by Unknown
“Well, damn,” I grinned.
“Next to Nidavellir,” Trevor kept going,” on the other side of Muspelheim, is Jotunheim. Then across the river Iving and the ocean, is Asgard, home of the Aesir gods. Next to Asgard lies Vanaheim, home of the Vanir gods, and then Alfheim, home of the light elves.”
“More elves?” It sounded to me like the gods had a little bit of fey envy.
“They're gods of nature and fertility.”
“You said they weren't gods,” I rolled my eyes.
“Well they're called elves but they're a type of god,” Trevor sighed. “I thought I'd explained that with the angel bit.”
“You did,” Kirill chuckled. “Tima's trying to give you trouble.”
“I am not,” I exhaled loudly. “I'm merely trying to get some clear information.”
“Well, that's the territory of the Nine Worlds,” Trevor shrugged.
“And we have to cross an ocean and a river to get to Jotunheim?” I rolled my eyes. “Can't we just trace across these bodies of water?”
“Nope, it's considered rude to just trace into a world you haven't been invited to,” Trevor sighed. “It could start a war. We'll have to find a boat. Maybe Vidar will help.”
“I'm sure Vidar will help,” I went to go grab a fur lined coat from my closet. “Do you want to come too, Kirill?”
“Vhat has vant got to do vith it?” Kirill was already grabbing his black wool coat.
“Okay then,” I laughed and headed down to the tracing room with them.
We traced over to Valaskjalf, Odin's home which Vidar had taken charge of. I headed out into the main hall, calling for Vidar, and it didn't take long for him to come running down the stairs at the back of the hall.
“Mother,” he gave me a warm hug. “Dad's not with you?”
“Actually I came because your father still doesn't remember who he is,” I cracked my neck in irritation. “I want to go see Mimir and ask him if he has any suggestions.”
“Mimir,” Vidar frowned.
“You don't approve?”
“No, it's a brilliant idea but Mimir usually requires payment for help. Do you have anything you can offer him?”
“What do you think he'll want?” I widened my eyes.
“Well, he's the one who took Dad's eye,” Vidar shrugged. “He could ask for anything. It's best to go with an option of your own choosing.”
I thought it over. What would a god of knowledge want that I could give him? More knowledge probably but what knowledge did I have that he didn't?
“I'll be right back,” I said to them all. “I gotta get something from Faerie.”
“Faerie?” Trevor frowned.
“It'll take me two seconds, I promise.” I didn't wait for more arguments.
I used my ring to jump over to the Faerie Realm, to a time right after I'd last left, and ran into Hunter's nursery. The book I wanted was sitting on a table beside the rocking chair. I grabbed it and asked the ring to bring me back. Roarke was going to be upset but I'm sure we could find him another.
“I've got it,” I held up the book.
“What's that?” Trevor peered at the gilded cover.
“A book of real fairy tales,” I grinned. “As in, from Faerie.”
“That's quite clever,” Vidar nodded approvingly. “Mimir will be practically salivating to get his hands on something like that. Well done, Mom.”
“Thank you. Now,” I held the book to my chest and looked at Vidar, “do you happen to have a boat we can use?”
Chapter Forty-Two
Vidar made us a boat. As the new ruler of Asgard, he was able to manipulate the energy of the realm like I had with mine. He could create whatever he wanted. In this particular instance, he changed a twig into a massive yacht, equipped with all the modern conveniences. It looked ridiculously out of place on Asgard's lake but I was so thrilled that I could spend most of the journey below deck in comfort that I didn't care.
“Well we can't travel in a longship,” Vidar scoffed when I mentioned how unexpected his choice was. “That's not at all comfortable. Even Thor prefers his yacht to the old Viking ships. Plus, we don't have a crew to man the oars.”
“Thor,” I looked up to his hall, perched on the cliff above us. “Should we see if he's home? He might want to go.”
“Actually,” Vidar shared a look with Kirill. “Having him along may be a good idea. We're going over an ocean after all.”
“I agree,” Trevor nodded. “Who wants to go get him?”
“I'll go,” I grinned as I took off my jacket and then pulled off my shirt. Everyone gaped at me until the wings sprouted from my back, then they gasped. “I'll be right back.”
I jumped up into the air and beat at the brisk currents with my wings. It took me awhile to get going but then it was fairly fast and I was soon on the balcony of Thor's bedroom. He wasn't there, so I went in and started down the hallway, looking for him. I found him eating alone in his beautiful Indian(dot not feather) inspired dining room. He dropped his fork when he saw me, it clattered loudly onto his plate.
“Honey, I'm home,” I laughed at his shock. “Sorry to barge in and interrupt your meal,” I looked around the empty room. “Your really depressing meal. But ah, I was wondering if you wanted to join us on a little jaunt into Jotunheim?”
“What?” He blinked at me.
“Do you wanna come with me, Vidar, Kirill, and Trevor to visit Mimir?” I asked slowly. “I'm gonna ask him if there's anything to be done about Odin. We're gonna cross the ocean.” I lifted my brows at him. “And a river. Lots of water, Mr. Seafaring God. You in?”
“Um, yes,” he stood and walked over to me. “Yes, I am.”
“Sweet, let's go,” I walked with him to his bedroom balcony. “There's our boat, you wanna trace down or should I try and carry us both?”
“I'll trace,” he shook his head. “Put the wings away, Vervain. They're kind of disturbing.”
“No way,” I laughed and launched myself off the balcony. “You go ahead and trace, I'll meet you down there.”
I glided down to the boat, getting there after Thor but having much more fun along the way. The guys were already showing Thor around the ship so I sucked my wings back in and put my clothes back on. By the time I was finished, we were starting to move.
“Thor's taken over,” Vidar laughed. “Just as I'd hoped. He can drive while we go down and have some lunch.”
“You stocked the galley?” I was impressed.
“You can't cross an ocean without meat,” he said seriously. “Lots of meat.”
“You can't?” I cocked my head at him.
“Nope, it's a rule. Ask anyone.”
“Is that all you brought?” I started to get concerned.
“No,” he rolled his eyes. “I think there's some rum too.”
“Rum!” I laughed, thinking about how my dreams kept manifesting in little ways. “Now we can pretend to be pirates.”
“I call dibs on Captain Jack!” Trevor climbed down from the upper deck.
“Then I got dibs on Captain Morgan,” I laughed, trying to push away the image of Vex pretending to be Captain Jack Sparrow.
“Actually it's just rum, no brand name,” Vidar patted my shoulder. “Did you want me to make it Captain Morgan?”
“It was a joke, honey,” I shook my head. “Leave the rum alone.”
I turned to watch the cliffs of Asgard fall away. They stretched out to both sides, as far as my eye could see. At the top of the cliffs which guarded the inlet to the lake of Asgard, stood twin runestones, one on each side. They were carved with magical writing that kept the unwelcome out of Asgard. Those, combined with Thor, were deterrent enough for any god to try to enter without invitation. Now that I knew about the other worlds which shared the territory, I realized how important that protection was.
The cliffs were sheer rock, soaring up into the clouds. They were topped with color though, bright green trees spotted with the red of fruit and a multitude of
flowers at their feet. Then the flash of gold caught my eye and I focused my attention to the right. There, standing proud and shining in the sun, were a group of armor-clad women.
“The Valkyries,” Vidar had followed my gaze. “How did they know?”
“Well you did just use the magic of Asgard to create a giant boat,” I glanced back at him.
“True,” he conceded. “Still, it feels as if they know where we're headed.”
“They do appear to be focused pretty intensely on us,” I frowned and then one of them pulled her sword out of its sheath and lifted it into the air, straight up. It flashed with magic, the light shining directly in my eyes so that I had to squint against it. The others followed suit and soon they were all facing us with lifted swords. “Are they saluting us?”
“They're honoring us,” Vidar whispered, “giving us a blessing of their protection.”
“They have protection magic?” I tried to remember the myths about Valkyries.
“They have powerful protection magic,” Vidar bowed to the Valkyries and I hurried to copy him. The last thing I needed was a whole group of warrior women pissed off at me for being ungrateful. “They decide who lives and dies on a battlefield. They can kill men with a touch or...”
“Make them invulnerable?”
“Yes,” he grinned. “Of course the magic works differently on gods but we will be much safer now.”
“Well thank you, ladies,” I waved goodbye to them and although they merely sheathed their weapons and turned away, I could feel the warmth of their approval as I headed below deck.
Vidar and Trevor followed me but Kirill stayed with Thor to keep him company. The boat was spacious, with a luxurious living room fitted with low couches that flowed out of the walls and a sleek bar. Vidar went directly to the bar and started pouring us drinks.
I took the glass he offered and climbed up on a couch to stare out the high window. There was nothing but water to be seen. Water and more water. I sighed and sank back down into the couch, pulling a throw blanket over me. Boy was I glad Vidar had thought about our comfort.
Hours later, Trevor shook me awake. We had arrived. I rubbed at my eyes and grabbed the bag I'd stuck the book into, before I followed Trevor out onto the deck. It was cold, freezing cold, and I automatically adjusted my internal temperature to combat it. I looked around the shore we'd moored off of. It was rocky but further in was a dense forest. Mountains rose up in several places, all topped with snow, as the forest itself was. Winter was in full force there.
I heard a splash on my right and saw Thor near the side of the boat, looking overboard. He glanced up and motioned us over. I went up to him and peered over the side. He'd let the dingy down and there was a rope ladder next to it. Trevor went first, then I climbed down, followed by Vidar, Kirill, and lastly, Thor. He nodded to the others and took the oars.
With Thor rowing, we made it to shore in no time. We all climbed out, icy water wetting my boots, and then we pulled the boat up onto the rocks. I heated my feet and dried my boots off, giving the others a little smirk.
“Anyone want dry feet?” I offered, wriggling my fingers at them. I immediately had a line of men in front of me.
After I dried them all off, we headed into the forest. Even though it was winter, the forest was teeming with life. Deer and hairy pigs ran across our path several times while birds called out to each other and rabbits scurried through the brush. It was comforting to me. If there were animals, the place couldn't be all that bad.
“So is this Jotunheim?” I asked Vidar.
“No, this is neutral land,” he answered. “A strip that acts as a buffer between the lands containing Asgard and Jotunheim. We still have to cross the River Iving.”
It didn't take long before we came out of the forest and found ourselves on the banks of a river. It wound through the forest to either side of us and was as wide as a four lane highway. Good thing there was a stone bridge just twenty yards or so down from us. We headed to it and made our way over the river. I looked down as we crossed and saw green glints in the water.
“What's with the sparkles?” I pointed down to the river.
“It's the jotun's form of protection,” Thor answered. “Similar to our runestones.”
“If we had tried to pass over the river with ill intent,” Vidar continued. “The river would have rose up against us.”
“Huh,” I looked down at the rushing water. “Good spell. Who are the jotun?”
“They're giants,” Thor glanced at me. “My mother's people.”
“You're Mom was a giant?” I stopped to gape at him.
“Not really,” Thor shrugged. “She was a normal sized Atlantean. If you recall, I told you how she died before we left Atlantis but the humans put her into the myths and made her a giantess. I guess they wanted to give me a reason for being so big. That made her relatives jotun too.”
“You are monstrously large,” Trevor smirked.
“Watch it, butt breath,” Thor rumbled.
I started laughing before Trevor could make a comeback. He glared at me and I laughed harder. “I'm sorry, Honey-Eyes,” I finally was able to say. “I was just so surprised that Thor came up with butt-breath. That's pretty creative for him.”
“Yeah, alright,” Trevor huffed a laugh. “I'll let it go this time.”
“Oh gee, thanks,” Thor rolled his eyes.
“So who's in charge of Jotunheim?” I decided to change the topic.
“A giant called Utgard,” Thor directed us into another forest. “He's the King of the Jotuns.”
“Cool,” I looked around warily. “You don't think he'll be mad that we're here unannounced, do you?”
“It's a little late to worry about that now, Vervain,” Thor shook his head. “But no, I don't think he'll care. If we had intended him harm, the river would have risen and it didn't, so he knows we're here peacefully.”
“Oh, excellent,” I sighed. “I don't know if I'm ready to meet a giant.”
“Well I hope you get ready soon,” Vidar looked back at me, “because Mimir is one.”
“Mimir's a giant?” I looked over at Thor.
“A jotun,” Thor nodded. “Why else would he live in Jotunheim?”
“I don't know,” I huffed. “Maybe he likes big women. Like your father.”
Yes, I was intimidated. I stood all of five foot three inches... and a half. I couldn't hold a candle to a giantess. I mean literally, I'd probably be holding it to knee height on her. All she'd have to do is twitch and that candle would be toast.
“Mom,” Vidar laughed. “It doesn't matter who he was with before, Dad loves you now.”
“Your father doesn't even know he's your father anymore,” I scoffed. “And he doesn't even want to love me.”
It got quiet.
Then the awkward silence was broken by the sound of heavy footfalls. We all froze and turned toward the disturbance. There, on our left, were two giant men traipsing through the trees. They didn't even notice us, just went about their giant business, whatever that may be. They were pretty far off so I couldn't accurately guess their height but they were definitely bigger than Thor.
I looked over at Thor and found him red-faced with barely contained laughter. I made a nasty face at him as he let it loose, then started walking off in the direction we'd been heading. I guess I'd be better prepared to meet Mimir now.
We traipsed through the trees for quite a bit and I'm glad Thor and Vidar knew where we were going because it all looked the same to me. If you had put a bag on my head and spun me around, I'd be hopelessly lost. Thor walked in the lead, moving with confidence though, so I was confident too. I trusted him to find Mimir.
He of course came through. The forest opened onto a clearing of snow dappled grass. The clearing was at the base of a mountain and a piece of the mountain flowed outward to bisect it. It looked odd though, it actually lifted over the clearing in an almost tubular shape, creating a tunnel beneath it. It was an odd color too, patterned st
rangely and in a completely different manner from the mountain. Maybe it wasn't a part of the mountain at all.
“Is that a root?” I stopped and followed what I'd originally thought was rock, up to where it began, high above us. There was a trunk up there, rising straight up into the sky. No, not a trunk, just more root.
“It's a root from the great tree,” Vidar nodded.
“There is no great tree,” I frowned up at the impossible root. “That's a myth that involves the world and the world has been scientifically proven to be a round planet, not a flat plane placed in a tree.”
“Yes, you're right,” Thor agreed. “But myth holds that Mimir lives under one of the three roots of Yggdrasil, so there it is.”
“You mean, there's just a root going up to nothing?” I craned my neck trying to look up but the top of the root was cloaked in clouds.
“Yep,” he laughed. “Mimir's well is beneath it, right there,” he pointed down to a rustic stone well, directly beneath the root. Beside it was a Norse hall set into the earth that the root went down into. The front of the hall was the only portion left uncovered. It looked like a wall set into a hill. A very large wall.
As we made our way forward, a huge man came out of the hall/hill. I'd thought Fenrir was huge but after seeing these jotun, I realized that I'd had no idea what a giant was. This guy stood at least half as much taller than Fenrir, possibly twelve feet, maybe more. It's hard to say when you're as short as I, everyone looks big.
The giant, excuse me, jotun, had white hair spread in straggly disarray across his shoulders, pale skin, a hook nose, and a contemplative look to him. His body was wide and strong, as most of the Norse gods were, and despite his white hair, he appeared to be quite young. His eyes were bright and youthful, alight with curiosity. They were also ice blue and staring straight at me.
“Who have you brought me, Thor?”
“You know my brother,Vidar,” Thor gestured to my son and Mimir nodded. “And Trevor, Fenrir's firstborn,” another nod. “This is Kirill, Ganza of the Intare, and Vervain, Odin's Sabine reborn.”
“I thought it was you,” Mimir held out his massive hand to me and I laid my own in it. He wrapped his fingers gently around my hand and shook it like I was a porcelain doll. “It's a great pleasure to meet you, Vervain.”