(Writers note: Changed names from Iðunn to Baduhenna, editing part of the story as she is of Æsir, not matching the flow of the story. Also made Freyja more obvious in her manipulations in previous chapters, as I had realised it was too subtle, sorry for any confusion!)
POV: Yufren, the Völsung Clan smith.
Date: Góa 4th, 798 AD. (Alt: 15th February, 799 AD.) Location: Götaland (Ancient Sweden.)
The smith has been busy both in and outside of ETERNAL; his own species is a standard bipedal mammalian, similar in appearance to orangutans, and partially guided in that direction by his daughter, Artkrea.
Their biosphere was a continental class, similar to Earth's own, with oceans, multiple diversified ecosystems, and polar ice caps. However, it existed in a Plutonic-Charonic binary ring orbit with a second, smaller planet, resulting in episodic tsunamis that covered the major coastlines.
To counteract this, Yufren used beach-grove swamps that dissipate the force to manageable levels, the 'trees' themselves being closer to a thickened bamboo with patchy colouration, both for its faster growth cycle and its ability to self-germinate across vast climate differences. While they are weaker from their accelerated lifecycle, it allows it to propagate at a rate incomparable to other plants in this world. And if there is an especially bad meteotsunami risk, there are sister plants, or in this case, slime moulds that will do the trick.
Physarum polycephalum-based. This altered fungal-growing meshwork can leech nitrogen and silica within deeper, usually unreachable soils to then bring back to the root structures from these bamboo lookalikes as mutualistic docking points between 'spreadings.'
Like lungs' breathing, it can transport these minerals in a vascular manner, pumping them through to then trade off and strengthen both themselves and their partner flora into becoming stronger. It also has a unique ability not seen by any above-water species, both in the digiverse and in Real-Space: Periostracum chemosynthetic sulfur depositing. Now, that may sound like jargon, but it is like Leif and Sigrid's naturally produced iron-keratinoid scythe-like claws, except with the much more prevalent substitution.
Through creating molecular sulfurene plates that stack over each other like scale armour, it can allow for new lamina to grow between empty, buildable space where it can then naturally format over itself, shingle-like, without impeding its functions.
It was hard to design it, but with Heath's knowledge and Yufren's gift for theoretics, it had been created over an insurmountable number of tests. Providing greater shovelled embedding into the shores they grow in. From the high-stability structuralisation, the centre of the continents is presently safe for normal life to reproduce. They are now in the Bronze Age, continuously taught by their Father and Daughter Sparks with easy-to-apply schematics towards bettering their soon-to-be planetary civilisation.
While the real species were a major inspiration, Yufren wished to enhance them towards a more Cybernetic aspect, which could be powered through hybridised arcanoscientific systems from their spinal cords to their extended limbs.
Through the continuous visions and micro-managing by them both, by the year 803,452 of when life first emerged on their world's years (406,211 for Leif and Sigrid's (217,922 for Elissa, it is still a damn fluke, I say!),) they had developed a cyber-utopic mega-complex that spanned over their celestial home and moon. (Imagine the Jokaero from Warhammer, except with an actual language and thriving empire.) They are digging deep into the source code of reality, bringing forth the grandest of mechanical constructs and vehicles available to them, following an idea Heath had proposed in a way of deep-space travel: The solar slingshot.
A similar concept to the Torqued Accelerator using Radiation from the Sun (TARS) Interstellar launcher, one could use grand micro-jets and incredibly reflective nano-materials towards a high-velocity spinning dual-armed system that could be guided to release, depending on the speed and angle of the launch, where the next solar system is predicted in cosmic timescales.
While TARS was originally intended for cargo transportation between trans-spacial ports in Heath's home realm, one could repurpose the cargo to be a self-replicating nanite-seeder machine that would park above a large enough mass to then sprout life beyond their capable bearer, which counts towards their Divine will being spread. Sadly, their species' collective minds were too focused on their creators to use Elissa's tactic of creating a divine being that could then last through the vacuum of space, and the tidal forces upon this transporter would be too powerful, even with a once-mortal minor Deity to survive.
So the long way it was, it took 5 ingame years of their time to spin up the necessary inertia to then launch at a 4D-toroidal angular system towards a yellow dwarf star system that was ≈ 7.2931-Model lightyears (6.7647-Lightyears) away. A travel time at 40% light speed for half of the journey will then take 76.106 for nearly an 'Artkreal century' (Named after his daughter.)
The transport vessel spins along the counter-balanced rotational force, finally being launched in the year 803,458. It taps through, finally anchoring upon a dead rock by 803,534. It becomes an artificial satellite, launching carrier probes that bring in spatial ice reserves to then crash into the slightly larger, second colonial outposting body. The pre-existing magnetospheric dynamo recordably strong enough to hold a stable atmosphere, our self-propelling scaled nanobots bringing carbon, oxygen and hydrogen-rich strata by Long tons in only a few of the new world's days.
A damn von Neumann Probe, if it were not for consumption, it would fulfil its purpose by the 807th Artkreal millenia. And from the genetic databanks, this same orangutan species is in-vitrio grown through vat cloning facilities that have inbuilt functionality.
They also have an instinctual basis to recognise Yufren and Artkrea's sovereignty over them. Thus becoming the first interstellar empire, an achievement Heath had thought impossible until an in-game 'Terran' Year of 2,000,000 or so, which would have been ≈ 3,054,221 (2,183,711 for Leif and Sigrid's (4,972,143 for Elissa's).) A perfect crowning achievement that earned them the 4th and 5th Age-Circulator Uni-pods that were produced under the jurisdiction of the deer and crow's given responsibility by Heath before he had left.
And aft- WHAT THE HELL, THEY BUILT A S E C O N D AIRSHIP?! An exact copy at that, too. . ? Dayum. Heath's smile would be blinding to see that Valyria was the one who owned it as well.
Anyway, they continued for the rest of the morning doing their usual rounds, completing passion projects, cooking, gaming, sleeping, and other non-descript private stuff, many expecting there to be some babies in the coming year. There were a few minor scares through an apparent shaking of their Cavern, but it turned out to be Valyria testing the capabilities of her new ship-form. Sterling and Goldie wished to have battlements for themselves, but that will take a few days of planning to get them ready.
POV: Heath Dollen.
Date: Góa 4th, 798 AD. (Alt: 15th February, 799 AD.) Location: Götaland (Ancient Sweden.)
"*Ja ja jᵃ~!*" The sound of Heath's laugh was raspingly gurgled through another batch of drinks provided by Skaði, wrought unfound, it leaned ever closer to a trysting between them both within her lounging Þrymheimr, her old father's home.
It had many memories from her time before he was killed for kidnapping Iðunn, it once felt empty, cold. But the sound of her amorous laughter rang once more. Yet, Heath could tell she was reminiscing when she self-quietened before speaking, as if distracting herself.
He knew from their myths, before she divorced Njǫrðr, there were very few times she felt truly at peace in their pairing, even when compromising by splitting their home life to his home of Nóatún by the sea, she could not find comfort in no longer hearing the howling of wolves or the hooting of owls, instead hearing the screeching of gulls above and of frothing waves. One of the many reasons they fell incompatibly. She must have similar heartbreak from that failed relationship and those before. She clasped hope within her grasp, yet made a conscious endeavour to avoid forcing herself upon him.
Heath got up off the X-framed chair, a *Chork* coming from inside the floorboards, as her home was built above a river. He came close to her in his original form, heights not dissimilar to one another that her eyes were at his shoulders rather than his torso.
"You see through mᵐe." She spoke, seeing his posture tell that he could confidently guess where she was at. "You fate-wʷatchers are alwʷays the samᵐe." She rolled her eyes, drinking another steins-worth of mead before putting it down. "I do not like seeing you in pain." Heath would give as a silken response, the back of his fingers touching her cheek that turned nearly as blue as her irises. "And you did not either of mine." He revealed through hidden meaning, he had finally realised it was she who made Freyja reveal her control over him.
For those who have caused such harm with the necklace Brísingamen, it's cold, mind-bending in view when one is bathed in its contrasting fiery ambers, from Freyja's bedding of the 4 dvergar smiths (Alfrik, Berling, Dvalin, and Grer) for greater Divinity in love, beauty and fertility. It is repurposed for power and control instead.
He knew, for he saw that same necklace again, on a stand visible upon a wooden podium on guard with Germanic incantated inscriptions and songs. Too distant with many dialectal differences per invocation from regional tribes' isolationism. There were 15 branching sister languages, with separations ranging from decades to centuries. For Heath, it all appeared puzzling, but there were clear signs that she had help with others, likely her Vanir-Allied Tamfana (Berchta,) Ragana and the fading Vihansa.
"How were you even able to do that?" Heath questions how one could go against someone of a higher station than her own. "Konungr Tiwʷaz." Skaði would express pride in his empathy as a leader. "He realised mᵐy once step-daughter had mᵐuch to learn." . . .
"Nowʷ, to see your acceptance." She turned around, leaning below her bed in a crouch while accentuating her calves and thighs in the forward positioning she is in, taking out a wooden box the size of her forearms put together, cradling it as one would a baby. "It mᵐay not be as versatile as your owʷn hilts." She strokes the lid, leading to a small locked latch that is unfastened with a quick flitting. "But knowʷ it is not a burden." She unclaims it open, in full view, an energy-shooting bow much like Thyra's.
Heath's closed scanning of the weapon was then remoulded to a stare onto Skaði's hands, realising there was a mote of similar influence between Freyja's tether still in his chest and within the bow's power systems. "You were the one who made Freyja give her power to me?"
She nods, closing the box again to be placed upon the bed. "As wʷell, the one wʷho read your thoughts, it wʷas mᵐe who heard your side of the story." Skaði earned a loving wrapping of his arms, with an apology for telling her to leave him alone back then. "No, you wʷere right. I intruded into your homᵐe wʷithout justification." She then sloppily raised onto her tiptoes to kiss him on his lips. Both of their visions closed to concentrate on the feel of each other's suppleness.[1]
They then reopen their visions to cover each other's perspective with only their lover's, all four hands wrapping behind their heads to deepen their bonds, until a *Knock knock* was heard banging on the door, Skaði's mouth quirking with rising anger at being disturbed.
Heath let her go gently, sitting down upon the bench near the corner table, reaching for some freely available scrolls to pass the time, while she saw who the intruding visitor was. "*Ah*Baduhenna, is everything all right?" Her voice was regulated as the Germanic Goddess had come with her hands behind her back. "Konungr Tiwaz has found certain use-cases for the adaptable hilts, which he wishes to discuss with Heath on whether they are applicable as tools or in battle." She then released her palms, bringing them to her sides. Meanwhile, Heath retransmuted to his new form for this instructional teaching.
"Then we should leave, my snærrskina (Shining snow.)" He nicknamed her with a cutesy title, leading to her giving a *Harrumph* before both returning to the Iðavǫllr council hall. Seeing that the thorned king was adjusting the 'warping' location, the 'portal blade' would teleport away an orb of material when swinging the adaptable hilt.
"My master has an idea in using your construct as an airless imploding tool, creating a 'vacuum' as you might call it, to then depressurise the internal structure of a bubble while surrounding it with higher density, to then rush back in." From Thyra's description, it was concise and could be a reliable tool for stunning, therefore creating a loud booming sound when air crashed back in at <= speed of sound, but it would not do any better as a damager. "Do you wish for it only to be a disorienting burst to the ears, or to weaponise it further?"
Heath would question, which led to golding it as the latter. "Then, rather than doing it away, let us say there is an enemy here." Heath would create a 2D-splice of a human's internal structure, the cardiovascular, excretory and respiratory system visible against a front-glass portion as a window.
"Is it alright?" Heath asked, while raising his hand, as the King of the misty storm returned the hilt for his experiment. "You see the many air gaps within this model?" Heath would point, with all other Divine in attendance nodding. "Now, let us say I do this." The tall God creates a 'film' that surrounds the body as a hollow pill, using its hard-construct vibrating structure that rotates to create a tornado-like whirlpool as to will the acceleration of air outwards, in Model seconds, all gases escaped the internal body cavities:
Which, from the sudden outflux of what constituted the equalising force collapsing within, led to the lungs, open heart chambers and oesophageal passageway that pneumothoraxed into itself, a representation of the blood vessels within now bursting to the extreme differentials.
Heath removably stops the 'portal pill' from rotating, allowing the air to squash back in. It SLAMMED into the splice, making the lumen's structure curl and balloon in grotesque ways before shredding itself as overstretching, organs fully ruptured. Heath put this in his previously noted mental catalogue of war crimes, allowing all to see the damage it had done when creating such a dangerous technique. Others looked at it in horror, having similar thoughts not to use this quick, but endlessly painful torture.[2]
The great scientist God returned the weapon to Konungr Tiwaz, who examined the model with a biologist's analyses, he seemed not to have as many qualms against using it. "Is there anything else you wish to know?" Heath's question was met with a nod.
"You use it, *Pause*as weapons, at most. Yet, it could. . . Be tools, too." His rooty hand blasts the 'portal blade' into a plough shape. "To pull it in,*Pause*teleporting grain, over fields. Is that plausible?" He demonstrates it by working it to move on its own over an imaginary pasture filled with 'portal plants' created to disappear when absorbed into the 'portal plough.' "We could, but I felt it inefficiently wasted magic, which is why I use the Drone golems instead for food transportation." Heath's statement was met with nods, all in favour.
"About that, do you wish for me to provide 10 Drone golems? They will be useful." Heath earned a low rumbling like an earthquake from the thorned king, a laugh at his generosity. "Thank you, but no. We have enough." His slow, methodical speech had many in the room giving their assent.
"Say if you ever do." That earned a pat on his shoulder from his new Brotherly God-King, leading to all sitting down to consummate their relationships. The attendees then gave each their own small part to the whole of the veislur (Feasts,) who would offer their available crops from their minor domains within Vanaheimr. Much too strangely, once given directly to Konungr Tiwaz, it is instead provisioned to Heath. He questioned such motives, but it was said it was their king's doing in the hope of keeping quarters between them.
"What for?" The King of the misty storm answered his query, telling him that he may need to cash in that favour described by Annarr previously sooner than expected. "You do not need to do this, then." Heath would claim, passing the hoarded food back to them, which would have been seen as customarily rude, but they understood there was no malignancy behind it.
Konungr Tiwaz revealed that his power, still stronger than Heath's, had waned to be a shadow of his former self. When taking off his crown, he upbraids the once grand mane of leaves that flowered behind his visage, only dying dregs left from their wake. Showing his truthful vulnerability in trusting. "We are not, *Pause* strong enough." He would put his crown against his chest to then describe the Lyngbakr (ἀσπιδοχελώνη (Aspidochelone)) sea beast of Φυσιολόγος (Physiologus) once found during the 2nd-century AD.
Its new habitat after moving out of the future Carolingian Empire's waters was the Norðheimr (Ancient Norway)'s coast with its deeper abyss to hold its islandic proportions. Yet, it has moved to a 3rd, now terrorising their fishing vessels and eating their stores within Miðgarðr-Vanaheimr's neritic ocean.
"If, us Vanir, leave. The Æsir will break, their ceasefire." He looks to Heath, hoping he may use his power, able to contend with an Ender dragon, to kill this monster. Heath nods, thinking of 2 ways he may find to deal with this threat. There may also be a chance for a peaceful solution if this creature is intelligent enough to consider negotiations. "Do I leave now?" Heath asks, which helps all of them relax enough to know they are in good hands. "Not yet." Konungr Tiwaz looks towards his þegnar (Servants) Thyra and Skírnir, Yngvi (Freyr)'s loyal messenger.
They did not need to speak, for they knew the wooden immortal's necessities. They left immediately, preparing Skaði's own weaponry. It appeared to be a couple's hunt. Heath looked towards her from their first date a few sun-spans prior, with her giving an even more passionate gaze than before, her breath heavy in impatient waiting.
Heath was about to think she was the safeguarder (What a younger audience may know as Deredere, meaning obsessive yet purely loving, unlike the better-known, mentally ill Yandere) type, but he better not even
[1] From Chapter 54: 'Do NOT tell me Freyja broke my trust again and told her, too.' Heath's anger flared up, eyes turning monochromatic and material swapping between gem-like to light-based in under Model milliseconds. He stopped, forcing them down to calm himself. "*Hu~*" Heath felt the tether within his chest a prodding in slow intervals, and an overflowing reaction by the still structure of this 'doll,' a sense of sorrow and apologetism. 'Leave, I am not ready.' Heath felt this power that was bursting from the source cease and desist. Giving him some space.
[2] From Chapter 17: Both Leif and Sigrid's expressions were one of wariness of the stranger that saved them. They see that he easily handles an otherwise difficult enemy by non-lethally choking it and then dropping it through a small rip that appeared to come and lead to nothing. The man's stern face appeared infallible, as if it knew what needed to be done. 'OH SHIT OH SHIT OHSHIT-' Nope, Heath was internally panicking, trying to end the handling as soon as possible. He never intended it to cause their brains to fry from the inside out, that now being a new war crime in his internal list.