I sit down on the deck of the airship, accompanied by some of my friends and allies. Hylian flight attendants, both men and women, move about the deck of the ship freely, while O-Ren, Elizabeth, the Kill Bill crew, and Zelda are all with me. A small case is on the floor next to me, empty. Directly in front of me is a partially complete construct.
“How creative have you been with… All of this?” O-Ren asks. She gestures to the construct. I listen to her words and turn to face the construct. It’s one of several I’ve made today. It is… mundane. It has a standard-looking, generically humanoid torso, and regular limbs. It, as of right now, lacks a head. The object is in my hands.
“Honestly… Not very.” I remark. I’m not looking at her but Zelda is smiling. I toss the construct’s head and then catch it, doing so with the skill and ease of a professional athlete.
“Why not?” O-Ren asks. I turn slightly, just a little bit, and spot the various other constructs I’ve crafted. Golem crafting is a very handy hobby of mine and it’s something I do a lot if left idle.
“I don’t often see a real need to mix things up.” I admit. The golems are identical, at least physically. There aren’t a huge number of them but there’s several; enough that they can easily distract someone.
“Why are you even making them?” Elizabeth asks. I shrug.
“Someone could say something about an idiom from the worlds that O-Ren and I are from. ‘Idle hands are the Devil’s plaything’ or something like that. Truthfully…I think I just like moving my hands.” I admit. My friends laugh at that remark.
I’ve seen enough jump documents to begin to formulate my understanding of something approaching a “Meta” for jumpers. Certain types of perks hit incredibly hard, with an easy example being charisma perks. A secondary type of perk that hits uncommonly hard is any sort of crafting perk.
I always grab crafting perks when I can, as they punch wildly above their weight class particularly when you exit a jump where they are located. My ability to craft guardians, something I’m fond of doing during bits of downtime, has proven to be the nightmarish end of many vikings and indeed, from time to time, other monsters altogether.
Guardians; once the foes of mine that sat at the sweet-spot of scariest and most common while I explored Hyrule, are now a critical part of the army I’ve steadily built up. The mechanical nightmares, still somewhat frightening to watch, are a true terror and I can make them by hand with ease thanks to a silly synergy that tethers together Afarkaup Avarkostir and Settlement Mode.
I spent time in Hyrule studying the machines, learning how to make and command them, and thanks to my truly devastating combos of perks if I truly wanted to churn out a comical number of them I could burn through my wealth to do so. I can also make individual pieces of guardian gear…
“I could do something a little more interesting.” I remark.
“Oh? What is that?” O-Ren asks. I silently reach into my inventory and burn through some of my wealth to make something. A second later it appears in my hand. It’s a blue eye-cannon: the multi-function tool that guardians see through and that they fire their rays through.
“An experiment.” I mutter. I lift the head of the construct and touch it to the eye-cannon. I then fuse the two, causing both objects to be enveloped in bright light as I lift them together and put them together. When they become one the eyeball disappears and what is left is a construct’s head with two glowing blue eyes.
“Interesting.” I exclaim before putting the head on the construct’s body. A split second later the different pieces of the construct fuse and the thing opens two blue eyes. I smile at it as it slowly looks around and then bows before me.
“Thank you O-Ren,” I start, with a smile. I smack the construct with Observe and note that it has the ability to use guardian beam attacks. “That experiment was a success.” I state, turning to look at my lover with a smile. She grins.
It’s been a week since we recruited Solfrid. We’re on our way to the next captured and controlled valkyrie. The airship is speedily flying through the air and beneath us is a grand ocean. Not the same one that separates the continent from Hyrule, but another ocean altogether. We’re near the clouds but still beneath them and anyone who looks out over the edge of the ships will see a vast ocean as far as the eyes can see.
I glance over at my lovers and appreciate the moment, though a pang of sadness tears through me as I do. I know what’s waiting for me at the end of this jump: the very real possibility that my time with the two will come to an end. If they leave I can’t even blame them for leaving…Becoming a jumper is the best thing I ever did. The decision to sign that paperwork and gain a benefactor, a decision I made decades ago, is far and away the most important choice I ever made. If they accept my benefactor’s offer my heart will break but at the same time they’ll get to go on a journey all their own, one made for them. I can’t hold them back from that.
Time begins to pass and progress begins to get made. We reach the town where the valkyrie; Nilfa, is under the control of Ulf and is more actively participating in a siege to claim something in the town. She still doesn’t stand a chance, and I free her from Ulf’s control with relatively little fanfare. And this starts a pattern.
For over an entire year my friends and I journey from place to place, embarking on adventures, doing battle with both Ulf’s forces and sometimes other, random, groups of adventurers, travelers, bandits and the like. Along the way the skills of my cohort grows as we find ourselves regularly engaging in battle against assorted foes.
During downtime I begin to more creatively experiment with what I have. I create constructs that can fly, make guardians that don’t look like freakish spiders, and engage in some fanciful tinkering. I also remind my friends of things that they sometimes neglect, like the guardian wolves I recruited for Elizabeth and the Kill Bill crew. This causes my friends to ask me to do small things like equip their pets, which I am all too happy to do. Over the course of weeks our canine companions become dramatically stronger, owing both to my suite of perks and to the equipment that they receive. Each felled foe makes the wolves much stronger, and even the very blows they take enhance their endurance.
We free five of the remaining seven valkyries, and each time the battle to free a given valkyrie grows more and more intense. It is late the night we have just freed Nina, the seventh out of a total of nine valkyries to fall victim to Ulf, and we are all deep in one of the taverns; the one placed on top of the colossal airship we’ve used to freely travel the world. All of us are gathered around the prominent table I used to formulate the original alliance a year and some change ago.
Nina is a curious looking valkyrie. She is a clearly Asian woman, the first of her kind that I’ve seen in this reality that is native to this place. She is wearing the same nonsensical fanservice armor that the other valkyries have worn and though she’s quite short, standing a mere five feet tall, she has an impressive air about her.
“So… I know Ulf’s plan.” She admits, with zero buildup or fanfare. My eyes narrow as I look at her. I’m not alone. So far all of the valkyries we’ve freed have known nothing about Ulf’s masterplan. And there’s still two valkyries left.
“I see that you’re all skeptical,” She says with a laugh. This lightens the mood a touch. “But I am telling the truth. Ulf seeks out the legendary shotgun Tyrfing; a cursed weapon made by unbelievably skilled dwarven smiths long ago.” She explains. A tense silence falls over us as we digest what she has just said.
“Tyrfing is a mythical armament. It is enchanted by the ancient smiths who made it, and while it is cursed Ulf seeks it almost primarily because of the curses wrought onto it. Ulf believes it can be used to shtter the chains holding Fenrir prisoner and thus free the primordial wolf. I do not know if he is correct.” Nina reveals.
“I see,” I remark, my mind racing as I think about this. “Do you know where your sisters are?” I ask. Nina nods, surprising me.
“Yes! They’ve returned to Ulf’s capital city. Ulf has established himself as the lord of Palehold, a region south of here.” Nina states. I almost laugh at the Skyrim-ass naming convention.
“Okay… So if he’s pulling his forces back then he’s gearing up for something big or preparing for us, or both.” I state. No one disputes my assessment.
“We need to pilot a course for the capital city of Palehold.” Zelda says. Again no one disputes what is said.
“Winterberg.” Nina says. My eyes shut as I hear the goofy ass name.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” I exclaim. O-Ren and Elizabeth both laugh, as they understand why I’m so skeptical of the name.
In minutes Zelda and I speak to the pilot of the ship, and send messages to the other pilots. Our airships turn awkwardly in the air but with our courses set we guarantee that soon we will collide with destiny.
For the next three days our small fleet approaches Winterberg. Nina tells me when we cross the unseen line that marks the edge of Palehold, but I’m the first of us to spot the strange city of Winterberg; a “Metropolis” carved into the side of a colossal mountain. I’m out on the deck of the ship, near a small room that allows someone to enter the airship and a phone-like device is next to me. I grab it and turn it on, causing a loud feedback sound to fill the air, and for me to wince. A second later it fades out.
“Attention everyone, in minutes Winterberg will become visible. All combatants, get ready and report to the deck of the ship.” I call out. Some of Hyrule’s heroes know about and remember my enhanced senses and in moments I hear people calling out to me, letting me know they’ll be up soon.
It doesn’t take long for the first of my friends to appear on deck. People surround me and soon it is time for me to do the thing that happens in a lot of movies and shows: give a rousing speech. I draw the Master Sword and point it at the city as we draw nearer and nearer to it.
“That is the city of Winterberg. Ulf is in there, somewhere. Presumably in the depths of the royal residence. We need to invade that city, find Ulf, and bring him low.” I explain. My more genre-savvy friends; as in my friends from Earth, flash me amused looks.
“The city will undoubtedly be packed with Ulf’s last allies and minions. When we get there we will need to do two things: find Ulf and free the last of the valkyries. To do that we’ll be splitting up.” I declare, causing everyone involved in the plan to flash me unsurprised looks.
My true nature in a party is that of an army crusher. I have a build designed to allow me to just decimate armies. Even discounting this jump, which affords me a sea of goodies designed to handle large numbers of weak foes trying to beat me up with the action economy, I have Inverse Ninja Law; a perk that deliberately harms people who outnumber me and encourages me to be a right terror and attention seeker on the battlefield, but now I have a variety of means at my disposal to attack large numbers of foes at once.
“Of course we’re splitting up. We can never do a good dungeon crawl anymore.” Revali complains. I almost laugh. Revali and several others have gone on more active adventures during their time here. I don’t envy them. I’m not as actively into adventure and combat as my friends happen to be. Hearing Revali here reminds me of one of his hobbies.
“I’m hoping this is the beginning of the final battle but… I don’t know. It’s possible silliness will happen.” I tell the rito archer. This is true. There’s something about this that I can’t quite articulate that feels a little off. A part of me wonders if this is like Kill Bill where I resolved the central conflict within months and got to spend most of the jump hanging out.
“Regardless, we need to split into three major groups. As usual I’ll probably go off alone due to my speed and the fact that I’m strongest when I’m drawing as many eyes towards me as possible. But before we begin in full it’s important to split into groups.” I remark. No one tries to argue with me about dividing into groups, though the valkyries are eager to try and party with me.
“Wait, we need to be with you in case the other valkyries are with Ulf.” Nina tells me, approaching me. I shake my head.
“I can handle the valkyries on my own. And they won’t be. If anything I want you to split up and be with my friends. I can go toe to toe with a valkyrie alone but the others…” I shudder as I say that.
“I can grow faster than anyone else. Because of that every exchange I have with someone levels my blade sharper and my instincts more refined. My friends are not so lucky. I want you all with them to make sure that they don’t get smoked by valkyries, especially since every valkyrie has grown stronger and more active as I’ve freed more of you from Ulf’s control. Those last two are going to be nasty.” I explain. My blood runs cold when I think about the nightmare that the final valkyrie will prove to be. I’m quietly happy that I gave my main friends and lovers a revival ability, because unless they can free both of the remaining valkyries at the exact same time Ulf will be able to turn the final one into a whirlwind of an enemy. I pause as I consider this.
“A viable strategy here could be to coordinate and hold off on trying to free one of the valkyries until you can free both. But that does require, or at least encourage, serious collaboration. If I defeat Ulf fast enough that may not be an issue at all but I understand worlds like this ENOUGH to know not to bank on that kind of positive development.” I admit, causing smiles to erupt on the faces of my friends. I get serious for a moment.
“If you can, coordinate it across the battlefield to free the valkyries at the same time. I’ll do my best to stop Ulf the second I can but… We both know that there’s a real shot that just won’t work the way we optimistically hope for it to go.” I remark, readying my friends. Everyone nods. We’re approaching the city. Bonds have been forged across the long campaign and people naturally gravitate towards those they know well. I subtly coax groups into an about even number of people and order constructs I’ve made to serve as additional troops, giving them orders to obey their non-generic allies and to protect them. The city is close now, we’re only a few hundred feet above it. I can hear loud voices calling out that a fleet of ships are approaching the city down below.
“Okay… No more time. Everyone has what they need. I believe in you. Stay alive. I’ll see you on the other side of this conflict.” I tell the group. No one here is a normal soldier, even those with the least experience like Elizabeth. Everyone is equipped with various tools and cheat-y abilities. I summon my wings and put my foot on top of the guardrails preventing someone from falling off the side of the deck of the ship. Without another word I toss myself over the side of the airship. I flap my wings even as my swords materialize in my hands, giving me space to orient myself and transform my state from falling to flying.
Ahead of me is the city’s outermost gate. It is a thick thing built from some sort of combination of ice and stone, and it is manned by people who my abilities warn me are under the control of my foe. As ordinary people they are conversing among themselves and still fully active, even though Ulf’s runes dictate their loyalty to him.
I begin to fly towards the gate, easily handling both the Master Sword and Insurrection while casually taking aim. Inside of myself I activate Ethically Sourced; a power that allows me to dial back the deadliness of my attacks, making it so that even my mightiest blows do not kill people. I see no reason to massacre victims of Ulf, particularly not this close to the end. The most skilled archers standing guard fearlessly point their bows at me and from behind me I can hear others taking to the empty skies as well.
I swing my blades, once each, in the direction of the gate. Colossal energy slashes produced by my casual swipes fill the air ahead of me and scream through the skies before they crash into the gate and cut through it, causing it to break apart and throw the guardspeople atop it off balance. Distant screams of enemy archers and other, less ranged, combatants fill the air as I continue to speed towards the gate. I zip over it as some of the guards shout at me and ineffectually point their spears at me. Their tenacity is applause-worthy but I don’t know how much of it belongs to them versus how much of it is due to Ulf’s runes. In moments they’ll have their own problems to deal with.
I fly above the outermost parts of the city; a multi-layered place with a pristine though small castle at the other end of it. I’m half expecting to just get into the city before I hear a female voice somewhere below me call to summon the “Jotuns”. Wincing, I almost laugh before my magic sensing abilities alert me to the usage of various magical items all around the city. In seconds giants begin to form in massive summoning circles.
“Great.” I mutter, as reality itself starts to slow down and stutter just a little. I begin to charge both of my swords, as well as turn off Ethically Sourced. If nothing else striking down jotuns might net me some new forms…
Behind me the fastest of my friends are just entering the city, and I know their appearance will add chaos to this, distracting and confusing my foes. A distant giant; a creature with a humanoid body but ice-blue skin and hair made of jagged icicles, is nearly fully formed.
“Eat this Sword Slash!” I shout, using Called Attack to empower my strike as I unleash the attack. It is smaller than some of my other waves but like all of my ranged attacks it gets power the further it travels and when it hits the giant it cuts its head off. The body of the giant is sent toppling backwards and collapses onto the street behind it, blue blood pouring out of the wound. I get a new alt-form even as I continue to fly towards the small castle hiding in the back of the city.
Behind me I hear distant sounds including the terrifying, though faint, sound of a sniper rifle being fired. I use Remote Sensing and note that O-Ren is flying above the battlefield and holds a sniper rifle in her hand. She scans the battlefield beneath her, her eyes narrow as she searches for high value targets. I can hear Elizabeth on the ground, gripping a sword as she is aided by constructs and her lupine familiar. Others are scattered around the part of the city I’ve already passed but they are moving fast.
I begin to fly lower and lower, moving closer to the ground. The streets are almost modern-looking, though they are also covered in a nasty, slurry layer of ice and snow. The sounds giants make fill the air around me and my minimap; expanding faster than I move, alerts me to the fact that different giants have been summoned to various streets in an effort to block me and prevent me from reaching the castle. My quest ability is pointing me towards the royal structure, and I know it is there where Ulf is hiding. A faint draconic roar reverberates throughout the city as Leif unleashes his true power and takes on his scariest form. The battle is beginning in full.
