When Stars Fall To Shake The Earth

[Lief]

The Wilds​

Midvinter​

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It was rare that the Gods gave signs to the Bear of the North, gave him direction or cause. The last time they had contacted him he had been overwhelmed by a sense of familiarity, seven days following the death of his friend and King Thrand Dawnbringer. The Five became Six that day, and all across the land the Sun God's birth was felt.

He had always been a pious man, though there had been a time in his youth when he had struggled with his faith. The loss of his home, and the exile of his Prince, had taken its toll on him. He had prayed so fiercely for the boys return, and for a great many years the Gods did not answer.

What did he have to pray for these days? To hope that his Lady Wife sat alongside the Sun God in Beornskald? That she might guide their three motherless children from beyond the veil? The two people he respected most in this world were gone, and he was left to pick up the pieces they left behind.

Yet now, as he made his way by horse across the stubborn terrain in search of the Vinterbound scourge which had been sighted, a sign from the Gods themselves jutted across the sky. Scorched red with heat, a star fell toward the earth and even from his vantage point in the distance he felt the ground tremble and shake beneath its impact. Snow kicked up, brought barreling toward him and the sound of it ricocheting across the mountains at his back.

For a moment he feared for an avalanche, but the strong peaks of Midvinter did not succumb so easily.

Kicking his heels into Mistin's flank, he bade the hardy horse move with haste toward the fallen star; whatever lay within the icy earth was a gift from the Gods, after all, and who was he to ignore their calling?

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Alarms rang wild as the cockpit flashed a deep crimson in pulsing waves. The outside had much of it stripped clean by the atmosphere, and despite the cold air the friction forced its metal to surge in heat. A blast of frigidity broke through to the interior vessel, filling the young man’s face with a ice blasted preview of his landing pad.

And then it went black.

When The Slave awoke, he did so with a violently deep breath, pulling far into his lungs a frozen breath the likes of which he had never taken before. It stung, burned like the air of a forge despite its sub zero temperatures, but it only ached for a moment before he realized where the pain truly was.

His attention diverted, glancing down to the leg that was pinned beneath a fractured piece of durasteel. The lifepod mangled beyond recognition at this point, and while it was lucky he survived, he did not do so without injury. He could feel the sharp edges of it digging deep into his thigh, grinding against his femur with little patience for the pain he was. As if by instinct, his body surged to lift it, utilizing the force to toss it aside before holding the fresh wound with little more than a whimper.

There was no bacta nearby. Not right now. His only solution was to fill it with snow, at the very least to help reduce the rate at which he was bleeding. He could only hope his ship caught his distress signal in time.

│ [member="Joramyr Varamund"] │

 

[Lief]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXRBnCx_g3Y​

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Though the distance was vast, it did not take the horse long to clear the plains. Thoroughbreds such as his own had been selectively bred to traverse the difficult terrain of their home, and even though their hooves sunk into the deepening snow they made faster work of it than even most horses would on normal grassy land.

Smoke was heavy on the air when he neared the crash site. Each step Mistin took brought him closer to the realization that whatever it was that lay ahead was no star. Had the Gods sent him something different, something from beyond the planes, to test his faith?

"Easy girl" he soothed the mare, with a gentle hand against her flank; it was rare for him to see her spooked, yet here she was rearing back, threatening to buck him from the saddle entirely. Perhaps it was the stench which lingered, the fumes of something he did not comprehend. He had worked the Forge for most of his adolescence, this was no ordinary smoke.

He pulled her back once she steadied, keeping her a solid distance from the wreckage, before dismounting into the deep snow beneath. He had a significantly harder time walking through it than she, but he had traversed worse in his hunt to purge the world of Vinterbound.

"Stay" he commanded, though the horse had a mind of its own and would do as it pleased. Still she seemed content at the distance he had given her, so he began to move closer. The sound of steel resonated in the air as he drew his sword. If not a star, then Gods knew what was beyond the thick smog which lay before him.

A breeze from the South set the congregating clouds into motion, enough for him to see beyond. His blood boiled at the sight of it, for it reminded him of the strange crafts the Otherworlders brought to his home the day his Lady Wife was so brutally murdered. Had they come to finish the job? To tear their world asunder?

Gods give me strength.

An object moved through the air, only to sink into the snow a few feet away from him. His stance became more guarded after that, though he resumed his steady walk forward. You turned your back on your people once, you won't ever do so again. With the Lake of Mists firmly in his mind, he cast aside all doubt and finally came upon the smoldering wreckage.

At first he saw little of interest, no signs of life. But then, in the corner of his eye, he saw movement. Swiftly turning he pointed his sword in the direction of the man lay within the snow, his one eye glaring into his soul.

He's just a lad came the sudden realization, a wounded one at that.

Sheathing his sword, Joramyr closed the gap almost immediately. As much as he loathed the strange constructs of the Otherworlders, he was trained to notice the threat of a situation and for now he was safe... Which was more than could be said for the boy in the snow.

"Can you walk?" he asked, offering down a hand. It was then that he saw the blood soaked snow, and feared the worst.

[member="The Slave"]