Iskjerne Vikings's Story

Weargtooth Mountains...
The range south of Iskjerne Bay...

Continuing from Iskjerne Bay...

A small gang of Norsemen would descend from Kadota Peaks, staring down over the Ellarian Empyrian Coast from high up on one of the rocky cliffs next to a giant waterfall which could be seen from the islands below. Prince Hrollaug was leading the Norsemen on horseback down from the arctic regions of Ellaria far north from Iskjerne Bay in search of new lands to settle and people to trade with. Hrollaug was also known by his colleagues as Rollo the viking, the first jarl of Frankish Normandy, and the heir apparent of Sigurd Hring, the great legendary hero of the heathen tribes who was now the Dano-Swedish king. Hrollaug's band would notice Port Fate down in the distance, and immediately they deemed it worth some further inspection. Prince Hrollaug rode his horse slowly down from the mountain side, his gang of ten Vikings staying close together and trying their best to seem non-threatening to all of the local inhabitants and other foreign travelers as their woolly bearded horses kept a slow gait along the upper edge of the hills looking down over the coastline.

"This seems like a good place to camp," Prince Hrollaug said, as he stopped on the hilltop and looked down towards the coastline. There in the distance over the watery horizon, he could see a familiar longship sailing southwest into the Empyrean High Seas, waving the raven banner. Jarl Hethel and his leidang had been on the same mission and had taken to the sea instead. The ten riders on horseback would dismount their winterbred horses and setup camp on the hill. They pitched five small tents, built a rain catcher and a firepit before inspecting the area. They immediately noticed that the place they had decided to camp was warmer, greener and more forested. There were many different flowers and trees, and even some signs of long-term human trade ports and permanent settlements. The Norsemen had found what they were looking for. But it wasn't just the wood and other raw materials they wanted. Prince Hrollaug bent down and picked up a hand full of brown dirt, rubbing the rooty soil between his fingertips. Him and his small gang had found rich green earth, something which was good for farming, and something which the Norsemen lacked at their kingdom in Iskjerne Bay.

In the distant horizon among the high seas, a thick dark grey curtain of rain could be seen hovering over the blueish green waters. There were low-lying black storm clouds casting a large shadow over the sea, as a spiraling network of three different waterspouts circled around and stirred up the waves, and misty winds blew violently, creating massive tidal waves over 300 meters high which rolled in towards the scattered islands from afar. But while the beach itself was warm, dry and sunny, being a safe distance away from the three tornado-like waterspouts, deep in the heart of that violent storm was the Nuormbatur, an exceptionally large dragon-headed viking longship flying the raven's banner.

The seaworthy vessel had found itself in a place where the hot air moving north meets the cold air moving south, and got caught in the middle of a giant thunderstorm as purplish pink webs of lightning branched out over the dark grey skies, followed by the crackling sound of thunder and the whistling wind. "Aegir must be excited to see us!" Stryder shouted, causing a few of the Norsemen to laugh. "Aye, is that why he sent this multi-headed dragon to toy with us?" Engoll asked, also smiling along with him. Engoll was of course refering to the three twisting waterspouts which now spiralled around their longship, causing it to spin in circles as it drifted over the waves, descending almost vertically into the sea below before crashing into the surface and floating up again. Furdorn the Wise would just scoff and growl. "Ack, ptew!" He spit over the side of the ship. "Well he ain't gonna sink this boat. I built this boat myself, and she too is a dragon" he groaned. Indeed, the Nuormbatur was an extraordinary vessel. It had a flexible sturdy frame and wide ribs, allowing the dragon-headed longship to bend and sway over the water as the Norsemen drifted inland.

It wasn't the first time this particular longship had sailed the high seas. The Nuormbatur had ventured into the Empyrean High Seas once before, but now it was flying a different banner and being piloted by a different captain. The leader of their expedition, Jarl Hethel Svensson was standing up in the center of the boat, holding on to the mast for support as the longship bobbed up and down over towering white waves like a weightless rollercoaster. The viking crew had cleverly taken their sail down and used it to create a waterproof roofing cover over the top of their ship to prevent it from sinking. The crew was encased inside the longship, but still the wind and falling rain was noisy like a locomotive. "This is it boys! Today we shall be dining in Ran's pearly hall, for Jormungandr has opened up its jaws to us! We are all dead men!" One of the Norsemen shouted, causing Hethel Svensson to turn his gaze towards the man who spoke. "Nay," the jarl refuted. "Nobody here dies without my permission, understood?" Hethel paused for a moment before continuing. "Suppose it is the world serpent," Hethel said. "Do you see the lightning, and hear the thunder?" He asked as the whole ship suddenly rocked side to side.

"Aye, the jarl is right" someone commented. "If the might of Thor be with us, who can be against us?!" he shouted. Stryker and Hethel would smile as Engoll laughed. "Come on now, let's show this beast who's more powerful eh?" Hethel rallied his crew together. The vikings would mount their oars and push forward, rowing their longship into a more favorable position as the powerful storm dragged their vessel inland. They would turn the ship just in time to dodge a pair of sharp jagged rocks as it drifted dangerously close between them. "Row! Row!" Furdorn shouted as they all worked together to keep the boat steady. The longship would flex and bend, rocking side to side as it scraped up against a large boulder, inflicting a deep scratch along the whole right side of the ship. But it still wasn't deep enough to puncture the hull or sink the Nuormbatur as it pressed on through the crashing foamy white waves.

"Steady now, steady!" Hethel yelled out, while Stryder used the rear keel to steer the longship as everyone else rowed it in towards the shore. Just then and without warning, the storm was suddenly stunted by the islands, for as soon as the waterspouts hit land, they disappeared, causing the wind to break and the rain to slow down. "Look, it is leaving! The dragon has retreated into the sea!" Engoll shouted. The viking ship would drift calmly into the shallow waters among the scattered islands as the storm slowly dissipated. The stinging fast rains had died down to a light sprinkle as the dark clouds broke apart to reveal the sun's rays. Once again the Nuormbatur had sailed the high seas without being destroyed by the violent currents. Hethel and his leidang were now approaching a large sandy beach. The Norsemen gazed in awe at the crystal blue waters, tropical plantlife and awesome rock formations. It had seemed that they had found a new place to anchor their ships and explore.

As the last remaining clique of the ulfhednar beached their famous longboat on the sandy shore an gathered their belongings. They would drag their vessel to the highest point on the green bank and setup camp...

Niihama City at Midnight...
Takashi's Auto Repair Shop in Sector One...

Darkness filled the ghetto streets, the only source of light being a few yellow street lamps and traffic lights, plus the headlights of whatever occasional vehicles would roll by. The air was thick, hot and heavy, the dense brownish orange smog and strong smell of stale beer, rancid urine and rotten garbage filled the dark foggy air and cast a gloomy setting over the whole atmosphere. This was a concrete jungle full of unpainted projects, grey buildings covered in graffiti spray-painted Yakuza gang art, barred windows and padlocked doors. The black asphalt roads were covered in skid marks, oily water puddles and drainage gutters emanating with gaseous methane, carbon dioxide and hot steam. Sector One was hoodlum territory, a place of poverty, crime and homelessness where the NCPD had very little if any jurisdiction. Yakuza ruled the underworld in this part of the city, and tonight the streets were active as Takashi and his gang took part in an illegal Taiyou street race. It was the perfect time and place for mayhem of all sorts to happen as Takashi and his partner Suzuki pulled into the garage of Takashi's underworld chop shop, driving behind the steering wheel of a Ten-Shi GTR street racer, revving his souped up muscle engine while blaring electronic Dubstep techno music from his amped up speakers.

Honz the Old had spotted them coming from his position behind the curtain blinds at the front of the store and forewarned his comrades to hide the best they could. Honz would grip his Seburo C26A assault rifle in both hands and cock it, leaning back into the shadowy dark corner behind the curtain, his long white hair and pale red skin being camouflaged with the sooty black paint he had used to conceal himself. Augee the Archer would likewise chamber his Seburo MP5 pistol before ducking behind one of the wheeled rolling chairs underneath the office desk. Jarl Omar their one-eyed leader barely had time to step off into the cleaning closet before the car doors opened. He readied his own 5.45x45mm assault rifle, tightening the gun strap around his arm for a better grip as he heard the car trunk slam shut over the loud music. He started to breathe heavily, his adrenaline kicking in as his forehead began to sweat. Honz would remain calm as can be, closing his eyes and allowing the magical shroom juice to take effect. When he opened his eyes again, he would begin to see visions of a surrealistic nature. The glare of the streets lights reflecting off the glass window started to dance to the techno hypnotic music, and soon every yellow ray of light in the darkness seemed to change shape into something more sentient and alive. Honz began to hallucinate mildly, for there floating and flying in front of him were tiny little yellow orbs or sprites which hovered and circled around his head. After a few seconds, the bright orbs began to grow tiny limbs and wings, resembling faeries or some other illuminated spirits which smiled and danced around in front of him.
Honz immediately felt calm and relaxed at that moment without a care in the world as his imaginery tiny friends flew up to him, grabbed him by his sleeves and tried to pull him towards the light. Forgetting where he was for a moment, Honz almost followed them. He was about to step out of the shadowy corner when suddenly it dawned on him. He couldn't move from his position or else he would be spotted. He brushed the faeries away with his hand, shewing them off. But the tiny pixies weren't detoured, evading his touch before trying to pull him into the light again.

Meanwhile, Jarl Omar's heart was beginning to race. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to shake his own strange hallucinations. Unlike Honz tho who was seeing imaginary faefolk, Omar was trapped inside the darkness of his own mind. He saw mental images of a monster like nothing he had ever saw before. It wasn't spiritual in nature, nor flesh and blood, but something metal and more mechanical, complete with wires and cables. Omar gritted his teeth and tried to relax, but all he kept hearing was old mother's high-pitched creepy laughter as her witchy voice kept whispering in his head.

Augee the Archer was the only one who wasn't experiencing any hallucinations at that moment. Instead, he was beginning to experience something else. Time started to slow down for him, or at least it seemed. His mind became sharper as his senses were amplified. Visually, everything seemed brighter. Audibly, everything sounded clearer. The walls around him began to pulsate with the beat of the Yakuza's techno music. He could smell car fuel, oil, sugar, coffee, beer and gasoline. Augee could feel the subtle vibrations in the floor as Takashi and Susuki walked around. Augee developed a weird metallic taste in his mouth as he felt his emotions slip away. The magic shroom juice was slowly making him faster, stronger, more fearless and impervious to pain. He started to foam from the mouth, chemical reactions effecting his cerebral cortex and pineal gland as the veins in his arms and neck began to protrude, his thin lean muscles becoming more pronounced with each passing moment. Augee gripped his pistol tightly and braced himself as Susuki walked by the very desk Augee was hiding under. All the Yakuza gangster had to do was look under the desk to find Augee crouched down with a loaded gun in his hand.

But just as it seemed like Augee was about to be busted, something else suddenly caught Susuki and Takashi's attention. Jarl Omar accidentally leaned too hard against the metal shelf in the cleaning closet, bumping a spray bottle off the shelf with his shoulder by accident. The soap bottle would hit the hard tile floor with a loud enough thud that it could be heard from inside the garage. If the Yakuza weren't sure before whether or not the burglars had left the chop shop, they were sure now that at least one of them was still inside the building with them. Omar gritted his teeth and backed up further into the small dark closet, pointing his rifle through the darkness into the open doorway as Takashi crept up from the side, pointing his own loaded shotgun at the open doorway. He was about to make contact with Omar any second, the two strangers now standing only feet away from being face to face with their guns drawn at one another. Omar slowly and quietly placed his index finger on the trigger and prepared to squeeze it.

Just then, a Seburo assault rifle was discharged into the air. Only it wasn't Omar who pulled the trigger, it was Honz, who suddenly started rapid-firing into the darkness. "Rrraawhhh!!!" Honz roared, squeezing the trigger while moving his rifle around in a pray-n-spray fashion, immediately drawing the Yakuza's attention. "Bllrrat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!" The Seburo rifle let out multiple high-powered loud shots from the sound of Honz's burst fire. But this sudden wave of tungsten tipped bullets was not necessarily aimed at the Taiyou street racers. Honz was pointing his weapon upwards and spraying at the shop windows and ceiling, yelling madly at the invisible annoyances that only he could see. He was trying to shoot the faeries out of the air, as they were beginning to drive him crazy. This sudden outburst proved ineffective however, as nobody else could see the tiny glowing faeries except for Honz, who was somehow convinced that they were trying to kill him. "Ptat-tatat-tat-tat!!" Honz sprayed into the air, shooting the glass wall at the front door and causing the windows to shatter. He had also managed to shoot the EXIT sign on the ceiling, causing it too to spark and shatter.

The crazed Norseman had lost his wits finally and had surrendered to the magical power of the shroom juice. The other people around him in the chop shop no longer existed to him. Honz was in his own world now, entering a berserker rage of sorts as he started shooting at random, aiming at nothing and nobody in particular. "Brat-tat-tat-tat!!" As the front store wall shattered and came tumbling down, glass would sprinkle the sidewalk and millions of tiny clear shards would bounce into the street. The gunshots were loud, very loud, enough to make most of the innocent bystanders scream and run in fear for their lives. The commotion would certainly grab the attention of Takashi and Susuki as Honz suddenly stopped and pointed his rifle at them. "Rat-uh-tat-tat-tat-tat-click-click!!" Honz the Old would unleash his weapon upon them in a spraying fashion, emptying the rest of his magazine. The sudden wave of glass shattering gunshots could be heard from the distance, also attracting the attention of Muketsu as she walked down the dark streets, kicking a small tin can out of the way with her shoe. Muketsu had been bored and lonely with nothing to do until now, as people ran passed her down the sidewalks, yelling, pointing and screaming. "Somebody call the police!" people shouted. "Someone is shooting!" a young woman screamed. "Get off the streets! Get inside!" someone else yelled out.

As the gunfire stopped briefly, Honz would freeze. "Click-click-click" he pulled the trigger again, but the chamber was empty. He hit the lever on the backside of his weapon, dropping the empty magazine on the tile floor. "Errrg!" Honz grumbled, fumbling for the other loaded magazine on his toolbelt as he stood in the center of the lobby, nothing around to provide cover for him except for maybe Omar, as the one-eyed jarl seized his opportunity, suddenly diving out of the cleaning closet in midair. "Blat-tat-tat-tat!!" Omar sprayed a line of bullets towards the Ten-Shi GTR hoping to hit Takashi or Suzuki, never aiming as he slid across the tile floor into the open hallway, ducking behind a wall. The wall was hollow, supported by aluminum metal beams and covered with drywall, but he was hoping it would provide Honz with enough time to get out of harm's way. "Honz!" Omar yelled, but the old man was unresponsive. Honz fumbled with his assault rifle, swatting at the imaginary tiny faes as they buzzed around his head, taunting him.

At that moment, Augee would crawl out from under the office desk and over to another desk, peaking around the corner of the desk to look into the open garage shop. Augee was dressed simply in typical Old Norse fashion wearing one-piece leather non-stitched shoes with leather laces, straight white under-trouser leggings under poofy or baggy legged trousers, linen long brown stocking socks, a grey linen collarless buttonless stringless shirt tunic, a longer flared dresslike over-tunic with a cloth sash and leather toolbelt with a brass round buckle, a simple bowl-shaped beanie hat or skullcap under a simple small grey wool hood, pastel blue kaftan robe, thick wool knitted shin socks and hand mittens, a long blue wool cape with silver inlaid brooches and a leather square pouch. Under his long blue kaftan, he wore a quilted padded gambeson and lamellar scalemail armor with chainmail gloves. His wool hood was down to cover his throat guard and over his head he wore a hornless round spangenhelm with a chainmail aventail and noseguard. He also had a small ashwood handled iron bearded axe, a yew bow and a longseax with a reindeer antler handle, apart from the handgun he was holding in both hands.

Jarl Omar was dressed similarly apart from his black feathered cloak, animal fur snow cap and thick fur trimmed snow boots. Omar was also wearing riveted byrnie ringmail armor over a more solid chestplate, gripping his own assault rifle with both hands as he sat on the hallway floor with his back to the wall, looking up at Honz who was reloading his weapon. "Honz, get down!" Omar shouted, but the old man had lost all fear and sensitivity. Honz just growled, sliding the extra magazine into place with a click before cocking his rifle and pointing it at the Yakuza, his mind now lost to them as he began foaming from the mouth like a rabid bear.

Chaos erupted at the sound of gunfire, causing Muketsu to flinch and duck for cover. She watched as people ran by her and gasped when one ran into her, knocking her to the ground. Muketsu felt a sharp pain and she licked her bottom lip, tasting the salty sweetness of blood blossom. Her gaze watched the fleeing people for a moment before she looked towards where the gunfire sounded from. Part of her screamed to follow the fleeing crowds, but the other part suggested to follow the danger.

Pushing herself to her feet, Muketsu brushed off the dirt from her hands and wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. Not sure why, she moved toward the sounds of gunfire and found herself near one of the windows within a few minutes. Her heart was pounding as she pushed her back against the wall and she slid down to a crouching position, her hand moving toward the dagger at her side. One should never bring a knife to a gunfight... she thought to herself with a soft chuckle.

She had no idea what she was doing or why her feet continued to carry her towards this particular danger. Her gaze went to the window that had been shattered by the spray and she studied it for a moment before moving closer to it. Slowly inching closer to the window, her grip on the hilt of her dagger tightened, she was ready to pounce on whomever stuck their head out of the window. Her heart pounded as she tried to calm herself.

Once she reached the window, Muketsu froze and listened to the sounds coming from inside. Her eyes narrowing slightly as she tried to find any noise of movement under the sounds of the techno music coming from somewhere and the gunfire inside, but she couldn't hear anything over the beat of her heart pounding.

Kadota Peaks...
Somewhere along the Ellarian Coast...

Months had passed since the Ravens Banner had discovered the skeletons in Iskjerne Cave, something which Sigurd Hring had ordered his miners and explorers not to disturb as they exploited the many tunnels and caverns. They found skeletons belonging to King Egill's leidang, with their pre-Oseberg styled weapons and motifs. King Sigurd's leidang had also discovered the better preserved corpses of the Taiyou soldiers who tangled with them. He had his own specialized trackers go in and examine the skeletons, learning as much as they could through careful collection and observation. Rusted rifles, spoiled shell casings, rotten fabric, clothing and other items were confiscated and handed over to King Sigurd's blacksmiths, who he had ordered to build a secret forge and workshop in order to study these finds and reverse engineer them. They were slow at getting started at first, but after a while their plan was completed. A handful of blacksmiths and their apprentices had taken the long and dangerous journey into the Kadota Peaks, a jagged mountain range winding up the Ellarian coastline. The climb was steep and high into the narrow mountains, leading above the low lying clouds to the tall cliffs and peaks several kilometers above sea level.

There up above the clouds on one of the flat cliffs overlooking a rapid waterfall with a large magical rainbow going across it, the legendary blacksmiths built their secret forge. As the months passed, King Sigurd's son Rollo would check on them from time to time to see their progress. Then one day, Brunnard the Blacksmith would be handed a small cylindrical device with wires attached to it. It would take him a full week to discover what it was. A few days later, he invented the first Norse automated battery using cave crystals, carbon-based materials, aluminum and copper, using a thin wired spinning torus-shaped generator to create a power cell that operated with perpetual motion. Brunnard's Batteries would never run out of power, instead generating their own unlimited artificial electricity, something later refered to as Kadota Peaks lightning or KP lightning, more similar to neon pink etheroplasma or magic than to AC/DC electricity. Rumors spread that Brunnard the Blacksmith was a descendant of Thor the thunderer, or that his forging hammer hitting the rainbow anvil was the cause of Iskjerne Bay's mighty thunderstorms. All these things were just whispers in the wind.

After a while, Brunnard would leave Kadota Peaks and make the long journey north towards Iskjerne Bay to report the workshop's status to the king, who was learning how to read and write from his Taiyou guest. Brunnard was all too pleased to take the journey, as the guards from the watchtower in Iskjerne Bay had seized Kraiger Nallesson and confiscated all the technology he had seized from the Taiyou cave miners and security personnel. All of it was sent to the secret forge several miles away in the difficult to get to mountain range where all of it was being studied and disassembled or modified, then replicated by hand by highly skillful alchemists, inventors, factory workers and nineth generation blacksmiths. They had developed a system so that by the time Brunnard and his personal guards had descended from the mountains, the Norsemen in the Kadota Peaks had continued their manufacturing and had already begun to design and craft better inventions.

With their new LED lights the Norsemen used greenstones from the lanturns they had used to find gold and diamonds in the Iskjerne Cave to create new innovative energy efficient lightbulbs of different varieties which used crystals and relied on Gaia's three suns to harness unlimited solar power. Fordorn the Wise had been the first to be inspired by the Rainbow Falls, and suggested that they design lights using multiple color spectrums. The craftsmen combined his ideas with others inspired by Iskjerne's sunstones to invent different ways to see through clouds and smoke, or detect heat signatures. They invented more concentrated light sources inspired by the Taiyou's chrome butane liter, combining their own discovery of KP lightning to invent high powered lasers and etheroplasma liters and other tools using Gaia's solar energy. The blacksmiths forged new weapons, helmets, headlamps, tools, armor and shields. From the weapons they collected and analyzed, they started mass producing assault rifles, hand guns, newer crossbows, something akin to fireworks and different powders for which to make different colored flames. Gunpowder itself wasn't very useful on Gaia, however, so the Norse alchemists invented a magical powder instead using a mixture of sun-dust and powdered narwhale horns. The sun-dust was made from very tiny metal fragments passed through the sunlight, and was rumored to get its energy from the faes, thus was also sometimes mistakenly refered to as silver faerie dust. They created electrum by melding gold and silver into an alloy, and started experimenting with larger weapons using the 12.7mm ammo that Kraiger had collected from the Type M2 machine gun. The gunpowder charged tungsten tipped bullet casings were not at all useless as the tungsten was analyzed and replicated by alchemists at very high constant temperatures.

The king's blacksmiths worked day and night, manufacturing weapons and armor. They had retrieved a phone radio from the luggage Kraiger had and studied it carefully. This technology enabled them to better understand phones and radio systems. They started experimenting with early radar systems and phonetic frequencies to generate sounds for other purposes. But it wasn't until they started delving into Iskjerne's cattle wagons, taking inspiration from their own wagon wheels and pully systems to craft solid metal wheels, gears, spindles and trinkets. They had already developed a device for calculating and keeping time, and it was only a matter of time before they invented motors, computers and rockets. Caile Douglasson from Clan Douglas had been in the mines that day, having witnessed King Sigurd's infatuation with Seno Miyagi's glasses. Although he hadn't quite figured out how to craft a pair of solar-sensitive sunglasses that became tinted in bright light, he picked up on glass-blowing and started to use the Norse colony's previous understanding of the light spectrum to design multiple different kinds of reading glasses, sunglasses, magnifying glasses, high-density lightbulbs, hammer-proof glass windows and visors, and glass blades that were brittle but much sharper than metal or bone. Caille Douglasson of Clan Douglas even recieved a gift of payment from Prince Hrollaug himself one day as the king's heir passed through with a company of others on horseback on their way south.

But the blacksmiths at the Rainbow Falls on the edge of the Kadota Peaks weren't only forging new inventions. They also continued to make other Viking Age tools and hardware just as they had done for centuries. They crafted nails for their ships, steel heads for their ashwood axes and spears, iron tipped arrowheads, belt buckles, cape and cloak brooches, earrings, gold teeth, rings, necklaces, chainmail, ringmail, scalemail, platemail, hammer heads, pliars, tongs, tin mugs, spoons and knives, platters, pots and pans, kettles, iron bosses for their linden wood shields, and many other items from copper, brass, iron and cold steel. They fashioned scissors, metal tweezers, wind-up wrist watches for keeping time, and all sorts of metal fasteners, cast iron tools, saw blades, rakes and anvils. These commodities would be manufactured in the workshops above the clouds on the edge of the cliffs, then imported to Iskjerne Bay on goat wagons by a man named Brokkr the Smith where they would be put to good use.

Ellarian Empyrean Coast...
On the hilltops above the shoreline...

Prince Hrollaug and his band of 10 riders had setup camp on a hill ridge above the seaboard, taking a break from their long travels. The parahelion Sun Dogs lasted all through the night, two suns illuminating the sky even at night so that Atargatis and Sagittae kept the sky bright blue even when the Norsemen slept inside their animal skinned tents. The next morning, Prince Hrollaug woke up to see the Dog Star directly north in the sky, as Sirius was hovering above the Kadota Peaks like a beacon in the distance. One of the crescent moons of Gaia could be observed in the bright morning sky as well, giving the dome of Gaia a truly magical and surreal beauty like nothing the vikings had ever seen before in their homeland. The sky was blue, the weather was warm and fair, and scattered white clouds provided only partial waves of shade over the flowering green hills. The land itself was covered in rich soil, clay banks, freshwater rain ponds, scattered woodlands with plenty of rocks and trees that would prove useful to the Norse settlers as they explored the beaches. To the north, they could see mountains on the horizon where they came from, with a large cascading waterfall and its ever present rainbows. To the south, they took in the view of the bluegreen Empyrean High Seas with its dangerous white waves, rich in sea salt. Beyond the gulf to the west was a chain of islands stretching down the coast. Jarl Hethel had taken the Nuörmbatúr longship down the coast and into the Empyrean High Seas, heading towards a tiny distant island on the Empyrean Sea Beach, while Prince Rollo and his small gang decided to pitch five tents on the mainland where they could see billows of smoke rising from Port Fate in the near distance.

Port Fate was the Kingdom of Benavierre's main port, and import/export center. Deciding to check it out, the Iskjerne Vikings took their woolly horses down to the coastal waters to have a look. They were passed along the way by merchants and travellers of all sorts who paid them no mind as they made their way to the famous Albatross Bar and Inn. Prince Hrollaug and his riders were flying the Raven Banner, something that most of the local inhabitants had never witnessed before. A few of the fishermen from the seaport would stop and give the vikings ackward and distrustful glares, but the Norsemen just rode their horses slowly and casually up to the docks and dismounted them before entering the bar. Prince Hrollaug and his gang would have a few beers, deciding to gossip with some of the locals in the bar in order to gather information about the land, its kingdom, its people and their king. The vikings were larger and stockier, perhaps at times even taller or more muscular than the local Ellarians, but nevertheless Prince Rollo and his band would maintain their respect, being mindful of their surroundings while enjoying a few beers. It wasn't as tastey as the Norsemen's mead, but it would suffice for now.

After gathering all the information they could, the vikings would leave Port Fate and head back to their encampment further up the bank on the top of the grassy hill ridge. "This would be a good place to start a meadery," Ale the Beekeeper commented. Prince Hrollaug nodded quietly. "There is a woodland up ahead," the prince said. "We should get to work," he added. The gang agreed, and so they unloaded all their tools and started chopping down some trees. The ten of them spent hours chopping, cutting, shaping and wittling the unsanded wood by hand using a variety of different metal saws, axes, scrapers, hammers, wedges, bevels, primitive scales and measuring strings. Even their winterbred horses would help with their labor as the Norsemen used the smaller stocky horses to pull the load. By the end of the day, the small circle of two-man tents on the hill had turned into a fenced-in circular round settlement of considerable size. They hadn't yet built any longhouses, but they had managed to build a rather basic sawmill, a wood workshop, an outhouse, a wooden gate, a few sheds, a lookout tower, a ring moat with a man-made narrow trench leading down the hill into the sea, a horse fence, a small well, a forge, a few hive boxes and a large wooden palisade to protect their animal skinned dome-roof whale bone tents. At the end of the day when one sun set and another began to rise, the Norsemen built a fire next to their rain catcher and sat idly on the hill inside their own walls, staring up at the sky. Hrollaug would study the stars and moons silently while Ale stirred up an kettle of onion soup with an iron dipping ladle, listening quietly as the band of vikings drank Albatross beer and told poems or sang Old Norse folk songs about their favorite heroes.

Takashi went in first, finding much to his dismay that the interior of the shop was quiet, it's occupants had been hiding and he was bound to sniff them out. Racking the shotgun once with a deafening Clack-clack, Takashi began to look around the counters, around the desk, his steps slow, purposeful, careful.

The moment the gunfire erupted from Honz, the pair of Yakuza seemed to spring into action. Takashi took the moment to dive behind the car, rolling on the ground as the crazed madman was firing rounds in all directions. Takashi had mere moments to send out a quick group text message calling for help, before he caught Suzuki, whom had rolled back out the front door at the gunfire, effectively trapping the Yakuza lieutenant inside the shop with a crazed burglar that, at first glance seemed to be sporting military grade weaponry.

Bullets whizzed by, glass raining down all around them, the screams of bystanders echoed all around him, but the Taiyou gangster kept his composure, and waited in cover until there was a flurry of bullets that ricochet with high pitched pings, and twangs.

Takashi took the opportunity to peer from his cover behind the Tokura N22 and aimed his shotgun center mass at Honz, firing the weapon with a deafening 'Poom!', then a 'clack-clack' and another 'Poom!' Spraying hundreds of 8mm BBs towards the crazed warrior with each trigger pull, hoping that the sheer number of projectiles would tear the man apart, blowing basketball sized holes in his chest, and throwing him back on his butt.

Suzuki was pinned down, though, as hundreds of bullets pinged into the car, tearing through sheet metal, and plastic alike, he peered up and returned fire, his fast-firing machine pistol making the buzz of an angry bee, as dozens of 9mm rounds were fired into the shop at Omar. Bullets tearing through the drywall, pinging reinforced concrete, and gouging small indentations into the cinder block wall. The entire shop was a close quarters firefight, and Takashi, and Suzuki were both outnumbered, and split apart. Adrenaline flowing through the pair of Taiyou, Takashi quietly ignoring the warm sensation of blood running down his arm as he raised back up, aiming the Shotgun at Omar while he was focused on the car outside.

After the gang hit took out his whole group Yamasaki managed to still come out on top. In spite of him holding the door with bodies mounting he couldn't be everywhere at once. Bastards probably bribed at the back flanked him while they ended up having throwing a van at him to put him down. Had to respect them for that. While he was still fuzzy on what the hell happened the bullets digging out of his chest rather than in stood out from the haze on his way out the morgue. Odd monk looking sorts with blue lanterns carrying him while answering his drunken questions. They dropped him at the safe house on his ID which got him shot again leaving the next morning. That wasn't as much a problem now he'd found. Got himself out of damned Terra in spite of temporary bulletholes and back to Niihama. Once reconnecting with some bosses they seemed to know his body went missing and he might somehow be topside but the guys he talked to weren't about to tell him much more. Then a text message came in and they threw him right back out the door by way of the armory to pick up a gun. Big guns.

A car raced down the street the bald shirtless Yamasaki eying the shop as he sent a short response to the phone number on the message, ((Heavy fire inbound. Target?))

Yamasaki screeched to a halt in front of the shop a M249-G4 appearing from the passenger seat. As a red flower marred the tattoos on his chest the large man juddered. Then got out with a smile and put the bipod down to click off the safety. The red river draining back into his body through the skin. The hole in his back hurt like a son of a bitch but it only hurt. Rifle butt against the intact shoulder Yamasaki checked for targets.

What was it that drew Omar the One-Eye and his kinsmen into the Taiyou city? Armed with military issued weapons, dulled by the effect of the magic potion in their bloodsteams, fueled by hatred and the thought of revenge against an unknown, unseen enemy which may not have even truly existed, the Norse ghost warriors were as dangerous now as they ever were. "Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!!!" Shattered glass, flying papers and shards of concrete, many wooden splinters and chunks of drywall - the chop shop was being ripped to hell - and it wouldn't be long before the Vikings and the Yakuza would attract more attention. By now, calls had been made and text messages had been sent. There would be more gang members soon, and probably other curious individuals armed with weapons of their own. But nobody would come to rescue the vikings. Omar, Honz and Augee were completely isolated and it would take a small miracle for them to get out of this situation in one piece.

Honz moaned and growled lowly like a rabid bear, fumbling with his assault rifle as he dropped the empty magazine and reloaded his rifle, using the only other extra mag he had on him. "Blat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!" Omar tried to cover him, jumping out from the cleaning closet and into the gunstorm. "Honz!!!" the one-eyed jarl roared as he slid across the tile floor behind a hollow wall, glass and paperwork being kicked aside as the jarl ducked down with his back against the wall, staring out of the open shattered glass window to the skyscraper buildings across the street. "Honz get dow-" POOM!!! the painted faced warrior was suddenly interrupted by a loud shotgun being fired. Honz paused for a moment, turning to look in the direction from which the shot was fired. The gunfire continued, but nobody in the shop could hear anything but a brief second of deafening silence followed by the beautiful sound of techno music. There before him was Takashi, pointing the shotgun directly at his midsection. Honz didn't realize it yet, but he had just been hit. Hundreds of 8mm tiny balls would rip through his shirtless skin, leaving tiny blood trailing holes in his flesh as he gazed into the eyes of his shooter, dropping his assault rifle on the floor.

Honz the Old was a large, muscular fellow with very tough skin, but the 8mm BB's tore through him like butter. He wouldn't bleed immediately however, much to Takashi's dismay. The magic shroom juice had thickened the Norseman's blood and made him impervious to fear or pain. Honz gritted his teeth and roared again loudly, grabbing the edge of the heavy wooden desk in front of him with one hand and pushing it effortlessly out of his way. He then stepped forward towards Takashi, reaching behind himself to draw forth the hand-held throwing axe from his belt. Honz growled lowly, raising his axe into the air while looking at Takashi with savage intentions. "Clack-clack, POOM!!!" the street racer cocked his shotgun and fired again as Honz stepped towards him. But this time the Norse warrior would be stopped in his tracks. Honz stumbled backwards, a melon-sized hole in his stomach causing the old man to lower his weapon. Honz looked down, sticking his fingers into his own stomach before rubbing the blood between his fingertips. Honz looked back up and staggered towards Takashi again, hatred in his eyes as he tried to raise his axe.

But it was no use. The old ghost warrior only managed to take one more step before he fell over, landing facedown on the welcome mat just feet away from where Takashi was standing. A pool of thick viking blood formed around Honz's motionless body, seeping into the blue carpet and running onto the lobby's tile floor. The old man had finally fulfilled his purpose in life, and as the old ghost warrior took his last breath, he looked over to see the fae spirits one last time, leading him home through the gateway to Valhalla, its golden stairway illuminated by the spiritual bright light that nobody else could see. The white blinding light grew brighter and brighter, until finally Honz exhaled slowly and died right there in Takashi's Auto Repair shop.

Bullets whizzed by, glass raining down all around them as Omar almost ducked so low he had to crawl to evade the falling shards and ricochets from the rounds and debris. Seeing the other bloody assault rifle laying on the lobby floor, he reached out to grab the strap and pulled Honz's weapon to him, quickly ducking back behind the wall just in time to dodge another line of shots from Takashi's pump-action shotgun and Suzuki's rapidfire SMG, the bullets ripping apart the wall as they whizzed past his head on the other side. "Ahh!!!!" Omar winced in pain as a bullet nearly clipped his ear. He quickly responded, turning the corner again and firing his rifle as Takashi and Suzuki tried to take a better position. "Rat-at-at-at-at-at!!!" the tungsten tipped bullets would fly towards Suzuki and chase just behind Takashi as he ran into the garage and ducked behind his vehicle, taking cover. Omar entered the garage as he was firing and quickly took up cover behind one of the Yakuza gang's stolen box-shaped SUV's, which had been lowered with smaller tires on it. Just then, the music speakers stopped as the song ended and the automatic CD player changed disks inside the vehicle. All fell eerily quiet for a moment as everyone stopped shooting.

Omar was now sweating profusely, the black painted Fehu symbol on his face now runny and faded, but this only helped his camouflage as he reloaded one rifle and dangled it around his arm by the strap while gripping the other rifle in both hands and chambering it. "Þú berjast eins og móðir mín. Hahaha, komdu þér kisa!" Omar laughed, taunting the gang members as everyone took a moment to reflect. Before this time, Augee had crept out of the office through a sidedoor and would suddenly jump out from beside the outside wall behind Suzuki, pointing his high-powered pistol at the back of Suzuki's head. There was a slight click, followed by Augee lowering the pistol and pressing it against the Taiyou gang member's spine. "Misstu það," he suggested calmly, waiting to see the Yakuza's reaction. Augee really wasn't trying to kill him, he just didn't want to be killed.

Omar would turn to look around the back side of the SUV, but Takashi would point his shotgun over the hood of another car and shoot at him, shattering the SUV's tail light as Omar was forced to duck back. "Opnaðu augun þín meira, þú munt sjá betur," the jarl chuckled, the smell of fuel still rising into his nostrils from the gas that had sprayed him down in the cave. He held his rifle tightly and leaned against the all black SUV, contemplating his next move. It seemed that the Viking and the Yakuza had gotten themselves into a Mexican standoff, Takashi with his shotgun behind one vehicle and Omar the One-Eye now dual weilding two assault rifles behind another vehicle. The garage itself was fairly large and contained other motorcycles, cars, trucks, vans and SUV's that had all been souped up and pimped out to fit the Yakuza's needs. But the shop was closed. There were no generators running, no engines firing, no fans or other noises to disturb their moment of silence. The only thing the jarl could hear now was his own heartbeat as he tried to think.

At that moment, the CD finished switching over and the Dubstep techno music kicked back on. Omar the One-Eye would turn around the side of the SUV again, holding both Seburo c26a assault rifles, one in each hand. "Tat-at-at-at-at-at-at!!!" the hot military issued bullets shredded the whole front of the Tokura N22, their tungsten tips ripping through glass and metal alike as Omar entered a berserker rage triggered by the music in the background. The Yakuza had called in backup to help them target the ghost warriors, but the flickering lights from the flaming gases expelled from the barrels of Omar's rifles as he walked around the side of the Tokura n22 made it obvious to anyone outside that the gunshots were coming from inside the garage. The vikings were oblivious to everyone else around them as Augee kept his focus and his pistol pointed at Takashi, dozens of people now taking to the streets and trying to run away. Only a few brave souls dared to stick around, as Augee waited for Suzuki to drop his weapon.

As the 6-foot-tall Northman of Iskjerne Bay stood before the five well-dressed Taiyou figures in front of him, Jarl Evan Skjalsson provided a Norwegian contrast to their Asiatic culture. He was large, stocky and muscular with a bald shaved head and reddish beard. His head and body were covered with vinework tribal tattoos which could barely be visible over his black painted skin. Evan had a tiwaz rune symbol painted on his forehead and was dressed rather crudely, more for comfort and maneuverability than for looks or fashion. His greenish blue eyes were squinted upon Kamidake and his red orb staff as his vision returned slowly. Kamidake's own eyes were fixed on Skjalsson as he spoke to him in a language the Northman understood. Kamidake would introduce Jarl Evan to the Taiyou prime minister Yoko Kayabuki as crown princess Yukiko Takayama, the sister of Taiyou emperor Shimizu Takayama, entered behind her, followed by the science director Seno Miyagi and the guardian Azaka with his blue orb staff.

"We are an envoy sent on behalf of His Majesty, the Emperor Shimizu Takayama, of the Taiyou Empire of Greater Niihama, I am Prime Minister Yoko Kayabuki, this is Crown Princess Yukiko Takayama, and this is Director Seno Miyagi, head of the Science Division of the Ministry of Technology, and Culture. We have come to seek an audience with your king, and to demand answers as to why our people were attacked unprovoked."

Jarl Evan watched them all carefully, obviously distrustful about their intentions. For a moment he glanced back to his shield and spear, both of which were just a few feet behind him leaning against a rock. He turned and looked at the prime minister silently before Yukiko slid her cellphone into her pocket and warned him not to do anything stupid. The jarl had never seen a cellphone before, but he didn't trust Yukiko or any of the other Taiyou in the white robes, nor the devices they were carrying. Something about them was fishy, and the Norse petty chieftain had his own questions. "How do you know our language? Where is Omar?" he asked suddenly, never bothering to introduce himself. He turned his attention then to Seno Miyagi, recognizing him by his glasses. "And you, where is that medicine you promised?" Jarl Evan glared distrustfully at the science director before turning his attention back to Kamidake and his red orb staff. The petty chieftain stood there quietly, unthreateningly but also unafraid. He was stalling the Taiyou so that Ryan the Freeman and Rolind Skjalsson, his two younger brothers, could sneak away and escape. Ryan, Rolind, Evan and their other brother Erling Snake were all sons of Skjal the Merciless from the House of Norway, and so it was Evan's responsibility as a jarl and a brother to protect his kinsmen and his king.

Ryan and Rolind would listen quietly to Jarl Evan's conversation with the Taiyou, then creep away silently and forewarn any of the other Norsemen they came across throughout the cave tunnels. The word of Princess Yukiko's arrival spread quickly to the surface where the two dozen guards from the watchtower were already waiting. Meanwhile, another small group of guards led by Lord Ivan were escorting King Sigurd's prisoner Kraiger Nallesson in chains up to the the long stone stairway to the watchtower, where they would imprison him inside the tower's lightless dungeon. As news of the princess's arrival spread, other goings on would occur back at the Great Hall that would eventually effect the Norsemen's relationship with their Taiyou neighbors. King Sigurd had a great deal of issues to consider now as he looked around the animal skinned tent where the young Takao Eguchi was standing, somewhat frantic and confused by the Norse attack on the gateway.

But as Takao unleashed his own frustrations, King Sigurd remained silent, listening to everything while making his own mental decisions. It wasn't until Takao became too excited around the king that Bruce placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, causing the young man to instantly stop talking and take a seat. Suddenly the Taiyou researcher wasn't angry, he was afraid. Lord Bruce of Essex stood idly by though, awaiting orders as the news of Seno Miyagi's return reached the gates and the Norsemen began to gather in the great hall. King Sigurd would turn to look at Bruce once more before looking at Takao and smiling. "You will be going home soon my friend. Be sure to tell your people good things about me... Make sure he doesn't leave," King Sigurd smirked, patting Takao on the shoulder before turning and leaving the tent. "This is not good," Bruce of Essex shook his head with a sigh, waiting quietly by the tent entrance, as he was still sworn to accompany and protect Takao as his personal bodyguard against any of the other Norsemen who might've wished to kill him over the time he had been Sigurd's guest.

Brunnard the Blacksmith had also taken King Sigurd up on his offer and had gone to the great hall, where everyone waited for the king to take his throne again. Takao and Bruce would stare around each other in ackward silence, Takao tapping lightly on his own knees while staring at the ceiling as Bruce bit his own lip and lowered his head quietly just staring at him. But despite the humor, there were other forces at work in Iskjerne Bay that would soon disturb the silence. "Tap-tap-tap!" three slender arrows would suddenly bounce off the dome shaped walls of the tent. For although the tent was covered with multiple layers of animal furs, they had been weatherproofed and strengthened, and were reinforced by large megafauna bones which deflected the arrows with ease. Bruce and Takao were under attack. "What was that?" Takao asked quietly, looking up at the domed rooftop. Bruce of Essex would pick up his shield and unsheath his sword, turning to step outside and intending to investigate the matter when suddenly he was impaled right in front of Takao, a sharp steel sword protruding from Bruce's back shoulder before he was pushed back into the tent and the bloody blade was withdrawn from his body. Bruce stumbled and fell over at Takao's feet as a black knight entered the tent wearing full crusader-type body armor holding the bloody sword in both hands while looking at Takao Eguchi from behind a full-visored helmet.

As the door to one of the workshops swung open, Kettil the Smith looked up to see Prince Hrollaug enter the room. Kettil was polishing one of his new inventions, wearing an apron and a forging mask. "Rollo my son, I didn't realize you'd get my message so soon. How did you..." Rollo closed the door behind him and smiled to the old man. "Still skiing Rollo? You are a prince now, you shouldn't put yourself at risk like that when there are others who would cross the mountains for you" the inventor looked at the young prince with both a hint of pride and worry. "I wanted to come visit you myself, and I'm faster anyway" the tall warrior smiled. "You and your brothers Rollo were always something else" the old man shook his head before lowering his mask, grabbing a pair of metal tongs, pinching a black rock the size of a baseball and dipping it into a large cauldron full of liquid hot glowing orange magma. The soupy lava would sizzle and boil, smoke and steam emanating from the white hot cauldron.

Within a few seconds, Kettil would remove the rock from the scolding heat and hold in the air with the tongs, raising his helmet again to examine it. But it wasn't just a rock any more, it was a polished black gemstone, one of many new gemstones he had in his collection. "Watch this," Kettil said as he picked up the stone with his bare hand. It was still pitch black and cold to the touch, despite glowing a feintly deep dark purple at its core. "It doesn't burn your hand?" Hrollaug asked. Kettil looked at him with a cool wink before walking over to a large metal pole and setting it into one of the many mesh wired metal baskets attached to the pole. He then picked up another stone from a different basket and handed it to Hrollaug, who fumbled with it and got a feel for the weight of it. "It weighs nothing," Hrollaug commented. "Yah it's surprisingly light you see, but for some reason when you drop it," Kettil grabbed the stone and dropped it on the floor with a heavy thud. "You see it does not bounce," the blacksmith added before showing him some of the other qualities it could achieve, some being the ability to levitate, to absorb or reflect sunlight, and even the ability to effect weather changes by harnessing the lightning, thunder, or darkness from storm clouds.

After explaining the strange phenomena associated with the black gemstones, he would give Hrollaug a tour of some of the other inventions in the workshop. There was a rapid-fire crossbow that had a drum magazine and fired magical rounds propelled by Norse faerie dust. There was also a stringless longbow decorated with gems that appeared unfinished, but had an invisible and magical bowstring which only appeared like a white energy-like cord once the bowstring was pulled back or notched. Kettil then presented him with new royal armor made from tungsten and titanium feather-like scaleplates. It looked very similar to lamellar and byrnie style armor in some ways, but in others it was very different. Kettil showed him a pure white central gripped Viking round shield with a black gemstone boss at its center, the shield itself covered in blood painted runes of various shapes and sizes. There were also spears with simple black long sharp stone tips, also being made from the same manufacturing.

But the largest invention of all was the Hregg Drekki, or Rainstorm Dragon-ship, which appeared normal at first sight, but was actually just another generation in the line of multidimensional viking ships. The Ormbatur was the first one Kettil had on record, thralls standing by to record him as he spoke. The Nuormbatur was the second longship to crossover between two universes. But both of those ships were still strictly naval vessels confined to the sea. Neither one of them was originally prepared to be transported from Earth to Gaia, but the third generation Rainstorm Dragon-ship was the first vessel invented by the Northmen to intentionally cross multidimensional timespace. Kettil took extra pride in his longship, a monster that could hold up to 300 oarsmen but was still light enough to float on air. The ship was energized by a large solar sail and powered by a large baseball sized black gemstone placed craftfully into the mouth of the wooden dragon-carved prow of the ship.

"How long will it take me to get there?" Prince Hrollaug asked, running his hand down the side of the boat. "You can get there now if you chase the storm," Kettil the Smith answered, placing a jeweled crown on Hrollaug's head before placing a simple black gemstone ring on the prince's finger. "You will need a crew," Kettil said affirmatively. "Take Gwyneth, she is a worthy apprentice and an excellent shield-maiden" the blacksmith suggested before patting him on the back and smiling.

All Takashi the Mouse saw was tunnel vision, and a hulking viking warrior charging at him like a bear. It all seemed to happen in slow motion for the Yakuza Gangster, the warrior was charging at him, and adrenaline began to course through the smaller man's body, the fight or flight reflex taking hold, urging him to do something, that something was take down this viking as quickly as possible.

All Takashi could do was react, firing the first buckshot round did nothing it seemed, and his eyes widened to the point that Honz could see the whites of his eyes in his final moments. Another shell was chambered and released with a deafening sound, but Honz still stumbled towards him, even with a melon sized hole in his gut, blown entrails, and blood spilling all over the interior of the car shop. The stench of seared flesh, gunpowder, and concrete was overpowering, suffocating to Takashi, and he wouldn't know even a moment's reprieve as the Viking warrior collapsed.

He had to move back into cover though, and quickly. Taking a moment to engage Omar with a few shotgun blasts from where he was hiding, he growled as the Jarl managed to find cover behind an SUV, particularly one of the more heavily modified variants that he was planning on taking to a bank heist. Which meant it was armored, and would provide excellent cover.

Takashi had to consider his options, his mind racing to the beat of the techno music blaring from his car.

He moved to open fire, but was only greeted with a hail of bullets that whizzed by him, and pinged against the concrete, Takashi turned briefly towards one of the counters, then he looked towards the shotgun, which was empty. Fumbling with some shells, he moved to try and reload, sliding the shells one by one into the breach of the shotgun.

Suzuki on the other hand was caught almost by surprise at the sensation of a gun being pressed against the back of his head. The man tensed up, but slowly raised his hands, and dropped the high powered machine pistol, which clattered on the ground. The man was considering his next move, his senses feeling where the weapon was, where it would be, but for now he would comply, try to lure the strange man into a sense of ease. They looked like foreigners, so Suzuki tried his best to speak. "Police come soon." He said in the thickest, Taiyou accent, his eyes briefly going up to the shafts of light that peered through the decking of the city above them. No doubt the commotion would attract undue attention, but Suzuki paused for a moment, there were no sirens in the distance.

Instead there was the faint droning of a Kenbishi Nakazawa Military Transport Helicopter moving through the polluted slums of Sector One, it's lights flickering among the dingy skies. It was escorted by two wasp like Jigabachi attack helicopters.



Suzuki looked up briefly to see the approaching helicopters, but said nothing to the man holding him hostage, not that it would matter anyway, they had to get out of here though, before the Police got there.

In a moment of silence, Suzuki called out to his comrade. "Mausu! Keikan!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, and then he whipped around, sweeping a leg under him in rapid succession to knock his captor to the ground, if successful, the young Taiyou would take off in a full sprint, signalling to the approaching gangsters that the cops were on the way. Or he would be shot in the back, and left to die.

An outburst that Takashi had to react to swiftly, with shells loaded, the Yakuza fired several more shots at the entrenched Omar, several in rapid succession at the armored SUV as he slid towards one of the side doors, Takashi was going to leave these strange burglars to whatever fate the cops would mete out to them, but he had to save Suzuki, so his attention turned to the door, and with one more shot sprayed in Omar's direction, Takashi vaulted through the blasted out window.

Takashi made swift movements towards one of the nearby sewer drains, the chop shop was dead to him now.

The winds shifted, blowing an unusually cold wind across the Weargtooth Mountains. The already chilled caps rapidly developed a white frost, snap-freezing anything unlucky enough to exist at those heights. Snow began to fall farther down the mountains than it had ever before. Eras tested his strength, pleased with it's growth. The skies turned grey.


Soon.

From northern far, in, a deep chill seeped, to the bone, through the scale, up the roots. White pockets of fire erupted throughout- advancements made by those within and foreign tools come here for final rest ceasing to exist with a flash and bang. A lament was cried from the Bez Daha Trees to Saggitae, to Gaia, to anyone who could hear and would, that again did Eras breathe upon this realm; and would continue to breathe, continue to inhale their realm, continue to flex chaos and destruction, until Gaia drew breath no more.

From northern far, in, a deep chill seeped, to the bone, through the scale, up the roots.

As if the gods themselves were angry at this transgression of their divine order, a great dark cloud rolled in. Thunder and lighting lit up the Kadota Peaks. White pockets of fire erupted throughout- advancements made by those within and foreign tools come here for final rest ceasing to exist with a flash and bang. Many crystalline powered weapons were not left to spare, for he who did destroy did so not out of rage as it may seem, but out of necessity. Artillery powered by the forces of Gaia was no match for Eras's clenching fist. It seems Eras's focus had been wrongfully honed across the sea, where the people seemed to have long forgotten that which truly threatens them.

It was here new Gods threatened to make permanent homes and forces yet unseen penetrated the realm he wished to rule. It was a good sign, as Gaia had clearly grown weak to allow such impact, but it was also bad news. Eras was not the only one with his eye on Gaia. He was not the only one hungry. He had woken up too late.

Eras drew breath again, inhaling the power of the obsidian Gaian stones, noting their refined nature made them all the easier to absorb. He again pulled power from the stones, draining the to half, marveling at the ease. These people, they refined this process?

The rainbows blinked out from the sky. Eras drank from the beauty of the Kadota peaks, the great dark cloud spreading. He chose to leave the strange Viking newcomers with few of their black powerful stones, with a smile.