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1482 / 6500
1482 / 6500
A cool breeze blew across Anastasia's face as it stirred her awake, causing her to slowly open her eyes to see a clear blue sky above her. The breeze carried with it a sweet and succulent smell, arousing Anastasia fully awake. She sat up for a moment to feel the swift breeze blow through her long, unbound hair kicking around her long golden blonde hair with the golden wheat. Standing up, Anastasia found herself in an exotic land filled with wheat dancing in the wind. Another stiff breeze blew her hair around, forcing Anastasia to hold her hair still so that it wouldn't cover her eyes. "Where am I? Elysium?" Ana asked herself, seeing gold as far as the eye can see.
Looking around, she noticed a massive building, a mead hall, standing proudly as the prominent structure in the area. "No. Is this Valhalla?" Anastasia asked as she slowly began to approach the building, leaving a line in her wake as she stepped over wheat to make her way towards the mead hall. "What am I doing in Valhalla?" she asked herself as slow, calculated steps were made in the direction of the drinking hall. Valhalla was the place she sent the warriors she had defeated in battle. These warriors, in Anastasia's opinion, had to atone for their sins. Instead of sending them straight to hell, she offered them salvation in the form of servitude.
Anastasia continued to walk towards the Mead Hall, only for the skies to darken from puffy gray clouds overhead. The clouds all had a white, glistening lining around it before soft and gentle snow began to pour down to the ground. The darkened skies made the torchlit building illuminate, cutting through the quickly paced darkness. Strange how the day and night cycles worked here in this fabled place called Valhalla. A snap of cold gripped upon Anastasia as she continued to walk towards the Mead Hall, now leaving a travel of footprints behind as well as patted wheat.
Upon approaching the door, Anastasia could smell meat being cooked, the smell of alcohol (among other things) and she hears the sound of merriment and the occasional fist landing into a face or a mug slamming against the wooden tabletops. This was like Anastasia walking straight into the wolves' den; having put a lot of people here. She didn't know how these people would react. She reached for the knob only to pull her hand back. Thoughts flew through her head about how the people would react. The fact that Anastasia took their lives too early would be reason enough to kill Anastasia on sight. Strangely though, this was already the land of the dead. If Anastasia died here, what then?
Another thought crossed her mind as the fact that she gave them a warrior's death and the ability to live a merry second-life as well as attempt redemption would make them not hate her as much. Conflicting feelings start to run through her mind as she placed her hand upon the knob. As she did this, she was jolted forward from the door swinging open rapidly; falling upon her face inside of the Mead Hall.
The merriment and music stopped for a moment as everyone inside saw what happened. "Get her up and give her a drink!" shouted the Gemstone Hunter that she had given a chance at redemption. One of the men within the Mead Hall helped Anastasia up to her feet and a look of astonishment crossed her face, seeing those that she sent here seemed to be merry. The Gemstone Hunter, the Demonic Swordsman, and even the Golden Sword of the Masked Guild (who didn't have their armor on) seemed to be in high spirits and in a jovial mood.
The man that helped her up hefted her over his shoulder and placed her at one of the tables with the three aformentioned men sitting at the table. A drink was placed in front of her afterward. "Welcome, Valkyrie," the long, silver-haired man said as he raised a glass to Anastasia. "Here here!" the Gemstone Hunter said as he raised his glass. "The Valkyrie hath cometh!" causing everyone in attendance to raise their glass and take a large swig of their drinks. Sweet honey-brewed mead, cool to the tongue and ambrosia-like in taste. Anastasia took the mug and downed the drink in a single gulp before slamming the container onto the table and let out a huge belch.
Fanfare could be heard after Anastasia's work and the men returned to their jolliness. The door was finally closed, leaving only the warm air produced by the large fire pit in the middle of the Mead Hall to make everything comfortable.
"Why are you all so accepting of me? It was because of me that," Anastasia said before the Golden Sword chimed in.
"None of that, Lady Valkyrie. It is because of you that we get to live again with great people and redeem ourselves. Not only that, but we have the ability to fight more. To be honest, i wouldn't mind spending an eternity here," the man said as he nodded towards Anastasia. The other two nodded their head in response; they both agree with the Golden Sword's sentiments.
The feeling of relief washed over Anastasia as her posture took to a lazy one. "However," the Golden Sword said. "There has been a problem with Valhalla. That's the reason you are here. The influx of Einherjar arriving has started to dwindle. Normally we'd have a steady flow of people entering and leaving Valhalla. But as you can see, the numbers are quite diminished," the man said as he turned his head towards the Mead Hall. The hall wasn't completely packed like it normally was. No, there were about a handful of people within the hall. Only 50-ish strong men and women resided in a hall that normally contains several hundreds.
"Normally we'd have a few hundred people here in Valhalla. Now we don't have nearly as many. So what we are thinking is that there could be two reasons:
1) There aren't any worthy fighters in the world to bring back to Valhalla
2) " the man said before he was interrupted by Anastasia. "The Valkyrie aren't doing their jobs," she said.
"Perceptive, Madam Valkyrie. We suspect that there is a Valkyrie that may have gone rogue. However, that's just a postulation that we came up with," the Golden Sword stated. The other two shrugged, not knowing what 'postulation' meant, but went along with what the Golden Sword said.
"Since we don't know for sure, you're going to have to find your way to Fólkvangr and speak to the goddess Freyja. She should be able to give you the answer," the Golden Sword said before taking another drink. Due to the lack of Valkyrie serving drinks to the warriors, they are to serve themselves.
"Freyja, huh? I never thought I'd ever meet with her," Anastasia said as she looked down into her empty cup, which was promptly replaced by one of the other warriors there. Now staring into a full cup of mead, Anastasia took a big swig from the cup, draining about half of it into her stomach. "You don't normally see this in the land on the living. Normally, I don't even have access to this place. How do you think I was even sent here?"
The Demon Sword shrugged his shoulders. "That is a question that you need to ask the goddess. You should go soon, time wanes," the man said before draining the rest of his glass. Anastasia nodded her head and stood up, feeling a bit light-headed from the sudden standing and the alcohol mixing together. A hand moved up to her face and she shook her head. "So, I need to find my way to Fólkvangr, hm? I see," she said before turning her eyes towards the three men that made contracts with her. "Well, the three of you stay safe. I won't be able to call for you here, so keep doing what you're doing," she said as she started to walk out, only for a hand to reach out and grab hers.
The hand was cold, drawing her attention back. The hand that grabbed hers belonged to the Demon Sword. "Be careful. I feel dark forces at work," he said to Anastasia, letting her hand go as she nodded and left Valhalla. Standing outside, everything was covered in white causing her to hug herself for warmth. As she stood outside, the door opened up once again and the Gemstone Hunter handed Anastasia a big and fuzzy coat to use. Putting the coat on instantly made the cold less miserable. With that, the door to Valhalla closed, leaving Anastasia out in the blizzard-like conditions by herself.
"Now, to find an entrance to the underworld," Anastasia said to herself.
Looking around, she noticed a massive building, a mead hall, standing proudly as the prominent structure in the area. "No. Is this Valhalla?" Anastasia asked as she slowly began to approach the building, leaving a line in her wake as she stepped over wheat to make her way towards the mead hall. "What am I doing in Valhalla?" she asked herself as slow, calculated steps were made in the direction of the drinking hall. Valhalla was the place she sent the warriors she had defeated in battle. These warriors, in Anastasia's opinion, had to atone for their sins. Instead of sending them straight to hell, she offered them salvation in the form of servitude.
Anastasia continued to walk towards the Mead Hall, only for the skies to darken from puffy gray clouds overhead. The clouds all had a white, glistening lining around it before soft and gentle snow began to pour down to the ground. The darkened skies made the torchlit building illuminate, cutting through the quickly paced darkness. Strange how the day and night cycles worked here in this fabled place called Valhalla. A snap of cold gripped upon Anastasia as she continued to walk towards the Mead Hall, now leaving a travel of footprints behind as well as patted wheat.
Upon approaching the door, Anastasia could smell meat being cooked, the smell of alcohol (among other things) and she hears the sound of merriment and the occasional fist landing into a face or a mug slamming against the wooden tabletops. This was like Anastasia walking straight into the wolves' den; having put a lot of people here. She didn't know how these people would react. She reached for the knob only to pull her hand back. Thoughts flew through her head about how the people would react. The fact that Anastasia took their lives too early would be reason enough to kill Anastasia on sight. Strangely though, this was already the land of the dead. If Anastasia died here, what then?
Another thought crossed her mind as the fact that she gave them a warrior's death and the ability to live a merry second-life as well as attempt redemption would make them not hate her as much. Conflicting feelings start to run through her mind as she placed her hand upon the knob. As she did this, she was jolted forward from the door swinging open rapidly; falling upon her face inside of the Mead Hall.
The merriment and music stopped for a moment as everyone inside saw what happened. "Get her up and give her a drink!" shouted the Gemstone Hunter that she had given a chance at redemption. One of the men within the Mead Hall helped Anastasia up to her feet and a look of astonishment crossed her face, seeing those that she sent here seemed to be merry. The Gemstone Hunter, the Demonic Swordsman, and even the Golden Sword of the Masked Guild (who didn't have their armor on) seemed to be in high spirits and in a jovial mood.
The man that helped her up hefted her over his shoulder and placed her at one of the tables with the three aformentioned men sitting at the table. A drink was placed in front of her afterward. "Welcome, Valkyrie," the long, silver-haired man said as he raised a glass to Anastasia. "Here here!" the Gemstone Hunter said as he raised his glass. "The Valkyrie hath cometh!" causing everyone in attendance to raise their glass and take a large swig of their drinks. Sweet honey-brewed mead, cool to the tongue and ambrosia-like in taste. Anastasia took the mug and downed the drink in a single gulp before slamming the container onto the table and let out a huge belch.
Fanfare could be heard after Anastasia's work and the men returned to their jolliness. The door was finally closed, leaving only the warm air produced by the large fire pit in the middle of the Mead Hall to make everything comfortable.
"Why are you all so accepting of me? It was because of me that," Anastasia said before the Golden Sword chimed in.
"None of that, Lady Valkyrie. It is because of you that we get to live again with great people and redeem ourselves. Not only that, but we have the ability to fight more. To be honest, i wouldn't mind spending an eternity here," the man said as he nodded towards Anastasia. The other two nodded their head in response; they both agree with the Golden Sword's sentiments.
The feeling of relief washed over Anastasia as her posture took to a lazy one. "However," the Golden Sword said. "There has been a problem with Valhalla. That's the reason you are here. The influx of Einherjar arriving has started to dwindle. Normally we'd have a steady flow of people entering and leaving Valhalla. But as you can see, the numbers are quite diminished," the man said as he turned his head towards the Mead Hall. The hall wasn't completely packed like it normally was. No, there were about a handful of people within the hall. Only 50-ish strong men and women resided in a hall that normally contains several hundreds.
"Normally we'd have a few hundred people here in Valhalla. Now we don't have nearly as many. So what we are thinking is that there could be two reasons:
1) There aren't any worthy fighters in the world to bring back to Valhalla
2) " the man said before he was interrupted by Anastasia. "The Valkyrie aren't doing their jobs," she said.
"Perceptive, Madam Valkyrie. We suspect that there is a Valkyrie that may have gone rogue. However, that's just a postulation that we came up with," the Golden Sword stated. The other two shrugged, not knowing what 'postulation' meant, but went along with what the Golden Sword said.
"Since we don't know for sure, you're going to have to find your way to Fólkvangr and speak to the goddess Freyja. She should be able to give you the answer," the Golden Sword said before taking another drink. Due to the lack of Valkyrie serving drinks to the warriors, they are to serve themselves.
"Freyja, huh? I never thought I'd ever meet with her," Anastasia said as she looked down into her empty cup, which was promptly replaced by one of the other warriors there. Now staring into a full cup of mead, Anastasia took a big swig from the cup, draining about half of it into her stomach. "You don't normally see this in the land on the living. Normally, I don't even have access to this place. How do you think I was even sent here?"
The Demon Sword shrugged his shoulders. "That is a question that you need to ask the goddess. You should go soon, time wanes," the man said before draining the rest of his glass. Anastasia nodded her head and stood up, feeling a bit light-headed from the sudden standing and the alcohol mixing together. A hand moved up to her face and she shook her head. "So, I need to find my way to Fólkvangr, hm? I see," she said before turning her eyes towards the three men that made contracts with her. "Well, the three of you stay safe. I won't be able to call for you here, so keep doing what you're doing," she said as she started to walk out, only for a hand to reach out and grab hers.
The hand was cold, drawing her attention back. The hand that grabbed hers belonged to the Demon Sword. "Be careful. I feel dark forces at work," he said to Anastasia, letting her hand go as she nodded and left Valhalla. Standing outside, everything was covered in white causing her to hug herself for warmth. As she stood outside, the door opened up once again and the Gemstone Hunter handed Anastasia a big and fuzzy coat to use. Putting the coat on instantly made the cold less miserable. With that, the door to Valhalla closed, leaving Anastasia out in the blizzard-like conditions by herself.
"Now, to find an entrance to the underworld," Anastasia said to herself.
Notes
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"So, this is Valkyrie Ana, hm?" a small voice came to be heard as Anastasia slowly stirred to awakening. Anastasia's eyes slowly opened and closed as she started to return to consciousness. As Ana struggled to remain awake, she was jolted back to consciousness when doused with extremely cold water. She quickly shot awake and looked to the culprit behind the cold water, seeing a small girl in black attire holding a bucket with an even look upon her face. "Good, you're awake," the girl said as she turned around to put the bucket on the floor before scooting it under the bed with her feet. 
Heavy footsteps could be heard behind her, stopping a small distance away from her. The man sounded heavily armored. Turning her eyes to try to see the person approaching from her peripherals failed, causing her to completely turn around and see a middle-aged man dressed in beautifully crafted armor take a knee right before her. A blush came over Anastasia's face as the man did this. .png/revision/latest?cb=20131124232614)
Anastasia awakened in yet another bed, finding herself being watched over by the bed that she laid in. A couple could be seen gathering around her as her eyes started to open. The smell of freshly made bread wafted into her nose before her eyes could see the couple with a look of joy and relief that Anastasia had awakened. The pain of the wolf attacks in Valhalla returned. Her arm was bandaged where the wound was. The pain struck her sharply, causing her to wince in agony. The woman, a beautiful brunette with a bonnet and pigtails placed a hand upon Anastasia's shoulders for a moment only for the two to be stricken with a vision; as if seeing into one another's hearts.
Anastasia's left eye changed colors, staring directly into Primrose's eyes. "You will return to your duties as a Valkyrie," she said. The command left her lips and imprinted itself into Primrose's mind. Before Primrose's lance approached Anastasia, Primrose dropped the weapon and slouched a bit. "You will be given permission to return to your husband, but your primary function is to return to your duties as Valkyrie. You will not complain and you will not protest," Anastasia said as the single red eye, the Eye of Odin, vanished into thin air. 
"Oh! Before you go, I have a gift for you," Freyja said before Anastasia felt a burning sensation upon her navel. This caused her to lift her shirt to notice a new emblem etched into her body. This caused physical pain upon her body. A circular emblem with a tree was carved into her flesh. "Congratulations, Valkyrie Anastasia. You are now a full-fledged Valkyrie now. Now go forth and gather more fine specimens for the coming Ragnarok."
