As he looked at Enya's towering statue, Adam felt a pressure he had never felt before. It didn't come from the size of the statue, even though it was higher than the one in the Parthenon, mere size couldn't impress him, but rather it was the aura the statue emitted.
For the first time in his life, Adam felt helpless in front of a living being. Adam had been scared and had felt helpless in the past, such as his brother's condition, but those obstacles came from nature itself.
However, this was a god, and considering the fact that players can actually become gods themselves, the legends about the Divine Era probably weren't just legends, but rather history.
Despite feeling this way, Adam did feel something else. Determination. Pure and sheer determination. His number one goal was of course to save his brother, but he knew he couldn't center his life around this.
One day, whatever happened, he won't have to take care of his brother anymore, and by then, be it because he failed and his brother died or he successfully saved him, Adam perfectly understood that his life wouldn't stop there.
That's why, he had to aim for something bigger, for something that went past his brother. Seeing this statue, and feeling the aura it emitted, allowed Adam to perceive a glimpse of what he could wish for, what he could strive for.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Adam turned to the side to look at Johan, who said "Even though I have seen it many times already, it never ceases to amaze me."
Skade said "You are lucky, the ceremony is about to begin. Let's not tarry." She led the way and the two boys followed after her.
The group of three walked to the feet of the statue where a group of youngsters already gathered. The oldest ones in the group were barely older than 20, and all of them were at least Level 20 Iron Ranks.
When Adam, Skade and Johan arrived, they bowed in unison, Adam was confused for a second before guessing that the two next to him were renowned in Fjora. At least, people knew their face.
Skade said "We will leave you here. All you have to do is to wait for one of the Volva to come. Listen to what she says, and obey. Good luck."
She smiled as she said those last words, and walked away. Johan wished him good luck too before walking away. Now left alone, Adam once again felt the gazes of those around him, probably because of whom he came with, but he couldn't care.
What was on his mind was the Volva. He knew about them, on Earth they were considered the witches amongst vikings, they would listen to the voices of the gods and transmit their wills to the mortal plane.
While they waited for the Volva, although they were curious about him, no one dared to approach Adam and ask who he was. And Adam was perfectly fine with that, presenting himself to the whole world wasn't in his plans.
They only had to wait for ten minutes before the Volva finally came. Five other youngsters had arrived in the meantime, making the number of Iron Ranks 22.
The Volva was dressed in animal furs and had white paint forming runes on her bald head. She carried a staff and walked slowly. She arrived in front of the group and looked at the faces of everyone present before saying "Children of the North, for our Mother has called you, here you are to answer her call, and partake in your ritual of adulthood."
Well that was a surprise. This was the first time Adam heard of the Bronze promotion being the ritual for adulthood. Still, Adam wondered whether this was only for Northmen or if the entire world was governed by those rules.
Adam didn't have much time to think though as the Volva hit the ground with her staff and said "Sit, children."
Remembering what Skade had told him before going away, Adam didn't hesitate and did as he was told, as well as the other 'children'. The Volva smiled kindly, like a mother looking at her children, and said "Bring the sacrifice."
She seemingly talked to no one, but barely ten seconds after she talked a guard came from behind the statue, along with a man dressed in a simple white robe. The man was old, and had a missing eye. However, Adam was shocked when he saw his status.
[Lodin] (Silver, Level 100)
??/??
This was supposed to be a sacrifice? Such a strong warrior? Maybe he wasn't that strong for the Coldlands…
Lodin went to his knees in front of the Volva, while the guard half kneeled to present a curved runic dagger to the Volva. She took it from him and turned to Lodin while the guard walked away.
She caressed the man's face gently and said "Lodin, you can no longer see any use for your life, and thus decided to gift it to the gods to serve them in death. May Enya embrace you, and these young warriors carry on your will."
The Volva brought the dagger to Lodin's throat, who smiled and said "Become strong to bring honor to my death."
The Volva then slit his throat with a slow move, and placed a bowl below his opened throat. As for Lodin, he died very quickly, suffering only for a little time.
Once the bowl was filled, the Volva gently laid him on the ground, and approached the group with the bowl. She dipped her fingers into the blood and said "Everyone, take off your upper clothes."
Adam took off his Helmet, his Chestplate, and his Gauntlets, as well as his accessories. The rest did the same, and when everyone, including the women, were top less, she walked toward the closest one and began drawing on his body with the blood of Lodin.
She did this to everyone, one by one, and when it was his turn, Adam simply closed his eyes. The blood didn't feel dirty or gross, like the blood of his enemies he killed to violently, but rather it felt pure, holy and blessed.
Everyone had almost the same runes on them, except for the ones situated at the bottom of the belly. There, they could have two different runes, depending on their gender.
When the Volva finished drawing runes and symbols on everyone, she approached the dead Lodin and cut open his chest with the dagger. This allowed her to take the heart out of his chest, and put it in the bowl with the leftover blood. Then, she added some herbs before making the bowl levitate in front of her.
Finally, a magical fire appeared beneath the bowl and began burning what was inside. It took seconds for everything to melt, and then turn into a gas. The Volva then started chanting "Enya, mother of our kin! I offer you the blood of your child!" As she finished her short incantation, the blood smoke seemed to gain life as it transformed into threads and flew to Adam and the others.
Adam and the rest breathed in the gas, and they began feeling their senses get disrupted and blurry. Adam saw his surroundings distort and the temple began fading away.
Before he realized it, Adam had completely left the temple, he was outside, he could see a beautiful aurora above him, hiding a pitch black sky. Adam looked down and saw a big palace far away, and a vast clearing in between.
[Your Bronze Promotion has started! Get as close as possible to Roskhalla!]