Stories of Aesa

[Kaybrie]

Her arms extended upward, leather knots roped around her wrists and along the lengths of her arms to hold her in place, lifting her just off the floor so she couldn't use her the fullest of her strength. Her arms grew tense a moment, though wouldn't budge against the fatigue worn across her muscles, aches and pains stinging like hazy memories across her back and legs. Wounds? It was too dark to tell, her eyes continued to wearily blink ahead, she could make out blurry lights, heavy boots clapping across a wooden floor. There was a flash of bright light and the sound of flapping leather as a man of shadow stepped into the room, his form eclipsing the light from outside. He greeted her with a name.

"Varghjarta."



A bird chirped above as the suns rays pierced down through the canopy of the trees above. A woman stirred from her sleep and slowly spun over, her furs were wet from rain the night before, her body shivered and her nose ran freely. A quick snort as she rose to her feet, then she spat to the side letting the grog of her hangover ring down from her head down to her toes. She wandered into the woods? She glanced back and saw the closed door of the tavern she'd stayed in the night before resting just behind her.

A small grin cracked over her features as she looked down to her shaking hands, over her knuckles was torn skin and bruising, her eyes winced slightly as she strained to remember. Her face, strong bones, piercing green eyes... blonde hair cropped short. A woman of the south who was not only trained, but bred for war. She didn't remember what she had said to this warrior, but she took exception to it... her knuckles clipped her helmet before something hard struck her between the eyes, and she was sent clattering to the floor before she was dragged outside into the rain.

"Could be dead right now..." She laughed to herself as she reached a hand up to wipe at some of the dirt on her face. Dried flecks of blood clung to her palm. 'Did she hit me so hard?' the thought crossed her mind as she looked down to her hand, then shook her head as she slowly began to stumble down toward the crashing sounds of a near river. Through the pain a grin crossed her face as her legs wobbled and carried away from the tavern, and to the winding stream.

[Kaybrie]

Autumn had come again, though colorful and alien, the tree's and plants became a mixture of orange, red, and green and the animals had grown fat in preparation for the winter. This was perhaps the greatest hunting season, and with the full moon encroaching this eve on the solstice, the Uthgardt was looking forward to bracing her teeth with blood.

The sounds of lapping waves on the cliffs below were clear to the savage woman, and endless showering of water upon rock with the songs of spirits still lingering in the air. They had become so clear and loud since she had left the north, she felt never without company. Her eyes scanned over the ridge, the cliffs were as tall as trees, trading sections of jagged teeth with smooth and worn walls. Beyond the cliffs spread a wide ocean, no land blemished the roiling water clear through to the horizon. Gusts of wind buffeted the coast and sent her hair and fur cloak spiraling out behind her toward the dense forests at her back.

Here was a good place.

"Why here?" A man's voice spoke within her mind, her eyes shifted and she could almost see his silhouette dancing in the twilight. How had she not noticed these things before?

"I love the smell." She answered, his response was a disdainful grunt. "There are orcs just past that ridge, hunt and kill one of their kind for me... it has been days since I witnessed you let blood, and a rabbit is hardly a suitable challenge.

"The rabbit was quick, a battle of wits and agility is still combat." Aesa grinned wide, falling backward with a heavy thump, then throwing her hands up behind her head to rest a moment. "The moon will rise soon, and then I will honor wolf with a hunt, let blood like you've never seen."

There was a pause, a sound that reminded her of children's laughter, they were not alone it seemed... though it was hard for her to tell. She drew deep, slow breaths, her thoughts calmed and she just listened to the songs of the forest, the distant laughter of play and joy, though civilization was far removed from this place. She was not certain what time passed, though when she opened her eyes again she beheld a clear sky, a blanket of blue and black powdered in shimmering stars. And there at the center of her eyes rested Selûne, a brilliant silvery orb of remarkable beauty set upon the ocean of stars.

Her heartbeat quickened as she stared in quiet reverence, her mouth hanging just so. Memories came flooding back through her, wild and untamed, almost frightening now of a past that was racing forward to catch up with her now. The rush of blood between her teeth, her claws rending through leather and chain, crushing the bones of the strongest beasts she could find. Every smell, the blood and sweat she could recognize as fear, the dust from wood everything came to her and felt intense and overpowering, dominating her senses and sending her screaming into a lust-filled rage.

Though now, she simply rested. Her heart calmed, and her muscles relaxed... she was not caught in a moment, time was simply passing her by. The moon slowly shifting over the canopy above. The Runemeet had come, and on the Runemeet she left her tribe, the gift of Wolf's Totem no longer rested in her breast and now she felt hollow for its loss.


She slowly stood and gripped her battleaxe, wresting it from her belt and strapping a shield to her arm. There was a stillness within the forest, a quiet weight that was pressing down upon her. She still remained focused, and began a slow walk deeper into the trees, her mind cleared and she heard the rustling of boots in the shrubs. She would hunt tonight, be it with fang or axe there would be blood spilled and a worthy battle.