Virdi- Pronounce "Vuhr-dhi"
"Are you afraid?" The question was asked by a voice in a small stable in a smaller world. It was their world, but it was shrinking quickly at the rapid approach of something that ruins all children's constructed fantasies: change.
"It is my duty." The words were spoken flatly, in a voice as hard as iron and as steady as rock.
"You didn't answer my question, Virdi," reiterated the little boy who clung to her leg. "What if there are monsters in the dungeons or snakes in their ponds or Jotuns under the flagstones?!"
"Migr, I am going to the inner lands, not to another realm." The twelve-year-old girl tightened the saddle of her large horse and secured a sword onto the saddlebag. Her long dark hair was braided to her shoulders and she wore a long grey traveling cloak over strange leather armor.
"You might as well be going to another realm." The small brown-haired boy bitterly spat the words as he let go of his sister's leg. "I'll not get to see you! You'll forget about me!"
Virdi turned from her dappled-grey pony and looked down on her brother. "You know my duty. You know my training and you have been told of my going since the day you could understand. It doesn't make me less your sister, but I have to go."
"You don't have to, you want to! You want to leave us! You don't love us!" The child was holding in tears and his nose was running. Virdi felt her heart clench and internally she cursed prophecies and honor and princes. Forgetting her horse, she knelt down in front of her little brother on the dirt and straw covered floor. She took his hands from his eyes and held them in her larger, rough palms.
"I could never forget you, Migr. Of all people here, I would never dare to forget you." Virdi's steady voice had withered into what it should have been, one of a small, frightened girl who was losing everything. She choked. "To say I don't love you, it is worse than you cursing my name to Hel and back." Migr let his tears flow from his green eyes and she hugged him close as he whispered an apology.
"You are all that remains for me here, but you would be worth staying, brother." Virdi placed a kiss on his head and drew back. Migr dried his tears on his tan tunic sleeve and sniffed.
"I shall be a man for you, Virdi, and I shall ride to the palace and bring you home when I age."
She smiled sadly. "I am afraid it is not a question of physical imprisonment." She stood from her kneeling position and brushed off her riding breeches. Footsteps pounded into the small building as three men entered. Virdi nodded at them. They were all dressed in similar armor to her and they began to ready their steeds as well. She turned back to her sibling and hugged him once more. "You must find another reason to be a man. Do not spend life waiting for the chance to see me. You will not."
The words were harsh, but Migr stuck out his chin and nodded. She turned back and helped one of her riding companions heft a heavy bag of provisions onto a horse. They continued this until all the horses were prepared and saddled. As the horses were led out into the center of the camp, she looked back once more at her brother. He ran up and pressed something into her hands, then ran to where the elder was calling his name. It was a small boar tooth, one of a juvenile. It was from his first kill. A hole had been bored through the top and a string threaded through. She tied it around her neck.
The four riders mounted their steeds and waved to the members of their tribe. Three would be returning to the small group, making the number of their civilization an even fifty-four. She sent one small flick of her fingers toward Migr, then clutched her reins and followed the men toward the Palace of Asgard, the place where she would meet the two who held her young life in their hands.
The journey took weeks, but the four were well prepared and the company could have been worse.
"Virdi, d'you think the Allfather will bless you? Or will he force you from the throne room when he catches a whiff of our mountain scent?!" laughed Birz around the fire one night. What a foolish question. Virdi doubted the Allfather would say no to her and Birz knew it, too. She did not smile, but she did attempt to throw a joke back.
"Whichever he doesn't to me, he will surely do to you."
The men laughed and passed the bread and dried fruit around. Birz slapped her on the back. "Neither sound like good fun to me, but ol' Erdif here would swing an axe in defense if he could!" Erdif grunted and threw an empty wineskin at him.
"Not all are destined for greatness! I'm content in my little tribe in my mountains. I've no need for gold or candlesticks or perfumed oils," Erdif proclaimed.
"You say you need no oils or perfumes, but what about what they anoint? We are all the same under privilege and adornment." Isaac was the quietest of the three men. Since she was five, he had taught her lessons. He was the teacher of the whole tribe and spoke of lineage, the realms, maths and sciences, and much other knowledge.
Virdi stiffly sat and listened to the conversations of men. As they spoke, she was split in her mind. She did not want to leave her brother in the mountains and journey to the palace, but it was her duty and destiny to do so. The feelings of confliction had grown since she had learned of her fate. "The same, you say? If all people are the same, why does Asgard need me?"
The men quieted and looked at her young form leaning on her saddlebag. Isaac placed a long, bony hand on her shoulder. "No one knows why. No one knows how. But they will need you. Whether you need them, in the end, is the true question."
Virdi sighed. She should not have expected more from the teacher. Birz and Erdif recognized her need for quiet and banked the fire, readying the camp for sleep. They said goodnight and the camp quickly filled with their snuffles and snores. Isaac wrapped himself in his cloak and turned over.
Need them? She would never need them. It was their fault she never could play. It was their need that kept her from childhood, from friends, from any semblance of normality. They were the ones that took her from Migr and her tribe. She needed no one.
Yet, she had been told from birth that she was chosen to do great things, that fate would direct her toward those that needed her most. "Your purpose has always been and will always be to help them, for they will require you to save all," said Isaac when she was little more than a babe.
"It would be nice," she thought as she pulled the hood up on her cloak "for someone to need her for her and by her own choice, rather than by a destiny to save a people who couldn't save themselves."
Their horses cantered through the widest streets Virdi had ever seen towards the golden, pipe-like towers of the palace of Asgard. She knew her party looked a bit tired and their cloaks a bit worn, but they were healthy. Virdi stared straight ahead and ignored her desire to gaze at the colorful vendors and even more colorful people. Her back stood ramrod straight and her shoulders were back with her reins gripped loosely in her hands. Only Migr would be able to tell that she was frightened.
Their horses' ironclad hooves clapped into the palace courtyard. Seven attendants rushed out and started removing packs and handling reigns. One large man motioned for Virdi to dismount the large horse into his arms. She nimbly slid from the saddle and handed her reigns to him. He smiled jovially and chuckled at her attitude. The four riders made to help unload their animals. The many workers quickly took them inside to a set table with various meats, cheeses, and meads. Isaac nearly fell to his knees at the sight of such cheeses.
Virdi did not eat. She drank water.
During their meal, a well-dressed servant told them about their accommodations.
"The Allfather has allotted each of you rooms in the guest wing of the palace. Several servants will be close by at all times should you need something. All your packs have been placed in your rooms and baths can be drawn for you when you wish."
Birz nodded as he hardly listened to the man. He was too immersed in a leg of boar. Erdif was intently examining a golden fork and ignoring the servant as well. Isaac was the only man listening and he acknowledged the servant, whose name was Los, with a nod and a gracious smile.
"When will we be received by the Allfather?" Virdi's hard voice demanded attention even though it was quiet. Los turned to her and examined the little girl. She was slight, with unmoving shoulders and a straight back. She had no plate in front of her, had yet to remove her traveling cloak, and was gazing at him with expectant grey eyes.
"The Allfather has not seen fit to order court. He will greet you with his family tomorrow morning before you break the fast." Los sent a smile at the girl. She nodded and turned back to face her companions. She did not speak. "When you have finished, I will show you to your quarters."
Her worn, dark leather armor was swiftly discarded on the comfortable bed in her spacious room. Her grey tunic and black breeches followed soon after and Virdi leapt into the steaming tub that awaited her. The heat soothed her muscles from endless days riding and she sunk deeper into the water. Lined around the tub were many perfumes and oils to scent the water.
"Erdif is probably enjoying them all immensely," she thought as she almost smiled. She clamped her lips shut before she could. It was not in her duty to smile and make jokes.
Using the regular lye soap that she brought with her, she scrubbed herself until no trace of travel was left on her. Leaving her dark hair free, she stepped into her maroon night tunic and sat on the magnificent bed.
It was too soft.
The members of her tribe had not lived a life of poverty, but every tent had two large cots. It was rare for each not to have more than two bedmates. The cots were never soft with feathers and they were even less soft when one was woken by a stray elbow or knee in the night. But it was all Virdi had known.
They did not have cheeses and meads and fresh fruits. The tribes had fresh fish and boars and dried berries, common fare that she had never missed so much. The rich vegetables they had grown in the mountains had found no place at the table of Odin Allfather.
"You had best accept new things, Virdi." Isaac had said to her. There had been no cruelty or malice in his words, just the earnest tone of someone giving her advice. "The tales tell of a child, born to protect and save. Comfort is not foretold."
She sighed and lay back on the many pillows. Comfort was something she had not had since she could walk. According to all elders in her tribe, it was something she would find as she did her duty and protected her charges.
She hoped they were right, else eternity would be emptier than Jotunheim.
Virdi was tense the next morning when she woke to a few quiet knocks on her door. She stood and pulled down her nightwear as she went to open the large wooden door. She was greeted with the smiling face of a woman dressed in the palace maid uniform.
"Good morning, Lady Virdi! How was your rest?" She entered the room with fresh linens in her arms and set them on the bed. Without waiting for Virdi's answer, she stepped toward the window and drew the curtains. The young girl continued to stand at the door with a blank face. The maid didn't let it faze her.
"I am Tanya, one of the maids that will attend you while you reside in the palace! Was everything to your liking last night?"
Virdi did not know how to respond and she shut her bedroom door. "The bed was much too soft. The room is too big," she wanted to say. Instead, she put her hands behind her back and threw back her shoulders.
"It is quite satisfactory." The middle-aged maid internally chuckled at her attempt to look older and intimidating. The look and stance would no doubt be frightening when the girl was older but Tanya couldn't keep a small smile from showing at the twelve year old.
"I am glad, Lady Virdi. Will you require assistance while you get ready for your audience with the Allfather?"
Virdi shook her head. While Tanya started changing the sheets on her bed, Virdi grabbed her ceremonial armor and the rest of her clothes and entered the bathroom.
Her clothes this morning were much nicer than her travel wear. The high-necked dark grey tunic was made of soft linen and was fitted down her arms and waist to prevent enemies from keeping hold of her. Black breeches and soft leather boots were pulled on and laced tightly. Then she began the daunting task of putting on her full armor.
The black, padded leather breastplate went on first with the various straps and cinches. The front was gilded with a strange silver and gray design. The few, stylized silver branches grew from the bottom and twined around the armor. She attached a longer, denser grey hooded cloak at her left shoulder and it fell to the backs of her heels. She threw it over her shoulders. After followed braces for her arms. She combed her hair swiftly and exited the bathing chamber.
Tanya abandoned her work when Virdi came out of the room and explained that she would lead her to her companions who waited outside the Allfather's chamber. Virdi nodded and followed behind the maid. She pulled up her hood and prepared herself to hear her fate.
Virdi was led to Isaac, Erdif, and Birz as they waited outside huge golden doors. All three were dressed similarly to her, including the hooded cloaks that obscured their faces. One of the two guards that stood there was speaking in hushed tones to Birz and gesturing to the golden doors. Birz was nodding. We stood like that for a few minutes until the guard returned to his post and the doors ominously opened simultaneously.
The room, like many other things in Odin's palace, was enormous and gold. The chamber could have easily fit hundreds and Virdi had the idea that it frequently did. Many long tables lined the right and left walls and scarlet banners hung from the ceiling in lines leading to the back of the room. Down the center was a wide walkway decorated with twisting knots and flowing lines that seemed to move in the flickering light of the many torches and braziers on the walls. It was both welcoming and intimidating.
The four figures started slowly walking down the aisle toward the large, curved throne at the back of the room. Their footsteps echoed and Virdi started internally panicking as they neared the two figures that occupied the platform. Virdi forced herself to be calm, to have no feeling, to ignore the walls closing in as she neared what was both her imprisonment and what could lead her to joy.
They stopped just before the steps of the throne and all four knelt on one knee while placing a fist over their hearts in honor of Odin, father of all Asgardians. The king himself had dark grey hair and a deep red cape. He was dressed in silver and gold armor that glinted dully, though his single eye was shining bright and a small smile was on his lips. Standing next to him was a beautiful woman bedecked in a shimmering white gown and golden jewels. Virdi deduced that this was Queen Frigga and she was smiling fully, showing her perfect white teeth. Two small figures stood beside her.
When Virdi saw the two Allmother and Allfather realm smiling, she felt a bit warmer and less frightened. Her bitterness at this 'destiny' crept to the back of her mind and she thought, maybe, that eternity there might not be Hel.
Odin motioned for them to rise. "Greetings, tribesmen from the North! How fares your elder Ullik Dekson?" The Allfather's voice seemed to fill the air and resonate without yelling or booming his words. The men looked at Virdi to answer Odin.
"Elder Ullik is well, Allfather, and has sent his congratulations at the end of the war with Jotunheim. He fears they may seem late, but he assures you the tribes are grateful." Virdi's voice was steady and powerful. This was what all her life had lead to. This was where her destiny and duty began.
Odin waved his hand and smiled wider. "What is ten years between friends? When you return you must thank him and implore his return to the palace." Isaac nodded and Frigga thanked him.
The king of Asgard rose and started down the steps toward the group with his Queen following behind. He stopped before Virdi. "You are Virdi Sokndottir?" he asked. The little girl before him had to crane her neck to see his face. She nodded at him and his heart softened slightly. Her face was small and pointed with the expression proud and void of emotion. But the piercing grey eyes held knowledge one her age shouldn't have and the Allfather saw flickers of resentment play through her mind. He bent down on one knee before her until they were face to face.
"You are the girl who will save the realm one day?" Odin Allfather's whispering voice lost all resonating quality and he simply sounded like a man; an old, tired, thankful man. Virdi looked into his weary eye.
"I am, Allfather."
He placed a huge hand on her tiny shoulder and then rose, turning to her three companions. "I ask all to bear witness on this day to the beginning of an age. One of peace and protection." He beckoned for her to kneel and she did, bowing her head.
"Virdi Sokndottir, first born of the northern tribes, henceforth entrusted with the young lives of Thor and Loki Odinson: many protect my sons. Should you swear, let it be known to all that you will defend them, and all innocents in the nine realms, with your life for all eternity. Do you swear to guard my sons?"
Virdi took a breath. "I swear."
"And do you swear to preserve the peace?"
"I swear." Virdi's conviction grew with each word.
"Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and to pledge yourself to the innocent of the realm?"
"I swear."
Odin brought his staff down on the floor and magic rippled the air. Birz, Erdif, and Isaac bowed deeply in Virdi and Odin's direction.
"So sworn. On this day, I, Odin Allfather, proclaim you eternal protector and guard to Thor and Loki, Princes of Asgard and future kings of the Nine Realms." The Allfather was smiling slightly but in the back of his mind, fear crept in. He couldn't name it, but it made him uneasy anyway.
Virdi let out a breath and saw Frigga and the two children with her approach. Eternity was just beginning.
So this is a new Thor fic, obviously, and it begins before any of the movies. I do have plans to take the whole story, and my OC, through the Avengers and into the Thor sequels if I can.
It is a LokixOC fix that is currently unbetad. I plan to update every week or so. Please let me now if you are interested in me continuing or have ideas I could add to the story.