S C O T L A N Dfor Mountain Day

S C O T L A N D for Mountain Day

by filopay

ARN ARMUNDSON

sixteen | he/him | Human | Nord

Oh I'm not scared mother Can't you hear he calls my name Oh boy, the sky's not speaking And the wind will never learn your name Oh no you're wrong mother And the wind and I, I think we'll run away

— Finnegan Tui

[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] ~Hatred

"I know it's not ideal." 

She says that every time you both set up the small little camp built out of twigs and leaves somewhere in the woods. As if it would change the situation, make it more bearable.

"I still remember the first blanket I made you." Her smile was weak, but her eyes glistened with fondness, as she tried to cushion the floor beneath your shelter, "You were so small back then, it swallowed you whole, but eventually you grew into it. You could never fall asleep without it." 

Her smile dropped then, as if realising that everything you have ever owned, every story behind it, was lost.

"I remember." Perhaps a small condolence, but for a moment her strained smile returned.

She laid out her coat on the wet wooden floor beneath the makeshift shelter, she never asked you to take off yours for the both of you to lie in. You noticed everything she had ever done, she did for you. Even if it meant, leaving everything behind. She never hesitated.

Sometimes you wonder if she regrets her decision. If she regrets having you. When will she realise that you are a mere burden to her?

"That should do it. You go in first, munchkin." 

"Where are you going?" She always leaves to make sure you are both safe. You know she barely sleeps to keep an eye on you too, you can see it in the shadows beneath her eyes. 

So far she always returned to you, you always found each other even amidst the chaos, but what if she can't find you? What if one time, she does not return?

"Don't worry." She smiles and draws a warm hand over your cheek, as if sensing your worries, "Make yourself comfortable. It won't be like this forever. Soon we'll be back in a cozy and warm bed, behind the safety of the walls and there will be no need to run anymore. I promise."

"When?" You ask despite knowing the answer.

"When we manage to have you do the proper ritual. When the God of Mountains will accept you."

"I have to perform a great hunt for that. All I do is hide."

"All when the time is right. Sleep now. I will be back shortly."

That too was something you have heard her say a lot since you both had been forced to flee into the woods. You're no longer certain that there will ever be a right time. How can you prove yourself, when she won't let you?

“You always pretend like nothing is wrong, but they took our home from us and now want to kill us. You don’t even hate them for it. Like we deserved what happened.” You scoff, not understanding how she can remain so positive despite it all not being your fault.

She halts for a moment, the smile from before is replaced with worry. “Don’t- Arn, look at me.” You begrudgingly tilt your head to meet her gaze, “We did not deserve any of it, Fate was playing against us. The people had chosen, they are afraid and think that the new ways are giving them more security, but it's not the system that is wrong. Not only.”

“So you do hate the scholar too.” 

“It’s okay to be angry, but don’t let your heart darken from it. They won, fair and just. I agreed to the rules and we would be a bad loser if we do not respect their win. So, no, I do not hate them for it. I think it was the right time for a change.”

“Why would the people like them better than us? We have been ruling over the North for generations. The scholar just arrived a few weeks prior to my coronation. It is just not fair.”

“I know the timing makes it look even worse.” She says with a tired sigh and you realise only now, that she must have been trying to appear strong for you, hiding her own frustration well, “I can’t promise you that it will all get back to how it was, that we will reclaim the throne, I think our time is over, but I can promise you, that we will no longer need to hide. That we do not need to be afraid for our lives and hide in the trees. You will sleep in safety. I will promise you that.”

You drop your head with a heavy heart. “I still hate them.” They took your big day from you, they ruined it all. How can she so easily forgive?

She hums, a sad look in her eyes. “It is your right to do so. Yet, you should try to sleep. We will discuss our options tomorrow.”

You watch as she gets up with alert eyes before disappearing into the darkness to lead any pursuers astray. She didn't even take her coat with her.

You try to do as she said. You try to make yourself comfortable, but her absence and the fear riddled with the growing hatred within your heart was making it difficult. If only you could do something to help. Make a difference yourself. But you couldn’t. You were nothing but a burden to her and powerless in a world that was ruled by power. You were only a child in the eyes of the adults around you. How can you change that?

You close your eyes, try to quiet the voices in your head. That the coat was smelling of her sweet and calm scent did help a little and soon you found yourself slowly drifting off. Afterall, it had never been about the blanket she had made for you, it was about having something of your mother close.

Even if she herself, seldom was.

[ 967 words ]

Next Part ➜

ELORA ESKILDOTTIR

thirty looking | she/her | 153 cm | Elf | Nord

[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]

Many times you were spared, oh, I did my best Every night you would call for me with your steps I was trying to sleep I was trying to sleep for you Under perfection I woke As you protected your home Oh, I just kept getting stronger I did my best to control The growing unrest in my soul — Wolfie's Just Fine

Prompt from:@oc-tober2023 [ I am not following the same order ]

CW: Drug use

~ Flashback

In a dusty corner, the sparse light barely makes the woman visible, buried beneath scrolls and books.

She slams another book closed, frustration eating at her every bone, while dark circles beneath her eyes seem to grow by the hour.

"Another dead end." She lets herself fall back into the chair, eying the scattered information in front of her. Nothing of value was found.

If only she would find an answer to her many questions, find a good lead to know how to continue. When frustration makes its way through, she starts to doubt her own decision. She chose this very topic of research, but perhaps it was never meant to be brought into the light. An answer never to be found.

She lifts her hand, pushing her sleeve up to reveal blackened veins running down towards her hand. It had been there ever since she was a child, she had read in the many books, that it was supposed to grow until it covers the whole of her body, but it had never changed. Not for her.

If only she could remember that day she got the black veins - but it was so long gone and she had been but a child.

Then by chance, her eyes landed on a detailed illustration in a book to her right. A mushroom, dried, used to clear one's mind. If she couldn't remember, perhaps that could force her memories.

"I need something very specific." Elora interrupted the cook. Her red flaming hair as passionate as her request.

"Don't you always." The cook didn't even look up from her work,"Found something interesting in your books?"

"It's research. Everything has the potential to be interesting, but only worth the goddesses' time, until I tested and studied it."

"What you need?"

"Dried mushrooms."

The cook lifted a skeptical eyebrow. "Just any mushroom or a specific one?"

"The one that will give me answers about my own mind." The woman explains, dark circles beneath her eyes.

"By the gods, you better be careful with stuff like that. It can smoke your brains out, I tell you." Then the cook sighed, "There is no stopping you, however. I know what you need. Follow my instructions and you might be fine."

"I'll take the risk."

"You Heralds are crazy."

The smoke made her face heat up, cold sweat trickling down her neck as slowly her mind started to swim.

She didn't notice it kicking in, or so she thought, but as she started to stand up, everything was spinning and she was smiling.

"How could you do this to us!"

She knew that voice.

"You only ever think about yourself, so selfish and unruly. Is it my fault you turned out to be such an ungrateful daughter?!"

She remembers that memory. It was the fifth pursuer her mother had send after her and Elora had refused his advances bluntly so. Again.

"I will miss you, Élie'rel." 

Her sister. She could never forget her voice.

"Don't ever change, no matter what anyone says. You will find your answers and surprise everyone. I am proud of you."

It was the last time she had seen her, had it already been too long to remember? 

She shook her head. Focus. She was here for answers, not to feel guilty.

Back then Eyrier Lay, the white Valley, was prosperous and lively. The grand elven city En'ayn Mun stood proud and beautiful, the eye piece of the whole area. Lush forests and fields covered the valley. It were merry times.

She remembers the smell of the baked goods sold in the streets, the softness of her bedsheets, the warm sun on her skin when she drank her favourite tea atop the balconies.

She could feel it now. Her mother was smiling at her, her face younger, carefree. Elora can't remember a time her mother had ever smiled in her life. It was a foreign sight.

Everything around her was bright, she couldn't make out the details, but she felt her mother take her hand, they started walking down a copple stone street. Then suddenly, the light vanished, it was suddenly utter cold, the sky was black and she thought that black snowflakes were falling from the sky. Ash?

Then screams, her mother grabbed her small frame, hefted her up into her arms. Elora didn't see them coming, but she knew they were there.

Her mother only stopped when they reached their home. She locked the door, before asking Elora questions, she couldn't make out anymore. Perhaps even back then, she didn't understand them.

Then suddenly her mother was ripped from her view, she looked around, but her house was foggy, she couldn't clearly see. It was like a dream, no a nightmare.

"Mother!" She shouted, her small heart beating wildly in her chest. Then something gripped her wrist, tightly, she cried out by the pain, it was painfully cold, it was freezing her arm solid.

Then it let go and everything went dark, as she sunk to the ground of the library.

AEGON

[ 1 ] [ 2 ]

~ Weapon

Aegon had never been a fighter but he can respect a good made weapon if he sees one. Perhaps it was that or sheer curiosity that brought him down towards the lower district where it was said, the best blacksmith of all Skaeld resided.

Surprising enough, the people still looked up to stare at him, but that could also be because of his well-made clothes Elora had provided for him. And as quickly as they had looked up, they were looking elsewhere again.

He was starting to like it down here. Why does everyone always say to avoid this place? The market was held down here too. Everyone seemed to enjoy that.

Then suddenly someone bumped into him, due to his tall frame it barely made him stumble, but the moment he wanted to see if the person was alright, they already vanished into the next alley.

They seem very hurried down here. He thought.

"The weapon you described is expensive. I usually only add embellishments for the crown."

"Not a problem. That is why I brought…" it wasn't there, he was sure he put his purse right inside his inner vest pocket, but it was empty. Just in case, he checked the other side but there was also nothing to be found. 

Looking a bit embarasses he met the blacksmiths solemn face. "I must have dropped it. I am sure I put it in here."

"Robbed." He said, snifling once, before continuing hammering on his anvil.

"What?!" Aegon had to shout over the loud noise the man was making.

"You were most likely robbed. Happens." They shrug like its the most common occurance.

"Oh, I didn't notice." Then he remembers the person running into him, it must have happened then. He let his shoulders hang, that were all the earnings he has gotten from Elora. Now it was all gone. 

"I'm afraid I have to come back another time for my request. Is there anything you can tell me to prevent it from happening again?"

The man mumbles something under his breath, before meeting Aegons gaze beneath bushy eyebrows. "Eyes sharp. Weapon at the ready. You're tall also. Keep valuable things high up where they can't easily reach."

That makes sense. "Thank you. You are a very kind soul, sir. I shall recommend you to my friends. Then I will come back to pay you for your good services."

The man just huffs as an answer. Not much a conversationalist, but Aegon didn't mind that.

"I heard there are other things that one can do to entertain oneself here. Any suggestions?"

The man hummed and Aegon understood it as the sign for the man thinking.

"My son likes to go to the market often. Helps them out. Othertimes he visits the dwarven tavern at the very outskirts of the district. Its cheap. But I wouldn't recommend you going there. They eat you alive."

Aegon blinks at the vivid image the man was painting for him. "Then if I were to go there would your previous advise apply to it too?"

"Absolutley not!"

Aegon raised both eyebrows surprised about the mans sudden outburst.

"If you show up with a weapon into the dwarven district, you better know how to use it. Because you will need to use it."

"Oh." Aegon scatches his chin in thought, "You said your son would go there often. What would he say about inviting a few other people over."

The mans steely gaze suddenly turned ten times more darker, if that were even possible and Aegon shivered underneath it.

"Listen here, rich boy." He lifted the smeltering hot iron and Aegon takes a careful step back, "You came here to make business with me. Don't ever drag my boy into your affairs, treat me all you like, but leave him out of it."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect you. I will drop it, never going to mention it again."

The man huffs again, seemingly a common way of dismissing Aegons words.

"Why do you want to go anyway? Don't you have enough stuff up at your own fancy district?"

"Well, a dwarven tavern sounds like a good time."

"Not if it costs your life."

"Then, do you know where I could possibly learn to wield that weapon you are going to craft for me?" Aegon smiles, hoping to not having bothered the man too much yet. He was just the only one willing to talk to him down here.

"Once you pay me. I ain't working for free."

"Yes, of course." Aegon nods.

"Well, then." He seems to be thinking, "The guards around the walls are still recruiting. They can teach you."

Aegon frowns, before lowering his voice, "Aren't they awfully violent?"

The man looks at him, his patience visibly running thin.

"Never mind." Aegon waves the question off. "I already have a job anyway. Can't really leave it. I'll figure out how that weapon will work another way. Thank you for your patience, good man. You will hear from me again when I have earned back the money I lost."

"Stolen."

"Well, we don't know that for certain."

"I do."

Aegon presses his lips together at the stubborness of this man. He doesn't even seem to like to humour a different mindset, a possibly more creative conclusion. How to know anything at all, right? Maybe they are all just guessing.

Yet, he kept his phylosophics to himself, knowing he had taken up enough of this mans time already. "I will see you again in good time for my weapon."

With that he bids his farewell. He truly did not know why so many avoid this place. There hadn't been one person asking to touch his ears since he was here.

He felt a little bit lighter.

LORNA TINKLEWALD

[ 1 ] [ 2 ]

Prompt from: @oc-tober2023

[ I am not following the same order ]

~Food

With a wide stride Lorna walked down the street. Wherever she went, she got greeted by the others and she greeted them back.

It wasn't difficult to walk with your nose high when surrounded by the people you know and love. And Lorna loved her people, even when she didn't know any of them before circumastances forced them to flee their country together.

Many different cities and cultures mixed together under the same threat, perhaps it was the shared misery that had glued them tighter together then ever. If nothing, that was one good thing that came out it.

It was never enough to even out the negatives however. She grabbed the bag in her firm grip a little tighter, her heavy steps not once slowing down when she approached a young dwarven woman.

"Oh, bless you. I don't know what we would do without you, Lorna." The dwarven woman took the offered bag from Lornas hands, her cheeks had fallen in, her clothes were rugged and old. The people were starving and there was always something to do about it.

"It's not much, just the leftovers from the tavern, if not you, Gael would have eaten it and you know he's got way then enough on his ribs."

The young woman laughed, something that she did way too little.

"We would be off way worse without you. You have my support don't forget that."

Lorna stands just a little straighter, "It's not just food I will be giving you in the future. It's going to be freedom, a way to earn a living for yourself. A chance to live a long and happy life without a fear for the Rot."

The woman smiles, clutching the bag of food closer to her person. "Is the meeting still held tonight? I fear Derem is feeling very low again as of late, he could use some hope. Your speeches always manage to lift him up."

"It's not just words. We will force the city to listen to us, if need be. You are a capable fighter, if you want to join us, the offer still stands."

"I really want to support you, but I can't let Derem alone. I fear for him. What if it happens when I'm gone, what if the sickness has taken him?" She lets her head hang low, "I couldn't life with myself knowing I couldn't say goodbye."

"Aye, we'll be fighting for his cure as well." Lorna nods, "You support us enough for showing up to the meetings. Yours and Derems input help us alot."

"I'm glad to be of help and thank you for the food. He always looks forward to it." She smiles warmly, her eyes sunken, marred by the strain this sickness has left on so many of them.

It was time for a change and Lorna would be able to do more for these people than just bring them food. Just a few more days, and the first part of the plan, can be set into motion.

[]

RALOF REILIFSON

Prompt from @oc-tober2023

[ I am not following the same order ]

[ 1 ] [ 2 ]

~ Fun

"They seem important. Are they our trainer?"

Merko, the young recruit next to him, shook his head, "That's the new Sovereign. You remember the tournament held in the city? No one expected it, but they were the one competitor that won the throne. People call them the foreign scholar."

"Don't they live in the castle?" Ralof asks, confused.

Merko laughs: "That doesn't mean they can't leave. Despite, if we become guards, we'll be under their command. I guess they just want to inspect the new recruits. Get a better picture to decide who is worth coming back."

"Oh, so they will decide who can come back?" Ralof stands straighter, trying to catch the Sovereign's attention with a wave of his hand, "I could ask them, tell them of our ambitions and maybe get a good word in for the three of us."

"Are you mad!" Merko pulls him back, making him stumble. "You don't just go and approach someone like them!"

"Why not?" Ralof frowns.

"You have to be careful with whose attention you grab. I heard they are a real snob, just look at all the jewelry. They think themselves better than us and I don't want to know what they'd do with your enthusiasm. Better to stay down, friend."

"Merko's right." It was Salek that joined them, a close friend of Merkos, all three seemingly the only ones here today coming from the lower districts, "I heard they even yelled at the merchant's guild for making their floor dirty. Made them run back out with their tails between their legs. The scholar is daring and cunning and they don't understand no fun."

Ralof frowns. "That sounds stressful."

Merko laughs, clapping Ralof on the back. "Don't break your head over it. Trust me, they don't care one bit about us either."

Ralof couldn't quite believe that. After all, they were training to become their guards, they must care about that. Otherwise, why would they be here?

He takes another look up to the walls, the Sovereign stands tall, hands clasped behind their back, speaking with the older man, their Commander, beside them. They did not smile once and maybe Salek was right. They hadn't had any fun in awhile, hadn't smiled in a long time. Ralof wondered how anyone could want to live like that. He's certain that it can't be by choice.

"Hurry, Ralof." Merko shouted, snapping Ralof out of it only to realise that everyone was gathering to line up. Damn, he was late again.

"Coming!" He ran as fast as he could, seeing Merko and Salek have saved him a spot next to them.

[ ~ 400 words ]

As a blacksmith he was used to only working with his dad and at times alone too, but he had to admit, training together was already alot of fun. If working together would be the same, he might have just found his callig. If he makes it into the recruitment that is.

He looks up one last time and noticed the Sovereign was watching them now. As if they were feeling his gaze on them, their eyes meet and with a kind smile and a little wave of his hand, Ralof greeted them. No smile from the Sovereign however. Then the Commander roared for their attention and Ralof had to look away.