The Future Is Never That Clear (Saga/Hildred/Angel 11/24 during the wrestling)

[Saga]

Saga stepped into the cave and then turned to her two slaves. “Wait just outside. The gods do not wish for you to attend to them tonight.” She wasn’t certain Mouse and Tansy even believed in the Skallding gods, and if they didn’t, the cave was no place for them. She doubted they wanted to walk into the most sacred Skallding place either. As much as she knew they cared for her, they were still slaves, still somewhat the people they had been before they were taken. She listened to their feet shuffle off and then she walked through the gaping mouth of the large cave. She could not see the cave, but she could feel the pulsing of the gods, of Himinn, flowing through the walls and the floor and the very fibre of the rocks. She pressed one small hand against the wall, letting her fingers trace along the energy that she felt there. She had been the caves before, when she was younger, before she’d made her deal with the goddess, but even then their call had rocked her small body, flowed through her veins. She had known then that she’d belonged to them. She just hadn’t known how or when.

She will be here soon.

The Jarlle of Salte. The woman who carried so much rage on her shoulders, so much like the man from Grimstone. But then rage and anger and violence and hate were all the tools of her people, emotions that fueled the power they needed to rape the lands of others. It was their way. It was how they functioned. Saga would not deny the very roots of her people. Even she, in some moments, could feel the seeds of the dark emotions rooting in her soul. Her entire mission from Himinn would depend on her ability to foster those seeds.

And so, she waited, walking the cave until she found a place to sit. She faced the opening, her blank eyes staring straight ahead to look at nothing.

[Hildred]

There were jeers that followed heras she left the ring. Her pridehad been bruised, much like her body, but not too many women had the balls to go up against a man in the wrestling ring. Not too many women were like her. It was that courage, that "never say die" attitude that led her to be Jarlle. Like some legendary women of old lore she was like a man in a woman's body. Often the two were at odds, the softer nature of the woman subdued in the face of the man's lust for blood and anger.

She needed to think, to hear the sway of the gods. She somehow felt she had to be at the caves. While not a person whose life was enthralled by the gods, she had a respect for the traditionandfor the presence of the Great Ones. She stopped short at seeing the figure seated there. Saga...the Seer or so it was said. Wasshe waiting for her or was it a mere coincidence? Hildred didn't believe in coincidence.

[Saga]

Saga could hear the footsteps as she approached the cave, her sensitive hearing able to pick up what others might not noticed. The jeers and cheers and hoots from the wrestling match drifted on the wind, and Saga knew that her brother now drew the Deathbringer into the ring. Even at the Wittan, their differences could not be set aside. Saga sighed softly; it was just their way. She had already forgiven her brother for dragging her from Hallbjorn’s table earlier that day, and she hoped he did not make a fool of himself in the ring against Sveyn. Sveyn, the reason that Hildred now approached.

As the woman entered the cave, Saga remained where she was sitting. She did not move, as she began to speak. “This is no coincidence, Jarlle. I’m here waiting for you. Come, sit, tell me why you called you this Wittan. I’m curious to know, although not unhappy. The goddess warned me it was coming, that there was much to do to prepare, but I am ready. The question is, are you?”

[Hildred]

Hildred snorted. "You're the seer. You should know. Though I do wonder whose side you're on, Saga of the Pathfinders, Seer of the Unseen." She didn't believe in the concept of 'just being on the side of the gods' or other such nonsense. As high and lofty as any of the holy people tried to make themselves seem they were human, and they were prone to the ways, sways, and wills of men.

"But to indulge you, Seer, I called this Wittan so that all the free people of Stoft could judge the Jarll of Skarr and choose a proper Skallding jarll. Hallbjorn Stormhold has no Skallding pride, nor does he respect our ways. He seeks to be like the mainlanders, to make us slaves to their whims, our chains being the thrall of servitude to their Jarll, their... King. Their ways are not our ways. They would change us, makes us forget our way of life, our gods, or way of being. But Hallbjorn is arrogant, greedy, and seeks only power for his own gain. He cares not for his fellow Skalldings, for the ways of his ancestors."

[Saga]

“Don’t assume that Himinn allows me the privilege of seeing everything,” Saga replied, an amused smile upon her face as the Jarlle spoke. She laughed lightly, “Sides? Why Jarlle, I am a Pathfinder. Shouldn’t you assume that all that I do is for the benefit of Laketown and my father? It is what a wise adversary would believe, if you think of me as such, although I do not consider you, or Hallbjorn, or the Jarll of Hengill as foes. You are merely Skalldings, like myself.”

She rose and stepped over to where the Jarlle stood. Hildred was eminating an anger so strong that had Saga not known she was speaking to the woman, she could have assumed Sveyn was in front of her. Sveyn... So interesting how alike he and the Jarlle were. And her sister as well. Creatures of rage, of lightening, of thunder, and of violence.

“If you succeed, Jarlle, then Hallbjorn will no longer control all of Skarr, but he still holds Grimstone, and the men there still support him. Unless you next aim to bring him down from there as well. Do you truly believe that is the right path?”

[Hildred]

"To be honest, Seer, I don't know what to make of you. I don't consider you an adversary. You are too... too much of the gods to be an adversary. I am not foolish enough to merely trust you, either. No offense. It has been my experience that those who are touched by the gods seem to belong to no man, no family, but only the gods they serve. However, you are right. You are still your father's daughter, and would be on his side. But your father has only his side. And in the battle between Hallbjorn and myself, for he is my enemy like no other. As for who should be Jarll of Grimstone... I do not believe it is the place of Hallbjorn the weak and arrogant. That is not his position and knowing his cowardice he bought his position rather than earned it.There are many who pay more homage to coin that to honor, even if there is no honor among thieves."

She said with anger and contempt. She wasn't contemptuous of Saga, no, but of Hallbjorn. He didn't deserve his title. He didn't deserve to be alive. But Sveyn... he would he a proper Jarll. She didn't say that outloud. One didn't voice all her thoughts, even if it was to one so.. innocuous as the Seer. Hildred wasn't so naive as to think the young woman didn't have her own agenda.

[Saga]

“You are wise not to take a position when it come to me, Jarlle,” Saga replied. “I serve the goddess, but I am still human, no matter how much she speaks to me. And you only have to look at me to know that I am young. I have weaknesses, just like anyone else. At the same time, Jarlle, I know things no one else does. Are you curious about that? About what I know? About the things I see about Hallbjorn that you never will? The things I know about you that you too might never know?” Saga laughed as stepped closer, a handspan separating them now.

“The Deathbringer would not make for a good Jarll. He lives and breathes only by anger and rage. His emotions govern his actions, rather than thought. You think with your heart too much, Jarlle, when you think of him. He makes you unreasonable. You know this, and yet, you let it happen.”

And then, just like with Sveyn, she reached out to touch Hildred’s chest. She had to know, was the ability to quench the rage that burned through him like fire a bond that existed only between herself and the Deathbringer, or would her touch sooth the Jarlle of Salte as well? There was so much about herself Saga realized she didn’t know.

But soon....

[Hildred]

She felt warm, not unpleasantly so. Her roars on the inside quieted. It was.... strange. She felt at peace, but she didn't understand it. She frowned at the Seer. She didn't like the foreign feeling. She didn't like the peace. It made her feel complacent, vulnerable. She stepped back and frowned. "Don't do that. What did you do to me? What do you supposedly know about me that I don't?" She was suspicious. She was anxious. She was curious. She hated being anxious. She hated feeling vulnerable. Anger and rage and blood... those were her shields. Those were her armor.

[Saga]

Saga pulled her hand back. “You are just like him,” she whispered. Saga stepped back, a slight smile curling to her lips. “I only know what the goddess chooses to tell me, Jarlle. Your path is important, and you will walk it well. Just remember it may not be the path you want to take.”

Saga turned and walked past Hildred to stand at the entrance of the cave. She tilted her head upward, as though she might be looking at the stars. “Put on your anger and your rage, Jarlle. Shield yours well. You will need them tonight, and in the future. But one day they might melt away and then you will have to face yourself, the hardest test of all.”

A pause and then a question. “Would you kill him if you could?”

[Hildred]

She stared at the seer. Kill whom? Kill Hallbjorn? In a heartbeat. Kill Sveyn? That... was another matter. She crossed her arms and shook her head. She didn't think she could kill Sveyn. "I kill who I need to kill." The words sounded hollow even to her. She didn't think she could kill the man she loved probably more than anyone else in the world, a fact or two only known to herself. "And my path is not the one I chose, but one placed before me. I seek to keep the Skallding free. It is my responsibility to maintain that for my children, all my future Skalldings."

[Saga]

“The gods don’t always give us choices.” Saga mused in response, thinking of herself, her sister, and then Hildrid again. “Sometimes we do things we wish we did not have to. You kill who you need to kill. That is appropriate for a Skallding, Jarlle. Go. Be with him. You do well to keep our ways close to you heart, but do not let your anger blind you so easily. To be blind is to bring about ones downfall.”

[Hildred]

She frowned. She wasn't going to be with Sveyn. He made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her anymore. But she was going to go where the memories of their life together, before this all happened, still lived. She looked back at Saga. "And to forget the past and traditions are the sure death of any people." She said. Sighing, she looked out into the night. "For what it is worth, your words mean little to me, but I know they matter much. I'm not a religious person, but I know better than to scorn the gods. May your goddess allow you always safe passage through the dark." She said by way of blessing, and then headed out into the night.