Over one thousand years had passed since Rufus's ascension to the throne. Both the old gods and the old ways had been forgotten by the humans, and everything had changed--sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse.
The Truce of the Four Races was easily the greatest accomplishment of the new regime. The final agreements had been drawn up no less than 500 years ago, and even now it did wonders for preventing inter-worldly conflict. The terms of the agreement were as follows:
I. No race shall knowingly provoke or cause harm to come to another race. Surprisingly, the humans had signed almost immediately, the undead shortly after, thanks to the intermediary work of Aluze and Brahms, who had been reborn after his death in Lezard's collapsing world. After over one hundred years of petty conflict between the undead and the elves, Brahms finally succeeded in convincing Queen Hel that it would behoove both her and her kingdom if she agreed to a cease-fire. After countless reassurances that Nifleheim would not be changed any more than it had been under the truce with the gods and humans, Queen Hel finally agreed to step back from the brink of war, if the elves would comply. Meanwhile, Rufus managed to regain the trust of the elves and convince them to sign the treaty. After tense negotiations which lasted more than six weeks, the final revision of the Truce of the Four Races was complete.
II. Each of the Four Treasures shall remain in its respective world. This decree stated that none of the Four Treasures should ever be removed from its world, even by its guardian. No treasure should ever be used as a weapon, except in times of great crisis. Fortunately, due to the first decree of the Truce of the Four Races, such a time had yet to manifest itself.
III. Should war break out between two parties of like race, no other race shall be required to send fighters from its own ranks. This clause was added at the urging of the humans, who feared that, should a war begin amongst the gods, the hated practice of forcibly recruiting einherjar would begin once again. Rufus agreed, understanding their situation, for he had once been an unwilling vessel of Odin. After arguing his case before several skeptical Aesir, he finally won over a great enough majority to add it to the growing list of terms under the truce.
IV. Forcibly removing a soul from its native body shall be forever prohibited. This practice, known colloquially as "eating souls" (since in most cases the soul was either stored in or merged with the transgressor's own soul), was practiced widely among the undead, and it was feared that this would be an impossible matter to negotiate. At the same time, it was a necessary agreement, for this was one of the most atrocious acts of aggression, far surpassing any injury inflicted on the body. Fortunately, Queen Hel, herself originally a mere rebel against the gods, knew that undead did not need to eat souls, their means of sustenance being flesh and blood. Although many higher demons protested this clause, Queen Hel ignored them (or rather, silenced them with the threat of painful punishment) and agreed, knowing that in doing so her kingdom would be left alone. Those undead who had already eaten other souls were destroyed, their own souls being freed as well as those they had eaten.
V. Consuming the flesh and blood of any of the four races shall be prohibited. This was a sort of "Part Two" to the previous clause, and included the flesh and blood of the undead. The undead were thereafter limited to eating the flesh and blood of animals, just like the humans. At first the undead found this inconvenient, but after discovering that beasts were in far greater supply than humans, their simple minds forgot their earlier complaints.
VI. Those who became undead against their will shall be destroyed and their souls freed. This was the case of many, such as Alicia's friend Dallas, who had been bitten by a vampire or forcibly fed ghoul powder. Queen Hel, at first somewhat reluctant to reduce the numbers of her subjects, finally agreed after considering the fact that the underworld was becoming rather overpopulated.
VII. Any undead who wishes to have his soul freed may do so at any time. This included Queen Hel and the higher demons, who, for the most part, had grown rather fond of Nifleheim and did not wish to leave. Surprisingly, both Gyne and Walther wished to be released and reborn as humans
VIII. Elves shall no longer be slaves or vessels of the gods. This clause was put forward by Rufus himself, and almost unanimously agreed upon by the other gods, who had come to believe that such a practice led to nothing but trouble.
IX. No human shall be forced to worship or acknowledge the existence of the gods, elves, undead, or any of the worlds or Four Treasures. This clause, simply called "freedom of religion" by the Midgardians, was supported by Rufus, Alicia, Brahms, Aluze, and all three of the valkyries. The elves immediately agreed, the general consensus being that humans were petty, ignorant, and simple-minded (and rather ugly), and that such supernatural knowledge would only lead to chaos and bloodshed. At first, the gods disliked the idea of being ignored, but later decided it was preferrable to being despised, and with fewer humans to worship them, there were fewer humans which deliberately disobeyed or provoked them.
X. No human, unless undergoing penance for his sins, shall be forcibly reincarnated. Many humans wished for nothing more than peace after death, and some did not even believe in reincarnation. After death, most souls (including those of elves, fallen gods, and purified undead) became spirits, complete with an ethereal body which could travel freely between the worlds. This state of being was called "Heaven" by most. Those who committed grave sins during their mortal lives spent time being painfully cleansed in Nifleheim, which had somehow taken on the name of its leader, "Hell," in one of the various Midgardian tongues. There were, however, some souls which were reincarnated...
XI. No living soul of any race shall travel outside the boundaries of his world without special permission. This included Rufus and the other leaders of worlds, as well as any gods who wished to go "slumming" in Midgard. In most cases, permission was obtained without incident; however, occasionally a wayward undead would attempt to sneak out of Nifleheim, and would quickly be stopped.
XII. Any individual or group which breaks the terms of this treaty shall be punished accordingly. Normally, this meant according the rules of his or her world, but it occasionally required negotiations between two or more races, if more than one race had been involved. So far, however, this had yet to lead to warfare between races.
XIII. Every 500 years, there shall be a mandatory meeting between the races, conducted by the ambassadors, leaders of the worlds, and guardians of the Four Treasures. This included Rufus and Queen Hel, the respective leaders of Asgard and Nifleheim, and the ruler of Alfheim as well. Midgard did not have a leader for its world, but it did have several ambassadors, as well as the valkyries, who also attended the meetings. It was just as well, for most of the humans lived in ignorance of the other three races. The ambassadors were intermediaries between the worlds, partially exempt from Section XI of the Truce of the Four Races, which meant they were allowed to travel between the two worlds for which they mediated. Alicia was the intermediary between Asgard and Midgard. Rufus was the intermediary between Asgard and Alfheim. Brahms was mediator between Midgard and Nifleheim, and Loki was the reluctant go-between of Nifleheim and Asgard, being the father of Hel. Hel herself shared the position of intermediary between Alfheim and Nifleheim with one of the elves, Roussalier, who was also the mediator between Alfheim and Midgard. Aluze was guardian of the Dragon Orb, and a group of several elves acted as the collective guardian of the Sylvan Bow. Rufus had relinquished ownership of the Spear of Gungnir to Vidar, who guarded the weapon of his father with his life. In Nifleheim, the default guardian of the Demon Sword "Levantine" was Bloodbane, who had thought it would be great fun to swallow the treasure. Unfortunately, Bloodbane had a tendency to cause a bit of a ruckus, so he sent one of his friends, a particularly festive wraith, to the meetings as his personal representative.
Lenneth Valkyria had just finished one of these meetings, and was currently reflecting on all that had changed since the last one.
About half of all Midgardians believed in monotheism, which meant they worshiped and acknowledged only one god, usually male. Most monotheists believed their God was all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving, a sort of ideal that none of the old gods could possibly live up to. Lucio had once told her that she was probably the closest any of them could ever get to that ideal, as most of the male gods were violent and crude. But she knew that even she did not know everything, and therefore could not do everything.
Most of the other half of humanity believed in anywhere from two to hundreds or even thousands of gods, some similar to those residing in Asgard, but most different. A small minority still remembered the old gods, or at least thought they did. They called their religion "Asatru" and most of their perceptions were more than a little off. The images and stories of the gods were quite inaccurate. However, the gods appreciated their devotion and enjoyed the adoration bestowed by their few but sincere worshipers.
A relatively small but growing number of people embraced atheism or agnosticism, which lacked a belief in gods altogether. Few of the gods minded this, and those who did were equally irritated by those who worshiped gods other than themselves.
Lenneth herself did not mind who the humans worshiped, so long as they were kind to one another. Unfortunately, not all humans fulfilled this simple requirement. Although divine intervention was discouraged, sometimes Lenneth and her sisters could not help but interfere when they saw a mortal suffering. Those lucky few who saw one of the valkyries on this occasion often mistook them for "angels," which always brought a smile to Lenneth's face. Making miracles was something she had always loved to do.
The valkyries rarely gathered souls as einherjar, and never did so forcibly. Instead, their role had changed to guardians of Midgard itself, and were among some of humanity's strongest advocates. The humans did not know it, but several times they had prevented one of the more violent gods from going down to Midgard and destroying a country.
Few humans were reincarnated anymore. Only a small group were blessed, or cursed, with the ability to live more than one lifetime on the mortal plane.
First, there were the valkyries. In times of great need, such as those of the world wars or famines, one or more of the valkyries were reborn as humans. Unlike when Odin was ruler of the gods, their mortal forms retained most of their of godly powers, such as materialization and the transmigration of souls. They were also allowed to keep their memories, which would aid them in their mission.
With the valkyries went their einherjar. These einherjar were not forced; rather, they chose to fight for and support the valkyries out of loyalty or gratitude. Like the valkyries, they were only reborn during times of crisis; otherwise, they enjoyed a luxurious life in the halls of Valhalla. Unlike the Battle-maidens, however, most of them lost their memories. This was not decided; most humans were simply incapable of recalling their past lives.
One human who was always reborn, no matter what Midgard's state, was Alicia, former princess of Dipan and current human ambassador to Asgard. She had, without hesitating, volunteered to be Midgard's mediator. Fortunately, she always remembered Rufus without fail, and the two spent ther greater part of her lives together. Of course, Rufus needed to obtain permission in order to leave Asgard, but that never deterred him.
Another constant dweller in Midgard was Aluze, guardian of the Dragon Orb. At first he had been unhappy about this task, but now he was proud of it, and Midgard had never seen such a great guardian. On occasion, he was killed on duty, but for the most part, he lived out his years without anyone being able to claim the Dragon Orb. However, during the time between his death and when his next incarnation was old enough to resume his duty, others had to protect the Orb, and that was the time when it was most vulnerable to theft.
Occasionally, necromancers and other defilers of souls were sentenced to reincarnation in addition to punishment in Nifleheim. Among these were Gyne, Walther, and J.D. Wallace, who had been fully aware of their sins, and needed to gain further understanding of the consequences their actions had.
An extreme instance of this case was that of Lezard Valeth, who had committed the most vile act of overthrowing Odin and endangering Asgard. He had almost accomplished the unthinkable: merging with Lenneth's soul and trapping those of Ahly and Silmeria in between dimensions, the inescapable confines of the unfinished Sovereign's Rite. Only when the three valkyries merged their souls together did the resultant being bring down Lezard.
On the brink of Lezard's death, however, something amazing happened: the necromancer-turned-god finally understood that he could not rule Lenneth's heart or possess her soul. All his evil and selfish thoughts faded away, leaving a defeated but peaceful spirit. It was not quite repentance, but it spared him thousands of years of torment in Nifleheim.
Even so, his sins were severe, and so he was condemned to be reincarnated for as long as Midgard existed. His memories of his past incarnations were sealed away. The first few times, he had managed to break the seal, which quickly led to his death in one way or another. However, with each life, the seal on his memories grew stronger, and his power as a mage grew weaker. His intelligence, however, remained greatly above average.
In that respect, no threat of such magnitude had come to the well-being of the worlds since then. Unfortunately, Lenneth, Ahly, and Silmeria feared that the day would soon come when the humans destroyed their own world. A few times had arose in history when greedy humans had learned of the Dragon Orb, and lusted for its power. They had slain those protecting it and had taken the Orb for themselves, causing devastating world wars and weakening the treasure's world-sustaining power. Each time, the Orb had been eventually recovered, but it was much weaker than it had initially been, and unless something were done, the day would soon come when Midgard would fall apart completely. The once-mighty Dragon Orb was now the weakest of the Four Treasures, and soon someone from one of the stronger races would have to give up their body and use their soul just to keep Midgard from crumbling into dust.
Shortly after the passing of Lezard's sentence, an astonishing discovery about souls was made: They could not be destroyed. This was first brought to light when Brahms and Dylan were reborn as two separate entities. At the same time, the new Valkyrie split back into Ahly, Lenneth, Silmeria, and Alicia, the latter being reborn as a human. After extensive inquiries, it was discovered that all souls previously thought to be devoured or annihilated were either trapped in a sort of in-between state or had simply been reborn. In cases of souls being melded together, the merge would be undone after an amount of time that varied from case to case. In very rare cases, when pieces of a soul were scattered across the worlds, the soul would regain activity once they were collected in one place.
However, with this new knowledge of souls came a question which had since tormented all the gods, especially Frey: Where was Odin's soul? Surely it would have split from Lezard's soul by now. Was it still trapped in Lezard's body? Was it lost in one of the countless dimensions that existed between the worlds? Had it been reborn as a mortal that had somehow eluded everyone's notice?
Poor Frey was wrought with worry over this mystery, and often spent long periods of time in different worlds, searching for information that might lead her to reunion with her beloved. She never wavered in her endless search, or in the faith that his soul was out there somewhere, maybe not in one piece, but capable of being found, restored, and reborn.
"Lenneth, what are you thinking about?"
Lenneth raised her head and smiled when she saw Lucio, the one human she saw as more than an einherjar or a dear friend. "Oh, I was just reminiscing and reflecting on the way things are now. Maybe even asking a few questions."
Lucio trotted over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I love it when I catch you lost in thought. You look so beautiful, staring off into space...pure and sweet, like the perfect goddess you are." He looked deeply into her eyes and kissed her again, this time on the mouth. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she whispered, reaching up to caress his face. She would never stop loving him, not even in another thousand years.
Lenneth did not yet know, but soon she would return to Midgard to deal with a crisis which might involve all the words and all the races. As always, her einherjar, including her beloved Lucio, would go with her; but this time, something would go wrong, and the fate of many would be threatened by a most unlikely candidate.
"Lenneth," Lucio murmured as they held each other, "no matter what happens, don't ever forget me."
The silver-haired goddess of destiny rested her head on her lover's shoulder and closed her eyes, breathing in his scent and wishing he'd never let go. "I won't."