Bonds of the Fallen

As she stirred, Bat felt the secure embrace of Ace’s arms around her. Her eyes fluttered open and met his. The first light of dawn crept through the window, casting a warm glow over his features. His hand gently brushed a strand of hair from her face, and she sighed, entirely at ease in his arms.

“Morning,” his voice, thick with sleep, rumbled in her ear.

“Good morning,” she whispered, burrowing her face into his chest. “I had the oddest dream.”

“Tell me,” he encouraged, his fingers lazily winding through her hair.

She told him about the golden web, the two women nurturing the tree, and the wave of light that had enveloped her. He listened with rapt attention, his gaze never wavering from her face. When she finished, he pulled back slightly to look into her eyes and then closed the distance between them with a gentle, passionate kiss.

“Let’s talk to Moja about the dream,” he suggested softly.

His words made her heart lurch as the events of the past few days came flooding back. They spent a few more moments basking in the moment’s peace before reluctantly pulling away.

As soon as they stepped into the cabin’s main room, Moja was upon them, her boots thudding on the floor, her face twisted in worry. “We don’t have time,” she panted. “When they come for you, you must go willingly. Your powers and sight are still new, still adjusting.”

Bat felt her heart race as Moja spoke. “But why?”

Moja looked around the room as though she was checking for eavesdroppers. “I think some gods are trying to help us while others are blocking my communication. The only way to get answers is to consult the Norns.”

“The Norns?” Bat echoed.

“Yes, they might be able to reveal information that the gods are withholding from me.” Moja turned to Ace. “I need you to gather branches from an ash tree.” Then she looked at Bat. “And I’ll teach you how to create a summoning circle and use your sight to contact them. It might not work, but it’s our only shot at getting answers.”

Moja guided Bat through lighting candles and placing them around the circle. Their flames cast shadows that flickered and danced across the walls. Meanwhile, she etched symbols into the air with a smoldering stick of sage, her voice low as she whispered ancient incantations.

Once everything was in place, Moja demonstrated how to create a summoning circle. She drew lines and symbols in the air with a steady hand, a mixture of ash and herbs marking the floor. Bat mimicked her movements, focusing intently on each gesture and word.

With the circle complete, Ace returned, arms laden with branches from an ash tree. Moja arranged them around the summoning circle. “These represent the World Tree,” she explained, placing a small water bowl inside the ring. “And this water bowl symbolizes the well from which the Norns nourish the World Tree. Bat, please, sit in the center of the circle with the bowl in front of you.”

Bat stepped into the circle and lowered herself to the floor, the water bowl before her. Ace settled in front of her, just outside the ring, his eyes full of encouragement. Moja took a deep breath before continuing. “This next part will be challenging. You must use your powers to bring the threads of fate into focus. Normally, we would use a physical thread to help us, but you need to use your skills to locate the center of the web and reach out to the Norns. With luck, they may choose to communicate.”

Inhaling deeply, Bat closed her eyes and slipped into a trance. She focused on her breathing and the energy flowing through her. She imagined the threads of fate surrounding her, a golden light that illuminated everything within the circle. The threads stretched out in all directions, connecting everything in the universe. The energy was overwhelming.

She sank deeper into the trance, aware of a darkness that pulled all the threads toward it. But she also sensed a light pulsating and swirling around before vanishing over the horizon. She followed the golden threads toward the center of the web, feeling a weight dragging her down.

Time lost all meaning as she was drawn along the threads of fate. Suddenly, she stood at the base of an immense tree, its branches and roots extending infinitely in all directions. The golden threads of energy pulsed around her, and she felt a presence beckoning her from the other side of the tree.

“Be cautious, sister,” whispered a woman’s voice, enveloping Bat in the silky sound. “Your mind has yet to awaken fully.”

Peering into the unknown, Bat called out, “Who’s there?” Her voice vanished into the vastness, the reply but a faint and distant murmur.

“The past holds wisdom, shedding light upon the present and future. To comprehend the answers you seek, you must delve into the annals of history,” declared a woman, materializing at the brink of a well, her face shrouded in the shadows cast by her flowing, dark hood. The atmosphere around her was charged with otherworldly energy, making the air feel dense and electric. Her words were a whisper as if she spoke from the depths of an underground cavern. “Follow the threads, and you shall uncover the truth.”

Suddenly drawn deeper into the web of energy, Bat felt the tree’s roots animate, coiling around her in a firm, gentle caress. The roughness of the bark grazed her back, the cool earth grounding her. She was enshrouded in the pulsating energy of the threads of fate, the tree’s power infiltrating her soul.

Gazing aloft, Bat beheld the branches of the tree, seemingly infinite in their reach, extending into the cosmos. The leaves rustled, a symphony of whispers harmonizing with the woman’s voice.

“Each root represents a continuum of events, diverging and converging in many trajectories. Some cease abruptly, while others ascend the trunk, branching out only to loop back upon themselves. These are the world lines. My vision is confined to the past, the roots, from where I shall guide you in understanding your origins, my sister,” the woman’s voice resonated within and around Bat, an exquisite lullaby carried by the wind.

“Why are you calling me sister?” she shouted, feeling the tree’s energy merge with her own, connecting her to the fabric of fate itself.

“In terms of space and time, you are my sister. You are Skuld, my youngest sibling,” the woman replied.

“But how can I be Skuld? I only learned about the Norns a few days ago. And I’ve only been able to see the threads since that ceremony,” Bat argued, her words slipping away as she descended further into the darkness.

The woman’s voice was just above a whisper, as though she was speaking more to herself or something unseen than to Bat. “Let me explain it as you once explained it to me, even though I don’t fully comprehend it like you do.”

Bat was quickly pulled into the darkness of the tree’s roots, her body twisting and turning as she fell deeper. The world blurred around her as she passed through branches and leaves, the golden web of energy racing past in a whirl of light and color.

As she fell, the voice became more insistent, the words wrapping around her like the roots. “The world lines, what some call fate, are continuous sequences of events initiated at the moment of existence. Each moment in existence follows a path. You are a being of time, existing since its very inception. You can traverse all paths, observing and influencing outcomes. Sometimes, you tear through the fabric of space-time, disappearing only to reappear at different points in the web. You can leap between paths, severing and binding them as you see fit.”

“I just don’t get it,” Bat admitted as the energy web drew her towards an intense light. With a final push, she broke through the canopy and landed on a moss-covered bank below. Gasping, she lay there, staring up at the colossal tree above her. The voice was now a mere murmur, but its presence enveloped her completely.

“I cannot pretend to grasp it myself fully, my sister. You flicker in and out of existence along the web of space and time. Your soul takes various forms, traversing numerous lives and planes of existence. This is why they have dubbed you the veiled one and why even the gods regard you with trepidation,” resonated the voice.

Another figure emerged, her measured steps creating small depressions in the lush grass beneath her feet. She cradled a sizeable golden basin in her hands that glittered in the subdued light. When she reached the tree’s trunk, she paused, tilting the basin and allowing a stream of crystal-clear water to spill onto the ground. The water encircled her, forming a gleaming pool that caught the light filtering through the tree’s foliage.

As the water made contact with the earth, it awakened, sending concentric ripples outward. The waves surged across the pool’s surface, infusing the tree with their energy and, in turn, sending a powerful surge through Bat’s very core.

“Pardon our eldest sister’s enigmatic ways, dear one. She is confined to gazing upon the past, while the keys to your questions are trapped in the present by the whims and desires of others,” spoke the woman, her eyes piercing through Bat as she advanced towards her, expression inscrutable. A chill cascaded down Bat’s spine under the woman’s formidable gaze. Her skin had a rich, luminous hue, set off by the long, flowing robe that rippled with golden light under the tree’s glow.

Pausing before Bat, the woman gently touched Bat’s forehead. A surge of energy radiated through Bat, causing the woman’s eyes to glaze over as if peering into another dimension.

“You orchestrated the treaty?” Bat asked, a flicker of recognition igniting in her mind.

The woman’s lips curved into a smile. “Indeed. I am known as Verdandi.” She gestured towards the well. “And that is our sister, Urd. She can be quite dramatic, forever entrenched in the past.” The first woman, Urd, remained with her back to them, seemingly oblivious to their conversation.

Turning on her heel, Verdandi strolled back to the well. “Your fate, dear one, is a tapestry of intricate knots and loops. Those who wish to manipulate your course exist, but you must resist their pull.”

Alone and bewildered, Bat asked, “But what am I supposed to do?”

Verdandi’s gaze softened as she counseled, “Heed your instincts and delved within for your answers, little sister. Despite my interventions, you invariably carve your trajectory.” A warm smile played on her lips. “You embody the tumultuous cosmos and the relentless tide of change.”

“But the treaty, all that transpired... it is my fault everything is broken,” Bat’s voice trembled.

“My dearest sister, the gears of this grand cosmos have been turning long before our time. Do you recall when you whispered that the future is but clay in our hands, waiting to be molded? And that you would traverse the realms, intertwining and forging paths at will.” Verdandi glided towards her, the delicate layers of her gown brushing against the mossy floor. “Yours has always been the gift of insight, the capability to perceive the intricate tapestry of the cosmos and the roles we are destined to play. You are uniquely able to understand the truth, not merely the fragments that bring comfort.”

With deliberate precision, Verdandi placed her hands upon Bat’s shoulders. “In you rests the power to make the choices that we, bound by our realms, cannot. You are the orchestrator of destinies, the wielder of fate.”

A shadow of doubt clouded Bat’s eyes. “But how will I know which path to take?” she implored.

Verdandi’s voice was gentle and unwavering. “In time, the haze will lift, and clarity shall reign. Remember, the destinies of others are intricately woven into the fabric of your own. The outcomes rest in your hands.” She drew Bat into a comforting hug. “Our time together is fleeting, dear sister. You need to go now.”

“But I have many questions still unanswered.”

“Fear not, for those who walk beside you in your journey will be your beacon, and your convictions will carve the rivers of time. Our paths shall intertwine once more, dear sister. Trust in yourself.”

The weight of the trance began to ebb away, leaving Bat with a sense of heaviness that permeated her very bones. She could feel the residual energy dissipating, leaving her in exhaustion and disarray. Her eyelids fluttered open, and the world gradually swam into focus. She blinked against the dim light, her surroundings coming progressively into sharp relief.

With a groan, she hoisted herself into a sitting position, her hands rubbing at her eyes as if to erase the remnants of the trance. She took a moment to orient herself, the memory of the energy web still vivid in her mind, its residual warmth contrasting with the room’s cool air.

“How long was I out?” Bat’s voice echoed in her ears, detached and foreign. A swirling mix of emotions—excitement, confusion, and a thread of fear—tugged at her.

Moja and Ace exchanged glances, their faces unreadable, before returning to her. “Just a couple of seconds,” Moja replied. “What did you see?”

Bat shook her head as if trying to shake the images from her mind. “I was in this massive forest, under a great tree, and these two women were... They talked to me, but I couldn’t quite get what they were saying.”

Concern creased Ace’s forehead as he looked at Bat. “You alright? You look a bit off.” He reached out a hand, helping her to her feet from the circle drawn on the ground.

She nodded, though the unsettling feeling from her vision clung to her like a shadow. “They said they were my sisters.”