Riding on the giant wolf’s back like this, communication had turned out surprisingly easy. The day before, after his initial shock at her form had faded, they’d experimented with communication. Luckily, Narnaste had been able to easily hear the man on her back. She was so big, Trav had no problem hearing her either.
As she loped along, Narnaste suddenly spoke. “Master, we talked about my life yesterday, but what about your life?”
The question caught Trav off guard. Among the slaves, asking anyone about their past had been taboo. The last person he’d ever really talked to about the subject had been Beth. He cleared his throat and said, “What do you want to know?”
“How about you tell me about the world you come from. Also about the wife you had.” She paused. “And what happened to her.”
Trav felt like he’d been punched in the gut and sucked in a breath. He thought for a while, and Narnaste patiently waited for him to respond. On the one hand, he didn’t really want to talk about his past, but as he pondered the subject, he decided that maybe it would do some good. He wasn’t a slave anymore, and it was time to start dealing with his issues. Learning to trust again would be nice too. Granted, he trusted Narnaste—he effectively owned her now. But for him, relying on someone for his life was a lot easier than trusting them with his feelings...and secrets.
The tall, muscular man grinned without humor at that thought. He knew that back home on Earth, lots of people would probably cringe and call him all kind of names if they knew he owned a woman, despite the fact that she’d chosen the situation. They’d probably think plenty of things about Narnaste too. Well, they could all go fuck themselves, living their safe lives without constant mortal danger. If any of those people could survive for three years as a slave in the mines on Asgard, with the constant threat of being killed or eaten or worse by inhuman monsters, maybe he’d give a damn about their opinions.
The reality of his existence would probably be unimaginable to a normal person where he came from, even to himself in the past. Trav had taken a step into godhood on an alien hell world full of psychotic monsters. He currently rode Cliffordess the huge red wolf, and would probably ride her at night in the tent. Actually, Narnaste was still pretty strong, and he wasn’t sure she’d take no for an answer. That uncomfortable thought didn’t make him feel very masculine or in control of his life anymore so he quickly moved on, deciding to speak.
“I am from Earth. Specifically, Oregon state in the United States, a large country.”
“What’s a state?”
“Like a territory...or a smaller area in the country.”
“Ah, I see.”
Trav continued, “My world has no magic. Well, not like you think of it. What we do have is technology.”
“Technology?” Narnaste’s lupine jaws mangled the unfamiliar word.
“Mechanical know-how like bows and wheels, but much more complex.”
“That sounds weak. Your kind are already weak. Well, not you, Master. How does your world survive?”
“You don’t understand,” said Trav. He racked his brain, trying to find a way to explain tech to a magical wolf girl on another world. “Technology creates light with no heat, allows people to talk face to face at long distances, and can help people live healthier, easier lives.”
“So can magic.”
Trav thought of another example. “Technology can also allow an average person, a human, to travel faster in a warship through the sky than sound can move, or transport hundreds of other people in less than a day using airplanes that would otherwise take months or even years with boats and horses.”
Narnaste said, “Because of the magic called technology, yes?”
“Yeah,” said Trav slowly, trying to imagine how to explain atomic weapons to his giant, talking wolf girlfriend. “Like magic that anyone can use.”
“Normal people can fly those ‘airplanes?’”
“Well, yes and no. Some technology still needs skill to use, but anyone born on my world can operate it. It isn’t hereditary like magic power on Asgard.”
“Not all power is hereditary. In fact, sigilcrafting is not.”
“You know what I mean,” sighed Trav.
“It still sounds like technology is weak compared to magic.”
Trav narrowed his eyes. “Technology can split the atom, the smallest piece of a thing. With a single weapon, a human being can destroy an entire city, and can do so from halfway around the world, a longer distance than a person can travel on foot in one hundred days. Technology can create diseases that will spread for days before killing people, and kill millions of people, maybe more. Technology can be terrifying. The most powerful Kin I’ve seen might even have a tough time against regular human armies armed with the right kinds of technology.”
There was a moment of heavy silence. “I can’t imagine such a thing,” rumbled Narnaste. “What does your world look like?”
Trav honestly didn’t know where to start. “Imagine the tallest building you have ever seen, but ten times that height, made of steel and glass. Now imagine an entire city like that. A large city.”
“I would like to see this if I could. How did you come to be in this world?”
Trav hadn’t told this story for a long time. He cleared his throat. “I was on a research vessel with my father—”
“A what?”
He realized that he’d used English and searched for how to convey his thoughts using the local language. “A big boat.”
“Ah.”
“My father decided that we would all go out on the boat in order to celebrate my mother’s birthday. I hadn’t been home for a while, and it was a good opportunity to see the family. My mom asked that I go as a favor to her, too. I’d been avoiding everyone for a while.”
“Why?”
Trav made a face. “Ashley would be there, or Ash as everyone calls him. In hindsight everything seems small now, but at the time, my relationship with the kid was tense, and my parents would take his side every time, so I just stopped coming around as often.
“Ashley was my cousin, but more like my brother. His father, my Uncle Josh, is kind of a piece of shit and was always into and out of trouble. Ash came to live with my family when he was young, and ever since then, he was like the son my parents never had. I’d always been a disappointment.” Trav’s fist clenched. Even after all this time, after everything he’d endured, the old frustrations were still real.
“I think I understand,” said Narnaste. “My friend Tala-tala had a similar situation, I think. She had always been interested in a warrior path, but some in her family wanted her to embrace disciplines she just…never did. It created a strain.”
“Yes, my situation was something like that. My parents wanted me to be a scientist like my father. When I pointed out that most scientists on my world don’t make good money unless they get lucky, at least compared to the time and cost of the education they need, my family decided I should be a doctor or something. But I didn’t want to spend another decade in school.”
Narnaste’s ears quirked. “I believe I understand this as well. On Asgard, Kin do not become civil servants for wealth, but for power.”
“Well, that’s not exactly what I was talking about, but I didn’t want lots of money, or power, or a title. I wanted to see the world. So instead of finishing school, I flew to Alaska and worked on a crab boat.”
“I do not know what this means.”
Trav thought for a minute. “I traveled a long distance when I was young to do a dangerous job that paid a lot instead of continuing my education.”
“Oh, I see. And do you regret it or not?”
“No, not at all. I learned a lot about myself, learned some of my limits, and it started a decade of wandering where I got to meet a lot of people and see much of my old world. My parents weren’t happy, but I’d never been really exceptional at anything, so I got good at lots of things instead.”
“And your cousin Ashley was different?”
/> “Yes. Ash didn’t seem to think things through sometimes, but he was naturally gifted at the handful of things he really cared about. For one thing, people just…seemed to like him. He never had a problem with women, and more importantly, he was a real genius at martial arts. Both kata and sparring, he was good at all of it. In fact, I think he learned a handful of obscure martial arts for fun. He was even good at school. So for my soccer mom, book club mother and my fussy, scientist father, Ash was like…a kid they could be proud of—not like me.”
“They weren’t proud of you?”
“Well, I think they were relieved more than proud, happy that I had never gotten in any serious trouble. I mean, they didn’t really understand me for most of my life. When I worked as a DJ, my parents couldn’t even grasp how I made money.” When Narnaste moved like she was going to speak, Trav interrupted her, “It’s not important what a DJ is. The point is that my parents and I never saw eye to eye. They always said I didn’t focus on anything enough and never reached my true potential with anything I did.”
“Were they right?”
The question seemed to weigh Trav down, and he was quiet for a while, thinking about it. A few years before, maybe even three years before, he might have reflexively answered no, but now, after Beth was gone, things were different. Finally, he said, “They probably were right. That is a bitter pill to swallow, but Ash taught me martial arts before, and I was able to hang with him on the same level for a while. I think it actually motivated him to start trying for once. Maybe if I’d tried at a few things, spent more time on them, I might have found a place for myself too.”
“So you were a wanderer?”
“Sort of, yes.” Narnaste couldn’t see him, but Trav shrugged.
“I am sorry for all of my questions. How did you come to Asgard?”
“As I said, I was on this boat with my parents and Ash. We were in the Bermuda Triangle—a place in the ocean on my world where strange things happen, and ships used to disappear. That night, my father had just gotten done studying a fish or something, whatever it was he did. I was watching a movie with my mom, and Ash was practicing martial arts with sticks somewhere else when I felt something weird. We all saw a bright light, and I felt weightless. Sounds disappeared, and the world flashed. Next thing I knew, I was sitting on the ground in the middle of nowhere in Asgard.”
Narnaste turned her massive head and fixed Trav with one huge, golden eye. “It sounds like you were in the middle of a new Veil.”
“A what?”
“It was already fairly obvious that your world is not familiar with Veils, yes?”
“Well, yeah.”
Narnaste turned forward again as she loped along and said, “Veils are the doorways between words. Shimmering portals. A few are permanent, but most last a short time, and some only exist for a few seconds. The cultists that attacked before we met came through one.”
“I see.” Now that he thought about it, Trav had overheard something similar among the human slaves before, but never in this much detail. “There has to be more to it than that.”
“Yes, true. If any Kin crosses a Veil, we slowly lose our power over time, the vitality that allows us to use magic or our natural abilities just...fades. I believe the same is true for the cultists or any other warriors from other veil worlds.”
“I can imagine how that could really make invasions more difficult.”
“Yes, and there’s more,” rumbled Narnaste. “The more powerful a warrior is, the faster they lose their vitality, their mana, or whatever it is they use as a power source. Kin both hate and fear the cultists because they seem to enjoy bringing us back to their world to serve as slaves. Over there, we are helpless.”
“And you know this, how?” asked Trav.
“Sometimes, slaves escape.”
Trav felt strange as he mulled over the answer. The thought of Kin being slaves like he had been, held against their will by people who at least looked human should have filled him with savage glee. However, the more he thought about it, he just felt sadness.
He decided to change the subject. “Alright, so I think I have a pretty good idea of where we’re going, and we talked about that a bit yesterday, but what kind of land are we traveling through? Will it be dangerous?”
“Life is dangerous, Master, but yes, there will probably be trials. Other than the great cities of Asgard, settlements tend to move, and the Wild Ones establish new territories, so I cannot accurately answer your question.”
“I see.” Trav rubbed his chin. “I wish we could find some other memory shrines or other ways to add to our security.”
“Won’t you be using your magic for that?” Narnaste’s ears twitched as she asked the question.
“Yes, but the power I can use is limited. It comes back every day, but I need to stay at maximum power while we travel in case we’re attacked, and I’ll need to create glyph wards around our camp every night. Even then, it’d be a good idea to keep at least a small reserve. Some of the things I want to experiment with will need a few days of runework anyway, so while I do have plans, they will take time. My limited power makes that time even longer right now.”
“I understand, Master. What sorts of things do you want to work on?”
“Well, for the time being, some protection for both of us is a priority. I also want to create a few weapons, and utility items—more permanent than those rocks I made back in the cave.”
“That sounds like a good plan, Master.”
Trav idly scratched his arm and watched the scenery pass for a few minutes before asking, “You are part of a noble family, right? Are you fairly well-educated and connected?”
“I believe so, yes.”
The tall, muscular man slowly nodded to himself. “Ordinarily, this situation would be different—well, not that there is any ordinary on this world—and it would not be appropriate to share so much. But we are bound together now. I am going to fill you in on some of my plans later tonight.” Trav didn’t have any logical reason not to treat Narnaste as a full-fledged ally, Kin monster or not.
“Later tonight? Will this be before or after I please you, Master?”
Trav’s eye twitched. Narnaste’s version of pleasing him was less servitude and more hyper-horny, female monster in heat, but he had a feeling that trying to rebuff her attentions would hurt her feelings and be a bad move in general. Instead, he curtly said, “Before.”
“Understood, Master.” The giant red wolf’s tail began to wag.
Trav nervously wet his lips but ignored the god-marked Kin’s excitement. “As for right now, I want you to tell me more about the noble families on Asgard and about the major cities. I want to know about the different types of Kin, too.”
“That will take a lot of time, Master,” muttered Narnaste.
“Yes, I figured.” Trav adjusted his spear where it was stowed. “But the more I talk to you, the more I realize that there are a lot of things I need to know as soon as possible. And at least right now, we have the time, so we should use it.”
“I understand.” Narnaste’s ears flicked wildly for a few seconds before she hesitantly asked, “Will you teach me how to craft any glyphs or sigils one day, Master?”
Trav blinked. “I don’t see why not, especially something like light. Do a good job with teaching me everything I want to know, and I will teach you in return.”
“Thank you, Master!” Narnaste’s step seemed to get an extra bit of bounce, and the giant wolf cleared her throat before beginning to lecture. “Nobody knows for sure how large Asgard is—”
At first, Trav focused on the Kin woman’s words with the assumption that the information would be dry and boring, but over time, he became completely enthralled by everything Narnaste said. Despite hating the Kin on Asgard, he soaked up information about their culture and world like a sponge.
Perhaps being stuck in the mines, surviving as a slave for so long had left his mind starving for exercise, but the hours seemed to fly by as
Narnaste gave Trav a crash course on Asgard geography and politics. By the time they’d settled down to make camp for the night, Trav was more than happy to give Narnaste a quick lesson on the basics of glyphcrafting and the building blocks of knowledge that could lead to sigilcrafting, eventually maybe even runecrafting.
Then later that night when the Kin woman surged into his bed like a force of nature, Trav felt much less conflicted about it. His wolf girl was silly and savage, but he realized that he was glad that he had an ally. He wasn’t alone anymore. And as a traveling companion, he could do a lot worse than an attractive woman with a sharp mind, strong spirit, and a curious nature.
Maybe in another life, another world, Narnaste and Beth could have met. He had a feeling they might have been friends.
Chapter 14
From his vantage point of his branch, high above the top of a hill, the surrounding wilderness spread out in every direction. Trav climbed most of the way down from his tree and regarded Narnaste where she crouched on the forest floor. “I saw smoke in the distance,” he said, his voice soft.
“And you are sure you sense something down there?”
“Yes. I can feel it tugging now. It’s different than a memory shrine, but definitely, something tied to the Restless.”
“You mean the High Masters?”
“Sure. Whatever.”
Trav climbed down the rest of the way, hopped to the ground, and dusted himself off before turning. “The smoke seems contained. It isn’t natural.”
The surrounding forest was thick in this area, so Narnaste was currently in her woman form. Her huge wolf body would have had problems moving without knocking over trees. “I could smell it before,” said the Kin woman. “It didn’t smell like a brush fire. We are quickly approaching winter too, so it’s too late for something like that. It could be other Kin, or maybe it’s a human settlement.”
“I thought all humans on Asgard were slaves.” Trav frowned.
She shook her head. “No. I think I have said this before. Some humans live in the wilderness and in hidden places, places that Kin won’t look or have no reason to go. The frontier areas of Asgard are not exactly of interest to the cities. Some Kin believe that all humans should be enslaved, but most of us won’t go out of our way to make that happen, especially if we already have enough slaves. If a big project comes along or a sickness kills a large number of Midgardians, humans, that can change.”
Asgard Awakening Page 11