Emprise [Fólkvangr End, Book 2][Loki Fanfiction]

Chapter One - Dreki

Author's Note: Hello there! It hasn't been terribly long, but welcome back to the world of Recompense! Ah! I don't know why but I'm feeling terribly excited. I really truly hope this lives up to everyone's expectations, especially as this is my first ever sequel to anything. I like to leave me stories done up and presented neatly, but there was so much left to explore with Loki and Valkyrie. Last we left them, they had run off from the possibility of marriage and into another set of adventures, and this picks up a little while later, just about a few months after the concluding events of Recompense. And now, onto Emprise! Enjoy, and don't forget to comment and vote! All my love! <3

Update from 2020 Keara: Hello everyone! So I'm in the process of reworking the first book in the series, Recompense, after which I will move onto Emprise which I actually think needs a LOT of work and changes. I will keep you all posted on this, but I think, read this book knowing I hope to fix some plot details in the near future and bear with me. Stay safe out there!

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Chapter One - Dreki, or Dragon

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?" I stumble back, boots catching on the rocky surface. I catch myself before I topple over and I dart down the rock face, into the crevice where Loki is standing. The beast rears his head, releasing an unsettling growl into the sky and I freeze in motion, holding my breath in my lungs, afraid to move. 

Loki raises his hand slowly and carefully towards the monster, which has now turned to gnashing its bloody, razor sharp teeth. Brown scales line the mouth and darken into the black scales that cover the rest of its body. It's something akin to a dragon, though perhaps really more like an over-sized, over-aggressive lizard combined with a bear, fingers stretching into long talons. Its shape is ungangly and improbably and yet here it still is, about to rip the pair of us limb from limb.

Loki begins murmuring a spell quietly, the cold air crackling with magic. The beast turns its head and locks its gaze onto us, rearing back and then knocking Loki far away with one brutal swipe. He falls into the rocks below us and lays unmoving against the grey slate. The creature looks at me, and then narrows in on the prone Loki. 

"Balls," I mutter under my breath and I dart down the rocks, trying to reach Loki before the creature. It rears its ugly head back and lunges for Loki. I'm still too far off so I grab my sword from where it is strapped to my back and I hurl it towards the animal. It pierces its neck, but just barely, giving me enough time to leap from the high rock shelf and land by Loki's feet. I grab the sword and wrench it free, greenish blood splattering across me. It swats at me with a claw, dripping with some sort of unseemliness, and it slashes right across my side. I recoil for a moment, surprised by the abrupt searing of the pain. I raise the sword quickly above my head and hack downwards, slicing into the monster's neck. It comes clean off, blood coating my sword and my hands, pattering down onto me and matting into my hair.

The beast falls to its engorged stomach and its legs give out, the head hanging severed from the body. I take a deep breath, regrettably inhaling the stench of the beast, turning my stomach. I lean over, bracing myself with my palm against the rock face and I lose the contents of my stomach. By the time I'm done heaving, Loki has come to and is sitting upright, nearly nose to nose with the beast. 

"What the hell was that?" I ask, still rather breathless.

Loki inspects the beast carefully, lifting an eyelid to gaze into its dark red eyes. "I believe this to be Sigurd."

"Sigurd?"

Loki nods as he gets to his feet. "Sigurd was once of the flesh and blood as you and I are. He - "