Witchers of Nifelheim - Part 2

Radiance wandered the halls of the Fortress for the next few hours. Greeting the other Witchers as he passed them with a nod or simple hello. Doing his best to speak their language even though it was obvious he lacked any flow or form with it. 

As a walked his mind flashed back to the ritual. He had been running on adrenaline at the time and had barely had time to take anything in. It still stuck in his mind however and now that he had a moment to relax the images started coming back. Each heartbeat slamming a new scene into his mind. Playing like a slideshow of slow-moving images. Hot! Cold! Wet! Mute! Colour now had meaning beyond simple words. 

The area around him, what his mind had filled in simply as black shapes with white lines suddenly started to randomly pulse with colour. Some deep instinct told him it wasn't right, but he had no idea what it should look like. It was nonsensical and joined in with the steady increase of his heartbeat. He slammed his fist into one of the walls and leaned his forehead against it. Heavy breaths escaped him as fought to regain his composure. 

'Focus!' his internal dialogue mimicking his Sensai's

Radiance lets out one final breath and pushes back from the wall. The edges of his face flushed and damp with sweat. He makes his way to where the beds are with the goal to sleep.

"I don't think it's just a random magical surge. Magic makes sense." Twilight replies absentmindedly.

"The last surge that zapped people here was from a tower going haywire. But that tower was designed to travel between these dimensions, so such an act makes sense. But there were no such towers back then. In fact, was there anything her back then?"

She narrows her gaze, still looking at the ceiling. "The tower project has been worken on her for about 200 years, but who or what brought them here 1300 years ago? That's the main problem right now."

“I don’t know. Perhaps an attempt at interdimentional travel that went wrong, or a magical accident of some kind. Magic can go wrong, horrifically so. Anyway, without any access to history books, I doubt we’ll be able to find out exactly what happened, and even then it’s a long shot. Some records are patchy or overly exaggerated.” She added, unsure if she was being helpful or not. Her eyes blinked for a moment, and she found the idea that her eyes now glowed rather unsettling, even if she couldn’t see them.

After exploring the stronghold, you found a ladder on the fourth floor that led to the roof of the highest tower. It seems to have been used as an outlook spot to observe the surroundings lands. A lone Witcher sat on a chair there, at the top of the tower, right under open skies and absentmindedly chewed on a grass straw as he observed the horizon.

At the bottom level, you found a sealed hatch on the floor, subtly hidden from view by a rug. It seems it could lead to a basement.

Apart from those two places and the large double door, you couldn't find any more potential fire exits of any kind.


Looking at the surrounding lands through the window, you saw an endless plane of glittering snow, shining under the golden sun.
A thick, wild forest stood to your right.
On the left, just barely notable on the horizon, you could see the outline of the village you visited earlier.

The sky was mostly clear, only a few stray clouds lazily drifted over the horizon. Two very pale moons hovered over the land, the craters on them threw strange shadows, showing an immediate, striking difference from the moon over Earth.




Rolo remained quiet for a few more moments, before replying:
"...I was familiarizing myself with the Soren language and your memories about Earth. It.. seems like a fascinating place, there are things in your world that I could never imagine. The machines in particular."
His voice slowly went quiet and drifted away again. He seems to be lost in thought.





Ursula slightly wrapped herself in her arms and hid the lower part of her face behind her knees. The flames of the fire brightly reflected in her eyes:

"...I do feel broken at times... and I can never fix it... but I know exactly what it is" she spoke softly, looking at the fire:

"Something very bad happened in my village, some two years ago. It was shortly after I became a Witcher.
The thing that hurts me the most, is.. I don't know, if it was my fault. I tried to analyze the situation objectively, over and over. But, I can't.
People would tell me that I wasn't at fault, but I don't know if they only said that, because they took pity on me, because they wanted to cheer me up, help me feel better.

I... don't know..."

Ursula lowered her head, hiding her face behind her knees:

"I only know that... I was there... and.. I probably had a chance to stop it.


I'm a second rate Witcher.
Perhaps.. I should have never become one" Ursula quietly whispered.




A few hours ticked by, as you rested or drifted to sleep. The sun slowly neared the horizon, engulfing the land with the soft orange colors of sunset, when you woke up. You felt invigorated as soon as you did.
All recent wounds have faded and all pain disappeared. You felt a strength and energy that you didn't feel for years. Ready to jump into action, this new energy seemingly demanded release.



You found Johan and Kaylee on the first floor. They seem to be huddled next to a strangle, dark blue stone, built into the wall of the stronghold.
The stone was a meter tall and its surface would occasionally lit up, revealing bizarre looking pentagrams and mathematical formulae, floating somewhere deep under its surface. The numbers and symbols glowed white, before disappearing, returning the stone to its original deep blue colors.


Johan and Kaylee are staring at it in amazement, with Johan occasionally waving his palm over the stone, an action that briefly spawned a small floating pentagram, to hover over the stones surface.

Kaylee Brown wrote:After exploring the stronghold, you found a ladder on the fourth floor that led to the roof of the highest tower. It seems to have been used as an outlook spot to observe the surroundings lands. A lone Witcher sat on a chair there, at the top of the tower, right under open skies and absentmindedly chewed on a grass straw as he observed the horizon.

At the bottom level, you found a sealed hatch on the floor, subtly hidden from view by a rug. It seems it could lead to a basement.

Apart from those two places and the large double door, you couldn't find any more potential fire exits of any kind.


Looking at the surrounding lands through the window, you saw an endless plane of glittering snow, shining under the golden sun.
A thick, wild forest stood to your right.
On the left, just barely notable on the horizon, you could see the outline of the village you visited earlier.

The sky was mostly clear, only a few stray clouds lazily drifted over the horizon. Two very pale moons hovered over the land, the craters on them threw strange shadows, showing an immediate, striking difference from the moon over Earth.




Rolo remained quiet for a few more moments, before replying:
"...I was familiarizing myself with the Soren language and your memories about Earth. It.. seems like a fascinating place, there are things in your world that I could never imagine. The machines in particular."
His voice slowly went quiet and drifted away again. He seems to be lost in thought.

"Well, that's how it got the name" Rogue nods sagely.

Kaylee Brown wrote:A few hours ticked by, as you rested or drifted to sleep. The sun slowly neared the horizon, engulfing the land with the soft orange colors of sunset, when you woke up. You felt invigorated as soon as you did.
All recent wounds have faded and all pain disappeared. You felt a strength and energy that you didn't feel for years. Ready to jump into action, this new energy seemingly demanded release.



You found Johan and Kaylee on the first floor. They seem to be huddled next to a strangle, dark blue stone, built into the wall of the stronghold.
The stone was a meter tall and its surface would occasionally lit up, revealing bizarre looking pentagrams and mathematical formulae, floating somewhere deep under its surface. The numbers and symbols glowed white, before disappearing, returning the stone to its original deep blue colors.


Johan and Kaylee are staring at it in amazement, with Johan occasionally waving his palm over the stone, an action that briefly spawned a small floating pentagram, to hover over the stones surface.

"Do you think you found this joint's self-destruct button?" Rogue jokes as he shows up and joins Kaylee and Johan, "On a more serious note, do any of the symbiotes know what this might be? Hey Rolo, any ideas?"

"Parasites." Twilight says to correct Rogue. "They're parasites."

She looks at the blue obelisk, studying it.

"Hmmm... This looks pretty magical in nature. It might be something made to harness the power of a witcher from within, helping the next generation get stronger faster. The pentagrams and formulas are definitely of human origin."

Disgruntled purple wrote:"Parasites." Twilight says to correct Rogue. "They're parasites."

She looks at the blue obelisk, studying it.

"Hmmm... This looks pretty magical in nature. It might be something made to harness the power of a witcher from within, helping the next generation get stronger faster. The pentagrams and formulas are definitely of human origin."

"Ah, no, caught you there, princess" Rogue replies "A parasite lives in another organism and provides no benefit to the host, whilst a symbiote has the same residence but is beneficial in nature. We regained access to our magic, so i'd count that as a benefit, no?"

"No." She says bluntly. "The 'Glysteria' infect a person and feed from them while inflicting headaches amd other nasty complications. Only after a lucky shot from a long gone general were they able to find some individuals who were able to turn the tables, making us leecing from them as they're trapped within our bodies."

She momentarily looked at him. "And let's be fair, the symbiosis wouldn't happen if we didn't meet Ursula and were informed and guided through every step. If left to find the method of General Glasgow, none of us would be alive."

She then looks back to the rune. "Unless you subjugate and imprison the invader, it's one that doesn't give and only takes. That's a parasite, nothing else."

"Under those circumstances it becomes a symbiote, the same thing can be both, entirely dependent on the environment it finds itself in. In their natural state they may predate us, true, but as you said the tables have now turned, the predator and prey relationship has broken down, and been replaced by a cooperative." Rogue suggests,

"Since we are now in a state of being that is for all intents and purposes permanent, it doesn't makes sense to continue referring to them as such, as parasites and invaders. They are now pretty much a part of us, and nothing can change that, so we might as well make peace with them?"

Twilight keeps looking at the rock, not turning around.

"It's not a symbiote. It's a parasite. And in the body of a Witcher, a prisoner. With the Glysteria, it's killed or be killed, that's the rule. Even now, the Glysteria inside us are biding their time to strike when we are weak, as you have seen happen."

A sigh escapes her lips. "As the history and our experiences here have explained, there is no way for Glysteria to have a proper relationship with other organisms. The only way there will not be strife is if they're removed from eachother's lifes. Either by staying seperated, or if one of the parties is eradicated."

"I disagree, I see this as a case of nurture over nature. The Glysteria are an intelligent sentient species with as much right to exist and thrive as our own, indeed they have more right to here than us as they were here first and we are just migrants, so genocide is not an option, and now that travel between our two worlds is possible it will never again become impossible. You can't put the genie back in the lamp, so segregation is not an option either, people from both sides will always try to reopen the connection for power, greed, pure scientific curiosity, or all manner of other reasons." Rogue explains,

"This leaves only one avenue open to us, coexistence. One can imagine some future society where everyone, everyone has a Glystaria symbiote, and receives them as part of, well almost a coming of age ceremony of sorts? Of course new procedures would have to be developed in order to ensure the success of the Glasgow Synergy, but I'm confident that our scientists could develop something given enough resources and time, this wouldn't be expected to happen over night, maybe in the form of a booster injection?

Presented with a culture like this, there would be no reason for either species to predate the other, as both would have been brought up with the same values and beliefs, something which has never happened here and which goes some way to explain the continued problems, there has been no attempt at peace. It would require reconciliation on both sides, but I see no reason why it could not hypothetically work. It simply requires the will to do it."

"How about we find our children first before we get too deep into this," Radiance speaks up "save our children, then we can help save the world...again"

"Possible co-existence, huh.." Kaylee quietly repeated: "..its.. something to think about"

"...I believe this is a Magic Calibration Stone" Rolo replied after a moment, as Rogue looked at the artifact by the wall:
"I've never seen one in person, it looks.. a lot more intriguing up close.."



"A Magic Calibration Stone" Ursula nodded as well, slowly approaching:
"Using this artifact, you can select your active spells and compile a spell list.

A Witcher can only 'carry' a limited number of spells.
The reason is, each spell consists of dozens of formulae and blueprints of pentagrams. It imposes a great burden on the parasite, as he has to keep track of all of them in the background and help you use them, when the time comes.


As a result, you can only carry a limited number of spells, at any time.

But the spells you select, don't have to stay with you forever. Using this stone, you can select the spells you like and use them in the field.
If you liked the spell, keep it. If you didn't like one, you can return to the nearest Calibration Stone and select a different one.


Often times, certain spells are more suited for certain environments or certain situations. Each battlefield and each opponent may require a different approach.
Therefore, swapping up spells is a common practice among Witchers. And every self respecting stronghold should have at least one of these Calibration Stones."


Ursula approached the stone and stood next to it, gesturing to it with the palm of her hand:


"Why don't you give it a go? We do have to compile your spell list, before we set off"

Mist nodded and looked at the stone, tilting her head a little. She glanced at her hand and gently placed it on the stone, her metal palm flat on it’s surface. And she then waited to see what would happen.

"I guess we should form an orderly queue then?" Rogue shrugs, standing in line behind Mist to await his turn, "Though will it work through prosthetics?"

Radiance takes his place behind Rogue

"There's nothing to think over about it. It's not happening." Twilight says with a heavy tone.

She opts to take a seat, waiting until everyone is done. She knew she would be at that rock for a while, so she wouldn't hold up the rest.

She turned her focus inwards, to the uninvited guest.
"You know it's just a dream, don't you Alyx?" She says inside her head.

"I don't know, you'll have to tell me" Alyx sighed:

"The Witchers of Nifelheim hate parasites with a passion. Their hatred brewed for a millennia and only got worse. They'd gladly wipe us off the planet, given the chance.

In turn, the parasites despise the Witchers and push back twice as hard. Because at our core, the parasites only want one thing.
We want to live.

Tell me Twilight, can you imagine a world where those two live together?"




As Mist placed her hand on the cold surface of the stone, a series of tiny pentagrams materialized over her palm. They reminded you of white colored holograms, floating above the stone, seemingly in an orderly column.
The more you looked at each pentagram, the more you understood what they meant. Subconsciously, their shapes made sense somehow.



Ursula looked at Mists prosthetic arm in surprise: "Oh.. you have a Mokuji arm... N-no.. its made of metal.. not wood........ Machina arm?"
She shook off her surprise: "Eh.. yes, the stone will work with Mokuji arms as well. Your physical limb may be missing, but your 'Soul' still has all its limbs intact.
That's what matters, in the end. The stone will work."





She looked at the list of holograms, floating above Mists palm:

"Lets start with 'Offensive Spells'.



- Fire (Level 1)

A ball of fire that fits in the palm of your hand. Hurled like a projectile.
Has a small chance of setting the target on fire, depending on environmental conditions.

If your target is standing in the middle of a snowy field or fully drenched, he'll be unlikely to catch fire.
But if the weather is very dry and the target is wearing leather, there's a chance to set him on fire.






- Frost (Level 1)

Create an ice spike, to be hurled like a projectile.
Has a small chance of inflicting hypothermia on the target, slowing its movement speed. Depends on environmental conditions.





- Lightning (Level 1)

A spike of electricity, hurled like a projectile. Has a small chance of stunning the target, depending on environmental conditions.





- Strength Sap (Level 1)

Creates a purple sphere of magic to be hurled like a projectile.
Strength Sap is a paralyzing spell, often used to incapacitate the target, without causing pain or injury.
The spell doesn't reduce your Health Bars. Instead, it marks them as 'Paralyzed'.

If all your Health Bars have been 'Paralyzed', you will not die. Instead, you will loose your strength and be unable to move. Some often loose consciousness.




Those are the 'Offensive Spells'.
In time, as your grow stronger, you'll be able to unlock more powerful versions of those spells.


You can only have 2 Offensive Spells equipped at any time.
Please select 2 from the list above, and we'll move to the next spell category"

"Is there any advantage to not equipping the maximum number of spells? Or is would that just be an unnecessary handicap?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When it comes to his turn Radiance selects Lightning and Strength Sap

“I’ll go with Frost and Lightning.” Mist said quietly, choosing those two. She squinted a little, the influx of information a little overwhelming at first.

“And yeah, my arms are metal. Both of them. Knives can pop out the right one.”

"A Machina arm.. that's also a weapon..." Ursula looked at the metal arms in amazement: "...wooow..." She seems really intrigued.


It took her a few moments to focus on the spells again:
"....uh.. yes. Not equipping the maximum number of spells, would just be a handicap" Ursula nodded:
"You should equip as many as you can."



"...what about the spell that Mist used earlier?" Kaylee asked after a moment: "I don't see it on the list"



Ursula frowned: "Why would you want to learn a spell like that?" She crossed her arms:
"That spell is taboo. It comes from the Parasite spell book.
A 'Witcher Killer' spell, with very nasty side effects. Every time its used, it risks a parasite outbreak."



"But.. what does it do, exactly?" Kaylee wearily asked.



Ursula sighed: "The spell is called 'Fear'.

Instead of attacking your Health, it attacks your Sanity. Makes you hallucinate and see the worst things imaginable.
If your Sanity Bars reaches zero, you will fall into a coma. Your consciousness will travel to the deepest parts of your soul, and it will be the Witcher initiation ritual all over again.

All the while, your body will be left laying unconscious, right in the middle of battle. You can imagine how disastrous it can be, to be hit by this.

I will not teach you a spell like that, without a very good reason" she keeps her arms crossed.





Laylah released a quiet laugh: "Ahhh Mist, good thing you already know it.
'Fear' is an Offensive Spell. So don't pick Frost and Lightning just yet. You can keep Fear if you want.

Also, this may make Ursula a little mad, but you can add the 'Fear' schematics, to this Stone here. Then, everyone who touches the stone, will be able to learn it.




Ursula is still frowning. She couldn't hear Laylah, but she must have been thinking along the same lines:
"... 'Fear' spell is taboo. It should not be used without a good reason. Its only effective against Witchers and it runs the risk of their parasites taking over and running amok.

I recommend forgetting it"

“I’ll keep it, but I’m not going to let others learn it. I don’t want to piss of Ursula, but it might come in useful.

Mist nodded and decided to keep Fear and learn Frost, but wasn’t going to add the schematics of Fear. She didn’t want to annoy Ursula, but she still thought that perhaps she would still need Fear for something. Though somehow, it felt wrong to trust a voice in her head.

Ursula appears to be slightly pouting.

After a moment, Johan quietly called: "..w-what about in Kaylee's case?
During the ritual, her parasite took over and we had to send him back to the depths of his soul, so he could face Kaylee again.

Attacking the parasites Sanity was a good way to do that.

Isn't this a good reason to learn the spell?"



Ursula frowned to herself, falling into thought: ".....I... suppose... that was a very unique incident.. in which.. a spell like that would be needed... but...
We are unlikely to encounter something like that from day to day. No. The spell is too dangerous. I do not wish to teach it"

“Ok. Are there anymore spells to get through?” Mist asked, turning to Ursula. She scratched the back of her head with her other hand, the soft clicking of metal fingers.

“I mean, you said offensive spells. Does that mean we have to go through other types of magic as well. Because I severely doubt you only have four spells here.”

She looks up to the ceiling, still in thought.

"This may sound pessimistic, but I'm not naive enough to think it's possible. Thing is, all species have the natural instinct to survive. That will to live. But that's just the issue. To live, a parasite has to take from the host without giving back, as has been done in the first years humanity came here. When the witchers came to be, by accident, the hunted became the hunters, and fought back, which brings us to the situation today."

She looks at the group. "Unless there's a common enemy, my kind can't even live peacefully together. Let alone with a species that hunts them for their own survival. Besides, the damage has already been done. The hatred is deeply rooted, too deep to be removed without destroying the foundation of their believes. And if the math is correct, even counting in the casualties, the amount of Glysteria is far too great to give everyone a host, if they even want a host and not take control themselves. I could go on, but I think my view on it is clear."