Hagga

Hagga

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It was a cool and wonderous night on the bottom of Fire Mountain.

Hagga leaned back into the sparse occupied hot spring. While the main one on the centre of the town was occupied by the majority of the folk who had been staying there for the Tournament, the ones that naturally appeared along the outskirts of the town were relatively abandoned save for those who sought a bit more privacy.
Lovers, brooders and those who just liked the quiet were dotted around the base of the mountain. Hagga found herself among those who liked the quiet and some who were preparing to compete in the tournament.

Steam roused from the still water of the pool as she let out a long breath. The day had been a hard one, she was tasked with taking the new arrivals around and showing them the town, such as it was. No luxury here save the springs themselves.

A quick splash let her know another person joined her and she peeked over to see a human man with longer hair than she had ever seen on him. It must have been twice the length of him in all.

Fireflies hung in the air, gently glowing their own particular shades of yellow and orange. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. The tournament would begin and she hoped she would get more chances to talk to the strange newcomers she had met earlier.

She sunk her head low and imagined all the places they might have seen just to get to the mountain.
 
It was evening after the little tour around the town as the competitors for the tournament gathered. She figured that they would be getting started soon, so she didn't know how much longer that she would have to be able to take advantage of these volcanic hot springs. After she finished her assignment, she would likely return home. There would be no time to enjoy the springs after that.

Kai's red hair was piled in a messy bun high on her head, loose strands falling against her neck. The woman had followed after her host as she figured that the Orkin woman knew where all the best springs were. Sure enough, a hidden spring that likely was only known by the residence was found. With a grin on her face, she stepped out of the wooded patch where she had disrobed, a towel now wrapped tightly around her body.

Slipping into the hot spring, she settled near to the Orkin woman with a deep relaxing sigh. "I was worried I wouldn't get a chance to experience these springs." She said with a grin on her lips as she placed a rolled up towel on a stone and leaned back so her head was comfortably supported. The springs reminded her of hot spring of her home. They only had one that the whole village enjoyed together, much like the one in the center of town here. ​
 
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Hagga's body came to life at Kai's words.
"It's good to see you. Yes the springs here are some of the best and away from the noise."
Gently as she spoke she worked the hot spring water over her arms.

"It would be a shame if you missed them. Some people think they have magical healing qualities but I suspect that is more the heat and minerals than any spirit at work."
Hagga knew of course that spirits existed but was learned enough to know that not every rock and tree was possessed by its own Deity.

"How are you feeling about the tournament?"
Hagga liked to ask the contestants about their feelings. It was after all a defining moment of their craft. The Tournament was all to some and a milestone for most any.
 
The glare of the sun, the heat of the smoke that billowed from the volcano, and the labor of walking the town, gathering information on her environment and the people who would be her enemies come dawn. Nym had been sweating in her heavy armor all day. It chafed.

She wandered far, looking for a quite place to peel her layers off and wash the salt from her skin. When she thought she'd finally found a bit of fresh water that was unoccupied, she was instead met with the sound of voices. Only two, though.

And familiar. Nym liked to play a little game with herself, where she tried to match a sound to a person, before she saw who it was. She did that now. First came a smiling voice, melodic and confident. That must be the woman who had been loudly dressed; she didn't look - or sound - like a fighter. And the other was easy. The one appointed to be their guide had done a lot of talking.

Nym let a self-satisfied smile quirk the corner of her mouth when she saw that she was right. She sat down at the edge of the water, without any word of greeting. Only peeled her boots off and squeezed the weary pads of her feet as she listened to the orkin speak.
 
The warm water was so very soothing, exactly what she needed after a long hunt. She knew that her target was here, even if she hadn't seen them yet, the tournament brought more opportunities. She wasn't worried, there was no reason to stress over things outside of her control. For now, resting and recharging were just the things she needed to prepare for tomorrow.

Kai's eyes opened just enough to peer over at Hagga at the mention of spirits. It didn't matter to her if the Orkin didn't believe in such things. She had seen spirits with her own eyes. Her eyes slid toward the further edge of the pool where one such spirit, a golden toned snake, coiled on a stone in the water. Whether it was some benefit to the hot springs, perhaps something to do with the volcano in the distance. It was peaceful and just enjoying the water, so there was no reason to worry about it.

"I'm glad I stumbled across this one." She said smoothly, even if it had been more like a followed to this hot springs. "The main one was much more . . . active than I was looking for tonight."

Another of the contestants joined them, sitting down on the edge of the pool dipping her feet into the water. The water came up the young woman's chin as she relaxed. "I feel excited. Tomorrow will likely prove an interesting day." Exciting wasn't probably an accurate description for her feelings about tomorrow, but excited seemed the more appropriate answer.

"This is my first time participating. Could you explain a little further about how such a contest developed?" She was genuinely curious about the origins of this contest even if winning it wasn't really her goal here.
 
After throwing an eye at the newcomer Hagga gave a smirk. It was a good story so she adjusted her seating to tell it as she gazed longingly up the mountain.
"Elders say that Harru-Garru, the hero of my people, when he felt the end of his days approach he threw himself into the top of the mountain and it became magically active. You see, it was when he drank from the fire of this mountain that Harru became Garru and he said it needed to be returned one day. So he did, he brought it back to the source and the mountain accepted it with a great explosion!"
She threw up her hands to elaborate.
"So, we honor Harru-Garru's final wisdom by showing our strength and that we acknowledge that all strength returns to the source in the end. What was given is returned. That's what the bell is. A proclamation of our acceptance. Now we are strong but one day..."
She left the rest unsaid and leaned back, her great body cushioning itself against the bare rock, her face wide with pleasure at having given the story.
Not everyone wanted to hear it but it was one of her favourites.
 
To go gladly to one's death. Her grandfather had warned her that the orkin of the Agni-bolg were a stony sort, but that was downright fatalistic. An ignoble end for such a strong hero. Yet their guide told the story with a satisfied kind of pride. Nym didn't understand where the smile on the girl's face came from.

She let the perplexity show on her face.

"I do not understand," Nym said frankly. She was shrugging off her high-lipped pauldrons. It was going to take awhile to get all the way out of her armor. "I had heard that Garru fought a dragon atop the mountain. Anyone strong enough to face one of the dragons of old, surely had nothing else left to fear from keeping that strength."

There was a dragon's skull hanging above her mother's throne back home in Ramenthiali. It was so large that the masons had to build a new hall for it, with vaulted ceilings higher than Nym had ever seen anywhere else. She couldn't think of anything more frightening than a dragon.
 
Kai listened to the story, eyes staring up at the stars that just peeked through the treetops above as she let the water relax sore muscles. A hero that gave up their power, returning it to the planet at the end was an interesting tale made more exciting that it ended with an eruption of the mountain itself. The elven contestant spoke up after the story was finished, questioning the reasoning of the Orkin who'd chosen to jump into the mountain.

To her, it had sounded like the hero had grown old and unable to wield the strength that he'd been entrusted. She felt some kind of connection with that moment. Not many in her clan would ever grow to an old, venerable age. Most would die on a contract and that would be the end. With the Orkin, he had been able to chose the ending and she couldn't help but wonder if that was a better end than failure. What she was most bothered about was that he hadn't chosen to pass on his knowledge, his strength to another. In her clan all knowledge was passed to the next generation, so that each could grow stronger than the last.

The Aetochan remained quiet, staring at the stars, interested in the Orkin woman's answer to the elf.
 
Hagga thought for a moment. Debates with outsiders were a rare treat so she wanted to savour this one.

The warrior's armour was certainly heavy but looked cumbersome, she would have offered to help but the fastenings looked all too small for her hands.

"He wasn't afraid at all. Not at the time anyway."
She draped her hair to one side and picked up her comb to begin brushing it out, teasing at the tangles.
"It was just right to let it go then. He would not have held onto it anymore than a peach would hold onto a tree past its ripening. Harru-Garru- teaches that everything has its end. All things return in time and when we know that time we try to meet it with dignity that we may make way for something new."
This principle was core to her people. They protected life but were not precious about it.

Her hand smoothed out her hair in long calm strokes over the steaming water. The night was very still then and the top of the mountain glowed in the distance.
 
"If something must be returned in time, I do not know if one can claim to have ever possessed it. The Harannossë teach that strength must be taken. One should pluck a peach before it falls, lest it bruise on the ground."

After all the knots and buckles along her arms were undone, the rest of the armor came apart more quickly. Fabric was folded neatly and the plates stacked with with a soldier's discipline. Nym stood only in her smallclothes at the edge of the spring, but she didn't need to be shy about anything. Elven weave was dense, and even when she stepped into the water nothing would go sheer.

"I suppose we will see whose philosophy wins out, up there." Nym motioned towards the glowing mountain. "You are competing, are you not?"
 
The water stirred and Kai peeked an eye over to find the elf had finally finished with her armor and was slipping into the warm water. "Even going to meet his end with could be viewed as bravery, Why not take the time to teach such techniques of strength to his people first? Or were there none capable of wielding such strength? Seems that the people are at a disadvantage when such skills and knowledge were lost with Harru-Garu." She said speaking into the discussion for the first time.

She sat up suddenly with another idea. "Or was the instructions to the techniques left in record so that someone who is strong enough came along they could learn of it?" She asked with a tilt of her head as she looked at Hagga. She wasn't one to rely on strength, personally but she was curious if the knowledge had been left. "Or is that part of the trial? That the strongest could go into the mountain to ask for the strength themselves?" Really it was the story that Kai found most interesting. Stories were inspiration, inspiration used to craft songs, dances, plays and she was becoming inspired in her own way.
 
Hagga listened, to both of them and patiently combed out the rest of her hair.
When it was done she relaxed and sat back down, leaning back deep into the water.

"I don't know."
She confessed calmly, refusing to allow her own lack of answers to get the better of her.
"Much of what Harru-Garru did is wrapped in tales and parables. Maybe the strength never belonged to him. Maybe he just, borrowed it."
Her smile was wide and carefree.
"I will be competing tomorrow but I don't expect to reach the top."
Slowly her body moved forward, displacing much water in its wake.
"It takes a lot to make it to the summit. Some die trying, others pass out from the thin air or noxious gases. Most return bruised and defeated. It's called a tournament but the real foe is not the other competitors."
Again her eyes looked up at the glowing top of the volcano indicating what she held to be the greater challenge.
 
Any frustration Nym felt was washed clean in the steamy waters. She felt her skin softening in the mineral rich-steam, and her muscles unwinding. All the open water in her homeland was made dangerous by exposed shroudstones; one couldn't step foot in a lake or a stream without feeling the Shroud start to drain from their body. This spring seemed the opposite. The warm waters only gave back strength.

She sunk to chin-depth, and closed her eyes. Nodded peaceably at the orkin's words. "This is something that we can agree upon. Nature is always the final master."
 
That did make a lot of sense and Kai settled back into the water. Lots of stories were built around truths that were embellished into legends. Yet so to did legends hide the truths.

The conversation turned to tomorrow. "How is the winner determined then? Is it last competitor standing or is it the one who makes it the highest?" She asked curiously using the opportunity to ask a few question about the tournament. Making it seem that she was eager to win, while looking for the information that she was really after.

"What of the other contestants? If you had to pick someone that you thought might win . . ." She gave a grin as she sat up pulling her feet under her as she sat leaning forward as if eager for gossip. "I won't be offended if you don't say me." She teased.
 
"See you do understand."
Hagga reassured Nymrethyl.
Before answering Kaiya Hagga gave herself a quick dunk and emerged only to the shoulders shaking the wet from her head as she settled to her ease again.

"The winner is the person who rings the gong at the summit first. Typically that's there the fighting gets fiercest. You can imagine that when you are so close to victory the desire can take hold quick and unfortunately it often gets desperate and dangerous."
Another reason she did not fancy her chances.

"Of the others," her mood brightened to speak of all the strange people she had met. "There's folk who fight in ways I have never seen." Her eyes fell on the knight for a moment, curious how she would hold herself "There is a man who carries two swords and has one eye, another who seemed to favour a sword longer than himself and..."

She did not like the feeling she had gotten from the next one she remembered.

"I did not see his weapon but he carried a, thing wrapped in a sheet. It was big enough to be a person. I cannot imagine what manner of weapon that was."
It was more than the weapon, the man had a look about him, like an animal that had gotten out of a trap and was not keen on getting caught again. Tomorrow she hoped to avoid him. Distracted from the question by her concerns she sunk further until her mouth was underwater.

@Nymrethyl Saimoriel
@Kaiya Fa
 
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