God of War: Daughter of War

As the family wrapped up their little rest outside Brok's campsite, which doubled as a workshop since his beast carried all of his materials for her, Flurry heard something approach the area they were in and found that it was the creatures that had originally scared the beast in the first place, more draugr. Such a thing allowed Kratos to instantly discover that Brok had been right, as it felt like the axe was doing more damage to his targets, like each attack was somewhat stronger than what he could deliver previously, which he considered to be good news since it meant the time spent here was well worth it. At the same time Flurry and Pandora dealt with some of the other draugr that were around the area, since more were coming to attack them, though it did reveal something he should have expected, Atreus decided not to get involved and stayed with Brok, showing that he was still dealing with the side effects of having killed someone with his own hands. For the time being he focused on tearing through the rest of their foes, delivering more powerful blows to his enemies while Pandora moved around and cut hers down, all while Flurry focused on her bow and loosed arrows at her opponents.

While all of this happened Brok watched them with interest, focused on the weapons they were using and how each person used them in combat, and seemed rightly impressed when the battle stopped with the family emerging as the victors, even if Atreus didn't do anything to help them.

"So, tell me: what do you think of my handiwork?" Brok asked, because based on what he had seen he could tell that Kratos was pleased with the results of him improving the axe, though at the same time he knew that it was best to ask those who used his services how they felt about the alterations he had made or if they liked the armor he crafted for them.

"Your work is good, and the axe is definitely stronger than before. You have my thanks." Kratos replied, as he knew that this would help them on their quest to the highest peak in the Nine Realms, while at the same time making him wonder if there were more Frozen Flames, as Brok called them, for him and his family to discover, since they would allow them to improve the Leviathan Axe even more.

"Same could be said of your footwork and abilities... hell, I can't remember the last time I saw warriors like you three. You must have seen a lot of conflict before this point." Brok remarked, showing them that he knew more about warriors than many might assume when they looked at him for the first time, to which he returned to his side of the table and focused on part of whatever he was supposed to be working on after he set up his camp, before glancing at them, "If you need armor or weapon improvements, you know where to find me... maybe next time we'll talk about those sickles!"

"If we have the time, sure... however, we seek the path to the highest peak. Is this it?" Flurry asked, beckoning to the path that happened to be the right of the bridge that Brok and his beast had been waiting on for some time, since it seemed to be heading in the right direction and she wanted to make sure her assumptions were right before they wasted time on an area that wouldn't bring them to their goal.

"It should put you in the right direction, that's for sure." Brok answered, meaning he either didn't know the information or he did and this was his way of answering questions like that, though that was good enough for Kratos, since he knew that they would be able to find their own way up after a certain point, just like he and Flurry had done during their adventures back in their homeland.

"It was nice meeting you Brok... I'll be thinking of a name for your beast, for when we see each other again." Atreus said, as he knew they were leaving and he wanted the dwarf to know that he was thinking about something they had talked about while everyone else was fighting, just to take his mind off of the fact that he had killed someone back when the reavers talked about eating their flesh.

"How about I name her 'Fucking Gratitude'?" Brok remarked, though as he said that he paused for a moment as he quickly glanced back at the beast that was just resting on the ground behind him, where Flurry found that a smile appeared on his face as he considered something for that short period of time, "Hey, Fucking Gratitude... come over here! Hey, I like the sound of that."

As they started to move away from Brok's position, and approached the gate that seemed to be the only path available at the moment, Flurry found another Eye of Odin resting on a nearby rock and swung a sickle at it, breaking the transparent bird into mist like the one they had found before meeting Brok.

"You left us to fight alone, boy... I understand that you will have trouble fighting people, but everything else should be no reason for you to hide." Kratos commented, speaking to Atreus as Pandora found a lower area to explore for a couple of seconds, where she discovered another stone chest and looted it without delay, tossing up the items to Flurry so she could store them inside her bag.

"I... I know... I'm sorry. I'll... I'll pull my weight from now on, because I don't want to go home." Atreus replied, showing that he knew what his father would threaten again, just like when he retreated into himself after he killed the reaver earlier, but while he said that they found that their father pulled on a chain to open a door and then froze a gear in place so they could make some progress, "Does... Does it get any easier? And why did you call me 'boy'?"

"Honestly, each person is different when it comes to killing people... for some it gets easier with time, for others it never gets easier, and for a few it isn't a problem." Flurry answered, as she remembered what her father had told her when she first took a life and asked the same question, in fact she used the same explanation that Kratos had used when he told her this information, though as she said that they entered the structure so her father could recall the axe, "Also, the reason father called you 'boy' is to show his disappointment in your actions... normally calling a son 'boy' or a daughter 'girl' is due to not being worthy of the name they were given."

"I've never heard of such an odd custom." Atreus said, though, as was becoming a habit of his, he quickly wrote it down in his journal, no doubt to remind himself of it later on when they were resting, almost like he was trying to chronicle their entire journey or something.

Kratos said nothing to that, as Flurry was right, it was part of Spartan training and both she and Pandora had neared the right to be called by their names, or at least the elders from his generation would have said such a thing, causing him to focus on the path as all four of them crouched and walked through a tight passage. The only downside to their short bit of crouching was that there were skulls and skeletons on the ground, like plenty of people had died here at some point in the past, though upon reaching the end they discovered a spiked wall in front of them, one that happened to have an area for Kratos to throw the axe at. That caused the wooden wall that the spikes were attached to to move backwards, revealing a second one that could rotate around differently, as the other could be moved out of the way so Pandora could open and loot another stone chest, all while the others focused on a rotating device with wooden planks that could be hit with the axe, just like the walls. Flurry discovered that this device raised part of the area that was in front of them and revealed that it had spikes on the bottom of it's surface, meaning it could crush anyone unlucky enough to be under it, but Kratos made sure to lock it in place by using the frost gear on top of it.

Instead of jumping over there himself Kratos stood by Atreus as Flurry jumped over to the area while quickly pulling out Earthshaker once more, where she dodged incoming attacks while lashing out when an opening showed itself to her, a fact that allowed her brother to watch as she crushed the draugr with ease.

Once they were dealt with, much to her brother's continued amazement, she nodded her head as Pandora hurled both of her chakrams into an opening on the wall in front of her, opening it and forming a way for them to move forward, though as they did so Kratos found a few more Hacksilver pouches that ended up in Flurry's bag. Flurry did pause for a moment while looking at the upper area that was revealed when the spiked ceiling settled into place, as there was a level that had one of the runic chests and she had the others stop for a few seconds as she tracked down the runes. She tracked down all three of them in due time, even found a wooden chest along the way, allowing her to add more stuff to the collection as she noticed more of the three materials that Brok had labeled for them during their previous conversation, though she did know he would be overjoyed if he found what was inside her bag. From there she returned to her family as they climbed up a ledge and walked up to a new area, where Atreus ran to the edge of the area, nearly falling off until he regained his balance, so he could take a good look at the peak that they were focused on making their way to.

A few moments later he got over what he was thinking about and continued along the path that was in front of them, one that seemed to wrap around the side of the portion of the mountain and brought Flurry and her family to a pair of statues which had a shield of sorts between them.

"Woah, look at this! There are runes written on the side of this." Atreus said, as there was also a pedestal with a bowl of sand in the middle of a flat area that seemed to be connected to what they were seeing, of that Flurry was sure, and, due to his ability to understand all languages, it was clear that he was able to translate what it said, "It says 'As we are, we two, we three... As I alone can never be'."

"It's a riddle... and the answer should be 'family', but knowing the creators the answer should be here somewhere." Flurry remarked, as it sounded far too easy of a puzzle or riddle, though in that moment she noticed that the shield had runes written on it's surface, which she was sure if they arranged it correctly they should be able to truly solve the riddle and do whatever it was they were supposed to do here.

Atreus thought about it and realized that his sister had to be right, the answer was clearly in front of them and their father even confirmed it as he found an area that had a lever that started turning the rings of the shield, something that allowed Kratos to target a few frost gears on the inside of the shield. That, in turn, allowed him to lock the runes together in a way that allowed Atreus to read what was written on it's surface, which was when he confirmed that his sister was right, the answer to the riddle was 'family', telling him that she must have solved stuff like this in the past. Kratos pointed out that he could write the runes in the sand and should, in theory, do something to open a way forward, as Faye had mentioned such a thing to him and his daughters at one point in time, which caused Atreus to raise an eyebrow as he drew his knife for a seconds seconds. He also recalled his mother mentioning such a tale and traced the runes into the sand without delay, all while speaking the rune and stabbing the sand once he was done writing the word, something that caused magic to move around the outer ring of the shield before it popped open like a lid and moved out of the way.

Such a thing revealed a new path for the family to follow, one that cut through the mountain and happened to pass right by another emerald raven, where this time Pandora took it out with one of her chakrams, smashing it apart before they came to a stop as Kratos found the tracks of a boar.

Flurry knew exactly what her father was doing as he beckoned for Atreus to come look, he was trying to improve his son's skills as a hunter so he could be a better archer in battle, as the two styles went hand in hand, where she joined them just to make sure her brother understood what she had taught him. Kratos confirmed her thoughts as he told Atreus that he should keep his skills sharp through constant practice, until they became second nature to him, and, sure enough, his son was able to identify that it was a boar on his own and that he was able to pinpoint the direction it went in. As they quickly jumped down into the area in front of them, however, the family discovered that a troll was in the area and that it took out a group of draugr before turning towards all four of them and held it's pillar club at the ready, showing everyone that the creature wanted them dead as well. As everyone stepped forward Flurry noted that the area seemed to have large bones, like a whale had died here or something large like that, though her focus was on their foe as she switched to her sickles and Pandora decided to use her chakrams for a time.

Kratos charged at the troll and demanded his attention by hurling the axe at it's face, causing the creature to roar at him as both Flurry and Pandora rushed to the sides while Atreus remained at a safe distance, where both sisters attacked it's arms as Atreus followed his lessons as he focused on a single target and slowed his speed to keep his accuracy. While they did that a number of weaker draugr decided to attack them, instead of focusing on the troll, something that caused Flurry to shift her focus as she rushed around the area, swinging at the undead and taking them down in a matter of seconds. Such a thing allowed the others to focus on taking down the troll as Kratos avoided the attacks with ease, Pandora struck both of it's arms, and Atreus carefully let a few arrows fly as they struck his target in it's chest, though the beast decided to focus on the warriors that were around it, close by, and not someone who was far away from him. Kratos brought the battle to an end as they knocked the troll's weapon into the air so he could latch onto it with his axe, allowing the older warrior to bring the long stone pillar down on top of the troll's head and crush it easily, only to find that it dissolved into several items.

One was another gem that he used to give himself another skill before handing the drained item to Flurry, another one was a pouch of Hacksilver, and the third was more of the soft steel, only for Atreus to point out another runic chest off to the side and Flurry noticed that there were three gongs resting around the area. She, Pandora, and Kratos shared a glance for a few seconds as they understood what to do next, as each other got near one of the egg shaped gongs and quickly threw a weapon at them, causing three sounds to ring that unlocked the chest, allowing Kratos to loot it. As soon as the treasure was in Flurry's bag they made sure to search the rest of the immediate area, with Atreus finding a large elegant stone that had a prayer to Odin on it that he translated into his journal, along with a wooden chest, before they started to follow the rest of the path. The path, as it turned out, brought them close to the boar, one that Flurry could tell had some sort of magic on it, as the critter was around one of the corners and caused everyone to take cover so it didn't see them, a fact that allowed Kratos to continue Atreus' lesson.

This time around Atreus drew to his chest and took his time, instead of rushing like normal, and scored a good blow, even though the arrow bounced off the boar's side before it freaked out and rushed deeper into the area, though Kratos made sure to tell his son that it was a good attempt and that he should get after the animal.

The boar happened to flee into a ruined settlement of some kind, where Flurry dealt with another of Odin's Eyes while the others continued to follow the animal, only to discover that there were a number of dead reavers and Hel-Walkers around the place, plus one walking Hel-Walker further along the path that Kratos crushed the head of. Fortunately that was the only foe they had to worry about and Kratos carefully lifted a stone pillar out of the way, as the boar was close to the other side, he could see the animal, thus allowing Atreus another chance to practice his skill with his bow. This time, however, he managed to actually pierce the boar's side, causing it to squeal in pain before rushing off, something that caused Atreus to smile and jump to his feet in joy for a few seconds before rushing off to finish the job like he was taught, only he dropped his knife in the process. Kratos decided not to say anything as he picked up the knife and stashed it away on his belt, as he would need to tell his son to be more careful with it, before they followed Atreus into what appeared to be a fog filled area that the boar had fled into, as the blood trail went into it.

As Kratos called out to Atreus they heard that he had found the boar, that it was swiftly followed by a shocked voice, one that belonged to a woman, who seemed to act like her best friend had been hurt and caused Atreus to apologize as they burst out of the fog and found a lady who had long chestnut colored hair, wearing a light brown dress that seemed to be a mix of animal skins and cloth.

"I'm sorry, we didn't know he belonged to anyone." Atreus said, showing the lady that he was definitely sorry for hurting the boar, especially since now they knew that he clearly belonged to someone, who either saw him as a friend or as one of her precious farm animals.

"He doesn't belong to me, as he's one of my precious friends." the lady replied, where it was clear that she was distraught over what had happened to the boar, who was resting on the ground and seemed to be still, trying not to move since that would do far more damage to his insides.

"Apologies. We were teaching Atreus how to become more comfortable with his bow and the boar appeared to be a good target for his practice... the blame is mine and mine alone." Kratos stated, causing the lady to glance towards them for a few seconds as she realized that there were more people in the area, and pause for a moment as she spotted Flurry, due to the fact that she was the odd one out.

With that information in hand the lady beckoned for them to help as she mentioned that this boar was the last of his kind, in Midgard based on what she hinted at, while Flurry noticed that she was annoyed by them using the creature as target practice, before focusing on aiding the wounded boar. The lady told them that the blame was also hers since she failed to keep an eye on the boar and informed them that the arrow had cut a tideway through her friend, which meant Atreus had done well with his last arrow, before mentioning that they needed to join the two ends together. Kratos was able to do that with ease, causing the lady to use magic to heal what she could for the time being, where Atreus, for some reason, called her a witch, a title she ignored as she told the group that the rest of her work had to be done at her place. Flurry did what had to be done, she weaved her own magic into a barrier around the boar and lifted him into the air, surprising the lady since she wasn't expecting her to be able to do this, before she beckoned for them to follow her as she headed for her home.

The Witch, for lack of a better name to call her by, waved her hand at some vines that were blocking their path and they moved out of the way, meaning she had to be a nature goddess, as Flurry could easily see that with a glance, who quickly beckoned for them to follow as they moved along the path. She was definitely interested in them, since this was the first time she had seen any of them, based on the fact that she noted that the Talon Bow was too big for Atreus, who told her that he was still growing into it, like he had been told multiple times in the past. When the topic got to Faye, who the Witch assumed was missing her family, Pandora glanced to Kratos for a moment, who thought about it before nodding, as the lady seemed trustworthy despite the fact that they had harmed her friend on accident, causing her to tell the Witch about Faye's last wishes. Such a thing surprised her, which was fair when Flurry thought about the rest of the Nine Realms and all of the customs they knew nothing about right now, before she focused on getting the boar to her house so she could finish her healing process so she could save his life.

As they approached a clearing with a large tree, however, they learned that the Witch didn't live inside the tree, but rather in a house that was below it, and below the large turtle creature that it happened to be connected to, as she waved a hand and spoke a word to raise everything up and reveal the door they quickly walked through.

"Place him here." the Witch said, gesturing to the middle of what seemed to be her round living room, which Flurry found had more magical symbols carefully etched into the floor, or at least it sure looked like it, though the orb was placed on the floor and undone so the boar could gently rest his head on the ground, allowing the Witch to pour something into his mouth, which he drank up, causing her to glance to them for a moment, "I need two more things to make an ointment for him: first, fresh red root, which I'm growing behind the house; second, I require lamb's cress."

"Very well." Kratos replied, where he glanced at Atreus and his son nodded, heading outside to look for the first herb, as he understood that splitting the two between them would make things easier though he was sure that he would be able to find the other one before helping the Witch with the wounded boar.

"Listen, I know what you three are: a god and two goddesses... not from these lands, that's for sure, but I realized what all of you were earlier." the Witch carefully said, as she suspected that there was a reason behind why Atreus hadn't been told what his father was, and what he was as well, but after studying them for a time she knew that it was best if she said nothing and didn't pry into their affairs, especially with her own past, "Know that the gods of these realms don't take kindly to outsides... trust me, I know. However, I can offer you a bit of aid: a rune that will ward you from their eyes and let you complete your quest in peace... think of it as thanks for helping undo your mistake."

Kratos still felt it was odd to be thanked for making such a terrible mistake, since the boar was incredibly important to the Witch, but since she wanted to do so, and almost seemed to insist on such a thing, he decided that it might be a good idea in the end, since it would keep the Stranger from tracking them down. With that in mind he had Flurry remain with both the Witch and the boar, since her magic might be useful in keeping the boar safe, allowing the lady to tell the sisters that her name was 'Freya', as using 'Witch' all the time would become tiresome, causing Flurry and Pandora to do the same as they made sure the boar was safe. Of course they also named their father and brother, just so Freya knew what to call the pair if she ever needed to, though as they did that Flurry noticed that Atreus was talking to their father about his knife, as he was disappointed in leaving it behind and likely getting a short talk about keeping track of it. It was a good thing to see, as she was sure that part of Faye's reasons for this journey was to help strengthen their bonds, as a family as a whole, and the first steps were being taken before her eyes, causing her to smile as the pair eventually returned to the living room to hand Freya the herbs she needed.

Freya smiled as she ground the herbs up and then applied the ointment to the boar's body, allowing her to complete her healing session with ease, and, while the boar drifted off to sleep, she remained true to her word as she placed the rune that would obscure them from Odin's sight on the backs of their necks, one made from a very special pigment, before she waved her hand and said 'Heimili' to make the turtle move again.

"There is a shortcut below my house that will allow you to get out of the woods safely... in fact, it should be able to get you back on the path that will bring you to the mountain." Freya said, revealing that the good leading to her garden could also be connected to an underground cavern that she likely used from time to time, before she grabbed something from one of her shelves and handed Kratos a compass, made of brass with a magical needle, "That will help you find your way, if you ever need to find something specific... it's not perfect, but it can work as an ordinary compass if that's what you need at any given moment."

Kratos nodded as he carefully put the item away for the time being, giving Atreus time to say goodbye before they left the nature goddess to tending to the boar, Hildisvini as she called him when the boy asked, allowing them to descend to the depths as they sought a new way out of the area. There was a bunch of food and supplies down here, no doubt Freya's as Atreus found some items that matched what was in her house, though since they didn't want to steal from her the family just continued down the path in front of them and discovered that it brought them to a boat that looked almost identical to the one outside their house. Of course to get through the area they had to deal with nightmares, as in floating eyeball monsters that fired projectiles at their targets, causing Pandora to throw her chakrams and take them out in an instant so they could reach the dock and the boat Freya was fine with them using. Kratos also looted a golden chest as well, because it seemed like something Freya wouldn't mind them looting, and found a talisman inside it that seemed useful, before he and his children reached the boat, allowing Flurry to glide into the air as he, Atreus, and Pandora used the boat.

The path brought them out onto a massive body of water with two structures, one near the passage opening and one in the center of everything, though as Flurry took to the air her eyes widened as she glanced around the place, as there was a massive scaly creature resting on the mountains and in the water itself.

In that moment she understood what she was seeing, this had to be Jormungandr, the World Serpent as Faye called him, a creature from the time of Ragnarok who had been blasted back into the past by a powerful punch from Thor, and right now it sure looked like he was sleeping, even if she couldn't see his head. As she thought about that, however, her father brought the boat to the central statue and Atreus moved around Pandora to read the runes on the statue, where she just glided down to their position as her brother claimed that the runes indicated that one had to sacrifice their arms, likely a weapon, to the lake to awaken the cradle of the world. Kratos, after some thought and a comment from his son, pulled out the axe and froze the tip with it's power, before he hurled the weapon at the lake, north of their current position, only to find that it did not return when he tried to recall it, but he barely had time to think about that as everything shifted on them. Not only was the water level shifting on them, causing those on the boat to steady themselves as they were violently knocked around, while Flurry watched as the body of the serpent moved as Jormungandr's head rose from the water, right in front of where the boat came to a stop, and as he emerged he spat out the Leviathan Axe, which returned to the boat without hitting anyone.

Jormungandr was truly massive, that Flurry confirmed as she looked at him, and when he opened his mouth he spoke in an ancient tongue that seemed totally strange, but she could have sworn that he said 'I know you, Ghost of Sparta', 'Find Mimir', and 'He will help', before the serpent rested his head on one of the other mountains.

"You know, that was probably one of the more interesting things I've seen." Flurry remarked, speaking after floating down to the others and making sure they were okay, even though Atreus was more interested in the new things they could see, as Jormungandr shifting his weight caused the water to lower and revealed all sorts of things for them to see, shipwrecks, towers, beaches to explore, forgotten chests to loot, and even a temple right below where the statue was resting.

She knew that things were about to get much more interesting as she and the others looked around the area, because there was no telling what might be waiting for them if they decided to explore the area and she was eager to see what might happen next.