godless men

For @Alduin

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Ragnar had watched the sun rise, an aray of colors smeared within the heaviness of cloud. Ragnar rests at the outskirts of the forest which reside at the foothills of Northfall. Out before him, the vast open and emptiness of the Frozen Ground. The cover of cloud made the land out before him nothing but gray and white but he continues to look out for signs of life. From the north, the threat of a storm made way, forcing those out in the tundra to seek shelter from the elements. Ragnar enjoyed the silent hours before it did come. Whether it brought food towards the forest, he was not certain.
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Alduin had promised a meeting with the man of Northfall at his borders. He follows the direction of he’d been given. Bringing @Dove with him, the two curly tailed beasts moves carefully over the slick ice of the Frozen Ground. Each step as careful as the last, but Alduin has become accustomed to crossing it — experienced enough to avoid a slip.

He spots mountains, he moves towards them. His paws deposit him at the base of the mountain. His dark pelt causes him to stick out like a sore thumb, but his lovely Dove would be mostly hidden by the camouflage of her white pelt against the snowy backdrop. Surely, Ragnar would spot the cursed one trudging through the land that breaks free from slippery ice to deep snow. Trees spot the ground now and become thicker as he moves.

The snow is hardly an inconvenience to his powerful form and he moves through it with minimal struggle until he reaches the slope of the mountain where he stills. A massive head adorned with bone tilts up and he howls for the wolves of Northfall.
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Atop his perch he could see the other far out, a dark splotch in the white washed world. In given time, he would see the stripping, the curled tail. And another, not well seen and it wasn't until now did he notice an equally curly tailed wolfdog at his side. Did the shaman have family?

As an ally of Ragnar's and his lot, Ragnar lifted from his position and down the foothills of his home into the forestry below. By the time Alduin called out, Ragnar was not at all far away so did not return the call.

But a few minutes and Ragnar came, a warm smile on his face for the visitors. “Ah, friends!” He spoke, laughter edging his words. “Come out to play, have you now?” For Alduin had promised a visit and with it, to study up on their most recent target of interest.
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Alduin calls out, he gets nothing in return, but isn’t disappointed. He knows the wolves of the mountain will meet him. Said assumption proves to be true quite fast as he sees a figure moving down the mountain. His head tilts up to follow them and he recognizes them as none other than Ragnar, the same man he dealt with last time. Good.

He reaches out with a boisterous voice and Alduin allows the smallest of smiles to tilt his face up in return. Considering the man’s next words, it shows he’s been waiting and Alduin is excited to play.

“Ragnar.” Alduin greets with the man’s name. “I have. This is Dove, my second in command — my Harbinger.” He introduces the beautiful, thick pelted, and curly tailed she wolf. “You wish to discuss business, as do I. Shall we?” He hums back in that drag but somehow moderately friendly way.
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There is a smile there on the shaman's face- small, but a slight slightness which Ragnar catches. The large man is a quiet fellow, calm, calculating and secretive. It had become a certain personal goal of Ragnar's to get the man to be a little free and loose, even if only something hidden away for the closest of Alduin's company.

“A pleasure.” He greets to the snowy coated woman, fitted with cork-screw tail and bi-colored eyes of sun and sky.

Alduin speaks of business then and so Ragnar begins with a tip of his muzzle, offering them to follow him along in a walk around the foothill forestry of his home.

“There is a tension in the air though no blood has yet been spilt. Still, it does not seem as though they will be leaving peacefully. They had claimed the islands and now claim to hold the expanse of flatlands on the mainland east. Travel south has been difficult. I believe they seek to cut us off...” He hums delicately. “My daughter, Ynness and her mother grow restless. I can't blame them for their aggression but here in the far north-west our lands have seen little action as far as new followers go. How does Banesteppe fair?”
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