Psychomachy | Lestappen

The Past Tells The Future

In the earliest of the morning, with the sun not even having started to rise from behind the horizon and stars still lingering on the night sky, a tall figure knocks quietly on some windows, opening them for a short moment to let small shadows jump out, before closing them again and walking towards the forest.

The forest, wrapped in absolute darkness, allows them to go away unnoticed, accompanied by a massive shadowy figure, red mixing into the black of its body and the background. At the same time, it walks next to them in complete silence despite its size and possible mass.

When the small group arrives at their destination, a small lake at the end of an energy rift, they sit down on the rocks, with the taller figure walking towards the lake. It scoops up some of the glowing water and lets the enormous shadow drink it, making the veins of a black and red wyvern glow a faint blue. 

"Gather around children," the figure speaks up, revealing the voice of a man, "and let me tell you the story of our kingdom, the Valkürian Sanctuary, how we came to this village on the bottom of the Valkürian Range and how the kings of the air - our beloved and treasured wyverns - became our best of friends."

With that, the wyvern spits fire on the ground, creating a soft fire, and causing small orange flames to illuminate the group's surroundings.

"It all started hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago, when our lands were even harsher than they are now, there had been our great king Ansgar who decided to escape the ruins of Skeld, fleeing towards the cold and harsh south. Nobody would follow him up to the cold air, at least what we know now. But on the way towards his goal, Ansgar came across one of the most feared wyverns to this day - Malakh."

The black wyvern makes a low growling sound, using its wings to brighten the flames while the man enjoys the way the children gasp in unison, huddling together and looking at him with big eyes.

"Malakh had just risen in his name and power, stirring up trouble and bloodshed wherever he flew. Of course, this didn't hinder Ansgar to change his mind about the new home, no. He challenged Malakh, intending to slay this wyvern and claim its territory as the Valkürians' new home, but the death of Malakh never came because Ansgar was the one who got almost killed. Why should a powerful and feared wyvern give up its territory for a mere human? Why did Ansgar think he could slay a beast that could easily swallow him with everything he wears? The answer was simple - the human mind and arrogance took over, costing Ansgar his left arm and right leg. However, Malakh took pity on the human after a child ran up to Ansgar, his son, this is what history said. The boy, not older than four years old, ran up to Ansgar and held him, ignoring the blood that flowed out of his father's body and then glaring at the wyvern. «Don't hurt my father,» he said and stood up afterwards, walking towards Malakh. «Eat me! I am young and tasty!» Malakh leaned down to the boy..."

Another round of gasps came out of the children, they huddle even closer to each other now and some even hold their breath, too anxious to make a sound but also too invested in that man's story.

"...and roars at him before soaring back into the sky, leaving the group led by Ansgar behind. This action caused the Valkürians to follow Malakh, passing rivers of almost frozen water, dead wild and sometimes the skeletons of ancient fallen wyverns before they come to a halt in front of a mountain's cliff. There laid the nest of Malakh's, hidden over the clouds and as big as the wyvern itself. «We will live here from now on, to enjoy the protection of this wyvern and the harsh climate of the mountain,» Ansgar, still wounded but strong-willed, had said and started to make his way towards the cliff. His wife and son followed him, loyal and warm-hearted as a warm glass of milk. They tried to picture how their future kingdom should be built and started to gather the materials, including hunting the animals around the mountain."