Chapter 4: Blessings and Ale
Authors notes(PLEASE READ, IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT ESPECIALLY THIS TIME):
First of all I made a grievous mistake that was offending to all Dwarven women in the Warhammer universe. In chapter one I said that Freda had a beard but after some reading in the dwarven lore book I found out that it was wrong and that them having beards is just a baseless rumour made up by humans because dwarven women almost never leave the Karak. I changes the text now and once again I apologise to all dwarven women out there.
Secondly: there are quite a lot of things in this chapter that are related to Warhammer lore. It is not necessary to know the lore to understand the story but it is fun to know (that is what I think Anyway) so I have placed some links here that can help you. if what you want to know is not here then please take a look at The World thread I made and if you can’t find it there then you can always put your question in the comments or use Google.
Lore information:
Spoiler :
Rune(magic/smithing): look at page 209 of Realms of sorcery or page 54 of Dwarves - Stone and Steel
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Anvil of Doom: for basic information click Anvil of Doom and for usage and more detailed information see page 54 of Dwarves - Stone and Steel
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Warhammer Warhammer old world map (for location of Dragon Peak mountain look in The World thread for the location and direct surroundings)
Stoneshapers: one of the dwarven career options. It is basically a builder, designer and sculptor in one for more information see page 89 of Dwarves - Stone and Steel
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Dwarf Gods:
Grungni: god of mining and smiths, husband of Valaya
Valaya: goddess of healing and protection
Grimnir the Fearless: warrior god, brother of Grungni
Gazul: Lord of the Underearth and protector of the Dwarf dead
Smednir: Shaper of Ore, son of Grungni
Thungni: Ancestor God of Runesmiths, younger brother of Smednir
Morgrim: Ancestor God of Engineers, son of Grimnir
Chaos gods:
Tzeentch: the Chaos God of Change, Evolution, Intrigue and Sorcery
Khorne: the Chaos God of hate, rage and bloodshed
Many thanks to my proof reader Traluxbot101 he has, is and will be a great help.
Lastly, many thanks for all your comments, it makes me feel happy and some of them ask great questions about the story that help me a lot. :D
Year: 10-10-1709 (Imperial Calendar)(three year after hatching)
Location: planet Warhammer, Dragon Peak mountain
Michiko POV.
It is my third birthday today and since the time I made the second blueprint the dwarves have really worked hard. They first closed of the entrances to the cave system to make sure no random animal or goblin can wander in. they then placed illumination crystals in parts of the cave system. They can’t place crystals everywhere yet since they don’t have enough of them and those crystals are also expensive.
While the crystals are mostly for the spreading, focusing and coloring of the light that comes from the rune of light that is inscribed on it. These rune’s are what makes them so expensive while any apprentice rune smith like Duregar (if he had access to an Anvil of Doom) can make them they are still permanent rune’s and making those cost a lot of time and effort. While we can find some crystals here and there those are not suitable because of the low quality. They need to be shaped by an apprentice jeweller and then most of the time something is added to change its colour that the crystal already has. In the end it just means that you end up with an expensive but well-made product.
While they will probably light up more in the future when they have had the chance and the money to buy more crystals for now they have lit up the central Shrine, one of the smaller farm areas, one of the smaller animal holding areas, a part of the central recreation area and one of the brewery areas. Most of those areas are very logical and I had predicted that they would do those first.
The farm and animal area for food production, part of the recreation area for fishing in the lake and even the shrine I had predicted to be done first since food is essential and the shrine is kind of necessary since gods are real in the world. But I really underestimated the love that dwarves have for ale and beer. When they were voting for what areas to do first almost all of them immediately said that they wanted a brewery. Well it does not really matter since they do set priorities and they only started building the brewery when the more important things were finished.
In that time I did multiple things. I helped out the miners by finding ore veins and digging. They told me they really appreciated my help because finding an ore vein is a lot easier now and I also did very fast. Grond also gave me some dwarven coins for the starting of my dragon hoard he joked but he told me that I can’t really use them since we don’t use money right now because everyone helps everyone. But he also told me that when I go to another Karak in the future that I should spend it on something fun. It was nice of him to give me that. I think I will buy some interesting books when I get the chance.
I went with the dwarves on goblin extermination missions after we started again. And it looks like it is working since it is becoming harder to find strong goblins. Of course we can’t go and attack them. Their numbers are just far too big for us right now and it is likely that there are still a lot of strong goblins in the crag (goblin hold). But still we can see that we are making a difference and that is good.
I also helped the hunters by spotting prey and warning them or diving down myself and grabbing with a prey my claws and biting its neck and giving it a quick death. It was pretty bloody and I am happy that the dwarves smiled at me and congratulated me instead of looking disgusted by it.
They also started teaching me how to use crossbows, knives, how to sneak, scout and survive in the wild. They told me that even while I am a dragon those skills would never be bad to have. The archery lessons where pretty interesting because, while I know how to use one from my previous life, it was more just knowledge and it was not something I would regularly do. We did have laser and plasma rifles after all. But I do have an huge advantage, using my special mind I will never lose a skill and it will never get “rusty” due to long periods of not using it.
I did upgrade the dwarven crossbows using the knowledge of my previous life. I made a compound crossbow, which is heavier than their old crossbows. The extra weight doesn’t really matter to the are dwarves, but the compound crossbow’s stopping power increased a lot. At first they were a bit sceptical about the new bow but after a long time spend convincing them and showing the capability’s and even having a small contest between the old and the new crossbow they gave in.
I did ask around a bit and it seems like dwarves are most of the time not such fans of innovations and that most inventions go through hundreds of years of testing. I was kind of surprised by this actually and it seems like they only accepted the compound crossbow because they trust me and the overwhelming evidence. I will have to work on this with them and I have to slowly start changing their mind set. Because this will certainly not be the last invention I will make and some of the bigger stuff will give them a heart attack if they keep being so rugged in their thinking.
Anyway back to the archery lessons. while training I combined the techniques from my previous life and the techniques from the hunters and I became a pretty decent shot the only thing I can do for now to get better is keep doing it.
While I was training with the hunters some of the warriors also came to look. when I finished my basic hunter/scout training I was almost immediately taken by them and they asked me if I wanted to learn how to use a sword, spear and an axe. It seemed like they did not want to be outdone by the hunters and that they also wanted to teach me. It went more or less the same as with the crossbow, I combined the techniques of the dwarves with the knowledge of the of my previous life and I became a decent warrior.
I am now more or less around apprentice level at knifes, sword and axe fighting and high apprentice level at crossbow and spear fighting. As for guns and cannons I have not had the chance to train with them. While dwarves do use gunpowder weapons a lot they are very loud and can be heard for a long distance and that would draw a lot of attention from. Secondly gunpowder is precious right now we only have a limited amount of it and we can’t afford to waste it.
Freda, Endar and I also moved to a newly built house. It was one of the first houses built around the central plaza of the Karak and it a normal store on the bottom floor. it extend back a lot to save room at the front so we can built more shops around the central plaza. Like most dwarven family homes it was quite big.
The reason for that is that for every one female dwarf there are three male dwarfs born. And while most male dwarves never marry there are also a lot of cases where one dwarven women marries with three male dwarves. Especially in the case of them being miners or warrior when there is a large chance of dying. The low amount of female dwarves also makes it so that most of them never leave there Karak. Which is also a large part of the reason why humans think that female dwarves also have beards and that they just can’t see the difference. which is a baseless rumour made up by the humans and also a big insult.
Anyway back to our new home. When we moved I also got my own bedroom. while I miss not sleeping with Freda and Endar it was probably for the better since I was getting too big. Right now I am around the size of a pony in my dragon form and that would mean I would take up more than half the bed. And now I have my own bed that is round where I can lie down while I am comfortably curled up. Well my size was the reason they gave me I also suspect that I was interfering with their nightly business.
While being so big is normally not much of a problem for a dragon seeing they live in giant caves it would probably not bother them very much. but for me it is kind of a problem because I want to be able to live with the dwarves and while I can just stay in dwarf of half dragon form all the time it just feels weird. I am just more comfortable in my dragon form so I sated to look for a solution.
I started experimenting with my transformation ability again and after a while of trying differed things I found a way I could transform into my younger form but I still can’t transform into a form that is older than me. After some time I also found out that my body still keeps growing so the limit on my transformation age still keeps rising even if I am in a younger form. I am very happy about this ability since I do not have to worry about how big I get and I can still be comfortable even in the Karak.
Well that was the long list of things I did and I probably still missed a few things but I think I got all of the important things back to today.
Today is an important day for me since today the ritual of Naunsdeg will be done. This is normally done on the day of birth or a few days after but we did not have the shrines to the ancestors done then so it was postponed. The past few months a lot of the mines and masons under the supervision of one of the few Stoneshapers we have, have worked on the temples inside the shrine area in the cave system. It has become very beautiful dwarven stonework is really a sight to behold. And today we will do the ceremony, me and a two other children that where born during the past few years will all participate in the Naunsdeg ceremony
Right now I am getting ready for the ceremony with Freda who is doing my hair. I am wearing my cloak but one of the dwarves that specialises in fabrics has made some patterns in it to make it more appropriate for the occasion. It still is a cloak made from soft leather for strength but it now has some beautiful patterns in it. Most of the patterns are around the bottom and in the middle of my chest a logo of a black and a white dragon forming a yin yang symbol. They don’t know that symbol but I requested I requited it since it is kind of appropriate for me, seeing I am normally white but I can also turn black when angered.
Enough about that, when is done with my hair we make our way downstairs and we join the other dwarves that are waiting in the central area. Where we wait for a while for the others to get ready.
When everyone has gathered, we start to walk toward the elevator and go down the shaft using the elevator. When the elevator stops we have arrived at the hallway to the cave system, it is not entirely dug out yet but it is already quite wide. We then walk into the cave system over the illuminated pathways and we make our way to the shrine area.
When we arrive at the shrine area the group splits between the male and female dwarves. the two others that are undergoing the Naunsdeg ritual and me go to the temple of Grungni with the male dwarves while the female dwarves wait outside.
When I go inside while holding hands with Endar, I feel something in the temple. It feels like we are being watched and I also sense a strange kind of chaos energy circling around, well calling it chaos energy is kind of correct but it also feels very differed at the same time. It circulates around in the temple and around the dwarves. It also comes to me and circles around me and it keeps going around me as if intensely observing me.
After a while it returns to its regular course going around the temple. Endar squeezes my hand and we then start to walk toward the altar while we are followed by the other two children with their fathers. When we are on the altar Endar walks in front of us and then faces the crowd and starts to talk.
Endar: “We have gathered here today under the gaze of our ancestor Grungni to record the births of the first born children in our new Karak and clan, to request the blessing of our ancestor so they may become strong and live a long and happy life. Fimbur please come forth with the book of names”
Fimbur then approaches the altar with a massive book and puts it down on a big bookrest on. He then opens it. The book has pages made of gold that has been made as flat as parchment. I can immediately see that the book has been made to last since while dwarves normally write on parchments, the most important texts that they want to be able to preserve for centuries are printed on gold since it does not rot or rust. normally on Lore masters use it a lot to record history and knowledge and other dwarves rarely use it. The reason that Fimbur brought it on stage is actually since he has been appointed Loremaster since he was the oldest and most knowledgeable of all of dwarves that live here. Anyway back to the ceremony, Endar motions me forward and then start to speak again.
Endar: “First born in our Karak was Michiko, Great ancestor god Grungni please bless her so she may become strong and live a happy and long life”
I then feel same presence and energy circle around me and then I hear a commanding and strong voice speak to me.
???1: “I will speak to you later and then I will decide if you deserve my blessing but for now stay quiet!”
The voice speak with a power that is comparable if not a bit lower as that off Tzeentch that makes me feel like I cannot refuse. It is most likely Grungni seeing it is his temple. The reason why he spoke to me is most likely because of my relation to Tzeentch one of the chaos gods who all are more or less a direct enemy of almost all the other gods including the dwarven ancestor gods. It can also be that it is because I am a dragon but that is less likely
The presence then leaves and the energy retunes to the temple. After that my name, birthday and gender is then noted down in the book by Fimbur together with some information about me. The process is then repeated with the other two children and it mostly goes the same except for the blessing part and the energy that swirls around them leaves behind part of it which fuses with the energy already in them.
after it is done we go back outside and we join with the women and girls again. And now the second part of the ceremony begins and I and the other two children go with the female dwarves to the temple of Valaya. The atmosphere is also very different a lot more joyful and a lot less serious. When we walk inside the temple I can feel another different presence and I can also see an energy flowing around. but the presence and energy feels a lot more peaceful and like the other one it also stops on me for a while before moving on. I them move to the altar with the other dwarves.
On the altar there is a big burning homily looking hearth which is Valaya’s hearth. Which is appropriate since she is the ancestor god of Home and Healing. When we are on the altar the ceremony begins one of the female dwarves picks me up to hand me to Freda trough the smoke of Valaya’s hearth which is how I should get the blessing.
But when I am in the smoke it becomes dark and I reappear somewhere else. I immediately feel an incredible pressure and I fall to my knees while supporting myself with my arms. While I struggle to get up and see what is going on I can feel my mussels getting damaged and my internal organs feel like they are getting crunched. I then cough up blood and fall to the ground. I then hear an angry female voice.
???2: “Stop that Grimnir! You are killing her!”
Grimnir: “Why would that be bad Valaya. You can also feel it has been touched by the filth of chaos!”
Valaya(???2): “Yes I can, but I have also been observing her for the past few years and I said we should hear her out before we decide what to do”
???1: “Valaya is right Grimnir, this is a situation we have never encountered before we should at least try to talk and after that we can still decide if we should kill her or not”
Grimnir: “Tch.. okay we will hear it out for now, but if it tries to attack I will kill it immediately”
I feel the pressure lighten and I slowly get up. I then check my body and feel that it is a mess and I send refined chaos energy trough my body to repair the damage. I then wipe the blood of my mouth with my right arm and then look around.
What I see shocks me. I am on an island covered with grass and has a few buildings and looks like it is flying in the air surrounded by blue sky and white clouds. But the flying island is not what shocks me the most but the fact that the entire dwarven pantheon is in front of me does.
I see Grungni: god of mining and smiths - husband of Valaya, Valaya: goddess of healing and protection, Grimnir the Fearless: warrior god - brother of Grungni, Gazul: Lord of the Underearth and protector of the Dwarf dead, Smednir: Shaper of Ore - son of Grungni, Thungni: Ancestor God of Runesmiths - younger brother of Smednir, Morgrim: Ancestor God of Engineers - son of Grimnir. While I am frozen in shock Valaya laughs a bit and then speaks.
Valaya: “Sorry for the rough treatment child but Grimnir despised chaos energy of the chaos gods. And to be hones he has good reasons too, but you seem different then the champions of the chaos gods and you are also not a corrupted being so we are kind of at a loss what to do with you”
Michiko: “Do not worry about it goddess Valaya, to be honest I have a very high pain threshold do to some of the training and experimentation I did with my ability’s. I do not want to be rude but before we talk I would like to ask a question”
I look at them and Grungni nods
Michiko: “can any of you read my mind or soul, or do any of you have the ability to detect lies? If so I can just tell my story right”
Grungni(???2): “well we have the ability to read your soul but that would probably kill you but we also have the ability to detect any lies. You seem very strait forward, not at all like submissive or grovelling”
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Michiko: “Well I always try to be polite no matter who I talk to and I think it would be bad if I try to change myself for a person. I think that, that is bad and dishonest and especially in this kind of situation where I am going to be judged by gods who can look right through me I would be counterproductive. The only reason why I am speaking different now than with Freda and the other dwarves is the situation I am in right now. This I who I am, this is what I want to be”
Valaya: “Pff-hahahaha…. You are very no nonsense are you?”
Valaya said with a big smile while the other dwarfs (gods) where looking at her as if she went a bit crazy.
Valaya: “well one way or the other sitting on the ground is not very comfortable come with me we will go and sit somewhere”
Valaya then starts to walk and I do a quick check my body. The most important parts are repaired but it looks like some of the energy channels have been damaged, that will take a lot of refined chaos energy and time to repair. I then start the absorption of chaos energy and begin converting it in my core and start sending it around my body. after the few seconds that it took me to start the healing I look up and see Grungni looking at me.
Grungni: “Interesting”
He says one word and then starts to follow Valaya. I stand up and follow behind them with Grimnir behind me and watching me. After a while we reach a table with some chairs around it and a small building at the side of it. Valaya sits down and so do the others and I sit down between Valaya and Grimnir.
Grungni: “Now you have the chance to tell us you story, my son Thungni inscribed a rune on this table that detects leis and will glow red when you do”
Michiko: “So runes can do that to that’s handy”
Thungni: “Yes I am quite proud of this one it took me a lot of research and testing”
Thungni says clearly proud of his rune.
Michiko: “Thungni do you work together a lot with you brother Morgrim? I think you could make a lot of interesting things”
Thungni: “Ah yes the last few years we have been working on an interesting project right Morgrim?”
Morgrim: “Yes we have been working on an artificial mind that can do calculations and do certain Assignments”
Michiko: “Oh you are making a basic computer”
Morgrim: “Computer what is that?”
Michiko: “Well what you just described is basically a computer, computer is just the word for it I have worked with them before. How does your devise work?”
We then start to talk about computers and we discuss. And I ask questions about how to intergrade runes in computers and I also give them some ideas. During our talk Smednir also joins in when we start taking about what materials to use. Ahh it has been so long since I have talked with fellow researchers/inventors. After a minute or two a fist hits the table and we snap out of it and I look around the table Grimnir standing with his fist on the table looking mad, while Valaya seem to have trouble to hold in her laughter, Gazul just looks like he is contemplating something and Grungni calm but a but inpatient.
Grimnir: “What are you doing giving precious information to a potential enemy!”
Thungni: “That should be the other way around uncle Grimnir, the short talk we just had advanced our research by months if not years. While if my estimation of Miss Michiko is correct she would probably be able to figure out what we came up with in a month. And I also think she is no allied with the chaos gods since if they had this kind of knowledge they would have beaten us long ago, you two agree right Morgrim, Smednir?”
Morgrim: “Yes”
Smednir: “It’s true”
Grimnir then becomes quiet and sits back down and crosses his arms while Valaya is still trying to hold in her laughter and then Grungni clears his throat and we look at him.
Grimnir: “we will decide if she can be trusted after we have listened to her story”
I then begin telling my story well at least the important parts and they all listen quietly while I talk. After about half an hour I’m done and I look around. after the talk Grimnir does not look so hostile to me anymore but still a bit suspicions. Thungni, Morgrim and Smednir look very interested and like they want to ask a lot of questions. Gazul still looks like he is contemplating something. Valaya looks at me with a smile and Grimnir looks like he is thinking.
Grimnir: “So to summarize, you were a researcher in another universe most likely and you and your collages repaired and opened a chaos portal. Then Tzeentch came out and he took you with him because he found you interesting, wanted you to bring change because that’s how his power increases and to get entertainment. Then he reincarnated you in a dragon because you think dragons are cool and requested it. He then put you in a dragon egg that did not hatch because of insufficient heat. A long time later you were found by the dwarves who made you hatch and you have been living with them and helping them in secret and in the open because you feel kinship with them?”
Michiko: “Yes that is more or less it”
Grimnir: “that is so unbelievable I would just have laughed it of if it was not for lie detection rune on the table”
Valaya: “well that was quite the story and while I would really like to ask more question I think it would be appropriate to get a drink first wait here a bit”
Valaya walks away and I talk some more with Thungni, Morgrim and Smednir. After a while Valaya returns with tankards of ale, I kind of was expecting tea but they are dwarves so this is kind of logical. She puts one down in front of me and from my point of view it looks huge. Imagine a three year old sitting on a high chair with a dwarven size tankard of ale in front of her.
After everyone has a tankard we do a silent toast and while holding it with both hands I put it at my mouth and drink a few gulp. It looks like Valaya has given me an kind of ale without alcohol. I look at Valaya and she winks, I then nod my head in gratitude. But it being without alcohol does not take away from the taste, it is still made by a goddess literally and the goddess of brewing at that. I must remember to ask her for some brewing tips later and thank her for the alcohol free ale since a three year old would probably become very drunk.
I put my tankard back down and start to talk.
Michiko: “Before we go on where we where I would like to ask a question first. Why is it that everyone says that Tzeentch is such a bad person? Yes he, she or it did take me away from my old life but that does not make Tzeentch totally evil only selfish and Tzeentch told me I would like it here and he, she or it did not lie. So I am having the feeling that I am missing something”
Valaya: “Yes you are right. Let’s just say Tzeentch is kind of special compared to the other chaos gods. You see since… I will just call him male for now, since he is the god of change he himself is more or less the embodiment of change itself. Which means he himself also changes a lot and not only his body changes, his personally does too. So sometimes he is your best friend and other times he is your worst enemy”
Michiko: “Mmm that would make sense but I then still don’t understand why he is always depicted evil in all the books I read and all the dwarves also said the same”
Valaya: “Yes we also don’t totally understand why he is always evil in the physical world. But we suspect that the other chaos gods have found a way they can influence or restrict his change in physical world. And that they can’t do it when he is in his own realm where he is too powerful for them to influence”
Michiko: “Mmm yes that would be logical. I don’t want to be rude but how much can all of you influence the physical world actually? I mean you were first living in the physical world and leading the dwarves and fighting against the first chaos invasion but now you have almost no connection to the physical world”
Grimnir: “Yes that’s true back then we were fighting chaos forces directly and it was a war of epic proportions but one day we saw that it would go wrong if it went on like this. It was the I day met Khorne the chaos god of hate, rage and bloodshed while I was traveling to the chaos gates to try and close them”
Grimnir takes a deep breath and looks at me with a serious gaze
Grimnir: “The moment we saw one another we both attack trying to get the first hit. When we were fighting I realised I was weaker then him but we were still fighting on even ground because I honestly did not care if I died only killing my opponent mattered to me. We fought for two days until we both stopped for a bit to catch our breath and we looked around. What we saw was complete destruction, the area we had fought was turned into a desolate wasteland, there where large cracks in the earth and we could still feel the aftershocks of earthquakes. We both understood that we could not continue fighting because after our fight there would not be much left or the world we were fighting over”
Valaya: “you see Michiko the chaos gods do not want to destroy the world because it is there source of power. Even if by some chance one of the gods would go insane and try to destroy the world we can count on them to help to stop it. And so we together with all the other gods made a pact, we sealed a large part of the influence of the gods of from the world. And this seal can only be broken when all of us agree to do so”
Michiko: “Wow…….. I’m kind of left speechless by that”
Valaya face goes back from serious to a smile
Valaya: “don’t think about it too much, that happened thousands of years ago. I’m more interested in what you are planning to do”
Michiko: “I would like to tell you but before that….”
Valaya turns her head a bit while I am moving my legs uncomfortably
Valaya: “Hmm…. Oh come with me for a bit”
Thungni: “What is it mother?”
Valaya: “Don’t ask we will be back in just a bit, come on Michiko”
She grabs my hand and pulls me with her and we walk towards one of the buildings and when we are out of hearing range she speaks.
Valaya: “It’s nice to see that under that tough front you put up there is still the cute little girl that I have seen so many times while looking down at you and your family. The same cute girl that is afraid to say that she has to go to the toilet”
She says with a sweet but also a bit of a teasing smile.
Michiko: “Muu but it is already embarrassing to say so in front of regular people and saying it in front of gods I would explode out of shame”
Valaya: “Hahaha I love that you are saying that while you are totally naked under your cloak or have you forgotten”
I become totally red and look at her.
Michiko: “Do the others know?”
Valaya: “Don’t worry I only know because I am the one that has been observing you all this time”
I calm down and after a minute we arrive at the building and I look around a bit as we enter. the building has a very homely feeling, it makes you feel at peace and protected. Valaya leads me to the toilet to answer to do my business. When I am done I get out and meet Valaya.
Valaya: “Done?”
Michiko: “yes”
We then walk toward the door and I look around a bit more
Valaya: “Do you like my home?”
Michiko: “Well it has a very warm homely feeling the only thing I can say it is to be expected of the home of a goddess of Home and Healing”
Valaya smiles and then speaks.
Valaya: “Well thank you little miss dragon”
We talk a bit more until we arrive at the table and we sit down again.
Grungni: “Well beginning where we, while we believe that you are not allied with the chaos gods we would still like to know what you are planning to do. You are after all a very special being”
Michiko: “For now I am planning on helping the dwarves establish themselves and securing their safety. Personally I will try to get stronger and find more information about magic/chaos energy and other things. After that I would like to help the dwarves take care of goblins…. they still have a blood debt to pay”
While I said this my eyes turned red and my white hair became black for a few seconds. Grungni put his hand on his weapon for a bit but Valaya gestured him to calm down and when I returned to normal he put his hand down.
Grungni: “Well that is good, but make sure not to lose yourself in your hatred of them”
Michiko: “Don’t worry, I will not be blinded by my hatred. I cannot forgive them for what they’ve done, but until I have the strength to make them pay, I will live my life as best as I can”
Michiko: “I was also planning to introduce some new inventions and techniques but that will most likely be very hard since the dwarves are very conservative when it comes to innovation”
Morgrim: “it’s true while we all know resources are precious that does not mean that you should not spend some to innovate. And they should not stop because of one failed experiment failure is the mother of success but since the goblin wars and the end of the golden age they have almost stopped any new innovation and have been on an almost standstill technology wise in the last few millennia”
Michiko: “So I understand it correctly that you have no problem with me bringing some new things in in the world?”
Morgrim: “Of course not! That is exactly what I want! But you might have some trouble convincing the dwarves themselves. We are a stubborn race which can be a virtue as well as a curse”
Michiko: “Yes that is true, I can probably convince the dwarves of my Karak but to convince the others I will need a major achievement and proof that my invention work and are reliable”
Morgrim: “that is most likely the case and you have another problem since you are not a dwarf they will most likely not trust you”
Michiko: “Well I had an idea how to solve that. I may sound a bit selfish but Valaya can you give me a blessing? It does not have to be anything that grant me power but just something that I can activate and shows your sign and shows that you accept me. That should help a lot and you can probably also use it to observe me so it is a double sided deal”
Valaya: “Of course I was planning to propose it myself but you beat me to it”
She said while smiling
Michiko: “Okay that leaves only one thing. Thungni it is true that only your father, you and your decedents can inscribe runes right?”
Thungni: “It is kind of unfortunate but yes and that also means you can probably not do it yourself”
Michiko: “Well not necessarily, you see I think it has to do with special kind of gene that influences the chaos energy that flows through your body and makes it so that you can use it to inscribe runes”
Thungni: “Yes that could be true while I don’t really understand what you mean with genes. It is true that it could be a special trait that my descendants inherited from me but how would this help you?”
Michiko: “Well in my universe I learned a lot about genes and DNA and I know a lot about them you probably don’t understand that since the technology level is lower in this world but to make it simple: DNA is something that carries the traits of the person it came from and when a baby is born it has a combination of the trait of its parents. So if I can isolate the part of the DNA that contains the trait of rune inscription I could probably use it myself. But I have a problem, over generations the trait becomes deluded and weaker so…”
Thungni: “You need get the DNA from a close as you can from the original source. And you can use that to compare it to the rune smiths of today! That’s genius you are amazing!”
Michiko: “Nonono I’m not the one who discovered DNA and genes I am just using the knowledge gained over the century’s”
Thungni: “But still you are very smart. Anyway what do you need me to do to give you some of my DNA”
Michiko: “A drop of blood is the easiest and cleanest way”
Thungni takes a small knife out a sheath and makes a cut in his hand and a drop falls in my hand. I close my eyes and absorb it and start analysing it through the manipulation of my body and the use of refined chaos energy. After five minutes I open my eyes again and see Thungni.
Thungni: “Did it work?”
Michiko: “Well just now I only extracted the DNA and recorded it in my mind cross-referencing the DNA and finding the right sequence will take a while it should be done in a week if I am lucky and a month if I am unlucky”
Valaya: “Was that all? I have been speeding up the time in here but if Michiko stays here for much longer then the dwarves will become worried”
Grungni: ‘One thing I first give her my standard blessing I give all dwarves. I did promises I would if I found you worthy and I think you have more than proven yourself. Do you all agree too?”
All of them except for Grimnir and Valaya give me there blessing and I feel power flow into me and I feel it strengthening my body and mind. It is not by a huge amount but it is certainly not nothing either. Everyone looks at Grimnir who is looking down and then looks at me and speaks.
Grimnir: “I must apologise, I misjudged you. I will give you a higher level blessing that will help you on your path”
He waves his hand and I feel a special power flow into me and I can feel that it increases my dexterity and my reaction time. I bow to him and he waves it away. I then follow Valaya who motions me to come and then I follow her. When we are out of earshot Valaya speaks.
Valaya: “Grungni is not such a bad person he has just been hardened by the many battles he has fought and the many comrades he has lost. But he also recognises when he is wrong and he will try to apologise as best he can when he does”
Michiko: “I know I have met a lot of people in my past life especially. I might be quite young compared to you but when Tzeentch took me I was already around two hundred years old. I have seen a lot in that time”
Valaya: “Well I kind of suspected that already. The look you have in your eyes when you are staring into the distance… it is not something that you get in a few decades life”
Michiko: “Oh you were watching me, yes I suppose I do that sometimes when I think back to my past life. When I came to this new planet it is not like I did not leave any friends.(sad look to smile) But what is done is done they will move on and I will move on… maybe when I can I will send a postcard someday”
Valaya: “Well back to the present, The blessing I will give you allows me to see where you are and what you are doing to a degree at least. A high amount of chaos energy will interfere with the connection, we will have to find a solution for that when or if you plan to enter the chaos wastes near the poles. My symbol will appear on the back of your right hand and you can hide it when you want to”
Michiko: “That is good, I won’t have to cover my hand if I want to hide my identity”
Valaya: “Oh and one last thing, when you activate your symbol in my temple you can talk to me and I can then even transport your consciousness to my realm so we can have a drink together. But you must be careful since while you are here your body will be in a sleep like state in the physical world and if your body or consciousness is harmed you can still die. So you must make sure that your body is safe when you come by”
Michiko: “Oh I will be sure to come and visit you every once in a while, I would still like to ask some brewing tips on how to make such good ale”
Valaya: “Sure I will help you as best I can and maybe you can give my some ideas to with the knowledge of you past life”
Michiko: “Agreed”
While we were walking we arrived at the place I first arrived at. I go and stand in the middle and look at Valaya.
Valaya: “When you wake up in the physical world only a few minutes should have past”
Michiko: “okay thank you”
She smiled and then stated to send me away
Valaya: “Come back soon!”
With a flash my consciousness is transported to the physical world and when I open my eyes I see I am in Freda’s arms who looking at me with worried eyes.
Freda: “Michiko your awake! I was so worried. What happened?”
Michiko: “well in the smoke I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was in a different place. I saw a pretty dwarf lady and we spoke for a bit and she then gave me this”
I activated the symbol on my hand and immediately there was a commotion, a lot of the dwarves where surprised and happy. Then one of the dwarven lady that was handing me to Freda trough the smoke shouted for silence and after a while it became quiet.
Freda: “What did she say to you Michiko?”
Michiko: “Hmm… I can’t remember, I only remember that she felt very warm and safe”
After that there was some disappointment but still everyone was very happy after that we quickly finished the ceremony and we then went outside. When we met Endar he was also very happy and he hugged me. He then got on a rock and got everyone attention.
Endar: “We don’t know what this blessing exactly means but we can be sure of one thing and that is that the goddess accepts Michiko as one of us dwarves. This is of course a very happy thing but we must keep it quiet for now because there are enemy’s in this world that would try to kill Michiko because of this blessing. so for now we need to keep it a secret at least until Michiko is strong enough that she can defend herself. But still this is something very good so for tonight we will have a feast not only because of Naunsdeg but to celebrate the acceptance of Michiko by our goddess!”
After that there was cheering and we went back to home.
that evening there was a big party and feast. I was carried around a lot by Endar and I also danced a with Freda. But after an hour I went home, hung my cloak in the closet, transformed to my dragon form, laid down on my bed and slept like a rock.