Wars of Heaven and Earth

Hostage situation

We arrived in Osta during the early hours of the evening. From the docking area, Leucos and I were dragged several miles inland, passing several small farms and villages. Eventually, we reached a larger town, and were the subject of much jeering and laughing. The Fenn Kingdom wasn't exactly friendly with the various clans in Osta.

Leucos and I were paraded around the streets for several minutes before Tyra and her crew dragged us into a large wooden structure that vaguely resembled a palace. The interior was dim, lit by several low burning braziers, tables laden with food lined the walls while warriors and nobles ate, drank, and talked with one another. 

We were then dragged to a raised area that held a table, facing outward. A burly man with white hair sat on a heavily carved chair. Runes inscribed along the back were written in the rough penmanship of the Røkrr. 

The man seated at the high table wore a simple band of dark, beaten gold with rubies inlaid at even points. He sat stroking his beard as he gazed at us, eventually sighing and leaning back in his chair. He motioned Tyra forward.

"I see you have brought back slaves, however they do not look particularly useful. Surely there are others you brought to me?" He spoke in a low, gravelly voice, however his words carried to the entire hall. 

Tyra's gazed hardened and she placed her hand on her sword pommel. 

"Father, you would do well to remember, that you hold the crown as long as you're fit to rule. Publicly insult me again, and you'll find that crowns are hard to hold without hands." Tyra said, the tension in the room increased, almost as violence was a wire, ready to snap.

"You dare question my honor? In my own hall?" Tyra's father replied in a dreadfully quiet voice.

"I'm not questioning your honor, father. I'm denying it's existence." She said while sliding her sword the first several inches out of its sheath.

"I will not abide by this insults any longer child, if you wish to be put back in your place, I will happily beat you in front of gods and men." Her father said, his voice raising so that everyone in the hall could hear him.

Just as he stood from his seat, the main doors of the hall burst open. A red haired man with similar facial features to Tyra and the man at the table strolled in with several armed men behind him.

"Father! How nice to see you alive and relatively well! Oh, I guess you're here too little sister." He shouted, his voice seemed more suited to being bellowed over the crashing of waves, rather than the confined spaces of prestigious halls.

"Why are you here skjolf, I thought you had finally done the family a favor and died during some failed raid." Tyra said, rolling her eyes, before her gaze hardened.

"Well you see my lovely sister, I'm here to tell Father that he needs to take a hike. Preferably without his crown." Skjolf chuckled, however his laugh was more of a threat than a genuine display of mirth.

"Get in line, I was here first so I'll take the crown." Tyra snarled and tore her sword from its scabbard.

"Oh, my poor, idiotic naive sister. How will you hold a kingdom, when you have no one supporting you." He said as he raised his eyebrows, several of the warriors behind him smirked.

"I have several people supporting me. Has the sea water finally screwed with your head?" Tyra said, as she slid her ax out of its belt loop.

"Ignorance is a blessing." Skjolf said, he then snapped his fingers, and the warriors that had accompanied Tyra left her side, and stood behind Skjolf.

"Now then, father, if you'd kindly pass me the crown, I'll let you live. Tyra, you can go find another continent to sulk in, if I find you or your followers in Osta, I'll kill you on the spot." He said, while he stroked his beard and waited for them to answer.

Tyra stood, muttering various curses under he breath, while her father suddenly pushed his chair back, and ripped his sword out of its sheath. A dull thud echoed followed shortly after with a low moan. The king toppled backward with an ax sticking out of his chest.

Skjolf lowered his hand, his ax now missing from his belt. 

"Well, now that he's out of the way, I guess I should deal with the rest of you."

Skjolf motioned his men forward, and they charged towards Tyra.

With a shout of rage, Tyra began to hack her way through the several warriors that had come forward, weapons raised. The first, lost his hand and then his head to her sword. The second warrior's strike was blocked with the ax, however he had little time to retaliate as Tyra's sword plunged into his midsection. The last warrior was intercepted before he reached Tyra. With her ax buried into his skull, he sank to his knees and fell sideways.

Surprisingly, Tyra then cut the bonds holding Leucos and I.

"There, I saved your lives, now help me save mine."

With that, she turned back to the second wave of approaching warriors.

"Well, I'll make this easy then." I sighed as I formed a small magic circle in the air. 

The resulting blast took out the approaching warriors and the doors to the hall. Tyra charged through the breach with myself hot on her tail, Leucos had decided to hitch a ride on my back, seeing as his short stature wouldn't allow him to keep up for long.

We ended up fighting our way through the streets. Tyra at the front cutting down anyone that attempted to stop us, while I covered her flanks and our backs with elemental magic. Eventually we reached the palisade wall of the town and I blasted through it once again. 

We were tailed long into the night, and the uneven terrain of the mountains meant that I lost my footing and slipped several times. Tyra, however had no such problem navigating in the dim lighting.

Night soon took hold, and we scaled a pine tree, in order to avoid detection. All throughout the night, the shouts of men from the town could be heard, and occasionally, I though I heard Skjolf yelling in the distance.

--------------Authors Note---------------

Ahhhhhh Updates!

Okay so I finally finished this just in time. I think my posting order I'm going to shoot for is once every week. Saturday will be the latest. We'll see how this goes and if I fail, I'll adjust it appropriately.

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Hope to see you all next chapter! Have a nice day!!!