Ashes fell from the sky, accompanied by the acrid stench of blood and gore.

The screams and roars of desperate, angry, and hateful men and women echoed well into the night. My neighbors were dying. I recognized their voices in the raging battle that was consuming our nameless little village.

I huddled together with the other children in the safety of our Chieftain’s longhouse, beneath the floorboards. They placed us here for our safety. However, every single one of us knew that the only way we’d survive this is if our warriors won. But that wasn’t about to happen. I’d seen the ships of the enemy before they arrived; I’d seen their numbers. And I’d seen their banners. They were raiders from Blood Hall, here to plunder out nameless little hamlet; their armors were thick and their weapons were made by expert craftsmen.

I did not see how our warriors could possibly win. Still, I stayed with the other children, because there was nothing I could do. Many of them had soiled themselves in fear. The gods would find them displeasing; I was certain of that. I had long resolved to not live as they did – in fear.

Quests Received:

Kill the Enemy Leader, Reward: 2 skills, 2 mutations and 2 perks (Wolf)

Escape the Village Unnoticed, Reward: 1 skill and 1 perk (Eagle)

Ah, finally, the gods took notice.

The Whale and the Serpent did not offer quests of their own. I suppose that made sense. Merely surviving this ordeal would not satisfy the Whale and merely escaping would not interest the Serpent. Only the Wolf and the Eagle turned their hungering gazes towards me as I took a moment to consider my options. Was it possible to kill the enemy leader? As my father taught me, before he went off to join a raid and never came back, was that even the best warriors could be slain if they were caught off guard. Assuming I could even identify who their leader was, I could, feasibly, sneak behind them and stab them in the neck. Was it honorable? Likely not, but I was only ten years of age with no experience in combat, beyond training, while the leader of the raiders was likely a veteran of dozens of battles – probably even a Blessed, like myself.

The only way I could kill him was by catching him off guard.

Then again, I could also just try to run away. Both my parents were dead and I lived off of scraps. There was little that tied me to this place. Even the children around me; I only recognized a few of them and, even then, that recognition was minimal. Much of my time was spent in the remains of what used to be my home, before my mother died two years ago, foraging for food in the woods beyond our village and gathering water from the river. There was nothing here that was precious to me. I could run away and live off the land as many others had done. Surely, I would impress the Whale in doing so.

But my neighbors had taken me in when the raid began. They took me from the cabin, knowing the warriors from Blood Hall would pass by it, and took me to safety. There was a debt there that needed to be paid. And the Gods frowned on those who did not pay their debts.

And so, I could not just run away.

I’d received such quests from the Gods before – twice it happened and I’d failed once. The first one came from the Whale, challenging me to brave winter all by my lonesome. This happened the year after my mother died, a year ago or so. For surviving, I received a single perk and a single skill.

Skin of Cold – Ice, snow, and frost shall trouble you no longer. You shall walk the barren tundras and frozen reaches as though it were summer – a blessing from the Whale for surviving the touch of winter.

Breath of Growth – Force a still-growing plant to grow unnaturally faster. If it produces fruits or berries, its produce shall be far more nutritious than normal – a blessing from the Whale for braving through the pain of hunger.

The second time was a quest from the Wolf, a challenge that told me to hunt and kill a full-grown Elk without using ranged weaponry of any kind. I failed the quest, of course. I was simply too weak to take on such a powerful beast as I was. And so, I gained no blessings from the Wolf.

This was my third quest. And I wished not to disappoint the God of War a second time. This was also the first quest I’d ever received from the Eagle. I muttered a short prayer of forgiveness to the God of Knowledge and Creativity, for I would have to disappoint on this day.

I breathed in and turned to the other children. There were over fifteen of us down here and most of them were younger than me, barely old enough to wield a weapon. The others were older, but I saw the look in their eyes. They were cowards. They would appease none of the gods with their cowardice. But that was their life and I cared little for them. “I am leaving to try and kill the leader of the raiders. Do not follow. If you do, then do so at your peril.”

Surprisingly, one of them stepped forward, a boy who was likely the same age as I was, judging from his height and build. His hair was black and wavy and matted. And his eyes were full of hate. I didn’t recognize him. As he spoke, however, he spoke in a tone that would’ve made the gods proud if they weren’t already. The Wolf and the Whale, at the very least, would look upon the him with pride. “I’ll go with you. Let the gods decide who they wish to take on this day.”

“You realize that there’s a good chance we’ll both die, right?” I asked him. Life was about struggle and death. My goal, ever since I’d lost my parents, was to become on of the Chosen, the greatest champions of the gods, walking armies onto themselves. I was a long way from that, but the path was simple – struggle. Earn the grace of the gods through death and battle and war. If I failed, then – at the very least – I would be welcomed by the Wolf.

“Then it will be a good death.” The boy replied and I found myself smiling and nodding.

We both climbed out of the cellars of the Chieftain’s longhouse to find the main floor... mostly intact. At the very least, it didn’t seem to have been looted just yet. There were weapons on the wall, old ones that the Chieftain hadn’t bothered taking. However, a knife was still a knife and a well-placed stab into a vital area, such as the temple or the nape, would likely bring down even the hardiest foes.

“Do you know how to fight?” I asked the other boy as I grabbed a dirk from the wall and fastened it onto my belt. It was a small thing, by the standards of adults, but it was half the length of my arm and still reasonably sharp at the edges and at the point – good enough to kill a man, I figured. There were other weapons, but most of them would be too unwieldy for me, seeing as most of them were about as large as I was. Still, I grabbed another knife, just in case.

The other boy shook his head, grabbing a small hatchet and a knife. “No, but I know how to kill. I’ve done so before.”

“Your parents taught you?” I asked, but he quickly shook his head in response. “What happened to them?”

“Both dead after a botched raid.” He answered coolly, shaking his head. There wasn’t a hint of sadness in his tone. “My uncle took me up, but he’s also probably dead by now.”

I nodded. “Let’s go. I wager their leader’s somewhere in the village center. We’ll have to be quick about this. We’re small; warriors don’t usually go for children first, unless they’re disgraced. We can use that to our advantage. They’re still fighting outside. We might be able to slip by and catch their leader unaware.”

It was a terrible plan, but it was the best one I could come up with.

We walked out of the longhouse and did our best to hide behind the scattered debris – and there were plenty of those. The raiders had torn down the houses of our neighbors, it seemed. We hid behind broken wagons and strafed behind the ruined hovels. The harsh snow, falling from the sky alongside ashes, masked our trail and our movements. I figured no one was looking for us just yet.

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The fighting was intense and bloody. Men and women broke upon each other in a glorious orgy of blood and death; surely, the gods were proud of their fervor. To die in battle was the greatest of honors. I saw a familiar neighbor, Aslaug, eyes filled with rage and frothing at the mouth, tear apart one of the enemy raiders with her bare hands. She howled and roared, before charging again and biting a man’s face off. But that was as far as she got, before her head was separated from her body by a flying hatchet.

It was a good death.

The gods smiled upon her on this day. The Wolf would surely welcome Aslaug into its embrace.

We continued strafing the battlefield. It was pure chaos. Picking apart individuals was more difficult than I’d previously thought. The raiders from Blood Hall all wore similar armors, heavily-plates and animal furs and hides draped over their shoulders, with horned helmets over their heads. Their leader had to be someone who looked different, right? I turned to the boy who’d chosen to follow me. His eyes showed no fear. That was good. The gods were surely smiling down at us for our fearlessness. Still, I whispered, “Can you see their leader?”

He shook his head. “They all look the same to me.”

I scowled. How could I possibly find their leader in this chaos? The battle was spread across the entire village, warriors butchering each other in a haze of blood and gore, their guts and their flesh scattered upon the snow at our feet. Quite literally, an arm fell beside us, still grasping a sword, twitching and bleeding heavily.

And then, a tall figure walked into the village, encased in a massive suit of crimson armor that gave him the appearance of a hellish juggernaut. The hide of some great scaly beast was draped over his shoulders, dangling to the ground like a cape. His helmet was massive, sporting two draconic horns that extended upwards and a face plate that depicted a screaming demonic visage, eyes blazing with infernal energies. The only weak-point I saw was the neck area, where there was a small gap in the armor, and the eye holes on the helmet. Everywhere else was covered in heavy armor. He was followed by a score of figures who wore no armor, but, instead, wore heavy cloaks of fur and feathers, and wore crowns of animal bones and carried glimmering staffs – Followers of the Eagle. Sorcerers.

The boy and I exchanged a look; we nodded at each other. If this wasn’t their leader, then I don’t know who is.

The problem would be approaching. Their leader, likely a great champion of the Wolf, was flanked by the Followers of the Eagle. And there were many of them. We’d need some form of diversion to get to him. First, however, we’d need to get closer. I turned to the boy beside me and nodded. He understood immediately.

And then, as we’d done before, we strafed around the battle, crouching behind the ruined buildings that used to be the houses of our neighbors, now smote to ruins by the raiders. The battle raged on. Neither the villagers or the raiders took notice of us. We were just children, after all, small and inconsequential; it helped that I wore lightly colored clothes that helped me blend into the snow, while the boy that walked with me wore the hide of a white seal. Their leader, the tall man in crimson armor, walked towards the center of the village, flanked by his sorcerers.

We got behind them, crouched behind the corpse of a large horse, whose stomach had been cut open, its entrails steaming in the cold. The boy turned to me, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. A cold wind blew across the village, bringing with it a haze of ice and snow. The boy shuddered, but I felt nothing. “How do we do this? There are only two of us and he is surrounded by sorcerers. And, also, we’re children with knives.”

I glanced behind us. The quest to escape was technically still active and it didn’t seem as though there were any more raiders pouring in from their ships. The path was clear. A child could easily escape into the woods. Running, however, was the last thing on my mind.

“If you wish to flee, now’s your chance.” I told him, but the boy quickly shook his head. “If we die, then the Wolf will welcome us into its embrace.”

“I know,” He replied. “So, what’s the plan?”

I breathed in. There were two ways in which this could possibly end. The first was that I’d succeed and earn the blessings of the Wolf. The second was that I’d die and be welcomed in death. Neither of those were terrible, but a part of me did prefer to be alive. “I’m going to cause a distraction to try and catch their attention. You’re taller than me and your arms are longer. When their leader’s back is turned, rush him and try to stab him in the neck. I’ll try to approach from the left. You’ll know when it’s time.”

The boy nodded. There no further words that needed to be said.

With that, I went back the way we came as he continued the opposite direction. My plan was simple, draw their leader’s attention to myself, while the kid attacked from behind. Would it work? Probably. Our chance of success was low, but not zero. Everything just needed to be perfect. A good stab was all we needed. I breathed in and forced my heart to calm by taking long and deep breaths. It did not work. My chest pounded. And my breaths were short and shallow. I rounded a corner and found a good vantage point. I couldn’t attack the leader directly, but I could injure one of the mages; that would probably draw the attention of their whole group, which would give the boy an opening.

Underneath a blanket of snow and frost and ashes, I waited. There were four mages in total, moving in a square formation with the leader at the center. My target was the short one that walked just to the left of their leader, behind their formation. I didn’t know where the other boy was. I breathed in again. My vision was dimming. My heart was beating too fast.

It was now or never.

“RAAAAAGH!” I roared as I rushed for the mage, casting aside all notions of fear and doubt, and simply emptying my mind in the process. The mage turned, a young woman; her eyes were wide with surprise as I leapt up and jammed both the dirk and the dagger right into her face. She screamed, alerting the rest of their party. Their leader’s burning gaze fell upon me. He seemed so much taller in person, like a giant in armor. He drew an axe, covered in fell runes that seemed to whisper and hiss. He took a step forward. The female mage I’d stabbed pushed me onto the ground and kicked my face. I was sent tumbling away. My mouth bled and I felt a few of my teeth knocked loose.

I turned to glance at the mage and beheld her eyes, now cackling with lightning and thunder. This wasn’t good. I forced myself up. And I realized then that I no longer had any weapons.

I’d missed, it turned out. The knives had pierced through her cheeks and her mouth. It was probably painful, but she wouldn’t die from it. The mage screamed as she pulled the knives from her face and tossed them away, blood spurting from her face and drenching the snow red. “You little bitch! I’ll flay the flesh from your bones and feed you to the hellhounds!”

Their leader took a step towards me, burning axe in hand. He seemed almost curious and pensive. The mage I’d wounded raised her staff at me and snarled. Her staff cackled. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

The boy chose that moment to leap from the roof of one of the ruined houses around us, roaring as he raised his knife. My eyes widened. They all turned towards the boy. I wasted no time and rushed forward, grabbing the daggers the mage had thrown onto the snow. She’d turned her gaze from me for the barest of moments. It was all the time I needed to jam a dagger right into her belly, before pulling and stabbing again and again and again. Her eyes widened. Blood poured from her lips. Their leader chuckled and turned; his gauntleted hand blurred and caught the boy by the neck, choking him and holding him in place, well before the knife ever neared. The boy kicked and struggled, but their leader’s grip was too strong.

Quest Failed!

Escape the Village Unnoticed (Failed)

No!

The female mage fell to her knees, eyes wide as her guts streamed from her belly. I pulled the dagger from her flesh and roared and charged the gargantuan man in crimson armor. I was going to die. The boy and I were going to die. The least I could do was face my death with some dignity. “RAAAAAAAGH!”

I fell face-first into the snow, held down by something I could not see. Magic. I screamed and snarled and roared.

“Good effort,” The voice was like the cracking of ice and the cackling of fire. Even without looking, I knew it was the man in the crimson armor, speaking to me. Something heavy was dropped beside me. I could see enough through the snow to tell that it was the boy. He was alive, but the skin of his neck was burned, marked by the gauntlet of the man in crimson armor. “Hmm, the Seer told me there was a Blessed in this backwater hamlet. And I came all the way here, thinking I’d find a good fight. I didn’t think it’d be a little girl. Take them away!”

“My lord, what of Astrid?” I didn’t know who was talking, but it was probably one of the mages. I felt a pair of hands grab me. I snarled and roared, but it was of no use. No matter how much I struggled, whoever held me down was stronger.

Their leader scoffed. “Heal the bitch, but shackle her magic. I have no use for mages who can’t fend off an angry child. She’ll serve better as a bed-warmer.”

I heard heavy footsteps approaching. “I can’t offer you to the gods as you are, little girl. So, you’re coming with me – you and your little friend. And I shall make you worthy sacrifices. Take them to my ship!”

Something heavy hit my head. And I knew only darkness.