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month record rogue 3 4 2
Valarqvin climbs the high wall that the warriors of Sami have built in the mountains.
'I'm not here as a representative of my tribe,' she tells the Snowpriest leading the legion.
'I do not fear the prophecies of the Cyclopes,' answers Eikthyrnir.
The foresight of the Cyclopes may predict disaster, but not how far in the future it will come, nor can they sense the realization of a prophecy any sooner than others. As the demonic influence observed by the Cyclopes grows, and Sami and Her warriors begin to struggle to stop the corruption from spreading, the warriors of the mountains have also begun to notice. Unusually, Eikthyrnir agreed to meet with a Cyclops. Valarqvin walks through the cold watchtowers among the mountains, and hears weary voices divining the whereabouts of missing warriors.
They have taken terrible losses. The lands of Sami are being taken over by the shadow of fear by the day. The tribes of the south begin to recognize the signs, and the tribes of the north begin to migrate south. Valarqvin does not need to warn her counterpart that this is simply the beginning of the crisis. The Snowpriest, leader of his people, has spent his entire life fighting Sami's great enemy. He knows what is transpiring.
The Sami must make a choice. They must change.
She is disappointed, but not surprised, that Eikthyrnir rejected her offer to help on the spot. 'There is no need for us to talk, unless you intend to become a warrior of the mountains,' he says.
'You continue to insist that holding this position is the only way out, even though you have seen Sami wounded and battered, even knowing that you will draw your last breath on the cold, frozen soil?'
'I can already see what you intend to reveal.'
'Then why have you agreed to dialogue with a Cyclops for the first time in decades, if your mind is already set?'
Beneath his scar, the Snowpriest's eye turns to her. 'To see what you know but do not intend to reveal.'
Valarqvin says nothing.
It is no secret that the Cyclopes tell only of ill fate, but those with foresight may attempt to divine the order in which the inevitable occurs.
The demonic threat approaches. The time Sami has left is fleeting, compared to the thousand years that came before. Valarqvin ponders the instant that she foresaw, and knows that the ring at the end of the icefields must be reached, before demonic corruption becomes impossible to resist or even fathom. Before the end of days that the Cyclopes have gazed upon for a thousand years, she must manifest that ill fate brought about by touching the door. So that the ring will be a path towards the future, not the end.
But just as the warriors of the mountains do not abide deception, the Cyclopes do not define fate with language. All she says is, 'I see tragedy, but not the end.'
Eikthyrnir, who had already gotten up and was about to leave, stops. Without turning back, he asks one final question: 'Do you intend to deceive fate?'
'No, I intend to accept it,' answers Valarqvin. As she descends the wall, the warriors no longer point their weapons at her in contempt.
