74

Purple Lotus

Emerging from the cave, Forseti held aloft a light and ventured aimlessly into the darkness.

"I wonder if any dark elves still survive..."

Thousands of years ago, the former All-Father Bor, father of Cul and Odin, led an army that vanquished the dark elves completely. After eons of decline, these once-mighty overlords of the universe faded into obscurity, leaving only Svartálfheim—a forgotten, desolate homeland in the Nine Realms.

Could he be the first to set foot on Svartálfheim in millennia, since the dark elves' demise? Forseti pondered.

Yet, just as he was about to give up after a few hours of fruitless wandering, a sound shattered his thoughts.

"Hey." A strange cry echoed.

Clearly not human.

Forseti remained vigilant, drawing the Fist of Verrigan from the Sanctuary and casting Holy Light onto his warhammer.

Verrigan's Fist emitted a brilliant light, dispersing the surrounding darkness tenfold.

"Hey!" The cry came again, urgent and tinged with fear.

Following the sound, Forseti spotted a massive black spider.

Larger than a human, the spider had a sleek black body and sharp mandibles.

However, like many creatures in Svartálfheim, it shared a profound aversion to light, akin to the dark elves. For these creatures of darkness, direct exposure to light was excruciating.

Once, darkness had dominated the universe, and the dark elves had thrived. As light became prevalent, their decline hastened, until Asgard finally banished them from history's stage.

Thus, bathed in Holy Light, the formidable spider, initially menacing, turned tail and fled as Forseti approached.

Momentarily surprised, Forseti recalled the inherent vulnerability of dark creatures to light—their Achilles' heel. Any lingering fear dissipated.

"I am a Paladin, the universe's beacon of light! You, who fear the light, stand no chance against me!"

With that thought, Forseti radiated Holy Light from head to toe, his brilliance overwhelming. He pursued the spider.

The spider writhed under the onslaught of Holy Light, succumbing after a brief struggle.

"Boom!"

Forseti delivered the finishing blow with his hammer.

While the spider boasted considerable combat prowess, its aversion to light rendered it helpless before Forseti.

Reflecting on the encounter, Forseti mused aloud, "Even if dark elves still existed, I wonder if I could have spared them."

Alas, the dark elves were no more.

Furthermore, even if they still survived, they likely donned light-resistant armor, rendering direct light exposure ineffective.

This spider was likely venomous. As a healer, Forseti immediately considered this, gathering some spider venom for future study.

Svartálfheim, it seemed, was not entirely barren—dark creatures still roamed its depths.

While others might find such creatures perilous, Forseti, as a Paladin, had no such concerns.

For several days thereafter, whenever time allowed, Forseti ventured into Svartálfheim, exploring in search of something.

Regrettably, Svartálfheim remained desolate. Encounters with dark creatures, primarily spiders, were occasional.

As Forseti had surmised,

The dark spiders were indeed venomous; their venom could lethally affect even the Aesir.

His most significant find during these days was collecting venom from numerous dark spiders.

One day, Forseti returned to Svartálfheim and ventured into an unexplored direction.

Hours later, he seemed to have stumbled upon something. Raising his warhammer, he cast Holy Light to its fullest, illuminating the distance like the sun.

"Ruins?"

Forseti discerned ruins at the edge of the Holy Light—a village-like place with dilapidated walls.

Approaching cautiously, he observed that it was indeed a settlement, with humble structures and few intact buildings.

The Holy Light frightened away mice hiding amidst the ruins, unnoticed by Forseti.

His attention, however, was drawn to a cluster of plants.

Among the rubble, several small purple flowers grew, nestled in a corner formed by crumbling walls.

Most creatures in Svartálfheim, whether flora or fauna, dreaded light. Yet, these delicate purple flowers, bathed in Holy Light, showed no signs of withering.

Forseti marveled. It was his first encounter with light-tolerant plants in Svartálfheim.

Recalling the description of purple lotuses in the sacred deed—typically found in ruined landscapes—Forseti speculated, "This must be a site of destruction."

Carefully observing the purple flowers, Forseti retrieved a spade from the Sanctuary and carefully dug up a specimen, placing it in his potion mixture recipe book for identification.

[97% match for purple lotus]

Truly!

Forseti couldn't contain his astonishment.

Purple lotuses were here!

Only four ingredients remained missing for his potion mixture: dragon's blood, mountain blood, sands of time, and a lightning core.

The lightning core substitute likely lay in the Valley of Thunderfalls in Warnerheim, while dragon's blood could be sourced from either Nornheim or Muspelheim.

Yet, mountain blood and sands of time remained elusive.

With anticipation and determination, Forseti returned to Asgard.

The following day, he set out for Warnerheim. While he couldn't be certain the lakeside location was indeed vanaheim, he ventured into the forest in one direction.

The forest appeared vast. Forseti, relying on his Aesir strength, hastened through it for an entire day. Come nightfall, he remained engulfed in green shadows, with no end in sight.

"It seems this truly is vanaheim. Apart from here, few places in the Nine Realms boast such expansive forests."

Resting against a tree, Forseti settled in, wary not to succumb to sleep in unfamiliar surroundings.

"Kill him!"

Sure enough, in the dead of night, shouts and clashing erupted nearby.

Forseti jolted awake, seizing his weapon in readiness.

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