Scathach found herself back in a vast expanse of darkness. She looked around for anything that could tell her where she was, floating aimlessly until she came across a familiar sight...
The gate...
The same gate she had seen when the Shadow exercised his power over her, as well as the one she saw when tapped into her powers for the first time. It loomed over her in its enormity, the stone doors decorated all over with runes upon runes.
Scathach came closer until she was able to touch, the gate creaked open letting violet light shine through the widening entrance. She shielded her eyes... the light was so intense and blinding. Scathach tried to peek past her hands, but she couldn't make out what was on the other side.
All she knew as the gate opened wider... and wider... she heard an ominous roar-
---
"Come on, lass... up you go..."
Scathach heard the gruff voice of the Shadow as she regained consciousness and found herself being helped upright. She groaned as the Shadow sat her up and she opened her eyes.
"Good, you're awake..."
"What happened?" Scathach said weakly, noticing just how drained of energy she felt.
"Don't tell me you don't remember taking on all those monsters," the Shadow reminded her as he dusted off some dirt off of her attire. "After what you just did, I'm not surprised you fainted..."
Scathach blinked as her awareness slowly returned to her. She spotted her spear lying just a few feet away. Then she noticed a lingering pain in her foot. Her gaze followed until she recoiled at the gruesome sight.
"Oh Gods!"
Her foot was twisted in an unnatural direction, and when she was on the verge of panicking, the Shadow was there to calm her.
"Easy... That happened when you fell. I'll fix it in a second..."
Scathach winced as the Shadow elevated her foot. Despite staying calm like he said, Scathach was breathing quickly and was nearly hysterical.
"What are you going to do?!"
"I'm just going to snap it back in place, and your healing should do the rest."
The Shadow barely grasped Scathach's foot with both hands and already she could feel the sharp pain as he slowly turned it.
"Ow! Oww! OWW!"
"Oh relax," the Shadow said nonchalantly. "You've felt worse, and it'll only hurt for a moment..."
Then in one swift motion, the Shadow jerked Scathach's foot back straight.
(CRACK)
"ARGH!"
Scathach recoiled as her foot was snapped back in alignment. She groaned as the pain lingered and felt her bones resetting along with her muscles stitching themselves together. Breathing heavily, she sat there as the Shadow went to retrieve her spear, which he then handed to her.
"There... should be feeling better."
"Right," said an exasperated Scathach. "Next time, I'll fix myself up..."
Scathach grunted as she pulled herself back on her feet with her spear. Her foot still feeling tender, she kept most of the weight off it with her spear doubling as a walking stick. Once she stood up, she immediately noticed the signs of sheer carnage she caused.
"Wow..."
The ground was rippled with concentric circles and gouges, all coming out and expanding from the epicenter... right where she was standing. Trees and bushes were slanted and pointing away from her, as if some powerful force blew them away.
Her mind recollected when she was overflowing with power from her spear, killing monsters left and right before finally... expending all that energy in a forceful blast that expanded outward around her.
And right after that... the white lights she released.
"I did this..." she said under her breath, amazed she was able to do this much damage to the forest around her.
"You just got your first taste of the kinda work I do," the Shadow told her. "I gotta say, it was a treat seeing someone other than me do my job for once."
"Oh?" Scathach said cheekily, remembering their challenge. "I guess this means I've won then..."
In response, the Shadow's body glowed violet, catching her off guard. He then held out his hand, and then to Scathach's surprise, released countless orbs of white lights into the night sky above.
"I was ahead of you," he said as he returned to normal, then he added with a smirk: "But you were having so much fun that I didn't want to show you up."
"Huh..." Scathach said, lost for words. She may have killed the most monsters, but the Shadow could have ended that contest at any point. But Scathach was not concerned about that for long. Her attention was directed at the white lights spiraling high above her.
"Are those-?"
"Souls," the Shadow answered. "Those that fail to pass into the next life culminate and become monsters that spawn in this forest. You free them by killing their bestial bodies which are used to empower the weapons made from the Curruid's bones. As a Void-hunter, we can tap into that power to make ourselves stronger. Only afterwards, we set those souls free to continue in passing."
Scathach stared upwards, mesmerized by the sight of circling lights that looked so beautiful to her eyes. She then saw them change direction.
"Where are they going?"
"I'll show you..." the Shadow said while he motioned her to follow him. Trailing the lights above for some time later, Scathach eventually asked her mentor:
"So what about the Netherlyst? How do I deal with those?"
"You will rarely have to," he tells her. "But they are harder than the rest of these creatures to take down. Depending on how many living souls they consume, they grow more powerful the longer you fight them. They do have weak spots on the joints of their bodies where they store their energy. They will do all they can to protect themselves, including a shockwave attack that will destroy whatever is around them. Getting the drop on one is your best bet, especially if you can weaken one early in the fight. Still, it'll be a drawn-out battle. Not a beast you should hold back against..."
The Shadow then turned back at her and stated:
"You aren't quite ready for one yet. If we see one out here, I'll deal with it..."
Scathach was left astonished in the idea that there was a creature in this forest more ferocious than the ones she fought thus far, and one that even her mentor was cautious of. She was left wondering if her first encounter with a Netherlyst did not showcase how powerful they truly were. Sensing her trepidation, the Shadow reassures her.
"Don't worry lass... soon, these creatures will learn to fear you..."
Afterwards they went deeper into the forest, following the trail of lights above them. After what felt like an hour, the Shadow led Scathach into a very familiar place, much to her surprise.
"We're here!"
Before her was the Red Grove; as vibrant and tranquil as it was when she and Aife briefly resided in upon their entry into this forest. With the lush trees and the countless flowers everywhere, Scathach could not believe that she forgot about this place. Looking up, she saw the white lights of freed souls converging and descending upon the vast bed of red flowers, then disappearing. Scathach looks back at the Shadow slightly ahead of her.
"What happened to them?"
"Come over and see," he answers, motioning the young girl closer. They carefully waded through the flower bed as he then explained. "Most monsters avoid this place, as this area acts as a one-way bridge to the afterlife, branching off from the main leyline that passes over this whole forest. Souls that manage to pass leave one of these behind..."
They stop and crouch to observe a dozen closed flowers yet to bloom. Scathach stares in amazement as a trail of light descended and pass-through one in particular. The flower opened right before her eyes, spreading it's string-like petals and releasing glowing pollen into the air.
"So that's how they bloom," she said aloud. "I couldn't see this happening before..."
"That's because you weren't connected with the Void before," the Shadow told her as they continued to watch. "My people were familiar with these. They believed for each one that blooms, a person finds peace in death."
-Peace in death...- Scathach pondered, the concept eluding her understanding. From living a hunter/gatherer lifestyle, it left her believing that the goal of all life was to survive, and death was an irreversible consequence of the failure to adapt. She couldn't see how death itself could be any more fulfilling than living as long as someone possibly could. She was virtually immortal, and she was sure that if she asked anyone, they would all want what she has.
All people fear death after all...
"You can even pick one of these and it will still bloom," the Shadow continued, regaining Scathach's attention as he plucked a bulb of a spider lily from its stem. "Look..."
He held it before the young girl, and her eyes widened as despite the flower being separated, it opened and released pollen as if it was still rooted. She marveled at the beautiful display until an amusing thought crossed her mind.
"You sure know a lot about flowers," she remarked to her mentor, who immediately locked eyes with her. "I didn't think you were that kind of a man..."
"Uhm," he started, slightly embarrassed and searching for words. "I- I never cared much for them, but my wife really liked them..."
"Oh," Scathach said immediately, now feeling like she was being rude. "I'm sorry for making fun of you..."
"It's nothing," he insisted before he eventually found himself confessing. "Besides... she thought they reminded her of home..."
"Home?"
"There were..." he starts hesitantly. "There were rituals and offerings we would make to our Gods, some of which we used these flowers in."
"What do you mean: "our" Gods?" Scathach asked curiously.
"This might come as a surprise to you, but let's just say I'm not from around here. My home used to be across the sea to the East."
"The East..." Scathach repeated before realizing: "Wait...are you a Nord?!"
"You catch on quick," he remarked.
"I've heard stories of lands beyond the shores from traders who did business in our village, but I didn't really think they existed."
"The World stretches farther than just the Isle you and other Celts inhabit. With that comes different deities of worship."
Scathach narrowed her eyes at the Shadow in curiosity.
"So, you don't know any of Tuatha Dé Danann: Lugh, Manannán... any of them?"
"Only vaguely..." her mentor admitted.
"Then who do you worship?"
"" Worship" is a polite word for it... but we call them Aesir. I won't bore you with details."
"We've got time..." Scathach said, wanting to learn more about where the Shadow came from. That and she wanted to spend more time in the Red Grove. "Maybe I can tell you about MY gods too..."
Her mentor stared at her for a moment before he remarked.
"You must really like it in here. You're just like her...Very well."
They then traded stories to each other of their respective patron gods and goddesses. The Shadow would tell Scathach of the Aesir who resided in the Kingdom of Asgard; their war with the Vanir, and the adventures of the many Gods in the pantheon: Thor and his battles with frost giants called the Jotunn, Baldr's death at the hand of Loki, and of the Ruler Odin, who conceived Rune Magic. He then tells the young girl of Yggdrasil: The World Tree, and how one of its branches produced Midgard, the Nords' name for the realm of mortals, where humans reside.
Scathach then shared with her mentor all about the Tuatha Dé Danann: beings who arrived on the Celtic lands on dark clouds and challenged the half-beast race of Fomorians. The King, Nuada, lost his arm to a champion of the Fomorians, letting Lugh take over command. Wielding a spear, and a sling, Lugh and the rest of the Tuatha Dé Danann overtook the Fomorians. Nuada was later killed by the Fomorian: Balor of the Poison Eye. Lugh avenged him, using Nuada's sword: Fragarach, bestowed upon him by Manannán Mac Lyr.
As they told more and more stories to each other, it soon devolved into them playfully poking fun at their respective mythologies.
"So, Odin is the Father and King of Asgard, who once got captured by a mortal king..." Scathach recounted. "Thor is his son, who picked a fight with a giant serpent... and Loki is the troublemaker to the other Aesir, who also gave birth to a wolf and a horse... Your gods are weird..."
"Perhaps," the Shadow said cheekily. "But at least they make your Tuatha Dé Danann sound mundane in comparison. Nuada losing his arm in battle is about the only interesting thing I've heard thus far."
"And then he got a new one made of silver... better than Sif getting replacement hair by dwarves. THAT only happened because you said Loki got bored one day..."
"At least that led to Thor receiving his mighty hammer..."
"Which got stolen by a giant, and Thor was forced to disguise himself as Freya to get it back."
"It wasn't Loki's idea by the way..."
"And then he was made a fool by Utgard the illusionist. For someone so "mighty", Thor sure was prone to being utterly humiliated..."
Her mentor then humored her.
"If you think those were the only times Thor got served, then you haven't heard of the time that boatman was talking smack to him and then told the Thunder-God to take a hike..."
Scathach started laughing, even getting a chuckle out of her usually serious mentor. She fell backwards, clutching her stomach as she continued laughing uncontrollably, not noticing that the Shadow stopped indulging in her amusement; Instead looking at her with an expression of nostalgia... and regret.
He waited until his student got a hold of herself, who then looked up and noticed something that made her say in surprise:
"I can't believe it... it's morning already!"
The Shadow looks up too and sees sunlight poking through the canopy of the Red Grove, realizing that they must have been talking for hours.
"I guess time flies when you're having fun, huh?" Scathach said lightheartedly, but to her startlement, it made the Shadow quickly get up on his feet.
"We should go," he said curtly while dusting himself off. "Your friends and your sister are probably expecting you."
Scathach sat there stunned as her mentor turned to leave, not even waiting for her. She hurriedly got up and followed, wondering if she had said something wrong to cause a reversal in his mood. She dismissed it as she quickly caught up to him and they ventured back into the forest.
As daylight grew, awkward silence filled the air as the Shadow led Scathach back to the village without him turning to even look at her once. Unable to stand it, Scathach took the opportunity to ask her mentor something else that was in the back of her mind.
"Shadow," she starts hesitantly. "Can I ask you something?"
"It depends... shoot."
The Shadow's answer was blunt. Scathach could discern from his heartbeat that her mentor was on edge.
"I've been thinking about my sister," she starts cautiously. "Do you think Aife can also learn the things you've been teaching me?"
She notices the Shadow's pace slow down and sees him ponder. Afterwards...
"It's not quite that simple," he answers. "As far as just learning to be a mage, I don't see why not. With her being your sister, it's likely she has magic circuits too."
"You really think so?" Scathach said hopefully.
"Just a hunch," he said, quick to temper her expectations. "Even if I'm right, she won't ever be as powerful as you however..."
"Why not?" Scathach asked, then she had an idea. "If it's because of the Netherlyst, then we can make one turn Aife-"
"NO," the Shadow said, stopping to turn and face her dead in the eyes. Scathach froze as he warned in a low voice. "Don't say that... don't even THINK that..."
"But-!" Scathach started, only to be cut off.
"Speak no more of this!" her mentor said seriously. "If you want give your sister some knowledge, be my guest if it helps her sleep at night."
Scathach stood there stunned and offended as the Shadow turned away and went on without her. She was starting to now become agitated by the Shadow after their time in the Red Grove ended abruptly, him becoming colder and more guarded since then. Scathach didn't want to believe that it was for no reason, yet could not figure out why he was acting like this. What did it for her was the way he disrespected her sister as he just did. Scathach would have retorted if it weren't for the one thing holding her back.
The moment she mentioned the Netherlyst and Aife in the same sentence, she picked up the spike in her mentor's heartrate, betraying the Shadow's true feelings behind his insistent anger.
For some reason, the very idea terrified him...
---
Scathach finally made it back to the village and was walking past the numerous huts to get back to Fimir's home. With her previous interaction with the Shadow bitterly fresh in her mind, it was pushed aside as she witnessed the villagers struggling to live. Scathach would see people pushing carts with barely any vegetables and grain; amounts nowhere near enough sustain some the families here for a day. She overheard a group of hunters, lamenting how little meat they managed to acquire, and may need to stay out longer in hopes of getting enough for everyone.
With all those monsters spawning in the forest, the hunters thought going out for more than a day was a death sentence.
Scathach was truly sympathetic to all the villagers' plights; even more so now that they no longer showed hostility towards her. Even as she passed dozens of villagers on her way to Fimir's hut, nobody made a second glance at her. They were all too concerned with their own survival needs to pay her mind, and gave up harassing her.
An improvement for sure... but not quite what Scathach wanted all things considered.
She was almost back at Fimir's hut when the sound of a commotion reaches her ear. Scathach follows it and sees a crowd of people near the opposite end of the village. Heading there, she spots a familiar face, trying to look past the wall of villagers.
"Kihli!" The boy turns around at Scathach calling his name, and she walks up beside him.
"Scathach, you're back..." he greeted, and Scathach noticed he was holding an empty pail.
"What is going on?"
"I just went to get us some water at the creek, but..."
He motions behind him, and Scathach understood. Judging from the bickering between all the villagers, they were all here for the same reason Kihli was. But something was clearly wrong, and nobody had any water.
"How long has this been going on?" she asked Fimir's son.
"I got here not too long ago. Looks like this crowd's been here for about an hour. I can't get through..."
Scathach scans the crowd of people crammed together, holding their pails and voicing their displeasure. Thinking things over, she gets an idea.
"I can," she says to Kihli, who looks at her peculiarly when she grabs his pail and offers her arm. His confusion grows when Scathach smiles at him.
"Trust me?"
Kihli reluctantly grabs Scathach's arm and asks:
"What are you going to do?"
"This..."
In that instant, Scathach manifests her wraith form, and to the boy's shock, his body turned into shadowy mist like hers just from holding on to her arm. Scathach then told him with an echoing voice:
"Keep holding on to me."
Resisting the urge to yell in surprise, Kihli obeys and holds Scathach's arm tightly as she leads them through the crowd; their mist-bodies allowing them to easily weave between people. Some of the villagers gasped in surprised as they noticed them pass, and some of them even yelling at her as if she was using an exploit.
"What the-?! It's the witch girl!"
"Is she going ahead of us?! She can't do that!"
"Using her witchcraft. That's so unfair!"
Scathach ignored them and continued until they made past the crowd. She and Kihli rematerialized, and the boy was left feeling his body to see if he was now indeed solid.
"That was amazing!" he said, getting over his initial shock. "How did you-?"
He stopped when he noticed Scathach looking down, her eyes wide and shocked. Kihli follows her gaze to the creek.
Or rather, where there SHOULD be one...
The river was dried up, with barely a trail of water running through a channel that should be a sizeable stream. Scathach looked on dismayed at the sight before her. There was nowhere near enough water here to satisfy this crowd let alone the entire village.
"All the water is gone!" Kihli said, and as if overhearing him, the villagers grieved:
"This is terrible!"
"Where are we supposed to get it now?"
"We can't go in the forest. Those monsters will kill us!"
"Are we to just die of thirst instead?!"
The atmosphere turned contentious and before Scathach and Kihli knew it, everyone started arguing amongst themselves. Trying to tune out the commotion, Scathach thought carefully about what to do.
She was a mage after all... there has to be something she could use to get this creek flowing again.
-Think... Think...-
!
She hands Kihli back his pail and tells him:
"Wait here."
Kihli stands there and watches as Scathach departs, following the dried-up creek and disappearing into the forest, and wondered what she had planned.
He hoped that whatever it was, she'd better do it quick. From the sound of growing anger in this crowd, Kihli thought it wouldn't be long until these villagers started killing each other for what little water was still here...
Scathach followed the channel deep into the forest, looking for the source of the creek. As she did, the terrain became rockier, with the channel turning into a trench with steep rock-cliffs on both sides. She figured this was not far from the main river she and Aife followed before arriving in the village, as it was in terrain like this where they were running from the Draugr.
If this creek and the river were connected, then there must have been a blockage.
Scathach's assumptions were correct, as after a while she came across a huge pile of stones obstructing the channel. The wall towered above her, holding back water that would otherwise feed into the creek. Just from looking at it, Scathach figured it would take even a large handful of people from the village ages to clear all of this out. Even with her strength, it would take a while.
Too long before everyone in the village died of thirst.
But what was she thinking? She was a mage! Why would she ever need to use her hands? Why would anyone in the village need to bother clearing this when she can just cast a simple spell and fix the problem herself?
Having made up her mind, Scathach used her wraith form to get on top the cliff overlooking the massive dam of stone. Channeling mana through her circuits, she got to work blasting the rocks holding the water back apart...
Kihli waited anxiously while the villagers got increasingly agitated with each other, and was worried that eventually a fight will break out. For what little water was here, no one was inclined to spare any for others.
Not when their own survival was on the line...
Then Kihli heard it... running water.
Looking down, what was mere puddles turned into a stream, then turned into a torrent. The villagers stopped and looked on with the boy as the creek filled and became a river. Everyone cheered in relief and started filling their pails. Kihli joined in and filled his own with water, and when he looked back up, he saw something glorious...
The other villagers were quick to notice soon after, some standing up while they all fell into silence. From down river, everyone saw Scathach, riding on a makeshift raft of deadfall, floating towards them with the current. No one said a word as she jumped back on the riverbank, reuniting with Kihli. She looked around at everybody, who were simply staring back at her, which made her feel uncomfortable. She decided to leave quickly with Kihli before she over-stayed her welcome and someone made a hurtful comment at her.
However, to Scathach's surprise, as she attempted to ignore the murmurs of all the villagers whispering to each other, none of it was hateful. Rather, everyone realized what she must have done, and some began to doubt if the "witch girl" was really a bane to them after all...
Scathach and Kihli would return to Fimir's hut, and after helping around the home, night fell, and everybody gathered to eat around the campfire. Afterwards, Scathach continued instructing Aife on how to properly fight with her spear as she had done two nights before. Strangely, Kihli opted to watch them instead of turning in at Fimir's insistence. Scathach paid the boy no mind as she made some maneuvers with her spear for her sister to copy.
"Watch your feet, and maintain your balance. When you thrust, step forward and use your arms."
"Okay..."
Aife did as Scathach demonstrated to the letter, except...
"No, no... you let your left-hand slide back too much. You'll have too much weight up front to keep the point up."
"Oh, sorry."
"Try again..."
Aife repositioned herself for another attempt. She stood back and held her spear up-
"Wait," Scathach stopped her before Aife could try a thrust. Her sister looks in confusion as Scathach got behind her and made some "hands-on" adjustments. "Your stance isn't right. Back straight... left-foot forward."
Aife sighed, realizing her mistake.
"I forgot..."
"Don't feel bad," Scathach told her as she returned beside her. "I've made these mistakes myself when I started learning. The difference is that I got my backside beat for them..."
"I suppose it's fortunate I have you teaching me instead of Shadow, sister..." Aife joked, earning an amused smile from Scathach.
"Right. Now try again..."
Aife took a deep breath and prepared her stance, and after some brief flourishes with her spear, she stepped forward to deliver a thrust into empty air.
"Good. Keep repeating."
Scathach stood back and watched as Aife continued practicing. Her mind starts to wander back to earlier, wondering what the villagers thought of her now that she returned the water for everyone. She didn't do that for praise, only because she, Aife, Fimir, and Kihli depended on that water too.
Besides, Scathach doubted one act of charity would suddenly make people be nice to her. But if she can use her powers to make living in this bare-bones settlement easier for herself and her friends, shouldn't she do so for everyone else?
Even though they never gave her a warm welcome, they were all here trying to survive: after suffering at the hands of the barbarians as herself and Aife.
Are they not like her in that regard?
"(panting)… How long are you making me do this?"
Scathach's attention snaps back at her sister, who was practicing non-stop since last she spoke. Aife appeared to be starving for air. Realizing this, Scathach motions for her to stop.
"That's enough. You should get some rest."
Aife relaxes her stance and bends over, her pear supporting her while she took deep breaths.
"Thanks... I was starting to think you were making me go until I drop. How did I do?"
"I thought it looked good," Kihli pointed out.
"I'm glad someone was enjoying the show," Aife remarked after hearing him.
"He's not wrong," Scathach said, putting a hand on Aife's shoulder. "Your form was perfect. We can start something else next time we train. Rest for now, sister."
"Okay," Aife replies, turning to leave her sister and Kihli. "Goodnight you two..."
They watched as she went back into the hut. Once she was out of sight, Scathach looks towards Kihli.
"You're not turning in?"
"Not yet," Kihli replied, looking a little nervous. "I wanted to ask you about earlier..."
Scathach stared at him curiously. It wasn't often that the normally shy boy wanted to speak either her of Aife, so she indulged him.
"Go on..."
"That thing you did," Kihli tried to articulate. "When you and I... how did you do that?"
Realizing what he was talking about, Scathach walked towards the boy and said:
"Oh, that. I didn't know until yesterday that I could take someone with me into wraith form. My mentor did it to me without needing to activate my circuits. I honestly wasn't sure if it would work with you, but turns out it did."
Taking a seat beside him, Scathach then asked Kihli with a coy smile:
"How did it feel?"
Thinking about it, Kihli eventually answered.
"Like I was weightless..."
"Yeah," she agrees. "That's about how I felt when I did it for the first time."
Scathach then quickly corrected herself.
"That is... intentionally doing it. My mentor taught me well, even if he was a rude, demanding scoundrel at times."
She stifles a laugh, even if Kihli didn't understand the hilarity. He had never met the Shadow after all. Silence briefly fell between them, until unexpectedly, Kihli broke it.
"You're pretty good at that too," he said to her, earning a slightly surprised look from Scathach.
"What?"
"Teaching," Kihli clarified. "When you were showing Aife some moves, you made sure she got each of them right."
Scathach stared at him in realization, but dismissed his praise.
"Well, Aife wanted to learn as much as she could, and I was just reiterating what the Shadow taught me..."
"You want her to be as proficient as you, and it shows," Kihli starts before adding hesitantly: "My brother was much the same..."
Scathach's face fell now that Kihli brought up something personal.
"Your brother taught you to fight?" she found herself asking, not sure if the boy was prepared to talk about a loved one that was no longer present in his life, with a person who was hardly more than a stranger living in his house.
"No..." Kihli answered, falling into silence as he stared into the dwindling campfire. Scathach could see his eyes tearing up, along with hearing his steadily increasing heart-rate.
She could only imagine how difficult it was for him to talk about his older brother in light of his death. Taking a deep breath, Kihli reluctantly continued.
"But he made sure I knew enough to help around our home whenever I could. He always used to say "Survival is a group effort, and even the little things can make a huge difference"."
Scathach's face conveyed sympathy for the boy, and also astonishment that the normally shy Kihli was actively opening up to her.
"We had a similar mindset in my village," she told him. "That's why I asked my father to take me hunting at every opportunity."
Choosing her words carefully, Scathach asked the boy:
"Was your brother a hunter?"
Kihli shakes his head and wipes a tear from his face.
"He guarded the farmsteads from wild animals and from others who wanted more than their fair share. While the hunters went out, someone had to be there to protect the village."
"So, he kept your home in order then..." Scathach deduced. "That's very respectable."
Kihli forced a brief smile at that before telling her further:
"He shared with me how the farmers upkept the fields for a good harvest, and some skills he thought I could use. He said when the time came, he would teach me to defend myself... when I was strong enough..."
Scathach looks away, knowing Kihli needed not to explain any further. She figured that was what his brother would have done had not the barbarians raided his village and his brother's death at their hands. Kihli's brother was his role model, and the boy will never have the chance to show him how independent and strong he can be.
"I'm sorry..."
Scathach's apology hangs in the air, until Kihli responds.
"Mother doesn't talk about him... it's too painful for her," he said before turning to look at her. "She does so much for me despite all that's happened, but I know I can't rely on her forever..."
It sounded to her like Kihli doubted himself and thought he was weak for his age. Scathach puts a hand on his shoulder and tells him:
"Don't beat yourself up for just being young. You think I learned all of this overnight? It takes time and the right kind of guidance."
Hearing that, Kihli turns and reveals to her.
"That's why I want to learn from you," his resolute words make Scathach look at him in astonishment. "You seem very gifted at that."
"Kihli..."
Lost for any other words, Scathach can only ask:
"Why?"
"Because of what you did earlier," Kihli tells her. "You restoring the river brought hope back to these people, even if they don't quite know it yet. I want to do something for this village too someday."
Scathach couldn't believe what she was hearing. This boy wants her to help him become like his brother?
"Are you sure? What about your mother-?"
"I don't want to burden her," he cuts her off. "She works too hard to teach me how to survive. The way you do it seems so natural, and you and Aife know how to survive on your own; as much as an adult. And maybe afterwards..."
He pauses and asks with uncertainty:
"You can show me how to handle a spear too?"
Scathach fell silent, feeling undeserving of Kihli's faith in her.
"You think too highly of me..."
"Says the one who brought water back for a village full of strangers..." Kihli remarked, earning another look of surprise from her. "I know you can teach because you care. There's no one else I would choose over you..."
Now feeling humbled, Scathach casts her head down, hiding a blush. Despite what she thought after restoring the river, it was clear to her that Kihli thought she did that for purely selfless reasons.
She found it amusing that he thought of her as some kind of hero... and put an admittedly heavy weight on her shoulders.
"Kihli... I-"
Scathach hesitates for a moment. She had a lot on her plate already: training with the Shadow, teaching Aife, dealing with the villagers' ire towards her, and eventually confronting the barbarians again. She wasn't sure if she could dedicate time to putting Kihli in the mix. It was not as if she didn't want to help him, but Scathach just was not sure if she was even the right person to give Kihli what he wanted.
It would require her to be more than just a teacher... but a full-fledged mentor.
Not wanting to diminish the boy's hopes, Scathach reluctantly said to him:
"I'll think about it..."
---
//Later that night//
The night was still, the village was quiet and devoid of activity. Scathach tossed and turned in her sleep inside Fimir's hut. She was deep in a dreamless slumber until a voice manifested in the recesses of her mind. A voice she did not recognize, but sounded so enticing.
"Get up..."
It briefly made Scathach stir as she laid, but she subconsciously ignored it...
After a while, the voice came back, more insistent than before...
"Get up. Come..."
"Why?"
"Come..."
This influenced seemed so foreign and unnatural. Scathach moaned uncomfortably and turned in her sleep as the voice kept clawing at her mind.
"Go away."
"No. You are coming with us."
"Stop..."
This kept going into the night, but the voice grew louder, and Scathach struggled to keep it from influencing her.
"Come! You must come to us!"
While she thrashed and grunted, Scathach's circuits light up with mana, helping her resist...
"Get up! Come... NOW!"
"No... No!" she yelled in her sleep while a new voice cut through the fog of her mind.
"Scathach-"
"COME WITH US!"
"NO! I... WON'T... GO!"
"Scathach-!"
"YES, YOU WILL! WE COMMAND YOU-!"
By this point, Scathach was screaming against the force trying to control her body. At the same time, someone was trying to force back to reality.
"STOP IT! GO AWAY!"
"Scathach! Wake up!"
Scathach's eyes flew open and she was face to face with Fimir, hyperventilating from the ordeal as her circuits dimmed down. Before the girl could process what unfolded...
"Oh, thank the Gods you are awake!" Fimir said to her with an extremely distressed voice.
"Fimir!" Scathach said, getting the feeling that what she just experienced was not the only thing wrong. "What happened?"
"Kihli and Aife... they're gone!"
"What?!" Scathach exclaimed in shock. "How are they gone?!"
"I noticed after your commotion woke me up," Fimir tells her as Scathach quickly got on her feet to go check the other beds in the hut, which were sure enough empty. The widow was almost hysterical as she recounted further: "I looked over and saw their beds were empty, and you were alight and thrashing violently... I had to wake you up!"
"Fimir, calm down," Scathach instructed, turning to face her. She too was doing her best not to lose composure herself. "Tell me: when did they leave?"
"I don't know how long they were gone! It could've been hours ago!"
Scathach's mind raced. Before she could think about what could've happened to Aife and Kihli, a growing noise outside reached her ears and made her pause.
It was coming from the rest of the village... and gave her a bad feeling...
"Wait..." Scathach said under her breath as she proceeded outside with Fimir following her.
"What is it?"
Fimir's question was answered as soon as they stepped outside the hut. She and Scathach were stunned into silence as everywhere they looked, the whole village was in pandemonium with people flooding the main road frantically.
Despite there being so many people, Scathach could not see a single child among them.
"Have any of you seen my daughter?! She's a girl with long, brown hair-!"
"Please! My son is missing!"
"Kala! Where are you-?!"
"Someone help me find our children-!"
Barely any words escaped Scathach's lips upon the sight of pure chaos and the shocking reality.
"By the Gods... ALL the children are gone!"
"This is horrible!" Fimir said as she brought her hands up to mouth and cried. "Oh, Kihli. Please be safe..."
The widow was beyond worried for her only surviving child, and as equally so Scathach was for him, her primary concern was her sister.
-Aife...-
"There! It's the witch girl!"
The sound of an angry father grabbed Scathach's attention. And she found herself confronted by him, and other adults within earshot who heard him. Scathach slowly backed up in horror as the mob of parents confronted her and threw accusations in her direction.
"Tell me right now! What have you done with my sons, witch?!"
"I didn't-!" Scathach stammered as more came her way.
"I want my daughter back!"
"You took my children, didn't you?!"
"I haven't done anything-!" Scathach insisted in vain, on the verge of tears as the crowd kept blaming her.
"You're a liar and a monster!"
"Give us back our sons!"
"I'll avenge my daughter-!"
"STOP!"
Fimir steps in front of Scathach to shield her from the angry group of people. Scathach is left speechless and in awe of the widow's newfound resolve.
"Her own sister has disappeared too! This is NOT her doing!"
The crowd was briefly stunned, but someone had the audacity to call Fimir out.
"Why is she the only child left in the village then?! I bet she wanted revenge for the boys who tried stoning her!"
"Scathach would NEVER do that," Fimir declared adamantly, and Scathach could only marvel at the only adult in this village standing up for her. Yet she was left thinking about how nobody saw any children leave. Scathach was left to ponder as Fimir then tries to reason with another demanding villager.
"Then what could've done this to my children?"
"We are in a forest full of monsters. They could've snuck in to the village while we were all asleep."
That deduction grabbed Scathach's attention, but she doubted Fimir's claim.
This makes no sense, she thought. Those creatures don't come anywhere near the village... not with the Shadow around...
Brainstorming further, Scathach thought back just minutes before when she heard voices in her head, and an outside influence trying to get her to leave the hut. If it was trying to reach out to her, then it could have done the same with Aife and Kihli...
-Could it be... Magecraft?-
"Fimir..." Scathach called to her, making the widow turn to face her with concern. "I must go back into the hut... and I need to see something."
Fimir nodded in understanding, and one of the villagers grew impatient.
"What is she sayin'?! Does she know where my children are?"
"Enough," Fimir said to him. "She'll help find our missing children. You all need to trust her..."
The villagers all looked and bickered to each other, with some leaving to go find their children in vain. Scathach and Fimir took the opportunity to re-enter the hut as the crowd eventually dispersed. Scathach was sure no monsters entered the village, as she looked around at the relatively pristine state of the interior, all the way to the empty beds.
-No sign of intrusion...- she thought. -If both Aife and Kihli were kidnapped then there would've been a struggle. If I only I could see what happened...-
That gave Scathach an idea...
"Fimir," she said to the widow who simply stood by watching her. "Stand back."
Fimir looks curiously at the girl who knelt and began drawing a symbol on the ground.
"What are you doing?"
"Using a Recall Rune..." Scathach explained, drawing as she recalled the rune that the Shadow used earlier to show the Curruid in the past. "I'll be able to see what happened to Aife and Kihli."
Briefly stopping the draw, Scathach turned to her.
"Oh, Fimir?"
"Yes, lass?" the widow answered. Scathach took a deep breath and said to her:
"Thank you... for standing up for me..."
Fimir smiled proudly at her and wiped a tear from her eye.
"No need to thank me. I couldn't let them tarnish your credibility when I know you so well..."
"But still... I appreciate it. I was worried one might try to hurt me... and you."
"Don't blame them, lass," Fimir tells her. "They're just scared parents who fear for their children's lives. I know I would've done anything to get them back. They will see in time what a good, trustworthy person you are..."
Scathach sighed at that as she continued the rune.
"I hope so..."
After that, she concentrates, trying to form the rune sequence from memory. She did not have to see back far as the Shadow did... just far enough.
"There..."
In one last stroke, Scathach's rune came to life, and four glowing apparitions took form; herself, Fimir, Aife, and Kihli, all sleeping.
"Kihli!" Fimir exclaimed at the sight of her son sleeping, but Scathach calms her.
"It's just an echo Fimir," she explained. "We are seeing what happened hours ago..."
They watched the scene unfold, until they saw the echoes of Aife and Kihli got up at the same time and simply walked out the door in a slow, yet eerily synchronized walking pace. What was apparent to Scathach and Fimir was the blank look on their faces and their hollow eyes that stared into nothing.
"Something is wrong with them..." Fimir said aloud. Scathach nods in agreement, with everything piecing together.
"They're in some kind of trance. Magecraft was involved in their disappearance. We should follow their echoes outside..."
They do with haste after Scathach directs the active rune into her hand. She holds it up as the duo trail the echoes of Aife and Kihli, and they could see the apparitions of other children joining them, all in the same tranced state.
"By the Gods..." Fimir lets out. "They are all gathering here."
"Walking in single file," Scathach points out. "As I thought... all the children have definitely been bewitched."
"Say, how come you weren't affected?" Fimir asked as they kept following the growing number of echoes.
"Probably because I'm a mage myself and therefore harder to influence," Scathach speculated, remembering when her circuits were active after Fimir woke her up. "Poor Aife and Kihli weren't so lucky..."
As they continued, it was apparent that all the children (rather their echoes) were all gathering on the main road, until they turned to cut through a small field of crops past someone's hut.
And they still did not stop...
"Where are they going?" asked Fimir.
"Up the hill..." answered Scathach as she summoned her spear in her free hand. "By the tree line..."
Fimir glances at Scathach's red spear nervously, wondering if the girl was expecting to encounter something dreadful. Following the echoes through dense foliage, they come to a wide area enclosed beneath canopy. The echoes of children stop and pack together closely, and before Scathach could say anything, two more echoes appear.
The sight of these makes both Scathach and Fimir stop dead in their tracks. These echoes were adults, and one wore armor and helm while another was cloaked and hooded. What was common between them was the masks they wore.
Masks they distinctly recognized...
"No..."
Scathach stared in shock at not only of these men, but the implication they presented.
"The barbarians," Fimir lets out in whisper as she looked on horrified. "They found us..."
Scathach watches as the echoes of these invaders seem to inspect each of the children briefly before leading them away. She looks away to what looked like a temporary encampment, fitting for scouts keeping out of sight from the village.
"They've been watching us for a while too," she deduced solemnly. "And it seems they have magi in their ranks." It's the only way they could've made it this far without the Shadow knowing, she neglected to add to Fimir.
"What do they want with the children?"
"I don't know," Scathach answered sincerely, dreading what they could have planned for Aife and Kihli in particular. On top of that, even though she had been training with the Shadow in order to face them again, she didn't think it would be this soon. She had no idea how long the barbarians knew they were all here, or what they had intended for all the children; only that it can't be good.
Time was of the essence; not enough for her to run back to Castle Dunscaith and get the Shadow.
That meant rescuing the children was up to her whether she was ready or not...
"Go back to the village Fimir," she said resolutely to the widow beside her. "This can be dangerous..."
"Lass," Fimir looked at her in concern. "What are you saying?"
"If I keep following the echoes, I can find where they've taken Aife and Kihli."
Scathach took two steps when Fimir put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. Fimir looks at the girl in shock and disbelief.
"You're going after them? By yourself?! That's suicide!"
Scathach gently removed Fimir's hand and looked at her solemnly, understanding the widow's concern.
"I don't have a choice Fimir. You know I'm no ordinary girl; you said so yourself. I'll be okay-"
"No, you won't!" Fimir insisted. "They will kill you, or worse, take you too! I can't-!"
"They are welcome to try," Scathach said as she kept reasoning with Fimir. "Only I can do this, Fimir; I can save the children. I need you to trust me..."
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, with Fimir's grip on the girl staying firm. Scathach knew it was killing Fimir to send a child into peril, against every instinct a parent would have, but there was no time to argue. She did not want to resort to forcing Fimir to let go of her, not after everything the widow did by letting Scathach and Aife stay in her home and making them feel accepted.
Scathach could say no more, and could convey a message with her eyes to Fimir to please let her go. As wind swept through the forest, and blew the leaves of the many surrounding trees, Fimir let's a tear escape her eye and casts her head down.
Her hand on Scathach's shoulder briefly tightens... then relaxes as Fimir at last relents. Scathach can hear her sobbing, and her heart ached for the loving woman who had lost most of her family.
"My youngest son... your sister... you," Fimir said through her tears. "You are all I have left..."
Scathach's eyes lock with Fimir's after the widow lifts her head back up to face the strange, brave girl she'd grown attached to.
"You ALL come back safe... do you hear me?"
Scathach nodded, signifying her vow. Then the widow smiled.
"Give those bastards hell for me, yeah?"
Scathach returns a determined smile in full.
"With pleasure..."
With that, Scathach turns and sprints into the forest, leaving Fimir to look on to her retreating form until she was out of sight.
Scathach darted past trees, and bushes as her rune guided her. Going into wraith form, she leaps and glides over a rocky ravine, and kept sprinting on until she couldn't hear the distant sounds of the village with her enhanced senses. She stops as the air became dead silent, save for her steady breathing, and the racing of her heartbeats. Totally alone, and with no creatures within sight, Scathach set herself down on her knees before a boulder near a flowering bush, summoning her spear.
The moon was peeking through the forest canopy, casting light on the stone that Scathach set her makeshift spear upon. Before Scathach went further on her quest to save Aife and the rest of the children, she needed to recraft the improvised weapon she'd carried since entering the Shadow's domain into an implement that better suited her capabilities. Her spear, as it currently was, did not reflect the power and knowledge she currently possessed, so she would reshape it anew with the magic she has learned to make it a true instrument of death.
Using both her hands, Scathach focused and formed a rune which caused the long shaft of Curruid bone to break apart into tiny pieces and rearrange itself. Little by little, Scathach reshaped the gnarly bone into a straight shaft befitting of an elegant weapon. Her hands traveled further up the forming shaft, turning the base of the point into a four-flanged hilt, and finally the sharp barb itself morphing into a serrated blade. Once that was done, Scathach etched some runes on to the flat sections of the blade, giving the new weapon properties that only served to increase its lethality.
With the process complete, Scathach stood up and picked up her newly refined spear, testing the balance and combat potential with a few sweeps and thrusts. Once she was satisfied, she took a moment to marvel at her creation.
For in her hands was a weapon that could wound any creature, living or dead, to its very core, and would deliver swift death as efficiently and elegantly as its new form would convey.
For that reason, Scathach would dub her creation:
Gae Bolg... Swift Piercing Death...
And she was about to use it against her enemies.
"Hold on, Aife... I'm coming..."
---
[TBC]