Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

"Right! I almost forgot the real reason I'm here!" exclaimed Gridd, who placed the contract parchment in front of Egill, as soon as Dag freed the table from the other scrolls, stacking them in the corner.

Dargeon moved beside him and both began to read scrupulously.

Then they looked at each other, nodding their heads as if to confirm that they agreed with what was written about the contract.

Egill got up and headed for the same cabinet from which he had recovered the Bjelke Sphere, jealously guarded by Dag.

He pulled out a metal box and placed it on the table.

Inside, there was a sturdy metal stamp and red candles. 

After lighting a small wooden stick, similar to a match, he warmed up the candle, letting its colored wax drop on the sheet, next to the Sons Of Freya's seal.

Soon after, he pressed with the circular stamp, stamping the hammer symbol of the Hammers Of Thor and signing under it, inviting Dargeon to do the same.

"Well, now our alliance is official!" exclaimed Egill, satisfied, as Dag and Gridd smiled, noting that the two Masters had not hesitated for a moment.

"Then... Warchief... what's our next move?" asked Gridd, looking at her brother.

"Skjegg... we'll leave tomorrow, as soon as possible. If the Crows of Odin accept our proposal, we will have an operational headquarter south of the capital, gaining a huge advantage against the King's enemy Clans" Dag said, outlining his strategy, which he had reflected abundantly on.

Gridd, Egill, and Dargeon nodded, agreeing with the plan. 

"How did it go with Reidar, Dag?" asked Egill, curiously.

"Reidar? He's the best archer I've ever known. In every dangerous situation, he risked his life without hesitation, trying to help me. Without him and Karl I would never succeed, I am satisfied with the choice I made before leaving the Temple. He now owns the Failnaught, a legendary weapon forged by Weland himself!" replied Dag.

"Weland? Do you mean… the God Weland?!" asked Dargeon, turning suddenly towards him.

"Yes, Dargeon... there's been a lot of things that you're not aware of, Egill will explain to you a little at a time, he knows" Dag continued, watching Egill nodding his head, knowing the story of the Blacksmith God and his fight against Dag and his men.

"I've never known anyone as determined as you. A while ago you told us about Brann... I barely knew him, but I assure you he was not so resolute! You've come a long way at this age, I'm curious to know that surprises the future will hold for you!" continued Dargeon.

"Ah! I have one more thing to ask you! The Bjelke Sphere... Did it work? Did you come across any emblems?" exclaimed Egill, interrupting their conversation. 

"Yes, it worked great! It was thanks to it that I was able to conquer this" Dag continued, pulling the bronze eye pendant out of his pocket. 

"That's the n°8 emblem... you've risen two ranks in one fell swoop, not bad! I advise you to always be careful with the Sphere, you may spot something when you least expect it!" replied Egill, looking satisfied at the new pendant. 

"With all the things that have happened, I haven't really thought about it..."

"Let me understand one thing... are you saying that this object it's some kind of emblems-tracker? Dag, why didn't you tell me before?" asked Gridd, who didn't believe that such a useful item could exist.

"Well... yes. It is a small sphere that I always carry around my neck, which vibrates when there is a powerful artifact nearby, it was not built specifically for the emblems... but it works very well!" 

"On the island of Hands Of Tyr, someone holds the n° 2 emblem. It is said to be one of their Masters and that he wants to challenge King Einar and gain the throne" Gridd continued. 

"The n° 2 emblem? Holy crap! That would be what I need! I'd like to challenge the King too!" exclaimed Dag, after his sister caught his eye.

"Boy, your powers are great, but challenging King Einar... I think you need more time. The planet is full of very powerful warriors, if he has the n° 1 emblem there is a reason..." interrupted Egill.

Dag turned to him.

"Uhm?" exclaimed Egill again, looking suddenly at the library door.

With a hand gesture, the doors opened and Karl and Reidar, that were leaning on them, fell to the ground.

"I felt that someone was listening to our conversations! Hahaha!" he chuckled.

"Yeah... we noticed that you were taking longer than expected and we wanted to know more!" said Karl, bowing his head to the ground, to apologize.

"Don't worry, brothers. Come and sit with us!" Dag said, inviting his companions to join him near the table.

"Captain... I heard what Gridd said about n° 2 emblem. I don't think the Hands Of Tyr are the only ones that possess one. When my father worked for King Einar, he told me that another Master had also challenged him, so many times" said Reidar, who was looking forward to the conversation. 

"Who was it?" asked Dag, who realized he was wrong to distract himself from his first goal, since emblems seemed to be waiting for him to catch them.

"I don't remember his name, but he should still be the Crows Of Odin Master" the archer replied, while Egill and Dargeon listened curiously, but didn't know much about it.

"Well, that's good, considering that is where we're going. If your information is correct, we will take two birds with one stone" Dag continued, astonished at the news, but determined and confident of his new powers.

After spending another hour talking to each other, Dag, Karl and Reidar moved away from the library, where Gridd stayed with Egill, probably to ask him for more information about Brann, after knowing that it was thanks to his memories that Dag had known the truth.

The evening came and Dag, after returning to his room, to cool off and rest, was called by someone, who knocked on the door.