Freyya's Temple

The next day, Haalfrin and his companions are flying through the air; by now, Haalfrin already had full suits of armor made for all of his companions in order to make his Wills carrying them be more comfortable.

Since full body armor is pretty rarely seen on a mage, it certainly is a spectacle seeing them all suited up and zipping through the air.

As they fly across the landscape, Jay telepathically asks Haalfrin (as the harsh wind and the high speeds makes it too loud even to shout to each other), "Hey… so where are we going exactly?"

"The Crow Clans; they're a few days away if we fly comfortably."

"Who are we saying goodbye to?" Jay asks.

"…Someone important in the Crow Clans."

"…Come on…," Jay telepathically whispers, "Is this person dying, or going away, or something? This feels like it's supposed to be important."

Somberly, Haalfrin turns to Jay and answers frankly, "Someone I know is getting their 7th Name and becoming a god; their ascension requires them to leave for a separate place, so she won't be seeing us for a while."

Ignoring Jay's shocked expression, Haalfrin adds, "I'm actually the one who first suggested bringing you guys along; the birth of a goddess is a very Significant Event, and being there will boost your Yiir by a lot. Just think of this as doing you all a favor."

"G-got it…," Jay rasps weakly to his mind.

After that, Jay is oddly silent for the rest of the trip – only stopping to talk when the others pester Haalfrin about their destination. He curtly tells them the truth, and they all shut up too…

… Well, they all shut up except for Faylin; she only gets more and more curious about who this person is. "You know another god-candidate Haalfrin?! You said this person is ascending? Which god is being born?"

Given Frey's frantic shaking on his belt, Haalfrin looks away and doesn't answer.

Well…, Frey certainly wants him to stop talking because she imagines it would be embarrassing for everyone to hear about how she's the Crow goddess, since that would demand an even longer explanation about how she and the Crow goddess are the same person; it's a little personal to her, so she'd prefer Haalfrin not talk about it.

Haalfrin, on the other hand, can't help but have a rare sadistic moment, thinking about how his companions will chew themselves up on the inside not knowing who they're going to go see.

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Within a few days, Haalfrin and the others know they're in Crow territory when a few Crow clansmen fly next to them and guide them to a secluded building wedged between two cliffs.

"The temple of the Crow goddess…" Haalfrin mutters. Despite there being no statue of her, nor any signs or labels, he can tell this building belongs to her; he'd recognize her special flavor of Death Aura anywhere – the black mist with a tinge of murderous intent and soaked in Divine Energy.

The only of the other 4 humans who react stronger is Resburn; the man takes one look at the granite carved temple, and he shivers. "What is this place?"

"A temple," Haalfrin smiles, "though it's not like those half baked 'Temples of the Divines' you'd see back in the Brancotte territories. This is the Crow goddess's only temple, which is placed on the world of her origin. This place has a far deeper connection to its god than any other temple you've seen before."

The Crow escorting them hears the humans talking, and he nods in satisfaction. It makes this old man proud to see that at least one of these humans knows what he's talking about. "Come, humans," the old Crow beckons them, "the leaders of the other Crow tribes are gathered down below; we only await you all… and the goddess herself."

Haalfrin and the others set down on the ground, and they store away their suits of armor in Haalfrin's space bags again. With that out of the way, the humans shuffle awkwardly into the temple with a throng of thousands of young Crows gathered outside the entrance.

Just before they step inside, one of the Crows – a large and burly young man (large and burly for a Crow) frowns and holds out his spear. "The goddess's Contractor may enter with the elders; the rest can wait outside with the rest of the youngsters."

Haalfrin turns his head and subtly frowns at the man. With a small whiff if Death Aura, the guard freezes up. The man puts his hand on the burly Crow and softly moves him aside. The guard only looks at the ground and numbly moves out of the way.

Haalfrin turns around and gestures to his companions with his head, "Come in."

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The inside of the temple… isn't what Haalfrin expected; he thought he was going to see rows of benches or cushions for the Crows to worship on; he thought he'd see a shrine or maybe even a statue with some grandiose depiction of her that doesn't even resemble her true appearance.

Instead, he sees a ring about 20 feet across carved into the floor, as well as rows and rows of steps just large enough for the small Crows to sit on; the temple looks a lot more like a gladiator ring than a place of worship!

"Eh…," Haalfrin thinks, "on second thought, it actually makes sense for the center of the temple to be a battle ring; how else would you be able to summon your goddess's attention if not for her own flavor of Death Aura?

What's even worse is that all the Elders of the living Crow Clans are all sitting down with an… eager and bloodthirsty air about them; he can tell by the Spiritual Aura around them.

It's one thing to hold mock fights… but these people seem a little fanatical to Haalfrin.

As Haalfrin steps further into the temple, he looks around and notices the gazes of all the Crows here; they way they all stopped their conversations to stare at him in silence makes him feel like he's the long awaited guest of honor.

An impossibly old Crow woman steps out from the rest of the crowd, and barely balancing herself on her wobbly cane, she bows and croaks, "We've awaited your arrival, anointed one. Come this way. We've been waiting for you."

Haalfrin rolls his eyes at being called anointed one, but he chooses not to say anything about it; they're not wrong to call him that, after all. "I mean," he thinks, "I really was chosen by their goddess. What other title are they supposed to give me?"

The 4 humans behind Haalfrin are looking around – Faylin curiously, Jay and Myra cautiously, and Resburn fearfully. "H-haalfrin…," Resburn whispers, "It feels wrong in here. This place…" The mage looks around at the Crows and immediately shuts his mouth.

If he had been brave enough to keep speaking, he'd have said, "It's one thing to be in a fortress that has seen a lot of death… but I've never been in a place that glorifies war like it's something virtuous. I feel icky here."

Alas, Resburn is smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

Since Crows are, on average, around 4-5 feet tall, the 5 humans stand out like towering trees among grass as they wade through the almost child sized people. At last, the Crow Elder shows them to the front row seats with the clearest view of the fighting ring.

The humans all sit down, and Haalfrin looks up at the Elder. "Ma'am… what now?"

"Now?" the old woman smiles, "we wait until midnight, when our goddess's Aura lingers the longest. Until then… feel free to mingle with the others here."

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Despite being told to socialize, none of the humans really feel like talking to their hosts… except for Haalfrin; he immediately gets up and starts talking with the various priestesses and elder. He IS curious about Freyya's cult, after all.

In the middle of his idle chatter, he looks comes across… a rather odd individual. "Who's that?" Haalfrin asks one of the Elders as he points at a stranger in a hood. "I've never seen a Deer Clansmen before – nevermind one with antlers made out of wood."

"Oh… that?" the old man he's talking to shrugs, "That's not a Deer Clansmen… he's Master Rinedahk – another guest Divine Freyya ordered us to take care of for the ceremony."

Haalfrin rolls his eyes, "If he's not a Deer Folk, then what is he?"

The elder looks around nervously. "I… I'm not sure. None of us can understand what he's saying."

By now, Haalfrin is genuinely curious. So, he makes his way to this "Master Rinedahk", and he sits down next to him. Oddly enough, this stranger is even shorter than the Crow Clansfolk – only barely reaching 4 feet high. Sitting next to him makes the stranger look like a child.

Extending his hand for a handshake, the human introduces himself. "I'm Haalfrin. And you?"

"Hmm?" The brown robed man peeks up from the book he was reading to take a look at the stranger in Crow. "What-what? Who are you?"

"Oh?" Haalfrin muses aloud – this time in the gods tongue, "So you speak the god's tongue. I'll say it again. I'm Haalfrin. And you?"

Haalfrin expected the stranger to give a disinterested reply, but instead, the little man puts his book down and starts breathing heavily with a flushed face. "D-did you say Haalfrin? THE Haalfrin!? Did I actually get to meet you!!??"

The human scrunches his eyebrows, "…Am I supposed to be famous or something?"

"No, no, not yet!" the little man blurts out, "it's just… I couldn't recognize you when you don't have any pointy ears. That means you haven't died yet, huh."

By now, Haalfrin is getting a little creeped out, "Listen… little man… Am I supposed to know you? I don't even know what you are."

"Oh…," Rinedahk pushes up his glasses and coughs, "Ehem. Sorry. I'm a Yiirkin. I know about you because my race is capable of time travel. You could say my race are the most nomadic you can get..."

The little man seems to suddenly get a little nervous, and he hurriedly adds, "Don't mind me, Master Haalfrin! I'm just here to pick up Mistress Freyya once she ascends."

"Eh," Haalfrin shrugs, "I figured that's what you were here for the moment you said your people time travel…" His voice trails off and he goes oddly silent…

"…But…," the human grins, "…since you seem to know me well, I'd like to hear about what you know. Come on. Spit it out."

Rinedahk holds up his hands helplessly, "Sorry, Master Haalfrin! We're not supposed to talk about the future with people… Eeek!" A sudden surge of Death Aura overtakes him, and he sputters out, "F-fine! I'll talk!"

Just when the Aura retracts, Rinedahk becomes aware of Haalfrin's arm draped on his shoulder. If he hadn't just threatened the little Yiirkin with Death Aura, their pose would suggest they were good friends.