God of War: Daughter of War

Flurry and her family enjoyed watching the Hafgufa for a time, just simply resting a little as the storm fully died down, or half of it since she could see the runic lock went to another portion of the desert that also had a raging sandstorm, though as the Hafgufa peacefully flew in the air she and the others turned towards their next objective.

"I'm happy that we were able to help the Hafgufa, but... there was another reason we came out here, isn't there?" Atreus asked, because he knew his father well enough to understand when something was a mission and when something was a distraction, and right now this felt like it had been the latter, just a way for them to try an take his mind off Ragnarok.

"This was not a distraction, if that is what you were thinking. Regardless of what prophecy says, a reckoning is coming, and I wish to spend some time as a family." Kratos replied, as this would allow them to repair the bonds that his son had strained by not trusting them during the last three years, plus it would help Atreus turn his focus away from Ragnarok, or at least that had been the plan and clearly part of it had failed since he was clearly thinking about the prophecy, "Plus I did not wish to leave the Hafgufa enslaved to the dark elves."

Atreus sighed as he admitted that his father was right, he didn't want to leave the creature trapped either, but other than that he didn't say anything about how his thoughts were on Groa's shrine, meaning he really wanted to get back to Sindri's so they could talk about Ragnarok. With that in mind Kratos decided to explore the rest of the portion of the Barrens, as that was what Mimir called this place now that he could see it clearly, since there might be more things for them to see and do before returning to the Realm Between Realms for a time. As they moved, however, Kratos found another grave that had to be important in the future, the same one that Flurry had spotted several times since the start of this adventure, which they kept in mind for later, as he and his daughters agreed that they would find their key at some point. While they did that the family also got to listen to Mimir talk about a coven of heath-witches who used prophecy and an influential Thane for their own purposes, especially since they eventually told the Thane that he was 'invulnerable to all threats', earning a few moans from the rest of the group, even though this time it was a lie.

It was a story about a subtly deceptive prophecy, where in this situation Odin had no idea of the finer details and would no doubt make a stupid mistake since he didn't know the full picture, causing Flurry and Pandora to nod after their father had done so, while Atreus just thought about what he meant.

While they traveled Kratos found an area with another draugr hole, causing them to focus up as Hertha the Hateful rose out of it to do battle with them once more, again accompanied by some of her servants, where Flurry focused on keeping the rest of the draugr from leaving the hole and left Hertha to her family. Sure enough Hertha was somewhat stronger than the last time she dared to fight them, but at the same time that hardly mattered since Kratos, Pandora, and Atreus made sure to go into battle with their guards up and their weapons at the ready. With that in mind it really wasn't a surprise when they brought her down and sealed the draugr hole, allowing Flurry to collect another fragment of a Chaos Flame, some Dust of the Realms, and some coals that were empowered in some manner, causing her to safely store them away as well. After that they found another small area with a bit of hive material, causing Kratos to break the dark cores and dispel the material so he could loot a stone chest it had been covering, and once the resources were in their hands he kept moving.

Following that Flurry spotted another structure that had a runic chest, and only the chest, so they dealt with a small bit of hive material and tracked down the runic braziers linked to the container, where it took the family no time at all to unlock the chest and loot it's contents. Other than that all they could find was another stone chest that was covered in a small bit of hive material, something they were used to dealing with at this point, and a short cave that happened to be the same, save for needing a Twilight Stone to break the dark cores of the material. The golden chest in the cave happened to have another shield inside it, causing Kratos to switch it for the one he was using and tested it out, before handing the new one to Flurry so it could be added to the bag, while his current one was returned to his arm. Once that was done Flurry confirmed that they had done literally everything on this side of the Barrens, meaning they would have to come back when they figured out how to use the runic locks, since there would be more to do on the other side of the lock.

With that in mind they returned to where Sindri was waiting, nodded to him for a moment, and then used the Door that was next to him to head back to the Realm Between Realms at long last, as it was time for them to talk and rest since they had no idea what the future held in store for them, and it took them no time to reach Sindri's house.

"Master Kratos, I would speak with you for a moment." a voice said, where they found that Ratatoskr was waiting for them on a branch that was near the house, off to the left if one was coming out of the Door, causing the family to glance at each other for a moment before walking over to his area, where Flurry discovered a chime had been set up nearby, "In case you are ever in need of my services, and I am not present, I have installed these handy chimes for you to notify me."

"Just hit them and you'll come running?" Pandora inquired, because that was what the purpose of the chimes were, to let the squirrel know they wanted to talk with him and he would come running, causing Ratatoskr to nod his head for a moment, to which she and her family gave him a brief nod in return, "Well, if we ever need it, we'll be sure to use them."

Ratatoskr nodded as he turned and jumped down into another part of Yggdrasil, to continue his work, causing them to head inside the house and found that Tyr was in the middle of making something to eat, plus the table they had sat at previously was larger to accommodate everyone nicely.

"Ah, friends, I was wondering when you would be back. Come, dinner is ready." Tyr remarked, where it smelled nice and it was easy for Kratos to see that it was meat, stew, and baked bread, meaning he had been busy in the time they had been in Alfheim, another benefit of the time difference between the realms, plus he likely wanted to do things and not be idle while they worked to secure the realms.

"You do know what he's been putting in that stew, doncha? Vegetables! Fuckin' vegetables!" Brok stated, showing them that he wasn't too pleased with the idea of what Tyr had used to make the stew, though at the same time the Norse God of War didn't seem offended by his statement, rather he seemed to accept the criticism for what it was and didn't pursue the issue further, "From out of the dirt! That just ain't right..."

"So? They're good for you." Flurry remarked, where she walked over to the table and found that there was more waiting, in fact it looked like a hearty meal that covered all of the basics and would appease everyone, instead of a select few, though as she took her seat, and many of the others joined her, something came to mind, "Hey, Tyr, I've got another question about my species. May I ask it?"

"Certainly. Talking about the Equestrians is always interesting." Tyr said, because he had learned quite a lot about the very race that Flurry had spent her life searching for answers about, and now that they had finally met each other he knew that she would have an endless sea of questions for him, which he would try to answer to the best of his ability.

"During our time in Greece, I ended up getting this strange mark on my body... almost like it was natural." Flurry stated, but this time she made no move to reveal what the mark looked like, just in case Atreus was paying close attention, since he would no doubt piece the puzzle together if she gave him this clue, while Tyr thought about it as everyone filled their plates and bowls full of food.

"A Cutie Mark? They are marks that appear at a certain point in a pony's life, often connected to the personality, proclivity, or even talent of the pony in question." Tyr commented, though at the same time he tore some of the bread and dipped it in his stew, where the others could see that he was enjoying his first taste of real food in quite a long time, while seeing that a number of his companions were eating their meal as well, "Think of it as a 'coming of age' sort of situation. For example, if one is good at baking or food preparation theirs would be a symbol related to food, or if they are skilled in magic they'll have a sign related to magic..."

"Or if they're focused on preserving life they'll get something signifying that?" Atreus inquired, but even as he said that part of him realized that if his sister did have such a mark, and it was clear she did since she had asked about it, it was something he had never seen and doubted that Flurry would even show him it.

"That's right. Basically, it's a coming of age thing." Tyr continued, causing Flurry to nod her head as she did the same thing as everyone else, she ate the food that had been made and found that it was quite good, which meant that Tyr was very skilled, in more than just the arts of war he had mastered, "Perfectly normal for a pony."

"So, now that that is cleared up... can we talk about what we saw in Groa's shrine? About the Champion and what he's going to do?" Atreus asked, because that was what he was interested in right now, since it was far more important right now due to the fact that Ragnarok was closing in on them with every passing day, and understanding Groa's shrine would be the key to beating Odin when the time came.

"No, not until you clear your mind and stop envisioning yourself as this 'hero'... we will discuss the details once you realize that the 'Champion' could be anyone." Kratos stated, where he noticed that Flurry sighed and just focused on her food, as she had been hoping to talk with Tyr more than the few sentences she had gotten, and her brother's rudeness had cut into her attempt to learn more about her species and certain things they had discovered over the years, "Take the lesson of the 'Marked Warrior' prophecy to heart: it told of one who would bring ruin to Olympus and bore a unique mark... Zeus found one who had such a mark and had him abducted, leaving the boy's brother to mark himself in his brother's memory, and yet either of them were the warrior the prophecy was about. Groa's prophecy is the same."

"You know what... forget it. I'm not hungry." Atreus said, as this was unbelievable, that his father wasn't willing to admit the simple truth, that the Giants had need of Loki and Loki was their Champion, so by default he was their Champion and that he would help bring down both Odin and Asgard, causing him to set his stuff down and stand up, "I'm going to go get some sleep, so we can focus on something that isn't the prophecy."

As the others tried to say something Atreus just walked into his portion of the house and closed the door, causing Sindri to get up and head into the broom closet with the bowl that the boy had been eating from, no doubt heading into Atreus' area for a time, causing Flurry to sigh as she wondered what the next couple of hours would hold in store for them.

Atreus found that when he took Sindri's advice to actually get some sleep, instead of pacing for a time, he found that he was instantly moved into an odd sandy place, much like the secret shrines he and Sindri had checked out before his family had been made aware of his actions. He wasn't totally sure what was going on right now, even though he could see himself, as his younger arrogant self, running around constantly, saying 'whatever' when he tried to figure out what was going on right now, and he even discovered that he could walk around and explore. The oddest thing was one of him looking at a mask of some kind, before he found a familiar scene that surprised him, the day he went against his father's wishes and stabbed Modi in the neck, and then it got really weird as he took the place of Modi. He tried, in vain, to stop what he knew was about to happen, though while he found that the wound wasn't real Atreus discovered that it felt real for a few seconds, but there was something in the area that caused his past self to flee, before he collapsed and found himself somewhere else.

He really wasn't sure where he was, honestly, but it looked like another realm, potentially Jotenheim based on all of the odd plants that were around him, only to be surprised by a wolf that suddenly appeared from some of the bushes, which just barked at him a little before moving deeper into the area.

Since he didn't have much else to do Atreus followed after the wolf and found that it wasn't very talkative, not like the ones he was used to, other than the fact that it told him to follow faster, though he did check out the surrounding area for a time, since it was totally different from what he had seen during his last visit. The path the wolf was following caused him to duck under a fallen tree and pass by other wolves, as a few more joined the first in travel towards whatever destination was their end goal, one even telling him that he dreamed his way to this place. Along the way he picked up a few bits of wood that he felt were special or important, maybe for crafting later, though the wolves did bark at him to keep moving, which meant they wanted to bring him somewhere important, like someone was waiting for him. Another mentioned a familiar scent, which he knew to be Fenrir's and he remarked how he was sure that his friend would have loved to meet them, and he even found that one actually let him pet it for a few seconds, to make sure he felt at home and that he wasn't in danger.

The area they brought him to was on the other side of a fallen tree that only he could cross under, where Atreus found what appeared to be a painter's set, a picture of him on bark, but what was odd was that it was of him without his dragon aspects, and there was a girl he didn't recognize in it.

"I'm not done with it yet." a voice said, where he turned and found a young girl, about his age he guessed, who had light brown skin and long black dreadlocks, the latter being held together by a hand carved reindeer antler headpiece, and she wore a blue and grey hangerok with a white tunic under it, before she paused for a moment, "Strange, you were supposed to fall and draw your knife on me when I spoke, and... why do you have dragon aspects?"

"Oh, um, long story short I touched Fafnir's mirror." Atreus replied, though while he was smitten with her, she was a beauty in his eyes, he instantly recognized her as a Giant like him, even though she was likely a pure Giant and not a mixed breed like himself, especially since she must have seen him arrival and came here to prepare for their meeting.

"Fafnir's mirror? You... you weren't supposed to find his mirror." the lady said, where she set down the bowl that was in her hands and looked at the scene she had been painting, before glancing back at him for a time, trying to understand why he was different from what she had seen, to the point where she raised her paintbrush and seemed to take his dimensions for a moment, like a true painter, "Huh... you are definitely weirder than I'd thought you'd be... oh, damn it. That was mean of me, wasn't it?"

"I mean, a little... but to be fair, I'm not a person anymore." Atreus answered, gesturing to his wings and tail for a moment, while the young lady stared at his scaled hands and feet, not to mention his horns and his eyes, because he was half dragon still and hadn't figured out how to reverse the transformation, not without his actions ruining everything, "You know, being half dragon all the time."

The young lady apologized and told him that this was the first time she had talked to anyone in quite a long time, much less someone her own age, especially when that someone happened to be a figure she had been waiting for for her entire life, so she already knew she was messing things up, based on his reaction to her question. In that moment she told him that she'd like to start over and introduced herself as 'Angrboda', where Atreus told her his name and added the name that the Giants knew him as, because he assumed that she would go along with 'Loki' more than 'Atreus', and, sure enough, he was right based on the look in her eyes. Angrboda told him that she knew he was here seeking answers and she could help him get some of them, since she didn't have all of them, before asking him to follow her for a time, where he discovered that she could use her paint, in the form of a cloud, with some magic to alter things and reveal hidden paths. What he learned was that the odd mist he had passed through was called the 'Utangard' and that they were definitely in Ironwood, because it was easy to have a sanctuary when Odin and others thought the sanctuary was a myth, a concept, where he agreed with her, as it sounded very smart.

"So, those wings of yours... can you fly with them?" Angrboda asked, because there was so much about Loki that was totally different from what she had seen in her own visions, so she wanted to know everything she could while they were traveling to their destination, and that was the first thing she had landed on.

"Sadly, no. My sister has tried to teach me, but... I can't do what she does... and I might never reach her skill." Atreus replied, where he found himself wondering what sort of event or emotional trigger might allow him to use his wings, because right now they were practically useless, though he did like his tail since he could take out his foes' feet with a swift spin and his claws were great for climbing up certain walls.

"...Sister? But... my visions didn't show you with a sister... just how much have I missed?" Angrboda commented, as the more she learned about Loki the more she understood that there was something strange going on, first him not acting like what her picture had shown, then the dragon aspects, and now a sibling she knew nothing about.

Atreus chuckled and said he had two sisters, Flurry Heart and Pandora, something that caused Angrboda to remain silent for a time, as she needed a moment to come to terms with what she was learning right now, allowing them to pass through a large brooch, from one of the giant Giants. Eventually Angrboda told him that the reason that she had been waiting for him was due to the fact that her destiny was to tell him his, or what she assumed had been his destiny since now there were pieces she wasn't sure on anymore, not with the information he was currently giving her. There were a number of draugr in the forest as well, which Atreus dealt with as his new friend got a chance to see him in action, with his dragon aspects no less, as he didn't have to restrain himself while he was on his own, since usually he had to avoid hitting his father or either of his sisters while they fought. He also found that his fire breath, which he used while his emotions had overwhelmed him, was still a no go, he couldn't muster the power to activate it at will, a fact that annoyed him until he realized that maybe this was a good thing, since he didn't want to burn Ironwood to the ground.

The only chests he bothered to open where the golden ones, since they held powers to add to his arsenal, and he closed all of them since the rest of the loot didn't matter to him, plus he didn't have Flurry's bag so there was a limit on what he could carry during his travels. One thing he had to admit was that Angrboda fought well, even if her weapon was magical paint and spells, and she, in turn, felt that he was a good fighter, she even called him a Champion, further confirming that he was the one in the right and his father was totally wrong. They also raced across Idi's medallion, which had an interesting image of a golden wolf with a golden fox, howling at a large silver wolf, a silver human, and a silver serpent, almost like parents with three children, something he decided to burn into his memory as Angrboda beat him to the end of the area. The thing that interested him was that she even felt a little sorry about it, since she already knew the path and claimed that it was almost like cheating in a way, but Atreus was fine with it, both of them had fun and that was all that mattered, causing her to smile as they left the area that the medallion was in.

Eventually they reached Angrboda's domain, a camp hidden away deep in Ironwood, where he found a number of shrines that seemed incomplete, a pen with animals, an area for her art supplies and work, and, most importantly, stones that were covered, which had to be what they had come to see.

"Ready?" Angrboda asked, because this was important, knowing the story would help Loki out, but at the same time all of the new pieces made her question how much of the information she was about to show him was still accurate, where Loki just nodded his head, causing her to pull the covers back.

Atreus found that the first stone had images he was familiar with, such as his mother talking to the Giants or him and his father encountering Jormungandr for the first time, plus the funeral that started their first journey and everything else that had been on the left side of the cracked wall they found before spreading his mother's ashes. The middle stone was more of the same, pieces of their journey, such as fighting near Thamur's corpse when claiming the chisel piece, traveling through Helheim on the boat, and a scene that looked like they were supposed to fight Baldur, which was mixed with the scene of his immortality being taken away. The rightmost stone was the damaged section, the one his mother destroyed, where he found an image of the Raven Tree, a scene with him holding a bag while being near Angrboda and a serpent, him loosing an arrow at a stranger, and a scene where he was talking with Odin in what he assumed was Asgard. There was one image that stalled him, a scene where he was mourning his dead father with Thor standing over them, the latter looking like he had done the deed in the first place, before noticing a specter of death behind Odin in the Asgard portion.

Despite that fact his focus was on the image of his father resting dead in his arms, him no doubt uttering the phrase that he uttered when Fenrir passed, and he could feel his emotions running out of control as he realized that terrible truth, causing him to back off as Angrboda took a step towards him.

"Loki!" Angrboda called out, though in the next instant she found that his power washed over him and he turned into a wolf, the golden wolf from Idi's medallion she realized, but there was something different about him, as his back shuddered as his wings pushed out of his back, scales formed on all four of his legs, and she was sure his teeth were more like a dragon's, making him more dangerous than before.

In the next moment Loki slammed his head into the stone and tried to claw it, like that would destroy it, in fact he tried that for a minute, though she also found that he seemed to be half listening to him as he focused on the stones, but after quickly figuring out that he couldn't ruin the stones with his claws he backed up and Angrboda was sure flames were building in his throat.

"Whoa! Think before you do something stupid! This is my home... you let that fire out, and you'll destroy everything here, not to mention the innocent creatures that'll be caught in the crossfire!" Angrboda stated, standing between Loki and the three stones she had worked on, restoring them so he'd be able to see what she thought was his destiny, where she found that she was able to cut through the emotional cloud in his mind as the flames disappeared, "Good... you're doing good. Now, let go... let go and come back to me."

Atreus found that he was able to return to his half dragon form, letting the wolf disappear, another form he had no idea he could turn into, though instead of getting up and facing the stone he just turned around and stared out at Jotenheim, as he needed time to understand everything.

"I'm... just going to lie here for a moment." Atreus commented, as there was a lot he needed to think about and he could tell that Angrboda needed the same, no doubt because of what she had seen and the information he had given her so far, and as she nodded her head he realized there was something else he needed to tell her, "Oh, and one of my sisters, Flurry Heart, is an Equestrian... if that helps you any."

"That... is very helpful." Angrboda said, resisting the urge to just let out a loud sigh and express her displeasure at the fact that her life's work might have been for nothing now, especially since there was someone from that species running around the Nine Realms how, meaning she needed time to think and come to terms with everything, "Tell you what, we can relax for a while before talking about the future... I need to figure some things out before we do so."

Atreus nodded and glanced at the sky for a time, as he had no idea what was going on anymore and could only hope that he would be able to get back to Sindri's house before his family even knew he was gone, even though he was curious as to what else Angrboda might show him in the near future.