Ase and Gunhilf, the two powerhouses of the Gunnulf royal family that stood apart from the rest of the family. Her father had told her about the campaigns he went on with the Gunnulf when the family was still young and came to Northeastern regions of this world. The tale of the family, woven in blood as they unified the tribal villages, towns and cities into the kingdom that it is now.
A kingdom that for long had its citizens wonder what would happen if the current royal family passed away, for while they were all of the 5th steps, they were not immune to the passage of time. Such immunity belonged only to the gods and the 6th step animals. A worry her father Orm had often discussed with her mother Yrsa during the nights, thinking she was asleep, but she heard it all.
When she was young, she believed that no matter what happened, her father and mother would be able to pull through the chaos and keep the kingdom together, for they were strong.
..But that belief had been shattered today, for when the gazes of Ase and Gunhilf came upon her and the others around her, she instinctively felt the gargantuan gap between those two and her father and mother. And ran she did, grabbing whoever was next to her with her to increase the gap between them and the two apex predators while shouting at the rest to follow them and run.
"Mom! Dad! Everyone! We have to run!" Signe yelled as loud as she could, gathering the attention of the rest alongside Ase and Gunnulf. 'We have to run but where?' she asked herself as she ran as fast and hard as she could, hoping the distance and the soldiers behind would cover their retreat. Behind her the sound of three pairs of boots following behind her, and she desperately hoped two of those were from her parents.
"Running won't do any good, Signe Tryg" Gunhilf spoke as she appeared in front of them out of nowhere. "We haven't even made 20 meters of progress!" she yelled as she took a look behind her, seeing that it was not her parents behind her, but Estrid and the two boys, and connected with her through her hands was Erik Gunnulf, the future king.
"Why did I grab him and not my parents?" a question that would remain unanswered for now, as she looked further back to find her parents to no avail as her eyes grew wide with fear.
"What kind of monster is Ase?" she asked herself as she saw a field of carnage, hills of bodies strewn around the middle of the training ground as Ase took out one soldier after the other, going so quick that she knocked five of them unconscious in a single second.
"I agree with your assessment that Ase is the bigger threat, but I am a threat as well. A threat you can't just ignore all that casually Signe Tryg, daughter of Orm and Yrsa." The words were sent dripping with the promise of violence, despair, and death as Gunhilf leaked a small amount of her bloodlust. And from the corner of her eyes, she could see a gauntlet coming her way, filled with power far beyond her meager being.
"I am dead!" a yell of fear as tears started to fall down her face as the gauntlet was slowly coming closer to end her, the bloodlust of Gunhilf overwhelming her to the point time flowed slowly. "Move! Pleas.. move! please…" she continued yelling as her body stood stiff, defiant to her orders.
"DUCK!" she heard an unfamiliar yell beside her as she felt someone slamming into her, forcing her body into the dirt, barely dodging the gauntlet that would've ended her life.. or rather should've ended her life, but as she gazed up from the ground to where the fist should've been, she instead saw her parents. The all too familiar back of her father and the smile of her mother as she looked at Signe gazed with love, her back to her father's as they both planted their feet firmly into the ground to block the attack.
But not without cost, as a single drop of blood disappeared into her mother's shirt as Signe lay on the ground, shocked by fear and worry coursing through her body and mind.
"Running is no good Signe, for when you're faced with an overwhelmingly strong opponent, or in this case two opponents, the best course of action is to huddle together and form a tight group. Placing the soldiers or yourself in the front of the group if the enemy is one tier above you to block their attacks. Running and turning your back to them only leaves you vulnerable." As she heard those words from her fathers stern tone and confirmation that he is fine, relief started to course through her body as she struggled to stand up, her knees still shaking from the bloodlust.
"Uh…. was it you who saved me Erik?" She asked uncertain and nervous as he was already on his feet and looking around the battlefield, his focus breaking upon hearing her words, turning towards her.
"Ja '' a single word was all he gave her as his gaze settled onto Estrid to see if she was still safe, before making his way over to Estrid's side. Her gaze looked down his body as he walked, settling on his steady legs as the bloodlust from Gunhilf seemingly had no effect on him, laughing to herself as her legs buckled beneath her and she crashed onto the ground once more.
But luckily she was not alone, as she did notice Asger and Inghardsson the third were also affected by Gunhilf's bloodlust, their bodies still on the ground as Estrid tried her best to get them to stand up. And as Erik made it to Estrid's side, all eyes turned on Gunhilf again.
"While you're a threat indeed Gunhilf, you can't dismiss us like that either!" A yell came from the figure that appeared out of nowhere above Gunhilf. The figure put all his strength into bringing his glaive down upon her head, at the same time a woman appeared to Gunhilf's right, armed to the teeth with armor full of spikes, as she swung her greatsword sideways generating powerful winds that blew Signe away.
And just as she was blown away by the wind, she saw her father swing his right fist at Gunhilf's head as her mother prepared for an attack of her own with her trustworthy hammer. With eyes wide and breath held, she watched as 4 of the strongest people she ever met attacked a single woman, a woman whose eyes were still locked onto her and Erik.
"It seems you guys got too comfortable in your spars with Thyra. She really must be holding back on you guys…You should never ever underestimate the ace of a family, even if you attack from four different directions." A confident statement as she watched Gunhilf easily thwart all the attacks.
As the glaive neared her head, she casually grabbed the blade of the weapon with her gauntlets and moved to slam the father of Asger into the ground while Gunhilf butt her head against her father's fist swung, causing him to yell out in pain. The slash with the greatsword was taken care of as she watched Gunhilf kick the underside of the greatsword with her sabatons, causing the greatsword to point straight into the air. And just as she thought it was over, her mother took the opportunity to slam her hammer down onto Gunhilf's head, just to get kicked into her sides and sent tumbling across the training field.
The attack of the 4 didn't stop there as Signe watched Eira, Asger's mom, let her greatsword fall to the ground and threw her own swing with her spiked gauntlet at Gunhilf, who barely tilted her head to the side as one of the spikes grazed her face, only to get kicked into her stomach and sent flying to where Ysra lay.
Helpless, Signe watched as Gunhilf slammed Asger's father, Birger, into the ground and threw him onto the hill of bodies that were Ysra and Eira, followed by quickly moving onto Orm and engaging into a fistfight with him as they both dodged and threw punches at each other until Gunhilf finally connected with an uppercut to his chin and then quickly kicked him onto the same hill.
"What is this monster…." she heard Asger voice out after all 4 of them were defeated. "A monster that will kill you all" came the answer from gunhilf as she casually appeared in front of her, bloodlust spiking even higher as Gunhilf flicked her forehead, causing the world to go dark.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Daughter of Orm and Yrsa… it seems Estrid was right and you're worth investing into. A quick response to the situation, albeit a wrong one, but a quick response nonetheless." as she looked over the unconscious girl, a smile blossomed across her face. For she realized the future of the kingdom was bright if Signe was a sample of the potential prodigies of the kingdom, the legacy of Ares and the family would continue on.
What was more concerning to Gunhilf was Estrid though, for though she was still a child, she seemed to have inherited Bodil's eye for talent, an absolutely frightening talent. And if Gunhilf were to be asked what were the most dangerous talents in the world, this would be one of her top picks. Right up there with Ophanim's latent talent, and those from some of the other races she has heard about that exist in the world.
A bright future indeed… if Estrid and Erik do not clash for the throne of the kingdom in the future. A worry that has been discussed recently by the entire family, for they both have the same claim to it. Everyone in the kingdom knows that Erik is adopted by the family, and the same goes for Estrid. For Bodil and Svend were never truly considered part of the royal family by the entire kingdom.
But that would not stop the noble families from throwing their weight behind either one of the two candidates, likely starting a civil war. And given how Estrid has been distancing herself from Erik recently, it would seem their hope of Erik and Estrid being husband and wife would not turn out to be.
"But perhaps Signe…. can become the anchor of Erik.." Gunhilf thought as she turned her focus on the four other children. "The four of you might want to check behind you" she smiled as the threat that Signe was worried about was sitting just behind the kids.
And with a shared look between her and Ase, she watched as Ase took action and exploded her bloodlust outward, drowning the children in such potent fear, despair and fury that they immediately went unconscious, a bloodlust that affected even her as goosebumps ran across her entire body. "Ase is growing ever stronger.. she is even leaving me behind. She might very well reach the pinnacle of the 5th step in a few more years." A sigh escaped her as one last thought went through her before she would walk to Ase. "A shame immortality is beyond humanities grasp, even for someone who might very well be able to become a god.. if Ares didn't die on the Mountain of Sannindi…"
And with Signe slung over her shoulder, she walked to Ase, dreading the conversation they would have tonight with the rest of the family.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With glee she watched the passing lands of snow, the journey across the sea nothing but a gap in her memory, no matter how much she tried to remember it. "I really must have slept for three days like mom told me I would." With a smile she ran across the deck of the ship with her newfound strength, a strength she never had before and a strength that was all hers, not of mom or dad, but hers.
As she ran across the deck, she saw all members of her clan on deck of the ship, even the female members, gazing longingly to the lands they would soon set foot on. She had no clue what her mom did during the days she was asleep, but considering she stayed close to the captain, it couldn't have been good. "Hmph, likely threatened to sink down the entire ship and kill the entire crew, for the ..sailors as her mother called them had served their purpose."
The sailors were only useful for passing through the majority of the cold northern sea, so close to land and civilization they had no more use, for all the strong animals were far away from here. The fishers of those coastal villages would not allow any animal stronger than the second tier in their close waters.
And as her gaze connected with her mom who watched her with a smile, she felt her overwhelming love, but also overwhelming strength, "Mom and dad really are far too strong… and their strength will chase away any animal for miles around if they were to jump into the sea." A strength she was able to sense as memories brought her back to the day they first set sail, deep inside the cabin.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the corner of the captain's room she sat with her mother, as she held a piece of meat inside her hands. "What is this for mom?" she asked as she questionably looked at her mother, who was watching the door to the captain's cabin with absolute focus, even though her dad was standing just outside the cabin to block anyone who would try to come in, even if that someone was the captain.
"Sweety, you know how I told you that anyone that shares a common ancestor with humans cannot progress along their path on their own?" a question she knew the answer for. Her mom had told her several times over the years they lived on the other side of the mountains. And as she gave a reluctant nod, her gaze settled back on the piece of meat in her hands.
"Well, we also share common ancestors with humans, and so we also need something to support our progression and what you hold in your hands will be that something." Her mother answered as she placed her hands beneath her daughters hands and slowly pushed them closer to her mouth.
"But what sort of meat is it?" she asked as she could feel something from the meat, something that felt familiar to her mother, but wasn't quite her.
"The flesh of a god" her mother answered quickly, and as her mouth gaped open wide in shock, her mother quickly brought her hands to her mouth and the piece of meat disappeared inside her as the world went dark.