Chapter 39

Day 91:

After armoring up, including her sword, spear and shield, and stepping out of her tiny barracks cell the Flight Leader led her up a stairway she’d been warned never to use. They passed several passages branching off, until reaching the very top. Geiravuir hammered the iron bound door they found there, and a grim faced Hrund opened it from within.

She frowned at Veronyka, but motioned both women to enter. Beyond was a spartan office, holding a desk, several chairs, a weapons rack on the wall, and three other Valkyries: Brunhyldar, Raiginlef and Herja. There was another door behind the desk, but it was closed.

None of the women looked happy.

“What have you to say about this?” Brunhyldar demanded imperiously.

“Uh, say about what?” Veronyka asked in confusion.

“What have you been encouraging my daughter to do?” Geiravuir hissed.

“To keep working hard, learn as much as she can, and make a few more friends. Someone who appreciates who she really is, not what you want her to be.” Veronyka answered easily.

“That is all?” The Flight Leader didn’t look convinced.

“As far as actual encouragement, yes. She’s an inquisitive girl. She asks about all sorts of subjects. I’ve tried to answer everything I can. Some of it I’ve had to put in terms of what I know from my world, but I don’t believe I’ve ever lied to her, or hinted that she should do something bad. Why? What’s happened?”

Veronyka was getting nervous at the direction this conversation was taking.

Brunhyldar stood abruptly. “We will show you, and you will tell us what it means.”

Bracketed by Brunhyldar’s pet Valkyries, with the Squadron Leader in front and Geiravuir behind she found herself surrounded their for their trek back down the stairs. Even at the late hour, they passed more than a few others already up and about. Or perhaps, not yet ready to sleep. Their route wound up to a lookout position, like the one they passed through on her and John’s way to the amphitheater on her first day. She wouldn’t have known it was a different one, except that when they exited into the valley beyond, its landscape was much narrower, and bore no signs of civilization beyond a faint trail leading higher into the rocky terrain.

At the far end they found the remnants of a small camp just a few yards off the trail. Rocks shielded the tiny fire pit, with two larger flat stones pulled up beside it. A small overhang shielded the back above a cleared spot large enough for a small sleeping spot. It took Veronyka several minutes of examination to determine that much, while the Valkyries waited silently.

“Is this Routa’s?” She asked finally.

“It is not.” Herja asserted.

She walked over to point at a mark on one of the flat stones.

“The person who sat here carries a dagger at the center of their back. Does Routa carry anything besides her sword?”

Veronyka shook her head. “No, only the sword, ever since she earned it back.”

Herja nodded her agreement. “And this one is closer to the back, where this person slept. That other one has wood scrapes from Routa’s practice sword, as well as a chip made by her real blade. Routa visited here often, but she was only a guest. The person who stayed here knew where to be, so that those stationed in the lookout couldn’t see her. This is the closest scouting spot. Whoever camped here did not want us to know of their presence. I’ve already talked with several who have been on duty over the last many days, none save Routa ever entered or left via the path we took.”

“Okay...” Veronyka waited, unsure what it meant.

“My daughter took your advice,” Geiravuir accused, “but found a friend who is not one to the rest of us.”

“What does she say about whoever it is?” Veronyka wondered.

The Flight Leader’s face clouded. “She says nothing, we cannot find her to ask.”

“Those on duty last evening reported that she departed just before the day’s last light.” Herja continued. “She never returned. Her room contains none of her personal items, excluding her bedroll.”

“She ran away?” Veronyka was shocked. “But, she was so cheerful when we ate last night! We talked all about what I knew regarding John’s-oh no!”

“What did you speak about?” Brunhyldar demanded, when she paused in shock.

Veronyka gulped. “When John did the Challenge, we had a way to see through his eyes, from my world. Everything except the actual Challenge tasks themselves. Somehow that was blocked. She asked about his route, what he saw and did. Everything!”

“This didn’t make you suspicious?” Geiravuir yelled.

“Hush, sister!” Brunhyldar hissed. “You know this area is not safe.”

The Flight Leader nodded her acknowledgment of the rebuke.

“Why would it?” Veronyka lowered her own voice too. “We talked about all sorts of things. It wasn’t even the first time I told her about it. Besides, you all know what happened. I didn’t tell her anything more than I’ve already told you, Brunhyldar.”

“The details of your ... friend’s journey through the Halls are not generally known. Now that the Door below is blocked, and the End’s population has departed, we’ve begun sending a few of our most experienced in via his route. The dragon is difficult, though. Jyon said only one in three pass the Challenge, and this has been true for us as well. Nine of our most knowledgeable, capable warriors are gone.” Brunhyldar’s voice broke.

“Nine of our sisters.” Hrund muttered.

The other two Valkyries bowed their heads in silence for a moment.

“We now know where our daughter and her ‘friend’ went.” Herja asserted, finally.

Brunhyldar nodded. “We do. Sisters, is it our time?”

“I will go.” Herja agreed.

“I will join you.” Hrund growled.

“Sister,” Brunhyldar turned to Geiravuir making the Flight leader pause with her mouth open, “you must maintain the succession. Should I return, you may attempt. Should I fall, you will do your duty.”

Geiravuir’s face fell. “I will do my duty, as you command.”

The Flight Leader stepped close to her superior, gripping forearms with the Squadron Leader.

“Bring my daughter home!” Her voice broke. She gulped and continued. “She is young, and impetuous yes, but I sense the spark of greatness in her. Punish her if you must, but please, I beg you, teach her and return her to our embrace!”

“If I am able, I shall do as you ask.” Brunhyldar agreed, with a single tear dripping down her cheek.

The two women put leaned their foreheads together for a long moment.

When the Valkyries surrounded her for their return to the fortress, it felt far less imprisoning.

“Do you know who her friend might be?” Veronyka asked Herja during the walk back.

“Know? I do not.” The Valkyrie admitted. “Do I guess, yes I do. I fear the worst.”

“Who?” Veronyka wondered.

“Herja.” Brunhyldar spoke over her shoulder.

The Valkyrie nodded. “I dare not say. The Leader is correct. Should we find the truth, then I will speak.”

“Okay.” She had to accept the answer, since it was obviously all she would get. “Um, so can you tell me what you meant about the Door being blocked and the End population departing?”

The Valkyrie looked surprised. “You have not heard? No one has told you?”

“Heard what?” Veronyka begged. “Tell me, please.”

“Herja.” Brunhyldar said again.

“Brunhyldar.” Herja’s voice accused.

“She will be told. Abide a short while.” The Squadron Leader insisted.

“A very short,” Herja accented ‘short’ harshly, “while.”

She gave Veronyka a helpless shrug, so the doctor stopped asking questions.

When they reached the lookout, Brunhyldar addressed Veronyka.

“We will meet you in the dragons’ lair. You shall come with us. Obtain provisions for a long journey, and equip yourself for danger. This will not be easy.”

“I will, Squadron Leader.” Veronyka saluted unconsciously.

The dragons’ lair was what the Valkyries called the cavern she and John had landed in when they first arrived. Numerous smaller caves branched off its back wall, which the dragons used for individual ‘residences’. When she arrived, Brunhyldar personally led her over to one of those.

“Go in. She wishes to speak with you.” The Squadron Leader urged.

The opening was large enough for an elephant-sized beast to enter, and the cave beyond was even larger. The dragon resting inside was larger than any of the Valkyries’ mounts, but only half as large as Zirnitra. She looked identical to the larger Lady of Chaos, with one significant difference. Where the wings should be, all that remained were two scarred stumps jutting out.

An eye opened to regard her.

“Hello?” Veronyka said tentatively. “I’m Veronyka. Brunhyldar said you wanted to talk to me?”

A rumbling voice rattled Veronyka’s bones. “They spoke truly I see. You bear Randgyrd’s face, and carry the weight of a terrible legacy. Have you tried returning to your world, since being blooded as a Valkyrie?”

Veronyka blinked. “I have not. Why do you ask?”

The rumble turned to a coughing laugh. “You accepted another’s form when you came here as a Visitor, yes?”

“Yes, though John says my face is the same.”

“It matters not, the face you bear now will now be the one you wear always.” The dragon rumbled ominously. “Fryja’s descendants all carry the seeds of her chaotic nature. It interacts in strange ways with both the magic of this world and that of Ky’ur’s brood. You killed another in combat, accepting your new body’s natural gifts. Those gifts carry a price.”

“Are you saying I can’t go back home?” Veronyka’s heart quailed at the thought.

“I do not know, for I am not of Ky’ur’s brood. But I am of chaos, and you too smell of my world. For good or ill, you are now a Valkyrie.”

Veronyka shook her head. “That wasn’t what I wanted! At all!”

The dragon picked up her head and opened another eye. “Ah, your mind resists its new form. You already pay the price, but receive little benefit from your choice. Why do you fight it?”

“I’m a genius in my world.” Veronyka said proudly. “I don’t want to lose that.”

Another coughing laugh. “You fear embracing a warrior’s heart will lessen your scholar’s mind? But is it not so, even in your world that there have been scholarly warriors of great renown?”

“Uh, I guess so.” Veronyka hedged. “I was ... am a healer in my world too. We take an oath to do no harm.”

The dragon’s head dropped back down. “Then I can do nothing for you. Your path forward is covered in blood. Your own if you hold to your former self; your enemies’ if you adapt. Only you can chose, but all who reside here will feel the consequences of your decision. A warrior will be our possible salvation, this Gyundul has Foreseen. A martyr will be our doom. I’ll not indulge your cowardice. Begone.”

The eyes closed.

Veronyka stumbled out of the cave, her head whirling.

“Shall we go?” Brunhyldar asked.

Veronyka’s eyes settled on the portal stone, standing alone out on its stone outcropping.

“I have to know.” She muttered to herself.

“Do you flee?” Brunhyldar called, when Veronyka’s destination became obvious.

“I have to know.” She said again, to herself, shaking her head.

The black and red flames that appeared when she stepped onto the stone platform scared her even more than the dragon’s words. They flickered in an unusual manner as well. She took a deep breath, steeling herself.

Welcome back Guest. As you have blooded your Valkyrie form in a manner opposed to that organization’s goals, but not completed any other prerequisites, your status within the Network has changed. Would you like to hear your options, or do you wish to return to your entry portal?

Veronyka’s heart sank.

“Is there no way to undo this?” She sobbed.

You were warned that the decision was irrevocable, and would have consequences. If you do not decide, a random choice will be assigned to you involuntarily.

“Okay! Okay!” Veronyka held up her hands. “What are my choices?”

Thinking of John’s new one, she asked, “What are my options, if I choose to merge forms?”

Those options are not available until you make your decision.

“What’s my time limit, if I keep my current form?” She asked, dreading the answer.

A single solar revolution for the world you reside on.

“Fuck me!” She screamed out her frustration. “What do I do now?”

Even with tears streaming down her face, some part of her sensed the change. She spun in place, shield and spear coming up into guard position.

The woman who regarded her could’ve been sisters with Brunhyldar or Geiravuir. But her armor looked nothing like the Valkyries’ plain, functional, medieval protection. A gray-green bodysuit with armored plates covered her from toes to neck. Various sigils and insignia faded into view and back out in a random pattern on the chest and shoulder plates. Some were brightly colored, while others were more subdued. None were anything Veronyka recognized.

A blade hilt poked up over one shoulder, and a knife was sheathed in each leg’s greave. Her gauntlets reached all the way to her elbows, and both carried an assortment of what looked like projectile weapons. A full-face helmet was tucked into the crook of an arm. It had a narrow T-shaped slit for eyes and nose/mouth. Minus a jet-pack, the woman looked more like a character from a science fiction movie than a Valkyrie.

The woman’s voice reminded Veronyka of Gyundul’s. “I bid you peaceful greetings, daughter.”

“Uh, hi.” Veronyka replied, glancing around.

She was still inside the Network, that hadn’t changed.

The woman cocked her head. “You appear confused, do you not recognize me daughter?”

Veronyka sighed. “I’m sorry, I don’t. I’m not really your daughter.”

The woman was plainly shocked. “Randgyrd, you do not recognize me? Truly?”

“I’m sorry.” Veronyka said helplessly. “Randgyrd died a while ago. Somehow I look just like her. This ... place gave me her appearance as part of my traveling here.”

The woman looked around curiously.

“How have you come to possess my daughter, in Between, and carry the weight of my legacy?”

The Network voice sounded, but in a language Veronyka didn’t know. The woman and the Network carried on a rapid conversation for several minutes before she turned her attention back to the conflicted woman.

“Ah, I see now that you are trapped by the decisions you’ve made. You wished for my daughters’ strength and power, without realizing that it carried obligations of its own. Is this true?”

Veronyka nodded. “Yes. And I have no idea what to do now. I’m not sure I can live up to whatever legacy you’ve put on me, but if I try to escape I’m worried I’ll condemn your real daughters and my friends to a horrible fate.”

The woman stroked her chin in thought.

“Uh, and out of curiosity,” Veronyka ventured, “you are Fryja, right?”

She smiled. “I was. You have heard of me?”

“My friend, John met your husband, Wotaanz actually.” Veronyka said proudly.

Fryja’s smile turned sad. “Wotaanz. I bore him children, charged to finish our task, as a true shield-partner should, but sadly we were never wed in the manner of my people. He holds on, his soul valiantly waiting for its chance to finish our task. I am but an echo of my former self, brought here on the currents Between to aid in protecting my legacy. Should you succeed, and my lover find peace at last, only then will our souls have the chance to find each other again.”

“Oh.” Veronyka was at a loss.

“What is it you wish to do?” Fryja asked.

Veronyka gestured down her body. “This form hasn’t been much help to me, but uh, I never learned the dragon’s name who said I wasn’t accepting its ‘gifts’. I’m not sure I can live up to whatever you expect of me, even if I do.”

Fryja shook her head. “These are reasons, excuses. What is it you wish to do?”

Anger welled up in Veronyka’s heart. “I want to protect my friends, and teach our enemies a lesson they’ll not forget!”

“You wish this truly?” Fryja asked, interested.

“Yeah!” She pounded the butt of her spear into the ‘ground’ for emphasis.

Fryja held up a hand. “Think for a moment, examine yourself. Is this your honest, strongest desire? That path is dangerous, and fraught with sorrow.”

Veronyka ignored her cautious words. “Yes! I—”

Fryja’s gaze was accusing.

“Thrice heard, and witnessed.” A voice sounded.

“Thrice asked and thrice answered.” Another echoed.

Your choice is recorded, Guest.

Lady, you must depart now.

Fryja nodded. She held up her helmet, and turned it around to it faced her. Veronyka noticed a wing sigil fade into view on each side. It changed colors from gray to black to red before disappearing. She stepped up to Veronyka and put it above the doctor’s head.

“Remember, you asked for this. Do not falter, your path will be hard.”

With that, the metal descended, and with it darkness, pain, and possibility.

Your decision has further options, would you like to hear them.

“Yes.”

Veronyka floated in painful darkness for an unknown time.

“Is there anything you can tell me about this decision?”

There is not; you must make this decision without knowing more.

Fryja’s voice echoed faintly. “Let go of your previous path, or it will consume you.”

Veronyka sighed. “My medical memories, I guess.”

This decision must be confirmed. You wish to sacrifice your knowledge of your home world’s medicine, but integrate your form’s latent memories, instincts and connections?

“I do. Yes.” She gulped.

John had told her it felt like like an intense itching feeling. This was nothing like that. Her mind was ripped apart, fragmented into a million separate parts. Some of them were removed, gone forever. A greater number were added before it was all jammed back together inside her skull.

Veronyka screamed and passed out.

Dreams. Flashes of places she knew, but had never seen before. People she fought with, and beside. A thousand bouts to the death. Weapons she suddenly understood at a level she could barely imagine. A death she’d never experienced. The unrelenting cold of Between.

Fryja’s final moments with Wotaanz, and his oath to reunite with her somehow.

“Wake, daughter of my flesh. Return, daughter of my house. Let my Technomancer Legacy be felt in the Challenge World once more.”

Veronyka was lying on the portal stone, with wind whistling through the arch opening. Everything hurt, even her brain, especially her brain, and especially everything else.

She groaned, sitting up. Vertigo. She slammed her eyes shut. Even those hurt too. She sat like that for a long while, until the pain receded into a dull ache before reopening her eyes.

The entire Valkyrie host was crowded along the cliff edge staring at her silently. Dragon heads, scores of them peered at her from up and behind the women. Every hand held a spear or shield, though not in a threatening manner. Brunhyldar herself stood in the center, where the outcropping met the cliff proper.

“Well, that sucked.” Veronyka muttered.

Her voice echoed in her ears. The helmet Fryja had put on her head was still there, only now it felt so natural she’d barely noticed. So she lifted it off, undoing the retention strap with an unconscious flick of her fingers. She was going to put it down and stand when she noticed it was different. The color was now a dull, scarred, dirty gray. She turned it around, and found the wing sigil flashing on and off, red-colored only on each side.

Her armor was different now, as well. It was an armored bodysuit like Fryja had worn, only that same rough gray hue. The gauntlets were thick and stiff, with empty receptors where the projectile launchers had been on Fryja’s. None of the other insignia or effects like Fryja had were operating.

“Definitely not in Kansas anymore.” Veronyka muttered, staggering to her feet.

They wanted to do something different than her brain was used to.

“Slow down, let it come naturally.” She told herself, relaxing into what her body desired.

Where had that come from?

Brunhyldar’s steady stare bore no welcome. Snatching the helm with her off hand, Veronyka strode up to her.

“What’s going on, Brunhyldar?” She asked.

“With who do I speak?” The Squadron Leader demanded. “My sister, Randgyrd, who I see in your movement, or the Visitor from Jyon’s world named Veronyka, who I see in your eyes?”

“Uh, a little of both actually. But mostly me, Veronyka.” She replied.

“I have not seen armor like yours in a very long time. Where did you get it?” Brunhyldar scowled.

“The Legacy has returned!” A voice carried over the crowd’s head.

Valkyries stepped aside behind the Squadron Leader to let Gyundul step up beside Brunhyldar.

“I greet you, shield sister.” The Seer smiled warmly.

“I greet you in peace, Sighted One.” Rolled right off Veronyka’s tongue.

Gyundul’s face showed surprise. “I see that some of my sister has returned with you.”

Veronyka nodded. “I needed her help to fulfill whatever it is you and your mother expect of me.”

Gyundul shook her head. “I expect nothing, save that you follow the path that seems right to you. Do not confuse my mother’s legacy with predestination. Your choices are yours, as are the consequences to bear for them. As for my mother, well she is beyond us now, so her expectation matters less than you might think. Though her reach is long, I see.”

“You’re not kidding.” Veronyka muttered, looking down at the helmet by her side.

“You have not answered sister.” Brunhyldar broke in. “How did you acquire that armor?”

“Well,” Veronyka held up the helmet, “your mother, or rather a, um echo of her or something gave it to me. I guess the rest came with it.”

“What has happened to you?” The Squadron Leader’s question more concern than interrogation.

“I’m not totally sure, but I’ll try to explain.” Veronyka promised. “Do you want to do that right here, now?”

Brunhyldar glanced around. “No. Can you travel? Our task has not changed, though you have delayed our departure.”

“Yeah, I had something that needed doing first. But I’m ready for duty.” Veronyka saluted, then glanced down at herself in surprise.

Brunhyldar laughed, which spread through the crowd. She stepped forward and swept Veronyka into a bear hug.

“Welcome home, sister!” She whispered fiercely.

Veronyka awkwardly hugged her back. When the Squadron Leader stepped back, Gyundul stepped forward. The Seer gripped her shoulder with one hand, holding out a small rod with the other. The rod was metal, as thick as a spear but only as long as her forearm. Each end tapered to a sharp point.

“I have held this in trust for a very long time.” The Seer explained. “Sangrydr recovered it from the battlefield when Fryja fell. I did not discover her theft for many years, but now I think it should be yours.”

“Uh, thanks. What is it?” Veronyka accepted it.

“It was our mother’s spear.” Gyundul said while Veronyka examined it. “She could make it extend from either end, or both at will in combat. Her gauntlet could even recall it from a distance, should she be disarmed. I know not how to activate it.”

“Extend.” Veronyka repeated, holding the rod horizontally to look for a button of some kind.

Both ends shot out, making a spear slightly longer than she was tall. Gyundul jerked as gasps rippled through the crowd. Veronyka’s eyes tracked up to meet the Seer’s surprised stare.

“You never tried that?” She asked tentatively.

Gyundul chuckled. “I believe I did, actually. It seems the weapon accepts your commands, where it did not for me, or my disgraced sibling.”

“Retract.” Veronyka tried, collapsing the weapon.

Gyundul tapped Veronyka’s right thigh, on the outside. “She stored it here, behind the armor.”

A close check showed a small opening which the rod slid into snugly. Drawing the thing was going to take some practice.

The Seer stepped back, as Hrund took her place. Embrace after embrace crushed her ribs as more Valkyries than she could count paid their respects, and welcomed her back as their full, honored sister. Somewhere in there, Brunhyldar announced that they didn’t have all day, and started shooing most of the women away.

Once the hugs were over, and the crowd streamed back into the fortress, with more than a few backward glances, Veronyka realized she had another group to address.

Zirnitra stood in the center of the giant cavern, surrounded by the smaller mounts. The wingless one who’d spoken with Veronyka earlier limped up beside the larger one. Part of her foreleg was missing as well.

“I too greet your return, and welcome you home!” The Chaos Dragon’s voice boomed.

“Thank you!” Veronyka bowed deeply.

She turned to the wounded one, and repeated her action. “And thank you, for prompting me to face the truth.”

She got a coughing chuckle for that. “Though they are warriors, your sisters still sought to protect you, as best they were able. Now that you have accepted your situation, and face difficulty with courage, I have a gift for you as well.”

A mount separated out of the group, slightly but noticeably smaller than the rest. The ‘saddle’ straps didn’t have as many attachment points for supply bags, and it would probably not carry more than Veronyka alone, but the dragon walked to the reborn Valkyrie proudly.

“Her name is Ream’ch.” The wounded dragon told her. “She is our smallest, I suggest you do not over burden her wings. But she has secured the honor of aiding you in your task.”

“Ream’ch?” Veronyka stepped up to let the dragon rub her head on her new rider’s chest.

They spent a few moments greeting each other before Zirnitra spoke again.

“She carries a special enchantment, which is very difficult to create, and not at all comfortable if activated, but I believe you will need to journey through lands where her nature cannot be known. Daughter?”

Ream’ch stepped back and closed her eyes. Then shrunk, and kept on shrinking until all that remained was an egg-shaped oval, no longer than a finger from end to end.

“She has agreed to bear the discomfort without complaint for as long as you need.” The Chaos Dragon assured Veronyka. “When you wish her to return, merely call her name and she’ll respond.”

Veronyka did so, and the dragon mount returned to normal size, like a balloon being pumped back up.

“Thank you!” She bowed again, to all three.

“May your enemies learn to fear you, and fail to see your approach before you strike them down.” Zirnitra blessed, before disappearing in her customary rippled distortion.

The next few minutes were filled with learning how to strap down both her supplies and herself so she wouldn’t fall off, getting to know Ream’ch’s quirks, and more well-wishing from the Valkyries who were preparing to launch on their own mounts. Someone fetched her a replacement shield and sword, plus two boot knives when she asked. The new sword mounted neatly to two anchor points on her back plate. It was another hour, marked by repeated frowns from Brunhyldar, before the Squadron Leader, her two aides and Veronyka took to the skies.

They landed at the upper entrance to what Veronyka vaguely remembered as the ‘Upper Passage to the Door’. The signs of exodus were unmistakable in the frozen wasteland. Corpses littered the landscape, increasing in number as Veronyka’s eyes tracked the trail off into the distance. Scavengers, both avian and walking or crawling picked at what remained. She even spotted a giant or two, emaciated and starving as they batted aside other beasts in search of food.