A beating heart of stone

alking through the forest she felt the rain pouring down on her head, but she needed to get away for a moment and it wasn’t going to stop raining. Not for anytime soon, it looked like it. So they had to deal with it. Her tribe was training but she decided she didn’t want to be a part of it today, and they could call her weak if they wanted to but she would gladly show them otherwise if they dared to say it in her face, and they knew it. From the moment she had taken over her fathers tribe they had been nothing but sceptical, and it seemed that she needed her High Shaman more than she thought she would.

They didn’t agree to the trip south, as her father had always talked it out of their heads, but she knew there was no other option anymore. It was only going to get worse in the north and she wasn’t about to lose more tribesmen to the weather conditions, it had to be done someday. She would do anything for a change to get a better life for her tribe more to the south, even if it meant coming together with the other tribes against the will of her tribe.

After walking a bit she found the place where the White Bear Tribe had camped for the night, as curious as she was she decided to walk towards the place. She had no fear of them, as they were in an agreement and she knew the clan had a more soft nature then theirs. They wouldn’t just attack her out of nowhere, probably. As she walked past the tents she looked at some of Valkyrie’s tribesmen with a face that shared very little emotion. They did notice her, ofcourse, as she was not one of them. Without saying a word she walked towards the tents that might have belonged to Valkyrie, and as nobody tried to stop her she walked in, only to find another. ”I mean no harm,” She said, as she showed her her hands, which were empty and without a weapon. Looked around a bit, but it looked like the tent might have belonged to the Shaman in the tribe. ”You must be Yrsa, right?” She asked.

[Tag: Yrsa Nunataq]

he actually did feel a little nervous about walking through the encampment, it was definitely not something that would have been very safe to do before the situation. If they wanted to kill her they could do it, as she was alone and without any protection. But there was an agreement and she knew that they probably wouldn’t risk anything that might shatter the trust that they created for the other tribes. As she walked she tried not to show them any fear, she just kept looking at them with her blue eyes, piercing right through them.

In the tent she found the High Shaman of the White Bear Tribe, not Valkyrie. The things she saw in the tent made more sense to a Shamen, her own Shaman had similar things with him. It was very clear to see she didn’t have a weapon with her, even though she had some smaller ones hidden away underneath her dress against her thigh. Yet, she wouldn’t use them, as she was honest by not wanting to cause any harm. It would have been stupid too, as she wouldn’t be able to defend herself with them against an entire tribe. She was not going to risk her life doing something stupid.

The woman knew who she was too, but it was no surprise. She had already confirmed that she was the High Shaman and they knew these things, for sure. A short nod had to be enough to let her know she was right, but she doubted that the woman needed a confirmation at all. With everything she probably already knew about the trouble in her tribe as well, as it had not been a secret, sadly. The way she had taken the tribe by killing her father had not been something that stayed silent, same for the fact that she had to fight many of her tribesmen in order to take his place. So, maybe the spirits were with her after all.

Yrsa asked her if she came looking for her or for Valkyrie. She locked eyes with the woman and took two steps closer into the tent. ”I guess I actually just wandered over here,” She told the woman. There was little emotion on her face, there hadn’t been for a very long time, but her voice wasn’t entirely unkind. ”But I am curious about how things are going at the moment, and what the plan is.” However, now that she was here she had more questions and maybe some of them especially for another Shaman.

She was very aware of the fact that she was very vulnerable at the moment, being in the tent with a Shaman of a different tribe with little more than two knives under her dress to defend herself with. It was the truce they had that made her brave enough to do it, and she knew they would cut themselves more if they dared to kill her right now. Valkyrie made it this far by combining the tribes, but killing one of their leaders would shatter their trust from the other leaders too, and she knew they wouldn’t risk that happening. That fact made her feel a little more safe.

There were many questions she had regarding the situation, as they were on unknown territory and she was following Valkyrie, which meant there had to be a plan from their side. The Shaman would probably know those too, as within her own tribe the Shaman knew most of the plans too. Nothing would be done without their knowing and it made them a very important piece. One that was probably best to befriend too.

She listened carefully when the woman talked about the plan and the surroundings she had seen. They were some villages scattered across the land, and the first big one a little more south. ”And what will we do when we get that resistance? I’m sure these people won’t be all too happy about the likes of us roaming around in their lands.” She asked, placing a few fingertips on the table standing beside her. But maybe she needed to ask these questions to Valkyrie, as she probably knew the answers better. She looked at the ground for a little moment before looking back up at the woman. ”I actually have another question too, regarding the spirits..” She let the woman know, looking at her in the eyes, waiting for a little bit before asking. This was a little more of a personal thing, she wanted to ask.

”What are they saying to you about me?” She asked, her eyes now a little softer, as it did worry her a bit. She didn’t give away too much, as she liked to keep her emotions to herself. ”I want to know if they think I have suffered enough and if they are still with me.” Maybe a hard question to answer for the Shaman, but she wanted to know what the spirits were saying to her and it was any different than what they were telling her own Shaman.

here hadn’t been much time to ask the questions when Valkyrie came to them, as it was still her father who was ruling their tribe and for him it was out of the question. She had to take matters into her own hands to be standing here with her tribe, as she believed they had more changes down south with everything going on in the north. Now might have been the time to ask some questions, and maybe the Shaman would know the plan too, as most would.

The woman told her it depended and she didn’t know what the resistance would look like, but she was right when she said these lands were not like theirs. She looked at the woman with slightly narrow eyes, to see if there was more to it. ”So, I guess we won’t fight our way into their lands?” She asked. It didn’t matter that much to her, a peaceful way to obtain some of their lands sounded good too, but her tribe wanted blood. Their warrior ways were rooted deep and if it were to come to a fight, they would choose to fight. She would not be able to hold them back.

With that out of the way, there was another question she was eager to ask the other Shaman, only because she needed something to hold on to. Maybe this Shaman would be able to give her a more clear answer to her questions, or not. She was curious and the answer she got did feel a little soothing. It did feel like the Spirits were with her when she managed to fight off all her tribesmen when taking over her fathers tribe, as if they gave her the strength to do it. She nodded softly after her words and stayed silent for a little moment. Without the loss of her lover and her son, she would have never had the strength to take over her fathers tribe to go south… Yet, it did still hurt her. But she had nothing more to lose, except for her tribe.

”I hope it will all be worth it.” She said, swallowing her pain, but it sounded through a little bit. ”Do you think we will make it?” She asked. Valkyrie ofcourse thought they did, otherwise she wouldn’t have brought the tribes together like this. But did her Shaman think the same?

he knew that Valkyrie didn’t come here for a fight but her own tribe would want to fight, they were maybe even counting on it. Yet, she didn’t think she was going to let her own tribe die in the hands of the southerners either. Yrsa told her it would depend on the resistance they were getting. So it would depend on what they would find in the south. How they would respond to them. ”So it could go both ways.” She responded. When she said that most of us were itching for a fight, she was definitely right about the Dark Wolverine Tribe. Thogrdrifa was not planning on being foolish either, but her tribe might make it a little difficult for her.

Thogrdrifa looked down at her fingers on the table for a moment with a little grin on her face. ”And what if we can win?” She asked while looking back at the woman, the cold grin still on her face. Could that be an option too? If they didn’t need to fight it would of course be the preference, but if they were able to win some lands through fighting, would they go for it? Or would they lay their swords in the sand? She knew her own tribe would not agree with that, not for one small bit. They would want to stand and fight.

For a moment she made her pain shine through, but she knew she could. She was no threat to the Shaman, they were allies for now. Outside of the tent she would have not shown it, but this woman was in touch with the spirits and it felt a little different. Besides, it was her pain that made her stronger, like most of the women in the tribes. She knew that in Valkyrie’s tribe the women were treated more equally, something her own tribe still had some struggles with. Yet, she believed they carried more pain and burdens than men, and that was something that made them stronger.

She nodded when Yrsa said that she trusted Valkyrie's judgement. If she did, she would do her best to do so either. The tribe leader had a lot to prove them, as she was the one that convinced everyone. ”I think we can succeed.” She said when the question was returned. ”It’s not like we have much of a choice, right?” The true north had been a hell to life in right now, with everything happening. It was as if nature and the spirits were turning against them.

t wasn't going to be easy to have her tribe let down their weapons, if they wanted to see blood, and she knew it. Maybe they knew too. Yet, she had promised by coming down south that she would try to make peace, at first just with the other tribes. Peace with the southerners might be harder to find. It had already been hard to convince them to work together with the other tribes, but they seemed to follow her for now. She didn’t know how long it would take before they would repel again.

The small grin on the Shaman told her that she might have liked the thought of them winning a thorough fight as well, but it could be something else instead. If the spirits willed it, they would crush them. She liked the sound of that, but they would have to wait. ”Good thing we’re not really used to easy.” She said, her eyes now back on the ground but with the small grin still on her face. The life they were living in the far north had never been easy and it had only gotten worse in time. Most of them had plenty of skills in surviving because of this, probably better than the lords and ladys in their castles down in the south.

If things had been easy in the north she wouldn’t have made the decision to go with Valkyrie, she would have stayed in their home. It felt as if they were forced to go down south, and if they had to fight for their survival she would be fighting for them. Sure, if they stayed they would have found a way too, but with the numbers they now had gathered for going down south, it had been the better option in her opinion. ”I agree,” She agreed with the Shaman and her words. ”I hope the ‘Lords’ and ‘Lady’s’ are ready for what’s coming to them.” She said, mocking them a little.  

here was of course also a possibility that things within the tribes wouldn’t work out as planned, she knew that. Her own tribe in this case wasn’t that fond of working with the others, and she doubted if the other tribes felt any different. But she was willing to try because she knew that if they stood together they could be very strong, if they were able to keep things together. Only the spirits knew what would happen eventually, and maybe some Shamans but she didn’t think the answer would be that simple.

She did notice the amused huff the Shaman let out, but it was no surprise. They all knew they were survivors, because they were. The situations they had to endure were not situations the southerners were familiar with, and in a way she believed that would make them stronger, much stronger. Yes, she thought that when they would be standing one to one with a southerner they would most definitely win, it had to be. The look she gave the Shaman said everything that had to be said. She looked forward to seeing where it would take them, and she was ready for it.

Thogrdirfa knew it was maybe a little bit wrong to be so sure they could win anything, because on the other hand they didn’t know much about the south. She kept it in her mind, as she knew it was stupid to always underestamte your opponment. They needed to be ready too, for what was waiting for them. ”We’ll just have to wait to find out, right?” She asked with a small grin, looking forward to it.

verything that was going to happen, was laying in the hands of the spirits. Only they would know. Thogrdrifa didn’t actually think they would share everything with the Shamans, but if this choice would really be the wrong one, she thought they would have already known. She felt really good about the decision, why would she have otherwise lost everything she had, if not to give her the strength to take this step. If anything, she knew all about how cruel the spirits could be. How they put her in this position. She had nothing left to lose except her tribe.

The Shaman agreed and she just gave a small nod. They needed to wait to find out. It was the only thing they could do right now. See how the southerners would respond to them, if they would attack or lay down their swords. Yrsa asked her if there was anything else she wanted to discuss but she couldn’t come up with something. This conversation had already been answering most of her questions, or it had definitely made her feel a little better. Lifting the mood, so to say. ”No, I think most of my questions have been answered.” She said, lifting her chin a little and taking in a deep breath. ”Thank you, for your time Yrsa.”

”I must be going back to my own tribe before they would miss me.” She said, with a little sarcastic smile on her face as she knew well enough how her own tribe felt about her being their leader. ”But I’m sure we will now see each other more often.” Softly she started taking steps back to the entrance of the tent. If all the tribes were working together, she would see them all more often. They now had to work together to get what they wanted.