Chapter 4: Earl of Loftain

Lucy had a feeling that she could not trust these men who were bringing her news, and she believed that whatever they were saying was madness. She looked down at herself and tried to erase it all away from her head; her husband would never succumb to such a horrible fate. Then, Brynjar pulls out a necklace made of glass, but it was a different necklace and unlike anything that Lucy has ever seen. The necklace was a small mirror that could make anyone look into it and make them see their fate. He then hands her the necklace and tells her to gaze upon it and witness everything that takes place.

Lucy keeps her eyes upon it and sees many dark things that will most likely happen to not only her husband but everyone that he has ever known. Despite everything, he went through and everything that he sacrificed to defend the region with his brother would come at a significant cost. Lucy sees that all the regions and cities he conquered would be reduced to ashes, and the people who live in those cities would either die or witness their homes burned to the ground. She desperately tried to look away from the mirror, but she could not because of how intense the imagery was. She then sees that Julius walks on the road with a much darker appearance than what he usually looks like.

As of right now, he was pretty young and had a short beard, had long hair, and wore Lothric knight armor. As a general of the knights, he made sure that everyone was kept safe and away from the great dangers of the earth. It was at this point that the earth would be much more dangerous and less safe traveling to other regions. She continued to gaze at the mysterious mirror and remained speechless as the morning was still upon them. The men of Anduin were feeling concerned about Lucy, and they were whispering amongst themselves about what tragedy she would be given.

Then, she could not look upon the mirror any longer because of how vile and corrupt Julius's fate will be. Lucy covered her eyes from the sight of the necklace, and she became speechless at everything that she had seen. For a long while, she could not so much as look up at Brynjar and ask for his counsel or forgiveness. Eventually, the old man gets up from the sofa and slowly places his hand on her shoulder; he could see in her eyes the same fear that would drive him to nothingness. He then takes the necklace away from her and puts it back in his pocket while staring at her.

Then Brynjar said to her, "You have seen it, Lucy. The mirror has shown you Julius's fate. When that day comes, you must take your daughter to a faraway place and never look back. Lagertha and her descendants will be the only ones capable of facing him in the future. Your daughter's survival is the only hope for humanity. But you still have time to prepare."

"Do you know when all of this will happen?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know. I just know the fates of many who have fought hundreds... if not thousands of demons," he answered. Lucy sat there and remained silent for a long while, and she could not think of anything else to say to him.

"Do not be afraid. Have faith that you will still live to see it through," Brynjar said. And so, he got himself up and all the other men walked behind him wherever he was going.

Lucy sits there and watches as the men are leaving her house and journeying back to their home. Then, she gets up and follows them before their leader could touch the handle of the door to leave.

"Wait. What's your name?" Lucy asked. He turned back to her and still saw the fear in her eyes as she continued to think about all the tragic things that would occur.

"Brynjar," he answered.

"I owe you my life. You're welcomed here if you ever want to visit again," she said.

"Don't worry about us. We will still live to tell our tales to those who wish to hear them. Farewell."

Without hesitation, he opened the front door and continued his way down the road, and the other men were still following him. Lucy looks at them walking away from the entrance of the house and remains there for a long time. It was far too impossible to get those images out of her head; fate has always been a terrible thing that absolutely nobody can change. Then, Lagertha opened her door and watched as her mother was still standing beside the front door. She had no idea why her mother looked so lost and depressed, and she could not understand who the men of Anduin were.

Then, she goes up to her mother and tries to talk with her about those old men; in Lucy's eyes, they were men who were not afraid to show people their fates and what the outcome would be. Lagertha looked at her mother and saw so much horror and loneliness on her face, and she could not tell her about her feelings. But she needed to know about Brynjar and the rest of those men; it was a feeling that would never leave her as she lived on.

"Mother. Who are they?" Lagertha asked.

"They are the men of Anduin. Wise men who should never be reckoned with," Lucy answered.

"Does Father know about them?" She asked.

"We must never tell your father about them. If he already knows who they are, that's fine. But I must not tell him what I saw... nor can I tell you."

"Why won't you tell me what you saw?"

"Because it would not end well. You would never believe me. There is way too much about your father that you mustn't know."

"Alright."

"Good. Let's just wait for your father to get here and pretend this never happened."

And so, Lucy closes the front door and goes through the rest of the morning in silence as Lagertha continues to be confused about what just happened. But she knew her mother and knew that she had to stay silent about all the things that have to do with her father. However, she heard of things that had to do with her and understood the vast majority of the words that Brynjar said to Lucy. One of those things was that Lagertha would fight against her father; only if he succumbs to the darkness. She had her questions to give her mother, but she had to keep it all a secret for her mother's sake.

Meanwhile, Julius made his way towards the city of Loftain and felt exhausted after walking for so long. There were so many instances where he could have gone back home and met up with his wife again. But he had to deliver the news of the enormous tower to Harald; he was not feeling satisfied like he once was about going on a demon hunt. For any normal person, it would be way too risky and nearly impossible if that person was not skilled enough to do it. Harald puts his trust in his younger brother because they both know how to hunt down hundreds of demons.

He then made his way towards the city's entrance and was seen by a few guards and knights, and they were all shocked. Mostly because there were supposed to be about six knights who went with him to deal with the dark tower. Some of them already knew because the other two knights who survived the hunt could tell their story. None of the knights were satisfied with the survivors being left alone without their leader returning to the city. Eventually, they knew that Julius returned and survived the fateful encounter that revealed much of his fate.

He had no time to waste because he had to deliver his message to the earl of the city; he didn't want his time to be wasted on many questions that the knights wanted to ask him. Sometimes, he was the silent type of person to walk around, and he didn't want to be bothered by things he may think are annoying. Then, he made it towards the palace of the city where Harald was waiting for him, and he made sure that nobody stood in his way. Mostly, it was very common that nobody had a conversation with him, but he enjoys making sure that it doesn't happen. The knights allowed him to enter the palace because they all knew him as Harald's general and brother.

The sun was already up in the clouds and nothing bad seemed to happen in the city of Loftain.