Lumikki of Iceberg

"Two sisters, two shadows, black and white in one."

Quiet were the steps of the Demoness as she wandered the halls. It’s eerie silence, oddly felt calming to her but it wasn’t like she was alone. Right behind her were two shadows, one dark as the thick of night and the other as pale as the woman’s hair. The oddity of the occurrence was now lost on her, as she grew accustomed to her sisters. And the two swans would slide along the surfaces, ever vigilant and watching.

”All this mess for treasure,” Lumikki sighed, her voice sounding like the howling tundra winds sliding along the hardened ice. ”Not like that’s the only reason that dragged me here…” Lumikki was walking down a long hallway within an old, decrepit palace. A remnant to a long lost Emperor who could afford to be more long and lost. Tales speak of his restless soul still wondering the grounds, moaning of the time in which he was betrayed. Foul ghost didn’t bother the Demoness however, only brought out her curiosity. She enjoyed immersing herself in tales of old, but what could compare to the beings of such stories still full of life.

As Lumikki stalked the halls, her talons dragged across the walls and her gaze fell upon each and every tapestry the hung high from ropes fastened to the ceiling. Their colors dulled by time, yet there were moments when reality flickers as if showing the time back when. And so, Lumi would watch them closes as windows to their prime, while her ears stayed peeled for any sudden sounds. That was until she felt this urge to look elsewhere, Hlaðguðr must of noticed something. Before Lumikki could turn, vision of a small girl in full white passed through her mind. It seemed to the Raven that Svanvartr was prompting to a wayward ghost nearby.

Tucked just behind the corner of a doorway, a child clung to the wall. Her face half shown but tears ran down her hollowed pale cheek, falling through her translucent flesh. Her sniffles, that weren’t audible before, now filled the air as if attention to her activated her presence. And Lumikki, not scared and neither bothered, slowly approached the wee lass.

”Brave one, aren’t ye girl.” Lumikki’s eye’s were already lit in the darkness, but her gold pupils burned now like something more. While her blue tattoos atop her dark as night skin shimmered in unison. The wings atop the Demoness’ head, pulled back and folded accordingly, so what she may crouch and look onto the girl with full face. The child, startled at first, ducked behind the doorway; but her sniffles didn’t disappear and neither did she. Perhaps the small girl thought she wasn’t visible, an idea that didn’t come to Lumikki’s thoughts until right after.

”Now, now lass. No need to hide from me now child. What brought ye to me anyhow? Entertain me, and I’ll ye~” The Raven poked her head, here eyes leveled to the small girl who did her best to face her. “—There’s…there’s a man.” With stammered words like one amid a cry, cutting into her breath so that it was a struggle to speak. The small ghost tried to convey her point, but was still quite scared to do so. Lumikk nodded, as if to encourage her to go on, while tucking her wings before her face to spare the girl the sight of her. All while shifting back into a human form with cool brown skin, dark stained hands, and eyes like the twilight with one gold while the other a spectral purple. By the time Lumikki pulled her pale wings back, they melded with her hair until no more and the girl who was silent was another step away.

“There’s a man in the palace….danger….the Emperor will see…..then everyo—“ The cryptic warning did not last however, as the girl simple ceased to be. Her words learning just as sudden as her ghastly form, leaving Lumikki to be back in her lonesome and company of her sisters. ”How curious,” Lumikki began, only to be cut off as well when the sound of a man screeched in the distance. Traitor, were his words, but they sounded nothing human. A chuckle broke from her lips, now that things were getting lively. There was more of a reason to move about with agency again.

”Hlaðguðr and Svanvartr!” Lumikki exclaimed, her arm outstretched in the direction of the commotion. With little need for further words, her two shadows slid along the ground as if swimming, before poking up through the surface while remaining in flight. The two shadows then separated, taking two paths toward their goal in hopes that splitting up could aid in finding said man.

Lumikki however, stayed back. Pondering a place she had pass that could shelter them both. Giving the man to catch his breath should he survive the ordeal that was.

"Their fates woven tightly, says the Norns to the raven and swans."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"Two sisters, two shadows, black and white in one."

”Oh I know,” Hlaðguðr remarked, she dashed in flight just a bit more ahead of him, ”but if they were right in what they said….cutting off sight would do us well.” She swung her left arm closing of the path of and incoming doorway, before veering off to the right and dipping into the next entrance. After a few more meters in utter silence, Hlaðguðr finally slowed down a little to match the man again. ”If he falls for it, he should have assumed we went that way…” Her head turns about as she scanned their surroundings.

The three sisters knew at once when Hlaðguðr found Ikazuchi, like cords inter-woven in a knot, they were linked intimately. Svanvartr wasted no time, before returning to the Demoness she’d lay traps, albeit more like distractions. Things to entertain the Emperor as the pair traversed the hallways, though they could hear the damage of things collapsing in the far distance.

All while a deep cold had overtaken the air, it was like fine chill hung heavy around them almost as if they stepped into wayward tundra. Hlaðguðr was free from the cold, but the fog showed with every passing of Ikazuchi‘s breath. Its size growing with each pant before trailing behind him.

To the normal sort, they’d be heading into the darkness now. The smothering depths of an encroaching pitch black veil was draining all color from the space before them. Cutting off any chances of more lingering eyes. ”Watch yer step,” Lumikki mused, ”ye’ll find me soon enough now.” A honeyed sweet chuckle escape her lips before being cut off mid way, the channel was now severed leaving Ikazuchi alone with a deathly silent shadow to guide him.

A few more passing hallways, and the two enter a room. It was as large as any other they’ve passed. The furniture inside had fell to shambles, the wall’s colors stood muted without the thick darkness that hung to drown them further. Pieces of shattered, ornate vases littered the floor. Portraits of the late Emperor was torn on the wall. The decor and lanterns that hung from the ceiling came halfway to the floor, if not, resting on the ground while the cords that still held them were worn and loose.

Hlaðguðr and Svanvartr closed the sliding doors to the entrance. The panels scratching as they dragged, creating an awful and eerie sound. They then stepped forward and both pointed to the Demoness sitting atop the chair’s back with outstretched arms, before melding back into the ground. Sinking into the floor and sliding back to Lumikki until the three were once again connected.

Lumi sat with her back facing toward them, one leg bent while the other hung loose and swinging about. Feet bare, she rested her arm on her knee, head pointed upward and eyes closed. Until a deep sigh escaped from her lips and she slowly turned her head to gaze upon the visitor. Lumikki’s lips pulled back in a smile, boarding on a smirk that showed her fangs, and she spoke with a voice like smooth velvet and a inching chill. ”Greetings lad. What brings ye to this these God’s forsaken lands?—Was it the treasure?” Her last words came out like an excited gasp, layering the playfulness of her tone to a point of absurdity. Her cool brown skin and sharp gloam eyes upon the man as she greeted him in human form. But her insight had bore into him as his perhaps to her. The two sister’s silhouettes were cast upon the chair’s surface, their stare lingering as they watched the man carefully.

"Their fates woven tightly, says the Norns to the raven and swans."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"Two sisters, two shadows, black and white in one."

Lumikki’s glowing eyes came to life at his introduction and the mention of his Guild Master made her heart flutter. Enough so that all her edges softened. After all, she regard Sleeping Calamity as if it were her own. ”Dazzling isn’t he? Leadership suits him as the swords ya bear suit ye.” Voice like a purr, Lumikki readjusted herself on the seat, sliding from the back so that her feet plopped of the cushion and with another step, onto the floor.

The Demoness approached him just as he stretched out his arm, palm open, as a sword from behind would fix itself atop his hand. Spinning ever so elegantly and steady. Lumi, seeing rather clearly from where she was, still chose to get closer. Her face and eyes but a few inches from the blade as she took in the spectacle and gave his desires some thought.

”I wouldn’t have of guessed from the sight of ye. Quite the niche interest I’d say.” Lumikki pulled back as Ikazuchi retired his blade. ”I can’t tell ye I’m a specialist, but I admit reading some old stories. Amid the tales, there might be enough truth to get yer answers. Here being a fine place to start, though….hmmm perhaps Sága knows of a bette’ one….I really do have to grow that library of mine—but my, what fine motivation I suppose.” Standing before him rather short in stature, her pale hair was half braided and pulled back in a bun to keep out of her face. The beads that rotated around her neck shimmered before flicking from a deep violet-blue into golden pearls that shifted her face markings into red dashes and sent small sparks throughout her hair, which continued to ripple amid her locks long after activation. She wore a black and white dress, both colors nearly split at the middle. Ribbons as well as tassels hung from the front with intricate embroidery all about in images of flowers and feathers. The puffed up sleeves covered her black talon like hands and arms, though there was a sheer layer embellished in design and details. And while her top have was adorned and dress, her legs and feet in comparison were left expose. With nothing but the dark clinging to her feature so that she was not in direct contact with the floor.

Lumikki felt a deep sense of honor, a sensation she could surmise was funneled by Hlaðguðr who vouched for his warrior spirit. And flashes of dancing swords played within her mind, a vision she’d have to owe to Svanvartr who mused about his moving sword. If one would bother to noticed, they’d note the shadow in black giggle ever so slightly, while the white remained relatively still. ”Me?” She spoke with the bashful tone of someone surprised. ”He worries about me sisters, least, it’s fun to jest. No, as for me. I’m simply here to witness a story come to life. Not often ye get to live the tales written upon a page. Course, all this speak of stories must be getting annoying. Tell me more about her encounter?” As she spoke, she wandered back to the seat and plopped herself upon the chair. Hlaðguðr and Svanvartr however stood where they were, a barrier between the Demoness and the man before them.

"Their fates woven tightly, says the Norns to the raven and swans."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"Two sisters, two shadows, black and white in one."

Left to confirm? Lumikki’s thoughts echoed in mind as her head tilting expressed the intrigue from his words. Her demonic presence ebbed as all she wanted was to hear more. But then his adventurer spirit reared its head within his recantation. Tattling on their preference to swing their weapons over that of careful planning. Did they all prefer the simple method? She mulled it over as she considered Brone as well.

Admittedly the mention of the manaless defenses rendered Lumikki somewhat apprehensive, though she wouldn’t show it as Ikazuchi wouldn’t relinquish his. Instead a chill would burn stronger in the air, the kind to nip the nose if you let it, with a sting in the nostrils that sent a shiver with every breath while your body did its best to warm it. All while her polite smile turned to a more menacing grin.

“As luck would have lad, I know of a here and there mage…and to an extent, perhaps even two. Ye could understand the phenomenon of their magic is rather enticing. Why it’s intriguing to any mage who wishes the pleasure of unraveling its machinations. As such, when I spent some time in the blasted Talaz Lagaar…I had found that they too dabbled in the notion, albeit with their abhorrent imitation of magic.” Lumikki leaned back into the seat in a thoughtful posture. The hand that laid on her cheek was the same arm to lay at the rest of the chair. And with eyes blazing from her excitement, Lumikki scanned the recesses of her mind. Pulling to the forefront the experimental calamity of the now long gone island. Whose hubris swallowed them whole.

”Should ye be privy to the influence of the infernal void, its bloody tampering a disgusting variation to the beautiful chaos of Origin or Abyss, then ya know the ethereal touch of its corrosive being tears into our reality. Creating pockets of space in its void crevices. The atrocious thing is repulsive, but telling. Along with the magic to shift realms from me Nordic origin. Safe to say, the gates could take one to wonders never known long as it’s within the ten realms…”As Lumikki spoke, her sisters wandered toward her. The three beings were one and much preferred to be close in proximity. Yet their eyes rarely lifted from the adventurer. Whether curiosity or defensiveness, he could not know.

”That’s all to say in a long winded fashion. This is like neither occurrence mentioned. Rather…” Lumikki broke eye contact to mull it over. Though she was aware, it did not mean she knew. “This isn’t exactly just a warping of reality. We aren’t in reality…but rather an intense delusion. Smothered by his hate and betrayal and forced to drown within the rules of his domain. Least that’s only the guess I could provide. I can sense the cloak around us, but not the way it works..” In truth for as smart as the Demoness was, or the myriad answers she manage to provide. There were complexities here that even knowledge and wisdom couldn’t decipher. Even the notion just said, was simply insight from her very nature.

As a being of the Abyss itself, an idol of chaos. Lumikki eventually understood a core matter of her very nature. All things destructive and erratic sung to her, it vibrated through her being, feeding her very spirit. As if her suffering and former human existence were the means by which she both mastered and perfected her medium and arsenal without even knowing it. Giving her an intimate connection for pain and agony most Demons could never surmise for themselves.

“What have ya Skjaldsveinn? Let’s explore~ I mean to fine the library full of scrolls and see if I could take home the wonders. Perhaps in appeasing me desire, we could find the interment that ends this pitiful man’s nightmare? Gather the good virtue needed for him to pass on, or whatever of the sort.”

"Their fates woven tightly, says the Norns to the raven and swans."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"Two sisters, two shadows, black and white in one."

”Sadly. Even I’m locked in the rules all the same, and with the news ye’ve brought, he sounds like something nasty to encounter. But it wouldn’t be any fun if we could just simply swing a sword and be done.” Lumikki slid herself from her seat and sauntered toward the man just as he summoned his blades. With hands tightening on the hilts, it was clear he was squared and ready for the venture. With just enough braveness still coursing inside of him that he insisted on the first steps back into the hall.

Lumikki didn’t challenge his choice, on contrary, the Demoness found it charming. A tendency of man that was particularly emboldened within warriors, it reminded her there was honor to still be had in those outside her homeland’s borders. A very intentional and protective stance to be taken despite knowing where she landed beside him in strength and so Lumi made note to support him in kind while he acted as her vanguard. The mage slid into the demeanor like a costume in a play, immersing herself in the role as a delicate spell caster. Her voice now softening and her movement more graceful as she followed the warrior back into the potential chaos. The unknown notion of what’s to come was delectable on her tongue, but she held back from bleeding into the disaster before them.

”Sisters, let us see who finds the relic first…or the library if Sága grants me passage~” As if beckoned, Hlaðguðr and Svanvartr came to life on cue, passing just by the swift phantoms. They sprinted for the avenues the newly met pair wouldn’t take, with the task of simply covering more ground while Lumi and Skjaldsveinn took it much slower. They had to be more mindful of traps in a sense.

Lumikki could tell a lot from her insight, peering into a person as a whole. Ikazuchi wasn’t anything different, but yet he was. There was something within him she could not grasp, like the shine reflected off some surface of an item discarded on the ground. There was semblance of understanding, buried under the mundane nature of an adventurer. The question was, how could she peel back such things without being boringly obvious. ”Yer plight explains itself to a degree, but forgive me, its not often a warrior investigates spirits. What chasm did ya fall into, to be haunted by such a grim fascination?” Withdrawn in tone, she tempered her interest just enough to seem nonchalant. Her expression, if he could see it with his position ahead, would show nothing of her excitement as well. Instead, her voice was soft as a hum in a lullaby.
                       

"Their fates woven tightly, says the Norns to the raven and swans."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"Two sisters, two shadows, black and white in one."

”Aye they are,” Lumikki’s remarked, his sudden utterance had caught her interest and fanned her pride. ”As any bird worth their feathers should be.” The upbeat cadence of her words did not waver beyond the soft and delicate scope that she drew out for herself. Rather it played into her girlish charm as she stalked the halls right behind him. Her active eyes were constantly scanning and preening the walls for any chance of hidden wonder. A passage perhaps for the marvelous library that her mind was building up to be particularly grand, that is, if it really was worthy of this last Emperor.

The corners of Lumikki’s lips pulled back as she felt the ebb and flow of her excitement crash repeatedly within her like the waves on a shore. And with her newly made acquaintance, she was assured a good time throughout her search now. A sentiment that proved correct the moment Ikazuchi began to recant his personal tale, the experiences a of a sword man climbing the pits one would regard as the arena in Seven. The place that both her beloved and Angel of Dawn had called their home. Clearing the battles along with the highs and lows into their very souls as warriors. Lumikki had to stop herself from sucking her teeth to hear of another, but it wasn’t from disrespect as she hailed from a land of warriors herself. It was just the sheer annoyance that all the people she gets to know have a tendency of converging in the same places. Something she was growing to find rather boring, but the floating sword of his kept her waning interests from ever looking away.

With a small chuckle, Lumikki stepped forward. Matching his stride so seamlessly that when she took the place beside him, it was as if she slid like an apparition along the floor; silent and gracefully. ”Funny hearing that name leave yer lips,” Lumikki began. With her left arm tucked by her side and the other reaching over in a gesture akin to pulling a blade from its sheath; from the clenched hand of the frost mage, Lumikki began to work her magic. Her left hand was now gripping the hilt of a sword the crept into existence with the emerging black ice. The act hardly took thirty seconds to produce a weapon, that if one looked clearly, perfectly replicated the floating sword Ikazuchi owed his success to. ”In me studies, I carelessly forget how yer lot fine tunes techniques like a mage does their spells. A sentiment I need to grow out of if I’m to be less arrogant in me workings….still, yer story ended on a note I haven’t heard before. Yet, I’m still curious as to where ya owe yer power from.” Lumikki held the blade just inches from her face to inspect her work. Though she was great at shaping ice masterfully to her will, the notion of complacency vexed her if it meant dulling her skills over time.

”Oh but that whisper lad….that feeling…that hunger…..One could say its me life force. The call and yearning both burn and vex me so, to the point I wonder if it’ll be all I know….—still, when all is said an done, I think it’s worth it. To satiate the hunger of course. And it’s this hunger I see that dragged ye here…hmmm yes, yes….would make a lot of sense. I think Ikazuchi, I’ll grow quite fond of ye. Least that is, if ya keep chasing this whisper of yers.” As Lumikki spoke, her tone quite lofty as she inspected the blade in unison of speaking her thoughts out loud. Her remark barely had thought, so much as it was her raw sentiments. Of course, she always had the tendency to find things she enjoyed in another and by doing so, unknowingly knotted said person with aspects of her own. It was the notion of seeing yourself in others that kept reminding and reassigning their value even when her nature would muse otherwise. And perhaps, it was just a small hunger among many she enjoyed to quench as she got along.

"Their fates woven tightly, says the Norns to the raven and swans."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"Two sisters, two shadows, black and white in one."

Dispute the muted qualms of the adventurer beside her, Lumi didn’t bark as his assertion to a “cycle”. Rather, it opened her up to a stream of thoughts as she looked over to his demonstration. The promise to know more in future’s time was also exciting, cementing her soon-to-be, long woven interest in him and his antics.

”Frost and dark,” Lumikki began, with eyes peeling away from her makeshift imitation to gleam at the original and all its properties. Eventually her gaze would fall onto his own, and though she was quite shorter, the connection held ever-tightly. ”Frost and dark are two elements known for their sense of stillness. Ye’d think that’d make them easy to master, but rather, it leads to its own challenges. The living have a tendency for motion and chaos, we do not enjoy reaping things from stillness nor stagnation. Yet, there are great lessons to be had in them still. Like rest, or introspection, or even the important lesson of pacing and doing things with the time it needs. So this mention,” Lumikki crumbled her replica, but not enough to entirely shatter it. Instead, it would be reforged over and over with something that seemed more akin to living shadows. Slowly but surely, though rather crudely like someone still trying to figure something out. The shadows capture the gist of his cycle but lacked all the proper intricacies. It was the first step to understanding however, and so it was just practice as oppose to a proper show. If Lumikki kept by him, she had strong hopes to learn more. ”So I have high expectations for the knowledge ye wish to share.” A smirk crept along her lips as she cared not to hide her interest. Rather, she was doubling down on his impulsive promise. Assuring that one day, he’d keep it.

”—Hmmm?” Ikazuchi jerked, his sudden stop was now taking the Demoness by surprise. Her eye-sight wasn’t matched by any other, but the limitation of what can be seen was still her hinderance. There was no way to tell there was a room they could access from here on the other side of this wall-like door, but Lumikki’s intrigued grew as the adventure sleuthed about.

Lumikki chucked at his assumption and took it all as flattery. The notion she held that she could somehow break the seal was both entertaining and true. Lumikki stepped toward the wall, feeling out the indent that he noted with her thumb. She ran her finger over the hole a few times while thinking over his explanation. ”Yer like Brone Heavyaxe, aren’t chu?” She let that statement linger for a bit as fed her magic slowly into the lock. She could vaguely feel out its shape, its twists and turns were convoluted but purposeful. Eventually her cold-darkness funneled to the other side, mixing with the stagnant and dry air, fundamentally proving his claim to be right. Lumikki let out another chuckle, before pulling back and looking him over quickly. ”Ye sense what’s around and about like he does. No wonder.” Her glowing eyes turned back over to the wall while both her hands slid along the surface.

Lumikki’s talon-like nails began to press into the wood, she held her hands in place while working out the shapes of her magic. Feeding the dark was easy, even a child could muster that. It was figuring out exactly what the lock required that proved a struggle. Like solving a puzzle hidden in a box with no glances or hints. Eventually, Lumikki figured out its mechanisms, her magic was now coiling with the hatches and pushing the particular pins. And honestly, this was the most fun she’s had since entering the grounds. Now she wondered, what else must she could have missed. ”Aaaaaah, tricky, tricky…” Lumikki purred, the giddiness was brimming in her tone, and she’d step back once again.

”Bold of ye to think I could do it,” she boasted, ”well ye’d be right.” The Demoness took a step back, and in one swift gesture, she’d lean over with one arm propping on her hip as if looking over yonder. With a snap of her fingers, the metallic latched from within could be heard, turning and snapping in place before the wall loosened and broke the clean seams. Sliding slightly ajar as it dipped within the hidden archives. Lumikki’s glowing gaze whipped back to the man, her head beckoning him to enter. She’d take the honors all for herself if it were not for his innate desire to maintain a frontline. And so in her cheeky way, she’d help him fulfill his role with no quarrels.

It took some time for the stale air to clear out but the chill that now lingered felt almost refreshing. Ikazuchi was right in there being books and scrolls, but what were on those pages was yet to be discovered. In the center of the room, there was a small desk. Notes were strewn haphazardly atop its surface, as if the previous owner was in a rush. Lumikki skimmed the pages, her understanding of Sinese was not yet honed but it was capable. And she could gleam the contents of the pages after a few minutes. The Demoness sat crossed legged atop the desk, reading out loud lowly in a murmur. Every once and a while she'd Look up in random directions, her stare looking miles away. Whether or not Ikazuchi could figure out why, there was reason for it. Her swans were still scanning the grounds out there for them, and it was becoming more frequent that they would get some unwelcomed run-ins. In those times, Lumikki was flickering between their sight and her own.

"It was becoming obvious, that the late emperor was growing rather paranoid," she began to recant the reports to Ikazuchi, should he care to hear it. Dropping the pages back onto the desk as she slid off and wandered towards the shelves. From which, her fingers ran along the spines until she found a title worth pulling the dusted book out for. "His delusion were becoming more prevalent, but his close advisers were deeply worried. They schemed to bring a monk who could perhaps exorcise the evil spirits, but that was the last thing said. I doubt things went as planed." Her voice was monotone, with a a tinged of mockery. It was apparent just how foolish she found the bunch, yet she was not surprised.

Lumikki flipped the pages, revealing the profuse notes of botany and medicine. Etched along the hand drawn pictures of flowers and thick roots, were small folk stories to explain them by. Lumikki read them hungrily, enjoying the payment for all her troubles. Though she used magic to heal, the knowledge did not hurt, nor did the new found understanding to the flora within Sin.

"Their fates woven tightly, says the Norns to the raven and swans."