Post by Cornar the Black on Apr 27, 2021 14:39:30 GMT -6
The settlement in The Lakes sits empty. No fires, no celebration, only a lone vikingr. Cornar the Black sits alone, his army, his people having turned their back on him. He sits at the head of his table in the longhouse, only the moon casting light upon the land. Cornar slams his fist into the hard oak chair, angry with the way things have gone. The Seer, adorned with a deer skull and loose brown wrapping around her body as clothing, sulks over to Cornar and sits upon his mighty lap.
"Jarl.." she trails off, but the Thunder-Armed nearly launches her into the stratosphere! She crashes down upon the long table, visibly shaken and bleeding from her elbow.
"A jarl is a man who has a kingdom, wench. I have no people to rule. No land to claim. I am but an old man who lost everything and your seduction, your magic is to blame!" Cornar bellows! He rushes forward but is stopped by an invisible force. "Of what God is this?!"
The Seer smiles and begins hovering above the table. "Your destiny has not yet been fulfilled, Jotun-Sized. Young Thorbjornn's blood was just the beginning. Odin calls to you, Cornar. Follow his voice."
"The prophecy is true?!" Cornar asks, as the restraint is seemingly lifted.
"Follow him," The Seer says, turning toward the door where two ravens sit and gawk.
Cornar sneers and stands up from his throne, lifting the mighty Winterbreaker as he does and heads toward the door. "Your blood will be spilled, Seer, if this ends any other way than Odin himself handing me his gift."
The Seer laughs and is struck by a bolt of lightning, sending blue sparks everywhere! She's gone when the dust settles. only the gawking birds remain.
"Go then," demands Cornar, reaching the doorway and the birds both take flight, into the night sky. Cornar thunders after them, nearly shaking the ground as he jogs to keep pace. The moon is swallowed by the light, the sun comes up and Cornar is still on the move, the ravens now slowing their pace as the large viking tries to keep up.
Finally, as night is once again falling, the ravens land and begin pecking at the ground. Cornar, beaten down, hungry, tired, takes a few steps forward and thrusts Winterbreaker into the soil, breaking an unseen seal! A bright blue light fires up through the sky, casting its brilliant luminosity all the way across not only Las Vegas, but Nevada and beyond!
A few moments pass and the light fades, falling back down to Earth and as it reaches its final destination a withered old man stands in its place. Cornar, bewildered, steps forward but is stopped by the ravens tugging on his hair. The old man has a walking stick that he jettisons forward into Cornar's chest.
"You there," the old man grumbles, "Jotun-Sized and Thunder-Armed."
Cornar puffs his chest, knocking the stick aside. "What trickery is this?"
"You lost everything. Because you weren't ready to take on the challenges laid before you. A psychopath, a policeman, and a nameless, talentless ghoul put your shoulders to the sacred mat," the old man trails off swinging his stick around. "Even if that Bastard Warlord drove your thoughts from your head, you should have been able to snuff even the greatest of challenge. You're not a vikingr, Cornar, you are a weak fucking puppy!"
The cloak the man is wearing is thrown into the air and his true form takes shape, a near glowing copy of Cornar stands before the former Jarl.
"By.." the King trails.
"Your beard," finishes the old man, turned clone. The ravens gawk and cry as they circle and now land on Cornar's shoulder, one on each side. "This gandferd you have been on, this journey to find yourself has shown you the highs and lows of battle. When we roamed this world, Midgard, we held contests of strength within a raised platform and three roped boundaries. Within those boundaries no man would dare contest outside the rules. But sometimes - the mat wasn't the right place for our battles."
Cornar's double, Odin, reaches to the sky and the world halts. Everything stops, no more crickets, no more wind, it is as if time itself has stopped. But in the near distance is the homestead of the Bastard Warlord himself. They've been in the Bastard Lands this whole time, but there stands The Silverton. Odin leads Cornar there, a few blocks away..
"This is similar to the environment we constructed for the fiercest of battles. When blood boiled nearly out of the skin, two would enter and only one would walk away. This is your sacrifice. Offer the blood of the Bastard Warlord and you will ascend to the mighty throne. Your army will be replenished and you will have a dozen Seers waiting to milk you dry.
Your own blood spills on these walls and floor, and damnation you will face," Odin smiles wide, peering through Cornar's eyes into his soul. "Valhalla does not grant entry to those who perish in the pits of battle, only wars on the fields. This matter is for nobody but you, Cornar."
"I will not fail you," responds the former Jarl.
Odin places his hand upon Cornar's head, fingers wide. "You have no one to fight now for but yourself. The shackles and ties of this place are free. Live forever in Valhalla or slave away in Hel for eternity.
Destroy the Bastard Warlord."
In a flash Cornar is back sitting in his throne, the Seer on his lap. Two ravens in the doorway.
"Jarl.." she trails off. Cornar shakes his head, looks around his longhouse. Winterbreaker at his side gives a subtle blue glow.
He smiles wide.
