more things these. Mushrooms, vegetables, uh...λαχανικά."

"λαχανικά?"

"Yeah! Just, don't go too far from where I can't find you." He then turns around and points in front of her. "Head out east from here. There should be some greens that were able to grow through the snow."

With her brother tending to the caught animals, Calliope started to try her best to get with what he had said to her and headed out. She find the sort of vegetables her brother pointed out to her, but the more she picked, the more she became unaware of her surroundings. While the winds were low and some light barely shined through the grey skies, she didn't realize that she wandered far enough to accidentally cross the Stave.

The pockets of her tunic were full of food by this point and she turned to reunite with her brother. But then, she heard the sounds of a wild boar snorting, echoing throughout the forest. She turned, looked around and saw the beast making the sound. She wasn't sure if it was native to these lands, for it was unlike any boar she had ever seen, having golden runes around its hide and glowing tusks and eyes.

It stood there, eyeing her before she went in to get a closer look, causing it to run and for her to reach out, but she could only see it disappear into the snow.

"(What was that?)" She spoke in her native tongue. "(It was unlike any animal I've seen...I should head back...Atreus would be worried and Father could be awake by now.)"

But as she was turning to make the path back home, a bird's screech echoed throughout the trees and caused her to look around to see what was going on with the wildlife around here. However, the next turn she made had her face a woman, a tall woman in black leather under-armor with silver studs, with a gold and amber brooch at the center of her chest. At her waist, there are multiple places with decorative stitching, hemp, wolf fur, and tanned reptilian hide, held together by a circular pendant with three oval-shaped holes. There was also a rich, walnut-brown embossed leather bag on her hip and a small cape made of crocheted wool. And though her feet were bare, they had a multitude of black wrappings around it. Looking up to her head, Calliope could see that this woman had a rather hurt and rather wrathful expression, with wild hair in a mixture of messy, unkept braids, smoky kohl around her eyes, leaving streaks around her eyes like tears...or war paint.

But the thing that unnerved her the most was the sword in her hand, a shining metallic blade, having an ornate design by its base and pommel, divided by a plain dark brown grip. The Woman held it firmly while staring at Calliope, who slowly backed away and was shakingly trying to reach for her own weapon.

"...Why are you with them, Child?" The woman suddenly asked.

"Τι? (What?)" Calliope wasn't sure what to make of this woman. She seemed threatening, yet did not immediately attack her. "Υπάρχει κάτι που μπορώ να σας βοηθήσω; (Is there something I can help you with?)"

The woman tilted her head. She knew that Kratos was from foreign lands, but this was the first time she had heard his native language and did not recognize it.

Getting on one knee, she got close to the child and asked again "What are you doing with them? You are not from around here. You've no idea the things they've done."

Even though the land was stuck in a perpetual winter, a chill of fear ran up Calliope's back as the woman spoke to her in a low, threatening voice. She had no idea what to make of her, unsure if she should draw her weapon or not.

"I should take you away from them. Get you somewhere safe." The woman said, beginning to slowly reach over to Calliope when another familiar voice could be heard.

"CALLIOPE!" the sound of her brother's voice screaming over to them made both women turn to see the boy rushing over, his eyes widening at the sight of an old friend. Freya.

Drawing a single arrow, Atreus quickly launched it while yelling out "Þruma!" The arrow hit a weak tree behind Freya, causing it to break and fall over and forcing both ladies to scatter. Freya took a defensive stance with her sword as she scowled harshly at the son of the man who murdered her own boy.

"Atreus..." She snarled before leaping like an animal and swinging the sword at him. While she had no quarrel with the boy, his father took her son, and a part of her felt it was fair to do much the same. But Atreus would not wish to father, for her sake, his own, and that of his father's. He would only draw her attention away from Calliope and defend himself for as long as he could as kept his distance from the enraged fallen Goddess.

Seeing her brother putting himself in danger awakened the instincts of a warrior in Calliope, as she did not waste another second drawing her weapon, extending it to a full spear, and rushing over to the woman trying to cut Atreus in half. With newfound speed, she let out a roar and managed to leave a cut on Freya's forearm with a flying leap. This did stagger Freya and caused her to move back as Calliope put herself between the woman and her brother. But Atreus grabbed Calliope by the shoulder and pulled her away.

"No, Calliope!" He yelled, making her turn towards him. "She's a friend!"

Calliope was confused by what he said, but they were both caught off guard when vines came out from below their feet and wrapped around them. They were pinned as Freya walked over to them, looking furious.

"I had hoped to spare her, but if she is with you..."

"Let her go, Freya! I'm the one you want!"

"I do not wish to harm either of you. You're just bait so that I can draw your father out."

"Τρελή μάγισσα! (Crazy witch!)" Calliope yelled as she struggled against her bonds. She was able to get her arms free enough to raise the spear's head, which started to glow similarly to the ore it was crafted from before. Soon, a flash of light came from its edge and all were blinded by the weapon's sudden magic. It was apparently enough to drop Freya's hold on both kids, as the vines retracted before the light was gone. Calliope looked at her weapon, bewildered by the power it possessed, but didn't have to think about it as Atreus took her by the hand and pulled her away from Freya.

"Come on! We gotta run! Τρέξιμο!"

With that, Calliope couldn't agree more. They couldn't go back to the house if it meant leading Freya there as well. So they headed deeper into the woods, forced to put some distance between themselves, the mad Goddess, and their own father. It was a risky move, but one they would have to take to protect themselves. Needing to move through the snow-covered wasteland and find another way back home. For now, their main objective was to survive...

Glad I got back to this. I'm gonna try and think of more ideas for future chapters, but I might need some help on what Atreus and Calliope are gonna have to go through together. But keep in mind, that another Chain of the Past might make an appearance in the next chapter.

Until then, keep watching.

- Light.