Chapter 14:
Pain
The next few days of travel proved largely uneventful as they worked their way through the massive trees. After they had gone over the falls they seemed to have reached a plateau and no longer had to climb downwards, though their direction remained the same: East, always heading the way Nameless felt Volka in his mind.
The change in Nina was dramatic: she was flirty, talkative and altogether much more pleasant to be around, though she was still not to be trifled with, as Jan learned when she made a wry comment about her attitude change and found herself being drowned in a shallow creek until Jezebel tearfully begged Nina to stop.
They were just setting out in the morning on the third day since the attack when they found themselves abruptly facing a large force of wild looking Amazons.
The girls came out of nowhere, many actually dropping down from the branches above before leveling spears at them. In a matter of seconds a line of fierce looking women blocked their way forwards.
Unlike Yana and her people, these women had a feral edge to them; they had feathers and beads braided into their hair and a broad band of red face-paint traveling across their eyes.
A voice called out from their midst.
“You are trespassing on our lands! Turn back now and we will spare your lives!”
While the others still recovered from the shock of suddenly being faced with the wild blonde warrior women, Nina responded in a fairly typical fashion…
She slammed her weapon into the ground, the moss doing nothing to blunt the shock of her blow and her hammer caused a minor quake throughout the forest as she drew the Amazons’ attention.
When the rumbling stopped she placidly examined her nails while she leaned on the handle.
“Just so you know, that wasn’t me trying. I will crush anyone who threatens my weakling, my sisters, or my friends.”
“And yet you dare come onto our land and threaten us?!” Another Amazon demanded.
“Not a threat. I’m just telling you that I will kill you all if you fuck with me.”
Erica laughed nervously as Ophelia leaned in to whisper to the Gigas.
“Nina dearest, that is a threat…”
Nina huffed.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. ‘Kay, I dare threaten you.”
Despite Nina’s promises of violence the Amazon stepped forward, disdain in her eyes as she gestured towards Nameless.
“We will not be subjected to the pathetic attentions of such a weak man, look at how small he is! His penis must be truly tiny!”
Nameless blushed scarlet and all of his girls looked ready to respond, but to their surprise it was Kala who leapt to his defense, leveling her spear at the offending Amazon.
“You speak as the ass of a donkey! He is Valkyrja , so named by the warleader of the tribe of Brael! I defend his honour and spit on your insolence Neucta! ”
The other Amazon paled in anger at the apparent insult but Miranda spoke before she could.
“Kala! Calm down! Look, we mean no disrespect. My name is Miranda Holt, we’re with the Aegis. Some of us anyways.” She had both hands up in a placating gesture.
An older Amazon with more feathers in her hair then the rest stepped beside her angry sister and took a long look at Miranda, especially her uniform, before nodding her head.
“Indeed you are. You have my apologies Aegis, for the hostile welcome. The last humans we encountered in the wilderness tried to steal some of our daughters away from us.” She turned to Kala; “But a challenge has been made. The reputation of your warleader is known to us little sister. What are you called?”
Miranda put her face in her hand and muttered a curse as Kala took another step forward, shoved the haft of her spear into the forest floor and pounded one fist to her breast proudly.
“I am Kala Brael! Blooded warrior and sister to Warleader Yana. I am wife of Aegis Miranda Holt and sister-wife of Jezebel the Gripau and Jan the Wolfen. I challenge this slug who dares impugn the good name of the noble man known only as Nameless, family unknown. His deeds have earned him the title of Valkyrja , bestowed by my warleader in the presence of all here and I will defend his honour unto my death!”
The surrounding Amazons murmured amongst themselves, excited by this brash young woman’s words. The one Kala insulted narrowed her red-painted eyes, her anger undiminished as her grip on her own spear tightened.
The older Amazon walked out of the trees and took Kala by the chin firmly, jerking her head from side to side as if to check her resolve.
Kala remained determined, meeting the woman’s gaze with fire in her eyes.
“Very well, Kala of Brael. I am Alcaia, chieftess and warleader of the Saenga tribe, the Aegis is welcome amongst us and your grievance is lawful.” She nodded before she turned to face the angry Amazon; “What say you Myrina, will you accept her challenge or will you withdraw your words against this tiny man?”
The other Amazon’s eyes hadn’t left Kala. She stepped forwards and likewise stuck her spear in the ground.
“This child is no warrior! She has no scars, her skin is smooth as a babe! I will meet her insolence with blood! I am Myrina Saenga, second behind my warleader. I am as yet unwed and feel no need to recite my deeds to a dead woman.”
Nameless felt the situation had gotten out of hand and broke away from the others to put himself in front of Kala.
“No! No blood! I won’t have people killing each other on my account! Kala please, stop this!” His head turned between them.
He couldn’t help but notice that Myrina did indeed have far more scars than Kala and he was afraid for her.
“A noble sentiment, tiny man.” Alcaia acknowledged with a nod; “But words have been exchanged that must be answered.”
With that she clapped one hand against her thigh, a signal for her warriors to form a loose semi-circle around the two combatants with the open end filled by the interlopers. The chieftess stood between the two Amazons, giving Nameless a pointed look to withdraw from the field.
“Introductions have been made. This man, who is said to be Valkyrja , has asked that no blood be spilled. As warleader I proclaim this request a valid one. This contest shall not be to the death, but until one submits or cannot continue.”
She looked between the two women and they nodded at her command, mirroring each other.
“Then settle this.” With that she stalked away to join the ring of warriors surrounding them.
Kala and Myrina began to circle each other, their spears remained thrust in the earth much to Nameless’s relief. Both sets of eyes roamed over their opponent, searching for weakness. Nameless stood next to Miranda, who looked more than a little irritated, but he could tell that she was also a bit worried.
The fierce looking Myrina broke the circling pattern first; lunging forwards with a mighty cry, her hands clenched together as she brought the hammer of her fists down on Kala’s raised arms.
Kala grunted and threw one foot back from the impact, bracing herself against the other woman’s strength. Clearly Myrina sought to dominate her physically as she brought all of her muscle to bear, pressing down on the younger girls arms.
But Kala abruptly ducked and twisted away from her, throwing her off balance and driving her knee into her gut as she doubled over. Myrina’s breath flew from her lungs from the impact, but she managed a fierce backhanded blow across Kala’s face as she regained her footing.
The two parted, blood flowed from Kala’s lip and Myrina grimaced as she tried to keep her breathing steady. But the reprieve was short, as both girls began to exchange rapid kicks and punches. The fierce exchange ended when Kala took a heavy blow to the side of her head from Myrina’s fist, and though she threw a kick to Myrina’s groin that caused tears to spring up in her foe’s eyes, she was dazed and stumbled to one side.
Myrina quickly pressed her advantage, slapping an awkward punch from Kala aside, she spun around the younger girl and got beside her, working her arms around her head and locking her clenched fist with her other elbow. She bent her over and bore down hard on her arms, trying to force the now red-faced Kala to submit or pass out.
But Kala Brael had trained under the mightiest Amazon in the Aegis. While still doubled over she maneuvered her feet so that one leg was behind Myrina’s and then shot her head upwards, knocking her back and tripping her.
Myrina spun as she fell, hitting the mossy ground with a solid ‘ooph’. And Kala was quick to pounce on her, pinning her knee against the downed woman’s side and putting all of her weight on it.
She landed three blows in rapid succession on Myrina’s head, even as the pinned girl did her best to guard with one arm.
“Yield!” Kala punched the older Amazon again.
Myrina cursed, stunned from the rapid beating. But she was determined to continue, even though she was unable to escape from Kala’s hold.
So Kala hit her again, and then again, and then yet again.
The Amazons in the circle began to shout, encouraging Myrina to yield as well, their thirst for violence quenched by the young Amazon’s impressive display.
As Kala raised her fist to deliver another heavy blow, she paused, having heard something the others hadn’t.
“What was that?” She demanded and the circle fell silent.
“…I yield.” Myrina mumbled, loud enough for all to hear.
The whole fight had lasted barely two minutes.
Without delay Kala stood up, and then reached an arm down to the other girl. Surprised, Myrina took it and was pulled to her feet. They each searched the other’s face, their arms still clasped together.
“It is my loss. You battle well, little sister.” Myrina admitted at last, no hint of shame in her voice.
“As do you, but there is still the other matter between us.” Kala said pointedly.
Myrina nodded, albeit grudgingly and broke away from her, turning to face Nameless.
“I apologize for my words against you, tiny man. If Kala of Brael claims you to be Valkyrja , than I will acknowledge this. But I must ask; how did one so small gain such a lofty title?”
Kala’s chest was heaving from her exertions but she had breath enough to explain.
“By saving two of our number from the darkness within.”
A confused hush fell over the Amazons, and they parted around him, each one trying to get a better look at him.
Alcaia’s eyes opened wide in wonder.
“An Empath…” She breathed.
The confusion gave way to awe as they realized who, or rather what, he was.
“Why didn’t we just lead with that?” Nina complained.
The fight over, Erica strutted out into the circle proudly.
“Yup, that’s my man! He’s like, a really powerful Empath or whatever. And don’t get any ideas about his penis either! He’s got all the snatch he needs!” She finished with her hands on her hips.
There was a startled silence, then Alcaia laughed uproariously and soon the others joined in.
“Fear not little sister! Your man is well and truly claimed. And our honoured guest! But alas we hunt for those that sought to steal our daughters from us and cannot welcome you to our village properly.”
Miranda’s eyes narrowed.
“Just over a dozen strong? Tattoos and lost tech weapons?”
Alcaia nodded seriously.
“You know of our foe then?”
Kala spoke before Miranda could.
“I became a blooded warrior but two days ago when we encountered them. They are dead to a man.”
Another excited murmur went through the Amazon’s at the news.
“You are certain of this?” Alcaia asked quickly, and when Kala nodded she gave a hearty smile; “You and yours have done us a great service then, Kala of Brael! Warriors! We return to the village to properly welcome our new friends!”
The Amazons thrust their spears in the air and gave a resounding ululation.
They travelled swiftly for the morning and a fair chunk of the afternoon to reach the Amazons’ village. They had turned mostly north and the change of direction chafed at Nameless but he was just glad they weren’t trying to kill each other anymore.
Soon enough they were led into a scattered collection of huts against the base of a cliff and dozens more Amazons came out to greet the returning war party, curiosity on their faces.
Nameless and the others also spotted more than a few scantily clad humans amongst their number, both men and women.
“I’d say those boys were pussy whipped but with the amount of pussy they get I don’t think they’d mind.” Jan joked.
“Wow, that’s a lot of muscle.” Milly said with her head tilted to one side.
“I believe it is the preference of many Amazons.” Ophelia remarked, sizing up several of the muscular men.
“Meh, they look weak to me.” Nina sniffed.
Nameless would have been worried, but being able to sense his girls’ emotions he knew the heavily muscled and mostly naked men did little to nothing for them.
Since it had turned out that Alcaia’s party had been tracking the men that Nina and the others had killed, the Amazon leader set her sisters to work preparing a great feast while she drew Miranda aside for a private conversation.
“Come! You must be weary from your journey, with Alcaia in council with the Aegis it falls to us to see to your comfort!” Myrina spoke heartily; “Sisters! Our guests need baths, let us show them how the Saenga treat their friends!”
Her attitude had been completely reversed by the encounter in the trees, and she seemed eager to smooth away any ill feelings.
The response from the other Amazons to her words was enthusiastic and they soon learned why, evidently the village was settled near a large natural hot spring, and as they were led to the cliff’s edge they could see the steam wafting through the air. A broad pool abutted the rocky wall, with steaming water flowing from several points in the jagged stone.
“Since you are all wed, it would be inappropriate for us to bathe you separately, so we shall all go together.” Myrina proclaimed.
As they got to the water’s edge Nameless couldn’t help but think that her good humour stood out in stark contrast with the multiple bruises on her face from Kala’s beating. But his train of thought was disrupted when Amazons began to get naked all around them and slip into the steaming water.
“Wait wha-” His eyes boggled as he tried to find a safe place to rest them.
While his discomfort mounted, the other girls shared quick looks before shrugging and stripping as well, all except for Jezebel, who wore one of her pink bathing suits and was reluctant to remove it.
Seeing his reticence, Myrina called out to reassure him as she wiped the war-paint off of her face with a wet cloth.
“Fear not Valkyrja , your achievements will make up for other -ah- shortcomings.” She said delicately as her eyes flickered to his crotch.
Erica huffed as she unhooked her throwing knives from her thigh and dropped them on top of her shirt.
“Shortcomings my ass !” She said as she stalked over to Nameless.
Without warning she unbuttoned his pants and dragged them down his legs.
“Alright bitches! Feast your eyes on the Nameless God!” She declared loudly as she made a grand gesture with both arms at his penis.
“E-Erica!?”
The poor orphan tried to cover himself, but to his utter dismay Milly walked up behind him and held his arms off to the sides.
“I’m with Erica, your thingy is awesome and I’m tired of people saying otherwise!” Her jaw was jutted out aggressively.
Jan barked out a laugh, Jezebel covered her eyes with a squeak and Kala joined the other naked Amazons in taking healthy looks at his exposed junk.
Myrina’s jaw dropped.
“But- but that’s- it’s too big!”
Ophelia leaned in and whispered to the mortified Nameless.
“It’s just their way dearheart. Don’t be embarrassed, you have nothing to be ashamed of here.”
Nameless groaned, then turned and leveled a glare at the smug Erica.
“It’s above average.” he said flatly.
He was receiving more than a few speculative looks now, and not just from the women either, some of the men had wandered down to help their wives bathe...
As the hubbub surrounding Nameless’s junk died down and they all slipped into the shallow steaming water, the Amazons broke into pairs and descended on the eight of them, Miranda still off with Alcaia.
They quickly learned what the Saenga girls meant by ‘hospitality’ as they were bathed and massaged from head to toe.
Much to Nameless’s chagrin, Myrina and another girl from the war party had claimed him and were working soapy washcloths all over his body.
He looked around helplessly to see that Milly and the others were not only getting the same treatment, they were enjoying it immensely. He could hear Milly lowing and Erica purring in contentment.
One of the Amazons bathing Jan let out a tiny yelp when the Wolfen did something under the water, no doubt pinching her someplace private. She gave a shake of her head and smiled at the impish wolf girl.
“Be at ease, Valkyrja , no one shall harm you here, or seek to take what isn’t freely given.” The Amazon working his stiff shoulders said with a warm smile.
“Indeed, I have dishonoured myself enough for one day! Look upon your wives. See how relaxed they all are? Well, almost all of them.” Myrina shot a concerned frown at Nina.
The Gigas apparently did not like the idea of anyone but her master and bond-sisters touching her with such familiarity. The two Amazons who intended to bathe her had failed to even get her into the water, and both were panting from the effort of tugging at her shoulders while the tiny naked girl simply crossed her arms and looked on in amusement, one leg crooked against her hammer.
At last the naked pair threw up their arms in defeat and stomped away while Nina gave a private smile and jumped into the water of her own volition.
“I’m told it took Yana and several of her warriors, not to mention a grove of Dryads, to subdue her.” Kala remarked, her eyes were hooded as her own back and shoulders were massaged.
“Truly? You were an enemy of the Aegis little warrior?” One of the Amazons tending to Ophelia asked.
Nina frowned at being called little but let it go as she doggy-paddled in the water and settled in Nameless’s lap with a happy sigh.
“Not exactly. Don’t remember it much. Ask him.” Was the only explanation she offered as she took the soapy cloth from Myrina and began to bathe herself.
Myrina frowned at her rudeness, but quickly realized that Nina was beyond such things. Then she gasped as another realization struck her.
“She was one of the Tenebrae that you saved.”
“Er, yeah, a bit.” He mumbled into the water, while his arms encircled the little red girl in his lap, hugging her self-consciously.
Kala called out again.
“A bit? Ha! Her stone was black as pitch when he went after her! Even the Lady Essig had given up hope. I was there, I watched with my sisters as he held her hour upon hour until he finally managed to pull her out of the darkness.”
He kind of wished she would stop talking.
If the looks he was getting were awed before, they were well and truly thunderstruck now.
The silence lasted for nearly a full minute before Myrina broke it.
“Her stone held no light, and yet you saved her?” She said solemnly, before bowing her head to him. “Now we know your worth, Valkyrja . And our own deeds pale in comparison.”
Around the shallow pool Amazon heads were bowed towards him before resuming their task. All the while Nina ignored the conversation around her, focused on her bath. Until abruptly she turned in his lap and kissed him hard.
“What was that for?”
“Cuz.”
She shrugged, then sniffled a bit and quickly wiped away a single tear from her cheek as she turned back and settled in his lap once more, her butt cheeks resting against his penis.
Sometime later they finished their bath and were briskly toweled off by their hosts. All except Nina, who snagged the towel away from the helpful girl and when she made to object the giant absently took her hammer in one hand while her other grabbed the Amazon by the ankle and threw her far out into the water.
Nameless drew in a sharp breath, but the Amazons found the incident hilarious.
“Be wary sisters! A true giant is in our midst!” Laughed one of the other girls.
Ophelia sighed.
“Nina dear, you are being quite rude.”
“I am? To who?” The giant wore a confused look.
Ophelia struggled for a moment, then just hung her head and sighed again.
“Nevermind.”
“If you say so.” Nina went back to toweling her legs dry.
After that they were clad in flimsy robes and led to the center of the village where Myrina gestured grandly in invitation for them to sit around their stone-ringed fire pit.
“Honoured guests, our husbands and wives gathered much of the forest’s bounty for you, and our hunters speared a wild boar that I am told has been roasting all day.”
The wide variety of nuts, berries, mushrooms and juicy pork was a nice change from their standard traveling fare and the group tucked in heartily.
They ate and drank for a time, and as night fell a great fire was lit and they sat around it in a big circle.
Alcaia and Miranda had rejoined them by that point and the Amazon leader turned to Nameless in his place of honour to her right.
“Aegis Holt tells me that though you are an Empath, and a powerful one at that, you are fairly ignorant of my people?”
“Uh, yeah, I wasn’t much good in school.” He mumbled awkwardly.
Alcaia nodded with a serious expression.
“Then the honour shall be ours to tell you of one of the most important events in our history, as we saw it.” She stood and looked around the fire as the conversation halted; “Sisters, a telling is needed for the Empath. Who will speak now of the loss of the golden ones?”
Something in her tone seemed rhetorical, as if she already knew who would answer. And sure enough a somber hush fell over the crowd as all eyes turned to a single girl, a young Amazon who bowed her head at the sudden attention.
She stood, and Nameless was struck by her eyes: every other Amazon he had met had various shades of blue, but hers were such a light hue as to be nearly white.
“I will tell it, if he will hear it.” Her voice was melodic and soft.
Alcaia looked at him, clearly waiting for something.
“Um, sure?”
She nodded at the young girl whose demeanor shifted utterly as she leaned towards the fire and spoke in a ringing tone.
“Hear me sisters! And hear me, honoured guests! I am Escrya, daughter of Alcaia and these words were passed to me from my mother’s grandmother as was her duty, and is now mine. I speak to you of our fallen sisters; the light-givers, the righteous swords and shields that defended us all in our time of need. I speak of the noble Valkyrie!”
Nameless and the others were suddenly rapt with attention as her voice rose and fell in cadence; she leaned down and turned from side to side, addressing the entire crowd around the fire.
She was a gifted orator.
“Before the calamity, before the great ashfall when magic and fell-science ruined the world, the long war had hit its peak. The death-machines that man had created to match our strength belched fire and spat steel on every battlefield. But we endured, because we were strong! We stood with the other warrior tribes and together our numbers were beyond the count of the stars above!”
She took a moment then to offer a nod of respect to Jan, Nina, and surprisingly Milly, who blinked several times in astonishment.
“But even then, we could not be everywhere, and too many times our enemy would slip though our lines to kill or enslave our helpless sisters.”
She paced around the fire, making a point of meeting the eyes of everyone in her audience, however briefly.
“On one such occasion, a vast host of death-machines outmaneuvered us, and in this failure was wrought the doom of our beloved friends. The men directing the machines were cruel and unrelenting in their goal, and they were intent on filling the holds of their metal beasts with slaves.”
She spoke of the machines in a hiss, and Nameless found himself hating these men who had been dead for centuries.
“By the time we learned of our error, the men were well beyond the reach of our spears. And it was on a night far colder than this one, in the mountains to the north and west of here, that they found their prey. Alas, time has forgotten who lived in that village, all that is remembered is that they were innocent, exactly what the dark hearts that drove the machines craved.”
She began to stalk around the fire, crouching slightly as if to imitate men sneaking in the night.
“They made to surround the village of unsuspecting girls, to cut them off from any hope of rescue. But as they took their places, the night’s stillness was shattered by a trumpet call from the heavens above and golden light lit up the sky! The Valkyrie had come!”
She leaned her head back and threw her arms out, and more than one Amazon raised a balled fist in the air, though none dared break the silence the girl had wrought upon them.
For his part, Nameless had to stop himself from leaping up and pumping his own fist, he at least knew, or thought he knew, how the story ended.
“Can you picture it? Sisters? Friends? Can you imagine the sight of the heavenly warriors heading into battle? Their glorious wings spread, their shields held before them as they flew in perfect order into the fray.”
Her tone turned morose.
“But war is costly. And above all else, the warriors of light believed in sacrifice. Throughout the bitter conflict, Valkyrie after Valkyrie had given up their lives in exchange for others. This whittled their numbers down until all that remained was a single golden host. Barely a thousand took to the sky that fateful night.”
She looked him straight in the eyes, having paced around the fire to loom over him, and he swallowed at the intensity of her gaze.
“They threw back one assault after another, outnumbered and cut off, even as the warrior tribes ran through the night to reach them. The death-machines were not unbreakable, and a single Valkyrie was worth a dozen of them! But each Valkyrie that fell was an irreplaceable loss, and as the night wore on the field was littered with the dead and dying. The Valkyrie had never before been pushed so far, but retreat meant the lives of those they had sworn to protect. So they fought on, well past the point that any other warrior would have given up or fallen back, they fought on…”
She paused, before tilting her head back to stare into the starry sky and all but scream into the night, a mixture of pride and grief choking her voice;
“Even as their daughters and mothers and sisters died around them, they fought on !”
Around the circle every Amazon leapt to her feet and threw her arms out and recited the three words, tears streaming down their faces.
Even through the emotional haze Nameless saw that Kala had joined them in their recitation, and realized that what he was witnessing was a ritual passed down through the generations that was shared by all Amazons.
He was humbled that they had deigned to share it with him.
But Escrya was not finished.
“They fought and bled and died, and they knew that their doom approached. With so many dead how could they not? But our enemy’s numbers dwindled as well and the men had nowhere to retreat, as our people were nearly upon them. But alas! If only we had arrived even an hour sooner! When we finally came upon the field of battle the metal beasts had all been vanquished, and the enemy? Dead to a man. The Valkyrie? Gone.”
She nodded continuously as tears stood out on her cheeks.
“You know the story: the rise of the Aegis, the nameless hero who bore the shield of the one Valkyrie said to have survived the battle…” Her voice dropped to a whisper again; “But do you know what it was like for us ? To come upon that field and see all of our beloved friends lying dead in the dirty snow? Their bodies piled amongst broken machines and twisted metal. What it was like for us, to see their golden feathers hanging in the frozen air...”
She seemed ready to collapse, and Nameless realized that it wasn’t with grief.
It was with rage.
“Imagine it, friend.” She spoke through gritted teeth as her eyes locked with his once again; “Imagine our pain, imagine our grief, our fury … now imagine what we did with it.”
Nameless swallowed, more than a little afraid in the face of her anger.
“Always before we fought with our heads, we fought with tactics and goals. Our objectives were clear, because the Valkyrie made them clear: protect our sisters. But on that night we failed to protect them, the ones we loved the most.”
She broke away from him and began to pace up and down the line of standing Amazons.
“And so we cast aside reason! We cast aside doubt! In our anger we cast aside everything good that the Valkyrie had taught us, and we embraced the only thing that made sense in the face of so much pain: we embraced vengeance !”
Once again the Amazons raised their fists into the night sky and spoke the single word in unison, their voices an angry chorus.
“None of our foe remained on that bloody field, for the Valkyrie had spent their lives well. So we sought out another, and when they were all dead there, we sought another after that! We were heedless of our own losses as we pressed on, for every warrior that fell only fueled the fire of our rage. And so the war that had dragged on for a century or more was decided in a matter of days as we tore through the ones responsible for the fall of our golden sisters!”
She stopped her pacing and began to breathe heavily, her cheeks puffing out with each exhalation as her fury finally overcame her.
She all but snarled as she continued.
“We tore down their towers!”
She kicked a log over.
“We tore down their citadels!”
She flipped the massive table full of the remains of their dinner.
“We tore down their cities!”
Amazons were jumping out of her way, letting the girl vent the rage of her ancestors on another log as she brought both of her fists down and broke it into splinters.
“We tore down their world !” She screamed.
The girl whirled from the wreckage around her, her blonde hair flailing about her head as she searched through the crowd, looking for one face, his face.
Blood dripped from her hands as her mad eyes locked on his and as she stalked towards him, he couldn’t help but take a step back.
“And at last-” She gripped his shoulders with her bloody hands and leaned against him; “At last-”
She shuddered and bowed her head in front of him, and he distinctly heard her sob as her tears flowed once more. She gathered herself to speak again, her face downcast.
“And at last, we tore down their emperor.” She spoke quietly now.
She raised her face to meet his wide eyed stare, her grip on his shoulders relaxed and she shifted her hands to hold his neck, her embrace was almost intimate, even with the blood she smeared into his skin.
“But our grief remained, and the Valkyrie… were still dead.”
She leaned forwards and pressed her forehead to his as she wept.
There was a long silence as they held that pose, broken only by the occasional snap from the fire.
Then Alcaia spoke.
“Well told daughter. Come, drink and recover from your exertion.”
Her voice was gentle as she coaxed Escrya away from him and rubbed her hand briskly over her shoulder while the teller drank from the offered mug, draining it in one long draw.
Nameless let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, and then turned to look at his friends and lovers. Tears marked their faces, even Nina’s eyes welled, though she fought against it.
As Escrya drank, silence settled around the fire again.
Until Miranda’s gravelly voice broke it.
“From their sacrifice, a better world was born Escrya, daughter of Alcaia. Take solace in that.”
Like most of the circle, she was standing with a drink in her hand and she raised it in salute to the young Amazon. She still wore her dusty grey uniform, the emblem of the Aegis glinting proudly in the firelight.
Escrya turned to her and looked her up and down with tears still in her eyes, then her gaze fell on the emblem on her breast and she nodded in agreement.
Nameless was in awe. Even he had known that the Amazons were close with the legendary Valkyrie. But to have it explained to him, in such intimate visceral detail, was illuminating to say the least.
He now had some sense of just how close they had been.
“So when Yana called me Valkyrja …” His eyes went wide.
“She paid you the highest compliment an Amazon can give.” Myrina said, before quaffing her own drink; “But come, Alcaia! This is not the good time that we promised our guests! Let us drink the ambrosia draught and make this a night they will remember for the rest of their lives!”
Her tone had turned playful as she sought to lift the heavy mood that had settled around the fire.
Alcaia gave her a long look, and then nodded in agreement, matching her smile.
“You are right. Daughter?” She turned to Escrya with a raised eyebrow.
The young Amazon shifted away from her and wiped one last tear from her cheek before she too smiled.
“Yes, my auntie is right! We drink the ambrosia draught and we revel, for though our golden friends are gone, we yet live! We have good food in our bellies and drinks in our hands, and we have new friends to entertain! Not to mention lovers to keep our beds warm! Sisters! We revel!”
Once again she demonstrated her gift for oration as she urged the other Amazons out of the funk that she had created with her telling.
“Shit.” Miranda muttered.
“What’s the ambrosia draught?” Milly asked innocently.
“A stupid fancy name for a mixture of Amazon brandy, Blomma nectar and some other crap.” Miranda said with a resigned sigh, then she poked her finger at Nameless; “And you at least have to drink it, it would be a horrible insult to refuse.”
“But isn’t Blomma nectar…”
“Yeah kid, you’re in for a long night.”
He swallowed nervously.