305 CCCV. Hard To Believe

"A threat?! How could you ever be a threat to a God?! Come on, Dag, don't be ridiculous! The battle must have clouded your mind!" Ellen chuckled, looking at Kjell and waiting for confirmation in his gaze, which was always focused on Dag.

In the moments of silence that came after that provocation, Reidar took another step forward and placed the Failnaught on the table, attracting the attention of everyone in the room, who could not immediately understand the reason for the unexpected gesture.

"And what would that be? It's a beautiful bow, but don't you think what you just did is a little out of the blue?" Ellen asked, naively.

"This is the Failnaught. It is not a simple bow... like the Giantbane, the divine axe of my captain, it was forged by Weland himself" he exclaimed, with a convinced tone and serious eyes, focused on the three Masters.

Sander, after looking at Reidar and realizing from his eyes that he too was convinced of his words, approached the table and grabbed the bow, squeezing it in his hands and studying the smallest details.

"It may seem like a common longbow, but it has a very peculiar power... if I'm far from the gaze of the enemies, it..."

"It generates two additional magic arrows, allowing the archer holding it to shoot three arrows at the same time" Kjell interrupted, who until then had remained silent, but seemed to know perfectly well how the Failnaught's unique power works.

At those words, Dag turned to him, not surprised too much by that observation, having already sensed that Kjell, unlike the other Masters, was much more attentive to the fights, studying their style and weapons from the beginning.

"Yes... that's it" Reidar said, happy that Kjell had been attentive, giving credibility to his words.

Sander and Ellen looked at each other, then the Crows Of Odin's Master of Defense continued to look at the bow, resting two fingers on its rope, as if he was looking for some trickery.

"My friends, the axe of Master Dag has a power I had never seen. Its blades, when in contact with blood, become incandescent and manage to release flames worthy of Helheim. I'm surprised at you, Ellen, who, like me, personally witnessed that incredible manifestation of power" Kjell replied, keeping his composure and sitting, turning his head toward Ellen, who looked away.

Sander looked at Dag, who was ready to answer his every question.

"Did you really meet a God and fought against him?" he asked, unable to believe that was the truth.

Dag nodded, while his piercing gaze stood firm on Sander, enriched by the purple eye.

"Why didn't you just say that before?" Ellen inquired, imagining that Dag had something to hide.

"Because I was sure you wouldn't believe me and you'd probably give me crazy. I didn't know I could control both of the elements, believe me, my powers increase day by day!" Dag replied, sincerely.

"I can't believe you and your comrades are crazy, keep claiming you've known and defeated Weland... but if so, Odin's wrath would pour over you! Weland lives in Asgard, along with the other Aesirs!" Sander stated, leaving the Failnaught on the table.

"You won't tell me you believe their words, Sander! Of course they say it only to increase their popularity among the people! If that was true, don't you think his name would be known throughout Okstorm?!" Ellen interrupted again, opening her arms to her colleague, with an astonished air.

"It is, indeed. Sander and I knew about Dag even before he arrived. His fame preceded him" Kjell confirmed, almost reluctant to admit what he really thought.

Everyone's eyes focused on Ellen, who reciprocated those glances with a sulky expression.

Dag stepped towards her and smiled: "I understand what you think. I mean, I know how you feel, I would have reacted like you in your place. I didn't tell you right away about my past and my powers because I couldn't know your reaction... and also because, besides my team, no one knows that! My Clan's Masters barely know some details, considering I haven't seen them in a long time".

The Master Of Healing changed her expression slightly, managing to read the sincerity in the eyes of Dag, who was sick of ever justifying himself to them, hoping that they would believe the reality of the facts.

"If you are ready, there is something else that you should know. It's about Odin and all the people of Asgard..." he continued, drawing upon himself the looks of everyone, including that of Freydis, who was unaware of what she was about to hear.

Without hesitation, Dag let everything he knew about Asgard and the dark day flow throughout his mouth, after which, the fate of the Gods changed dramatically.

He told them of Weland's confession, that after being defeated and healed, he had retraced his memories with Dag and his companions, explaining the smallest details of that incredible story, which had changed their lives forever.

"That's all I know. Weland himself told me the whole truth. I feel like I have to use all this power that I have somehow... the Iron Alliance and the unification of the Clans are not enough" Dag concluded, catching his breath.

"My goodness... I still can't believe it. I have dedicated my life to serving Odin, respecting the will of the Aesir, and honoring their name. And now what do I find out? That our Gods were forcibly driven out of Asgard and obliged to move to this planet" Sander thought out loud, while the other two Masters remained silent.

"Our only real home has always been the Earth! The most hospitable planet of all, where flora and fauna proliferated until everything changed. We, humans, have exploited the planet entirely, draining its resources. That's when things started to get worse. Our technology was not evolution, but exactly the opposite... we were regressing, advancing inexorably towards the end" Dag said, venting some of his anger.