The Death of the War Mother

"Can you hold on a little longer? Until you reach the tribe before you die?"

Heron took off the Heartsteel from his body and haphazardly hung it on Kojiya, hoping that the life restoration ability of the Heartsteel would have some effect.

Kuojiya's complexion did improve slightly, but it was only a difference between being about to enjoy happiness and having to wait a little while.

The regenerative abilities of Heart Steel could not keep up with the loss of her life force.

"How did you get here... Sejuani?"

"She didn't come; I came by myself."

"Would you support her?"

"What?"

Kuojiya was probably already delirious, and her words were incoherent and unclear. It took Herren a while to understand her.

"If you mean making her a War Mother... I think I would, I'm sure she would be an excellent War Mother."

"Heh, I think so too..."

"Really? Your attitude towards her doesn't seem to reflect that."

Helen racked his brains trying to find a way to temporarily prolong someone's life from his knowledge, but naturally came up empty-handed. He could only sit cross-legged next to Kojiya and listen to the dying man's last words.

"Sejuani hates me, so she'll deny everything about me and won't repeat the same mistakes..."

Kuojiya struggled to breathe, her lungs eroded by the black ice, making her voice hoarse and unpleasant.

"I originally wanted to arrange more blood oaths for her to help her, but now it seems I don't have time... Perhaps I was too selfish; I never intended to leave her with more oath-takers..."

A dying man's words are often good. Herren did not respond, but listened silently.

"Will God protect the Claw of Winter? Kid, are you listening?"

"I am here... God may not protect Winter's Claw, but Sejuani will."

After a pause, Herren decided to give the old war mother some final peace of mind.

"I think... I will too."

"That would be best... but I'm still worried. But it's no use anyway, the wolf is dragging me, it's rougher than I expected... it hurts a bit."

After letting out a cry of pain, Helen wanted to check on Kojiya, but saw that her eyes were slightly closed and her pupils were no longer focused, clearly indicating that she had passed away.

Seeing a living person die right in front of him, even though he had just killed someone with his own hands, Helen was momentarily stunned.

He thought he should perhaps pray for the warrior, but he knew nothing of the Winter's Claws' faith, nor of the spirit of the goat he worshipped, who showed no concern for the dead.

He could only sit there, and after regaining some strength, he hung the Heart Steel back on himself, closed Kojiya's unclosed eyes, carried her on his back, and walked laboriously towards the tribe at the foot of the mountain.

The snowstorm had subsided somewhat, but based on Herren's experience, an even bigger snowstorm was on its way.

……

……

Boom!

Sejuani wielded her flail skillfully, and after a few swings, she accurately struck a flat shield, easily shattering the sturdy shield.

Just as Herren had said... she seemed to have a real talent for using the flail. After only one night of hasty practice, she had already basically mastered the knack and even integrated it into her previous combat habits.

However, since she had no one to teach her and no experience in using it, her skill in using the flail had basically stagnated, but she still practiced diligently.

She didn't stop to rest until she was covered in sweat.

"It's time..."

After some mental preparation, Sejuani finally made up her mind.

Although she wouldn't admit it, she was actually afraid of her mother, who had been beating and scolding her ever since she could remember.

But there's no time to waste...

Sejuani sighed, clutched the Bloodthirst tightly, stood up, and made her final preparations.

Just as she was preparing to fight to the death, she suddenly heard a commotion outside her tent... Such a situation was rare on nights without a banquet, and Sejuani immediately sensed that something was wrong.

She drew back the curtains and stepped out of the tent, only to see Heron carrying a woman on his back, surrounded by a group of warriors, as they approached the campfire in the center of the tribe.

He looked rather unwell and walked unsteadily. It wasn't until they reached the campfire and he put down the person he was carrying that he finally let out a breath of relief, as if all his strength had been drained.

At this moment, Sejuani finally saw who was being carried by Harren.

Her body was almost completely corroded by black ice, a corner of her flamboyant bull-horn helmet was missing, and her face was deathly pale and lifeless.

It was none other than the War Mother of the Claws of Winter, Kojiya.

Sejuani was stunned for a long time, feeling as if her heart had sunk to the bottom of the earth. She rushed over.

"Mother?!"

Only after touching Gorgia's body did Sejuani feel a bone-chilling coldness that seemed unlike that of a living person.

"She's dead."

Herren spoke softly.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't save her..."

"What exactly happened?"

Ercas and the other soldiers who stayed behind to keep watch had already gathered around, and many of those who had already gone to sleep had also heard the commotion and came out of their tents... But as soon as they came out, they heard a shocking piece of bad news.

War Mother is dead...

For a Freljord tribe, the death of their Warmother is far more terrifying than the passing of the Demacian Emperor or the abdication of the Noxian ruler.

This means that the pillar supporting a tribe has collapsed.

"The Frost Priests killed her... on the grounds that Kogia was no longer suitable to be the War Mother of the Winter's Claws because she had rejected their offer..."

Herren's words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among those around him.

After all, although the War Mother is the only heaven of the Winter's Claw, there is also earth below heaven. The "benevolence" usually shown by the Frost Priests has also earned them a lot of prestige in the Winter's Claw.

Soon, some people raised questions.

"Impossible! How could the priest kill the War Mother?"

"Were you the only one who saw it? Are we forced to believe you?"

"Did you kill War Mother?"

Hearing the subtle or radical questions from those around him, Herren was momentarily speechless.

Indeed, no one can prove that what he said is true.

On the contrary, Kojiya did not openly accept him, and he was still theoretically an outsider... In the matter of the mysterious death of his mother, almost no one could trust him unconditionally.

almost……

"Shut up, all of you!"

At this moment, Sejuani, who had been stunned for a long time, suddenly shouted, then stood up and scanned everyone with a serious look.

Her eyes were murderous, and the fierce glint in them, along with her face that bore a striking resemblance to Kuojiya, immediately silenced everyone around her.

Once the surroundings quieted down, Sejuani looked at Heron.

"Come with me and tell me everything."

"Um……"

After her brief outburst, Sejuani turned and walked back into the tent, and Herren stood up and followed closely behind.

Only a group of bewildered tribesmen remained, staring at the quietly lying corpse of their mother. A sense of despair and grief began to spread among them.

Once inside the tent and with the curtains closed, Sejuani was no longer as upright as before. She swayed as she walked to a chair and slumped down on her bottom.

She covered her face with one hand, supporting her head, while the other hand rested flat on the table. Herren could clearly see that her fingertips were trembling uncontrollably.

Heron sighed softly, walked over slowly, and placed his hand on Sejuani's hand.

His intention was to offer some comfort to Sejuani, who was emotionally distraught, but Sejuani seemed to grasp at a straw and tightly grabbed Harren's hand.

Her hands were very cold, and to Helen, they felt almost as cold as the body of the already dead Kojiya.

"How...how could she die? I..."

Sejuani was somewhat incoherent, and she gripped Herren's hand even tighter.

The grip was extremely strong, causing Herren a slight pain.

But Heron broke free, but instead of pulling his hand away, he crossed it over and clasped Sejuani's hand together.

"I'm sorry, Sejuani... but you don't have time to be sad. Winter's Claw is now in your hands."

"I...I'm not ready yet..."