Jedi By Dawn Part II [Ylva]

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Falls of Crystals​

Northmark​

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A week had already passed and the travel to this point had been testing to say the least. The elders of village had called them mad, fearing that the Wardens of the Northmark were placing themselves in unnecessary danger and even though many had tried before them, none had returned. They were right to think this, to have grave reservations about this expedition but what they did not know was the strength and determination that dwelled within the hearts of their Lord and his Lady. The test came in the times in which both Théo and Ylva were at their weakest, exhausted from the climb and the track seemed to be never ending. Ice wall after ice wall, a path that would narrow and fall away to the vast abyss below them, it was slow going and yes, very dangerous.

But through it all, something keep them going, a whisper on the icy cold winds that urged them both onward, he caught glimpses of the vision now made real and standing as an obstacle before them, a gap in the path. They would need to find a way to cross it, there was no going back now.

Théo turned to his wife, hoping to find the answer written on her feature, all cold and rosy with the pinch of the cold. His face no better for it, ice clung to his long black hair and frozen in his unkempt beard. Ever so thankful for both they kept him warm. "We can do this", he pulled her in an embrace and rubbed her back to encourage warmth to her. Cold lips pressed onto her cold cheek and he loved her even more for coming with him in this mad endeavour.

The gap in the path was to large to jump normally, but with the force he would do it and secure a rope on the opposite side. "I'll go first", he said looking into her eyes and managed a smile, it was a cheeky one. "You still love me?", he ventured the question as his smile turned to a grin.

[member="Ylva Heavenshield"] ​

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

Ylva and her beloved husband [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] had often shared in their adventures and journeys across the lands of Midvinter, the pair of them sharing a great and deep admiration for the world they called their Home, yet nothing thus far in her time had compared nor prepared Ylva for the climb that they had come to face so far North of Fridheim, Norvegr-fen. It was difficult for Ylva to understand what awaited them at the end of their journey, the visions that she and her husband had shared had been so vague when they'd found her sight, she standing in the far north surrounded by tree's and a Wolf whom acted strangely oblivious to her presence. Théodred had been having these visions for a number of days before he had explained them to her, yet hers had come that very morn' and the discussion of it still remained an uncertainty to her.

This was a test of Ylva's Faith. Faith not in her Husband or in herself, but in the will of the Force, where control would not be within her grasp for a change that she rarely experienced nor enjoyed. Risking her life and that of Théodred's whilst their daughter [member="Thora Heavenshield"] remained with her grandparents and guardians, the odds were stacked against an unknown reward that for all she knew, might not even exist.

"I'll go first" Théodred suggested as they stood near the crevasse, a vast descent of which they could not see the ground between them and the other side of the crossing. She knew what he was thinking, and also knew what this would require of the both of them. For Théodred, a Master within the Force, the feat of a jump empowered by the Force ought not to come with as much of a struggle as it would for her, still under the training of her Master and Mother-in-Law, [member="Coci Heavenshield"]. "You still love me?" he threw her a cheeky grin behind that frost covered beard of his.

"I'd love you a whole lot more if we weren't having to do this..." She answered him, wanting to share in their typical banter, yet unable to distance herself from the objective that stood before them. The Heavenshield's were all well known for their prowess and potential within the Force, and by the Order that were the Jedi of the Galaxy. Ylva on the other hand...-Well, for the most part, she preferred to believe in what she could see. That was atleast until she had laid eyes on the very Gods of Midvinter while in battle alongside them some time back now.

"Just...-Don't get yourself killed...-You fool" she added, apprehension in her words, and love in her name-calling of her Husband. A sentiment few, but Théodred would understand and appreciate.

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Even though he knew he could stride the gap using the force, Théo tied the rope around his waist and gave the other end to Ylva .. just in case .. after all he did not know what might be under the snow at the opposite side, it could just as easy be that and nothing more, nothing to keep it in place and once his weight and the force of the jump landed, it could give way and take him with it. Just don't get yourself killed, how many times had he heard that over his years and most of it coming from his parents. Her words were met with another grin, yet deep down Théo was a little apprehensive.

Puffing out his cheeks, and pulling the force to him driving it to his legs, he crouched slightly before launching off their side of the path and propelled through the air to the other side. It had cleared it a good couple of meters before his feet touch ice once more. He stood there still as if waiting for something the happen but it didn't, now he could breath again. He turned the Ylva with a winning smile as he untied the rope from around his waist ready for her to do the same. He wrapped it around his arm making the hold on it more secure but he would not completely rely on the rope for her safety.

"You turn", he smile left him only to be replaced by concentration on her. With his hands now free, they were directed toward her the force ready in his palms if things went wrong. Ylva could do this, he knew but he was not sure she had the confidence in herself to be able to stride the gap. "Use the force Ylva, strengthen your legs and focus on me". He added. Force jump is something every Jedi learns at an early age, but even then they are taught it so this was a leap of faith for her and he knew it.

He will catch her if she falls, his wife would never be let fall to the depths.

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[member="Ylva Heavenshield"]​

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"] cleared the ravine almost gracefully, making it look as easy as his Wife had come to expect from the man's ability and control over the Force. Despite this, relief came to her as she watched him land back upon solid ground across the other side, a smile crossing her lips as she watched him turn back and call over to her.

"I got this..." Ylva replied, though speaking more to herself than she was trying to answer her husband's call over-top of the mountain winds; "I've totally got this..." she added under her breath with less confidence in her voice, her doubts much easier coming to surface when it was just the two of them and the wide open world.

There wasn't much point in dawdling, hesitating or wasting time was only going to prolong the inevitable and they had a quest to fulfill. Whatever the point of that vision had been. Lowering herself to a crouch, Ylva shifted her weight to the front of her boots, etching her footing into the snow covered earth so that her first steps wouldn't be hindered by any slips or instability. It was then that Ylva pushed off from her position, calling to the Force around her for aid as she ran full-sprint towards the crevasse and at the very last second took flight...

Hope took her breath away, or perhaps it was the pull of gravity trying to loosen her stomach mid-air. For a second it felt as if she had cleared the jump by a long-shot, however her descent brought her down quicker than she had anticipated and as if time had slowed to bring her this revelation, it quickly sped up again as panic set in and she screamed, reaching out with one of her Axe's just in time to bury it into the side of the cliff as her body hit the side of it and she hung there with both hands, desperately trying to use her legs to kick at the rough rockface, trying to pull herself up.

"Théodred!?!"​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Intently he watched Ylva as she geared up to jump the gap, he was prepared for anything, but she had to let go of any doubt in her mind that she could do it, let the force take control and guide her across the gap. But that was easy to say and hard to do, especially since his wife had not fully accepted the force in trust.

But she did try and in time would come to trust it.

Théo watched her trajectory, it was on the mark until doubt and fear entered her mind and the connection to the force lost in that instant. Ylva began to fall freestyle and he moved quickly toward the edge of the gap. Had he had time, he would have pulled her forward with the force, but it all happened in the blink of an eye.

A strong hand grasped her arm as she dangled over the edge, “I got you, look at me”, he commanded to keep her from looking down. He would never let her fall, he would rather plummet to the depth in her place than to allow her to. And he pulled his wife up and over the edge with little to no effort in strength.

As Ylva got to her feet, he wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed the top of her head through her hair. “Are you hurt?”, he pushed back to look her over. This trip was proving to be a test, not only of skill but survival and both would have to be more vigilant to the elements and surroundings.

A lesson learned for them both.

Once she was settled and willing to moving forward, they would proceed toward their destination. The sense through the force pulling them still. And it would not be denied. It made him angry, like something was tightening around them pulling them forward against their will, there was no turning back, not at this point and after so much danger already faced, it would feel like failure.

[member="Ylva Heavenshield"]​