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.
