Chapter IX – Growth and Introspection.
Verdant arrived at the hall’s main door, stepping through, he almost fell as his hip clipped the door frame. ‘Fuck me sideways, what the hell is wrong with me.’
“By the nine realms, lad… What have you done to yourself? I’ve never seen such chaos in a person’s wyrd before. It’s like you poured weeks’ worth of health and mana through your bo… All-father save me. You triggered the passive effect of J?tunn''s Endurance, didn’t you? What could possibly have made you trigger that; tell me you didn’t waste it needlessly.” He looked over Verdant’s bedraggled form and was surprised to see no evidence of any blood.
“Bolva, I fought a warrior called Eirikr. He outmatched me completely; it didn’t matter what I did I couldn’t break through this lightning barrier skill he had, and every strike seemed to damage my weapon until I had to block a strike and my warpick snapped. I defeated him with Bloods Wrath and the relic I found here earlier, I can’t believe I made it back here in one piece.” Verdant looked down at his shaking hands.
“That’s bad business, Eirikr was the greatest champion we had on our side. I knew he had died, but for him to be kept here as one of their creatures. You did him an honour by putting him to rest. As for surviving, I told you earlier that it would benefit you to specialise in your Vitality and we’ve seen the result of that now and your bloodline ability will allow you to jump tens of levels if used skilfully.” He reached out and grasped Verdant’s shoulder.
“Sleep lad, we will speak when you wake. Given the state of your body, I can only imagine the disarray of your mind. Here, water to wash and drink. I don’t have any food for you to eat, But I’m sure you can manage that yourself.” Bolva gestured to two wooden buckets on the ground, one of them steaming, before throwing a rough woollen cloth at him and turning and walking away.
“Bolva wait, there are other things I need to tell you!”
Bolva kept walking, he threw his hand in the air, before waving him off dismissively. “Sleep, you are no good to anyone as you are.”
Verdant exhaled deeply before willing his garments into his inventory, His sheathed seax and pouch hitting the ground with a heavy thud. “Nice, I wasn’t sure it would work.”
He reached for the cloth and began scrubbing the sweat from his tired body. He didn’t seem to notice the lean and powerful frame, flexing and contracting as he scrubbed the grime from his body. ‘This feels good, like I’m scrubbing away all the shit I’ve seen and done today. I’ve got to get some sleep, fuck I’m exhausted. I’ve never felt this tired before.’
Once he was finished, he drank his fill from the cold-water bucket provided and ate some fruit. Before finally walking over to his spot by the fireplace, burning low on glowing red coals. ‘Oh, that’s nice, Bolva must have known I would sleep here again.’
Verdant had just crawled into the pile and lain his head down when sleep took him.
#
Verdant woke several hours later to a loud notification, dread filled him as he knew what it would say.
<table width="599">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="599">
Warrior’s Crucible Quest Expired! (2/12)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="599">
UPDATED!
You have failed to eradicate the Voidborn Arachnid Queen {Juvenile} in the allotted time. She has now established her territory and matured into her adult form and will begin laying eggs.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="300">
New Objective
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="300">
Destroy the Voidborn Arachnid Matriarch and her hive before another Voidborn Arachnid Queen {Juvenile} is birthed.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="300">
Rewards
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="300">
· Trophy – Head of the Arachnid Matriarch.
· Large Aether Crystal
· +10,000 XPs
· +1,500 Rep with The Aesir Guardians
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="300">
Time Limit
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="300">
167hrs 59mins
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="599">
If you fail to complete this quest in time you will have to face a much greater threat in the future. This threat will continue to grow and evolve until it is eradicated.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
He had failed the Crucible quest. ‘Well, there’s no use in crying over spilled milk, I’m awake now, so I may as well get moving.’ Moving out of the sleep area towards the throne at the back of the hall, he appeared some fruit from his storage to munch on while he walked. Glancing to his timer, he noted there was still more than four hours before the next wave would start.
Approaching the throne, Verdant called out, “Bolva, are you around?” Walking up the five stone steps to the top of the dais, he turned, looking around the hall for any sign of the big man.
He was just about to sit in the throne and wait, when Bolva appeared standing behind him. “Yes Verdant, I am here, did you sleep well? I had expected you to sleep awhile longer yet.”
Verdant jumped away from the throne and almost fell down the stairs before righting himself. ‘I forgot about the vault room back there. Scared the hell out of me.’
“Hey Bolva, yeah, I woke up because of a quest expiring and updating. It looks like I am going to have to deal with a well-established Arachnid Matriarch, by the time I get out of here now.” He tried to cover his startlement, by stretching his arms above his head in a careless manner.
Bolva scowled before sighing. “The Voidborn are not creatures you wish to let become entrenched in our realms. Once they have settled in and fortified their homes, they are notoriously difficult to expunge.” He pinched the bridge of his nose; frustration was clear on his face.
“It matters not. There was no choice, the outcome would have been much worse if we had allowed this undead horde to break free unchecked. They may only be corrupted but they still have a Voidborn commander. He will be your most challenging foe by far.” Bolva dropped his hand and shrugged his shoulders, like he was trying to release some tension.
Looking to Verdant, Bolva spoke seemed recovered and spoke in a more composed tone. “Tell me what happened yesterday. Leave nothing out child; our lives may depend on it.”
Verdant walked down the stairs, to where there still sat two wooden chairs. Sitting in one, he indicated for Bolva to be seated in the other. Once he was seated, Verdant began to speak in a slow and even tone. A lot had happened, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to go over it all in excruciating detail.
“At first, I was worried I’d be unable to find them. The mist is so heavy out there that I couldn’t see more than a meter in front of me. There’s a pull I feel in my chest sometimes and I follow it to my objectives, I don’t understand it well, but it always leads me to my quest objectives and one time it led me to a weird tree.
I used this to find the skeletons, they were not a challenge at all. They had levels on me but were so slow and barely had time to react before I took them down.
All of them had these weird crystals when I looted them too.” He took out one of the soul fragments from his inventory and showed it to Bolva.
Bolva took the crystal in his hand, it was a rough sphere with crystalline protrusions along its surface. He rolled it in his hand before taking a deep breath and handing it back.
Verdant was surprised to see a single tear slide from the big man’s face.
“Keep them safe Verdant, they have been trapped here for so long; they deserve their final peace. When you have finished this quest, we will hold a proper ritual and lay them to rest. Please continue.”
Verdant took the crystal, willing it back to his storage before speaking once more. “I noticed they have the same kind of horns as you Bolva. Did you know them?”
Bolva clenched his fists on his knees, clenching his teeth. “To my great shame, I can not discuss this right now Verdant, it is a matter of honour; please continue.”
He chose to respect his mentor’s wishes for now and started to speak again. “I messed up. I was overconfident from defeating the skeletons with such ease, but when they were all gone, suddenly a bolt of lightning came down from the sky and slammed down in front of me. I certainly didn’t expect to see an undead warrior who used to be an Einherjar. One related to the pantheon no less.
He was so slow, like the other skeletons. But he had this ability that covered him in electricity. It didn’t matter how many times I struck him I couldn’t break through.
When I did eventually break through using all my skills at once the lightning skin protecting him exploded, blinding and deafening me. I tried to get up and get out of the way, but I couldn’t see, and my ears were ringing an impossible tone.
By the time I recovered enough to get my feet under me I had no idea how long I had been down. I just got up and tried to run, the next thing I knew I was struck in the head. I could have sworn I had been killed. That my arrogance had killed me.
That passive ability from the J?tunn’s Endurance saved me, it brought my sight and hearing back and got me back in the fight. When I looked to see Eirikr again he didn’t have the lightning barrier anymore and I took my chance. I ran and knocked him down, bashing him in the skull with my weapon, my Bloods Wrath burning up the excess regeneration.
At the last second, I finally managed to kill him. I thought for sure I was going to die, and I still came out of it almost unscathed.
Oh, and there was something else, the relic I got here changed. It said that it resonated with my bloodline, and it became something else. I don’t know what is going on Bolva. These things keep happening to me. I can’t explain them. I can’t help but feel that I’m a puppet on a stage and some unknown enemy is pulling the strings from behind the curtain, you know?”
Verdant was breathing heavily now, recounting the events of the battle had affected him a great deal more than he expected it to.
Bolva cleared his throat, “I do not know anything about anyone controlling or directing you Verdant. What I do know is that you have a significant bloodline within you. We have all but confirmed you to be of the Aesir with your abilities and there ought to be many powerful and unexplainable quirks of your bloodline.”
“Bolva, there was one more thing. When I slew Eirikr and looted him, I received a golden message. It said that a spark of divinity had been detected and it resonated strongly with my lineage.
If Eirikr was a mortal son of Th…” Verdant cut off abruptly as he remembered Bolva’s warning about saying gods’ names aloud.
“If he was the mortal son of the thunder god, and his spark resonated with my bloodline. Does that mean that I am descended from the same god?”
“Verdant, show me the relic you took from here earlier.” Bolva spoke with anticipation in his voice.
Verdant was confused but complied, willing his warpick into his hand, he passed it to Bolva.
The bearded man took the weapon is his large, calloused hands, turning it over and examining it. He must have used Assess or something like it because his eyes suddenly went wide. “Verdant this was Eirikr’s weapon. It was commissioned for him by his father and crafted by the dwarves of Nidavellir. I had no idea this was here all this time. I simply thought it a relic of ages past, someone has clearly gone to great lengths to hide it from me and others. This all but confirms it my boy. You are also a mortal descendant of that god. This weapon would not have awoken to you like this if you weren’t.”
“What does that mean Bolva? How does this affect me? Am I going to suddenly be able to shoot lightning from my hands or gain giants’ strength?” Verdant was sounding hysterical by the time he had finished. He calmed once more and sat in silence.
“Verdant, you can think of nothing that might stem from your bloodline? Nothing has happened to you since you arrived that isn’t explained by your burgeoning abilities or the system itself, nothing at all?
I can think of one such example off the top of my head, The mother of your ancestor was a goddess of motherhood and fertility, yes. But she was also well known, for her abilities as a seer and her uncanny ability to simply know things. Does that not sound familiar? You have described something very much like that a couple of times now; and I suspect that may be a trait from your lineage beginning to awaken. If we can stimulate it in the right way, we may be able to bring it all the way out of you blood so you can use it more effectively, you’ve already demonstrated some small ability in using it within its current limitations. I suspect that if you absorb the spark you gathered, it would likely grant you one or two burgeoning traits from your bloodline. While they won’t immediately make a tremendous difference, they will continue to grow as your powers do.” Bolva reached across the space between them and placed his hand upon Verdant’s shoulder.
Verdant took a deep breath and exhaled, regaining his composure. “I thought that was the quest system telling me where to find objectives, even if sometimes it wasn’t a quest objective… Am I really that dumb? I guess the simplest answer wasn’t the right one. What will happen to me when I take in the spark Bolva? Is it going to change me?” He peered at the man before him, seeking reassurance.
“Verdant, absorbing this spark will not alter your personality in any way. It will enter your body and join with the divinity already present there to stimulate your bloodline and awaken dormant abilities still locked within you. You will still be Verdant, but as you go down this path, certain aspects will be amplified, and you will unlock new power.
It is okay to fear change and I can’t say that you won’t regret making this choice today. But what I can say for certain is that you will regret never taking the chance to find out; maybe not today, but some day in the future, it will come back to haunt you.” Bolva stared hard into his student’s eyes, trying to make him understand.
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Verdant was still reluctant to trust given his fears of manipulation and the lack of control in his life. But when he investigated Bolva’s eyes, all he saw was an ancient soul that had been through too much, seen too much; there was not a hint of dishonesty to be found there. ‘Maybe I can trust him. It would be nice to finally have someone I can rely on.’
He hardened his will and clamped down on his discordant thoughts and emotions. ‘If this crystal will offer me anything like Bloods Wrath I’d be stupid to give it up.’
“Good lad. You’ve made your choice; I can see it in your eyes. We don’t know what you’re going to face out there but leaving any power on the table at this point would be tantamount to suicide. Use this opportunity to invest any free points or efficiency you gained from the last wave, you’re going to need to be at your full strength for what’s ahead. I’m certain of it.”
Verdant brought up his status, looking at it for a moment to decide where would be the best use of his stats and efficiencies.
“Oh and Verdant, do try and get another stat over one hundred will you? There is only a small window of time where you can take advantage of such an opportunity.”
‘Right! I hadn’t forgotten about that or anything.’ He looked once more at his status and focussed on the ‘Stats’ section.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="7" width="522">
Stats
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="7" width="522">
Health - 461/461 (19.7/hr)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="7" width="522">
Mana - 150/150 (5/hr)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="128">
Free Stats
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="128">
35
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="138">
Free Efficiency
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="129">
80%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Strength
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
64 [67]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
Vitality
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
79 [197]
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Dexterity
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
64 [67]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Intelligence
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
44 [50]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
Wisdom
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
44 [50]
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Charisma
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
44 [46]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
“Okay, first thing I’m going to do is raise everything by one. I know it’s a waste, but the numbers are really starting to bug me.” He glanced at Bolva for any kind of reaction and saw a smirk through his beard. ‘Bastard’.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="7" width="522">
Stats
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="7" width="522">
Health - 467/467 (20/hr)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="7" width="522">
Mana - 150/150 (5/hr)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="128">
Free Stats
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="128">
29
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="138">
Free Efficiency
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="129">
80%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Strength
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
65 [67]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
Vitality
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
80 [200]
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Dexterity
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
65 [67]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Intelligence
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
45 [50]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
Wisdom
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
45 [50]
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Charisma
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
45 [46]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
“If I am really careful here, I can get two stats over one hundred and get two more achievements. I think, with my combat style right now strength and dexterity would both contribute, but we’ve been talking about me developing more abilities and I just don’t have the wisdom to support that kind of expenditure. It will cost me more, but I think it will be worth investing in my wisdom. I’d rather get mana back faster than have more of it in total anyway.” He didn’t waste time seeing what Bolva was doing this time. ‘He wants me to think this through and make my own decision, I definitely need more sustainability in battle as far as being able to use skills it could mean my survival in the next wave.’
“Okay, I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to put twenty-five points and thirty percent efficiency into wisdom. That will get me over the one-hundred-point threshold; and I’ll also put fifty percent efficiency into strength and that will get me over one hundred there. With the last four points, I’m going to invest in dexterity, maybe I can get it up over one hundred before I must level up.” Confirming his choices, Verdant struggled to contain his grin when the familiar war horn of a golden notification went through his mind, not once, but twice.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="600">
Achievement Earned: Titan’s Strength (Legendary)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="600">
This legendary feat is earned by reaching 100 Strength at level 0, a milestone that only the mightiest warriors across the realms will ever achieve. Such unparalleled physical prowess marks you as a force of nature, capable of shattering all who stand in your way, even before taking your first true step on the path.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="600">
+10 to All Stats
X2 Strength Efficiency
Passive Effect: Colossal Might
Physical damage dealt is increased by 5%, representing the unrelenting power of primordial titans.
Once per week, an attack that would otherwise miss is converted into a guaranteed critical strike, dealing double damage and unleashing a shockwave that damages all enemies within a 20-meter radius.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="600">
"Like the ancient titans, your strength is boundless, a force capable of reshaping the world itself with a single blow."
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="600">
Achievement Earned: Seer''s Wisdom (Legendary)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="600">
This legendary feat is earned by reaching 100 Wisdom at level 0, a milestone that only the wisest beings across the realms will ever accomplish. Such a profound understanding of the arcane and the divine marks you as one who stands on the precipice of true omniscience, before even taking your first true step on the path.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="600">
+10 to All Stats
X2 Wisdom Efficiency
Passive Effect: Timeless Insight
Mana recovery is increased by 10%
Once per week, you may invoke Foresight, granting you perfect clarity for 10 seconds.
During this time, all attacks and spells gain 50% increased effectiveness, and your cooldowns are reset.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="600">
"Your mind is an endless font of knowledge, flowing with the ancient wisdom of Yggdrasil and revealing truths beyond mortal comprehension."
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
“Bolva, I got them. One for strength and one for wisdom; they look almost the same as the vitality achievement. I’ve got two more extremely powerful abilities in my arsenal now too. I need to see what kind of effect this has had.”
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="7" width="522">
Stats
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="7" width="522">
Health - 678/678 (25/hr)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="7" width="522">
Mana - 319/319 (17.1/hr)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="128">
Free Stats
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="128">
0
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="138">
Free Efficiency
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="129">
0
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Strength
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
85 [178]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
Vitality
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
100 [250]
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Dexterity
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
89 [93]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Intelligence
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
65 [74]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
Wisdom
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
90 [171]
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="165">
Charisma
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="111">
65 [68]
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="2" width="140">
</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="106">
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Verdant’s jaw was gaping slightly. ‘What the hell, that’s too much.’ “Bolva, what was it you said about the new gods stripping features out of their new system. This seems like too fucking much mate.”
Bolva looked to Verdant with a wry smile. “I told you that they cut stuff from their new system. Although, I suspected that you would have some level of access to the old system given what you’ve told me about your quests. That Crucible questline you’ve got was a rite of passage for the Aesir in their time. The fact that you have it indicates that you likely have access to other features, like some of the old achievements that were phased out in the new system due to being deemed too powerful for mortals to possess.
You might be a mortal Verdant, but you are also much more than that. I am quite excited to see how you will grow over the coming months.”
Bolva got up from his chair and walked up the stairs, “Come along, I must teach you how to meditate; we have to tame that tangle of wyrd in your body if you’re to have any hope of absorbing that divinity.”
Verdant got up to follow him. ‘Tangle of what?’ he moved up the stairs and followed Bolva into the vault room where the central node was. Inside he found Bolva sitting on a pile of furs in the corner, he saw Verdant and indicated for him to sit across from him.
“Verdant, I am truly glad that you chose to invest in your wisdom at this stage. While it’s true that it increases your mana and mana regeneration it also improves your ability to sense and manipulate the wyrd.” Verdant sat across from him and waited for him to continue.
Seeing that Verdant was content to listen he spoke once more. “Wyrd is likely a foreign concept to you, many are unaware of its existence or significance in this modern age. It was made that way for a reason.”
“Wyrd is the energy of existence, permeating all people, places and things. It holds the secrets of eternity. There are those specialised in reading the wyrd of the world or people to tell their fates and there are those who use it to manipulate the elements and bring them under their control and there are those who reinforce their bodies with it, warding off danger and protecting themselves from harm.”
“Living creatures interact with wyrd every day, instinctually. You know of two of their components, health and mana, but there is a third component that ties them together, uniting them as something greater and more complete.” Bolva clears his throat loudly
“Forgive me, that is a lesson for another time, we can not run before we learn to walk, and you my friend have yet to crawl.
The first lesson is meditation; to do this, you must close your eyes and calm your mind.” He looked pointedly at Verdant, waiting for him to comply.
He did so, feeling a little stupid. ‘When in Rome, I guess’
“Excellent, now try to sense the energy within you. It moves through you in long and circuitous routes, across every inch of your body. Can you feel it?”
After several minutes of fruitless effort, Verdant became frustrated with the exercise. “This isn’t working! Why are we doing this Bolva, all I see is the back of my eyes and I’m not sensing anything moving inside of me.” He was impatient, the need to get stronger pressed heavily on him, there were still two waves of enemies ahead of him and if the last [Elite] enemy was any indication, he didn’t like his chances of surviving. He needed to grow faster and didn’t have time to be messing around trying to sense some kind of mystical energy in his body.
“Okay, this was not unexpected. Take your weapon from storage and lay it on your lap. Maybe having something to focus your energy on will help you find it inside you.”
Verdant saw Bolva hiding a smile in his beard. ‘You prick, you’re enjoying this aren’t you?’
He found he was reluctant in this moment to call for the weapon. A lot had happened in the last day and this weapon was at the heart of it. Regardless of his mentor Verdant couldn’t help feeling a clawing loneliness within. Then, it was there, as if called by his need.
Verdant turned the weapon over in his hands, the faint shimmer of its runes catching the dim light. It was strange, feeling so attached to something he’d barely had for a few hours. But it had saved him. It had cut through Eirikr’s lightning barrier and saved him when nothing else had. That was more than enough to earn his gratitude—maybe even a strange kind of fondness.
"You don’t know what you did, do you?" he murmured, brushing a thumb along the blade. "Not that you’d care, even if you did."
The weapon, of course, didn’t respond. It wasn’t alive. It wasn’t Bolva, whose massive form sat across from him, forgotten, no doubt listening but giving him space. Bolva was helpful in his own way—wise, patient—but he didn’t understand. How could he? Verdant doubted anyone could.
And so, he spoke to the weapon. It didn’t matter if it couldn’t hear him. The act of talking was enough.
"You saved me," he said softly, his voice trembling just enough to make him wince. He cleared his throat and tightened his grip on the hilt. "So… thanks for that, I guess."
The runes glimmered faintly under his touch, like an ember catching in the wind. It was probably just a trick of the light—or maybe some leftover mana. Still, it was easy to imagine it meant something. To pretend the weapon was listening.
For a moment, the emptiness inside him felt a little less crushing.
"You are better company than most," he muttered, a humourless smile tugging at his lips. "And you’re stuck with me now, so let’s hope we’re a good fit."
The silence stretched on, heavy and unbroken except for the faint hum of the weapon in his hands. Verdant let it linger, wishing for some kind of answer. But all he got was the soft echo of his own voice in the forgotten hall, and the faintest flicker of warmth where his fingers touched the haft. ‘Just you and me then, Frost Breaker, you wanna crush some monsters with me buddy?’
Gratitude and something more—something imagined, but maybe not entirely impossible.
In that moment, Verdant truly felt peace. Grounded to right now and connected with his weapon.
Closing his eyes, he focussed on the warpick held in his hands. The texture of the leather grip in his right hand and the weight of the cool metal in his left. Warmth radiated up his arms, like the fireplace he had slept in front of the last couple of cycles.
His blood started to warm and sang to the metal in his hands; sending out energy from his core to meet that of the weapon, like and old friend coming home. They met in the middle and came together, resonating and becoming something else. This new energy was dense and hot, it was hard to keep contained where it was and every now and then some of it would shoot off into his body, outside of his awareness.
Sparks crackled through Verdant’s body, like electricity through a circuit. It wasn’t painful, it was invigorating and soothing all at once. All through his body he perceived murky blockages of stagnant energy, the sparks throughout only serving to highlight them and make them more prominent. ‘This must be what Bolva meant about my wyrd. It looks fucking disgusting if I’m honest.’
He focussed on the energy where his and that of the weapon met, somewhere in his shoulders, and tried to bring it down to his center; where he had seen his energy come from in the first place. It fought and bucked against his mental prodding but ultimately couldn’t resist. ‘I’m not sure it is really trying to resist, it kind of feels like the wildness is just a part of its nature… like electricity?’
He pushed and prodded the energy along channels within him until he found some kind of opening that was different, like a valve of some sort. He pressed the energy against the seal and, surprisingly, it gave way; the energy rushed in through the opening and bounced around the aperture before pooling into a turbulent lake in the bottom.
He wasn’t sure exactly, but it felt like this space was somewhere below his heart. He wasn’t sure what to call this strange new organ and associated channels within his body. They felt kind of like a new circulatory system. ‘Bolva said this energy inside me is wyrd right? Does that make it a wyrd heart, or something like that?’
He was broken from his thoughts when he felt a terrible lurch in his chest, like that feeling before you go over a vertical drop on a roller coaster or when someone scares the absolute shit out of you.
“Bolva, I think I’m having a fucking heart attack.” Verdant collapsed a moment later in a dead faint. Black ooze had started to make its way out of his pores, soaking through his clothes and the fur beneath.
Bolva stared at the young man in a heap before him for a moment before chuckling out loud.
He stood, lifting his pupil from the soiled furs.