Loch felt the bite of the cold wind as it slammed against him, carrying sleet and ice. He pulled the thick wool cloak tighter, the hood over his head. It had only taken a couple seconds for him to realize he was in a dream. He’d lain down to sleep and wound up at a familiar location.
The viking village spread out around him, cloak wrapped people hunched against the biting wind of the storm, as they moved from building to building. The alleys between the longhouses were pretty empty, most of the inhabitants wanting to stay inside where it was warm.
The village had grown since the last time Loch had been there. Which was weird if this was just a place in his dreams. It couldn’t be real since he only visited when asleep. But why would it grow if it wasn’t a real place?
The usual towering guards were not on either side of the doors leading to the chieftain’s longhouse. There was no need. Loch could feel the power in the storm. It was fury, but a controlled fury. The winds were fierce, with shards of ice and heavy sleet, but there was no damage to the village that Loch could see.
Walking up the steps, Loch pushed the doors open. A wave of heat pushed against him. The heat and cold fought at the open doors, Loch warm and chilled at the same time. Walking into the hall, he shut the doors. The room was the same, even if the village had changed.
No guards, the long table empty except for the seat at the head. Thor sat there, watching Loch. The Divine Being leaned forward, waiting.
Loch removed the thick cloak. It was some kind of animal fur. Wolf maybe. He didn’t know and didn’t care. He let it fall to the ground, walking slowly up the long table.
“Why am I here?,” he asked, stopping a couple seats away from the head.
Thor leaned back, tapping his fingers against the wooden arm of his chair. In his other hand he held a wooden goblet. A large axe leaned against the seat.
“Can’t I talk to my follower?,” Thor asked.
“Aside from some Abilities, I’m not sure what I get out of this deal,” Loch said. “Or what you get.”
Thor laughed. He took a long drink from the goblet. Leaning forward, he set it on the table.
“What I get is far in the future,” Thor admitted. “And might not ever come to pass. You could say that this is an investment.”
“You’re investing in me?,” Loch said, surprised. “Or in this Unfettered trait.”
Thor nodded.
“And that is what you get out of this deal,” Thor continued. “That trait is not supposed to exist but thanks to…,” he paused, looking up at the sky and then at the shadowed corners of the longhouse. “Let us just say that it’s not supposed to exist and that I know it exists.”
“And are taking advantage of it?”
“Not now but someday.” Thor took another drink. “Something troubles you. We can get to why I summoned you soon, but first, what is bothering you?”
Loch looked at Thor, confused. He thought the Divine Being was mocking him, but Thor looked genuinely concerned. His eyes were focused on Loch, his expression curious. Not what Loch was used to in the few times he had interacted with Thor.
When he’d fallen asleep and found himself appearing at Thor’s village, Loch had gotten angry. He knew that these visits didn’t affect his sleep, but that hadn’t helped the anger at his rest being interrupted. And for what? A chat with a being so far beyond him, that motives and thoughts were unknowable? Each visit made Loch feel like a pawn. He hated that feeling.
But his anger quickly fell away. What was the point? Thor was one of the oldest Adapted in The Connected System. One of the most powerful. He had to have seen everything there was to see in the Connection.
Loch sighed.
“We don’t seem to be making any progress,” he said. “More people are joining the Clan, but we’re not bringing in enough Resources. The crafters aren’t developing fast enough because of that lack. There’s not enough work for everyone. Winter is coming and I don’t know how we’ll manage to get through. Then there’s the threats hanging over us.”
Loch shook his head, leaning back in his chair.
“I don’t know what to do.”
Thor shifted in his seat, looking toward the double doors that led out of the longhouse. He was silent, sifting his thoughts.
“There are thousands of people like you having those same thoughts, and not just on Earth, but across the Connection,” Thor said. “My Clan, the one of my birth, faced the same trials as you. We weren’t on a Resource World, which just makes things harder for fledgling Clans, but we had a steep mountain to climb to reach the top. But we did. It took hard work, pain and suffering but in the end we scaled that peak.” Thor stood up, grabbing the large axe. He moved to the side where there was room. Loch studied the differences between Thor’s axe and Onyx. Even though Thor was a Divine Being, incredibly powerful, the axe looked old and worn. The head was made out of some dull metal, pitted and cracked. The wooden handle was wrapped in strips of leather, the end at the bottom of the shaft was loose. It did not look like the weapon of a god. Thor took a couple swings with the weapon, before turning back to Loch, axe against his shoulder. “Even at my Level, there is still something to strive for. The Connection does not let anyone rest. There will always be more problems, more threats to face. Even for Clans like the Silver Bark. There is always something or someone stronger.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“What does a Clan like the Silver Bark need to struggle against?”
“Other Clans,” Thor pointed out. “Why do you think they expand and conquer new worlds? They need those Resources for their own conflicts and for their people to Advance.”
“So it never ends?”
“No,” Thor said, shaking his head, looking almost regretful. “It never does.”
“That’s comforting,” Loch muttered.
“It’s not meant to be,” Thor said, voice harsh. “It is just reality in the Connection.”
He took a couple more swings with the axe, a wind appearing from nowhere. It swirled around the longhouse, picking up strength and speed as Thor swung the axe. The doors at the far end rattled in their hinges.
Replacing the axe over his shoulder, Thor walked to the side of the long house where a table full of steaming meats, breads, cheeses and fruits was. Loch was positive the table hadn’t been there before. There were full roasted birds, a couple of roasts and even bacon. Thor tore a drumstick off a bird, taking a large bite before using it as a pointer.
“The Connection wants us to strive to Advance, to push ourselves harder and harder. To never stop,” Thor said, pointing the drumstick at Loch. It was large, the bird bigger than the turkeys near Loch’s house. “We have no choice because it will never stop throwing threats at you.”
He sat down again, taking another bite of the drumstick. Loch looked at the table, not surprised to see the piece of bird had been replaced already.
“Why I wanted to talk to you does relate to your concerns,” Thor said. “Your Clan is doing well. There are a few in the Connection that have done better but only a very few. Most do much worse. You are to be commended.”
“I’m not doing much,” Loch admitted.
He’d felt that there was more he could be doing. Much more. There was progress but it was slow. He wanted to be hands off but part of him wondered if he got involved more in the day to day operations, that the Clan would be in a better position. A bigger part wondered if he got move involved, the Clan would be worse. That had been why he’d picked the middle ground. Involved but not, letting others handle the bulk. Others that were better suited.
“You are doing what you need to be doing,” Thor said, again pointing with the drumstick. “Do you think any of us Divine Beings or even Oberon, the Overjarl of the Silver Bark Clan, deals with the actual running of our empires? Of course not. We have our Advancement to worry about and the threats that only we can take on.”
“There are threats to you?”
“Of course. The other Divine Beings and I might be on somewhat equal footing in terms of power, but we still play political games. That is one form of Advancement. But beyond that, there are Beasts equal or greater than our Level.”
Thor leaned back, eyes alight as he thought back to countless battles. In the few interactions, Loch had never seen Thor as animated as he was at that moment. Those battles were what the concept of the Storm lived for. A huge smile broke out on the Divine Beings face. He closed his eyes, picturing it.
Shaking his head, Thor came back to reality. The smile faded, but the light in his eyes remained.
“Someday you’ll see,” Thor said, taking a drink. “I can’t wait to see what the Warbreaker does against a Nether Obsidian Dragon. That will be a fight worth watching.”
“What is a Nether Obsidian Dragon?”
“Nothing you need worry about for a long time,” Thor said, leaning back in his chair, the axe once again leaning against it. Loch hadn’t seen Thor put it down. Last he’d seen it, the axe had been over the Divine Beings shoulder, now it was against the chair. “Right now you have to worry about the Si-Te-Cah.”
“I’m more concerned about the Silver Bark,” Loch said.
“Don’t be,” Thor replied, as serious as Loch had seen the Divine Being. “There are rules about how much we can interfere with our followers, your trait lets me bend the rules a bit but only a bit. It’s not against the rules to tell you this because like your Sasquatch friend, the Si-Te-Cah are outside the Connection. And they are a threat to the entire Connection.”
“But the Silver Bark are a current threat to my people,” Loch protested, growing angry. This wasn’t the first time he’d been told of the Si-Te-Cah threat but it was distant. They didn’t even know where the giants and the Si-Te-Cah Shaman were. “They are strong and I need to protect my people but they outnumber us, outpower us.”
“Bah,” Thor said, axe appearing in his hand. He pointed it at Loch. There was power in the ancient looking weapon. Loch could feel it. “You are not strong enough to face the Si-Te-Cah but you are strong enough to deal with the Silver Bark.”
“How?”
“In the Connection, it is the most powerful that is the strongest. But there are many ways to display power.”
Loch shifted in his seat, turning to fully face the Divine Being. He wasn’t sure what Thor was getting at. The idea was there, but just out of reach. Loch started to speak.
The world went black.