[TAOWolf]

She raises her sword as Spree lets Cyril's arrow flies, and feels the spell stop time........then abruptly time moves again, and she almost stumbles catching her balance, as she watches the Modding Mage go to his knees.

She freezes though, as she hears the words he speaks......~A wolf?? NOOOO~ She thinks quickly and frantically as she re-sheaths SpiritSword, it protesting the whole time. Her eyes change to complete silver, and she turns to Spree, whispering "I will save this wolf.... remember we are not the ONLY ones who will change the tides of this battle or the outcome of it......"

She stares back at the Modding Mage, a single silver tear rolling down her cheek as the runes carved into her body begin to glow with a faint starlight blue, and she whispers thru the wind, the words carrying for his ears alone...

"Lyngheith and Lofnheith, | fled is my life,
And mighty now is my need!"

"Though a sister loses | her father, seldom
Revenge on her brother she brings."

"A daughter, woman | with wolf's heart, bear,
If thou hast no son | with the hero brave;
If one weds the maid, | for the need is mighty,
Their son for thy hurt | may vengeance seek."

"Hither the son | of Sigmund is come,
The hero eager, | here to our hall;
His courage is more | than an ancient man's,
And battle I hope | from the hardy wolf."

"Here shall I foster | the fearless prince,
Now Yngvi's heir | to us is come;
The noblest hero | beneath the sun,
The threads of his fate | all lands enfold."

As she whispers to him, her weapons seem to dissolve into the bright light around her, and as she stands bare with the plait of her waist length silver/blonde hair pulled over her left shoulder, blue flames cover her body and she raises her hands above her head, and throws her head back speaking words into the gathering wind around her as she looks straight into Spree's eyes, another single silver tear falling from eyes glowing like molten pools of silver metal with wolfs running across the waves...

"Who yonder rides | on Rævil's steeds,
O'er towering waves | and waters wild?
The sail-horses all | with sweat are dripping,
Nor can the sea-steeds | the gale withstand."

"On the sea-trees here | are Sigurth and I,
The storm wind drives us | on to our death;
The waves crash down | on the forward deck,
And the roller-steeds sink; | who seeks our names?"

"Hnikar I was | when Volsung once
Gladdened the ravens | and battle gave;
Call me the Man | from the Mountain now,
Feng or Fjolnir; | with you will I fare."

"Many the signs, | if men but knew,
That are good for the swinging of swords;
It is well, methinks, | if the warrior meets
A raven black on his road.

"Another it is | if out thou art come,
And art ready forth to fare,
To behold on the path | before thy house
Two fighters greedy of fame.

"Third it is well | if a howling wolf
Thou hearest under the ash;
And fortune comes | if thy foe thou seest
Ere thee the hero beholds.

"A man shall fight not | when he must face
The moon's bright sister setting late;
Win he shall | who well can see,
And wedge-like forms | his men for the fray.

"If thou mightest grow | thy friends among,
One might see thee fiercely fight;
But bound thou art, | and in battle taken,
And to fear are prisoners prone."

"Thou blamest me, Fafnir, | that I see from afar
The wealth that my father's was;
Not bound am I, | though in battle taken,
Thou hast found that free I live."

"In all I say | dost thou hatred see,
Yet truth alone do I tell;
The sounding gold, | the glow-red wealth,
And the rings thy bane shall be."

"Some one the hoard | shall ever hold,
Till the destined day shall come;
For a time there is | when every man
Shall journey hence to hell."

"Wise would he seem | if so he would heed
The counsel good | we sisters give;
Thought he would give, | and the ravens gladden,
There is ever a wolf | where his ears I spy."

"Less wise must be | the tree of battle
Than to me would seem | the leader of men,
If forth he lets | one brother fare,
When he of the other | the slayer is."

She claps her hands above her head, the runes carved into her hands creating a shimmering pool of flame, wind and light around her, centering above her and below her.....
The floor slowly disappears beneath her and she starts descending thru the stone.....

As she disappears from view, her hands slowly turn into the paws of a huge and beautiful silver wolf, and words float upon the shimmering air carrying to the Modding Mage filled with sorrow and regret....

"Hail, day! | Hail, sons of day!
And night and her daughter NOW!
Look on us here | with loving eyes,
That waiting we victory win."

"Winning-runes learn, | if thou longest to win,
And the runes on thy sword-hilt write;
Some on the furrow, | and some on the flat,
And twice shalt thou call on Tyr."

"Ale-runes learn, | that with lies the wife
Of another betray not thy trust;
On the horn thou shalt write, | and the backs of thy hands,
And Need shalt mark on thy nails.
Thou shalt bless the draught, | and danger escape,
And cast a leek in the cup;
(For so I know | thou never shalt see
Thy mead with evil mixed.)"

"Birth-runes learn, | if help thou wilt lend,
The babe from the mother to bring;
On thy palms shalt write them, | and round thy joints,
And ask the fates to aid."

"Wave-runes learn, | if well thou wouldst shelter
The sail-steeds out on the sea;
On the stem shalt thou write, | and the steering blade,
And burn them into the oars;
Though high be the breakers, | and black the waves,
Thou shalt safe the harbor seek."

"Branch-runes learn, | if a healer wouldst be,
And cure for wounds wouldst work;
On the bark shalt thou write, | and on trees that be
With boughs to the eastward bent."

"Speech-runes learn, | that none may seek
To answer harm with hate;
Well he winds | and weaves them all,
And sets them side by side,
At the judgment-place, | when justice there
The folk shall fairly win."

"Thought-runes learn, | if all shall think
Thou art keenest minded of men.
On the wolf's claws bared, | and the eagle's beak,
On bloody wings, | and bridge's end,
On freeing hands | and helping foot-prints."

"On glass and on gold, | and on goodly charms,
In wine and in beer, | and on well-loved seats,
On Gungnir's point, | and on Grani's breast,
On the nails of Norns, | and the night-owl's beak."

"Shaved off were the runes | that of old were written,
And mixed with the holy mead,
And sent on ways so wide;
So the gods had them, | so the elves got them,
And some for the Wanes so wise,
And some for mortal men."

"Beech-runes are there, | birth-runes are there,
And all the runes of ale,
And the magic runes of might;
Who knows them rightly | and reads them true,
Has them himself to help;
Ever they aid, Till the gods are gone."

The flames flare upwards, skywards blowing out the top of the ceiling as the last of the words float upon the air, and a soft whisper reaches across time, to the one who it matters...

"a' tighinn, sniomh thoir gu buil, a' tighinn agus a' criochnachadh na dileaban"......

Spree finds in her hand a sapphire hilted dagger with a solid ebony blade carved with the rune, FEHU........

The Poetic Edda"

[ 05-01-2002, 04:13 AM: Message edited by: TAOWolf ]