Einar could see the tip of the fire spear slowly burning through the armour but when it reached flesh, the spear’s tip stopped as a foul-smelling black mist fumed out from the wound. The stranger roared as it grabbed the burning spear with its bare hand, yanking it aside before taking a swing at Einar. He dodged the attack half-stumbling as he backed away, staring at the thing in front of him.
‘There’s no way he’s a human.’ He thought to himself, dodging another wide swing from the enraged enemy that seemed to have matched him in height yet bested him in both strength and fortitude. A last-ditch idea came to his mind as he noticed the weathered altar not far from him in the clearing. Dodging attack after attack he tried to make his way toward the altar and smeared his blood on its surface when he got close enough. The moment his blood touched the altar, a wave of invisible force burst out of the ancient stone and knocked the club-wielding stranger outside of the boundary of the proving ground.
Einar let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. The warrior on the other side of the barrier returned to its feet after being thrown out by the mystical force. The half mask that covered its face from the neck up to its eyes was now gone, revealing a pale and squarish face. What shocked Einar the most was the thing’s mouth. If at first, he could have mistaken it for a tall man, now he knew better. Even from a distance, he could see several rows of razor-sharp teeth in his attacker’s mouth as it roared and swung its club at the barrier several times before a bolt of crimson lightning struck down from the sky.
It hit the stranger, engulfing it in flames for a few seconds, but contrary to the seeker’s expectation, the thing didn’t turn to ash. Burned and smoking, the stranger stumbled back, wailing like a wounded animal before it turned around to flee into the forest.
“What in Harald’s name was that?” He asked aloud, earning no answer as a whisper resounded in his mind to explain his next trial while he used his drinking horn’s power to heal his wounds.
“A warrior's heart must beat ferociously, giving him the strength to go on no matter what foe they face. This trial will test your resilience and your body’s capability to persevere. Stand in the grey circle to begin your trial and walk through the path of thorns. Stopping at the bronze or silver circles will allow you to end the trial early, granting you a portion of the reward you could earn.”
Listening to the harsh and demanding whispers. Einar walked over to the faintly glowing grey circle at the edge of the proving ground. When he stepped on it, he could see large weeds grow out from beneath the dusty stone tiles on the ground. Ahead of him a bronze, silver and a gold circle appeared at equal distances from each other with the gold one being barely a few steps away from the ancient altar.
“The trial of the heart shall begin now!” The voice returned to announce the start of his new ordeal, prompting the young giant to take a step forward.
As he did, one of the newly grown weeds lashed out toward him, leaving a small cut on his leg as it cut through his pants. 'Damn!' He growled as he felt the sting of the cut, wondering how strong the plant had to be, given his draconic hide feat. Einar felt as if unseen chains bound him, forcing him to move ahead with slow steps. At each step, more and more of the barbed weeds and thorny plants lashed out at him, making him bleed from several small cuts that bled profusely.
Soon, his pants got shredded and soaked red as he kept on walking, faint light-headedness starting to hinder him as he reached the glowing bronze circle. Two steps after he left behind the bronze circle, the thorny and barbed weeds began to lash out at him with a greater speed, aiming higher to cut him along the unprotected parts of his arms. Each step became heavier as he pushed forward, the plants wrapping around his limbs to set him off his blood. They strained and snapped when the young giant moved, but his eyes became blurred at the edge of his vision, snaking inward as the world began fading.
Einar didn’t even notice that he had pushed past the silver circle his eyes looked forward. ‘Just keep walking!’ Was the only thought in the mind of the blood-soaked seeker, darkness threatening to overtake him before a burst of warmth cleared his mind a bit. Looking around to find a source of his newfound strength, he noticed that he was standing in the golden circle of the trial.
‘I... did it?’ Einar looked puzzled, wondering how he had managed to reach the end of the trial without even realizing it. Looking down at himself, he found that although his countless wounds had stopped bleeding, they were still there. In front of him was the altar, which had several items on it and a small blood-red cloud floating above it. He pulled out his drinking corn from his pouch and held it out toward the red cloud, patiently waiting for it to feel the horn with crimson nectar.
The seeker drank it all and felt a welcome heat spread across his body as his wounds healed without leaving any trace. With his injuries gone, the giant let out a relieved breath before examining his rewards. The familiar handful of gold coins greeted him first, followed by a granite rune stone with an unfamiliar symbol. His third reward was a scroll that held... a recipe? Einar felt puzzled as he looked at the scroll that spoke of a brew that could heal wounds and mend broken bones. It could have been invaluable to others but he had the God-blessed drinking horn that could do the same.
Since the forest was littered with healing herbs, he wasn’t lacking in healing nectar either. Still, he put away the scroll, thinking that the others might be able to make use of it. His last reward was the strangest, a near fist-sized thing he recognised to be a glass figurine shaped like a living beast’s heart. It had a blood-red liquid inside with a few small bubbles. ‘It’s most likely another relic.’ He thought as he put it away, not wanting to waste time with it.
Looking around, Einar saw that the barrier surrounding the trial ground began to fade which made him instinctively grab his sword but the human-shaped thing he fought didn’t show up. Still wary of the threat, Einar slowly walked over to the edge of the proving ground, planning to check the corpses. As he got close enough, he noticed the half-mask of his foe lying on the ground. The seeker picked it up and examined it, one of its straps showing signs of snapping.
The bodies of the warriors from the Fallen Sun Empire lay on the ground, their blood making the ground red around them. Their weapons were of decent quality and so was their armour but the young giant refused to take any of them. ‘I didn’t fight them and I didn’t earn those spoils. If I offer these to the gods they will punish me for robbing them instead of showing my respect to the fallen.’ He thought, sighing at the strange ways of his people and Gods.
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It was fine to take the belongings of the enemy he killed or those long dead, but taking the arms and armour of those killed by another counted as a dishonourable deed. Honour was a strange thing amongst the Vikings. Searching the corpses revealed little value as they held a couple of silver coins with square holes in them. They barely amounted to a dozen coins, making the youth shake his head.
‘These bodies should be returned to their people but they will notice if I take the coins. Still, I should warn the others and everyone I can of that... thing.’ Einar decided as he sheathed the fallen warriors’ weapons and put their bodies in his world eater pouch. With everything done, the seeker leapt high in the air and turned into his raven form, heading back toward the previous proving ground.
A few hours later he reached the ruined village he previously spent the night at, finding it quite lively as it was filled with the God-marked of the different kingdoms. Even from a distance, he could make out the tell-tale signs of the identity of the people, one group being from his own homeland, another from Hellada and the third the Falling Sun Empire. As he flew closer, he heard someone yell something about a strange bird while raising their bow, but the Vikings stopped the archer. Einar muttered a silent word of thanks in his mind as he descended from the air and turned back into his human form.
“Well met, seeker!” One of the Vikings greeted him, while the people from the other kingdoms eyed him up curiously.
“Einar!” A familiar voice called out to him from his left side, Alcmene, the warrior from Hellada walking closer.
“Do you know this man?” A warrior wearing ornate armour asked and the woman gave a firm nod.
“He’s the warrior I told you about before. The one I fought alongside against the drake.”
“I see,” the man nodded before turning toward the seeker. “In that case, I must thank you for helping Alcmene! She’s an excellent huntress and one of our best Spartans but she mostly hunts alone and trouble tends to find her far too often.”
“Spartans?” The young giant asked back puzzled as he heard the word.
“It’s a title,” the warrior explained. “Given to those who prove themselves before the king to be outstanding warriors. We have about two dozen of them with us and every one of them is important.”
“I see,” Einar nodded. “She is indeed a mighty warrior. And fearless too. She fought against that drake with nothing but her shield, spear and raw power. It was a fight worthy of tales.”
“That I believe,” the man said with a proud smile. “The trophies and materials she brought back are proof enough.”
“Still,” Alcmene sighed. “I imagined you’d be gone for good, exploring the island in search of the other trials.”
“I was,” the seeker said with a heavy voice. “I managed to find and conquer the fourth trial but when I reached the fifth, I was attacked.”
“Attacked,” one of the Vikings asked, surprised by the thought that even the mighty chosen of Harald would get attacked out there. “By who or what?”
“It was someone or rather something from the Falling Sun Empire.”
“Impossible,” one of the Empire’s warriors argued. “Lord Takeshi gave an order for everyone to not seek any fights with the red-haired giant.”
“It didn’t attack me first,” he explained as he began to remove the corpses from his world eater pouch. The strange sight made many gasp in surprise.
“Those...” The man tried to speak, but Einar raised his hand to stop him.
“I don’t know how or why it happened,” he began. “By the time I arrived, two were already dead and the last one was fighting for his life. His opponent was as tall as me if not a bit taller and wore your people’s armour. He wielded a large two-handed club that was lined with spikes.”
As he spoke, he laid out the three fallen warriors, letting the people of the empire take them.
“After killing the last warrior, it threw a dagger at me and I fell from the sky due to my wing getting hit. I turned back to my true form and we fought but it was stronger than me. If not for the barrier of the proving ground I activated with my blood, it would have likely managed to kill me.”
“That...”
“It wore this,” he handed over the half-mask. “The mask came off when the barrier threw it out of the proving ground. When it stood up and looked at me, I saw... rows of teeth glinting in its mouth as if I was staring at a shark. Whatever it is, it’s no longer human.”
“An Oni.” The young giant heard a gentle voice as a strange young woman made her way toward them, the crowd of warriors opening up to make way for her.
She walked closer to take a look at the mask, wiping some of the dried blood off of its inner side. Einar was somewhat baffled by the woman’s looks. It was the first time he saw anyone having animal ears or a tail. Hers reminded him of a fox.
“You are right,” she said with a saddened tone. “This mask belonged to a warrior named Katashi. Your description also fits him well.”
“Katashi,” the others looked at each other. “But he would never do such a thing. He was always a calm and firm warrior.”
Einar watched as she smeared the dried blood between her fingers, a pale blue flame sparking on her fingertips that soon turned into a mixture of red and black for a few seconds before dying out.
“Perhaps, but he was still the descendant of an Oni. You all know that these islands empower those with ancient bloodlines. It seems Katashi failed to hold control over his own. Even if he was human once, the blood of his ancestor seems to have overwhelmed him, turning him into a true Oni.”“Is that why the gods didn’t stop him?” Einar asked, trying not to stare at the woman’s fox ears.
“Most likely,” she nodded in agreement. “The truce of the gods prevents humans from harming each other on the first island. However, if Katashi truly became an Oni, then the gods could no longer see him and likely felt that the others were simply killed off by a beast.”
“If Katashi turned into a monster,” one of the warriors spoke with a shaky voice. “Then we must head back to the others. Lord Takeshi must be warned.”
“We had already come this far,” another argued. “Turning back when the fifth trial is so close would be foolish.”
“We can all send back someone,” the leader of the God-marked from Hellada spoke. “Two warriors from each kingdom should form a group. Even if they meet with this... Oni of yours, half of the group could impede the monster while the others got away.”