────── Fenrir Dróttning ──────
Spring 80, 125
“Did you catch them?” Raggi asked after Fenrir returned.
“Kind of, not really. They were a thrall. I am aware of who that necromancer is, but they’ve been relatively benign so far. Apparently they have taken issue with my recent ascension, and want to be a thorn in my side. As to why they’re singling out me in particular, I have no idea… but now I have to deal with this one way or another.”
“That sounds… troubling,” Raggi said, “but not as troubling as that.” She turned her head to a groan that the bear emitted. It had been subdued but now it was snapping out of whatever had put it to sleep.
“I thought Axel used beast tongue and put it to sleep,” Fenrir said with a groan of his own.
“No, we used flora to help lull it to sleep. It is too difficult for him, in his words.”
“Then we still have to deal with it then,” Fenrir said, twirling her gun and pointing it towards the bear. She considered shooting it, but a part of her thought that it might be a waste of a bullet. Something that powerful usually could resist basic attacks like that unless they were aimed at a weak spot.
“I hope you don’t mind it taking a little longer,” Axel said as he jogged over.
Fenrir nodded firmly, but gave his friend one last carrying look to make sure he was alright before he contemplated what to do next.
The large bear stood up and started wildly swinging its large claws as if to swat the treants that were closing in around it. Though Fenrir could certainly overwhelm the bear with sheer numbers, their individual power seemed like mosquito bites to the large bear - irritating and annoying, but not fatal.
The aelf ran into the fray, putting herself in front of the bear’s gaze as if to catch his attention. She wanted to give the other aelves a break, he could see that they had exerted themselves greatly and they were on the younger side without thousands of years to build up their arcana. This made Fenrir felt guilty about how much time was wasted with the necromancer. If anything were to happen to her friends now, it would be her fault.
The bear locked onto Fenrir and began to swat at her. The aelf made sure to stay clear of as many buildings as possible. She didn’t want to endanger the humans around her that she had spent so much time hand picking to live here.
Dodging the attacks, Fenrir saw metaphor coalescing where Axel stood. He was clearly working on some sort of spell. Fenrir tried to keep the bear located between him and Axel so his friend could have a straight shot. However, when he fired a jet of water, the water shot through the bear’s body as if Bear was made of air. Fenrir had to swerve swiftly to the side to dodge the attack and was thankful that the water didn’t destroy anything besides a tree.
The bear had once more vanished into thin air. There was a long minute or two of silence where Fenrir though that it might have actually left, but then the creature appeared behind a bewildered Axel. The creature spun in the air, swinging it’s massive claws towards Axel, knocking the wind out of him. Axel crashed straight into a small tree, the force of his impact breaking bones.
“Axel!” Raggi cried out as she flew out towards her pinned down comrade. She paid no attention to the large bear as she scampered about the rubble, throwing debris aside as she dug for her comrade. Lifting one piece up, she finally found a bloodied Axel lying there.
However, relief came to him when she saw him move. He was still alive, thank god. She flooded him with the remainder of her reserves to heal his injuries.
The bear roared and Raggi’s boots slid across the ground. Fenrir arrived in time to grab her and brace her from the wind. Sweat was pouring off of her body - her heavy panting was easily heard as she slouched forward.
The bear looked like it was getting very tired at this point. The treants that attacked it from all sides had finally worn it down to the point where it was finally starting to take damage. The treants swung their axes and tools at it until it was beaten into submission.
“That should teach him,” Raggi stated with a proud smug. However, as quickly as her smile appeared it turned upside down as Raggi’s eyes widened in disbelief. Fenrir turned around to see the dark silhouette of Bear. This was the most persistent bear any of them had ever seen. It refused to die, even if it was too tired to really do anything.
Axel staggered to his feet and said, “I’ll finish it off.” Suddenly, there was a great chain of vines and wood that was surrounded by a brilliant green color that leapt over the giant bear. The chain enwrapped itself around the bear, snaring around him like a boa constrictor. The bear shrieked out in terror as the chains began to drag it across the crumbled ground. The large claws of the bear left trails in the ground as they dug into it, desperately trying to save itself.
The large chains then whipped upwards, carrying the bear into the air with it. Twisting downwards, the chains began to shrink into the ground, crushing the bear until the Bear let out a final, gasping shriek. And then it was over.
As Raggi and Fenrir leaned against each other, side by side, the two gazed around themselves. All in all the destruction hadn’t been that bad. Some buildings had suffered from the wind, trees had gotten knocked down, and some treants needed repairs… but it could have been worse. The most important thing was that all the aelves were alive.
Fenrir could hear the screams and cries of the some faelnir who had gotten caught up in all the violence. Smoke and dust still billowed out of some of the collapsed structures. Faelnir could be easily replaced, however.
“I believe the threat has passed,” Fenrir said, “I’m sure I can find a nice place for you to rest.” He mentally communicated with Hana who told him which of the buildings were best suited for this. Fenrir led them to it and the two other aelves were able to nurse their various wounds.
Word of the attack would inevitably spread via wisp and Fenrir was quick to send Hana on a hunt to see if she could find any miasmatic tethers in the area and to follow them if she found them. In the meantime, Fenrir needed to sit and think. Outside one of his warehouses he took a seat and quickly fell into a deep meditation. Several candles were lit by his undead servants around him. Their light flickered and danced as if reacting to the man's focus. The man himself seemed to be experiencing something in the way of a vision. The images scattered all around in his mind. He just couldn't seem to focus on any one of them. But in each image, one thing was constant – the necromancer. He maintained his calm breathing and focus until finally the images caused an explosion of white inside his mind. This forced him to open his eyes again. Surprised as he was, he did not seem to be unsettled.
“Please don't rise on my account.”
Fenrir opened her eyes and turned her head to see yet another aelf that had shown up. He was accompanied by a host of flying treants and rode upon a chariot made of leaves and twigs. He had long silver-like hair and a gray silky set of clothes that approached him from the shadows.
“Seems like we have a nuisance to deal with,” Fenrir said, taking a deep sigh.
“Yes, yes it does,” the newcomer said, pulling a white flower from behind his back. With a delicate touch, the man placed the flower upon the ground in front of Fenrir.
“I came here to tell you that I have had run ins with this necromancer before. I have no idea why they’ve taken an interest in you in particular, but you may do well to understand their origins. Long ago I met a young girl during one of my trips abroad. This girl was undergoing a great quest. Throughout this quest she faced great danger, self-doubt, and learned time & time again about the potential within her. She has made good allies, fierce enemies, and been made aware of how precious what she has in front of her truly is. All of this is for her ultimate goal, to become an arche.”
Fenrir’s mind flashed back to all the images of his meditation from a few moments ago.
“What is the significance of this?” Fenrir asked.
“It takes time to build up armies large enough to take on something of that magnitude. It is also important to take out any potential competition. Perhaps she believes that you may become an issue for her. You do travel abroad more than most of us, after all. I cannot say for certain, but the fact that you are being singled out is interesting to say the least.”
Fenrir gave a nod. The other aelf started to depart. He walked past her shifting his eyes toward her for a moment. Then he continued on.
“I think she plots not too far from here. You should find her.”
These were his final words before fading off into the shadows again. Fenrir turned around and thought back to what she’d been told. It’s been a long time but she knew even then they’d meet again. But she just didn’t know that necromancer would become a problem so quickly.
Raggi stepped out to talk to the aelf as he left. “You think he’ll be okay?”
The mysterious aelf shrugged. “It’ll probably take him some time to come to grips with what I told him but I’m sure he’ll be ok.”
Raggi just nodded and went back into the house she was supposed to be resting in. She pulled out a pitcher of water and poured herself a glass of water. She seemed to be back in her usual demeanor, thinking about everything that transpired.
Axel said, “seems like our new friend has quite the complicated life.”
Raggi shrugged. Neither she or Axel were part of the military, they just liked combat more than most hence their love for training.
“There is always more to a person’s potential. Surely you know this already. Unfortunately our roles in the universe cannot be turned away from. It seems that Kage… err… Fenrir has a power that can be used for something of a greater purpose.”
Fenrir stopped by to make sure they were still doing okay, then headed off after the aelf from before. She tried to put a name to a face, but she didn’t recognize the aelf at all. He probably had been altered since the last time they’d met, given how Fenrir knew a good chunk of the other vitae. Or maybe she’d just forgotten entirely.
She hopped from tree to tree, using her fetches to get eyes on the aelf that strolled through the grove. She landed behind him and said, “wait.”
“Hmm?”
“I think our conversation was cut short. Let me join you and learn what you know.”
“Very well…”
Fenrir followed along for hours upon hours of walking, during which they didn’t really talk much at all. Fenrir assumed they were headed to his home and she was correct. She walked into an area of the forest that was so dense that she almost had to meld into the trees to travel through it. She was greeted by a wide variety of treants that stood guard until they made it to a clearing.
Fenrir blinked when she saw sand and water. The temperatures had changed to that of a rather humid setting. It was very tropical here, probably the work of some exalts to cater to a specific set of beach plants. Fenrir was confused, but it wasn’t the strangest setup she’d ever seen. Njall took a sniff of the air, became calm and stood at the edge of the large pond. Fenrir turned her eyes to Njall.
“This is quite the shift.”
Njall turned and faced Fenrir. “It reminds me of my home. This is how I make do, given how I must reside in this area as it is where I am stationed. I’ve lived in this sort of climate most of my life. Like you I’ve gone through difficult trials to get to where I am today. Same as most vitae, I think.”
Fenrir nodded. Anyone who had become a necromancer knew the pain of loss. But in the grand scheme of things it was relatively insignificant over such a long lifespan.
“To answer your request, I don’t think I have much more to offer you. I divulged everything I thought was relevant. Perhaps there are specific questions you had in mind?”
“Perhaps not,” Fenrir said with a sigh. “Maybe I just needed to get away from my grove for a while to clear my head.”
Njall nodded and led on through his own grove. The entire ordeal was feeling like one big dream to Fenrir. But he followed quietly anyway. Eventually she reached something that looked like a temple. Fenrir stopped in her tracks and looked at the rather divine looking structure. It appeared to have been constructed on the side of a rather large looking rock. Njall stopped at the entrance and looked back to Fenrir. With a simple hand gesture, he urged Fenrir to continue along. Determined to see this through, Fenrir followed him inside. Torches hung on the walls, providing the light for this place. It was a fairly primitive setup.
The entered the room where Njall liked to come to be alone. This was the main room with a shrine made to display several of the aelves that he idolized. Njall pointed at one of the warriors on the far left.
“That man is my father. He was a strong and gifted warrior, responsible for a great victory when I was young.”
Fenrir recognized him, he was one of the leaders of the kniverrs. He was an aelf well deserving of respect. Njall continued, “his mentorship is what gave me most of my strengths. He taught me to harness the power of my emotions. It involved hallucinogens that forced me to confront my emotions. Strangely, it brought out memories I thought were long forgotten. Perhaps you have encountered this necromancer before, and perhaps there is a reason why she is targeting you.”
Fenrir looked down at his hands as Njall talked. Njall then placed his hand on Fenrir’s shoulder. He pointed Fenrir to a meditation circle. Fenrir walked over to the meditation circle and stood at the center. She was curious as to what would happen here. Njall stood outside the circle.
“Once you’ve begun meditation, I’ll fill the room with aerosolized drugs. You will begin to hallucinate and with any luck your mind will be expanded. This is all I can offer you, and it may be entirely pointless. Alas… you are the one who asked for help.”
Fenrir stared down at the circle. She thought about what she was about to do. Sitting down in the circle meant seeing a world where all her fears and greatest distastes would actually happen. There was no telling how Fenrir would actually handle that sort of thing. But then it was precisely why she needed to experience it. Once that mindset hit Fenrir she became free of her reservations to go through with this and sat down in the circle.
“Good now with the best of your effort, allow yourself to fall out of touch with the real world. Your instincts will take over from there and let you focus.”
Fenrir’s eyes closed and she started to attempt doing as Njall asked her. Fenrir’s mind was filled with anxiety. She was totally unsure of what he would see and how she would react to it. But she knew that it was better than feeling sorry for herself. Fenrir’s mind started to empty out. The anxiety in her nerves was leaving her. Soon calm took over and Fenrir’s body gave off a bit of steam as the drugs made her heat up. Njall’s brows rose as he watched this happen.
“Alright Fenrir, good luck.”
Fenrir did her best to remember where she knew that necromancer from. Surely they had met before. There had to be a reason why she was being singled out.
Then her mind began to fill with a vision. She envisioned someone dead on the ground.
“Fatal slashes to the throat. His body has lost all color. He’s been dead for several hours. I have to find out who did this.”
It wasn’t her words, it was someone else’s. She wasn’t really there – she was looking through one of her treants that she had hidden to look out for danger. The person Fenrir was watching ‘got up’ and looked toward the room. The killer had been reckless.
“Bastard! He broke in right through the front door! He’ll pay for this.”
The woman ran out the front door, down the stairs and headed through the front entrance. As soon as she ran out, her feet sunk deep into snow. She fell onto the road. The snow was about a foot deep. The woman pulled herself out from the snow and shivered.
“Snow? It’s not winter yet! What’s going on here?”
The woman looked around. Winter had hit the town hard. It was nearly dead in broad daylight. She let out a scream of anguish. A scream that was so painful that one could even believe that they were making a pact with a godhead.
In that scream, Fenrir recognized something. As she opened her eyes and stood up in present time, she realized that that woman had to be the necromancer. It had been Angira’s scream… she was sure of it. Even the way that she had talked was starting to sound familiar.
“Angira… I think I killed her father,” Fenrir said as she stepped out of the circle. “I think by doing that, I turned her into a necromancer.”
