Funeral For A Brother and A Friend

"Funeral For A Brother and A Friend" is an Extended Universe thread written on October 14, 2018. 
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
=== Part 1 ===
Grey Bergman: (November 11, 1060–Takes place a few hours after This Land is Ours)
Grey could feel her eyes burning from the tears she cried ever since she found Greg, and then of course she had to inform Warren what happened. Then Warren had to tell her children, of course, and then of course, the rest of the family had to be informed. Then…of course, when the initial shock and raw emotions settled down, there was the funeral that still needed to happen. The Chief and Warren agreed that there was one other person, who still needed to be present for the funeral. So, Grey asked Nala to send for Seasick, to which the demon agreed. 
So, while Nala took off to inform Seasick, Grey oversaw the preparations for Greg’s funeral. They found a bare ship and rested Greg’s body on a wooden platform before placing a blanket over it. Brandt gathered the remaining arrows for the fire, while Grey’s mother, Ingrid started a fire. As Grey watched Greg’s wife and kids give him one last goodbye, Brandt came up to her from behind placing a hand on her shoulder. 
“We’re almost ready,” he said. 
Grey could only nod. “As soon as Seasick gets here, we can start,” she whispered.
Seasick: It was a cold morning in Peaceable.
In the dark, Seasick made her way to her newest baby’s crib. Her husband Ellidi had left moments earlier to head to town, leaving the Bearer of Keys alone in the house with 9 children. Although she usually enjoyed the quiet moments, Seasick felt uneasy, as if there was something lurking in the corners of her room.
As she sat down to nurse Isey, Seasick began to drift back into sleep. In a light sleep, she was suddenly greeted by a strange vision. Appearing before her in the dark was a figure.This ghostly figure was tall and thin, and seemed to be surrounded by white flames. Whatever this figure was, it sent chills down Seasick’s spine, yet.. it seemed somehow familiar. The flames around the figure seemed to grow bigger, and suddenly in a low voice, it spoke:
“Seasick…it’s the Warden. Don’t be alarmed; Grey sent me…we had to give you the news. Haligan Island was under attack, and while it is now safe…Greg gave his life to protect it. She wished for you to know as soon as possible, and requested that you would grace the funeral with your presence, as you have for so many others. I think…it’s what Greg would have wanted, too.”
Jolting awake, Seasick’s let out a gasp that startled Isey. Soothing her baby, Seasick quickly got up and made her way to the front of the house.
“Furious,” she called out. “Tell Ellidi to come back to the house. I have to head to Haligan Island immediately!“
Within half an hour Seasick was packed and ready to go to Haligan Island with Furious, and regretfully, Isey. Without another word, the trio made their way to Haligan Island, unprepared for what they would encounter. 
Grey Bergman: The Chief paced back and forth near the ship that contained Greg’s body, while Warren and her kids sat near the ship. Grey was not sure as to how much time had passed since Nala left to get Seasick. Starting the day off with a battle to defend your family and village and a funeral for your adoptive brother and second-in-command would do that to a person. She tried her best not to look at the ship as it floated near the dock afraid that she would just cry if she did, and right now, she couldn’t afford to do so. Perhaps, when the funeral was over? 
She looked over at her husband and mother as they kept Sven, Dagny, and Kari busy. She and Brandt had the conversation with them earlier regarding what happened to Greg, and they didn’t seem to fully understand. Grey couldn’t fault them for that. When they were older, they would have a better grasp of what happened to their uncle. 
Seasick: For an old dragon, Furious was surprisingly fast when he wanted to be. It was almost noon by the time Haligan Island came into view. Frozen almost to the bone, Seasick was slightly relieved to see the island, however this changed into a feeling of horror when she saw the state that the island was in. 
From what she could see, a large part of the island was nothing but ashes. Smoke rose from burnt out shells of buildings, and small fires were yet to be put out.
Seasick spotted ships out on the water, and saw Grey pacing back and forth at the waters edge. Landing with a large thud, Furious lowered himself as much as he could to the ground to let Seasick, and Isey, off his back. Taking a deep breath, Seasick walked towards the Chief.
Grey Bergman: Grey immediately froze in her tracks when she saw a huge dragon fly at a high speed toward Haligan Island, and it did not take long for her to realize that it was her old friend, Seasick. Somehow, despite the circumstances, the Chief managed a small smile as Furious finally landed and the Bearer of Keys moved toward her.
Grey did not hesitate to run up to her oldest friend ready to pull her into a hug. “Seasick, I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. 
Seasick: Seasick adjusted a sleeping Isey in her arms, and braced herself for Grey’s hug. At least Grey’s hug would be warm. They held each other in a hug for a moment before pulling apart. 
“I….Um, under normal circumstances I’d be happy to see you Grey,“ Seasick looked at the chief sadly, “but… I got a message from….the Warden…”
She paused and looked out at the ship on the water. It was just like that time several years ago with King Haddock. Yet this time, this pain seemed worse.
“What happened, Grey?“ Seasick asked, turning back to Grey.
Grey Bergman: Grey’s smile quickly faded before she followed Seasick’s glance and looked at Greg’s ship. She turned back to her old friend and took a deep breath.
“It…it was High Central,” she began bracing herself for the long story. With all that happened, she hadn’t had the chance to write to Seasick and tell her what happened during the first attack. “They came here a few days ago and attacked us for our resources. We drove them away, but Nala got news that they were going to attack again tonight. They must’ve changed their plans because they attacked earlier this morning at daybreak. Greg, Brandt, and I gathered the men and fought back. We tried to hold them off while our families, the refugees, and anyone else who couldn’t fight got off the island, and when we tried to take down the leader…Rosso, he…he…tried to finish me off. Brandt and…Greg tried to help, but when Rosso tried to attack Brandt…Greg…” 
She cringed at the memory as tears formed in her eyes.
“…Greg took the blow. Brandt tried to help him, but Rosso managed to stab him again. He…he lost a lot of blood, but…he told Brandt and I to take Shadow and get everyone else off the island while he…dealt with Rosso and High Central. He used his…fire powers…to…to kill all of the High Central soldiers, but…with the blood loss, it…all must’ve been too much for him because I went back to get him after it got quiet and…when I got there…I saw Nala…and…” She sniffled as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I was too late… He was already gone.”
Seasick: Seasick let out a deep sign and squeezed Grey’s arm.
“Don’t do this Grey, don’t blame yourself,” Seasick said, trying to get Grey to look at her. “You did what you could. You all did. And Greg did what he could. He wouldn’t want you to blame yourself.” 
Seasick looked out at the ship again and then turned towards the remains of the island. “What matters is that you’re still here. He gave you a chance to survive. We need to honor Greg’s sacrifice, and live on for him. He deserves a good send-off.” 
Squeezing Grey’s hand, Seasick gave a faint smile. “When would you like to begin?”
Nalaagura E'pha: In the background of their conversation, the Warden was lurking, her statue-like body leaning up against a charred building and staring out at the ocean. Her hood cast a shadow over her unchanging expression, but it was easy enough to tell that her mood was dark and dull. Her essence was a red so deep it was nearly black. 
She was thinking, very hard. Her mind was very far into the future, away from the island, away from the funeral and the quiet ship floating out on the water, and currently she was forming a complex plan with a very simple ending. For the moment, it gave her a reprieve from her intense emotions. There would be time soon enough to feel everything in full.
Grey Bergman: Grey listened to Seasick’s comforting words and knew without a doubt that her best friend was right. As guilty as she felt for leaving Greg and not coming back for him in time, she knew deep down that Greg would never hold that against her. She could see him reassuring her that all was going to be okay and that she needed to continue living her life, like Seasick said. his sacrifice would not be meaningless. She would make sure of it. With a small smile in turn, Grey squeezed Seasick’s hand in return while noticing in the background.
“As soon as possible,” Grey replied. 
Greg Ericson: It was odd being a spirit. He could go where he want, see what he wanted, but couldn’t be seen or even interact with anything. He had tried to move a burnt up spoon but it was as if it were nailed down.
When he looked around all he saw was pain and it broke his heart. Not just because they had lost their second in command, but because they’d lost their homes, their island. He felt remorse, but he had to do it, at least that’s what he kept telling himself.
He saw Grey was in turmoil blaming herself for his death so he wrapped his arms around her and kissing her forehead, as if that would help. “It wasn’t your fault Sis, it was my idea.” He whispered. “Besides do you really think you could have stopped me?” He gave a wry chuckle. “Take care of them for me ok?”
With that he released her and made his way over to Warren and their kids and gave them much the same treatment. He told them how much he loved them and that he would be watching out for them, hugging each of them and giving them a kiss.
Then he came to Nala, she looked the most heartbroken of them all. Her hood was up and her aura was a deep deep red, practically black. He didn’t think he had ever seen her this way before, not even when she was the Warden.
He came over to her and sighed. He wished he were taller so that he could hug her more easily. Then he lifted off the ground. He flinched slightly in surprise as he looked down. He was floating. He shrugged, it wasn’t quite what he wanted but it would do. He wrapped his arms around her and just held her tightly for a while. “It’s not your fault.” He murmured. “Without you, we never would have known they were coming and they would have killed us all as we scrambled to defend the island. You are a hero Nala.” He hugged her for a little longer before lowering down to the ground and standing by the ship - his ship - just waiting now.
Seasick: Seasick took a breath and then glanced at the small group of vikings that had gathered around the shoreline.
“Well, Greg deserves the best send off we can give even in these conditions, so gather everyone on the island here.“ Seasick said to Grey. “Prepare for the lighting of the pyre. I… I’ll think of something to say in the meantime…“
Grey Bergman: Grey could’ve sworn that she felt warm. It wasn’t a feverish warm, but a warm breeze brush past her. However, she was pulled out of her thoughts when Seasick began speaking again and directing her to gather the villagers, and her heart sank. She told Brandt that they would start when Seasick arrived, and now that she was here, it was only making this tragedy more real. 
The Chief took a deep breath trying with all her might to compose herself. She could grieve for her little brother during the funeral and later when she had private time. Right now, she needed to be the Chief, and that was what she was going to do. Greg would’ve wanted her to do just that. “Okay, Seasick,” she whispered. 
With that, she and Brandt began to direct the villagers closer to the shoreline. Once Grey informed Warren that they were getting ready to start, the Chief looked behind her only to see the former Warden standing off to the side. After almost 20 years of friendship with the demon, it was easy to see how devastated Nala was over this. After all, Greg was the first of the rebels to truly reach out to her and begin a friendship. She walked over to Nala.
“Nala…it-it’s almost time,” she said.
=== Part 2 ===
Nalaagura E'pha: Nala started slightly, then closed her eyes and nodded, leaning away from the building and stepping towards the ship. The threads of her plan slipped away, and she vowed to weave them back together later. For now, it was time to mourn. Of course. I am…I am ready. 
Grey Bergman: “Good thing you are…” Grey mumbled sadly to herself as she watched Nala step toward the ship. “I don’t think I’m ever going to be ready.”
She took a deep breath and followed the demon to the gathering of the villagers and the half-breeds…all of which Greg saved that day. She walked over to Seasick and her family. “Okay, Seasick…whenever you’re ready,” she said. 
Seasick: Seasick gave a sad nod to Grey and then stepped forward. Adjusting a sleeping Isey on her chest, the Bearer of Keys and Funeral Master stood silently at the waters edge, looking at the ship out on the water. 
What could she possibly say to the grieving friends and family members? The reality that Greg was gone hadn’t fully set in for anyone. Seasick had several hours to come up with something, yet nothing came to her. 
She let out a quiet laugh as she realized that Greg wouldn’t want some stuffy funeral speech. He wouldn’t want his loved ones to go through any more pain. He deserved a good send off, one that came from the heart.
Stepping forward and turning towards the grieving vikings, Seasick cleared her throat and flashed a smile. 
“As we are gathered here this morning, let us remember Greg not only as a hero, but as a brother and a friend.“ Seasick said loudly. “His sacrifice was not in vain, as we stand here united in our grief for him, and will carry his spirit with us.“
Looking to Grey, Seasick placed a hand on her shoulder. “Chief Grey, is there anything you would like to say?”
Grey Bergman: Grey tried her best to hide her shock when Seasick asked her to say a few words, and she simply nodded and stepped forward. She hadn’t thought of what she could say about one of her best human friends…her adoptive brother. Where could she start?
I suppose I could start at the beginning, she thought to herself as she took a deep breath. 
“You know, I was telling my husband this morning that I’ve wondered about Greg for 15 years…” she began. She laughed to herself. “Fifteen years…since the day I first met my three unofficial adoptive siblings, and it was on a smuggled weapons mission.” She looked at Asha and Warren smiling at them while remembering their first mission together. “From the moment Asha introduced Warren and me to Greg, he’s made us laugh. He did whatever he could to protect those he cared about…even until his last breath, but he also made sure that we all had smiles on our faces even when times were dark.” She chuckled as one particular memory flashed in her mind. 
“I remember…back in the rebellion, after we were informed by Hel herself that we were to fight for her in Ragnarok…” she sniffled but tried with all her might to keep her composure for a few more moments, “His Majesty King Haddock had called a meeting to discuss preparations for the war, and Greg of course comes storming into the room yelling at Haddock.” She looks to Seasick giving her a small smile. “Seasick and I told him off, and he left…” She then turned back to the ship, “only to come back into the room with a pie. ‘Eat pie, fishy!’ And next thing I knew, there was pie…all over my superior’s face.” She chuckled again as her family and villagers chuckled along with her. “Given that I was just given my position as the King’s second-in-command, I had to…” She took a deep breath looking at the ship in the water, “put on a stern face and tell him off, but…” she sniffled again, “…and I never really had the chance to tell Greg this…I was trying so…hard not to burst out laughing.” She finally let out a sob. 
Shadow, who was standing next to her human sister, nuzzled her cheek quietly supporting her through this sad moment. She crooned when Grey placed a trembling hand on Shadow’s face silently thanking her. She just wanted to finish this speech and move on with the rest of the ceremony. 
“Greg was…many things…a friend…a brother…a husband…a father…” she looked to her nieces and nephew, “…and now…he’s a hero. I said this to Nala, and I will say it again. He will always be remembered as such. As soon as we get everything back on track, I will make sure that future Haligans will know about his sacrifice that saved his family and his people…humans and half-breeds alike.”
Nalaagura E'pha: The silence after Grey finished was heavy, and it was broken by Nala lifting her head and taking a step forward, towering over the other villagers. She hugged herself and turned her face away from the ship, her essence floating slowly around her shoulders with the movement.
Greg was different.
Her voice was strained, and quiet. The demon turned around and faced the crowd, noting their tears, and their looks of apprehension.
He was irrational, she continued. Incredibly stubborn, and far too naïve, seeing good in monsters where no good existed. 
And…if it had not been for such irrational, stubborn naïvety…none of us may have been standing where we are, at this moment. For it was him who turned my own heart when I had resolved to continue torturing the rebellion, with his strange, ridiculous ways. 
My nature is not human; I can hardly relate with anyone on this island, nor can they with me. While I do not mourn loss of human life as you do…I do mourn loss of connection, of relationship.  I may never see another human the same way as I saw him. And that…
The Warden closed her eyes, and her essence billowed black like a thunderhead.
That has been taken from me…us…by the Gathering. There is no price that the remnants of Central could pay that would ever forgive their debt to Grey, to his family, to Haligan Island…and to me. But I swear to everyone here, on my name and his memory, that whatever can be extracted from them in the name of revenge, will assuredly be taken from them, ten times over. She felt a heat threatening to swallow her whole, but she kept it in check for the sake of keeping the appropriate composure for the funeral. There will be time to feel this, she told herself fiercely.
Seasick: Seasick stood silently, thinking of what else to say about Greg. Turning to the ship out on the water, she knew what must happen next.
“It’s time,“ Seasick said to Grey. “May Greg’s pyre burn as bright as he did, and may it burn on for future generations.“
Slowly Seasick handed Grey a bow and arrow…
Grey Bergman: Grey stared at the bow and arrow in Seasick’s hands as she reached a trembling hand out to take them from her. She knew what needed to happen next, and obviously Seasick and everyone else did to as she felt all eyes on her waiting for her to make the next move. As Chief, she was expected to fire the first arrow. Then Warren and her children would follow, and then her family, Asha, and the rest of the villagers would do the same.
She took a deep breath and finally took the bow and arrow from her best friend. Then she slowly turned to the ship on the water…as it slowly removed Greg’s body from the island…his home. More tears streamed down her face as she stepped forward with the weapon in her hand. Her mind screamed for her to stop and to get the ship back here, but her body kept moving. This needed to be done. 
The Chief could hear everyone else picking up their bows and arrows as she dipped her arrowhead into the flames watching it catch fire. Then she passed the flame to Warren and then to Brandt so that he could passed the fire to their family and the villagers. As the exchange was made, husband and wife did not say a word to each other, not when they were in the middle of the ceremony. They could only offer each other a sad look promising each other that they would grieve and talk later. Right now, Greg needed one final farewell. 
As soon as everyone’s arrows were lit, Grey took a deep breath and stood up straight with the bow and arrow prepped in her hands. The last time she did this for her loved one was 11 years ago for her father, and now it will be for her adoptive little brother. 
“I love you, little brother,” she whispered as she held the arrow, ready to shoot. She sniffled. “Say hi to Dad for me.” With that…she fired the arrow.
Greg Ericson: Greg smiled as he watched each one of the villagers line up and took a shot at the boat, his boat. It was a sad occasion sure but he felt warmer knowing that each of these people cared about him, and he’d see them again one day. He took a deep breath as he felt his connection to his body being severed. “Well… Guess it’s time to go.” As his body burnt up and the last threads that connected him to it were cut a massive jet of fire erupted from his body. It rose some 50 feet in the air and took the form of the fire bird, a Phoenix, the heat from the fire being felt at the back of the large crowd. It let out a loud shriek as it spread it’s wings out for the final time before disappearing. When the Haligans were finally able to look, the nearby ocean had reached boiling point, and the ship had been swallowed up by the inferno, not even ash was left.
Nalaagura E'pha: The Warden tipped her head to the sky as the massive firebird vanished into the sky, the ash and smoke drifting across the dimming sky. A wave of heat swept over the funeral, making the scorched grass flutter with its passage. Reaching out a hand, she spread her fingers and brushed the fire’s energy with her own. It was very hot, a welcome sensation, and strangely comforting.
She closed her eyes and absorbed as much as she could. The veins running along her neck and arms glowed softly with heat, and the tears began falling once more, steaming and smoking as they traced the lines that had already been left on her mask in the early hours of the morning. Nala dully wondered if they would ever fade. She wondered if she even cared.
It didn’t matter, she decided. After this was done, she had business to take care of.
Grey Bergman: Once the massive fire bird vanished into the sky, Chief Grey stared out onto the ocean with her brown eyes widened and her jaw dropped trying her best to absorb what had just occurred. She had seen her fair share of Viking funerals, but never in her life, had she seen what had just happened. Then again, Greg was always one to put his own spin on things.
She then turned her sights to the water, and it was easy to see the steam and the bubbles in the ocean. Curious, the Chief slowly walked over and placed her hand just above the water, careful not to touch it, feeling the intense heat emanating from it. She was somewhat relieved that they did not use the ocean as a water source, but they would have to wait for the ocean to cool to gather fish. 
“What just happened?” Brandt asked walking up to his wife from behind. 
Grey could only chuckle as she stood back up. “Looks like Greg decided to put on one last show,” she replied. 
Category:Events
Category:EU
Category:Grey Bergman
Category:Seasick
Category:Brandt Felman
Category:The Warden
Category:Greg Ericson