A Tale Of the Past

A Tale Of Winters Past or The Sundering of Hyboria :

I may go by the name Beauty the Brain now and in truth many other names in the past but the time has come to melt some of the frost upon my past in the lands of Asgard of Hyboria when I was known as Astridr Hansen or in other words Divine Beauty. Asgard was a place of harsh winters and even harsher men and women in the great northland you never doubted where you stood. It was a beautiful land and it often reminded me of the Unseelie Court but only in the fact that in such a climate you did not waste time. But where in the Unseelie Court you never knew when a dagger might be poised at your back in the northern lands of Asgard and Vanaheim they were bold and would stab you in the chest while staring you in the face and often even share a drink with you afterward depending on how things turned out. Indeed it was a wondrous land where I learned many things including the language of the Dragons and knowledge of their Shamans as you shall see.

So I was in my nineteenth year or in reality my one hundredth and nineteenth not that I remembered it at the time and I had just recently completed my tutelage in the arts of the Beguiler. I was now a full journeyman and ready to begin to establish myself as Markessa De’Mornae but before I did that I wanted to see more of the world and I had always had a fascination with the north and the lands and tales of the Nordheim with their Vikings, Barbarians and of course Dragon Shamans . So it was easy for me to alter my appearance with my natural skills and my Hat of Mystery to assume the form of the human who would come to be known as Astridr Hansen a beautiful blond haired blue eyed bombshell of a woman and assumed the role of a Skald or Bard if you will. So basically my job was to hang around the great halls and tell tales of the dashing and heroic heroes and heroines of the land. This of meant I needed to look hot and competent at the same time which for me has never really been that hard so I will move on. Also let me of course not to forget the site of the first incursion into the dimension of Emerald had been made in that very region rumored to have been within the Blue Mountains and while the tales of the Sundering of Emerald were not often spoken of I had learned much and wanted to see what I could learn for myself.

Before I begin my tale in earnest perhaps it might be wise to explain how the dimension within which Hyboria resided came to possess many of the Gods the Olympian and Asgardian Pantheon as well being that had never been known to it before. I am of course referring to Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, even the lowly Gnomes and even more fantastic which included but were not limited to Dragons, Giants, Goblinoids, and of course the Noble Fey. My knowledge of the emergence of creatures both fantastic and mundane which of course had also included the Pantheons of the Olympians and Asgardians had its origin I had been told by my Mother Drusilia Nailo in a cataclysmic event that had begun around two hundred years previous. While many of the details of the entire operation parts of which had been carried out by my Mother as well as others and while she had claimed to be not much more powerful than I had become after my trying times on Emerald as she told me is was shortly after she had gained the ability to bridge the dimensions by walking through the Realm of Shadow that she had been recruited. So what was the grand operation to which my Mother had been recruited sadly many of the exact details I was never able to determine but the overall accomplishment of their efforts were plainly obvious to all that inhabited had inhabited Hyboria in the age prior to yet another Sundering but sadly this one was not benevolent but quite malevolent indeed. According to the legends of the Elves who had by their records arrived in the Blue Mountain along with the Dwarves over three centuries past had been delivered to the realm of Hyboria within a great realm hollowed out and maintained by their Gods. Legends also continued to tell the tale of a few other Gods who had managed to make the journey whose names have become legendary due to love bequeathed upon them by the Elves which included Ehlonna and Obad-Hai both powers of Nature. My Mother told me that from within these hidden mountain enclaves all of the other inhabitants which were to spread around Hyboria arose. While many of the nations of Hyboria were still recovering from what I had been told was its own cataclysmic event which had destroyed a powerful magical civilization whose own ambition and hubris had led to its demise. So I have been told the integration of the various races and cultures into the existing world of Hyboria during that time of turmoil which had rocked the entire planet had not been that difficult. On the other hand the incursion of the Asgardian and Olympian pantheons had not gone as smoothly as had been anticipated. This in turn brought rise to the mighty Priests of the Pantheon who were able to draw their power from all the Gods of a chosen Pantheon and the Divine Souls who were born with the powers of the Gods in their very blood who some called God Blooded and many feared. For the world of Hyboria was not a place which one could have claimed was a stronghold of the Powers of Good. In the contrary the few Powers of Good native to the world were vastly overwhelmed and the people of Hyboria seemed to like it that way. The same could not be said for Aphrodite of the Olympians who in truth predated all of them having been born when the Titan Cronus slain Father of Zeus had defeated Ouranos his own Father. Aphrodite was able to assume the powers of the far weaker Ishtar who already had a strong cult on Hyboria and so she began to shape it into her own image. So while many of the Greater Powers lacked true influence among the people of Hyboria their Pantheon Priests and Favored Souls where beginning to make a true impact and were instrumental in driving the effort which had the chance to avert the total destruction of that the world as the Hyborians had come to know it. Such cooperation I know had not been attempted in centuries and sadly I believe it was due to the lack of information and the nefarious nature of the Dreaming God who I have since learned had already placed his own agents on the world who had been hard at work subverting the Gods of Hyboria and their efforts at every turn which no doubt helped lead to the collapse of the alliance of nations. Looking back on my vision quest where I had spoken with my Mother many of the stories she had alluded to regarding the weight of the responsibility she had always felt had been placed on her by Aphrodite began to resonate within me. While it is true my Mother I know always had her own agenda and I will not deny delusions of grandeur she had reminded me that she had never forgotten Aphrodite. For the love of Aphrodite she had accomplished much even finally her own throne within the Realm of the Feywild and she had let me know it was my time now. So alright only a little pressure but then again my Mother had raised me and taught me well and I had no doubt that beauty and brains would enable me to overcome the obstacles laid before us by the Dreaming God.

Back to my tale of the Nordheim within the realms of the frozen north I had found the bitter cold that helped remind me of the Unseelie Court that I had so missed. For the have nobles to fawn over me and gnome servants to appease my every whim had been quite the addictive mix. So it was that I had come to reside within the Great Hall of King Raknor who ruled over a small tribe of Asgardians famed for their mammoth hunting and their surplus of ivory which was their chief export to allied tribes in Cimmeria. It would also be worth noting that he was a devote follower of Asgardian Pantheon and was completely unaware of the presence of the Cult of Loki which maintained a strong influence over the ivory trade. I should also not that King Raknor was a powerful and charismatic presence and being a Silverbrow as well as a Silver Dragon Shaman only added to his already potent pedigree. So while not the wisest of the petty rulers of the north he was a powerful natural force who Mickey the Torch often reminds me of. For he was not someone who you opposed openly for he settled things the Nordheim Way in other words he dealt with any challenge to his authority with his Heavy Mace and his Breath of Frost. I will admit I did admire his directness ironically as well as his swelled manhood and our affair was something I will always remember fondly.

To be continued