Chaos God 5, page 19
part #5 of Chaos God Series
The interior of the armory was lit with the same bluish orbs of magical light, and there were long wooden racks in precise rows throughout the entire space. About half of them held weapons of every sort, and I spotted spears, swords, axes, morning stars, mauls, and several bows and quivers of arrows. There was a wide trough-like structure along one wall that was jammed full of the dark-wood arrows the dark elves seemed to favor. The rest of the racks were filled with various pieces of armor that included gorgets, plate and chainmail chest pieces, bracers, gauntlets, greaves, pauldrons, and cuisses.
Along the back wall were several more glass bottles and vials that were filled with more demon blood like Lyrie’s magic totem, along with other items that were almost like little voodoo dolls made of bones, twine, and feathers. They gave off very witchy vibes, and I was incredibly curious about them.
The dark elves moved through the armory and made their selections of armor, weapons, and magical artifacts to prepare for the battle ahead.
Kine picked up a bow and quiver while Ayen inspected the trough of dark-wood arrows nearby.
“Do you use wood from trees that are naturally dark?” my big blond friend wondered.
“No,” Kine answered as he tested the pull on a bowstring. “We use an oil to strengthen their shafts, and that dyes them this darker color.”
“Fascinating,” Ayen murmured, and he gestured at the arrows. “May I?”
“If you wish,” Kine said in a dry voice.
“I would enjoy that very much,” Ayen chuckled. “Thank you”
Ayen’s face lit up with excitement as he carefully added several of the dark-wood arrows into his quiver.
“I’d love to learn to shoot someday,” I said.
“Ah, I would love to teach you about archery!” Ayen practically glowed with the strength of his excitement. “I have been waiting for you to ask.”
“Of course, you have,” I laughed. “A bow is so different to any other weapon I’ve used, but I think it would be cool to know how to shoot.”
“You can never master too many weapons, King Levi,” Nae commented from where she stood selecting a dagger to add to her belt. “It makes for a well-rounded warrior in my opinion.”
“And it can be the one thing that saves you in the heat of battle,” Lyrie added in a confident voice. She stood beside the scarred Valkyrie as she selected a pair of throwing daggers to add to her belt.
My eyebrows rose just a little at that, and I was impressed that the white-haired elf was arming herself on top of the magic she wielded. I wondered how skilled the gorgeous dark elf was in hand-to-hand combat.
“Your warriors are welcome to borrow some items from our armory,” Nae said in a welcoming tone. “If they so choose.”
Elora smiled and walked right over to the selection of greaves to find something to wrap around her shins, but the rest of my companions looked to me for approval before they moved.
“Go ahead,” I chuckled and gestured for them to have at it.
Sontar was the first to move, and he walked right up to a well-maintained longsword that shone like it was regularly polished. He picked it up and tested the balance in his hands as the rest of my warriors spread out through the armory.
My curiosity about the magic of the dark elves drew me over to where Lyrie stood as she was securing a leather belt around the waist of a chainmail shirt. It accentuated the narrow span of her waist in comparison to her ample breasts, and I had to mentally slap myself to remain focused.
“Is magic your primary weapon?” I asked in a casual tone.
“Of course,” Lyrie answered, and she tilted her head as she looked at me with curious black eyes. “Is it not yours as well?”
“Yeah, I guess it is.” I smirked. “I hadn’t really thought about it like that, but I do use my shifting magic pretty much every time.”
“As would I.” Lyrie smirked. “If I had such powerful magic.”
“Your magic looked pretty powerful, too,” I said as my eyes went to the blood-filled glass bottle that hung from her waist. “That was really impressive how you tore the Draugar apart like that.”
“It is quite useful.” Lyrie nodded, and a smug grin crossed her charcoal-colored lips.
“Are you skilled with bladed weapons, too?” I wondered.
“I would not be very wise to ignore other areas of practice,” the dark elf beauty said in a dry voice. “My people are trained from a young age to use all manner of weapons in combat.”
“What’s your favorite?” I asked.
Lyrie looked at me with an odd expression as her black eyes narrowed a bit, and I suddenly felt like I needed to apologize for asking so many questions.
“Sorry,” I murmured. “I don’t mean to pry, I’m just curious. You’re the only other magic users I’ve met. I thought I was the only person left on Asgard with any kind of magic, so I thought I was going to have to figure it all out on my own.”
“You need not apologize,” Lyrie said in a soft voice, and her black eyes softened with compassion before she finally spoke again. “That must have been very lonesome.”
“I guess.” I shrugged a little. “My people have done what they can to support me as I’ve worked to master my skills, but they’re not much more knowledgeable about it than I was, so it’s been a challenge.”
“I would be happy to try and answer any questions you have about magic,” Lyrie said in a matter-of-fact tone after a thoughtful pause. “I do not know how useful my knowledge will be to you, though. From what I know of shifting magic, it is very different from the blood magic my people use.”
“You’ve already given me helpful information,” I assured her.
“Have I?” Lyrie asked, and her tone sounded almost sarcastic like she didn’t believe me.
“Yeah.” I smiled. “What you said about magic coming from nature? That was very helpful to me, and it sort of answered some things I was trying to figure out.”
“Oh.” Lyrie seemed taken aback by that, and her dark cheeks seemed to shift to a warmer color, so I suspected she was blushing. “Well… I suppose sharing what little information about magic I possess will be my best way of thanking you for what you are doing for my people.”
“What about these lights?” I asked, and I pointed at the nearest blue orbs. “These are magic, right?”
“What else could they be?” Lyrie asked in a dryly playful voice as she walked over to look at the orb with me. “They are not flame bugs.”
“What’s a flame bug?” I asked.
“A small insect,” Lyrie answered as she narrowed her eyes at me with confused interest. “Their bodies glow with light in the darkness.”
“Oh, we have something like those on Midgard,” I said. “They’re called lightning bugs or fireflies.”
Lyrie just blinked at me with curious patience, and I cleared my throat. There was something strange about this woman, and it made me feel like I was bothering her at the same time I was fascinating her. I couldn’t quite tell what she thought about me.
“So… How do they work?” I asked as I looked back to the orbs of bluish light.
“There are rare blue gemstones embedded within the glass sphere,” Lyrie explained. “It is brought into light through a magical ritual that requires the light of the full moon, and once it is ignited, the light will glow for as long as the gem is held safely within the orb.”
“Wow,” I breathed. “That’s really cool.”
Lyrie pursed her dark lips at me for a moment as her face settled into that curious expression like she was trying to figure me out, and then she turned back to the rows of armor without another word.
I could tell she was done with our conversation, so I turned my attention to the racks as I thought about the moonlight-powered orbs of light.
It brought a strange kind of hope to my heart to know that during all the full moons when Elora’s village had to sacrifice their people to the Demon Lord, this village could have been bringing this blue light to life at the same time. I smiled at the little orb before I turned back to the rows and rows of weapons and armor.
I was pretty well protected with the armor I’d worn, but then I spotted a pair of greaves that caught my eye. They looked like they would fit perfectly on my shins, and I walked over to inspect them more closely. They were a similar smooth metal as the rest of the items in the dark elves’ armory, and they were backed with leather. But the detail that had caught my eye was a row of short spikes that ran vertically down the front of the greaves, and I smiled as I bent down and secured the little buckles behind my calves.
“Those make quite a statement,” Elora said with an admiring grin on her face.
“Yeah, they’re pretty nice, huh?” I smirked at my Valkyrie lover as I struck a pose. “How do I look?”
“Hmmm,” Elora breathed as she looked me up and down, and then her full lips curved in a loving smile. “Heroic.”
“Good,” I laughed. “That’s kind of the vibe I’m going for.”
“Is everyone sufficiently armored?” Nae asked loud enough for the entire room to hear.
“Yes, Nae,” Lyrie answered as she looked at my new shin armor, and then she smiled.
“We are,” Kine agreed, and Ayen nodded beside him.
“I believe so,” Ivaran agreed as he replaced a feathered totem on the shelf.
“And my people?” I asked. “Are we ready?”
“Aye, your majesty,” Sontar confirmed, and the six-foot-seven elf nodded as he secured the longsword he’d been admiring to his belt.
Elora and the rest of my warriors nodded in agreement, and then I looked back at Nae.
“We’re ready if you are,” I told the scarred Valkyrie.
“I believe we are as ready as one can be.” Nae nodded firmly. “Let us begin.”
We headed back out into the village square, and there was a decent crowd of the other dark elves gathered around. Freesia was standing beside Pilla and her daughter, and it looked like they were waiting to send us off to battle.
I suddenly felt the need to assure them, and I paused near the firepit. Elora stopped right by my side, and I cleared my throat to get everyone’s attention.
“I wanted to say something before we go,” I said, and I moved my gaze around to encompass my companions, Nae’s warriors, and the rest of the villagers. “I wanted to thank you all for putting a bit of faith in me and giving me this opportunity to help you all. I promise you, I will do everything within my power to destroy the frost giants that threaten your home and your safety. I also would like to pledge to you enough food from my stores to sustain you while you wait for your land to be able to grow crops once more. I will not let a single one of you starve due to the impact the ice has had on your lands.”
“He is a savior,” a female voice whispered urgently among the smattering of astonished chatter that followed my announcement.
“If we are unable to save your lands,” I continued in a slightly more somber tone. “I invite you all to accompany us back to our homes. We will make room for you all. I will not let anyone perish in this harsh world if I can prevent it. We have plans to build a new settlement in the Black Plains somewhere, and it could easily become a home for you all if that is what you wish.”
“The Black Plains?” Pilla asked in a confused voice.
“The land south and east of your village,” Elora clarified. “The land that was formerly the lava fields which have now cooled to black rock and soil.”
“Volcanic soil can be incredibly fertile,” I added. “And though my first priority is to make this home of yours safe and prosperous once more, I want you all to know there are other places you may build a new home if it comes to that.”
The dark elves stared back at me with a mixture of amazement, hope, and something that almost looked like the beginnings of worship. I’d had no reason to expect these people to welcome me, let alone accept me easily as their leader, but I guessed saving them from certain doom was a good way to do it. I suppressed a smirk as I realized that’s how I’d earned the loyalty and adoration of the people in the encampment, the dwarves held captive in the mountains, and the residents of Freesia’s village.
“I believe I speak for us all…” Ivaran glanced around at his fellow dark elves. “When I say we are grateful for your assistance. Even if we fail, it is wonderful to see there are still good people in the world.”
“There are always good people,” Elora murmured with sadness in her voice.
“We had reason to believe they were all destroyed during Ragnarok, my lady,” Pilla replied with tears in her dark red eyes. “All those outside our village, at least.”
“You have brought hope back to us,” Kine said, and it looked like he struggled to get the words out past his personal defenses. “Even I have seen that you intend to help. I was quite impressed by your determination to fight for us when the Draugar arrived.”
“I appreciate your gratitude, and your faith,” I said, and I took a deep breath as I rolled my shoulders back. “I think we should get going now.”
“Aye! To battle!” Ayen declared in that boisterous way of his.
“Aaah!” several more voices joined in the battle cry.
I walked up to lead the group beside Nae, and Elora kept pace on my right as Ayen fell into step on Nae’s other side. I was impressed to see about six more dark elves merge with our small army as we started to hike further north, so we’d be going into battle with about thirty warriors, two of whom were full-fledged Valkyries.
We passed through the dense pine trees at the northern border of the village, and then we easily shifted formation into a line to wind our way through the mountain passes as they narrowed. I glanced over my shoulder and found that my warriors had blended nicely with the dark elves, and Sontar’s spiky white hair stood out a full head above everyone else.
I saw Nae glance at me from the corner of my eye occasionally as we hiked back the way I’d tracked the Draugr yesterday, and she looked as though she was trying to figure me out like a complex jigsaw puzzle.
“Is there something you’d like to ask me?” I asked after a few minutes.
“I was merely curious about how much magic flows in your veins,” Nae murmured. “It rolls off you like a fog.”
“It does?” I looked down at myself half-expecting to see some brightly-colored smoke rolling off me like steam, but it was just my armored body. “Wait. You can see that?”
“I can,” Nae chuckled. “There are powerful magic users in my family tree. Though I cannot boast of any other magical abilities, I can sense the magic within others.”
“Wow,” I breathed. “That’s really cool.”
“It can be useful,” Nae murmured with a knowing smile. “It helps to identify magic users very young and begin their training early. Then they have many years to develop their skills, like Lyrie.”
“She is very powerful,” Elora joined in our conversation.
“She is,” Nae agreed, but darkness filled her eyes as she glanced back to the white-haired beauty. “She has struggled for most of her life, but I see new strength in her.”
“I’m sure all your people have struggled to survive since Ragnarok,” I said.
“Yes, but Lyrie’s struggles began long before that,” Nae sighed. “Her parents were killed when she was still an infant.”
“Oh, how horrible,” Elora breathed, and her lips turned down in a heavy frown.
“What happened to them?” I wondered.
“It was an accident,” Nae explained. “It was horrible, from what I’ve been told. It was long before I found myself in this place.”
I frowned as I thought about the graphite-skinned beauty alone in the world as a small child, and I wondered how that had affected her inner strengths.
“She was raised by the village as a whole,” Nae continued, and she watched me from the corner of her dark gray eyes. “Lyrie never had a proper family, but she was always looked after. Or so they tell me.”
“Huh,” I breathed with dry humor. “There’s a saying back on Midgard: It takes a village. I guess it really did.”
“It takes a village to do what, exactly?” Nae asked as her eyebrows knitted together with confusion.
“To raise a child,” I clarified. “It’s just an expression that kind of means community is important, and that people should be able to rely on one another.”
“We are all but leaves on the same tree,” Nae murmured thoughtfully.
“Yeah.” I nodded as the corners of my mouth tilted up with appreciation, and I thought she probably meant Yggdrasil. “I guess we are.”
“Lyrie is very strong,” Nae said, and she turned her head to look right at me as we continued to march north. “But she has a delicate heart. She guards it closely and does not open up easily.”
I was surprised by the sudden shift in Nae’s tone and expression, and I could see she really wanted me to hear what she was saying. It felt almost like a warning.
“Okay…” I murmured as one of my eyebrows arched up slightly.
“I thought you should know,” Nae said in a light tone, and her wings fluttered slightly as she shrugged her shoulders.
“Uh… thanks.” My mind lingered in confusion for a few minutes as I tried to figure out why Nae would make sure to tell me that, but I figured if there was a reason I should know, I’d find out about it eventually.
I turned my focus back to the task at hand, and I spotted the tracks of the Draugar from yesterday in the tromped-on snow, as well as my own pawprints. We followed the same route through the occasional copse of pine trees and the zigzagging ridges of the mountains. After a while, the path widened again, and the trees grew in thicker bunches, so I knew we were almost to the chasm.
“We’re almost there,” I said to no one in particular.
Elora matched her pace to mine, and we hiked through the snow as the cracks in the ground started to appear.
“Goodness,” Elora breathed softly, and her amber-red eyes traced the spiderwebbing crevices forward.
“They split off the main chasm,” I explained.
“Is the land here secure?” Ayen asked.
