When Two Realms Collide (Ligeia/Trollhammaren)

[Ligeia]

It was a summer day like any other summer day. Warm, sunny, and mind numbingly dull. Ashe Sorenson sat beneath the shade of a tree. Her long black hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and she wore a light blue t-shirt, knee length shorts, and sandals in an effort to combat the heat. She was stuck at a family reunion for another three weeks or so and as much as she loved her family, she was tired of them already. Seeing the last person she wanted to deal with, her cousing Tori who she had never once gotten along with, she got up and headed into the small forest behind the large house.

At least, she'd thought it was small. But as she walked, it seemed that there was more to see and after a good thirty minutes she was lost. Without her noticing it the trees had changed from the birch and alder she was used to, into poplars and oaks and massive pines. Not to mention the house was no longer in sight. All she had going for her was the sun was still high in the sky and she could see. Trying to backtrack she headed in the direction she thought she'd last seen the house in, and ended up even more lost than before. There was no way she wanted to be out in the open when night did finally fall, and she continued to wander. Perhaps not the wisest decision on her part, but at the time it seemed better than doing nothing. Although to her credit, she remained quiet and didn't make any noise except for the twigs that snapped under foot and looked around knowing forests were never completely empty.

[Trollhammaren]

The forest grew denser the further one went into it, the sunlight being blocked out by tall trees until it was as dim as a candle lit room. This was not a safe place and people rarely went that far. Rumors were that things moved in the forest darkness and that animals would not go that far in. It was much cooler in that part of the forest and strange noises could be heard at night, growls and roars from animals, or things, that nobody ever was able to catch a glimpse of. There had been a few sightings of shadows moving in that specific part of the forest, but, it was not easy to make out who or what was casting them. Those who usually tried to investigate were sent scrambling back out of that area by the sight of many light-reflective eyes glaring down on them. Of course, not everybody was so lucky to make it out. Occasionally, unruly children and teens would wander into that shadowed area of the forest, curious and disobedient as children and teens usually are, and they never made it out. The last time the search party went that far in, an arm with nobody was hurled at them out from the dark, followed by a deep rumbling growl.


It seemed that whatever lived in the dark part of the forest didn't come out when the sun was shining bright, it was always at night. Foreign chattering could be heard, voices of many different tones communicating with eachother in rough, coarse whispers. After a team of biologists left a recording device in that part of the forest, and then collected it, they could hear the distinct sound of an old norse dialect in its perfect form. There also seemed to be abit of a pattern. While all the other voices whispered to eachother, a single voice in the lot spoke in a normal tone. It was a deep, masculine voice that seemed to turn into a blend of harsh screaming/growling when angered by something. That was not the only amazing thing caught, however. The most amazing part was when one of the researchers set a microphone up near a tree and asked if anybody was there and, if so, who were they. The recording playback captured a strong masculine voice, stating:

" Troll kalla mik
trungl sjötrungnis,
auðsug jötuns,
élsólar böl,
vilsinn völu,
vörð nafjarðar,
hvélsveg himins
hvat's troll nema þat?"

The words were traced back to the 9th century in a document recording the encounter between Bragi, the norse god of poetry, and a troll woman. The researchers translated the saying, but it made almost little to no sense to them. The point was that somebody was speaking a language that had since developed into 3 other languages as if they had no idea that there was anything strange about that. Whoever it was had not been documented in visual form. Yet. Ashe had just missed the team of researchers who were setting up a night camera in the darker part of the forest. They were too confident that they would be able to see who was in the forest at night, speaking in such an ancient tongue with perfection. Night would fall soon. If Ashe had any hope of getting out of the forest, she had better do it before the sunset.

[Ligeia]

Ashe knew nothing of the forest's story. Or the horrors that awaited her there. If she had, she would have been more hurried in her search for an exit. But, in her blissful ignorance, she took her time and explored a little. Only when the sun began its gradual descent did she get worried. Her efforts intensified and she began jogging at a moderate pace trying to find the house. However, it seemed that she was too deep in the forest for even the sounds of siblings fighting to help guide her.

At sunset, she found a large oak to sit under and wait out the night. She was hungry, a little bit scared, and wishing she'd just dealt with Tori instead of avoiding the problem. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she did her best to ignore the sounds of various, unseen creatures beginning to stir and keep her imagination in check. Now was not the time to panic. All she needed to do was stay put, try and get some sleep, and then continue looking in the morning. Besides, what's the worst that could be out here? Her mind immediately began listing all the worst possibilities. Wolves, grizzlies, unseen forest beasts. Something moved beside her and she yelped jumping to her feet. A shrew scampered away and she immediately felt ashamed of herself. No one she knew had seen anything in the forest, therefore there couldn't be anything...At least nothing dangerous. After checking the ground for spiders, she sat back down and drew her knees back up to her chest finding it hard to not be unnerved by all the eyes that were on her.

Leaning back against the trunk of the tree she took a deep breath. Morning would come before she knew it. All she had to do was get some sleep. Closing her eyes she tried to relax. Not that it worked very well.

[Trollhammaren]

As soon as the sun was out of the sky, and the sky was blue with twilight, the darker part of the forest errupted in sounds. Thundering steps, dead trees falling down to clear the way for....something....and the chattering of many voices, atleast 15. The night camera was rolling near by, the green haze of it's view beginning to pick up on something moving in the forest dark. Whatever it was, there were many of them. The camera was able to pick up on their outlines in the distance, moving around through the forest, one large one knicking over dead trees in order to fit himself through. They had a humanoid shape and all were very tall, the large one being 8 to 9 feet in height, while the others were in the seven foot range. They looked to be like a clan of very tall people, until the camera picked up something specific: Tails. They all had long tails that hung down to the ground, bare like their skin but with tufts of hair on the ends. As these things moved closer, it appeared they had long ears that rose up from the sides of their heads, hair lining the ears all the way to the tip where it then formed a swirling curl. Their noses were large and button like, with large tusks sticking up on each side of the nose. When the moon struck their eyes, their eyes reflected like a nocturnal perdator's eyes would. Their leader was obvious. He was a tall, slender being who walking in the front of the lot, a belted loincloth around his waist, decorated with a child's skull in the center. In his hand, he gripped a spear, a knife hanging on his belt. The camera didn't reveal the hair colour of the leading figure, but his hair was long and hung down to his lower back unevenly, a sign of never having been cut. Clearly, this creature and his followers were not humans.

Infact, they were trolls. How could they have gotten to where they were all the way from the far northern lands of Europe? Simple. They travelled across the north of russia in the winter and came walking across the frozen ocean. Oh, but they did not do it in their present forms. Trolls were known to be shapeshifters. They either could have ran across as wolves or they could have flown across as eagles. They were known to do just about anything to conceal themselves from mankind, even turning into stone or fallen trees. ANYTHING to avoid humans. However, they didn't always avoid humans. Humans were a preferred choice of food, especially christians. When northern europe began to christianize, the trolls were infuriated by the sound of church bells and the singing of hymns. It became so horrible that the large mountain trolls would stand on hill sides and hurl boulders at the churches, trying to crush them inorder to stop that infernal bell and those horrid voices. Christian men and women became a target of extermination. However, the trolls would easily eat just about anyone who they came across, though not always. Some trolls took prisoners, some took slaves. Ferocity and intimidation was their main weapon and spears and axes were their enforcement. The troll leading appeared to be a king or chief of some sort as one of the trolls behind him carried a heavy warhammer that looked entirely trollish. It was really like an oversized meat mallet that had been forged with spikes sticking off of the head. The troll carrying it was handling the weapon in a manner a ring bearer would carry a ring in a wedding. While the lead troll carried a spear, his real weapon was the hammer. It must have been that the spear was for hunting and the hammer was for dealing with unwanted guests.

Soon the forest was blackened with just abit of moon shining in. In the dark, the sound of a hand messing with something made of plastic and metal was heard. One of the trolls had figured out where the camera was. Lifting it from the ground, he showed it to the other trolls. It was in pieces within minutes as it passed from hand to hand, being taken apart by a natural brute strength. It finally reached the hand of the leader. Taking one look at it, the troll turned and hurled it against a tree, the camera exploding into many pieces. There was no tape to review as the force had caused much of everything to desintigrate on contact. They didn't know what it was, but they didn't care enough to figure it out. As they spoke to eachother, it was easy to determine the chieftan's name. Rotgnager, it was, his name meaning Root Gnawer. Trolls often named eachother for habits or actions they had a favour of doing. Rotgnager was a fierce troll. He was excitingly beautiful, as far as trolls went, but his eyes formed a natural scowl which caused him to appear furious at all times. Slender, yet muscular, he was 3,000 years old yet he had no sign of being so ancient. With sharp hearing, and a sense of smell greater than a dog's, Rotgnager could smell the feminine scent of a human in the forest. Spear in hand, he wandered off just abit until he came across a young woman, sleeping against the trunk of a tree. Ashe would soon wish she had never found this place.

[Ligeia]

The thundering sound of long dead trees finally crashing down, could have been heard by anyone. But the one person who didn't hear them, is the one who should have. Having finally fallen asleep, Ashe slept deeply and wasn't the slightest bit roused by the noise. It seemed that in an attempt at self-preservation, her body allowed her to tune out any sounds so that she could get the rest she needed. However, that didn't stop the noise from disrupting her dreams and shifted in her sleep frowning whenever another tree came crashing down. Her hair had begun to fall out of the hair tie that held it back and covered part of her face much like a curtain would, and her arms had crossed themselves over her chest to help retain body heat as the night was much cooler than the day.

Though she didn't hear the camera being smashed, it would have been helpful if she had, because she was fairly close to its location. There had been people, and a way out with that camera and because she was asleep she missed her only way out. Finally the feeling she was being watched got to her and she opened her eyes groggily. Tired, but unable to sleep, she yawned and took a half-awake look around. It was due to this that she missed Rotgnager on the first look around. And on the second. Luckily, three's the charm and she as she took one more look around she caught sight of the reflection of his eyes as they gleamed in the moonlight. Scrambling to her feet she stood stock still as her mind when through the process of choosing fight or flight, then she bolted. Even though she was small and fairly quick, she didn't know the forest well and ended stumbling quite a few times. Of course it didn't help that sandals weren't really made for running.

Her mad dash to get away ended, when she looked back to see if he had taken up the chase. She tripped over a large root and sprained her left ankle. Despite the adrenaline running through her she couldn't get up and run. The best she'd be able to do was limp. Desperate to see the sun tomorrow, she gingerly got up and moved as quickly as she could, stumbling and hissing in pain whenever she went too fast. It was touching how even though she was clearly going fail, she still tried to succeed.

[Trollhammaren]

Rotgnager's upper body shook with chills, just as a human's would have, as Ashe bolted away. A grin crossed his face as if he was amused. A sharp whistle echoed through the trees and soon Rotgnager was on the hunt after Ashe, a pack of wolves hunting with him. Wolves and trolls had a dependent relationship. Trolls used the wolves as hunting companions while the wolves looked to the trolls for food. Rotgnager's long legs and supernatural nature made him very fast, almost to the point where the wolves were fighting to keep up with him. Occasionally, when trees where in his direct path, the troll hurled himself against the trees, shattering their trunks with immense force and a tremendously strong bone structure. If a troll wanted somebody badly enough, he or she would get that person. There was an eerie silence until the sound of a strong wood spear shaft struck Ashe in the back of the head.

Holding the spear steadily pointed on the young woman, Rotgnager made sure she was unconscious before his free hand gripped Ashe's left leg and she was dragged off into the forest. It was no wonder she twisted her ankle, the forest floor was not a pleasant walk in the city. What didn't bother Rotgnager's tough feet ripped Ashe's clothing to shreds. By the time they got to where Rotgnager had been dragging her to, her clothing had holes in it and she was bleeding in more than one place. She was dragged into a cave that appeared to just keep going and going. After atleast an hour, and a heated change in temperature, they came to a dimly lit system of tunnels under the ground. This was where the trolls had been dwelling all this time, right under the feet of mountains, trees and animals. This tunnel system, or Den as it could be called, must have taken years to carve out. That raised questions: How long had the trolls been there? How long was it when they walked across the frozen sea to where they were now? It would remain unknown possibly forever as trolls were not the kind to ask questions to.

Rotgnager dragged Ashe through the smoothly carved earthen tunnels. The torches that lit them revealed that he had dark blonde hair and firm leg mucles. Muscles, however, were a lie when it came to trolls. One of the skinniest could still be viciously strong. Rotgnager himself was able to crush trees with no problem, just by throwing himself into them. Ashe was eventually taken into a room and thrown in, a heavy wooden door shut behind her and locked with a crude iron lock. Rotgnager then wandered away, further into the den. The other trolls eventually returned with many animals they had hunted: Moose, bear, dear, anything big enough and they had alot of them. One troll came into the den hauling 2 moose, one on each shoulder, and the bigger troll came in carrying 2 bears under each arm. They definately knew how to hunt and how to do it well. Ashe herself would be dealt with later. Wether she would live or die was up to the troll in charge.

[Ligeia]

Ashe's attempt at escape ended when she was hit the back of the head. Hard. Her vision swam and her eyes fluttered shut just before she crumpled to the ground. Being as unconscious as she was, she didn't feel the way her limp body hit every rock and stick as she was dragged through the trees. Her hair became tangled with sticks and dulled by dirt, and she was bound to have one heck of a headache when she woke up. She knew nothing of where she was being dragged, and although she gained a hazy bit of consciousness for all of ten seconds, she couldn't tell where we she was.

Several hours later she finally woke. Her head was pounding and she felt like her body was made up of nothing but throbbing aches and pains. Groaning she clutched her head and sat that way for a few minutes. When the pounding in her head had subsided enough for her to open her eyes, she did so and looked around. The room's walls provided no answers as to where she was, and what had happened after she collapsed, but judging by the scrapes and bruises that mottled her skin, it hadn't been pleasant. Tentatively she tried to stand, and ended up using the wall to support herself as her vision swam again and her legs just about gave out on her. Even though she hadn't seen her assailant, she knew it wasn't someone or something that she wanted to deal with. Especially not when she felt on the verge of passing out again. Using the wall as help, she made her way to the door, only to find it locked. Her mind was still sluggish and it took her a moment to put two and two together. With a muttered, and slightly slurred swear, she carefully turned and headed back to where she'd woken up. However on the way there she made the mistake of shaking her head to clear her vision.

Pain throbbed throughout her head again, and she placed her back on the wall as she slid to the floor. Once again, she was clutching her head and groaning softly. Unless she could find a way to clear her mind and think fast, she was out of luck and wouldn't be seeing her family anytime soon. But stranger things had happened and while it was monumentally slim, there was still a chance she could make it out of here alive.

[Trollhammaren]

Ashe was left alone in the dark room for atleast an hour. When the door finally opened, it was not much of a change, the dim torch lights in the tunnel providing dimming light. For that reason, Ashe likely was not able to determine any feature of the large figure who came in toward her. A thick, large hand siezed her by the arm and she was hauled onto her feet like a doll. She was led out into the tunnel system of the den for what probably felt like hours until finally, they came to a large wooden door. The troll escorting Ashe shoved the heavy door open and a circular dome like room was shown, torches circling the room to add abit more lighting, though it was still fairly dim.

On a throne made from bones, wood and decorated with antlers sat Rotgnager. At his foot, sitting on it's head, was the mighty hammer that had been carried for him in the forest above. He made a motion with his hand and suddenly Ashe's clothing was torn from her, but she was outfitted with leather to cover her female parts. It was a simple loin cloth with only a strip of leather across her breasts. If that broke, then too bad for her. The troll on the throne forcefully said "Your clothing hurts my eyes." Ashe may not have understood it, but Rotgnager was essentially saying that her clothing irritated him and sickened him, it didn't hurt his eyes. In other words, he was telling her that he was disgusted with her human nature. Clothing was more or less a sign of humans, which was a red flag to the trolls, who wore only loincloths. Ashe had been outfitted with a female troll's style of clothing in an attempt to bring her down to a level where Rotgnager could deal with her and not want to beat her into a bloody mess. Making her appear more trollish could infact save her.

As it was, Ashe was still pretty well exposed, atleast in the sense she was showing more skin than before. "Why are you in my forest?" the troll said coldly. It wasn't his forest, in a sense, as he was far from his place of origin. However, he did hold a sense of ownership over it. A strong spirit of nature, Rotgnager was essentially stealing this territory for nature in defiance of mankind, to show that in the end it was trollkind who would prevail. Guns could not stop a troll. Nothing really could but a single hammer-wielding god. Only the lord of thunder could stop a troll. However, because of the christianization, the thunder god let trolls run rampant in response to those who turned their backs on the old gods for this new imposter god. Granted, trolls didn't like humans as it was, but being of a certain religion could determine if a person lived or not.

[Ligeia]

Although her eyes had adjusted some to the dim lighting, she could by no means see clearly. Thus, it was in vain that she tried to determine the features of what she thought was a man, who came and grabbed her. She was lifted like she weighed nothing and was dragged along yet again as she struggled to keep up. Time was non-existant in the tunnels and it felt like they were walking for a long while when in reality it might have only been ten or fifteen minutes. She could see more clearly in the room she was led to, but only clear enough to realize it wasn't men she was dealing with.

Stunned into speechlessness she didn't even try to grab back the tattered bits of cloth that had been her clothing. The leather strip and loin clothe were more revealing than her own bra and panties, and she silently hoped that the leather band didn't break. His explanation as to why he'd had her clothing taken away broke away some of her speechlessness and she managed to stammer, "I-I'm sorry..." She crossed her arms over her chest in a futile attempt to retain some of her modesty and looked at the floor. Although she didn't completely understand what it was he meant by that, she figured it was a good thing she hadn't tried to take them back.

His next question caught her off guard, and she snapped her head up to look at him making her wince. "I honestly didn't realize it was yours..." she said quickly. "I was just trying to avoid someone and I got lost." Although she didn't realize it, her lack of religion and resulting lack of loyalty towards one or the other just might save her. Even though she'd been pressured by those of her family who had accepted Christianity and urged her to change her Agnostic stance, she'd refused. Now, that refusal may provide her a chance at survival.

[Trollhammaren]

"Of course you didn't!" he snapped furiously, his voice booming in the dome shaped room. In his mind, humans were arrogant rats who needed to be exterminated. They thought the whole world was theirs when in reality it was never theirs to begin with. With a growl, the troll stood up from his throne and pointed a long finger at Ashe, angrily saying "Odin may have had this world created for your kind, human, but it should never have been yours!" It was a norse beliefe that Odin had created the world after he and his brothers killed the ancestor of the frost giant, Ymir. The world was created from Ymir. The land was his giant body, carved into a sphere. The ocean was Ymir's blood, icy as ever. The reason the north was cold and the south was hot was because the north was closer to Nifelheim, the realm of Ice and mist and home of the frost giants, while the south was closer to Muspellheim, the realm of eternal fire where Surtur the might fire giant guarded the burning steppes.

Trolls were counsins of the giants, which is why they were so tall. In the old days, giants were notorious for coming into the realm of mankind from jøtunheim and causing trouble, bringing down the wrath of the thundergod who protected the realm of man. In winter, the frost giants came, bringing icy air from Nifelheim until the thunder god drove them back. Ashe was left out of knowledge likely because she wasn't 3,000 years old. With a snort, Rotgnager pulled in her scent. She didn't smell like she was a christian, but she smelled like she had been around them. The troll lifted his hammer and raised it to his shoulder. It weighed hundreds of pounds, yet he wielded it like it was hollow. When he was close enough, his hand drifted over Ashe's midsection, rough skin against feminine soft skin. His skin was thick and rough like a bear's from living in a wild environment. His toenails were actually claws that gripped the ground when he walked. His fingernails were thick and hard, immune to breaking when dealing with rocks and other things in the wild.

As he turned to go back to his throne, a very large scar across his back could be seen across his back, peaking through the long hair he had. Trolls could regenerate, even if their faces were damaged. Humans couldn't damage them well enough nor kill them. This meant that the scar was put there by a divine force. Thor had excellent aim with his hammer and the lightning that his hammer emitted. Because how wild the scar was, it was safe to say that Rotgnager had crossed the thunderer once before and the half-giant lord of storms punished the troll. That was yet another thing that could not be determined by a time. The old gods had since abandoned mankind except for those many who still worshipped them.

Ashe didn't realize that Rotgnager could rip her to pieces quite literally. Then again, this was likely her first encounter with a troll. Being human was a crime in the eyes of these nature beings and the penalty was almost always death.

[Ligeia]

Ashe was silent as he fumed and made it very clear what he thought of her, and all other humans. She didn't know the things he did, and as a result all she found she could say was, "If that's true, then I am very, very sorry." she said unable to hide the fear that laced her voice. When he snorted she stiffened not sure what he was doing, and shrunk back instinctively when he approached. When he touched her she stood stock still, like a deer in the headlights, and her breaths became shallow as though any deeper breaths would somehow anger him.

The scar on his back looked severe, but due to her lack of knowledge, she could think of nothing that could have caused it. As he walked back to his throne she started trying to persuade him not to kill her. "Please. I honestly didn't know that the forest was owned. If I had I would have stayed very, very far away. I know that ignorance makes for a poor excuse, but it's the only one I have..." Falling silent, she did the only other thing she could think and got on her knees before him. It was easy to see he looked down on humans and perhaps if she showed she accepted the fact she was beneath him, he could forgive her transgression. Bowing her head she said, "Please forgive me..." And then fell silent.

As she knelt there, she kept her eyes fixed on the ground. If she was right, then she might be spared. But if she'd made a mistake, the last thing she'd see before that hammer came crashing down on her frail human skull would be the floor of that room.

[Trollhammaren]

Rotgnager's amber eyes stared down at the human infront of him. When they rose up, there was a metallic sound and an iron collar was clamped around Ashe's neck and a thick chain was handed to Rotgnager. The collar was loose enough that Ashe could move her head with no problem, but it was small enough that she wouldn't be able to get it over her head and off of herself. With more hatred than anger, Rotgnager pulled the chain hard so that Ashe was dragged to where he was with one hard yank. He reeled her in like a fish until her face was risen to his. In his Rotgnager's eyes were 3,000 plus years of hatred for mankind and envy that they had a world of their own while the trolls did not have their own realm. The gods, giants, elves, dwarves even Hel herself had their own world, but the trolls did not. Naturally they clashed with the humans. In their eyes, this world was rightfully theirs and they should have gotten it to begin with.

Killing Ashe would solve nothing. Granted, she'd be a nice snack, but she'd maybe be an even better pet. Rotgnager's hand clamped tightly around the chain as he threw Ashe backwards and away from him, pulling the chain slightly so that she stopped and slammed down on the ground. She would find no mercy for her here. She would have to do something special to get that privilage. If she played her cards right, she'd atleast keep herself from harm. Trolls were ill-tempered and just the slightest thing could set them off. One example was in Norway where, if a man acknowledged a female troll's tail and didn't compliment her by saying what a lovely tail she had, she'd slaughter him. The same went for women who didn't compliment a male troll's tale. It was strange things like that, things that could only make sense to a troll, that would set them off.

Ashe didn't really have any option there but to comply with the wishes of her captor. Trolls could be fiercely territorial and protective of their human slaves to the point it seemed like they actually cared about the person. In truth, trolls were very odd creatures. Troll women would steal newborn babies because they saw human babies as beautiful creatures and they would inturn leave their own babies in place of the human child. This did not always happen though, such was the case of Rotgnager. Rotgnager had 30 brothers and a strong father who was perfect in a troll sense. He taught his sons how to deal with humans and how to assert themselves and take what they would. Rotgnager inherited his dominant spirit from his father, a 10 foot tall troll named Brennivín, named so for his habbit of stealing barrels of the strong alcohol and carrying them around, taking large swigs as he walked along. This dominance was how Rotgnager became the chief of the group of trolls who lived there, far from home. For Ashe, the worst that could happen was not being killed immediately if the decision came for her to die. However, she would have no choice but to wait and find out wether or not she would live or die.

[Ligeia]

When the collar was secured around her neck, Ashe knew  she must have done something right to be allowed life just a little longer.However, there was no chance for her to express her gratitude before she was yanked forward. Rather than fight against him, she went willingly, struggling to keep up with the speed in which he pulled her in. It was easy to see in the troll's eyes just how much disgust and hatred he held, and it was enough to make her feel guilty even though she didn't know what had caused him to feel that way towards her and her kind.

Just as suddenly as she was pulled in, she was thrown back out. Her back hit the stone floor hard and she groaned as more than one bruise was hit in the process. She slowly sat up, the aching of her bruises making her back feel stiffer than it really was. If she was to live much longer, she'd need to learn quickly and, as she was just shown, be able to take a hit. Sitting on her knees, she did her best to ignore the pain and remained silent. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she didn't think she'd be going back anytime soon. Or ever. Not quite used to the collar just yet, she ran a couple of fingers between the collar and her neck. Just loudly enough for her to hear him, she said the two words he may have never heard from a human, "Thank you...For not killing me." There was sincerity in her voice despite his harsh treatment of her.

She fell silent and merely sat there. To her it seemed her fate had been decided when the collar had been clasped about her neck, and rather than fighting it, she had chosen to accept it. Life was going to be much harder, that was clear. But she felt that she could survive. Even if it meant living with bruises constantly coloring her skin.

[Trollhammaren]

With Ashe just sitting there, Rotgnager let up on the chain abit, letting abit of it slide so it was slack between where he was sitting and where the human was sitting. The reason for this was that, if Ashe tried to run, Rotgnager would be able to yank her back rather forcefully, the sudden yank pulling Ashe off her feet and onto her back. As far as she was concerned, she was an unruly animal that needed to be trained. Trolls had a tendency of being either nice or very cruel and they were highly unpredictable. One moment a troll could be nice and, about 2 seconds later, the very same troll could give a person a harsh beating. It was just their nature. Most people in the modern day disregarded information on the trolls as pure fiction, coming up with the reasoning that, if trolls were real, then why has nobody seen them? However, that was unwise to think. The reason nobody ever saw a troll is because the few who did were no longer living. Another point was that the trolls had excellent camoflauge. The mountain goat staring at a person from a distance could have very well been a troll, or the eagle circling high above could also have been one. If they didn't want to be seen, they weren't going to.

Ashe did well to sit where she was and not run, it kept her alive much longer. Rotgnager was one of the many trolls who was magnificently short tempered. If Ashe was around long enough, and as obedient as required, she may very well end up seeing what the life of a troll was like. Right from the start, she should have noticed that Rotgnager was not barking orders to other trolls and not doing things a human of royal stature would do. He was very much a king among these trolls, but they weren't gathered around him or anything. Infact, it was only Ashe and Rotgnager in the large dome shaped room. Around Rotgnager's neck was a necklace made with many things such as wolf teeth, human bones, antler tips from both moose and reindeer antlers and even a few silver charms. As a chief, or king, Rotgnager was incharge of leading the den in spiritual matters. Much like how a church led a few communities by acting as the seat of power, Rotgnager led the trolls in the den in certain ceremonies. This meant that Rotgnager was most likely a shaman, which was fitting for a spirit of nature. Troll shamans were among the strongest as far as supernatural abilities. Being from Northern Norway, Rotgnager likely adapted to the shamanistic way of the Sámi people. Not every troll was a shaman, just as not ever human was a shaman. To become a shaman, a person, or troll, had to be called on by the spirits of nature and the gods of nature through dreams. Three nights of a visional dream led Rotgnager to a shamanistic path.

This shamanic path may have explained why Rotgnager's ears seemed to twitch and flick slightly as if he was hearing things that a human wouldn't be able to hear without a very trained mind and ear. Shamans were not required to be nice and they lived by their own rules, therefore Rotgnager could be horrible to Ashe and he would not be punished. He could put a curse so severe on her that she would be near death yet her whole family would die and still he would not be punished. He worked with nature and nature worked with him. Lately, angry nature spirits had been arming themselves, so to speak, to confront the crimes that mankind had laid against them. Shamans, especially troll shamans, could call on these spirits and do horrible damage to humans if needed. The troll on the throne stared at Ashe with a cold glare, but he didn't move. His tail lay behind the throne, long and still. The only thing that did move were his ears, which flicked and twitched gently. Rotgnager rose from his throne silently and pulled a small leather pouch from his belt. He moved near to Ashe and then crouched down, untying the pouch. It unfolded into a circular mat with a pile of wonderful amethyst stones in the center. He collected them in his hand and looked at Ashe, whispering something inaudible before he carefully cast the stones down on the mat. When they all landed, it was shown that runes were carved into the faces of the small stones. He looked at each one and then at Ashe again. Runes could only mean one thing in the case of them being on a stone, each to itself. It meant that he was divining, the troll was using divination and obviously it concerned Ashe.

It did indeed concern the girl. He was asking the spirits wether Ashe should live or die. Fortunately for Ashe, the answer was that she should live, atleast for abit longer. Placing the runes back in the center of the mat, he pulled the edges up and tied them, returning it to the appearance of a small pouch and tying it to his belt again. He didn't seem annoyed by the decision the spirits had made. He had a feeling he'd get a few hits in on Ashe before the night was over.

[Ligeia]

Now that her headache had passed, and he hadn't done anything more, she relaxed just enough to notice that he didn't shout at the others or order them around. Nor were there trolls coming in and out of the room to ask him for advice or permission. She also took note of the necklace he wore, but instead of realizing it for the status symbol it was, she saw it as a reminder of what would happen if she made a wrong move, and the twitching of his ears reminded her that she was disadvantage here. Not only was he stronger and faster, but he could obviously hear things that her human ears could not.

The silence seemed to stretch between them, feeling thick enough to cut with a knife. It made her uneasy, but it was certainly better than him yelling at her or being criticized for something she couldn't control. When he rose from his throne, she kept her eyes on him out of suspicion that he had changed his mind. However, it didn't seem he had as he knelt in front of her and opened his pouch into a circular mat. The small pile of amethysts was beautiful and she was half-tempted to touch them, but restrained herself. She didn't hear what he whispered as he held them in his hand and looked at her, and she didn't know what it the symbols on them meant. He obviously did though as he seemed to come to a decision concerning her or some other matter, and gathered them up.

Looking up at him as he stood, she chose to take a small but potentially dangerous risk. "Um...Could I please have some water?" she asked, sounding far more meek than she would have liked. Despite her short time here, she already knew he could do worse than say no. He could make her regret asking. But she had to test her boundaries somehow and this seemed the safest way.

[Trollhammaren]

Ligeia

Hello again. I'm sorry it's been so long, I really am. I've just been very busy and all.

I see the welcome area has been locked, so, I couldn't leave anything there for you to see. Once again, I'm sorry I just left with no word, I've been quite busy. Perhaps if I am approved when I re-apply in July, we can meet up again. See you then.