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 Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:51 am
Note to anyone who finds this: this is not anything like official or canon or anything like that. This is a plot idea that pounced on me and demanded writing. Consider it fanfiction at best.
.............................
It was not a jewel.
This was something that Verthandi understood as she took the bright seed from the hand of the Twin Crown, murmuring her thanks, bowing in full obeisance. Her Tree, beloved though it might have been to the three Aoidei known as the Norns, was no true deity. Yet the Tree had withered, root and branch, and it too required rebirth.
It, too, required... fertilizer.
It had pleased the Twin Crown to make that jape, His rich yet brittle laughter ringing through the throne room. Verthandi knew well that Creation could rise even from Destruction, as a seedling finds strength in the decaying remains of its forebears, yet it still set her ill at ease as she bowed once more and moved away from His presence. The seed was smooth and heavy in her hand.
Her sisters were waiting outside, shifting nervously. They grew still as they saw her, saying nothing, but their questions were plainly written in their eyes. Verthandi wordlessly opened her hand and showed them the glossy seed.
Skuld was the first to speak, her wings rustling behind her as she reached out one hand towards the seed, but her fingers paused before she could actually touch its surface. "This?"
Verthandi nodded. "This."
"And what are we to do with it?" Urd frowned and put her hands on her hips. "Plant it, water it, wait ten thousand thousand years?"
"No. We must plant it in a mortal's flesh, as the gods plant themselves."
Urd's eyes narrowed. "And what mortal would be worthy of such a thing?"
"The gods find mortals worthy of them..." Skuld whispered, casting a nervous glance at the Pantheon.
"Oh, well, gods," Urd said, dismissively.
"It is only fertilizer, the Twin Crown said," Verthandi reminded them. "Nothing more than that."
"Fertilizer for Yggdrasil itself." Urd grumbled. "The gods might plant themselves as they please, but for the World Tree..."
"If you're too picky, then we'll never get to plant the seed," Skuld sighed.
"Enough." Verthandi cupped the seed in both hands. "We will search, and we will find."
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 11:54 am
They searched.
At first, Urd remained unsatisfied, scrutinizing the mortals they passed with a critical eye, dismissing everyone they saw. Too old, too young, too weak, too sinned... there was always a reason. Some reason. Verthandi sighed, and rolled her eyes, but there was no reason to fight with her sister. Not yet.
"How do the gods manage it?!" Skuld burst out one afternoon, as the three sisters lay atop a roof, peering down at the mortals that passed by below as a stinking breeze rustled at their feathers. "There are too many of them!"
"They... just know, it seems," Verthandi said, her brow furrowing in thought. Yggdrasil had held something like a mind, once - perhaps not a mind as gods had, or as Aoidei had, but nothing could bear the raw mana of the High Family without attaining a sort of sentience.
But could It too know and indicate what flesh it desired for soil? Verthandi lifted one hand and placed it on the seed, which she now carried nestled in velvet, around her neck. Its weight pressed lightly against her chest.
Urd glanced at her. "Any sign?"
Verthandi concentrated, then sighed and shook her head. "No sign."
"Maybe we should ask Gaia," Skuld put in, sitting up a bit and resting her chin in one hand. "Perhaps She would know."
"The Twin Crown entrusted this task to us," Urd objected. "Who knows Yggdrasil better-"
"Careful, sister," Verthandi murmured. Possessive to the last.
Urd shifted, then got to her feet. "Very well," she grumbled, reluctant to cede that perhaps the Mother of All knew the World Tree better than Its three ancient caretakers. "Yet surely we can find proper soil, else... what manner of caretakers would we be?"
"It has only been a few months..." Skuld squirmed. "Maybe we need to plan better."
"Good idea." Verthandi stood up as well, and stretched both her arms and her wings. "What should we be seeking, my sisters?"
"Someone wise."
"Someone brave!"
"Someone with powerful mana of their own."
"Someone strong!"
"Hold," Verthandi said sharply, gesturing with one hand to forestall the sudden torrent of suggestions. "We must choose carefully, not throw thoughts around as if they were children's toys. Let us retreat for now and talk at length, later."
"And then?" Urd raised one eyebrow.
"And then we seek the one who matches that list. If we know what we are searching for, it should become easier."
"I don't like this roof, anyway," Skuld put in with a snort, then fanned her wings out as well. "Can we fly now?"
Urd glanced at her youngest sister, then nodded, once. "We fly."
They took off together, the wind from their wings beating the dust and debris on the rooftop into a rattling frenzy.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:06 pm
e l s e w h e r e
There was another storm outside, rattling the shutters and tearing at the shingles. Kerr sighed, and buried his head under the bedclothes, and wished Tenai was home. His sister, six years older than he was, was past her majority and had gone through Release. She could have knocked the storm away - but since her departure four months ago, the harbor stronghold had no one to calm the clouds.
Two more years, two more years...
A particularly loud crack of thunder made him cringe. There was no way he could sleep through this storm, and instead he was left to feel useless, worse than useless. There were three younglings in the stronghold now with mana, but they were still shackled. Only when they were adults would their power be freed through the ritual of Release. And then would come training, which was why Tenai had gone away.
Supposedly, the long latency was to allow the mana to settle, so that it would be easily tamed, easily used. Ancient tales were full of tragedies of mana gone wild, uncontrolled and uncontrollable as it ran rampant from their helpless, young handlers' grasps. That knowledge was all very well and good, but it did nothing for Kerr just now.
Two years between storm and silence.
Kerr rolled over and sat up, giving the roiling clouds outside the rain-drenched window a long, low, supremely ineffective glare. Lightning brilliantly illuminated the room for a moment; seconds later, thunder shook the house. Ugh...
He blinked. There had been an odd flicker of something outside his window, just for an instant; something that hadn't looked like cloud or rain. But... no. Surely he was just tired. Seeing things.
Another flash of lightning filled the room, and Kerr stiffened. No - there was something out there. He'd seen it in the burst of blue light, a silhouette against the glass. A wing? A person?
Who would be out on a night like this? None of the residents of the stronghold, that was for certain. Not unless there was some sort of emergency, and there had been no call.
Kerr frowned and kicked the bedclothes aside, sliding carefully out of bed, bending for a moment to pick up his staff from its own resting place next to his. Holding the stout ash staff in both hands, he padded over to the window and clicked back the latch, then swung the window open in one slow, careful motion.
Taking the opportunity, the rain and wind blew in - but so did something else. Kerr yelped as something quite solid darted through the opening along with the sharp coldness of the storm. Whatever-it-was pressed hard against his chest, knocking him back, and he stumbled.
(not finished)
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