Blood In The Snow
My first For Honor based writing piece below the cut. Canonicity of these characters’ relationship to be affirmed by the creators.
Credit for Goisfrid ‘Ferrum’ Johannes to @ferrum-the-conqueror and Nota ‘Instantia’ Evette to @d00dle-arts
(Both characters confirmed to have canon relationship in their stories with Seraph.)
Three days.
They said it would take three days for reinforcements to arrive; three days they didn’t have.
The cold air of Valkenheim stung on the wind that carried down from the mountains. Just before the borders into the Viking homeland sat a stone fortress currently with its gate lowered wide open having just allowed a slender man with cloth tied around his mouth to enter. He was out of breath and sweat hung on his brow from the grueling trek he took to deliver the message. In front of him a towering knight held a threatening hybrid of a weapon next to him, resting the end of it on the ground. A Lawbringer.
The messenger left at a blistering pace through the gates of the stronghold, the chains of the bridge straining with cranks as the men atop the wall cranked it closed. The Lawbringer, clad in golden armor along with a tabard adorned with an orange bird spreading its wings in flight, stood silent with a slip of parchment betwixt the fingers of his free hand.
He let out a huff of frustration before turning on his heel, his armor clanking with the movement as his voice called out with a metallic ring from beneath his helm.
“Three days!” he called, warranting cries and moans of disdain and despair from the men that stood around the knight as he cast the note to the ground. His shoulders rose and fell with a sigh as a single figure watched from the edge of the crowd.
She wore hard leather armor with the same tabard as the Lawbringer, a hood with wings painted upon it rested over a metal mask. A short sword and dagger dangled from her hips, her arms crossed over her chest. A Peacekeeper.
She felt her heart sink with the announcement as she turned and in frustration pushed through the door of one of the makeshift shacks set up around the fortress. Inside a small fire crackled beneath a stone fire pit cover on the dirt floor, filling the room with a dry but welcoming heat from the burning weeds and twigs.
The Peacekeeper let all her weight fall onto a wooden bench that creaked in complaint as she slipped her hood back off of her head. Pale orange hair tied into a braid spilled off the Knight’s shoulders and over the front of her torso. With a gentle grasp she lifted the mask from her face and let it clatter on the floor.
Her skin was pale, but surprisingly smooth and free of scarring considering her profession. Her eyes were a similarly pale amber to complement the shade of her hair and her features were thin and petite. The only blemish was a single bandage wrapped around her neck, a small blotch of red bleeding through the wrappings.
Her gaze, however, carried a look that could be just as threatening as it could be encouraging. A look of a killers stare that would strike fear into an opponent and hope into the heart of an ally. But with the recent news, they were empty and hollow as if all the life were instantly sucked from them.
The Peacekeeper’s dagger let out a light shing as she removed it from her belt and rested it on her lap. Reaching into a pouch on her belt she removed a small bit of edged metal and began to grind it against the sharp edges of the blade. Sparks rained onto the dirt in chorus with the crackle of the fire and the thunder of footsteps outside the door before the sounds outside grew louder as the door creaked open again.
The woman grimaced at the sudden rush of cold air but did not raise her gaze from her task to greet the newcomer. A few moments later a pair of leather boots entered her vision before one of them tapped against her own foot and finally warranted her to make eye contact.
She looked up to find a hulking man with broad shoulders, head to toe in spiked gear and belts all painted with grey and green hues. A decorative headpiece adorned his helmet and a wooden shield with a rose engraving was latched to his arm. His main hand, a chain flail, hung from his belt; a weapon perfectly suited to the brutish strength of the man. A Conqueror.
The newcomer looked to the mask on the ground before his eyes found their way back to the Peacekeeper’s.
“You really should take better care of your gear, Aevis.” The main scolded in a gruff voice, unbuckling the shield from his arm and placing it against the wall almost as if in demonstration of the proper way to handle equipment.
Aevis wanted to make a stinging remark, but managed to swallow it and reach down to collect her mask before placing it at her side on the bench. The wood of the bench across the shack creaked as the Conqueror took a seat, resting his arms on his knees.
“I assume you got the news?” he continued.
“Yes, Goisfrid, I did.” Aevis responded flatly, “Three days until we receive reinforcements.”
“It’s a tall order, and we’re running low on supplies-” Goisfrid explained before Aevis cut him off, ceasing the sharpening of her dagger.
“Did you just come here to further enforce the dire nature of our situation?” Aevis’ tone was as sharp as her blade, but Goisfrid did not flinch.
“No, I came in here to cave your skull with my flail.” The Conqueror replied, holding up his hands before shaking his head, “Of course I came in here to talk about the situation, but I’m not trying to kick you while you’re down. I know what’s going on in that head of yours and believe it or not I know how to do more than just fight.”
“And what would that be?” Aevis retorted.
“You blame yourself for the delay on new arrivals because your unit got ambushed.” Goisfrid said matter-of-factly as if it were obvious.
Aevis opened her mouth to respond but found herself unable to speak, her gaze leaving her comrade and her hand instinctively moving to her neck as Goisfrid spoke again.
“Need I remind you I was there, too? That was not your responsibility and their lives were not on your hands. There was nothing more to be done.”
“But there was-” Aevis interjected before she winced, a sharp pain jabbing her in the neck to silence her.
“Hey, easy now, I’m no doctor but I do know what happens when you almost get knicked in an artery. Things get real red real fast.” The man stood a bit, holding out his hands in warning. Despite his hard words, his care for the woman was very apparent.
Aevis stuck her dagger down in the wood of the bench in frustration as she tugged a leather pouch from her belt and pulled the drawstrings. Reaching in the bag she removed a small handful of an assortment of herbs. A concoction of her own making that assisted in relieving pain at the cost of being rather addicting.
She shoveled the handful in her mouth with a shaky hand and began to chew, immediately feeling the juices of the blend start to numb the pain in her neck. It was most likely just a placebo but relief nonetheless.
“Nota’s worried about you as well, just so you know, you haven’t spoken to her since the attack.” Goisfrid explained, crossing his arms as he leaned his back against the wall of the shack.
“She does not need to be involved.” Aevis responded simply.
“Of course she does,” Goisfrid countered, “we’re a team and that means we’re all involved even if you were the only one who got injured. Like it or not she looks up to you, Aevis, and the last thing anyone needs to see during times of low morale is one of their best sulking by herself.”
The Peacekeeper felt a pit in her stomach as she realized that, like it or not, the man was right. Silence hung in the air for a moment with only the snapping of twigs in the now receding fire to break it until eventually Goisfrid broke the silence again.
“Look, I’m not happy about this either, and I’d love as much as the next guy to get out there and snap a few Viking necks if I could but our duty lies in more than going on the offensive. We need to hold down this fort until we have replacement units for the next push, and if that gate goes down-” Goisfrid leaned forward, pointing to the door in reference to the fortress gate that rested just outside, “-then we’re the only things standing between a horde and the people we got in here. There’s a lot more valuable targets out there than this place is and I’d bet a weeks rations they’ll burn this shack down before they open it looking for a fight. If you stay in here-”
“-They’ll simply have the jump on me once again.” Aevis finished, almost uncanny how she could predict what the man was going to say. But that didn’t change the merit his words held.
“You know what Nota’s doing out there right now?” Goisfrid poised the question so suddenly it caught Aevis off guard, leaving her only able to give a shake of her head in reply.
“She’s out there with the rest of the Battalion planning a strategy on what the hell we’re going to do if that gate does come down. She’s working hard even with her back against the wall.” The Conqueror stopped as he leaned forward on his knees again, jabbing a finger at the Peacekeeper to further emphasize his words.
“That’s the kind of fighting spirit that she learned from you, Aevis, and the only kind that’s gonna stay if you give it a reason to.”
Aevis took a moment to look at the door, feeling a heavy longing in her heart. Like a flint striking steel in attempts to kindle a fire and slowly gaining momentum, the image only strengthened in the woman’s mind by the musty smoke that hung in the cabin.
As Aevis reached for the mask that lay at her side a couple of firm thunks landed against the outside of the door followed by a male voice.
“Seraph, Ferrum! We’re starting training in 15 minutes, get moving!” the voice demanded followed by a swift set of footsteps as they left.
Goisfrid turned his head to look at Aevis one more time before giving a firm nod to her mask. “Well? Get your gear, can’t have people seeing a Peacekeeper’s face in public, rumor says that’s bad luck.” he joked as he pushed himself to his feet.
Aevis cracked a wiry smile as she looked down at the mask now in her hands before a leather glove cut into her vision with an outstretched palm. She looked up to find Goisfrid offering her a hand up and she quickly placed her mask onto her face before firmly grasping his forearm as he pulled the Peacekeeper to her feet.
The woman tucked her braid around her neck before pulling her hood back into place and sliding her dagger back on her hip and rolling her shoulders. While she had vast understanding of concrete knowledge such as botany and treatment of wounds, the medicine to a bruised pride Goisfrid could offer was something she’d never understand.
The Conqueror had just finished bucking his shield to his arm before offering a nod to the Peacekeeper.
“Ready?” he asked, Aevis able to feel the grin beneath his helmet before she responded with her own beneath her mask.
“Lead the way.” she affirmed.
“I always do.” Goisfrid replied with a refreshing arrogance as he returned from his more serious state of mind back to the big-mouthed leader with a heart to match that could inspire a hundred men to meet impossible odds.
Goisfrid pushed the door open as the howling cold wind entered the shack again, extinguishing the last of the embers in the fire before he gave a couple firm knocks against his shield and hopped on his toes a couple times.
“Try to keep up, Peacekeeper. Not that it’ll be a problem.” Goisfrid challenged before he bolted out the door.
Aevis raised her hands for a moment, staring at her palms before she balled them tightly into fists and pushed off with her heel out of the shack. The door creaked shut behind her, leaving the shack shrouded in darkness as cheers and battle cries echoed outside the wooden walls.
