INCOMING TRANSMISSION....
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…
SENDER: XXXXXXXXXxxxxXX CODENAME: Muninn
RECIPIENT: XXXXXXXXXxxxxxXX CODENAME: Huginn
SUBJECT: Einherjar
MESSAGE:
The time has come.
The order has been given.
Send out the Valkyrja to find the Worthy, the Useful.
Alert the Vörðr to watch for those who WILL be Worthy.
The Halls have been prepared.
They only need be Staffed and Filled.
ALERT!
VIRUS DETECTED!
MESSAGE SELF-ERASURE IN PROGRESS!
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…
NO MESSAGES IN QUEUE
NO MESSAGES DETECTED
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A robed man stalked down a long stone corridor, leaving a trail of grumbling and curses in his wake. “After all this time, all the work I have done and this is all I get?! That vixen is behind this, that smirk on her face, it's because of her. Denouncing me as an incompitent buffoon, I show her, I’LL SHOW THEM ALL!!” He roared angrily as he slammed open a heavy wooden door, making the creature in the cage in the far corner flinch in fear. As the man approached the cage he muttered to himself, “with this I will do what none before have done.” He came to a stop and knelt in front of the cage as the creature cowered as far from the man as the cage allowed. “Yes”, he whispered to the creature, “You will make it all possible, you were worth all the risks to get.”
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A lone woman sat at an aged wooden desk, watching a dried plant being ground into powder in a mortar. To her right sat ceramic jars awaiting to be filled. To her left were a small pile of dried plants awaiting their turn in the mortar. She once more marveled at the enchantments placed on the mortar and pestle, for they were not things one would consider enchanting. In fact most mages would scoff at the concept of placing such costly enchantments on such mundane tools. Magic was for protecting, fighting, power, and glory. Only a commoner would dare to use noble and lofty magics for such mundane purposes. Even she once scoffed at it, until the man that she would come to love confronted her emotional response with pure logic.
“Just think about it”, he had said, “the time that you would save by not having to do it all by hand, you could spend on any number of things. Like preparing medicines, researching new magics, gathering more herbs, or simply relaxing.” Now decades later, she couldn’t think of how she would get everything done if she hadn’t listened to his words.
She sighed and leaned back in her chair, tucking some of her blond hair that fell free back behind a long pointed ear, listening to the ringing of a hammer on metal coming from the forge out back. It had long since become a soothing sound to her ears, the sound of her companion hard at work. As she started to lose herself to the consistent rhythm, a wrongness intruded. The last clang was more of a crash and it jolted her because it meant that something was very wrong. Then she felt it, a shift in the aether, a stirring of the spirits. Something had happened, it felt like a summoning but it was… warped, twisted. A wail came from the back, from where the forge was. A wail of sorrow, sadness, anger and… something else. Fear and happiness? The woman quickly stood in concern, as she knew that he hated the summonings but she couldn’t think of what would make him both happy and afraid. Then the blood drained from her face as she realized the only thing it could be. With a wave of her hand and a few words in a language she hadn’t spoken aloud in over 30 years, every protective ward in the house and surrounding area activated. If he had indeed returned then she would need to prepare, for things would not end simply or peacefully. She prayed for mercy for the souls of those who would be caught up in the maelstrom of what was to come, for he would have none.
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Author’s Note:
There are some things in the first section that are references to Norse Mythology and I used the older spellings on. Here are some of the meanings behind the words:
Muninn - "memory" or "mind", is one of Odin’s two ravens that fly all over the world and bring information to Odin.
Huginn - “thought”, is one of Odin’s two ravens that fly all over the world and bring information to Odin.
Einherjar - Souls of dead warriors who were brought to Valhalla by the Valkyries, there they would await the coming of Ragnarok.
Valkyrja - Older spelling of Valkyrie, a female being that would choose which souls of warriors would reside in Valhalla, if not chosen by the Valkyrie then the souls would go to Freya’s Fólkvangr (which contains her hall Sessrúmnir).
Vörðr - "warden," "watcher" or "caretaker", a spirit believe to follow the soul of a person from the beginning to the end of their life.