I have to keep telling myself its not my fault. I may have actually killed that lot, but it would have been much worse if the man in white had gotten control of them. I told him it was an early warning sign at worst, and that's not really what was aiming for. well thats what it was at that moment. They better make good use of the warning, too. I didn't end so many lives so that they could sit on their asses like they did with Razgriz. if they don't well, I may have some issues with all of them. Is that why I let Schala die too? did I take it as payment owed for the shadows lost by Razgriz? Maybe I was just angry about losing a shadow. huh. I suppose I'm with lucky on that opinion actually. as long as there is enough Amberites that they can do the triforce attack if its needed, I don't mind however many die. maybe there are to many Amberites.
Winter stood over His foe, in the worst shape he had ever been. Alive purely by shapeshifting, nearly half of his mass had been blown away. But his foe was in worst shape, clinging to his life. Winter had his sword by the mans throat, and he knew could react first. The battle was his. "Any last words, cousin?" Terridus shuffled slightly, which only caused Winter to push down farther with his blade. "Why.. Why have you done this??" He managed between labored breaths. Winter smiled. "There are reasons aplenty. But the most important is..." Winter leaned down his mouth close to Terridus' throat, his teeth grew, and his jaw extended farther then it should have been able. "Terridus, I'm hungry." And with that he bite into Terridus' neck, and as he fell limp, Terridus' veins grew, being force fed something from Winter. (Also you saved Renee)
Winter breathed heavily, and fell into his chair with a thump. How many weeks has he spent here without sleeping? This is the first time he had spend an elongated period of time in a shadow like this. He checked his watch, it had been 17 hours since he ended the fight with Razgriz. That seemed like so long ago, it must have been decades at least. But his world is complete. After a good rest, he'll start his plan of Ragnarok.
I've wondered for a long time if I did the right thing. It appears I have, my son has grown to be strong and independent, without being soiled by the corruption of my siblings and their children. the world is in their hands now, I leave the fate of reality in the hands of the young.
Winter froze the program he was running, the scene of him brainwashing Odin paused on the screen. What a useful technology, he'd have to remember this world. His memories of these events were so long ago, but he knew that was there. Such a brilliant system Odin created, he could use this to save the universe. Yes, under his rule peace would exist on every shadow.
Although Gaius was tougher than Winter thought, the battle existed within parameters. Although he only caused a minor injury he was able to get in contact with his blood. that would be useful much much later on in his plans. Winter entered the Throne room of Amber, where Terridus seemed awkwardly deciding if he should sit in the big chair or not. He mentioned once that neither he nor his father was fit to sit on a throne, and although WInter mentioned forwardly that Elmdor may be corrupted by the eagle, no one else gave it a second thought. Winter thought Terridus would actually make for a good king though, where he constantly bitched and a little compulsive, he saw that Terridus cared for his people and would be be a good king. But he didn't want to be king, which would have been needed. But it didn't matter, Renee lived, and his plans have been adjusted.
The system was exactly as he expected. It was incredible, the difference between the Asgard technology and his worlds was leaps and bounds away. With this he could undo all the harm his existence created. He could relive his life as a hero rather than a war villain. He swiped his hand over the console and it lit up. A Valkyrie entered the room, as they were doing all over the 2 worlds, Jotunhiemr and Asgard; that he had caused such destruction. She waved her sword over the corpse of Odin, bringing color to his face, and as he opened his eyes Winter grabbed him by the hair. "Now lets see what you know old god." He pierced into the mind of the shadow god, and found out exactly what he wanted, though it wasn't what he expected.
Odin knew precious little about Winter's father, not even what he looked like. 2 millennium of this world's years ago Odin was confronted by a cloaked man calling himself Gerard, who gave him instructions on how to be wary of invaders that may seek to harm a son he was planning to have here in exchange for power and making him 'real'. and returned 70 years ago with a son. Two times since then beings of 'real' came and Odin took care of it. Well, Winter didn't need his protection, and could think of better ways he could use his 'realness', Winter altered Odin to be a peacemaker, and a protector of all the worlds. Winter felt he would be rather be a wanderer, helping individuals rather than murdering a race. the only problem he had to fix was getting the Frost giants not to attack again, and he had a good idea how to do that.
if that's how they want it, they can put the traitor on the throne. It seems Jubei is the only one that remembers the night that she assaulted her kingdom, when she took arms against her own father. I have other plans, anyway. Ideas that will soon come to fruition. But first I must teach this bird a lesson.
This was the end of it, then? Would there finally be peace? What was his opponent fighting so hard for?
Winter stood at the castle keep of the frost giant's capital. He had sealed the gates, and single handy killed the entire city. Blood was everywhere, it Looked as if there was a small flood of red water, and he heard the horse cry of a small child in the distance. What had he done? He never even tried to coexist. Humanity was all but wiped out, a single city standing. Winter limped towards the sound of the crying child. He had never been injured this badly, he had stopped his bleeding with shapeshifting but the wounds would take time. He caught sight of the child, it was a frost giant child. They weren't too different, them and I. As he approached the child, it spotted him, pulling a sword out from a sheath of a nearby dead (winter assumed it was the boy's father) and leveled it at him quivering. Winter froze. All he could think was of when his own mother died, he had become the monster he hated. He fell to the ground, and the child staggered back. "I have wronged you, I was blind. In the name of the gods I offer up my life to you, the only payment I can give for my crimes." The boy stared at him and started crying again. "That's not fair! I don't want you dead, I want my parents alive again! Bring them back!" the boy dropped the sword at that point and began to wail uncontrolably. It was then that he sensed the magic of the Bifrost, and with a flash of light a winged woman clad in armor appeared behind the child. "The powers of Asgard have heard your words, king Winter, and have decided to eradicate the remaining frost giants." "NO!" Winter screamed, as The woman thrusted her sword into the boy. "NO!"
Winter hurried out of Tenebrae, what he needed couldn't be done here. he found what he needed quickly, and began to write.
Dear Renee, My name is Winter, your cousin, we met briefly once. your dead, and just in my body. I was the one to kill you. If you con't understand my reason and kill me when your finished, their will be no blame, as the dead you have the right over my life. but let me tell you my reason; your cousins were going to revive you, and i believe that isn't what you want. You we willing to accept your punishment, and i did not want to see your honorable defeat tainted. But i risked my life to bring you back temporarily because i feel we need you to fight the Eagle. He is a real creature, like the unicorn and serpant, and he desires the destruction of all reality. Your sisters bridget and Talwin are infected, and I believe Gerard and Elmdor is as well. Please do what you can to save the reality.
Winter
There, hopefully she'll cooperate. This way everyone that matters get what they want. Except Terridus, he can woe over his selfish needs to shove his responsibility elsewhere.
He really had a shot here. This was the way to save his world, the best case scenario. Here he finally was, on the gates of Asgard, the world of the gods. he pushed open the gates, and it was quite easy to see why they were considered gods. The walls and the paths away from Bifrost were littered with wires and circuits. With the technology they horded and the magic unavailable to mortals made them much stronger than the rabble.
he passed by the gaurds to the castle, down a large golden bridge that lead to the throne room of king Odin. "That's close enough, Jason Winter, son of Gerard." A voice bellowed from down the hall. so the Gods knew of his father, then? A tall older man walked out into view, accompanied by several younger Asgardians. "I bear you know ill will, king of Asgard. I come on behalf of the people of Jötunheimr." he continued to walk closer towards the group, and one steps forward, bearing arms against him. "How did you get past the Bifrost? The King gives you an order, and you dare deny it mortal? you should bow, no, you should die!" But his father held him back. "Calm yourself, Baldur. He is no mortal." of course Winter had realized this by now. he hadn't aged in two decades. it seemed apparent that the king had taken interest in him, and had some way to spy on him. "Yes, but I have a hunch I'm not one of you either. But that isn't why I'm here, the people of Jötunheimr are suffering, and you could stop it!" "We have laws up here, child. We have an truce with the giants, and I will not be known as a a breaker of oaths. Jötunheimr is their world." Odin stated, firm and solemn. This was not the response Winter was looking for. "so...so... you would let my people die, for your oath? The women raped, the children tortured just to appease your peace? what kind of gods are you!" "do not be so presumptuous. We barely won the war to clear them out of Midgard, we don't have the numbers to take over their home world." "...under my instruction with 40% of your forces, or some of your technology I can reduce the number of casualties by over three quarters. As it stands, there will barely be over one hundred thousand alive before I finish this war!" "you can spout all the numbers you want, I stand my ground." Winter looked at him, locked eyes for a longer than comfortable time, then turned around and walked off. "You'll regret your stubbornness, old man. when I've secured my planet I'm coming back here." Winter walked out, and none of them followed.
When he reached the Bifrost, he used the magic of the shadow combined with his shapeshifting to make himself a reciever for the energy of the Bifrost. it took him a year of tweaking to figure it out, and he hoped it would be a worthwhile gamble. He shot himself back to Jötunheimr, where some of the generals were waiting. "Any luck, Commander?" one said, hope in his eyes. Winter swore wouldn't let these people die off. "No, the Gods have abandoned us. we're on our own. I'm going to the front immediately, I've alot of work to do."
Everywhere. They are everywhere. How little I make a difference here in Amber, I spared Schala from being rash but at the same time Terridus went on without me, and brought those two, I can probably count him infected too. I see it, do the rest? I doubt they do. I really should go out on the offensive. but if I do, I lose touch with the reality here, and it would be hard to tell if anyone else got infected. But if I stay the rest will be suckered in until I'm the last one left.
This pathetic unit, named the 452nd reserve, marched down a wide canyon of ice. the unit was led by a Captain Adam of Bremen, who; was arguing with apparently the only other man in the unit. "Captain! we really shouldn't go down this path!" the other man said, looking incredulous. "And why, Private Winter, the hell should I take your advice? you've never seen combat." the captain said, anger growing. "I've seen plenty, and more importantly I've seen the casualty reports. The Giants are running a pattern, captain. they're switching between 15 different ambush points to hide it, but i promise you this is where they'll strike next. This valley has a rise in the canyon about 2 miles ahead, we can-" "Thats enough, Private. you can spout nonsense with all the cooks and potters behind us. Get in line." Winter stared at him a moment, then did what he was told. When he got back, a small woman in far to big armor walked up to him. "Did he listen to you?" She said. "No, the idiot is too stuck up to listen. Well even so I'm not going to let everyone here die." "Are you going to do that thing again?" she said, with a small smile that betrayed her hope for him to save them. "Yep. I need you to tell the girls to move slow, I'm going to need a little more time." She nodded.
Winter climbed up the icey slope easily, and sprinted ahead. As he exspected, he soon found a group of frost giants, maybe 200, hiding on top of the canyon. he slid on the ice,turning his arm sharp, and stabbed one in the head. This got the attention of the rest, who were more than willing to follow him to where he wanted.
Captain Adam was mumbling to himself, about useless men and useless troops behind him, when he saw something in the distance. As he got closer, he noticed that it was a pile of bodies, blocking the canyon. In front stood Winter, covered in blue blood andsitting on the body of the Giant captain, their flag piercing his head. He just looked in awe.
"Captain, in the name of the All-Father, do you yield to my greater prowess?" Winter said, smiling. Captain Adam stood mouth agaped, then knelt before him. "I Yield."
Winter walked through the streets of the outskirts of Amber, the streets were eerily quiet. It had been ever since the Eagle made her move. He was followed closely by a man as tall as he with long white hair, and a short girl with a cross weapon on her back. "I need you two to keep an eye on Amber while I'm gone. I also need you to keep a careful eye on the man I mentioned earlier. Oh and don't forget the secondary objective either. " "Of course, master." the tall man said with a bow. "What of your cousins?" Winter thought of this for a moment, then his face went solemn. "It's vital we succeed. I don't exspect them to interfere right here in amber." He stared into the man's eyes with a ferocity previously unseen in Winter. "...but if they do, kill them." the two then bowed, and entered the brown building. Winter left the way he came.
"sir, the new troops are here." said a fragile looking man, he handed some papers to the woman he was walking with. She was strong looking woman, with eyes of a hawk and a presence of one that is used to command. "and?" she said, flipping through the papers. The old man fumbled with the papers he had, mumbling to himself. "Ah, hmm, let's see. Most of them are women, or children with little to no knowledge of battle. Almost all the men of the country are all ready on the battlefield." "Yea, that's to be expected." she turned towards the new troops. "FALL IN!" they did as they were told, and her advisor was right, the boys were no older than 8 , and the women looked nervously frail. And no more then fifty total. This war was going bad, fast. The seemingly endless ranks of frost giants had already conquered two kingdoms. One of the soldiers caught her eye. And easily so, he had bright blonde hair (rare in and of itself in the country) thin, and also had to have two feet over the rest of the troops, and a head over her own six foot figure. He was young, yes, but how could he had slipped past the draft to this point?
She walked up to him, eying him wearily. "what's your name, kid?" "Jason Winter, Sir!"
War was brewing in the frozen country. The frost giants were restless, and ran out of territory to expand to the north and west, and now had their eyes on Risengaurd, the country to the south. The armies of the frost giants had passed the border, raiding the towns unfortunate enough to be within their reach. The kings armies were not close enough to lend military support.
The boy set the table for two, and then went and washed his hands. When he came out his mother had put more logs on the fire, and was putting food on the plates. There was a crash and the sound of the town alarm. As Jason reached for the food, his mother grabbed his arm. "we have to go to the town hall jay, somethings up" she said, trying not to act nervous. Jason didn't catch on. "but, but food!" the boy replied, pointing longingly at the table. His mom smiled and led him to the backdoor, which crashed open violently as the went tumbling back. A blue giant grabbed the woman and lugged her over his shoulder. Two more entered, setting fire to the walls. Jason dove under them to get to his mother, but on grabbed him by the back of his shirt and threw him against the wall. They drew their swords and walked toward Jason, grinning.
'If only I had weapon!' Jason thought, tears flowing down his eyes. 'Anything! If only-' suddenly he felt something inside him grow, wanting to burst out. It was a weapon. As the giants came at him, Jason dived under them, then his arms grew, sharp and serrated, piercing the flesh of his assaulters. He rushed forward as the two fell limp, diving past them furiously he ran as fast as he could to the last giant, flying wildly at him, and he lost control.
The giant didn't have time to turn, suddenly the heat and pain of searing flesh ripped open his spine. He instantly lost that pain, replaced by numbness, as he saw blood spurt over his shoulder, not all his own. He fell limp and died shortly after.
The thing that wanted to burst out of Jason before, did. His body acted on it's own, writhing and squirming under it's newfound power, as he looked in horror as his body broke and ripped apart anything near him. His mother and the giant fell to the ground, the snow pushed up creating a cloud around them.
It took all his might to regain control. "Mommy! Mommy!" he squealed as he leaned over to his dieing mother, who grabbed his shirt, gently pulling him towards her. She whispered her last words to him as tears rolled down his face. She fell limp, and the cloud began to clear. He shook her, begging her to move. From the distance giants approached, closing quickly on the boy. The boy steadied himself, and ran into the woods.
Winter looked on in horror, the city bustling of markets (and more recently war) was deathly quiet. It seemed everyday he hated this place more and more. Everyone here was mad, worse by far than the armies of frost giants he had fought long ago. How he wished for those days! He worried that this land would one day bring him madness. But that was a worry for another day. He had to make sure his cousins were alright. After that, vengeance.
The wind whistled against the sturdy small house, wailing as a banshee. The winter had pasted, the spring was as cold as death, killing the weak buds that had tried to rebirth with the warmth of the previous week had brung. A lone woman held an axe over head, bringing it down swift on a log with a force suprising to her slender build. It split the log clean in half with a crack of thunder. She gathered some of the firewood, and moved towards the door. Inside, the fire roared, and a small boy playing with a wooden sword. The woman put down the firewood, and turned towards the boy. "Jason, go clean up, then set the table." The child smiled and did what he was told.
Wed Mar 13, 2013 12:14 pm
