POV: Grazia, the mute deer.
Date: Góa 2nd, 798 AD. (Alt: 13th February, 799 AD.) Location: Götaland (Ancient Sweden.)
From the time she had helped defeat the grand piglin army, she has been in continuous training within the simulation's confines of the 'Minecraft Realm.'
Swerving run-bys that worked as fastened mobile hit-and-run tactics upon advantageous flat terrain. She worked solo, managing to defeat entire raiding parties of Illagers that do their best to predictably aim towards the fast-moving target.
But they never could, for the upgraded grenade covers and adaptable hilt made it impossible to hit her even once. She enjoyed using 'Chaining' the most, the highest single throw streak being 27 in a row. Thousands fell upon meeting this spectre, but as part of the waves managing, she will soon face a new type of boss that Heath had added to the program. A thaumaturgic golem with the outside made of craggy stone. That may seem less powerful than a regular steel golem, but they have a feature our monumental guards lack:[1]
An internally layered infinite cobble generator, where it could then fix itself with a new slating while replacing the old, damaged one as waste if left for even a finger snap, the only way one would be able to destroy it is to either make it run out of power faster than it can recharge, OR to destroy it all at once.
She had died to this boss 3 times now, and she was rightfully pissed off at its unpredictable attack patterns. She immediately aimed for the face, taking out its ember eyes and causing it to charge recklessly towards her, slamming its full body weight and causing the salted farmland to collapse. The titan divebombed a second round while closing towards where it predicted she was running across to slam her with full force, but she had intentionally gone one direction while under the golem's vision to swerve the opposite. Then, she saw it crash into the grass below, raising its head with its eyes nearly reformed to photoreceive her general direction.
Now it kept a hand out in front of its eyes at all times, ready to block her shots, which made her instead aim for the pelvis. The front piston joists that had held the torso stably were now temporarily down, forcing it into a hunchback position while it ran with its other arm like a gorilla towards her, leaving boulder-sized craters in the earth below.
Grazia ran, hiding behind a building temporarily to then throw 2 grenade covers into the expected areas it was meant to run through as vestibular gates, but instead, IT CHARGED THROUGH THE WALL! She was slammed ahead, her armour working to pad her crash before forcing herself upright with her arms. Her front left knee was busted against the attack, with her silently wincing in its reduced stinging from the program. She limped to a temporary safe node, scanning for the golem that was trying to lift itself out of the rubble.
The grenade covers that were left exploded below the golem in a lucky streak, destroying 2 : 3rds of the body to give a direct view of the internal arcana-supplied infinite water and lava combiner.
She threw the final grenade cover into the quickly enclosing hole, now firmly embedded into the covered gap. And with there being no airways for the force to dissipate. . . Would mean its defeat, *FR-BOOOᴼᴼᴼᴹ!* destroyed from the inside out, the generator finally powered down, tinnitus now ringing her ears. "*Phew*" Grazia breathed out in acquitting after dying so many times to that robotic monstrosity, glimpsing memories letting her scan the starting death being a stomp to the skull, the next, being a building collapsing onto her, and the last, being her 2 halves of her body forcefully ripped apart amidst its grip.
Her torso still had the phantom memories' lingering effects, yet the system's forced quitting before made sure that there was no chance to consciously create a stimulus of emotional responses from auditoryvisual trauma against its abilitied torment.
She gets rid of her leftover anger by destroying the cobble scraps of the golem with her adaptable hilt, finally feeling satisfied in taking her revenge against a villain. 'I will not be ready for the End on my own.' Grazia thinks to herself, looking around the dishevelled farmlands before leaving the game. Getting out of her Uni-pod, her fur was silky smooth with the internal fluid treatments, now glossy in appearance. She felt its texture, finding it enjoyable before refocusing on leaving her two-story apartment room.
A little gift was left at her doorstep, with a note saying congratulations on being the first to defeat the mechanical boss. She opens the packaging, finding an upgraded emblazoned necklace, with the armour-creating capabilities like the ones from Sophia's line.[2]
Better than the leather she wore in the digital realm, she put it upon her long scruff, now pressing the emblem, a full plate now covered her entire form. She looked upon her gauntleted hands, the coverings shining from the electric light, and then stared below to her front greaves and hoof sabatons, everything fit upon her perfectly, as she had seen on the others. Grazia felt invincible, where only someone of a strength greater than a mortal could break her stride.
She now knits her brows, wondering the best way to thank her Saviour for both helping to train her battle skills while having no bars and for providing this device. After putting on a newly-worn hoodie and eating the small bowl of fruit that had been left on the counter the night before, she walks out.
She looks high up above once outside of Den höga ormtungan (The tall snake tongue,) still finding the dragon's shadow covering her while in front of the sun as had been set up, she was spooked at first, finding its roaring expression frightening, even if she knew it was a giant statue from her seeing the stream of Yufren making it by hand the day before. She bolted to near-flight, her unregulated fear causing a sprint off towards the new meeting point, an interspecies communal area for all
It was quaint, bathed in the light of the sun with flowery, steeped wall garden fences that lined the walkways in a nice, colourfully scented scene, enthroned by long growbeds guiding the direction they are meant to travel through to a centre that borders the marketplace.
The crows, deer and mennskr (Norse humans) each see Grazia's new necklace and recognise her appearance as one of the few who survived the wars against the Piglin Queen and the Seer's army. Some of the newly-arriving after her also watched the battle against the thaumaturgic golem that had been recently streamed in full view on the Internet. Many gave her the respect she deserved for being part of defeating such grand digimodels. For them, it was as real as any other. "The byssuþǫgn (Silent gun) gives herself for all to see~!" Himlauf praises her by saying her new title, as if she could disappear at any time.
Viewing the deer dress sweater she wore with spiralling accents, his eyes rewandered back to her face. "Where had you gotten such lovely clothes? I have a friend named Enrica who may want one." He struck up a small conversation, which Grazia chose to oblige.
"The one who trained the Halcrodóttir triplets, Elzta (Eldest) Hölga, has had her hands busy for us." She slowly swipes her hand upon the yolk, tracing the incredible stitching. "*Ah*I know her. A wonderful seamstress, an even greater personality." Himlauf smiled at a happy memory. "She baked me bread once, and it was the best I had ever tasted." His mouth turned even wider, genuine in wanting to find friendship. "And you? What are you planning tonight?" He leaned onto the raised flowerbed, putting down his large pint of beer onto the smoothly glazed concrete surface near a collection of red flowers.
"I wanted to find inspiration, on a way to gift our Saviour." She played the honest card, which garnered a bobbing. "Life has been so much better than when I was a þræll (Thrall.)" He reminisces, a silent stamping. "What I was accused of, cleared, a new chance at life. A sudden freedom." He downs half of the pint, leaving only a mouthful at the bottom.
"*Hagh*I was thinking of him favouring my child-to-be with a name with my Áshildr." He swirls the last bit at the bottom before placing it back down again. "Good choice. And I am starting to lean towards an, *Pause* idea." Grazia agrees, finding him rather pleasant. "Something private?" Himlauf questions, hoping not to be rude. "No, it involves. . . His scar." She had a creeping edge to her voice, as if talking about an unseen enemy. "ᴰᴼ ᵂᴱ ᴷᴺᴼᵂ ᴹᴼᴿᴱ?" Grazia's voice tinged to a whisper, for the one who burned him to a crisp was dead, yet Heath avoided all conversation about his neck's
Her talking buddy stiffens his posture, but his tone keeps in lightness. "It is not something we should discuss. He will tell us when he knows it is safe to trust us as much as we trust him." He empties his glass, giving it to a nearby Auto Golem server, which shone its lights green before leaving.
"The only thing I believe may be true of it is that it involved him when he was a mortal." His eyes sorrowed over slightly, picturing a possible scene. "That kept his whole from healing over, with the way he distracts himself so much." A mumbled suggestion, so close to grasping the truth, yet still so far away. "Then it is something I cannot help with." She quietly bleats in apology, finding it impossible when Heath avoids many of their 'mandatory responsibilities' as his creations when he wishes to unjustly bring them above their level.
For becoming as great as their great scientist God is something opposing their every ingrained instinct. The crow and deer see him as a paragon to strive for. Yet many were worried about sullying his image after breaking his first bout of trust a week ago.
"I may have a suggestion for you." He taps the end of his honey-waxed handlebar moustache, a new style that has been cropping up from Heath's 'History of hair' video, on the YouTube-Analogue that used an external memory player to implant all of its knowledge painlessly. "I have heard his comments about trialling some test subjects to gain supernatural abilities, as had been talked about nearly a month prior. Maybe you could join?" Himlauf gave a small speech about what he had heard beforehand.[3]
"-and if it is successful, we could gain power closing towards a Valkyrja at a minimum." He smiles in practicality, for he felt the potential risks were outweighed by the power-gain. "I am planning to be part of the 25 meðr (Norse persons,) there are spaces open for deer and crow to join too." . . .
"Sorry, I have talked a lot, but I understand if you find it overwhelming." Himlauf chuckles to himself, as not everyone would have his same opinions. "I wish to be part!" She spoke in a sudden rush, as she confided in Heath with her life, the same way he ascended her consciousness to a higher form. Himlauf looked concerned for her. "Are you not worried about the risk?" One side of his moustache raised askance, for she did not appear to have thought it through with actual future consequences in mind.
"I trust the great scientist God." She spoke forthrightly, because even if it did cause her to die, she knew that her spirit would be protectively guided by Heath himself to either answer a leave to explore other parts of their mythos in soul-form, or to be reborn again.
"Then you could talk to any of the Dollens to be part of this, remember, he always gave the option to leave." He raised his hand forward, which Grazia understood meant an equal's handshake. Their palms smacked together as they pulled each other in to a small embrace. "Welcome as a subject, sister." Himlauf's arm nudged her side, for her to refocus towards the open grounds section where a large stage is empty. "In a bit of time, they will be carolling trailers, wish to stay before becoming part?" He raised his right hand to ask for another glass.
"What sort are they playing today?" Grazia asks as she follows him along towards a seating area, a new section that involves the showcasing of new novels and books that are going to be freely readable online, both from this and Heath's home realm.
The showcasing today is Action Horror, R18. There was a small non-spoilered description of the 15 books themselves, with the stories included being All Tomorrows, Berserk, Blood Meridian, Cities of the Plain, Heart of Darkness, House of Leaves, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, No Country for Old Men, Outer Dark, Stella Maris, Suttree, The Crossing, The Road, The Orchard Keeper, and The Passenger. Quite a few books from Cormac McCarthy, as you notice, and for good reason. Heath enjoyed his existentialism.
There are 3 ways one can read these books: The 1st option is just in words, another being that it is a drawn novella, or the final, which is that Heath has created a visualiser using the same technology as the external memory player to recreate the scenes in a photorealistic style to the viewers' imagination. That. . . May cause a few to become scarred.
"Remember, if any of these stories overwhelm you, put it down. I read through them at my own discretion, and I know how psychologically effective they are at their telling." Heath's voice tiredly spoke to all, emotionally drained by how these books were when he first saw them without prompting. They were now launched upon the M-Creator app for all to see. But Grazia had no reason to do this search, for she had another task at hand. She searched through the open area until coming across Valyria, talking with some children on inundant topics.
"Excuse me, guardian Goddess, can I ask a question?" Grazia gave utmost respect to a child of the tall God, but Valyria shook her hand to show she could be more comfortable. Which was not followed. "Do you wish to be another of the participants in this experiment, Grazia?" Valyria's remembrance of her caused an invisible blush.
"Yes, I do." That led to Valyria going quiet for a moment. "There are now 3 empty slots for the deer left." She crouched down to her height, but she saw that Grazia did not shy away from her. "And if you know of any others who wish to join, tell them of these spaces, all right?" That earned a near-bow from Grazia, but was stopped the same way as how Heath would not like seeing it done to him. Time passes, and a temporary sight was chosen near the south of the (forest farm,) all 75 people present on time.
The list includes =
Crows:
Arnaldo, Arsenio, Azeglio, Bartolomeo, Benozzo, Bianca, Calogero, Carmelo, Ceccardo, Costantino, Damiano, Emilio, Eutychia, Eva, Fernando, Ferrante, Guenther, Iakoros, Ilias, Lidia, Marina, Paraskevi, Paulina, Polina and Zenaida.
Deer:
Aella, Agostino, Aleke, Arcangelo, Ardito, Athanasius, Basileios, Dositheus, Eleanor, Elissa, Eraldo, Ernesto, Ezio, Faustino, Federica, Fernanda, Grazia, Ioannis, Ludovica, Phoebe, Sophia, Stephanos, Thaddeus, Veniamin and Xanthus.
Mennskr (Norse humans:)
Ægileif, Åge, Alfárn, Arngunn, Artkrea, Asdos, Bjern, Bjorn, Bori, Dagrún, Egill, Eirikr, Fróði, Gorm, Hervor, Himlauf, Jarðrúðr, Jorg, Leif, Loyís, Marja, Ragnvaldr, Sigrid, Tryggvi and Yufren.
"Get ready, you will be warped there.
"Byrði betri berr-at maðr brautu at
en sé mannvit mikit; Auði betra
þykkir þat í ókunnum stað,
slíkt er válaðs vera.
(Translation:
A better burden, may no person bear
for wanderings wider than wisdom;
It is better than wealth in unknown ways,
and in grief a refuge it gives.)"
Heath takes Aghi, soon cutting upon his wrist by forcing the blade that tried not to harm him in worry of its owner, his Divine blood flows into the ritualistic horizontal circle of *Celestial bronze with inset manually outgrown 'flesh' plates that were willed to work like the lost art of Bone Binding Enchantments from the Vanir prior. Symbols are etched and filled in with the darkening red, both merged with The Hopeful's own power to transfer part of the great scientist God's reserves into the 75 candidates, half of his power made to safely be contained in their forms in a language many knew since young.
"Deyr fę,
deyia frǫndr,
deyr sialfr it sama.
ec veit einn at aldri deýr,
domr vm dꜹþan hvern.
(Translation:
Cattle die,
kinsmen die too,
and so one dies oneself.
But a noble name will never perish,
if good renown one gets.)"
He spilt it so freely, reaching their calves in depth as it splashed their forms, an artificial pool that mimicked Hel's own to instil their every cell. Stories of the many deceased in Heath's thrown seeping into their retainment. When all can only watch as they are stained the same as Heath in living crimson. It was living, acting like iron filings to a current, spiking and bulging in contrast to the solidly clung legs and waists. One could only reel in their cries, not of pain, but of a future for their apotheotic apogee.
"Sifjum er þá blandat, hver er segja ræðr,
einum allan hug;
Allt er betra en sé brigðum at vera,
er-a sá vinr ǫðrum, er vilt eitt segir.
(Translation:
Mingled is love, when a man can speak,
to another all his thought;
Nought is so bad as false to be,
for no dear friend speaks only fair.)"
Louder, another quote in their midst, the concept of such intense incarnated emotions now steams the blossoming basin as vapour to be breathed in. Their every thought merged as a communicative consciousness from it touching their nerves and synaptic junctions, hemostatically connected to the phylactery through a channel slew, few could make out singular words in the cork that is their now liquid life, a wine so thick, yet syrupy for the Hugr (Mind / Personality,) they drink as if there is none sweeter.
"Því at af illum manni mundu aldregi,
góðs laun of geta;
En góðr maðr,
mun þik gerva mega líknfastan at lofi!
(Translation:
For never thou mayst from an evil man,
A good requital get;
But a good person oft (the greatest love,)
through words of eulogy will win thee!)"
Heath collapses, drained of much of his essence, yet his halved internal banks maintain him to be kept awake, ready to see the power he brought to this realm. Each, to break records for destroying all that is bound below the sky. His eyes close in unconsciousness.
(Writer's note: I have not posted in a while, as 4 days ago from this chapter's posting, we got a Husky dog, expect less for a little bit while my schedule changes.)
[1] Based on the redstone golem of Minecraft Legends.
[2] ᛉ (Protection / Shield / Elk Rune,) ᛇ (Yggdrasil / Yew Tree / Dream Rune,) ᚱ (Horse / Ride / Journey / Thor Rune,) ᛟ (Heritage / Estate Rune,) ᚾ (Need / Hardship Rune,) ᛗ (Man / Human / Self Rune,) ᚠ (Cattle / Livestock / Wealth Rune,) ᛖ (Horse / Twin Forces Rune,) and ᚨ (Odin / Inspiration / Wisdom Rune.)
[3] From Chapter 22: "I wish I had your powers, your devices may work, but they are limited." Agnarr comments with a pause, though one could tell he was joking. Heath did not take it that way. "If my studies work, it may take training and knowledge, but you should be able to once I give you all the ability of magic." Heath caused everyone's eyes to open comically and looked at him to see if he was lying. He was not, and their minds further emphasised Heath's importance for their future. Gorm's comment felt all the more real for others in the Clan. One could feel the roiling emotions, and all of it had an underlying confidence and certainty. Their trust in him felt greater than their previous all-time high. Causing Heath to begin feeling it was unbearable and would have been too much for a normal mortal mind. Having the ability to view such intense emotions would be hyperstimulating to them.