As you may have guessed, I have successfully outlined the first book of my new Distortions in Time trilogy and sketched out an outline for the trilogy as a whole. I hope that you guys will enjoy this new set of journeys and adventures that I have cooked up! I have really enjoyed writing the first "trilogy", so hopefully everyone as well as I will enjoy this next outing!
WARNINGS AND TAGS BELOW (for those who need to know)
Distortions in Time: The Sequel
Book 1
Chapter 1
[A long, long time ago, there was a great kingdom of ice…]
[…an enchanted realm, cursed with an Eternal Frost…]
[…nothing could grow there, it is said…]
[…and the Beasts slowly died out…]
[…it is silent on Jotunheim…]
Loki slowly woke, clinging desperately onto a short vivid dream which began to slip through the fingers of his memory. A soft voice reading aloud. Elska? He wondered. Or someone else?
A soft voice reciting an ancient tale. A warm glow. A small room. A woman in a rocking chair.
So familiar… and yet not…
[…it is silent…]
Thor stood on the edge of the Bifrost and contemplated the starry horizon before him. A long day of councils had left him even more fatigued than usual.
I am tired, he thought. Tired of the bickering. Tired of the senseless discussions. Tired of the politics.
His hand fingered the hilt of Mjolnir.
Tired of time passing without change.
[…yet the Voices of the Stars…]
[…tied to the Weaving…]
[…bring about the Eternal Fate…]
It was hard to imagine, hard to grasp, hard to accept – but as he fell back, as his visor filled with the images of a vast darkness, an endless march of alien ships, he knew that what he saw could not be denied. Hundreds of the space worms swam about like a swarm of insects about a corpse. There were glimpses of nebulae and planets and suns he couldn't recognize – and an asteroid field which hung before a massive wormhole which seemed to thrum with ominous energy. He felt, for the first time in a long time, like a frightened child.
Breath drew in and out sharply, increasing in intensity. Black dots swam before his eyes as frost crept across the face of the suit's display. He was falling back –
He was falling –
Iron Man woke up.
[…one such hero was born…]
The world is noisier now, Steve sighed, turning underneath the light cotton sheets of his bed. His bed. It isn't my bed, really. This place – this headquarters for SHIELD isn't my home…
Steve turned onto his back and stared up at the plain white ceiling. Eyes shut, he allowed the noise of the city to edge in on his awareness – the blaring of car horns, the far distant call of a siren, people talking, someone yelling, a car alarm...
What is home? Where is your home, Steve? Steve's eyes opened, but his eyes were focused on a distant memory of an orphanage, of Brooklyn, of a lost friend. I haven't had a real home since I signed up for the war, Steve admitted to himself. When Bucky died, I lost my last link to my past. With Peggy, I could at least hope for a future…
But now…
Now…
[…on the edge of the Dark…]
[…of the Great Abyss…]
"Boy!" A harsh voice grated over the Ravager M-Ship's speakers. Peter Quill winced and dialed the volume down, leaning back against the table in feeble attempt to look disinterested and NOT hungover. "Did you get the supplies I asked you for?"
"Well, Yondu," Quill said carefully, running his hands through his poorly brushed brown hair. "I did…"
"Then why don't I see them in our cargo hatch?" Yondu leaned in closer to inspect the least reliable member of his Ravager clan. The bristles on his chin and the scars on his blue skin looked even more distasteful up close.
Are those bags under his eyes? Quill wondered.
"QUILL!"
"Look, Yondu," Peter decided to go the smart albeit less honest route. "I'll be there with them tomorrow, no problem." He cut off the communication console and staggered over to the cockpit to grab his favorite weapons before exiting the Milano.
Just will need to figure out how to replace the equipment I lost back at the betting club. Ugh…. Quill rubbed his eyes feeling the impact of the carousing from the night previous.
I need another drink.
[…and within that Abyss…]
He raised a hand and pressed against the Barrier, gritting his teeth, but it remained true. Whipping around to glare at his primary General, he roared in wordless fury.
"The Stones are not entirely lost, Father," a soft voice consoled him as a slight, long-haired, green-skinned Zehoberei stepped from the shadows of Sanctuary's rocks.
"We will retrieve them," added another. A blue-skinned, mostly android Luphomoid. "There are many who would aid our cause in their own searches for power." Her smile was as cold as ice.
Thanos looked down at this favourite children and leaned back in his chair, clearly interested.
"Gamora." He then slowly acknowledged the other. "Nebula…"
[…an eternal battle is waged…]
Mordo found her in the main atrium by the window, staring out at the setting sun. Her slight figure appeared to blaze gold within the Ancient One's familiar robes. She turned then, face falling into shadows. He shifted uneasily.
"The world is changing, Mordo," she said lightly. "The end is coming."
"The end?" He asked suspiciously. "You saw your death?"
Her laughter was light, but her eyes were hidden within the shadows of her hood.
"No need to be so worried," she assured him before adding, "Death comes to us all." She turned back to watch the sun. "But I have quite a bit to do before I go... We all face troubling times."
[…will it be lost…]
"They say a truce has been brokered successfully between Jotunheim and Asgard. There are other whispers. Whispers of a Dark Titan hiding within the shadows. A troubled Cosmos lies before us, mellonin." The speaker moved toward the head of the long table. Red firelight flickered over the pale faces of the Dark Elf council congregated about it. He turned to look at them all. "Our own position is precarious. Weakened. Ever since the dying of our Night." Murmurs of agreement arose. "Between such great forces, what hope is there for us?"
No one responded to his question.
"Our only hope is to return to that time. That simpler Age of the Eternal Night. To the Aethr'a'Heladrin."
"How-" The half-formed question hung in the air promoting silent nodding.
He smiled coldly.
"My studies have born fruition. There is a treasure of great price that we must retrieve, and having retrieved it, with this Artifact, the Aethr'aHeladrin, will be reborn at the time of the coming Din'o i-Ambar – the Convergence."
[…will the Voice step forward…]
[…will the Champions arise…]
Loki finished his morning mug of tea on his balcony, elbows firmly planted on the stone edge of the balustrade. Looking over the seedling herbs now beginning to sprout, his green gaze fixed on the rainbow Bifrost stretching out to Asgard's horizon.
A smile grew on his face.
"Time to get going."
GLOSSARY
Mellonin – (Elvish) friends, bosom spirits
Aethr'aHeladrin – (Elvish) Age of the Eternal Night
Din'o i-Ambar – (Elvish) the Convergence of the Realms
Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think! If you want to brush up on DIT history, you can read the summary below!
-KI
Summary: In the wake of the Battle of Fe-Kaupstefna (Battle of the Cattle Market), Loki, Thor, and Asgard have little time to mourn as knowledge about Thanos is researched, defenses are wrought, and quests are battled. Loki, torn between aiding Asgard and exploring the clues Mal left him, must discover the fate of his late beloved, the fate of Jotunheim, the fate of the Lesser Kindred, and the fate of the Cosmos.
Spoiler Warnings: Iron Man 3, Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol 1), Thor: The Dark World
Warnings (as far as I know): Death, violence, slavery, language
Ignore this if you don't wanna be spoiled for the previous sequel! This is a summary for those who wanna skip rereading the previous story!
Summary of Distortions in Time
Undiscovered by Odin after the Battle of Utgard, Loki grows up under Elska's care as the "vaetki" (nothing), before finally being thrown to the mercy of the Great Black Wolves of Jotunheim. Jotunheim's Spirit of the Realm, however, has other plans, and Loki, now known as the "ulfrbarn" (the Wolf's Child), lives in the wild with the greatest wolf pack.
After some time, Loki, in an attempt to save a Jotun village from an attack, is captured by slavers. Renamed as "Kol'la", Loki is taken to a mining colony and then an entertainment world where he works consecutively as a dancer, magician/story teller, and gladiator. As a gladiator trainer/keeper, Loki befriends a captive Thor, Fandral, and Hogun. When Odin arrives to rescue his only son, Thor brings Loki back to Asgard, where Loki works as a stable hand.
Years later, Loki's magickal abilities come to light and Loki is sponsored by Odin to study at the Mage's Academy, where he learns the arts of the mage-warrior. Years of questing and mischief pass, when Loki is finally adopted into the Royal Family and is named "Loki". From then on, the new Prince gains a name for good politicking, diplomacy, and mischief.
When Thor's coronation approaches, Loki, believing that Thor isn't ready, attempts to distrupt the ceremony. His plan goes well at first - the ceremony is disrupted, but Thor's resulting trip to Jotunheim angers Odin, causing the King to exile his son. When Odin reveals that he and Frigga had known Loki's origin all along, Loki becomes agitated. Odin however falls into Odinsleep, leaving the care of Asgard in Frigga's and Loki's hands. In an attempt to end the war without shedding Asgardian blood - and to prove his loyalty to Odin, Loki attempts to obliterate Jotunheim. Odin, Heimdall, and Frigga stop Loki, and Odin decides to send Loki down to Jotunheim to make amends, little knowing that Loki's true identity as son of Laufey and True Heir would endanger Loki's life. Laufey casts his taboo child into the Abyss.
Loki falls through space-time onto an asteroid where he is rescued by Mal and her crew. Mal and Loki bond, forming a temporary relationship, but when Loki comes face to face with his past as a Lesser Kindred Jotunn, he decides he must find out what had happened to his people in the distant past.
Traveling through space, Loki attempts to return home, but ends up on a variety of worlds (including a jail planet), where he finally finds himself captive to Thanos's expeditionary task force. Eventually caught as a "spy", Loki is tortured by Inspector Wen. His imprisonment is ended by a fortuitous rescue thanks to Mal and her crew who are currently on assignment to spy on Thanos's task force. In an effort to save Loki, Mal sacrifices her life to send Loki onward to Earth.
Unbeknownst to him, Loki breaks the space-time barrier, tapping into a sudden explosion of power (due to Odin's timely release of his bonds), and travels back in time to Earth weeks before the Tesseract explosion. Undercover Lesser Kindred attempt to aid Loki - but a combination of PTSD, drug withdrawal, and magickal imbalance bring Loki to the attention of SHIELD.
During these two years of adventures, Thor has become a member of SHIELD, a potential member of Avengers, a rancher, and Jane's boyfriend. Unable to prove his worth, Thor, without his hammer, learns to rely on teamwork and inner strength and maturity. Upon news of his brother's arrival, however, Thor is shocked to discover that Loki is in fact a Jotunn - the hated race. Steve Rogers helps Thor get past his racist roadblock.
With that, the Tesseract explodes, the Avengers fight the front vanguard of Thanos, they close the wormhole, and they save New York. Loki and Flarathir - the treasonous mage who opened the Tesseract wormhole - fight with Loki barely winning. Upon successful completion, the Avengers send the Tesseract to Asgard, keeping the Mind Gem (Flarathir's staff).
Upon arrival in Asgard, however, the Princes discover that a full war is being waged on Asgardian soil as a combination of Jotunn and mercenary forces attempt to take the capital. The attempted reclamation of the Casket fails as Loki turns out to have had it all along. Fighting alongside Thor, Loki is able to help stem the war. However, just when the fighting ceases, Laufey is assassinated by pro-Helblindi factions, paving the way for Helblindi to take the throne.
The story ends with Helblindi refusing the throne, wishing instead that the True Heir - Loki - would return to take the throne with the Casket and heal Jotunheim. Loki, uncertain of his future, celebrates the long journey both he and Thor have experienced.
Meanwhile, the mystery of the Lesser Kindred and the coordinates Mal gave him remain...