The Second Herald

[Gaea_Foundation 581]

Spoiler

This is a personal rp post, please do not metagame any of its contents, only those present for the rp may know of it.

 

Vidar stood in the halls of the hearthtemple, staring at the flame which blazed within it, the same flame given to Thoromir by the All-Father. He had always found himself lingering here, staring at the flame in his youth, debating his own thoughts against the teachings he was so familiar with. But, he had always found his mind unwilling to follow the will his heart so longed for him to hold. This turmoil was what brought him to that great bridge in the quiet corner of these lands. It was there he intended to face his sin, and face a final repentance, the only fate the boy had convinced himself worthy of. But it was there he had an encounter with a masked stranger, the Dame of Flame. A herald of the All-Father, who seemed to have been wrought from Ashwood had talked him off that ledge, and guided him to a cave hidden within the lands. There, she would take him to the cold peaks of the Red Lord’s realm, but not without trial; forced to fight against despair as he was left to darkness, deprived of his form, left only with his mind to stand against the darkness around him. It would be a trial he survived, and when he tread upon the soil of the All-Father’s realm, he was reminded of the simple truths of this world.

 

‘Suffer not the unworthy’ The first ashwood revealed as he set it ablaze, melting away the snow that hid the words.

 

“For they will lead the worthy astray,” Vidar spoke upon the empty air, his breath rising from him in a great plume of condensation. These words leave his mind unbidden, his thoughts of the scripture he had spent his childhood reading.

 

‘Spread the Flame’ Would be the second reminder an ashwood would give him as he set it too ablaze.

 

“So that all may know his warmth,” He spoke upon a whisper, the torch firmly in his grasp. He was quiet, distracted. He wondered why the All-Father was showing this to him, why he was here.

 

‘Stand Against the Long Dark’ Were the final words etched in the last ashwood around the dias from which he had taken the torch from.

 

“So that our kin may have a home to return to,” were the words that parted from his lips as he looked up to the final ashwood which was now roaring with a familiar fire.

 

The smoke of the torched beckoned him forth, guiding him back to the center of the dias. There, he would place the torch back once more. Rising from the smoke came a figure he had only read of in scripture, appearing before him was a great ball of fire, wrung in bands of flame and runes. ‘It was the All-Father’ the boy thought to himself as he found himself staggering backwards, mouth agape in awe. It spoke to him, but his words would be foreign upon his ears, ‘The language only our god knows, the first’ was his rationalization. However, beside him, the ever watching Dame of Flame would give him the answers he needed, translating the divine language the Red Lord spoke.
 

 

“Be not afraid, Vidar, child of Eirik.” were the words conveyed to him by the Dame.

 

The boy fell to one knee, “I greet the Red Lord, the only lord I shall ever bow to, our savior.”

 

“Rise and stand, lamb of Thoromir. Second to seek. Second to see. Who is to bear the flame.” The being of fire spoke, its gaze feeling as though it pierced the boy.

 

The boy’s mind raced as he stood, he thought that surely his ears had deceived him, and so he asked, “You would deem me worthy? Of being your word, a vessel of your will? Me, the one so unworthy of my kin?”

“You spoke to the hearth- you spoke to me. It is the warmth between the flame and the dark I am found. Make your choice.” It rumbled, growing closer to the boy, though its heat grew no more oppressive.

 

He would find his conviction in those words, stepping forth, he’d answer with eagerness, “Please. Let me be your voice. I shall carry out your will just as Thoromir did, I shall be the flame which rekindles the faith of our people.”

 

It brings forth a fiery wing, placing it gently upon Vidar’s forehead, a warming heat felt within him. His mind went black, and he would stir once more in the caves of Aevos, the Dame of Flame- gone. He had traveled back to Norland, and stood before the hearthflame once more. His mind fell into a trace as he stared at the flickering flames, no longer was his mind filled with worry and doubt, only conviction.

“My life was forfeit. If your will had not reached me that day, I would have died. But yet I live, and I will do so solely for you. For without your light, mine would have snuffed out.” Vidar spoke upon the silence that was only broken by the crackling of the flame within the temple.

[Javert 5573]

"I wonder what my cousin's been up to." said Harald Eiriksson as he ate some cooked deer meat at a campfire with some Skanarri companions.