"As are you," Moloch said. His tone was that of a man stating a fact. Aada looked at him from the corner of her eye before she dropped her gaze downward. She turned her hands over one another. This never happened. She never blushed from a compliment. She never stuttered over her words. Quite simply, a man had never had this impact on her before. But then, she had never met a man quite like Moloch.
A stray lock of hair fell in Aada's face. She pushed the lock back behind her ear, "Thank you."
She looked back up at the stars. Her gaze flickered across the constellations. Alfvaldr had his shield raised as he did every night. Across the sky was Alfgautr with his sword raised, the two brothers prepared for battle. Aada pointed to Alfvaldr's constellation, "Our people tell stories about the stars. That is Alfvaldr and that one," she pointed to the cluster of stars across the sky, "is his brother Alfgautr. Alfvaldr is our patron of war and honour, while Alfgautr is the patron of war and vengeance. They are two sides of the same coin.
"The story goes that a rival chieftain killed Alfgautr's wife after a feud between the two tribes. Understandably, Alfgautr sought a swift revenge on the chieftain for murdering his wife. Sensing that his brother's actions would lead to an escalation, Alfvaldr refused to raise his sword in aggression, deciding instead to defend his family while Alfgautr headed out. Alfgautr found his vengeance and returned home. This time, the chieftain murdered Alfgautr's daughter and once again Alfvaldr stayed to defend his family while Alfgautr wished for the chieftain to suffer his pain. The bloodshed escalated until finally the chieftain killed Alfgautr.
"Alfvaldr despaired at the bloodshed. Seeing how Alfgautr's actions had lead to his own death, Alfvaldr sought only to defend his people. The years passed and a new chieftan sought to reignite the blood feud between their people. Rather than attacking the people, he insulted Alfvaldr's honour, claiming that his weakness had meant Alfgautr had died. Alfvaldr answered the taunts by challenging the chieftain to a duel, with the promise that regardless of the outcome, there would be no retribution from either side. Alfvaldr won the duel and returned home to peace, never seeking war but only defending what was his. Perhaps, had the brother's acted together, the bloodshed could have been avoided."
Aada caught herself and let out a small laugh, "Forgive me," she said, turning to Moloch, "I doubt you came to hear fanciful tales about starry warriors."