Ishka Vitae // 112 // Water Nymph turned Valkyrie
Ishka lived a peaceful life, one full of laughter and spirit, surrounded by family and friends. One of her favourite things to do as a young nymph had been to visit the surface, spreading herself out among the rocks and large boulders to bask in the sun with her friends. The only thing stopping her from travelling to the surface from her underwater cave was her parents; they thought it too dangerous. They didnât trust the evil that the world above offered.
One fateful morning she snuck out, leaving her parents to adventure with her brother. They spent hours playing games and singing lovely melodies, that is until they spotted a ship on the horizon. The naive group waved to the men aboard the ship, not knowing the men were pirates, and not thinking to desert the rocks and return to the sea. The ship came closer, and the crew joined them upon the rocks under a guise of friendliness. When they were all in place, settled in with the nymphs, the pirates turned on them.Â
See, Merfolk scales were precious on the black market, and the amount of scales they would harvest from the Merpeople would be traded for gold and other treasures, holding them over for years. The Nymphs and Merpeople fought back as hard as they could, but they were no match for the brute pirates that tore them apart. Ishka fought strenuously, her strength weakening by the second as the blood drained from her veins.Â
Ishka lay there in a pool of her friendâs blood, seconds from death watching the pirates murder her loved ones. It was only when they were about to attack her brother - the person sheâd been closest to since birth, not only because of their kinship, but because he was a light that warmed the hearts of her own family - when she was reborn.Â
She rose above the pirates, transforming into a Valkyrie. With her newfound strength, she picked off a few of the men, flinging them into the ocean to let them drown while the others left, cowardly running back to their ship to disappear back into the horizon.Â
She held the broken body of her brother Lachlan in her arms, weeping as she sat alone for the first time among the rocks. Through her tears she witnessed something so sadly bittersweet, something she wouldnât have believed if she hadnât seen it with her own eyes. From the body of her brother as well as the nymphs and merpeople lying around her rose translucent butterflies. They attached themselves to her, knowing she was now the only one who could return them to the natural cycle of this world.Â
She is alone, but then again not, and makes her way to the next town, one she had been to many times before with her family to visit and trade goods. Ishka meets a witch whom she passes on the butterflies to, except for one that refuses to leave her side. The witch sends her to Drasgsa, the capital of the Valkyries.
Ishka trains with other Valkyries, but they think her a bit strange because they think she talks to herself. It was only until she asked why people were staring when she realized the others couldnât see the butterfly that followed her, which is strange because every Valkyrie should be able to see it. This led Ishka to believe that maybe the only reason she could see it was because she had been so close with her brother at one point being one of them.
She joins the Valkyrie army, slowly moving up in the ranks. She wasnât social much, she didnât quite care for the company of others, so Ishka threw herself into training, something about her transition made her an optimum fighter. Strong, fast, ready for action at every turn. Ishka isolates herself, but not because she's lonely or sad, she has enough contact with the warrior training, sometimes she attends community events, festivals, Valkyrie ceremonies. Ishka doesn't tend to have many close friends, sheâs afraid of the traumatic event that happened with her friends happening again. Sheâs afraid to lose people, so she pushes them away. In general, she is respected, so when there is a festival she can basically sit down with whomever to eat and drink for a while before calling it a night, she doesnât stay out long.
Then, the Spiderwar begins. This is the first real and honest battle she has to fight in, and because she's one of their best soldiers, she is assigned to protect Fabledale. During one of the battles a few spiders breakthrough, Ishka decides to follow that troupe into the castle, managing to kill the last one before they attack a Reigning Council Member hiding nearby.
The Nymph who is currently on the Council Seat thanks her for her help and is incredibly nervous, scared for what she knew was going to happen next. In what can only be described as a ludicrous move brought on by panic caused by a giant spider almost eating her, gives Katie their diary and tells her that if she does not survive what happens next Katie is in Charge of the Spirit Faction.
Ishka rejects, the notion that she could be a Council member beyond her- but the nymph discloses something Ishka would never have thought to be true, that they were the last of their people, that she would be one of the few last Nymphs left.
No one else is around, there was no one else for Ishka to pass on the responsibility to, and especially no one that would be able to represent the Spirit Faction. Ishka takes the dairy and hopes for the best - but then the Curse is set upon Naraya, and the Nymph is in such a deep depleted sleep from the said curse that they will likely never wake again. She reads through the diary and finds that there is a lot of corruption going on behind the scenes - and she is the only one that knows it. The last few entries were full of mostly incomprehensible ramblings, suspicious of the council.
In about a weeks time after the Curse, Naraya officials come looking for Ishka. They state that the current Council Member left orders behind, leaving Ishka the newest Council member. The longer she is in the position the more she also knows there has to be a balance. Ishka wants to share all the information sheâs gathered with the world, but she knew she couldnât go public with it- she knew the best thing to do would be to stay on the Council, be the good that spoke to the evil she sensed in them.Â
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