Lady Sif (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shield_maiden) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
bladesofasgard2012-02-04 11:04 pm
shield_maiden) wrote in bladesofasgard2012-02-04 11:04 pm
Entry tags:
Plots and Secrets
Sif put the last of her belongings in the worn satchel, carefully fitting in everything she might need. The errand Thor was sending her on should only be a day or two travel at most, but Sif preferred to go prepared whenever she was sent out. And considering that the King had fallen into the Odinsleep a few weeks earlier, Sif had no desire to bring trouble to the princes’ door because of carelessness. No when things were going so pleasantly smooth.
She finished packing her belongings and closed up her satchel, tossing it over one shoulder. She wanted to say her farewells before heading to the armory and stables and heading out and she was distracted as she turned for the door. Still, the strange glint of something unfamiliar on her vanity gave her pause. Something out of place, something that had not been there earlier, she was certain. She changed direction, moving across the room to investigate, surprise flitting across her expression.
It was a pendant, simple and silver and beautiful. A blood-red garnet was set at its center and a delicate silver chain was nestled underneath it. Ornate but understated and her lips parted in surprised pleasure, not having expected such a gift. Her thoughts immediately went to Loki, although the gift was unusual, especially left like this for her to find. She wondered what he was up to now, even as she reached to pick it up.
She knew the moment she touched it that she’d been wrong. Ice swept up through her fingers and washing over her body with a chilled dread, stealing her strength. Her lips parted in a gasp, Loki’s name leaping to her tongue, but she had no time to utter it before her legs gave way beneath her and she crumpled to the floor, unconscious before she ever hit.
The air behind her shimmered a moment before a figure stepped into view, dropping the glamours that had kept her hidden from sight. There was a satisfied smirk on Amora’s lips as she sauntered over to Sif’s still form, nudging her ungently with the toe of her boot for good measure. Her laugh was low and smug when she got no response and she crouched down beside the fallen warrior, studying her with a viciously calculating look.
“Not so impressive now, Lady Sif, and not half so clever as you think you are,” Amora mocked her, disdain thick in her voice. “Not so clever by far. But just enough to help me pull this off and help me dispose of you in one fell swoop. You are no so unreachable without the princes dancing attendance upon you and you have wasted enough of my time.”
There was a glint of silver as Amora unsheathed her dagger. One hand grasped the dark braid splayed behind the fallen warrior and a moment later, hair spilled freely out over Sif’s shoulder as the sharp blade sliced through several inches of the end of the braid.
The garnet pendant was retrieved from where it had fallen when Sif dropped. Amora wrapped the handful of hair about the chain, whispering words and focusing her magic as she did so. The strands of dark hair gleamed, shimmered, then vanished. The garnet stone glowed with a faint light and Amora smiled as she reached for her dagger once more.
This time it was Sif’s hand she held, palm up as the blade sliced across the skin. Blood welled to the surface, and she was careful as she dropped the bright drops on the garnet’s surface. They splashed with a hiss, steam rising from the glowing stone. Amora’s gaze was narrowed, being careful to spill none of the blood. She wanted to leave no trail here to follow. Not yet. She did not want to be discovered before she had time to set her plots in motion and blood added a powerful focus to any spell. Another string of whispered words and the spell was prepped. Amora lifted the pendant, pressing it to Sif’s brow. She paused there, staring down into the woman’s face.
“I’d say it’s a shame it’s come to this, Sif, but you’d know that to be a lie and I, for one, will not miss you at all. You’ve gotten in my way and fouled my plans too many times,” Amora murmured, a venomous look flickering across her face. She leaned close, whispering the words into the woman’s ear as her lips curved into a vicious smile.
“I am going to very much enjoy destroying everything you hold dear.”
Then she whispered the final words of the spell and the garnet began to glow with a deep blood-tinged light. Amora was forced to look away as it grew to an almost blinding intensity and when it finally faded several heartbeats later, all trace of Sif in the room had vanished.
Amora cradled the pendant in her hands witn an almost gleeful look. “Now for the fun part,” she laughed quietly as she studied the pendant, making sure her spell had triggered perfectly. Illusions and glamours were easy enough to cast but difficult to maintain over a long period of time, since they were a continual drain on her magic, not to mention required constant concentration to maintain. Locking an illusion into an object – especially a gem or precious metal – could hold a spell much longer and more accurately, acting as a focus and freeing the spellcaster to concentrate on other things without worrying the spell would break in a moment of distraction.
This spell especially was a brilliant piece of work she’d been thrilled to discover in an ancient text that would never be located in the palace’s library or temple. This spell trapped the source of the illusion within the gem and would drain the source instead of the spellcaster to maintain the glamour. As long as the source remained alive, the illusion could be maintained easily and flawlessly. Which of course freed up Amora to focus on everything else she needed to do. It was hardly the perfect plan – Amora gave herself maybe a week or two of time before the illusion drained all the strength from Sif, but that was more than enough for her to set everything in motion. And if Sif perished before that… well, it wasn’t as if she’d ever planned on returning her. Not in one piece, at any rate. It would all be very tragic, she’d make sure of it. And there would be an void in the balance of power on the court which would be easy enough to step into without Sif blocking the way.
The thoughts brought another laugh to her lips as she kissed the gem. “Sweet dreams, Lady Sif,” she murmured, slipping the pendant on over her head. Amora’s form flickered, shimmered, then started to change. Her skin deepened with the warm kiss of sun. Limbs lengthened, thickening with a warrior’s strength. Her blond locks grew darker, turning as black as night, bringing a sneer of derision to full red lips.
The transformation completed itself a moment later and Amora pushed gracefully to her feet, her gaze locked on her reflection in the vanity mirror before her. The illusion of Sif was perfect and she spent several minutes inspecting her handiwork, trying out expressions, seeing which were the most realistic for her guise.
Finally satisfied, she gave herself one last smug glance before retrieving the satchel Sif had dropped and striding towards the door once more. She had a war to start.
She finished packing her belongings and closed up her satchel, tossing it over one shoulder. She wanted to say her farewells before heading to the armory and stables and heading out and she was distracted as she turned for the door. Still, the strange glint of something unfamiliar on her vanity gave her pause. Something out of place, something that had not been there earlier, she was certain. She changed direction, moving across the room to investigate, surprise flitting across her expression.
It was a pendant, simple and silver and beautiful. A blood-red garnet was set at its center and a delicate silver chain was nestled underneath it. Ornate but understated and her lips parted in surprised pleasure, not having expected such a gift. Her thoughts immediately went to Loki, although the gift was unusual, especially left like this for her to find. She wondered what he was up to now, even as she reached to pick it up.
She knew the moment she touched it that she’d been wrong. Ice swept up through her fingers and washing over her body with a chilled dread, stealing her strength. Her lips parted in a gasp, Loki’s name leaping to her tongue, but she had no time to utter it before her legs gave way beneath her and she crumpled to the floor, unconscious before she ever hit.
The air behind her shimmered a moment before a figure stepped into view, dropping the glamours that had kept her hidden from sight. There was a satisfied smirk on Amora’s lips as she sauntered over to Sif’s still form, nudging her ungently with the toe of her boot for good measure. Her laugh was low and smug when she got no response and she crouched down beside the fallen warrior, studying her with a viciously calculating look.
“Not so impressive now, Lady Sif, and not half so clever as you think you are,” Amora mocked her, disdain thick in her voice. “Not so clever by far. But just enough to help me pull this off and help me dispose of you in one fell swoop. You are no so unreachable without the princes dancing attendance upon you and you have wasted enough of my time.”
There was a glint of silver as Amora unsheathed her dagger. One hand grasped the dark braid splayed behind the fallen warrior and a moment later, hair spilled freely out over Sif’s shoulder as the sharp blade sliced through several inches of the end of the braid.
The garnet pendant was retrieved from where it had fallen when Sif dropped. Amora wrapped the handful of hair about the chain, whispering words and focusing her magic as she did so. The strands of dark hair gleamed, shimmered, then vanished. The garnet stone glowed with a faint light and Amora smiled as she reached for her dagger once more.
This time it was Sif’s hand she held, palm up as the blade sliced across the skin. Blood welled to the surface, and she was careful as she dropped the bright drops on the garnet’s surface. They splashed with a hiss, steam rising from the glowing stone. Amora’s gaze was narrowed, being careful to spill none of the blood. She wanted to leave no trail here to follow. Not yet. She did not want to be discovered before she had time to set her plots in motion and blood added a powerful focus to any spell. Another string of whispered words and the spell was prepped. Amora lifted the pendant, pressing it to Sif’s brow. She paused there, staring down into the woman’s face.
“I’d say it’s a shame it’s come to this, Sif, but you’d know that to be a lie and I, for one, will not miss you at all. You’ve gotten in my way and fouled my plans too many times,” Amora murmured, a venomous look flickering across her face. She leaned close, whispering the words into the woman’s ear as her lips curved into a vicious smile.
“I am going to very much enjoy destroying everything you hold dear.”
Then she whispered the final words of the spell and the garnet began to glow with a deep blood-tinged light. Amora was forced to look away as it grew to an almost blinding intensity and when it finally faded several heartbeats later, all trace of Sif in the room had vanished.
Amora cradled the pendant in her hands witn an almost gleeful look. “Now for the fun part,” she laughed quietly as she studied the pendant, making sure her spell had triggered perfectly. Illusions and glamours were easy enough to cast but difficult to maintain over a long period of time, since they were a continual drain on her magic, not to mention required constant concentration to maintain. Locking an illusion into an object – especially a gem or precious metal – could hold a spell much longer and more accurately, acting as a focus and freeing the spellcaster to concentrate on other things without worrying the spell would break in a moment of distraction.
This spell especially was a brilliant piece of work she’d been thrilled to discover in an ancient text that would never be located in the palace’s library or temple. This spell trapped the source of the illusion within the gem and would drain the source instead of the spellcaster to maintain the glamour. As long as the source remained alive, the illusion could be maintained easily and flawlessly. Which of course freed up Amora to focus on everything else she needed to do. It was hardly the perfect plan – Amora gave herself maybe a week or two of time before the illusion drained all the strength from Sif, but that was more than enough for her to set everything in motion. And if Sif perished before that… well, it wasn’t as if she’d ever planned on returning her. Not in one piece, at any rate. It would all be very tragic, she’d make sure of it. And there would be an void in the balance of power on the court which would be easy enough to step into without Sif blocking the way.
The thoughts brought another laugh to her lips as she kissed the gem. “Sweet dreams, Lady Sif,” she murmured, slipping the pendant on over her head. Amora’s form flickered, shimmered, then started to change. Her skin deepened with the warm kiss of sun. Limbs lengthened, thickening with a warrior’s strength. Her blond locks grew darker, turning as black as night, bringing a sneer of derision to full red lips.
The transformation completed itself a moment later and Amora pushed gracefully to her feet, her gaze locked on her reflection in the vanity mirror before her. The illusion of Sif was perfect and she spent several minutes inspecting her handiwork, trying out expressions, seeing which were the most realistic for her guise.
Finally satisfied, she gave herself one last smug glance before retrieving the satchel Sif had dropped and striding towards the door once more. She had a war to start.