M.I.S.T. Campaign: Downtime 6

The conversation with my parents was…thought-provoking to say the very least.

Snuffles crashing the feast at the end wasn’t even the most surprising part of it.  Though Hel seemed…upset that he chose to enter through the one wall that as still standing after the fight.  Literally through it, as in there are now no walls standing.  So yeah…I don’t think she’s going to be his biggest fan.

I’m also fairly certain that they did not, in fact, secretly betroth me to anyone.  Which is certainly something of a relief.  Though Hel did rather specifically deny having a list of “several fascinating potentials lined up for me to glance over at my whim to see if alliances could be brokered.”  Not that she’d tell me who any of them were, of course.

But the part that truly caught me off guard came earlier.  Both my parents need heirs.  And though I’m not either of their only, or eldest, child I am the only one born of two Death Gods.  Which, as Vayu put it, gives me the unique ability to resonate as the ruler of an Underworld someday.  And that’s what they both need in an heir.  Of course, I can’t exactly inherit both of their Underworlds.  And it might seem like which one I’ll be in line for is set in stone due to my ichor marking me as one of the Æsir.

But here’s the kicker.

A Scion can choose to align himself with whatever Pantheon he chooses upon his or her Apotheosis.

That’s the revelation that really blindsided me.

There’s more to it than just picking and choosing, of course.  But since both Yazata and Æsir ichor runs through me I can switch between the two of those relatively easily.  Which means that I’m going to have to make a choice, perhaps the most important one I’ll ever make.  The Yazata or the Æsir.  Helheim or Mord Keshvar.  The Pantheon that holds me in contempt because of my blood or the one that I’ve done almost nothing but clash with so far.

Everything…just seems to grow ever more complicated...

M.I.S.T. Campaign: Session 40

I’ve grown tougher as well since my visitation, gaining endurance as well as resilience.  I can go months without food, rest, or water.  I can go almost an entire day between breaths with no problem at all.  And Vayu can still snatch the breath of life from my lungs as easily as he could the mortal man he used to demonstrate his importance so long ago.  It was a display of power every bit as impressive, albeit not so visually striking, as what I witnessed between him and Njord those months ago.

Not that it was targeted at me, per se.  It appeared to be an indiscriminate effect; hitting everyone present, including Kur.  But likely due either to Vayu’s influence or Hel’s, we appeared to recover from it faster than the Titan.  Basically it was done to give Andrew and me a window of opportunity.  So we seized it, of course.  He was born aloft on owl’s wings, as I was on the winds themselves, and we began to wrap Kur in Gleipnir’s bonds.

The first loop was uneventful, relatively speaking that is.  Between that and the second Claire caused a giant skeleton Kur had summoned to grapple with the serpent.  Which, all told, made the flying a little bit trickier but I was still able to manage it well enough.  But Kur did manage to catch Andrew with a length of its coils.  And no matter how much it may have still been weakened by Vayu’s earlier show of power, or restricted by Gleipnir, that was a blow that was going to hurt.

He did manage to skin-shed away from the blow.  Which, while a good thing since it might well have saved his life, also meant that the end of Gleipnir he had been holding was falling freely to the ground below.  Thankfully Cindy managed to catch it.  And Lexi managed to distract Kur.  Both of which, in turn, allowed me to finish wrapping Kur in another loop.  That was a total of three which, theoretically, is enough to hold the beast securely.  At which point Andrew swopped back down to complete the binding, and that particular physical form of Kur dissolved into dust.  Then my Mother’s hall was peaceful once more, albeit in sore need of repairs.

Hel expressed her gratitude by...enhancing our divine proclivities, I guess.  In my case, specifically, I could feel how she helped settle the steadfast might of the earth and howling fury of the storms deeper into my bones.  Then Vayu sucked the life out of us all again, briefly, before slamming it right back in.  An act that finished the process I suspect binding the Titan Avatar started.  Blood thinned again, making way for the thickening of our ichor.  Another step along the path to godhood.

After that we had a feast before departing back to Midgard.  I had a…surprising conversation with my parents near the end of it.  It’s certainly one that’ll give me a lot to think about.  But that’s an entry for another time.

M.I.S.T. Campaign: Session 39

I knew Kur was going to be an incredibly dangerous opponent from the moment it ripped the roof off of my Mother’s hall.  You don’t attack two full-fledged gods, in the heart of one of their domains no less, if a ragtag group of demigods can stand against you.  Which is why it didn’t surprise me in the least that Cindy’s axe glanced off its scales without any discernible effect.  Hell, the bigger surprise was that she was even able to connect in the first place.

And my Father may lack social graces, but he doesn’t hesitate to throw himself straight into the thick of things when danger arises.  Perhaps that’s where I get it from.  In any event, Kur certainly didn’t seem to expect that Vayu would be able to stop it cold like he did.  Of course, a Titan Avatar of Death is never completely without allies in the Underworld.  In Helheim, though, Mother was able to prevent us from being overwhelmed by the reanimated tide.

In the end they were just a distraction, albeit a potentially dangerous one.  There’s only so much that can be done against an Avatar of Death while within the underworld; so Vayu wouldn’t be able to hold Kur back forever, probably not even for long.

Gleipnir, however, could.  Just don’t ask me how my Mother got her hands on a length of it.  But that was the plan.  Cindy, Claire, Ken, and Mom had all the zombies Kur’s throwing off.  Vayu physically restrained the beast while Lexi distracted it.  Meanwhile, I’d help Andrew to bind it with Gleipnir.

Sounds like the makings of quite a story, doesn’t it?

M.I.S.T. Campaign: Session 38

You don’t have to get too far into Helheim itself before you come to a bridge, which is supposed to have a guardian standing watch over it.  But she wasn’t there when we arrived, at least not alive.  Claire found her under the bridge, and it didn’t take my affinity with death to tell that she’d died from some nasty-looking claw wounds decorating her torso.  It did take my affinity with it to figure out what happened.  Apparently she’d been killed by “Kur.”  And it happened “before the waters flowed again.”  So there’s been Sumerian interference in my Mother’s realm dating back roughly three weeks or more.

We also learned from the corpse that so long as we stuck to the paths neither “the Heir of Helheim” nor those I gave protection to would meet any danger on the way to my mother’s halls.  It was the perfect opportunity to finally Vigil Brand everybody without having to worry about Claire bitching about it or Cindy having some sort of feminism-based complaint on the matter.  So now I’ve got a brand on all five of them, and Rufus.

And it felt kind of weird being referred to as Helheim’s heir.  I guess…the place has just become so synonymous with her that it’s hard to even imagine anyone else possibly being in charge of it.  I’d never really thought that I’d be first in the line of succession either.  Though I guess that’s not necessarily too surprising.

But moving on from the bridge we reached my mother’s hall without any further incident.  And once we were there…we found my Father, the biological one, pounding on my Mother’s bedroom door and demanding entrance.  Thankfully things didn’t immediately devolve into a violent clusterfuck.  They just…remained a regular one.  Hel and Vayu were fighting, again.  Apparently they’ve been doing so practically all my life; about how I’d grow up, when I’d be visited, what I’d inherit, who I’d marry, etc.

I sure hope I’m not engaged to some woman I’ve never heard of.

Anyway…Lexi was really the only other member of the band to involve themselves too much in the conversation/argument, which is fine.  And she turned on the charm while doing so, of course.  Which lead to Vayu declaring that she’d be his second wife.  Which, I know, is just going to lead to a complete PITA one way or another.  But at least Cindy didn’t explode into any feminist diatribes throughout the entire thing.  Let’s just say that Vayu isn’t the most progressive-minded person when it comes to women’s rights, nor is he all that subtle about expressing his views on the matter.

He did forgive me for the…issues that arose during my visitation, at least.  Though he said it was because Hel should’ve informed me of my parentage so it’s not like he’s taking any of the blame onto himself.  But it’s a start, at least, and I can presumably stop worrying about the possibility of him trying to hunt me down and kill me.  He also mentioned that part of his motivation, at least, was trying to make sure I never got sucked into Ragnarok in the first place.  In other words it seems like he’s had concerns for my well-being.  So there’s hope that bridges can be rebuilt, I suppose.  But it’ll undoubtedly be a very long, very trying process.

Also one that would have to wait until later.  Since a giant serpent, whom I’m assuming is Kur, tore the roof off of the hall.  And that’s when things did devolve into a violent clusterfuck.

M.I.S.T. Campaign: Session 37

All told the dam was about six miles deep.  Andrew directed Cindy where the structures that anchored the spell woven into it were, she promptly destroyed them, while Claire and Ken held off the undead Svartalfar.  Meanwhile I tore a hole six miles straight down to the water beneath.  It took me about four hours, which I thought was pretty good time.  And once the hole was made the water pressure was able to finish the job we’d all started, and tear straight through the dam.  On a related note…riding a six-mile geyser of water to the surface puts any ride at any waterpark to shame.

Once that was done we made our way back to the Norns we’d met, briefly.  They were looking a lot better; younger, more vital.  In destroying the dam we’d also replenished their well.  And it was apparent that it had rejuvenated them.  And Yggsdragsil as well.

They also warned us that, though we’d soon find ourselves in Niffleheim, it’d take us exactly nine days to reach Helheim itself no matter how slowly or quickly we travel.  So long as we actually travel, I imagine.  So it was seven down to the well, nine from the well to Helheim, when I asked Loki how long it takes to reach Helheim from Midgard via Yggsdragsil the answer is apparently sixteen days.  Or twenty-four, if you make the detour we did.

Now here’s hoping that Niddhog’ll be in a friendly mood when we reach him, or at the very least grateful to us for freeing Graback.

M.I.S.T. Campaign: Session 36

So according the Norns the problem arising from us preventing Ragnarok is that, well, apocalypses like that need to happen at somewhat regular intervals.  Apparently they’re roughly the equivalent of wildfires, periodically everything needs to be burned to replenish existence and avoid stagnation.  To offer support of their statement they pointed out that although the winter part of Fimbulwinter wasn’t happening…humanity seemed to be making good progress towards the whole brother killing brother part of it.  The Dodekatheon aren’t exactly helping very much in that regard.

Thankfully, however, they say it doesn’t have to be Ragnarok.  Any mythic end of the world scenario will work, apparently.  My gut reaction is to try to steer things towards the Teotl end of the world myths.  The Black Tezcatlipoca’s already been more or less responsible for the end of the reign of every sun save himself; perhaps he’d be willing to help end another one.

But obviously that whole scenario’s something we’re going to have to put quite a bit more thought into.  For now we still need to get down to Helheim.  Speaking of; the lack of sleep seemed to be getting to some of the other members of the band.  Apparently divine fortitude doesn’t help you go without it quite as well on Yggsdragsil as it does in Midgard.  And we never really had an opportunity to rest all that much on the way down.

So when they offered to watch over us so we could get a night of sleep if we’d check out something for them we agreed.  They were concerned that the Well of Hvergelmir.  It’s run dry, which means both that Yggsdragsil lacks the water it needs and that the rivers of Midgard will run dry.  Since they can’t go to check it they asked us to.  It’ll add time to our journey, sure, but it’s also a chance to rest.  And it’s clear that some of the members of the band need it badly.

The well in question is fifteen miles across and at least eight deep, all but three of which are blocked by an enormous dam being constructed by an army of somewhere around two hundred undead Svartalfar.  So…hopefully we can manage to punch a hole through it before the whole army of them realizes that we’re there.