In search of ones self (C 26 ET) Trothgard Embassy

[Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige]

Eyrekra was able to find the Embassy quickly. The direction that the young Temple Guardian gave her where very precise. Eyrekra walked up to the doors, and entered.

[OOC: description from Archives ]

Inside the lines of the building were the standard Seven Isles imperial, but the addition of lush furs and austere braziers in the hallways added a uniquely Trothgardian touch. By the entrance, in what seemed to be a sort of altar enclave, a circular web of woven gut decorated with shards of a crystal whose deep blue seemed familiar and several elaborate feathers twirled lazily in the trail of incense that filtered up from the stick burning on the ground below.

Eyrekra stopped at the altar, and said a prayer before looking for someone in charge.

"Grand Lady Ijskoningin, my beloved Ice Queen, fill my foolish heart with your cold embrace so all that is left is my devotion to you." "Clear my befuddled mind so all that I know is my service to you." "Strengthen my being so that I may be your unwavering hand in all the tasks that are set before me." "As always and in all things your will be done."

Once her prayer was finished Eyrekra set about looking for someone in charge.

[Meridiuz]

A young woman approached when she saw that Eyreka had finished her prayer. She stood tall and straight, showing her true warrior posture, wearing her full Trothgardian leathers and armor. She held her spear in her left hand. "Good day to you," she said, in a formal voice. "I am Iorna da'Waelkyrige and I welcome you to the Embassy of Trothgard. What business have you here?" Eyreka saw that the woman was wearing her long blond hair in the intricate Trothgardian fashion, with a feather secured high up on the left, indicating her unmarried status and with various beads adorning the braids at her temples.

[Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige]

Eyrekra saw at once that Iorna was a Daughter of Waelkyrige, and that she held a higher rank then her own. Eyrekra quickly took a proper stance and rendered a proper salute.

"Mam I am here from Trothgard in search of a Priestess of Ijskoningin." "Would there be one here?"

Eyrekra tried to hold back the worried expression on her face, but to no avail. From what she could see of the Alter the answer was no. Hopefully she would be wrong.

[Meridiuz]

Iorna too had seen that Eyrekra was from the Waelkyrige clan. She had expected Eyrekra to introduce herself, but she didn't. Instead she came directly to her point. A trait that Iorna usually very much appreciated, except she liked to know whom she was talking to.

"It is said to be quite disrespectful not to introduce oneself when one is a guest." The tone in her voice was distant and strict.
With most other guests, she would have given them a cold hard look now. But there was something about Eyrekra that made her softer than usual, even if it was just a very tiny bit softer. Maybe it was the worried expression in her face...
No smile appeared on her face, but she gave the girl a warm look as she gazed into her emerald green eyes. "I'm sorry, but no, there is not a priestess present." She gestured to the altar. " I do not know what it is exactly that you are looking for, but you can make use of the altar as much as you'd like."

[Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige]

Eyrekra could feel her face turn as red as her hair, as she hung her head slightly, and cast her eyes downward. "You are right mam it was quite rude of me not to introduce myself before asking my question, and for that I am truly sorry."

Eyrekra lifted her head so that her eyes would make contact with Irona's eyes, and in a firm voice Eyrekra introduced herself. "I am Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige, Daughter to Celia da' Waelkyrige, and Granddaughter to Agenta da' Waelkyrige."

"The reason I have requested a Priestess is because I wish to be trained." "There is an evil darkness that has fallen over Trothgard, and sword and simple faith alone will not left the black vail that has fallen."

In a hopeful tone of voice Eyrekra politely rephrased her question. "Is there a Priestess stationed here that can train me?"

[Meridiuz]

When Eyrekra mentioned her mother and grandmother, Iorna nodded as if she recognized the names. As she heard Eyrekra's reasons to find a priestess, the warrior woman sighed. It was like a dark cloud had moved over her face. "I know of the evil darkness you speak of." She said with a soft voice. "Come, let us go into my office. We need to talk more about this."

It was as much a command as it was a friendly suggestion. Iorna turned around and walked straight to her office. She opened the door to let Eyrekra in and then closed the door again. Iorna's office was decorated with several lush furs and there was a wolfs heads placed up on either side of the wall. A darkbrown wooden desk was placed in the back of the room with a large chair behind it. A smaller chair stood in front of it. Gesturing at that chair, Iorna gave her a small smile. "Take a seat. Can I offer you anything to drink?"

[Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige]

Eyrekra fallowed Irona to her office. She sat at attention in the chair that Irona motion to, and politely said no thank you to Irona's offer.

She sat uneasy as chills ran down her back. Eyrekra really did not want to relive what had happen but there was no way around it. She would just have to suffer through it.

On second thought Eyrekra ask if the offer of a drink was still available, and could it be Mead?

Eyrekra sat and waited for her drink and Irona's questions.

[Meridiuz]

Iorna nodded and gave her a smile, this time a more understanding and kinder smile than before. "We have the best mead that the Citadel has to offer." She poured in two large mugs, put one in front of Eyrekra and then sat down in her own chair.

"Now, you and I both know that an evil darkness has fallen over Trothgard. I need you to tell me what you know, Eyrekra." She paused, making her request almost sound like a direct order to spill every piece of information Eyrekra had. But then she continued, her tone changing from a strict tone to a more worried one. "Even though we have our sources from within the country, the information we have been getting is pretty scarce. Any information could be helpful." Iorna didn't feel comfortable in this position. There was a lot going on in Trothgard and they knew almost nothing about the situation. Much less than what she was leading Eyrekra to believe. Time was of the essence as the Council Meeting was only one day away and they had to be prepared if they were going to ask for any kind of help to protect their homeland.

[Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige]

Eyrekra's steady voice, while giving her "thank you" for her drink, masked her nervousness. Yet when she reached for her drink, her trembling hands gave away the turmoil looming beneath her cool exterior.

In a shaky voice she started her re-account of events that lead her here.

"The reason I ask for a... a... a priestess is because..... because the all the Priestesses in Trothgard are all..... they were..... they are all dead." "The Temple to the Ice Queen is gone." "For that fact it's all gone." "Rimmerhold is gone."

[Meridiuz]

Iorna looked at Eyrekra, she looked straight into her eyes. In fact, it almost felt like she was looking through them, straight into her mind. The look on her face was absolutely serious, but didn't reveal any hint of surprise about the information Eyrekra gave her. She answered her in a calm and determined voice. "How do you know this? How do you know that Rimmerhold is gone?" She paused for a flicker but continued before Eyrekra could answer. "If you were there, I would like to know how you managed to get out and if you have seen who or what destroyed the city."

She was asking quite some questions and by asking the last ones, Iorna was hinting at the fact that she probably already knew about the Rimmerhold being destroyed. But how much information she had on the actual attack or who was behind it remained unknown. It was clear though that the time for affection was over and just the fact that Eyrekra knew about Rimmerhold being destroyed was enough to completely turn around the ambiance of the conversation.

[Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige]

ooc: Sorry it took so long. I had to dig through the Archives to get my facts straight. You can find most of this information in the tread titled 'Trothgard-Homecoming'.

bic:
Eyrekra took a small sip of her mead as her eyes began to tear up as she listened to Irona's questions. The vision of Reiker being swallowed up by the Dreki* was almost more then she could stand. Yet she sat quietly in her chair waiting for Irona to finish her questions. During that time Eyrekra tried hard not to loose anymore of her composure.

“It was Skaali**.” She said his name in a low tone, and looked deep into Irona’s eyes. She could see Irona’s recognition of Skaali’s name. “He came back with an army of men, and a host of perverted item to wage war against the Kona .” “It was he who slaughtered the Kona, her Priestesses, and her Council.” “He killed them out right in the Temple of Ijkoningin, as if they were nothing more then sacrifices to his evil ends.”
“I can not say I bore witness to their end, but I can testify to seeing their headless bodies, and the large amounts of blood that stained the floor of the Temple red.”

“It was in the Temple of Ijkoningin where I caught up with Hex, and Langredoc.” Eyrekra sighed, as she thought of Hex. Hex was for now it seem anyway, the last of The Ice Queen’s Warrior Priestesses. “In the Temple I saw Hex using her gjof, her gift of magic, to try to encase the evil of one of Skaali’s perverted crystals.” “Her efforts caused a daemon to fight back, and release itself from the crystal. The daemon or ‘White One’, as it called itself, started an unholy black fire. Its black flames served to summon others of its kind.” “Hex warned us of the coming battle, and so Hex, Langredoc, and I took a dozen or so of the brave townsfolk to face the ‘White Ones’. “This was the beginning of the end.” “Sjovolkor*** had come at last.” “Reiker joined our little band of warriors once we were all outside.”

“While we stood waiting for the ‘White Ones’ to appear, the black flame grew and caused the supports of the Temple to crumble.” “We watched in despair as the dome of the Temple came crashing down.” “The black flame appeared on top of the rubble still calling to the ‘White One’.” “Our despair grew to fear, and dread as the ‘White Ones’ started to appear.” “First one, then ten, then one hundred, then one thousand, then more then one could easily count.” “They gathered at the tree line that surrounded Rimmerhold, swaying, and singing, chanting their magic at us.”

“Hex could feel their magic building so she started casting the magic that Ijskoningin blessed her with, to counter the magic of the ‘White Ones’.” “It was total chaos when both spells collided, as both sides tried to overpower the other.” “Fire rained down from the sky as the ‘White Ones’ magic over powered Hex.” “ Their evil exploded outward from her body.” Eyrekra paused as she could still see Hex’s battered, and chard body laying in a pool of chunky bodily fluids. She also remembered the rest of the poor soul caught in the blast. The lucky ones died quickly and without pain. Eyrekra wiped away a tear, as the face of the brave village woman came to mind. The memories caused her to chock. She swore she could taste that vial acid taste in her mouth again. She took another drink of her mead to clear her throat, and pressed on with her report.

“I tried to help as many as possible.” “I felt my courage falter as I came upon the body of Hex.” “How she survived the attack was beyond me.” “I screamed for both Reiker, and Langredoc to come help me.” Both outsiders were busy attacking the ‘White Ones’ and trying to prevent the next attack.” “Meanwhile the ‘White Ones’ started chanting again, and what their magic released this time came straight from the pits of the Nether.” “The earth shook, and from beneath the ground arose the ‘Dreki’. The creature was huge beyond imagination.” “I half helped, half carried Hex to Reiker, who in turn handed her to Langredoc.” “Reiker, and I charged the ‘Dreki’ hoping to kill it before it could kill what was left of our band of fighters.” “We managed to kill the 'Dreki', well truthfully it was Reiker’s blow that kill it, and him.” “My blow was just incase the first one failed.” “Although during our battle the 'Dreki' managed to kill what was left of our band of fighters, and totally destroy Rimmerhold.” “The 'Dreki' leveled any buildings bigger than a small hybyli or hut.” “There was only three of us left, after the death of the Dreki.” "Hex Langredoc and I pulled back to see what the White Ones were going to do next." The 'White Ones left for what ever reason they just up and left." "We had won, or had we?"

"Langredoc had managed to get Hex onto a slid, and headed for the Landing Cove.” “I myself stayed behind to bury the dead and heal myself.” “I too made it to the Landing Cove, and was able to us a portal to get here.”

Eyrekra finished her report, and then realized that she had not been wiping away just the occasional tear or two, she had been crying almost from the onset of her report. To hell with it she through to herself. She stood up, finished her mead, placed her cup on the desk and turned to leave. It had just hit her, there was no help to be found here.

Before leaving she turned to Irona and said. "You know that Rimmerhold is just the first battle, and Trothgard is only the first county that is going to be touched by 'Sjovolkor'."

* Dreki. In the old Trothgardian tongue means Dragon.
** Skaali is the Trothgard equivalent of the boogyman.
*** Sjovolkor is the Trothgard equivalent of the End of Days.
.

[Meridiuz]

OOC: that's ok. Sorry here too, I've been way too exhausted from work the last week. Managed to plow through the toughest parts though!

IC:

Iorna nodded several times as she recognized parts of Eyrekra's story. Her face hardened as the girl told about the destruction of the temple and of Rimmerhold itself. She had a lot of questions for Eyrekra, for she hadn't been there herself. Yet she did already have some knowledge about what had transpired in their homeland.

Before she had a chance though, Eyrekra turned up and started to leave. Right before she got the chance to walk through the door, Iorna stood up. "Wait, Eyrekra da'Waelkyrige. I do know. I know more than you think." She paused for a flicker to see if she had caught the girl's attention. "I might not be able to guide you to a priest, but I can offer other..assistance."

She continued now without waiting for Eyrekra to sit back down. "We know it was Skaali who killed the Kona, the priestesses and the council. We know the white ones summoned a Dreki which destroyed Rimmerhold. What we don't know is who summoned and controlled the White Ones. Skaali would be the most evident choice, but there are those amongst us that believe that he would not have enough power all by himself to summon and control such a large number of White Ones."

She was telling Eyrekra a lot of information that she would normally be very careful about sharing. Yet with her story, Eyrekra had proven to know a lot more than what was probably best for her. Whether it was the IceQueens' will or if it had been pure coincidence, this girl was right in the middle of the biggest battle in Trothgard history.

Iorna continued without further hesitation. "Now if it wasn't Skaali, then who was it? Were they working with Skaali yes or no? We are still discussing the possibilities and are doing our best to find out who is behind all this. For now we are fighting an invisible enemy....And we are losing."

She gestured to the seat where Eyrekra had been sitting just flickers before. "So please, Eyrekra. Please sit down again. I am certain that we can help you prepare for the upcoming battle and we need all the help we can get."

If Eyrekra would decide to turn around and walk towards the seat again, Iorna would ask her one question. "Tell me, what do you know about the Covenant of the Secret Fire?"

[Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige]

Eyrekra turned around and walked towards the seat, but refused to sit. She stood behind the chair, and was feeling quite worn from her experience. Her recalling of best forgotten memories was making her sick to her stomach.

She did not have to think about Irona's last question, she answered the question flatly. "No, I have no ideal of whom or what the 'Covenant of the Secret Fire' is or are."

Then a slight smile briefly crossed her face, as she realized that it was now her turn to get some information. She would get as much as she could and share it with Hex at a later time.

She looked Irona square in the eyes and asked. "Can you truly help me?"

Without thinking and in true earnest Eyrekra gave Irona even more information."My Mother Celia is currently keeping tabs on Skaali, and my Grandmother Agenta is lending comfort to those who could not or would not leave the Landing Cove."

Eyrekra could feel a glow coming over her as if she spoke in the spirit. "I firmly believe that with the spirit of Ijkoningin flowing through my body I could deliver a death blow that could turn the tide of battle, and save our people."

Then just as quickly as her religious fervour had took hold of her, it passed, and now with a sadden heart she stated. "That is, if I could find someone to train me to harness the gjof of Ijkoningin."

Eyrekra did not know if it was her burst of religious fervour or if she was just plain tired, but her body felt completely drained. On wabble limbs she move to the front of the chair and sat down, and spoke her last words for now.

"I am truly sorry for my sudden outburst, and forgive me for raving like an untrained child." "Please go on, I wish to hear more about the 'Covenant of Secret Fire'.

[Meridiuz]

Can you truly help me? Iorna did not respond to that question immediately. Could she really help the girl? What was the real strength of the Covenant? Did they actually have any strength against this evil? These were questions that were constantly in her mind, yet she never brought them to the surface. They were going to prevent Sjovolkor. She had to be certain of that. Finally she looked back at Eyrekra. "I believe we all need to help each other. We need to stand together."

Iorna gave her another interested look as Eyrekra mentioned the gjof flowing through her body. "If you really have the gjof flowing inside of you, there is one that I know of in our Covenant that can train you. She is currently in Trothgard however and it will be difficult to actually get in contact with her. She is probably the most trained witch within our Covenant."

She continued to explain about the Covenant as Eyrekra sat down again. "The Covenant is older than anyone alive now can remember. It's purpose is to protect the old ways and prevent Sjovolkor from happening. I am a member of the Covenant and so is Ambassador Ina da'Yrsa." She paused for a flicker. "A lot of our members were killed at Rimmerhold. But we are still active. There are ways to keep in contact, although these links seem to be getting harder to set up lately."

Another pause. Iorna looked straight into Eyrekra's eyes. "And there is something else I need to tell you. Your mother is also a member of the covenant. The fact that she has gone with Skaali shows the courage in your family. She is a great warrior."