Binding Fates

She walked covered in blood as the rain poured as if the heavens themselves were crying. The blood of her daughter was dried and crusty against her tear soaked cheeks and the rest of her skin and clothing, her face was blank and darkened by the shadows of the impending night to come as the sun set slowly over the horizon. She walked with her shoulders slumped and her feet sore from a long days walk.


~.~.~.~.~.~Earlier in the day

Magna the witch and her daughter Helga were invited to the palace of the Norse king Hilmar as his guests in order to tell him his future by reading the bones. Magna and Helga were amazed at the beauty of the palace, in which had hard wood flanks holding it up with a crisscrossed looking ceiling that was at least 50ft high. Paintings of warriors past hung in the stone walls along with skins and weapons of different shapes and sizes. Coming to a large round room there was a statue in the center dedicated to the king’s family blood line, honoring a fallen hero whom had won the land and built the city with only the ideals and dreams of men as their tools. Stopping to gaze at the carved writing on the worn statue that stated “to those whom have sacrificed their blood and sweat to build upon their ideals in hopes of a bright future for all, May my people never lose their...’’ unfortunately the rest of the sentence had been withered away by the ages.

Finally entering the great hall that lead to the king’s royal chamber, which was dark, and hollowed over time with but a few furs, chairs and monuments they had finally come upon the great doors that lead into the chambers which were painted gold, though they were wood they had intricate designs carved into them. There in front of them the king sat on his throne which was covered in gold and had the fur of a bear and wolf lying upon it. His cheek lay on his fist lazily as he awaited them to approach impatiently; he had before searched the wisdom of his own witch, a much older woman renouned in his kingdom for her wise and accurate predictions but was not satisfied, and so he searched for a second opinion from another oracle that was well known in the kingdom of his next of kin from on the other side of the mountain pass.

‘Come forward Magna’ he said in a stern voice. She approached, motioning for her daughter to stay back, and walked forward, kneeling in front of the king in respect, her small animal skin bag of bones in her hand, her hood covering her face to protect her identity. He sat up right, his hands now on the arm rests as he gazed down at her for a moment thoughtfully then spoke. ‘Maiden I call upon you to give a prediction of my days to come. The new moon approaches, and I have already spoken to my own oracle and she has given me displeasing news, I wish to know what you have to say.’ Magna nodded and threw the bones to the ground and every held their bread as she inspected them then began to speak. ‘My king when the new moon comes you ….’ She halted her speech for but a moment and the king spat our impatiently ‘spit it out wench I haven’t all night’ She sighed and said the rest ‘ that you shall gain great power and everything in your grasp shall be yours, but be warned when you gain this power you will be changed from the man you are….the skin you posses as of now will be shed and you will become revered by your people and admired…’ the king seemed pleased by this and smiled ‘Yes now THAT sounds like a right prediction to me.’ She then continued ‘but as I said your skin as of now shall be shed…the power will possess you, you will become ill but become better once more within the next new moon, a new beginning will arise for you.’ The king stood up and clapped his hands happily together and walked down the steps towards her bidding her to rise ‘excellent, this is good news, I am pleased with what I hear. I now invite you to stay for dinner for we shall enjoy a pint and feast upon the wild bore my son has slain earlier in the day.’ She smiled graciously and bowed her head thinking ‘Though he has not a decent heart, there may be hope for him yet.’

~.~.~.~.~.~Later in the evening

She and her daughter sat at the king’s table silently as they ate, while the king Hilmar and his son Prince Renier amongst their nobles drank to their hearts content becoming excited and irrational as the hours passed, slowly losing their wits and becoming nothing more than wallowing pigs lost within their own mirth. Magna had finally decided it was time to depart and stood up slowly to announce the departure of her and her daughter to the king, but were interrupted by the king’s drunken son. As he leaned over, his strong breath that wreaked of alcohol made Helga’s nose wrinkle in distaste as he put an arm around her waist pulling her body against his own aggressively ‘Ay my pretty’ he said in a slurred voice, his words sounding almost unclear ‘Why don you give us a kiss’ he laughed as he then forced his mouth upon Helga’s. She kicked against him and then scratched him down along his cheek with her nails, tearing off some flesh. The prince pulled back and growled in anger as he back handed her into the table. ‘Stupid whore’ he then jumped on top of her and began to tear at her dress laughing the entire time.

The nobles laughed at the sight, thinking it funny and enjoying the site of any soft creamy skin revealed by the beautiful young woman. Magna then intervened by slamming a chair over the back of the prince, knocking him off her daughter. He fell to the ground with a thud and grumbled something incoherent and went unconscious. The king and men suddenly stood up, aghast at the stupid move by the woman. ‘How dare YOU lay hand upon my son you miserable wretch. Cease her immediately.’ The guards then grabbed them and pulled them out of the room. Magna stayed calm but Helga screamed, trying to cover up her breasts by what little fabric she had left. One of the guards punched her in the face and knocked her out cold, taking them to the dungeon and throwing them each in their own cell. Magna got up from the hard stone ground that was luckily covered by hay and spoke to her daughter softly. ‘Helga, answer me’ Helga was out cold and lay there not saying a word. Magna was scared for her daughter’s safety but could thankfully see her chest moving up and down, showing she was still alive.

Time passed slowly as she waited in the cell, and she was relieved when her daughter had woken up, though she had a migraine she was fine. Suddenly the doors opened and the king followed by two guards walked towards them, the prisoners wailing for mercy and freedom as he did.


He stopped and stood in front of Magna’s cell, staring at her angrily then at Helga then back at Magna, not saying anything for a long moment then finally he spoke in an icy tone ‘My son is dead…the force of your blow with the chair ceased his breathing….you will not die Magna, for I know the penalty that will be bestowed upon me if you do, and I do not wish to be cursed, BUT I have decided that in order to make us even it shall be a life for a life, your daughters life for my sons, and you shall be banished from my kingdom, and sent back to my cousins to be tried. Your fate shall be decided there, though it displeases me, I would rather they be cursed than me.’ The king stated that as a matter of fact then nodded to the guards. They then opened the door and grabbed Helga and Magna, pulling them to their feet. They walked out of the prison area and their feet and wrists shackled, and forced to walk on the muddy street to the city square where Helga’s execution would take place. Helga cried softly and so did Magna, never had they ever felt so helpless in their lives. They were spat upon and booed by the public as they were led up to the gallows. Magna was held back by two guards at the foot of the small stage and watched Helga be led upon it. A man of holiness and wisdom then began to chant for Helga’s passing into the next world, when finished he left and Helga was forced to her knees, her head upon the stone, as she looked at her mother with her blood shot tear stained eyes, her body shaking in fear.

Magna then began to writhe and scream but was forcefully held back after being punched in the stomach violently, gasping for air, tears began to run steadily now down her cheeks as she prayed to Odin to spare her child’s life. The executioner then raised the large axe and within a second game pummeling down and that was it. Blood splattered over the crowed, and hit directly onto Magna, running down her face and clothing. She then screamed again and her legs went limp from the shock of what had occurred, her daughter was dead, and she was the cause of it, it was all her fault. The king then walked onto the stage looking at his people and spoke in a solemn tone. ‘Let this be a lesson to those whom would appose me, who would appose us. Our prince is dead, the only heir to the throne, and now from this day forth, let it be known at Magna is here by Banished from this kingdom, sentenced to live out the rest of her days with the terrible memory of her daughters death plaguing her mind, as my son’s death shall plague my own, but these wounds will heal over time, for I plan to have another son, and we shall once more be a whole and prosperous city with a bright future, nothing shall deter us.’

The king then exited the stage and walked down to Magna, looking at her with disgust then said ‘The very sight of this whore makes me sick, get rid of her at once’ he then turned his back and walked away followed by his advisors and guards, making his exit, and Magna was lead away to the large protective doors of the kingdom by guards to be escorted back to the king’s cousin’s kingdom



~.~.~.~.~.~ Back to the beginning


Night fell as Magna groaned in pain, falling to her knees from the sheer exhaustion that wracked her body but was suddenly pulled up violently by the wrists by one of the soldiers and almost dragged along the road. She got to her feet and followed, still crying for her daughters passing, and then the wind suddenly began to change direction, as the scent of pine and other sweet smells swelled within her nostrils. She breathed in the smells, deciding to try to enjoy them as much as she could while she was still alive, not knowing what was going to happen to her, or what her fate would be when she reached her home. That night she tried to sleep, but it soon became cold, and the rain still poured relentlessly upon her, but she didn’t mind much, sleep was the last thing on her mind, though she tried she just couldn’t do it, because every time she closed her eyes, her daughter’s face full of fear would appear in her mind. The king was right, it would probably haunt her for the rest of her life, if she lived long enough to have a life that is after tomorrow.

The next day she was led into her home kingdom, all the people she grew up with looked at her with accusing stares, word had spread fast and she was now even hated here by the people she had considered to be like family to her. She had grown up alone without anyone. Her mother had passed away when she was but a child and her father was always gone off on some crusade or was too drunk to notice she existed, she had been more like his own personal servant, forced to clean and cook and sew more than being treated like she was his daughter, but then again, that was what it was like in those days, the chances of a father who cared for his daughter in a more tender way only existed if there was incest involved or if he was truly a good hearted man. Men were raised to be strong and not to show such affections unless it was of a sexual nature to produce offspring.

She trudged exhausted and was filthy, the stink of death reeked on her skin and clothes and people covered their noses and made displeased sounds as she walked by. She reached the large gates of the palace; lead in by two new guards as the ones who took her there left. She was then taken to the back yard of the palace and forced onto her knees in front of the king she had served and knew since she was 12, he was busy wrestling with his son, giving him tips and so forth, then stopped what he was doing and stood up, looking down at Magna. There was a long silent pause as he stared at her, then let out a deep breath. ‘Magna….I am angered by what you did to my cousin’s son, and decided your fate last night. You shall be banished from this land, I do not wish to end your life, because you have served me well for so many years, but it is dangerous and too risky to keep you around, you will be given a bag with food, water and a knife and will be expected to leave before nightfall, get what ever possessions close to you from your home, I do not ever wish to hear of your name again, if I do, the next time I will kill you.’ Magna looked at him and nodded silently, she understood his plight and would not hold any malice towards her king, he was being merciful to her and though a part of her wished she could die to let the pain in her heart subside, she understood that if the fates had allowed her to live that she must be destined for something more than death.

She looked around her home, saying her last goodbyes to it. It had been in her family for 5 generations and she was saddened to leave, she had raised her daughter here and was raised here herself. As she turned to leave one final graven tear traveled down her cheek hitting the floor and she was gone. She walked for a while then stopped at the top of a hill just near the tree line and looked down at her once beloved home and the city beyond, then turned and walked into the forest in search of shelter for the night. She came upon a cave and lit a peace of dry wood and watched her step carefully as she entered, walking deeper and deeper into it, her senses coming alive in the darkness, being wary of any bears that may live there. Seeing there was nothing, she sat down on a large smooth rock and dropped a handful of dry grass and kindling onto the ground and put rocks around them, throwing the burning piece of wood onto it and sighing softly. She sat quietly, shaking a bit, but soon began to warm up from the heat radiating from the fire, she then saw something sparkle in the distance out from the corner of her eye and god up slowly and approached the object, pulling out what seemed to be a pentacle shaped medallion with a tiny black diamond in it. Her eye brows rose in disbelief as she then turned quickly and reached one of her sacks and pulled out a book she had that possessed magical spells and tonics, flipping through it she stopped at the page and looked at it. Right there at the bottom of it was a picture of the exact same pentacle medallion. Her hand covered her mouth, and her eyes twinkled with a mischievous and sadistic glint in them.

‘With this medallion I could summon a power unlike any other and get revenge for my daughter’s death’ she pondered to herself and then began to read the spell. She read it over and over again, making sure she didn’t miss anything. Her brows furrowed when she saw a very tiny peace of red writing that began to glow at the bottom of the page? It must have been reacting to the Medallion’s presence but why hadn’t she noticed it before? She wondered about it for a moment, she attempted to decipher it, but it was in some language she couldn’t read nor comprehend. The writing that she could read though asked that she sacrifice some of her blood and place the droplets onto the Medallion while chanting the words to the spell. She then took the medallion and put it around her neck after she took a knife and cut the tip of her finger, the blood oozed out in tiny droplets onto the medallion. She then began to chant the spell, closing her eyes, and as she said the words, the writing began to glow even more brilliantly; illuminating the room, almost blindingly so.

When she was finished there was nothing, and a look of disappointment crossed her features as she sighed, ‘How could this not have worked?’ it didn’t make sense to her, but then the inside of the cave’s shadows along it’s walls seemed to be moving as if alive or possessed and it began to make her feel unnerved. She then felt a terribly cold draft bombard her, giving her horrible chills, all of a sudden feeling claustrophobic and as if cold clammy hands of the dead were touching her. She jumped and made a small yelp and wrapped her torn blanket around herself tighter. She then heard a low growl, it reverberated all around her within the cave, then out of no where she was pushed to the ground by a strong gust of wind once again and a mist appeared before her, it was glowing a brilliant red, a face outlined within it, the only thing that looked remotely human like were the eyes. They were a cold grey blue color outlined with a sinister red. She trembled in fear as she felt a terrible pressure apply to her shoulders and chest as if the creature was on top of her, crushing her to the ground. She finally got up the nerve and spoke in a stuttering voice ‘who…who…are…you’ she said her voice shaking and a low malicious chuckle came from creature and he spoke, he had a silky low but soothing voice that gave her the chills. ‘I pitiful human am General Pedraic of the 6th realm of hell, and you my dear have brought me to this plane with ambitions of having power, but in actuality you only helped to bring this world to an end, congratulations.’ He chuckled once again then spoke ‘It is a comfort to know I can always rely upon the greed of humanity. Long ago I was banished by a king named Olin. I had once ruled these ancient lands, but he was assisted by the Arc Angel Sakara, and I was banished back to my own realm, but now I have returned, thanks to you. Do not fret though I am not the type to let a debt go unpaid I shall repay you before your death meets you, so I shall grant you one wish and one wish alone, you shall have your revenge upon the king for your daughter’s death.’ Pedraic’s spirit then arose from the ground, letting her get up, her hand covered her chest as she breathed in deeply in relief but then suddenly, she was thrown against the wall and Pedraic entered her body through her pores. Magna gasped in pain as she felt him move within her. And fell to the ground screaming in agony. Then it was silent and the eyes that once belonged to Magna opened, looking up at the ceiling for a moment in contemplation Pedriac stood and made his way out of the cave. Within the body Magna was trapped. She screamed in protest, she no longer had any control over her bodily functions, then that familiar voice came again. “Aren’t you happy? You got what you wanted, you possess my power…oh but you mustn’t have understood the spell he said with a snicker. ‘What it meant was, your body shall possess my power, but it didn’t necessarily mean YOU’ Pedraic gave a cruel chuckle “Ironic isn’t it, now watch my dear and I shall show you what my power can do, and you shall have your vengeance in a way.’

Pedraic then began to walk along the trails towards the kingdom of King Hilmar, the one who had taken Magna’s daughters from her. The entire way she fought and screamed but it was no use; he was too strong and over whelmed her completely. She then began to listen as he began to tell her the story of the kingdom he once ruled called Ymir. He had ruled for over 400 years over everything, be it human, demon, or the ancient creatures of the old days. The city was once known as the city of Giants and Pedraic ruled well; though he was cruel he was fair in his endeavors until one day the king known as Olin came along and challenged him for his land, Pedraic had put up a good fight and had defeated Olin on many occasions, but when he had teamed up with the Arc Angel known as Sakara whom was sent to stop his reign of terror and to cast him back into the pits of hell he had lost in the battle, and with his defeat his city was left to Olin and his warriors to rule over, and soon the creatures left behind, such as giants, harpies, dragons, where wolves, vampires and even centaurs were beginning to disappear from being hunted as trophies. Pedraic had sworn when he reached the pits of hell that one day he would have his vengeance on Sakara, and give her a slow, painful death she would remember. He had been wise in the earlier years, before Olin had come to his lands to have made the Medallion of Royd, forged in the forest of Hoder.


It was an enchanted forest full of mystery and danger, made by the hands of the infamous Baler, son of the son. It was said he possessed the power to melt anything with his own hands and mold it to his liking, and so pain handsomely by Padraic, the Medallion was created, and after it was cursed, it would be able to harbor a piece of him, just in case he was ever banished from the human realm. After he had finished telling Magna his story, she now understood completely what his goals were, she was but a witness to what was to come.

When they had finally reached Hilmar’s kingdom the guards reacted to sight of her instantly and charged her with a death blow, but before their weapons could even pierce the flesh, they were on their backs dead after Pedraic had summoned his favorite weapon of choice. He called it ‘The Chain of Might’ which was a large thick chain that held a large ball with spikes on it that could crush a man’s skull with one blow. The men didn’t move, one’s head was taken clean off and the other was shattered on impact. Pedraic smirked and continued on his way further into the kingdom, people moving from his way as he inspected his once proud city with his eyes. It had become nothing now, it was but a harbinger of human flesh that rotted away slowly over time from the foul stink of the mud, but it was befitting of any human in his eyes. He approached the great doors of the palace and whipped the ball into them, breaking them down and walking inside. His once proud castle was taken down, no doubt to get rid of anything remotely related to him. “Hmmm” he then stopped and looked at the large statue of Olin that was built in honor of him, upon reading the inscription, more guards ran out to attack him, but he fended them off just as easily as the others outside the city walls.

Pedriac stopped at the king’s chamber doors in thought for a moment then smirked and kicked them open, walking inside. He stopped and looked around the room, the king was no where in sight, but then he heard a tiny whimper and he smirked once again. Beginning to stroll around the room, his hand’s behind his back he stopped and suddenly with one hand lifted up the king’s bed and underneath, there he was, crying and whimpering like a little girl. Pedraic made a sickened face as he looked at the man. ‘Humph, you are the blood of Olin, you are a disgrace.’ Sighing then he grabbed the poor man by the back of the neck and lifted him up, throwing him against the wall saying in a cold and warning yet cool tone ‘Stop you’re crying be a man….’ The king stopped and crawled on his knees and bowed down in shame. ‘Please, Please I beg you Magna, give me a swift death. I know you’re angered by what I did to your daughter, but please have mercy.’





Beginning to laugh, Pedraic shook his head. ‘I am not Magna, I am Pedraic, and I have come back to claim my rightful place to the throne’ he said with a toothy grin. Hilmar’s eyes widened ‘…no…NO… you…you’re that demon of legend, oh no’ Pedraic then laughed once again ‘it’s no legend, and you soon shall meet the same fate as any other human does. Mother Death calls you to her bosom, let us not keep her disappointed’ and then as if in a blink of an eye Pedraic left Magna’s body and entered the kings. Magna’s body fell to the ground limp and dead and Pedraic took control once again, destroying the king within, desiring no inner turmoil. It was his now, this body, it was completely his, and now his kingdom would once more return. Yes indeed the world was now his play ground, his and his alone and he would revel in the utter chaos he would create within it.