Daughters of Sol Ch. 04

This is a continuation of the story. Please read the previous chapters or this won't make much sense.

This is the third day, how much longer can she go? I heard the voice of my mother. I guess I had been asleep for 3 days?

She has begun the journey; we must trust the wisdom of the Goddess. This was the voice of the Keeper. She will sustain her. The other one has restored the missing knowledge of the Magihus; truly Lys guides her path.

I opened my eyes to find…nothing. The world was dark and silent—I am still asleep, apparently. Such power had overcome me when our family made love, I had felt so close to the Goddess. Remembering the previous visions, I reached up and a light formed above me. I unfastened my robe and let it fall to the floor and stretched out my arms. As I absorbed the light into me, I started to glow again.

I found myself on a stone slab in a cavern, with no light but my own. Usually cave systems would be cold, but it was warm and slightly humid here—for which my naked body was glad. There was only one way out and nothing else in the room, so it seemed there was only one choice to make. As I got up and headed towards the opening, a glint of light on the wall caught my eye. I saw a crystalline structure jutting out from the wall; it was black and glossy, like Obsidian. I touched my hand to it, and the darkness inside fled; the crystal now glowed with a pure white light of its own. A lamp!

As I walked down the corridor, I saw more crystals. Each one I touched was purified, and became a lamp to the halls around me. I came upon another room, with a stone altar; it had two white pillars with a fire pot hanging between the two, just like my previous dream.

"Welcome to your journey, my Daughter." I heard the voice of Lys as she materialized from the mist in front of me. She was beautiful as ever, completely nude. She was floating in the air, and her skin was radiant; her perky breasts seemed to float around, as if unaffected by gravity. "You need not face this journey alone. I have revealed secrets to your sister Runa; she is working on a way to aid you."

With that, I saw her disperse into a cloud of mist again. The altar crumbled and fell into itself, reforming as a stone slab. The mists coalesced on the slab, and I saw what looked like…people. Yes, there were two; a female was laying down and a man was on top of her. The movements became clear, and I could see they were deep in the throes of passionate love-making. They were chanting foreign words, I couldn't make sense of them. The chanting and breathing became more erratic as their pleasure built. Their faces finally formed—it was my sister Runa, getting pounded by my brother Hagen's cock!

Runa's breasts swayed with each thrust, and her voice seemed to moan as she kept reciting the incantation. Hagen's arms were strong and muscular, more so than I remember; his chest was hard and his abs were chiseled. He looked so powerful… maybe it was my own arousal, or maybe I never paid attention before; but in any case it was so hot. I felt a familiar heat below, and I reached down to find my pussy was practically dripping wet. I had to take care of this.

I inserted my fingers and started moving them back and forth, in sync with the thrusts of my brother's cock into my sister's pussy. The light of my skin grew stronger with my arousal. Soon I heard Runa cry out "Hagen, it's working! Keep pumping! Fuck me harder!"

Hagen's pace quickened as he responded, "Yes! Oh Gods, yes! Can't believe I'm fucking my own sister."

Then their voices joined in unison, "We are parts of a whole. Our flesh is one. Let our Hugr be joined with our sister's. Let us walk the path of dreams to light her way."

By now, I was flat on the ground, still fingering myself deeply. I could stand it no more, the orgasm started coming upon me. I heard Runa and Hagen yelling in pleasure. My cry of pleasure echoed in the cavern around me as well, and I laid my head back to catch my breath.

"Oh by the Goddess, what happened?" Hagen asked. "Where'd the temple go?" I looked up to see him dismounting Runa and the slab, and looking around.

As Runa got off the slab, she pointed at me and said "Hagen, look! It's Astrid!" They ran over to help me off the floor. "We were so worried about you!" she said.

"I'm ok." I said, using a soothing voice to keep her calm. "From what I saw, you guys are doing pretty good yourselves!"

"Astrid, your skin is glowing!" Hagen said, looking me over. His eyes lingered long on my breasts and pussy. "And what is this place?" he asked.

I put my hands on their shoulders and said, "Welcome to my dream. Lys has called me to undertake a journey of some kind here, and I'm glad you guys are here to help." I pulled them close and we all hugged tightly. I felt Hagen's semi-erect cock against my pelvis, his hair against my chest, and Runa's soft breasts pressed against my own.

Runa started to explain, "Astrid, the Keeper took us to the Magihus. They had hundreds of ancient books and scrolls, but most were damaged or incomplete. I remembered them from my dreams, and we fixed them up. There were a number of rituals for things like fertility, healing, crops, rain… and one in particular was for dream-walking. We used this ritual to come to you."

Hagen continued, "Initially, none of them worked; there was no power. Runa remembered reading that spells need a source of Magicka to power them, and suggested that we could draw on Lys' power sexually. So we went to the temple and made love, and I guess it worked because now we're here."

"Well," I said, "you're not actually here, any more than I am. What we see is the manifestation of our Hugr, our consciousness. Come, let's go together." We tread down the path of the cavern some more. They were impressed by how I could light the crystals up. Runa tried to, but it didn't work. "Your power is not yet manifest; but I feel it will be different than mine, anyway."

There was a bluish light coming from ahead. We found the cavern opened up into a forest clearing. It was night time, and a very large full moon hung in the sky.

"What is this place?" Hagen pondered out loud.

I led them around to look, illuminating everything around us. "Everything is dead here…the trees, the grass, the animals."

Runa pointed to the center of the clearing. "Sister, look!" We approached a gnarled-looking staff just sitting in the ground, and it started to emit a faint green glow from symbols carved into it.

"This is a remnant of Freyja's domain…" I said. "Runa, take it."

As she extended her hand to take it, the staff seemed to pull itself to her grasp. It glowed and grass sprouted around it. As she moved it around, the grass sprang back to life around it. Suddenly she looked tired, like she was going to fall over; she planted the staff in the ground to steady herself, and I could see her energy draining into the staff. The forest started to sprout again, at the cost of her energy.

"Runa, no!" I shouted, coming over to hold her. I reached a hand up and a shard of light appeared overhead to come down into my hand. I could see what looked like a fixture on the top of the staff, and I jammed the shard into it. It seemed to fit perfectly. The green energy of the staff changed to white, and I could see Runa being recharged; not only that, but the forest sprouted even faster. The moon overhead started to get brighter, and take on an orange hue. The world became the color of sunrise, and we could hear the sounds of birds chirping in the distance.

She stood up and said, "Thank you, Sister. I felt the forest. It was in pain and dying. I wanted to help it, but I didn't have the strength. The shard of Lys empowered both the staff and me again. I feel it—the forest, it is… happy once again."

Now that the foliage had been restored, we saw a path leading away from the cave. Hagen pointed to it, "Looks like that's where we need to go." He started off towards it, and we followed. Runa, unsure of what might be next carried the staff with her.

We heard some noises ahead; as we got closer it sounded like growling and snarling. "Get down!" Hagen commanded. He put a finger to his lips and crawled forward. Runa and I followed. It was somewhat comical, watching Runa's breasts and Hagen's scrotum swaying underneath them as we moved. Suddenly there was a roar, and the yelp of a dog.

When we approached the clearing, it seemed whatever it was had run off; there was a very large—but dead—wolf in the center. "Stay here," Hagen said, and then approached cautiously. After looking around a bit, he motioned for us to come out. We stepped closer to inspect the wolf, and saw it was much larger than any of us. Its throat was ripped out, and had multiple large gashes—claw marks?

When Hagen touched it, the body glowed a soft red, and it seemed to deflate; most of the innards just disappeared.

"This is a remnant of Odin's domain," I said. I knelt down and placed my hands on the body; it glowed white and parts of it reshaped. The skull and back became a head covering, the torso became a loincloth. The leg-bones had fused together, and what looked like the fangs jutted out from the side. "Hagen," I said. "Take it. I fear whatever we may face ahead will require this."

He donned the armor and grabbed the makeshift club. He looked absolutely stunning; he was a picture of manly perfection, and it was getting me excited. "This is why we trained, isn't it?" he asked, referring to the gruelling combat training we endured as we grew up.

Before anyone could answer, we heard a snarling sound at the edge of the clearing, and a large creature appeared. It had the posture of a man, but also thick black fur, sharp claws, and a decidedly canine-looking face with lots of pointy teeth. "A werewolf!" Hagen exclaimed.

It lunged at us, but Hagen smacked it with the club; in a single powerful blow, it was sent flying to the ground. "Be careful!" Hagen warned.

"It's dead," Runa said.

"Are you sure? That seemed too easy." Hagen said.

I reached up, and a ball of light appeared over it. Then it dropped down as a fire onto the creature. The black fur seemed to burn away, and what was left shocked us all: It was the man we knew as Father.

"Dad!" I called out. Even though he wasn't really our father, I knew him in my heart by no other name.

He groaned and opened his eyes. "Astrid, Hagen, Runa." he managed. "I am not long for this world, and I owe you much. You know the truth about our family, but there are yet darker secrets about mine. Now that Eric is dead, I am the only bearer of this knowledge."

He managed to sit up, as we helped him. And we all sat down to listen to him. "I am what people call a Kveldulf, a night wolf. My family were secretly servants of the God, Loki. When Fenrir fell in Ragnarok, my parents captured some of his essence. They could fully transform into werewolves at night when the moon was full. I gained great strength and guile, but during the transformation time I could only form claws and fangs. They returned to the village to devour the remaining children in secret. In my mind, they were monsters—no longer the parents I loved. The night that they argued with Eric and the women, they were in the remnants of our house's bedroom planning; I formed my claws and killed them before they could react."

"That's when Eric came in, wasn't it?" Hagen asked.

"Yes," he replied. "When the transformation happens, my mind loses some self-control. He had the battle axe, and I had my claws. We fought briefly but he was a better fighter, and I was mortally wounded. As I lay on the floor in my simple humanity, I wept bitterly for the hand that fate had dealt me. I explained what happened, and begged him to end me. But he had compassion on me; he was confident that the Goddess could still use me, flawed as I was."

"So the story told to the council was a lie…" Runa said.

"… and that's why you lived in exile." I added.

He nodded. "I was sweet on your mom way before the bombing started, but I was too shy to say anything. When she gave birth to you three, I begged the Goddess to let me care for you. She granted me this, and bound my life force with Eric's. Now that Eric is dead, I am sustained only by my own weakened life force, and it will soon expire."

All three of us were teary-eyed by now. This man whom we loved as our father was dying, and we were powerless to stop it. All of a sudden, the clearing lit up brightly and he faded in a puff of black mist. We stood up and whipped around to see the Goddess Lys floating before us there. We fell to our knees before her.

"And now you know the truth, my children." She said. "The darkness that tained his family would consume us, and so I ordered their destruction. His will was strong, though. I did not expect him to do the deed himself. Dark and tained, his heart still had an echo of light. I saw fit to use him in service another way. But now his light is extinguished again, and you must complete your father's mission."

"Mother," I said. "We have grown up with this man all of our lives. We know there is goodness in his heart, and we all love him dearly. I don't know if we are capable of killing the man who gave his life for us." I clasped my hands and pleaded with her, "Is there truly no other way?"

She looked down gently upon us. It was hard to tell, but it almost looked like there were tears in her eyes. "Child, I have no love for needless destruction. If you can cleanse the darkness from him, I vow he will live at my side with Eric forever."

"Thank you mother!" I yelled back, as she faded away.

There was silence for awhile, and then Runa spoke up, "Hey! In the rituals we restored to the Magihus, there were a few that had something to do with cleansing or purification. We should look to see if we can do it."

Neither Hagen and I had any other ideas, so this was our best and only hope. We looked around the clearing, but saw no exits, even the path from which we came was gone.

"So how does this work?" asked Hagen. "Do we just wake up or something?"

Runa held up a hand and said, "Let me think for a minute." She paced back and forth briefly, "The last part of the dream-walking incantation is supposed to let us out." She gathered us in a circle holding hands, and we all knelt down on the ground.

She started speaking calmly, "The path has been lit, and dreams have been silenced. The night is now over, let us return to the day." The wind blew, and a large circle appeared in the sky above us. A portal!

"Awww man," Hagen lamented. "How are we gonna get all the way up there?"

"I think I have a way," I said. I flexed my back muscles and the same large wings I used in an earlier dream reappeared, giving my siblings quite a shock.

"Holy crap, sis!" Hagen exclaimed. "You're an Angel?"

"Don't be silly, brother," I playfully chided him. "You know we don't believe in Angels. Valkyrie, maybe?" I shrugged. "But in any case it doesn't matter. Come over here and let's go."

Runa put her staff across for all of us to hold onto, and I lifted us up to fly into the portal.

* * * * *

I woke up in a cold sweat. Before me was a statue of Lys, fully nude and with large wings. I sat up and realized I didn't recognize this place. I saw Hagen and Runa on cots next to me, slowly stirring.

"She's awake!" Someone shouted behind me. The two young men from earlier came over to help me up, and the Keeper was not far behind. I looked down to see I was dressed in a simple white robe. I was relieved, but feeling slightly uncomfortable; having spent so much time in the nude in my dreams was affecting my skin's reaction to clothing. I looked around and realized this must be the temple. In front of her was a stone slab, like the ones I have seen in my dreams.

Before the Keeper or anyone else could say anything, I started directing people to prepare. "Runa, go to the Magihus and find the book. Hagen, bring father here to the temple." They nodded and went off to gather things.

A warm smile came upon the Keeper's face. "I guess I wasn't needed, after all. The Goddess has taken it upon herself to guide her Seeress."

I hugged her tenderly, "Keeper, you have done this far longer than I. There's so much I don't know, I would welcome any guidance you have for me." As I let go, my body felt week and started to fall. The young men caught me and laid me back down gently.

"Well," she said with her hands on her hips. "The first thing I would guide you to is a hot meal; you haven't eaten in 3 days! The Goddess may sustain you, but love won't fill an empty belly."

One of the girls in the temple brought some food and milk for me. I didn't even look to see what it was before stuffing it in my mouth; there was some kind of roasted meat, a sweet-tasting roll, and a vegetable medley. Afterwards, I felt renewed again.

"Keeper," I said. "There is a ritual I need to perform for my fa—for Eksil."

Her face became solemn. "I understand. It is a task long overdue." She stood me up and led me to a small room just off the main gathering area. "Come, dearie, I will show you where we keep tools and attire for special occasions." It looked like a bedroom; on a small set of shelves I saw various silks, candles, incense, and bowls. A mount on the wall held a very ornate handle attached to a deadly-looking blade.

She picked out an outfit from the closet. "This should be suitable," she said. "It's pretty and elegant when you wear this jewelry with it, yet easy to hide blood and clean." It was a red cotton shirt and red burlap skirt. She pointed to a jewelry box on a makeshift vanity.

"I sure hope there's no blood involved!" I said. She gave me a perplexed expression.

"Well, anyway," she continued. "Eksil arrived last night, and he looks half-dead anyway. He will be along soon." She said it so coldly. "I'll leave you to get dressed, dearie. There are preparations to make and not much time left." She turned to walk out.

"Keeper," I stopped her before she left. "Tell me the truth. Why do you hate him so?"

"Hate," she said. "That's not quite the right word." She sighed and continued. "He was true to his vow. He helped prepare you three for this moment and supplied our village with a great amount of wealth. Without him, this temple wouldn't exist; the whole village would be quite different. But you must understand," she paused. "We gave everything to Eric that cold winter night, and his family came in to take and destroy the little we had. The Goddess has sight beyond our eyes, and Eric was wise beyond his years. So we trusted them; but that doesn't mean all of us on the council liked it."

She turned to go, then stopped with one final thought. "Girl, listen. The people need hope above all else. We on the council and those in the temple have all put our feelings and desires aside so Her light may shine. Embrace this new role. To many people in the village, you are the closest they will ever come to the Goddess herself—represent her well." She smiled and left, closing the door behind her.

I felt such a heavy burden. I hope I would make the right decisions. "I'm always here for you, Daughter." I heard Her whisper to me.

"But Mother," I pleaded back to her, "I fear that I don't understand what's going on half the time." The words that my natural Mother spoke came to me. Well, you're not supposed to… The voice only echos the words… It comforted me a little bit. I got dressed and looked into the mirror. I remembered the Keeper's words: you are the closest they will ever come to the Goddess. I inspected myself this way and that, Is this the face of a Goddess? I thought.