The Great Fight

[Kaiser Martens]

The city of the gods, in the center of Nordheim, the North's North as some may call it, the land that had once been a country all by itself - today, this city which was a sort of a Germanic Pagan Mecca or Vatican continued to be a demilitarized zone since the Nordheim-Prussia Merge.

The home of the Aesir, this walled town, seemed to be like walking into a Nordic Wonderland and a living museum, runes, statues, monuments and cultural centers such as libraries everywhere. Everyone, or almost everyone walked in the Nordheim Fashion: Either outright militaristic and elegant or otherwise in clothing out of some fairytale. The men looked like princes and the women like princesses. Well, sometimes the opposite...weird country.

Now and then, the ceremonial Valkyrie and Einherjar Guards are seen, carrying spears or axes most of the time, parading in their armor, which looked to be late-medieval in spite of being constructed with modern materials. True, most houses seemed to be ancient yet seeing Laptops was commonplace. A mixture of old and new.

There was a large golden castle at the center of the town, the Aesir's Castle. In front remained a large silver cage-like structure around a colliseum-like emplacement. That would be The Place. In some days, a fight was schedule to happen, a fight to answer the most decisive question of recent military history: Who could fight better, a Valkyrie or a member of the Lillian Guard?

There would be an answer soon.

[b]The Germanic Government invited all of the world to go and watch the fight and to even make bets on it officially at Asgaard. All money collected would go to the Victims of the recent Nuclear Attacks.[/b]

"We will show how proper civilized fighting should be like as opposed to the crude Radioactive American Barbarism seen as of lately, and then we will use the funds to fight against it. Furthermore we will add material from our own reserves to assist all of our allies and friends struck by these weapons."

Who would be up to the challenge?

[Sarah Tintagyl]

Cecile Tissot, would be up for the challenge that the Germans would offer. The Lillian Guard had always prided itself as the world's premiere female fighting detachment. Their history came from a long line of brave defenders. These women had been there at nearly ever Australian and Hanseatic engagement to defend either Queen Hannah or the famed Lady Protector, Sarah Tintagyl, many in their ranks had died, but they had died bravely, with a smile on their face and a burning sensation in their hearts. In the present time, the Lillian Guard was non-existent, a part of Australia's distant past as the Union of the Southern Cross relied on other special operations brigades to do work that presented danger and difficulty. Many in the Lillian Ranks, who at least kept up the tradition of the Guard, continued to train for the hope of one day returning to battle. It may never happen, but there was always the chance that the Union would eventually call upon the efforts of its brave women to once again to defend the homeland from invasion and destruction, as they had done in times past.

When the German invitation and challenge had been issued however, the Lillians' dream had been answered. Now there was the chance to prove themselves, prove that they could hold their own against perhaps their greatest rivals, the only other female special operations detachment, the German Valkyries. Cecile, as one of the senior members of the defunct organization, was chosen to represent the Lillians at the challenge and found herself on a plane to Nordheim and placing her footprints in the deep snow of the north.

"At least now we'll be facing each other as we should have done so many years ago." She said disembarking from the plane and from there asked to be taken towards the arena itself where the match would begin. The Lillian was clad in her traditional clothes, a white frock coat with golden epaulets, a rapier, and within her coat three syringes of Raging Nostrum, the almost forgotten steroid of the Asgeirsson Regime. Entering the arena, Cecile declared that she would be the Lillian to face off against the German challenge and that this battle would settle the unanswered questions of the two units, now and forever.

[Kaiser Martens]

When she arrived, there was much media attention. But unlike in most countries, they didn't actually try to swarm her. Yes, they would follow her around, but they respected her personal face and didn't yell an amount of questions at her. Rather, they requested permission to have a brief word. So was the culture.

Escorted by Einherjar, she was shown to the arena - it was like a sort of gothic colliseum with a cage too beautiful to ever be forgotten in any dungeons. Some people watched on the streets, some with respect, others viewing her sportily as an enemy.

Eventually, one of the press workers said, "Lady Tissot, we have received a declaration from your contender, Ingeborg Geertsdottar Valkyrja regarding the upcoming fight."

The place was quiet. Occationally a vehicle moved past, but the engine hardly seemed to emmit any noise at all - regulations were strict on such sacred ground.

[Sarah Tintagyl]

As Cecile stopped inside the arena and looked up at the change, she smiled and turned to the press corp that hovered around her. "Well then I would much like to hear my opponent's declaration. I can assure all of you that a Lillian shows only the deepest regard for her opposition. Anything else would be wrongful to those who serve in such a volatile atmosphere."

She walked into the arena itself and closed her eyes. "We are both warrior here, fighting for our deities and our destinies. I am ready to fight for my sisters in arms."

[Triyun]

Jia would personally attend with camera smuggled in to make a crude hand job of the proceedings on VCD, which the Chinese would then market as a special edition blue ray all across the world's China Towns.

[Kaiser Martens]

Her every word was written down and would later be in the newspapers and websites.

Then, the message from the Valkyrie is relayed,

"We may have a fight but in reality [i]We[/i] have clearly already won regardless of the results. Lady Tissot: [b]I must break you.[/b]"

The reporters already were ready to begin writing down her answer to that. In the meantime, somewhere within Nordheim's Wilderness, Ingeborg kept on training...there was little information about her other than she had fought the Russians around Königsberg and later participated against the French as well as the Red Army. She had received a few decorations for this obviously, and like all valkyries had been separated from their families at birth in order to receive life-long training - or until retirement before their mid thirties.

[Sarah Tintagyl]

In her own training quarters, Cecile took the news of her German opponent with a smile and a flick of the hair. "Break me will she? Well that's a bit of a cocky attitude for someone who has never fought a Lillian, don't you think so Emilie?" The fighter looked over at her trainer as she loosened her arms for another series of punches and kicks.

"I think you need to concentrate on what's in front of you." Emile said shaking her head. "I used to think that Germany was a conservative nation when it came to the press." She looked out towards the window where a group of reporters and cameramen were gathered. "They're hounding us like dogs."

"Let them hound us, they're just stuck up on this fight because it's the fight that never happened."

"Cecile?"

"The fight between the Hansa and Germany way back when, before either of us were born. We're going to be playing for our grandparents sins, Emilie, that's why I have to win this fight." She said letting loose a flurry of assaults onto the trainer's padded hands. "Nothing is going to change, she isn't going to get the chance to break me."

In addition, a message was sent to German authorities on just how the fight would be set up. Weapons, time length, style of fighting, and so forth.

[Kaiser Martens]

Shortly thereafter, the newsmen outside seem to dissipate and vanish into thin air. There is the sound of an engine, but also some rythmic walking noise as if it were a horse that was moving along. It was one of the Aesir, Baldur, on his latest mechanical monstrosity, an incredibly fuel-inefficient and clumsy - yet somehow awesome - mechanical horse. Dropping down from the overly complicated machine, he enters...

...And speaks in a rather broken English, perhaps with an undeterminate mix of norweigan and german accents - tending to stress some words on the wrong syllable, and mispronouncing the infamous English W and Rs among other things.

"Helló. I am de Baldur from de Aesir. I am much very honored to meet *you*. That you vill a cood time in Asgaard my hope sincerely is, and, is too of aall the Aesir crew."

He bows.

"I am here, around de fighting conditions to discuss. Do you any preferences for the fight have? Vat can ve possibly too for you?"

[Sarah Tintagyl]

As Baldur entered the gymnasium, both Cecile and Emilie approached him and bowed slightly at his arrival. However after he began to speak both women found it almost impossible to understand what he was saying, aside from selecting a few choice words from his sentences. Once Baldur was finished speaking, both Lillians looked at each other curiously trying to remember everything he had said to them. Finally, Cecile stepped forward and laid her hand on Baldur's shoulder, bringing him further into the gymnasium where the two sat down on stools as the fighter cooled off with a bottle of water.

"At the moment, Mr. Baldur, my associate and I don't have any real preferences for the fight. I know from a bit of research the Valkyries and the Lillian Guard have a lot of similar equipment. Swords, guns, probably some smaller hand to hand weapons, and of course bare-knuckle fighting." Cecile opened her mouth and reached back towards one of her molars and after wiggling it for a moment, pulled the tooth out. "I've been through my fair share of fights and I can tell you that whatever Miss Ingeborg decides on, I'll be fine with. However, if you want to know my personal thoughts, I would say we'll keep it simple. We're not looking to kill anyone, so how about mixed-martial arts? Tape up our fists and go to town."

Emilie walked over towards them and stood behind Cecile. "And if you could, maybe keep the press from harking on us. We'd like to enjoy our time here, without having to answer a million questions when we're on the street."

[Kaiser Martens]

"Wheresogood. Dat sounds like one eksellent plan. Ingeborg Valkyrie had have is too prefer to go hand-against-hand fight. Do not vorry an de press, I am to talk to dem. Vill be leaving you alone or uddervise is ballet in head geshotted. All clear?"

He bows.

"De fight shall on a week happen. Guards to be sent den at right time. I must be on way mine. Hail."

He tips an invisible hat and turns around, walking out of the room as abruptly as he had broken in to begin with. Weird country alright...curiously enough, the women would not even be able to notice any further press whatsoever for the rest of their stay until the fight proper had taken place of course. In the distance, a bell started to go off, and as the sun went down, the gigantic black light on the Martens Lightbringer massive statued gave the town a rather uncanny atmosphere. People had begun to drink, while on the temples ceremonies would be held - sometimes these too involved drinking.