Jacob's Journal, entry 64
Yep, I'm late with this one, but for very good reason. I was on vacation and had zero time to write even though I thought I'd have a ton. Ha! My family doesn't quite know how to chill out and not go go go when on vacation. :) Our final storyline as Demigods and we finished it up two weeks ago. Gotta love it!
As we made our preparations for the coming battle Hel showed the others just how much she'd changed by asking for our opinion on when she should enter the battle. She could end the fight swiftly, but until the construct was destroyed and just to be certain Abbagast, Fogethest, and Sinmore were dead I'd feel more comfortable for her to stay in her role as the General and remain behind. Helena and the others agreed with me. We were getting ready to head out when a familiar figure came up the path to Eliunidir. It seemed my step-brother Adam Wednesday felt it was important he be available to assist us in the coming battle but even more importantly to his way of thinking - a certain spell hadn't been cast among our band that would bind our fates even tighter together than they already were. It's a spell I've heard of and even considered studying, but frankly I hadn't found much use for it. I didn't tell Adam that however since it seemed to be a matter of great importance to him. It required each of us to cut our palms. Cesar, of course, didn't hesitate to slice open his skin. Helena hesitated at first, but after a few moments of consideration made the cut. Carina seemed puzzled by Adam's request since he didn't explain about the spell, but as we do trust him she did as he asked. Sam, Storm and I did it without fanfare, then the six of us clasped hands, open cuts touching to mingle the blood and he cast the spell. We're linked now and can help boost each others flagging spirits if needs be to give that extra oomph that's sometimes needed to strengthen a body's willpower.
A quick thanks for the spell and we filled Adam in on what had already gone on as well as got caught up on the crazy technological havoc in Chicago he and his band were in the process of dealing with last we'd heard. Luckily that situation was sorted out just before he took the detour to come into Helheim and join us. Carina took Scionbane, the large flaming sword, from Storm because she wanted to be the one to wield it against the giants. The coming battle was like coming full circle in a way. Abbagast & Fogethest were our first major opponents when we became Scions. It felt good knowing, without a doubt that we could take them down. Adam's arrival just cemented our confidence as he flipped to a page in his Book of Fate with a smiley face on it with the words “We got dis,” written on it. From what Erika has on her blog, if it's in his Book it's pretty much set in stone.
One thing we did learn we had to take into consideration was Sinmore's vigil brand. Surtr watched over Sinmore's well being like I would expect a devoted husband to, though I don't know exactly how devoted he is to her in the traditional sense. Still, if she were in mortal peril, then we'd run the risk of engaging him in battle when he came to her defense so part of our plan of attack had to be keeping her out of danger. It was decided that I'd be the one to do that by compelling her to stay on her dragon and not engage us. But that was only one small part of the plan. The bulk of the plan relied on even more luck.
Part one was for Hel to teleport us to the first patrol, which she did perfectly. We hit the patrol with precision and took them down before they had the chance to even consider sounding an alarm. Not that Storm's mastery over the air or Helena's blizzard would have let them. Part two had us stumbling on top of another patrol, smaller but just as dangerous considering a dragon was part of it. Still I shouldn't have worried. Cesar took out the dragon and I dropped the flame eagle and wolf before they could run off and alert anyone to our presence. Sam, Storm, Adam, Carina, and Helena took out the patrolling giants before they knew what hit them.
We made our way towards the center of the camp and immediately knew we were walking into a trap. The Construct was there, just as we expected, but instead of the full compliment of guards and the Trio there were two giants on either side of the Construct and that was it. We knew that couldn't be right, but there was no way we could give up the opportunity, just in case. We took the time to activate as many gifts as we could and I made sure to boost everyone's health as high as I could. Despite appearances this wouldn't be an easy fight. As soon as Cesar fired the first shot the camp was filled with giants, flame eagles and ice wolves. Abbagast, Fogethest, and Sinmore hovered in the air on the backs of three red dragons. I knew my band mates would launch into an attack immediately, but I had to focus on Sinmore before I could do anything else. I managed to compel her and her dragon into staying out of the fight but it took all my concentration to do so.
Immediately the Construct came to life and attacked Helena. At first I was surprised but realized quickly the Construct went after Helena because it was as close as it could get to Hel. Luckily it's attacks were tuned specifically to Hel and they didn't effect Helena quite the same way. She was hurt, yes, but not to the extent her mother would have been. Cesar made a beeline for the construct and disabled it with a mere touch. Understanding the whims of chaos has never been so helpful!
With the construct down our attention turned to our long standing enemies. Storm pulled Abbagast's attention while Carina and Cesar took on Fogethest and his dragon. Storm's javelin pierced the scales of Abbagast's dragon, killing the beast and plunging the fire giant to the ground. I shouted that I'd distract Abbagast so he could work with the others to take down Fogethest. Sam and Adam were dealing with the flame eagles and other giants but Helena was quietly slowing Abbagast down with her frost abilities. I compelled him to stay out of the fight like I did with Sinmore just to give us a little breathing room. Carina and Cesar used Scion Bane on Fogethest and managed to alter its magic. Now, because the blade was used on one of its creators, the additional damage it was originally crafted to do to Aesir Scions would instead be inflicted on the giants we fought regularly. Poetic justice from the universe.
Cesar struck the killing blow to Fogethest by diving into the wound left by Scion Bane and eating his heart. As he burst out of the falling corpse Helena grunted and fell to the ground after taking repeated hits from one of the other giants. Someday our legend will grow enough to where the titanspawn will learn. If you harm Helena your life is forfeit. Cesar never hesitated in his destruction of the offending giant. I managed to heal most of Helena's wounds as they fell on Abbagast and destroyed him. As soon as the two giants were nothing but cooling husks I called Hel and she appeared on the battlefield as the Reaper spreading death among the combatants with the swing of her scythe.
Adam turned into a wolf and barked at the remaining ice wolves. Whatever he said must have convinced them, because the pack turned and ran from the battlefield before Hel's shadow covered us. Storm made a pitch to Sinmore, just to get her thinking about the possibility of changing sides before she retreated. Hel didn't go after her, not that I expected her to. She's a sensible woman and drawing Surtr into a battle unnecessarily is anything but sensible. With the battle over and a minor amount of celebrating out of the way - yes, I love Hel dearly, a fact that still amazes me - but her Reaper form freaks me out just a shade.
In the days after the battle we returned the Casque of Triumphant Sorrows to the Queen of Air and Darkness. Our geas was fulfilled and my request for regular visitation rights with my daughter was accepted. I can't wait to get to know her and introduce her to the rest of our family. Now I just have to get through the next major event the wedding is in two weeks and sometime before that apparently Loki's throwing me a bachelor party. I live in fear.
As we made our preparations for the coming battle Hel showed the others just how much she'd changed by asking for our opinion on when she should enter the battle. She could end the fight swiftly, but until the construct was destroyed and just to be certain Abbagast, Fogethest, and Sinmore were dead I'd feel more comfortable for her to stay in her role as the General and remain behind. Helena and the others agreed with me. We were getting ready to head out when a familiar figure came up the path to Eliunidir. It seemed my step-brother Adam Wednesday felt it was important he be available to assist us in the coming battle but even more importantly to his way of thinking - a certain spell hadn't been cast among our band that would bind our fates even tighter together than they already were. It's a spell I've heard of and even considered studying, but frankly I hadn't found much use for it. I didn't tell Adam that however since it seemed to be a matter of great importance to him. It required each of us to cut our palms. Cesar, of course, didn't hesitate to slice open his skin. Helena hesitated at first, but after a few moments of consideration made the cut. Carina seemed puzzled by Adam's request since he didn't explain about the spell, but as we do trust him she did as he asked. Sam, Storm and I did it without fanfare, then the six of us clasped hands, open cuts touching to mingle the blood and he cast the spell. We're linked now and can help boost each others flagging spirits if needs be to give that extra oomph that's sometimes needed to strengthen a body's willpower.
A quick thanks for the spell and we filled Adam in on what had already gone on as well as got caught up on the crazy technological havoc in Chicago he and his band were in the process of dealing with last we'd heard. Luckily that situation was sorted out just before he took the detour to come into Helheim and join us. Carina took Scionbane, the large flaming sword, from Storm because she wanted to be the one to wield it against the giants. The coming battle was like coming full circle in a way. Abbagast & Fogethest were our first major opponents when we became Scions. It felt good knowing, without a doubt that we could take them down. Adam's arrival just cemented our confidence as he flipped to a page in his Book of Fate with a smiley face on it with the words “We got dis,” written on it. From what Erika has on her blog, if it's in his Book it's pretty much set in stone.
One thing we did learn we had to take into consideration was Sinmore's vigil brand. Surtr watched over Sinmore's well being like I would expect a devoted husband to, though I don't know exactly how devoted he is to her in the traditional sense. Still, if she were in mortal peril, then we'd run the risk of engaging him in battle when he came to her defense so part of our plan of attack had to be keeping her out of danger. It was decided that I'd be the one to do that by compelling her to stay on her dragon and not engage us. But that was only one small part of the plan. The bulk of the plan relied on even more luck.
Part one was for Hel to teleport us to the first patrol, which she did perfectly. We hit the patrol with precision and took them down before they had the chance to even consider sounding an alarm. Not that Storm's mastery over the air or Helena's blizzard would have let them. Part two had us stumbling on top of another patrol, smaller but just as dangerous considering a dragon was part of it. Still I shouldn't have worried. Cesar took out the dragon and I dropped the flame eagle and wolf before they could run off and alert anyone to our presence. Sam, Storm, Adam, Carina, and Helena took out the patrolling giants before they knew what hit them.
We made our way towards the center of the camp and immediately knew we were walking into a trap. The Construct was there, just as we expected, but instead of the full compliment of guards and the Trio there were two giants on either side of the Construct and that was it. We knew that couldn't be right, but there was no way we could give up the opportunity, just in case. We took the time to activate as many gifts as we could and I made sure to boost everyone's health as high as I could. Despite appearances this wouldn't be an easy fight. As soon as Cesar fired the first shot the camp was filled with giants, flame eagles and ice wolves. Abbagast, Fogethest, and Sinmore hovered in the air on the backs of three red dragons. I knew my band mates would launch into an attack immediately, but I had to focus on Sinmore before I could do anything else. I managed to compel her and her dragon into staying out of the fight but it took all my concentration to do so.
Immediately the Construct came to life and attacked Helena. At first I was surprised but realized quickly the Construct went after Helena because it was as close as it could get to Hel. Luckily it's attacks were tuned specifically to Hel and they didn't effect Helena quite the same way. She was hurt, yes, but not to the extent her mother would have been. Cesar made a beeline for the construct and disabled it with a mere touch. Understanding the whims of chaos has never been so helpful!
With the construct down our attention turned to our long standing enemies. Storm pulled Abbagast's attention while Carina and Cesar took on Fogethest and his dragon. Storm's javelin pierced the scales of Abbagast's dragon, killing the beast and plunging the fire giant to the ground. I shouted that I'd distract Abbagast so he could work with the others to take down Fogethest. Sam and Adam were dealing with the flame eagles and other giants but Helena was quietly slowing Abbagast down with her frost abilities. I compelled him to stay out of the fight like I did with Sinmore just to give us a little breathing room. Carina and Cesar used Scion Bane on Fogethest and managed to alter its magic. Now, because the blade was used on one of its creators, the additional damage it was originally crafted to do to Aesir Scions would instead be inflicted on the giants we fought regularly. Poetic justice from the universe.
Cesar struck the killing blow to Fogethest by diving into the wound left by Scion Bane and eating his heart. As he burst out of the falling corpse Helena grunted and fell to the ground after taking repeated hits from one of the other giants. Someday our legend will grow enough to where the titanspawn will learn. If you harm Helena your life is forfeit. Cesar never hesitated in his destruction of the offending giant. I managed to heal most of Helena's wounds as they fell on Abbagast and destroyed him. As soon as the two giants were nothing but cooling husks I called Hel and she appeared on the battlefield as the Reaper spreading death among the combatants with the swing of her scythe.
Adam turned into a wolf and barked at the remaining ice wolves. Whatever he said must have convinced them, because the pack turned and ran from the battlefield before Hel's shadow covered us. Storm made a pitch to Sinmore, just to get her thinking about the possibility of changing sides before she retreated. Hel didn't go after her, not that I expected her to. She's a sensible woman and drawing Surtr into a battle unnecessarily is anything but sensible. With the battle over and a minor amount of celebrating out of the way - yes, I love Hel dearly, a fact that still amazes me - but her Reaper form freaks me out just a shade.
In the days after the battle we returned the Casque of Triumphant Sorrows to the Queen of Air and Darkness. Our geas was fulfilled and my request for regular visitation rights with my daughter was accepted. I can't wait to get to know her and introduce her to the rest of our family. Now I just have to get through the next major event the wedding is in two weeks and sometime before that apparently Loki's throwing me a bachelor party. I live in fear.