Chapter One – An Offer of an Early Death
A/N: Hi Everyone! Loki and Ilmr (and a whole mess of other OCs) are back! If you haven't read "Don't Even Trip", I would suggest doing so – this story will be much easier to follow if you do! Also, Author Notes will typically not be as long as this one – promise!
Apologies to those of you that followed me and/or Don't Even Trip and have waited so long for part two! I did something fantastically silly (but also something I couldn't stop myself from doing). Much like the MCU movies are linked together, unless otherwise noted (some one-shots I'll be posting, for example) all of my longer, multi-chapter stories will link together/exist in the same universe. So I had to do some editing and re-writing once I had that idea to fit together not just this story, but also another I'll be posting in the future.
This story starts from Loki's perspective and after the double page break, shifts to Ilmr's perspective for the remainder of the chapter. Most chapters will alternate between the perspectives of Loki and my various OCs.
Please note, while this is tagged as a Thor/Avengers story, much of the content is AU; much of what you will read is based on an amalgamation of information pulled from the movies as well as comics/mythology. Because of that, some liberties and changes have been made. I'll do my best to alert you to any such changes/liberties/alterations so you aren't too thrown by them.
The song lyrics in this chapter –and the title of this story- are from Hozier's "Arsonist's Lullabye". As always, I hope you enjoy. Likes, favorites, follows, comments are all welcome!
But my peace has always depended
On all the ashes in my wake.
All you have is your fire,
And the place you need to reach
Don't you ever tame your demons
But always keep them on a leash
"Madam, there is a visitor here to see you."
Ilmr glanced to Loki, then skyward towards the AI's voice. The tower had closed its main entryway to the public for business several hours earlier.
"Who, JARVIS?"
The image that came to life on the screen on the wall in their living room was unfamiliar to Loki but he watched Ilmr straighten ever so slightly.
The visitor was taller than Thor and leaner, though no less muscular for it. There was poise in his stature and though the image was small, his features were familiar, if set in a countenance far more stern than he was used to.
"Inghard." The word came from somewhere behind him.
"One of your brothers."
"Yes. Originally third, now second. JARVIS, direct him to our quarters. And do not let him out of your sight."
"Of course."
"Please." She murmured, and Loki inclined his head, following her out and toward the foyer of their floor of the tower.
He noted, much to his delight and annoyance at his delight, she fiddled with her ring as she waited. He touched her back briefly and it stilled her hands.
There was no time for the word of thanks she had likely opened her mouth to say, as the elevator doors slid open and a massive, tow-headed man ducked and stepped out of the contraption.
Unlike Ilmr, he was immediately recognizable as his mother's son, tips of his elven ears peeking through his hair.
"Inghard." Her tone was hard to read, even for Loki.
"Sister. I come because I require your assistance."
She motioned down the hall, wordlessly turned, and strode away. Looking somewhat sorry to interrupt her, her massive brother followed without hesitation.
By the time Loki and Inghard arrived in the den, Ilmr had ensconced herself in the only armchair, Fenrir and Vidar lying nearby.
Loki sat himself on the couch nearest Ilmr, noting Inghard did not sit until Ilmr's nearly imperceptible nod.
"Father requires my assistance, then? Does he no longer trust Njordr to carry out a successful campaign?"
"Njordr is dead."
"The Warhammer has been felled? How?" If she grieved, she made no indication.
"Creatures. Creatures I have never seen the like of before. Their …leader came to us with a bargain. Father declared war. He and mother were slain. We managed to run them out of the palace, but little more. Calder now reigns."
Ilmr's glance to Loki was brief, but it revealed the wild madness he had seen in her before he restored her with the Gauntlet. When she turned back to Inghard, the look had vanished.
"And what would you have me do? They have slain your greatest warrior, your King, and your Queen. What do you anticipate I will be able to do?"
"They have slain our greatest warrior, yes. Not our greatest Commander. We would have you return and lead our forces against this enemy."
"No."
Ilmr looked to Loki at his interjection. She made no move to stop him, however.
"No, I would not allow her to go."
Inghard narrowed his eyes. "And who are you to say, fallen god? She is of Vanaheim and we require her aid, such that it is."
"She was exiled. And wed to me. She is of Asgard now." Loki did not remember the last time he had been glad of the realm he had known as his home for so much of his life.
A cruel smile crossed Inghard's countenance. "Then it seems she is an exile of two realms."
"Silence." Ilmr's harsh word cut through any others Inghard had opened his mouth to say. She turned a withering stare on her brother.
Several moments later, he looked away, cowed.
When she finally spoke, she did not turn her glare from her sibling, her voice again hard to read save for the barest moments of malice in it. "You do not come into my home and speak so. Solveig taught you better than that. You have made your request. What is it you would offer me in return, save for the likelihood of an early death?"
For that, it seemed Inghard had no response.
Ilmr looked to Loki, another unreadable expression on her face, and held his gaze when she spoke again to her brother. "We have a guest bedchamber. Make use of it. We will speak of this again in the morning and I will give you my terms."
Nodding, Inghard rose and took his leave of them.
As soon as he was down the hall, Loki circled the air to keep the conversation from her brother's elven senses and rounded on her. "You have no terms to give. You will not go."
"No? Do you not wish to be free of this realm?"
"Vanaheim is not an option."
"And why is that?"
He could have kissed her, seeing her tenacity firmly in place after so long. "They would treat you no better than before."
"I know. It matters not."
Loki narrowed his eyes at her, disliking not her implication but the risks it would entail. "What?"
She smiled wide. "Command and a crown, if you wish it, and freedom from this realm. Vanaheim can offer us that."
"That is if this enemy can be bested."
"Did you not defeat the Titan?"
Loki winced. He had had more luck in that endeavor than he anticipated. "Only out of necessity. I do not know that I would have been able to do such a thing had I not been in such need."
"Would you not find the ends worthy of the means?"
"It would depend upon the means."
Ilmr gave him a long, measured look. "Understood."
Much like his sister, Inghard did not waste time as they broke their fast.
"Have you come to a conclusion, Sister?"
Unlike his sister, he was more easily swayed.
"This will wait until after I have broken my fast, Inghard, and not a moment before."
As the third son of Egil returned to his eggs, Loki found it hard to imagine that Ilmr had ever been small, had ever been picked on by her centuries-older brothers. He had seen her in utter madness, but could not imagine her as a child.
With much amusement, Loki noted that Ilmr not only took her time, she went back for an extra helping.
When she had finally finished she sat back, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head to one side. The look she gave her brother was calculating.
"I will not return to Vanaheim."
Inghard glared, but did not miss a step. "You must."
"How did you know where to find me?"
Another cruel smile. "While the Gatekeeper cannot see you, strangely enough, he can easily see all others: Thor, the Man of Iron. It was enough."
Loki made a mental note to commit fratricide if ever they had reason to request Thor join the battle in Vanaheim.
"So why did you come? One would not think you would look to me for assistance; to beg the help of an exile would look poorly to the people."
"Our strained relations do not mean I wish you dead."
"I am not flattered."
"Without you to command, we stand to lose."
"Especially now that The Warhammer is dead." She had yet to use her brother's name since she learned of his death.
"Midgard would likely be the next to fall."
Again her brother missed a look she threw Loki's way. Inghard could not have known of the contract, but it was silently decided: they would have no choice but to join the fight. To do nothing would break the contract with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Loki was loathe to do so. It was his only insurance he had a place he would be left to himself.
"They started in Vanaheim because Midgard has a league of warriors that it is said defeated Thanos' army, led by your Prince. Because Vanaheim exiled The Wrath of Egil."
Loki had known, when he first heard her name, that she was royalty, that she hailed from Vanaheim. He had not known she was the Commander spoken of in her father's kingdom, that such a title had preceded her.
Ilmr was yet unmoved. "My price has risen."
A frustrated sound escaped Inghard. "Whatever it is, it is unacceptable. You would think of your ill will instead of reason."
The cruel smile that they likely inherited from their mother settled this time on Ilmr's lips. Inghard looked to immediately regret his words. "Have you not heard, Brother? I am quick to anger."
Loki felt the corner of his mouth twitch as he suppressed a smile. The therapist the Man of Iron hired had truly returned her to him, though it had taken nearly a year; he had finally found a mortal to be grateful for.
Inghard was silent for a long stretch of time. He straightened before he finally spoke, as if preparing for a blow. "What would your terms be, Sister?"
"I would be returned from exile, both in the realm and the family."
Inghard raised his eyebrows. "That is all?"
"And I would be reinstated as Commander after the war is over."
Inghard bristled. "I am Commander."
Ilmr sat back with a smile. "Then you do not need me after all."
Inghard rose to tower over his sister. Vidar and Fenrir, who had been lying just outside the kitchen, growled low.
"You forget your place." Inghard made the words sound like a threat.
"I have heard that enough in my lifetime to know better than most exactly where my place is. You, Brother, seem to forget you came to me requesting my aid, potentially at the expense of my life, because you are an unfit Commander for this task." Ilmr held up a hand to halt her brother's next words. "Before you say something Vanaheim will regret, take some time to think on my offer and cool your hot head and misplaced pride."
Inghard stalked off, after a time. Ilmr remained unmoved.
"He will accept."
Loki looked up from Fenrir at her words. "Will he?"
"Calder will not let him return without me. Much like my father, Calder compromises little."
Loki nodded.
Ilmr gave him a grim smile as she spoke again. "It is likely many more of my siblings will perish before this trial is over. I cannot promise that it won't end the line of Egil entirely."
"I can assure you that it is not a likely outcome."
"Oh no?" She gave him a wry smile.
What little the therapist had divulged to Loki had taught him that she was repressing memories unconsciously. He did not understand it much, as he had argued that Ilmr had not done so before their meetings.
She had implied that Ilmr taught herself this repression as a self-defense tactic. Loki was wary of it. It had never been Ilmr's way. Still, he was conscious of the therapist's warning: pushing her too far to remember too soon would do her great damage.
"I have traveled the length and breadth of many of the universe's darker corners and seen much. There is little now that could best me."
Ilmr nodded. Their unspoken language of affection had returned it seemed, as she appeared to understand that by his words, he meant only once he was bested would one of the cosmos' more unsavory creatures be allowed near her.
"Then we will leave within a week of his acceptance of our terms."
...
"When was Njordr felled?"
It was after the evening meal and Inghard, Ilmr, and Loki had retired to the living room. As was her wont, Ilmr leaned against Vidar rather than sit on the furniture.
Inghard had accepted her terms earlier that afternoon and with his acceptance came a small break in the tension. Though he seemed engrossed in a book, Ilmr knew Loki's attention was on their conversation.
"Almost half a year ago, now. The creature that felled him did so with a strange weapon, once I have never seen before. One Njordr said he had never seen before."
That gave her pause. It did not surprise her that Inghard had not seen the weapon, he did not travel to every conflict as Ilmr and Njordr had, and was not overly observant. But for Njordr to not have recognized the weapon was strange.
"Describe it."
"It looked much like a regular blade, but it shone unusually bright and there were rivulets along the length of it that should have made it brittle, but it was not."
"The channels in the weapon are likely used to carry poison. Just to determine which one."
Inghard nodded at Loki's interjection. "Some of the more common ones can be discounted, little was able to slow him, even iron."
"Common within the Nine Realms, perhaps, but that is not to say this enemy hails from any realm you have heard of or seen. Even I, in the service of The Other and the Titan for a time, have not seen all there is to see of the vastness of the cosmos."
Inghard shrugged. "Any knowledge is helpful."
"How do you expect me to gain victory for Vanaheim in this? What has happened thus far, and what was happening when you left?" Ilmr tried only a little to keep her irritation at her elder brother at bay.
"You always had rather inventive ways at which to best our enemies, Sister. I leave the how to your imagination."
"As for what has transpired, and may still?"
"Skuld—"
"—Tell me nothing of what she has seen. She has long respected this request; see to it that you do as well."
"Mother and father have been slain. Their force seems endless in both number and strength. We have held the palace but much of our kingdom, much of Vanaheim, is becoming overrun, after so long. It took longer than anticipated to locate you."
"I ask again what it is you think I could do to turn the tide against such a foe."
Inghard appeared to cast around for a response. For all his self-importance, his glass ego, he had little to support it, to protect it. Finally he spoke, his answer sounding as though he felt it was obvious. "You are the Wrath of Egil. I have heard –seen, often enough- the plots and punishments you have devised for your enemies; surely you will be able to perform similarly in this instance."
"Ah, except it is not performance, Brother. It is the result of careful study of my enemy: his land and culture and history. I am able to so keenly hone in on and destroy my enemies because I have studied them." Ilmr leveled her gaze at Inghard. "Which you may note I am unable to do in this instance, given the paltry information you have brought to me. That is if what you have brought is even the correct information."
Egil's third son looked away. Anleifr and Njordr had been the boldest and best of all her father's sons, and they lay dead.
"We will leave within the week. In that time, you will tell me all you can of our enemy, all of what you have done and what Njordr did to defend Vanaheim; most importantly: what this enemy did, how they acted and reacted. Understood?"
Inghard inclined his head, features set. "Commander."
Though it sounded like a slur, Ilmr ignored his tone and smiled.
"Good."