The Crow Goddess's Name (1/2)

Kanus's captain has his blade raised, and he's about to snuff Haalfirn's life away, when...

... Without warning, an unwelcome bolt of lightning strikes from the sky and kills the man on the spot!

Reeling back from the booming thunder, and clutching his ears from the shock, Haalfrin looks over and sees the captain's charred corpse. A deep feeling of rage wells up in his heart, and he looks to the sky, screaming like a lunatic, "WHO DARES!"

His eyes come into focus again, and Haalfrin sees an old man in blue and silver robes hovering in the sky. 'My death was so close to me,' he simmers in his heart, 'yet I was robbed of it - by this stranger! I've heard stories from bards before about heroes… and am I one of those heroes that the bards will never let die? They always get saved at the last second. D*mn it!!!'

After his mental rant, Haalfrin thinks for a moment, 'This old mage in the sky looks a lot stronger. Perhaps he can finish me off?'

Haalfrin has no projectiles to throw at the old man, so he starts cursing at him and waving his sword about aggressively, "Hey you! Come down and fight me like a man. I'll go easy on you because you're old!"

The old man floats down. Just before his feet touch the grass, he replies sarcastically, "I'll go easy on you because you're a child." He swipes his finger down, and Haalfrin is forced to the ground again.

"Still," the old man mutters as he lifts Haalfrin into the air with his magic. "I expected a word of gratitude or something." The old man shakes his head. "Well, the gods' business is bound to be a little strange. There's probably a story here."

'Hmm…' Haalfrin thinks warily, 'That 2nd gate mage I fought earlier used the motion of his fingers curling to grip me… and this old man only wagged a single finger. He used less motion for the same spell, which means he's likely a 3rd gate mage… and the only mage of that caliber I know of is the archmage… and I remember learning the archmage received a vision from Das to keep me safe.'

Realizing the truth, Haalfrin relaxes his muscles, and he feels his spirit slump down in disappointment. Once the archmage sets him back down, Haalfrin feels his energy drain out of him, and he leans against a tree.

Haalfrin looks to the side and sees Freyya silently show up and start collecting the souls – tactfully and professionally ignoring Haalfrin and the archmage alike. More than that, she just looks a little awkward for some reason. Getting that feeling from her, Haalfrin turns his head and does his best to ignore her back. 'Let her do her thing, and I'll do mine,' he thinks.

However, just as the old man is about to start talking to Haalfrin, Freyya sneaks up behind Haalfrin and mutters something under her breath. Without warning, a massive soul gate appears on the ground… and the gate is so massive with its 7 gates that the glowing lines stretch out deep into the forest.

(For perspective, when Haalfrin summoned his soul gate into the real world, it was only a few feet across.)

The archmage only seems to feel a powerful tremor in the earth and an uneasy feeling, so he instantly shields both himself and Haalfrin with his quickest spell.

Haalfrin, on the other hand, looks at the gate out of reflex. He never realized when Freyya showed up behind him, but she whispers in his ear, "We're even now. And yes, I accept."

Leaning back in shock, Haalfrin feels an overwhelming amount of information pour into his brain as Freyya whispers her Fate Name into his ear.

The power and depth of the Name was like looking at the surface of the sun. It burned Haalfrin's eyes, and it gives him an overwhelmed feeling.

A flood of images flows into Haalfrin's mind - pictures of another person's life. It's all too much for him to comprehend a Name that is much stronger than his own, so he spasms then falls unconscious – only later remembering the contents of her Name through his dreams.

In shock over the sudden event, the archmage only felt a powerful aura, saw Haalfrin glance down, then saw the boy fall unconscious out of nowhere. Feeling a little scared, the archmage scoops up the boy in his arms and flies off into the distance.

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As Haalfrin is floating in the realm of his dreams, he sees brief flashes of memory flit through his brain.

He sees… a little girl… and she's dressed in poor clothing. The girl, as well as her entire family, have crow wings on their backs. The image he sees is of the little girl preparing dinner while surrounded by other siblings, who are helping her out.

Being the second oldest of 7 children, her little brothers and sisters are getting in the way more than helping… Still, she patiently and lovingly helps them out and helps them pretend like they're being useful, while her elder brother follows their father around with worshipful eyes.

The little girl looks up as her father pats her gently on the head, then heads out the door. "Mother is crying for some reason," the little girl thinks, "but why? Father said he'll be back."

But… the father never comes back, and as the mother slips into a depression, a gloom overtakes the house.

The next year, the mother herself falls sick and dies, leaving the little girl to look after all her younger siblings with only her elder brother being old enough to reliably help.

Day after day, Haalfrin sees the little crow girl dig through the hard earth for roots. He watches as her siblings die of disease and starvation on the wayside… until only one of her siblings is left alive – her elder brother.

Through all this hardship, the now 10-year-old girl feels intense hatred for her father, growing hotter and more intense. She spends every day cursing at him and wishing for him to die, for, in her mind, her father abandoned the rest of the family to die.

She once thought she could at least not be lonely with her big brother here… but he never comes home one day after going to the market with their savings to shop. She learns several months later that he was robbed by brigands and killed.

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After all this tragedy, the girl receives an unexpected visit. A mysterious man shows up at her now decrepit front door. He's bearing flowers and a pot full of money. He asks for the now dead mother, and the little girl only replies, "She's not here. She's dead."

The man looks down in sorrow, then hands the girl the flowers and gold instead. "I'm a friend of your father; we fought together in the war," he says. "He died 7 years ago saving my life. As he was dying, he wanted to know how his wife and children were doing. I'm so sorry it took me so long to find this house and repay his debt. After I got an officer's position, I finally had the connections to track down your family."

The man looks inside and feels himself almost break a tear. "I'm so sorry. I've gotten a high position, so I'll make sure none of you starve in the future."

Feeling livid, the girl snarls and slams the door shut. "JUST GO AWAY!" In a fit of rage, she throws the shredded flowers and pile of gold out the window.

The little Crow girl curls up into a ball and cries her soul out.

Of course, the girl is old enough to believe the truth this stranger presented her - that her father never abandoned the family; rather, the kingdom pulled him out of his home and forced him to go to war – a war he'd die miserably in.

After fully accepting why her father abandoned them and where, Haalfrin sees the girl curl down on the ground, clutching her head in grief, then cursing silently with tears running down her cheeks. 'Why do people have to kill each other?' she wonders, 'All this bloodshed is senseless. There's more than enough for everyone, so why do we have to take?'

Having lost everything, the girl chooses to remain angry at her father; if she lets go now, wouldn't all the resentment and grief she's felt over the years have no meaning anymore? She spent so many years hating him… so are all those feelings supposed to be invalid now?

Another year goes by, and the girl sinks into a deeper and deeper depression. She used to have friends in the town she'd visit during market week, but as days and years pass, she loses more and more interest in the outside world.

Haalfrin sees her digging for roots by herself, fishing by herself, then lounging around the rest of the day thinking about nothing.

One day, a group of brigands comes to her house, hearing rumors that a rich person keeps trying to donate money to the person living there.

A moment later, Haalfrin sees the girl is held up by the neck with a knife to her throat. One of the brigands is shouting, "No time to have fun with the girl! I think the authorities were tipped off we came this way. Just get her to cough up the details real quick."

Realizing she's about to die, the girl only looks at them all with dead, apathetic eyes. 'What's the point?' she thinks, 'Everyone dies eventually; first my parents, then my siblings, and now me.'

In a moment of peace, the girl looks up and suddenly feels that her experience in life hasn't been all that strange. She spent so long secluded with only nature to keep her company, so if she's learned one thing, it's that all living beings are animals at heart and that animals kill each other all the time.

After she realizes this, she feels her soul light up… and just when she's about to comprehend her new Name, she's clubbed over the head from behind, and everything goes black.