Akashic Arcana Disciplinary Division Interview: A Nordic Greeting!

Boxaman

Active Member
After a long, grueling, sign up process involving a metric ton of paper work, Artoria was given a time and place for her interview with the DD.... at the Situation Training Arena at a bright and early six am... on a Saturday. The ORB email did not specify what she was to do other than to arrive at the arena. A footnote at the bottom notes that any who are late are immediately disqualified and will face "unprecedented punishment." An attachment would be added to the email, which had a "Recruit" badge with a number she was supposed to print out and bring to the meeting.

It was a quiet morning for Artoria, thought it would be far earlier than she would usually wake up to, not to mention cutting in on her free time. But to be a part of the DD, she has to attend this... or be disqualified.

When she arrives at the Arena, she would be shown to the entrance by seasoned members of the DD. What she would likely notice is that these DD members were not the usual kind, they were all more grizzled and had a strange Nordic medal on their chest over their heart, despite several of them being from a variety of countries. The symbol was one of of a Raven, which served as the personal crest of the High King Thorstein's son: Bjorn Stormraven.

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After Artoria arrived inside the Situation Training Arena. The STA would be a large closed off area dedicated to exercises involving campus-wide emergencies. There were several large buildings simulating the city center. Artoria would notice that the arena was remarkably clean, as if it was polished up for this meeting. The Princess would be guided through the streets until she reaches the center of the arena. At the center, there was a large number of fellow recruits, roughly about fifty of them. Most were first years, but a few were second years. Artoria could meet and greet with a few students, with none of them understanding what is going on.

Off to the side, a Nordic male, roughly in his twenties, sits on the steps of the mock student council building alone. He sits with his knees to his chest, a sword resting against him as he scans the crowd. His eyes were intensely blue, and his face was unreadable. Suddenly the male caught sight of the Princess and just hardcore stares at her. His icy blue eyes shone with a keen intellect that would usually be hidden by his rough and scruffy Nordic appearance.

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However, their stare down would come to a screeching halt as an explosion rings out just across the center. Suddenly, a massive crowd of civilians start running away from the explosion. The crowd was screaming in fear, and a large number of them were covered in injuries ranging from simple cuts to severed limbs. Artoria could see the devastation that the explosion caused, as several of the civilians were dead with their corpses lying mangled on the ground. If she looked back at the steps where the man was, she would find the steps empty.

Near the explosion and down a narrow street, she would see a large number of what looks to be Vikings cutting down civilians as they advance towards the group of recruits. A large number of the recruits were frozen in fear, with several even running away. It seems as if the Vikings were going to be able to reach the city center uncontested.
 
Waking up this early was certainly nothing new to Artoria. Though she had hoped these days were done with after leaving home; being up before the crack of dawn at Lancelot's command was not particularly enjoyable. She took some time to debate on what to wear, before deciding on a white long coat that reached to her knees, with blue leggings and a matching scarf. Once she was sure she was ready, the young princess headed out to the specified destination.

Once at the arena, she seemed to be somewhat offput by the hulking men and women that she could only guess were veteran DD officers. Their intimidating presence definitely gave that detail away, and the crest they all wore looked Norse in design, giving Artoria even more reason to be cautious. Regardless, she made her way to the STA, joining with the rest of the recruits. She was surprised there were so many, and suddenly felt a knot in her stomach. Am I going to have to compete with all of them? There's so many... Her eyes eventually met with the man sitting upon the steps on his own. Their blue eyes stared each other down wordlessly, and Artoria couldn't describe what she was feeling in that moment. Fear? Excitement? Whatever it was, she was feeling hesitant about the whole thing.

The explosion would snap Artoria out of her thoughts. Pushing her way to the front of the crowd, the tiny girl tried to see if she could locate the cause of it, only finding the grizzly scene before her. She froze for a second at the horror of what she saw, then her expression changed to one of anger. In a bright flash of light, Artoria summoned Caliburn and her Armor of Avalon and dashed forward, leaving a small foot-shaped crater and a plume of dust behind her. Midleap, her sword charged with golden light, and slammed into the ground. "BRAVE SHINE!" In a tactic she'd never used before, she managed to split the blast upon impact, blasting crevices in three different directions, each aimed to intercept at least a viking each closest to her that were chasing people down.

Hopefully their attention would be caught, and Artoria would challenge those with their eyes upon her. Caliburn pointed forward, and her voice rang out in a commanding tone "If you want a fight, come at me! Only cowards attack those who can't defend themselves!" She glanced towards the other recruits, hoping at least some of them would be brave enough to aid the panicking crowd. Her eyes flicked to each opponent, then to the fleeing civilians. At the very least, she could serve as a distraction while they got to safety. Her heart racing, Artoria got into a ready stance, preparing for those that charged at her.
 
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A massive Viking with a long red beard, who looked to be the leader, stood towards the center. He would be caught by surprise as the Crown Princess blasted at them with magic. Several of the Vikings were caught in the blast, getting knocked out and teleport out of the arena. This would give away that the Vikings were real combatants, not holograms.

"SHIELD WALL." Yelled the red beard as his outlying troops are blown away. The remaining vikings instantly grouped up, their shields linking together and creating a massive energy barrier around them. Artoria would be familiar with this tactic by now and know her frontal attacks will do no damage. Suddenly a hail of arrows is fired from behind the shieldwall by the nordbows: advanced and futuristic crossbows unique to the Norse Empire. The arrows struck more civilians and even a few recruits as the Vikings inched forward, taking a few steps closer with each volley of arrows. Artoria would know that the other recruits would be helpless in melee combat with these fearsome opponents, even she would be pushed to her limits based on what her father told her in his war stories.

Artoria could note that they are advancing down an extremely narrow street with several alleyways, making a frontal attack useless. In addition, she would now only have twenty five remaining recruits with her. The rest ran or were shot by the vikings. One of the students with her was the Norse guy that stared at her earlier.
 
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The reaction she got from the vikings wasn't quite what she expected, and she blanched at them grouping up as they did. Oh, crap. That wasn't what I was hoping for. He attention was drawn by the rain of arrows that was fired over her head. In a burst of speed, she dashed back towards the rest of the recruits.. those that were left, at least. She raised a barrier to protect them from the incoming arrows, and caught her breath. "Okay, these guys are going to be tough, but they're not unbeatable. We just need a plan, and some teamwork." She glanced back at the approaching vikings then turned back to the recruits.

"Who all can fight in close combat, and who can heal?" Once she got her answer, she divided them into two groups of 9, with 7 of them to group with her. Each group were sorted as followed:

Group A: Artoria, 1 Healer, 5 Melee (one of them looking vaguely familiar), 1 Ranged
Group B: 3 Ranged, 1 Healer, 5 Melee
Group C: 3 Ranged, 1 Healer, 5 Melee

This was done as quickly as possible, and the Vikings were just about on top of them. Artoria's Mana was already drained significantly from all the arrows her Barrier had taken. "As soon as my Barrier drops, groups B and C move to flank! Move through the buildings, and stay with your groups!" Her hand extended, and the bubble shifted, forming into a cross-shaped rune before her hand. "Go!" A laser of golden energy blasted forth from the rune, cutting horizontally between them and the vikings, creating a smokescreen. Once the two groups were moving into position, her barrier raised up, and she slowly advanced to meet the Shield line. This was a common tactic Lancelot used; rely on his troops to circle around his enemy, using himself as bait. It relied on her making herself obvious as the leader; a target. It was a dangerous ploy that could easily backfire, but Artoria was hoping the vikings' proud and hostile nature could be used against them. She and her group emerged from the smoke, and she challenged them yet again. "What's the matter, you cowards? Afraid of a little girl? Come on!"
 
The other students nodded and agreed to her plan, though a few look shaky. As soon as Artoria created her distraction, they took off towards the sides.

Artoria never got a chance to work with the smoke very effectively. As soon as she emerged, she found that the smokescreen worked two ways: the Vikings chose to charge forward to close the distance. "VALHALLA!" they yelled as they rushed forward. Now with only 5 melee and 3 ranged troops against their roughly thirty vikings, things were going to look very grim for Artoria and her team. Luckily for her, most of the vikings had hung back slightly, firing from behind their shield wall while staying at the edge of the narrow street. However, eight of them rushed forward, wielding huge two handed axes. Two of her melee troops were swiftly cut down as the Vikings surged forth, with her ranged troops managing to cut down three of the vikings in retaliation.

Three Vikings charged at Artoria, wielding their axes with a terrifying bloodlust in their eyes. Their skin became bulkier, their eyes glowing with powerful red magic as they activate their Undying Rage. Artoria would know from Lancelot's Teachings that these were the amoungst the most terrifying melee troops on the planet. They swung their axes with great power and speed, easily forcing the Princess on the defensive. All she had to do was hold out while the others flanked and came from behind....
 
It was at that moment that Artoria knew: she fucked up. The vikings were far more experienced in battle and tactics than she was, and it showed. Several of her allies were taken out by the fearsome opponents, and it seemed that her taunting worked a little too well. Three of the large men descended upon her, with a hunger for blood in their expressions. She remembered one of Lancelot's lessons on the Norsemen and their terrifying abilities. He called this their Undying Rage, that they would feel no pain and fear nothing while it was active. However, she had to guess that there was also a weakness behind this. They might not feel pain, but that did not mean they were invincible.

A surge of mana burst from Artoria's body as she released her limits and tapped more into her Warrior of Light Divine Blessing. Golden orbs formed under her visor where her eyes would be, and she leaped into action. She twisted her body midair to avoid two of the incoming swipes, parrying the third. With luck, her sudden action would catch the closest one off guard, and she aimed to slice at his Achilles's tendon. While the vikings were known for their rage and viciousness, the English Knights were masters of honed focus. Once Artoria landed, she dropped into a defensive stance, her right side forward and Caliburn angled from her hip to her shoulder, slightly pointed forward.

When the vikings tried to surround her, Artoria would deny them, keeping her opponents in front of her. She made sure to watch her surroundings, in case one of their other buddies tried to sneak in an attack from behind. In the second she glanced away, one of the vikings, the one whose tendon had been cut, attempted to charge at her, only to stumble due to the weakened leg. Taking advantage of this, she met him head on, getting inside his wide open guard, and slammed her left elbow right into his kidney. While he wouldn't have felt the pain, the sheer force of the strike would have made him stagger backwards regardless.

How would the other two react to this?
 
Working almost perfectly in sync with his shield brother, the taller viking sidestepped diagonally slightly at the same time Artoria took a step back. As his brother struck at her midsection, the other viking struck horizontally from the other side at her upper The first Viking roared in anger as he goes tumbling backwards as he lost his balance. The two near Artoria would barely seem to notice their comrade go down. In fact, the sight of their comrade going down only seemed to encourage them, increasing their speed and fury.

The shorter viking swung his axe horizontally at Artoria's midsection. Artoria smirked slightly before taking a stepback, juuuuust out of reach of the swing. With a wicked slackened on his two handed grip, causing the the weigth of the axe head to make this hands slight down the belly of the axe to the throat, with his lower hand barely stopping it in time. The result would be the swing gaining just enough reach at the last possible second to strike at Artoria's midsection still. Artoria would have no choice but to block the axe head itself with the holy blade of Caliburn. The slacked grip and lower grasp on the handle meant that the axe attack was as effective as it could have been, though the Viking's Undying Rage would still cause Artoria to create cracks on the ground from planting her feet. However, the true threat came from the other Viking.

Working almost perfectly in sync with his shield brother, the taller viking sidestepped diagonally slightly at the same time Artoria took a step back. As his brother struck at her midsection, the other viking struck horizontally from the other side at her upper torso. Due to his positioning, a simple step back would not save her, nor could she block without freeing the the other viking up for a step forward into another assault.
 
With Caliburn battling against the shorter viking's axe in a blade lock, Artoria looked to her left to see the other one going in to take advantage of her situation. There was little time to act, but Artoria noticed a small window of opportunity. With how big the Norsemen were, and how small she was in comparison, she would be a difficult target to hit, especially if she acted in an unexpected and reckless way. With Caliburn's tip pointed down, she shoved it downwards, digging into the dirt. The force would cause the axehead to collide with the hilt and go down with it.

Then she darted forward, keeping low to the ground. She slid between the larger viking's legs, rising up onto her feet once behind him and turning in place. Caliburn would disappear in a flash of light.. then reappear in her hands in a similar fashion. Hopefully, she would be quick enough to land a strike against her larger foe, carving a nice line from his left hip to his right shoulder.
 
The viking roared in anger as he is struck across the back, his left arm going slack from the severed back muscles. The other viking turned around and roared at the little girl, his eyes looking mighty hungry for her blood.

Suddenly the big bearded giant yelled "TURTLE.".... from behind her. With the big brute yelling from behind her, Artoria would suddenly realize the plight she was in. Her roll caused her to position herself in-between all the vikings. Several of the vikings left the shield wall and now surrounded her. She now had two on each side, the shield wall behind her, and the last of the three she was fighting in front of her. The Viking from before laughed cruelly "We have you now little girl, surrender and maybe we wont cut your throat." he finishes with a wicked smile.

If Artoria looked behind her, she would see that her flank strategy failed, for the vikings simply bent their shield wall into a circle, tortoise formation, that made all their side attacks ineffective. Her troops were being finished off as the Vikings around her laughed cruelly. Artoria had a choice: surrender like some of her companions or to go down fighting and taking as many with her as possible.
 
After a quick glance around to see the situation she was in. It was bad. Really bad. Surrounded with her allies being slowly taken down. However, they made a mistake telling her to surrender. "I... am Artoria Pendragon. Daughter of King Amhar Pendragon. And I will not surrender nor give up. Especially not to the likes of you!" Caliburn raised high, each of the vikings would be able to feel a great surge of mana emanate from the girl. Her sword and body seemed to radiate a faint golden glow, then her sword slammed down into the ground. "BRAVE SHINE!" A huge plume of debris of dust erupted from the impact, giving her a small element of surprise for her first target.

She bolted forward, taking advantage of one of the vikings being blinded and coughing from the smokescreen. Caliburn's tip dragged across the outside of his swordarm, lacerating the bicep and tricep, then she spun in place and dropped down to cut across the back of his legs, effectively taking him out of the fight.

While she did manage to quickly take one out, the four other vikings emerged from the cloud of dust, charging right at her. She tried to hold her ground, bringing her sword up in a defensive stance. However, the incoming attacks were powerful and savage, and she soon found herself being pushed back. She managed to block and parry the first few attacks, but one axe snuck in and cleaved into her side. Thankfully, her armor kept the wound from being too deep. But then a second attack landed on her, a slice across her thigh. Each sting of pain was enough to halt her enough for more injuries to accrue. She ended up getting tossed to the ground, and recovered just in time to block 3 attacks at once with a high horizontal block.

Using her left forearm as a brace against the flat of Caliburn's blade, she was struggling heavily against the combined strength of the physically superior vikings. She wouldn't be able to win this bladelock with might alone. Once again, she called on her magic. "Brave shine!" The sword's blade lit up with blinding golden light again, giving her enough opportunity to bat away their weapons with a wide swing, then cut across their bellies with another wide swing in the other direction, practically performing a 360 spin. Knowing their hardy constitution, Artoria didn't stop there. She charged forward, slamming her left fist into the far right man's new injury and sending him tumbling backwards from the force of the impact.

The viking immediately to her left went for a powerful diagonal strike, only for his weapon to collide with a golden barrier. The force of the swing was so strong, and her bubble had zero give, so his axe's haft snapped near the blade, rendering it useless. In a casual display of utter disrespect, Artoria diverted her Barrier's power into a golden cross, once again utilizing her Divine Retribution spell. A powerful beam fired from the cross, catching the now unarmed viking right in the chest and sending him flying.

The third of of the vikings that attempted to strike her while she was down was last to approach her, going for a strong swing at her head. Artoria ducked under it, but it was a feint. The viking changed the direction of the swing, bring his axe up and around, then slamming the side of her visor hard from the right. The visor shattered into pieces, vanishing into light, and Artoria went sprawling into the dirt, Caliburn flying from her hand. Disoriented and seeing double, she got up to her feet just in time to avoid the finishing blow. His swing met nothing but air, and another Norseman tried to attack her from behind which was foiled by a lucky blade catch. However, due to their lightning enchantments, Artoria felt a surge of electricity shoot through her body. Letting out a scream of pain, but not letting go, she broke yet another axe, then performed a cold one-two punch that would have instantly dropped any other opponent. However, this one's eyes indicated he was one of the Undying Rage users from before. When she tried to punch him again, all he had to do was grab her arm.

The large man picked her up by said arm, and slammed her into the ground several times, cracking and breaking her armor in several areas before finally tossing her like a rag doll, with piece of metal flying off of her and disappearing into golden particles. At first, it seemed like she was done. But ever so slightly, she started trying to push herself up off the ground and back onto her feet. At this point, she was greatly weakened from her injuries and her near-depleted mana.
 
The group of Vikings would laugh as she struggled to get up, barely remaining standing. The big bearded man walked over, followed by six of his cronies. They stood near the Princess, all laughing cruelly. A loud, but short, siren went off which signaled the end of the exercise. Most of the Vikings moved away, laughing and talking about their various deeds in the fight as they clapped each other on the back and shook hands. A red light shines in the lamposts around the area, signalling that the teleportation devices to the med bay are turned off.

However, the red bearded man and his six cronies did not move. They all chuckled to each other as they fondled their weapons. One of them says "How pathetic that the princess couldn't stop us. So much for the next Queen of Brittania, eh?"

Another followed up "Maybe we should cut a piece out of her, just to make sure she doesn't trouble our lands when her weakling father finally dies." says another.

The big bearded viking, standing at a massive 7 and a half feet tall grins evilly "She will make a fun play thing as we leave her a gift to remember us by." he says as he lifts his axe up, ready to bring it down on Artoria's shoulder. He laughs cruelly before the axe comes slamming down, directly on her shoulder near the neck. "LETS SEE IF HER FATHER WILL LOVE HER WITH NO ARM!?"

Just before the axe head hits her shoulder, mere inches away, Artoria's vision is filled by a blur. A loud clang is heard, the sound of steel meeting steel. Artoria would see the Norse man from earlier standing over her, his tall frame shielding her from the murderous glare that the bearded man was giving her.

Despite the huge size advantage, the smaller Norseman was effortlessly holding the massive axe back with just an arming sword held in one hand. "The match is over, Grork. Settle down." said the Norseman, with a thinly veiled threat . His voice was rough and husky, as if his vocal cords were made by capturing the sound of Thor grinding stone blocks together. Despite being a quiet voice, the Norseman had an air of command in his voice. Even Artoria felt compelled to listen to the stranger, as the confidence and rustic royalty exuding from the male was able to be grasped from the air.


Grork scoffed "I don't answer to you, boy. I answer to my employer and he says that bitch dies.... having you here is just icing on the cake... Bjorn Ravenstorm."

Bjorn's eyes narrow as the big man pushes off the smaller one. Grork flourishes his massive two handed axe skillfully, blur of speed to even Artoria. Bjorn simply stands there as Grork swings his axe around the air, showing off his skillful use.

Bjorn scoffs as Grork finishes, his massive axe looking downright murderous. Bjorn stabs his sword into the ground and leaves it there as he simply walks towards the big man with no weapon on him and his arms spread wide as he tauntingly has his guard lowered.

The taunt enrages Grork to no end. Grork roars a challenge as he channles the mana and activates Undying Rage. Bjorn just lets him as he continues to stroll at a leisurely pace towards the giant. After finishing his activationg, Grork bum rushes Bjorn lifting his axe as he goes for the kill. The giant would be a literal blur and stupidly fast for his size.

The big man plants his feet and swings at Bjorn, aiming to cleave him in half. Bjorn jumps over the attack as he leaps towards the man. Bjorn's feet just barely get clear of the axe as Bjorn slams his fit into Grork's throat.

Despite the ability to ignore pain, the Undying Rage does not make the body ignore wounds completely. The big man attempted to gasp for air, not even a sound being made. Bjorn steps and launches himself off Grork's shoulder. Bjorn lands on the other side of Grork, standing casually with his arms still spread out wide as he looks at the other men. Grork's left hand grabs his throat as he reaches for Artoria, looking to grab her throat and squeeze the life out of her. However, the lack of oxygen made the big man collapse, falling over dead from his windpipe crushed. If Artoria looked closely, the big man's throat was almost flattened from the force of Bjorn's punch.

Bjorn stood there for a few seconds, waiting to see what the others would do. They looked at Bjorn, at the body, then back at Bjorn. Bjorn simply said. "If you wish to die, come at me. If you wish to live, I suggest you walk away before you end up like this big man over here." he looks back towards the body before looking back at them. "Unless you really want to continue to try and five versus one a fifteen year old girl who already survived a six vs one of you.... and took most of them down."

"Well, he won the duel. He is our leader now. Hail Bjorn." said one of them as the others nodded their affirmation. They all silently walked away, leaving the dead man to his fate.

Bjorn promptly turns on his left heel and walks towards Artoria. He steps onto, and walks over, the body of the giant. The act is one of giant disrespect to the dead man, for Bjorn utterly despises him for attacking a young girl.

Bjorn stands over Artoria, offering her a hand with a smile. "I am Bjorn Stormraven, they will not bother you anymore." Artoria would get a warm feeling from the strange man, almost as if he truly cared for Artoria and was a compassionate man she could trust.... despite having just killed a giant of a man with one punch.
 
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Artoria was back on her feet and looked ready to continue despite her battered and exhausted state. However, when the sound went off to signal the end of the exercise, she grimaced and collapsed to her knees, trying to catch her breath. What remained of her armor vanished, as would Caliburn several meters away, to the surprise of a Viking who had picked it up out of curiosity. Her breathing was heavy and uneven, and she was struggling to stay conscious. She could barely hear the taunting and laughter of the men surrounding her. She did manage to catch what one of them intended to do. Alarmed at this, she sprang back up to her feet, nearly toppling over from the lightheadedness.

Her muscles were absolutely worn. It was taking a great strain to remain standing, and with these men seeming to continue to be hostile despite the exercise being over, Artoria wasn't sure if she could defend herself. But she would certainly try. Caliburn was summoned to her hand again, but she couldn't seem to lift her arm up. Her eyes widened, and all she could envision was her sword arm being lopped off. She closed her eyes shut, dreading the incoming pain. But it never came. Instead, she just heard a clash of weapons before her. Her eyes opened up, and she saw that someone had saved her. Whoever this was, she knew he looked familiar, having seen his face among the other recruits.

The following exchange had Artoria captivated. Bjorn's voice exhibited power and charisma, attempting to talk the man down. That failing, the clear skill and strength that the man demonstrated against the armed Grork was astounding, to say the least. She staggered back and fell onto her butt when the dying, choking Grork tried to lunge at her, watching him draw his last breath. Once the confrontation was dealt with, she watched the other vikings sheepishly walk off, and accepted Bjorn's hand to be pulled back up onto her feet. "A-Artoria Pendragon. Thank you."

The name "Stormraven" sounded familiar. It took Artoria a few moments, before she remembered one of Lancelot's stories. "Wait, I think I know that name. Are.. are you related to Thorstein? I think I recall my Uncle Lancelot mentioning that name quite a few times."
 
Bjorn nodded "The one and only!"

He did a quick check over Artoria before waving for a nearby DD medic to come over. The DD meedic took Artoria's arm over his shoulder before walking her over to where they are setting up tables and chairs for students to sit and be checked out. It was rather short process, as the DD medics were amoungst the best healers in the Academy. Artoria was healed quickly, but her body was still a bit numb and her drained mana is still recharging.

As Artoria was healed up by the DD medics, Bjorn walked off and away out of sight. If Artoria looked around, she wouuld see the Vikings gathering their things and preparing to head out. In addittion, the other students were being interviewed by various DD members in the triage area, usually the younger ones. After she was healed up, Bjorn walked up... seemingly appearing from nowhere. Instead of the cheap gear he was wearing at first, he was now decked out in arms and armor that befit of his status as heir to the Scandinavian throne. It was a dark tunic covered by the pelt of a wolf. Over the wolfpelt was a layer of chainmail followed by a leather breastplate of the highest quality. The leather had nordic art carved into it, giving it a regal look, along with a huge raven symbol in the center of the chest area. He wore matching forearm guards and shen guards over his leather greaves. On his back, Bjorn had a large shield strapped on, and on his hip was an axe which had runes that glowed with power.

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Bjorn walked up to Artoria, smiling warmly at her. "How are you feeling now, your Majesty?" he asked. She would note that his tone was friendly, almost as if he was greeting an old friend. His eyes had a curious twinkle to them, as if he was truely curious to see how this exchange was going to go.
 
Sitting silently while she was tended to, Artoria glanced over at the others being healed, both students and vikings alike. She spotted the ones she had personally defeated, who seemed to be in good spirits despite that fact. She had heard only tales about the Norse, having been kept on Palace grounds back home most of the time, and she was unsure of what to make of them now that she had witnessed firsthand the ferocity in which they fought. Once they were finished getting patched up, the Norsemen grabbed their gear and strolled over towards her. The young knight tensed up, expecting more hostility like that Grork and his men. However, she was surprised when they grinned at each other and complimented her prowess.

"This one's got some fire!"
"Aye, she's good despite being such a tiny little thing!" He clapped her on the back, his large hand nearly knocking her over.
"Keep at it, girl, and you'll be quite fearsome when you're older."

They walked off, leaving Artoria rather flustered at their positive comments. She was starting to understand why her Uncle Lancelot respected them so much. Then Bjorn reappeared in front of her. The medic got up and walked off to tend to another, leaving the two of them to talk freely. She looked up at him as though in awe of his size and skill. "U-uh, I'm feeling better. Thank you for saving me earlier, Mister Stormraven.." She glanced at her right arm, still unnerved from the experience. "I don't know what I could have done if you hadn't shown up." Then another thought occurred to her. She probably utterly failed the exam, thinking purely on how helpless and desperate she felt while being outnumbered and, in some cases, outmatched.
 
Bjorn waved his slight hand in the air in front of him as if he was waving her off. "Please, call me Bjorn. Stormraven is my nickname anyway." He looked down at the much smaller princess as she trailed off slightly. He reconized that look in her eye, that self doubt that slowly eats away at the soul until there is nothing left. Bjorn, in his six years as a mercenary, had seen many a powerful warrior brought down low by nothing but the machinations of their own minds. He kneels in front of her and simply reaches forward to grasp her shoulder. He gave her a gentle shake that brought her back from her dark thoughts.

As she turned towards Bjorn, he smiled. "Well, I think you would have managed. You have a lot of spirit and spunk, reminds me of my sister." He chuckles as he lets go of Artoria to stroke his chin. "Come to think of it, I think you may have done better than anyone else I have put to this test, even if you got defeated in the match. Tell me, what do you think you could have done better next time?"
 
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Artoria quietly nodded at Bjorn's correction, still feeling down on herself. When he gave her a small shake, her attention snapped back to him. His words of encouragement did help a little, and when prompted, she recalled the very beginning of the exercise. "I.. I'm not sure. I jumped in without thinking, my first thoughts going to try to save those people from the attackers. It just got more people.. uh.." She was about to say 'killed', which would have been accurate had it not been a simulation. ".. You know.. And then I regrouped and was still thinking offense. With how outmatched and outnumbered we were, I should have kept us together, forming a defensive line. ...I think."

In truth, Artoria had no idea how to deal with a situation like that, where victory seemed impossible. And it showed, as she was still thinking of different tactics she should have used.
 
Bjorn smiles as he expected that answer. His mind flashes back to when his father forced him into a similar hopeless practice situation. How utterly he had failed that excercise. On the other hand, Artoria actually did far better and with more casualties inflicted on the enemy. This girl has potential. Bjorn continues to smile warmly as he says "See, I dont think you lost at all. In fact, you actually won in my book."

He lifts an eyebrow as she still looks confused. Bjorn chuckles and poked her right in the center of the forehead. "I wasnt looking for tactics. Tactics come from here." Bjorn presses harder on her head. "and those can be taught. In fact, your strategy was sound, as it held off the enemy so civilians could get to safety along with holding off for reinforcements."

Bjorn gets serious and looks her right in the eye as he pokes her chest, right above her heart. "I was looking for this. For heart, for courage. For those that look at what seems to be an impossible situation and runs to the danger anyway. But that isnt to say you should throw your life, or the lives of your men, needlessly. As you face more excercises such as this, and real life missions that just go wrong, you will learn how to better respond in a more effective manner that costs less lives."

Bjorn stands up "See, there is no losing under my command. We have two choices: we win, or we learn. EVen those that die win, for they are in a better place than this cruel world." he turns around to walk away, only to pause. Bjorn chuckles "I almost forgot, you are under my command."

Bjorn then turns around. He grabs something from his pocket and tosses it at her.

As Artoria catches it, it would be a Disciplinary Division Badge with her name already engraved and her ID number stamped onto it. "Welcome to the Disciplinary Division Princess Artoria. I expect you to be at orientation first thing Monday morning at Six am sharp." He smiles at her once more, only this time it was a bit of a wicked one..... "Prepare to learn." he says, implying that Artoria is going to face more grueling excercises that she will "fail" and have to learn from. Bjorn turns around and waves as he walks away towards the group of Vikings that were now breaking open a barrel of mead.
 
Artoria recoiled slightly at getting poked in the forehead. It seemed so similar to the times that Vikki had done the same thing, even the friendly sibling-like method was familiar. The more that Bjorn explained the point behind the exercise, and how she had excelled, despite technically losing the fight, the more her expression lightened, and it was though she was experiencing an epiphany. "Win or learn, huh?" Though the mention of death made her think of what would happen to the rest of Britannia if she were to perish. "And I have a lot to learn.." The Norseman's words held a strong wisdom to them, more than she had expected, given the reputation of his people and the performance he gave earlier.

"Yes, I- " Artoria gets cut off as a small object is tossed at her. Catching it, she thumbs over it, hardly believing what this meant. She had earned a place in the Disciplinary Division, and she already had her own customized badge. Smiling widely at Bjorn, she nodded and said. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Mist- er, Bjorn." As he went to join the rest of his warrior brethren, Artoria got up and started to leave, when she remembered something. Taking her ORB from her coat pocket, she flicked through her recent messages, finding the one from Jayden. Her brow furrowed in irritation, but her mouth formed into a smirk.

Joining with Bjorn and the others, she had a devilish grin on her face. "I need to send a.. 'friend' of mine a message. Would you all mind a group picture?" Once they accepted, she typed out the message. Just finished my Division exam fighting these guys. Special Operations, beat that. <3 -Artoria
Once the message was ready, she took a picture with Bjorn next to her, holding up her badge with the rest of the vikings doing their thing quite cheerily around her. Once it was sent, the young princess couldn't help but get herself caught up in the festivities. She eventually got around to snagging herself a pint of the Norse Mead, wondering how it tasted. After taking a small sip.. and liking it quite a lot, she made the grave mistake of downing the rest of it. She is unsure of what happened after that, only that she woke up elsewhere with the biggest headache of her life.
 
Bjorn chuckled and stood for the group picture, making a serious face as the rest of them made goofy faces. After the group photo, Bjorn got caught up with the festivies as well, enjoying various Scadinavian drinking games and various contests of skill, such as throwing axes. Even though he took part, he always seemed a bit... off compared to the rest of the Norse. Weaved in and out of the crowds, appearing and disapearing without warning. Despite his weird behavior, Artoria would notice he was still weclome and beloved by his kinsmen.

Bjorn would have noticed that Artoria grabbed a pint of mead. His eyes went wide, sensing her intent. He tried to push through the crowd, but was too late for she already drank the whole thank. He could only watch as she nearly instantly became drunk, her words being slurrrrrrred and her demeanor being happy. The crowd cheered at her first drink, all screaming "SKOL" as she cheers happily at the attention. She laughs and high fives the rest of them, talking about how she was having fun and how they were all great guys. She spoke great lenghts on how she loved the Academy, and Bjorn couldnt help but listen and laugh along with her happiness. She spent the rest of the time playing various non-drink games and playing throwing axes... though she missed the mark and struck a Viking in hte shoulder to much amusement of the crowd. After hitting the man, she apologized and went on a rant on how she wished she would have hit Jayden in his "stupid snobby face."

After the festivites started winding down, a few of the female Vikings, known as Shield Maidens, lead Artoria to their camp. There they let her sleep in one of hte beds in the female section of the camp, inside a warm tent buried in tons of furs. All the while, Bjorn kept a close eye on her over the night, in case of any other assassins that were hired by Grork's employer.

When she woke up, she would find breakfast being made. The shieldmaidens would feed and talk with her a while before letting her go, if she chose. If not, they would allow her to watch and even participate with various shieldmaiden practice excercises, notably the shield wall and various viking fighting styles. All the while, Bjorn watched from a distance, always staying just out of her sight while working on paperwork and such on his ORB.
 
The night was relatively uneventful for Bjorn as he stood watch. However, one thing that might catch his eye would be a strange shimmer in the air. It was faint, one that could be attributed to simply being fatigue. However, for one as attentive as he, the viking was well aware of dastardly tricks, with his one being no exception. All he had to do was place his hand upon the haft of his axe, and the shimmer would gradually move away, never to be seen for the rest of the night.

With her head feeling like she had tried headbutting her way through a thousand metal shields, Artoria gladly accepted the food and (non-alcoholic) drinks offered to try and nurse away the hangover. Despite feeling like she was in another world, she certainly noticed the very friendly demeanor of the people around her. She of course returned the sentiment, not quite sure of what she did to earn their respect like this. Wanting to spend a bit more time with them, she stayed for quite some time, watching the shieldmaidens practice with each other. She watched quite intently, as though trying to pick up on their styles to more or less assimilate them into her own. If anything, Artoria was usually a quick study.

Eventually, Artoria bade them all farewell and headed back to the main part of the Academy grounds. Even though she grumbled about it, she did need to meet up with Jayden for their usual tutor sessions. Perhaps this next one will be go better than last time.

FIN~
 
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