Battle of Avonbeg

The tension that was stagnant in the air exploded faster than anything I've ever seen.

Warriors of all races clashed together: Skelmar, Moon Rock and Dark Wood alike.

When Calder lunged, Hael immediately took over Alistair and both lycan and wolf collided.

Bjarke tossed me aside as he became entangled with a wolf who seemed to appear out of no where as Sköll attacked another who ambushed Kiba.

Fern, Olcan and Rayshon were engaged in a fight 3 against 8.

I stood there, frozen in spot at the sight ahead of me before I was swiped and pinned down by a wolf; it's massive jaws snapping in my face before another crashed into it.

Eskil.

The two rolled across the ground as another pinned me down.

Looking up, I immediately recognized the wolf towering over me.

Botolph.

My Father.

His body was hunkered low to mine as he bared his fangs at a lycan. A lycan I didn't notice before and wasn't a part of the warriors I brought.

Craning my neck to get a better view, I froze. The lycan Botolph was getting ready to engage with was identical to Faelen except he was much bigger in size.

How is that possible?

The lycan stood his full height and as he came closer, Botolph hunkered lower, his growls being carried away by the battle until be was practically laying on me.

When a wolf charged the lycan, he batted him away like how one would swat an insect then did the same to Botolph before shifting.

A man stared down at me with forest green eyes, his long coal-like hair cascading around his face.

"Who are—," I tried asking as I was jerked back and encased in a tight embrace.

The stranger watched with stultified amusement before he laughed.

"I just wanted to see if this would really turn into a shit-fest. It seems you need help with this," he paused looking around at the chaos then back at me. Tilting his head to the side, he blinked.

"Tell my sonur to hurry up. As for you, my dear dóttir, I'll see you soon. Don't get killed before then, Rúna."

Dóttir? Rúna?

That's all he said before waving a backhanded goodbye, shifting and then vanished as if he was never there.

I didn't have time to question anything else as I was tossed out of my father's grasp. Spinning around, I watched as my father's human form wrestled with a massive canine.

That wolf looks familiar.

Then it hit me.

Rol.

Anger boiled over as I continued to watch before dipping my hand to my thigh to retrieve a cutlass and catapulted it into Rol's shoulder, giving my father enough time to shift.

Turning on me, Rol growled, shaking his enormous head, a front paw scraping the ground. Before he could advance though, Botolph rammed into him, sending both wolves rolling across the earth.

Looking around, I noticed the elf from the war council with archers and raced towards them, ripping a full quiver from one of his warriors' back.

Throwing it instantly over my shoulder, I removed my bow and immediately reached back to retrieve an arrow, nocking it and drawing back the bowstring.

When the riser screamed against the pressure, I let the arrow fly; I watched the arrow spin into the pith of an enormous wolf.

Again and again I did this until my quiver became empty once more. Tossing my bow back over my shoulder, I thumbed the daggers on my thigh and started discharging them without thought, just focusing on enemy targets until Alistair crossed my line of sight.

A breath I didn't realize I was holding escaped me before every bit of oxygen in lungs fled and was replaced with a burning pain which caused me to fall.

What in Helheim?

Reaching up to my shoulder, I felt for a wound but there was none.

No blood.

Nothing.

Immediately my sight fell back on Alistair who's shoulder was impelled by an arrow.

"ALISTAIR," I screamed.

The pain in my shoulder sent my body ablaze. I hadn't been directly hit but sweet Odin, it felt like I had.

Forcing myself to stand, I tried running towards my partner before an explosion of thunder boomed around the carnage followed by flashes of light.

Looking to the source, I saw Evenora bathed in static as she twirled a staff at inhuman speed before slamming it down onto the earth. The moment the special wood made contact, static rushed across the ground and found the enemies surrounding Alistair, killing them instantly.

Alistair's eyes fell on mine and for a split second looked at me apologetically before ripping the arrow from his shoulder, causing me to scream in pain.

In the same go, Eskil landed beside his brother as both man and lycan became outnumbered.

Before I could rush to help them though, a massive body crashed into mine, smashing my head into the ground.

Sweet Odin, fuck that hurt.

When my vision cleared, atop of me was no other than a bloodied Calder.

"Get off of me, you bastard," I shouted, kicking underneath him.

"Let me take over," River shouted.

"Or let me. Noir, you're going to get yourself killed," Faelen snarled.

"No, I can do this. I can fight without transforming. DO NOT INTERFERE."

That's all that was said as Calder smiled down at me, a maniacal laughter escaping him. Grabbing the sides of my head, he bashed it against the earth before he was gone, a massive lycan in his place.

It took a moment for my vision to focus again as I saw, through blurred sight, the lycan shift and charge Calder, both bodies rolling a small distance away from the fray.

I shook my head as I stood and looked in the direction the two rolled.

Bjarke.

My "brother" was now engaged with Calder, both landing bone-shattering blows upon one another when an orc noticed them.

I watch for a split second as the massive creature took a stance with a spear. When he released it, I moved, screaming as it plummeted through Bjarke's shoulder and into Calder's chest.

Bjarke turned to look at me as I stood frozen. When he gave me a nod, his attention fell back to Calder and pulled the remaining bit of the spear through him, plunging it further into Calder before he was released from the weapon's grasp.

Standing, Bjarke swayed and took a couple of steps away from the crazed Alpha before collapsing.

When he did, a roar echoed throughout the clearing. A roar so loud that my body tense in terror before it moved again towards the duo.

When I got closer, an impelled Calder looked up at me as he spit blood and smiled.

Bringing two fingers to his lips, he whistled.

A warrior, in who I hadn't even noticed, flashed in front of me and plunged their sword into my abdomen causing me to scream and fall into his shoulder.

"NO!!"

I heard Alistair scream over the havoc around us but I couldn't move.

When the warrior removed his sword, I stumbled forward then backwards as two arrows hit my chest. A third arrow hit the back of my shoulder, sending me forward again.

I reached for the warrior but the man just sidestepped forcing me to stumble further and fall to my knees, wheezing and fighting for air as my vision became unfocused.

I couldn't turn to face a screaming Alistair but I felt every bit of his anguish from behind me on top of my own pain.

Forcing myself to look up, I looked at Bjarke and then to Calder. Through blurred vision, I saw a man standing next to him and for the briefest moment, I thought I recognized him before the two vanished and I fell to my side.

Wheezing, I tried keeping consciousness but it was posing to be difficult.

Another roar boomed, like when Bjarke fell, then I saw a woman approaching me. When she stopped, I tried to bat her away but to no avail.

Trying to breathe, I forcibly raised my head to only see her staring down at me.

She had a winged helm upon her head and a spear in her hand. Her chest was completely covered with a winged breastplate and her body was covered in similar designed armor that ended at her waist. Her lower half was covered in a dark fabric that was slit on both sides, exposing her legs.

I knew what I was seeing.

A valkyrja...

The valkyrja knelt down beside me as my head dropped again, resting against now muddied earth caused by sweat and blood.

"Barn, þinn tími er ekki nálægt. Þú munt ekki sjá Valhalla né Helheim á þessum degi."

With this, the valkyrja leaned down and kissed my forehead and vanished.

A man approached, replacing the valkyrja. The man from earlier, I think, followed by others and soon my partner.

I couldn't tell who was who, except Alistair, as I slipped in and out of consciousness.

Haaken - Noir's biological father, leader of the purebred lycan's of Crest Valley— he was considered disgraced when he became betrothed to the halfbreed, Desha, the mother of Bjarke, Noir (Rúna) and Triaa.

Rúna - Noir's name that Haaken had chosen if he had a daughter.

Dóttir - Daughter

Sonur - Son

Botolph - Khinn's Wolf

Valkyrja - Valkyrie

Barn, þinn tími er ekki nálægt. Þú munt ekki sjá Valhalla né Helheim á þessum degi - Child, your time is not close. You will not see Valhalla or Helheim on this day.