“That should work.” The leader of the Vikings agreed and the people from the empire also nodded at the suggestion.
“What about you,” the fox-eared woman asked from Einar. “Will you head out again, dragon?”
“Einar,” he said with a firm tone. “My name’s Einar.”
“Apologies, Einar. I am...”
“My lady,” a warrior stepped protectively beside the woman. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to...”
“There’s no need to worry, Rokuro. He can’t hurt any of us on the first island and besides. Einar was honourable enough to come back and warn us of Katashi, even though he could have just continued his journey without looking back.”
“I... I understand, my lady.” The leather armour-clad warrior stepped back.
“Please, forgive Rokuro,” she asked with a calm voice. “He takes his duty of protecting me very seriously.”
“Understandable,” the seeker nodded. “These lands are dangerous enough with all the beasts and draugr, let alone that... thing out there.”
“True. Still, allow me to introduce myself. I am Hanako of Clan Huxian and as you must have noticed, I carry the blood of the kitsune.”
“It means fox spirit.” Rokuro added when Einar didn’t reply immediately to the introduction.
“Rokuro,” the woman chided. “I’m sure he understood what it meant by looking at me.”
“Oh. I...”
Einar couldn’t help but sigh as he watched the two squabble, reminding him of Arvid and Rúna.
“Do you know where Rúna Fireforge is?” The seeker turned toward the Vikings, earning a nod from them.
“She was still waiting for her turn at the fourth trial the last time we saw them. If she’s not there then she’s likely on her way here.”
“Thanks,” he said before turning toward the old path leading back to the previous trial. “I should get going then. Be on your guard.”
With that, the young giant leapt high in the air and turned into his raven form before flying away. A good hour and a half later he noticed a large group walking along the path and as he flew lower, he noticed a few familiar faces. Princess Brynhildr led two dozen or so Vikings, followed by a similar-sized group of Eastern Alliance warriors and a small group of people from the Desert Kingdom. He flew lower, catching their attention as he landed and turned back into his human form.
“Einar!” He could immediately hear someone called out to him, Arvid stepping out of the small crowd with Rúna following him. “Did you miss us so much that you came flying back to visit?”
“You could say that,” he let out a sigh as he walked closer, Brynhildr giving him a displeased look but staying quiet for the moment. “Something happened at the fifth proving ground and I decided to come back to warn everyone.”
After that, the giant spent some time explaining his fight with the Oni and his meeting with the others at the ruined village. By the time he finished, everyone seemed to be on edge, their grips tightening on their weapons as they looked at the forest around them.
“This is troublesome news,” Rúna said disheartened. “We were making a good time even with all the beasts coming at us but this Oni of yours sounds like a greater threat than anything we’ve met before.”
“Bah,” someone from the back scoffed as one of the Vikings spat on the ground. “Some chosen you are. Harald must have been drunk on divine honey mead or something when he chose you. You couldn’t even kill some crazed idiot.”
“Weren’t you listening to what he just said?” Brynhildr spoke with an irritated tone, her eyes glowing with a spark of anger. “That... thing got struck by a lightning of the Gods and survived with barely any injuries while others turned to ash in a second. Harald’s chosen or not, he’s still a mortal like the rest of us.”
“I’m more worried about the fact that this Katashi could best Einar without any trouble,” Arvid spoke from the side. “I mean... just look at him. He’s likely strong enough now to wring the neck of those giant bears and that... thing is stronger than him? How are we supposed to stop something like that?”
“The same way you fight any other beast,” a man from the Eastern Alliance said. “Surround it and overwhelm it until it’s dead.”
“Agreed,” a warrior from the Desert Kingdom spoke as he raised his spear high. “Even if it’s as strong as ten bears, if it bleeds, it can die.”
“And how many people will die before we manage to overwhelm it? Ten? Fifty?” Brynhildr joined in with her question.
While the leaders of the three groups argued over the matter of Katashi, the seeker pulled Arvid and Rúna aside. They waited patiently for him to say what he wanted, but the giant instead just pulled out several pieces of raw hides with glowing lines on them along with the rune stones he earned from the trials.
“I see you’ve been busy,” Rúna said with a smirk as she examined the hides. “I can recognise some of these but I’ll see what I can do.”
The forgemaiden began to draw out the power of the divine markings into some blank rune stones, examining them closely before turning her attention to the ones from the trials. A few minutes later she let out a sigh.
“These are the same bleeding and swiftness runes you already have. Out of the new ones, only those you got from the trials would be of use to you.”
“Why?” The seeker asked surprised, the woman pointing at the runes she got from the hides.
“There’s one here that’s similar to your sword’s cleaving rune, but it’s meant for crushing things, so it would only work on blunt weapons. Another one is for... having an enhanced sense of smell, but you can only put it on a helmet.”
“And the ones from the trial?”
“One of them could lessen the strain spells would have on your mind while the other one would... increase the potency of healing. I don’t really understand that one. The one with the mental strain is meant for helmets, so...”
“Would it work for a headband?” Einar asked as he pulled out the sheepskin he got as his reward from the trial of the mind.
Rúna took the skin and examined it, her eyes widening as she realized its value.
“Where did you get this?” She asked excitedly.
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“From the fourth trial.”
“The same with the rune, right?”
“Yes.”
“That explains it,” she said with her eyes still glued to the drawings. “The two would fit perfectly together.”
“Can you craft it?” The seeker asked the important question.
“Not now,” she shook her head. “I would need a proper workshop to do that and we haven’t found any along the way. Once we do though, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I see,” Einar sighed as he pulled out the other scroll and handed it over to her. “I don’t have a use for this but you might know someone who can use it.”
“This is... a healing brew recipe? I’ve even seen some of the herbs it describes on the way here.”
“A healing brew,” Arvid stepped closer to have a better look at the recipe. “Good. I could use some of that and I seem to recall that one of Brynhildr’s people has some experience with brewing. I’ll ask around.”
“You do that,” the seeker agreed as he pulled out his drinking horn from his pouch. “As for you, Rúna, do you think you can fuse that healing rune into my horn?”
“Your horn?” The woman looked at him puzzled after hearing his question.
“It’s a god-blessed horn that can create healing nectar if I feed it herbs.”
“I see,” she hummed as she examined the horn. “And the rune could strengthen its effects. Yes, that should work. What about the others?”
“I have no use of the rest, other than the one that would help with magic, but I’d need that headband first.”
“Alright,” Rúna nodded as she handed back the rune stone to him. “I’ll take the one that empowers blunt weapons as my payment and I’ll try to trade the rest for you.”
“Thank you.” Einar agreed and the forgemaiden stepped aside, summoning her fiery hammer to infuse the drinking horn with its first rune.
A few moments later, she handed it back, revealing a small glowing symbol that told the seeker his horn was now more powerful.
“So what are you going to do now?” Arvid asked, earning a small sigh from the young giant.
“I plan to continue searching for the other proving grounds, but I’ll have to be more careful now with Katashi out there.”
“We’ll continue our journey toward the fifth trial,” Rúna claimed. “Although we’ll likely meet up with the others first.”
“That would be wise.” The seeker agreed, taking a few steps to the side to give himself enough space to take off.
“Take care of yourself, Einar and don’t forget to come back in a few days. We might have found a proper forge by that time.”
“Sure.” He nodded before leaping high in the air, the ground cracking beneath his feet.
The seeker turned into his raven form in a puff of black mist before flying higher, his gaze turned toward the direction of the fifth proving ground. Hours later when he finally passed by, he noticed a small group made up from the different kingdoms’ God-marked trying their best to conquer the trial. The sun was already hanging low when the seeker decided to find shelter for the night, taking refuge in a small cave near a rocky patch of the forest after fighting the wolf that owned it. Luckily, the night passed undisturbed as Einar entered his inner realm to see the results of his recent conquest. Stepping closer to the altar he found the glass heart lying on the side. He grabbed it and focused on it, prompting the arrival of glowing words on the stone wall in front of him.
{Crystal Troll Heart}
{Lesser Divine Relic}
{A great shaman and artisan crafted this quartz heart to hold the lifeblood of a mighty troll. It will grant you the ‘Troll’s Heart’ feat while also permanently increasing your heart attribute by one.}
A new hole formed on the side of the stone slab just above the previous relic and the young giant placed the crystal heart into it. The moment he did, his inner world shuddered as he heard the roar of a beast in the distant darkness. Glowing words appeared on the wall, their meaning weighing heavy on the youth.
{Troll’s Heart}
{Trolls might not be the smartest creatures in the world but their resilience and strength more than make up for it. Those with the troll's heart feat can sacrifice their spiritual strength to call on its power, allowing their bodies to rapidly heal from injuries. The trade-off is five to one and this feat can only be used once every hour.}
Einar stared at the glowing words slack-jawed, trying to fully comprehend their true weight. If he understood it right, he could sacrifice five motes of his spiritual strength to heal himself for a single mote of health. Just like that, without any healing nectars or prayers or whatnot. That was a huge boon to any warrior, let alone one fighting as recklessly as him. Touching the first stone figurine he called upon his heraldry to see the changes, letting out a sigh as he silently read the words.
{Name: Einar Arnessen}
{Title: none}
{Ancestry: dragon/human/giant}
{Age: 18}
{Valour: 7350}
{Calling: Seeker}
{Renown: known by a few}
{Attributes}
• Charm:14
• Deftness: 25
• Divinity: 13
• Grit: 21
• Heart; 34
• Luck: 15
• Might: 34
• Mind: 19
• Soul: 25
Vigour/Spirit/Fortitude
109/162/113
The changes in his attributes were obvious and conquering the two trials and defeating the beasts of the forest had earned him enough valour that he could gain another ancestral constellation. Einar decided to pick the scroll with the frost giant this time, spending four thousand valour to fill it with life. His inner world shook as new stars lit up in the distant void above him while golden words appeared on the stone wall.
{Frost Giant Ancestral Blessing}
{The frost giants or Jötnar are considered to be the ruling race of the ancient frozen realm of Niflheim. Their blessing permanently strengthens your heart, might and mind attributes by three. It also strengthens any frost giant related feat.}
And it did. When Einar checked his heraldry once more, the three attributes mentioned by his ancestry indeed increased by three. Taking a look at his feats, the seeker found that his frost resistance had increased in rank and he also seemed to have earned a new frost giant inheritance.
{Frost resistance 2}
{Your awakened frost giant blood grants you twenty points of passive frost resistance.}The inheritance was an in-born magic ability he awakened through this blood and the ancestral blessing.
{Frozen Wastes}
{The Jötnar carry the power of the ice in their heart, in their veins and in every breath they take or expel. Take a deep breath and release it in a powerful wave of frozen wind to freeze everything around you. Each level in mastery strengthens your soul by 1. Every two points’ worth of soul increases the spell’s power by 1.}
{Spell type: elemental}
{Spirit cost: 20}
{Frost damage: 35}
{Casting time: 2 seconds}
{Spell mastery: 0/20}
{Mastery progression: 0/10}
This… this will be useful.’ The seeker thought to himself as he read the spell’s description. With nothing else left to do, the seeker left his inner world and went to sleep. Einar wasn’t one for nightmares, but the events of the past few days have left their mark on his mind, dreams of that horrid Oni haunting him until he finally woke up the next morning. After shaking off the lingering dread he gathered his belongings before unblocking the small cave’s entrance.
Once outside he leapt into the air and turned into his raven form, flying up above the crown of the forest. The second mountain of the island loomed in front of him in the distance, his instincts telling him that the sixth trial would be on top of it. The seeker flew forward as fast as he could, covering a large distance before having to switch back into his human form. Nearly four hours later he finally arrived at the foot of the mountain, a chill running down his spine as the wind carried an unnatural feeling toward him.