When Lilith and her small group finally arrived at the hold, a journey that had taken seven Midgardian standard days judging by the watch she kept in her bag, she swore never to spend so much time with Maziken again.

  In Wisp, the Rooted had found the perfect audience, and there was barely a waking hour on the entire trip where the woman was not reading one story or another.

  Lilith on the other hand, had wanted to do nothing but dwell. Dwell on how, not even a day into her custody of Xain, she had failed.

  A part of her knew this was not exactly true. But after the conversation with Hera, and thank the Norns she had to step in for Hel otherwise her depression may have actually swallowed her whole, she knew even if it was not her fault, that really didn't matter.

  The truth was, no one could know what was going to happen to Xain. He had been kept on Yid, where his rune was safe from exposure to the Nine Realms. Without Yid’s protection though, even the Norns were left blind.

  Lilith had guessed his rune back when they were children. She had never spoken her suspicion allowed, but it had not been that hard for her to put things together. Her position afforded certain benefits, so while most knowledge around the banned runes had been kept hidden by Yid, Lilith’s education was something of an exception.

  It was commonly known that she was to take up Hel’s mantle should her mother ever step down, a decision which had made her very unpopular with her sisters back home, but also meant her lessons needed to encompass at least a basic understanding of the full futhark.

  Yid had provided tutors for this, and though they did their best to talk in circles, Lilith was able to puzzle out quite a bit more than she had let on.

  Dagaz. Change. Renewal. Destruction. Creation. Life and death. The manifestation of the infinite.

  It was the only rune which was completely inaccessible to runic users.

  When one was to advance to the rank of Ancient, an advancement which required acquiring one of the banned runes, they would either take Gebo, or Raido.

  And while she had never spoken to the Norns directly like her mothers, she was sure that despite their access to near infinite knowledge, they had no idea what its arrival would bring.

  Because if they knew, they would not need Lilith. They would not need anyone. They could read his fate in the branches of the Tree. Could weave the runes in just the right way so whatever the fuck they wanted would come to pass.

  Instead, they had sought out allies. Picked out those in the Tree who could provide Xain with aid.

  And through her mothers, they had gotten her.

  Why her? Lilith had no idea. The why didn't matter. She had learned that long ago.

  All that mattered was that she kept him safe. Tryst had succeeded. There had been some complications, sure, but he had done his part. According to Hera, even the captain's actions on the pier were justified, as they helped keep the truth about Xain hidden.

  Bow had… Well, Bow's task was different. He had to be a parent.

  Compared to that, her job should be easy.

  Xain was the one who had to do… well what ever the fuck it was he needed to do.

  You will know what needs to be done.

  Hel’s parting words had pounded through her mind the whole trip, like a drum reminding her only of her own inadequacy. Because the truth was, she didn't know. She had no fucking clue. And as the week passed without a single word from Squall, without any way to know if they had even made it to the hold, the pounding had gotten louder and louder until it was all she could hear.

  Then, to make everything just that much fucking worse, the Asgardians had woken up four days into the journey.

  It was somewhat satisfying to know that her poison had worked, but the victory had been cut short the second they had begun to scream.

  It had taken all three of Squall’s spouses to restrain the two women until she was able to sedate them again, and as she was not willing to cut their throats twice, it was a process they were forced to repeat every few hours.

  Luckily, her drugs for that also quelled their need for basic bodily functions like eating, drinking, or relieving themselves, since helping them pee would have pushed her right over the edge.

  Wisp had been the only highlight of the trip. Dragons, true Dragons, as she understood, did not age in accordance with the passing of time. Instead, they would grow when knowledge was shared, passed down by the brood one generation their senior.

  However, Wisp was not exactly a true dragon. She was something… else. Wisp was the only being in existence, or so Lilith was told, to come from a union between a dragon and another race, though in this aspect, Bow was also an irregularity.

  Lilith, like most runic users, had been taught about the qualitative changes which occurred at certain stages of runic acquisition. The first came with the eighth rune, marking the progression from Sapling to Ash. The second manifested with the fourteenth rune, one short of obtaining the rank of Elder. Then things became messy, with the subsequent changes tied more to the array and less to its specific length. Until, that is, one moved from Elder to Ancient as Bow had done.

  There were of course ongoing debates on the subject, specifically pertaining to the nineteenth rune and how upon gaining it one reached the rank of High Elder, but she had paid little attention to such things.

  Her interest was in the final advancement.

  Information on the subject had been locked even to her, the knowledge reserved only for those who reach the point that they become candidates to hold one of the banned runes. Still, while she had no idea what the exact changes were, she did know that those who donned the title of Ancient could no longer entirely be considered a person. Race had nothing to do with this, as the definition of a person had to be broad enough to include all the varying races of the Tree.

  Which basically meant that, while Bow was once a person, now he was something else, something special, something exceptional.

  As was his daughter, Wisp.

  Lilith had only heard parts of the story, but it was enough to figure out Squall and Bow had gotten together after he had become an Ancient, which was likely the only explanation to how they were able to create a child at all.

  But they had.

  Unfortunately for her, the only dragon from the generation above Wisp was her mother.

  Why Nidhogg’s last brood had only produced Squall was a mystery which, according to her mother, not even the other Matriarchs knew the answer. In the end though, it left Wisp unable to age as a normal dragon. This meant that while she had been born over 300 years before, she was unable to grow beyond her current age as a child of no more than five.

  If this bothered her, or she even understood it, Lilith could never tell.

  But it didn't stop her from loving the little whelp with all that she was, or from being the singular silver lining in a trip that would have otherwise been fucking torture.

  Upon their arrival, they had been greeted by another 20 of Squall’s spouses, and a small contingent of those Dragonkin who had pledged to Squall despite not yet taking her place as Matriarch prime.

  Lilith knew the second they opened the door that she should have one of them lead her to Xain, or Squall, or at least Vector. Instead, she had walked past the group without a word, leaving the others to deal with Wisp and the Asgardians, and searched for place where she could just be alone.

  Compared to the other Talons, Squall’s hold was quite modest. Modest for a Matriarch however, meant instead of three massive estates spread out over thousands of acres, she only had the one.

  Lilith had only been here once before, and though she had stayed for a month, she had explored barely a fraction of the main house, and even less of the grounds which surrounded it.

  Unlike the rest of Niflheim, within the boundary of her hold the air was warm and humid. It created an oasis within the tundra, filled with vast fields of grass, forests, gardens, lakes, streams, and animals who would die within a few minutes if they were to ever step outside its protection.

  Squall had told her that the other estates were similar, though only her hold and that of the current Matriarch Prime produced the odd environment naturally by drawing on the Well which they were charged to protect.

  The other two holds were created through a combination of sigils which were powered by plants imported from Vanaheim, following a practice commonplace within the Nine Realms, as runic users were in short supply.

  It was far easier to care for several of the unique plants and rely on them to provide the energy which kept the sigils active than to constantly get infusions, not to mention far more economical.

  She had wandered blindly through the grounds, finally waking from her fugue state some hours later to find herself in front of a small pond that was rimmed by large oak trees, and without any memory of getting there, sat down, and pulled her knees into her chest.

  Now, with only the occasional sounds of nature to keep her company, the full weight of what had happened settled over her like a thick fog.

  For all she knew, it was over. Everything she had done, the life she had spent in preparation, all of it, just… finished.

  And would that be so bad?

  She didn't know the answer to that. If it was over, maybe she could go home. Or stay with Squall and Wisp. Or… or anything. She would be free. Free from duty. Free from taking her mothers place. Free to live her own life.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Her purpose would be gone, but it had never really been her purpose. It had been hoisted upon her. Just like… just like Xain.

  She knew her expectations had been unfair, but that didn't stop the anger. Anger at his weakness. At his fragility that he couldn't last a full fucking day in the Outer Realms. At his ignorance toward his own fucking rune. And at how powerless he made her feel.

  Because the truth was, had she been there with him, it wouldn’t of made a fucking difference.

  “Don’t be mad at him,” Squall said.

  Lilith went stiff, her mind caught between a torrent of relief that Squall was okay, and an almost incandescent rage at her words, which was further fueled by the fact that she had been so caught up in her own thoughts, she had been completely blind to the dragon's approach.

  Sloppy. He’s making you sloppy.

  “So he’s alive?” Lilith asked, her tone as bored as she could make it while the noose of duty once more tightened around her neck.

  “For now,” Squall said as she took a seat next to Lilith.

  “It’s amazing,” Squall continued as she picked up a small rock and tossed it into the pond.

  “How much of Bow I see in him.”

  “What?” Lilith scoffed, and almost looked up, but caught herself.

  “I know he looks nothing like him. How could he? But I can't help it. ”

  “I want so badly to hate him. To blame him for taking the life Wisp never had. I know it’s silly. I know it's not his fault. He didn't ask for this, any more than you did. And part of me understands that. And part of me wants to rip him to pieces. And part of me wants to hold him, and tell him it's all going to be okay. Because, even if he isn't blood, he is still Bow’s.”

  “You didn't get to know him well. Bow, I mean. And im sure what your mother has said, well I can only imagine the picture she painted. He was always a sore spot for her. Rebellious as a whelp, no matter how old he got.”

  “Have I told you about how we met?” Squall asked. They both knew the answer was no, but Lilith shook her head anyway.

  “Two of my sisters were in a war. A Ragnarok was approaching, and they thought it was a good time to settle some score or another. For all our knowledge, Nidhogg’s children share a glaring lack of wisdom. Maybe it’s our nature. The First and Second broods fought until they killed each other off. The Third and Fifth would have, if not for Mother’s intervention. And look where that got them. Now they are nothing more than near mindless spirits, sentenced to an eternity of wandering their Death Realm, waiting for some child to summon them to his aid.”

  “I think that was mothers biggest mistake. Making us the way she did. Unable to ever truly die. Locking us away until she needs us again.”

  “But, that’s a different story.”

  “Anyway, they were in a war, and neither the Matriarch Prime nor our mother were in a position to intervene at the time. They were both Talon Matriarchs, and charged with the protection of the same Well. The other two Talon’s who shared their duty had lost their Matriarchs long ago, and as other Talon’s are forbidden from involving themselves in affairs not pertaining to their own Well, it seemed as if the only thing to do was let it play out.”

  “Mother sent me in an effort to act as mediator between my sisters, but it was just for show. We both knew they would see me no differently than the other Matriarchs. Without a brood of my own to lead, in their eyes, I was powerless.”

  “When I arrived, I couldn’t fathom how bad it had gotten. Neither would go so far as to bring their battle where it could place their Well in danger. Instead, it played out across the land under their control.”

  “I had seen the destruction of the Realm wars during the previous Ragnarok, but this was different. Neighbors, families, friends, fought one another with such vicious savagery, and all to settle a familial dispute they had no stake in. Cities were destroyed, hundreds of thousands had been killed, all while the two Matriarchs sat in their shared hold.”

  “I spent weeks trying to get them to see me. To sit down. To end the insanity. They were supposed to lead, to protect the very people they sent in droves to their deaths.”

  “One day, I just… broke. I left the hold, and wandered through the battlefields, watching the carnage in a daze. By this time, they had enlisted their runic users in full force. We talk so often about how they cannot be involved in Realm wars, and ignorant as I was, I believed the lies. Where was Yid? Where were the Valkyries? It was their job to ensure runic users were not utilized in such a way. To enforce the contracts we were all supposed to uphold.”

  “Then, I found them. The Valkyries, I mean. Found them watching atop a hill, and recording the battle. Marking down how arrays performed, the strengths and weaknesses. For them, the war, the fucking devastation, was not something to stop, but a forum for their research.”

  “I became… enraged. I confronted them, demanding to know why they would allow such a thing. I raved at them, bellowing how the Rooted were property of Yid, how they could put an end to this.”

  “They told me, without the slightest hint of shame, that I was correct. And as such, they were free to use them as they saw fit. While there were indeed restrictions on the involvement of Rooted for the purpose of conflict within a Realm, exceptions could be made at their discretion. Specifically, when the Rooted acted of their own free will.”

  “The contradiction seemed so obvious, I did not know how I had not seen it before. How could someone who was owned by a contract, have free will? Later, Mother would explain their rationale further. How, in deciding to become Rooted, one chose to abide by the will of those who held their contract. It’s bullshit, of course. The truth is much more simple.”

  “Yid makes the rules, and they can choose how, when, or if they apply.”

  “I remember hearing their words though, and how it made my vision blur with rage. It all just seemed so… fucked.”

  “I would have killed them. I know that. The consequences meant nothing to me. From where I stood, the Realm was already burning.”

  “I was naive, young, and idealistic.”

  “However, before I could shift my form and unleash my anger, Bow appeared. I mean that literally. One moment I stood alone among the Valkyries, and the next, he was there.”

  “He looked so… plain. He wore stained clothes you could find in any market, with holes in several places, and nearly threadbare. His long hair was loose, his beard unkempt, his face smudged with dirt. He was so unassuming that, if he had not been surrounded by fully armored Valkyries, he would not have garnered a second glance.”

  “I was so confused by his arrival, his appearance, by the bored expression he wore, that I couldn't do more than stare.”

  “The Valkyries were equally baffled at his arrival, though it took them far less time to come back to their senses, and tap their arrays. Before they could do more than summon a weapon though, Bow had snuffed out their power. I don’t know how else to say it. I had never seen anything like it before. It was as if he had effortlessly smothered a fire with a blanket.”

  “The Valkyries understood then, what I would only later come to learn. This was the power of an Ancient. To him, they were not even an annoyance. It was the difference between a single drop of water, and a tsunami.”

  “Without a word, they dropped to their knees and bowed their heads.”

  “I would have thought him to be their leader, if I had not just seen them try to attack him. Bow didn’t so much as acknowledge their sudden reverence. He just looked at me, then out at the battle, shook his head, and set off into the fray."

  “Not knowing what the fuck was going on, I followed, more curious than anything at that point.”

  “He stopped a few minutes later at a place that seemed completely arbitrary to me, but I stayed quiet as he knelt in the blood soaked snow, and ran his hands over the ground.”

  “Only then did he speak for the first time, and asked me why I allowed this to happen. I didn't know what exactly he meant, but at his question, my rage flared back to life. Me? He thought this was my fault? For weeks I had been trying to stop it.”

  “I roared at him then. Who was he? What did he know? I had tried, I was trying. I cursed, and spat, and loosed all that I had been holding back.”

  “He cut me off somewhere between calling him a bastard, and his mother a whore, as he asked with that infuriating calm of his, if I wanted him to end it”

  “The question was ridiculous. If it was that easy, it would have already been over. But when I saw he wasn't joking, that he was actually waiting for my reply, I stopped, and nodded.”

  “He told me, ‘Your mother will not approve,’ and I just laughed. Then he shrugged, like if I was fine with it, that was all that mattered, and vanished.”

  “It wasn't until a few moments later I noticed how quiet it had become. The sounds of battle, of fighting and dying, of crying and screaming, were just… gone.”

  “When I looked up, I found myself alone. Everyone, all the bodies, tens of thousands of people, all of the runic users, had just vanished, leaving only me behind.”

  “It was a trick. It had to be. He had done something, moved me somewhere. But even as I thought that, I knew it wasn't true. There was still the blood. A tundra dyed red. And me at its center.”

  “I don't know how long it was before I noticed what he had been doing in the snow. He had drawn a runic circle, and at its center, was the banned rune Raido. Before I could fully process what I was looking at though, he appeared again, and with him, were my sisters.”

  “They looked more surprised than I was, which didn't seem possible. He left them standing there, as he walked over to me and asked, ‘Which one?’”

  “I must have mumbled something, but I can't remember what it was. Still, he understood, as he asked more slowly, ‘Which one do you want to live?’”

  “Years later, when I saw him again, I asked if he was serious. If he had truly been asking me which one of my sisters he wished me to kill. He countered my question, asking if I truly wanted to know the answer. By then, I knew more of him. I had heard stories, and through them, strung together a vague patchwork of his life.”

  “He would have told me the truth. He… always told me the truth. But I told him no. Not because I didn't want to know the answer, but because I already knew. It was not a boast, not an idle threat. Had I answered, he would have killed one of them without hesitation.”

  “I was saved from making the decision that day though. Before I could respond, Mother’s roar split the sky, and she dropped to the earth, her power held ready to lay waste to this intruder.”

  “Bow didn't flinch. He didn't turn his gaze from mine. He just watched me curiously.”

  “When Mother saw me standing before him, she didn't say a word. She just turned to her other daughters, who stood, their faux masks of rage doing little to hide the fear underneath, and wrapped them in her forepaws, before leaping into the air once more.”

  “‘I told you she would be mad,’ he said, and showed me his smile for the first time.”

  “I didn't know what to say. I had been pleading with her, begging her to intervene for weeks. Yet, this man could draw her out?”

  “Alright,’ he said, and moved to leave. Before he could, I fought through my confusion and asked where he had taken the others. ‘Home’ he told me, and without another word, vanished once more.”

  “It took weeks for me to sort out what had happened, and even then, I was only left with more questions. It was not until after Ragnarok had ended, my mother offered any explanation. Even then though, only to the questions she wished to, and kept her answers purposefully vague.”

  “She told me he was an Ancient. He was Unrooted. And little else. But I knew there was something like fear behind her obfuscation. I think that shook me more than anything. But it also drew me to him,” Squall finished.

  Lilith had listened, not sure she understood why Squall was telling her all of this, but as she saw her face, her eyes distant as they looked across the pond, Lilith realized the story had not been for her, not really.

  She was remembering. Remembering Bow, not as the man who left her, but as the man who had provided help when no one else would.

  “He sent Xain to us, not to be a burden, but because he believes this is where his son needs to be. He is asking for help,” Squall said softly, and stood.

  “But I know him. I know that before he sent Xain out here, he told him that no one could make him follow a certain path. Whatever he decides to do, it will be because he chose it.”

  “It took me a long time to understand that on the day we met, he was giving me a choice in the only way he knew how. It may not have made sense to me, or to anyone else, but it made sense to him. That’s just how he is.”

  “I understand Xain may not be the man you expected, or hoped for, but I can say without any doubt that, neither him, nor Bow, would ever force you to stay by his side.”

  “So, I will do for you what he did for me. I will give you a choice.”

  “I won't make you stay. I won’t even ask it of you. If you want to leave, I will provide you with whatever you need. I can complete their concealment myself, and I can deal with your mother.”

  “You can leave. Go, do whatever it is you want to do. Free from this. Free from him.”

  “Or,” Squall said, her voice kind but firm, “You can stay.”

  “However if you remain, and know that I hope you do, you can do so knowing that it was what you chose. The distinction may seem trivial, but I can assure you, it is not,” Squall finished, and without looking at Lilith again, walked away.