Chapter Text
Legend tells of a singular being that could command the nine realms in a single whim.
Almost twenty years ago, a war shook Askr to its core, known to history as the War with Death. In a desperate attempt for any kind of victory, King Gustav who was a young prince at the time, took upon the Orb of the Dragon God of Creation and performed a ritual in the ruins of Vaskrheim.
A Summoner from another world was called. Unlike the prince, the Summoner seemed soft and feeble. Always spoke in a cheerful tome as if he had no care in the world. When asked about his name, Gustav could never forget how happy the Summoner’s smile was when he simply said, “Kiran.” Many had believed that this individual was another variation of the First Summoner.
Gustav (much like his son) was distant and professional when they first met. The Summoner brushed it off, having no mind for it. Breidablik was said to take on several forms, catering to whatever their wielder is more comfortable or fitting to have.
For this Summoner, he was given a lance with odd golden carvings, accompanying the rich blue shade that came with it. Gustav had wondered if the Summoner could defend himself. Throughout the first few weeks in the castle, all he’s ever done was mingle around with the servants as well as the soldiers, on occasion — knights with no noble background.
Gustav found Kiran odd and annoying. He had asked the Summoner what his life was back in his home world, Kiran simply smiled as he answered. “I was a farmer for most of my life. And then I got married to this wonderful woman! Actually,” he started to get shy, “we’re expecting our third child. I’m hoping that the child is another girl.”
The Summoner was only a few years his senior. No wonder he had such a carefree life. He was a farmer who was free from noble responsibilities with a stable life and a family. From his expression alone, he seemed pretty content with what he had back home. But he never showed discomfort around the prince.
At times, Gustav would see the Summoner entering his father’s study. He didn’t think much of it. The Summoner held immense power, as it was demonstrated by the Heroes, he summoned to help them with their war. But there was more going on in the room where it happens. These meetings have become frequently and became a rather popular topic amongst the nobility.
Time came when his father had allowed him to join these meetings.
In all those months that he has known the Summoner, this was the first time when that smile never occurred on his face. Instead, Gustav was greeted with a cold, stoic gaze that he would often find from veteran generals from the royal army. Perhaps there was more to the Summoner than what he originally knew.
The topic of discussion was the villages that were located near Hel’s Gate. The King originally had planned to proceed head-on, Gustav was concerned with the citizens living in those lands. And the ruling nobles are asking for immediate aid as they could no longer hold the dead from killing everyone in that radius. It was reported that the Lord of the land had the people evacuate inside of his castle. “Wise move,” said the Summoner as he looked over the map, “only a fool would meet Hel on an open field.”
“You seem to know a lot about Hel, Summoner.” Gustav commented.
The Summoner on the other hand, felt that he had nothing to hide. “Hel is one of the New Gods that command and condemned this new world of the nine realms. In fact, this world is one of the many worlds that worship the Old Gods still along with Nifl and Muspell. Odin isn’t so pleased with the idea of worshiping the dragons — he wants us to live in his new world or we could die in our old one. And what better way to do that than to erase the existence of the Dragon-Gods that allow us mortals to travel through worlds?”
“You seem to have some sort of personal history with this god, Summoner.” The King couldn’t help but notice. Gustav also took notice on how the Summoner spoke the information. He had a hint of bitterness and hatred, nothing like his carefree tone. He spoke as if he wanted to murder the New Gods with his own hands.
“To be betrayed by the New Gods is a stain in our history.” The Summoner quoted. “Ásgarðr and Vanaheim had been at odds with one another for centuries. When the first war ended, we agreed on a hostage exchange, but my people realized that we were tricked, and that sparked another war between our worlds.”
“Declaring war because of a hostage exchange is a bit…”
But before Gustav could finish, the Summoner immediately provided more of their bloody history. “Our ruling gods were the said hostages sent to Ásgarðr for the sake of this useless peace. We loved our gods, old and new. Njörðr did not judge those who prayed to Lady Vanaheim, nor did Lady Vanaheim condemned those who pray to Njörðr. But it was the same gods that allowed our lands to be raided, our women raped, our men and children enslaved. We were left to defend for our lives, but we never condemned Njörðr for abandoning us. It wasn’t the hostage exchange that rallied my people to war. It was the fact that Odin had the audacity to behead our God and forced us into war for a future no one wants. The idea of the All-Father. The control over Ragnarök. These New Gods follow Odin as if he is the creator and not the creator’s destroyer… there is a ritual that can kill Hel herself and stop all this madness. But we must never resort to that.”
“What is it?” Gustav asked.
“It’s an old Vanir ritual called Heart’s Rite. Even the most renowned Seers and mages in my world heavily forbid this Rite.”
“Why?”
“With the Rite performed, every heartbeat of Angrboda’s Heart it will take a life from the world where it was performed.” As calm as the Summoner was to explain this Rite, Gustav felt the chills running through his spine.
“From human life to every last bug on this realm, it’s a gamble that I highly advise for you to never take.” Was the very same advice he gave to Gustav’s son twenty years later.
Eighteen years later, the Summoner was known to be the hero who vanquished Help back into her cold realm.
The years were kind to the Summoner. Gustav, who was safely anointed as Askr’s King, granted the Summoner a Knighthood and a Lordship, along with a land to look after as a reward for his heroic deed to his realm. Bestowing these gifts under the name Kiran, Summoner of Askr. But our those who were truly close to him would call him by his name.
His real name.
All those eighteen years, the Summoner was quietly preparing for this one gleaming moment, he felt that there was a war coming. No, he was sure that a war is coming. He didn’t know when, he didn’t know who they’d be fighting — but he knew that they were coming.
His life in Gnótthæð in Eastern Askr was peaceful. A beautiful and bountiful farmland where most of Askr’s stocks would come from. His life would have been perfect if his wife and children were here with him. Alas, even when the war was done and over with Hel, a gateway couldn’t be opened to Vanaheim.
At first, Gustav thought that this was punishment for defying Odin’s will. Until it was revealed in an old journal of an ancestor that their power does not work for a realm called Vanaheim. A Summoner who went by the name Anselma hailed from that world and was loved by the people, both Askr and Embla alike — but when she returned home due to the cries of war, she had made sure that even with the power of Askran royalty could never open the gateway from their side.
There was no indication or explanation as to why she did it.
The Summoner knew the Ballad of Anselma. It was a popular folk story of a young woman who waged war with the New Gods of Ásgarðr, cursing those who have wronged her to meet their end at the event called the Twilight of the Gods, famously known as Ragnarök.
Like many before him, he believed in the future events of Ragnarök. But Anselma was nothing more than a myth, a tale — now he had true accounts from two generations that she was real. And like him, she was a Summoner. Long silver hair, with deep ocean blue eyes that turn to hold to demonstrate her power — the shield maiden who cursed the All-Father, and even in death, she was victorious.
Perhaps her decision had something to do with the war of the gods all those years ago. How bad was the war of his ancestors for her to force this realm away from their own?
The Summoner would wake up early to oversee his land, hear the concerns of the farmers who lived in these lands and tried his best to have a solution. He would work with those who were placed under his care, asked advice from those who were more knowledgeable and skilled — some would describe the Summoner as the ideal Lord, an honorable Lord.
Oh, how he wishes his family were with him.
He wondered if his wife tried to look for him.
He wondered if his eldest daughter was already married, expecting a child of her own.
He wondered what has happened to his son.
He wondered if the child inside of his wife’s womb was born safely into that world. Was the baby born a girl? Or maybe another boy? He wondered if his children grew up knowing how he had missed them so. Did they grow strong and healthy? Were they good children to their mother? Have they looked after each other?
There were so many questions that he wanted answers to but even he knew that he could never make up for all those years he was gone.
The Summoner would rather have his wife find a new husband, one that would take care of her, love her, and raise their children as if he were his own than have her wait for someone who might never come home.
“Uncle Kiran!” The Summoner looked up from his desk with a smile upon his lips, standing up he greeted the princess with open arms for her hugs as he always did.
“Hello to you too, Princess.” Oh, how many years did he wondered how this child became Gustav’s daughter. “I see your brother is being shy again.”
“S-sir Kiran, please.” The Summoner couldn’t help but laugh. This one is Gustav’s son.
“Still won’t call me Uncle again, huh lad?”
The Summoner waited for a while to see if Henriette would follow behind Alfonse, but to his surprise the children came without her. When they were kids, Henriette would often bring them to his land considering how peaceful and calming the atmosphere was. As much as it reminded him of home, it was a good temporary scene for the children to grow up with normal lives at some point of their childhood. As they grew older the visits have become less and less, but they visited all the same.
“I don’t see your mother around, what can I do for you two?”
“Alfonse and Father got into an argument.”
“Sharena…” Alfonse sighed.
“What? Uncle Kiran is bound to find out anyway!”
The Summoner crossed his arms and leaned back on the table behind him. Gustav was always hard on his children, to Alfonse especially. As much as he disapproved of his parenting method, the Summoner did his best to give the children the comfort and assurance, as well as the love a father should be able to provide for his children. A part of him knew that he was doing this because he couldn’t be with his own children who were fatherless. “Slow down, Sharena. What is your father being angry about this time?”
“We asked if we could Join the Order of Heroes since Embla is getting aggressive.” Alfonse began to explain, carefully choosing his words. Although he recalled his Uncle Kiran being the fun one — Alfonse saw him getting angry once, he’d rather be in trouble with his father than the summoner. “Mother said she would allow it but when we asked father…”
“He said no?” The Summoner raised his brow to the classic Gustav behavior.
“He said yes to Sharena joining…” The Summoner already knew where this was going. “Alright, I’ve heard enough.” The old farmer couldn’t help but just massage his forehead, Gustav was always a stubborn old fool. He understood why he had to say no — Alfonse was heir apparent to the throne, he was trained and raised to follow into his Father’s footsteps as much as Gustav was raised to follow his. But even the old King was more lenient with the rules compared to Gustav.
“Does your mother know that you two are here?” The royal siblings nodded. “You two will stay for supper and I will personally talk to your father first thing in the morning. Sharena.”
“Yes, uncle?”
The Summoner’s stern expression finally turned soft. “Why don’t you see if Zacharias is already back from his mission? I will have a word with your brother, alone.”
“Okay!” Sharena quickly got out of the room. The keyword alone was enough to have anyone get out faster than they usually do when it came from the summoner.
Sharena had already experienced the talk from her Uncle Kiran when she accidentally broke something inside of his house with her lance a few years back. But whenever Alfonse has this talk with his Uncle, it’s all a completely different story. The Summoner was always fun and yet strict, he was firm and yet gentle — it’s as if he knew how to parent a child in the first place.
“I am going to ask this once, Alfonse. So we are both clear on the subject, once I ask your father there is no turning back, right? And once you turn back that means that the time has come that you will be King.”
“Yes,” Alfonse nodded. He had those determined eyes. It was far too like Gustav’s determined gaze when they were young. “I’ve thought a lot about this for the past year. I want to join the Order.”
“Alfonse,” the old man finally sighed, he’s exactly like his father, “we are at the brink of a war with Embla. If your father dies—”
“I know.” Alfonse answered in frustration. “But until then, I want to help as much as I can until I’m ready. I want to do what you do. I want to be just like you.”
The Summoner watched Alfonse and Sharena grew up. He knew what makes them get up from their bed every morning, trying to find some sort of meaning to their lives when their titles couldn’t. “If that’s what you really want, I understand. Your father and his council will stand against it, and I may not agree with this,” the old man continued as he placed his hands onto the boy’s shoulders, giving him the reassurance, he needed, “but as long as I’m here, I’ll be with you until the end of the line.”
Alfonse smiled, hugging the Summoner as tightly as he can — just like when he used to as a child. “Thank you so much, Uncle Kiran.”
“Anything for you, son.”
Zacharias was surprised to find Sharena greeting him by the gates of the Summoner’s castle. It was rather odd to find the Princess of Askr personally greeting a soldier such as him when so many witnesses are wondering what his relationship with the princess was. Baseless rumors, that’s what keeps the people entertained.
At supper, Zacharias had a rough idea about the surprise visit when he finally saw Alfonse on the dining table.
“Cleaned up?” Zacharias turned to the entrance of the dining, giving a small bow towards the Lord. Before he could answer, he already felt a light pat on his head. It was a comfortable habit that the boy grew used to ever since the Summoner became his legal guardian. “Sit down, son, food might get cold.”
Zacharias couldn’t help but smile when he’s around the old man. “Yes, sir.”
Escaping Embla was the most difficult thing he had to do after his mother was thrown in prison. Going on a ship to go to a different continent was out of the question – he would be caught and be sent back home. He wanted the Lords of the Empire to suffer as his mother suffered, and his supposed father did nothing about it.
He was weak. Pressured by the curse to do the unthinkable and wages war against the Kingdom with the Summoner who won a war against Death. Then again, Zacharias knew himself that like his father, he was weak as well.
When he ran through the forest, he was stopped by Askran Knights weapon by his neck as he was illegally crossing the border from an enemy territory no less. Askr was on high alert, as they were forcing themselves to rebuild to avoid Embla taking advantage of their weakness. In truth, Askr held the appearance of a strong front, a strategy that the Summoner thought to tick the Emperor and his Lords.
The Summoner was the reason why he wasn’t thrown into prison that night.
The Summoner who was loved by the Askran people was a different man when Zacharias met him. His eyes seemed emotionless, as if his eyes were looking deep into his, trying to look of every inch of his soul for any kind of secret, any kind of sin that could destroy him utterly and completely. Even as a boy, he knew that this was a man who can destroy realms whenever he wanted to.
The boy felt the magic that was sleeping inside the Summoner. It was something he had never seen before, it felt like there was a dragon hiding behind those cold eyes, sometimes those joyous laughs — they all felt like a fogged mirror, unable to see the real reflection of the man.
That was fifteen years ago when the Summoner had asked, “What’s your name, boy?”
“…Bruno.” The boy answered rather reluctantly. If anyone could help him with his revenge, it would be the Summoner. The most powerful man in their world.
“I like your eyes.” The Summoner said randomly. The boy grew visibly confused. Some say that the summoner is a terrifying man, but the Lord’s seemed to be convinced that the Summoner was an idiot. “They remind me of my daughter when she asked me to teach her how to wield a weapon. She’s a few years your senior… I believe? How old are you?”
“Six.”
“My son is the same age as you.” He smiled. He smiled so gently… it felt so warm. Just like how his mother smiled at him whenever she’s happy. “You ran away from home, didn’t you?”
“Y-yes, my Lord.”
“Would it be alright for me to ask you why?” the boy was silent. Seated on the chair across him with his knees together and his hands clinching on the edge of his shorts. Judging from his eyes, the Summoner could tell from the bags that the boy hasn’t slept well for a while, the redness of his eyes was most likely due to crying. He had a lot of bruises and wounds — signs of discipline, he’s small for a boy his age. He hasn’t been fed properly too.
The man had no intension to pressure the boy for an answer. “Alright. I won’t force you to answer that. How about this one, do you want to stay here?”
“P-pardon?” For a moment, he sounded that he came from a noble background.
“You ran away from home, yeah? Since we found you in the border just right across Embla. I highly doubt you have relatives here in Askr. But I do want to confirm, do you know who I am, boy?”
“You’re Kiran.” He spoke. “The Lord Summoner of Askr. The Hero of Legend.”
“Whoever you’re running away from, they can never touch you again if you’re with me. But if you accept this offer of mine you will have to do something for me in return, not now, but in the future. You’re aware of that… aren’t you?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“You’re a smart little thing, aren’t you?” A smirk emerged from the Summoner’s lips. The boy wasn’t sure if the summoner was pleased with this odd discussion. What could a boy even offer to a man like him?
Nevertheless, he was willing to take it. “I want to accept that offer, Lord Summoner. But in return, I also want a favor from you in the future.”
“I accept these terms then.” A man negotiating with a boy. His wife would have been so amused, her laugh would have woken up the whole farm. “Starting today, I will be your legal guardian here in Askr. I’ll have the paperwork done by the end of the week. I’ll be giving you a new name too.
“What… kind of name?”
“How does Zacharias sound?”
“I…. Like the sound of that, my Lord.” The boy blushed.
Kiran found it cute. “Milord.”
“Pardon?”
“That too. We’ll need to fix that too.” Zacharias was a visibly confused child. Kiran just laughed. “Lowborn kids say milord and what. Not my Lord or Pardon. If you’re going to pose as a commoner you need to do it right, boy.”
And eighteen years from now, the boy still wasn’t sure how the old man knew. He just did. Zacharias tried to ask but all the Summoner kept on saying was that he just knew.
At first, he planned to use the Summoner and the Askr to destroy Embla, but as years went by he grew close to them. They were family to him. The Summoner stood as the man his father could never be. He can’t remember a man who was better loved than Kiran. The common people love him. The nobles love him. He was the hero every child aspires to be.
But behind all the illusion that people wanted to see and the achievements they bestowed upon him. He was a sad, lonely man who just wanted to see his family again.
After seeing the siblings off to their room, Zacharias went straight to the Summoner’s study where he was seated on his rocking chair, staring at the fireplace, contemplating about his life and his family. Perhaps even the heroes he befriended over the years. Heroes who eventually went home.
Zacharias didn’t hesitate to sit on the rocking chair beside him. The castle that Kiran had built wasn’t as big as the other Lords of Askr have. In fact, it was relatively small with a few servants and soldiers to keep guard.
He had officially made four permanent bedrooms, catered for each child he left back home.
His eldest child loved the view of the farm back of his own. That’s why her room has a larger balcony with a bench for her to have the perfect view of the sunrise and sunset of Askr.
His second child loved to read, thus more personal bookshelves in his room in addition to the library with his name on it.
Kiran has never met his third child. But their room was as large as the other two, large enough to be designed to whatever they want it to be like.
And finally, a garden with the view of Askr’s sea. The maids inside the kitchen would inform Zacharias whenever their Lord Summoner would buy a new tea set, each had one elegant design of roses of different colors. Because his wife loved to drink tea with the view of the port back home.
When Zacharias entered the Summoner’s life, the Lord had one of the guest rooms be converted into a permanent bedroom for him.
Kiran gave him clothes to wear, food to eat, a roof over his head, an education, opportunities — the old man even trained him how to wield a weapon and how to properly recite spells. Someday, he wanted to return a favor that could make him happy in return.
The Summoner gave him a home. He gave him love. He gave him a family.
“What do you want, son?” The summoner broke the silence with his eyes still closed.
If Zacharias didn’t know any better, he’d believe that the old man was already asleep. “Do I need a reason to sit down and relax with my beloved father?”
“Hah!” Kiran laughed. “I watched the three of you grow up, you really think I’ll believe in that horseshit, son?”
“A year.” He finally said. “I’ll be gone in less than a year.”
“It’s gotten worse. Has it?”
Zacharias nodded. “That… favor, I might use it when I’m finish with my business in Embla.”
“As long as you come home, all is forgiven, son.”