Legacy of the Valkyrie

by Archibald Bradford

  “So, he tamed her?”

  She snorted while the other Trog’s hissed in amusement.

  “Ha! No, if that were the case then she wouldn’t have needed to mark herself in his service. Whoever she was, she held her stone still.”

  Nameless nodded, it was more information than he had before.

  “Thank you.”

  He turned to go back down into the quarry, the Trogs’ eyes following him for a moment. Bask speculated as to what the hell made the little runt so special to earn the hearts of so many women, but then she glanced down at the shield on his arm and had to admit that finding a lost Valkyrie was pretty damn special.

  His girls and Miranda had been looking for him, and met him at the top of the quarry but before they went back down there was a great rumbling from the sands beneath their feet.

  “Ah not again!” Nina groused.

  Jubby burst out of the sand in the center of the group, scattering the travelers and the Trogs with her bulk. She kept her front section pointed skywards as her segmented jaws parted and her nude tongue slipped out, arms outstretched as she slapped her hands to her cheeks and shot out a spurt of water from her lips.

  “I found water for you! I told you I would!” She exclaimed.

  The worm-like creature was oblivious to the stunned Troglodytes surrounding them or the chaos that her abrupt arrival had caused.

  There was a sloshing sound coming from her mouth and her hair was slicked back by more than just her own saliva. It was readily apparent that her entire mouth was full of precious water.

  Of the lizard girls, Bask was the first to recover, though her demeanor had shifted to near-reverence.

  “By the scales of the Great Mother, a Tarkona!” She addressed Jubby with respect in her voice; “Greetings sand-sister, I never thought to see a Sandworm in this life, my grandmother told me many stories of your kind!”

  “That’s nice, look guys I found water!”

  She splashed her precious payload at Nameless and company, barely acknowledging Bask at all.

  Almost immediately Nameless spotted the many jagged bits of metal and the awful burns along her carapaced side.

  “Jubby, what happened to you?”

  “What happened is I found water, just like I said, now… show me the grey lady’s penis!”

  She pronounced the last bit as if it were an order from on high, one hand gesturing imperiously at Miranda and with her chin held high, and then she giggled and blushed.

  Nina and Erica both laughed and the Katje added her voice to Jubby’s.

  “Yeah Miranda, whip it out!”

  The Aegis operative glared at her.

  It took a little convincing but eventually a very disappointed Jubby came to understand that Miranda did not in fact, have a penis.

  After the hubbub had died down and introductions were made, Bask had her sisters store the valuable water from Jubby’s mouth. Then the Trogs moved their cook fires up to share a meal with the legendary Tarkona.

  To them Jubby was even more impressive than Volka. And after a good long sulk at Miranda’s genital situation, Jubby had quickly set her sights on the only male not spoken for or caged in the dig-site below.

  She and Martin chatted excitedly, her pink tongue resting on her elbows at the bottom of her mouth while he sat just on the edge of her armoured outer jaw.

  As an archeologist he found her insight into the desert floor fascinating, and as a lonely monster girl she found his crotch just as fascinating.

  Even Nameless recognized the signs in her: her pink skin was flushed and she was biting her bottom lip while Martin spoke.

  Which is why he wasn’t surprised in the least when she suddenly flew out of her mouth and seized him and dragged him inside, her segmented jaws closing behind her.

  Bask and the other Trogs all paused for a couple of seconds, then shrugged and went back to eating, though the leader’s gaze lingered on the Sandworm for several seconds.

  “So we’re not leaving tonight?” Jan asked.

  She sat with Jezebel dozing in her lap. The frog had recovered much from her ordeal but still tired easily.

  Miranda shook her head.

  “No, I spoke with Bask and with Jubby. The Trogs are going to give us the provisions we need and the big girl is going to carry us across the desert in the morning.”

  “That’s… awfully generous of them.” Erica’s voice was skeptical.

  “It really isn’t.” Miranda shook her head; “Bask and her people are stuck here until the Aegis arrive so it is in their best interest to gear us up and get us out of here as quickly as possible. And Jubby owes us big time for the whole leaving us for dead in the desert thing.”

  “I suppose.” The Katje glanced over at Jubby’s mouth again.

  __________

  “Er, Jubby? Not that I don’t appreciate a closer look at your anatomy, but this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

  Martin was lying flat on his back on the bottom of her fleshy mouth, his glasses askew while the muscled tongue that was Jubby hurriedly unbuttoned his shirt, her wet body draped over him.

  “Second man in a week I get my mouth on, no way he’s getting away.” She muttered to herself, intent on disrobing him.

  “Er, the thing is Jubby, I already have someone, so-”

  “WHAT!? You’re bonded too!?” She wailed.

  Her fingers halted in their work as she pulled herself off of him and clasped both hands to the sides of her head in anguish.

  He squirmed underneath her, his eyes looking away from her face.

  “Well, not exactly, it’s more of a- well it’s a bit of a crush, you see.”

  “A crush.” Her words came out flat.

  He nodded.

  “I’ve been wandering the sands for two and a half centuries looking for a mate, and you want me to back off… because of a crush?”

  “Er, well… if you don’t mind?”

  “Who?” She demanded; “Who is this bitch that you won’t fuck me over?”

  “Well now, no need for name-calling.”

  She glared at him, pinned to the floor as he was he could do nothing but answer her question.

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Well, that’s easy to fix.”

  __________

  Bask and the others lingered by the fires, still working at their meals, the Trog’s thoughts were dark. The Aegis showing up was a pain in the ass and now they had to stop digging, which left the prisoners at loose ends, never a good thing. That, and Martin had been gobbled up by the Tarkona and she had to fight down a surge of jealousy. Though she wasn’t entirely sure who she was jealous of…

  Most of the others around the fires had forgotten about the scatter-brained archaeologist entirely by that point but they remembered right quick when the Sandworm suddenly reared up and opened her mouth to engulf the startled Troglodyte leader.

  The people around the fire once more looked at each other, then resumed eating.

  Chapter 20:

  Tearful Elation

  The return trip across the desert was made far easier and much faster by Jubby. The jubilant girl swam just above the surface of the sand, the weary group awkwardly clinging to her back as her tongue gripped the top of her mouth, her naked breasts resting on her carapace as she chatted with them, her conversation focusing mostly on how great Martin was and what great sex they had.

  Given that she was saving them days of weary travel they did their best to politely listen as she gushed about her new relationship with Martin and, surprisingly, Bask.

  “And then they had sex again!” She finished telling them for the fourth time.

  Even Ophelia’s smile was looking a little fixed by that point.

  “So what now?” Nameless turned to Miranda.

  The orphan really didn’t like this mode of travel, the blur of the sand moving past them was dizzying and he scrambled for something, anything, to distract from the motion.

  “Well, given that you ju
st made the most important discovery in a thousand years it seems we ought to tell someone. Don’t you think?”

  He nodded. The shield was still strapped to his arm. He was reluctant to put it down, the golden heartstone at its center gleaming in the light. Kala glanced to it often, seemingly afraid it might disappear at any moment.

  “So we go to Garland?”

  “Yeah, I need to report on the arsenal anyways.”

  He spent a few minutes in thought as Jubby chattered in the background.

  “This changes everything doesn’t it?”

  Miranda gave him an incredulous look.

  “Ya think?!”

  __________

  The reaction of the Amazons of the Saenga tribe to the shield on Nameless’s arm was much the same as Kala’s had been. The patrol that spotted them was silent with awed reverence as they guided them back into the village.

  “Truly you are Valkyrja, more so than any that have ever carried the title before you.” Alcaia managed to whisper as she used one shaking hand to caress the face of the shield he held before him.

  Escrya was so emotional that some feared she might need to be taken away to recover herself. It was the teller’s duty to ensure that the Amazons never forgot the Valkyrie and their sacrifice, and she had to relive that loss with every telling.

  Nameless doubted that he would ever really understand the implications of the shield on his arm to someone like her.

  Eventually she stumbled to her knees in front of him, took his face in both hands and kissed him with such fierce hunger that he ended up flat on his back with her astride him. Her wet cheeks were pressed into his as her tongue invaded his mouth.

  Milly pouted, Erica crossed her arms and Nina’s eyes narrowed as Nameless did his very best not to reciprocate the passionate kiss, though he couldn’t help his burgeoning erection.

  She was an attractive girl and a really good kisser…

  His heart was pounding when their lips eventually parted.

  “When you were here before… you had our respect Valkyrja, now you have our eternal love. I have no doubt our daughters will forever speak of you with reverence. Were you not already claimed, I would take you this very moment.”

  Her pale blue eyes were locked on his, her hands holding his face in place as her thumbs wiped her tears off of his cheeks.

  “Yeah, too bad about that.” Erica said.

  She was doing her best to keep the disapproval out of her voice, but was shocked when Escrya suddenly leapt off of him and grabbed her, kissing her with the same level of passion as she stood and pulled the smaller girl tight to her chest.

  “Look, before this turns into a massive orgy with the poor little bastard getting squished by all the girls who want to bone him, I’m hungry.”

  Nina’s eyes were on Alcaia as Escrya lifted Erica so her paws dangled off the ground.

  Alcaia laughed and wiped tears from her face.

  “Indeed, mighty Nina. And you will be fed this night, a grander feast the Saenga has never known! And as you can imagine, we are all eager to hear the story of how this miracle came to pass!”

  The Amazons of the Saenga tribe took her words as an order and the gathered villagers began to prepare, beginning, unsurprisingly, with bathing their weary guests. The mood in the water was jubilant, laughter abounded, interspersed with the occasional bout of tears from the emotional Amazons as they celebrated the return of the Valkyrie.

  The speculative looks that Nameless had received the first time he bathed with the Amazons would have been a welcome change to the looks he received now. They treated him, and by extension the girls bonded to him, with a veneration that he hardly felt he deserved.

  Nina had tried to resist the Amazons again but they had learned from their previous encounter and a half dozen of them pounced on her at once. She didn’t want to hurt them by struggling too much, so she relinquished her grip on her hammer and was carried into the water and pampered and massaged to the point that even the taciturn Gigas relaxed.

  Escrya bathed him along with two other girls, and despite the awkwardness of the situation he couldn’t help but unwind a bit as they rubbed their hands over his weary body.

  She had regained her composure, though she couldn’t seem to stop smiling as she lathered up his chest and stomach, more than once drifting even lower and briefly soaping up his privates.

  “Do not doubt, Valkyrja, my words from before. Should you desire it, I would claim you as my husband.” Her gaze was heated.

  The Amazon working his right side laughed heartily.

  “There is not an unbonded Amazon in the world that would not spread her legs for this one! Even those who are bonded would be willing. My own wife would likely give me a free pass with him if I asked her!”

  “Do not be crass, Hila!” The Amazon on his other side chided.

  They were older, and from what he gathered both were bonded, which is probably why they were bathing him instead of the unbonded girls, although Escrya seemed to be a special case.

  It occurred to him that she may have some of the answers that he sought as she stood before him and lathered up his hair, his face closer than he was comfortable to her well-formed breasts.

  “Um, E-Escrya?”

  “Yes Valkyrja?”

  She laughed suddenly as she said the word.

  “Sisters! The highest compliment we have is almost inadequate for this man!”

  There was a chorus of laughter around them.

  “But forgive me, you were going to ask me something?”

  She settled back into the water, pulling her breasts out of his face. He nodded slowly as all of the burning questions in his mind came out at once.

  “Do you know why I am able to carry her shield? And do you know why she is a shield? Or how she survived for a thousand years underground? And how could she have bonded with me if I never touched her stone?”

  The words came out in a rush.

  Escrya blinked a few times.

  “I don’t know if I can answer all of your questions, only she could, I think. But one mystery at least I can solve for you.”

  He nodded as she massaged his neck, holding him just a bit too close.

  “The Valkyrie were… nay... they are warriors but they are also one of the spirit breeds. Their own legends say that their goddess gave her life to birth them into this world and her divine essence suffused their beings. Just as the primordial spirits epitomize their elements, so too do the Valkyrie epitomize their goddess’s nature.”

  He was silent, as were most of the bathers within earshot.

  “This essence is where their divine powers come from, and it is not easily extinguished. But just as the other spirit breeds, their corporeal forms can be killed. She likely used the power of the divine essence within herself to transfer her spirit into her shield, abandoning her body before it died. I have heard legends that the Valkyrie had the power to do this, but it wasn’t something they did lightly. The primordial spirits are much more changeable, shifting back and forth nearly at will. But for the spirits of the aether a change like this would likely be irreversible… and, well, a shield cannot wield itself!”

  She shook her head sadly.

  “I think perhaps they would prefer to die and look upon the face of their goddess, rather than trap themselves in such a state. Though she will eventually diminish and perish, as the essence will inevitably burn itself out to keep her alive throughout the millennia.”

  “So she is alive?”

  “Very much so! Just look at the light of her heartstone! We had thought that the Aegis of old wielded the shield of a deceased Valkyrie, a final gift from our dearest friends. I suspect now that was not the case. As for why you can carry her shield, well, in truth you cannot, she is carrying it for you. A Valkyrie’s spirit is unyielding, and by forging their shields with their heartstones they transfer that indomitability into them.”

  His eyes widened as he looked to the shield that he had left propped agains
t a large stone on the shore of the steamy bath. Amazons stood at attention all around it, forming a half circle facing outwards, protecting the treasured artifact while Alcaia herself knelt before it and burnished the ornate surface with oils from a bowl held aloft by a wide-eyed Amazon child.

  It veritably gleamed now under her treatment.

  “And your other question, how she bonded with you, I do not know. I have never heard of such a thing. In truth when you spoke of Volka and your quest I thought you might be mistaken about the bond. Forgive me for doubting you.”

  He gave her a rueful smile.

  “I doubt myself all the time. It would be pretty stupid to get upset when others do the same.”

  Her answering smile was breathtaking and she leaned in to kiss him again, but stopped herself as she saw his other girls tense a bit.

  “Forgive me sisters, I forgot myself for a moment.”

  She tilted her head towards Milly and the others, who were beginning to finish their own baths. All except Nina who floated on her back, blissed out as four Amazons used all of their strength to firmly massage each of her limbs, making up for the fact that she didn’t let them pamper her last time.

  Not surprisingly Ophelia forgave her immediately as she stood on the shore and fluttered her wings to shed the water before lifting her arms to allow the Amazons to towel her naked body dry.

  “That’s alright dear. I think we have some idea of just how important this is for you and your sisters.”

  Alcaia had finished polishing the shield and now held her head low in a brief prayer towards it, after a moment she tilted her head back and opened her eyes as she spoke into the air.

  “Indeed, and I suspect that it will fall to my daughter to devise the telling of this day. You are a humble man, but I fear that you will have to grow accustomed to being revered by my people. Truly it would help if you did take an Amazon to wife, if for no other reason than to keep the others at bay. You were very attractive as an Empath, but now… you are something beyond desirable.”

  Miranda, who had been silent up to that point as she enjoyed her own massage, gave a snort, though the fit operative drew no small share of looks herself.