The Einherjar 1, page 13
Intelligence: This Stat is the user’s intelligence quotient (IQ).
Charisma: This Stat measures (as a percentage) the user’s chance of persuading a random person to agree to something. This would be adjusted by logic, incentives, attraction, relationship to the listener, etc.
Beauty: This Stat measures (as a percentage) how closely the user’s physical features approach their race’s ideals of physical perfection. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and different races and cultures might measure a person’s beauty by entirely different standards.
Qi Pool: This Stat measures the capacity of the user’s Dantian. The unrefined Qi stored within can be used to cast spells. Without effort (such as meditation), the user’s Qi Pool will fully refill in 24 hours, assuming normal rest and diet. This means it refills at a rate of roughly 4% per hour or 1% per fifteen minutes. Meditation fills the Qi Pool at twice the normal rate, or three times the normal rate when in a Qi dense area.
Luck: This Stat represents (as a percentage) the chance of events having a positive outcome for the user, unadjusted for other factors. This Stat cannot be permanently Enhanced with Qi.
After taking the time to read through each of them, the ladies seemed to get bored and moved to the chairs by the fire.
“It is like reading a text book.” Hrein frowned. As studious as she was, she preferred her studies to have slightly more exciting subject matter.
James gave up marvelling at his new Status Screen, and day dreaming about all of the ways he could game the system. Sitting down in his previous spot on the floor between the chairs and facing the fire, James sighed contentedly.
“With the first of thy gifts received, what wouldst thou ask for as a second gift?” Hel asked, leaning back and resting her eyes.
“What? You’ve already given me two gifts, and they are both amazing!” James exclaimed. “I couldn’t possibly ask for more.”
“Thou canst, and thou must. Thou art my Champion. The second gift I gave thee was simply a small boon that I decided upon. It was not worthy of being one of the two Champion’s gifts.” Hel explained.
James looked to Hrein, hoping she would back him up.
“James… thou must understand. It is true that the gifts that Lady Hel hath bestowed upon thee are great, but she is right that the second is not worthy of such status. It is a point of pride among the gods to boast of the gifts they hath given their Champions.” Hrein answered, leaning forward in the chair with her elbows on her knees, and resting her chin in her hands.
The einherjar was momentarily captivated by the soft beauty of his fiancé, and the firelight reflecting in her gorgeous blue eyes. The valkyrie tilted her head slightly, and gave him a questioning look, thus breaking the spell and bringing James back to the present.
“Uh… then what would be appropriate to ask for?” he asked with a shrug.
“The standard gifts are one blessing and one artifact.” Hel reminded him. “But, as I may have mentioned before, I possess no such things of value.”
“Hmm.” James grunted and gave it some thought. For a brief moment, he considered asking Hel for her hand in marriage, as he was sure that would be the greatest gift she could give a man. Of course, he was equally sure his life would be measured in seconds, the moment the words left his mouth, as Hrein would undoubtedly impale him with that spear of hers. Not that he’d blame her. He decided not to make the comment, even as a joke.
“Why didst thou look at my spear, James? Art thou interested in such a weapon?” Hrein asked.
“Ah, no. Even if I had a magic spear, I’d be pretty bad with it.” James hand waved the idea away. He was just about to close his eyes and think some more when he was struck by a sudden thought. “After all… as a warrior, I’m best with my own weapons.”
Hel nodded. “That would make sense.”
“So… could I have those?” James asked, knowing he was once again pushing the boundaries.
Hel scowled. “I believe I told thee that the methods of crafting such weapons was forbidden knowledge.”
“No. I don’t want anyone to craft them. I want them specifically. My actual weapons. The ones I earned and owned in my previous life. I know the saying goes, ‘you can’t take it with you’, but what if I could?” James grinned devilishly.
Hel gave him that skeptical look that she seemed to reserve for when he said something absolutely preposterous.
“Now hear me out. What if, instead of a powerful artifact, I simply got to keep everything, or every material thing at least, that I owned in life. I think that’s fair. I did earn it, after all. And a Champion should use his signature weapon to maximize his skill, right? There’s even historical precedent, and I’d be willing to make some oaths as well.” James pushed.
“Historical precedent?” Hrein asked with a dubious look on her face.
“Well, the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, did build an entire army of Terracotta Warriors to take with him, along with his worldly possessions. And his concubines, if I recall correctly.” James frowned at the last.
“Thou canst think that worked!” Hrein exclaimed.
“It didn’t?” he asked innocently.
“It did not!” Hrein yelled.
“…” James was silent for a moment.
“It did.” Hel stated solemnly.
Hrein gasped and her eyes went wide with shock. A huge smile slowly crept over James’ face, hoping he’d just scored a point in his favour.
“And it was a ruinous affair. The arrival of the army led to quite a bloody battle in the Heavens, until Huang was forced to retreat.” Hel furnished them with more details of the event. “What manner of oaths art thou prepared to take?” Hel asked finally.
“That I must maintain control of all firearms and ammunition, as well as knowledge of their function and design. If I ever lose control of a firearm, I must do everything in my power to recover it or see it destroyed.” James solemnly swore.
A crack of thunder was heard in the distance once more. “Thou hast sworn to thy goddess. A terrible fate awaits those who break their oaths to the gods.” Hel intoned in a serious voice. With the oath taken, Hel sighed and looked to Hrein. “Might I ask a favour of thee, valkyrja?”
Hrein bowed low. “What dost thou ask of me, Lady Hel?”
“I ask that thou escort my Champion back to his abode on Midgardr, so that he might very quickly gather his belongings and bring them here. In return, I will grant thee the power to choose my domain as a destination for thy mystic passages.” Hel gave the valkyrie a small smile.
“It shall be as thou dost command, Lady Hel.” Hrein replied, remaining bowed at the waist.
Hel placed her hand upon Hrein’s head and began to chant softly. There were no visible effects from the ritual, but Hrein seemed pleased at the end.
“Um, I hate to be ‘that guy’, but there is one more small problem.” James said when the other two seemed finished.
Hel looked puzzled. “What would that be?”
“I own a lot of guns.” James smirked. “And you did agree to allow me to bring my other belongings as well, not just the weapons, all of which would fill a small house.”
Hel glared at James as if he’d tricked her.
“But!” James shouted, hoping to cut her anger off before it grew. “There is a definite and direct benefit to you for allowing this.”
“And what would that be?” the goddess said through grit teeth.
“Well, I just happen to own a lot of books and games. Something I thought you might be lacking here in your castle.” James winked.
Hel’s expression changed from one of anger to one of curiosity. “Tell me more.”
“I’ll be honest. I was thinking of you and Hrein as much as myself when I came up with this idea. My request is that, instead of a powerful artifact, I get to move my belongings into a house here in Hel, if not directly into a section of Eljudnir. That way, you would both have access to all of my games, books, etc, which I think you would enjoy. You would in turn grant me a blessing, which would allow me to summon any object in that house, whenever I desire. I could also send any item I possess to the house, thus allowing the house to act as a manner of storage while I wander Terra.”
Both women seemed intrigued by the idea. Before they could ask any questions however, James continued. “I also freely admit that I planned to abuse this blessing.”
Hel squinted. “Abuse it how?”
“I intend to use Qi to Enhance the blessing to the point where living beings can be passed back and forth, thus allowing myself to travel between the Realms. In this way, I could continue my journeys, but spend my evenings or days off here with the two of you.” James watched the two for reactions before saying anything else.
Hel blinked and Hrein bit her lip. “I do admit, that does sound like abuse I could forgive.” the goddess said with a shy smile. “This was your plan all along?”
“It’s the better of two plans, really. And easier to achieve, I think.” he admitted.
“Out of curiosity, what was the other?” Hel inquired.
“Well, the other option was entirely selfish on my part, and also require a much more powerful blessing from you, I believe.” he began.
“Go on.” Hel encouraged him.
“Long story short, it was an idea that is popular in games. Games call it ‘inventory’. It achieves the same thing as the house idea, but it is an extra-dimensional space that only the owner can access. Your blessing would have to create that space, and then allow me to access it at will. Despite requiring a LOT more power, I should imagine anyway, there are some distinct ways to abuse it, which would be fun.” he informed them.
“Fun for whom?” Hrein asked.
“Fun for the whole family!” James replied with a laugh. “Seriously though, it would be fun for all three of us, but would take much longer to develop. You see, I love the idea of building things, especially castles. There’s just something I love about games where I get to do that. I would use Qi to Enhance the blessing, allowing me to put living things inside the inventory. Then more to allow me to alter how it looks, as well as its size. Eventually, I’d develop the ‘inventory’ to such a state that it became its own pocket realm, and feed it rocks, trees, et cetera until I could build a castle within, complete with all the furnishings, and even a glorious bath house! Once it was ready, I would alter the blessing once more, so that I could grant others, namely you two, the ability to come and go as you pleased.”
Hel sighed. “That does sound beautiful, James, but it would take centuries to gather enough Qi to create something like that. Besides which, thou art right in thinking it would require a massive amount of power on my part to create such a blessing in the first place.”
James nodded. “Is the first option possible?”
“Yea. I can grant thee a mansion within Éljúðnir. That is well within my power. I grant homes to all of those in my care anyway, so this is no great feat. As for the blessing, it is doable as well. It would take some time to carve the summoning circle into the grounds around the mansion, perhaps a couple of days?” the goddess answered.
“That’s fine.” said James. “If Hrein and I can get started, we’ll move everything I own into the mansion while you are working on the summoning circle. I have some food at my old apartment, so the three of us can share meals before I go to Terra.” he smiled warmly at his patroness.
The women smiled back, liking the idea of trying some of Midgardr’s dishes.
James let a brief frown cross his face, but shook his head and smiled again.
“Is something wrong?” Hrein asked.
“Well, I was just thinking that my SKS would have been useful on this adventure, but I’m sure it was melted in the dragon fire.” he replied.
“This SKS, it is the weapon thou used to defeat the dragon?” Hel inquired.
“Yeah. I was hunting deer with it when I came across your High Priestess and the dragon.” James confirmed.
“If it was in thy possession when thou didst die, then it should be bound to thy soul, spiritually.” Hel informed him, stepping forward. The Goddess of Death placed a hand on his shoulder and chanted a few words in a language he didn’t understand. With a flash of light, his SKS and all of the equipment he had been wearing appeared on his person. Which meant all of the clothes ripped instantly. The robe he had been wearing up until that point had somehow disappeared.
“Uh… okay.” James grunted.
CHAPTER 11
Moving day was about as fun and exciting as it has been for people the world over for centuries, James was certain. An endless stream of boxes, bags, et cetera being carried from his mortal abode to his new immortal one. And he had to do it all by himself. Hrein would have helped, of course, but she was busy holding the portal between worlds open, and Hel was likewise busy scribing runes in the ground around his new mansion. Not that he would have asked a literal goddess to lower herself to such manual labour anyway. He liked to think he was something of a gentleman, after all. And of course Hel’s servants, Ganglöt and Ganglati, were nowhere to be found, the lazy bastards.
Meal times really were fun, though. Though it wasn’t as fresh as could be, he had a fair bit of leftover Thai food in his fridge, and treated the women to an assortment of dishes, including Coconut Chicken Soup, Chicken Pad Thai, and of course his favourite, Massaman Curry Beef. The girls were stunned by the intense flavours at first, but quickly grew to love them, followed by lamentations that they may never get to sample such dishes again. James promised to figure something out, but he didn’t really have any ideas on how he could achieve that at the moment.
Beyond the actual moving of his belongings, there was also a tiny bit of remodelling to do. He didn’t want to risk anyone sneaking into his mansion and stealing the guns he swore to retain control of, after all. Thus, after moving the contents of his ‘armoury’, as he called it, into a small room with no windows, he set about bricking up the door. Hrein was able to help a bit with this, since she was no longer busy holding the portal open.
During his initial inspection of the mansion, after having received it from Lady Hel, he made a discovery that rather pleased him. He found that the large basement, having been dug into the frozen earth of Niflheimr, was downright cold. This was great, in his opinion, as it would provide him a great space in which to store animal parts and carcasses of beasts he would slay on Terra. He did warn the others of his plans though, just in case they wanted to avoid a potentially gruesome and smelly area. Other than that, he quickly placed his furniture around the home, and books on his shelves for the women to enjoy, but that was it. He didn’t bother wasting time decorating, unpacking electronics (which wouldn’t work without a source of electricity), or his collections. He was also glad to find that, despite it being quite cool (some would find it downright cold) within the manor, it was very dry. This meant he didn’t have to worry about mildew destroying his art or books, and the electronics would be fine as well, just in case he ever had the chance to use them again.
When he wasn’t working, James spent time with the women, often watching Hel carve runes and doing his best to memorize what he could, or just spending some quiet time with Hrein. The valkyrie was very kind to him over the couple of days they had together, and even spent her free time (when he was with Hel) altering four pairs of pants for him, effectively turning them into shorts by using the leg material to expand the rest, and opening a hole for his tail. This was great because, when they started moving his clothing to the mansion, it quickly became apparent that none of it would fit him anymore. At first she was going to try to alter some shirts for him as well, but it didn’t take long for them to figure out that, with his wings, any sort of shirt or sweater just wasn’t going to work. Obviously none of his footwear would fit either, so in the end the only clothing the einherjar had was the four pairs of shorts that Hrein had made for him, and a few belts. He really hoped the part of Terra he was going to was warm.
He did try casting his first spell when Hrein suggested he should get a feel for it, and volunteered to be the target. As it turned out, it was much easier to cast while saying the name of the spell, but it could be pulled off silently, so long as his concentration wasn’t broken. He was glad that he wouldn’t have to chant some ridiculously long turns of phrase in the middle of battle, just to cast a spell. Hrein informed him that he was lucky in that regard, as many mortal mages did indeed have to chant their spells.
Unfortunately, casting the spell once each day was all he could afford with his tiny Qi Pool. He really hoped he’d get his hands on some new spells once he made it to Terra. That said, he didn’t waste his single point of remaining unrefined Qi each day. Both nights he meditated before bed, cycling the Qi through his meridians until it was refined enough to use. Just like he had planned, he put both points into Enhancing his Qi Pool.
At last, the carving was complete, and the day of his departure had arrived. Breakfast was a quiet affair, with everyone seemingly lost in their own thoughts. When Ganglöt had finally cleared the dishes, Hel stood and made the solemn proclamation. “It is time.”
The other two nodded, and quietly left their seats. Though James was looking forward to the adventure of a new life on a whole new world, he wasn’t in any hurry to leave behind his fiancé, nor his new friend. By the sombre expressions on the ladies’ faces, he surmised they felt the same.
“First, I must grant thee the blessing which will tether thy soul to thy mansion here in Éljúðnir, thus allowing thee to summon the contents therein to thyself, no matter where thou art.” Hel stated with a sad smile. She was truly glad to be able to grant such a unique blessing to her Champion, but she also understood that in so doing, she would set things in motion which would send him away. “Please, follow me to the courtyard of thy mansion.”
