Many months after joining together, Godrick and Alana were finally within days' distance of her Hometown. It had been a perilous journey they had agreed to embark upon. Without so much as a lead to a new field of research, Godrick remained aimless still in his goal.

The opportunity came to him, through his companion.

Alana had managed to convince him to take the road to Northend. Through stories and tales of her homeland, she recounted the channeling of power. Runic inscriptions empowering her people through body and soul.

It was a mystical language, appearing to individuals in hallucinations. These individuals were called the Seers. Known to be correct as often as wrong with their gifted sight.

Having already traveled for some time together, the two companions had grown comfortable around each other, no longer minding the minor inconveniences or customs the other did not share. On this particular night, they sat around the campfire’s warmth staving off the icy grip of the northern lands.

Godrick sat in rapt attention focused on his grimoire, opposite of the red-haired beauty. There was a sense of fascination that lingered around him whilst he inscribed intricate esoteric symbols onto the pages of his grimoire. Arcane energies filled the letters of its pages, unseen to all but the sight of Alana's onyx-blue eyes.

An elusive shimmer danced within the very fibers of the grimoires' pages and cover.

This was when Godrick's body and mind demanded an escape from his scholarly pursuits, he looked up from the Grimoire a yawn escaping him. Forcing him to notice the blur that encroached on his vision. His sight, mind, and Will could no longer be focused on the tome so he set it aside, crossing his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees. He was beholding the campfire in a contemplative manner.

The snowy and windy silence of the northern tundra was all that could be heard in the darkened night. There was no sound of insects or birds, only the howling cold winds, mixed with the echoes of far and away howling. Predators and beasts, animals who had recognized these lands as Northender territory.

A close-by howl woke Alana up from her nightly ritual. She had been in the process of maintaining and treating her sword. A sword that was six inches in width from the hilt, its length contrasted with the small frame of the petite redhead who was a mere five feet to the six of the greatsword.

Compared to her barely above five feet stature, her usage of the blade was inconceivable to the common warrior.

Unknown runes were inscribed within the core of its steel, which glistened with the oils of animals she had hunted. Her hands stopped sharpening, as she momentarily directed her attention to her companion. Who, was observing the fire, enchanted by its crackling mysteries.

Looking around the camp she scanned for any potential predators who dared approach. Yet no sight, sound, or smell was present. Boredom had crept unto her, and a sigh escaped her lips because of this. She then lowered herself onto her back feeling the winds go silent, once the clouds cleared, they unveiled the vastness of the Dark Upper Sea.

Many celestial objects dotted her vision within the stillness of space. The twin moons acted on their monthly traditions, it's form was the state of the half moons. The illusion of the Singular shone from the twins, who joined together in an image to portray a singular moon.

The stars around it seemed like twinkling yet unmoving bugs surrounding the illusion of the Twins. Constellations were visible to her but aside from the Northern light of Marni, there was none else she recognized.

Frustrated, she turned to her companion and asked.

“Hey heretic, you have a sec’?” A slight break came in her near-formal speech pattern.

Shifting his focus onto the warrior Godrick finally took in her beautiful form as she rose. She was lit up sensuously by the yellow tongues of the fire –enhancing her natural beauty with the ambiance reflecting from her fiery red hair.

He was taken in by the sudden sight of her sensuousness highlighted by moonlight that illuminated her form from the back. The fire illuminated her in a beautifully haunting light. Godrick gulped guiltily, his heart almost wavering, unable to blame these thoughts on the fruit. For some reason despite squatting upon a log roughly as she did the work of a warrior, he found beauty in her scarred form.

Her feminine charms hugged the blade in between them and her open legs, while she sat in a crouch-like position on the log. The contrast between her feminine and rough natures was an imposing aspect of her aggressive personality. She did these things purposefully after he had rejected her first advance. His heart, still true to a love from far away.

“Yes?” He grumbled attempting not to cast his gaze upon her.

“Heh!” She smirked with a lolling laugh, catching him as he avoided her lascivious gaze. A small hunger woke her mischievously alluring personality.

“What were ya just thinking about, eh?” As she tossed her blade aside and took a more provocative and tempting pose, the impish grin she wore told him that she was ready for whatever type of fight; that would come about. All the while wagging her finger invitingly at him.

“Nothing really, you?” He stared piercingly into the flames harder than ever before.

“Ugh!” Frustration escaped her disgust towards the virtuous man so she moved on from her teasing. Since a conversation had been started she would have to conclude when the first topic had been exhausted. As per polite custom indicated.

“The stars.” She replied coldly, picking up the weapon again, and cleaning off the snow which shaved off the oil coating she had applied.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Hm?” He threw her a questioning grunt which suggested more to her words.

“The stars, ya know? I reckon there's many and I know the Northern Light of Marni.” She declared proudly.

“So more constellations than the tripled horn helm of the heroic Marni?” He closed his eyes again, running through the compendium of knowledge that was his mind.

“Well without going into specifics, would you like me to point out the constellations?” He asked, looking at her directly, now that her posing had ceased, his strains were lessened.

“Well duh, we're talking ain’t we?” She answered scathingly, frustrations slowly crumbling.

“All right, do not fret, let us see what the night holds up above.” He said, trying to sound wise.

“Yeah, ‘cause there ain’t nothing here ‘parently.” Her venom flowed as he deflected with poetry.

“Up above as you see the cosmos of space, no?” He began speaking in rhythm as he had first been taught.

“We call it the Dark Upper Sea of the cosmos.” She added questioningly.

“An apt Name upon the concept of space, t’were it to be liquid it would be. Alas, it is space, void to all yet a carrier of all untowards even the celestial, whilst none but the gods remain exempt, as is in the scriptures.” Satisfied with his skill he looked at her smugly.

“...” The silence that followed made his smugness soar until, “You’re an idiot are ya?” Her ridicule was, on point, and executed per her views.

“Oh for the Light’s sake, what now?” He cursed, disparaged by her remark.

“Just saying, all that fancy talk and I didn’t understand a thing from it. Waste o’ words, I say. Make em clear and direct is all, no flowers nor pageant mere words of the wyse ey.” Her words rang true as Godrick reflected on them, smirking condescendingly at himself.

“You are correct. Knowledge needs no pageantry,” He stood up and settled next to her. Her eyes sparked playfully for a second before he laid down, suggesting to her by tapping his hand on the ground to follow. A sigh left her at this but she followed anyway.

“Good, so you see the Marni, no?” He asked. “Course,” she repeated.

“Up above him, you can see one star that shines ever so brightly pink? Do you see?” he asked while pointing at it.

“Ay, reckon ain’t ever seen no pink one till now.” Her eyes remained fixated on the one star she now knew as pink.

“If you can picture imaginary lines that spread outwards from it, you will see that it contains at least fifteen other stars immediately connecting to it. That is Cynthia the Healing Wind of Fertility.” The sixteen stars shone connectedly. Revealing themselves to Alana, her eyes taking in a wonder of information with just this small exposure.

She saw them in their entirety, as the imaginary lines connected immediately and visibly to her. There was no error in her sight, once the last line had connected she could see; the image of Cynthia lay cemented in the sky for her to be in awe of. She was perfection incarnate the standards she had desired to match in the past, once upon her childhood. She thought, and without the words to truly describe her, she said the only words that she found could truly describe her.

“She’s beautiful.” A mesmerized response came from her shifting tone, seeming to please Godrick so he continued.

Many more constellations were revealed to her. The Spear of Hadrian, The Aquila of the Empire, the Serpent, the Mouse, the Bull, and the Coin. Alana marveled in awe at all these constellations that had remained hidden from her until now. Their images captured a vividness within her mind that even Godrick could not conceive. The two of them continued for hours on end until the flow of the conversation changed.

Discussing their lives, was no longer a chore to either due to their journey. So they recounted the tales of their adventures reflecting on them as they re-lived them through storytelling.

---------

Alana spoke up retelling their approach towards the North. She described how it was at first, the landscape and Godrick's perturbance towards its cold and gloomy scape.

The land of Northend was plagued by daily snowstorms, and massive mountainous ranges, with a dangerous array of fauna that made survival difficult. The tundra, in particular, was treacherous, its pure white snow capable of blinding anyone who dared to stare at the ground for too long. It was a harsh and unforgiving environment that tested even the most experienced of explorers.

Though their journey through the northern land had been perilous. Filled with all of the geographical trials and more, at this great risk, the rewards equally matched them. Godrick had taken the opportunity while traveling, to gather resources he could not acquire without venture or trade. So he met with many merchants procuring unknown materials for his research as he fomented friendships of benefit in the case that fate crossed their paths once more.

His magical research had also progressed well, once his divine powers had been severed, his studies on how to handle the body’s mana had deepened. There were even a few spell constructs, he was close to solidifying. But most important of all, was his research on Forbidden Fruit which now held solid ground. The merchants he met along the road surpassed his expectations of their cunning and procurement capabilities.

He held four fruits with him now, all of them possessed different shapes, but all held patterns and gold upon their skin.

This led him to experiment with different avenues, and tools he would acquire along the way. Allowing him to identify a core that disappeared if tampered with anything but the smallest of needles. The only hypothesis he could drive from this was that it had to be related to the source of the madness.

But with no further idea on how to test this without allowing the core to dissipate, he set it aside once more.

While the travels certainly did a number on both of them, it was Godrick who had suffered the most. He had never been a person of battle or war no stranger to it but always a preacher, yet the road was not as forgiving as he. During one such occasion, on a quiet and sunny windless day. Negotiations with a group of bandits practicing their profession upon them were underway.

“I am sure you fine men and women hold no qualms with us; so I ask humbly if you would be so kind as to allow us passage Siblings,” Godrick asked imploringly, throwing a quick signal with his eyes at Alana to not do anything drastic.

“No qualms Pilgrim, only business. You provide us yer belongings, we provide passage, deals of the road you see. We’ve taken the liking of them toll lectors from the Empire, mighty lucrative ya could say.” The northern bandit stated matter of factly, his entourage agreeing with his words.

Shouts of “Yeah”, or “up where I can see 'em”, and “Why don’t we just take her?” rang out.

“Now I am sure we can reach some form of understanding. She is Northender like you, and I am but a mere Pilgrim with naught but these robes and a lousy sack to my name.” Godrick said clasping his robes and letting go of his sack immediately. Emphasizing their worthlessness, his briefcase had been modified and lay on the ground. Seeming like any other bag used by beggars.

“Nonsense your that er Pilgrim, the one with the Magic. Been hearing words about you. Traveling with the scarred Huntress of flaming hair and onyx eyes.” Having declared them so openly beads of sweat poured from Godrick as he glanced back at Alana attempting to hold her back. It was a second too late, as she sped past him sword at hand, weightless to her dextrous handling.

“He asked you so many times, so excuse me for being impolite, hahaha.” Madness became her as she took her stance in front of the bandit leader.

“You disrespect our honor as warriors of the north, have you ever held trials, tasted power, brought low, beasts stronger than yourself scum.” She asked, sword flatly to him. An aura of violence seeped from her, causing the most primal of instincts to surge from the bandits, Fear.

“Marni’s scrat, she’s a Berserker, warriors to arms!?!” The bandit shouted to his group.

“No, Alana, stoooop!” Godrick screamed at her while begging.

But she did not, there was no mercy in Northend.