Date: Mörsugur 17th, 598. (Alt: 30th Dec, 598 AD.) Location: Götaland (Ancient Sweden.)
Heath closed his eyes and entered his dream space, an area that is untouched by any pantheon's God of dreams. He went through sections of his mind, pondering.
"Óðinn's 18 known sigils." Heath tapped his metaphorical chin upon his soul form, looking up at the visualisations of his memories from his past. "I know of their purposes, yet not of their shapes." He frowns to himself, trying to picture of such.
Heath had tried reconstructing them with magic, using the known runes and how their intertwined existence with the aether allowed them to have such mystical properties. Yet he could not, as if it could not unbind from a will that had an iron grip upon them. He hid from any possible guards or warding during this process from the All-Father's purview, yet it continuously stumped and floundered him throughout. He was looking most towards the 6th sigil. 'If it be a hex, turn the spell.' Allowing for any magic to be returned or nullified.
"He must've applied this sigil to his own sigils in case of others like myself, the conniving sod." Heath spoke to himself in English this time, expressing himself in his mother tongue. "Damn, the world of Twilight of the Gods is quite the tough one." He tuts to himself.
"What to do, what to do. . ." He twitched his perception as a show of annoyance. "Screw it, I will make a personal sigil. I could not make the 12th Sigil either (The corpse must speak.) So, this will do." He imagines the sigil, not with any known language of this realm, but of what he had shown to the people around him, for their knowledge of what was shown meant power to a system guided by faith. ".ᒷ↸╎⚍┤ (Guide.)" He intones into himself, all of the letters converge into one, singular symbol that resembles the Latin alphabet's H, but heraldic.
"Fitting, looking like my forename's initial." He smirks to himself. With as much magic as he could, he fitted in a clause with intent. 'When given a question, say the truth through guidance.' As showing honest knowledge to those who ask for it, without a monkey's paw.
It cannot predict the future, but it can simulate outcomes within its knowledgeable boundaries for expectations. But here is the kicker. It can track through wisps of fate, untracable by most other means except speaking with the Nornir or representative magic, costing nothing material. "All religions would see this as heretical." He touches it with a now-fading hand, his embodiment controlled with magic unable to hold with enough strength. He gave a strained, yet confident smile. "Bring it." It latches onto his left, dominant hand.
*HEEUUGH* Heath wakes up in the night, retching loudly while noticing 45% of his body has disappeared in a mist, he collapses in on himself, his soul in enough pain to make his original human soul be eviscerated many times over. Coughing and hacking became his existence.
He looks up, expression covered in translucent lines that make him appear wrinkled and jagged in a tapestry of effervescent patterns. He tries to crawl towards the chair to get up, but falls over midway, causing him to collapse on his left arm. The thump had been loud enough to be heard by the others in the floor below, who now ran towards a portal to teleport in his direction. Heath had an expression of satisfaction and of regret. Regret that he had not done this sooner, for now he had a way to tell an unbiased history.
A mixed scrabble was heard from the group, seeing in horror what occurred to Heath from his experiment, Agnarr, Gorm, Leif and Hervor jumped in and guarded from all angles while Asdos, Egill, Eirikr, Sigrid and Valyria tended to him. "What happened?!" Valyria panicked.
She yelled out, expression in mid-sob, greying tears made of magically produced wet mortar showing her sadness. Egill looked at his leftover hand, seeing a new symbol upon it that he did not recognise, and Asdos and Eirikr stayed silent, but wary. "I gave us a chance to stay safe. As a new sigil has been formed." Heath raises his hand to the ceiling for all to see. "To help teach us, for a better tomorrow." A spiritual crack was heard, and the room became instantaneously cold. Heath looked down from his raised hand, confused.
Gorm was looking back, armour glinting in the darkness, his face in an expressionless visage towards him, which reminded him of the stare of absolute disappointment his father used to give him when he would sneak grass with his friend group.
"Oops." Heath's expression was apologetic. "Not enough." The flat of Gorm's blade tonked him over the head with increased velocity to make him feel it with his strength over normal people. A great, meaty thud with a slight clang rang out in echoes from it, wobbling the hard steel. "Look at yourself." Gorm points at his missing limbs. "What had you promised?" His voice was deadpan, the sides of his mouth strained as not to give a greater lashing. "That I would ask you first if I did something like this." Heath responded in a scolded child's tone.
"I feel sometimes you are 40-odd going back to 8." Gorm held his head with his empty gauntleted hand. "You are a nightmare, expect something in the morning. But all of us should get back to what we were doing." Gorm looked to Eirikr and Egill, who nodded in return.
They went to pick Heath up, putting their arms below him. "Hey, hey, hey. Wait! I can still float as movement. It's fine." Heath tried to resist while making himself float, but he used too much magic. Imagine a sputtering, fuelless bi-plane, before tumbling down into their arms, who then hoist him up and through the portal. "Your ideas are splendid, Heath. Just, pace yourself better." Egill tried to compliment through the slight second-hand embarrassment and amusement, like helping a drunk, yet coherent uncle up some stairs.
They go to the nearest empty room by Gorm's own, where they plop him down and tuck him under the covers. Heath simply stopped resisting by this point after noticing an Auto bringing him some hot tea that it leaves on the royal bedside table. He looked towards it, listless.
Valyria walked to the front of the group who all stared at him with varying expressions that mostly contained annoyance at being woken up, she leaned down with her incredibly tall, yet lean frame and kissed him on the forehead, her concrete lips having surprising warmth, softness and suppleness to them. "Good night, papa. Dream without working." She moved out of the way and through the door to her own room. "Yeah, what she said. Goodnight, Clan Head." Agnarr bows, then holds Hervor's hip before they walk off while waving together.
"I will await your punishment." Egill teases while holding his mouth to not snicker. He looked off to ask for a tea for his room from the Auto, whose eyes flashed green while leaving. Once that was done, all said goodbye to Gorm, gallivanting to their respective rooms for the night.
". . . I did not think it would get that bad." Heath murmurs to himself. Looking at the growing stump of an arm and the missing mass below the covers that would have been his legs. "It never does for you, does it." Gorm gave a sharp retort, angry at how easy it was for Heath to nearly kill himself with his 'shenanigans,' as it was called in the past. "Twice now you knocked yourself, and it has gotten worse even as you became stronger. Do you not know how worried your own daughter had been?" He cruxed Heath in his place, shedding rage at him.
"I could imagine my own son's growing worry while I grew frail and weak, yet you did so in an impulsive choice that could have led your own creation to have no parents to call their own." Gorm looked down towards him, his fist clenched as if he wished to reach out in expression.
He did not. Now walking off through the room and stopping partway through the door. "Think when you do something like this. For the family you are making." He closed the door behind him with strength, yet not enough for a slam. The tea rippled in reaction, causing Heath to refocus on it, he moved slowly with his one remaining arm and a small help of magic to keep it stabilised in his grasp to drink it. *Sip sip sip.* Hot, and with added sugar. He nods and puts it down on the table, letting the magic go too early and spilling it slightly over the edge.
He readjusts himself to sit his head on the pillow. "I'd better make coasters in the morning." He comments before dozing off in a mennskr-like fashion. Even snoring like he once used to. There were no dreams, only silence until the light of day passed the false window.
He blearily raised his eyelids, seeing the splendid beachside view from his resplendent room, almost forgetting he was in another world and picturing himself in a 5-star hotel in the Bahamas or something of its sort. He caught on again on what his reality was and checked his previously missing limbs, seeing they had now fully formed. He breathes a sigh of relief at first, but now knows that the issue that was said last night will be fully brought down upon him. He had thought of staying in his room or teleporting to a random corner, but he shook.
Heath knew that would only make it worse. He had simply not been in a situation like this for so long that he was thinking irrationally. He walked towards the door, souls' presences behind it. Each uniquely signified to show it was the group that was there last night.
He opens the door, letting them all in. "Midday by now, I slept a while." Heath comments after scanning through the building and towards the sky, seeing the sun a bit behind its highest point. "And you grew your limbs again quickly." Egill eyes him suspiciously. *Ha-ha* "Yeah, my magic regenerated during the night, I should have about half my reserves again." Heath rubs the back of his neck in slight self-consciousness, though everyone else simply stares towards him, as if he could collapse at any moment from the previous exhaustion.
The first to react was Valyria, who quickly hugged him in silence. Heath paused, unsure of what to do at first, then simply returned it. Her towering height over him making it awkward to hug his daughter, he started trying to float upwards to give a better one. But-
*Plop* She pushed him down and leaned to make it something closer to eye-level. "I am fine, kid. I have enough magic." Heath side-eyed her while trying to fight against her gently, and the rest of the group soon walked around. They walked around and circled them, almost awed at the cute familial sight. Eirikr, ever the pragmatist, asks a question. "You said the new sigil will help all of our troubles, how so?" He made a near-imperceptible tilt of his head. Heath smirks in response and raises his hand, inserting magic to cause it to glow.
"Think of it as an extremely advanced version of the runic injectors. The more information or data it has, the more it can accurately identify flaws in previous knowledge through more efficient simulations. I am planning to insert everything I have taught from my realm."
He allowed it to scan its surroundings, all except for the group that surrounds him. "I have put stipulations upon it. It cannot scan others' souls and their unbiased memories, nor the purpose of their external actions, unless necessary, and it can only be used for pacifistic purposes. However, both can be turned off if there are dire straits involved. Just now, it scanned the structure we are in, and it has given knowledge on ways to make it more space-efficient in design." Heath stopped inserting magic, now showing that it is powering down.
"What are the straits?" Gorm asks, intrigued. "If it is to save more lives than to take them, to solve the death or disappearance of known people, if we are at war and the people we are scanning are enemy combatants, and to apply ethical dilemmas." Heath lets go of Valyria.
"I see some of you are confused by that, I mean they would give appropriate punishment, rehabilitation or justice for the respective victims, perpetrators and families. All of that in fractions of a mennskr's thought. Which would be instantaneous decisions from all your perspectives. Applying it to both magical and material systems." He smiles, content with how well it has been designed. "Could it be externally interfered with or 'hacked,' as you would say from your old programming classes we saw from the technology runic injector?"
Egill asks a pertinent question, which Heath is happy to answer. "It resets all other functions except for the basic essential processes every hour, and if there is tampering with any part of the code, it would self-destruct after notifying its user." Everyone nods in understanding.
Heath raises a hand. "The thoughts of gods may appear instant and unknowable to others. But their spells and incantations take time to hold and could be interpreted for their purpose and danger. Let us say the All-Father wishes to see into its internal machinations, it could detect those tendrils quietly and efficiently. The only way it could not work is if it was a wide-range spell that would cover all aspects of it, but most who could read it would underestimate it by following my current strength. So I believe it is unlikely." He flourishes.
"And what if you are closer to their strength? Would they not see it as more of a threat?" Egill asks, raising an eyebrow. "They would, but I would not reach out or talk to them in that state unless I feel it is inevitable." Heath shrugs, and everyone murmurs to each other.
"You have made it quite practical and. . . Safe, if a bit overcomplicated, Heath. Nicely done." Gorm nods while smiling, using his political acumen to understand all the possible effects and ramifications it could have on their day-to-day life. "Thank you, Gorm. I had to make it have layers of redundancy and fault tolerance, or otherwise I would have been anxious." Heath raises his head and asks a nearby Auto that was wandering around for cups of water for all of them. It flashes its eyes green before walking off in response with increased speed.
"And Gorm. I wish to speak with you privately." Heath looks towards the others, who look back confused. Gorm nods with a more serious expression in response and asks all of them to stay while they walk off. They go to the top of the opposite tower they stayed at.
"I have an idea to help keep the people safer." Heath states with full confidence. Gorm rotates his hand for him to continue. "I could transport this entire artificial realm to a secret location that could allow it to be undiscovered by others. In the Antarctic Circle." Gorm widens his eyes, remembering the map he saw. "At the bottom of the world? Would that not take a long time to travel? And what about the magic, could it even be maintained outside of this 'sphere of influence' you said about prior?" Gorm rapid-fired those two questions.
"It would take 4 days of travel at my maximum speed while carrying it with my magic." Heath raised his first finger, like the time previous to this. "And everyone here that is staying would help maintain it with their very thoughts for the psychosphere." Heath lowered his hand.
"That's a complicated word, sicko sfere? Is that in your form of English?" Gorm joked, hoping to lighten the situation. "And last thing." Gorm's little sentence struck him to understand what would happen. "I accept what you ask of me." Heath looks towards him in expectation.
"Good, because I say you must rest for 7 nights." Gorm's decreed punishment was met with a sudden jolt. "Oh, come on! There is so much work to do for our people!" He cried out in utter audaciousness. "Which can be done by your golems or us. The golems outnumber us now by 1000 to 1 and growing larger, learn to calm yourself." Gorm finalised. "Alright, but can I at least tell you of my other plan?" Heath crossed his arms in slight defensiveness. "You can. So go on!" Gorm says in jest while waving his hands in faux-impatience. Chortling partly.
"Like my comment of hidden realms from before, I wonder if I could shrink the cavern's actual size while keeping it the same internal dimensions by multiplying the value, with your permission and. . . After the rest." Heath moved his head back after uttering it.
"That could work, its current size could make it easier for others to notice us if they are 'vættir (Magic beings).' I approve. Make sure this does not interfere with any portal connections." Gorm looks to the portal by the tower's edge. Then starts walking off. "And do not skive, there will be eyes on you at all times." Gorm raises his hand and connects the thumb and forefinger (like the modern OK signal) as a peace and exit sign, leaving Heath on his own in the room. Then a golem came in and stood next to him. He looked at its torso.
"Huh, you are 999,328. They do outnumber us 1000 : 1." The Auto gives a green shine from his eyes as agreement. "So, with you watching me, I suggest you keep close by, fine for me to ask you tasks like a butler?" The Auto responds with another green light.
"I will follow you to the kitchen, I feel hungry. Could you make me a salad?" They walk off, leaving the room through the portal. The scene now refocuses on Sigrid and Leif, who are currently resting on their bed after a 'session.' Leif strokes her hair softly with his large and calloused fingers. Sigrid kept a hand on his chest to feel his strong heartbeat underneath the covers. "This has been the strangest few days of my life." Leif mildly says while staring around at the exquisite furniture. "Now living like emperors under a 'Mennskrðrútan.'"
(Skip this part until you see the D:<)
Leif looks down towards his beloved. "Could you have ever imagined something like this?" Sigrid responds with a shake of her head, eyes shut in great comfort. "I wish to try to 'shower' from what Heath had explained to me, how about we bathe together?"
Sigrid opened her pale blue eyes and looked towards him flirtatiously, now pressing her ear closer towards his lower abdomen and towards his finely-cut abs. Her cascading garnet hair gave her a seductive appearance in contrast to her clear, pale skin with few freckles on her cheeks. She nods in acceptance, her cheek rubbing his obliques before they get up together naked, Leif walked in first, watching her pose for him, she walks in and they turn on the shower through the knob, giving a surprising jolt of water that was stronger than expected.
Sigrid looks at the bottle of material that Heath called 'Shampoo.' Soon she put some onto her hand, seeing the sticky, greenish, clear liquid run down her slender fingers. She follows the instructions and runs it across her locks while teasing her voluptuous body to Leif.
"Turn around." Leif gave as an endearing command, with infatuated passion in his voice. She obliges. Showing her well-toned back with small scars throughout from the many battles she has been through. He rubs in the shampoo, now making the hair give a smooth, almost glowing appearance. He moved his hands down, reaching the end of her long curls before shifting onto her developed hips and gripping her iliacus in eagerness. He moves his long, bearded chin in front of her left shoulder, now leaning in to kiss her on her neck.
Their perspective was visible through the glass cover of the yacuzzi-shower combo, with Leif's incredibly large and domineering size eclipsing over Sigrid's own, his brown eagle eyes stared into hers with a look of intensity that matched when they first met.
He started nibbling her chin with his teeth in soft rythms, causing her to squirm with sensitivity, he moved up and sensually kissed her lower lip, where in response, she goes and moves her head up towards his and rotating her head to give her tongue for him. They are now submitting to each other, Sigrid's hand now lurches down and towards his iliac crest while gliding his every surface, now resting just above his now throbbing member. Heath raised one hand from her hip and cupped her vulnerable bosom.
*Angh~. . .* Sigrid moans from his wandering hand, moving back in response, now stroking his nape with her nails against skin, a cold yet exciting sensation. They grind against each other, a sound of flesh and ecstasy, ramping up in intensity until they became ravenous.
His other hand moved down and continuously flicked her bud, switching between speeds and reaching towards a constant that heightened her effect, now fully rosy in response. Their very moans went through their two-story room, its wall's insulation keeping the sound in for none to hear outside, their Auto that was designated as their own servant keeping watch outside in the hallway in case there are any who wish to see them. They knew they were alone, and they acted like it.
Noises one would not expect came from both of them, sounding like the cries and wails of monstrous myths. She started scratching his back and shoulder from the writhing, causing his greater erection. With the grinding, caressing and flicking. She reacted.
*Haaꜷuu. . .* She became fully lubricated by now with her own juices, going down her well-developed, tensed legs. He moved down and rubbed her inner thigh, feeling her pubic hair that made her react with a *Hmn~. . .* From her follicles. Leif grabbed her inner legs and splayed her to give greater access, showing her womanhood in response. "You are perfect in every way, Sigrid. . ." A compliment that he says that adds an extra layer of sexual tension. He grabs his member and uses the tip on the surface of her vulva. Up and down.
Just as a pendulum sets a pace, he does so as well, kneading her breast and kissing her, Sigrid became eager, even sucking upon his lips as if it had the sweetest nectar, until he finally put it in. A gyration began, causing the noise of smacking muscle to sound around.
They tried to dominate one over the other, effort showing with her moving her ass back and forth, while he thrust his hips in a motion all too familiar to them. "I love you, Sigrid. . ." He groaned in her ear, enticing her further. "Pull my hair~! . ." He does so, now having a soft grip against it, pulling her head back and now her hands were free to hold against the shower wall. *Ah, ah, ah, ah ah.* *Unf~. . .* Their breaths mingled, and just like the shower's process, it fogs up the glass quicker from the buildup of steam.
Leif opened his hand and wrapped it around the back of her neck, his meaty touch now wrapped around the side nerves, a response he knows would be encouraged, they went at it for a while until he grabbed her thigh and lifted her with one hand.
He started ploughing her, doing all of the work in reaction. Sigrid tried to dig her fingers through the wall, stimulated enough that she came once. But they wanted more. *Hu, hu, hu hu~!* She breathed louder, until she turned around 180 degrees from her hands and her pivot point being his leg, she raised the leg he held up further, putting it over his shoulder and them staring eye to eye now. He suffocated her just as she suffocated him in each other's embrace, reaching a climax at the same time as the deep kiss.
But they did not stop, Leif braced himself against by moving backwards into the glass, stanced his legs forward and lifted her up, now in the Y position. He shafted her by raising and lowering her onto his hard manhood. She went down and dug her nails in further.
Both of their mouths wide open, just in a motion that involved no thoughts, only feelings. It was timeless, eternal for them. Just them alone in a building that made them feel safe. They cried out now, both cumming at the same time. **AHHHNNN!~** They slowed down, having been doing this session for over 30 minutes now. He slowly put her down and they turned off the shower, they sat themselves back down on a clean couch outside the bathroom and continued kissing each other. Both of their light complexions red, steam coming off them.
The Auto came in and put clothing on the other side of the door, which they heard. Then they heard a little *zip* of magic that was the sound of it cleaning their bed. "The wonders of magic." Leif says, gratified, "Yes." She rested her hand on the opposite shoulder.
(I am moving on from this. D:<) We instead move on to Gorm, who is currently training his techniques after being bedridden for so long. He is regaining it in an extremely rapid pace after being a great warrior for decades. His skill and veracity show his developed propensity for bold, finishing moves against the Auto training dummy. No attacks damage its exterior due to its Runic connections, so he gets to use it to reach weak spots as he wishes. He uses many techniques that are ahead of his time, in thanks to being shown by Heath.
He is following Fiore dei Liberis' more defensive swordsmanship, while working on Meisterhau, Stellungen, Mordschlag, Langesschwert, Harnischfechten and even some shielding techniques with Stechschild. Once mastered, he will move on to Lichtenauer's KDF.
These Fechtbücher (HEMA techniques) were invaluable to Gorm, allowing him to expand his repertoire of longsword and shield techniques to new heights. Overhand, underhand, redirections, force disablement and parries were continuous with the unarmed golem, who would not wield a weapon due to its incredible strength over a still de-ageing senior. Even so, with how fluid his movement for lethal strikes were, you would expect him to already be in his prime. He was proud of himself, and for good reason.
Because he will be ready for the battle against the leftover Dökkálfar. For the safety of his people. "I may need a sparring partner of my height." Gorm murmurs to himself. He looks around the area, drinks some water from the table, and then goes through the portal.
"Eirikr." Gorm gets his attention by the centre of the people's collection in the hallway. "We will need to spar." He orders. "Yes, Clan Head." Agreeing, they go together, to be prepared.