The Starlight wrote:Previously in
Renascence Eternal... And so it was, that Valka Silverhand, All-Mother of Asgard stood alone against Those Who Sit Above In Shadow, the Gods of the gods. For once, upon this ground, here was a battle that she could not win. A dark path would await her, no matter where she turned. The ride of the Valkas had ceased. And so Valka, the Eternal, steeled her heart and raised her sword, and prepared
to die.
A long, long time ago...A young Valka stood on the prow of a longship in the age of the Vikings her thoughts conflicted. Only a few weeks ago, she had been in a dark chamber, with a portal on her back, and a woman who looked strangely familiar. The woman had told her to run, and while she had initially resisted, she had suddenly felt a stabbing, writhing pain in her collarbone, where some black magic had infested her. Stumbling to the portal, she had landed in the throne room of the All-Father, embarrassingly bleeding all over her king's floor. It had taken several days for her to recover, and though Odin told her not to worry about it, a twinkle had been in his eye, as if he knew something.
A voice interrupted her thoughts, Valka turning to see one of the rowers asking her a question, "Shall we turn back, Goddess? The fog grows ever thicker." Valka took a look at the fog for herself, and then shook her head. "Nay, for you have a God's eyes with you! Sail on!" And the all-female band of warriors, chuckled and bent their backs as they rowed. Valka took a smell of the frosty air and smiled, as her breath froze in the air. This was the North, and here, the Vikings ruled. Here, the Norse gods walked among their followers. Valka had formed and led a band of female warriors to have the honor of joining her in battle. And now, they sailed, for death and destruction, to the land called Europe, the region named Francia. Valka sighted the coast first and grinned with pleasure, calling upon the woman to quicken their pace. And then, when they were close enough, Valka leaped onto shore. Her warriors soon joined them and then Valka unsheathed her axe and joined, roaring out her usual cry, "BLOOD AND GLORY!!"
She was Valka, and this was raiding. The resistance on the banks of Francia was easy smashed aside by Valka and her little army, the villagers running as the Norse-women looted their homes. Valka looked up and saw a cavern in the outskirts of the village. Perhaps, she reckoned, more gold or metal had been stashed there. Smiling, and lighting her hand aflame to provide some light, she entered it, seeing a door, which she easily broke open. But the room, much to her disappointment, was empty and Valka turned to depart. However, the door had completely disappeared, and Valka frowned, leveling her axe, looking around, before she was blasted in the back. Grunting as she fell in shock and pain, the Asgardian used her axe to help her up, still seeing no one. "Come out and fight, cowards! For today you face Valka of Asgard! Today shall be your death date!"
"We shall see. But today, little god, you will fall." said several voices, before their bodies, if they could be called bodies stood before her. They appeared to be giants, almost of the shadows, glaring down upon her. The young Valka glared up at them, opening her palms and blasting them with fire. Stopping her onslaught after a minute to make sure that they had been completely reduced to ash, she surprisingly beheld them completely unharmed.
"You do not understand, little god. You are an ant to us, in power and might. You will not die here, forever. You will die, and then we will revive you and kill you again. And again. And again." Then all six of them lifted their own palms and produced a blast that sent the Asgardian flying. She had never experienced such an attack, and found herself pinned, high, upon the wall.
"And you can do nothing to stop us." they finished, before a bright light shined and a familiar voice spoke out, "But I can!" a golden blast being fired from Gungnir, spear of the All-Father.
Valka felt the resistance fade as she fell to the ground, landing on her feet and summoning a sword. "Foolish child," Odin said, extending a hand towards her and teleporting her away. "Know this, Lords of Shadow, Odin Borson protects his own!" And Gungnir cracked the ground, and the All-Father was gone, to Asgard, where Valka awaited, her expression angry. "Why did we flee, All-Father?!" Odin made no reply, striding to his throne, as Valka continued, "We could have taken them, you and I!" she shouted, her mouth closing as Odin spun, Gungnir at the tip of her neck. "Do you challenge me, child? Do you question me, forger of weapons?!"
"No, All-Father," said Valka quietly, bending her knee. "You are All-Father."
"Indeed I am, child and see that you remember it." Odin finished, continuing his stride to the throne, indicating that Valka could go.
Now..."That was you!" Valka Silverhand exclaimed as her mind went back to an encounter she had in a dark cavern long ago. She had met Those Who Sit Above in Shadow then, and she would have died if it had not been for Odin. But when she had returned a second time to that cavern so many years ago, she had found nothing.
"Indeed it was. Odin, had he stayed, would have fallen beside you, for the power of an Asgardian is nothing compared us. And today here, little Valka, there is no one to save you. Your time has come. We do you a mercy. Your heart would die a million deaths if you beheld what shall come after your destruction."Valka made no reply, focusing on only the present battle, Oathbringer in one hand, Gungnir in another. Then, a feeling of rebellion came over and and she charged them, her weapons glowing with the Valkaforce as she said, "Today is a good day to die, Shadow-Lords. As good as any day." Her charge was halted by a blast of their dark power, which Valka held back with her own cosmic force for as long as she could, and then she leaped aside, throwing Gungnir into the shoulder of one of them, who cried in pain, inflicted by the godly weapon. Three times did she parry their giant swords, each time sinking into the ground at the sheer weight of them. But these swords were not of any material she knew, and she felt a horrible sickness and dread come over her whenever she drew close to one. But still she resisted, never staying in one place in fear of being outflanked.
Annoyed, 3 of her foes entered the woman once again, who had stood silent upon the chief throne until the Gods of Gods had inhabited her again. She rose, the Lords using her more agile and small form to attempt to outflank Valka. Seven times more, did the All-Mother leap aside, and seven times did she strike them terrible blows with the ever-sharp Oathbringer that glowed with the Valkaforce. But a weariness came over her mind and soul, and eventually, inevitably, she knew that she would fall if she remained.
To flee before a foe is an horrible act for any Asgardian, most of all the All-Mother, but for once, here, in this cavern, she accepted that she would not win this battle, not in this way. Calling Gungnir to hand, she plunged it into the ground as she parried one last blow, sending a burst of the Valkaforce through the ground, causing the room to shake as if an earthquake had occurred. Capitalizing on this momentary distraction, she created a hole in the rock face with a fireball, running towards it with all her speed, unflinching despite a dark bolt of energy coming narrowly close to connecting with its target. Summoning and mounting Salvistar, Valka Silverhand fled, her face burning with shame.
And behind her, she heard the mocking laughter of 6 voices.
"Flee, little god, flee. You cannot stop that which is coming. So flee, and live to see every god of the universe as our thrall. So is your fate."Valka, urging Salvistar on, did not look back, letting them have the last word. "To Asgard," she murmured to the Pegasus that had so faithfully borne her. She was alone now, afraid even. But as she had told her older self, Valkas do not fail. Coming to her realm, still hearing the sounds of battle, she entered it secretly, riding to the World Tree. Sitting under its leaves she began to speak to it, recounting the events that had occurred and the dire events that would follow. She ended her plea with a desperate "Please," not knowing what else you can do. She waited there, for several minutes, but heard no reply. Bowing her head and preparing to leave, she stopped in her tracks when she heard a voice in her head. "
My child. I will die if Those Who Sit Above in Shadow succeed, for I will be perverted into a tree that gives death rather than life. There is a thing that you may do, to stop this. The lords of Shadow have taken a woman as host, and now inhabit her. Without her birth, this would not have even occurred, nor would we be speaking of this. Tell me, my child, what are you willing to do to save the universe?" Yggdrasil asked.
Valka lifted her head, and responded calmly. "Anything."
"Very well, my child. I grieve for you, for what must be done. But it must be done. You must travel in time, to where this woman was born, a little before it, to when the mother was still pregnant. You must thrust your sword and kill a babe that who will grow up to become the host of Those Who Sit Above in Shadow. But be warned, do not look upon the mother's face."Valka's calm demeanor faded as she stared at the World Tree, disgusted with what she would have to do. "I... I will do what needs to be done. But how am I to get there?" she asked with a small voice.
"Do I not know all who were born in this universe. My boughs do not only travel the Nine Realms, but all of the universe. Now go, my child, and I am truly sorry." At that, the World Tree fell silent, a shining portal appearing before her. She looked upon the Tree once more, and then down at Oathbringer in hand. "No," she decided, "There is no bringing of oath in this act, only death. Oathbringer shall not bear this sin, only I." And she summoned a dark sword and walked with heavy steps into the portal, to go kill a babe.
Emerging silently from the portal, she looked around, only to see a dim light in the room in which she was in. Deciding that it was better that she not know where she was, she approached the bed silently, seeing one woman upon it, heavily pregnant. The All-Mother's grip upon that dark sword tightened as she approached, her heart filling with shame. She stood beside the bed for a moment, looking upon the woman peacefully sleeping, a hand protectively placed upon her womb. Valka stared upon the sword which she silently named Shame, raising it slowly, her conscience fiercely resisting.
Shame held high, Valka murmured softly, to both herself and the woman. "What I do, here, today, I do for peace. For the universe. This is a vile act, and so, let shame be upon me forevermore. Forgive me," she said, tears running down her face, beginning to plunge the sword down before a certain determination and curiosity came upon her. Walking to the side of the bed once more, she slowly lifted up the blanket that obscured the woman's face.
And then, she leaped back in shock, for the face was her own! A terrible grief came over her then, and tears ran faster upon her face like an onrushing stream as she realized that she would have to kill her daughter, her own daughter, in order to stop the Lords of Shadow. She herself might die, but she cared little for herself. But her own daughter! Had the World Tree known?! It had always been one of her greatest desires, as she grew older, to be a mother, and fight side by side with her own blood. And now, she would have to kill that dream. Wiping the tears fiercely away, only for more to emerge, she lifted Shame once more and attempted to do the deed, her arms shaking as the sword descended.
But she could not, would not. Shame clattered to the ground and Valka fled for the second time today, vanishing into a portal back to her own time as the Valka of that time awoke and fired a blast of the Valkaforce, still as able as ever despite her pregnancy. Arriving back in her time, she charged the World Tree as she summoned a fireball, tears streaming down her face all the while as she shouted out brokenly, "You wanted me to kill my own daughter!?! How!" she shouted as a shield emitted from the World Tree, preventing its combustion, Valka slamming her fists on the shield again and again, the blows becoming softer all the while. "Why? I could not do it, and now the Lords of Shadow shall use my daughter to enslave all the gods. Is there no other way?"
The World Tree spoke into her mind, once again.
"I am sorry, my child. And you deserve to know how this came to be. Your daughter, in the future, will be born as the Goddess of Rebirth. She was destined to end the Ragnaroks, forever. And one day, she did what none had done before, she slew Those Who Sit Above in Shadow. But the Lords of Shadow were not fully dead, and they inhabited your daughter's soul, mind and body, traveling back to this time to wreck havoc in revenge. She is their thrall. The woman you have chased all this time is her, my child, in a time not of her own. The Shadow-Lords you face are but shadows of their true self, using the remnants of their great might and that of your daughter, who controls the life, death and rebirth of all things. And with her, Those Who Sit Above in Shadow will start Ragnaroks all across time and space, allowing them to obtain more power than they have ever possessed. But yes, there is another way," Valka shouting in rage at this.
"What you just underwent was a test, my child. You must free your daughter's soul of the Shadow-Lords, and take the domain of Rebirth upon yourself. With your might, the Valkaforce and that domain, Those Who Sit Above in Shadow will not be able to inhabit your soul. But first, you must find it. And unfortunately, child of mine, that can only be done in Hel, by one who is dead. You will know your daughter's soul once you see it." the World-Tree explained, albeit a bit reluctantly.
Valka sighed, looking down once more, "So I must kill myself in order to descend into hell." The silence from Yggdrasil was deafening, and Valka sighed once more, kneeling upon the ground, Oathbringer drawn. The Lords of Shadow had made a grave mistake in taking her daughter as host, the daughter of Valka who had slain them, Valka smiling in pride at the thought.
But there would be no wall, no force that would hinder this mother from freeing her daughter. And as she plunged her sword towards herself, she looked up at the stars and murmured, "I die so that
thou mayest live, my daughter."
She made no sound as Oathbringer slid through, Valka drawing it out and falling completely to the ground, making sure that the sword that was wet with her blood stayed in her hand. She would need it. Valka forced out a few words as her blood ran out, the wound being struck so that her body could not heal itself.
And so it was, upon that day, Valka Silverhand, All-Mother of Asgard, died.