The two came to a halt outside a small, unassuming building that was just outside the walls. It was a one-story house, with a large fenced-in yard behind it. They had passed through the gate opposite the one Saga and Olaf had originally arrived in town through and Saga could see a few farms in the distance, dotted across a mostly flat landscape that seemed to have been carved out of a massive swath of forest that otherwise ringed the outer perimeter of the fields. In some ways, it reminded them of home. But the massive oxen-like creatures standing out in the cold like it wasn't remotely a problem quickly reminded Saga that they were somewhere else entirely.
Olaf walked up to the small cottage and rapped his knuckles across the wooden door. There was some scrambling about and swearing, then the door swung inwards. In the doorframe stood a woman who might be twice Saga's age but who had aged so gracefully she might as well had told father time to take a hike. Her purple hair had started to turn a little gray but that was as far as the clear signs of aging went. She had eyes as purple as her hair, glowing with an inner light. She was built like an athlete, not in her 60s but in her 40s, and Saga figures she could have been a world-class fitness model in their world.
“Olaf.” Her voice was clipped and terse. “Why is your ugly mug disturbing my sleep”
“Hello, Olga. I would like my friend here to spar with your niece.”
“You're gonna feed that miserable thing to Sasha?”
“Yes,” Olaf said, entirely ignoring the way Olga asked the question. Saga, on the other hand, had no qualms speaking up about it.
“The miserable thing can hear you.” Saga interjected, which made Olga's lip twitch into a smile Saga wasn’t sure they liked the look.
“Sasha is outback. You can go around the house to not track mud inside my cottage. The fence has a small gate you can use." Olga said, throwing Saga a glance that made Saga feel as if they had just been chosen as a sacrifice to some dark god.
“Thank you, Olga.”
“Don't thank me. Thank Sasha if your friend there is allowed to walk away with both knees intact.” The woman called Olga said with a sigh then closed the door in Olaf's face. Olaf gave a terrified Saga a clap on the shoulder as the two walked around the house. Saga was hoping that Sasha wasn't as bad as their aunt had claimed. As they came upon the woman, all those thoughts stopped, however.
The woman known as Sasha was about Sagas age from the looks of it. She had the same purple hair as her aunt but her eyes didn’t glow with some unknown power. Instead, her arms did as they were lit up with runic tattoos. Sasha wore only a snug tunic and simple, sturdy pants as she went through motions with two axes, working through quick, brutal chops against an unseen opponent. She was moving like every step had to be perfect, with little to no wasted movement. Saga cleared her throat before Olaf could make introductions, making Sasha stop the mid-swing and look over. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Olaf and then stuck to Sagas. For a moment, the two were just staring.
“You are marked,” Sasha spoke. Her voice was melodic and soft. It reminded Saga of a younger Vetra.
Without thinking Saga answered. “So are you.” They didn’t know how they knew this. But they felt a kinship with this person they never met before.
“14 years ago, the Goddess of Death stayed her hand in taking my soul. To allow a high-level healer to cure the fever that took my family.” She said as she kept Saga in that stare.
“I got killed and then resurrected in another world.” Saga answered, refusing to look away. Olaf looked from one warrior to another then took a step back with a grin on his face. He went over to pick up a training spear and shield, giving them to Saga. Saga took them without a word, instead, they took up a position with their shield raised and angled. A smile played across their lips for the first day all day. Sasha spread her footing wide, axes raised slightly in front of her.
“Berserker,” She said as the two took the measure of each other.
“Yepp. And I really wanna fight you for some reason.” Saga said.
“I want to kill you,” Sasha answered with a wild, feral grin of her own.
“Ah. Youth.” Said Olga as she came around the bend. Vetra was following behind, a resigned look on her face. “She is a wild one.”
“Sasha hasn’t changed I see.” Olaf shot back while watching the two. Sagas's movements were clumsy and full of openings that Sasha should have exploited better. But for all her honed combat skills, Sasha had a very narrow focus in combat. This was a good lesson for both.
“She has. But when you put such a morsel in front of her. Who can blame her for falling back into old habits?” Olga laughed.
As two seasoned warriors spoke casually, Saga and Sasha began their dance. Sasha surged forward, leaping into a strike and hitting the shield of Saga hard. But compared to Olaf's big strikes before, it was nothing. Instead, Saga moved and angled for an attack. In an instant, it was as if everything came together. The last few hours of training. The vague memories of the brawl. The Desperate fight against the bear. Even though Sasha had them outmatched, they put pieces together as they fought. They couldn’t beat Sasha, but they felt the challenge sharpen their movements. They could feel the shield becoming an extension of themselves, much like the spear was.
{You have acquired proficiency in shields [Novice]] }
Every so often, Sasha would feign an attack, then hook the shield with one of her axes to try and get at Saga's head or shoulder. Saga would dance to the side that hooked their shield and try a counter of their own when this happened. But their opponent had the edge in every way and would easily hook the spear with her other ax and redirect it. Again and again, Sasha pushed the attack, keeping Saga on the back foot. But as for every minute saga survived, the closer they got to a threshold. As they pushed 10 minutes Saga felt a surge of strength.
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{Born for Battle has activated. You have gained a boost to brawn and spirit}
Saga surged to meet a strike, much like they had done when Olaf wielded the big training sword. Sasha stepped back but caught her foot on a stone. Saga pushed and punched the training spear into the other shoulder. Instead of faltering, Sasha snarled and hopped back, shifted stances immediately upon landing, and shot forward. She went low, betting that Saga could not defend their ankles in time. The ax lashed out painfully against Saga's ankle and they almost crumpled.
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{You have taken critical damage, Rage activated}
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With a roar of frustration Saga stabbed down against their nimble attacker who easily rolled out of the way and got up on their feet with ease. Sash went on the attack again as she made an overhead swing that bounced off Saga's shield with a mighty, booming noise. Saga went down to one knee, their hurt ankle unable to hold them up as more blows came down. Sasha's arms glowed with magic runes as she hammered Saga to the ground. As the shield began to splinter, Olaf was about to step in when Olga stopped him.
“Watch your pupil's eyes.” She said and Olaf did. Saga was gritting their teeth and wincing with each blow. But those eyes were unbowed, entirely focused on Sasha. Taking in the timing of the strikes. Then as the shield was about to splinter, Saga punched through their shield and grabbed one of its wrists of Sasha before head butting the other warrior with a sickening thud. Sasha reeled back, clutching her nose and snarling, having dropped one ax in shock. As the berserker that was Saga surged in to try and score a killing blow so did Sasha as she recovered from the shock of the head butt. Sasha twisted away at the last moment, the lower half of her face a bloody mask split by a wide smile.
“Stop” Olga spoke and snapped her fingers, and the two warriors were suddenly thrown away from each other as bubbles of air burst between them with tremendous pressure. The two warriors lay on their backs. Saga was sure she would have been killed had Olga not stepped in. And yet all they could think was that it was exhilarating. Sasha meanwhile had a big grin on her face despite her smashed nose.
“I like them,” Olga said.
“I knew you would.” Olaf grinned.
"If you two are done patting yourselves on the back over the fact that you are caring for a pair of rabid animals, can we get them inside so I can heal them?" Vetra asked with an impatient sigh.
A little while later, The five of them sat around a table as Olga and Olaf gave their two charges a critical look over.
“You are sharp Sasha. But you do not stop to consider your angles of attack enough. Your strike at their ankle was a good one. But you had at least five such openings before. And when you get cocky and rely on your magically enforced brute strength, you become dumb as an ox” Olga said as Sasha looked into her bowl of soup. The high of the battle was gone, both warriors were now trying their best to not flinch.
“You did well for facing such a superior opponent,” Olaf said as he addressed the likewise chastised Saga who had come out of the Rage with pain all over and a broken ankle. Vetra had healed it up, but it would be sore for another day or so.
“But you let her hammer your shield dead on. You didn’t even try to deflect. Choosing to sacrifice your shield is not something you usually get away with. And your footwork is atrocious. Do you understand why you have to train so hard now Saga? Most people have years of training on you.”
“Yes. I understand” Saga mumbled into the soup.
“Which is why I suggest that Sasha shall travel with you lot to help train you,” Olga spoke with a smile. This made both warriors lookup.
“What? But Auntie”
“But nothing. I told your mother I’d train you if something ever happened to you. I did. You are more than ready to go out there. It is 'sink or swim time. ” Olga said, holding up a finger and then pointing at Saga. "They came here with nothing, and they are already meeting the world, weapon in hand."
“You both are marked by the Goddess of Death. This is fate at play. We do not challenge the Norns, do we child?”
“We do not. And please stop calling me a child. I am almost 30.”
“Oh. Don't worry. Old folks never stop calling people children, it's to keep themselves from feeling old. Take it for someone close to 30 themselves.” Saga said which made Olga furrow her brows in annoyance.
As Vetra, Saga, and Olaf left the small cottage while Olga and Sasha discussed Sasha's departure further, Saga looked to Vetra.
“Those two. What are they?” Saga asked, thinking about the purple hair and eyes. They were the first people they saw with such outlandish hair color. They could tell it wasn't anything like hair dye. No hair dye could hope to achieve that good a luster and natural shine.
“Oh? You mean the fey-touched?”
“Fey touched?” Saga perked up at the mention of Fey. “Aren't the various Elves a form of Fey?”
“Elves are distant relatives with Fey at best. Magical entities such as fairies and spriggans are a lesser form of Fey. But the Fey we are talking about is akin to demons in that they aren't from this world at all. They live within their very own personal realms and only visit occasionally through deals with powerful magical entities and spellcasters.”
“And someone in the past summoned a fey and what banged it?” Saga asked. Their questions made Olaf choke on his spit as he started to cough.
“Gods no! I am pretty sure that would kill you” Vetra said with barely contained disbelief at Saga's question. Saga looked extremely confused as to their reaction. It didn't seem that farfetched to them.
“No, the Fey are wildly powerful, and their very presence in our world would cause its surroundings to warp to better suit it. Fey touched are simply the descendants of those that have been changed by the Fey overstaying their welcome” Vetra said, trying to explain to Saga that one did, in fact not bang a powerful interdimensional being willy-nilly. Saga didn't entirely buy it. They had seen what people were into back home. There was always someone willing to make the sacrifice in the name of science.
Sasha and Olga stood out in the backyard of their little home. Sasha rolled her shoulder as she poked at where the spear hit her. Had it been a real battle, she's been badly wounded. She wondered just how much brawn Saga had. That was a brutal amount of punishment to withstand at only level 2.
“So,” Olga said. “What do you think.”
“It's a shame they are starting so late in life. I can’t imagine how someone like that has gone unnoticed. Even if it's a world without magic they come from." Sasha said. "But as they are a berserker. I fear for their future."
“Aye. Berserkers are rare at high levels because they tend to die early on. It is in the very nature of their path to be reckless and wade into the worst places with blind fury.”
“They will survive If they are allowed to train.”
“So you’ll travel with them then?"
“You are right Auntie. I need to see the world, see if I can survive out there. You taught me well but I can't level without real challenges. I've been stuck at level 5 for a reason.”
“Of course I am right. I know you as well as I did your mother. Oh and one more thing.” Olga said with a grin.
“Yes?” Sasha tilted her head.
“Your likely gonna have to make the first move you know”
“I have no idea whatsoever what you are talking about, old woman.”
For all her reflexes, Sasha did not see the punch her aunt threw.