It had been 20 years since Loki had his memory repaired by Odin. 20 years since he learned he had two children with the Fire Giant Queen, whom he had been courting before his memory was returned to him. They were now living permanently in Muspelheim, and Loki only returned to Asgard when called upon by Thor, or when he needed a momentary reprieve from the heat. Muspelheim herself had changed a lot in the 20 years as well. With the knowledge that all they needed was water, and with three ice casters living permanently on Muspelheim, they soon began to build up water reserves and collecting it in one of the deepest gorges on Muspelheim, creating a lake of fresh water. It was used for the people and when there was more than enough for them, the surplus was used to rebuild the realm, and soon, all of Muspelheim began to flourish.
But the creation of the lake came at a price. Part of the Kingdom was cut off from the Royal Court, the new name given to the city that had grown around the royal palace. They had no way of getting there, apart from Loki warping in and out. Pretty soon, that part of the kingdom began to fall into chaos and ruin, or so they thought. Loki and Vara went over and with some gentle persuading, convinced some women and children to come over to the Royal Court. They did, and Vara thought that she had got all her people out of there, but Loki knew better. A large group of men stayed behind, hiding in the shadows, hiding from the Fire Queen. Loki would use them at some point, so he promised to keep them fed and watered, taking care of them and one day, when he called, they would respond. Loki's thirst for war, and death, for Ragnarök was insatiable. He would keep this rag tag group of fighters from Vara and train them up, making them ready for the end of days.
Soon, Thor had almost completely stopped the rations, coming over only give them seeds that were in season on Asgard. And after trusting Vara for some time, returned her mother's sword to her.
Isa was a 31 year old woman, and Master of Ice, a title created due to the fact that her and her older brother's chore was now to keep the realm supplied with ice to melt into water.
Eldur's story was slightly more, complicated. Being the only dragon in existence, and at 33, he longed for a mate. But with none to be found in any of the realms, he chose to live as a humanoid draconian. The first of his kind. As Loki was a master of magic, he forged a magical pendent. A golden chain as thick as Loki's little finger, and set with a green gem he size of his palm. In the gem, he imbued his magic. The kind of magic Loki used to change form. Not his illusion magic, but actual shape shifting magic. When Eldur wore it, he transformed into a young man, who looked much like Loki, but he had some draconian features. Small blue scales in places and the red eyes of his Frost Giant heritage. But handsome none the less. He too was given the title of Master of Ice.
In the 20 years of there being water; Muspelheim now had forests, groves, lakes and streams. It looked much like Asgard, just hotter. Somehow, the air cleared as well, due to the trees no doubt, and the sky beyond the smog and ash was clear, bright and blue.
Muspelheim thrived and was beautiful, but with not much to fight against, Loki sought to start another fight with his brother. The final one, the one that he knew would destroy the whole Yggdrasil. But he didn't care. He longed for Thor's blood and he would have it.
One day, while Vara was tending to the matters of the realm, she heard the Bifrost shoot down and thump to the ground. She looked up and wondered what Thor was doing here. Maybe he was here for a bonding session with Loki. Loki had gone off to the barracks to inspect the army, who was now no longer a rag tag formation or rabble, but an organised, lethal defence for the realm, or whatever Vara felt deemed their attention. But seeing as Thor trusted her, he didn't feel intimidated at all.
She heard Thor's heavy footsteps run into the palace and felt something was wrong. He never ran here. The energy exertion was too great for even him in this heat. She stood up and walked out the council room to meet him, only to be greeted by a bloodied and battered Thor, breathing hard and holding his hammer like he was in full fledged war mode.
"Thor?" Vara asked, rushing up to him and steadying him against the door frame.
He breathed hard and looked up at her, and she could now see that his left eye was bloodshot, like he had punched in the side of the head, hard. It looked like his eye socket was shattered.
"I trusted you…" he breathed, looking up at her with betrayal in his eyes.
"What, what do you mean?" she frowned and was confused.
"FIRE GIANTS…" he shouted, but then doubled over forward, coughing up blood.
This shocked her, in all the stories she read as a child, all the tales Loki told Isa and Eldur as children, Thor was unbeatable. But here he was, dying at her feet.
"Where?" she asked him as she steadied him yet again against the door frame.
"Asgard…" he breathed.
"Ragnarök…" he added.
She recoiled; she had not ordered such an attack. Asgard and Muspelheim had a truce, and she promised Ragnarök would never come as Thor had threatened to Loki first and foremost if it did.
"No Thor, I never ordered such an attack. My army is here, in the barracks. I would never…" she was breathless.
"Loki is there right now, come, see for yourself." She offered to help him off to go see for himself but he pulled her back and held her close to him.
"Loki led your army, this very day, against Asgard." He whispered.
"I saw him in the fray myself, cutting down my men, alongside your men." He added.
This shocked her even more. She would have heard her army mobilising, she would have known. Then she had a bright idea. This would tell her the truth. She looked to her wedding ring and she sighed. Her gem was green, a sign that Loki was not in the realm.
She looked up slowly, to meet Thor's blue gaze.
"No…Loki…he's not here." she whispered.
Thor nodded and then shook his head.
"I warned you against him the last time I was here. I saw bloodlust in his eyes." he whispered, having caught his breath, but now was clutching his side.
It seemed he had been stabbed as well. She wondered if one of Loki's infamous daggers was the weapon who had done the damage.
"I know, I saw it too, but he was good while he was here. Unless he was scheming behind my back again." she confessed.
"Where is your army?" Thor asked.
And now she understood why he was here. He needed to fight fire with fire. Literally. If this group of fire giants were cutting down Asgardians to the point where Thor looked like this, then only her army could stand against them. She had to save Asgard, and the Yggdrasil.
"I can have them ready in half an hour." She told him, sitting him down on the floor.
"Do better. Asgard will fall in ten minutes." He wheezed.
She nodded quickly and ran off to go alert her army. She ran into Astrid on her way out the palace.
"Vara, what's the rush?" she stopped her as she left the palace, heading out into the now, rose lined road leading to both the barracks and the magnificent Bifrost site.
"Ragnarök." Vara said simply.
She then pointed inside.
"Tend to Thor. Mend him as best you can. Have him ready to leave with me." Vara yelled, rushing out towards the barracks.
She passed Eldur and Isa on the way, who was heading back from Crystal Lake having done their chore for the week.
"Mom…" Eldur asked, seeing her rush towards the barracks.
"Ask Astrid…" she yelled back to them.
When Vara reached her barracks, she found all her men, training, eating, and reading scrolls of the news of the realm. Doing the things they would normally do. She looked around and huffed. They were all here, not a single one was missing. The general stood up from his scroll and walked over to her.
"My queen, what troubles you?" he asked.
Now that they had extra time to do things like read and learn about Asgard, they had become intelligent and well spoken.
She huffed and looked up at him.
"Prepare the men. As quickly as you can. Asgard needs us." She said simply as more of the men began to look up at them.
"I can have then suited up and lined up at the Bifrost site in thirty minutes." Her general said.
"Do better." She said, stepping away from him and toward her men.
They needed to know who they were up against.
"Today, you may have to battle your brothers, fathers, and sons. Asgard is being invaded by Fire Giants. I ordered no such attack. It is up to us to clear our good name." she said, looking at the gathering crowd.
"Everyone put a white sash on your left arm. So we don't end up killing our own." She ordered.
She then turned to her general.
"Spread the word to the other barracks. North, east and south. We're going at this full force." She ordered and he nodded going to the Raven Master immediately.
She then turned back to her men.
"I will lead you, as will Thor Odinson." She said, turning and walking out, whispering to her general as she passed that she would meet him at the Bifrost.
She rushed back to the palace as quickly as she could, her black dress flapping in the breeze as she ran full out. She arrived to see Astrid stitching Thor up in the council room doorway and Eldur in his human battle armour standing nearby, watching Astrid work.
"I'm coming with you." Eldur said vehemently as she walked towards him.
"Oh no, you're staying here." she said in passing to Eldur as she rushed to the weapons vault door.
"I'm not letting you go alone." He said, rushing past the deep gouges he had made in the stone floor, what felt like a life time ago.
"Your father is already there." Vara said, opening the door and heading down into the vault. Eldur followed her down the spiral staircase.
"You said nothing about him being there." Eldur said to her.
How did she break it to him that she man he loved was evil again, and destroying the World's Tree? She couldn't. Loki would die a hero, in his children's eyes.
"He's been sneaking off to Asgard to have hunting sessions with Thor. Thinking I didn't notice the blood on his coat." She said, reaching the vault and walking down the hall to the cell of Laevateinn, right at the back of the hall lined with other weapons. She ripped the door open and rushed in. She picked up the sword from its unlocked chest. Since she had reconciled with Loki, she could once again, wield it.
"He was there when they attacked." She said, turning on her heel and rushing back out. Eldur followed her out.
"Who attacked?" he asked her and she stopped and looked back at him.
She took a breath and told him.
"Fire Giants. Thor thought it was my army, but everyone is here. There must have been some hiding in some other realm." She rationalised, leaving Loki's name out of it.
"Don't worry. With our new training, my men will defeat them ten times over." She said, turning and walking back up the steps of the vault with Eldur at her heels.
"What can I do?" Eldur asked as they reached the throne room.
"Stay here. If Asgard falls, they might come for my throne next." She stopped again and turned, before walking closer to him as he locked the vault door up again.
"If they come," she stopped and looked at him.
He nodded. He knew there was only one way to defend the realm. In his dragon form.
"I know." He said and she smiled.
It wasn't that once he was a dragon again, that he couldn't turn back, but that he didn't like being a dragon, now having tasted human life.
"Protect the realm. Keep your sister safe." Vara said softly her him and he nodded.
"I will." He whispered.
She smiled and patted him on the shoulder. She then turned to see Thor waiting for her.
"We must away." he said to her, blood soaking his round silver discs on his armour.
"Give a minute to get my armour on." she said, walking past him.
Isa, who was standing nearby, was shocked as to the speed this was all happening.
"Isa, some help please." Vara said, walking past her and up the stairs to her suit.
"Yes mother." Isa said demurely, walking after her.
They rushed into her room and Isa closed the door. Vara went to her chest and stared at it. She had not opened it since the day she came back from Asgard 31 years ago. When she was pregnant with Isa. She snapped out of it and ripped the lid open, pulling out her leather underclothes and silver armour. She stripped down quickly and slipped on the underclothes and with Isa's help, got into her armour.
"Mom." Isa said, as she was strapping her in.
"Isa?" Vara asked.
"It's dad. Isn't it?" she asked Vara.
Vara looked down at the ground and nodded.
"He's begun to hate Odin more and more. For the 11 years he kept him from us, and we from him." she turned and looked Isa in her blue eyes.
"He's brought about Ragnarök. And I have to stop him." she admitted to her child.
"Do me a favour and don't tell your brother. You know how he dotes on your father." Vara said, running Isa's wavy hair through her fingers. She nodded.
"What if you can't stop him?" Isa asked.
Vara sighed.
"Then Asgard will fall, and there after, no realm will be safe." Vara said sadly.
"Listen to your brother, do your duty. Keep the people alive." Vara left her with these instructions.
Since Eldur was no longer a dragon, he was the heir to the throne. She nodded. And Vara smiled. They had both become strong, powerful casters, and were more than capable of looking after the realm. She was leaving it in capable hands. She hugged Isa quickly and then rushed out the room, down the steps and towards Thor. She had her staff in one hand and her sword in the other. She looked to her staff. Laevateinn had the same powers as her staff, and she couldn't wield both at the same time. She held out the staff to Eldur and he gingerly took it. They all knew what it meant. She trusted him with the realm, if she fell. The moment this thought flooded Isa's mind she ran up to her mother and hugged her tightly. Vara hugged her back and smiled as she took Eldur's free hand.
"I have no plans to die today." She said to them.
"None do." Thor said to her.
She nodded, but she meant it. She had brought Muspelheim out into the light and she intended to see the entire realm blossom with water.
"I'll be back before you know it." Vara said, prying away Isa's arms and breaking the embrace.
"Have dinner ready for me when I get back, Astrid. Perhaps some fish from the lake." Vara suggested and Astrid nodded.
"See you tonight, my loves." Vara said, before walking off with Thor.
They walked out the palace and down the paved and rose lined path to the site. Off to the left, her army was gathered, weapons shining, and white sashes on their arms. The last men from the other barracks were just filling in at the back of the group. The other barracks weren't too far out, so they were there pretty soon, having caught a warm up jog no doubt.
"My men are all here. I will fight with you, but know that this attack is not my doing." She explained to Thor.
He nodded, seeing her army. These men were different. They were all in modern armour, made of metal, with swords his tallness in their hands. Bows strung around their shoulders and arrows to match. On their chest they carried the royal house insignia, a Royal Fire Lilly, another improvement.
"This is not the armour of the enemy we face." Thor said as they stepped into the half dome of the now improved Bifrost site.
"What?" she asked him as the army surrounded them.
"The rabble we face, wear leather. Not metal." He said as they packed in.
She frowned. They had this armour for ten years now. This supported her theory that the Fire Giants attacking Asgard were not of her realm.
"No matter. It just makes it all the faster to kill them." she said looking to Thor.
"The Fire Giants that did this will be brought to my rule, Thor. I swear it." she said and he nodded just as the last army member entered the dome and Heimdallr, brought them back up to Asgard.