“What, Master?” Narnaste quietly asked.
“Nothing, Narn. Guard, we will gladly follow you after you get us some horses. Everyone is exhausted.”
“Oh.” The guard stared at Trav and seemed frozen.
Hravalin moved next to Trav and said, “He speaks for me as well. I must insist.”
“Oh, yes, of course, Guide!” The guard took off like her feathers were on fire.
Trav turned to look at his people and winced. Seven Dokkalfar had survived, including Ida. Thankfully, his valkyries, Bravoosa, and Hravalin had made it too, but only ten of the Pinions had come back to Asgard. A sense of loss that Trav had never expected threatened to overwhelm him, and he promised himself he’d deal with it later. He would mourn the harpy soldiers.
In less than half an hour the survivors were on horses, and following the guard. But instead of leading them to the royal palace, or the swamp where they’d received the rules, she led them back to the East tribe’s territory.
“What—” Trav began.
The guard saluted and said, “Your Highness, the Queen has asked me not to answer any of your questions, just bring you to her.”
“The Queen?” he asked, but the guard wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Trav numbly stared at the guard’s back and wondered what the hell was going on. Granted, this reception was better than he’d feared, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Now that they were all back on Asgard, his soldiers were probably getting some of their power back, and he noticed some of the harpies flexing their claws. They were all exhausted, but he knew if he gave the word, they would all attack at his command.
Hopefully everything was okay. He’d gone through too much just to be stabbed in the back after managing to return.
***
The guard led him back to the Guide building in the East tribe, and he could tell that Hravalin was also frustrated and confused. They were all tired, probably still moving out of spite. Only the fact that they were so exhausted was probably keeping everyone quiet. All the harpies knew that by Guide trial protocol, they should have gone straight to the royal palace.
Instead, they trooped into the same room where Trav had first met Hravalin, and he blinked when he saw Tiffany on the throne. Jang-mi stood at her shoulder, and Sebastian was handling paperwork, putting things in piles on a table in front of her. She had someone else with her on the dais too, and Trav recognized her. When he’d visited the prison, she’d been the Demona woman behind the counter.
Tiffany smiled as they walked in. She walked to Trav and gave him a hug, then wrinkled her nose and said, “You stink, but thank the stars you are unharmed.” She ran her eyes over the entire wounded group. “Stars, what happened to you all?”
Trav smiled without humor. Most of the group who’d returned to the East tribe were not with them. Some of the Pinions and Dokkalfar had been taken to the hospital; their wounds had been pressing. At his order, all of the remaining Dokkalfar had been taken to Trav’s rooms where they’d be relatively safe. Now Trav only stood with Hravalin and his valkyries. The guard who’d led him in had already left. Guards stood outside both doors, but Tiffany put a finger in the air, and after Trav sensed a burst of power, both entrances shut. Then Tiffany produced a fan and Trav watched as her familiar eavesdropping barrier sprang up.
“What happened?” Trav asked. He pulled some chairs out from the wall for him, Hravalin, and his valkyries.
“Well, I became queen of Bernacia.”
Trav didn’t ask any obvious question to that statement, just gave her a tired look.
“Okay, fine. You’re taking some of the fun out of this, but looking at you all, I can tell you’re not in the mood. We’ll get to your story later. I get the feeling you don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“Not really, no.”
“Okay, here goes my end,” said Tiffany. She opened and shut her fan a few times, and said, “Less than three hours after you left, the first assassination attempt happened. We stopped it, but when it happened, I realized we’d missed something.”
“What do you mean?”
“They tried to kill Rahim.”
Trav immediately stood, fire in his eyes, and what power he had roiled, making a visible glow appear on his arms.
Tiffany held out a hand and said, “He’s fine! He’s fine, I promise!” When Trav sat back down, she said, “Yeah, it shocked me too, and that’s when I realized we’d forgotten about social hierarchies on Asgard. Rakshasa are the top of the food chain in Kyvendi. As the ‘father’ of a Rakshasa, that put you at the top already, despite being human. Then as Restless...it’s one reason we’d started getting followers so quickly.”
“We?”
“Of course. We are a pantheon—we’re married, so if I build faith it helps you and vice versa. In fact, have you checked for any changes after getting back?”
Trav frowned as he looked inside himself, measuring his energy, and his eyebrows shot up as he realized he’d gained two bars of power. “What?”
“We have a lot more followers now, actually most of the harpies in Bernacia.” Tiffany looked pleased with herself, but she probably should be.
“Why could I only feel the...changes now?” asked Trav.
“I was actually afraid it would happen, that the Veil-overlap might slow your gain. No matter. I told everyone you’d survive. After all, you are the Allfather, and their king.” She gave Trav a wicked grin. “When none of the other Guides had returned in four days, some of the harpies started to doubt, but I insisted you’d return.”
“How did you know?”
“Well, I didn’t for sure, but I knew you were still alive because of our bond, and if you hadn’t returned, everything, and I mean everything would be ruined anyway, so I bet everything on my husband.” Tiffany sobered a bit and crossed her legs, but Trav couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Tiffany, I know you’re enjoying this, but we are even more tired than we look. Can you give me the minimum that I need to know so I can shower and rest?”
“Oh, fine. After I realized that we’d overlooked basic Kin culture, I started an organized church for the Allfather and Skymother—that’s my new moniker, I’m proud of it—then I overthrew the current government, imprisoned the Seneschal and the Ancient, and forged diplomatic ties between the East tribe and the South tribe.”
Trav’s jaw dropped open. “In a week?”
Tiffany’s eyes sparkled. “Like I told you before, Travis Sterling, I can be a very dangerous woman, and a dependable ally. But to be fair, one thing I’m starting to understand is that most of the Kin on Asgard want to believe in something, and a surprising number of them were secretly sympathetic to the Faithful.”
“So you started a religious coup.”
“Exactly! And Hravalin and Yaakova’s tribe helped a lot. The fact two of their rising stars were both smitten with my one-eyed, tall, dark and brooding Restless husband helped, too. Your little murder demonstration in the swamp before leaving didn’t hurt, either.”
Trav shook his head. “This is...a lot. I need to get the full story from you later, but this is why we came here, right, to the East tribe? The new leaders of Bernacia have already been decided?”
“Well, mostly. I’m the queen, you’re the king, and Hravalin will lead the East tribe. The new government is set up similarly to how the old one ran.”
So what is she doing here,” Trav asked, nodding to the Demona woman standing next to Jang-mi.
“Ah. She approached me yesterday and told me some of what she had to tell you, but said she wouldn’t give the full message to anyone but you.” Tiffany turned. “Come forward, sweetie.”
At times like this, Trav was reminded that his wife may look like a petite blond woman, but actually had the mantle of an ancient goddess.
The Demona woman stepped forward. “You remember me, Tr—, Your Highness?”
Trav was tempted to tell her to drop the honorifics, but didn’t say anything. This was not E
arth, and real life was not like the movies. Furthermore, Kin were not humans. He said, “I remember you, but what was your name again?”
“It is Sivin, Highness. I didn’t know what to do, so I came to the new Queen, so I could find you.”
“Can you explain?”
“A few days ago, I got orders to return to Demona. After some snooping, a friend told me the real reason. Demona soldiers are marching here, to Bernacia. It’s a suppression! They heard about what was going on, and they are going to finally, officially absorb Bernacia!”
“Why didn’t you leave?” asked Trav.
Sivin looked down. “I don’t think it’s right,” she said. After swallowing, she finally said, “My parents are Faithful. I was never religious, but I can look around and see how much better things have gotten since you and the Queen arrived in Bernacia. Some might think I’m betraying my country, but I just want what is best for Bernacia. I think what the government is doing is a mistake, and I wanted to warn you.” She began to softly cry. “In reality, I’m loyal to Demona. This just is not right.”
Tiffany nodded. “I only got a little of that before, but I could figure out the rest. How long until the Demona army gets here, Sivin?”
“Probably about three to six months.”
That was honestly much more time than Trav feared he would have. “Why so long?” he asked.
“Because they are sending the entire army, and more. Bernacia has historically been much of Demona’s military power. Somehow, Demona has called in some favors, from the Dokkalfar, and from the Untamed to help them subjugate Bernacia.”
“What are they going to get out of it?” asked Trav. “The Dokkalfar and Untamed?” He thought, The Untamed too, huh? The Untamed were smaller, independent Kin nations.
“Probably slaves and land,” said Tiffany. To the side, Sivin nodded.
Trav tilted his head as he looked at Tiffany. “So we’re going to have a war, but we have a new powerbase. Now we need to settle the political changes you’ve made, strengthen the new church you made, win the hearts and minds of the Kin who are not supporting us yet, find talented leaders to help us, build faith, and create a unified harpy army...all in three months?”
“That’s about the right of it, yes.”
Trav sighed. “I guess the need to make new valkyries just got a lot more urgent, huh?”
“To say the least.” Tiffany tapped her fan on her palm.
Trav suddenly thought of something. “You made a new religion, probably based on the new pantheon we are going to create. What did you name it?”
“The Pantheon or the religion?”
“Both.”
“If you really hate them, maybe we can change, but it’ll be difficult,” she warned.
“Stop stalling and tell me or I’m going to tickle you.”
Tiffany smiled and put a hand to her chest in mock fear. “Well if you put it that way, I have no choice, dear husband. Our pantheon name is Star Family. The religion name is Astrolia.”
Trav thought about it for a few seconds then smiled back. “I like it.”
“I’m glad, but you’ve changed. What happened? The way you all look, I expected you to be short tempered and scarred, but you seem more relaxed than I’ve ever seen you.”
Trav thought about it for a while and said, “If things had turned out differently here I might be. But I confirmed that some of my family is still alive, alive and thriving. This means there might be other family members out there. If I’m going to find them, much less be able to help if they need it, I need to take care of my family here and get stronger. I have unfinished business on this world. I realized it was time for me to stop running from who I am, just accept it and keep moving forward.”
“So what are you going to do now?” asked Tiffany.
Trav swept his eyes over his tired and filthy companions. “Well, first I’m going to bathe with my valkyries. You are welcome to join us, Tiffany.”
Tiffany’s eyebrows climbed. “I thought you were tired!”
“I am, I was, but I am getting new energy, remember? Now I can manage.” Trav continued, “And Hravalin is invited too, if Yaakova allows it.”
Tiffany’s eyes got as big as saucers and Yaakova made a hissing little laugh. His harpy valkyrie said, “I will agree only if you please take care of Bravoosa soon. That woman is drooling over you so badly I am afraid she may hurt herself if you tease her anymore.”
When Trav merely nodded, Tiffany raised an eyebrow and said, “As I’ve said before, this stuff doesn’t really make me super happy, but I am a realist. But what changed?”
Trav looked at his hands while he thought about it, and slowly said, “To protect what is important in my past, I need to let go of my past. This was confusing, and I didn’t know what that meant until recently, but now I understand. I’m not the guy who first came to Asgard anymore, and mourning that man has kept me from moving forward.
“This is Asgard, and I hate a lot of Kin, but I love the people who are close to me. I want to protect my family, and I’m not going to pretend anymore that this has not become my home.”
Tiffany’s eyes glowed. “Well done, my Lord, well done.” A tear fell down her face. “Just promise me that you will help me save my home after we save this one? I know you already have, but...”
Trav stood and put his hands on her shoulders. “You have my word.” This time when he felt the weird feeling, a vibration in his mantle, it didn’t faze him. He’d been expecting it.
End of Asgard Awakening 2,
---Book Two of Asgard Awakening
Trav’s adventures will be continued in the next volume of Asgard Awakening, book three!
Please read on for a note by the author, including multiple ways to connect on social media.
…And don’t forget to review this novel!
About the Author:
Blaise Corvin served in the US Army in several roles. He has seen the best and the worst that humanity has to offer. A sucker for any hobby involving weapons, art, or improv, he’s a fairly hard core geek.
He currently lives surrounded by enough geeky memorabilia to start a museum.
Being a professional author, he must sometimes talk about himself in third person within author biographies.
It’s all very eccentric.
Cheers!
To Readers,
The best way to help an indie author like me is to leave reviews on Audible or Amazon, and to spread the word about this book on social media! Word of mouth is powerful.
If all you can think of to say is, “I liked this book, you should try it too,” that would be awesome!
In 2016 I published my first book. Now I’m full time. This is pretty amazing, but also extremely scary. The uncertainty can be intense. As an indie writer, it’s usually just me and a computer. Another writer (James Osiris Baldwin) once said that being an indie writer is like working as a professional gambler, but where it takes months to make a bet, you stay inside all the time while creating your bet, and agonize over imaginary people.
…he wasn’t wrong.
This is the best job I’ve ever had…it’s also the most challenging in a lot of ways. I owe so many people for this opportunity, and it sucks that I will never have the means nor the time to pay them all back for their kindness.
As a reminder, Asgard Awakening is part of the VeilVerse universe, a project that I started with my friend, William D. Arand. To read his current VeilVerse story that follows the life of Trav’s cousin Ash, please check out the Cultivating Chaos series.
The universe has already expanded, and please check out John Van Stry’s Take Two.
Ways to connect with me:
1. My Facebook fan group
Amazon and other distributors are pretty terrible at letting you know when my new books are out. For the latest news and updates, join my Facebook group:
Blaise Corvin Reader group
http://www.facebook.com/groups/BlaiseCorvinBooks/
2. My w
ebsite
If you’re interested in checking out my website, the URL is http://blaise-corvin.com/. You can find news, Delvers artwork, and maps.
The site is still a work in progress so please be patient with me.
3. These are my social media pages. Connect with me!
Twitter - @Blaise_Corvin
https://twitter.com/Blaise_Corvin
Facebook - Leave me a like on facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/BlaiseCorvinWriter/
GameLit Society Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/
Blaise Corvin Reader group (best place for updates)
http://www.facebook.com/groups/BlaiseCorvinBooks/
Harem Lit Facebook group!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/haremlit/
My Patreon!
http://www.patreon.com/BlaiseCorvin
If you really love my work and would like to support me further, Patreon offers a great way to help me pay the bills and keep writing!
My email
If you want to drop me a line for any reason, you can email me at:
[email protected]
Until next time (--and please leave a review!--)
Thank you for joining me on this adventure! I couldn’t do it without all the knowledge and encouragement I get on a daily basis from everyone I interact with.
I can’t wait to spend time with you again with Trav, in Asgard Awakening, Book Three.
:)
-BC
The Veilverse Universe is owned by Blaise Corvin (that’s me!) and William D. Arand.
Asgard Awakening follows the adventures of Travis Sterling. To read about his cousin Ash, please check out William’s series, Cultivating Chaos!
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