Chapter 12: Part 6 - Claws

Angel threw a bit of wood on the fire. I knew we were probably running low on it now and there hadn’t been a chance to find any dry wood since we come into Orr.

“It is about time that you hear my story, anyway, Tobih,” Angel’s resolve sounded strong at first but at the end of her sentence she paused before continuing.

“A young norn girl, barely old enough to even bear child, once lived in the Far Shiverpeaks. She was lonely; a girl whose family never made it home one night. Her home was made close enough to Sifhalla to put funny ideas and attitudes into her head. She had come to see her worth depended on the number of beasts and foes she could slay. She had come to see Tyria as a world full of nothing but beasts.

The more dangerous a foe, the more fun it was for her to slay it. A wolf pelt was worth more to her than a wild hog’s. A pelt of a black bear was more interesting to obtain than a wolf’s. As she overcame the many beasts that lived in the area, she looked naturally looked for the next beast elsewhere.

A lone human ventured out into the harsh weather of the Far Shiverpeaks. An unfortunate soul who had crossed paths with someone who had no semblance of morals.”

She paused again.

We waited for her. It was already more than I had even heard from her story before and it was just beginning.

“If I am going to tell this story, I will be taking seconds at dinner tonight,” She growled in an obvious attempt to free herself from whatever emotion she was feeling about herself at that moment.

“Anyway,” She continued after her outburst, “This girl, more monster than any beast she had skinned, loved to rip through flesh with the feeling of her own claws.

When the man sheltered up for the night, she transformed into a bear and raided his tiny camp. The girl refused to kill him in his sleep, though, and allowed him the chance to try to fight back.

Instead he begged for his life. When that did not work, he began praying for it. She was so angry that he did not fight back that she ended up killing him out of anger rather than for fun.

She grew up hating humans and trying to make fun out of hunting them as she had been able to do with all of the other beasts.”

“It was never a secret that this girl was me. She went by a different name then, the one given to her by her parents and eventually the one given to her when even the other Norn began to fear her.

Many years later, and now a grown woman, I made the decision to raid a village and kill everyone in it. When a god of death came down to greet her, I made an attempt on his life as well. In my mind, nothing could have beaten me at that point. I had power and it had infused me with the idea that I was many things that I actually was not.

The god of death cheated me out of life or death and put me into limbo where I fought a battle against everyone and everything I had ever laid those claws into. For him, it was a game, but for me it was a lesson. Not a lesson that I would have learned by myself, though. People like me, that had attacked the believers and worshipers of this particular god, also fought their own battles there. We fought our own battles but our time spent together had bonded us. I fell in love with one of them. He was a human who had long since regretted his decision to fell a group of worshipers. With so much time together, I also came to learn to regret the atrocities I had done.

One day the death god was banished, locked away by the other human gods, and a kind and graceful goddess set us free. We had spent so many years in our own hell that the world had changed completely.”

She really was going to spill all of her secrets, wasn’t she?

“Orr had sunk and the charr had taken over a human capital. We were having some troubles adjusting to the new world, especially the man I had fallen in love with. We all moved to Lion’s Arch together but eventually our regrets had become too much for some of us.

First they would leave with the idea that something out there could redeem their actions or at least distract them. It all eventually lead to them offing themselves. Some sooner than others.

I was still trying to live with the things I had done as well. The introduction of morality had turned my life completely around. It was difficult to get used to and some days it felt impossible. At least when the man I fell in love with was around, it felt doable. If I was with him, I could be the person I wished I could be.

One day, his burdens became too much for him, too.

I knew sadness, but I had never felt any emotion so strongly. I transformed , though unaware that I had, when I found him and his letter.

As I stared at that letter between my paws, I saw the claws on my hand and felt the urge to use them again. My mind had returned to a state of wanting to slay but for different reasons.

It was then that I knew exactly what needed to be done.”

“I turned a knife to my claws and cut them out.” The way she said it sounded as if she still stood by her decision.

I shuddered at the thought of cutting off any part of any body. Even if the action was a little grotesque I could understand why she would do it. I’m not sure it was something I would have been able to do myself, though.

“I forged those claws into this sword,” there was another metallic sound as I assumed she patted her sword, “He carried a greatsword and swore only to use it to protect others from then on. I studied as an apprentice to a blacksmith to learn how to forge a greatsword that would withstand the test of time. I learned to create a greatsword that could be used to protect better than it could harm. In this sword, I put the claws of a monster and the ashes of a lover, then I buried the names together in Hoelbrak.”

“Here is the kicker,” her tone became suddenly bitter, “As long as I carry this sword, my claws will still appear.”

Just as quickly, her tone changed into something more gentle than I was used to hearing from her, “I feel his love when I do, though.”