“Well, we’ll have plenty of time to swap battle stories. You may take a look at our Markog artifacts any time you want. You are honored in Deepforge, of course.”
“Good, and you should trek with us to Nordland some time and be our guests! We’ll wrestle beasts and have epic ocean fishing from our high cliffs! You simply must take part in our coming of age ceremonies. Some of the best times of all.”
“So, Eric. What’s your opinion of the absent gods?”
Eric suddenly seemed a bit uncomfortable, but answered, “The gods are not absent…I’m sure of it. Our friend Bruno here is proof as far as I’m concerned. If he exists, then so do the gods.”
“Then,” Teelena started, “why have they abandoned us? Why do they ignore our prayers?”
“None of the gods have claimed this world. Therefore, they cannot intervene…at least, that’s how I understand it.”
At this point, Bruno walked up and joined the conversation. “What’s all this talk of gods?”
“We were just wondering where the gods are, Bruno. Since you were sent here by Thor, maybe you have a unique perspective on the situation,” Eric said.
“But, then, who are we to question the motives of the gods, huh?” Teelena said.
“Who? Me? Hell, I know nothing of the gods’ motives. But, gods must be questioned, and who better to question the motives of gods than their worshipers? It is from them they get their power, after all. But as far as me, I just do what I’m told.” Bruno shrugged.
“Well,” Grognor began, “if anyone would know, you would. You’ve actually been in the presence of gods. Surely you have some insight. Eric says they haven’t claimed the world, or something?”
“Yea…I…really don’t know, specifically,” Bruno started. “I can tell you this: I know the process of claiming a world isn’t all that easy. You don’t just drop in and claim a world. I’ve seen several try that tactic and it always ends in disaster. Midgard and several others come to mind… anyway, in order for a god to claim a world, he or she…or it…or whatever…needs to have already established a presence, either known or unknown, of that particular pantheon or a strong ally. For instance, if the Olympian gods wanted to claim this world, they would send Apollo or somebody to live here disguised as a mortal for a period of time. During that time, that world would be off limits for any god to claim. Even if they tried, it wouldn’t work unless it was preordained somehow.”
“So,” Grognor said, “there could be a god among us, even now.”
“Or it could be you,” Eric said, motioning to Bruno. “You’re a strong ally of the Norse gods, and a type of god yourself, are you not?”
“That’s what I’ve been saying, but he refuses to accept that he is a god,” Grognor said, motioning to Bruno.
Bruno scowled at Grognor. “Well, yes, but I’m not divine. Just immortal…or at least, I was. It would have to be an actual god disguised as a mortal. Using an avatar, basically. It could be anyone, but I don’t think this is what’s happening. I think, sadly enough, that the presence of the Black Queen is preventing any god from claiming the world. She’s the daughter of an ascended god, and a goddess herself from a parallel universe. So, she’s the highest ranking creature. This world is essentially hers right now….unless…”
“Unless what?” Grognor asked.
“Unless there’s another god, one that’s been living among us prior to the Black Queen’s arrival. That might explain something else I’ve been wondering about, too. Either way, she’s got something to do with it.”
“All the more reason to take her down,” Grognor said.
“This could actually have a devastating effect,” Bruno began, “if she gets divine rights to this world, the whole future could be lost, or best case scenario, divinely fractured.”
“Divinely fractured?” Teelena said.
“Yea, meaning no one god has exclusive rights to the world. I’ve known several worlds like that, the worst is Earth. In fact, now that I think about it, that could be the reason it keeps resetting…anyway, yea, we do need to take her down one way or another. There’s just something that doesn’t make sense, something I haven’t been able to figure out since I realized she was here.”
“What is it, Bruno?” Grognor asked.
“As I told you before, I’ve had dealings with her. I saw her completely wipe out three worlds totaling over ten billion people. Those people had advanced technology and they couldn’t stop her. She had millions of dragons at her disposal.”
“If that’s true, then why hasn’t she already done that here?” Teelena asked.
“Exactly my point. Why has she resorted to enlisting the one creature she hates most: humans? Why has she only sent a handful of dragons?” Bruno looked across the sky to the south, contemplative.
“Maybe she’s just toying with us,” Grognor suggested.
“No, that’s not her style. She doesn’t do that. She goes for the kill. But, all this talk of gods has got me really wondering what she’s up to.” Bruno picked up a rock and crushed it in his bare hands.
“Tell me all you know about this foe,” Eric said.
They spent most of the night discussing the Black Queen and all they knew about the war. Grognor made it perfectly clear that the Nords and all of the humans and halflings, elves and everyone else of the River Valley were allies. He also told the story of the traitors, and what would happen if he discovered the rest of them. He made sure they knew that the best idea was to drop their treacherous pursuits and fall in line with the alliance. Once again the conversation turned to gods.
“Tell us what you know about the Norse gods and the story of creation, Bruno,” Eric said.
Everyone got quiet and listened as Bruno spun the tale.
“That’s actually one of my favorite stories,” Bruno began, smiling in anticipation of telling his favorite tale. “In the beginning was a great abyss; neither day nor night
existed; the abyss was Ginnungagap, the yawning gulf, without
beginning, without end. Allfather, the Uncreated, the Unseen, dwelt in the depth of the abyss and willed, and what he wilted came into being. Towards the north, in immeasurable space where dwell darkness and icy cold, arose Nifelheim, and to the south was Muspelheim, fiery, glowing with intense heat. The spring Hwergelmir sprang into life in Nifelheim, and out of it flowed twelve and moreinfernal streams, Eliwagar, with their ice-cold waters. The dreadful cold soon froze the waters, and blocks of ice rolled over and undereach other through the boundless gulf towards the south and Muspelheim. In the air above, the storms roared from Nifelheim, rooting up the icebergs; while from the Home of Brightness rays of beneficent heat poured forth over Ginnungagap, and when the great blocks of ice began to melt under the influence of this warmth, and drops of water to form and run down their sides, then it was that life first showed itself, and there arose a monster, the giant Ymir, terrible to look upon. From him are descended the Hrimthurses or Frost-giants. The warm rays awakened more life in the waters. The cow Audumla, the nourisher, came into being; from her flowed four streams of milk which fed the dreadful Ymir and his children, the Hrimthurses. But she had nothing to graze on except the salt of the ice-rocks, which she licked. On the first day after she had licked the rock, a head of hair was visible; on the second day, the whole head; and on the third, the rest of the body, beautiful and glorious of limb.
“This was now Buri, who had a son named Bör, and Bör married Bestla, daughter of the Hrimthurses, by whom he had three sons, Odin, Wili and We. After this, war was made on the violent Ymir, and the sons of Bör slew him, and flung his great body into Ginnungagap, which was filled with it. But the blood of the monster flowed out covering all things, so that there was a great deluge in which the Hrimthurses were drowned. One of them alone, the wise Bergelmir, saved himself and his wife from destruction by taking refuge in a cunningly made boat, and he became the father of the race of giants. Space was now void and drear.
“The new rulers, who called them
selves Ases, i.e., pillars and supports of the world, did not like this state of things at all. So they began to create as Allfather willed that they should. They made the earth of Ymir’s body, the sea of his sweat, the hills of his bones, and the trees of his curly hair. Of his skull they made the firmament, and of his brain the clouds which float below. Then, out of the giant’s eyebrows the gods formed Midgard, the dwelling-place of the children of men, who as yet unborn slept in the lap of time.
“Darkness reigned throughout space; only a few fiery sparks
from Muspelheim wandered aimlessly through the air; the sun did not know her place, nor the moon his course, nor did the stars know where they were to stand. But the gods collected the sparks, made them into stars and fastened them in the firmament. They created the chariot of the sun, harnessed to it the horse Arwaker, which was driven by the maiden Sol; she was rapidly followed by the shining moon drawn by the horse Alswider, bridled and managed by the beautiful boy Mani. Mother Night talked lovingly to Mani as she preceded him on her dark horse Hrimfaxi, whilst her son Day followed her with his bright Skinfaxi.
“Creatures of all sorts crept like maggots in and out of Ymir’s body and bones. The gods therefore consulted together as to what was best to be done, and they thought that their wisest course would be to change these creatures into a useful people. So they at once changed them into dwarves and trolls, who were gifted with a wonderful knowledge of minerals and stones of all kinds, and an extraordinary power of working in metals. One class of dwarfs was of dark complexion, cunning and treacherous; the other was fair, good and useful to gods and men. Three mighty gods once left the place where the council was held; they were Odin, Hönir or Hahnir and Lodur.
“While wandering over the face of the earth, which was green with grass and with the juicy leek, they found two human forms lying near the shore, Ask, and Embla, both of whom were without power or sense, motionless, colorless. Odin gave them souls; Honir, motion and the senses; and Lodur, blood and blooming complexions. From these two are descended all the numerous races of men.
“Allfather dwelt in the deep and willed, and what he willed came to pass. Then the ash Yggdrasil grew up, the tree of the universe, of time and of life. The boughs stretched out into heaven; its highest point, Lärad overshadowed Valhalla, the hall of the heroes. Its three roots reached down to dark Hel, to Jotunheim the land of the Hrimthurses, and to Midgard the dwelling-place of the children of men. The World-tree was ever-green, for the fateful Norns sprinkled it daily with the water of life from the fountain of Urd which flowed in Midgard, But the goat Heidrun, from whom was obtained the mead that nourished the heroes, and the stag Eikthyrnir browsed upon the leaf-buds, and upon the bark of the tree, while the roots down below are gnawed by the dragon Nidhögg and innumerable worms: still the ash could not wither until the Last Battle should be fought, where life, time and the world were all to pass away. So the eagle sang its song of Creation and Destruction on the highest branch of the tree.” [3]
Moments passed as they mentally digested what Bruno had said.
“That was…amazing!” Eric said.
“Oh, hardly,” Bruno said. “Thor made me memorize that whole thing eons ago. There’s more, much more. There are tales of battles, of heroism and heartbreak on levels mortals can never experience. And, it’s all true. Every word of it.”
“Really? All of it, even the part about dwarves and trolls?” Teelena asked.
“Yes, all of it in one way or another. You’ll notice that it only mentions one sun and one moon. These are metaphors of the levels of creation, and the planes of existence. On Earth, the Norse there took it as literally meaning that world, as did the world of Midgard itself. This story, in one way or another, translates to all worlds, and is retold in different languages and different pantheons. Some of them are so similar they are barely discernable from each other. Even the actual physics that drive the nature of creation kind of lines up with the stories, and you can trust me on that. I was there, throughout all of it…” Bruno seemed lost in thought for a moment.
“So, our prayers are not in vain. They do hear us?” Grognor asked.
Eric nodded. “Of course the gods hear our prayers. They’re gods. Prayer is never in vain.”
“Then, maybe we should all send a combined prayer to Odin himself,” Grognor said.
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Bruno said.
Grognor got up and relayed the message; he would lead the entire army in a prayer to Odin. In a few minutes, the valley was quiet. Grognor stood high and began.
“Odin, we know you can hear our prayers. We come before you today humbled by your power and glory. From what we’ve been able to figure out, you may not be able to intervene directly because of an existing divine power on our world. So, we ask you to fill our hearts, minds and bodies with the power, the will, and the ability to defeat the enemy who threatens not just our lives, but the very future of our world. We ask that your divine justice be realized as we make war on the Black Queen, and that you not withhold any advantage we may have. We ask for you to give us the power to achieve victory!”
The roar of the ensuing victory cheer was deafening. Eric, Bruno, Teelena, Bōddy and the others nodded their approval.
“What is that noise?” Thor asked as he walked the halls. Valhalla roared with a noise not heard before.
A familiar Valkyrie ran up to him. “It’s them! From Ahl-Thoor-Hees! Where’s Grandfather?”
“Are you sure?” Thor asked.
“Listen! That’s Grognor’s voice! They’re praying!” Thrúd said, very excited about the whole thing.
Moments later they stood before Odin, who sat on his throne listening to the prayer and the overwhelming cheer coming from the obscure world. He looked out at most of Asgard, who had assembled to listen.
“That roar! It’s them, they’ve broken through the veil,” Odin said, incredulous. “How is this possible?”
“It’s Grognor, Grandfather. I told you he was worth this.” Thrúd stood proud.
“No, not just him. Your husband is mortal now. Bruno’s willingness to fight as a mortal has a lot to do with this, I’m sure of it,” Odin said as the continued roar from Ahl-Thoor-Hees echoed across the halls.
“Father, the warriors in the Great Hall have become restless with this new prayer. They want to join the fight,” Thor said, slapping his hand with his hammer.
“You know we can’t…not yet,” Odin said. “The question
[4] hasn’t been asked yet. You know we can’t begin until then.”
“What about me? May I join them at least?” Thrúd asked.
Odin looked down at his beautiful Valkyrie granddaughter. “Yes. You may go, but not as a Valkyrie, and you will have no divine power. But, yes. You may go.”
Thrúd screeched with excitement. “Thank you! Woohoo!”
“Remember the rules, sweetheart,” Thor said as he hugged his daughter. “Stay away from her at all costs. You know how important that is. She absolutely can’t know you’re there. Just your presence could bolster her limited power. Oh, and be sure to tell that old gargoyle husband of yours I said, ‘Don’t let your meat loaf!” He winked.
Thrúd laughed. “Daddy! You’re silly. You’ve been hanging out with Forlonok again, haven’t you?…Crap, I need to get my sword and armor!” She ran off giggling like a teenager, letting out another ‘Woohooo!’
“You’ve made her very happy, Father,” Thor said.
Odin sighed. “How can we ever deny her anything? She’s the mother of the new gods…” He shook his head.
“Yea,” Thor chuckled, “it’s just because she’s pretty.”
Odin laughed. “Well, obviously!”
The army continued to cheer the prayer, agreeing with all Grognor said, believing in a god, not as a matter of faith, but as a matter of fact. Odin and the other gods do exist, and had not abandoned them. It was perhaps the most important event in history for the Deepforge Empire. Bruno loved every second of it,
for he knew it was all true. He had no idea what would happen with the prophecy, but he decided to take it all as an unchangeable destiny. His mortal fear for the Black Queen was stronger than ever, but now his confidence was bolstered by the bravery of these…mortals. Somehow, even though he was now mortal like them, he never felt more alive.
In the middle of their cheer, the night sky suddenly became clouded with a storm above their heads. They all got quiet as they watched the lighting and thunder suddenly filling their senses. Bright multicolored light flooded the valley, causing everyone to shade their eyes.
Bruno knew what it was. “Bifrost! Someone comes!” he said, incredulous.
In the middle of the army, the multicolored bright light coalesced and manifested in a ball of energy, displacing the air around it. In a few seconds it formed into a humanoid shape. Bruno saw, but more importantly felt it as it happened.
“No, friggen way!” he said as he ran to the epicenter of the storm.
“What? Who is it?” Teelena asked.
“The most beautiful woman in the whole of creation!” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
Everyone watched with wondrous eyes as the ball of light morphed into a tall blonde warrior woman. She stood with a full suit of armor, a Nordic shield and an ornate long sword. Her long golden hair flowed out from under her helm in two long braids. As the storm quickly faded away, she removed her helmet. It was Thrúd. She quickly visually searched the crowd until she saw the face she was looking for.
“Micha…I mean…Bruno!” she yelled, and ran into his arms.
Everyone watched the two embrace and kiss like they hadn’t seen each other in a very long time. They pulled away and looked deep into each other’s eyes, caressing each other’s faces. They both cried.
“My god, how long has it been?” Bruno cried.
Thrúd chuckled. “For me it’s only been a short time, but for you? Tens of thousands of years, I don’t know exactly.”
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