The sun was just breaching the horizon as the Temporary Residence Townhouse came to life once again. The smell of Mikoto's cooking gracing his nostrils, Shay jumped out of bed and took in the sight of reflected sunlight seeping through his blinds and beginning to light up the room. It was a simple one, sparsely decorated with a bed and desk as the only noteworthy furniture, but it had served him well. Taking his time in the meager shower, he began to puzzle through his plans once again before eventually giving up.
It's no use. No matter how calm I try to be, there's no way I can think clearly right now.
It was the day of his transfer to Freya familia, and Shay's nerves were already somewhat getting the better of him. When a situation sprung up on him out of nowhere, he was generally able to react calmly and with clarity of mind. He was now discovering that he was much less capable of handling anticipation than surprise.
Heading out into the main room, he was soothed by a sight he'd seen many times before. Ouka and Také were speaking casually with the familia's two supporters as Mikoto and Chigusa prepared breakfast for the group. As Shay entered the common area, everyone was sure to greet him before breakfast was served. Talking jovially, they spent their last hours as a familia reminiscing about the fun they'd had in the Far East, including all the sparring shenanigans and the times they'd pseudo kidnapped that noble renard. At almost exactly ten o'clock, a soft knock was heard on the main door. As Také made his way to answer, Shay prepared himself for the meeting.
Alright, here we go…
Opening the door, Také spoke politely while still betraying a hint of grief.
"Lady Freya. You're right on time."
"Yes. Is he ready?"
The beautiful soprano voice filled the room as Shay's companions turned to him. Their expressions varied from Ouka's resignation to Mikoto's frustration, but they shared a common solemnity. He had never heard the goddess speak before, feeling both a sense of dread and captivation. Beckoned over by his former god, he picked up the supporter's backpack with his most important belongings and made his way to the door. Coming into line of sight of his new deity, Shay momentarily stopped in awe. At this distance and even under her hood, Freya was supremely beautiful, more so than any deity he'd ever seen. In her, Shay saw the usual perfection of a deity taken to the extreme, combined with something he could only describe as the distilled essence of feminine allure.
In reaction to his surprise, Freya decorated her features with a slight smile. Recovering himself, Shay did his best to recall his manners from his time in Eluria. He lowered his head slightly as he introduced himself.
"Shay Whitlock. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Freya."
To Shay's dismay, Freya's appearance was already dimmed by a slight frown. Clearly somewhat disappointed, her words carried significant weight.
"Please, once more."
Wha—!?... Oh.
"My apologies, it's become somewhat habitual. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Freya. Shay Cromwell, at your service."
Shay was relieved as the goddess released her frown. Since Freya seemed to have gotten her information from Syr, he should've known the information of his past was out. Actually, it was even more obvious than that, as Freya familia were the ones who saved him from the assassination attempt. He cursed his stupid mistake as Freya's smile somewhat returned.
"I'm pleased to finally meet you, Shay. Since it's a special day, I'll forgive the mistake. Are you ready to depart?"
Looking back at his comrades of the past nine months, Shay nodded before following his new deity onto Northeast Main. After walking for a few minutes in what seemed to Shay like tense silence, he decided now was as good a time as ever to ask some questions.
"Lady Freya… Is it really safe for you to be out on your own?"
Shay reasoned that for a small familia like Také's, there was no need for a security detail. When it came to large familias however, any enemy would seek to take advantage of a vulnerable deity. Freya seemed to find his question amusing, faking a slight pout as she responded.
"I'm not alone, right now. Or, are you saying you wouldn't protect me?"
"What? N-no, of course I would. I just thought you might have been alone on the way here."
After a small sigh, Freya looked somewhat resigned as she completed her answer.
"There are guards. They just stay out of sight to avoid bothering me."
Out of sight!? Well, I suppose that's actually realistic, given a few days ago…
After thinking for a bit about how he might've had far less privacy than he thought before, Shay thought he'd get a core question out of the way. He was usually much less direct, but he had lost his nerve in their silent stroll.
"Lady Freya… If I may ask, what is it that drew your attention to me?"
Apparently elated at the curiosity, Freya responded with a pleased lilt and a bewitching smile.
"I rarely ever explain this… but I will for you. It's the same for the rest of my followers, really. I caught a glimpse of a soul, and found it pleasing. Yours was the most beautiful blue, and extremely unique. I've neer seen one with quite the same flickering before, as if lightning was forking its way through it. That's what attracted me."
Soul…? Také never mentioned anything about actually seeing a soul… are the gods that different from each other? And… the lightning affects my soul? Well, I guess that's the whole basis for falna anyway now that I think about it… Wait, 'attracted'!?
"Are you nervous?"
Shay was puzzling through what he could expect from his new deity, and apparently his unease was showing. Seeing the apologetic expression of her new follower, Freya moved to elaborate.
"I promise you, I'm much less tyrannical than you seem to think. You'll have your freedom. I only moved so quickly because I'd heard so much about you, and I had grown tired of waiting."
"...It's only been put to me vaguely thus far. I'm just not quite sure what I can expect."
Seemingly regretting the impression she had made, as well as in shock at Shay's lack of infatuation with her, Freya looked forward as she spoke.
"It would be pleasing for you to reach your potential. All of my followers are talented, but you seem to be a different case. You've somehow cut the previous Level up record in half, and on a higher Level no less. In my familia, you could reach somewhere truly remarkable. It would be a tragic waste otherwise, don't you think?"
"...!"
"You won't be required to do much of anything beyond that. The strength of my familia comes from the will of its followers. As their goddess, all I do is collect those who are worthy."
Saying Shay was flabbergasted would be a major understatement. Looking incredulously at his new goddess, he made an attempt to fit the situation together in his head.
"You… just want me to grow?... You're giving me a chance…?"
"I just wanted to have you, Shay. Everything else, you will decide for yourself."
~
It wasn't long before they had arrived at Folkvangr, at the very end of South Main street, in the Shopping District. When he first saw the palatial estate, it finally hit him that he was entering a truly different world. The sight of the gates opening to a palace surrounded by beautiful fields with rings of flowers was enough to take anyone's breath away. After entering his lavish new home and being greeted by the harsh glares of his new comrades(?), he gave his bags to a couple of maids to be put in his new room. Joining Freya in her own room at the top floor of the incredible palace, Shay was having trouble snapping himself out of the awe the situation inspired.
"Are you ready?"
The alluring soprano voice called to him as he drifted slowly towards the massive, canopied bed. Even having grown up as a prince, Shay could've never imagined the kind of wealth and power this familia, no, this goddess, wielded. He'd been thinking about this all wrong. This wasn't him sacrificing for his familia. This was no necessary evil. This was him being given yet another incredible gift. Preparing his resolve, he stepped closer to his new goddess, removing his shirt as he responded.
"Yes."
"Lay down."
Shay was not a small child who had no idea about the goings on between men and women. He was 19 years old and had suffered through enough of Chloe's teasing to have no reaction when things of that nature came up normally. Even so, this situation was far from normal. Laying in the goddess's bedchambers, Shay had to focus all of his will to prevent his face turning what would probably end up being a spectacular color. Watching him squirm, Freya giggled as she straddled him, teasingly running her fingers down his skin as she proceeded.
Pricking her finger, the goddess allowed a drop of blood to fall onto the boy's back, his skin rippling like water as hieroglyphics emerged, revealing his status. Shay felt her hands go still for a moment as a silence fell over the two. After a moment, a small giggle escaped Freya's lips before she erupted into an elated tone, talking through her laughter.
"pfft— haha… What's this about? That god could've negotiated three times the price."
What…? Wait— did Také seriously not tell her anything!?
As Freya continued to laugh, Shay asked whether Také had told her about his status. With the maids wearing interesting expressions at the far end of the room, Freya toned down her laughter and continued with a jovial smile.
"He didn't say a word about this. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen something this absurd. Your god really undersold you, didn't he?"
Shay could only laugh as he responded.
"I… suppose he did."
Finishing up with a smile and copying his status onto a piece of paper, Freya got off of him and took a seat at the edge of the bed, handing him the paper.
"Here you are. Your first update as a member of my familia. Please work hard, Shay."
~
His first impressions of the members of his new familia was that they were fanatics. After entering the main estate, anyone who had seen Shay walking with Freya had given him a glare of pure, unadulterated hatred. They were clearly jealous, and he remembered feeling a chill when he'd realized they were waiting for a chance to break him in their next 'training' session.
Dear Gods, I was right on the money…!
Narrowly avoiding the downwards slash of a scimitar, Shay jumped to the side in an effort to gain some distance. His opponent, a fellow Level Three, was the first in line to challenge him at the start of the day. As Shay parried another one of the chienthrope warrior's blows, he noticed that their strength was about evenly matched. Considering Shay'd overloaded his status quite a fair bit by this point, he knew his opponent must be a veteran.
I can't believe they put me up against a veteran immediately… Actually, I guess that's inevitable given I'm the only rookie here, huh?
Doing everything he could to keep some distance from his more experienced foe, Shay took advantage of his spear's reach while feinting jabs, eventually baiting the increasingly aggravated chienthrope into overcommitting to a block. Taking advantage of the brief window, Shay thrust his spear forward, catching his opponent in the shoulder before feeling a wave of regret. The only time he'd purposefully injured someone had been just a number of days ago, and he'd killed them. Even though he was told that injury was the norm in these battles, he still couldn't shake his sense of guilt. Taking advantage of his opponent's hesitation, the chienthrope pushed Shay's spear aside before going on the offensive.
Get it together!
Recovering almost immediately, Shay used his spear as a quarterstaff, defending repeated blows from the scimitar before bashing his opponent hard in the side. As the chienthrope was sent into the air, Shay buried his guilt and rushed forward to finish the job. Still bouncing and tumbling on the field, the chienthrope found his footing as he slid to a stop before sprinting forward in preparation for the next clash.
With one shoulder out of commission, the warrior opted for a risky play. The only way for him to deal with Shay's reach was to get in close again, where Shay would be at a disadvantage. Sprinting directly at Shay's spear, the chienthrope dodged to the inside and ran his blade along it in order to make Shay release it. Expecting this, Shay released his spear and locked the scimitar in place with the parrying kunai he'd readied in his other hand, the pair's momentum causing them each to spin at awkward angles before separating again. Just after their weapons parted, Shay kicked his opponent's arm hard sending the scimitar flying through the air.
Still tumbling through the air, Shay threw his kunai at the chienthrope, managing a clean hit on his side and causing him to land painfully on his back before bouncing a couple of times.
Wow, that skill's awesome!
Internally thanking the throwing weapon skill he'd developed at Level Two, Shay landed on his feet before dashing to retrieve his spear. As the injured chienthrope got up again, Shay stood between him and his weapon, signaling the end of the battle.
"..."
Watching over the fight was Van, a half prum who had been assigned to help Shay assimilate into the familia. Earlier, they'd eaten a light breakfast together in Sessrúmnir before heading to the fields. During their brief exchanges, Shay learned that Van wasn't exactly happy about being his chaperone, saying that he would be wasting valuable time breaking in a rookie fighter like him. Contrary to the begrudgingly disinterested demeanor he'd shown earlier, Van's expression now betrayed a hint of intrigue.
"You've got some tricks, I'll give you that."
The scowling chienthrope tossed the bloody kunai to Shay's feet as he got up with Van giving his verdict.
"You're not even close to being an einherjar, though."
Ah, so he's what the gods would call a tsun—!
Shay's smirk was wiped clean off his face by the twin sword wielding half prum warrior already barreling down on him. He blocked desperately with his spear, but soon realized he was far too slow and weak to have any real chance of avoiding damage. Blocking desperately with both hands, he could only deal with one blade at a time. Considering his opponent was an insanely experienced Level Four, that's all Shay could possibly hope for without magic. Van kept up his offense as Shay's battle clothes that had been pristine just an hour ago were ruined slice by slice.
Shit! I can't use magic this early—
Desperately bounding backwards while defending, Shay couldn't help but panic as his flesh was torn into over and over.
"You're too scared, you're easily intimidated. Pathetic."
Punctuating his words with the strikes of his swords, Van gave Shay another evaluation. As Shay blocked an overhead strike from one sword, the other found purchase in his stomach. Van kicked the skewered rookie duelist backwards onto the ground, looking on in disgust.
"You're holding back. Pure arrogance. You can't afford that here."
Ah, damn! This guy…!
As Shay pulled the sword from his gut, another warrior was sent flying into the air above him. Watching the scorched werewolf hit the ground, Shay realized something important.
…A smoke trail? Wait…
Looking around the battlefield, Shay saw not only blood spattering but fire pluming and lightning crackling as the battles progressed.
"This is the battlefield where the brave warriors the Goddess desires are born. Those dedicated to the Goddess fight with everything they are to become useful to her. Use everything you can, or you will die here."
Blood already dribbling at an alarming rate from his open wound, Shay looked at his already ruined clothes before tearing off a piece and using it as a bandage. Shifting his gaze up towards his overpowering foe, he banished all thoughts of merely holding out against Van.
Fine, let's go for real, then.
In a display of ungodly cockiness, Shay tossed the bloody sword back to Van. In response Van cocked his eyebrow, wearing an amused smile at the bravado.
"Raijin!"
With a subdued yet wild smile, Shay focused on Agility and engaged his opponent again. His bleeding body sheathed in flickering white blue lightning, Shay closed the distance in an instant. Thrusting with his spear, he was parried by one of Van's twin swords. As the other threatened to run him through again, Shay used the butt of his spear to deflect it, blood flicking off the blade and onto his already stained shirt as Van's eyes widened slightly. Now thoroughly enjoying himself, Van continued his vicious assault.
"There you go! Fight for real! Only after achieving glory on the battlefield will you earn the Goddess's favor!"
He's still talking…!
With his agility boosted as high as it would go, Shay was now noticeably faster than Van. Even as the vicious half prum continued his assault, Shay was fast enough to continually parry both swords. Switching tactics, Van caught Shay's spear using the cross guard on his sword, grabbing hold of it with one arm in an attempt to disarm him. Caught off guard, Shay flowed his enchantment into the spear and briefly paralyzed Van before he could attack. Taking the already bloodied kunai from his first fight, Shay took a stab at Van's wrist, causing the half prum to lose his grip on both the sword and spear. Pulling inward as he removed the spear, Shay made a decent gash on the side of Van's chest before dodging a retaliatory blow.
Ok, now Strength—
Van's eyes were fierce as he charged Shay again, not giving him time to collect himself. Unable to switch his enchantment fast enough, Shay was forced to go back on the defensive as Van continually wore him down. Since Shay was interrupted, his enchantment was back in its default state, boosting his abilities by a respectable but comparatively measly 60%. Noticing the sudden lack of speed, Van pressed his advantage, beginning to find cracks in Shay's defense again.
As Shay's skin was becoming increasingly covered in wounds, he decided he had no choice. He had never tried to allocate his enchantment while defending like this, but it was the only way he could see of winning the fight. As Shay struggled to parry the vicious onslaught, Van, perhaps due to his extensive experience on the battlefield, followed his instincts and feigned an opportunity. He let himself be parried, and Shay took the chance to infuse his muscles with lightning. Before he could finish however, Van struck down as hard as he could, breaking Shay's concentration before a massive explosion rang out.
—BANG!
~
By the end of his baptism, Shay had been barely recognizable. He did better than anyone could've expected, but was still ultimately brutalized by his 'chaperone'. The two were currently sitting at a long table in the grand dining hall Sessrúmnir, participating in the daily feast held after the fighting had finished. The healing magic of the Andhrímnir was incredible, but their food was great too, maybe second only to the Hostess of Fertility.
I wonder what Chloe's doing right now…
After being put through his paces, Shay was dead tired. Watching the scarred face of the healer that had saved him the most that day busily distributing meals to the other fighters, he barely noticed the pair of Einherjar taking their seats across from him.
"What're ya looking at Lily for? She forget to finish puttin' yer arm back together?"
"...? No, no, she did great. I honestly didn't know healing magic was even strong enough to fix something like that in the first place."
Across from Shay now sat two experienced looking fighters, a man and a woman. The man looked to be in his thirties, and exuded an aura of relaxed confidence as he continued.
"Anyway, I hear you did pretty well, enough to even humble shorty here a little. That's damn good for your first day. Oh, name's Rask, by the way. This here's Remilia."
As Rask gestured to his feminine compatriot, Van scoffed before giving a response.
"The idiot suicide bombed me. Other than that, he barely managed a scratch."
"Oh, so that huge explosion this morning really was you?"
Waiting for her chance to chime in, Remilia seemed far more reserved than her partner. Shay chuckled and nodded as he clarified.
"Well, it wasn't exactly on purpose."
"Ah, Ignis Fatuus then? What kind of magic were you using?"
Quelling the instinct to be cagey about his abilities, Shay decided to satisfy his new comrade's curiosity.
"It's an enchantment. Today's actually the first time it's ever blown up on me like that."
"Oh, well now it makes a little more sense how you kept up with Van. Enchantments are pretty rare, after all. Did you try to cast it while fighting?"
"...Eheh. Something like that."
Seemingly irritated, Van stepped in.
"He was already using it."
"...?"
Meeting Shay's questioning glare, he responded curtly.
"We'll all be fighting from here on out. They'll see it eventually."
Looking between Shay and Van curiously, Remilia joined back in.
"Your enchantment blew up…while in use?"
Oh, boy.
"...Well, I manipulate it while fighting. I was trying to do that while defending and I lost focus."
Shay winced internally as Remilia and Rask glanced at each other, seemingly dumbfounded.
"Oh… Your magic must be quite something, then."
"Lady Freya always finds the crazy types, huh?"
With an awkward chuckle and a smile, Shay shared his honest thoughts.
"That sounds about right."
~
"Oi! Gitcher ass movin'! Damn lazy cat…"
As a loud dwarf managed to startle her patrons and employees alike, Chloe reflexively threw her plate in the air before making a desperate attempt to catch it again.
"Meow!? Ah, sorry, Mama Mia."
"...You've been washin' the same damn plate fer thirty minutes."
"Ah… It uh… was really dirty, meow."
"..."
After a long pause, Mia somehow found it in herself to not scold one of her employees. Settling at getting the girl back on task, she continued.
–sigh, "Well, now it's clean. Put it away."
"Yes ma'am."
Watching a distracted Chloe put the plate back in its proper spot, Mia couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for her. The proprietress wasn't much for prying into the lives of her employees, but she spent her time at the bar and her girls weren't exactly a quiet bunch. She'd ended up hearing the gossip about Freya familia's newest member, and had seen a certain employee's change in behavior.
"Watchin' the door won't make 'em get here faster, ya know. Keep yerself busy, at least."
"...?"
Catching a glimpse of blonde at the pub's entrance, Mia almost audibly laughed at the incredible timing. With a sharp exhale, she let a hearty smile color her features.
"You're such a handful, honestly. Let's get you back out on the floor."
~
It was early in the morning, and Lily was on the third floor of folkvangr preparing to do her daily duties as an Andhrímnir. Watching the sun rise through a large window, she thought about the day of battle ahead of her. She usually didn't pay the Einherjar much mind, as she had a devotion befitting someone who'd been saved personally by Lady Freya, but over the past few months one warrior in particular had caught her eye.
Her first interaction with him had been a shock, to say the least. On what was apparently his first day on the battlefield, he'd suffered the worst ignis fatuus she had ever seen, somehow managing to blow his right arm to pieces during a fight with a higher Level opponent. By the time she made it to him, he'd already lost most of his blood in what was a horribly gruesome scene, and had passed out from the pain.
Upon waking up, he'd treated her like a savior for healing him, thanking her over and over before being dragged back into battle. This was the first of many times she treated him, and with each interaction she felt her curiosity growing. The other Einherjar were predictable, always fighting to satisfy their hunger for recognition from the Goddess, but he seemed different somehow. Lily came to discover that he actually wasn't seeking the Goddess's attention, and seemed to care so little about it that he was even loath to be called upon by her, an honor that every other Einherjar would have killed for.
Even so, the warrior fought with an intensity of his own, enough to keep him returning to that horrid battlefield every day. So then, what was he fighting for?
Still gazing through the window, Lily noticed a blighted face returning her gaze. Wincing and looking away from the reflection, she stopped for a moment to ponder. Now that she thought about it, she realized the warrior was probably in one of these rooms right now. Deciding to talk to him when she got the chance, she was about to continue on her way before—
—CRASH!
Startled, Lily looked towards the smoke billowing out from the end of the hallway, bits of rubble slowly becoming visible as she immediately ran to help. Rushing to aid her familia, she wondered just what the hell could've caused such a scene in the living quarters. Doors opened in panic as Einherjar of all levels prepared for battle with confused shouts filling the air.
"Are we under attack!?"
"What idiot would attack the home of the sublime Goddess!?"
"I don't know! What else causes explosions indoors!?"
"Hey, that's Shay's room, isn't it?"
Shay? Lily could've sworn she knew that name from somewhere. Moving quickly, she was the first to enter the scene. A blonde man, probably Shay, was laying on the ground spread eagle after having apparently crashed through the wall of his room. Leaning close to him, Lily was about to check for signs of life when she recognized him as the curious warrior she'd been thinking about. Getting closer, her anticipation built as she saw his mouth moving slightly.
"Are you alright!?"
"ha…"
"...?"
"Hah…hahaha!"
As Einherjar swarmed the room amid the man's hearty laughter, Lily thought back to her curiosities about the warrior named Shay.
'What was he fighting for?'
Looking in disbelief at the elated smile worn by the charred man who had just burst through the wall of his own bedroom, Lily was hit by a wave of disillusionment.
What a pointless question. He's just insane.