A shiver along his spine solidifies the sheer magnitude of uniting Treland.
“Thrain is not the only child of a Draemonium walking Treland,” the Briny God adds in a seemingly throwaway comment that causes a collective hiss from the rest of the gods.
“That information was not to be disclosed at this time!” Another god steps forward with his massive fists shaking. He is the size of a grizzly bear, wearing only a pair of trousers and a large fur as a cape.
The Briny God holds up his hands in surrender. “Oh, come on, Ingvar. It's not like I said who. Besides, the big secret of the night is her future.” He nods to Avina.
Sigvid steps before her, placing a protective hand on her stomach. “What do you meanherfuture?” He growls.
The Briny God’s gaze drops to her stomach with a wry smile.
“Uniter of all,shewhose blood strengthens them all,” she whispers to Sigvid.
He whips around to look down at her belly, smiling ear to ear. He kisses her head, deeply inhaling her floral scent. As he pullsback to meet her gaze, his broad smile fades, and he whispers. “I do not have enough weapons or Drengr to raise a daughter.”
She smirks. “If she is anything like her papa, she will hold her own.”
One of the goddesses behind them sighs loudly and steps forward. “Enough of this saccharine family reunion. It is time to discuss your child’s fate in this newly established House of Sigvidsson-Redwood.”
Gullveig is the goddess of order and the lead goddess. She wears a high-necked frock with short, cropped hair, and a severe expression.
“Your child will be born with a potent amount of power, thanks to herhalvgudparents.” She scoffs with a cold severity. “To maintain the balance of nature, we are collaring her abilities until she can prove herself to us.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Sigvid is ready to tear through this bullshit. “You will not know what she can do unless you allow her full access to herseidr.”
Gullveig sighs. “You have your Father’s dramatics, I see.”
“Hey, now.” The Briny God steps toward her, but Maeve whispers a few words to hold him back.
Gullveig tilts her head to the side as if bored with their conversation. “We have a compromise.” She holds her hand out toward Avina, who quickly narrows her eyes. “The Sacred Stones, dear. I daresay you do not truly possess ownership over an item of the gods.” Gullveig sighs.
Avina lifts the silver chain from her neck with shaky hands and delivers the nautilus stone streaked with sapphire and redwood to Gullveig. The goddess cups her hands around the stone and mutters a chant. Ethereal runes in bursts of azure shades appear in the air around her hands, and theseidrcreates thick static that raises the hair of Sigvid’s arms.
With her eyes closed, she hands the Sacred Stones to a woman with dark face paint wearing a black gown adorned with raven feathers. “Bless them, Astrid,” Gullveig orders in a disinterested voice.
Astrid, the goddess of strife, repeats the process before passing it to Ingvar, the god of war, and then to Noxumbra, the goddess of fate. Maeve is last, handing the stone back to Avina with a faint smile.
“From birth, your child will have access to every ability our pantheon can provide.” Gullveigs’s arms cross over her chest. “But onlywhile she wears the Stones. Most importantly, she must ask for our permission to access theseidr. We cannot predict what other abilities she may possess.”
“Will this collaring happen with all of our children?” Avina asks, and Sigvid wonders how many more children she plans to adopt.
The Briny God coughs, and Gullveig closes her eyes and mutters something close to ‘why.’ “Have something to add, Briny?”
The Briny God steps forward and lays strangely solid hands on Sigvid and Avina’s shoulders. He looks between them. “Aura will be the only one affected.”
Aura?
“I haven’t told anyone about that name.” Avina fervently whispers.
Sigvid smiles down at her, and then his expression morphs into ire. His gruff tone is firm as he addresses the gods, “I am happy to hear we will have a healthy child, but what about her mother? Will Avina survive this birth?”
“Yes.” Everyone but Gullveig rushes to answer.
Sigvid notes the Goddess of Order’s reluctance. “And what about you, Gullveig? Is she going to survive the birth of our daughter?”
She nods. “I would prefer not to intervene in your mundane lives by giving you these simple answers. I wonder if the many ways my companions offer abilities to humans are not good enough for you? Do not answer that. It is redundant.”
“Oh, come on, Gully. What has your frock in a twist?” The Briny God snipes.
