NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)

[Shard]

Aki and the Owl

"Then what about the Fylgja?"

"Fine, fine, I'll spar with you... just take it easy on me."

---

Aki wasn't sure what he was expecting this spar, but this wasn't it. After Halla's farm collapsed (why didn't he see such an important event?) he thought his sparring with her might have just ended there. He would understand, especially after she gave an entire herd of animals to his family the year before. She would have to take care of children, rebuild her house, find vengeance against Trollkin and Horra, get a new herd - Certainly no spare time for training a blind boy in the bloody craft of war. There are limits to how Drengskapr a person can be!

But Halla had different ideas.

"Spar with my Fylgja today? I've given it good tricks to play with."

Well, she was minding her children, so that made sense.

So across Aki Weaponwing on the battlefield was a wizard-Owl standing on a wooden pole, it's feathers all scorched at their ends.

It waited for Aki to strike first, so he did.

His Swordraven dived in beak-first, only for Halla the Owl to ward it off with her trademark Halting-Vortex with a stroke of it's wings. It wasn't even trying! So Aki charged in with axe and shield at the ready, and only now did the Wizard-Owl work magic, striking the pole once with it's claw. Aki felt very slow, and the Owl swayed just a little, enough for his axe to miss the Owl. He could actually see from his Swordraven's eye just what mistake he made with the axe-swing, and swore to correct it for the next time. Then it took flight, and Aki felt fast again, fast enough to raise his shield to block Owl-Halla as it charged right at him.

Aki was feeling pretty good about this. Now his Swordraven could strike at Halla just as she was stuck on his shield! Weaponwing swooped in on bladed wings, then Owl-Halla flapped her wings, and Aki's heart fell. He was stuck in the air, trapped in a cloak of inertia. At least she couldn't Standstill him anymore while he was stuck in the air? His axe swung down again as Halla again stepped to the side. It was hard enough aiming with his sight locked in the air like this, damnit! Then the Halla struck again, this time from outside his raven's view. He couldn't quite block with his shield in time, and her wing harmlessly slapped him across the arm. In a real battle that would have been his arm gone.

"You know, Aki, sight isn't the only sense you have."

Oh, okay.

He took a deep breath this time as he focused on his hearing. He was still struggling in the air, but he put his Fylgja from thought for now. This time he heard the shush sound across the wind when Owlhalla swooped in, just in time for him to block and counter-attack. He swung through empty air, but heard a nearly silent beat as the Owl moved to the side. Okay, he was getting this. Was his ears always this sharp? Instead of raising his shield to intercept Halla again, he swung upwards at Halla as she flew in, and amazingly, he hit! He finally scored a hit on her armor of Orthsirr!

His euphoric trance was broken by Halla clapping.

He turned to look at Halla - when has she let go of her Standstill?

Halla now had a bowl of pebbles at her lap now and a grin on her face.

Her eyes seemed to track him, no had been tracking him through his entire fight with her Owl. Like she was looking at his movements and adjusting them..

"I think we can go even further."

AN:

As they say, write the scenes you want to read.

Also I only noticed how similar Owlhalla and Valhalla sounds.

Frenzy is really good for training people in the Old Master style of 'throw pebbles while they fight so they correct their footwork or whatever'.

@Imperial Fister

 

[Shard]

Anyways, I'll be awarding more reward dice than normal for alt-quest omakes. I enjoy those ideas a lot.

Click to shrink...

...My negaquesting muscles are.. rusty. But we were just talking about Stenquest and Odr, so:

Even as a storm of metal shards blots out the sun and sky, your little sister weathers the storm, armor clanking and blood spilling as she reaches you.

Sagaseeker splits through your armor as Halla drives it through to break your Rhythm before slamming into the ground face-first.

You're bloodied, but you've won. A grin goes across your face. Halla was just as strong as you expected, more than enough to make it close.

Drifa will do just fine under her.

(Drifa will be trained by Halla.)

Pick a reward:
[ ] Rough Ignition Trick: Ember-Winged Cloak (An awfully expensive trick that allows you to defy gravity, at least for a little while.)
[ ] Muna: Locked in Place (Unlocks Standstill Hugareida)
[ ] Upgrade Twist: Puncture (Cost reduced to 7)
[ ] Hint: (Write-in)

0~0~0

AN: Congrats on your victory, close as it might be.

I hope you enjoy discussing the rewards!

Anyways, here's the real reward of this spar, a summary of Halla's character sheet:

Spoiler: Halla Longstride

[Halla Longstride]
Endurance: (10/10) | Frenzy: (2/2) (+2 to all Combat Rolls) | Armor: (17/17) (6 to pierce) (+4 to Defense Rolls)
Hugr Capacity: (18/26)
Orthstirr: (215/215) | [???] : (?)
-Frami: 72 | Virthing: 72 | Saemd: 71
Hamingja: (11) (0 temporary)
Hamr: (7) | Infusion: (3)
Hugr: (6) | Infusion: (2)
Fylgja: (4) | Infusion: (3)

55 Combat Dice Maximum

Shapeshifting:
-
-
-

Hugareida:
Standstill (Grade III: +4 Dice to Standstill Rolls)
Ignition (Grade II: +2 Dice to Ignition Rolls)
Campfire (Grade II: +2 Dice to Campfire Rolls)

Twists:
Punching Upward
Hidden in Rags
Puncture

Muna:

First Kiss Under A Falling Tree
Lesson of Fire
The Fight of Your Life... So Far
Vows of Love
Fighting Father Gerrit
The Return of Stigr
Failing Vortex
A Mother's Fear
(New) Determination From Defeat

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The hell's an Infusion Rank?

Also looks like she has some Orthsirr issues despite being a verified badass. Being a woman in a man's world must suck.

Click to shrink...

The hell's an Infusion Rank?

Also looks like she has some Orthsirr issues despite being a verified badass. Being a woman in a man's world must suck.

Click to shrink...

Spoilers!
She does have issues getting Orthsirr compared to a man, but not to that extent.

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Yeah, didn't you say she had like 300 Orthsirr for the Bandit Camp fight? What happened to it? Did she eat Nid with her secret Horra things?

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Yeah, didn't you say she had like 300 Orthsirr for the Bandit Camp fight? What happened to it? Did she eat Nid with her secret Horra things?

Click to shrink...

I'll just say that it's not Nid. It's something else she did.

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Wait. Did she permanently burn her Orthsirr to get her Infusion ranks? Actually can you even do that? Did she burn her Orthsirr for the kindlespinners back then when I remember you saying that they would have instantly overkilled the Bandit Leader if he didn't hardcounter it?

That's it, isn't it? Power demands sacrifice. Halla's just sacrificing more valuable things for more power. That's why she didn't do the same thing here, because this is 'just a spar'.

Click to shrink...

Wait. Did she permanently burn her Orthsirr to get her Infusion ranks? Actually can you even do that? Did she burn her Orthsirr for the kindlespinners back then when I remember you saying that they would have instantly overkilled the Bandit Leader if he didn't hardcounter it?

That's it, isn't it? Power demands sacrifice. Halla's just sacrificing more valuable things for more power. That's why she didn't do the same thing here, because this is 'just a spar'.

Click to shrink...

.. All I can say is that you're so close to the truth, yet so far.

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.. Could we get a hint on the truth?

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.. Could we get a hint on the truth?

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Honestly you guys are close enough that a hint would probably bring you all the way there. So not at the moment.

Click to shrink...

We should talk about Halla about this when we can.

Click to shrink...

 

[Exmorri]

Orthstirr Cultivation Realms

You know what a xianxia thread needs more of? Flowery names and power rankings with somewhat arbitrary numbers attached.
(Edit: I have been convinced to change some of the names. Immediate replies to this post may look a little weird.)

We have "Saga Formation" drafted for a stage of True Norse Cultivation with Odr, but the regular Orthstirr Cultivation could also use some nicknames, and I'm going to make up some.
My benchmark here is going to be at 3x multipliers of Orthstirr, because 3 and 9 feature a lot in Norse stuff (aspects have 1/3rd of regular orthstirr) also crossing from 3 to 4 is the point where rolling a terrible (1,1,1,1) on 4 dice is still more than the average (3.5) result of 1 die from the other guy, so more than 3x Orthstirr is a crushing difference similar to reaching the next Cultivation Realm. I know it doesn't work exactly like that, but this is somewhat arbitrary anyway and just for fun, not official.

0 Orthstirr: No proper name. This is the realm of infants and thralls, who do not have orthstirr.

Realm #1, 1-3 Orthstirr: The Child's Realm. Barely enough orthstirr to add a die or two, orthstirr-enhanced acts are still inferior to even moderate skill.
Realm #2, 4-9 Orthstirr: The Youth's Realm. This is how much Halla had after groin-kicking the first outlaw, getting recognized for a minor fight, and while fighting other village youths on the ice near the start.
Realm #3, 10-27 Orthstirr: The Adult's Realm. Halla during quest year 3, being a precocious main character. Normal people are considered adults a year later, chronologically. Halla then jumped up to the next realm by saving Halfdan's house from fire and bandits, earning a hefty (for her level) 15 orthstirr in one go.

Three Lesser Realms make up a Great Realm, and the three named for human life stages are together called The Human Realm, which is also where most "normal" human vikings stall out in a primarily farming-oriented life, not doing enough fighting or poetry to become more famous than that. If you break into Adult Realm with 10 regular orthstirr and do a good dead for +1 orthstirr/year before settling down peacefully, that will barely tip you out of this range by age 40, and then medieval sucktitude and old age and disease get really threatening.

Realm #4, 28-81 Orthstirr: The Raiding Realm. Testing to go for a raid requires showing that you have this much, approximately. Halla was in this range when fighting the Nisse-Draug, and near the upper end (72) when actually taking the Raid Trials.
Realm #5, 81-243 Orthstirr: The Kenning Realm. Coming back victorious from a first raid often results in you having this much orthstirr from the loot and glory and battles you've won. Between your deeds, your fighting style, and your raidbros (felag) giving you a nickname, you will probably have gotten a kenning by this point, though it can be gotten earlier. Halla earned the kenning "Longstride" in this realm, and returned from raiding with 219 Orthstirr.
Realm #6, 244-729 Orthstirr: The Killing Realm. This is the realm where sheer quantity of orthstirr becomes decisive in fights, consistently defeating those lower-ranked cultivators unwise enough to fight. In lower realms, it is possible to fight up a realm by skill and gear and luck, hoping for the opponent to run dry from spending orthstirr at the wrong time or on the wrong maneuver. But in the Killing Realm, the cultivator has achieved enough orthstirr to simply outspend and out-dice anyone from the Kenning Realm.

The three lesser realms named for actions together make up the great realm called The Deed Realm.

Realm #7, 730-2187 Orthstirr: Ringgiver's Realm [Locked]
Realm #8, 2188-6561 Orthstirr: Landgiver's Realm [Locked]
Realm #9, 6562-19683 Orthstirr: Lawgiver's Realm [Locked]

The three final small realms are shrouded in mystery, being hard to reach and rare. It helps to generously hand out cash and prizes (famously, rings) to others, whether from magical crafting or prosperous raiding. Having a court skald, leading a warband, or otherwise benefiting from other people working to increase your orthstirr is also useful. Hence the final great realm is sometimes called the Ruler's Realm.

 

[Shard]

How I hope with completely unrealistic expectations imagine the trial might go:

Spoiler: Ace Attorney Halla

Ace Attorney Halla

Jeering from a certain Knappr Horrason from the crowd.

"There is no case to be made against my father! She simply calls this for a feud that should have ended long ago!"

Halla flashed a bloodthirsty grin in return.

"Oh, when I am done, Knappr Horrason, you will, at best, find the very idea of being called 'Horrason' a deep and terrible insult. His crimes make Loki look positively Drengskapr."

Knappr shouted in outrage, only for the Dorri Rattlespear to bring the crowd to silence with his Jarlspeech.

"State the crimes, Halla Longstride."

She had practiced for this. A sense of calm surged over her as she recited her litany of crimes against the murderer of her uncles. Blackhand whispered behind her as she spoke, staring right at Horra Hasvisson. Carefully tuned facial muscles spoke uncertainty and fear even as her voice commanded confidence. The first trick. Something impossible without Odr - Not at her mastery.

"Dark sorcery. Raising Draugr. Graverobbing. Breaching of the Ancestral Pact. Aiding bandits from beyond Asvir in their raids on households here. Kidnapping of a Nisse and twisting it into a monster to attack Steinby. Setting of a Scorn-Pole upon the lands of my father Steinarr Hallson. Infringing upon the authority of Headsman Dorri Rattlespear."

Horra bought it. The odds of a random woman having actually seen all his secrets was minute, let alone the idea that she could actually hold such a facade up in court against Jarlspeech. He strode up in confidence. After all, he had his own tricks to play. Smirking, he replied.

"You lie."

Bang. He spoke severely, with Jarlspeech still.

"Have you evidence of the accused' crimes, Halla Longstride?"

Halla could not avoid a smile. After all, Jarlspeech was absolute, here at least. The command could not be denied, especially not by one so young. A fact all knew. So what she spoke, had to be the truth.

"Plenty, Headsman. To begin.. when I, kin and kith dismantled the scorn-pole set upon the lands of my father Steinarr Hallson, we found the inscriptions to refer to the horse Stronghoof, a horse that Hasvir Horrason had brought to a competition set up by Runar. It was guarded by a troll, who had the land on which the scorn-pole was set up sold to him. That troll when trapped, made a reprisal into Horrby. It said that Horra tricked him. Before Horra slew it with a dagger of sunlight, of course."

Hasvir scoffed. Really? That's what she had? He was worried for nothing.

"Please, the words of a troll are worth less than nothing. Killing it was a service."

Halla's lips twitched upward.

"Afterwards, Headsman.. I saw and heard Hasvir Horrason demand a thrall of Horra's household deliver supplies to 'their friends to the East and North'. To the North of Horrby was a bandit camp. To the East of Horrby was another bandit camp, which I later destroyed alongside kin and kith."

Horra twitched. Well, it's not like she had any evidence, anyway.

"You have no proof."

Halla's face grew into a full smile. She unveiled the ballistae she stole.

"I took this as evidence from one of Horra's deliveries. Badly engineered, of course... An insult to the dwarven craftsmanship it was copied from."

Horra stared at Halla. But if that alone was all, it was not enough. He could go with one less. Especially with what he had at hand. He spoke dismissively.

"The actions of my son are not my own."

Her grin somehow grew even wider, splitting her face in half.

"Of course. But most of all, I found exactly where Horra Hasvisson has been storing his ill-gotten graverobbing and performing his dark sorceries. If the Headsman would permit it, I would bring the court to show them exactly where and what horrors lie within. Some things.. must be seen with one's own eyes to be believed, after all."

Horra took a deep breath. No. There was no way. His alarms did not ring. The tree was unmarked, untouched. All she could know, all the Seeress could tell her was that his sanctum existed. He had hid his trails well. It was shrouded from Seergaze. This was a bluff. A ploy to play him to pronounce himself guilty.

"Search my lands. You will find nothing."

Halla looked back at Dorri Rattlespear with eyes of steel. He returned her stare and spoke again.

"Folkmarr. Audrikr. Logi. Lead my Hird to where Halla says Horra's sanctum is."

Folkmarr stood, uncertain. But he obeyed his father's commands.

So they made their way to the knotted Tree. Folkmarr frowned.

"There is nothing here, Halla."

Halla simply took out a key, then touched it to the knot. Tree turned to ladder, as it had many times before. She climbed down, and Folkmarr found himself following.

"How did you-"

"Horra had a key to open the tree. I simply forged a copy."

One survey of one horrific sanctum later, the Hird exited the tree, all of them quite nauseated.

"Just.. what.."

"Perhaps we can forget that incident once this is done."

"Yes. Lets."

Folkmarr looked quite sick, though it wasn't clear if it was from the sights he had seen, or the knowledge that he was a distant relation of Horra that truly turned his stomach so.

The outcome of the Trial of Horra Hasvisson and Hasvir Horrason, at least, was shut and close.

@Imperial Fister

(Odds of this actually happening: Lmao lol no)

 

[Shard]

Solrun Seeress

Seeress sees owl ragged,
Secret message within.

Heart thumping with loathing,
Hearth's bane [1] she suffers through.

Morning sees much weaving,
Mother's fury unleashed.

Asvir shall Vidar [2] see,
Ashes from Stone's[3] hatred.

[1] Winter
[2] Intended meaning: Vengeance (Vidar as the Aesir god of vengeance). Alternate meaning: Vidar Bignose. Both are reasonable
[3] Refers to the entire Hallr family really.

---

Solrun has been waiting for this for so, so very long.

 

[Shard]

Swordquest

Terror-Bear [1], worth-proving
To stone-fighter's [2] daughter [3].

Blood-worm [4] the bear hunted,
Burrow ancient scented.

Unarmed yet still fearless,
Undead three set against,

With bare hands breaks bodies,
Wins her heart in marriage.

[1] Abjorn
[2] Steinarr
[3] Halla
[4] Sword

AN: I found out that warrior was 3 syllables and not 2 and it was so annoying to fix this skaldic verse. Blargh.

@Imperial Fister

(Should I have done a bear/bare hands pun here..?)

 

[Shard]

Horra Failure-Father

Father slain in honor,
Felagkin he murders.

Whoreson's full-murdered,
Wholly still unknowing.

Breaks the Thing's Sacred Peace,
Brandished still on flooring:

Horrason's mock-body,
Horra Failure-Father.

(Fuck you, Horra. Eat a negative kenning while we prepare to kill you.)

 

[Shard]

Hasvirshame/Hasvir's Shame

Hasvir Valley-Savior,
Hero slays the monster.

Meets ending undeserved,
Maiden's hateful vengeance.

Son slays mother's children,
Sides with Valley's terror.

High from Asgard he sees,
His Horra Hasvirshame.

@Imperial Fister

I found out that you can't actually make a proper Skaldic verse in English.

Oh well.

e: But insult verses were absolutely a thing, soooo

 

[Artemis]

Quick omake from Abjorn's perspective of Halla.

---

My wife is Halla Longstride, and I love her in a way that I simply don't have words for.

She'd have the words, of course. For all that she has the attention span of a sparrow, and the rage of a bear, it is that gleam in her eyes that draws me most to her. The intelligence that lurks beneath her well-toned skin and muscle, the indefinable spirit that is her inheritance as one of Odin's brood. When she jumps from one pursuit to another, it is with forethought and planning; when she fights and releases her rage upon her enemy, it is with a ruthless cunning that has seen the end of the fight before it has even begun. Considering all that, it is little wonder that her fylgja is that of an owl. Though sometimes I feel it should be a magpie, considering her and its penchant for taking whatever shiny thing catches their interest.

I know I love her in all her ways. When we spar against each other, testing our strength against the other's arm; or when we face outwards, backs together, fighting either man or monster; maybe the times when we are pressed together in other ways, enjoyable as any other. Though I think I love her most when we sit in our chairs in our home, as she watches me act the mountain for the children to scale, sitting separately but our souls as close as ever.

Our children are beautiful, all the more so for her blood running through their veins. I can see in their forms my own strength and constitution, but it's a mere physical thing in comparison to Halla's own might. They carry her spark in their eyes, climb upon me with the same determination she moves through life. I see her reflection in them, and I love her all the more for it.

Others occasionally joke about my love for Halla; they would ask if I must ask her first for permission to have a thought, or if I enjoy her leading me around by the cock. They know that Halla is no ordinary woman, but they don't truly understand it, not like I do. They don't see the hours she spends training, deciphering new Tricks and building herself into more than any mere Norseman. They don't hear her whispering under her breath, considering and discarding ideas so quickly that one would need scribes from distant Miklagard to track them all. They know her kenning, but they don't see how she continues to push herself every single day, faster and further with each passing year.

I do not have the words to describe my love for Halla, but I don't need them; not when I see that same love in her eyes when I look over the heads of our children towards her; not when her smile mirrors my own right before we fight a new foe. And so I bind myself to her, to follow her everywhere, to fight alongside her anywhere, until my fated day.

 

[Shard]

Sten vs Halla

Firestone [1] against Owlstone [2],
Fight over training rights.

Skyfire she strides to air,
Skyslow he brings her low.

Lightning cuts mail linkings,
Light strikes shatters mindlight [3].

Bringing iron storming,
Brought down she sees him fought[4].

[1] Sten. Has to be this way for rhyming reasons.
[2] Halla
[3] Frenzy.
[4] My best attempt at representing Halla managing to blood Sten as Sten drops her.

Spoiler: Pronounciation notes

Pronounce Fire as one syllable, not two.
Bold = Stressed syllabled
Underline = My attempt at internal rhyming.

Fire-stone a-gainst Owl-stone,
Fight o-ver train-ing rights.

Sky-fire she strides to air,
Sky-slow he brings her low.

Light-ning cuts mail link-ings,
Light strikes shat-ters mind-light[3].

Bring-ing I-ron storm-ing
Brought down she sees him fought

@Imperial Fister

AN: I can see why we jettisoned the last syllable stress thing and the rhyming thing, they're brutal to even *try*