If Tove was being brutally honest with herself, she was conflicted about staying behind. She wanted to charge back north, to bloody Jormag’s nose as he so rightly deserved. There was vengeance she wanted to carve out of the dragon’s fucking hide. She wanted to keep the rest of her pack safe–what else had she […]
That uncomfortable feeling in the pit of Fiel’s stomach was back. A familiar nugget of uneasiness and anxiety. He feels guilty, like he had not been for a long, long while. He’s not even sure why exactly, though he has a pretty good idea. Of course, he won’t be sure until he actually asks, but… […]
Tove woke with a start, throwing off her blanket with a dagger already in hand before she realized… …she was home. In the guildhall. And nothing was there. Nothing included her wolf Randulfr, who usually hogged the bed. She muttered a little bit until she remembered that she’d set her companion to keeping a loose […]
This was her punishment, she was sure of it. Going out alone, avoiding the others, trying to push herself to a point of exhaustion, all of it. It served no purpose but to prove herself, to at least look like she could handle this just like years before. But that was it: It wasn’t the […]
Falling. She remembers falling. Obons’ screeches cutting through the air after her. The flapping of wings as he struggled to reach. A sharp pull as he grabbed at her fur with the sharp talons, even sinking a couple into her shoulder. It’s that final move that brings Gal out of her sudden sleep to reality. […]
Shadows stretch far past the walls as a new group of Vigil step out into the night from their hall, adjusting armor just before stepping forward. Those at the gate give them a slight acknowledge and soon, torches and weapons are passed and those outside venture past to get in for the night. There’s barely […]
Tove actually spends the night sensibly. She finds friends among the other Vigil, and retires to her tent with company. It is, at least, possible to get some rest. It’s the first real sleep she’s had in days. — Brigid has come up with the relief crew. She is happy with this assignment because it […]
He was sitting against the outer wall of the keep. Silent. Immobile. He barely felt the temperature, or the snow slowly gathering over him. Shapes moved in front of him. Voices… muffled around him. There were talking to him, but he couldn’t hear. All, save for one. Your fault… He shouldn’t have waited so long […]
What a joyous, boastful line of merry men and women they were. About forty of them, give or take. Most had followed Arnlaug and his cousins from Hoelbrak, incensed as they were by the big norn’s speech and days of continuous libation. Others were collected by the marching wave from the far-out settlements they had […]
The problem was that Koli truly had taught her every trick he knew, insofar as tracking went. Tove dogged his trail across the Shiverpeaks, losing it when he met up with other Svanir (other–for he was one now too, the heart frostbitten through) only to pick it up again later. Even when they left the […]
“You’re ogling again.” Fiel straightened up quickly. “No I wasn’t,” he lied. Erland and Geirholf chuckled from across the small table. “I wasn’t!” the young norn insisted. Erland shook his head with a knowing smirk. “You’re still stroking at your tankard as if it was a maiden’s waist.” Fiel looked down. He was. “Shut up. […]
This, Tove thought, was the worst kind of success. Oh, she’d found Koli, hunting near his homestead. But he didn’t so much as greet her when she strode from between the trees. “Uncle.” He glanced up and then away, gently freeing a rabbit from his snare and resetting it. “Koli.” She stepped closer. Claiming space […]
Watching her bobcat frolic in the snow was only entertaining for so long. Tove pulled her coat in more snugly around herself and sighed. “Where’s Uncle Koli?” The area around Koli’s tent was more cluttered than usual, and the stack of firewood was slumped over. She frowned at it. Koli’s mate had kept an orderly […]
When Fiel comes home, he finds the tiny hut tucked under the great deck of the Great Lodge of Hoelbrak empty, and cold. It’s unusual, and would have been extremely worrying, had he not found the note left on the bed, penned in the broad, sharp handwriting of his mother: Gone to Farrin His mother […]
It was a blur to her eyes. One moment she can feel her lips curl and the acid dancing on her tongue. The next… She was going to need a new desk. The blade was so embedded into the wood that it was splitting it down the center, and with each small exhale or tug […]
It still hurts. Gallant was in her office, leaning back in the creaking chair with her head put back and eyes closed. Her face twists with a slight hiss as her fingers run over the bandages underneath her clothes, careful not to push too hard against the bruises that were the reason for such medical […]
He sucks the air through his teeth and bunches up the fur around his neck. The frigid lodge barely warms up, Fiel’s meager fire is not enough to fight the dragon’s icy taint on the ravaged home. It’s eerily silent. No light, save for the little flames at his feet. Charred remnants of hunting trophies […]
“Wolf’s teeth,” Tove snarled, as her last spare bowstring snapped. “Did water get into my satchel? What the hell is going on?” Thankfully it has just been a practice shot to test the tension, or things might have been a little more awkward. She tied her bow to her raptor’s saddlebags, taking out her sword […]
Nemo You don’t need to keep hurting. I’ve seen how it affects you, your life. For a long time, I thought that bearing the pain was what made one strong. That suffering was the way towards progress. Towards fulfillment. Towards redemption. It’s not. Pain holds you back. It cripples you, beyond the physical. It took […]
((Compiled from the IC Discord chat, as written by Quorgi, Blu, and myself. Minor edits for spelling, punctuation, and clarity.)) Somewhere, back at the guild hall, there’s a very angry norn barkeeper fending off a bright blue griffon with a broom. He’s definitely not paid enough to deal with rogue mounts. Tove’s jaunty whistle dies […]
Fall has fully set in over Tyria, and even just walking through the streets of Hoelbrak, you can notice a difference in the air. The chilly breeze is sharpening its edge, preparing for the bitter cold of winter to settle in. Tove can’t wait. All of the recent Pact activities in those cursed hot lands […]
He stood there. He dared to stand there and proudly proclaim his words for all passers by to hear. “You continue to live in fear. In open defiance of a greater being. But I ask you this: why fear that which can make you stronger? Why not embrace the ultimate spirit? Transcend your existence and forge your […]
Not one, but two rangers occupied a secluded corner of the Vanguard’s guild hall. Secluded, but not quiet. Five adolescent skyscales scampered around, hopping from rocks to sand to water and back again. “How did you end up doing this, again, Tove?” Kolfinna peeled off her jacket so that she could more easily chuck a […]
How long has it been. It’s the thought that repeats through the Guardian’s head as she messes with the buttons and laces of her uniform, tying knots and tightening the belts to hold her coat in place. The Ministry had called her in, requesting an update on the dragons, and if there was any way […]