DREAMTIME: Storming Battlefields

[birdwhoseeks.livejournal.com]

Character(s): Gwendolyn (dreamer), Oswald (viewer)
Location: Dreaming - Ruins of Valentine
Rating: PG-13
Open/Closed/Finished: Closed
Summary: Loss strikes at the battlefield, and Gwendolyn meets an intriguing opponent.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

The Vanir were far too organized, anticipating their moves and tactics as though they had insight into them. And then, as though that weren't bad enough, there were sightings of a Shadow Knight, drawing the bulk of your forces into battle with him and leaving the rest of the enemy troops to swarm you.

The battle has been long and hard-fought. You only know they've won because the ones farther away are retreating now. You've sullied their victory by taking a fair amount of enemy soldiers, but learning the true name of dying fairies, though a great honor, helps little.

Looking among the dead and dying, the roar of battle still heard at a distance, you give a short prayer to the fallen valkyries, that their souls reach their well-deserved rest. One of them, not yet dead, holds an unique spear, and a crown much like yours.

"No..."

"Griselda!" You rush to her side, hoping beyond hope that she can still be saved.

"Gwendolyn..." She acknowledges you, and you can't help but notice how, even in her dying throes, she still looks holds the poise befitting her station. "It's so... quiet now... The sound of battle... seems so far away." She coughs, a trickle of blood coming from her mouth. "It seems I cannot follow my king into the battle."

"No, don't give up." You try urging her to resist, to hold on long enough for you to take her to the healers, even though you know how unlikely it is for you to succeed.

"Gwendolyn, please take this. I have no use for it now." She hands you her spear, the mark of a Valkyrie's pride. "This spear has slain many foes, making a mountain of corpses..."

You take the spear in your free hand, becoming aware of your loss. You wonder when it started to rain...

"The King... Father will undoubtedly praise my actions."

"I'm sure he will..." She was always better than you at everything that matter, and yet she's still your sister. You feel an ache you hadn't felt since Mother's passing.

"...Do I see tears in your eyes? You're too kind, sister..." she gently chides you. "Please, do not cry... Your older sister will leave the world as a great warrior." You're aware of this. She couldn't have a finer death.

There's a silence. The both of you know nothing else needs to be said.

"...'Tis so dark here..." she starts feeling cold in your hands. "Gwendolyn... I can't see you..." And with that, your sister has left this world to guide her comrades to the great beyond. You lay her down, closing her eyes.

"Griselda... I won't let you be alone for long. I shall be by your side soon enough." With these last words, you charge towards the nearest sounds of battle, hoping you will find someone to grant you a proper death.

Fortune appears to favor you, as you witness the Shadow Knight himself besting dwarves and berserkers. You barely hear a wounded dwarf comment on the Knight's power before rushing in. "I will face him!"

"Princess!? You shall not!" the dwarf impotently protests, unable to stop you from what shall be your final battle.

...It's almost embarrassingly short.

The Knight has managed to use your momentum against you, knocking you over an pinning you with a tactic he must have used with many of your fellow Valkyries today. He stops, his sword pointing at your neck.

"Kill me now... How long do you intend to keep me pinned down?" you steel your voice as you say this. A Valkyrie is defiant to the end, after all.

The Shadow Knight remains silent, until he quickly turns to strike at a berserker attempting to attack at his back. He remains still afterwards, showing his back to you. "Go on. Run away. This battle is over. Any more deaths will just be a waste." And with that, he dashes away.

You regain your footing, ignoring what the dwarf from before is saying, feeling almost insulted that he wouldn't consider you worth killing. It only takes a moment for you to realize that maybe a consummate warrior such as he saw no point in killing someone who wanted to die, and you then feel shame - Sister would have expected you to be stronger than this!

"At this point... I cannot go back..." You go to meet the forces attempting to rout your fleeing allies. It's the least you can do to wash away your shame today.

As you learn the true name of twenty more fairies, you promise to your fallen sisters that the next time you face the Shadow Knight in battle, it will be your spear at his throat.