God of War: Daughter of War

With the binding spell broken, at long last, Freya walked around the area with a smile on her face, as she was happy to be free from it at long last and be able to do things with her own power, though none of them mentioned the fact that she would have to face her brother soon, since she knew that fact. After a few moments of enjoying herself, without having to worry about being torn from the realm they were in, Freya told them that it was time to go and Kratos opened the stone door that was in front of them, allowing everyone else to head through first. As they did that she also confirmed that her own anger was going to be directed at her former husband, as Odin had much to answer for and it was time she made sure he knew which side of the conflict she was on, especially since she was free to move around however she wanted. Freya also revealed that she could be of some help in exploring places, because she could place runic magic on items, like the vines that were in their way, hexing them in a way so that a blast from Kratos' blades or from Flurry's own magic could burn these special portions of bramble.

While they walked Pandora commented on the fact that Freyr seemed open to the idea of Freya returning, in fact it looked like he missed her, where Freya sighed and told them it was much more simple, her brother was likely hoping to pass off his leadership to her so he could go back to whatever else he wanted to do, while Kratos found that the hexing allowed him to free a stone chest to loot it.

Along the way the group found an Einherjar camp in one of the ruins, which made sense given that they were trying to take out Freyr's group and fully subjugate the realm, though this time around Freya was able to assist them as she used both her blade and her sigil arrows, the latter essentially placing the explosive magic on her targets. Now that she was fully free to do what she wanted Freya was a formidable ally to have on their side, helping them damage their enemies and make sure they weren't overwhelmed, her sigil arrows being a useful addition to their arsenal as the magical explosions messed with the group of Einherjar that were in front of them. Such a thing meant they were able to clear out the camp without delay, in the span of a couple of moments, before Kratos found an area to crouch through and motioned for everyone to pass through it, since it seemed to be the only way forward without tracking down the path they had used to reach the area that the core of the binding spell had been stored in. On the other side of the collapsed wall Freya pointed out another plant that needed to be taken care of with the Leviathan Axe, as they were much like the skorn poles, spewing poison and could be stopped once they were frozen, useful information to have since there was no telling how many of them they would have to deal with.

By using sigil magic they were able to freeze the plant and take the Leviathan Axe, like a more permanent freeze, which was when Kratos realized that the sigil arrows would definitely change things for them in the future, before they found what had to be a font of magical energy, forming spheres with symbols on them.

"Wisps... heralds of impending destruction." Freya said, though as the font turned into a trio of wisps they were crushed not a few seconds later as Flurry held her hand out, captured them with her magic, and crushed them, where she stared at the alicorn for a moment before letting out a sigh as she decided not to question what they had seen, "Runic Magic is a very delicate system and reflects the nature of the realms... in times of peace, like before Fimbulwinter, it's peaceful and you'll never see wisps... but when there are disturbances you'll see wisps every now and then, and Ragnarok is the worst type of disturbance of them all. They can also fuse into wights, so be careful."

"Sounds like enemies I should focus on eliminating." Flurry commented, which might be the truth, even though she had a feeling it would be some time before they actually encountered one of the wights, especially since the magic was only now forming the wisps they had just seen.

Freya, again, said nothing to that as they continued up the path that was beyond where the font had appeared, though as they stepped out onto a cliff something interesting happened, the moon moved as a blue line, a wolf she realized, chased it and split the sky, giving way for the sun and morning to arrive.

"Wait... Skoll and Hati are in Vanaheim?" Freya asked, because this was a first for her, though at the same time it had been a long time since she had been in her home realm, so there were plenty of things she didn't know about and things she had to check on, if Kratos and the others were willing to assist her in her search.

"Yes, we learned that the Giants had freed them and brought them here." Kratos replied, where he could tell that Freya was surprised by this information, which was fair since none of them had know it until they saw what was inside the shrine that revealed it to them, before he glanced at the sky for a moment, "Now we know that part was correct."

Instead of trying to understand what Kratos was talking about, as it sounded like they had seen something far more than what she had been told, Freya decided to head down the other path that had appeared, as some plants reacted to the sun or even lack of it. As they walked out of the area Flurry paused as she noticed the animals down in the gorge that rested down below them, leading to another part of the realm, and smiled as she found that the native creatures refused to fall to Odin's actions, they were full of life and that made her happy. Freya noticed that and smiled as well, because it was nice to see that someone else appreciated life as much as she did, maybe even to a higher degree because of her alicorn nature, before they turned towards the root path that had been formed by the plants waking up and used it to get to another part of the realm. While they did that Kratos noticed a shrine that he and the others had seen, causing Freya to tell them that she had no idea what it, and the others like it, were used for, it was a mystery to the people of Vanaheim, meaning it had to be Giant in nature, causing everyone to nod their heads as they made their way back to Freyr's camp.

The only enemies that appeared to be in their way were more Einherjar, who didn't stand much of a chance, while Freya also showed them how to chain sigil points together, so they could reach something that was further away, when Flurry wasn't around since her magic could do what she was suggesting with ease. It was a good way to solve puzzles or harm enemies, or even open hidden locks so they could continue progressing, where Pandora commented that Brok would likely want to do something to the bow so Atreus could have the same magic and would likely give Freya the capabilities that were attached to Atreus' bow in exchange. Freya nodded as she heard that, it seemed like something the dwarf would do, before asking what the family was going to do next, because it seemed like something big had been happening when she and Baldur arrived to seek their help in breaking the binding spell. Kratos told her the basic truth, that Odin had annoyed Flurry and his daughter was interested in upturning Ragnarok itself, he knew Flurry well enough to know when she wanted to stop something from happening, causing Freya and Baldur to sweat for a moment before deciding that it was best to ask when they were in a safe location again.

Eventually they made it back to Freyr's camp, though Kratos and the others stepped back, allowing Freya and Freyr to talk in private, even though their conversation moved to the center of the camp when the topic of loyalty came up, Freya actually taking Freyr's booze and throwing it into the fire. Flurry watched the pair for a time, because they were definitely siblings, as in they fought, argued, and accused each other of many things, reminding her of her bond with Atreus, how they were like Freya and Freyr, but there was a key difference between them. That difference was the fact that Freya and Freyr were able to reach an understanding, because Freyr revealed that for a long time he had assumed his sister was dead, that his last words to her had been awful enough to cause him distress over their fights, and that he, along with many others, had mourned for her. That love, despite all of their fights and harsh words towards each other, was enough to cause them to apologize, in a way that made sense to them, and while it was clear that Freyr was sad that Freya wasn't joining them immediately, she had more work to do, he was pleased with the idea that there were more allies out there for his forces, meaning they might be able to force Odin's people out of Vanaheim at some point.

The only thing that ruined it was Brok interrupting the end, causing the pair to sigh as the dwarf brought them to the area of the camp that was the smithy, where he took Freya's bow for a moment before returning it with the elemental powers that were in Atreus' bow, both from this adventure and the previous one, while at the same time Flurry talked with some of the others, just to see how they were doing.

Upon leaving Freyr's camp, with a few new tasks to do to help out the group, the group found their way back to the runic lock they had passed by and Freya had new information for them, that to unlock this they needed an enchantment on their chisel, which she was able to create for them. With the information in hand Kratos raised the empowered chisel and quickly carved the symbol on it, which caused all of the golden bits to form a statement, an incantation, that Freya spoke, causing the wall to the right of the lock to glow before the stone moved. As it moved out of the way, forming a new path for them to take, Flurry mentioned that both the pair of elves in Freyr's camp mentioned that a light elf sanctum was located out in the Barrens, no doubt beyond the runic lock they had seen, meaning they might check it out later. This brought them to a boat and some vines that had to be burned out of the way, which Kratos was able to do quickly by using Freya's sigil magic, and once that was done he and the others got into the boat, only he found that four people was a little much, since it was him, Pandora, Freya, and Baldur, since Flurry took to the air.

"So, I have to ask: the shrine said that Tyr was alive... was he really alive, all this time?" Baldur asked, as that was the reason Odin had come to Kratos' home in the first place, trying to get him to stand down by trying to get Atreus to stop seeking Tyr's prison, and both he and his mother were interested in seeing if the information had been right or not.

"Yep. Imprisoned in Asgard, by the sounds of it... the prison in Svartalfheim was one Odin was using to try and trick us into bringing him into our inner circle, so he could stay one step ahead." Pandora replied, causing Freya and her son to share a glance for a moment, as that was bad news when they considered what Odin was capable of, before noticing the annoyed look that was on Flurry's face when the event was mentioned, causing her sister to rub the back of her head for a moment, "Well, let's just say that Flurry found out, broke Odin's illusion, banished him from Yggdrasil, and used the power of his own spell to break Tyr out of his prison... we have the real one back in Sindri's secluded home."

"...What...?" Freya remarked, as she couldn't help it, that sounded insane when she thought about it, more so than when she had to listen to Odin during the time that she was his wife, and yet Flurry made it seem like all of that was possible and totally reasonable at the same time.

Flurry found her way to another Door and connected it to the system, before Freya focused on the fact that there was one other thing she could use their help with, if they were willing to help her out, it just involved using the river they were on for a time and she would lead them along the path they needed to follow. As they moved Kratos asked what sort of business Freya wanted to wrap up, causing her to tell everyone that she had left something near the falls up ahead, which Mimir was able to identify as her wedding site, a place he was sure the goddess didn't want to visit again and caused him to ask why she was so interested in it. Freya told them that she intended on severing the rest of her bonds to Odin and to Asgard, and that meant heading back to where it happened, as there were three items she needed to find, recover, and destroy, symbols of the bond she wanted to destroy. The delta they came to held a ruin that reflected a period of time that no longer existed thanks to Odin's wars and lust for knowledge, and when they finally docked the group discovered that there were a couple of reavers waiting, weak ones since they fell in seconds.

There was also a new type of foe, a water spirit called a nokken that made enemies invulnerable with their songs, that they had to deal with, though Flurry did so by creating a barrier around it and crushed the creature while the others cut down the weak reavers as they explored the delta.

As it turned out the delta only had a golden chest for them to loot, having another axe component to add to the collection, though once that was done they returned to the boat and continued to explore the area as they searched for more areas to check, while Freya continued to lead them towards their destination. Flurry eventually tracked down an area that had an interesting item, a family crest crafted in the traditional art style of Vanaheim, which some of Freya's people had made as a gift for Odin, who apparently discarded it shortly after receiving it. There was also a rift that she cleared out, as it had two aggressive light elves, while her sister looted a stone chest at the end of the bridge, before using a rope line to slide down into another portion of the area, hopefully heading towards the falls so they could aid Freya. Of course Freya found that the area was cleared of enemies as Flurry dealt with some gulons and another gradungr, the latter having attacked her first and was split in half with ease, before she spotted a few seidr poles in the former garden area and utilized her magic to crush all of them, restoring balance to the area.

While that happened Freya discovered a ghost that wanted to speak with her, as it was someone she had known and that made her worry, though the spirit was allowed to test after the poison was removed from the area thanks to Flurry doing away with the various seidr items. Freya was glad for that, because leaving spirits trapped like this was wrong and she found that she approved of Flurry's attempts to bring life back to an area that might not sustain it, since there was no one living in this area of Vanaheim, not anymore, before they returned to the boat and moved on. While doing that Flurry also told them that she found a chest with a piece of armor from Lunda, the female dwarf, which she should be able to fix up once all three of the pieces had been obtained, plus the dog toy that should be along the materials she wanted them to obtain. They also found their way to a gate that Freya could open from another vantage point, allowing them to find a spirit that wanted them to end a bunch of her cursed seidr fiends, to free them from their misery, which the group added to the list of things to do while they were in the area.

Of course the focus on seidr magic meant that they had to deal with a few revenants and a number of nightmares, while also opening a runic chest that was in the area, a stone one with more of Lunda's armor, a few wooden ones, and a chain that they freed before using it to climb up to a higher portion of the area. Such a thing brought them to a runic lock that formed an incantation for Freya to recite, and when she did the stones that were blocking the way forward moved out of the way, allowing them to return to the boat without delay before heading through the new opening. As they continued on Freya just talked about how once upon a time she and Odin had been happy, if that could be believed, until he eventually revealed his true colors to her, causing the rest of their history to unfold, before she stopped as they reached some gulon and wulvar, enemies that they cut their way through without pause. Following that Flurry directed them even higher as she discovered a portion of the rocky wall that magic could be used on, which Freya did without delay and revealed the path to a shrine that she never thought she would visit again, meaning they were on the right track, after looting a runic chest along the way.

There were reavers in there, of course, but the group wasted no time in slashing them apart, while this time around Flurry just used her bow, arrows piercing her targets with ease as Freya continued to lead everyone towards the items they had to recover so she could destroy them, and her bond to Odin as well. The only foe that caused her to change weapons instantly was the Soul Eater that woke up as they started to fight the reavers, where she drew the Blade of Olympus and shattered the terrible creature before it could attack the others, allowing her to resume using her bow on their enemies. Freya and Baldur noticed that she didn't seem to care much for the darker stone constructs, something to ask about later on once they had time to rest, before Freya found a door with two braziers they had to ignite, causing Kratos and his daughters to move once they noticed it. Such a thing allowed the pair to see that the trio was quick at figuring out how to unlock the various types of locks and doors that were in their way, which was mostly Flurry they noticed, she was smarter than the rest of her family, and their work on the door meant they were able to continue on their way.

Freya, however, decided to tackle the right side first, not that Kratos or his family cared since they had opened the door, to which they lowered the bridge that was on the side their friend wanted to explore first and cut through the nightmares, plus a pair of gulon, while searching for Freya's important missing items.

Flurry discovered another crest, this one from the deceased Hylli Family, as the Aesir slaughtered all of them a few weeks into the war, wiping out an entire family line, causing her to growl as she gained that information, her deep hatred for Odin deepening the more she learned about his deeds. Beyond where the item was resting they found another revenant, which was slain by a volley of arrows from Flurry's bow, once more surprising Freya and Baldur with her sheer speed, because the rate at which she loosed her arrows was staggering at times, especially when she was angry or annoyed. Such a thing was followed by them approaching a pedestal, which happened to have a nice circlet on it, where Freya revealed that it had been hers during the ceremony, but Odin kept making new ones for himself, one per week, that grew ever more beautiful than the one before it, before she sighed and magically destroyed the item. With that done Kratos carved a symbol on the nearby runic lock and half an incantation appeared over the gap between where they were working and the chamber that held the third item, to which they retraced their steps back towards the center and headed up through the other door.

The left side was occupied by a few reavers and a nokken, the latter being wiped out by Flurry as the others decimated the invaders, allowing them to loot a couple of new chests before reaching a second pedestal, a chalice that was part of her wedding ceremony, an item she destroyed as Kratos carved on the second runic lock.

"I will admit... the item on the other side of the last door scares me the most." Freya commented, just after speaking the incantation that restored a thin stone bridge for them to walk on, though most of her focus was on what was on the other side of the door, an item that served as one of her last bonds to Asgard.

"It is because the battles that are fought within ourselves are the most difficult... but you are not alone, Freya." Kratos said, as he recalled all of the self imposed challenges and training he had put himself through to master his rage, to become who he currently was, and some of them had been quite the challenge, even with Flurry and Pandora being with him, "We are here to support you."

Freya nodded and opened the door, revealing a small area with a weapon, a sword, that seemed to be a marriage of both worlds, Aesir and Vanir woven together to make the blade, though she informed them it had been forged purely for the ceremony, for her and Odin to drive it into the stone pillar, together. As Kratos pulled Mimir out, so he could observe, he did note that the blade was sharp, designed to be a weapon if the day ever came, though as Freya gripped the handle he and everyone else found that she was unable to actually draw it from the stone. Not even her second attempt worked, despite her putting more effort into trying to remove it, and her third ended up with her falling to her knees as she stared at the brass weapon, or whatever metal the smiths had used to forge the blade in the first place. Baldur made a move to help his mother, but Kratos had him stand back, because this battle was one that only Freya had the answer to, one that she had to win on her own, as he had been telling the truth, all they could do was stand by her and support her, and he could tell that he was right, he could see it in her eyes when she glanced back at them.

"Odin once said 'The deepest wounds form the strongest bonds'... bastard said it as part of our marriage vows, originally to be taken as the loss of life forging stronger bonds among the survivors." Freya stated, though the look in her eyes told the group that she had, at long last, figured out another meaning for the phrase Odin had spoken during the ceremony, one that both upset her and seemed to give her some clarity as she stood up like she had been enlightened, "And I really hate it when he's right... Asgard holds a part of me I could never sever: my bond to you, my son, plus my bond to Sigrun and the rest of the Valkyries... that damned realm isn't just Odin's, rather it's mine as well. The pain he caused is his... I refuse to keep holding onto it."

As she said that Flurry found that Freya made a fourth attempt on the sword, through this time she was able to draw it out, a reflection of what was going on inside her, going from 'unworthy' to being 'worthy', and she was pleased to see that Freya was better for letting go of the emotions that Odin had been forcing her to carry.

"The sword will no longer serve as a sign of your union... but now you can use it to secure the realms, leaving a better legacy for it." Baldur said, though the smile that was on his face spoke volumes, as he was now thinking of fully letting go of his own rage and anger, to take the final step his mother had just gone, making Freya smile in return as she sheathed the blade in the second sheath that was on her back as her son shifted his gaze, "Come on, let's get back to Sindri's... I think it's time we talked to Atreus and see what the boy, and his friend, have to say... it should be interesting."

Flurry nodded her head as they started to depart from the area, a light smile on her face as she thought about the steps that Freya and Baldur had made, before turning her focus towards whatever her brother was going to tell them and what the near future held for all of them.