Riven, battling the werewolf inside of him, was unsure of what to do next. He had no desire to join Vigo in his plot to conquer the Myth Wood. Yet at any time he could change into a wolf and attack the very people he felt responsible for. He was also searching for a cure for the plague that was affecting all of the Myth Wood. He decided that his best bet for finding a cure for himself as well as the plague, was to look for help in other realms. It had worked for Agamemnon in the past. As an Ambassador of the Wood he was one of the few people who was able to do it.
When he had first traveled the roads between realms to Tir na nOg, he had been a newly appointed emissary of King Balin. That time, a fairy had shown him the way. In that visit he had learned that Tir na nOg is the current seat of power of King Oberon Alberich of the Ljos’Alfar. Oberon had, at that time, recognized Riven as an ambassador of the Myth Wood. His hope was that he would do so again.
He found that the road between Realms had changed very little, at least the part between the Myth Wood and Tir na nOg. On arrival to the court of King Oberon Alberich, Riven was brought before the King. King Oberon once again recognized Riven as a duly appointed Ambassador of the Myth Wood to Tir na nOg.
When Riven enquired of the King, for aid with the plague that afflicted the Myth Wood, Oberon informed Riven that the Ljos’Alfar would give not aid. For the safety of his people Oberon would not interfere in a dispute between the forces of Chaos and Order. The Ljos’Alfar had chosen neutrality in this matter. With that said, Oberon had no intention of helping the Myth Wood with its plague problem. However, Riven could stay in Tir na nOg as long as he wished under the protection of the crown.
Although he was disappointed in the decision, Riven understood that the King felt he was making the best choice for his people. While Riven took his ease in the court of Oberon he made friends with Oberon’s court jester, Robin Goodfellow. Robin, a merry hobgoblin who enjoyed nothing so much as spreading mischief and rumors, filled Riven in on the history of the Alfar Elves and the Myth Wood. He told of how Oberon’s Ljos’Alfar and Titania’s Dokk’Alfar once had called the Myth Wood home. In fact, they had ruled the Myth Wood for several thousand years. They were exiled from the Myth Wood when they lost a war with the Humans and Fen’Alfar.
In return Riven told Robin the stories of the ArchWizard Agamemnon, King Dirk McCormick, and the Clan Blackhammer. The battle they had with the Daemons and Shadows of the Void. As well as about the powerful undying Einherjar who now called the Myth Wood home. His plan was to make the Myth Wood an undesirable target for invasion. However, Robin became obsessed with the mention of Grimner. An individual who had played a minor role in the story Riven was telling. In the story Grimner had only been Agamemnon’s manservant. Robin asked so many questions that Riven wisely decided to keep quiet.
To keep the conversation going Robin told Riven the tale of the Mad Queen of the Dokk’Alfar, Titania Alphane. How in the beginning of the fourth age of the Myth Wood when the Alfar ruled it, she had her arm cut off by a Demi-God while he was trying to have his way with her. That act had driven her mad. It had also started a war between the Demi-Gods and Alfar Elves that would last several hundred years. To get her revenge she had forged a dagger powerful enough to kill a God. As it turned out Riven was very aware of the dagger. It was the very same one that was being used to make sacrifices to power the traps that were keeping the Skulls imprisoned.
As a wicked afterthought, Robin informed Riven that Queen Titania had put a bounty out on Riven. She hated anyone who came from the Myth Wood. She had also enjoyed hunting werewolves as a child in the Myth Wood. With this in mind she hoped to capture Riven, force his change, and then hunt him in the underground caverns of Tir na nOg. As far as King Oberon’s protection went, Robin did not believe the Mad Queen would honor it.
Riven’s logical conclusion was that he had overstayed his welcome. Robin informed Riven of a gate that would take him to a realm called Folkvangr. It was a realm of Einherjar like Riven’s home, and Robin was sure they would want to help him. Robin would be willing to show the gate to Riven, if Riven would simply carry a sealed message to the Queen of that realm. Riven agreed and Robin showed him the gate. With the sealed message in hand Riven walked through.
*****
He was the Hunter. That is as long as he kept the Ljos’Alfar mask on, he was. The first time he had placed the mask on, he had felt empowered. The magic of the mask made it so no one knew or could remember who he was. No responsibilities were put before him. No demands were made of him. He could spend every day doing what he loved, hunting, and battle. Then, when he had his fill of those things, he would take the mask off and return to his normal life with no one the wiser.
Then had come the false hunt. He had been stalking a giant wolf. From all signs it was the largest wolf he had ever come across. When he finally saw it, his breath was taken away. It was a monster. Easily fourteen feet long and six feet tall on all fours. As it moved through the Wood the Hunter took note of its human-like intelligence. Even with all that intelligence it still seemed to take no notice of him, but it moved with a speed unlike anything the Hunter had ever witnessed.
What would have put fear in the heart of any other man only filled the Hunter with a need to bring the beast down. Such a monster left unchecked would bring unfathomable destruction to the Myth Wood. So the Hunter quietly followed the giant wolf. In short order he knew where it was headed and also knew that he was forbidden to go there.
The beast traveled to the Shrine of the Six. A place that all people in the Myth Wood for the last eleven years knew, on an instinctive level, they were forbidden to go to. The Hunter knew that with the mask on no one would know he had broken the taboo, so he followed. The wolf came to the holy shrine and circled it several times sniffing it. While he did this the Hunter readied his bow. The wolf stopped. Turned to look directly at the Hunter, and then stood upright like a man. The Hunter let fly his arrow. It bounced harmlessly off the Wolf.
In a growl of a voice the wolf spoke. “I know you, I know who you are.” The Hunter knew this was impossible. With the mask on, no one of the Wood could discern who he was. “I did not come here for you. I seek an audience with the Six Higher Powers of the Myth Wood. You however, In your misguided belief that you could bring Fenris down, have broken a rule of this realm. The Powers of the Wood will judge you. Pray they are kind to you.” The wolf seemed to be smiling as its front paw touched the shrine, and he disappeared.
The Hunter was shaken. He traveled back to King’s Rest. Once there he tried to remove his mask. It would not come off! Try as he might, it would not move. He was confronted by the guards as to his actions and presence in King’s Rest. His responses made no sense to them. As they moved to restrain him he fled King’s Rest into the woods.
Time passed. With nothing else to do he did what he always did, he hunted and fought. It was in this way that Jarl Elric and his questing band of Steward Riven and Audreena, found and confronted him. The quest they were on required them to open the wolfhead box they had acquired in the Hunter’s presence. They opened the box in front of him. A curse took hold of them immediately and then the three turned into werewolves right before the Hunter’s eyes. They seemed just as surprised by the transformation as the Hunter was. They took flight as a pack.
Vigo, the necromancer, was there as well. He had helped Elric’s group find the box and had given them the information about opening it in front of the Hunter. With the pack gone and terrorizing the Myth Wood, it was not difficult for Vigo to convince the Hunter that the wolves needed to be stopped. Vigo explained that they could be tamed if the Hunter proved himself the more dominant. So the Hunter hunted the wolves and through beating them in battle was able to tame them. Once tamed the three returned to human form, but would change back to wolves whenever their blood quickened. Riven, now as a man, chose to leave the Myth Wood to find a cure.
Seeing the werewolves trying to cure themselves, Vigo was not pleased. Vigo turned Mathis into a werewolf under his direct control. In this way Mathis could interrupt any cure they came up with. Vigo had a grand plan. With this great army of monsters, and the Hunter under his control Vigo was sure he could conquer the Myth Wood. For it to work, Vigo had to find a way to manipulate the Hunter.
The Hunter had no use for Vigo or his plans, so he quietly left their company while they were looking for a cure. The Hunter’s only desire then was to figure out how to remove the mask. While Vigo worked to conquer the people of the Wood the Hunter searched every corner of the Myth Wood. Search as he did, still no way to remove the mask presented itself.
Knowing the Myth Wood did not contain means to remove his cursed mask, the Hunter decided to leave the realm. Memories of a gate Riven had used to leave the realm came back to the Hunter. He remembered where it was hidden but not where it went. However, at this point anywhere was better than the Myth Wood. So the Hunter went to the gate and passed through it.
The gate opened up to a strange road. With no guide and no direction in mind the Hunter traveled the Roads between Realms aimlessly. When he came upon another gate similar to the Myth Wood one, he decided to give it a try.
*****
The Realm of Folkvangr is a wide-open field that stretches beyond the sight of man. It has a few trees in it but they are sparse. Those trees are immense oaks, and ash. Each tree has a giant stone ship moored to it. The ships are filled with Einherjar, picked and escorted to the ships by Valkyries of Folkvangr.
As the sun crests the horizon each morning the Einherjar charge from their ships into the field to do battle with Einherjar from other ships. They do not battle with strategy or thought. Just brute force. When only one is left living in the field a horn sounds. The survivor is then escorted to the largest stone ship, Sessrúmnir.
While he travels to the ship, the bodies on the ground disappear and reform on the moored ships. Soon by some unknown cue they run from the ships again and the scene repeats itself.
*****
Riven arrived in Folkvangr and stopped to witness the battles on the field before him. After a brief wait an Einherjar with no weapons exited a ship, not of stone, that was beached close to the gate. The Einherjar came and escorted Riven to the largest stone ship. The ship he was told is called Sessrúmnir, and is the hall of Freyja.
The ship hall of Freyja is the largest of the Stone Ships, dwarfing all others. The top deck is filled with row upon row of benches all facing the stern of the ship. At the stern of the ship is an ornate chair turned to face the benches. This is the seat of Lady Freyja of the Vanir. Below deck is a system of rooms for various needs: lodgings, cooking, etc.
As night came on in the realm of Folkvangr, Riven was brought before Freyja . Freyja’s custom was to hold audience with the victors of the day before, enjoying the feast and merriment that would carry on into the small hours of the night. She was surprised that an Einherjar had come to Folkvangr by a means other than Valkyries. When she learned that his realm of origin was the Myth Wood she became even more interested. She quickly acknowledged him as a duly appointed Ambassador of the Myth Wood and extended the realm’s protection to him. For his part Riven delivered Robin’s sealed message.
Freyja read the letter and a wicked smile came to her face. She quickly suppressed her emotions, but not before Riven had caught a glimpse of them. When she asked if he had other business with her, he asked for any aid she might be able to give the Myth Wood with the plague that was affecting it.
“First you must understand some of the history of both this realm and myself. Many thousands of years ago there was a war in the realm of Asgard. It was a war between two mighty tribes, the Vanir, and the Aesir. The Aesir were led by a frightful warlord named Tyr. He had come to them from beyond the realm and showed them new ways to bring war and death to the people they wished to conquer….” The story she shared with Riven and the rest of the warriors on the ship that night was so enthralling and informative that no one realized it had taken the entire night to tell. As the sun came up over the horizon the Einherjar vanished from the benches, and the sounds of battle could again be heard in the field beyond.
Freyja put Riven in rooms of the highest honor aboard her ship. She also offered him a place at her high table for the evening feast, so they could continue their talk. He came to realize that all the warriors who were at the benches last night had been the victors of the battles in the field. In this way it would take the entirety of the day to fill the benches again. He decided his best course of action was to rest and wait for the evening to come.
*****
The Hunter found himself in Folkvangr. The gate had put him on the downward side of a large hill. When he climbed to the top, he saw an immense green field. Random growing trees on the outskirts of the field had stone ships moored to them. In the center of the field were thousands of battling Einherjar. His heart soared. He was not sure if he was finally dead and in heaven, or if this was one more strange twist of fate. No weapons had come through the gate with him, but he saw plenty of them lying on the ground next to fallen Einherjar. His plan was simple. Grab a weapon, fight until he fell.
A powerful hand grabbed his shoulder. “You were not picked by the Valkyries. You don’t get to fight until a ship claims you.” He was a giant of a man. Dressed in furs with a large ax strapped to his back. “Don’t look so disappointed, prove yourself worthy and a ship will pick you. The names Sedrick. Follow me.” The man did not seem to the Hunter to be a threat, so he followed.
Sedrick took him to a wood ship that was beached on the ground. “Fy’eir, I think I found one of yours. He was trying to get in on the fighting. Best keep your people in line or you will never be named caption of a Stone Ship.”
In response, a hand ax came flying out of the shadows of the beached ship and planted itself squarely in Sedrick’s chest. “Well that was rude.” Was Sedrick’s only response before he fell dead.
From the shadows of the ship came a heavily armored woman with fierce eyes. “You, masked man, come here… I’m not going to kill you as you are not armed. I may not be a Valkyrian anymore, but I still abide by the code of honor.” The Hunter took note again that Sedrick had been armed, also it looked as if his body was vaporizing into the air.
“Ok, here is the deal, I was given permission by Freyja herself to field one warrior today. If that warrior proves himself to be worthy of her high table then those I have chosen may be seen as worthy to battle in the field. The best I have is Corl over there.” She pointed to a strong but soft eyed looking man standing in the shadows of the ship. “To be honest I don’t think he has the heart of a true warrior of Valhalla. You on the other hand…. Well you have the look of a true warrior at any rate. Take this.” She tossed the Hunter a double headed spear. “Go, do what your heart tells you to do and by Woden’s eye you will find yourself seated in Sessrúmnir tonight.” She turned and walked back into the shade of her ship.
The Hunter took the spear and headed to the field. He saw the battling Einherjar and felt the battle blood stirring inside him once again. He lifted the spear and judged its weight. Today would be a good day. That night he was seated in Sessrúmnir. That was how the Einherjar of Fy’eir’s Ship became the first Einherjar of a non-Stone Ship to fight in the field of Folkvangr.
Twenty-five years later the Hunter had only missed being seated in Sessrúmnir twice. These thoughts went through his head as his eyes came to rest on a once familiar face. There, standing before Freyja asking for aid against the plague that threatened the Myth Wood was Ambassador Riven Shadowstalker. The Hunter wondered if Riven had seen or recognized him. Then Freyja began her telling and all thoughts left the Hunter as he became enthralled by the telling.
*****
As it turned out Freya was not in attendance the following night, or many nights after that. Riven was to learn that Freyja spent half of the year in Folkvangr and half of the year in Asgard. However. as time moved differently in Folkvangr, six months in Asgard was 5 years in Folkvangr, Freyja would be back then and Riven was encouraged to relax and enjoy his stay.
On his second night in Folkvangr Riven noticed the Hunter. It had only been a few months since he had seen him last, and in truth they had shared many adventures together so it was unlikely he would forget the man. Who the Hunter truly was however, was a mystery even Riven had been unable to solve. Riven seated himself next to the Hunter and they shared stories of their time in the Myth Wood. Riven was shocked to learn the Hunter had been in Folkvangr so much longer then he had. While Riven was anxious to get back to the Myth Wood, the Hunter seemed content to stay on in Folkvangr.
Riven finding that his hands were tied on the matter, for the time being, without Freyja’s response of ya or nay he was not sure if aid could be found in Folkvangr or not. So he prepared himself for a wait. During his wait he not only took the time to learn as much about the locals as he could, but he also ventured onto the field. It did not happen on his first try, or his second, but Riven was eventually able to earn his seat in Sessrúmnir. This not only gave him a great sense of pride but also legitimized his presence on the ship to the rest of the Einherjar.
Five years after Riven had arrived Freyja was in attendance at the evenings feast again. She summoned Riven before her. “Ambassador Riven. First let me give news of the Myth Wood. A little better than a year has passed in the Myth Wood since you last walked its trails. The Titan’s Plague runs rampant in a new race called the Blighted. They are led by a Lich. It also seems that devils have been summoned and run afoul of the people of the Wood. The people, for all of this, seem to be holding strong. You may also have taken note that the power of the wolf that was put upon you is no more. Jarl Elric cured that curse.” It was not until that point that Riven had even thought of the curse. Still she was right. He knew that the he was a werewolf no longer. “That is the current standing of the Myth Wood.” She paused then. Finally, she looked Riven in the eyes and spoke. “My desire is to aid you in removing the plague from the Myth Wood.”
Freyja turned to her side and lifted a small wood chest from a table. “This chest contains magic of Folkvangr. When opened within the Myth Wood it will create an anchorage between the Myth Wood and Folkvangr. This will allow me to enter the Wood, and deal with the plague. But I must warn you, only open the box if you judge that the people of the Myth Wood cannot defeat the plague on their own or are not worthy of being Einherjar.” She handed the chest to Riven and he accepted it.
“While I cannot send a Stone Ship to the Myth Wood, I believe Fy’eir’s ship can still sail the Seas of Possibilities. You will find she and her crew more than capable of protecting you against the pirates that sail the Realm Seas, and aiding you in your judgement of the Myth Wood.” With that said Riven returned to his seat.
He was not surprised that it was Fy’eir’s ship that was chosen, or that the Hunter was part of that crew. He was beginning to believe that Freyja was playing him. Still the chance to bring the cure for the plague back to his home overrode most of the warning signals going off inside his head.
The next day as the Einherjar battled in the field of Folkvangr, Fy’eir’s ship rose from the ground with all crew aboard. It was a Dragon longship named Honor’s Choice. Riven and the Hunter were mystified by how the ship seemed to float. Fy’eir pulled a blue crystal compass from a box by the wheel of the ship. As she held it, it began to glow. Mist surrounded the ship and when it cleared, they were on the open sea. The captain yelled orders and the ship tacked East.
Riven was not sure if he was on the right course or not but he was headed home, and he brought some hope with him.
