Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

The Ritual	By : Svb84 Category: +A through F > Assassin's Creed Views: 795 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own assassins creed valhalla and make no money from this fiction.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
Lyja felt numb as she stared into the dark. Or were her eyes still closed? She had lost the ability to tell. Lying in the dirt and filth on the cell floor she was almost delirious from thirst and hunger. Not a soul had opened the door or walked the passage outside of her cell for two days, they had forgotten her as the battle raged outside the walls of the fortress. It was perhaps a mercy after how they had murdered Halla. The Huldre was gone too, she felt nothing. She was completely alone. Hugging her knees to her chest she sang quietly to herself, a song Una would sing to her when she was a child and she couldn’t sleep. Thoughts of Ivarr out there on the battlefield, fighting to get to her before she was killed consumed her at times as she willed him to appear at the cell door. She had wasted far too much time and now they had no more, she would die before he got to her and he would carry her corpse out from this place and deliver her to her Sisters, Inga and Asdis. Their bond was stronger than blood. Casting her mind back to her carefree years, where she would run wild in the forests with her Sisters, climbing trees and swimming in the tamer rivers. Making crowns out of wild flowers and dancing through the summer grass as the sun warmed their skin. It made her chest ache painfully as she thought of her loved ones. Almost imperceptibly a little tickle at the edge of her thoughts was making itself known. The Huldre came closer, curiosity drawing her out of her sulk and engrossing her in Lyja’s memories. When Lyja finished her song it began to slink back into the depths “Please don’t leave me” she begged in a weak voice “I’m scared to die alone”. Lemmikke hovered as if uncertain. Until Lyja began to sing again, coaxing her back gently, she came closer than she ever had before. The Huldre pushed on her will asking for permission. Offering her aid. Lyja accepted gratefully. A cold tingle filled her mind, running down her spine and expanding into her body, invigorating her, sharing its strength and power. She felt all her hurts melt away to be replaced with a lightness of spirit she had never felt before. Lyja walked to the centre of her cell, her eyes glowed with a misty green light as her feet left the floor, letting the meagre sunlight from the vent touch her face. Lyja kept the grief and helplessness of her incarceration in the forefront of her mind as she channelled her spell, using her rage to power it. She forced her will upon the stone above, sending massive pulses of power up and into the thick stone walls, creating a shockwave that rippled through the structure before it exploded.

Every soldier and warrior on the field stopped their fighting as the wall came down. It sent showers of rocks and gravel over the battle, some big enough to kill an unlucky few. When the dust had cleared they saw Lyja step out of the rubble, her dress in tatters, covered in blood and dirt. Her tangled hair streamed behind her in the breeze as her usually kind eyes gleamed green with malevolent fury. Ivarr stared at her, he had never been so relieved in his life as he watched her walk through the battlefield sending roots through the ground, impaling all the Saxons in her way. Suddenly the battlefield came back to life as horns were blown and the Drengir shouted their battle cries. Ivarr came to his senses and fought to get to her. Slaying all in his path until he stood beside her defending her flank as the Saxons tried to get to her. The Danes swarmed over the wall and into the fortress hacking and stabbing everything that stood in their way. Everything in him wanted to follow, to fight alongside them but he couldn’t leave her, not again. He would never forgive himself for letting them take her. He sank his axe into the head of a soldier running at Lyja with his sword raised. He used the momentum to embed his second in another before throwing it into an archer twenty yards ahead. He rolled past her picking up another axe from a fallen warrior burying it in a Saxon without missing a beat. Lyja waved her arms sending crashing ripples through the dirt, the soldiers flew back. The dirt muffled their screams as they were dragged beneath, buried alive. She kept going until she ran out of power and the spirit retreated to the recesses of her consciousness. Lyja stumbled as the strength left her and her malnourished body became weak and uncoordinated. Lyja walked in a daze as Ivarr took out the nearest soldiers before scooping her up and carrying her to safety, throwing her over a horse and taking her to the edge of the battlefield. Asdis saw him riding into camp first, running towards him as she called for Inga. Ivarr dismounted and gently took Lyja in his arms “I’ve got you Kanin, you're safe now” he said looking down on her gaunt face. He passed her carefully to Asdis before riding back into the fray.

Lyja didn’t speak as her Sisters hugged and kissed and cried over her. They left their duties to the other Volur as they carried Lyja into an empty tent, placing her down gently onto a pallet bed. She lay there in a daze as Asdis and Inga stripped her down, discarding her ruined dress and sending a Thrall for buckets of hot water. Together they washed away the dirt and filth from her skin, Inga cleaned the blood away from Lyja’s wounds carefully, gasping softly in surprise as she found no injuries beneath the blood, she looked to Asdis with raised eyebrows showing her what she had found. Asdis shrugged and shook her head silently, not quite sure how to react. When Lyja was clean and dressed in a borrowed shift, Inga held a cup to her lips, a steaming concoction of herbs that would bring on Lyja’s blood. “Better to be safe than sorry” she thought. “Here Lyja” she said gently “Drink this for me”. The familiar smell of the potion stirred something in Lyja, bringing her back to herself as she swallowed the bitter brew. Lyja lifted her head, looking into Inga’s eyes as if she were only just seeing her. She turned,seeing Asdis. A confused look briefly appeared on her face “Am I home?” She asked as her eyes began to tear up. Asdis nodded and pulled Lyja into her arms, “I don’t know where Una is” Lyja said into her shoulder. Asdis took a deep shuddering breath before she told Lyja what had befallen Una. Lyja squeezed Asdis all the tighter as the waves of grief pulled them down together. Inga wrapped her arms around them both, crying into their hair as she tried to comfort them.

King Aella was dragged into the courtyard of his castle through a crowd of Dane warriors who jeered and spat and threw all manner of garbage and filth as he was taken to be judged by the Sons of King Ragnar. There was only ever one outcome for the cowardly King; Blood Eagle. Aella was thrown at the feet of the Sons of Ragnar. He rolled across the floor coming to a stop at Halfdans feet. The towering Dane looked down upon the sprawling, pathetic Saxon, who was King of these lands just a day ago and felt nothing but disgust as he watched this “proud king” shake like a shitting dog before him. There was no more posturing from the castle walls for this pig, now it was time to pay for his transgressions. Ubba gave Aella a shove with his foot pushing the bacraut back down to the floor as he tried to sit up, begging like a dog for his life. Halfdan nodded to Ivarr, it was time to begin. Ivarr dragged Aella back by his scruff “Didn’t I tell you I was going to hurt you before you died, everything you feel from now on is because you touched my woman” he said, throwing the former King to the floor. Ivarr knew his work well and set to with enthusiasm. Ripping into Aellas back with his dagger, using his hands to pry apart the flesh, exposing the Kings ribs. Aella screamed and howled in agony, losing control of his bowels and bladder as he was brutally mutilated. The warriors watched on in silence. Whose god would take this Ergi now? He had made enough noise to wake the dead. Ivarr worked quickly, wanting Aella to feel every pain he could inflict, he began to snap the ribs one by one as Aellas screams turned to groans and gurgles. He went silent before Ivarr could pull out his lungs. When he had finished Ivarr stepped back to admire his work, smiling with pride as his brothers looked on. They dragged Aella’s lifeless body to a frame and tied him to it, raising him up on display for all to see.

There were nights of feasting ahead after their mighty victory over the Saxons but Ivarr was by Lyja‘s side. He lay on the pallet next to her as she rested, listening to the rain hit the waxed canvas of the tent. She lay snuggled up to his naked chest, running her fingers through his chest hair. “I thought I’d lost you,” he said quietly “I had thoughts of carrying you out of that place in my arms, the life gone from your body”. Lyja squeezed her eyes shut and held him tightly “You mean more to me than I could ever imagine” Lyja let out a trembling breath against his skin before kissing it softly. Ivarr dug around in his belt, pulling out a golden chain, letting it dangle over Lyjas face “How did you find it?” She said as she sat up far too quickly, making her head spin. “It was with your stick” he smiled as she took it from him and placed it around her neck “You found the stave too? I thought they had been stolen” she said as she gazed at the pendant. She leaned over, holding her hair away as she kissed him “Mmm thank you” she said,with her lips against his. “I love you”. Ivarr chuckled quietly, happy to see her happy. “I love you too, Kanin”.

Lyja rode with Ivarr on their return to what was now Jorvik, his arm tightly wrapped around her as they made their way home. Though she refused to let him carry her to their room. Preferring to keep her dignity as Una had done as she walked up the palace steps, leaning on her stave in her weakened state. She nodded as she walked through the halls at the people that stopped to bow in respect, eventually reaching their rooms feeling a little faint. She laid down on the bed with a relieved sigh, feeling exhausted after their long ride. Ivarr sat beside her, he leaned down kissing her on the forehead “Get some rest, Lille Kanin” he said as he stroked her hair “I’ve got some business that I need to tend to, I’ll be back later”.Lyja smiled “Don’t be too long” she said clutching his hauberk gently “I’ve missed you”. Ivarr smirked “You sure you’re feeling up to it?” Lyja nodded, pulling him in for another kiss before he left. Sighing contentedly as she stretched, an intrusive voice cut through her peace “So when are you going to tell him you’re leaving?” Lemmikke said casually. “It’s not that simple” Lyja answered sadly “I have to do it carefully”. Lemmikke scoffed “You’re sparing no one's feelings but your own”. “Maybe but I have to leave the right way. I can't just disappear into the night”. She felt Lemmikke slinking around “Just don’t leave it too long”. Lyja sighed “I have funerals to tend to, then there’s Asdis and Inga. It’s not just that I don’t want to tell him. I have responsibility now, people will look to me for guidance”. Lemmikke sighed “All irrelevant, your responsibility is to Urðr and I. She set us a task!”. “Irrelevant? I will leave when my business is done and not before. How dare you tell me grieving my loved ones is irrelevant!”. Lemmikke silently retreated back to the fringes of Lyja’s consciousness, this was a fight she could not win. If the girl took much longer than needed Lemmikke was going to have to take matters into her own paws.

Halla and Una’s funeral had been weeks in the making. Luckily the winter snows had helped preserve their bodies. There was also King Ragnars remains to tend to, his bones had been recovered from Aellas snakepit where he had been left to the elements. Lyja was rushed off her feet organising the Volur and sending orders to the army quartermaster and messages to the settlements letting the people know of their Kings funeral and of the Volur Elders who were to be interred in the foundations of the new temple. More and more people arrived every day, soon the city was full to bursting and camps began to sprout around the outskirts. Only the most important of the Jarls would attend the actual ceremonies but that fact would not get in the way of a good send off. The funeral of Una and Halla came quickly. Asdis, Inga and Lyja sat in vigil the night before, praying over their anointed bodies. Most of the night was spent talking quietly together, sharing their memories as they wept sometimes happy tears as they recalled their younger days in the sisterhood. “I need to speak with you about something” Lyja began,her voice shaking “I’m leaving England, I must go to Uppsala to complete my training”. Asdis looked at Inga “We know”. Lyja’s face was a picture “You know?” She repeated, not quite understanding “You were talking in your sleep when Ivarr brought you to us, chatting away to yourself about how you didn’t want to go but you managed to talk yourself around in the end” Inga said as Lyja’s mouth hung open “We’re going with you” Asdis stated, brooking no argument. Lyja sat back in her chair, speechless. She smiled as she looked between them “Alright” she said, happy that she was not having to do this alone. “I haven’t told Ivarr yet” she confessed “I haven’t found the right time”. “Well it won’t come from us, will it Asdis?” Inga nudged her lover, raising her eyebrows. “No, I won’t tell the Ratman” she answered grudgingly.

Lyja walked at the head of the procession in full ceremonial regalia, leading the way for her departed Sisters who followed behind in a cart laden with flowers and gifts for their everlasting afterlife in Freyja’s hall. The four goats that pulled their bier were to be sacrificed both for them and to purify the ground the new temple would stand upon. The temple was to be dedicated to Forseti as agreed with the Ragnarssons, Aella’s death had been a long time coming and well deserved. The people that lined Jorviks streets threw flowers beneath the wheels of the cart as it made its way to an area in the south,where the burial pit had been dug. Not for the first time in her life was Lyja thankful for her veil as she tried to remain stoic throughout the ceremony, almost crumbling as she watched the cart being lowered into the grave. Tears pricked her eyes as the Volur prayed around the pit, threatening to ruin her face paint. The sacrifices were made and the ground blessed as the pit was filled. The mourners slowly filtered away to the feast, leaving Lyja, Asdis and Inga holding hands as they said goodbye to their parents for the second time in their lives.

The feast dragged on interminably, Lyja had few words for the Jarls that paid their respects, another lesson from Una she realised, “Keep them moving” she smiled at the memory. Once the long line of respectful well wishers had come to an end Lyja stood addressing the Hall. Thanking them for attending and for their donations to the new temple before excusing herself from the feast to the surprise of her Sisters and Ivarr as they watched her leave. Looking at each other in confusion, Ivarr rose and followed her to their bedroom, catching the door before she closed it. “Kanin?” He followed her into the room and watched her in silence as he gave his woman some room to think. Lyja removed her headdress and veil, placing them carefully on the stand, arranging the ribbons and feathers with reverence. Ivarr walked to the bed and sat down “Come, sit” he said patting the bed beside him “You’ve had a difficult day”. Lyja removed her robes, letting them drop to the floor and walked over to Ivarr, straddling his thighs. “This is not what I expected but alright” he joked. “Take me” Lyja said as she gazed at him unnervingly. “What, now? With all that on your face?”. “Yes, now!” Lyja said, pushing him down on the bed in frustration. “Can we talk about this?” Ivarr said as he tried to stop her unbuckling his belt. He held her wrists firmly “What has gotten into you woman?”. Lyja broke down “I Have had a difficult day” she sobbed, heaving her naked breasts emotionally as Ivarr stared at her, unsure of what to do with her in this hysterical state. Eventually he decided to roll her onto the bed and put a blanket over her. Ivarr got up, fetching her a damp cloth for her face and cleaning off the paint with gentle dabs. “I don’t want to go” she whispered sadly “You don’t have to, are you drunk?” Ivarr smirked. “A little bit” she admitted, closing her eyes and letting him finish cleaning her up. “I love you so much” she said, snorting as she began to cry again. Ivarr sniggered “I love you too”. Lyja clutched his wrist, holding it still “I have to go to Uppsala” she watched his face carefully “To complete my training”. Ivarr was quiet as he digested her words, his eyes searching her face for the jest. “I’m so sorry” Lyja said as the tears fell from her reddened eyes. Ivarr pushed himself away from her, as if more distance would lessen the hurt. “Why? Why do you have to go, there is no Volva in England higher than you? You don’t “have” to do anything!” He said, his anger bubbling below the surface. “I don’t have a choice” Lyja passed her palm across her face, this was going badly. “You could stay if you wanted to”. Lyja shook her head sadly “I had a vision, Urðr came to me and told me what I must do. Dark times are coming for the Volur and I must be at my full strength if Seidr is to survive in Midgard” Ivarr bit his tongue, shaking his head in disbelief. Lyja crawled over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder gently “Ivarr…?” she pleaded as he stood wrenching his shoulder from her touch, he stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.
- 10
- 11
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Ritual