5995/A Valkyrie Answers The Call

A Valkyrie Answers The Call
Date of Scene:	14 December 2018
Location:	Valhalla, Niflheim
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Hela, Vintridr

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Hela has posed:
Having reached an accord with Thor, Hela has recreated Valhalla in Niflheim, and she is now standing infront of its golden gates, observing her creation with a fond smile. The last step was to gather the souls of the worthy, lost in the void after Asgard's creation, but she couldn't do that alone. It would take far too long.

To that end was the second part of her accord with Thor, only being the benevolent king that he was, Thor didn't simply decree. Rather he left it for the Valkyrior to accept their terms or not. What terms? That with Valhalla, Hela should hold dominion over them as well, and finally have all things related to death under her dominion. As she always thought should be.

She had set out a call, which proved to her how much the numbers of the Valkyries have dwindled. Many have not answered, and some answered which had no right to do so. But she can feel a real one approaching, and she smiles with satisfaction at the prospect.

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr is far, far too young to remember when Hela ruled as queen of Niflheim, and the Call takes her completely by surprise. It's similar to what she feels when her duty is invoked, tugging her toward where a brave soul is about to make their final stand, but the direction is different, and it is much stronger. She wouldn't be able to refuse this call if she wanted to.

    She's on top of Bragi before the practice sword she was using to teach Asgard's youths the first steps on the path to swordsmanship has quite finished falling to the ground, and Bragi rears and spreads his wings before anyone present can think to ask what she's doing -- and then horse and rider vanish, not with the rainbow shimmer of the now-lost Bifrost, but a cold darkness.

    The journey takes... No time, at least not as the outside world measures it, and Bragi's hooves clatter as they touch the ground before Valhalla and its queen and canters to a halt, folding his wings.

    Vintridr's sparring outfit has likewise shifted to her full uniform, and she regards the woman before her with narrowed, speculative eyes.

    Of course, she has an advantage over most other Asgardians -- she's spent several centuries living on Midgard, and reading about the myths the mortals left about her people, with both allies and foes often mentioned by name... And one name she didn't recognize at all, which meant that either the mortals had made up stories about a queen of death out of whole cloth... Or the All-Father had once again seen fit not to mention certain inconvenient parts of his past.

    She dismounts and walks up to about three swordlengths of the other woman, left hand on her hilt but her right hand at her side and visibly away from the pommel. "... Hela, queen of the dead, I presume?" she asks.

Hela has posed:
Hela is cloaked in her regal cape of black and green, wearing her antlered dark crown, as she turns to face Vintridr. Looking at Bragi makes his landing, she nods in approval, "the famed winged steeds of the valkyrie...you are a true one, not a fake, not an unaccounted legacy....welcome to Niflheim," and with a flourish she gestures at the one for one exact copy of Valhalla that now spreads out before them, breaking the cold mists of Niflheim with bright sunshine and clear skies, reserved only for the section of Valhalla itself. "and welcome to Valhalla, standing once again, after it's ignoble destruction when Asgard went to ruin."

When Vintridr calls out her name without being afforded an introduction first, Hela looks a bit surprised, turning her gaze on the Valkyrie. "You know my name? You know of me? Remarkable...how did you break through Odin's decree?"

Vintridr has posed:
    "I did not," Vintridr replies. "To the best of my knowledge, Asgard remains ignorant of your existence. However, those of Midgard who live in what is now called Scandinavia still remember when we visited Midgard as casual as one might go for an afternoon stroll, and their legends still speak of us by name: Odin One-Eye, All-Father, Glad-Of-War; Loki the Lie-Smith, Father-to-Horses, Thor Odinson, God of Thunder, Heimdall Far-Seer, the Valkyriur, Choosers of the Slain... And Hela, Queen of Helheim and goddess of Death."

    "I recognized the names and the people they described, all save that last one. And I've... Some experience with the All-Father's preference to... Gloss over inconvenient facts."

    The woman shrugs. "As those of Midgard would put it, it was an educated guess."

Hela has posed:
"Pity...I would have liked for his efforts to be nullified," Hela remarks dryly, though from the look on her face, she's already aware that something did indeed go extremely wrong. Hence, the need for Valhalla to be made anew. "Yes! Glad-Of-War," Hela suddenly has a delightful smile on her face, the citing of the long forgotten name giving her briefs flashes of sweet moments of crushing conquest and unyielding destruction. Odin used to be so much fun.

Hela looks impressed when a Valkyrie seems to have learned of Odin's ways of her own volition, "that is very much Odin's style, how did you come by that? I thought the Valkyrior were to revere the royal family without question. It seems to me like you've questioned, and found truth...something that didn't always sit well with Odin..." interesting, Hela was looking for Valkyries to inform them of the new order of things, and now she finds a Valkyrie that is so unlike the template, she rather fancies taking a less assertive tone with her.

Vintridr has posed:
    "It was about... Five centuries past, as Midgard counts time, that the All-Father almost overnight decreed that Asgard should no longer interfere in Midgard's affairs, for good or ill, and that the Bifrost be closed to all without his explicit permission. Of course, we Valkyrior still traveled there when the call came, to collect the Einherjar for Valhalla as we had always done, and I couldn't but notice that there seemed to be /more/ conflicts, and larger ones - not mere skirmishes, but entire countries drowning in war for more than a century. But the All-father bade us not to intervene, so we did not."

    Vin takes a breath. "It was a busy time for us, and the ranks of the Einherjar swelled rapidly... And just in time to tip the scales in Asgard's favour when Surtur's forces attacked en masse. I was injured in that battle, and my recovery gave me much time to think about the timing. Too convenient to be coincidence, with the All-Father's foresight. I faced him in private and threw my suspicions at his feet... And he did not deny them. As far as he was concerned, he'd done what was necessary for Asgard, as he always had and always would. So I left."

Hela has posed:
"I am very impressed with you, Valkyrie, what is your name?" Hela asks as she looks at Vintrider in a manner that suggests she wasn't so much looking at her, as she was taking her measure, "astute observation and capacity to accept the truth when it's confronted, remarkable." Hela inclines her head, accepting what Vintridr had to tell, and then she states, "I called you, as I did all Valkyrior for one reason. Introduce myself, Hela, Goddess of Death," she gestures at herself as she billows out her cape, revealing her regal black and green armor underneath, one befitting of the royal family of Asgard. "...present Valhalla renewed," she continues while flourishing towards Valhalla which clearly stands behind them, "and inform you of a pact I have made with King Thor. I have remade Valhalla, and I asked in turn, to be given dominion over the Valkyrior. Death is my territory, and the Valkyrior and their divine task falls in my domain. It is only natural..." but before Vintridr could question her motives, she stresses, "I want it made clear. I do not seek a private army of Valkyries. I do not seek to sway you and your sisters in arms this way or that, I merely wish to afford you the freedom to do your duty. Starting with recollecting those worthy souls trapped in a void since Valhalla's destruction, out of the carlessness of Odin. I will not tolerate our worthy not enjoying the honor earned them by their actions."

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr listens as Hela makes her intentions clear, then takes a deep breath and sinks to one knee, bowing. "I am Vintridr, Wind-Reader, Cloud-Rider, Path-Finder. I am Valkyrior of Asgard, lost forever though it might be -- and I am in your service, Lady Hela, Goddess of Death, Princess of Asgard. I will do as you bid me."

    With that said, she raises her head and stands up straight once more, now looking past Hela at the gates to Valhalla. She closes her eyes and raises her hands to her chest, almost cupping the gem that glows gently at the center of her breastplate. For a moment more, nothing seems to happen, but then the gem's glow brightens and a translucent shape flows out of it, a formless but vaguely humanoid shape that hovers for a moment before shooting off toward and through the gate.

    Vintridr's breath holds steady as shape after shape pours forth, streaming out of the gem and past Hela into the Halls, leaving behind impressions of faces and snatches of speech just out of understanding, until finally the gem's light dims entirely.

    When the process is finally complete, Vintridr exhales noisily as she opens her eyes, meeting Hela's gaze once more. "When Thor announced his last bid to save Asgard's people, I gathered as many of the surviving Einherjar as I could before Asgard fell," she explains. "But with nowhere to send them, I've had to carry them with me until now."

Hela has posed:
Hela looks at Vintridr as she kneels down to one knee and pays her proper respect, and she nods in approval, extending her hand to touch Vintridr's shoulder, "I am also the Queen of Hel and Niflheim, but that is indeed a mouthful," she remarks, her tone quite affectionate of Vintridr, "I accept your service and hold you to your sacred duty as a Valkyrie, go forth and bring those lost in the void. The worthy, so they can return home..."

When Vintridr then reveals she had saved some of the Einherjar before Asgard's fall, Hela smiles brilliantly, "now that is great news indeed, do lead them home then," she moves aside to clear the path into Valhalla. "You are free to come and go to Niflheim as you please, as you will be required to reach Valhalla. We will operate as is just, as is expected of our divine duty."