A beautiful dream surrounded her. Grimhildis walked amongst a meadow that graced the sealine—Av’s personal touch, the Celestial was quite fond of the ocean even if that was Ia’s realm.

In the distance Grimhildis noticed all of her siblings, even the ones she hadn’t seen in over a decade, dancing with their husbands and wives and children. They splashed in the waves, sending glittering water like lapis spiraling through the sky. She moved closer only to notice that her youngest sibling was missing. Her gaze perused the beach but could not spot them. 

“Radhildur?” She called, searching for them, while something sinking throbbed in her chest. Her other brothers and sister continued to frolic in the waters, as if there was nothing amiss. 

The sound of war suddenly broke over the tides. 

Crashing metal upon metal and swords and magic-fire from other champions scorched over the earth in shockwaves. She spun around to see a battlefield among debris. Humans and Celestials tearing at one another until there was nothing left but shredded sinew and tepid blood. Bile threatened the back of her throat, and just as Grimhildis turned, a monster rose above the battlefield. 

Like the Celestials, its body was an ebony nothingness—it was a lanky long-limbed creature that heavily resembled Ku. But unlike Ku, the monster bore a crown of antlers upon its head and Grimhildis amidst her fear thought that it vaguely resembled her family’s crest. Gold eyes glared down upon the battlefield, and the monster opened its mouth in the shape of a silver star and shrieked. Pain. 

It was in pain. 

They were in pain.

Grimhildis screamed, opening her eyes and falling onto her bed with a stagger. It was rare to forcibly dispel herself from Av’s territory in the Celestial realm, in fact she’d never removed herself from the Atrium in all her years as seer. The smell of blood and steel lingered on her skin—and she found that she couldn’t move for fear the gilded eyes of whatever that monster was would find her.