for there are many ways to kill a man they say

After dragging Tiamat back from the smoke, Wessex tries to stay at the rear of the Basin group, plodding along with the stragglers, offering small, short words of encouragement to those with tears in their eyes. She has nothing but the leather armor on her back, her ivory horn ring, a dagger, and a piece of the Haruspex’s mirror. She has no companion or child to worry about, which makes her an ideal rear guard - hustling them along before the great waves of smoke that come steadily behind them. Always at Tiamat’s side, she gives the great white mountains a final look, and curses it all to hell.

It’s no surprise as they’re herded towards the Marsh.
It’s no surprise that Kaos rains hell down upon the Gods
The deaths? Those are a surprise. She watches it all with an unaccustomed numbness, doing her best to stay by the blue maiden in the melee, and that’s really all she can think about - that purpose - it saves her.

She’s never been real religious, but fuck if Wessex’s stone of a heart didn’t constrict in her chest when Sparky exploded in the sky. Just like that, the big guy who seemed to believe there was something in her is just… gone, and for once, she’s left thankful that her sense of caution prevailed after the first few went poof. No, there’s no way to fight him - this is a lost cause, and she grimly turns to those surrounding her, following up on Rikyn’s instructions. “You heard him - into the Portal.” Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Weaver leap, and a part of her is glad the tiny Corporal is one of the first through. Bravery sets an example, but Wessex will not follow yet.

Using her bulky body, she begins to press forward, using her spiked tail to gently prod those on either side of her. “Go! No more deaths. Go, follow the others!” To be honest, she could care less about others outside of the Basin, it’s a distraught Tiamat she’s focused on. The woman is clearly shell-shocked, uncapable of doing anything. “Stay close to me, we’ll get others through and then go together,” she yells into the maiden’s ear. It’s classic misdirection, as the warrior woman flirts with the edge of the sucking force, until she positions herself just so, and heaves her bulk against the slighter woman, hopefully shoving her forward enough so that she (and Nimue) are pulled along.

When she is finally satisfied that enough of the Basiners are through - there goes Rikyn, Nox, Oizys, Weaver, Glacia - she tries to wait for Erebos, but he, too, is lost in the fray. Finally, there is no delaying it, and when faced with the Portal, Wessex summons a roar and charges through, meeting whatever may be on the other side the only way the daughter of a Lagertha, the Viking Warrior Queen can - with all guns blazing, and no fear of Valhalla.  

I am Iron and I Forge Myself