Wulfric the Warrior
Overview:
After having died and reincarnated once more thanks to Seraphim, Asier fully realized what his legacy and heritage was. He was the primary target of Odin's Wild Hunt and he turned himself over because of the many crimes he committed. The Aesir shaved his head both as a symbol of shame and to hopefully suppress his Heiko. He took on no name, being chained in the island of Lyngvi alongside Fenrir who was constantly near his side although both were nasty to one another. Eventually, they developed a mutual respect for one another through their many talks as they had no one else. Fenrir grew to especially trust him during Frigga's visits, who was visiting Fenrir as Fenrir was her loyal companion before the gods betrayed him. Frigga fell in love with the man chained before Fenrir, coming to name him Wulfric, King of Wolves.
Wulfric is eventually freed by Frigga and, despite having had a child with her named Balderich, found no opportunity to stay with her as she still found her duties with the gods. He roams on his own with the goal of releasing Fenrir, who he swore to set free. In this journey, he seeks the woman named Syntyche as she was rumored to have vast knowledge. He woes Syntyche to give her information and the two become partners. Although Syntyche loved Wulfric, he did not love her as his heart was still with Frigga who was steadily growing tired of the Aesir clan's enslavement of the Jotunn.
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Appearance:
He shared many similarities to Asier in appearance. Long, ocean blue hair, silver eyes, and a pale, handsome face. Wulfric looked older than his precursors and was much taller and more olympic in build. He always wore the traditional golden armor, plated throughout his body. This time, it held silver symbols and archaic runes throughout them. Wulfric also wore a a white wolf's pelt around his shoulder when out in the open.
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Personality:
Wulfric was much more loose mannered than his predecessors. He didn't enjoy serious matters and would rather much avoid situations of drama. When he was relaxing, he'd always have a cup of wine and end up intoxicating himself to the point where he became loud and obnoxious. His friend, Edward, enjoyed making Wulfric drunk so they could both be rude to others. When he was serious, he came off as a noble just as he should. In truth, he intoxicated himself and was obnoxious in order to distract himself from the memories of his atrocities as Asier, which continued to haunt him.
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Abilities:
-Titanic Levels of Energy: Although he already had an awe-striking amount of energy, his energy reserves became monstrous when he became Ignatius, even with his inability to connect to the Planes of Existence. His lack of proper control had his energy running rampant and further plunged the Chaos Realm into ruin. Everything around him died and crumbled because of this.
-Transcendent Physiology: His physical strength resembled that of a demon, able to crush mountains with his bare hands and rustle with titanic beings.
-Energy Manipulation: He was able to manipulate all energies and create unimaginable techniques of high power.
-Yggdrasil Family Abilities: He held all Yggdrasil Abilities such as Equilibrium Body, Vaerne, Vaere, Aether, etc.
-Jotunn Abilities: .
-Kvelda Heiko (Evening Draws In): The Heiko Ignatius had carried onto Wulfric and he was able to utilize its same abilities to a greater extent than before. With his Kvelda Heiko, he was able to enslave any energy and enforce the Kvelda Heiko into that energy. From there, he could choose to either seal, entomb, empower, or utilize the energy that was directed at. Not only that, but Wulfric was capable of influencing other energies without needing to enslave them just by directing Heiko energy towards them. This allowed him to easily gain control of someone without taking them against their will, rather the being thinking they're doing it in their own free will.
Energy Radiation Type: .
-Energy Color: Silver
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Possesions:
-Eternal Weapon of Messiah: .
-Eternal Weapon of Thanatos: .
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Techniques:
-Seven Blades of the Metatron:
After having died and reincarnated once more thanks to Seraphim, Asier fully realized what his legacy and heritage was. He was the primary target of Odin's Wild Hunt and he turned himself over because of the many crimes he committed. The Aesir shaved his head both as a symbol of shame and to hopefully suppress his Heiko. He took on no name, being chained in the island of Lyngvi alongside Fenrir who was constantly near his side although both were nasty to one another. Eventually, they developed a mutual respect for one another through their many talks as they had no one else. Fenrir grew to especially trust him during Frigga's visits, who was visiting Fenrir as Fenrir was her loyal companion before the gods betrayed him. Frigga fell in love with the man chained before Fenrir, coming to name him Wulfric, King of Wolves.
Wulfric is eventually freed by Frigga and, despite having had a child with her named Balderich, found no opportunity to stay with her as she still found her duties with the gods. He roams on his own with the goal of releasing Fenrir, who he swore to set free. In this journey, he seeks the woman named Syntyche as she was rumored to have vast knowledge. He woes Syntyche to give her information and the two become partners. Although Syntyche loved Wulfric, he did not love her as his heart was still with Frigga who was steadily growing tired of the Aesir clan's enslavement of the Jotunn.
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Appearance:
He shared many similarities to Asier in appearance. Long, ocean blue hair, silver eyes, and a pale, handsome face. Wulfric looked older than his precursors and was much taller and more olympic in build. He always wore the traditional golden armor, plated throughout his body. This time, it held silver symbols and archaic runes throughout them. Wulfric also wore a a white wolf's pelt around his shoulder when out in the open.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personality:
Wulfric was much more loose mannered than his predecessors. He didn't enjoy serious matters and would rather much avoid situations of drama. When he was relaxing, he'd always have a cup of wine and end up intoxicating himself to the point where he became loud and obnoxious. His friend, Edward, enjoyed making Wulfric drunk so they could both be rude to others. When he was serious, he came off as a noble just as he should. In truth, he intoxicated himself and was obnoxious in order to distract himself from the memories of his atrocities as Asier, which continued to haunt him.
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Abilities:
-Titanic Levels of Energy: Although he already had an awe-striking amount of energy, his energy reserves became monstrous when he became Ignatius, even with his inability to connect to the Planes of Existence. His lack of proper control had his energy running rampant and further plunged the Chaos Realm into ruin. Everything around him died and crumbled because of this.
-Transcendent Physiology: His physical strength resembled that of a demon, able to crush mountains with his bare hands and rustle with titanic beings.
-Energy Manipulation: He was able to manipulate all energies and create unimaginable techniques of high power.
-Yggdrasil Family Abilities: He held all Yggdrasil Abilities such as Equilibrium Body, Vaerne, Vaere, Aether, etc.
-Jotunn Abilities: .
-Kvelda Heiko (Evening Draws In): The Heiko Ignatius had carried onto Wulfric and he was able to utilize its same abilities to a greater extent than before. With his Kvelda Heiko, he was able to enslave any energy and enforce the Kvelda Heiko into that energy. From there, he could choose to either seal, entomb, empower, or utilize the energy that was directed at. Not only that, but Wulfric was capable of influencing other energies without needing to enslave them just by directing Heiko energy towards them. This allowed him to easily gain control of someone without taking them against their will, rather the being thinking they're doing it in their own free will.
Energy Radiation Type: .
-Energy Color: Silver
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Possesions:
-Eternal Weapon of Messiah: .
-Eternal Weapon of Thanatos: .
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Techniques:
-Seven Blades of the Metatron:
Wulfric's Saga
These events are told from the point of view of Wulfric the Warrior as his recollections. They are subject to his perspective and accounts of events, whether true or not.
Chapter 1 - The Fallen Angel
The King of Wolves, First Prince of the Jotunn, Harbinger of Chaos, Dweller of Light and Darkness, The Dread Wolf...Wulfric.
![Picture](/uploads/1/9/3/1/19316073/published/wulfric-3.jpg?1522214762)
As I was dying, I was angry that I had been defeated - I mean, who wouldn't be? Yet there was a calm sense of relief in dying that I had never experienced in my long life. For the first time...I had found peace!
...And then of course that self-righteous bastard Vehuiah revived me.
I awoke before him, surrounded in light, naked and confused, shivering as if I had swam in the poison rivers of Niflheim, confused. We were alone thankfully and he placed his hand on my shoulder, looking at me and said in his deep, sorrowful voice, "Brother, I have raised you from perdition. Your spirit had been taken to Nastrond."
Those words broke me out of my befuddled stupor, the memories of my prior life rushing back into me. I felt only shame wrenching at my heart, wanting only to return to the hole I had been thrown in (I later get that wish). I could not look my brother in the eyes, yet he placed his hand on my chin and raised it so I could look at him in those glowing lanterns that were his eyes.
"I know the shame you must feel because I know you would have done none of it had you been truly you." His words were soothing, warming my cold body. "We have forgiven you, but you must forgive yourself. You know those deeds were not of your will, Asier."
I opened my mouth, fumbling at thoughts until I finally croaked, "That was not Asier. I am not Asier. I do not deserve the name our Father gave me...I wish to be no one."
I got up shakily, willing my Al-Vaepni to take form around me, but it did not appear. Vehuiah looked at me curiously before waving his hand, constructing white robes of thin light to clothe me. I muttered a thanks and then turned away from him, looking around me finally to see where I was.
"This is where you fell," said Vehuiah.
Indeed it was, we were on Earth. The battle that had been fought previously left no forest or natural mountain, only endless gashes that made the valleys, lifted earth that formed new mountain chains, and a black sea of scorched grass.
"The gods will be here at any moment now that it's over," I sighed, turning back to Vehuiah, "they left their mortals alone while I fought Agmund, fearing his wrath."
"It's sensible."
"It's cowardice, but what do I know about sensibility? I lost my own senses...." My voice trailed off as I came to a realization of what I must do next. "Thank you, Vehuiah. You had given me a chance of redeeming my name, but I must face the consequences of my actions."
Just then, beams of colorful light struck the ground around us in a circular form, dying down to find us surrounded by glowing men and women clad in armor and carrying weapons.
"Then I leave you, Brother." Vehuiah's 6 wings spread open wide behind him, shining with a blinding golden light. "Know that you still have comrades in Aether." With a blast of light, he was gone.
I don't want to get into the details of what happened next, just know that the people that came for me were the Aesir and Vanir. They were pretty livid at the fact that I did battle with the most powerful being in the universe on their precious home planet. That along with the fact that they were already trying to hunt me down for the crimes I committed. Nonetheless, I turned myself over quietly...or as quietly as I could while they were yanking me around and being rather brutal with chaining me and all.
They took me to Asgard, riding along the Rainbow Bridge, Bifrost, on a chariot to my trial. This was my third time seeing Asgard. The first time was when Ragnarok was going down and most of the city was in ruins, Titans and Eoten outside the gates, while the second time I had gotten into a nasty skirmish with Asa-Thor and blew a good chunk of the city away...which is one of the crimes I committed.
The trial itself was rather boring. I faced all the gods and high elves of Asgard, every single important person was there in that chamber that really resembled an arena. The entire time, I was more focused on the young blonde girl sitting next to that old geezer Odin. Even from where I was standing, I could see her striking electric blue eyes that looked as if they could smite me with a gaze. She had high cheeks that pronounced her fair skin, lips of a soft pink. Within her neatly tied hair were pointed ears that could only come from an elf or a Jotunn. She was no god. Why was she sitting beside the Allfather?
I confessed to my crimes before Tywaz, God of Justice, rather distractedly because that girl had peaked my interest, and to my great surprise they didn't want my head on a spike. Instead what I got was much worse. They shaved my fucking head. The IDIOTS thought that it would suppress my Heiko and they wouldn't believe me when I was shouting at them that it doesn't work like that, but Asa-Thor carried on in cutting my hair until I was bare with a wicked glee in his eyes, no doubt thinking about the time I smacked him with his own hammer into his mother's chambers. I swore vengeance that day....Oh and I was going to be chained and thrown into the Well of Sorrows in Lyngvi, Calluna with the Titan of Fear, Fenrir.
...And then of course that self-righteous bastard Vehuiah revived me.
I awoke before him, surrounded in light, naked and confused, shivering as if I had swam in the poison rivers of Niflheim, confused. We were alone thankfully and he placed his hand on my shoulder, looking at me and said in his deep, sorrowful voice, "Brother, I have raised you from perdition. Your spirit had been taken to Nastrond."
Those words broke me out of my befuddled stupor, the memories of my prior life rushing back into me. I felt only shame wrenching at my heart, wanting only to return to the hole I had been thrown in (I later get that wish). I could not look my brother in the eyes, yet he placed his hand on my chin and raised it so I could look at him in those glowing lanterns that were his eyes.
"I know the shame you must feel because I know you would have done none of it had you been truly you." His words were soothing, warming my cold body. "We have forgiven you, but you must forgive yourself. You know those deeds were not of your will, Asier."
I opened my mouth, fumbling at thoughts until I finally croaked, "That was not Asier. I am not Asier. I do not deserve the name our Father gave me...I wish to be no one."
I got up shakily, willing my Al-Vaepni to take form around me, but it did not appear. Vehuiah looked at me curiously before waving his hand, constructing white robes of thin light to clothe me. I muttered a thanks and then turned away from him, looking around me finally to see where I was.
"This is where you fell," said Vehuiah.
Indeed it was, we were on Earth. The battle that had been fought previously left no forest or natural mountain, only endless gashes that made the valleys, lifted earth that formed new mountain chains, and a black sea of scorched grass.
"The gods will be here at any moment now that it's over," I sighed, turning back to Vehuiah, "they left their mortals alone while I fought Agmund, fearing his wrath."
"It's sensible."
"It's cowardice, but what do I know about sensibility? I lost my own senses...." My voice trailed off as I came to a realization of what I must do next. "Thank you, Vehuiah. You had given me a chance of redeeming my name, but I must face the consequences of my actions."
Just then, beams of colorful light struck the ground around us in a circular form, dying down to find us surrounded by glowing men and women clad in armor and carrying weapons.
"Then I leave you, Brother." Vehuiah's 6 wings spread open wide behind him, shining with a blinding golden light. "Know that you still have comrades in Aether." With a blast of light, he was gone.
I don't want to get into the details of what happened next, just know that the people that came for me were the Aesir and Vanir. They were pretty livid at the fact that I did battle with the most powerful being in the universe on their precious home planet. That along with the fact that they were already trying to hunt me down for the crimes I committed. Nonetheless, I turned myself over quietly...or as quietly as I could while they were yanking me around and being rather brutal with chaining me and all.
They took me to Asgard, riding along the Rainbow Bridge, Bifrost, on a chariot to my trial. This was my third time seeing Asgard. The first time was when Ragnarok was going down and most of the city was in ruins, Titans and Eoten outside the gates, while the second time I had gotten into a nasty skirmish with Asa-Thor and blew a good chunk of the city away...which is one of the crimes I committed.
The trial itself was rather boring. I faced all the gods and high elves of Asgard, every single important person was there in that chamber that really resembled an arena. The entire time, I was more focused on the young blonde girl sitting next to that old geezer Odin. Even from where I was standing, I could see her striking electric blue eyes that looked as if they could smite me with a gaze. She had high cheeks that pronounced her fair skin, lips of a soft pink. Within her neatly tied hair were pointed ears that could only come from an elf or a Jotunn. She was no god. Why was she sitting beside the Allfather?
I confessed to my crimes before Tywaz, God of Justice, rather distractedly because that girl had peaked my interest, and to my great surprise they didn't want my head on a spike. Instead what I got was much worse. They shaved my fucking head. The IDIOTS thought that it would suppress my Heiko and they wouldn't believe me when I was shouting at them that it doesn't work like that, but Asa-Thor carried on in cutting my hair until I was bare with a wicked glee in his eyes, no doubt thinking about the time I smacked him with his own hammer into his mother's chambers. I swore vengeance that day....Oh and I was going to be chained and thrown into the Well of Sorrows in Lyngvi, Calluna with the Titan of Fear, Fenrir.
Chapter 2. The Dread Wolf
The love of a lonely wolf, full of secrets and strange midnights - drawn out of the darkness of hills thick with black oaks. Valleys riddled with riddles - that love is sharper than a bed of thistles; each kiss pares away flesh. The love of a wolf can eat you up all the better.
![Picture](/uploads/1/9/3/1/19316073/published/wulfric-and-frigga-2.jpg?1522262645)
And then I fell into a pit...again...for what felt like eternity until I smacked onto the rather soft ground. There was only darkness around me, illuminated only by the faint, pale moonlight glow of my body's Heiko. I took a few steps on the warm, black grass beneath me, unable to see the walls of this cave. All was silent and my mind ran with questions and confusion as to where that stupid wolf would be, until the ground beneath me trembled and I quickly realized that what I was on was not ground, it was alive!
I leaped off the enormous creature, falling for a few seconds until I hit hard ground, rolling onto my feet to look behind me in awe at the creature. It took me a moment to process just what I was looking at.
Before me was a colossal wolf, staring down at me from several stories above with three pairs of crimson eyes split from the middle by black slits. Flames coiled between its sharp, yellow teeth as big as any giant, steam hissing from its snarling jaws. Its fiery red breath lit up the vast cave, allowing me to see its dirty black fur and the fact that the wolf was laying on its stomach. The beast had been slumbering.
Snapping out of my awe, I called up to it, "You must be the Monster of Hope: Fenrir! I don't see any chains on you!"
It all happened inconceivably quick. Crimson fire spilled before me, snapped away by a rushing yellow wall that opened into pure darkness; and then I was wrenched back away from that endless void at the clanging sound of chains, smacking into the farthest wall of the cave. Reeling from the impact, I looked around me dazed to see golden, thick chains locked around my legs and hands, also feeling another wrapped tightly around my neck.
Miles away, I could see the beast wrestling with his own chains as he had been yanked back into the cave walls by silver, thin chains. Crimson fumes erupted from his mouth in his struggle, yellow teeth gnawing at the chains around his neck so furiously, his sweltering hot blood fell from the ground.
The chains dissipated, disappearing as quick as they appeared allowing me to move freely again.
"I see how this works then," I muttered to myself, rubbing my wrists, "the moment we do anything aggressive, our bonds appear." I looked over at the monster ways away from me, studying him in his fury, noticing old scars and fresh gashes on his arms, legs, and neck. I called to him, "Give it up! Your chains are stronger than mine, you have less hope than I do!"
The wolf stopped, its eyes turning to me, a piercing calculation to them that prickled the hairs of my body to stand on end. Finally, his silver bonds faded. He shook his body, licking his wounds and then turned to me again, walking over and reaching me with only a few strides. I had to crane my neck and lean back to make eye contact with him.
He spoke in his deep, eerily soothing voice that echoed through the cave with each word, "I mistook you for food...I had believed the gods were taking pity on me and decided to give me man-flesh today....It wouldn't be the first time." He looked to my right, guiding my gaze over to mounds of skulls and bones of varying sizes, even a few unmistakable elder dragon bones among the piles. "Instead I'm given company....Why?"
I looked back up at him for a second, moving down to look at his chest because it was easier than straining my neck, "Why I'm here? Well you know genocide of whole species of Vaettir; dryads and rås, slaying Aion Chronos' minor Eternal servant, Asteria. Also setting free the dullahans of Svartalfheim upon Midgard, the Eoten that were sealed in Kharneth, and Ymir from Muspellheim. I launched a siege of Asgard and Vanaheim, stole some Iron Thane Weapons, -"
"Enough," snarled Fenrir. "I've heard enough of your despicable crimes."
"What's wrong? We're both criminals down here, menaces to the worlds and its peoples."
Fenrir's mouth rumbled, my words had angered him, "Criminals? My crime is living...my crime is yet to be and by now who could blame me for acting upon that prophecy? Do not compare us, we are not the same, ignorant vermin."
And that was my very first interaction with Fenrir. Frankly, he did make me feel more shame for everything I did. Getting talked down to and told you're worse than the Titan of Fear, Monster of Hope, Devourer of the Nine, Bringer of Nightmares, The Fame Wolf by the God of Rebellion, The Old Wolf, He Who Dwells in the Primal Streams himself does tend to humble you.
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Days passed and nights passed without the both of us knowing. It was almost impossible to tell. From the gaping hole far in the Well's skies, dense fog would spill in and the only thing that changed was how far down it went. On rare occasions, it would reach the bottom of this cave so that one couldn't even see their own hand in front of them, but you could always see the massive horizontal lines glowing in the distance, their calculating crimson gaze remaining firmly on me. The Warden would haul food down the Well for the both of us, sometimes alive and sometimes not, and the wolf's eyes would always be on me.
Finally after this happening way too many times for comfort, I broke the ice, "Soooo...we got off to a bad start, which was pretty unavoidable, but sorry for offending you, I wasn't aware of your circumstances." His eyes remained focused on me as he licked the massive skull of a dragon clean, but not responding. "Soooo...you're Fenrir. I don't have a name and I don't really plan to. I used to be named Asier, but I don't want to be called that anymore, not after everything I did."
This time I waited for a response, but it didn't come. He continued cleaning the skull, not paying me any heed except for his gaze. I opened my mouth to speak once more, but he cut me off, "Asier?...The Hero of the First Age? I have heard of you. The gods lavished you with praise when I was a pup, praise turned to mourning a tragic hero when I began joining them on their hunts, and mourning turned to cursing your name by the time the gods plotted to bind me." He opened his mouth around the skull, the size of a villa, but a mere coin between his teeth, and snapped it into millions of shards in his mouth. "They say you killed Athanasius and saved the worlds from destruction before Valhalla's gates. You disappeared for a time and your name became legend, until a dreaded youth with your likeness and abilities appeared once more to bring chaos upon the worlds and disrupt the gods' order."
He pushed another dragon bone in front of him, this time from an arm, and began cleaning the fat around it. I fiddled with a large, muddy boar's tusk between my fingers, looking down at it as I responded, "And I know very little of you other than how your family are Titans and how you're the wolf destined to bring the doom of Odin, which is why you're here I assume."
"I can tell you why I'm here...but first tell me why a legendary hero as yourself would fall so low...."
I looked back up at the wolf and was startled to see him now intently looking at me, arms folded in front of him, the bone he had been cleaning now gone. I smiled to myself at the ridiculous situation, "Fine then. Just come over here, I don't want to have my voice raised the entire time." His eyes squinted at me, clearly not trusting me and I could see in his face that he was deciding whether or not to heed me. "Oh come on now," I called to him, "what am I going to do to you? No one's down here to see us if you're embarrassed about having a conversation with me."
He continued deciding for a moment, finally coming to the conclusion that I was right and arose, walking over to me in a few strides. He lay on his stomach again, folding his arms in front of him politely and bringing his head down to look directly at me. It was such a gentle scene that I had the urge to reach over and pet his snout, but I knew better than to push my luck like that.
"Well...I guess I should start with what I can remember from the aftermath of my battle against Athanasius...." I went on, spilling my story to him about how I fell to become so violent and dreaded across the worlds. All the while, he listened intently and silently, for the first time not a hint of malice in his eyes. There was just pure curiosity and an innocence that made me pity the wolf, but I knew he would not like me saying that. I spoke until my voice became hoarse and I could see sleep overcoming the wolf through his now lazy eyes, "You can tell me your story another time, we're both too tired."
Without a word, the wolf fell asleep in front of me. I chuckled to myself once again realizing the ridiculous situation, me telling my story and sleeping with perhaps the most dangerous Titan of all? I looked down at my hands, still clutching the boar's tusk in my hand, my hands now coarse and browned with dry mud. I looked back up at the sleeping wolf, his breaths calm, yet great due to his enormous size. Dust lifted with each breath and the ground trembled ever so slightly at the steady beat of his heart against the rough ground. I whispered to myself with a smirk, "Fenrir the Dread Wolf...."
Just then, a loud snap echoed throughout the Well and I whipped my head to my right toward the source, my hands raising the boar's tusk up as I adopted a defensive stance instinctively. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadowy figure flit out of sight behind a mound of old bones, muttering to myself, "Strange...I thought it was just us." I turned my head to look at Fenrir who was still dozed calmly as if nothing had occurred. "Fenrir the Deaf Wolf...." I chuckled to myself. I walked over to where the bone had snapped, noticing boot marks on the dusted soil. They were thin and small, yet proportional.
"Female," I thought to myself.
I followed the trail, clutching the boar tusk tightly, carefully walking over mounds of bones as to not alert the stranger to my advance. My bare footfalls were silent as I strained my eyes to look past the darkness. Only mounds and mounds were seen, "You've been here for a while then, eh Fenrir... " I thought to myself. I listened closely for the movements of the stranger. She was able to mask her movements quite well, her own footfalls were muted, yet her mistake was wearing boots. Just faintly, you could hear leather squeaking past damp grass. Wait, grass?
My advance became quicker, my mind racing, "Wet grass? That must mean...." I could hear the rushing of water, spraying and flushing furiously in the distance. The trail turned away to my right, going around what seemed to be the oldest mound and dustiest mound of bones in the Well, towering as far as Fenrir himself. And around it was an opening, fallen rubble cradling a gap only regular sized beings could cross...and past it was light. I trudged forward, no longer caring to keep my movement silent and the cave opened to an astonishing sight.
The new area was a great chamber. On the ground, grassy terrain hued with an azure glow, radiated by blue moss shining down light from the cave's roof. In the furthest part of the cave opposite of me, tall trees and shrubbery filled with red heather shrouded what would be on the other side of the cave walls. The shape of the cave was circular with some walls more flat than others...and the walls were littered with runes and images formed from what appeared to be watercolors. They swirled like gases, their colors radiant with life. They lured me to them, their popping colors nagging me to look closer at them.
They depicted a people, shining in armor of rainbow colors like the Bifrost. Yet among them was a small black wolf, his three eyes shining at the side of his face with an emerald zeal. The people were playing with the pup. My eyes followed the paintings to the right, clearly following a chronological order. The black wolf grew larger and larger with each passing illustration, and the people were no longer playing with him. They were huddled around each other, away from the wolf who far larger than any man. Only one figure stood by the wolf, cloaked in an emerald robe as to not see the face. My eyes continued to follow the story, the images staying the same save for the wolf growing in its size.
Finally, the wolf was massive, the paintings depicting him as tall as I was while the figures below barely stood as tall as his paw. Now red-eyed, his mouth was open around the cloaked figure...by the next image, the cloaked figure was gone. The people were now armed and ready to take on the wolf, but the wolf was titanic to them and his mouth was open to engage them and by the next painting they were gone. It didn't take a genius to figure out who the wolf was and who the people were.
I heard shuffling behind me and I turned quickly, having forgotten why I was there in the first place. My eyes widened at the sight of a person, cloaked in emerald cloth. Between us, the rushing of a river spilled through both sides of the caves coming from darkness and disappearing into darkness. Just barely through her hood, I could make out an electric blue glow from her eye and my heart skipped a beat, I called out to her, "I SAW YOU BEFORE!" I stepped forward to her, but the rushing of the river brought up a great wave of water towards me and when it fell on me, she was gone. I looked around for her, through the forests and I hounded for her, but she was no where to be found. I rubbed my bare chest, my heart still pounding from the paintings' depictions and the revelation of who the cloaked figure was.
"Fuck," I cursed under my breath. The whole ordeal had left me confused and wet.
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I remained in that strange grove for what felt like eternity, piecing together the information I had received. Then in the distance I heard movement, startling me, but it was movement too heavy for anyone but Fenrir to make. So I walked back to him, eager to tell him of what I had found.
Going from a lighted area to a dark one was disorienting, I could still see the shapes of those paintings as they began to fade from my vision. When I got back to Fenrir, he was cleaning his fur. I walked up to him casually, but he noticed me and began growling, shaking the mounds of bones and my own bones with the deep rumbling of his jaws. Clearly I hadn't yet established my full trust with him.
I took a step back and he stopped growling, his red eyes, now truly giving me discomfort after the paintings I had seen, focused on me.
"Where did you go?" he asked in his soft, echoing voice.
"I had the belief we were the only ones down here. I saw someone was spying on us and followed them." My words didn't seem to shock him and he continued cleaning his fur absentmindedly. "Judging by how you're not shocked about this, you seem to know who this person is?"
He let out a torrent of breaths, which I mistook for angry growling, but when I saw his curled mouth I realized it was a chuckle, "Was it a woman?"
"Her tracks were petite and she did have a feminine face from what I could make beneath her hood. Who is she?"
"You think I'd tell you? If you didn't find out yourself, you failed in your hunt."
"Hunt?"
"The gods would take me hunting with them, the Wild Hunt they would call it. Hunting all manner of prey, especially Jotunn. Any prey I set my eyes upon never escaped. I never failed," he huffed, raising his head proudly, "but you failed. Find out yourself, boy."
"And now you can't escape," I sneered at him, immediately coming to regret my snark.
Next thing I knew, we were on opposite sides smacked against the wall with the chains that bound us reappearing. My throat was ashy and my body lightly roasted. From the other side, Fenrir was breathing fire in his livid outrage.
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, SORRY ABOUT THAT YOU LOOSE-TEMPERED FOOL!" I called to him.
Fenrir looked back at me, spewing fire from his nostrils, shouting back with enough fury to blast a gale of sound at me, "YOU CALL THAT AN APOLOGY?!"
"ADMITTEDLY I'M NOT VERY GREAT AT APOLOGIES!"
The chains faded away and we slid down the wall pathetically, staring at each other. I spoke first, "Sooo...there's another section to this Well you didn't tell me about." He was unresponsive, holding a stoic gaze. "There were paintings, images of you and the gods. You promised to tell me your story."
He maintained his poker face, only showing emotion by the nervous clawing of the ground, "Those images were there long before The First Ragnarok. When the gods found it, they took it as prophecy. They believed I would overthrow them and devour all of them...but it was not in my nature...." He told me about his time in the Wild Hunt, a sense of smugness at the times he would hunt powerful Jotunn and win. Also a sense of dignity at how he considered himself more enlightened than the other Titans. He spoke to me all the way up to the point when the gods betrayed him and sealed him away, a story that left a pit of anger in my heart. "I will not remain here forever, boy. I will one day be free and I will enact my vengeance upon the gods."
"Not long ago, I would have agreed with you. But is it right to seek vengeance? There is order and peace now in the Nine Worlds...destroying the gods would only bring ruin to everything. It's selfish." I retorted. It wasn't that I didn't understand him, I understood him, but I knew it was not the right way to go. I was still trying to be Asier the Champion.
"If there is order and peace without justice, I will have none of it. If there is justice in chaos and ruin, I will have it," he snarled. "They would judge everyone but themselves. I will let fate be that judge."
"If your quest is to seek freedom, you will only be falling to bonds greater than the ones that bind you now. Fate had it expected you would destroy them long before it was in your heart to do so and taking that prophecy to action will only make you fall prey to the bonds of destiny. The tragedy that would come of it will only destroy your heart."
He stood suddenly, marching toward me and stood over me, a glare of ire in his eyes as he shouted with trembling words, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BETRAYED BY THOSE YOU LOVED? I GAVE THEM NOTHING BUT LOYALTY..." from here, he seemed to be speaking to himself and he was shaking his head, shoulders quivering from the pain in his voice, "...and it was repaid with only lies and treachery....Only vengeance can bring me my own peace....You have not faced betrayal. When you are cast aside, what would you do then? Would you live your life with the pain eating at your heart for eternity or would you let free your spirit and bring wrath upon those who made it so?"
A lump had accumulated in my throat with each word of his, made all the worse by his eyes that were now watery from his grief. I was a weaker man then, unable to understand the complexities of life, to which I could only croak, "I-I don't know...."
Fenrir said nothing more, he shook his head and walked over to his corner, laying down turned away from me and bringing his head down.
I leaped off the enormous creature, falling for a few seconds until I hit hard ground, rolling onto my feet to look behind me in awe at the creature. It took me a moment to process just what I was looking at.
Before me was a colossal wolf, staring down at me from several stories above with three pairs of crimson eyes split from the middle by black slits. Flames coiled between its sharp, yellow teeth as big as any giant, steam hissing from its snarling jaws. Its fiery red breath lit up the vast cave, allowing me to see its dirty black fur and the fact that the wolf was laying on its stomach. The beast had been slumbering.
Snapping out of my awe, I called up to it, "You must be the Monster of Hope: Fenrir! I don't see any chains on you!"
It all happened inconceivably quick. Crimson fire spilled before me, snapped away by a rushing yellow wall that opened into pure darkness; and then I was wrenched back away from that endless void at the clanging sound of chains, smacking into the farthest wall of the cave. Reeling from the impact, I looked around me dazed to see golden, thick chains locked around my legs and hands, also feeling another wrapped tightly around my neck.
Miles away, I could see the beast wrestling with his own chains as he had been yanked back into the cave walls by silver, thin chains. Crimson fumes erupted from his mouth in his struggle, yellow teeth gnawing at the chains around his neck so furiously, his sweltering hot blood fell from the ground.
The chains dissipated, disappearing as quick as they appeared allowing me to move freely again.
"I see how this works then," I muttered to myself, rubbing my wrists, "the moment we do anything aggressive, our bonds appear." I looked over at the monster ways away from me, studying him in his fury, noticing old scars and fresh gashes on his arms, legs, and neck. I called to him, "Give it up! Your chains are stronger than mine, you have less hope than I do!"
The wolf stopped, its eyes turning to me, a piercing calculation to them that prickled the hairs of my body to stand on end. Finally, his silver bonds faded. He shook his body, licking his wounds and then turned to me again, walking over and reaching me with only a few strides. I had to crane my neck and lean back to make eye contact with him.
He spoke in his deep, eerily soothing voice that echoed through the cave with each word, "I mistook you for food...I had believed the gods were taking pity on me and decided to give me man-flesh today....It wouldn't be the first time." He looked to my right, guiding my gaze over to mounds of skulls and bones of varying sizes, even a few unmistakable elder dragon bones among the piles. "Instead I'm given company....Why?"
I looked back up at him for a second, moving down to look at his chest because it was easier than straining my neck, "Why I'm here? Well you know genocide of whole species of Vaettir; dryads and rås, slaying Aion Chronos' minor Eternal servant, Asteria. Also setting free the dullahans of Svartalfheim upon Midgard, the Eoten that were sealed in Kharneth, and Ymir from Muspellheim. I launched a siege of Asgard and Vanaheim, stole some Iron Thane Weapons, -"
"Enough," snarled Fenrir. "I've heard enough of your despicable crimes."
"What's wrong? We're both criminals down here, menaces to the worlds and its peoples."
Fenrir's mouth rumbled, my words had angered him, "Criminals? My crime is living...my crime is yet to be and by now who could blame me for acting upon that prophecy? Do not compare us, we are not the same, ignorant vermin."
And that was my very first interaction with Fenrir. Frankly, he did make me feel more shame for everything I did. Getting talked down to and told you're worse than the Titan of Fear, Monster of Hope, Devourer of the Nine, Bringer of Nightmares, The Fame Wolf by the God of Rebellion, The Old Wolf, He Who Dwells in the Primal Streams himself does tend to humble you.
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Days passed and nights passed without the both of us knowing. It was almost impossible to tell. From the gaping hole far in the Well's skies, dense fog would spill in and the only thing that changed was how far down it went. On rare occasions, it would reach the bottom of this cave so that one couldn't even see their own hand in front of them, but you could always see the massive horizontal lines glowing in the distance, their calculating crimson gaze remaining firmly on me. The Warden would haul food down the Well for the both of us, sometimes alive and sometimes not, and the wolf's eyes would always be on me.
Finally after this happening way too many times for comfort, I broke the ice, "Soooo...we got off to a bad start, which was pretty unavoidable, but sorry for offending you, I wasn't aware of your circumstances." His eyes remained focused on me as he licked the massive skull of a dragon clean, but not responding. "Soooo...you're Fenrir. I don't have a name and I don't really plan to. I used to be named Asier, but I don't want to be called that anymore, not after everything I did."
This time I waited for a response, but it didn't come. He continued cleaning the skull, not paying me any heed except for his gaze. I opened my mouth to speak once more, but he cut me off, "Asier?...The Hero of the First Age? I have heard of you. The gods lavished you with praise when I was a pup, praise turned to mourning a tragic hero when I began joining them on their hunts, and mourning turned to cursing your name by the time the gods plotted to bind me." He opened his mouth around the skull, the size of a villa, but a mere coin between his teeth, and snapped it into millions of shards in his mouth. "They say you killed Athanasius and saved the worlds from destruction before Valhalla's gates. You disappeared for a time and your name became legend, until a dreaded youth with your likeness and abilities appeared once more to bring chaos upon the worlds and disrupt the gods' order."
He pushed another dragon bone in front of him, this time from an arm, and began cleaning the fat around it. I fiddled with a large, muddy boar's tusk between my fingers, looking down at it as I responded, "And I know very little of you other than how your family are Titans and how you're the wolf destined to bring the doom of Odin, which is why you're here I assume."
"I can tell you why I'm here...but first tell me why a legendary hero as yourself would fall so low...."
I looked back up at the wolf and was startled to see him now intently looking at me, arms folded in front of him, the bone he had been cleaning now gone. I smiled to myself at the ridiculous situation, "Fine then. Just come over here, I don't want to have my voice raised the entire time." His eyes squinted at me, clearly not trusting me and I could see in his face that he was deciding whether or not to heed me. "Oh come on now," I called to him, "what am I going to do to you? No one's down here to see us if you're embarrassed about having a conversation with me."
He continued deciding for a moment, finally coming to the conclusion that I was right and arose, walking over to me in a few strides. He lay on his stomach again, folding his arms in front of him politely and bringing his head down to look directly at me. It was such a gentle scene that I had the urge to reach over and pet his snout, but I knew better than to push my luck like that.
"Well...I guess I should start with what I can remember from the aftermath of my battle against Athanasius...." I went on, spilling my story to him about how I fell to become so violent and dreaded across the worlds. All the while, he listened intently and silently, for the first time not a hint of malice in his eyes. There was just pure curiosity and an innocence that made me pity the wolf, but I knew he would not like me saying that. I spoke until my voice became hoarse and I could see sleep overcoming the wolf through his now lazy eyes, "You can tell me your story another time, we're both too tired."
Without a word, the wolf fell asleep in front of me. I chuckled to myself once again realizing the ridiculous situation, me telling my story and sleeping with perhaps the most dangerous Titan of all? I looked down at my hands, still clutching the boar's tusk in my hand, my hands now coarse and browned with dry mud. I looked back up at the sleeping wolf, his breaths calm, yet great due to his enormous size. Dust lifted with each breath and the ground trembled ever so slightly at the steady beat of his heart against the rough ground. I whispered to myself with a smirk, "Fenrir the Dread Wolf...."
Just then, a loud snap echoed throughout the Well and I whipped my head to my right toward the source, my hands raising the boar's tusk up as I adopted a defensive stance instinctively. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadowy figure flit out of sight behind a mound of old bones, muttering to myself, "Strange...I thought it was just us." I turned my head to look at Fenrir who was still dozed calmly as if nothing had occurred. "Fenrir the Deaf Wolf...." I chuckled to myself. I walked over to where the bone had snapped, noticing boot marks on the dusted soil. They were thin and small, yet proportional.
"Female," I thought to myself.
I followed the trail, clutching the boar tusk tightly, carefully walking over mounds of bones as to not alert the stranger to my advance. My bare footfalls were silent as I strained my eyes to look past the darkness. Only mounds and mounds were seen, "You've been here for a while then, eh Fenrir... " I thought to myself. I listened closely for the movements of the stranger. She was able to mask her movements quite well, her own footfalls were muted, yet her mistake was wearing boots. Just faintly, you could hear leather squeaking past damp grass. Wait, grass?
My advance became quicker, my mind racing, "Wet grass? That must mean...." I could hear the rushing of water, spraying and flushing furiously in the distance. The trail turned away to my right, going around what seemed to be the oldest mound and dustiest mound of bones in the Well, towering as far as Fenrir himself. And around it was an opening, fallen rubble cradling a gap only regular sized beings could cross...and past it was light. I trudged forward, no longer caring to keep my movement silent and the cave opened to an astonishing sight.
The new area was a great chamber. On the ground, grassy terrain hued with an azure glow, radiated by blue moss shining down light from the cave's roof. In the furthest part of the cave opposite of me, tall trees and shrubbery filled with red heather shrouded what would be on the other side of the cave walls. The shape of the cave was circular with some walls more flat than others...and the walls were littered with runes and images formed from what appeared to be watercolors. They swirled like gases, their colors radiant with life. They lured me to them, their popping colors nagging me to look closer at them.
They depicted a people, shining in armor of rainbow colors like the Bifrost. Yet among them was a small black wolf, his three eyes shining at the side of his face with an emerald zeal. The people were playing with the pup. My eyes followed the paintings to the right, clearly following a chronological order. The black wolf grew larger and larger with each passing illustration, and the people were no longer playing with him. They were huddled around each other, away from the wolf who far larger than any man. Only one figure stood by the wolf, cloaked in an emerald robe as to not see the face. My eyes continued to follow the story, the images staying the same save for the wolf growing in its size.
Finally, the wolf was massive, the paintings depicting him as tall as I was while the figures below barely stood as tall as his paw. Now red-eyed, his mouth was open around the cloaked figure...by the next image, the cloaked figure was gone. The people were now armed and ready to take on the wolf, but the wolf was titanic to them and his mouth was open to engage them and by the next painting they were gone. It didn't take a genius to figure out who the wolf was and who the people were.
I heard shuffling behind me and I turned quickly, having forgotten why I was there in the first place. My eyes widened at the sight of a person, cloaked in emerald cloth. Between us, the rushing of a river spilled through both sides of the caves coming from darkness and disappearing into darkness. Just barely through her hood, I could make out an electric blue glow from her eye and my heart skipped a beat, I called out to her, "I SAW YOU BEFORE!" I stepped forward to her, but the rushing of the river brought up a great wave of water towards me and when it fell on me, she was gone. I looked around for her, through the forests and I hounded for her, but she was no where to be found. I rubbed my bare chest, my heart still pounding from the paintings' depictions and the revelation of who the cloaked figure was.
"Fuck," I cursed under my breath. The whole ordeal had left me confused and wet.
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I remained in that strange grove for what felt like eternity, piecing together the information I had received. Then in the distance I heard movement, startling me, but it was movement too heavy for anyone but Fenrir to make. So I walked back to him, eager to tell him of what I had found.
Going from a lighted area to a dark one was disorienting, I could still see the shapes of those paintings as they began to fade from my vision. When I got back to Fenrir, he was cleaning his fur. I walked up to him casually, but he noticed me and began growling, shaking the mounds of bones and my own bones with the deep rumbling of his jaws. Clearly I hadn't yet established my full trust with him.
I took a step back and he stopped growling, his red eyes, now truly giving me discomfort after the paintings I had seen, focused on me.
"Where did you go?" he asked in his soft, echoing voice.
"I had the belief we were the only ones down here. I saw someone was spying on us and followed them." My words didn't seem to shock him and he continued cleaning his fur absentmindedly. "Judging by how you're not shocked about this, you seem to know who this person is?"
He let out a torrent of breaths, which I mistook for angry growling, but when I saw his curled mouth I realized it was a chuckle, "Was it a woman?"
"Her tracks were petite and she did have a feminine face from what I could make beneath her hood. Who is she?"
"You think I'd tell you? If you didn't find out yourself, you failed in your hunt."
"Hunt?"
"The gods would take me hunting with them, the Wild Hunt they would call it. Hunting all manner of prey, especially Jotunn. Any prey I set my eyes upon never escaped. I never failed," he huffed, raising his head proudly, "but you failed. Find out yourself, boy."
"And now you can't escape," I sneered at him, immediately coming to regret my snark.
Next thing I knew, we were on opposite sides smacked against the wall with the chains that bound us reappearing. My throat was ashy and my body lightly roasted. From the other side, Fenrir was breathing fire in his livid outrage.
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, SORRY ABOUT THAT YOU LOOSE-TEMPERED FOOL!" I called to him.
Fenrir looked back at me, spewing fire from his nostrils, shouting back with enough fury to blast a gale of sound at me, "YOU CALL THAT AN APOLOGY?!"
"ADMITTEDLY I'M NOT VERY GREAT AT APOLOGIES!"
The chains faded away and we slid down the wall pathetically, staring at each other. I spoke first, "Sooo...there's another section to this Well you didn't tell me about." He was unresponsive, holding a stoic gaze. "There were paintings, images of you and the gods. You promised to tell me your story."
He maintained his poker face, only showing emotion by the nervous clawing of the ground, "Those images were there long before The First Ragnarok. When the gods found it, they took it as prophecy. They believed I would overthrow them and devour all of them...but it was not in my nature...." He told me about his time in the Wild Hunt, a sense of smugness at the times he would hunt powerful Jotunn and win. Also a sense of dignity at how he considered himself more enlightened than the other Titans. He spoke to me all the way up to the point when the gods betrayed him and sealed him away, a story that left a pit of anger in my heart. "I will not remain here forever, boy. I will one day be free and I will enact my vengeance upon the gods."
"Not long ago, I would have agreed with you. But is it right to seek vengeance? There is order and peace now in the Nine Worlds...destroying the gods would only bring ruin to everything. It's selfish." I retorted. It wasn't that I didn't understand him, I understood him, but I knew it was not the right way to go. I was still trying to be Asier the Champion.
"If there is order and peace without justice, I will have none of it. If there is justice in chaos and ruin, I will have it," he snarled. "They would judge everyone but themselves. I will let fate be that judge."
"If your quest is to seek freedom, you will only be falling to bonds greater than the ones that bind you now. Fate had it expected you would destroy them long before it was in your heart to do so and taking that prophecy to action will only make you fall prey to the bonds of destiny. The tragedy that would come of it will only destroy your heart."
He stood suddenly, marching toward me and stood over me, a glare of ire in his eyes as he shouted with trembling words, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BETRAYED BY THOSE YOU LOVED? I GAVE THEM NOTHING BUT LOYALTY..." from here, he seemed to be speaking to himself and he was shaking his head, shoulders quivering from the pain in his voice, "...and it was repaid with only lies and treachery....Only vengeance can bring me my own peace....You have not faced betrayal. When you are cast aside, what would you do then? Would you live your life with the pain eating at your heart for eternity or would you let free your spirit and bring wrath upon those who made it so?"
A lump had accumulated in my throat with each word of his, made all the worse by his eyes that were now watery from his grief. I was a weaker man then, unable to understand the complexities of life, to which I could only croak, "I-I don't know...."
Fenrir said nothing more, he shook his head and walked over to his corner, laying down turned away from me and bringing his head down.
Chapter 3. The Stag and the Wolf
Beyond forever there began a love so great, the Heavens wept and the winds cried for a love that lived and a love that died.
![Picture](/uploads/1/9/3/1/19316073/wulfric-and-frigga-3_orig.jpg)
Sleep brought me only dreams of wolves chasing after deer. I was in the eyes of a wolf, my fellow wolves all with 3 pairs of red eyes like Fenrir. We cleaned through brush and shrubbery, mouths open with hunger as saliva trailed and built at the sense of gratification soon to come. A clearing opened and I jumped through, suddenly appearing humongous as my great jaw opened around the deer. It turned around, gazing at me with is electric blue eyes that shocked me awake.
I awoke with a start, heart pounding wildly, teeth aching from clenching them tightly in my sleep. My body glowed dimly with a white glow like moonlight in this pitch darkness. My eyes were still fuzzy from slumber, looking over to the slumbering Fenrir who had turned to look toward me in his sleep. Memories of what had transpired and our previous exchange returned to me, leaving me with a semblance of disappointment at myself. I thought to myself that if I wanted to return to being the hero I was, I have to save the person in front of me now.
Speaking of who was in front of me, there was a shadowy figure in front of Fenrir, hand extended out to his snout, caressing it.
"HEY!" I shouted, immediately regretting that (again). The cloaked figure turned to look at me, also bewildered, and ran the other way. I stumbled onto my feet groggily, muttering to my face, "You're not getting away this time...." I abandoned all stealth and bolted toward the cloaked figure.
It seemed like she was abandoning all stealth as well because she was fast, her legs a blur with me closely behind as we barreled past mounds of bones. I knew just where she was going, my hand sweeping through a giant's skull and gripping it by its teeth. She was about to make it through the small passage into the next cavern until I hurtled the giant's skull into the oldest bone mound that towered high. The skull smashed through it from the base and the tower of bones spilled outward from all sides, covering the passage with bone rubble. She turned, realizing she could not escape. I finally had her cornered.
"HAH! Thought you could just come and go as you please now did you? Now explain yours-"
Green energy blasted against my chest, sending me flying into a great mound of bones that crumbled on top of me. I reacted quickly, flying through the rubble toward her, seeing her left hand already charged with an emerald glow. She shot another burst of energy toward me, but I smacked it away, shouting, "THINK THAT'D WORK TWICE-?" Next thing I knew, the sound of chains snapping rang and I was looking at the ground, golden blood was spilling from my forehead, and the chains tightly gripping at my limbs and forcing me onto the floor. "Fuck." I muttered, dirt in my mouth.
I managed to look up at the cloaked figure, first noticing that she was now barefoot - clearly learned from our last encounter - and that she was kneeling down...her glowing hand outstretched to me, charged.
The blood from my forehead was now falling all over my face, I grinned through the pain and recited proudly, "Do your worst cretin....I've atoned for my crimes and have brought pride back to my name. Though the halls of immortality remain closed to me, my forefathers smile down at me. I embrace death just as I embrace life's cruelty...can you say the sa-?" I noticed the pain fading, the blood along my face disappearing with it...she was healing me, "- oh."
Through the emerald glow of her hand, I could see a smile and she was stifling back laughter. Promptly, I could tell my face was red from embarrassment. Turning away from her abashedly, I mumbled through heated cheeks, "Just kill me now."
"You'll do that to yourself," she smiled, her voice was strong yet sweet and it made me feel even more dopey than the concussion I received.
She helped me up and I ogled her as she pulled away her hood, confirming her identity. She WAS the girl I saw at my trial. Her blonde hair was down, flowing out behind her. But those electric blue eyes of hers remained unchanged and that glow that surrounded her still penetrated the darkness of the cave.
"My name is Frigga, not cretin." She said, answering the question in my mind. "You're...Asier? Right?"
I shook my head both to snap out of my lull and to answer her question, "N-nah. Well, yes. But not really. I don't go by that name anymore or any name. I feel like I have to earn it."
"Really? I thought you had brought back pride back to your name," she replied snidely.
My face flushed with red, "I THOUGHT I was gonna die," I looked away and muttered, "it was the coolest thing I could think of saying." She laughed merrily and my heart flushed. "You DID shoot me into a pile of bones, how was I supposed to know?"
"And you pursued me and decided to ambush me," she snapped back. She was clearly a sharp mind. "Mind you, I was really about to finish you off there. Until you recited that imprudent speech. It made me realize you were just a fool and so I took pity on you."
"You wouldn't be saying that if I had these stupid chains on me," I growled. She had given me the dose of anger that I needed to snap out of my endearment. "At least I have a sense of pride, unlike you who strolls in and out of here hiding her face. I wouldn't have been following you if you weren't so damn clumsy walking in here."
"Clumsy? You decided go for an aerial attack and that's the reason I even had to heal you," she retorted, a satisfied smirk on her lips. "Were you never taught strategy and proper engagement of a foe?"
I hadn't. "I have! Who taught you that makes you so high-minded?"
"My father, Odin."
My eyes widened, "Now I know they call him 'Allfather,' but that doesn't MEAN he's your papa."
"No, you idiot. He's my father. Dad. Parent. He made me."
I paused, "O-oh." I took a step back from her and that just made her cackle even more.
"Where'd all that furious courage go to? Don't worry, my father wouldn't harm you. He knows I can handle criminals just fine."
Oh god that hurt. She thought of me as just another criminal. That gut punch was enough for Vehuiah Seraphim to feel it as my Fylgja.
"I'm in enough trouble as it is," I grumbled bitterly, crossing my arms. "Laying a hand on Odin's daughter would just make things worse for me."
From the corner of my eye I could see her studying me until she remarked, "Don't pout, it makes you look ugly."
I frowned and narrowed my eyes at her, "Yeah well I'm not a big mark of beauty like you, especially since your people decided to shave. My. Fucking. Head."
She gasped, "So you think I'm beautiful? Your bare head isn't that bad. The slight silver glow you emanate makes it look like the moon."
She managed to make me laugh this time. I was going to go crazy by how many ridiculous situations I had been put in since being resurrected. I looked back at her to see her beaming, "See? A smile suits you more. Your smile brings people comfort."
I couldn't help but stare at her, her wide smile had a genuine happiness to it that would stir the heart of even the wicked and I whispered without thought, "It suits you too."
"What was that?"
"Noth-"
"BOY! QUIT MAKING A RACKET! DISTURB MY SLEEP AGAIN AND NEITHER YOUR NOR MY CHAINS WILL HOLD MY WRATH!" Fenrir roared, making my bones tremble. I wasn't sure whether or not he noticed that there were two voices talking or he was just being willfully ignorant at the fact.
Frigga leaned into me whispering, "That's my queue to go then."
"Wait, I want to see you again - I mean, talk to you - I mean...when are you going to return?"
She thought for a moment, an impish smile now on her lips, "You've grown fond of me? You do seem harmless. Meet me tomorrow at midnight in Haakon's Grove. See you there!"
She turned the other way, vaporizing the pile of bones blocking the passage of her escape. I stood there embarrassed for making a fool of myself, but there was some joy in me that I had something or someone to expect now.
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In the moment, I probably should have asked her where exactly Haakon's Grove is and when midnight is. There was no way to tell when midnight was in this place and the forest within the chamber was surprisingly dense. After my last meeting with Frigga, I decided to just wait within the forest with the only clearing I could find. There, I sat on the dewy blue grass to listen intently at any sign of her.
My mind wandered and I thought of this place. Questions filled my mind at the nature of this chamber and the paintings that covered the walls. They clearly depicted Fenrir devouring the gods. Fenrir grows larger and larger until he devours the cloaked figure who, with a lump in my heart, I assume is Frigga. The gods retaliate and attempt to kill Fenrir, but fall as he had grown too large for them to overcome.
But such events never came to be. The gods took preemptive measures out of fear for the worst and imprisoned Fenrir here in the Well of Sorrows. Moreover, Fenrir just doesn't scream murderous intent by nature. If anything, the gods seemed to have bred that vengeance within him.
"My crime is living...my crime is yet to be and by now who could blame me for acting upon that prophecy? " Fenrir's words to me on my first night here. A wolf whose life is tragedy bound by the indifference of fate.
I stared at my hands as I sat there on the grass, balling them into fists as a flicker of anger burned through me. He hates those who pity him, but these feelings in my heart that weigh on me are not of pity. Tragedy. I know of it. I don't believe in fate, only in the actions of people and deities alike. My own life was thrust and flung by higher beings than me and in that I share with Fenrir. The fear of our potential and the fear that others will no longer be able to control us. What I feel in my heart is rage at the lack of justice in the wolf's life and the hypocrisy of the gods who preached it.
"Why are you sitting there with a big scowl on your face?"
I jumped onto my feet from surprise, snapping free from my thoughts and turning to the voice. Frigga was walking towards me with a grin on her face. She wore the same thing as always, her black cloak dragging behind her with the hood down around her shoulders.
"I was...just lost in thought." I replied lamely.
"Ooh about what?" She asked, now close to me.
"My thoughts have nothing to do with you." As she stood close to me, I realized she was half a head shorter than me which was surprising since I was quite tall.
"Well if you're not going to tell me I might as well drag you to the right spot I asked you to meet me in." She grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the direction she appeared from, disappearing with me into the darkness of the forest.
"That's not my fault. You didn't tell me where Haakon's Grove was and if you didn't notice, it's impossible to accurately tell time down here."
"Well then....THIS is Haakon's Grove." We walked into another clearing and my jaw was left agape at the beautiful sight.
The forest opened up to a circular grove with a starry night sky glistening above. A pale crescent moon cut through the dark veil above and illuminated the bright blue flowers scattered throughout the grass, their dewy petals sparkling just like the stars up high. Upon closer attention, the cave itself had opened up to the outside of the island. Although it was impossible to see where exactly we were due to the enclosure of trees surrounding us. If I were to guess, we'd be at the center of the island. If we were around the island, the fog from the sea would have carried over here and there wasn't any fog.
"You're correct, we're at the center of Lyngvi." Frigga affirmed as if reading my mind, leaving me baffled.
"The hell? Can you read minds?" I said with a shudder, thinking, Oh no if she can read minds then she's read everything I've thought so far...wait she's probably reading this right now!
She giggled, "No I can't read minds. Your face tells me everything. You're a very expressive person, Asier."
"Oh shut up," I grunted, crossing my arms and averting my gaze away from her half from embarrassment and half so she couldn't read my face anymore, "don't call me Asier either. I've told you, I gave up that name."
"Ahhh that's right, you did!" She walked toward the center of the grove, looking up to the sky as if thinking. "Then what should I call you? I could give you a name."
"Alright then, fine. Let's see what you come up with, but it better not be stupid."
"Let's see....How about Balderich? Wait, that's perfect! I'll call you Balder for short!" She laughed and when she saw the confused look on my face, laughed even harder clutching her stomach. "GET IT? BALDER?"
"I SAID NOTHING STUPID!" I shouted indignantly, my face red hot.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, still giggling and wiping away tears from her eyes. "I couldn't help it. I guess Balderich is out of the question. Then how about Ignatius?"
"That's too formal a name."
"Agnar?"
"It reminds me of Agmund, so no."
"You're really picky....How about Wulfric?"
"Hmm...why that name?"
"The name means King of Wolves. It seems like your kind of thing." She smiled at me. "Besides, you're friends with the biggest wolf ever."
"Well....I'm hardly king material and I'm hardly friends with that big oaf back there, but I guess Wulfric is a cool name."
"Then that settles it! You're now Wulf." Her smile widened to a grin and there was warmth in that name, especially when it came from her.
I awoke with a start, heart pounding wildly, teeth aching from clenching them tightly in my sleep. My body glowed dimly with a white glow like moonlight in this pitch darkness. My eyes were still fuzzy from slumber, looking over to the slumbering Fenrir who had turned to look toward me in his sleep. Memories of what had transpired and our previous exchange returned to me, leaving me with a semblance of disappointment at myself. I thought to myself that if I wanted to return to being the hero I was, I have to save the person in front of me now.
Speaking of who was in front of me, there was a shadowy figure in front of Fenrir, hand extended out to his snout, caressing it.
"HEY!" I shouted, immediately regretting that (again). The cloaked figure turned to look at me, also bewildered, and ran the other way. I stumbled onto my feet groggily, muttering to my face, "You're not getting away this time...." I abandoned all stealth and bolted toward the cloaked figure.
It seemed like she was abandoning all stealth as well because she was fast, her legs a blur with me closely behind as we barreled past mounds of bones. I knew just where she was going, my hand sweeping through a giant's skull and gripping it by its teeth. She was about to make it through the small passage into the next cavern until I hurtled the giant's skull into the oldest bone mound that towered high. The skull smashed through it from the base and the tower of bones spilled outward from all sides, covering the passage with bone rubble. She turned, realizing she could not escape. I finally had her cornered.
"HAH! Thought you could just come and go as you please now did you? Now explain yours-"
Green energy blasted against my chest, sending me flying into a great mound of bones that crumbled on top of me. I reacted quickly, flying through the rubble toward her, seeing her left hand already charged with an emerald glow. She shot another burst of energy toward me, but I smacked it away, shouting, "THINK THAT'D WORK TWICE-?" Next thing I knew, the sound of chains snapping rang and I was looking at the ground, golden blood was spilling from my forehead, and the chains tightly gripping at my limbs and forcing me onto the floor. "Fuck." I muttered, dirt in my mouth.
I managed to look up at the cloaked figure, first noticing that she was now barefoot - clearly learned from our last encounter - and that she was kneeling down...her glowing hand outstretched to me, charged.
The blood from my forehead was now falling all over my face, I grinned through the pain and recited proudly, "Do your worst cretin....I've atoned for my crimes and have brought pride back to my name. Though the halls of immortality remain closed to me, my forefathers smile down at me. I embrace death just as I embrace life's cruelty...can you say the sa-?" I noticed the pain fading, the blood along my face disappearing with it...she was healing me, "- oh."
Through the emerald glow of her hand, I could see a smile and she was stifling back laughter. Promptly, I could tell my face was red from embarrassment. Turning away from her abashedly, I mumbled through heated cheeks, "Just kill me now."
"You'll do that to yourself," she smiled, her voice was strong yet sweet and it made me feel even more dopey than the concussion I received.
She helped me up and I ogled her as she pulled away her hood, confirming her identity. She WAS the girl I saw at my trial. Her blonde hair was down, flowing out behind her. But those electric blue eyes of hers remained unchanged and that glow that surrounded her still penetrated the darkness of the cave.
"My name is Frigga, not cretin." She said, answering the question in my mind. "You're...Asier? Right?"
I shook my head both to snap out of my lull and to answer her question, "N-nah. Well, yes. But not really. I don't go by that name anymore or any name. I feel like I have to earn it."
"Really? I thought you had brought back pride back to your name," she replied snidely.
My face flushed with red, "I THOUGHT I was gonna die," I looked away and muttered, "it was the coolest thing I could think of saying." She laughed merrily and my heart flushed. "You DID shoot me into a pile of bones, how was I supposed to know?"
"And you pursued me and decided to ambush me," she snapped back. She was clearly a sharp mind. "Mind you, I was really about to finish you off there. Until you recited that imprudent speech. It made me realize you were just a fool and so I took pity on you."
"You wouldn't be saying that if I had these stupid chains on me," I growled. She had given me the dose of anger that I needed to snap out of my endearment. "At least I have a sense of pride, unlike you who strolls in and out of here hiding her face. I wouldn't have been following you if you weren't so damn clumsy walking in here."
"Clumsy? You decided go for an aerial attack and that's the reason I even had to heal you," she retorted, a satisfied smirk on her lips. "Were you never taught strategy and proper engagement of a foe?"
I hadn't. "I have! Who taught you that makes you so high-minded?"
"My father, Odin."
My eyes widened, "Now I know they call him 'Allfather,' but that doesn't MEAN he's your papa."
"No, you idiot. He's my father. Dad. Parent. He made me."
I paused, "O-oh." I took a step back from her and that just made her cackle even more.
"Where'd all that furious courage go to? Don't worry, my father wouldn't harm you. He knows I can handle criminals just fine."
Oh god that hurt. She thought of me as just another criminal. That gut punch was enough for Vehuiah Seraphim to feel it as my Fylgja.
"I'm in enough trouble as it is," I grumbled bitterly, crossing my arms. "Laying a hand on Odin's daughter would just make things worse for me."
From the corner of my eye I could see her studying me until she remarked, "Don't pout, it makes you look ugly."
I frowned and narrowed my eyes at her, "Yeah well I'm not a big mark of beauty like you, especially since your people decided to shave. My. Fucking. Head."
She gasped, "So you think I'm beautiful? Your bare head isn't that bad. The slight silver glow you emanate makes it look like the moon."
She managed to make me laugh this time. I was going to go crazy by how many ridiculous situations I had been put in since being resurrected. I looked back at her to see her beaming, "See? A smile suits you more. Your smile brings people comfort."
I couldn't help but stare at her, her wide smile had a genuine happiness to it that would stir the heart of even the wicked and I whispered without thought, "It suits you too."
"What was that?"
"Noth-"
"BOY! QUIT MAKING A RACKET! DISTURB MY SLEEP AGAIN AND NEITHER YOUR NOR MY CHAINS WILL HOLD MY WRATH!" Fenrir roared, making my bones tremble. I wasn't sure whether or not he noticed that there were two voices talking or he was just being willfully ignorant at the fact.
Frigga leaned into me whispering, "That's my queue to go then."
"Wait, I want to see you again - I mean, talk to you - I mean...when are you going to return?"
She thought for a moment, an impish smile now on her lips, "You've grown fond of me? You do seem harmless. Meet me tomorrow at midnight in Haakon's Grove. See you there!"
She turned the other way, vaporizing the pile of bones blocking the passage of her escape. I stood there embarrassed for making a fool of myself, but there was some joy in me that I had something or someone to expect now.
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In the moment, I probably should have asked her where exactly Haakon's Grove is and when midnight is. There was no way to tell when midnight was in this place and the forest within the chamber was surprisingly dense. After my last meeting with Frigga, I decided to just wait within the forest with the only clearing I could find. There, I sat on the dewy blue grass to listen intently at any sign of her.
My mind wandered and I thought of this place. Questions filled my mind at the nature of this chamber and the paintings that covered the walls. They clearly depicted Fenrir devouring the gods. Fenrir grows larger and larger until he devours the cloaked figure who, with a lump in my heart, I assume is Frigga. The gods retaliate and attempt to kill Fenrir, but fall as he had grown too large for them to overcome.
But such events never came to be. The gods took preemptive measures out of fear for the worst and imprisoned Fenrir here in the Well of Sorrows. Moreover, Fenrir just doesn't scream murderous intent by nature. If anything, the gods seemed to have bred that vengeance within him.
"My crime is living...my crime is yet to be and by now who could blame me for acting upon that prophecy? " Fenrir's words to me on my first night here. A wolf whose life is tragedy bound by the indifference of fate.
I stared at my hands as I sat there on the grass, balling them into fists as a flicker of anger burned through me. He hates those who pity him, but these feelings in my heart that weigh on me are not of pity. Tragedy. I know of it. I don't believe in fate, only in the actions of people and deities alike. My own life was thrust and flung by higher beings than me and in that I share with Fenrir. The fear of our potential and the fear that others will no longer be able to control us. What I feel in my heart is rage at the lack of justice in the wolf's life and the hypocrisy of the gods who preached it.
"Why are you sitting there with a big scowl on your face?"
I jumped onto my feet from surprise, snapping free from my thoughts and turning to the voice. Frigga was walking towards me with a grin on her face. She wore the same thing as always, her black cloak dragging behind her with the hood down around her shoulders.
"I was...just lost in thought." I replied lamely.
"Ooh about what?" She asked, now close to me.
"My thoughts have nothing to do with you." As she stood close to me, I realized she was half a head shorter than me which was surprising since I was quite tall.
"Well if you're not going to tell me I might as well drag you to the right spot I asked you to meet me in." She grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the direction she appeared from, disappearing with me into the darkness of the forest.
"That's not my fault. You didn't tell me where Haakon's Grove was and if you didn't notice, it's impossible to accurately tell time down here."
"Well then....THIS is Haakon's Grove." We walked into another clearing and my jaw was left agape at the beautiful sight.
The forest opened up to a circular grove with a starry night sky glistening above. A pale crescent moon cut through the dark veil above and illuminated the bright blue flowers scattered throughout the grass, their dewy petals sparkling just like the stars up high. Upon closer attention, the cave itself had opened up to the outside of the island. Although it was impossible to see where exactly we were due to the enclosure of trees surrounding us. If I were to guess, we'd be at the center of the island. If we were around the island, the fog from the sea would have carried over here and there wasn't any fog.
"You're correct, we're at the center of Lyngvi." Frigga affirmed as if reading my mind, leaving me baffled.
"The hell? Can you read minds?" I said with a shudder, thinking, Oh no if she can read minds then she's read everything I've thought so far...wait she's probably reading this right now!
She giggled, "No I can't read minds. Your face tells me everything. You're a very expressive person, Asier."
"Oh shut up," I grunted, crossing my arms and averting my gaze away from her half from embarrassment and half so she couldn't read my face anymore, "don't call me Asier either. I've told you, I gave up that name."
"Ahhh that's right, you did!" She walked toward the center of the grove, looking up to the sky as if thinking. "Then what should I call you? I could give you a name."
"Alright then, fine. Let's see what you come up with, but it better not be stupid."
"Let's see....How about Balderich? Wait, that's perfect! I'll call you Balder for short!" She laughed and when she saw the confused look on my face, laughed even harder clutching her stomach. "GET IT? BALDER?"
"I SAID NOTHING STUPID!" I shouted indignantly, my face red hot.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, still giggling and wiping away tears from her eyes. "I couldn't help it. I guess Balderich is out of the question. Then how about Ignatius?"
"That's too formal a name."
"Agnar?"
"It reminds me of Agmund, so no."
"You're really picky....How about Wulfric?"
"Hmm...why that name?"
"The name means King of Wolves. It seems like your kind of thing." She smiled at me. "Besides, you're friends with the biggest wolf ever."
"Well....I'm hardly king material and I'm hardly friends with that big oaf back there, but I guess Wulfric is a cool name."
"Then that settles it! You're now Wulf." Her smile widened to a grin and there was warmth in that name, especially when it came from her.
Chapter 4. The Witch of Castile
To leave behind all that one had, to know that the sun, the moon, and the stars bear my seal. Would you follow me?
Chapter 5. The Wraith King
It is the phantom that haunts the heart with memories of dreams made so real, the hour of waking brings only sorrow.
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Chapter 6. The Jötunn Empire
The last age left behind a time of legends and war, what such stories had wrought was only the disillusioned grief that such an age was any better than the next.
Chapter 7. La Madrugada
![Picture](/uploads/1/9/3/1/19316073/published/wulfric-and-frigga.jpg?1522262465)
Chapter 8. Tragedy and Fate
Chapter 9. War of the Titans
Chapter 10. Wrath of Heroes
Chapter 11. Twilight of the Gods
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