That night, Fen was in making preparations for their travel. Loki had decided that they would follow the soldiers to the city-state of Nüjaven and meet with the city lord. There was a double vault in Nüjaven, where the crypt that Thor came from was hopefully still in tact, so they could investigate it.
Fen was also in favor of going to Nüjaven, it gave her the opportunity to expand her map, as the only location available to her was Rondel village and the forests surrounding it. Even more annoying was that her clan function had also reset, so the only person she could reach was Lokkun, Thor was still technically under the command of another so she couldn't rejoin the Valkyrie yet. Beyond that, the other entries were inactive.
Much like Loki, Fen also had a bit of amnesia, she could not remember how or why she had ended up in that crypt, and from what she'd heard from Thor, it was probably the same for the others. Based on what she'd witnessed of this new era, a world shift event must had occurred, but she wondered what could be powerful enough to completely reshape the entire planet and everything within it so totally? Even the Pillar of Heaven, Asgard Tower, was displaced, and transcendent beings like Lokkun and the Valkyrie were sealed away, whoever was responsible for this held cosmic-level power.
As she was packing, she looked down at her arms, black shapeless silhouettes of what arms should be. The only bit of detail on her arms were the cursed black chains that were wrapped tightly around them.
"Twice cursed," Fen whispered to herself.
There were legends of Fenris the Black Wolf, Fen had come to learn from Sara of all the fables inspired by her, most were between hilariously ludicrous and insulting inaccurate, but there was one that was eerily well-informed, the fable of the Twice Cursed;
The fables told about a pitiful, wretched creature, cursed by demons to destroy all she laid eyes on. The creature sowed chaos wherever she went, seeking death wherever she roamed but only meeting torment, until one day she came across a stranger. Jaded by the world's cruelty, the poor creature met the stranger with hatred, secretly hoping to finally be slain by the being, but instead of death, the kindly stranger spoke to her.
'You poor pitiful thing', the stranger said, 'I cannot rid you of this evil forced upon you, but I can make it so that the evil does not rule you.'
With that, the stranger wrapped the creature in unbreakable chains, so that she would never stray too far. And that was how the creature, now called the Black Wolf, had been saved from her curse of destruction, but in doing so, had been cursed with servitude to the stranger.
It didn't happen quite like the fable had depicted –they took some artistic liberty— but there was enough in common for it to be uncanny.
Fen knew that she was bound to Loki through more than just these chains, but Gleipnir has always been the symbol of her servitude, and while others would see it as a curse, Fen saw it as her salvation.
It was throught these chains that she was allowed to be more than she had been before.
Even if she could, she would never free herself of these cursed chains, as they were her greatest treasures.
As she went back to packing, Petra and Tetra stopped by.
"Anything we can help with?" One of them asked, Fen still couldn't tell the difference between the two of them. That was the problem with twins, their scents were too closely similar.
"You should be in bed," Fen said simply
"We want to go with you," one of them said
"And what makes you think we need you?" Fen demanded
"You don't need us," one replied, "but we can be useful."
"Not from what I've seen," Fen scoffed
"Well we can learn to be useful," the other twin retorted
There was a desperation in their words that Fen didn't fully understand.
"We don't even know where we are going," Fen offered, "we have no idea what's waiting for us. The three of us know we can take care of ourselves, but if we get into trouble, you'll be on your own."
"Then make us like you?" One of them pleaded, "ask Loki to make us strong."
Fen gave her a sharp look, "You speak of things you know nothing about. Take care not to overstep." she snarled
Both twins flinched at the harsh rebuke. Fen always treated them strictly, but never with such outright disdain.
"There are only six Valkyrie," Fen elaborated, "we are unique in this world, crafted by the hands of our lord and master, Nex Loki. We were remade into what he needed us to be. Everything we are, mind, body, and soul, belong to him."
"I do not know why you are so dead set on following Lokkun," she sighed, "but just bear in mind that to follow a celestial means to dedicate your very being to them."
The twins nodded grimly.
"Now, I have a lot to prepare for tomorrow, so I'd like to be left alone." Fen then said.
With nothing else to say, the twins left, leaving Fen to the silence of the room once more.
She gave a contented sigh, whether or not they stayed behind was of little consequence to her, but she would not bare responsibility for their lives unless they were committed to walking this path. That was a curse she refused to accept.