Day 3, Bitter Sea
Dear Mother,
Before you ask, I’m fine. I’m sorry I had to leave you in such a hurry – Jandar’s need for me sounded urgent – but I’ve been wishing I had been able to say a proper goodbye. I know how you worry when I’m away. But you can calm yourself, because I’m perfectly fine. Even the seasickness has abated fully by now, and you know how much I can’t stand being on ships.
I know you’re worried with all the rumors we’ve been hearing, so I wanted to write to you, and let you know the truth of things.
Yes, it seems that the Volcarrens have broken out of their wasteland prison. Yes, they’ve been seen in Kinsland, and yes, it even seems that the rumors about a Valkyrie are true. I’ve seen him: Utgar, a brute of a kyrie, all red skin and black wings. He’s the leader of the Volcarrens, and last I saw, was leading them towards Helsng.
I know, I thought war was certain too. I was sure the Emperor would summon Jandar to lead the Southern Army. I dreaded that. What those riots in Anund did to him… the things he had to do… Well, I think we both want Jandar to stay as far away from another conflict as possible. But you know him: loyal to a fault. If the Emperor called, I don’t doubt he would have dropped what he was doing and gone to Kinsland the same hour.
Thankfully that didn’t happen. Utgar, the Volcarren leader, actually met with some representatives from Helsng. Even old Yiven was there – personally I thought he had wasted away long ago in that keep of his.
I was there too, and we were all shocked when we heard Utgar wanted peace. We were sure he had come to take his revenge upon the Empire, but I heard him with my own ears: “I seek peace.”
So no Mother, I wouldn’t expect a raiding party of bloodthirsty Volcarrens to assault Elenrul just yet. You can tell my brother to stop sharpening his spear.
It wasn’t that simple, of course. Utgar wouldn’t give up the Wellspring, and of course old Yiven couldn’t let him just keep it open. Then one of the Emperor’s advisers – I forget her name – came up with a plan: Utgar could go to Haukeland. He could take as much water as he wanted – that would ensure the Empire couldn’t imprison him again – and Yiven could seal the Wellspring behind him – that would ensure we didn’t restart the Wellspring Wars.
It's a good plan, honestly. Probably the best given the circumstances. The only problem was, of course, Haukeland. An ancient curse? An evil force living on the island? A century of avoiding it, marking it with a black X on maps? Utgar wasn’t exactly swept away by the idea.
But he’s actually considering it. He and Yiven agreed to send a delegation of both Imperials and Volcarrens to Haukeland, to ascertain if there was any truth to the myths. If Haukeland seems habitable, then I really think he’ll actually go there.
And that’s why I’m here, stuck on this cramped boat, writing to you. I think Jandar wanted someone along he could trust. Honestly I can’t blame him – I could easily see Edur – that’s our commander – slitting the Volcarrens’ throats and then returning to the Empire claiming betrayal. It would simplify things, but it would almost certainly start a war. I definitely don’t want that, and I know Jandar doesn’t either.
Then again, maybe he just wanted a mage on board. He forgot to mention my abilities to the crew… I’m thinking he expects trouble, and hopes my studies of the archkyrie magic will give us an edge in preventing a war. And before you ask, Mother, yes, I’ve kept my abilities in check. Nothing has spontaneously combusted around me just yet.
I don’t think I’ll be able to get back to Elenrul for a while, so I’ll keep adding to this letter. I’ll send it once we return to Valhalla.
Stay safe, Mother.
Day 6, Bitter Sea
Dear Mother,
I’m still fine, though these Volcarrens are getting on my nerves. Four Imperial soldiers, four Volcarren barbarians, couped up on a small boat surrounded by nothing but rough waves as far as Valhalla is wide… what could go wrong? Yiven and Utgar should have given more thought to this plan of theirs. It’ll be a miracle if we make it to Haukeland without stabbing each other to death first.
It's obvious that the Volcarrens want war. I can’t really blame them I suppose – they’ve suffered in that wasteland for generations thanks to us. Jandar always said that putting them there was one of the worst decisions the Empire ever made. I’m starting to agree with him I think…
Still though, no one’s died yet. Not even a scuffle. The Volcarrens keep an eye on us though, hands always on their weapons. I keep an eye on them too; I’m on guard duty most nights. The Volcarrens mostly stick to their side of the boat, we stick to ours. I don’t trust them though. I think they’re just waiting for a chance to knife us while we sleep. Hence the need for guard duty.
Sorry, Mother. It isn’t that bad. There are four of us, and we all have enough armor and weapons for a battalion. The Volcarrens’ weapons look like they’re all hewn from bone. Plus, it seems like they genuinely don’t want to defy Utgar’s orders, and he was very clear about wanting peace. So that’s something I suppose.
I think we’ll arrive at Haukeland tomorrow sometime, then we’ll see if there’s any truth to those rumors about the island. Personally, I’m hoping Haukeland is an idyllic paradise, and Utgar takes his Volcarrens to live there and never bothers us again. The Empire doesn’t need a war right now.
Edur is calling me to stand for night watch, so I have to go.
See you soon.
Day 8, Haukeland
Dear Mother,
We made it in one piece. We sighted Haukeland late yesterday afternoon, and passed the Sentry Isles and made landfall this morning. Nothing really too special to say about it – it looks a lot like Laur honestly – pine trees everywhere. A lot colder though.
We’ve set up camp on the beach here – mind you, this isn’t a nice sandy beach like the ones in Anund. This one is all rocks. We’ve piled together some driftwood though, and it keeps most of the wind off of us, so that’s at least something.
We spent today doing high passes over the island. I didn’t see much, just lots of trees. Further up north there’s quite a bit of snow. We were too high to really see any details though.
Edur had us flying in pairs – one Volcarren and one Imperial. Yeah, not my idea. Apparently that was a demand of Utgar’s – he really doesn’t trust us. I suppose he’s right, but that Volcarren flying next to me the whole time was a bit unnerving. He didn’t even seem that bothered by the cold somehow.
We’ve all returned to the camp, but we’re going to start flying low tomorrow, and no one’s looking forward to it. We’ll have to land quite a bit to scout beneath the tree canopy, and I can just see one of the Volcarrens swinging their axe into their scouting partner, then claiming it was a wild animal attack when they return to camp alone. I think we’ve all realized that could happen – the Volcarrens too.
There’s nothing for it though. We’ve got to make sure this place is safe before Utgar will set foot here. If we let this devolve into a battle, then we might as well sail home right now and tell Jandar he’s going to have to command another bloody campaign. Personally, that’s not something I want to do.
So scouting in pairs it is. Don’t worry too much, Mother. I’ll be fine. I’ll let you know how the day went tomorrow night.
Day 9, Haukeland
They did it! Blast them, those groundling Volcarrens actually did it! I knew they would, but… honestly I thought maybe we had a chance here. I thought they respected Utgar enough not to upend this mission before it had started. I guess I was wrong.
Delen is dead. We went in pairs in the morning, and the Volcarren he was with came back alone at night, his axe all bloody. Oh, he claimed it was some sort of massive beast, came out of nowhere and attacked. He even had the audacity to claim that he tried to save Delen, wounded the animal and scared it off. He said that’s why his axe was all bloody.
No one is buying it. We found Delen, and he was all torn up – probably the Volcarren trying to make it look like an animal attack. We’ll give him a proper send off tomorrow morning.
Edur can’t prove that the Volcarren attacked Delen, and apparently the Emperor spoke to him personally about the importance of this mission, so he isn’t ready to give up. We’re going back out in scouting pairs tomorrow.
None of the Volcarrens are very good fliers. The one I was going with managed to pull a wing this afternoon, so he’ll have to stay at camp tomorrow. So wouldn’t you know it, I’m paired with Delen’s murderer tomorrow. Just my luck.
Don’t worry, Mother. I can handle him. These Volcarrens might be survivors, but they aren’t trained soldiers. I’ll be watching him the whole time, and if he tries anything… well I just hope he doesn’t. Really. I don’t want war… but honestly I can’t see much of a way to peace at this point.
Nerves are frayed pretty well right now. Edur and the Volcarren commander had a shouting match about Delen which ended in the Volcarrens leaving and setting up their own camp about fifty wingbeats away. Four of them against three of us. Looks like I’m back on guard duty.
Hopefully we’ll get this scouting mission done soon. I’ve already had enough of Haukeland.
Hope to see you soon.
Day 10, Haukeland
Dear Mother,
I might have been wrong about these Volcarrens. I know, I know. Just hear me out.
I and the Volcarren Delen was with set out this morning. We went northeast, heading inland. The trees were thick, like Ticalla-levels of thick. It was cold and silent, but I was too tense to feel the chill. I was walking in the back, keeping my eye on the Volcarren, waiting for him to try to attack me.
That’s probably why I didn’t hear the animal behind me. One moment, we were walking along under the trees without a soul in sight, the next something grabbed my leg and yanked. I still don’t know what it was, but it was big. It had dark mottled fur, and I swear it had six legs, each with a single long claw which curved out from the tip. And its bite was venomous. I found that out later.
Turns out I’m not as great a soldier as I thought I was, because I went down instantly, scrabbling along the ground as it pulled me away – to its den or nest or something I guess. I’ll never know, because that Volcarren I had been watching all morning came rocketing through the air like an archkyrie and slammed into the animal. It let me go, and the two of them rolled away from me, all flailing arms.
I got up – that’s when I noticed my leg wasn’t working properly – and tried to draw my spear, but I didn’t need to. The Volcarren was destroying that animal.
Don’t get me wrong – whatever this thing was, it was no ambush predator, designed to surprise prey but unable to fight. It was like a Taklay, whipping its arms around, twisting every way, trying to get at the Volcarren. But he didn’t let it. He clung to its back, and just kept knifing it over and over with some bone dagger I hadn’t even known he had. Every time one of those claws got close to him, he’d grab it and twist it. That thing was bigger than he was by at least a head, but he fought it like it had taken his first-born child.
I just watched. My leg wouldn’t move, and I couldn’t stop watching anyway. The way that Volcarren fought… how can I explain it? You know how sometimes Jandar will talk about how the Empire used to be, and he’ll get really excited and go on for hours? It was like that. Watching this Volcarren… it like I was watching something I couldn’t quite see. Something alive. Something primal.
I saw that, and I realized these people weren’t going anywhere. They were going to fight with everything they had to stay free, and if we wanted to get in their way, that war would be a bloody one. I know I’ve said I don’t want a war, but right then… then I really felt it. I didn’t want to fight these people. If the Empire went to war with them, even if the Empire won… it would be destroyed. Jandar would be destroyed.
Eventually the animal stopped fighting, and the Volcarren got off of it. I wasn’t sure what to say – we just sort of stood there for a bit. Finally I asked him why he did that. He just shrugged. “We already lost one Imperial,” he said. “If I returned alone, everyone would assume I had killed you. War might be inevitable.”
I couldn’t help it. It slipped out before I could think. I said, “I thought that’s what you wanted.”
He gave me this look, almost like he’d been thinking the same thing about me. Then he just sheathed his knife and turned away and said, “I’ve had enough of war. I’ve lived and fought and bled in the Volcarren for years, and now… I don’t know if peace is possible, but it won’t come by letting each other die.”
It was like a punch to the gut. Here I was, saying how much I wanted to avoid war, but did I really? I’d been suspicious of the Volcarrens ever since we set out. We all had been. I had expected them to try something, and I bet they had thought we would try something too. How did I ever think peace was going to be achieved like that?
The Volcarren helped me get back to the camp. I realize now I never even asked his name – I’ll do that first thing tomorrow. That night, he explained what had happened to the others, and I backed him up, and then we went our separate ways – him to his camp and me to mine.
Now I’m sitting here under the sail from the ship, watching their campfire through the rain, and I’m wondering: were we wrong about the Volcarrens all along?
The leg looks like it will be fine. I’ll be back soon, Mother.
Day 13, Haukeland
Dear Mother,
Four days is all we could spare for scouting Haukeland. Yiven told us we needed to scout the island and get back as quickly as possible – the longer Utgar was sitting at Helsng waiting for us the worse.
So yesterday we packed up and stowed everything on board the ship – we’d only done one high altitude pass of the entire island, and a cursory exploration of about a tenth of it, but it’s all we could manage. Aside from that animal which attacked me, no one found any great evil or mystical curse on the island.
We burned Deren’s body. Given the attack on me, I think the others are less sure that the Volcarren – Narv is his name – killed him. I’m not sure about anything anymore.
I’d hoped the Volcarrens would decide Haukeland was a good place to settle, but they seemed unwilling to say. They just said they would decide on the way back – Edur was sure they were planning to kill us all on the boat and return to Utgar saying that we had betrayed them. Maybe they were planning that. I don’t know, and we’ll probably never find out.
We got underway by the second hour, all crammed into the boat, Edur in the back under the tarp, steering. I wanted one last look at the island – maybe something I could sketch later – so I ducked under the tarp to look back at it, and I saw Edur there with a Glyph.
A Glyph! And I could see the markings on it too – it was a Glyph of Mitonsoul!
It all made sense. The Empire had never planned to let Utgar just sit on Haukeland with as much water as he wanted. He could have raised an army, kept some water in reserve, and then launched an invasion against the mainland.
So what had they planned instead? They had sent Edur with a Glyph of Mitonsoul, and told him to curse the entire island with it as we left! Then, when the Volcarrens brought back a favorable report, Utgar and his army would step onto the island, and all die within a few days. Clean, efficient, no loose ends. How Imperial.
I probably shouldn’t have said anything. I still wonder if everything would have been better if I had just kept my mouth shut. But I didn’t. The sight of that Glyph of Mitonsoul – I just shouted. I don’t think I even said any words.
Well, Narv came barreling in – maybe he thought one of those creatures had snuck on board – and he saw the Glyph of Mitonsoul straight away. I guess the symbol had been remembered generation through generation, because he seemed to know exactly what it was. He launched himself at Edur and slammed his fist into the Glyph – it smashed instantly. No more cursing.
I ran over and tried to pull Narv off of Edur, but the other Volcarrens were under the tarp by now, and they attacked. Maybe they had seen what Edur had been holding, or maybe they just thought I was attacking Narv. Beler – the other soldier who came with us – came in and started jabbing his spear at the Volcarrens… pretty soon we were all fighting.
It didn’t last terribly long. Edur had been knocked down when Narv smashed the Glyph, I didn’t even have weapons or armor on me, and Beler honestly isn’t that good with a spear. The Volcarrens subdued all three of us without much fuss. Then Narv told them what he had seen.
One of the Volcarrens watched us, using Beler’s spear to keep us sitting on the deck, while the other Volcarrens conferred amongst themselves. I could hardly breathe. Would they think Edur acted alone? Or would they assume that the Empire had ordered him to curse Haukeland?
Who was I kidding? Of course the Emperor ordered Edur to do it. Edur couldn’t come up with a plan like that on his own. Not to mention, a Glyph of Mitonsoul could only come from the secure vaults beneath Elenrul.
Eventually, the Volcarren commander approached us. “We expected such treachery,” he said. “Some of us had begun to hope that the Empire’s offer was real, but we see it now for what it was: a sham, a cover, a plot to assassinate our Valkyrie.
“Well your plan has failed. We will return to Valhalla, and we will tell Utgar all that has transpired here. He will know the Empire for the wingless liars they are.”
I thought we were done. If the Volcarrens returned, war would follow. It was that simple. Utgar wouldn’t be able to trust the Empire, the Empire wouldn’t be able to trust Utgar, Jandar would be called in as tensions rose, and before we knew it, we’d be at war.
And thinking about Jandar… I couldn’t do that to him. I couldn’t let the war happen, let Jandar take command, do again the things he’d have to do. He’d do it too. He’d follow the Emperor’s orders, even if they were to burn Helsng to the ground with the Volcarrens inside. Even if it destroyed him to do it. Because that’s who he was: loyal. Idealistic. The Anund riots had nearly ended him, and this… well, I couldn’t do that to him.
So I used my magic. Ten years of study in dark basements finally paid off, and I was able to summon a bit of flame. Quite a bit, actually.
Maybe I should have used it on the Volcarren guarding us. I could have distracted him, then we could have rushed the others. But I didn’t want to take that risk. We had no weapons, the Volcarrens were clearly better at fighting than we were, and we were outnumbered. Or maybe I was just thinking of Narv pulling that animal off of me. I don’t know. All I knew was that I couldn’t let the Volcarrens reach Valhalla, and that if I fought back, and then failed, they’d still be able to sail the boat all the way back to Utgar.
So I burned the boat.
It went up in several places at the same time – the tarp ignited like it had been soaked in oil, the lower deck started boiling out smoke, and the entire prow turned into an inferno. The Volcarrens didn’t know what was going on, but there was no putting the fire out. They jumped to the air pretty quick, and we were able to follow. They didn’t try to stop us – they were too busy escaping the smoke.
We hadn’t sailed far, so we were able to land back on Haukeland, at the site of our old camps. During the flight, Edur had pulled out some hidden knives he had kept in his boot and passed them to us, and now we stood there, three against four, the Volcarrens with their bone-weapons drawn, one with Beler’s spear leveled at us.
No one wanted to make the first move. The heat from the fire had worn off during the flight, and now it was cold, a wind blowing across the shore. We all just stood there, watching each other, shivering.
Finally Narv stepped forward. “Now what?” he said. “We’re stranded here, our food is gone, and we’ve only explored a small portion of this island.”
“What’s your point?” Edur said.
Narv sheathed his dagger. “My point is that we can either stay here on this beach and kill each other, or we can find cover, and try to survive.”
No one said anything. So eventually, Narv just turned around, shoved past the other Volcarrens, and started making for the trees. “If you want to stay there and die, fine,” he called over his shoulder. “But there are more of those creatures on this island, and unless you all want to become dinner by sundown, we’ll need a shelter, and someone to keep watch. Anyone who wants to live can join me.”
We all watched him go for a moment. Then I dropped my knife at Edur’s feet and followed him. He was right – I had burned our only way off of the island – it was slowly sinking in the distance. Our food had gone down with it. Half of us basically had no weapons. I was injured. The only options were to continue fighting, or try to survive. And, well… who was better at surviving than the Volcarrens? I decided I would take my chances.
That was yesterday, and we’re all still alive so far. We salvaged some sail from the boat, and used it as shelter from the rain. The Volcarrens say they’ll be able to find something to eat – I can trust them there; they were able to survive in a literal desert after all.
I don’t know if this letter will ever find you. I’ll keep it safe, and maybe soon we’ll be able to construct a boat and get back to Valhalla. First though, we need a more defendable shelter. The woods aren’t silent anymore. Every night, I can hear those creatures in the trees, hissing to each other. They know we’re here.
We’ll need to find somewhere safe we can use a base. Perhaps, maybe further inland, there will be something which can help us survive.
With any luck, we may find peace yet.
Your son,
Ullar
