FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Moon, The celestial body worshipped, adored and gazed upon by many over the ages. Some going to immense lenghts to enjoy its beauty with their soulmate with no mountain too high to climb or no hill too harsh to conquer, to catch that perfect beam of light in the dark while having a serene moment with someone special, where no words are needed.

This is a story of two hearts brought together under the moon light finding solace, peace and eventually love.

Our story begins on a moon lit night the villagers called harvest moon, the light shining on a mountain lion giving birth to her litter of three healthy cubs, two brown fluffy bundles of fur and one with a silver gray coat of fur and emerald green eyes, the third of the litter silent and not meowing could be mistaken for a still born, but still she moves and receives the same affection from her mother as her siblings. A gentle grooming only as a mother could give.

Months go by as the litter plays and grows as the seasons changed, under the watchfull eye of their mother, But one was different, Lina the grey furred cub At nights she felt a calm call, a strange but warm whisper.

The mother feeling something was wrong started showering Lina with affection while the siblings wondered what was wrong with their sister "Mommy" One of the siblings asked "Why is Lina staying outside and not inside here with us in the den"

The mother looks at Lina with a thinly veiled worry and told her other two daughters"Your sister is just enjoying the night"

but she new what Lina was experiencing, She had once seen a fox with the same eye color as Lina, the very same Emerald green, and an unusual jet black coat of fur.

She recalls seeing the fox jotting down the mountain and through the valley towards the hill with the moonlight shrine, having followed the fox she had witnessed how other animals left the fox alone who stopped only to eat and drink or rest.

Now worried her daughter would soon heed the call, seeing Lina stare down through the trees as if they were not there, at the direction of the shrine, not caring how hard the wind was howling at her, or how much rain poured down.

She took her eyes off of Lina only for a short moment to groom her other two daughters, when she looked outside again Lina was gone, no longer sitting on the mouth of the den.

"Lina!" she screamed and ran outside to look for her "LINA!" she called out with a worried cry, the other two cubs not knowing what was happening were whimpering and calling out "Sis where are You"

The mother looking down to the direction of the shrine, now caught a glimpse of a silver grey thuft of tail, shouting in distress "LINA!" while running to her daughter, she quickly caught up to her despite the adverse weather and darkness.

Lina showed no reaction, Already in a trance like state, jotting down towards the stream that crosses the Kaldr sund valley diagonally. "LINA...Lina" she tried to get her attention desperately as her eyes start to water. shedding tears she nuzzles her daughter and gives her cheek one more grooming lick, before erupting into tears and screaming and growling at the moon, knowing she might never see her daughter again.

Watching Lina slowly jott away from her sight for the last time she utters her last words to her hoping they would somehow reach her "Where ever You go, Who ever You meet" - "Stay strong, stay true" - "Be safe my dear child"

The mother now turning around, while shedding tears of farewell starts walking back to the den with a broken heart and starts grooming her daughters in silence. not knowing how to explain what had happened to Lina.

They can see their mothers tears "Wheres Lina?" The mother just shakes her head as slowly and gently continues to groom her daughters.

four nights later, Lina awakens from the trance at the shrine "Mom?" - "MOM!" She cried out while looking around, not recognizing her surroundings "Where am I, how did i get here" thinking to herself while confused and scared

"There is no need to be afraid Young guardian" a warm voice speaking directly to Lina trying to calm her down "please step onto the shrine" - "who...no where are You?" Lina looked around while stepping onto the shrine

"Everywhere and elsewhere, the moonlight carries my voice to those I watch over and You me call me Donna" - the voice said

Still trying to locate the voice Lina realized the voice is carried on the flickering lights from the direction of the moon. "Umm are You the moon goddes" she asked.

"Very astute Lina" the voice praised the Young cub as she pranced on the shrine, pleased with her self for getting a praise "As expected of the next guardian of intuition"

Lina stops and lays down on the grass and asks with a trembling voice.

"Guardian?" Lina tilts her head confused, as a green moon emblem begins to form on her chest

"When can I see mom again, where are we" Lina asks with her tail between her legs and ears drooped clawing the turf nervously.

"That dear guardian is beyond my influence, however one day I will be able to grant You what Your heart desires most, should You ever ask of it"

Confused and distressed standing still gazing at the moon, trying to make heads or tails of what the goddes said, Lina shakes Her head and asks "Can I go and see mom?"

Donna replies with an apologetic tone "Unfortunately no as the guardian of this moon shrine You may only roam the lands You currently see lit by the moon light" Lina frowns and tears start to form up, missing her siblings and mother, the moon light now shines brighter enveloping Lina in a comforting warmth.

Lina now visibly distressed and tears run down her cheeks, Donna continuing with a calm tone and trying to comfort Lina

"Do not worry, Till the next harvest moon I will guide You. You should rest tonight and get to know Your surroundings tomorrow"

Lina Slowly looks at her surroundings from atop, seeing the moonlight illuminating most of the stream and the valley fields it crosses diagonally through the valley and disappearing into a forest on the other side of the hill, further down on the opposite side a village in the middle of harvest festival night, but the mountain she came from is not illuminated.

Lina asking donna under her breath "I have no shelter?" Donna anticipating her question had already shone light at the guardians Den "Go and rest now Young guardian, I have alot to teach" "Wait" - Lina shouted, with tears still running down her cheek "answer me this first" Lina still bathing in the warm light, anxiously asks "I can not leave the moon lit lands"

"correct" Donna replies

and Lina follows up "what happens if I do?" Donna did not anticipate this and explains "Instead of me telling, it is best You try it out Yourself, but I do not recommend doing so close to water"

The dread in Donnas voice is not lost on Lina who has her tail between her legs again, motionless but not faltering "Can my mom and sisters visit me?"

"Absolutely!" Donna replies without hesitation, making Lina realize she might still see her family.

"rest now Young guardian, You will need Your strength getting familiar with Your surroundings" Donna said in a fading voice

As the seasons change and the Young guardian slowly aclimates to her new life, Lina under the guidance of Donna becomes familiar with her surroundings and starts to test her limits both physical and mental.

Spring rolls in to mark the halfway point of her tutelage under Donna.

The first full moon of the spring lights the hill top as,

Donna reaches out to Lina with her guiding light, who is silently sitting on one of the higher viewing stone slabs of the shrine, waving her tail while listening to returning migratory birds, with a contended smile she basks in the warm light "Good evening Goddes" She said and looked at the moon making her emerald green eyes sparkle.

"Good evening Lina" She replied with a warm tone,

"The villagers have been talking about seeing a mountain lions eyes gleaming in the dark some nights ago" - "You would not happen to know anything about that"

the regal feline visibly blushing in embarasment and her ears drooping down in anticipation of a lecture "but i stayed in the bushes like You told me" - She said as she jumped down from the slab and started circling the moon light dial. "I made sure they did not notice my coloration" Lina stated, and started grooming herself.

"Well still, I suppose Your natural curiosity can not be helped" - " Perhaps now is a good time teach you something to help You interact with humans, as well as walk among them at day time" Donna said as she moved her guiding light away from Lina and towards one of the large concaved pedestals.

"HOW! Show me Please!" She let her voice out loud filled with curiosity and exitement as she jumped on top of a moon light dial, waving her tail from side to side in exitement.

A maiden figure with a foxes tail and feline eyes appears on the concave pedestal "Lina"

Donna begs for Linas attention, Lina stunned by Donnas beauty shakes away from the stupor"U,- Ah yes?" - "Is this how You really look?" the curious feline asked. "No i am not allowed to take my true form down here, but I can show You how to transform as a guardian"

A bright flas of light comes from the pedestal, forcing Lina to hold up a paw to cover her eyes, as the light faded Lina was looking at herself in the eyes, Donna had mimicked her form and gave a gentle smile to the guardian who was still baffled by the sight in front of her.

"it is easier to show this way" the goddes said as Lina was still in stupor

Looking to sate her curiosity she taps the goddes with her paw, it felt real "Your really here" Lina exclaims jumping around the pedestal

Donna lets out a tired sigh "Please setle down Lina, this is important" Donna said trying to get the feline to pay attention.

Lina stops and sits still, waving her tail and her emerald eyes beaming with curiosity as donna turns to face her "The first stage of transformation is simple and is not so easily disrupted all guardians learn this during their first year" Donna explains and gestures Lina to copy what she does

"Use the same gestures as i do and imagine having a rust red and brown coat" Donna draws a small circle around the emblem and taps twice on the spot where she begun and ended the circle.

Lina gracefully copies the gesture while imagining what she would look like as a regular mountain lion, An ouroboros symbol appears around the moon emblem and new colors start spreading from it, Lina gasps in surprise and stands up to have a look how she is gradually taking on a new color. Donna perfectly mimicking her appearance

"Well look at You" Lina blushes as Donna compliments her

"Remember that in this form You can not change Your eyes, they will give You away" - "This form is something You can use for a longer period of time and it lasts longer if activated at dusk or dawn" Donna explains

"perfect for when You want to inspect Your surroundings" She looks at Lina who is still exited having learned something new. Donna shakes her head and sighs as the Young feline Jumps and dashes around the place "So young and innocent, its a shame we only have six moons left before I must end my guidance" Donna thinks to herself as she continues to watch Lina enjoy her new skill,

The goddes lets out a loud cough "Ahem"

Lina stops on her tracks and is paying attention again. Donna continues the lesson." there are three things to remember for this form of transformation"

"First to disable it, draw a circle on top of the Ouroboros" Lina copies Donnas gesture and the Ouroboros starts eating itself away rapidly and vanishes with a sparkle as Her true color starts to return

"second thing You need to remember, You can not activate another transformation before deactivating the one You are using"

"Third, It can be used often as it draws its power from the moon and sun light, You can see how long of an activation is possible if You draw a circle and tap only once." -

" The longer the activation the better, as a pointer roughly half of the size of Your emblem is a couple of hours, anything bigger than your emblem is eight hours or more, it is best to test the limits Yourself" Donna ends her first lesson while tilting her head and looking at Lina, expecting confirmation

"Lina" she scofs at the young Feline

"Y.-Yes, understood" - "ill be carefull, I Promise"

With a sigh relief Donna continues to the second lesson and mimicks Lina again

"Now the maiden form, this is something that lets You aproach and interact with humans without immediately alerting them and as a guardian of intuition You posses the necessary mental fortitude the other guardians lack" "However two nights need to pass between uses, and once completely deactivated, retransformation is not possible until You have recovered"

Donna waiting a bit to make sure Lina pays attention

"Observe" "Concentrate on the overall bipedal form as You make the gesture"

Donna begins to draw a semi circle with a straight line up through it and lifts her paw up to her eye level, Her fur begins the glow and in a brilliant flas she is back in the form she was in prior to mimicking Lina"Hmmm, that felt good" The goddes sighs relieved "Been too long since i was back on all fours" - "Ok Lina, Your turn"

Lina barely able to contain her excitement begins to concentrate on the form as she makes the gesture, her grey fur glimmers and shines before emitting a bright flash

"How do i look?" Lina asked anxiously as she strugled to stay standing

Donna rushing to support her and saying in a caring voice "You are gorgeous, but concentrate on walking as a bipedal and familiarize yourself with it" - "the rest will come later"

Donna, slowly, step by step guided Lina to the concave pedestal and spoke in several tongues at the same time, suddenly the pedestal started filling with water, making a mirror when the water calmed down, Donna proud of her pupil brushes her tail against Linas cheek.'

"Take a look" - "You continue to amaze me"

Lina takes a nervous step forward to take a look and gasps as she explores her maiden form face, and runs her still anthropomorphized fingers through her dark hair.

"Not many make it this far on their first night trying to transform" "most require many attempts to even get into a bipedal form" Donna stops for a while as Lina is still oogling over the water mirror, looking at her almost human teeth and silver ears peeking through her dark hair.

Donna sighs and continues with a voice filled with pride" Do not worry about the ears, they can be hidden with a cloth or Your hair"

• "Your eyes true form will only be shown if You touch someone, as for Your legs and arms, continue training this form and the easier it gets"

"Just remember, dont try to activate unless in Your true form, Most usefull during the day as the duration and degree of transformation depends on Your mental state and concentration"

She reassures the young guardian with a gentle voice while she starts to fade away for the night

"Remember Lina, keep training with that form, and You will be able to blend in at the village soon enough"

Lina nods full of young enthusiasm, losing concentration as she accidently steps on her own tail, turning back to her true form.

Donna lets out a sigh right before fading away.

In the following weeks Lina slowly makes progress with her maiden form and gains confidence in her new found abilities, but is yet to visit the village

Her time under Donnas guidance drawing near its end, now but two moons away, she practices her movements mimicking a dance she saw the villagers enjoyed during the mid sommar fest,

so concentrated on her movements instead of her surroundings she did not notice a man in dark brown garments is sitting on one of the viewing stones enjoying some brännvinn,

silently watching towards the south east pass and occasionally observing Linas practise.

After a while Lina notices and jumps behind a standing stone "Wh.-Who are You, What do You want from me" The man takes a sip of the potent spirit and turns his head towards Lina with one eye closed "Aaah that hit the spot" - "dont mind me Young lady, I am just enjoying the view and the night breeze with my war buddy" the man sees Lina fluster and her hand grow a bit of silver grey fur before she regains her composure

"Apologies for startling You...Guardian of Intuition, Correct?"

Lina losing her composure completely and loses her transformation running under the concave pedestal for cover and snarling.

"WHO Are You, How do You know ME!"

The man laughs as he takes another sip and wipes his mouth with the back of his glove "Pardon my manners" The man shufles on the stone to properly face Lina "The folks in the village call me Seidr, I mean You no harm, I do not know You however I am very observant" The man winks his left eye. and looks at the direction of the pass again.

"Your a Seidr? Donna told me about People like You, So you perform rituals?" Lina now a bit more relaxed and walks out into the open.

Seidr lets a quiet rolling laugh "They call me that, i am responsible for the rituals but i am not a Seidr in the true meaning of the word"

He looks at Lina "I can see You are still training your transformation skills" - "dont worry, i am not like most folks, I can keep a secret"

Seidr smirks and decides to test the feline.

"Say miss..." -

"Lina" Lina says with some hesitation

"Lina, what a charming name, A powerfull name" - "names hold power, that is two secrets now that You have revealed to me, a complete stranger" Seidr grins, takes another sip and continues "You need to be more carefull"

"What do You want!" Lina shouts feeling threatened now.

Seidr lets out a Laugh as his eyes water up "What I want? Well, right now I want another sip of this juniper brännvin and one for my buddy klaes" he takes a sip and toasts in the direction of the south eastern pass, Lina now sitting down, confused and her head tilted

"You feel like You are in a disadvantage?" Seidr closes his eyes and scratches his head- "Ok, how about this. I will share with You, A secret for a secret, an experience for experience?" - "that way we can be buddies too, and buddies can keep secrets" Seidr pats the viewing stone signaling the young feline to take a seat next to him.

"so, two secrets" Lina nods as she walks up to the viewing stone and jumps up to sit next to him.

"ok, first. My buddy klaes, You heard me mention him?" Lina nods again

"Only i know where his remains are located, we were war buddies.Volunteers both us, in one of the ranger companies during a war 11 Years ago" He takes another sip before continuing and glances at the moon light dial, Linas intuition telling her his also waiting on something, but ignores it for now.

"I was not proficient with some of the crafts I learned later, but Klaes he was a natural, a prodigy" -"Pyrokinesis, illusion, Phase forming, Transmutation, You name it.

Lina asks "But why is the location of his remains a secret?"

"Straight to the point huh?" Seidr smiles and continues "Well a powerfull 'wielder' as they are called are sometimes treated as objects or tools, quite literally"

"Thats...Horrible" she replies with a shocked expression

Seidr takes a deep breath "He knew how he was viewed too, which is why when he was mortally wounded on our last deployment together, he made me promise two things." Seidr stands up gazing at the moon

"first, bury his remains to the lands of the valley"

"second, if anyone comes asking from the courts or academy, he swore me to tell them he fled the battle field and headed west towards the desert"

Seidr now looking towards the pass, and clenches his fist so hard the hide on his gloves start to make a crackling sound.

"right after he made me swear those two things...in an nstant placed his hand on my chest and spoke on several languages at the sametime, I recognized atleast the languages of the twisted light, Fire walkers and menders." Seidr slowly opening his fist now "and just as fast he was gone, only his skull and the bones of the hand that touched me were left" - " next thing I remember is Images and voices flooding my head, all the combined knowledge of the forbidden crafts, from him and his ancestors and the final wish from klaes"

"Carry this burden alone and let it be forgotten"

Seidr turns to Lina who has her ears drooped "Did it hurt..." Lina asked sensing the pain in Seidrs voice despite his calm face.

"I dont think so, One of the last things i Felt was his relief and peace klaes felt, I dont think he was in any pain at the end"

"And he knew i would use the crafts sparingly, if ever because of my true identity, he saw right through me since day one, saw what i had been hiding from everyone else"

Seidr takes another glance at the moonlight dial "ok thats secret number one, lets pick something less depressing next" Seidr puts on a smile and Lina asks eagerly with her eyes beaming "Your true identity?"

Seidr in the middle of a sip almost chokes as he spits and coughs before managing to reply a Stern "No! absolutely not!"

Lina pouts and runs a claw against the stone slab "I told You my name, that is not Fair"

With a calm smile and eyes closed Seidr replies "Let me ask You, Would You tell me the truth if I asked You a question while threatening You?"

"No" she replies

Pleased with the immediate straight forward answer that showed no hesitation from the Feline, Seidr thought to himself "A fine guardian we have, I just hope her mind is strong enough for the hideous ritual, they need to come up with a better way" Snapping out of his thoughts

"Precisely, secrets like many other precious things are given voluntarily"

"I will make it up to by showing You something i can do the villagers dont know i can do, which i sometimes use to 'encourage' a more diverse crops from the fields" Seidr winks his left eye and when it opens up his eye glows ruby red.

"Pyrokinesis is usually regarded as the ability to manipulate fire that exists" Seidr takes out a fire flint out of his pocket as he jumps down and proceeds to light a small thuft of grass on fire, and makes a gesture with his hand making the fire curl up into a ball and orbit around him as Lina watches in awe.

Closing his left eye seidr snuffs the flame out.

"that much the villagers and anyone else knows, the basis of craft using lies in protokinesis, the fundamental understanding of the matter"

This time gesturing Lina to look at the concave pedestal

Seidr now making a cup of his hand, slowly closing it as air above the pedestal rushes into a single point squeezing on it self and igniting, As seidr nurtures and feeds the flame, while limiting its size.

Lina jumps down and circles the pedestal with her eyes wide in amazement

"You created fire!"

the man in brown Smirks "let this be our second secret"

Lina nods happily and walks back to Seidrs side "We are buddies now!" Lina quips!

Seidr lets out a loud laughter "I gues we are"

Lina feeling happy having made a friend, is suddenly taken back to the memories of the last times playing with her siblings, drooping her ears and laying down with a frown.

Seidr pets her head "why the long face buddy? whats wrong"

Lina asks under her breath "Do You ever go to the mountains?"

With one eye closed Seidr looks at Lina "I gather juniper berries for the brännvinn from the mountains, I am due to make another batch soon"

a glint of hope appears in Linas eyes "ummm...Could You perhaps take a message to my mother and sisters, ill rub some of my scent on You so they should know You are telling the truth, just tell them I am well"

"Hmmm where is her Den, can You point at the general direction?" Seidr asked before taking a sip of brännvinn and petting the young mountain lions head.

Lina nods and points her paw towards the northern part of the valley close to a small waterfall fed by the mountain snow, a Line of lights was moving towards the point she indicated.

Seidr stands up hiding his worry from Lina while gritting his teeth as he sees one of the things he hates most in this world, A line formation hunting party used to kill animals indiscriminately and needlesly "Say Lina, are You fast at Your feet?" he asks the Feline. Elaborating "see the hut with red and yellow thatch roof" he points towards the village "how fast can you get there and back while carrying a pouch in Your mouth?"

"I still have the guiding light empowering me, should be a quart maybe less?" she replies and notices as the man clenches his fist again

"Run...RUN LINA, NOW! Get the black pouch on the end table, Do not stop for anything!" Seidr said not taking his eyes off of the spot Lina pointed Out.

Lina turns on a dime, Gestures for an Ouroboros emblem, sensing something was wrong and begun to run like she was possessed.

"Yeah, i know klaes, i know how to pick my friends." - "Hope shes as fast as she claims, This is propably gonna hurt like hell before the night is over"

Seidr steps outside of the shrine and starts drawing a menders cube while he utters words of twisted light

The cube begins to glow with Seidr inside of it, now drawing runes on the pillars of the cube and continuing the chant.

A little less than a quart and Lina comes back from her run, Seidr signaling with his free hand for the pouch and grabs it from lina.

"Sorry for rushing, but now You better cover your eyes" Seidr takes out a rune from the pouch completing the chain, the cube beginning to hum, rotate and twist as air and light start twisting around it furiously.

"What are You doing" Lina shouts while taking cover behind a standing stone.

"Making a short cut" Just as having said it one of the twisting and bending sides of the cube begins extending towards the line of lights "Lina come here" Lina aproaches the cube "Stop, right, there" he scratches Lina under her chin and rubs his glove on her cheeks "Eh" Lina asking a bit confused

"no time to explain, See You in four or five days" Seidr steps into the corridor created by the cube which contracts as quickly towards the hillside as it had extended

Lina now standing there trying to understand what happened. Goes back to her den feeling anxious.

The twisting and bending cube stops its hum as Seidr steps out of it, it vanishes.

"Ok, where are they" he looks for the lights and spots them not far away.

"So, You fellas having fun tonight" Seidr asks casually as he walks up to the first link of the line "Huh?" one of the torch carriers from the desert hunters party, dumbfounded turns to Seidr "What?" Seidr Grinning as he notices a court mandated hunters emblem, asks "You folks enjoying a good hunt"

The torch carrier puts on a wide open smile and replies as his eyes gleam from the torches light "Uh hu- Yeah, You want in on it? we got a few foxes already, some one got a badger, and guys further up said they heard a mountain lion, so you want in or not?" Seidrs grin widens "Sure, if You guys dont mind"

The hunter pats Seidr on the back and directs him to grab a torch "Welcome to the hunt, grab a torch, You looking to pelt something specific"

Seidr closes his eyes "Thats ok, i have all the torches i need"

"uh huh" the hunter replies still his back turned to Seidr, "so whats Your game" he turns to face Seidr, who now slowly opens his eyes both emitting a ruby red light and slowly walks towards the hunter, earth beneath his feet searing at the touch of the soles, grinning as he replies "THE SCUM OF THE EARTH!" in what can be described as a vailing voice of the damned

Squeezing his cupped hands forming a dozen pillars of blue bright fire that begin to orbit him.

"W.-Wi.-WIELDER" he screams out as he becomes the first victim Screaming in agony as one the fire pillars is directed by Seidr inside him through his mouth, burning the hunter from inside out, now calm and cold Seidr who begins to walk towards the mountain lions den, setting a blaze anyone trying to reach it, sparing those who drop their bows and blades.

Concentrating on maintaining the pillars as he advances forward he sees two mountain lions run down the mountain and chase away a hunter who was inside the den, seeing some one got there he disperses the pillars and makes a run for it, the two mountain lions snarling and growling at Seidr before they catch a whiff of a familiar scent "Sis...Lina? You, how do You have her scent on You?" both of them say in near perfect unison.

"Lina!?" A question echos from the den as the mother comes out with limping, an arrow had struck her hind leg and a bleeding stab wound was visible on her side.

"Mother, dont move" the sisters cry out as they see her collapse right outside of the den.

"You have Linas scent, and i sense no hate or fear from You, Lina, is She..." Seidr stops her "Yes, she told me to convey that she is alive and well" the man closing his eyes and turning to the sisters and shakes his head, both of the sisters now erupting in tears.

"i never caught Your name messenger" the dying mountain lion said with a smile completely forgetting her pain for a moment.

"You can call me Seidr, everyone e.." He is cut short as the mother interupts him "Your name, humor me please, I know what lies ahead of me and do tell me why You have my daughters scent on You" She gestures for the sisters to take some distance.

Seidr kneels down to whisper to the mother and casts a veil of screams around them making sure no one else hears them, respecting the last wish of the feline matriarch.

"My name is ...."

The mothers breathing quickens and her eyes widen "And how did You of all people befriended my daughter?" she asks in shock

As Seidr recounts the events of the night including the secret sharing the mother starts to smile at peace and they start to talk about her litter in general "Lina, I wish i had been there to watch You grow"

Gesturing with his hand Seidr lifts the veil and uses some of his remaining power to ease the Mothers pain "Thank You..." she said as blood was starting to flow out of the side of her mouth.

*Fwiip*, *Fwiip, *Fwiip* As a final insult to injury, three arrows fly from dark, one of them finding their intended mark the mothers throat, while one hits Seidrs left arm, third falling short. eliciting cheers from the hunters before they turn to run.

Angered and now shedding a tear for the mountain lion ,calmly watching as the mother closed her eyes as she takes her final labored breath. Now turning to the sisters while barely containing his voice "Please turn away, and go inside Your den, and what ever happens do not come out until it stops" -What stops" they asked. "Stay inside until the screams stop" Seidrs voice breaking as he turns to face the hunters who are running away.

Seidr, now talking in several languages is lifted off of the ground now in the air above the tree tops begins to summon the winds above the forest as he is creating multiple dozens of fire pillars this time shaping them into narrow long pillars like gigantic arrows."Sorry klaes, trouble finds me even now" he thinks about the time when he saw klaes use the same combination of crafts , a down draft pushes the hunters to the ground, followed by the pillars of fire impaling two of the hunters one by one, making them let out tortured screams in agony as they die slowly, all the while Seidr cast a curse on them that makes them experience each others pain too

"You" he points at the last hunter "Go back over the mountains and spread the word among the bored bloated aristocrats, This valley might not have a new Gætir, but for now it has something far less forgiving" the survivor screams as he starts running towards the northern pass.

Starting to lose his composure as the survivor is no longer in sight Seidr falls on his knees "Yup, I over did it klaes, definetly.. gonna hurt" as he collapses,

Seidr starts contorting in pain as the toll for exceeding what his body could handle starts to disfigure his body, the left side of his face in agonizing burning pain as bones break, reform, break again and reform yet again, the cycle rapidly repeats several timas as seidr howls in pain, and as suddenly it begun it ended.

The sisters rushing to Seidr as he mutters to himself "Had to be the face, nature what a cruel misters You are, Last time it was my right arm, why not my left arm" - he looks at his left arm and the arrow sticking from it " oh right..."

The sisters now next to Seidr still visibly shocked from losing their mother, jump back and hiss as sedir turns towards them, not recognizing the man at first.

"that bad huh" - "please, take this before i change my mind" Seidr gives a rune from the bag "When You find the strength to bury Your mother, place that rune under her head"

"Why?" they ask thinking it is some sick ritual, Seeing the doubt in their eyes Seidr explains calmly "so these will work" he takes out three of the several white marble discs breathing gently on them and rubs them on the rune

"it is called the dying light stone, not the best choice for a name, i know, but it will show a beam of light to the direction of her resting place, least i can do right now, the third piece is for Lina, it is my burden to hand it over as a friend"

"Thank You mister" "Seidr, just call me Seidr..." he says right as the teary eyed sisters say in unison "Everyone else calls you that too" He smiles and gives them a bitter sweet goodbye as he starts his journey towards the shrine hill and tells them to pay Lina a visit every now and then

"Klaes, i have a feeling i need to talk with a goddes"

on the way to the hill the left arm became infected, leaving Seidr no choice but to amputate it with his pyrokinesis, Cursing his fate he shouts in the middle of the plains "What next!" and feels a sudden pulse of pain in his groin and franticly lowers his garments and under wear to 'inspect', everything is ok, just the undergarment twisting places not meant to be twisted, he sighs in relief " NOT FUNNY!" he shouts

After returning to shrine hill, Seidr sits Lina down and explains the situation and gives her the marble piece.

"thank You" she says in a calm broken voice, "please do not follow me" she runs away leaving a trail of sparkling tears while holding the marble piece in her muzzle.

Seidr seething a bit for the recent events waits Lina to get away and starts chanting while gesturing with his arm, Creating a solid kinetic flame pillar

"Donna, Donna.... Belladonna...Which one first, the pedestal? One of the viewing stones, maybe the astrolabe?" he moves the flame above each object "Oh Belladonna... HOW ABOUT THE WHOLE DAMN SHRINE" Seidr gestures with his arm, as he shouts in anger. the flame becoming the size of a long house", as a bright flash Donna appears

"Do not CALL me THAT!"

"oh dont get me started" Seidr visibly angry at the goddes "Your the reason why I am now here and she is not!"

Donna feels a sense of deja vu from Seidrs words "so why should i care" -Seidr continues to raise his voice- "You knew all too well what she meant for her, YOU KNOW PRECISELY how much hope it gave her that there was a chance of them still reuniting" Seidr continues as he extinquishes the flame and calms down a bit.

"we are not on best of terms but You know where i am, you know what i can do, so why not give me a hint and let me know if i can help or Do You want a repeat of what happened nine harvests ago? You have seen what i did at the defence of this valley" - " HALF A QUART, had i been given that much more time she would be alive..." Seidr scratches his head while kicking the turf, expecting an answer "..." - "Cat caught Your tongue?" Seidr staring down the goddess who now stands there speechless

"are You quite done?" Donna asked after snapping out of the shock of being talked down

"Yeah, i am still expecting an answer"he squeezes his right hand into a fist so hard it makes a cracking sound

the goddes breaths in and sighs "Our other mutual friend has returned nearly a month early from her planned five month voyage, and it seems she has something to show You"

she turns to face the village

"she had my full attention while you had Your mind stuck in the past, and that is something i regret now"

"Heidi is back?" Seidrs eyes light up a bit, still barely containing his anger "how is she?"

Donna now facing away from the disfigured man "well... She did seem to have increased her dress size over the months" Thinking to herself 'those words, that voice, why do they feel so familiar'

Seidr slowly coming to a realization and his mouth opens, he starts running towards the village as Donna vanishes.

Lina mourns the passing of her mother, As the seasons and years pass she becomes more attuned to her powers but still avoids human contact if possible, partly due to her mothers fate.

Reconnecting with her sisters who begin to pay regular visits to her along with their litters, brings some joy to her othervise lonesome life

Seidr visiting the shrine a couple of times every month, still sometimes seeing a narrow beam of light from the guardians den respects her privacy on those nights.

Exchanging stories with her every now and then when she accepts his company.

As years passed Lina, still leading a lonely life gazes at the moon from time to time wondering if there is someone who she could enjoy those silent moments with, just standing still in silence and no exchange of words.

------End of chapter one------