“Why, you’re welcome, Tyler. Glad to see you’ve got some manners after all.”
The voice came from behind him. Tyler was suitably shocked and speechless. He looked back and saw an old man with an eyepatch sitting on the pew behind him. With a stock of unruly long white hair, dressed in rich dark red and black fabric with a blue cape.
“Don’t gawk. It’s not polite. I’ll sit beside you. That would make things easier.”
The old man stood up and walked to Tyler’s pew. The man then took his place on his right. He saw that the old man was tall, not stocky in build but looked to be muscular under his clothes. He moved with the grace and sureness of a warrior and Tyler could feel an overpowering aura of energy and authority emanating from him.
“Now then, the “Great” was a nice honorific. No “Mr. Odin”?” asked the old man with a knowing smile.
If Tyler was stupefied before, now he was scared senseless. The old man noticed his reaction.
“Oh, don’t worry. I know Loki talked to you. After learning he was in my halls and that he heard me lose my… composure, I knew he was going to look for you. If for no reason at all but curiosity. He may have learned a few more tricks after all this time but so have I. So, I followed him. Quite a trickster, that son of mine. Very clever concealment scheme.”
At that, the old man gave him a wider smile. It looked to be genuine so Tyler relaxed a bit. A little bit. Even so, his mind was screaming. This is Odin! The boss man of the Nordic pantheon! The Hammer Thrower’s father! The most powerful among the Nordic gods! The Big Kahuna! You’re screwed, man! Screwed!
“Now what are we going to do with you?”
“What do you mean, Great Odin?”
“Knock off that “Great” stuff, All-Father would do. Even Odin. I am not that vain. What I meant was you've just arrived, no immediate usable skills that I can see and survived. Now then you have Ymir and others after you. No, I haven’t determined yet who the others are and at that, I am sure you can conclude that they are also with powerful beings. Then you showed the capacity to do magic when it would have been impossible without divine participation. Apparently, it was involuntary as the truth spell revealed.”
“I don’t know, All-Father,” admitted Tyler, “To be frank, I am scared most of the time but I had to hide it. If not as a means of survival, then as a way to retain my sanity.”
At this point, Tyler realized that the best way was to be truthful as much as he can. Though clearly Odin didn’t know about Sigyn’s involvement.
“Normally, it is at this point that would ask you to serve me as what happened with Andreas. But your ability is a major problem. The possibility of power like that being exercised by a mortal man when aligned with one of the pantheons or even a god would be enough to tilt the precarious balance among the pantheons. And lead to another Divine War.”
Odin’s face now turned towards the front, looked as if he was starting to be lost in his memories. The heartbreaking expression on his face showed exactly what kind of memories was going through his mind. When he looked at Tyler again, the pain and sadness were evident in his eyes.
“You know what’s one of the most painful experiences a parent could undergo? It is seeing your children dying ahead of you. It was shattering enough when Baldur died at Loki’s hand back on Earth, but I couldn’t punish Loki to death. That would be losing another son. Then again, he may have gone beyond his nature in that instance. But in retrospect, could I really blame him for everything? He was made the god of tricks, mayhem, and of change. It is rooted in his nature. It is what he is, for better or for worse. His sentence came from an outraged and grieving father, blind to the fact that the accused is also his son. Though now when I see Loki and the bouts of madness arising from his imprisonment, I die a little. Every single time. And then we came to Adar. I have lost many of my children in the wars. And I would do everything to avoid another war among the pantheons.”
Tyler was again scared beyond reason at Odin’s words. The old man was going to kill him?
“No, I don’t intend to do away with you, Tyler,” said the old man, noticing Tyler’s face, “your death at my hands may even be the trigger for such a war. Some gods are irrational like that. Or they may think that I got whatever power you have for myself, thus again, a Divine War. I don’t even know what will be the consequences if I do kill you. It may be nothing or energies may be unleashed which would threaten Adar itself. Unfortunately, not all gods would think things through or be deterred by the possible consequences of their actions. There are worse fates than death if you fall into their clutches. Even if you die, death will not stop their interest in you. So, what shall we do with you?”
“Don’t you think what you just said may be heard by somebody? Your rivals? Enemies?” Tyler asked, looking around the temple. The implications of what Odin said was enormous and of extreme value to a greedy deity or an overly ambitious and irrational pantheon. His mind was in paranoid mode.
“Don’t worry about that. We are in my temple where my power is the strongest. Didn’t you notice nobody has yet entered the temple?”
“Oh, I was really worried there for a minute. Though your admission of lack of knowledge on my nature as a visitor surprises me.’
“I may be called All-Wise, but I am not omnipotent,” snorted the old man. He was quiet for a while, thinking. Tyler was still too scared to start a conversation.
“I have a suggestion. It’s up to you to accept it or not. First the problems facing you. For now, I cannot send you beyond Skaney to protect you from Ymir and the others. Other beings may get wind of you and force you to be their servant, align with them, or worse. Within Skaney, your inherent lack of magical energy and your unbound status will lead others to discover you. Or an involuntary major magical outburst could do the same thing. Attract attention. Nor can I teach you how to use your ability. It is something beyond mortal or divine magic. Divine magic is different. We came into being the way we are and the rules are again different. You are an intelligent man, Tyler. You may already have your suspicions about us in general. Suffice it to say you could be right. We are magical beings, created out of belief and the magical energy of a world. Though our mother planet is sadly almost empty of such energies. As to why, that is not for me to explain. But I guess you’ll figure it out.”
The old man brought out a ring.
“This is an ancient artifact. A powerful concealment tool. As modified, it will show you as an inhabitant of Adar, with inherent magical abilities. To that extent, it may help you avoid discovery and even explain away magical abilities if such involuntary exhibitions again come up. But remember that it is but an illusion, it doesn’t grant you the power it portrays. As far as magical abilities, it shows you as a mage, not a High Mage, but at the early levels of mage-ship. That will give you some leeway in explaining any magical displays.”
“But this ring comes with a price,” continued Odin.
“No, not your soul or anything like that,” said Odin, noting Tyler’s reaction, “I explained to you already the reasons why I can’t even take your service. I want you to swear not to take any action directly against me and nor shall I against you. You are an unknown factor, Tyler. With so many concerns on my mind, I don’t want us to be on actively opposing sides. If you notice, it is only me. Not me and mine. I cannot control others of the pantheon and I do not want them to take notice of you either. Invoking them would merely attract their attention, contrary to the needs of the situation.”
“I guess that would be fine by me,” Tyler replied.
“All you need to do is put on this ring, if you trust me. I have already said the words needed. Putting on the ring is accepting the trade. The oath will be permanent. It will still be there even if you take off the ring.”
Tyler took the ring and put it on the ring finger of his right hand. He had no problem about Odin’s oath. He didn’t plan on going against any deity unless they give him reason to. And Odin’s request seemed reasona
ble. The ring looked ordinary, no sigils, no runes, no symbols. It looked to be brass.
“An Egyptian divine masterwork. That way it won’t lead back to me. It's unfortunate you find yourself in the middle of a possible maelstrom, Tyler. You would have made an excellent priest of mine and helped build a better Skaney. Visitors now are rare and the possible benefits arising from their arrival are immense. For Skaney to have two visitors is enough to raise suspicions. But that’s what we have and we have to deal with it. With the closing of portals as agreed upon between the pantheons ages ago, arrivals now are pure accidents through gates the guardians have missed. Except probably for Andreas, but don’t tell him that. It took me a lot of planning and energy to pull it off. Plus calling in a favor from an Egyptian god and the fortunate circumstance of a bit of magical energy remaining in the ruins of my temple at Gamla. I knew those desert dwellers had knowledge of the location of one or two fixed portals. They’re almost as sneaky as you mortals. Though those portals are good for one use, once a visitor passes through, the guardians close it off.”
“Any idea about the nature of this magical energy? It does play a fundamental role in Adar.” Tyler was gambling for information.
“Interested, are you? I'm not surprised. It has been called many things, mana, akasha, and the like. But it would be better to describe it as remnants of the divine creative energy used to create a world. Adar and Earth among them. Think of it as the sawdust remaining after a plank of lumber has been made, only it has remained with the plank and not dusted off. As for the relationship between Adar and Earth, that would be for you to discover,” smiled Odin.
“But enough philosophical discussions. My time here is nearly over. To my mind, you can either stay here in Maljen and help as much you can but to me that’s the coward’s way out. You will be discovered eventually. Or you can go and explore, trying to learn to use your unique gift along the way. And learn it you must. Your mastery of your gift is the key to your survival given your singular situation. But I also believe that with your mastery also comes fundamental changes for Adar. You are a decent mortal, Tyler West. Strong in your beliefs and with enough courage to stand up for them. Because of that, I trust that if changes come, they will not be evil in nature. You may even be the harbinger foretold in the Voluspa. But then again, you may be something else altogether. Beyond that, I cannot foresee.”
“So where do you suggest I go?”
“Two choices. One, in the direction of Namdalen. Though the lands there are more populated, leaving you fewer opportunities to learn, practice and test yourself. Or up north, in the direction of Scarburg, the area is less populated but more dangerous. And I also expect Ymir to start probing towards the Gap of Telemark. But up north is somebody who may be able to help you, if you can convince him and if you can understand him. Assuming, of course, you can find him. A mad godling. Mad as in crazy. Of many names but mainly goes by the name Starkad. One of mine. Too much bravery and middling common sense. Lost during the last Divine War but was then seen in the north of Skaney, near the Gap. From what has been described, he has clearly lost his memory and now acts like a mad hermit. I have asked Thor and others to find him but to no avail.”
The old man stood up.
“It would be best if you leave the temple ahead of me. And by the way, try to tell Andreas that you think his coinage idea is needed by Skaney. Please also suggest by yourself the establishment of a center for magical learning and practice here in Maljen. Integrated healing training as a part of the center for mages and non-mages alike would also be a good idea.”
“I will. My earnest thanks again, All-Father.”
The old man smiled and waved him away.
Tyler walked out of the temple.
His mind was a tumultuous mess as he walked back to his room. Almost every day resulted in a supernatural experience. He felt like a freak in a carnival. On top of that were questions about the motivations of these beings. He didn’t doubt that Odin also had ulterior motives in trading him the ring. At the very least, the ring made it appear as if only one visitor was in Skaney. That would take some heat off the old man’s back. He was not sure if the ring enabled the old man to keep track of his whereabouts but he wouldn’t be surprised if it did.
Even the information he got definitely served the All-Father’s purposes. Though the old man did make it appear as if the knowledge was given in passing. Yet he had to admit the knowledge did give him some valuable insights. Moreover, the old man appeared to be the least crazy and homicidal among the powerful beings he had so far encountered. But he admitted he pitied the old man. To his eyes, the pain and weight of ages he saw on the old man’s face were real, not feigned.
But he still felt like a tool. Though the old man was right. To survive and be free, he needed to master his ability. Or at least be adept in its use.
As he entered his room, he decided to try to grasp what the mysterious energy was all about. He thought about all the fantasy novels and movies he had read and thought there may be something to all those Hollywood special effects. Adopting the easy pose, he went into meditation again and tried to feel if there’s anything surrounding him. It took an hour before he gave up. Nothing. Nada.
Then the thought struck him. If what Odin said was true, then no wonder he couldn’t feel or see anything. The energy was part of creation. He can’t see it with his mind. It was all around him. In the soil, the trees, the mountains. Anything not transformed in form and substance by man, it was there. It was part of the world. He had expected to see an aura, a flow or something different and visible to his mind. He realized that expectation was absolutely Hollywood. Or he was not sufficiently trained or skilled enough to see it. Now he felt like a tool and a moron.
He decided to experiment, to try to consciously perform something which can be deemed remotely magical. He picked up the jug of water and placed it in the center of the small table. Sitting down opposite the jug, he focused his mind on it, wanting it to move back. If only by a little bit. Unfortunately, the jug was obstinate. His eyes started to water from his unblinking and concentrated stare. He wanted it to move. He was getting irritated. Damn it! What will it take? Some abracadabra? Annoyed, his hands made some random passes over the object. Move! He inwardly shouted. The jug remained at peace.
Mentally tired from the exercise, he decided to take a nap, cursing the jug all the time, until he fell asleep.
The call for the night-meal brought him down to the dining hall and he took with him the finished book on runic magic. The priest was waiting for him and he returned the book with his thanks. The food was again excellent, roasted beef and flatbread with a variety of fruits. After dining, he engaged the Gothi with some small talk, intending to inject Odin’s suggestions somewhere along the discussion.
He was informed that the merchant guild talks were still ongoing. But the idea of adoption of Grecian measurements was finding a favorable reception. But talks bogged down on the terminology to be used, with some pushing for equivalent Nordic terms. Despite the current impasse, the priest appeared to be in high spirits.
“At least we got through the main issue of adopting the measurements,” said the Gothi, “the present problem is minor.”
“How about your coinage idea? I think it is really important and economically significant.”
“Well, I didn’t want to put it on the agenda considering the measurements issue but I did discuss it with some merchants whom I found receptive. Apparently, their exposure to foreign cultures had made them a bit envious of the rational way currencies are set up in other civilizations.”
“Well, that’s good to know. It would make adoption of your idea much easier.”
“I hope so. Then we can properly refer to the coins in an enlightened manner instead of the current ridiculous “large” and “small” references. So, how did you find the book?” inquired the priest, holding up the thin tome.
“It was interesting reading. Though I can’t understand some parts.”
“Like?”
“The point of how to manipulate the energy to manifest desired results. I guess there’s more to chanting than it appears.”
“Oh, chanting only helps focus the will of the person through the rune. Some mages even dispense with the chanting altogether, their minds trained to focus without it.”
The Accidental Archmage: Book One - Ragnarok Rising (MOBI EDITION) Page 13