💙05 - Keep myself [Runes of Wyrd]🤍

In the picture, from left to right: Mikal-Finnvard Arvast – Jarl of Skalvheim, follower of the “Green Faith,” who rejects the old gods Min Shieldthrower – Iberian-born, now a servant of the Jarl, and his mistress Album : https://suno.com/playlist/d3b85d17-41e5-4f6c-bfbc-4086191ed19e 💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍 Skalvheim had never felt so vast... nor so quiet. Since Helena’s departure a week earlier, Jarl Mikal-Finnvard Arvast wandered through his great hall with a rhythm that felt almost forced. His steps echoed against carved wooden pillars, steady and controlled, yet his thoughts drifted far beyond the walls. Toward the sea. Toward the ship that carried his children away. He would never speak of the unease tightening in his chest. But it lingered, stubborn, slipping into every silence. And, perhaps unexpectedly, it was toward Min Shieldthrower that he now turned more often. She remained where she always did, half in shadow. Present, yet distant. Free... and still bound to this place. Days earlier, he had asked her to resume her shield training. A simple request on the surface. But he knew better. There was something in her movements. Precision. Instinct. Something... unsettling. Perhaps even greater than Helena’s. A thought he kept to himself. That evening, he summoned her to his private quarters. Torchlight flickered along the walls, bending shadows into restless shapes. Mikal-Finnvard stood in silence for a moment, hands clasped behind his back, before finally speaking. "It is time to summon the druid, Mikki Þríkungr. And I want you to come with me." Min did not answer immediately. Her gaze narrowed slightly, measuring his words. "And who rules Skalvheim while you are gone? Helena is at sea... do you leave this to your brother?" He turned his head slowly toward her. "Kael has my full trust. Losing a leg did not take his judgment. And he knows his place. He has already proven his loyalty." Min crossed her arms, unconvinced. "Why bring this druid now?" A faint smile touched the jarl’s beard. "Because people need something to believe in. The Green Faith gives them that. It strengthens my position... and perhaps, it helps us understand what this world has become." He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "And he asked for you." Min’s expression shifted instantly. A brief silence followed. "Asked... for me?" she repeated. "He will not leave his grove without seeing you. Without... studying you." For the first time, her composure faltered. Her eyes widened, just slightly. Fear flickered across them before she could hide it. Mikal-Finnvard watched her closely. "Min. Is something wrong?" She looked away, drawing a slow breath. "No. Of course not." But her voice betrayed her. He said nothing more. Not yet. Still, he had seen enough. Something within her had cracked. A few days later, after placing Skalvheim in Kael’s care and giving his final orders, Mikal-Finnvard set sail. The departure was discreet. As discreet as a jarl could manage. The longship cut through cold waters with a small, chosen crew. Enough men to sail efficiently... not enough to draw attention. Min stood at the bow. She had not spoken since they left. The wind moved through her faded hair, revealing at times the strange contrast of her gaze. One eye pale blue... the other touched with red, as if something beneath the surface refused to rest. Mikal-Finnvard watched her in silence. This was not the Min he knew. "Listen well," he finally called to his crew. They turned toward him. "The journey will be swift. Two days. We sail to Skeldrún. We do not linger. Within a week, you will return to your families." Nods answered him. No questions. His gaze returned to Min. She had not moved. Yet something within her already seemed far away. A quiet fear. Deep. Rooted. And for the first time in a long while, Mikal-Finnvard felt something shift within himself. Not the resolve of a ruler. But the restless pull of a man who sensed that whatever awaited them on Skeldrún... might change everything. 💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍 I pace the deck... no rhythm, just waves hitting wood like a truth I can’t drown tonight Too many words in my throat, they don’t fall, they just burn every breath as I fight Helena walks like the storm bends around her... but storms, they remember, they bite And Bruno still laughs like a boy... yet there’s iron beneath that I try not to write Min doesn’t speak... no, she holds something sharp, like a blade wrapped in silence and cloth Her gaze cuts deeper than steel before battle... there’s something she buries in oath What did I build... was it faith, was it fear, was it lies dressed in roots I designed? If the ground that I gave them is hollow beneath... then I’ve doomed every soul that is mine (Go..yoh...) Gods went silent... or maybe we turned... maybe we chose not to hear them at all Maybe they watch from the dark, counting cracks in the walls as they wait for the fall I gave them a path, gave them soil, gave them something to hold when the old faith declined But what if it’s empty... what if I carved them a cage dressed as something divine And Kael guards my throne on one leg... still stronger than men who would beg for the crown I’ve seen how power can twist in a heartbeat, how kings slowly crumble and drown And Min... why you... why does he call for your eyes, like he knows what you tried to conceal There’s something in you I ignored far too long... something breathing, something real Keep myself Don’t let him see Under my skin There’s something breathing I can’t set free Keep myself Buried too deep If he looks in He’ll wake the part of me I can’t keep Two days to reach what he guards... and the sea feels alive like it knows what we hide Like it’s pulling at truths we’ve been dragging in silence, nowhere to run, nowhere to slide Min stands still... but her breath breaks in patterns... no, something inside her resists I’ve seen that look... right before something fractures... right before something exists If he sees through her skin... sees the thread that she’s cut and the lies that remain Then what have I brought on this ship... what have I dragged into light from the chain I thought I was leading... I thought... I knew... I could shape every path that I chose But the deeper I walk into this... the less that I know what is truth... what is false Maybe the sea already knows Maybe the wind speaks her name If truth is carved into bones... Then what survives of the flame Keep myself Don’t let him see Under my skin There’s something breathing I can’t set free Keep myself Buried too deep If he looks in He’ll wake the part of me I can’t keep I feel him close (I feel him close) I feel him see (I feel him close) I feel him close (I feel him see) I feel him see (I feel him see) I... I won’t break I’ll stay... me