And in the hour of reckless disgrace
The time of wolves on a throne of fallen aspirations
Lead us not unto the shattered halls of fate
But unto the bright fields of day
For unto this eve shall we kneel
Supplication of one unto honor
A sacrifice of blood and a song of glory
Even unto the bitter taste of death
Onward we gaze, unto the morn
As had happened many times through the Lawmaker’s lifetimes of conflict, the prayer of his childhood came once more into his mind, unbidden and unwelcome in its distraction. The verse, which had held him so captive in his youth, was now a bitter reminder of the simpler days of his life, when he had been content to pray to Freyja for a good crop, or ask Tyr and Thor to help him defend his village from marauders. Those days were long past, replaced by a single, eternal calendar, one writ in the blood of millions who had died at his hand. Such was the rule of honor, to slay at the command of his lord, to share in the bloodlust of retribution.
It was to this same purpose that he found himself leaping across the flimsy tops of ancient dwellings, a hard rain skittering across his armor. The task was appointed to slay the worthy and unworthy alike, calling upon the valkyries only when a combatant proved his worth; in the service of warfare, the recruitment of soldiers stood as the dam blocking a river of defeat. Without turning, Honuse Relaiyent could feel the pulsing rhythm of life that bespoke of his opponent’s continued survival; the being was now upon the roof that the giant had vacated several great leaps before, whether through a failed attack or simple luck, the abomination did not know.
Keeping his stride, the Lawmaker neared the edge of the building closest to his companion, and launched himself across the gap. While in midair, his left hand clutched his opposite side, gathering a fistful of daggers from their horizontal sheaths, which he flung unerringly at the beast he had left behind. The weapons flew in a slight arc, spreading out through the rain in a circular pattern, the six blades whistling in their flight. With a terrible roar, lightning split the distant sky in two, its radiant fury silhouetting the giant as he landed heavily upon the already-shaky rooftop. Grand splashes of foul water announced his arrival even further, forcing the man to halt his momentum by dropping to one knee, rather than sliding into a waiting blade held by this strangely luminescent soldier that shared the wooden peak.
As he took to his feet once more, Honuse Relaiyent found himself gazing upon the Glowing One for the first time; whereas before, the amalgamation of sheer visual intensity to the otherwise ordinary metals cast about the warrior had brightened the very sky, to view the being directly was a dazzling, if not revolting, event. Thick tendrils of smoke surrounded the polished steel, reflecting such a vast quantity of light that the Lawmaker could scarcely bear to continue his scrutiny; it was only the lingering perception of something foreign to the battlefield that distracted him away from the Glowing One.
Clawing for attention at the back of his mind, the giant’s affinity to the living elements of the worlds was beckoning him to recognize the blossoming return of life to the dead timber below him. The flow of vitality spread from the feet of his companion, redoubling with every inch it revived, a constant river of strength amidst the decay of construction. Though no smile etched itself upon the Lawmaker’s grim visage, he felt a deep gratitude to this detestable villain at his side, the dvergr of mountains so deep no life save their own could thrive. It was the cunning of his people that recognized the vital importance of a living battlefield, one that would breathe and sway to the abomination’s command and would further tip the scales in favor of their divine mission.
Distant thunder echoed the giant’s appreciation, while the driving rain continued to aid the spread of Freyja’s bounty across the building; the rooftop was fully alive by the time the thunder faded from the darkness. Turning to the dwarf, the Lawmaker nodded his thanks at Till’s foresight, though he still did not defer to the dark one as a true equal in this endeavor. It was with an air of dismissal that Honuse Relaiyent spoke, his words coming softly in the language of Odin.
“Your cunning does you credit. The Glowing One does not concern me, yet his companion is sure to stumble back eventually. Spread the will of Freyja, that I might not be hindered in this conflict.”
Spreading his booted feet wide, the Lawmaker kept his sword in a one-handed guard, ready to intercept whatever attack came his way. While his perceptions were thus occupied, the deeper parts of his brain set to work, beckoning upon the bright sheet of life below, its willingness to aid the abomination regardless of cost. Such was the might of his power that it dominated the passive unconsciousness of life itself, bending and manipulating its force to the ends of the gods that he served. The plants of this distant realm were no exception in their submission to the giant’s will, for they teemed with excitement at the chance to serve such a noble cause as the one that had restored life to their being.
With trembling limbs, Honuse Relaiyent slowly forced the living rooftop to do his bidding, dissolving from the center and outward, leaving only enough strength to keep itself from collapsing under the weight of the Glowing One. As the biological material gathered in a circle near the edges of the building, it suddenly shot up, forming a thin, dense wall around the now-opening pit. The giant, who was so taken by the concentration, did not notice if his enemy had remained in the makeshift cell or not; sweat poured from the opening of his mask, and his breath came in deep heaves. The implementation of the assault did not require the foreign warrior to remain trapped within, yet it would possibly aid in the process; however, the final stage would bear to be held for a moment, as the Lawmaker filled his body with a rush of adrenaline, artificially produced and stored within his body for just such a time.
With his intellect exhausted from the sheer strength of will the task required, it left only his reflexes and honed instinct to stand against an assault from his opponents, unless the dvergr had failed to follow orders and instead stood at guard, neglecting the ultimate strategy required for a swift victory. Heaving one last mighty breath, the abomination returned his mind to the task at hand, bending and manipulating with such eager fury that even the distant thunder had silenced itself to watch in awe.