Cold Winds Blowing (ASOIAF Celestial Forge)
- Thread starter TheBrokenLaw
- Start date
- Location
- California
Don't you hate magic theft?
The mech is partially (read: mostly entirely) disassembled, and Maia is too busy distracting the Others to go fix it. If she drops her sun, the Others snuff out the army's fire and they stand no chance. So, instead of plan "Maia does a thing and we win" its plan "Oh fuck, this might be the worst possible time, but its time to live to live another day." Tbf, I give them even odds with the battlefield I've set up, as long as the Other's metaphysical abilities are mostly redirected at stopping or disrupting whatever Maia is trying to do. The moment the fires go out, though, shit gets bad. Like, temps below martian winter cold.
Hey now, lets be fair, it really actually was Lanfear's fault. Without her bullshit, there may still have been a global breakdown of order, but there wouldn't be a bore to horrors beyond human comprehension built above a tropical resort for the idle rich.
Battle of First Fork
24 0444Z JUL 295
Grenwin
"Brace for contact! Repel all climbers, burn-teams prioritize incapacitation over elimination! Ready yourselves!" Grenwin shouted from the command post.
First Fork and the swarming clearing beyond the defensive line were bathed in an eerie half-light, casting stark shadows yet barely illuminating anything.
The sound of ice cracking echoed across the landscape, loud enough to overpower the voices of the organized defenders. Grenwin winced as she saw a portion of the blue-eyed wights break off from the group and sprint at First Squad's section of the southern-facing barrier.
"First Squad!" Grenwin bellowed out, "Brace!"
Not quite working as a single unit, they frantically poked at the wights trying to climb up and over the berm. Grenwin watched just long enough to determine that the squad leader had things in hand and that the wights wouldn't breach their lines there.
She squinted, focusing on the entirety of the mass. The way it was moving made it all but impossible to predict their motion, forcing them onto the defensive. It rankled her, she should be attacking them, taking the initiative!
As she watched, a group of similar size to the first suddenly ran towards the North gate, only to be immediately engaged by Seventh Squad. They were holding much more strongly than the First had and seemed in no danger of being overwhelmed.
"They're just poking us!" She growled.
"Probing attacks," Maia whispered, obviously focusing on keeping the light from fading entirely.
Grenwin watched as the last of the wights from the first attack fell burning to the ground below the berm. "Fire seems to work well on those they're sending at us first. Why?"
Why attack at all? The Others could have just left, again.
A chill ran down her spine.
"They never left!" She punched the wooden wall, hard.
"Gren!" Ygdis called from where she was leaning out over the railing. "Those wights, they're different from the rest!"
"What?" Grenwin joined her second, following the pointed finger.
The wights Ygdis pointed at, those attacking the gate, were all emaciated and thin, like parchment-dry skin hanging off desiccated muscle and sinew. With a glance, she confirmed that the first attack wave had been similar, and in the shifting light, she watched the mass of the Enemy closely.
There!
Hidden behind the frontal force of these emaciated wights, the rest of the wights looked, for lack of a better word, fresh. Bodies that looked normal aside from the shining blue eyes, the hoarfrost, and the mortal injuries.
"Third Squad," She shouted to a messenger waiting below, "Target the center of their force. Single loose, use the spicy arrows."
Maia giggled from where she was sitting, and Grenwin kicked her in the shin with much less force than the girl deserved.
The messenger departed, and a moment later Gren heard the three distinctive twangs of the pulley-bows. She counted up from one, knowing she'd not be able to visually see the arrows in this lighting.
When her count hit fifteen, three conflagrations erupted in the enemy forces, bright enough to make Grenwin blink. Oddly, the light of Maia's sun brightened as the wildfires sputtered, then simply died. Staring gormlessly at the scene, she tried desperately to get a good look at the effects of the strike as Maia's sun began to dim once more.
The damage to the fresh wights hadn't been nearly as great as Symon's 'engineers' had hoped. They'd made some heavy arrows and monstrous bows in the past three subjective months, but that had been the focus of their efforts in arming them. Maia's wooden weaponry worked amazingly in melee, but these were the Others.
"Symon, make a note, the Others can quench the fire from your spicy arrows," Grenwin told the man, ignoring a quiet and mirthless chuckle from Maia.
"Noted," the man shakily replied.
"We've got two kinds of wights, I think. Dry ones that are set aflame easily, and fresh ones that fire won't work as well against. Looks like while They're dealing with the spicy arrows, they can't stop the light. How do we use that?"
As she spoke, another small horde broke off from the pack. This one came around from the rear, hiding a dozen fresh wights behind a line of dry. Now that she was watching, within those groups, the wights acted in concert. In the larger group, they ambled, and milled, but didn't directly take action. What did that mean?
As for the wights struck by the arrows, they had been completely obliterated. The Others had stopped the blaze from consuming more than a few wights, regardless of their freshness, but overall the three arrows had done a minor bit of damage.
She ran the head-math, given the limited nature of the spicy arrows. Symon had said they'd made as many as they could with the resources they had at hand, and that translated to a crate of thirty arrows per squad. They'd used nine of three hundred so far, and while the damage was significant, it wasn't going to be enough to win.
The group of fresh wights slammed up against the berm near Third Squad. Some of the wights went up in flames, momentarily walking pyres. The others, mostly the fresher wights, had to be forced physically back by the infantry. One man almost tumbled over the fortification as his spear was grabbed by several wights, nearly pulling him over before his squadmates saved him.
One more arrow, to test.
"Ygdis, can you hit one of those shadows by the trees?" It was a fair distance, but Ygdis was very skilled in archery despite her youth. At least, Grenwin hadn't met many who could best her, and those who could were all older than Grenwin.
Ygdis shouted to the squaddies below them and soon had a bow with a quiver of the spicy arrows readied. With none of her usual grandstanding, she nocked, sighted, depressed the trigger on the arrow, and loosed in a single motion.
Grenwin couldn't see the arrow itself, but she certainly watched the shadow pluck it from the air.
Grenwin and Ygdis both gaped, watching as the arrow was held up for inspection.
"…fourteen, fif-" Ygdis' counting was interrupted as the arrow burst alight, an unearthly purple glow surrounding a corona of impossibly hot flame. The sound of ice cracking intensified, and the entire mass of the wights shuddered and stilled.
When the light had faded, there stood the pale shadow, lacking a right hand and wrist, but otherwise whole.
"What the fuck." Maia stood, stepping next to them. "No, what the actual fuck is that!" The short woman was just as shocked as the rest of them, a dispassionate part of Gren noted.
"What else do we have?" Grenwin asked after wetting her suddenly too-dry mouth.
Ygdis looked at the bow in her hand, then perked up. "I'm taking Sixth Squad. We still have the Maulers, we just have to move them!"
Grenwin nodded, "Take them, get it done."
Ygdis scrambled down the ladder, sprinting towards where the Sixth was waiting, furthest from the active combat lines.
"I should go out there," Maia said, with a white-knuckled grip on the hilt of Grenwin swallowed her first response of, "No, stay, you don't have to!" Maia was, at this moment, an indispensable asset. Yet, she wasn't part of the command structure officially, had abilities beyond anything Grenwin had ever imagined, and…
"Sing!" Grenwin grabbed the short woman by the shoulders. "You said you can project emotions! Give us confidence!"
Maia's face screwed up momentarily, then she nodded. "I can do that."
Their short-lived peace was interrupted by a large group of wights heading right at them. At their head was the pale shadow, missing a hand, pointing up at them with its other, making a constant cracking sound that boomed constantly.
Maia grinned at her suddenly, "I can multitask!"
Gren had just turned to ask what she meant when the short woman leaped down from the tower, landing adroitly in the snow. With a little wave to her, Maia joined the defenders with her long blade, chopping away at the wights with great overhanded swings.
A moment later, her voice could be heard clearly through the scrum.
Grenwin listened, feeling decidedly odd. She couldn't say it was better, but it was different. She kept an eye on the situation, surprised to see that Maia's sun hadn't gone completely dim yet. How had she gone from focusing completely on that to doing three things at once?
Didn't matter, if she was able to keep it up.
Standing atop the tower and watching the battlefield, Grenwin did her best to counter whatever the Others sent their way next. Nothing about the situation made sense, why the attack was so…
That was the word! It was like the Others were hesitant to attack! Why?
Grenwin was certain that if she found the answer to that question, they'd make it out of this alive. They were holding well enough for the moment, but she knew how quickly things could change. Her tactical focus was solely on maintaining morale, making sure none of her men and women broke and ran. Right now, they could hold, but these weren't people they were fighting against.
She watched as the Other shoved its way through the wights, as though the dead couldn't move fast enough to get out of its way. Under the dim lighting, she could make out only a few features. A sharp humanoid face, two eyes that seemed alight with blue flares, and armor that shifted. No, it wasn't the armor shifting, it was the way it reflected the things around it. Or, was that not a reflection? Grenwin thought she saw one of the wights behind it through the Other, but that didn't make any sense to her.
The Other was standing just out of range of the defender's weapons, who were all too focused on stopping the wights from breaking through. Long poles pushed wights back down, spears stabbing the fresh ones and pinning them in place long enough for the bowmen to hack the limbs off before the torsos were pushed back over the berm.
Despite the presence of the Other, Grenwin was deeply satisfied to see the defenders holding. They swore, grumbled, shouted, screamed, but none of them were breaking.
The rest of the Enemy force seemed to begin to move, not quite at them, but something about the shuffling of bodies made her uneasy. It was almost hypnotic, and the more she watched them the more she wanted to watch.
Maia shouted something at the Other, interrupting her song. To Grenwin's absolute horror, the young woman jumped over the berm, and beyond Grenwin's sight.
Then, somehow, the very air itself began to hum, and music began.
From below the berm, Maia's voice resonated across the field.
***
24 0448Z JUL 295
Ygdis
"Come on! Move!" Ygdis shouted at Sixth Squad, the ten soldiers split neatly in half carrying two of the Maulers. Long metal tubes that they were, they were heavy, and they were making their best time back out of the Lodge.
From beyond the doors protecting the children and elderly, the excited beat of music resonated, muffled words impossible to make out.
A group of helpful kids, Wynt leading them, pulled open the doors for them. As they opened, the music became clear, emboldening Ygdis and her stolen squad.
Yeah, that was Maia, she thought as she listened for a brief moment. Ygdis saw sudden actinic flares of light flaring over the fortifications from the battlefield, beating out a rhythmic pattern of sharp and high-pitched clashing. There was a little scream with every flare, a high whistling that drove into her ears like nails.
"Almost there!" Ygdis shouted at her team.
Maybe she shouldn't take words so seriously, but that… Well, that sounded heartfelt, and she needed to talk to Maia after this was all through.
They made their way to the front, feet pounding in the slush. Ygdis directed them a short distance from the berm, an elevated position with good sighting along the enemy forces. They'd be firing over the heads of Sixth and Seventh squads, but they should be high enough that they'll be clear of danger.
If she was being honest with herself, and she usually was, she didn't know if the Maulers were even working right now, half pulled apart as they were. Still, they were distinctly Maia in a way that Ygdis implicitly accepted, so they would work. They had to work.
Her faith was unshakeable. They would work. If they didn't, they would all die, or worse.
Ygdis did everything she could remember Maia doing. Her memory was exceptional, Maia had said, and so she just needed to focus. She removed the exterior utility panel with more force than necessary, tossing the curved metal plate away; She flicked the tiny switches and pushed the buttons the just the same as Maia had during that demonstration.
I sharpen the knife
And look down upon the bay
For all of my life
A stranger I remain
A stranger I remain
A stranger I remain
The Mauler began humming, a low steady tone that beat in time to the song in the air. It seemed ready to fire.
Ygdis knew this would work. With her hand on the final switch, the last trigger, she looked down the barrel once again, and checked the aim.
Square in her vision were the four pale shadows standing at the tree line. If an arrow disrupted their control over the wights, well, maybe the Maulers would do something helpful. No, they would do something helpful.
"Eyes closed in three! Two! One! Close!" She shouted, slamming her eyes closed as she flicked the switch.
The humming intensified, building to a crescendo that thrummed through her bones. She felt a great heat on her face, like she'd sat too close to a fire for hours, and steam billowed up around them.
***
24 0448Z JUL 295
Maia
I brought my blade down on the Other again, the creature easily deflecting with its own short blade, which seemed entirely composed of ice. When our blades clashed, an eye-searing blue flash filled the battlefield. With contemptuous ease, the Other kicked me in the sternum, sending me rolling. The wights around us gave us both room, and I figured the Other was using them so our soldiers couldn't help me directly. Getting back to my feet, I reviewed my injuries so far. That last kick would have outright killed a normal human, crushing my sternum back into my heart. I, thankfully, had billions of tiny workers to make sure nothing like that sticks. It still hurt for a moment; I pushed it out of my mind and focused.
The words of my song burbled past my lips, less thought given to the words and more to the tone I wanted to convey.
The Others were still siphoning energy from my weaves, but something was stirring down there-
The world flickered, my nanites screaming warnings of extreme retina damage that was repaired, then again, over and over. I was blind until it stopped, my song fading away without my conscious control keeping it going.
Blinking rapidly, my vision cleared. My opponent, the Other, had dropped its sword, holding its hand over an eye, stumbling away. The other eye was a ruined mess, the blue flare completely gone. Similarly, the wights were in disarray, fully half the horde slumped to the ground unmoving.
Of the Others standing near the treeline, there was no sign. Of them, or of the treeline itself. Indeed, it looked like several trees there had exploded familiarly, remnants still steaming where they weren't charred.
My people weren't faring better, screams of pain coming from our ranks. The whole battle was… Over, I thought, looking at everything. I looked at the Other, stumbling away, and noted how the majority of the still-standing wights began dispersing into the woods
I could, and should, pursue that Other, but I needed to check on Gren and Ygdis first. If I had been blinded by whatever-that-was, everyone unlucky enough to be looking in that direction had been as well. My priority was to get everyone combat-ready before the Others could reorganize.
I couldn't touch them with the One Power, but that didn't stop me from picking up a rock and hurling it at the head of the Other, knocking it down with a keening wail.
Healing the men closest to me, I worked my way over to the command post. Grenwin was there, swearing colorfully and rubbing at her eyes. Symon, by contrast, looked confused. He'd been spared the whatever-that-was.
"Come on, just work!" She growled.
"Gren?" I reached over, taking her arm and healing her eyes. "It's over, I think."
She blinked, wiping tears from her eyes, looking over the battlefield.
"What did you do?" She asked, surveying the ruin where the Others had been standing.
"I didn't do anything, this time. I was busy with the one to do anything about the rest." I said completely honestly.
The look she gave me was anything but believing. "Right. Well…" She listened for a minute, looking out across our line carefully. "Please go heal our people, will you? I'll keep an eye out from here."
I nodded, slipping down the ladder and making my way down the line. Somehow, we'd not lost a single person. There were a lot of casualties, the majority being severe eye damage from the whatever-it-was, and otherwise a few broken bones and bruises. From what I saw, I reckoned the wights had been trying to disable rather than kill, and that just raised more questions.
Finally, I found Ygdis and the Sixth towards the far end of the lines, far from the fighting proper.
"There you are!" She leaped over, grabbed my arm, and dragged me over to the fucking Maulers laying on the steaming earth. "A couple of my boys went blind because they didn't listen. Help them?"
I shook her off, kneeling to heal the two blinded men. "The debrief is going to be interesting, I think. You lot blinded three out of every four of our defenders, something that would have immediately killed us all had you missed. Seriously, Ygdis, how the hell did you even fire it?" I waved at it, feeling positively buoyant. "You left the power supply back in the hangar!"
The young woman blinked, looked at the weapon, and looked at me. She smiled and shrugged. "I knew it would, is all."
Wrapping me up in a hug, she spoke for my ears only. "I didn't know it would. I hoped, because it was something of yours, and that you would want us to live, that it would…" She let me go, shaking her head. "No, never mind, we can talk about it later. I need to go talk to Gren."
I watched her for a moment, wondering why she was hesitating. I gave her a little nod, and she set off. Tiredly, I sat down atop the used Mauler, turning it off safely and replacing the slightly bent utility panel cover. Eighth Squad dispersed, lacking orders or direction, leaving me alone with a mysterious weapon that absolutely should not have worked, let alone ended things single-handedly. Heh, funny.
There was no sign now of the Others or the wights, at least any still active. The surviving Other had vanished into the forest at some point, and the individual wights were easily being put down by some forces Gren had probably ordered to handle them.
Was that it? Was that really all there was? I thought, had thought, that the Others were something so terrifying that these people would rather flee their homes than be caught, and yet…
I felt like we had made a mistake, somehow. While that Other had been toying with me, it hadn't actually looked at me like something to be concerned over. After in the moment it had uncovered its still-working eye and seen its companions missing and army dispersing, it had almost seemed like it registered that I was a threat for the first time and blamed me for everything that had gone wrong for it.
Maybe I was just anthropomorphizing.
End of the day, we were alive, and they weren't. They didn't have to attack us, but they did anyway. Self-defense, yadda yadda, but I couldn't drum up the energy to turn it over in my brain anymore. Oh, this was the post-battle shock, right?
I didn't even feel it as I slipped into a light nap.
Grenwin
"Brace for contact! Repel all climbers, burn-teams prioritize incapacitation over elimination! Ready yourselves!" Grenwin shouted from the command post.
First Fork and the swarming clearing beyond the defensive line were bathed in an eerie half-light, casting stark shadows yet barely illuminating anything.
The sound of ice cracking echoed across the landscape, loud enough to overpower the voices of the organized defenders. Grenwin winced as she saw a portion of the blue-eyed wights break off from the group and sprint at First Squad's section of the southern-facing barrier.
"First Squad!" Grenwin bellowed out, "Brace!"
Not quite working as a single unit, they frantically poked at the wights trying to climb up and over the berm. Grenwin watched just long enough to determine that the squad leader had things in hand and that the wights wouldn't breach their lines there.
She squinted, focusing on the entirety of the mass. The way it was moving made it all but impossible to predict their motion, forcing them onto the defensive. It rankled her, she should be attacking them, taking the initiative!
As she watched, a group of similar size to the first suddenly ran towards the North gate, only to be immediately engaged by Seventh Squad. They were holding much more strongly than the First had and seemed in no danger of being overwhelmed.
"They're just poking us!" She growled.
"Probing attacks," Maia whispered, obviously focusing on keeping the light from fading entirely.
Grenwin watched as the last of the wights from the first attack fell burning to the ground below the berm. "Fire seems to work well on those they're sending at us first. Why?"
Why attack at all? The Others could have just left, again.
A chill ran down her spine.
"They never left!" She punched the wooden wall, hard.
"Gren!" Ygdis called from where she was leaning out over the railing. "Those wights, they're different from the rest!"
"What?" Grenwin joined her second, following the pointed finger.
The wights Ygdis pointed at, those attacking the gate, were all emaciated and thin, like parchment-dry skin hanging off desiccated muscle and sinew. With a glance, she confirmed that the first attack wave had been similar, and in the shifting light, she watched the mass of the Enemy closely.
There!
Hidden behind the frontal force of these emaciated wights, the rest of the wights looked, for lack of a better word, fresh. Bodies that looked normal aside from the shining blue eyes, the hoarfrost, and the mortal injuries.
"Third Squad," She shouted to a messenger waiting below, "Target the center of their force. Single loose, use the spicy arrows."
Maia giggled from where she was sitting, and Grenwin kicked her in the shin with much less force than the girl deserved.
The messenger departed, and a moment later Gren heard the three distinctive twangs of the pulley-bows. She counted up from one, knowing she'd not be able to visually see the arrows in this lighting.
When her count hit fifteen, three conflagrations erupted in the enemy forces, bright enough to make Grenwin blink. Oddly, the light of Maia's sun brightened as the wildfires sputtered, then simply died. Staring gormlessly at the scene, she tried desperately to get a good look at the effects of the strike as Maia's sun began to dim once more.
The damage to the fresh wights hadn't been nearly as great as Symon's 'engineers' had hoped. They'd made some heavy arrows and monstrous bows in the past three subjective months, but that had been the focus of their efforts in arming them. Maia's wooden weaponry worked amazingly in melee, but these were the Others.
"Symon, make a note, the Others can quench the fire from your spicy arrows," Grenwin told the man, ignoring a quiet and mirthless chuckle from Maia.
"Noted," the man shakily replied.
"We've got two kinds of wights, I think. Dry ones that are set aflame easily, and fresh ones that fire won't work as well against. Looks like while They're dealing with the spicy arrows, they can't stop the light. How do we use that?"
As she spoke, another small horde broke off from the pack. This one came around from the rear, hiding a dozen fresh wights behind a line of dry. Now that she was watching, within those groups, the wights acted in concert. In the larger group, they ambled, and milled, but didn't directly take action. What did that mean?
As for the wights struck by the arrows, they had been completely obliterated. The Others had stopped the blaze from consuming more than a few wights, regardless of their freshness, but overall the three arrows had done a minor bit of damage.
She ran the head-math, given the limited nature of the spicy arrows. Symon had said they'd made as many as they could with the resources they had at hand, and that translated to a crate of thirty arrows per squad. They'd used nine of three hundred so far, and while the damage was significant, it wasn't going to be enough to win.
The group of fresh wights slammed up against the berm near Third Squad. Some of the wights went up in flames, momentarily walking pyres. The others, mostly the fresher wights, had to be forced physically back by the infantry. One man almost tumbled over the fortification as his spear was grabbed by several wights, nearly pulling him over before his squadmates saved him.
One more arrow, to test.
"Ygdis, can you hit one of those shadows by the trees?" It was a fair distance, but Ygdis was very skilled in archery despite her youth. At least, Grenwin hadn't met many who could best her, and those who could were all older than Grenwin.
Ygdis shouted to the squaddies below them and soon had a bow with a quiver of the spicy arrows readied. With none of her usual grandstanding, she nocked, sighted, depressed the trigger on the arrow, and loosed in a single motion.
Grenwin couldn't see the arrow itself, but she certainly watched the shadow pluck it from the air.
Grenwin and Ygdis both gaped, watching as the arrow was held up for inspection.
"…fourteen, fif-" Ygdis' counting was interrupted as the arrow burst alight, an unearthly purple glow surrounding a corona of impossibly hot flame. The sound of ice cracking intensified, and the entire mass of the wights shuddered and stilled.
When the light had faded, there stood the pale shadow, lacking a right hand and wrist, but otherwise whole.
"What the fuck." Maia stood, stepping next to them. "No, what the actual fuck is that!" The short woman was just as shocked as the rest of them, a dispassionate part of Gren noted.
"What else do we have?" Grenwin asked after wetting her suddenly too-dry mouth.
Ygdis looked at the bow in her hand, then perked up. "I'm taking Sixth Squad. We still have the Maulers, we just have to move them!"
Grenwin nodded, "Take them, get it done."
Ygdis scrambled down the ladder, sprinting towards where the Sixth was waiting, furthest from the active combat lines.
"I should go out there," Maia said, with a white-knuckled grip on the hilt of Grenwin swallowed her first response of, "No, stay, you don't have to!" Maia was, at this moment, an indispensable asset. Yet, she wasn't part of the command structure officially, had abilities beyond anything Grenwin had ever imagined, and…
"Sing!" Grenwin grabbed the short woman by the shoulders. "You said you can project emotions! Give us confidence!"
Maia's face screwed up momentarily, then she nodded. "I can do that."
Their short-lived peace was interrupted by a large group of wights heading right at them. At their head was the pale shadow, missing a hand, pointing up at them with its other, making a constant cracking sound that boomed constantly.
Maia grinned at her suddenly, "I can multitask!"
Gren had just turned to ask what she meant when the short woman leaped down from the tower, landing adroitly in the snow. With a little wave to her, Maia joined the defenders with her long blade, chopping away at the wights with great overhanded swings.
A moment later, her voice could be heard clearly through the scrum.
We'll drink the wine till the cup is dry,
And kiss the girls so they'll not cry,
And toss the dice until we fly,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
And kiss the girls so they'll not cry,
And toss the dice until we fly,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
Grenwin listened, feeling decidedly odd. She couldn't say it was better, but it was different. She kept an eye on the situation, surprised to see that Maia's sun hadn't gone completely dim yet. How had she gone from focusing completely on that to doing three things at once?
Didn't matter, if she was able to keep it up.
We'll dance all night til the moon runs free,
And dandle the lasses upon our knee,
And then you'll ride along with me
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
And dandle the lasses upon our knee,
And then you'll ride along with me
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
Standing atop the tower and watching the battlefield, Grenwin did her best to counter whatever the Others sent their way next. Nothing about the situation made sense, why the attack was so…
We'll sing all night, and drink all day,
And on the girls we'll spend our pay
And when it's gone, then we'll away,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
And on the girls we'll spend our pay
And when it's gone, then we'll away,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
That was the word! It was like the Others were hesitant to attack! Why?
Grenwin was certain that if she found the answer to that question, they'd make it out of this alive. They were holding well enough for the moment, but she knew how quickly things could change. Her tactical focus was solely on maintaining morale, making sure none of her men and women broke and ran. Right now, they could hold, but these weren't people they were fighting against.
She watched as the Other shoved its way through the wights, as though the dead couldn't move fast enough to get out of its way. Under the dim lighting, she could make out only a few features. A sharp humanoid face, two eyes that seemed alight with blue flares, and armor that shifted. No, it wasn't the armor shifting, it was the way it reflected the things around it. Or, was that not a reflection? Grenwin thought she saw one of the wights behind it through the Other, but that didn't make any sense to her.
There's some delight in ale and wine,
And some in girls with ankles fine,
But my delight, yes, always mine,
Is to dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
And some in girls with ankles fine,
But my delight, yes, always mine,
Is to dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
The Other was standing just out of range of the defender's weapons, who were all too focused on stopping the wights from breaking through. Long poles pushed wights back down, spears stabbing the fresh ones and pinning them in place long enough for the bowmen to hack the limbs off before the torsos were pushed back over the berm.
We drink all night and dance all day,
and on the girls we spend our pay,
and when we're done, then we'll away,
to dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
and on the girls we spend our pay,
and when we're done, then we'll away,
to dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
Despite the presence of the Other, Grenwin was deeply satisfied to see the defenders holding. They swore, grumbled, shouted, screamed, but none of them were breaking.
The rest of the Enemy force seemed to begin to move, not quite at them, but something about the shuffling of bodies made her uneasy. It was almost hypnotic, and the more she watched them the more she wanted to watch.
Maia shouted something at the Other, interrupting her song. To Grenwin's absolute horror, the young woman jumped over the berm, and beyond Grenwin's sight.
Then, somehow, the very air itself began to hum, and music began.
From below the berm, Maia's voice resonated across the field.
I've come here from nowhere
Across the unforgiving sea
Drifting further and further
It's all becoming clear to me
This felt… Different, aggressive. Grenwin nodded to the beat, watching her forces solidify themselves. She frowned momentarily, concerned that the combative music might make them lose cohesion.Across the unforgiving sea
Drifting further and further
It's all becoming clear to me
But violent winds are upon us and I can't sleep
Internal temperatures rising
And all the voices won't recede
She eased, feeling far more confident in their position. The soldiers had formed a solid defense now, each squad finding it's rythm and operating smoothly to keep the wights at bay.Internal temperatures rising
And all the voices won't recede
***
24 0448Z JUL 295
Ygdis
"Come on! Move!" Ygdis shouted at Sixth Squad, the ten soldiers split neatly in half carrying two of the Maulers. Long metal tubes that they were, they were heavy, and they were making their best time back out of the Lodge.
From beyond the doors protecting the children and elderly, the excited beat of music resonated, muffled words impossible to make out.
A group of helpful kids, Wynt leading them, pulled open the doors for them. As they opened, the music became clear, emboldening Ygdis and her stolen squad.
But violent winds are upon us and I can't sleep
Internal temperatures rising
And all the voices won't recede
Internal temperatures rising
And all the voices won't recede
Yeah, that was Maia, she thought as she listened for a brief moment. Ygdis saw sudden actinic flares of light flaring over the fortifications from the battlefield, beating out a rhythmic pattern of sharp and high-pitched clashing. There was a little scream with every flare, a high whistling that drove into her ears like nails.
"Almost there!" Ygdis shouted at her team.
I've finally found what I was looking for
A place where I can be without remorse
A place where I can be without remorse
Maybe she shouldn't take words so seriously, but that… Well, that sounded heartfelt, and she needed to talk to Maia after this was all through.
They made their way to the front, feet pounding in the slush. Ygdis directed them a short distance from the berm, an elevated position with good sighting along the enemy forces. They'd be firing over the heads of Sixth and Seventh squads, but they should be high enough that they'll be clear of danger.
Because I am a stranger who has found
An even stranger war
I've finally found what I was looking for
"Let's get these maulers set up!" Ygdis ordered, "Here, along the ground. We need to aim the round glassy end at the Others!"An even stranger war
I've finally found what I was looking for
If she was being honest with herself, and she usually was, she didn't know if the Maulers were even working right now, half pulled apart as they were. Still, they were distinctly Maia in a way that Ygdis implicitly accepted, so they would work. They had to work.
Her faith was unshakeable. They would work. If they didn't, they would all die, or worse.
Here I come
La chaleur me dérange
Mais c'est le grincement du bateau qui m'a réveillé
The Maulers were set, resting on the cold earth and aimed by four pairs of hands each, with another pair to hold them steady.La chaleur me dérange
Mais c'est le grincement du bateau qui m'a réveillé
Ygdis did everything she could remember Maia doing. Her memory was exceptional, Maia had said, and so she just needed to focus. She removed the exterior utility panel with more force than necessary, tossing the curved metal plate away; She flicked the tiny switches and pushed the buttons the just the same as Maia had during that demonstration.
I sharpen the knife
And look down upon the bay
For all of my life
A stranger I remain
A stranger I remain
A stranger I remain
Ygdis knew this would work. With her hand on the final switch, the last trigger, she looked down the barrel once again, and checked the aim.
Square in her vision were the four pale shadows standing at the tree line. If an arrow disrupted their control over the wights, well, maybe the Maulers would do something helpful. No, they would do something helpful.
"Eyes closed in three! Two! One! Close!" She shouted, slamming her eyes closed as she flicked the switch.
The humming intensified, building to a crescendo that thrummed through her bones. She felt a great heat on her face, like she'd sat too close to a fire for hours, and steam billowed up around them.
***
24 0448Z JUL 295
Maia
I brought my blade down on the Other again, the creature easily deflecting with its own short blade, which seemed entirely composed of ice. When our blades clashed, an eye-searing blue flash filled the battlefield. With contemptuous ease, the Other kicked me in the sternum, sending me rolling. The wights around us gave us both room, and I figured the Other was using them so our soldiers couldn't help me directly. Getting back to my feet, I reviewed my injuries so far. That last kick would have outright killed a normal human, crushing my sternum back into my heart. I, thankfully, had billions of tiny workers to make sure nothing like that sticks. It still hurt for a moment; I pushed it out of my mind and focused.
The words of my song burbled past my lips, less thought given to the words and more to the tone I wanted to convey.
I sharpen the knife
And look down upon the bay
For all of my life
A stranger I remain
A stranger I remain
A stranger I remain
My sword was raised, poised to strike again in a pose I barely recalled seeing a young man perform. My sun was burning more strongly now that I'd anchored it to the earth itself, using flows of fire and earth and spirit in ways I didn't understand to feed it something from deep within the land.And look down upon the bay
For all of my life
A stranger I remain
A stranger I remain
A stranger I remain
The Others were still siphoning energy from my weaves, but something was stirring down there-
The world flickered, my nanites screaming warnings of extreme retina damage that was repaired, then again, over and over. I was blind until it stopped, my song fading away without my conscious control keeping it going.
Blinking rapidly, my vision cleared. My opponent, the Other, had dropped its sword, holding its hand over an eye, stumbling away. The other eye was a ruined mess, the blue flare completely gone. Similarly, the wights were in disarray, fully half the horde slumped to the ground unmoving.
Of the Others standing near the treeline, there was no sign. Of them, or of the treeline itself. Indeed, it looked like several trees there had exploded familiarly, remnants still steaming where they weren't charred.
My people weren't faring better, screams of pain coming from our ranks. The whole battle was… Over, I thought, looking at everything. I looked at the Other, stumbling away, and noted how the majority of the still-standing wights began dispersing into the woods
I could, and should, pursue that Other, but I needed to check on Gren and Ygdis first. If I had been blinded by whatever-that-was, everyone unlucky enough to be looking in that direction had been as well. My priority was to get everyone combat-ready before the Others could reorganize.
I couldn't touch them with the One Power, but that didn't stop me from picking up a rock and hurling it at the head of the Other, knocking it down with a keening wail.
Healing the men closest to me, I worked my way over to the command post. Grenwin was there, swearing colorfully and rubbing at her eyes. Symon, by contrast, looked confused. He'd been spared the whatever-that-was.
"Come on, just work!" She growled.
"Gren?" I reached over, taking her arm and healing her eyes. "It's over, I think."
She blinked, wiping tears from her eyes, looking over the battlefield.
"What did you do?" She asked, surveying the ruin where the Others had been standing.
"I didn't do anything, this time. I was busy with the one to do anything about the rest." I said completely honestly.
The look she gave me was anything but believing. "Right. Well…" She listened for a minute, looking out across our line carefully. "Please go heal our people, will you? I'll keep an eye out from here."
I nodded, slipping down the ladder and making my way down the line. Somehow, we'd not lost a single person. There were a lot of casualties, the majority being severe eye damage from the whatever-it-was, and otherwise a few broken bones and bruises. From what I saw, I reckoned the wights had been trying to disable rather than kill, and that just raised more questions.
Finally, I found Ygdis and the Sixth towards the far end of the lines, far from the fighting proper.
"There you are!" She leaped over, grabbed my arm, and dragged me over to the fucking Maulers laying on the steaming earth. "A couple of my boys went blind because they didn't listen. Help them?"
I shook her off, kneeling to heal the two blinded men. "The debrief is going to be interesting, I think. You lot blinded three out of every four of our defenders, something that would have immediately killed us all had you missed. Seriously, Ygdis, how the hell did you even fire it?" I waved at it, feeling positively buoyant. "You left the power supply back in the hangar!"
The young woman blinked, looked at the weapon, and looked at me. She smiled and shrugged. "I knew it would, is all."
Wrapping me up in a hug, she spoke for my ears only. "I didn't know it would. I hoped, because it was something of yours, and that you would want us to live, that it would…" She let me go, shaking her head. "No, never mind, we can talk about it later. I need to go talk to Gren."
I watched her for a moment, wondering why she was hesitating. I gave her a little nod, and she set off. Tiredly, I sat down atop the used Mauler, turning it off safely and replacing the slightly bent utility panel cover. Eighth Squad dispersed, lacking orders or direction, leaving me alone with a mysterious weapon that absolutely should not have worked, let alone ended things single-handedly. Heh, funny.
There was no sign now of the Others or the wights, at least any still active. The surviving Other had vanished into the forest at some point, and the individual wights were easily being put down by some forces Gren had probably ordered to handle them.
Was that it? Was that really all there was? I thought, had thought, that the Others were something so terrifying that these people would rather flee their homes than be caught, and yet…
I felt like we had made a mistake, somehow. While that Other had been toying with me, it hadn't actually looked at me like something to be concerned over. After in the moment it had uncovered its still-working eye and seen its companions missing and army dispersing, it had almost seemed like it registered that I was a threat for the first time and blamed me for everything that had gone wrong for it.
Maybe I was just anthropomorphizing.
End of the day, we were alive, and they weren't. They didn't have to attack us, but they did anyway. Self-defense, yadda yadda, but I couldn't drum up the energy to turn it over in my brain anymore. Oh, this was the post-battle shock, right?
I didn't even feel it as I slipped into a light nap.
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AN- Chapter 16
This battle was going to be longer, and then Ygdis rolled three critical successes. First to remember the Maulers were a thing, second to get Eighth squad to follow her, and a third to get the thing to fire. Like many battles, things didn't go to plan for anyone involved.
Also, finally breached 100k words. Very happy! The next arc probably going to be consolidation, now that they have a victory under their belts (surprising as it was!) they'll be gathering as many as they can. That's beyond Maia's control now, these stories are going to spread, and not even Mance can say he won a battle against the Others. First Fork isn't safe, but nobody realizes except for the top four or five people running things, and they've got a hundred warriors who had a three-month taste of soldiery and a victory immediately afterward thinking they can take anything.
Also, finally breached 100k words. Very happy! The next arc probably going to be consolidation, now that they have a victory under their belts (surprising as it was!) they'll be gathering as many as they can. That's beyond Maia's control now, these stories are going to spread, and not even Mance can say he won a battle against the Others. First Fork isn't safe, but nobody realizes except for the top four or five people running things, and they've got a hundred warriors who had a three-month taste of soldiery and a victory immediately afterward thinking they can take anything.
She's both kind of a moron, and too smart for her own good.
She'd finished dismantling the mech in the previous chapter, explicitly so she could potentially assemble more and so she could figure out how Fold Carbon enables small-scale fusion with few byproducts. Because Ygdis was present for the dismantling, she knew the Maulers are weapons, and knew how to manually test-fire one after watching Maia demonstrate.
For smart people, thank Symon and his people for coming up with solutions such as: long poles for poking that wont break, machete-like blades for dismembering Wights, and guarded spears to pin the annoying ones down.
- Location
- Canada
No! Don't let the injured enemy escape!
It's too late. She's already gone and given him a rock to the head, but he's going to remember the moment of being so pitied by something so lesser that the revenge spiral has already begun before he's taken the first step away from there.
Arimai
Curmudgeon
Sounds like a boar spear they should already have known of those. Those were invented irl because a charging boar or bear will keep charging even after the heart is pierced and kill the hunter.
Basically the adaptation of the idea to use as a "how do we keep something human-sized at bay" multi-use weapon. A guarded spear, in their terms, is a spear of that type that you would use to defend yourself from something that just won't stop until you cut off its limbs. The elk-spear are really impressive, considering the sheer size of those beasties. Something about the old magic of Westeros encourages things to get big, so the elk the Hornfootmen use to pull their house-sledges are elephant scale, if not larger. They also hunt those elk, even if it's limited to the outliers of the herds.
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It really was a treat to write, to the point where I want to write an alternate version where Ygdis failed her rolls. A while ago I grokked why it's needed here to use oversized weapons against apparently magical beings, so mechs and advanced weaponry are going to slowly go from superweapon to everyday issue as things escalate, like how DARPANet would evolve into the internet.
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Did the maulers use the latent magic and Spiritia as a power source? Because that's Very Spicy if so. Good choice of song btw.
And yeah she needs to get the Valk back in one piece ASAP so she can go apeshit on the goddamn Others, unless she really lucks out and pulls the Symphogear, which is, with all of her song perks, pretty much a win condition.
And yeah she needs to get the Valk back in one piece ASAP so she can go apeshit on the goddamn Others, unless she really lucks out and pulls the Symphogear, which is, with all of her song perks, pretty much a win condition.
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Zentran tech is just protoculture war gear, and we know the protoculture used spiritua in... most of the stuff we see from them, like the birdman in Zero.
:3
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Omake: Corvid
Interlude: Jinhe
Jinhe sat on hard-packed earth, notebook open and recording the events of this most inauspicious morning.
The air was warming quickly, the sun just rising over the river. He had to admit, this settlement was well-placed along the Antler to receive excellent summer sunshine.
Illuminated, the small town stood resolute- No, not the town. If he was to record this, he must take care, as Elder Hamgywn had said. Maia was not like the Ogier, who tended and cared for the land. She was fire and water, drawing strength from her people.
The people of First Fork, if he had to make a judgement on human actions, were jubilant. They'd had their victory, and as far as Jinhe understood them, this meant they would celebrate life. He'd known the Antler-clans had a passion for music.
Three uniformed… Soldiers, Grenwin had told him when he'd asked, ambled along the muddying ground nearby, holding flagons of tea that smelled deeply spiced.
"Oha! There's the giant!" One of them called, a short man with blackened feet.
At his utterance, his companions looked at Jinhe. A tall man that appeared southern by his shape and coloration seemed wary, hand resting on the hilt of his long belt-knife. One of his companions, a yellow-haired young woman, shoved his hand off the weapon, leaning closely to speak into his ears.
"To anger the giants is to bring the mountain down on your head!" She said urgently, turning to offer Jinhe a proper greeting.
"Good master Jini-"
"Jinhe." Jinhe interrupted gently.
Her eyes widened, "Jinhe, please accept our apologies for Symon's impropriety. He is…" She swallowed a word that nearly reflexively flew from her tongue, "From the distant south and ignorant of our ways."
"Who's ways, Ame? I've lived here for years and I've never heard people talking about giants!" He paused, considering Jinhe and looking apologetic.
Raising his hands in a gesture of peace, "Please, there is no need for such formality. You are not Ogier. You have nothing to fear from me."
Symon nodded respectfully, relaxing. Ame blushed, seeming… Embarrassed? The short man who'd stood aside and watched, snickering to himself, gestured at the muddy ground.
"Jinhe, mind a seat?"
Wrinkling his brows, Jinhe tried to parse that. "I do not mind."
He raised one heel, slammed it back onto the earth. The ground rumbled momentarily, as if grumbling at the interruption, as a small flat-topped ridge of dry earth arose.
Sitting nonchalantly, the short fellow dragged his companions down with him. His companions, Jinhe noted, were now looking at him with renewed fear.
Sighing deeply, he gently put away his book, carefully collecting his writing implements from the improvised desk, and gently pushed the earth back into the ground.
"Men should have no fear of my kind. Should." He nodded at the short man, "I would know your name, good fellow. Who are you that you knew of this art?"
Amber eyes calmly stared back, and Jinhe blinked. For a second… No, it was his imagination.
"I am Tunerk. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. As, I imagine, my friends here will realize in time." He nodded at the slackjawed expression on Symon's face, the look of a man who thought he'd figured the world out, only to have the unknown slap him in the face.
Jinhe winced, "I had not considered- Please, I am no threat. I am here by invitation of Maia, and- Oh, she doesn't know."
The realization trickled down his spine like ice, and he could vividly imagine the response to finding out later.
Precious, stable, life-bearing Earth fleeing from his side, nothing to stand between Jinhe and the woman of Fire and Water. Duty and Community, together, where one or the other alone would be enough to leave him scattered to the winds.
He had made a contract with her. Jinhe had thought, Hamgwyn had said-
"Maia is the head of her clan. She is foreign to them, but they are hers as surely as we are of the Stedding."
Oh, blast. He'd thought she'd known about earth-molding, having seen the fortifications! They were too solid to be normal construction, and with every step within those walls he felt the deep-rooted connection of the Earth here to this clan, and the newer-but-no-less-deep connection to their new leader.
A leader who had come from nowhere and risen to prominence… Implausibly quickly, even among the Antler-clans. Merit, yes, but this bore the mark of a different kind of influence.
I need to resolve this. He could feel the deal he'd made pushing against his very soul, chafing. He could no more break the contract than Maia could fly alone. But maybe death is preferable to the alternative?
Standing quickly, he collected his things in a rush. "To leave an unknown power in the desmene of a- No, this must be rectified, now!" Turning back to the three humans, "Please, take me to her. This is vital!"
While Symon and Ame looked confused, Tunerk beamed at him. Standing gracefully, the aged man nodded, gesturing. "She's resting, this way."
Jinhe breathed a breath of relief. Resting was good. Resting meant she felt safe, and that made what he needed to do… Easier, he thought.
The Ogier walked alongside Tunerk, the other two humans trailing behind.
"Wiser than most your age, I believe you are." The white-haired man gave him a firm pat on the back, as high as he could comfortably reach. "I do not believe you are in danger. Relax, Jinhe. This is an oversight, not a betrayal. Breathe, man!"
Another thump on the back, and Jinhe shuddered. "Is this- I-"
"None of that, now. Before anything else, we're people here, you got that? Ogier," He nodded to Jinhe. "Human," He waved at Symon and Ame, "But we all want the same thing."
Shelter, sustenance, community. Remember.
Jinhe looked at Tunerk in surprise before nodding. "You are…"
The man gave him a wink, "A traveler, a sightseer, or in the tradition of Valyria, a tourist. I'm here to see what happens."
Not a threat. Help, advice, self-sufficiency. The Ogier tend their gardens as we tend ours.
Jinhe nodded. "I understand, I think." He slowed his pace, taking a fortifying breath.
"A… Tourist?" Symon asked, only to be waved off.
"Thank you, Tunerk." Jinhe bowed respectfully, not as surprised as he thought he'd be to watch the white-haired fellow respond properly.
Tunerk puffed his breath out, a cloud of… Steam, Jinhe thought, even in the warming air. Odd. "You are young and have much to learn." Smirking, "Even if you are, what, in your ninth decade?"
Jinhe nodded, "I will be ninety come the low solstice." Steadfastly ignoring the choked noises of surprise from behind them, he smiled. "Humans are far more than what I had thought of them. More than what most of us thought of them, aside from Hamgwyn. To think…" He shook his head, "I do not know what exactly the Elder told them, only what he told me. Watch, listen, and record."
Tunerk nodded, "I've always liked him. Good head on his shoulders."
Rounding the corner, they came upon a peculiar scene. A clearing on a small rise above the berm, melting snow giving way to scrub-grass and mud, the sun shining from the east- Yes, that was normal.
Sitting on a long tube, three women sat speaking quietly to each other. Maia, as Tunerk had promised, as well as Grenwin and Ygdis.
I need to get their stories of the battle, he thought, stepping firmly and waiting a respectable distance for a lull in their conversation.
Three pairs of eyes watched him, and he noted something odd. Grenwin, with her dark eyes and hair pulled tight in a long braid, was perfectly normal. Ygdis, however, had shining sapphire eyes. With the coppery hair, what he'd heard called 'touched by fire,' that was… Not good.
They hadn't shone when he'd first seen those eyes.
He gulped, reconsidering.
Just people. Breathe.
He blinked, looking around. Tunerk was gone, as were Symon and Ame, leaving him alone. He firmed himself, setting his stance. He would face his error and fix the contract.
Maia, in comparison to her companions, was most at ease. Warm gold eyes studied him, and she nodded.
"Master Jini-"
"Jinhe." Jinhe corrected absentmindedly, then realized his mistake. Brows drooping, he sought for appropriate reparations-
"I'm sorry, Master Jinhe. We didn't have much time to talk, did we?" Looking at her companions, "I think this is important. I'm sure Master Jinhe will have his own perspectives to add."
Grenwin eyed him darkly before nodding. There was hurt in those eyes, the same hurt he'd seen in the eyes of Meilin when he had returned from Stedding Tsoshu alone.
He had left with his three sons, and in the four years before he died of heartbreak, Meilin had cursed the Antler-Kings whenever he had the chance.
Carefully.
Jinhe gave a deep and apologetic bow, "Lady Maia, we must clear the table and examine our terms. I believe that our contract was made without you fully understanding my potential contribution."
Maia looked concerned, and in Jinhe's estimation, concerned was better than angry.
"Here, sit and tell me about it." She lifted her hand-
Jinhe stepped. A block of earth rose, and he sat carefully, keeping his arms and legs still and relaxed.
Not a threat, a statement of capability. I swore to enact no harm on you or yours.
Maia stared. Grenwin… Was that a look of recognition? He never could tell with humans. Ygdis was looking between him and Maia, the wall, and her face lit up with interest. No fear from any of them. That was good, right?
Grenwin grabbed the short woman's shoulders, turning her to look at the spearwife. "Was this your doing, too?" She asked deceptively calmly.
Maia mutely shook her head, wariness entering her expression as she turned back to look at Jinhe.
"I…" She swallowed, reconsidering. "I didn't know the Ogier had such, ah, abilities? Talents? What do you call that?"
He blinked. He'd suspected, but to confirm that she hadn't known… "It has many names amongst the Stedding, practically one for each, though in this tongue we can simply call it… Earthshaping is appropriate, and not innacurate. It is rare that one is born with the ability, and I was more fortunate than most."
"Earth…" Her eyes lit up, and she stood suddenly. "Tell me more. Please!"
Jinhe… Didn't know what to do. "Don't you care that we made a contract without you knowing of this?" He asked, aghast.
"Contract? We agreed that you would come and live among us, recording our ways, and that you would be the ambassador of your people. Ogier are new and, frankly, terrifying for my people. The stories vary wildly between you being the creatures of the shadows that steal children and steadfast and dependable folks."
He bristled, straightening his back on reflex. "A Contract. I would ask the basic decency to not dismiss our ways. For one such as me to break a contract is death. Even knowing now, because I had assumed otherwise before, that you didn't know of Earthshaping chafes at my very spirit. Could you live without your duty, or your people?"
She walked up to him, taking one of his large hands in both of hers. "I apologize, Master Jinhe. Ignorance is no excuse. How may I make amends?"
He blinked at her, surprised.
Wait, I'm not dead?
He opened his mouth, closed it when words wouldn't come, and thought it through. He assumed, again, that she would know the significance of a contract with him, because he assumed that Elder Hamgwyn had told her. Obviously, he hadn't, and what reason could that be?
Beings of Fire have deep loyalties, beings of Water require community.
But… What if Tunerk… What if he'd made assumptions, too?
A spark of hope warmed his belly and he grinned.
"Lady Maia, you have already made appropriate amends by seeking such. In the future, however, it would be wise to avoid implying that contracts can be broken lightly. If you are still worried, we may share tea and learn from each other. It is not common amongst your people, I understand, yet there are few slights that cannot be redressed. Contract breaking is, however, one of them. I am aligned deeply to Earth, and for those like me, a contract broken by the other party is survivable, if unpleasant. If I were to break a contract, however, I risk rejection by Earth and will most likely die."
She nodded gravely, "Then we should amend our contract. How do we do that?"
Jinhe smiled, "There is a ritual. Have you salt? I know you have water and fire handy, and I have tea. Water, Wood, Fire, Earth. It will mollify those spirits of contracts and duty, as well as those of family and community."
Ygdis took the chance to ask, "Jinhe, you keep saying…" She glanced at Maia, "Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Spirit. Those are… Right? You understand?"
Maia nodded, "Similar, but I don't think it's the same. The origins of my philosophy are as foreign to this world as I am. Master Jinhe, would you be so kind as to show me this ceremony?"
Jinhe nodded, raising a small table and another block for Maia. It was only polite, as one seeking an amended contract, that he offer such for the inconvenience to the other party.
Nobody taught me how to deal with people like Maia or Ygdis. But, if they don't know, then…
He frowned, "Are you familiar with Tunerk?"
Maia shook her head, her companions frowning and sharing a glance.
"No, I'm afraid not. Who are they?"
…Huh.
Grenwin spoke cautiously, "A man named Tunerk would travel with my tribe, sometimes. Years, or days, but each time he visited… Things changed, sometimes before, sometimes after."
"What is it, Jinhe?" Maia must have seen Jinhe's ears flicking in agitation.
Grenwin paled, then stood sharply. "Ygdis, find anyone who looks like a white-haired man with amber eyes. Pale, almost gold."
The copper-haired woman nodded quickly, setting off at a relaxed pace.
"Grenwin, is this really an issue?" Maia said, "As long as he means no harm, he's as welcome as everyone else."
Grenwin looked at the winged woman and blinked. "You… Probably won't understand without the story. I'll tell it later. Trust me?"
Blue and green eyes met dark, and- Wait, weren't her eyes gold a minute ago?
Maia nodded. "I trust you. I hope it's as serious as you say it is." She frowned, looking at Jinhe, then…
He could see the very moment when she put it all together. She snarled, turning back to Grenwin. "Find him."
The woman smartly pounded a fist into her upraised palm, some sort of salute, turning and marching away. He saw her collecting uniformed men and women with quiet gestures and whispered words before the group passed out of sight.
Jinhe sat still, using the Earth's steadfastness to keep from balking when her gaze turned to him.
For a moment she didn't speak, almost seeming to wrestle with language itself. "Where did he go?"
"He…" Jinhe swallowed, "He led me to you. Told me to keep calm, and remember that we're all people here, first and foremost."
Her eyes crossed, and she seemed stricken with angry confusion. She looked at him, at where Grenwin had gone, then around.
"When faced with the unknown, do not fear it." Elder Hamgwyn said, moving a Wood token and capturing three of Jinhe's Air tokens. "Many things will view fear as weakness and strike without thinking. Be steadfast, watch, listen, learn."
So Jinhe sat, watched, and listened. This close to her, he could feel her heart beating in anger and confusion through the Earth, deceptive, slow enough to feel almost calm compared to any human he'd felt this way.
Maia gave him a perfunctory nod, one that spoke volumes. "We will speak of this later," it said, and he gave her a polite bow.
He had never felt so grateful for Hamgwyn's lessons on communication-beyond-speech.
She turned and stalked off, hands clenched in fists.
Jinhe pulled out his notebook once more, looking around, then got to work writing. This was the kind of history that he'd always wanted to read about!
He noticed then that the ground where Maia had been standing was baked, a small patch of hardened and cracked clay-mud no wider around than the length of his hand, and still hot to the touch.
He blinked, watching the hair on his hands curl in the slowly dissipating heat.
"Interesting," he idly noted, making sure to write that down.
Oddly, for all the fear he had earlier, now he felt secure. Not the security of stubborn stone, but the kind of security that came when Hamgwyn said "No more" to the last great army that rose here. Redbeard, wasn't that?
His contract didn't chafe as badly, now. It still needed to be amended, but it no longer bore any permanent risk to his life or cultivation. Clearly, Maia had accepted that he was capable of unusual and potentially threatening abilities and accepted that he would abide by the terms of his contract. Whatever she felt on it, he knew not- He would only know if she broke it, but not why or how. Such was the way of his kind.
Not long after, a group of ten of those uniformed soldiers approached him. Cautious, but not concerned. Not for him, then.
"Apologies, Jini-"
Jinhe sighed, ignoring them as they carried the metal tubes away, back toward the lodge. He'd need to get the full story behind that, but for now he was trying desperately to record the whole of the aftermath of the battle. Interviews can come later, after he'd finished with what he'd seen with his eyes, what he heard with his ears, and what he felt from the Earth.
The land fought the hold taken on it, unwilling to provide its strength to the blind and deaf. No matter that the ground froze and the life within died. There was a struggle, brief, but in that time he heard the beating of a heartbeat, loud enough to burn, and the inexorable push-pull of the moon on the tides. Together, the twin songs tempted, Together we can be strong, we can be made whole.
In that moment, Jinhe had felt like the ground had fallen out from under him, the Earth fleeing from his senses before returning, changed. The Earth here had been silent for so long, yet it remembered how it felt to beat in rhythm with Water, with Fire, Air, and…
Oh, Spirit was what Ygdis had said. Not metal, Spirit.
He looked at the dirt between his bare feet. It… The Earth here had been awoken. Something had happened this morning that changed things.
He wrote in the margins of his current leaf, "The Earth of the Antler-clans has been still and silent for recorded history. The Earth remembered something. Agency? It sings now, a steady hum. It welcomes me, in a way no Earth beyond our Stedding has in any of our tales. Change has come, and I do not know if it is good. I hope the Earth of the Frostfangs slumbers still. Those volcanoes… If the Earth awakes there, there are many thousands of people in great danger.
Lowering his pen, he checked the nib, dipped ink, and continued writing.
Be silent, watch, and listen.
Jinhe listen, he would watch, and if Maia or her people proved a true threat to his…
He would find his place and time to strike. He hoped, fervently, that there would be no need.
He scribbled away, thoughts bound in circles.
The air was warming quickly, the sun just rising over the river. He had to admit, this settlement was well-placed along the Antler to receive excellent summer sunshine.
Illuminated, the small town stood resolute- No, not the town. If he was to record this, he must take care, as Elder Hamgywn had said. Maia was not like the Ogier, who tended and cared for the land. She was fire and water, drawing strength from her people.
The people of First Fork, if he had to make a judgement on human actions, were jubilant. They'd had their victory, and as far as Jinhe understood them, this meant they would celebrate life. He'd known the Antler-clans had a passion for music.
Three uniformed… Soldiers, Grenwin had told him when he'd asked, ambled along the muddying ground nearby, holding flagons of tea that smelled deeply spiced.
"Oha! There's the giant!" One of them called, a short man with blackened feet.
At his utterance, his companions looked at Jinhe. A tall man that appeared southern by his shape and coloration seemed wary, hand resting on the hilt of his long belt-knife. One of his companions, a yellow-haired young woman, shoved his hand off the weapon, leaning closely to speak into his ears.
"To anger the giants is to bring the mountain down on your head!" She said urgently, turning to offer Jinhe a proper greeting.
"Good master Jini-"
"Jinhe." Jinhe interrupted gently.
Her eyes widened, "Jinhe, please accept our apologies for Symon's impropriety. He is…" She swallowed a word that nearly reflexively flew from her tongue, "From the distant south and ignorant of our ways."
"Who's ways, Ame? I've lived here for years and I've never heard people talking about giants!" He paused, considering Jinhe and looking apologetic.
Raising his hands in a gesture of peace, "Please, there is no need for such formality. You are not Ogier. You have nothing to fear from me."
Symon nodded respectfully, relaxing. Ame blushed, seeming… Embarrassed? The short man who'd stood aside and watched, snickering to himself, gestured at the muddy ground.
"Jinhe, mind a seat?"
Wrinkling his brows, Jinhe tried to parse that. "I do not mind."
He raised one heel, slammed it back onto the earth. The ground rumbled momentarily, as if grumbling at the interruption, as a small flat-topped ridge of dry earth arose.
Sitting nonchalantly, the short fellow dragged his companions down with him. His companions, Jinhe noted, were now looking at him with renewed fear.
Sighing deeply, he gently put away his book, carefully collecting his writing implements from the improvised desk, and gently pushed the earth back into the ground.
"Men should have no fear of my kind. Should." He nodded at the short man, "I would know your name, good fellow. Who are you that you knew of this art?"
Amber eyes calmly stared back, and Jinhe blinked. For a second… No, it was his imagination.
"I am Tunerk. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. As, I imagine, my friends here will realize in time." He nodded at the slackjawed expression on Symon's face, the look of a man who thought he'd figured the world out, only to have the unknown slap him in the face.
Jinhe winced, "I had not considered- Please, I am no threat. I am here by invitation of Maia, and- Oh, she doesn't know."
The realization trickled down his spine like ice, and he could vividly imagine the response to finding out later.
Precious, stable, life-bearing Earth fleeing from his side, nothing to stand between Jinhe and the woman of Fire and Water. Duty and Community, together, where one or the other alone would be enough to leave him scattered to the winds.
He had made a contract with her. Jinhe had thought, Hamgwyn had said-
"Maia is the head of her clan. She is foreign to them, but they are hers as surely as we are of the Stedding."
Oh, blast. He'd thought she'd known about earth-molding, having seen the fortifications! They were too solid to be normal construction, and with every step within those walls he felt the deep-rooted connection of the Earth here to this clan, and the newer-but-no-less-deep connection to their new leader.
A leader who had come from nowhere and risen to prominence… Implausibly quickly, even among the Antler-clans. Merit, yes, but this bore the mark of a different kind of influence.
I need to resolve this. He could feel the deal he'd made pushing against his very soul, chafing. He could no more break the contract than Maia could fly alone. But maybe death is preferable to the alternative?
Standing quickly, he collected his things in a rush. "To leave an unknown power in the desmene of a- No, this must be rectified, now!" Turning back to the three humans, "Please, take me to her. This is vital!"
While Symon and Ame looked confused, Tunerk beamed at him. Standing gracefully, the aged man nodded, gesturing. "She's resting, this way."
Jinhe breathed a breath of relief. Resting was good. Resting meant she felt safe, and that made what he needed to do… Easier, he thought.
The Ogier walked alongside Tunerk, the other two humans trailing behind.
"Wiser than most your age, I believe you are." The white-haired man gave him a firm pat on the back, as high as he could comfortably reach. "I do not believe you are in danger. Relax, Jinhe. This is an oversight, not a betrayal. Breathe, man!"
Another thump on the back, and Jinhe shuddered. "Is this- I-"
"None of that, now. Before anything else, we're people here, you got that? Ogier," He nodded to Jinhe. "Human," He waved at Symon and Ame, "But we all want the same thing."
Shelter, sustenance, community. Remember.
Jinhe looked at Tunerk in surprise before nodding. "You are…"
The man gave him a wink, "A traveler, a sightseer, or in the tradition of Valyria, a tourist. I'm here to see what happens."
Not a threat. Help, advice, self-sufficiency. The Ogier tend their gardens as we tend ours.
Jinhe nodded. "I understand, I think." He slowed his pace, taking a fortifying breath.
"A… Tourist?" Symon asked, only to be waved off.
"Thank you, Tunerk." Jinhe bowed respectfully, not as surprised as he thought he'd be to watch the white-haired fellow respond properly.
Tunerk puffed his breath out, a cloud of… Steam, Jinhe thought, even in the warming air. Odd. "You are young and have much to learn." Smirking, "Even if you are, what, in your ninth decade?"
Jinhe nodded, "I will be ninety come the low solstice." Steadfastly ignoring the choked noises of surprise from behind them, he smiled. "Humans are far more than what I had thought of them. More than what most of us thought of them, aside from Hamgwyn. To think…" He shook his head, "I do not know what exactly the Elder told them, only what he told me. Watch, listen, and record."
Tunerk nodded, "I've always liked him. Good head on his shoulders."
Rounding the corner, they came upon a peculiar scene. A clearing on a small rise above the berm, melting snow giving way to scrub-grass and mud, the sun shining from the east- Yes, that was normal.
Sitting on a long tube, three women sat speaking quietly to each other. Maia, as Tunerk had promised, as well as Grenwin and Ygdis.
I need to get their stories of the battle, he thought, stepping firmly and waiting a respectable distance for a lull in their conversation.
Three pairs of eyes watched him, and he noted something odd. Grenwin, with her dark eyes and hair pulled tight in a long braid, was perfectly normal. Ygdis, however, had shining sapphire eyes. With the coppery hair, what he'd heard called 'touched by fire,' that was… Not good.
They hadn't shone when he'd first seen those eyes.
He gulped, reconsidering.
Just people. Breathe.
He blinked, looking around. Tunerk was gone, as were Symon and Ame, leaving him alone. He firmed himself, setting his stance. He would face his error and fix the contract.
Maia, in comparison to her companions, was most at ease. Warm gold eyes studied him, and she nodded.
"Master Jini-"
"Jinhe." Jinhe corrected absentmindedly, then realized his mistake. Brows drooping, he sought for appropriate reparations-
"I'm sorry, Master Jinhe. We didn't have much time to talk, did we?" Looking at her companions, "I think this is important. I'm sure Master Jinhe will have his own perspectives to add."
Grenwin eyed him darkly before nodding. There was hurt in those eyes, the same hurt he'd seen in the eyes of Meilin when he had returned from Stedding Tsoshu alone.
He had left with his three sons, and in the four years before he died of heartbreak, Meilin had cursed the Antler-Kings whenever he had the chance.
Carefully.
Jinhe gave a deep and apologetic bow, "Lady Maia, we must clear the table and examine our terms. I believe that our contract was made without you fully understanding my potential contribution."
Maia looked concerned, and in Jinhe's estimation, concerned was better than angry.
"Here, sit and tell me about it." She lifted her hand-
Jinhe stepped. A block of earth rose, and he sat carefully, keeping his arms and legs still and relaxed.
Not a threat, a statement of capability. I swore to enact no harm on you or yours.
Maia stared. Grenwin… Was that a look of recognition? He never could tell with humans. Ygdis was looking between him and Maia, the wall, and her face lit up with interest. No fear from any of them. That was good, right?
Grenwin grabbed the short woman's shoulders, turning her to look at the spearwife. "Was this your doing, too?" She asked deceptively calmly.
Maia mutely shook her head, wariness entering her expression as she turned back to look at Jinhe.
"I…" She swallowed, reconsidering. "I didn't know the Ogier had such, ah, abilities? Talents? What do you call that?"
He blinked. He'd suspected, but to confirm that she hadn't known… "It has many names amongst the Stedding, practically one for each, though in this tongue we can simply call it… Earthshaping is appropriate, and not innacurate. It is rare that one is born with the ability, and I was more fortunate than most."
"Earth…" Her eyes lit up, and she stood suddenly. "Tell me more. Please!"
Jinhe… Didn't know what to do. "Don't you care that we made a contract without you knowing of this?" He asked, aghast.
"Contract? We agreed that you would come and live among us, recording our ways, and that you would be the ambassador of your people. Ogier are new and, frankly, terrifying for my people. The stories vary wildly between you being the creatures of the shadows that steal children and steadfast and dependable folks."
He bristled, straightening his back on reflex. "A Contract. I would ask the basic decency to not dismiss our ways. For one such as me to break a contract is death. Even knowing now, because I had assumed otherwise before, that you didn't know of Earthshaping chafes at my very spirit. Could you live without your duty, or your people?"
She walked up to him, taking one of his large hands in both of hers. "I apologize, Master Jinhe. Ignorance is no excuse. How may I make amends?"
He blinked at her, surprised.
Wait, I'm not dead?
He opened his mouth, closed it when words wouldn't come, and thought it through. He assumed, again, that she would know the significance of a contract with him, because he assumed that Elder Hamgwyn had told her. Obviously, he hadn't, and what reason could that be?
Beings of Fire have deep loyalties, beings of Water require community.
But… What if Tunerk… What if he'd made assumptions, too?
A spark of hope warmed his belly and he grinned.
"Lady Maia, you have already made appropriate amends by seeking such. In the future, however, it would be wise to avoid implying that contracts can be broken lightly. If you are still worried, we may share tea and learn from each other. It is not common amongst your people, I understand, yet there are few slights that cannot be redressed. Contract breaking is, however, one of them. I am aligned deeply to Earth, and for those like me, a contract broken by the other party is survivable, if unpleasant. If I were to break a contract, however, I risk rejection by Earth and will most likely die."
She nodded gravely, "Then we should amend our contract. How do we do that?"
Jinhe smiled, "There is a ritual. Have you salt? I know you have water and fire handy, and I have tea. Water, Wood, Fire, Earth. It will mollify those spirits of contracts and duty, as well as those of family and community."
Ygdis took the chance to ask, "Jinhe, you keep saying…" She glanced at Maia, "Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Spirit. Those are… Right? You understand?"
Maia nodded, "Similar, but I don't think it's the same. The origins of my philosophy are as foreign to this world as I am. Master Jinhe, would you be so kind as to show me this ceremony?"
Jinhe nodded, raising a small table and another block for Maia. It was only polite, as one seeking an amended contract, that he offer such for the inconvenience to the other party.
Nobody taught me how to deal with people like Maia or Ygdis. But, if they don't know, then…
He frowned, "Are you familiar with Tunerk?"
Maia shook her head, her companions frowning and sharing a glance.
"No, I'm afraid not. Who are they?"
…Huh.
Grenwin spoke cautiously, "A man named Tunerk would travel with my tribe, sometimes. Years, or days, but each time he visited… Things changed, sometimes before, sometimes after."
"What is it, Jinhe?" Maia must have seen Jinhe's ears flicking in agitation.
Grenwin paled, then stood sharply. "Ygdis, find anyone who looks like a white-haired man with amber eyes. Pale, almost gold."
The copper-haired woman nodded quickly, setting off at a relaxed pace.
"Grenwin, is this really an issue?" Maia said, "As long as he means no harm, he's as welcome as everyone else."
Grenwin looked at the winged woman and blinked. "You… Probably won't understand without the story. I'll tell it later. Trust me?"
Blue and green eyes met dark, and- Wait, weren't her eyes gold a minute ago?
Maia nodded. "I trust you. I hope it's as serious as you say it is." She frowned, looking at Jinhe, then…
He could see the very moment when she put it all together. She snarled, turning back to Grenwin. "Find him."
The woman smartly pounded a fist into her upraised palm, some sort of salute, turning and marching away. He saw her collecting uniformed men and women with quiet gestures and whispered words before the group passed out of sight.
Jinhe sat still, using the Earth's steadfastness to keep from balking when her gaze turned to him.
For a moment she didn't speak, almost seeming to wrestle with language itself. "Where did he go?"
"He…" Jinhe swallowed, "He led me to you. Told me to keep calm, and remember that we're all people here, first and foremost."
Her eyes crossed, and she seemed stricken with angry confusion. She looked at him, at where Grenwin had gone, then around.
"When faced with the unknown, do not fear it." Elder Hamgwyn said, moving a Wood token and capturing three of Jinhe's Air tokens. "Many things will view fear as weakness and strike without thinking. Be steadfast, watch, listen, learn."
So Jinhe sat, watched, and listened. This close to her, he could feel her heart beating in anger and confusion through the Earth, deceptive, slow enough to feel almost calm compared to any human he'd felt this way.
Maia gave him a perfunctory nod, one that spoke volumes. "We will speak of this later," it said, and he gave her a polite bow.
He had never felt so grateful for Hamgwyn's lessons on communication-beyond-speech.
She turned and stalked off, hands clenched in fists.
Jinhe pulled out his notebook once more, looking around, then got to work writing. This was the kind of history that he'd always wanted to read about!
He noticed then that the ground where Maia had been standing was baked, a small patch of hardened and cracked clay-mud no wider around than the length of his hand, and still hot to the touch.
He blinked, watching the hair on his hands curl in the slowly dissipating heat.
"Interesting," he idly noted, making sure to write that down.
Oddly, for all the fear he had earlier, now he felt secure. Not the security of stubborn stone, but the kind of security that came when Hamgwyn said "No more" to the last great army that rose here. Redbeard, wasn't that?
His contract didn't chafe as badly, now. It still needed to be amended, but it no longer bore any permanent risk to his life or cultivation. Clearly, Maia had accepted that he was capable of unusual and potentially threatening abilities and accepted that he would abide by the terms of his contract. Whatever she felt on it, he knew not- He would only know if she broke it, but not why or how. Such was the way of his kind.
Not long after, a group of ten of those uniformed soldiers approached him. Cautious, but not concerned. Not for him, then.
"Apologies, Jini-"
Jinhe sighed, ignoring them as they carried the metal tubes away, back toward the lodge. He'd need to get the full story behind that, but for now he was trying desperately to record the whole of the aftermath of the battle. Interviews can come later, after he'd finished with what he'd seen with his eyes, what he heard with his ears, and what he felt from the Earth.
The land fought the hold taken on it, unwilling to provide its strength to the blind and deaf. No matter that the ground froze and the life within died. There was a struggle, brief, but in that time he heard the beating of a heartbeat, loud enough to burn, and the inexorable push-pull of the moon on the tides. Together, the twin songs tempted, Together we can be strong, we can be made whole.
In that moment, Jinhe had felt like the ground had fallen out from under him, the Earth fleeing from his senses before returning, changed. The Earth here had been silent for so long, yet it remembered how it felt to beat in rhythm with Water, with Fire, Air, and…
Oh, Spirit was what Ygdis had said. Not metal, Spirit.
He looked at the dirt between his bare feet. It… The Earth here had been awoken. Something had happened this morning that changed things.
He wrote in the margins of his current leaf, "The Earth of the Antler-clans has been still and silent for recorded history. The Earth remembered something. Agency? It sings now, a steady hum. It welcomes me, in a way no Earth beyond our Stedding has in any of our tales. Change has come, and I do not know if it is good. I hope the Earth of the Frostfangs slumbers still. Those volcanoes… If the Earth awakes there, there are many thousands of people in great danger.
Lowering his pen, he checked the nib, dipped ink, and continued writing.
Be silent, watch, and listen.
Jinhe listen, he would watch, and if Maia or her people proved a true threat to his…
He would find his place and time to strike. He hoped, fervently, that there would be no need.
He scribbled away, thoughts bound in circles.
The Stormbringer
Worm Fanfic & Crack Connoisseur
- Location
- Spaaaaace~!
This chapter was a little confusing. Hopefully a more plain-spoken clarification will come in another chapter soon!
- Location
- UK
I honestly had no idea on what just happened.
It might clear something up to point out that what Jinhe thinks of as the Earth awakening was the thing that Maia did to cheat with her sun earlier during the battle. This is partially my way of introducing tales of the supernatural that might not be so supernatural after all, even if it's not clear what is happening. Better to take it from the perspective of someone who is well-read and familiar with certain things that seem normal from his perspective. He's also an Ogier, and being Human would be weird for the guy. He's also pretty young for what he's doing, and it wasn't Maia's choice on who went to First Fork.
I've been uncovering some things involving the gemstone bloodlines that I'm able to finally start using that stuff. It isn't what you're probably thinking, but I hope it is enjoyable nonetheless.
Welcome to the trial run for non-human perspectives on things! It is, I believe, mostly internally consistent with that viewpoint and operating off of different knowledge bases, cultures, and whatnot. The Ogier have been isolated from the wider world for a long time, but they still have ancient records they've carefully tended, and so some knowledge has been preserved. Don't take anything Jinhe thinks he knows to be certain fact. He's been consistently wrong when it came to his own assumptions and biases, and you might wonder if him realizing that was spurred on by anything in particular.
As for the rest, we know that humans are not the only people on the planet. Some people like to get involved and others like to meddle.
Ygdis I
Ygdis moved through the jubilant crowds, eyes open and searching for white hair or amber eyes- She'd always had a knack for rooting out people that didn't belong.
Different could mean danger, sometimes. If Maia's reaction was anything to go by, it was serious enough that Ygdis could feel the angry concern bubbling over streets away.
Brown-black-grey-grey-white-THERE!
Skirting a group of hornfootmen, she came face to face with a short man with long, whispy white hair. Amber eyes, yes, and Grenwin hadn't mentioned such long whiskers…
She'd want this to seem casual, not to worry anyone.
Ygdis watched out of the corner of her eye, didn't see anyone paying much mind to her. Leaning over to speak lowly, "Are you Tunerk?"
The man nodded with a grin, saluting her in their new fashion, left-handed fist resting in an upraised palm, followed by a short bow at the shoulders. Ygdis didn't get any of why it was so important to some of the hornfoots, only that it was.
"I am Tunerk. Your lady has sent for me, then?" He snorted, long mustaches swaying as he nodded. "Please take me to her."
She studied him, looking for any signs of treachery or harm. The man had sworn to fight, just as Ygdis and everyone else in the new army had. Come to think, he had looked satisfied at the time… Satisfaction in finding a place to belong, or satisfaction from something else?
Of course, there were more pressing questions to ask, questions they'd never had to worry about asking newcomers.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Holding those amber eyes with her own, she demanded answers. She was Maia's sister, just as much as Grenwin was hers. First the Others, now strange men who meddled? Wariness felt the safest option.
"Silk hiding steel, Ygdis. It's one kind of way of looking at the world," Maia said, "Same with keeping your enemies close, closer than allies. You can trust an ally to hold their bargain if you can make one, but you need to watch enemies. We can't underestimate anyone or anything when it comes to our survival. Could you, having met me?"
Tunerk looked normal, yes. A reasonably well-kept elder who looked like he knew well how to use the arms slung on back and waist, but otherwise…
"I said, I'm Tunerk. That's my name," A pause, "Commander."
Ygdis did not blink at the obvious reminder that she outranked him. Giving orders! To an elder!
Wait, that did answer both my questions. In a way, a very Maia way.
Came from outside, acts strange, not running. Most who don't know her personally would, and she hasn't noticed those who have.
Just a few since the slavers, but a few leaving would spread word, and that's what she had wanted to happen, right?
Her eyes opened wide, "Are you her father?"
Tunerk chuckled, a low chortling that started in the belly and grew. Wiping a tear from his eye, "Heh, now that is funny. No, no, she's certainly not mine. If you aren't here to take me to her, why did you seek me?"
"I- I am, I wanted to know if, ah…"
A white brow lifted, "If I am a threat?" He patted his belt knife, "Of course I am. Isn't that the point? How else would I uphold the promise I made when we all swore to defend our people."
Enough of this. She eyed the three silk knots at his shoulder. Two white, one gold.
"Have you had to lead men to war, Ygdis?" Grenwin asked, fire crackling and keeping the chill at bay. "I have. You can't treat everyone the same. Some warriors, you need to lay things out, get them to see what you see. Most are happy enough to place their trust in you and follow your lead. Others, tell them outright. People like to talk, so remember that sometimes you need to give direct, simple orders. Go here, do this, guard that, watch that prisoner. The trick is to put them to work before they notice, and if you do that, they'll keep it up. We like having something to do."
"Captain Tunerk, come with me." She gave him a hard look, ignoring the small twitch of a smile she caught, turned on her heel and strode away purposefully.
She wasn't surprised that the man kept up, matching her stride.
"You won't always have a chance to think. Sometimes, you'll need to act." Tunerk said conversationally. Ygdis shot him a look and he fell quiet with a smirk.
He's not wrong, but you don't have to like it.
Right, now to find Grenwin, and then Maia. Or, wait, why had Tunerk said that Maia sent for him?
"You felt it too?" Ygdis asked, "A few minutes ago."
When Jinhe moved that dirt… Why did it feel like treading water, unable to see the bottom below our feet? At least she understood Maia, mostly. If she said she wouldn't hurt you, she wouldn't. An Ogier? What if they have more who can do that? Grenwin was right to be wary.
The amber-eyed man considered for a moment, "Yes."
She looked at him, sharp gaze searching- Truth.
Rounding a turn ahead of them, Maia stormed out into the street, searching. The moment she saw Ygdis, her gaze softened, but when she saw who she was with-
Grenwin had said that jumping from bearback was the closest thing to flying she'd known.
Ygdis thought she might rather that than be carried aloft by invisible cords of power, unceremoniously brought closer and dropped onto good solid ground. At least jumping was a choice.
Tunerk was standing, relaxed, and only the imprint of his bindings on his uniform showed anything unusual was amiss.
"Lady Maia! I would offer the customary greetings, but…" He wiggled a shoulder and gave her a nonplussed look.
She looks upset. Ygdis thought, tinged with shock. I've never seen her like this before.
She was practically vibrating with anger and concern. It was bad enough that the woman wasn't speaking, and Nana had told Ygdis over and over again that someone who was worried can do far greater harm than someone who was just angry.
"Hey, Maia?" Ygdis tried, receiving a snarling look for her trouble.
Reaching out, she squeezed the shorter woman's shoulder. "It's fine, I don't think he's going to do anything to hurt us. He promised." Ygdis kept her tone even.
Shaking her head, Maia refocused on the amber-eyed man. "Captain Tunerk. I am led to believe that you provoked Jinhe into revealing his people's secrets. You knew. And you said nothing."
He nodded, unruffled. "As soon as I realized, I brought him to you, yes."
She frowned, thinking. Ygdis watched as anger cooled and her sister put the mask back on.
"We will have this conversation in private. Ygdis, can you find Grenwin? We're going to be borrowing one of the engineer's offices."
Meet us in the archive, Ygdis caught. Nodding, she gave another look at Tunerk, "Maia, I don't know if he's against us, but he swore with the rest of us. If he was a threat, I don't think he'd do something dumb enough to get him kicked out."
Exiled, not dead. She left the reminder hanging in the air as she went to follow orders. Worried people can do stupid things sometimes and Ygdis wanted to make sure.
That Maia had told her to leave while they talked hurt. It wasn't right to leave family out like that! Not when it sounded important!
***
Grenwin nearly ran right into Ygdis in her haste to turn a corner. Reflexively reaching out and catching her apprentice, "Have you seen him?"
Ygdis nodded, "I brought him to her, she wanted to talk to him alone for a minute. We're supposed to meet her in the archive hall."
Grenwin relaxed, marginally. She didn't care how odd the man was, if Maia had her eyes on him, he wasn't getting away this time.
"Let's go get answers," she told Ygdis as they set off to push through the crowds in front of the Lodge, and then within. A clamor of celebration, music and singing and the scents of freshly baked sweetsap treats, greeted them through the open doors.
Any other time, Grenwin would have made an excuse for the two of them to grab a few of those treats. Ygdis had been making excellent progress in her training and Grenwin hadn't yet found a way to reward her. After, she thought.
A moment later and they were in the odd white-walled hall, passing a pair of men talking excitedly. She picked up snatches of their conversation, something about leverage and stability, and she resolved to ask later. She had more than a few ideas of her own for weapons that she wanted to follow-up with.
Then they were in the chilly air of the archive hall. Quiet murmurings from the two dozen or so men and women working on plundering the depths of the library.
"Even with the skill to use these terminals and browse around, there's just so much to look through," Maia pointed at the colorful images lit by cold fire, "I'm just glad that it's not incomprehensible. Do you think Symon appreciated the thermite we made?"
Grenwin had answered yes, then, and was glad she had. The Guindilla arrows that they'd later tested had been impressive. Hard to imagine that if any of them had said no, they would have had one less thing to fight the Others with.
Eyeing Ygdis, she wondered how much of what they could make would really stand. The Maulers weren't theirs. Built by a different people for a different war, Maia said, and hadn't said any more than that.
Remembering the way that shadow had been wounded instead of killed by something that should have been the perfect weapon…
Well, there was no perfect weapon, and they'd need to think long and hard about where and how to use those arrows.
As they approached one of the side-offices of the archive, Grenwin heard muffled swearing. Speeding their pace, she and Ygdis burst into the office, prepared for violence should it be necessary.
Maia was angry, but not nearly as bad as she had been. This was the familiar anger of none-can-have-them, not anything immediately murderous. Not like after the slavers.
Grenwin held the smaller woman close, brushing hair and staunchly refusing to flinch at the sparks that danced near the ground. It was hot through her boots, hot enough she dared not touch the earth. Burns were some of the worst wounds she'd had before and she had no great wish to add more to her tally.
Her Da had taught her how to handle an injured direwolf cub, once. The family had been killed by a group of starving nightrunners, far further north than Da said they lived.
"Direwolves are like us, more than we admit. We live by our bears, but the bears do not think like we do. That cub, girl? You would heal something that kills to survive. It is angry, injured, and scared. Act slowly and implacably. Do not flinch from a predator, as flinching signals fear, and fear means prey."
So, Grenwin tried very, very hard to be still, keep her fingers brushing through hair, and murmuring that everyone is safe and that the danger has passed. It took far longer than she would have hoped, several hours at least, but eventually the sparks and unnatural heat died down, and the odd woman acknowledged Grenwin for the first time since the battle.
Tunerk was standing, not sitting, steadily and bearing the full brunt of the young woman's temper.
"-it's not alive, I don't know what you're saying! Just speak clearly!"
To his credit, Tunerk wasn't flinching either. Most would, at least by Grenwin's reckoning, which was unusual. Everybody was scared the first few times Maia had done something flashy, and none of those had been the target of this. The boy who had fled days ago.
"Have you looked at the Weirwood, yet?" Tunerk asked calmly, saluting and bowing to Grenwin and Ygdis.
Who bows?
…Maia did, when we first met. Grenwin realized with a bit of a start. It wasn't identical, but it was odd.
"Grenwin, what did this man do to your tribe?" Maia asked, eyeing the possibly-ex-soldier askance.
Ygdis sat in one of those comfortable chairs that spun, watching with those sapphire eyes of hers.
What had the man done to them?
"Nothing proveaable." Grenwin said, watching Tunerk. "My Da said that an elder from another tribe would visit every few years."
"Not every few years, every summer." Tunerk corrected firmly, "When… The sun can watch over the lands far to the north, I would travel with their tribe for a time."
Grenwin frowned, nodding reluctantly. Put like that, she understood. A little.
"There is an implication here," Maia told him, "That you were present when the Others attacked that tribe."
Oh, Grenwin hadn't thought of that, true as it was. He had been there, but he was as much a victim as anyone else.
Tunerk's whiskers trembled as he blew a sad breath out through his mouth. "I was. I could not save as many as I hoped," he looked at Grenwin, shook his head.
Ygdis slammed her palms on the table. "Alright! Enough of this!" She stood, grabbing Maia's shoulders and shaking her. "We are not lords and ladies! If you have something to say, say it, don't just… Imply! The man was there, fine, but you're suggesting he brought the Others?"
"What else do you want me to think?" Maia snapped back, "Grenwin tells me he might be dangerous, Jinhe tells me he knows things, and you…" She turned back to Tunerk.
Taking a deep breath through her nose, she breathed evenly for a moment, calming herself. "Captain Tunerk, I owe you an apology. I should not have implied that you brought the Others. You yourself only arrived recently and they'd been building in force for a while now."
The elderly man inclined his head. "Accepted."
Grenwin looked, really looked, at the man. He was as old as he'd always been, but Da had said he'd been visiting them before she had been born…
"My arrival here was fortunate." He chuckled, relaxing and inviting everyone to share the joke. Grenwin, especially, for some reason. "I did say I came to your tribe every summer."
She blinked, remembering the odd warmth of the morning. "It was cold enough to freeze a man solid last night, but the snow is melting today."
Maia looked between them, "So? It's been cold, and now it isn't. That's weather, right?"
No, Grenwin thought with a peculiar feeling. Like when she'd squirmed into a bear's den to find it led to a series of caverns. Surrounded by darkness for days before she found her way out, finding the bones of those who starved to death…
She shivered, shaking her head. "Maia, summers are cold, still. There is snow in the summer."
The woman had the decency to look curious, "Then what do you propose happened, Tunerk?"
Shrugging, "I can't say for certain. I've seen Ogier shape their homes out of stone as easily as they do wood, and within a Stedding they are dangerous beyond reckoning. Beyond, and they cannot. The Earth within is alive, it listens to them. When I saw Jinhe writing, I wondered what exactly they had told you about their abilities. It was most likely that you knew, though his reaction said that you did not."
"I can understand how breaking a contract might be bad," Maia started before the aged man cut her off.
"Lethal. Breaking a contract for one as tied to Earth and Wood so strongly as the least spiritual Ogier is lethal. A broken contract for Jinhe would bring rejection from the Earth of his Stedding, his home."
She was quiet for a while. "Spiritual," she said, half question.
Tunerk cocked his head, "You… don't know?"
Grenwin watched in amusement as the man's face twisted in confusion. She'd never seen that look on his face before!
"She doesn't," Ygdis said, "Because nobody has taught her. It… Hasn't been the most important thing?"
Grenwin gave her a look.
Ygdis amended, "It really hasn't been as important as establishing ourselves, safely."
"Safe- Safely?" The man spluttered, shocked. "You build your foundation on mud!" Amber eyes flashed as he looked around between them before focusing square on Maia. "You need to know, fledgling! You have taken a domain in a land that has long since forgotten what that means."
Maia raised her arms in frustration, "Long ago! Forgotten! It's easy to claim! I can just as easily say that men have long since forgotten, I don't know, hagene! I don't care if you think you're telling the truth or not, bring some fucking evidence or stop."
Tunerk smoldered, Ygdis looked surprised and confused, and… Wait, what was that word?
"What did you say?" Grenwin asked, pushing through the sudden tension in the room. The air shouldn't feel thick like this, it was too hot in this small room to be anything but oppressive. She forced herself to speak, anyway. "There are stories of people coming from nowhere and…" She looked at Tunerk, looking away just as quickly. "Great men and women appearing. Usually, they just walk out of the woods and up to a village. Then, they take over, and the people live well. Every time, something happens to those people."
The old man nodded, "What is remembered as Hardhome was one such domain, as I understand."
Maia was listening, she saw. That was good! "Da always said that the people there had…" Glancing at Maia, Grenwin knew what she was about to say might make the woman bristle up again. Had to be said, though. "He said they deserved it. They broke an oath, he said, and the sun rose on Hardhome because of it."
Tunerk shrugged, "The land has been fallow for a long time, but it does remember."
Sitting heavily in a chair, Maia rested fists on the table. "I am trying very hard to listen, but I do not understand what I am hearing."
Tunerk looked at Grenwin, then Ygdis. "I thought… Ellir knows these things. She should have been teaching you how to deal with the spirits of land and river. Though," He frowned, stroking a whisker, "I can see why she didn't."
Maia groaned, "She told me about a curse on Hardhome and I told her it wasn't anything to worry about, just the wind."
Tunerk winced, "Really? She let you off with that?"
Ygdis rolled her chair next to Maia, gesturing at her. "I watched the woman tear an old-growth sentinel out of the ground with, eh, channeling." She said the last word like she might have said, witchery. Grenwin could hear it in that smirk of hers. "I think I understand why she didn't try harder."
Tunerk's mustache-stroking continued as he considered. "Oh." Nodding, he sat up, "Then someone is going to need to teach her."
"Ah," Maia said, "Look, I'm happy with learning about your culture-"
Tunerk reared back, shocked and surprised. "Your? Then you know nothing of this?"
You know nothing of who you are? Grenwin read in those amber eyes.
Shaking her head, oblivious, Maia continued, "Yes, your. I'm not from wherever you think I am, I'm not whoever you think I am. I'm just… Me? Isn't that enough?"
"That word you used earlier, Maia." Grenwin swallowed, "Hago-something?"
Maia looked at her, honestly confused.
"An old word that means iron-shaped-to-steel." Tunerk offered, "And a rarely used one, at that. Where did that come from?"
Maia shook her head, "It's just- It's-" Eyes wide, she locked gazes with Grenwin, then Ygdis. Whatever she was searching for, she didn't find, hurt writ large over her face.
"It happens, sometimes," Tunerk said, "That part of us remembers something when the rest of us can't. Wherever you heard that word, from your reaction, may be related to…" He gestured, "You will need to confront who you are, lest your people suffer your ignorance."
Gold and amber eyes locked- Wait, gold?
Trick of the light, had to have been. Blue and green, like they'd always been. Always, other than right after the slavers had come, and Grenwin was surely misremembering.
"Then say it! Tell me!" Maia pleaded. "They should not suffer for me!"
Tunerk shook his head sadly, "I can not. I do not know your tale, but there are those who have the means to discover it." Shaking his head, "They may not welcome you, as you are."
The oppressive air returned, and the man seemed to feel it just as Grenwin did. Raising his hands in a gesture of peace, "They're… Legends, even to wanderers like myself. Not the kind of people you find easily, but there are clues. They live not far south of the wall, along the eastern coast. There is a natural harbor surrounded by low mountains. Not hills, but mountains that thrum with the living Earth, mountains that spew forth fire and death. Go there and you may find help."
Maia laughed mirthlessly. "A quest, huh? Yes, I should drop everything and leave my people undefended immediately after something tried to kill us all. Good idea, Captain. I will think about it, but for now, get out of my sight."
Tunerk smartly saluted and left the room, door swinging shut behind him with a click.
Maia looked between the two of them, "What do you think?"
"Worth looking into," Ygdis said. "It doesn't have to be now," she hurriedly added at Maia's nonplussed look. "Look, Maia, I know you weren't raised with stories of spirits taking us if we weren't good." She swallowed, "The river took my brother."
"I'm sorry for that. What does that have to do with going south to find mountain harbor?"
"Maia, there aren't any mountains on the eastern coast." Grenwin said, "I've been on raids sailing down around Eastwatch." A thought occurred to her, "One time we disembarked at noon, yet when we were unloading our supplies, night fell on us. When the morning came again, our campground had moved leagues up the coast."
Maia thought about it, eventually nodding.
"Fine, we can look. Just like we can look at Hardhome." She frowned, "I've been putting that off for too long. I… I need to apologize to Ellir."
With an apologetic glance, she rose and left her and Ygdis alone in the room.
"I really want to hit something," Ygdis suggested, expression stormy. "Join me?"
Grenwin held the door for her as they left the bustling archives behind in favor of a clear patch of grassy ground. "First to three strikes?"
Ygdis grinned, "Fair."
She lunged forward and Grenwin met her, laughing as they did their best to pound each other into the dirt.
Different could mean danger, sometimes. If Maia's reaction was anything to go by, it was serious enough that Ygdis could feel the angry concern bubbling over streets away.
Brown-black-grey-grey-white-THERE!
Skirting a group of hornfootmen, she came face to face with a short man with long, whispy white hair. Amber eyes, yes, and Grenwin hadn't mentioned such long whiskers…
She'd want this to seem casual, not to worry anyone.
Ygdis watched out of the corner of her eye, didn't see anyone paying much mind to her. Leaning over to speak lowly, "Are you Tunerk?"
The man nodded with a grin, saluting her in their new fashion, left-handed fist resting in an upraised palm, followed by a short bow at the shoulders. Ygdis didn't get any of why it was so important to some of the hornfoots, only that it was.
"I am Tunerk. Your lady has sent for me, then?" He snorted, long mustaches swaying as he nodded. "Please take me to her."
She studied him, looking for any signs of treachery or harm. The man had sworn to fight, just as Ygdis and everyone else in the new army had. Come to think, he had looked satisfied at the time… Satisfaction in finding a place to belong, or satisfaction from something else?
Of course, there were more pressing questions to ask, questions they'd never had to worry about asking newcomers.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Holding those amber eyes with her own, she demanded answers. She was Maia's sister, just as much as Grenwin was hers. First the Others, now strange men who meddled? Wariness felt the safest option.
"Silk hiding steel, Ygdis. It's one kind of way of looking at the world," Maia said, "Same with keeping your enemies close, closer than allies. You can trust an ally to hold their bargain if you can make one, but you need to watch enemies. We can't underestimate anyone or anything when it comes to our survival. Could you, having met me?"
Tunerk looked normal, yes. A reasonably well-kept elder who looked like he knew well how to use the arms slung on back and waist, but otherwise…
"I said, I'm Tunerk. That's my name," A pause, "Commander."
Ygdis did not blink at the obvious reminder that she outranked him. Giving orders! To an elder!
Wait, that did answer both my questions. In a way, a very Maia way.
Came from outside, acts strange, not running. Most who don't know her personally would, and she hasn't noticed those who have.
Just a few since the slavers, but a few leaving would spread word, and that's what she had wanted to happen, right?
Her eyes opened wide, "Are you her father?"
Tunerk chuckled, a low chortling that started in the belly and grew. Wiping a tear from his eye, "Heh, now that is funny. No, no, she's certainly not mine. If you aren't here to take me to her, why did you seek me?"
"I- I am, I wanted to know if, ah…"
A white brow lifted, "If I am a threat?" He patted his belt knife, "Of course I am. Isn't that the point? How else would I uphold the promise I made when we all swore to defend our people."
Enough of this. She eyed the three silk knots at his shoulder. Two white, one gold.
"Have you had to lead men to war, Ygdis?" Grenwin asked, fire crackling and keeping the chill at bay. "I have. You can't treat everyone the same. Some warriors, you need to lay things out, get them to see what you see. Most are happy enough to place their trust in you and follow your lead. Others, tell them outright. People like to talk, so remember that sometimes you need to give direct, simple orders. Go here, do this, guard that, watch that prisoner. The trick is to put them to work before they notice, and if you do that, they'll keep it up. We like having something to do."
"Captain Tunerk, come with me." She gave him a hard look, ignoring the small twitch of a smile she caught, turned on her heel and strode away purposefully.
She wasn't surprised that the man kept up, matching her stride.
"You won't always have a chance to think. Sometimes, you'll need to act." Tunerk said conversationally. Ygdis shot him a look and he fell quiet with a smirk.
He's not wrong, but you don't have to like it.
Right, now to find Grenwin, and then Maia. Or, wait, why had Tunerk said that Maia sent for him?
"You felt it too?" Ygdis asked, "A few minutes ago."
When Jinhe moved that dirt… Why did it feel like treading water, unable to see the bottom below our feet? At least she understood Maia, mostly. If she said she wouldn't hurt you, she wouldn't. An Ogier? What if they have more who can do that? Grenwin was right to be wary.
The amber-eyed man considered for a moment, "Yes."
She looked at him, sharp gaze searching- Truth.
Rounding a turn ahead of them, Maia stormed out into the street, searching. The moment she saw Ygdis, her gaze softened, but when she saw who she was with-
Grenwin had said that jumping from bearback was the closest thing to flying she'd known.
Ygdis thought she might rather that than be carried aloft by invisible cords of power, unceremoniously brought closer and dropped onto good solid ground. At least jumping was a choice.
Tunerk was standing, relaxed, and only the imprint of his bindings on his uniform showed anything unusual was amiss.
"Lady Maia! I would offer the customary greetings, but…" He wiggled a shoulder and gave her a nonplussed look.
She looks upset. Ygdis thought, tinged with shock. I've never seen her like this before.
She was practically vibrating with anger and concern. It was bad enough that the woman wasn't speaking, and Nana had told Ygdis over and over again that someone who was worried can do far greater harm than someone who was just angry.
"Hey, Maia?" Ygdis tried, receiving a snarling look for her trouble.
Reaching out, she squeezed the shorter woman's shoulder. "It's fine, I don't think he's going to do anything to hurt us. He promised." Ygdis kept her tone even.
Shaking her head, Maia refocused on the amber-eyed man. "Captain Tunerk. I am led to believe that you provoked Jinhe into revealing his people's secrets. You knew. And you said nothing."
He nodded, unruffled. "As soon as I realized, I brought him to you, yes."
She frowned, thinking. Ygdis watched as anger cooled and her sister put the mask back on.
"We will have this conversation in private. Ygdis, can you find Grenwin? We're going to be borrowing one of the engineer's offices."
Meet us in the archive, Ygdis caught. Nodding, she gave another look at Tunerk, "Maia, I don't know if he's against us, but he swore with the rest of us. If he was a threat, I don't think he'd do something dumb enough to get him kicked out."
Exiled, not dead. She left the reminder hanging in the air as she went to follow orders. Worried people can do stupid things sometimes and Ygdis wanted to make sure.
That Maia had told her to leave while they talked hurt. It wasn't right to leave family out like that! Not when it sounded important!
***
Grenwin nearly ran right into Ygdis in her haste to turn a corner. Reflexively reaching out and catching her apprentice, "Have you seen him?"
Ygdis nodded, "I brought him to her, she wanted to talk to him alone for a minute. We're supposed to meet her in the archive hall."
Grenwin relaxed, marginally. She didn't care how odd the man was, if Maia had her eyes on him, he wasn't getting away this time.
"Let's go get answers," she told Ygdis as they set off to push through the crowds in front of the Lodge, and then within. A clamor of celebration, music and singing and the scents of freshly baked sweetsap treats, greeted them through the open doors.
Any other time, Grenwin would have made an excuse for the two of them to grab a few of those treats. Ygdis had been making excellent progress in her training and Grenwin hadn't yet found a way to reward her. After, she thought.
A moment later and they were in the odd white-walled hall, passing a pair of men talking excitedly. She picked up snatches of their conversation, something about leverage and stability, and she resolved to ask later. She had more than a few ideas of her own for weapons that she wanted to follow-up with.
Then they were in the chilly air of the archive hall. Quiet murmurings from the two dozen or so men and women working on plundering the depths of the library.
"Even with the skill to use these terminals and browse around, there's just so much to look through," Maia pointed at the colorful images lit by cold fire, "I'm just glad that it's not incomprehensible. Do you think Symon appreciated the thermite we made?"
Grenwin had answered yes, then, and was glad she had. The Guindilla arrows that they'd later tested had been impressive. Hard to imagine that if any of them had said no, they would have had one less thing to fight the Others with.
Eyeing Ygdis, she wondered how much of what they could make would really stand. The Maulers weren't theirs. Built by a different people for a different war, Maia said, and hadn't said any more than that.
Remembering the way that shadow had been wounded instead of killed by something that should have been the perfect weapon…
Well, there was no perfect weapon, and they'd need to think long and hard about where and how to use those arrows.
As they approached one of the side-offices of the archive, Grenwin heard muffled swearing. Speeding their pace, she and Ygdis burst into the office, prepared for violence should it be necessary.
Maia was angry, but not nearly as bad as she had been. This was the familiar anger of none-can-have-them, not anything immediately murderous. Not like after the slavers.
Grenwin held the smaller woman close, brushing hair and staunchly refusing to flinch at the sparks that danced near the ground. It was hot through her boots, hot enough she dared not touch the earth. Burns were some of the worst wounds she'd had before and she had no great wish to add more to her tally.
Her Da had taught her how to handle an injured direwolf cub, once. The family had been killed by a group of starving nightrunners, far further north than Da said they lived.
"Direwolves are like us, more than we admit. We live by our bears, but the bears do not think like we do. That cub, girl? You would heal something that kills to survive. It is angry, injured, and scared. Act slowly and implacably. Do not flinch from a predator, as flinching signals fear, and fear means prey."
So, Grenwin tried very, very hard to be still, keep her fingers brushing through hair, and murmuring that everyone is safe and that the danger has passed. It took far longer than she would have hoped, several hours at least, but eventually the sparks and unnatural heat died down, and the odd woman acknowledged Grenwin for the first time since the battle.
Tunerk was standing, not sitting, steadily and bearing the full brunt of the young woman's temper.
"-it's not alive, I don't know what you're saying! Just speak clearly!"
To his credit, Tunerk wasn't flinching either. Most would, at least by Grenwin's reckoning, which was unusual. Everybody was scared the first few times Maia had done something flashy, and none of those had been the target of this. The boy who had fled days ago.
"Have you looked at the Weirwood, yet?" Tunerk asked calmly, saluting and bowing to Grenwin and Ygdis.
Who bows?
…Maia did, when we first met. Grenwin realized with a bit of a start. It wasn't identical, but it was odd.
"Grenwin, what did this man do to your tribe?" Maia asked, eyeing the possibly-ex-soldier askance.
Ygdis sat in one of those comfortable chairs that spun, watching with those sapphire eyes of hers.
What had the man done to them?
"Nothing proveaable." Grenwin said, watching Tunerk. "My Da said that an elder from another tribe would visit every few years."
"Not every few years, every summer." Tunerk corrected firmly, "When… The sun can watch over the lands far to the north, I would travel with their tribe for a time."
Grenwin frowned, nodding reluctantly. Put like that, she understood. A little.
"There is an implication here," Maia told him, "That you were present when the Others attacked that tribe."
Oh, Grenwin hadn't thought of that, true as it was. He had been there, but he was as much a victim as anyone else.
Tunerk's whiskers trembled as he blew a sad breath out through his mouth. "I was. I could not save as many as I hoped," he looked at Grenwin, shook his head.
Ygdis slammed her palms on the table. "Alright! Enough of this!" She stood, grabbing Maia's shoulders and shaking her. "We are not lords and ladies! If you have something to say, say it, don't just… Imply! The man was there, fine, but you're suggesting he brought the Others?"
"What else do you want me to think?" Maia snapped back, "Grenwin tells me he might be dangerous, Jinhe tells me he knows things, and you…" She turned back to Tunerk.
Taking a deep breath through her nose, she breathed evenly for a moment, calming herself. "Captain Tunerk, I owe you an apology. I should not have implied that you brought the Others. You yourself only arrived recently and they'd been building in force for a while now."
The elderly man inclined his head. "Accepted."
Grenwin looked, really looked, at the man. He was as old as he'd always been, but Da had said he'd been visiting them before she had been born…
"My arrival here was fortunate." He chuckled, relaxing and inviting everyone to share the joke. Grenwin, especially, for some reason. "I did say I came to your tribe every summer."
She blinked, remembering the odd warmth of the morning. "It was cold enough to freeze a man solid last night, but the snow is melting today."
Maia looked between them, "So? It's been cold, and now it isn't. That's weather, right?"
No, Grenwin thought with a peculiar feeling. Like when she'd squirmed into a bear's den to find it led to a series of caverns. Surrounded by darkness for days before she found her way out, finding the bones of those who starved to death…
She shivered, shaking her head. "Maia, summers are cold, still. There is snow in the summer."
The woman had the decency to look curious, "Then what do you propose happened, Tunerk?"
Shrugging, "I can't say for certain. I've seen Ogier shape their homes out of stone as easily as they do wood, and within a Stedding they are dangerous beyond reckoning. Beyond, and they cannot. The Earth within is alive, it listens to them. When I saw Jinhe writing, I wondered what exactly they had told you about their abilities. It was most likely that you knew, though his reaction said that you did not."
"I can understand how breaking a contract might be bad," Maia started before the aged man cut her off.
"Lethal. Breaking a contract for one as tied to Earth and Wood so strongly as the least spiritual Ogier is lethal. A broken contract for Jinhe would bring rejection from the Earth of his Stedding, his home."
She was quiet for a while. "Spiritual," she said, half question.
Tunerk cocked his head, "You… don't know?"
Grenwin watched in amusement as the man's face twisted in confusion. She'd never seen that look on his face before!
"She doesn't," Ygdis said, "Because nobody has taught her. It… Hasn't been the most important thing?"
Grenwin gave her a look.
Ygdis amended, "It really hasn't been as important as establishing ourselves, safely."
"Safe- Safely?" The man spluttered, shocked. "You build your foundation on mud!" Amber eyes flashed as he looked around between them before focusing square on Maia. "You need to know, fledgling! You have taken a domain in a land that has long since forgotten what that means."
Maia raised her arms in frustration, "Long ago! Forgotten! It's easy to claim! I can just as easily say that men have long since forgotten, I don't know, hagene! I don't care if you think you're telling the truth or not, bring some fucking evidence or stop."
Tunerk smoldered, Ygdis looked surprised and confused, and… Wait, what was that word?
"What did you say?" Grenwin asked, pushing through the sudden tension in the room. The air shouldn't feel thick like this, it was too hot in this small room to be anything but oppressive. She forced herself to speak, anyway. "There are stories of people coming from nowhere and…" She looked at Tunerk, looking away just as quickly. "Great men and women appearing. Usually, they just walk out of the woods and up to a village. Then, they take over, and the people live well. Every time, something happens to those people."
The old man nodded, "What is remembered as Hardhome was one such domain, as I understand."
Maia was listening, she saw. That was good! "Da always said that the people there had…" Glancing at Maia, Grenwin knew what she was about to say might make the woman bristle up again. Had to be said, though. "He said they deserved it. They broke an oath, he said, and the sun rose on Hardhome because of it."
Tunerk shrugged, "The land has been fallow for a long time, but it does remember."
Sitting heavily in a chair, Maia rested fists on the table. "I am trying very hard to listen, but I do not understand what I am hearing."
Tunerk looked at Grenwin, then Ygdis. "I thought… Ellir knows these things. She should have been teaching you how to deal with the spirits of land and river. Though," He frowned, stroking a whisker, "I can see why she didn't."
Maia groaned, "She told me about a curse on Hardhome and I told her it wasn't anything to worry about, just the wind."
Tunerk winced, "Really? She let you off with that?"
Ygdis rolled her chair next to Maia, gesturing at her. "I watched the woman tear an old-growth sentinel out of the ground with, eh, channeling." She said the last word like she might have said, witchery. Grenwin could hear it in that smirk of hers. "I think I understand why she didn't try harder."
Tunerk's mustache-stroking continued as he considered. "Oh." Nodding, he sat up, "Then someone is going to need to teach her."
"Ah," Maia said, "Look, I'm happy with learning about your culture-"
Tunerk reared back, shocked and surprised. "Your? Then you know nothing of this?"
You know nothing of who you are? Grenwin read in those amber eyes.
Shaking her head, oblivious, Maia continued, "Yes, your. I'm not from wherever you think I am, I'm not whoever you think I am. I'm just… Me? Isn't that enough?"
"That word you used earlier, Maia." Grenwin swallowed, "Hago-something?"
Maia looked at her, honestly confused.
"An old word that means iron-shaped-to-steel." Tunerk offered, "And a rarely used one, at that. Where did that come from?"
Maia shook her head, "It's just- It's-" Eyes wide, she locked gazes with Grenwin, then Ygdis. Whatever she was searching for, she didn't find, hurt writ large over her face.
"It happens, sometimes," Tunerk said, "That part of us remembers something when the rest of us can't. Wherever you heard that word, from your reaction, may be related to…" He gestured, "You will need to confront who you are, lest your people suffer your ignorance."
Gold and amber eyes locked- Wait, gold?
Trick of the light, had to have been. Blue and green, like they'd always been. Always, other than right after the slavers had come, and Grenwin was surely misremembering.
"Then say it! Tell me!" Maia pleaded. "They should not suffer for me!"
Tunerk shook his head sadly, "I can not. I do not know your tale, but there are those who have the means to discover it." Shaking his head, "They may not welcome you, as you are."
The oppressive air returned, and the man seemed to feel it just as Grenwin did. Raising his hands in a gesture of peace, "They're… Legends, even to wanderers like myself. Not the kind of people you find easily, but there are clues. They live not far south of the wall, along the eastern coast. There is a natural harbor surrounded by low mountains. Not hills, but mountains that thrum with the living Earth, mountains that spew forth fire and death. Go there and you may find help."
Maia laughed mirthlessly. "A quest, huh? Yes, I should drop everything and leave my people undefended immediately after something tried to kill us all. Good idea, Captain. I will think about it, but for now, get out of my sight."
Tunerk smartly saluted and left the room, door swinging shut behind him with a click.
Maia looked between the two of them, "What do you think?"
"Worth looking into," Ygdis said. "It doesn't have to be now," she hurriedly added at Maia's nonplussed look. "Look, Maia, I know you weren't raised with stories of spirits taking us if we weren't good." She swallowed, "The river took my brother."
"I'm sorry for that. What does that have to do with going south to find mountain harbor?"
"Maia, there aren't any mountains on the eastern coast." Grenwin said, "I've been on raids sailing down around Eastwatch." A thought occurred to her, "One time we disembarked at noon, yet when we were unloading our supplies, night fell on us. When the morning came again, our campground had moved leagues up the coast."
Maia thought about it, eventually nodding.
"Fine, we can look. Just like we can look at Hardhome." She frowned, "I've been putting that off for too long. I… I need to apologize to Ellir."
With an apologetic glance, she rose and left her and Ygdis alone in the room.
"I really want to hit something," Ygdis suggested, expression stormy. "Join me?"
Grenwin held the door for her as they left the bustling archives behind in favor of a clear patch of grassy ground. "First to three strikes?"
Ygdis grinned, "Fair."
She lunged forward and Grenwin met her, laughing as they did their best to pound each other into the dirt.