A/N: It's back! Back with a vengeance. I'm actually quite excited about this part.
As you'll probably notice, I haven't gone for the typical fandom interpretation of Jotunn culture - instead I've gone for a mix of myth, MCU and 616 canon. Because, to be honest, I'm just not comfortable with how people so often portray frost giant culture.
Chapter 1: x Position in Ascendancy
They didn't waste time on dramatic goodbyes; they didn't really want anyone to see them leaving with Malekith, and in any case, they were only planning to be gone a week or so.
So, two days after their wedding, Tony and Loki met up in Loki's lab with Malekith to leave.
They had all their equipment, clothing and survival gear and food and even weaponry, which Malekith blandly banished to a pocket universe. For safety, the pair of them were garbed in the Lightningrod suit and Iron Man respectively. Malekith just wore an old set of dichromatic robes.
Their first stop was not Jotunheim. Their first stop was an open market in order to obtain All-Speak; Malekith had forgotten the spell after so many years of not having anything to do with charming children in the All-Speak, so buying the spell off a sorcerer for hire really was their only option. Except, of course, having Malekith translate for them, which would be annoying and would make the situation impossible if they were separated.
"Are you ready, now?" Malekith asked the pair of them.
"I think so," Tony said. "If we've forgotten everything major we can just come home."
"Yes, I believe we can leave now," Loki agreed.
"Hm," Malekith said, then allowed a slight glow to form around one hand, which he then pressed to Loki's chest. Tony gripped Loki's hand. "Ready yourselves."
Teleporting was less stressful than most would imagine, especially when you'd done a lot of it. In an instant, the cool stillness of the lab had changed to hot and smelling of a thousand unplaceable things.
They were in a market. It wasn't unlike an Earth market, admittedly, with hodge-podge rickety stalls and wares being hawked, but the stalls were populated with absolutely all sorts of people in them wearing robes and cloaks and armour like some kind of actually awesome ren faire.
They were on Vanaheim, which they knew, but it still seemed so remarkable.
Malekith, who was now pale-skinned and black-haired, was completely unbothered and was already inspecting signs to find their way, but Tony and Loki couldn't stop looking.
Loki was suddenly glad for the Lightningrod suit, which barely stood out.
They couldn't understand the language being spoken around them or any of the signs, but that was probably for the best, because overstimulation was becoming an issue as they looked at animal skins and magic potions and weapons being casually sold.
"Holy shit," Tony managed mildly.
"I've seen it before," Loki said, "But it is still quite an experience."
"Humans!" Malekith called. "This way!"
Tearing their eyes away from every whatnot they could see, Loki led Tony through the throngs of people to a tent Malekith had found.
"The All-Speak charm is a simple one," Malekith told them. This person claims to be a sorcerer, it should be fine."
He led them into the tent. It was tiny and cramped, with a desk wedged across the space. There was a Vanir sorceress, dark-haired and berobed and with shining blue eyes, reading a scroll boredly.
"Two people need the All-Speak," Malekith said shortly.
The Vanir replied lazily "All liability does not fall on me. Spells are unpredictable with-" she waved her hand, producing a slight amount of purple magic. "-humans, I think. Interesting."
"Yes, yes," Malekith said. "Cost?"
There was short exchange between Malekith and the sorceress before Malekith pulled some of the gold they'd brought with them out of mid-air and handed it to her.
Another purple implosion of magic and she'd confirmed the money was real.
"Sit down," she said to Tony and Loki. They complied nervously.
The sorceress then focused for a moment, producing glittery swirls of purple and silver light, and then channeled it onto them.
Tony's head tingled for a moment, and then felt fine. "Wow. Thanks," he said.
"Thank you very much," Loki agreed.
The sorceress's sharp eyebrows drew downwards and she prepared another identifying spell, then angled it at Malekith, who repelled it with a blue blast of his own.
"Svartalfar!" she said in surprise.
"Yes, I admit that," Malekith said. "Tell no one."
"I have to!" she said in fear, purple magic swirling all over.
Malekith lashed out with another blast of magic, which she repelled, but he followed up with a few sharp and dirty strikes that overwhelmed her.
"Help!" she shrieked, then started to discorporate, becoming shadowy purple butterflies.
Malekith slammed her with another charm and she became solid and rather unconscious.
"What the hell?" Tony said in shock to him.
"If Gullveig finds me on Jotunheim, Loptr and his people could be annihilated for harbouring me. I won't take that chance," Malekith said. "It's a memory alteration or death."
Five minutes in, and they were already fighting a moral crisis. "Do it," Loki said with a sigh. "Leave an extra coin or two for her. I feel a tad guilty already."
A little bit of magic later, and they left the tent.
"I can guide you as you teleport," Malekith told Loki. "It would be best. I don't want to get lost in the icy void of space."
"Please do," Loki said, a rising nervousness in his chest. Meeting Loptr was going to be intense.
"Clench up, husband of mine," Tony said, grinning in anticipation.
"Oh, I already am," Loki said cheerily as Malekith prepared them for another jump.
-O.O-
They appeared on Jotunheim instantaneously. The first thing Loki noticed was the cold; the second was how dark it was. The wind was instantly biting and harsh, wiggling into Loki and Malekith's clothes and at least making a decent attempt at cooling Tony.
The ground was made of something like slate, in layers, and the landscape was craggy and unpredictable with mounds and shards of rock protruding randomly and massive yawning voids dropping unpredictably away. Above them, structures of rock like giant stalactites loomed down. Vicious landscape, reminiscient of documentaries about a newly-formed Earth.
"We are up very high here," Malekith told them. "Loptr's region is not known as the High Crest erroneously. Below us and to the east and south is the Ironwood. If we follow this path for about a kilometre we will be in the city."
Tony was marvelling at his surroundings, faceplate up to see as best as possible, but managed to say "Why didn't we just teleport right in?"
"Because that is rude," Loki guessed.
Malekith agreed with him.
Loki noticed then that Tony's face was glowing slightly. He then noticed that he was also glowing, and that he didn't feel the cold as much. "The Extremis is working, then."
"Still cold as balls," Tony puffed. "Let's get walking."
That they did. The world was amazingly still and cold, a heavy frost hanging in the air obscuring long distance views. The main sounds were their footsteps and rocks falling into the abyss.
Both humans couldn't stop looking around in amazement even though there was nothing to see. The only signs of life seemed to be small amounts of moss and suggestive shufflings in the distance.
"Is this night?" Loki asked.
"Late morning," Malekith said. "We are a long way from any warming star."
That was an unpleasant thought. Tony couldn't help but wonder what everyone ate, if not plants.
They were quick to realise that they really were a long way up. Loki experimentally dropped a rock over one of the edges. It took a very long time for it to land.
When Malekith said 'path' he meant it in the most simple form - it was a long stretch of unbroken rock leading away into the mist. That said, a good solid path could hardly be frowned upon.
After walking for a long time, a figure approached them out of the mist.
"Malekith," was all they said. Their voice was deep, their accent almost English, which was strange. They also spoke peculiarly softly, as though in a library. "The guards spotted your approach and informed me immediately."
That was perturbing, because they hadn't sensed any guards at all.
"Eisa," Malekith said. "A pleasure."
"Spare me," they said, their form finally taking shape.
This was their first glance of a Frost Giant; they were tall, maybe seven feet, and surprisingly slim. Their skin was a deep, rich blue, and covered in raised geometric lines all over. They were dressed only in a somewhat leathery long loincloth adorned with several knife holsters, including a lack of shoes, but their most distinctive feature by far was the long, straight corkscrew horns like a dikdik's protruding from a completely bald forehead, and the intensely scarlet eyes. Perched just behind the giant's horns was a delicate circlet of spun gold studded with rubies that looked quite out of place in the dark, dull landscape.
"Who are your guests?" the giant asked.
Tony decided to take charge then. "Anthony Laufeyson-Stark of Midgard, and Loki Laufeyson-Stark, also of Midgard."
"Ah," Eisa said. "I am Eisa Loptrsdottir Glutsdottir, third in ascendancy to the throne of Muspelheim, first in ascendancy to both the throne of Jotunheim and of the High Crest, master warrior. A pleasure to meet you, guests. You're here to see Loptr, yes?"
That smacked of a formal introduction, and also told them that Eisa was female. That just added to the humans' extreme interest in everything that was going on; clearly gender dimorphism wasn't so much of a thing there.
"Yes, we are, but it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance too," Loki said, smiling winningly.
"Look at that, Malekith, there are polite and respectful creatures in the Realms," Eisa said cuttingly. "You pale in compare."
Malekith looked mildly annoyed at that.
"Follow me," Eisa said resignedly, setting off down the path. Her feet were totally silent on the rock.
The cold didn't bother her at all, clearly, despite the lack of any form of insulation, and that was just another curiosity.
Apparently they were entering the city. Certainly the ground was flatter and clearly had been maintained for living. As they got further in, they began to see what were clearly homes, mostly burrows in the rock, but lovingly cared for once upon a time with carvings and decorations around the mouth, even though they were cracked and broken now. The increase in density created the feeling of a proper town despite the fact there weren't any other giants around.
"Your first time on our planet?" Eisa asked them.
"It is," Tony said. "It's amazing."
She thinned her already thin lips. "It has seen better days, by every account."
Walking further into the city brought them soaring arches made of ice and stone, pillars of rust and stone, homes with above-ground ice structures more elaborate than the ones they'd seen further out. But things were still broken. Pillars of rock snapped in half, rock shards sprayed all over the place.
"Only the homes nearer the centre are populated now," Eisa explained in passing. "Loptr is at the academy. We'll go there."
This meant winding around the centre of town. The town centre itself seemed to be a massive pair of rock pillars stretching far into the sky, linked by stone chevron; they couldn't help but wonder what it meant. There were giants in this area, but they all seemed busy, doing whatever giants did at that time of day.
It became clear fairly quickly that Eisa was unusual-looking by their standards; she was smaller by at least half a foot than most, there was no one else with horns like hers, and her slim build was echoed by none, as they were all massively muscular. Despite that, she was confident as she walked through them; rightly so, if she was next in line to the throne as she said.
The fact that one of her titles was 'Loptrsdottir' was also rather telling. Loki had not, in his many imaginings of the current events, imagined that Loptr had a child or children.
Eisa led them down a short slope to another plateau. This one had a large, elaborate stone and rock structure, sturdily built, and large perfectly flat fields. One of these had lines of giants on it, all standing at attention.
Two people were pacing back and forth at the front. One, the much smaller one, was talking, but they couldn't hear them at that distance, and the larger one - positively huge - was following them.
"Wait for him to finish his speech," Eisa told them, leading them to a seating area.
Unfortunately, Loptr's speech seemed to have largely finished already, and so they'd missed it. The mist was thick and he wasn't that close, so his features weren't clear, but Tony could already tell with a kind of supernatural confusion that he was similar to Loki. Around the same height, same way of walking, same silhouette.
The giant next to him was terrifying. They were about three or four feet taller than Loptr, hugely muscular, and with long, curved horns that made about a 270 degree circle.
Loptr's pacing led him closer to them, and he stopped in front of one particular giant in the line in front of him.
"I can feel insubordination radiating off you, you know," Loptr said, his voice deadly soft and tinged with an English accent, identical to Loki's.
Tony looked over at Loki. Underneath the glow of Extremis, he was pale with surprise. Tony couldn't blame him; he felt about the same.
The giant Loptr was confronting would've been about a foot and a half taller than him, and rather muscular; it was like a typical nerd vs jock high school setting.
"Speak your mind," Loptr continued.
"You are small and weak," the giant began bluntly.
"Yes, I am," Loptr admitted. "Anything else?"
"You are too small and weak," the giant stated again. "And you're young. My parents say you can't expect to be taken seriously."
"To do what? Lead, fight? It's not the size, it's how you wield it, and that much I can prove to you. Step forward. Choose your training weapon," Loptr said.
The giant's posture now looked unsure, but he did step forward, and with a move of his hand, grew ice down his arm to form a freezing club.
Tony and Loki didn't even talk, too fascinated by what they were seeing.
Loptr himself pulled something out of the air with a tinge of green magic. It was a long staff, about as tall as Loptr himself, made of wood. The last fact was surprising for the total lack of vegetation and sunlight.
"I consider myself mildly insulted," Loptr said with a ceremonial air. "A challenge has been made, I think."
They were going to fight. It seemed impossible that Loptr could win; he was tiny compared to every other giant there.
"You may have the first strike," Loptr said, his tone still level and soft. "Also, I am not allowed magic, of course."
The giant lunged at Loptr with his club, but Loptr dodged amazingly quickly, twirling his staff between his fingers, then slamming it into the instep of the giant's foot. That clearly hurt, and the giant lurched in an ungainly way to face Loptr again, but it was pretty clear that Loptr had the upper hand now.
Loptr struck with his staff repeatedly in sensitive or weak areas, propped his weight on it to give him height for a strike, and used it to topple the giant onto his back. It was pretty obvious why he favoured the staff as a weapon; it added height and leverage that he lacked.
Then he brought it down on the giant's head with enough force for it to be a killing blow, but stopped himself at the absolute last second.
"Get back in line," Loptr said. "Control your emotions. Next time I will not spare you; I don't have time for anyone who isn't totally loyal. As for your parents, well, we'll see."
He twirled the staff again, then banished it back into a pocket dimension.
"Anyone else?" Loptr asked lightly. "No? Well, enjoy the remainder of your lessons for the day. I see my daughter and some official business waiting for me. Skadi, follow."
The huge giant, apparently called Skadi, followed Loptr as he made his way over to them.
Tony heard Loki's breath hitch, and he couldn't help but agree.
Malekith hadn't been lying; Loptr was the spitting image of Loki once one discounted the blue skin and searingly red eyes. He was incredibly short compared to the other giants, quite lean, exactly Loki's height and build, and had prominent cheekbones and black hair cut to just under the nape of his neck, a few inches shorter than how Loki was currently wearing it. It was quite disturbing, especially as Loptr was dressed just like his daughter in a simple long loincloth and Tony recognised every crag on his body. Though, admittedly, Loptr looked slightly younger. Perched on top of his dark hair was a circlet much like Eisa's, only a little more detailed.
When he reached them, his red eyes looked them over calculatingly, obviously drawn to Loki. But instead of speaking, he made a deferring gesture to Skadi, who stepped up. She was dressed a little differently to Loptr and Eisa, with iron accents on her person, a rather more practical pair of leathery shorts, and multiple weapon sheathes. She'd also gone for a rather dramatic fur across her massive shoulders, tied there by a line of animal teeth.
Tony had honestly expected her voice to boom, from her size, but she was just as quiet as Loptr and Eisa, though her voice was deeper. "I am Skadi Thjazisdottir, first in ascendancy to the throne of the Southern Lakes, master warrior."
Loptr spoke then. "I am Loptr Farbautison Laufeyson, king of Jotunheim, leader of the High Crest, second in ascendancy to the throne of Muspelheim, master mage, master scholar, master warrior."
Those introductions got tiring fast.
"You must be the other Laufeyson," Loptr said directly to Loki.
Loki found his words after a second, then tried for one of their introductions.
"I am Loki Laufeyson-Stark, master physicist," Loki said cautiously.
"Very good," Loptr said, seemingly totally unsurprised by what was happening. He smiled next at Tony, his face just as stiff-seeming as Malekith's. "And you?"
"I am Anthony Laufeyson-Stark, master engineer," Tony said awkwardly.
"A pleasure. And Malekith the Accursed," Loptr said. "How did you get past the embargo? It's been in place for some time."
"Loki invented a non-magical form of teleporting," Malekith told him, somewhat proudly.
"Remarkable. And useful," Loptr said, and it didn't come across pandering, but genuinely, actually fascinated. "You'll tell me more about that later."
"We came here to talk to you," Tony said. "About you and Loki. The two Laufeysons."
"I know," Loptr said unconcernedly. "It fascinated me when I first learned about it too. But that's a subject for formal times. It's nearly time for the meal. This class is breaking up and heading for the mess in due course, and I suggest we join them."
It seemed rude to refuse such an offer, so Tony and Loki just went along with it.
To say the least, it had been an interesting introduction to the mystery.