Iskjerne Vikings's Story

Prince Hrollaug paced back and forth behind his foster father King Sigurd, walking an invisible line side to side while watching the guardians closely with anticipation. Azaka suddenly activated his blue gem encrusted ornate wooden staff and pointed it at the Geatish king, the gem pommel on its decorated wooden shaft becoming electrified with blue surges of electrical charges as it crackled and sizzled with heated energy. This would trigger an instant response from Hrollaug the Walker, who suddenly hurled one of his small bearded throwing axes into the air at that very moment.

He had practiced throwing axes since he was first able to lift one properly as a young boy. The axe spiralled through the air swiftly along a straight trajectory with incredible speed and accuracy, sticking deeply into the thick wooden support beam on one of the grass-roofed houses roughly twenty five feet directly diagonal behind Azaka before anyone could even blink. If successful, it would sore directly towards Azaka's staff, hitting the wooden shaft and hooking it precisely at mid-range with enough force to rip the staff out of Azaka's raised hand without even injuring Azaka himself at all in the process before sticking inches into the support beam.

Princess Yukiko swallowed deeply at that moment, sensing her own death approaching. As she gazed silently at the sword in her face, her slanted brown eyes would follow the length of the two edged blade. The runic inscriptions on the blade reflected the glare of the light around them, their images glinting off of Yukiko's face with their simple reflections betraying the inscription's meaning. The runes on the blade read: "Ég er Balmung og Nothung, kallað Hildetand, morðingi Fafnis, allir dvergar og drekar varast" (I am Balmung and Nothung, called Hildetand, slayer of Fafnir, all dwarves and dragons beware). King Sigurd's richly decorated viking sword it seemed was none other than the Aesir king Odin's former sword Gramr itself, which had been broken during Volsung's battle with Lyngvi, but was later repaired by a dwarven smith named Regin before eventually finding itself fated in the possession of King Sigurd. 

Princess Yukiko watched with a look of trepidation on her face as Great King Sigurd the Ringtaker took her wooden gem encrusted tiara, the master key to the royal tree Mizuho, and handed it off to Lord Bruce of Essex before helping Yukiko back to her feet. Takao Eguchi's throat became suddenly dry as Lord Bruce turned and handed the modestly appearing relic to Logan the treasure keeper, who placed the tiara into his satchel as Sigurd was helping Yukiko to her feet. But just as he did this, there was an air of magic as a tiny harmless whirl of glittering sparkles twirled around the tiara and the sword, almost simultaneously and without warning, both objects resonating with light.

Just then and again without warning, the Konung of Northern Ellaria began to feel slightly feint and dizzy. His stomache churned, and he was left with a strong gut feeling followed by a metallic taste in his mouth. Sigurd would squint and blink with almost an exaggeration before shaking his head rapidly to rid himself of the feintness. He would glance down over at the princess again at that time, looking into her eyes with confusion as if something was amiss. He said nothing of it however, regaining his senses and keeping his calling from unseen forces to himself before turning again at the sound of Shimizu once again igniting Tenchi-ken.

“You wish to die today?” Shimizu called out, his energy blade sizzling as he dragged the tip of his sword through the muddy snow beside him, moisture from the ground being vaporized with trails of steam and neon blue energy. “Order your men aside so that I may leave, or I will have my guardians strike them down.” The man’s voice was much calmer than it was earlier. He had regained his composure, and had still been somewhat unaware of his strange surroundings. It was at that moment that the feintly glowing dragon's eye encrusted gemstone decorating Sigurd's gold and silver embroidered sword hilt would completely go dark, the power of the gemstone finally being faded and drained completely by the rebirthing of Eras.

Hildetand had lost some of its greater powers and special properties at that point, yet the glimmering runes carved into the length of its blade were still radiating with white light, still reflecting and unchanged, as if the pull of Eras had no effect on their power at all. This was in part due to the fact that Odin's wisdom had gone into the making of the metal alloy, while the runes had been engraved and blooded during the sword's re-forging process using powerful dwarven magic, not by the energy of the planet, sun or moon, but by the power of the dragon Fafnir's blood itself. Hildetand had been enchanted and protected using Regin's own Dverger blood-magic from Svartalfheimr, giving the Gramr's blade specially hidden qualities that were known only to King Sigurd himself and a select few members of his immediate family.

Lord Bruce of Essex kept his gaze on Seno Miyagi and Takao Eguchi as their Taiyou emperor still tried to intimidate the Viking warlord with body language, words and threats, but King Sigurd just smirked. Prince Hrollaug continued to keep his eyes on Azaka and Kamidake the entire time, still holding his other axe ready in one hand while twirling it in circles with his wrist. Gwyneth was still watching Yukiko for any hint of foul play as King Sigurd stepped forward again, his viking army once more advancing forward with him as dozens of spear points were pointed at the emperor's guardians, warning them to stand back. Sigurd Ringtaker would then take a stance, gripping the hilt of his two edged sword with both hands while staring at Shimizu.

"Emperor Takayama, you have violated the laws of my kingdom. You have broken the peace and brought war to my country. That was your first mistake. You broke the truce, withheld your people's promises and threatened to destroy our civilization. That was your second mistake..." Sigurd said prudently, gripping his hilt even tighter with both hands while digging the toe of his boot forward into the snow. "... Then, adding to your list of insults in Iskjerne Bay, you dare to strike a princess in my presence? One who is trying to help you? And one of your own guardians at that!" the Norse king grinned maliciously, narrowing his eyes on the emperor. "That was your final mistake, he reassured him. "Vikings!!! the furious king's face suddenly reddened, veins protruding from his forehead as he shouted. "Kill anyone who moves!!!!" he roared, gritting his teeth again as he prepared to execute Emperor Shimizu publicly in front of everyone, including his own guardians this time. He gave his blade one good twirl in the air before raising his hilt at ear level with both hands, the blade directly vertical, allowing Shimizu to come to him with Tenchi-ken.

With that said and done, Sigurd Ringtaker glanced over Shimizu's shoulder to Jarl Evan and his gang, giving a very subtle nod, as if nodding to Shimizu himself. Just then, a pair of javelins would fly out from the midst of the Harii ghost warriors that were blocking the portal. Their two spear-points soared through the air on a slightly curved trajectory, aiming for the back of Shimizu's legs. If the javelins were successful, they would hit their mark, piercing the back of Shimizu's knees with enough force to immobilize the emperor completely, disabling his ability to walk, much less his ability to stand and fight.

As this was happening, something else also occurred. There was a loud drawn out bellow from up above, a dark shadow cast over the entire Kingdom of Iskjerne as the jotunn Asvith Thrym began to groan and move. The ground beneath Sigurd's feet began to tremble, causing small stones and fallen weapons and shields to shake and move. King Sigurd would glance up towards the sky as the ancient giant stepped over the ringfort, towering high above their settlement for a moment as it moved forward from out of the Weargtooth Mountains and headed east. It was an epic sight to behold, Sigurd thought, before turning his gaze once again to Shimizu with contempt. The act of war had officially been declared. The Taiyou emperor had finally tried to bully the wrong civilization into submission, a primitive people who would not bend or fold to the intimidation and technology of the Taiyou empire. The vikings were not budging.

There was more than just the Soja and the Mizuho up ahead, and King Sigurd took note of all the happenings in the clouds above. Some of the strange occurances in the sky were being caused by Eras and the spirit of Gaia itself, while others were being caused by other unforseen forces as a result of the vikings themselves. But the late great King of Iskjerne Bay would never say a word, instead allowing Emperor Shimizu to figure things out on his own. Shimizu continued on, completely oblivious to the whole situation and also to his immediate surroundings. Apparently, his guardians were also completely oblivious to the air of magic that was already brewing around them. The guardians were correct in their own thought process. This wasn't going to end well for either of them. For despite their alleged power, King Sigurd had the advantage, something which Emperor Shimizu failed to acknowledge.

Another crack of thunder filled the bay...

All the while, other forces around them continued to be at play. There was magic in the air, unseen and unfelt, but very much alive and active as the women in the black veils continued chanting softly behind the shieldwalls. These völvas, these witches, versed in all sorts of perverted black magic, would not have been present for nothing that day. For while the tensions between the Taiyou and the Norsemen were heating up, these priestesses and seeresses were already at work, tampering with the forces of nature. Little did any of Shimizu's guardians know that Sigurd's witches had been creating an invisible forcefield around Iskjerne Bay the whole entire time, one that would not only protect the vikings from the Taiyou's sudden spontaneous tricks, but would also nullify the guardian's abilities to use the same tactics on a random whim.

How long did these foreign invaders expect to defy the native gods with their technology? Gaia was growing impatient as Eras continued to drain the gemstones of their power, from both the guardian's staffs, and from the emperor's sword. All of their patience and energy would count for nothing. They were growing weaker with every breath, something that all of the Taiyou were apparently oblivious to. Sigurd Hring kept his thoughts to himself, using his own secrets to his advantage as the circle of Norse witches with their simple wooden staffs and mysterious small black cat-skin pouches continued to work their powerful magic, not individually but as a single unit, chanting phrases in Old Norse, causing the spell to become stronger and stronger with each passing moment.

The instant the bearded axe went sailing through the air was not lost on Azaka as he watched it in what he percieved as slow motion. The axe sailed from Hrollaug’s hand and began to twirl through the air, Azaka’s mind acted swiftly, and he followed his years of training to the letter. He anticipated where the axe would strike, where it would rebound and it’s course intersecting his staff. This instant was played out dozens of times in Azaka’s mind by the time the axe made it mere feet on it’s trajectory. The mind’s influence acted, the momentum of the axe began to slow, until gravity took it’s inevitable hold on the bearded axe, and it fell harmlessly roughly a few feet from Azaka’s feet, clattering in the snow, and the mud. At this precise moment, it was the only action Azaka would take, and likely his last, for just then the guardian's gemstone staffs, and the Tenchi-ken, would lose their power completely.

"Vikings!!! Kill anyone that moves!"

Kamidake made his move in that instant. His only objective now was to protect his emperor. His mind exerted it’s razor honed will upon his surroundings. This culminated into what sounded like a rubberband had snapped, and a shockwave fired out in all directions from the guardian. But to his dismay, nothing happened. The witches' combined efforts would nullify the shockwave, its 10,000 tons of dynamitic power simply dissipating into thin air at the presence of the invisible viking forcefield. The guardians were in serious trouble. Their emperor made a grave mistake in bringing them there, as King Sigurd smirked, both javelins striking Shimizu in the back of his legs, bringing the Taiyou emperor to his knees. Azaka lunged forward towards Yukiko at that moment, and put himself in front of her before a shimmering barrier of light erupted around them, just in time to deflect one of Gwyneth's arrows. Azaka made his next move raising his staff in the air. But once again, nothing happened. The gemstone staff was no longer active, its mysterious power having finally been drained by the gods in the sky.

This meant that Kayabuki would not suddenly disappear as Azaka had expected. Miyagi would not disappear as expected. Princess Yukiko, and the tiara, would not randomly disappear as they had hoped. They were in King Sigurd's kingdom, and were now completely trapped and surrounded without any hope of escape as Hrollaug suddenly threw his other axe, not at Azaka's staff this time, but at Azaka himself, aiming for his torso. If successful, the head of the axe would imbed itself into Azaka's sternum, likely knocking him off of his feet as it split open his chest cavity. At that very instant, Sigurd's orders were carried out. He had commanded his forces to kill anything that moved. The vikings obeyed his every word without question or hesitation.

Lord Bruce of Essex would fumble with the Nordic pagan rosary beads in his hand, mumbling under his breath as a dozen more javelins were suddenly hurled at Azaka and Kamidake from among the Harii ghost warriors. Jarl Evan turned to look at his gang, then nodded. Instantly they would engage the guardians, running and charging at them by the dozens with spears and shields in order to impale them swiftly. This they would do not individually but as one unit working together simultaneously, each Harii spearman attacking at the same time along different paths and trajectories. Some would thrust spears at their legs, while others would simultaneously lunge with spears to the chest. A few of them would even aim for their heads in an attempt to kill them quickly without a fight. Jarl Ivan followed suit, his own gang rushing in behind them to help Evan, innumerable odds now working against Azaka and Kamidake without mercy or restraint. The guardians were already outnumbered in that moment ten to one, just by the Harii alone.

But it wouldn't stop there...

Gwyneth quickly drew another arrow from her quiver and notched her bow again. Yet it was her fellow shield-maidens aboard the Hregg Drekki who would attack next. As if the Harii wasn't enough to overwhelm the Taiyou, the small squad of female archers released their arrows, raining Hel down upon the Taiyou emperor and his guardians from up above. Sigurd and Hrollaug watched bitterly as Gwyneth's squad and Evan's squad swarmed the Taiyou all at once. Jarl Ivan's gang would hold their positions, continuing to block off any and all access to the Taiyou's open portal, while the shieldwalls behind King Sigurd also held their positions. But some of the berserkers would move in, immediately seizing Seno Miyagi and Takao Eguchi before they could even escape during the chaos. Those who did not move would not be harmed, namely Seno, Takao and Yukiko, but the rest of the Taiyou including Kayabuki, Kamidake, Azaka and Emperor Shimizu himself would be met with relentless savagery.

King Sigurd waited quietly for everything to take place before stepping forward and standing over the fallen younger emperor. He gazed down at Shimizu with disgust, stepping on one of his injured knees and sticking the tip of Hildetand firmly against his throat. The skirmish had been quick, but now the Taiyou's charade was over. King Sigurd spat on the ground before looking into Shimizu's eyes, just as the other vikings started to gather around, still holding their shields. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" Sigurd asked calmly, his anger slowly fading at the sight of his conquered bleeding enemies. Hrollaug would approach Princess Yukiko at that moment and seize her by the arm, just as the other berserkers had done with Miyagi and Takao.

"What should we do with them?" Jarl Evan asked curiously as he glanced over to the three Taiyou hostages who did not get bombarded by arrows, spears and axes. "Take them to the great hall. See to it that they are well fed, and make sure nobody hurts them," King Sigurd answered calmly, still gazing into Shimizu's eyes. "And him?" Hrollaug asked, looking over at Shimizu and his father. King Sigurd would kick the Tenchi sword away from Shimizu, making sure it was out of reach before turning around and sheathing his own sword while walking back up the hill towards the great hall. "Send him home," the king answered before stepping through the shieldwall and walking through the crowd, disappearing among the hundreds of vikings who surrounded him. All the while, the red haired women in the black dresses and black veils continued to chant among themselves while tapping their long wooden staffs against the dirt.

"Send him home," the king said before turning to step through the shieldwall. But before he could even disappear in the crowd, the Taiyou emperor Shimizu Takayama was suddenly vacuumed up into the portal along with his sword, the Tenchi-ken, right before the portal disappeared. This caused all the vikings to stop and stare in silence. "Now what?" the jarl questioned. "Now your mission is complete, go and see to your family" Sigurd answered, patting him on the back before vanishing into the crowd.

By now, Kayabuki and Azaka lay dead, riddled with arrows, Yukiko, Miyagi, and Eguchi were all that were left. They did not resist, they did not fight, they simply quietly went with their captors. While they were being taken to the great hall, Yukiko turned to Miyagi, and frowned. “He will return with the fleet. He’ll destroy this planet, and us on it.” She said, looking at her surroundings. “I know.” Seno replied. “We’re all dead, we just don’t know it yet.” It was probably true, for the Vikings were few in number compared to the Taiyou, and inferior in their technology, as for the time being. But the vikings wasted little time in planning ahead. They used stones and logs to help slide the Hregg Drekki back down the hill slope on to the beach and into the water, while several workers began moving the debri aside so they could rebuild while the thralls and slaves went about picking up weapons and dead bodies to throw on to the funeral pyre later that evening.

Bruce of Essex, Hrollaug the Walker, and the other two berserkers with him would escort their three Taiyou prisoners to the great hall, where the three of them were segregated and placed at different sides of the open ovular hall. At that moment, they were made to sit down as three more berserkers entered the hall with King Sigurd leading them. "What did they say so far?" he asked, walking around the room. "The girl said he will return with a fleet," Lord Bruce answered. Sigurd walked over to Yukiko, who was now guarded by two berserkers and distanced from her Taiyou servants across the hall.

Sigurd the Ringtaker looked down at Yukiko again and nodded his head. "I believe she is telling the truth... Still, I don't like the way she looks into my eyes," Sigurd said, trying to stare into Yukiko's eyes to see if she had the same disgusted snarl he had. "Takko has learned too much about us, we should kill him" one of the berserkers whispered to Lord Bruce of Essex, who simply nodded at the notion. "He saved my life, and many others" Bruce replied, before walking over to the recently uncrowned Yukiko and her new dungeon master King Sigurd. "Lord Bruce, I wonder if you wouldn't be so kind as to help translate everything she says," Sigurd gestured. Bruce nodded slowly. "I'll do my best," he said "but you should keep the boy with me just as a precaution" he added. King Sigurd scratched his chin in thought, then nodded in agreement.

All the while, the celestial bodies of Gaia whispered to Yukiko and Sigurd. They didn't have reasons, they didn't beg, they simply told the tale of Gaia. They spoke of Eras and his jealous nature. Sagittae amd Atargatis recounted the past as if it had happened to strangers. A vision flashed through Sigurd's mind all of a sudden. In a split second, he saw a large white serpent, a strange foreign spaceship and a portal with new gods and new weapons. Or were they new? Sigurd shook the thoughts from his head and ordered that two berserkers escort Seno Miyagi to the Tower dungeon at the base of the mountain, while Takao and Yukiko be allowed to eat and drink alone in peace while guarded by four berserkers in the great hall.

"Rollo," Sigurd said calmly, causing Hrollaug to look at him. "Send out my messengers, and send word to your brother" the king said. "I want heralds travelling north, south, east and west throughout Ellaria, have them come back with some good news for once" he commanded. Prince Hrollaug nodded before carrying out his father's orders. King Sigurd then sat down at the large crescent shaped wooden dining table between Yukiko and Takao, who were seated at opposite ends as their meals were brought to them. Sigurd would pour himself a cup of mead using a giant ladle from the mead bowl and take a swig, wiping his mouth on his armsleeve without saying anything else, only allowing everyone else apart from his guests to leave the hall in silence.

"Come on you pansies, get back to work!" Brokkr the Smith yelled, taking charge of the situation as hundreds of miners, workers and blacksmiths struggled to clean up the mess left behind by the sudden power surge. The viking smiths wasted no time in laboring in the darkness with their greenstone lanturns and torches. Although a lot of their more hightech inventions and electronics had been destroyed, all of their medieval machinery and equipment was still operational. Brokkr the Smith would use that luck to his advantage, gathering the junk that Kraiger Nallesson and the Ghost Warriors had confiscated from the Taiyou mineshaft and sending it into the factory to be re-examined by the Norse craftsmen. While most of the black gemstones were broken, cracked or shattered, it seemed that the greenstones and native sunstones were all still working just fine. Brunnard's Batteries were broken, but the parts were still salvageable and possibly even fixable as the craftsmen and inventors worked restlessly to restore their industry and gain back the many advancements they had lost overnight.

As the storm began to pass, Brunnard the Blacksmith slowly regained consciousness and opened his eyes just in time to catch the hand of Caille Douglas, who was about to slap him again. "Come on lad, wa- Haha! You're awake!" Caille said with a smile as Brunnard brushed his hand away. "What happened?" he asked in a state of tired confusion. "Ah the forge was struck by a wee bit uh lightning it seems," Caille answered, helping the blacksmith back to his feet. "But ye appear to be none the wear" he said, his strong Irish accent and Celtic apparel making him stand out among the other Nordic inventors and metalworkers. Just then, there was a web of pink and purple heat lightning which lit up the sky, and for a brief moment Caille could see that Brunnard's dark reddish brown hair had turned completely whitish blonde. "Oi, your hair! It's white as snow," Caille said in astonishment. Brunnard picked up a metal plate and looked into it like a mirror, staring at his own reflection. "Hm, that's odd" the largely stocked muscular Norseman mumbled. "Eh, it kinda suits ye. Makes you look more handsome if ye ask me" Caille chuckled. Brunnard just scoffed, throwing the metal plate at the Celtic Irishman, causing him to flinch and move as the saucer hit his arm.

"Hmmm, what's this?" Brunnard asked as he spotted a chrysanthemum growing from the crack of a rock beneath his feet. Caille would grab a small handheld pickaxe from near the broken anvil and handed it over to the Norse smith. Brunnard plucked the pinkish gemstone out of the rock and held it up to look at it. "I've ne'er seen one of those before lad. Eht looks feddy powderful" Caille said, the both of them staring at the rare gem with its pink tincture reflecting off of their icey blue and hazel green eyes. At that moment, a strange feeling came over both of them at the same time. Brunnard turned to look at Caille, then handed him the gemstone quietly. Caille would carry the chrysanthemum over to one of the work tables and examined it closely under a magnifying glass that he himself had invented as Brunnard turned his attention to all of the shattered black gemstones near the broken anvil. Only one of them was still glowing feintly purple, pulsating at Kettil Flatnose's work desk, while two of the stones were missing. "Where's the Stormrider?" the blacksmith asked. "Ey, the old man sent it off before we could finish it," Caille answered, still examining the new find. "I wonder why this stone didn't break," Brunnard mumbled out loud. He picked up the glowing purple crystal and looked at it. "Hmmm, Caille, where is old Flatnose anyway?"

Meanwhile...
On the rocky trail leading down the mountains...

Kettil Flatnose was driving his cattle wagon back down the hidden rocky path, heading northwest towards the Weargtooth Mountains again with a cart full of new supplies and weaponry. He was wearing a long grey cloak with a wide brimmed pointed hat, carrying two of the glowing gemstones in his possession. On the back of his spoked wheeled cart was a large beige canvas tarp, covering up the supplies he planned to drop off at Iskjerne Bay for the king and prince. Kettil's cattle were large, stocky and heavy with thick wholly hides bred for the northern slopes. Although they were slower than the Norsemen's typical Icelandic horses, they were much more powerful and well built for the snowy mountainous terrain. It wouldn't take long to cross the forest towards the next mountain range. By the time Kettil reached Iskjerne Bay though, the workers at the Rainbow Falls would have things back up and running normal again. But that was the least of his concerns at that moment. Kettil was determined to reach Hrollaug the Walker before it was too late.

The clocks were no longer ticking, but time was of the essence...

With the look the viking gave Aquari it was clear that her language was just has lost on him as his was on her. Aquari looked to the sea. She looked back at the viking. Slowly she took a few steps towards the sea as she made a gesture with her fingers that looked like walking. "I am just going to walk to the sea." Aquari said her hand making a wave motion. Engöll watched cautiously, quirking his eyebrows in confusion. What a strange individual, he thought quietly to himself as Aquari took off and started heading back down towards the sea. "Hvað? Litla stelpa, bíddu! Sjórinn er hættu--" Engöll Corysson was suddenly interrupted. "Engöll, what in Odin's beard are you doing?" Jarl Hethel asked, walking up over the grassy hill towards him with a look of curiosity.

"I thought I told you to wait inside," the jarl said as he stepped up on top of the slope. Hethel Svensson had not noticed Aquari at all as she took off and disappeared towards the sea. Engöll turned his head to look at Hethel, then back towards the beach. "There was a little girl here just a second ago," he replied, looking for Aquari again. "A little girl? Out here? In the middle of nowhere? I think you need to sleep my friend. Your mind will play games with your eyes out here. Come, we have new business to discuss" the jarl said before heading towards the great hall. Engöll would take one last glance back at the waves before putting his arrow away and turning to follow the jarl through the wooden fence to their encampment.

By now, the other viking ulfhednar were beginning to wake up. Hethel and Engoll entered the large open hall just in time to see Fudørn, Stryder, and the others getting motivated. The vikings would lite a fire and eat a seafood breakfast before going to work. Hethel debriefed all of them on their current situation and gave each of them a specific task to do. "Fudørn, you will be in charge while I am gone," Hethel said abruptly as the vikings were going about their different jobs within the camp. "Gone? Wait, what? Where are you going?" the wise man asked. "There is something I must do," Hethel said while grabbing his heavy wolfskin coat and fur snowcap. "Take care of the gang for me and look after the ship. She's your responsibility now," he said before opening the doors and leaving the great hall in a hurry. "Wait! What about the--" Fudørn never finished his sentence before the doors slammed closed.

Hethel grabbed his spear again, using it as a walking stick as he headed off by himself towards the Exalted Mountains...