Five years later
Lilac had become one of the main diplomats for Alfheim thanks to her contributions to and major role in the alliance both leading to and during the conflict with The King in Yellow. She had been invited by Nyarlathotep to meet at a small town bar in Midgard. This wasn't just any small town bar, it existed in the locational equivalent to the town Lilac had grown up in. Lilac had been curious as to what the area looked like and managed to free up some time for the meeting. Transportation arrangements were made and Lilac was taxied and escorted into the small bar. Once there she was led to a table where a human looking woman sat. She was wearing a red business suit and had a pin on her collar of the comedy and tragedy masks. Though her form was different, Lilac recognized the figure as Nyarlathotep. “Glad you could meet me here on such short notice, Lilac.”
“Think nothing of it Nyarls, we're friends after all. Sure, more work colleges than actual friends, but still. I'm more than happy to free up some time for someone who caught alongside me during the Yellow Battle. How've you been?”
“Been well. Spending a lot of time on Midgard lately, getting immersed in the world of theater and Hollywood. I've actually done quite well for myself here. Makes it hard to get home sometimes. How about you?”
“I've been regularly sick for a while now but nothing seems to be actually wrong with me. So I've been powering through it and just doing my best. So any reason you've chosen this venue besides the novelty of its relative location?”
“Just give it a minute, the show's about to start.”
The lights dim and a piano can be heard playya version of the intro to “Creep” by “Radiohead”. The curtains open to reveal the man playing the piano. He's a tall, svelte fellow, at least for a human. His hair and humble gotie is short and jet black. His eyes are a strikingly dark brown. Although he is human, he seems to project a sort of presence as soon as he starts singing in a deep and somber voice. “When you were here before, couldn't look you in the eye. You're just like an angel, your skin makes me cry. You float like a feather, in a beautiful world. I wish I was special. You're so fuckin’ special.
But I'm a creep. I'm a weirdo~ What the hell.i doing here? I don't belong here.”
Lilac's brows furrow. “I… I know this song. How could I know this song?”
Nyarlathotep chuckles softly. “Just give it a bit.”
The man keeps singing, unaware of the audience. “I don't care if it hurts. I wanna have control. I want a perfect body~ I want a perfect soul~ I want you to notice, when I'm not around. So fuckin’ special. I wish I was special~
But I'm a creep. I'm a weirdo~ What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here.”
Lilac's eyes widen before she grips her head and grunts with pain. “Ugh.” After a bit she looks up again. “Hunter?” She then gets an excited look on her face and stands ready to shout “Hunter” out loud but Nyarlathotep stops her from doing so with a firm hand on the shoulder and a head shake.
“The Hunter you knew and loved died on that battlefield and you know it. Though this man shares a name and a face it's not the same. I don't think he'll ever remember what he sacrificed. After all, that would undo the consequences of his sacrifice and roo it of its meaning. That's just bad storytelling.”
Lilac sits back down. “Then what's the point of this? Why bring me here to see him and help me remember if I can't be with him? If we can't be together then what's the point? It's not fair. We deserve to be happy.”
“To try and pursue a romantic relationship with that man also wouldn't be fair. Both to the Hunter that was and the Hunter that is. You'd be chasing a stranger and choosing to be with him simply because he reminds you of someone you lost. I helped you remember because the story needs to be told. Besides, your kid deserves to know the true history of their origin. It would also be hard to explain the kid if Hunter never remember.”
Lilac furrows her brows. “What? But that can't be. Hunter an I were last together five years ago and I haven't-”
“The morning sickness, the cravings. You've had all the symptoms. If you adjust for the timescale of a Jotun or Aesir, five years would put you at the butt end of the first trimester.”
Lilac puts her hand over her mouth and her body sinks a bit as the information sinks in. “He'll never meet his child, and the child will never know his father.” Lilac then knits her eyebrows as she seems to have another revelation. “Hunter knew.”
“What? What do you mean Hunter new?”
“I'm not sure how, but Hunter knew I was pregnant when we did the final battle. His last words, the message he gave me. It was for our child. A child he knew he'd never see.”
“That's…. Something. So, my sexy single mom friend, you got any names?”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Lilac thought about it for a bit. “[Crown of Laurels] or Laurel in English if it's a girl. [Crown of Thorns] or Thorn or maybe even Bramble for a boy. I know they are more like Wood Elf names then traditional Twilight Elf names but the child won't exactly be a traditional Twilight Elf anyway. A sort of way of honoring the legacy of the father even if I can't honor his wishes. I have no clue what kind of name he would have liked. What about him?” Lilac looks at Hunter, still singing at the piano.
“What about him? Oh. Oh! Yeah, I've got connections in the business and he's got a really nice voice. I'll see if I can help him find new happiness. Can't restore the one he sacrificed, but it's the next best thing. Besides, I owe him. Wouldn't be here without him.”
“None of us would. He… he knew what he was getting into.”
Nyarlathotep stands. “Alright, you should get going. Get started on mommy prep. Something tells me that kid is going to be a handful when it finally pops out in another decade.”
“Ugh, just thinking of it makes my back hurt. Why does it take so long for Jotuns and Aesir?”
Nyarlathotep chuckles. “You think that's bad, my people have a natural life span a hundred times longer than Aesir so our gestation is a hundred times longer. Meaning having kids means being pregnant for something around one thousand and five hundred years. Longer than your entire lifespan.”
“Yeah, no thanks. I couldn't imagine having a lifespan in the millions of years. I honestly think Aesir are on the high end of what a natural lifespan should be. After ten thousand years what even is the point?”
“Yeah, it gets a bit silly after a point. Ready to go now” Nyarlathotep stands with a coat in hand. “I've actually got other things on my plate today.”
“Yeah.” Lilac also stands. “Just let me… let me say goodbye.”
“Okay, just remember. You can't undo the sacrifice he made.”
“I… I understand that.” Lilac takes a deep breath. Before going over to Hunter who just finished the song a bit ago. “Thanks for the music. You have a surprisingly nice voice.”
“T-thanks, I guess. You're that elven ambassador right? From one of the four tribes in Alfheim. What brings you to this humble town?”
“Yeah, I am. Twilight Elf. Lilac Duskdotter.” She does a light bow. “This town is in the same relative location as my home village so I was naturally curious.”
“Ah, I see. I imagine it must be strange knowing the layout of a place's streets when you've never been there.”
“It is, but that makes it easier. Anyway, thanks for the song. I really should get going now.”
“No, thank you for letting me know you enjoyed it. It was nice meeting you. Never thought I'd meet an elf in person. Well, goodbye I guess. Goodluck with the diplomacy. I gotta get back to my own thing now.” Hunter offers a nod before going to get a drink and ready himself for another song.
Lilac then walked to the exit and met back up with Nyarlathotep who was holding the door for her. Lilac exits the door and looks back to Hunter who's on the piano. “Just… promise me you'll do the best to help him have a good life. It's the least we can do.”
“I can build a road for him, but it's up to him if he wants to use it. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. I'll do my best though. Oh, and one more thing.” Nyarlathotep hands her a book. “I used Hunter's notes and a few things I've gathered from others to create this. It's Hunter's entire journey up to his death. You might need it.”
Lilac grabs it, thanks Nyarlathotep, and makes one final sad sigh before she finally moves on. Nowhere to go but forward.
Suddenly, a change in scenery. A classroom, filled with highschool students who were listening to someone read them a story. The reader closes the book. He is a ten foot tall svelte man. Purple skin with didded freckles. His hair and goatee are jet black. His black sclera are broken up by blue-purple lines in a circle making an iris. He has horns, or rather more akin to antlers. Coming from the side of his head and going in front of his forehead. Little thorn-like spikes coming off the main bodies of the two chitinous growths. He's got dragonfly-like wings coming off his back and his skin changes colors on his arm leaving everything from his elbow to his hand becoming an increasingly dark red ending in blood red skinned hands. The man gives a big smile to the younger ones listening before speaking. “And that, class, is the true story of my father. Butcher Steel-Bone aka Hunter Erickson. I'm glad to have finally shared it with all of you. Any questions?”
A few students raise their hands. The large hybrid man points to one. “Mr. Briar Steel-Bone, what about what happened to Hunter after that? I mean… wouldn't he still have the body of Ymir in him, the eyes of Himedol, and a strong connection to the Bifrost?”
“It's possible that all that went back to being dormant the rest of his life. According to Midgardian history records, Hunter Erickson became a somewhat successful actor, voice worker, and singer. He aged extremely well for a human but despite this retired in his late sixties stating age as the reason. That despite his youthful outward appearance, he was simply too old to keep working. He still made a number of public appearances in interviews and such but eventually vanished. Not just from public view, he was declared missing presumed dead. His true final fate is still considered a mystery to this day.”
“So he could still be out there somewhere?”
“Not unless he got an extended lifespan, and even then he'd probably be an old man by now. If he's out there he hasn't visited me so he is either dead, alive but still doesn't remember exactly who he was, or unable to return for some other reason. There's no way of knowing unless he turns up. That's enough questions, I'm out of time for the day.” Briar stands and starts to leave with a wave. “After all, I've got a lot more people to share this story with.
Another chance of scenery, a figure in a hooded robe stands in front of a large tree that has glowing color changing bark, like a rainbow shifting in the tree. The man holds a sharp rock in his pale skinny hand and is using it to carve into the rock. The words are in an unfamiliar language but the litters shift and become legible. He's carving a story, this story, right now. Upto the part about Briar. A feminine figure made of rainbow light floats in behind the hooded figure and speaks without having a traditional face. “It's time to go Guardian, you have an entire orchid to tend to and protect.”
“I know I know, just give me a bit. I'm finishing this last bit. After all the work I've put into this story it would be a shame to half ass it now. Just one last touch and I'll be on my way Ygg.”
“Alright, just make it quick. I didn't realize when I agreed to let you finish the carving on my body that it would take so long.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't think it would take me this long either. I feel like I've been carving at this for a year or so.” The Guardian’s hand carved one final sentence, then he floats up to the spirit of Yggdrasil. “I'm ready now Ygg, let's go.”
The rainbow spirit nods and starts leading the Guardian into the distance. He takes one final look back from the distance to admire his work with a smile as he thinks about the final sentence he wrote on the tree. Five simple words: This is not the end.
Again the scene changes as the Guardian floats down to a massive tree at the center of a lake. The tree has mannequins in tattered cloth dangling from hangman's nooses. In the reflection of the lake the mannequins look like people dripping blood to the lake surface. The Guardian lands and kneels on the tree near the trunk at the center of the lake on a sort of island made by thick roots and touches to bark. “I was wondering when I'd see this. Heh, it's all kinda funny when I think about it.” Then there is a sound from the edge of the lake. The snap of a twig, the rattling of a kicked rock hitting other rocks, a splash. The Guardian turned around to see who was there and smiled. “Ah, you're finally here. I've been expecting you.”
Meanwhile at the rainbow tree, the spirit of Yggdrasil sits on a branch kicking her feet. She hips down to look at the carving the Guardian made and smiles making a light chuckle as she reads the final five words. “So cheeky.”
This is Not the End