III

Vikings and Alcohol Don't Mix

When I woke up, it was to a bunch of shouting followed by my body being dragged from behind a large pile of wood to the deck were a bunch of really big men and a few women were waiting for me. When I looked around, I found that all of them had swords, knives, a few shields, but mainly they all had axes. I don't mean like small, hand axes meant to cut down a little tree... I mean a really big axe that's used with two hands, except for the fact that these people were wielding them with a single hand. "Who are you?!" I heard one of the men say as he walked up to me. He was so close to my face, I could have sworn he began to sniff me. "Doesn't smell like an elf. He should be fine." I heard the man say before walking away, being replaced by one of the women on board. As the woman looked at me, I thought I could see her looking at me with a lustful gaze as she knelt down before me. As she was kneeling down before me, she put the knife in her right hand underneath my throat as she began to speak to me.

"Who are you and how did you get onto our ship? Tell me now and I might let you live if your answer is good enough." The woman said as she pressed the knife closer to my throat. The woman had blonde hair, blue eyes, and tan skin which was barely being shown from the massive amount of armor adorning her body. Even though she had a scar on her low lip, she was pretty attractive. I was pretty sure that if she wasn't wearing all of that armor and was instead wearing normal clothes, she would have been stunning. Although, as I was lost in my thoughts, the woman pressed her knife further into my neck and when I started to feel my blood trickle down my throat, the woman as well as the rest of the people that were surrounding us let out a collective gasp. "What in Odin's name is he?!" One of the people said as a few of them stepped away, pointing their weapons at me. "His blood's... silver?" One of the women asked as they stepped forward and looking at my blood closely. She didn't really seem to be as frightened about this as everyone else was, especially when she reached out and wiped a bit of it on her finger as she brought it in for a closer look.

"What are you doing, Helen?! It's blood could harm you!" Another one of the men screamed at her as he eyed the blood now on her finger and me cautiously. Now I was getting irritated at these people. First off, I wasn't an it. I was a he. Secondly, as far as I knew, my blood's never been harmless... although I haven't seen it very often. Although, I was more pissed off at being called an 'it'. "Hey, now big guy. I'm a 'he', not an 'it'. Secondly, my blood's not harmful." I told the blonde man who for some reason also had blue eyes, except he was the only guy on here without a beard. Well, except for me since I'd been shaving since I became a Titan King. Speaking of which, should I have told them about my leaving? Eh, they should be fine. I thought to myself as I looked at the girl who had cut me. "As for why I'm here. I had seen you guys lurking around where I had landed after I had leaped from the sky. So, naturally, my curiosity got the best of me and I followed you guys to this ship were I began sleeping." I told her as I looked at her directly into her eyes.

She seemed to be thinking about what I had said for a few minutes before one of the other people had asked a question about what I was. "To be honest, I'm not really sure." I said to them as I shrugged. "I wasn't really born, per say, but after a few thousand years I became the King of the Titans which are just a group of immortal beings who ruled Greece before the Gods came into existence. Now, I believe they just rule along side the Gods since they can't really go any where else." I finished, but this just incited more questions as more of the people began shouting their questions at me. Each getting louder as they tried to be heard, but I didn't need them to get louder since I could already tell who was asking which question. After a few moments of their shouting, I had gotten extremely irritated and shouted at the group of people to 'stop', but when I shouted, I also caused the entire area of the sea we were in to shake violently. When everyone stopped questioning me, I calmed down, which in turn calmed the sea down as well. "Done?" I asked them as politely as I could, but I could still hear a bit of annoyance in my voice.

Each of them just nodded their heads furiously as their eyes were extremely wide as if they were trying to make sure I didn't get angry again. Good. I thought to myself before I took a deep breath and began to speak again. "Okay, well first off, there are more Gods then the ones you know. In fact, as far as I know, every civilization has at least one God that's ruled over them for thousands of years. I've also met quite a few who've become good friends of mine and as I've told you before, I became a Titan King because the Gods who ruled Greece before the Greek Gods came into existence wanted to make me their king in replacement for the King I had killed by his own children." After I had said this, I looked around at the group of people, trying to make sure what I said had sunk in so they could understand before I continued. "Before I came to Greece, I was traveling around different countries, trying to meet each of their Gods and help the countries themselves grow. I've killed many people. Some were innocent while a vast majority of them were wicked, but I had no capacity for emotions or even the ability to speak which made it hard for me to feel remorse for the things that I've done." I said before I took another deep breath as I tried to calm down.

It was true that I hadn't been able to feel anything before, but after meeting Artemis... things changed. Something snapped inside me and made it to where I could speak and I could feel. To be honest, it still scares me that just one girl was able to do that to me, even when for thousands of years, no ones been able to beat me in battles, wars, and just random fights. But, when I met her, she made it possible for me to do new things. Her smile, her voice, her entire being just radiated beauty and I couldn't help but wonder if she had any connection to the woman in my dreams. They were both similar, but Artemis was younger than she was, so who was she? That was something I wanted to know more than anything else at that moment. I looked down at my bare feet before I looked up at the group before I began speaking, again. "That's it. Everyone else's questions are completely stupid since their just rephrasing what I had just said." I told the group, waving my hand dismissively. They looked at me for a few moments, some rubbing their chins as they were possibly trying to figure out the truth in my words, others just staring at me, possibly thinking about the same thing, but regardless, there was a long pause between each of us.

After what I would have assumed was a few minutes, I heard one of the older men speak, causing everyone else to look at him. "Then would you come with us to see our Gods? They may make you one of us since it seems to me like your running from something." The man said and I couldn't help but try and shake the feeling that this man knew something about me that I hadn't told anyone here. "What are you talking about, Joseph?! Taking him to our Gods?! How do you think they'll react to you bringing a foreigner to our halls?!" One of the girls screamed at him. What was weird was the fact that all of these people, despite the old man, were under the age of 18, so they were just barely past being children, yet they were traveling to foreign countries and possibly fighting random enemies. Who are these people? I doubt they're Gods since they don't have very strong auras... well everyone besides the old man who I can't really tell anything about other than the fact that he's really old for a mortal. I thought to myself as I watched these people begin to argue with one another about whether or not I should go with them.

Helen and Joseph as well as one of the other warrior-type people argued that I should go with them while everyone else was strongly against it. As the arguing continued, I decided to snap my fingers causing the people arguing that I shouldn't go with them to be immediately hog-tied as they were lying on the ground. They also tried to scream, but quickly found that their mouths were covered by a piece of fabric that restricted their voices to nothing more than grunts and hums. While most of the people now hog-tied and gagged were staring at me with wide eyes, there were still a few glaring at me while they attempted to break free of their restraints, even going as far as to try and roll around on the floor of their ship. I just walked towards the bound people on the floor and spoke to them in a calm tone, making sure that they understood what was going to happen to them perfectly clear. "You should realize that you can't break free of those restraints unless I want you to. You should also realize that I hold more power than any of your Gods and I have yet to be bested in combat, so if you're willing to try and die in numerous ways, then be my guest, but I will be going to see your Gods for a period of time, regardless of how you feel about the matter." I told them as I leaned down and picked one of the men up by their necks and looked at them in the eyes. "Understood?" I asked him as my eyes flashed with a blue flame that I could see in his own eyes. It seemed as though this fire wanted to jump out at him and burn him alive, and I might have allowed it if I didn't need these people alive for the time being.

The young man started nodding his head furiously as I noticed that he began to urinate in his armor, which was weird considering this guy looked like he was a really strong warrior among the mortals, and yet he was so afraid of me that he began to piss himself. I dropped him onto the ground in his own piss as I walked towards the Joseph and Helen who were standing a few feet away from this little mess of mine. When I was standing in front of them, I snapped my fingers and suddenly the people were all standing up, completely unbound from the rope they'd been tied down with. "So, where to next?" I asked them with a hint of curiosity in my voice. "Now, we head to the Halls of Asgard." Joseph said as he brought me inside the ship and into a room where a map as well as various other things were being held. Helen had also followed us down into their map-storage room where as soon as she entered after us, she closed the door. As we walked over to the large table with a map on top of it, I noticed that these people had a really weird obsession with axes, hammers, and even really large swords because the walls in this room were completely lined with each of those weapons, although they also had a scroll next to each of these weapons, as if explaining something about the weapon.

"This is where we're heading." Helen said as she pointed to a large, swirling vortex in the middle of a couple of the islands of where we were. "Uh... why does it look like it's large enough to swallow an entire island? We're a lot smaller than an island..." I asked the two people as I eyed the map skeptically. They just started laughing at my question as if it was something they've heard before. "Don't worry, newbie, we're going to be fine. Going through that portal is just one of the ways we can get to Asgard. There are quite a few ways to get there, but not many people know about them AND this is the closest one." Joseph said as he laughed at me, then hit my back with an audible crack coming from his hand. "Holy Odin! What are you made out of?!" He screamed as he began to clutch his now injured hand. Helen walked over to Joseph and grabbed his hand so she could inspect it. "Oww! What are you doing, woman?!" He exclaimed as he glared at her as she clutched his hand, turning it around as she inspected every angle of his hand.

"Oh, shut up you big baby. You'll be fine." She chastised him before she let go of his hand then walked over to me. "Uh...What are you doing?" I asked her as she began to pinch my skin, knock on my back and around my body before she pulled out a large stick. "Just seeing how tough your skin is, or if Joseph here is just getting weak in his old age." She explained, earning a grunt from Joseph before she swung the large stick, hitting my back which caused the stick to instantly break. She then just tossed the stick aside before she grabbed one of the scrolls on a shelf and began writing in it. "Hmm... skin is warm... slightly flexible... but, is extremely hard when struck..." She spoke to herself as she continued writing. After a few more minutes of this, the ship began to shake as one of the men from their little crew ran inside screaming. "Helen! Joseph! We're being attacked inside the portal's radius!" The man screamed. It appeared as though he had suffered quite a few injuries if his numerous bruises and cuts that had gone through his now limited armor meant anything.

For a split second, I thought I could hear the sound of a bunch of women singing in a sweet voice, each seeming to originate all around our ship. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Helen screamed and as I looked around, I could see that both Joseph and this other man had been entranced by the singing, but Helen just ran out of the room and on top of the ship's deck. After a few seconds of running, I was now on top of the ship's deck, right behind Helen who now looked like she was extremely pissed. "Sirens!" She screamed at me as she pointed to the pale women with long, black hair getting onto our ship, some pulling men down into the sea while others came to attack the women who weren't fazed by their song.

I continued to look around the ship as the women began to attack the sirens while the men began to become intoxicated by the sirens' voices. I then looked at the large whirlpool that the ship was being dragged into, and for a split second, I could see different worlds that seemed to be trapped on the other side of the portal. Suddenly, that the bottom of the whirlpool, there was a large, golden city that looked like it was in the skies, just like Olympus. As I looked back at the Siren's taking the men, besides Joseph, from the ship, I snapped my fingers causing the men to be flashed back onto the ship while the Siren's suddenly disappeared. Within a split second of the men being back on the ship, there was a bright flash before we were suddenly on a large ship-port near the golden sky city. I looked around at everyone, assessing the damages the sirens had caused with their brief visit before I got off of the ship to be greeted by a large, burly man about the same height as me.

The man had electric blue eyes, shoulder length blonde hair, tan skin, and was wearing a pair of what I assumed was heavy metal armor. Strapped to his side was a large hammer with different runes etched into it. As he looked at me, he began to sniff the air as if trying to decide if I was a danger or not. Seriously, what is their problem with sniffing me? I thought to myself as I watched one of the crew members bow down to the buff hammer dude. "Lord Thor! It's an honor to see you, sir. We just got back from our voyage to an eastern island in the Mortal Realm. We would like to discuss our finding with Lord Odin. Is he in the Palace?" The man asked as he looked up to the man that towered him. Thor didn't even seem to notice what he was being told as he reached over to me and picked me up by my shirt, lifting me a few inches of the ground.

"Who are you?! You aren't from Valhalla! You're not one of us! Did my brother send you here to destroy me?!" He began to scream in my face. I honestly had no idea who his brother was, or even what his brother did to him to invoke this kind of reaction to someone he didn't even know, but before I could say anything, I heard Joseph's voice come from behind me. "Relax Thor, this man is Daniel. We found him in the Eastern Land we'd gone to in the Mortal Realm. He also helped defend the ship's cargo against the Sirens, so I believe this treatment you're giving him is unjust. We will discuss this when we get to the Palace in front of the Council." Joseph told Thor, only to receive a grunt before the burly man dropped me onto the ground. After he let go of me, he grabbed his hammer then spun it in the air before launching himself towards the large building I assumed was the palace.

I looked as the man left, leaving the crew and I alone before Helen lead us through the streets of "Valhalla" towards the Palace where I could see hundreds of people gathering. "Uh... Why are we going to the Palace, if you don't mind me asking." I asked Helen as we entered through the large, brass doors leading inside. When I looked around the Palace entrance, I couldn't help but be amazed. Despite the large group of people that resided inside this Palace at the current moment, everything looked beautiful. From the various types of wood and marble sculptures around the dinning area as well as various other places to the different pieces of paper with depictions of war, people as well as trees. Near the very end of the dinning area, there was an extremely large tree that could have easily been bigger than one of the Gods at their full height.

"That's the Yggdrasil, or the Tree of Life. It connects Valhalla to the Nine Realms of our existence. In fact, the Mortal Realm is the middle Realm that has connections to each of the other realms, but not many people know about them. We actually didn't know about other people like you until you came aboard our ship and told us. We just believed that our Gods were the only ones to exist..." Helen said as she looked at me before her voice began to soften as I assumed she was thinking about what I had told them. We ended up walking into the middle of the pavilion before a man with short, black hair and pale eyes began to speak to us. "So a child of the Unknown graces us with his presence. It certainly has been a while since I've seen you young one. My how you've grown." He said in a slightly raspy voice.

I had no idea who this man was, or even why he had called me a "child of the Unknown", but for I immediately thought he was crazy, just like 'Thor' or who ever he was.

"Hmm... you don't remember me. Well, I did say I've always been and will always be, so it's not hard to know who I am." The man said.

"Argon, please stop with this nonsense. Daniel here is a guest so you must treat him like one. That means enough of your stories." Helen said before pushing past the madman and further into the dining hall.

Joseph, the crew and myself followed her.

After a few minutes, we each found an empty seat just as an old man walked in front of the tables holding a golden staff. He wore similar armor to Thor and a few other people as well, but he also had something covering his right eye.

"My fellow Asgardians, I stand before you tonight as we celebrate the return of Joseph and his crew. We must also celebrate the arrival of one of the Mortal Realms' own Gods." At this, everyone began looking around as they tried to find me. "Daniel, will you step forward and introduce yourself?" As he asked this, I felt my heart begin to pump at the prospect of having to go in front of all of the warrior people that crowded the dining hall. I proceeded to stand up and slowly make my way over to the man addressing me, questioning how he knew my name.

When I stood beside him, he turned to look at me.

"My name is Odin young one. I am the King of Asgard. As for how I know you, that can be explained by my ability to see things others can't. Like your Gods in the Mortal Realm, everyone here is immortal, but can still die." He said before turning to look at everyone in the crowd. As he did so, I turned to look at everyone around me completely stunned.

If everyone here was a God, then that meant there were more Gods here than I had seen in my life.

I cleared my throat before I began to speak.

"My name's Daniel Verndari and I'm the Titan Lord of the Universe, The Hunt, The Moon, and Power over the Mind. From where I'm from, what you guys call the Mortal Realm, I'm considered a God myself, however not the same Gods as you or many of the Gods that roam the world." I said, looking around the room at the people staring at me.

"Why are you here?" A voice asked from the back of the room. I looked over to the man to find it being Thor himself.

"I was told to roam the world and live among the Mortals so I could get a sense of the emotions I now possess. You see, I was in a coma for hundreds of years after finally being able to feel any kind of emotion. I'm confused as to why I feel the things I do, but I swear to you, you will never find someone as strong as me." I told him, causing his face to contort in anger.

"Why you little...!" He began, getting up from his place at one of the tables and rushing towards me with his hammer.

"Stop it Thor!" Odin exclaimed, causing the God to stop dead in his tracks. "Daniel here is our guest. If he chooses, he can show you his strength in the arena, however that is if he chooses. I don't want you being rash just because of a comment he made."

Thor grunted as he turned around and walked back to his seat.

"Alright." I said, my voice echoing throughout the dining hall. "I'll face Thor and anyone else who thinks I can't beat them. I will show you why I was King of the Titans."

Everyone looked at me in shock with my open invitation to a fight against anyone who thought I couldn't win.

"Do you really think you could take me on, Titan?" Thor asked as his body sparked with electricity. I nodded. "Fine, then let's go to the arena after supper. I'm itching to see if you can live up to the name 'Titan'." I shrugged.

"I'm itching to see if you can live up to the name 'God'." I retorted, causing his eyes to glow an electric blue.

He was beyond pissed.

The entire room burst into shouting as everyone was calling me some insult or another, claiming I was an idiot who was going to die in the arena. Some of them even pulled out their weapons and tried to get up and charge at me, but fell to the ground knocked out cold.

Evidently, these men weren't like the Celts when it came to drinking. While they could drink, they weren't exactly stable afterwards.

So, nearly an hour later, I found myself staring at an army of people glaring at me being led by the God of Douches. Well, that and lightning.

"Everyone else, stay back. He's mine." Thor grunted before he charged at me. Just before his hammer collided with my body, I moved my hand to the side and caught it, surprising the God of Lightning before I threw it downwards, causing Thor to fall to the ground as well.

Before he could stand up, I punched him in the face knocking him out cold.

Everyone else proceeded to charge at me, weapons drawn as they were now out for blood.

To me, it just sucked that he wasn't able to be much of a fight. Sure the man was strong, but he let his anger control him and that was a big no-no in battle. I was kind of surprised he didn't learn that earlier on in life.

With my other foes, I did the same thing I had done to Thor; I knocked them out. The hundreds of warrior Gods who wanted to kill me were all knocked out in less than half an hour. The sad thing was, I couldn't even use any of my powers since that would have been too much of an unfair advantage.

Hopefully, Thor would learn from his mistake and fight me using his brain.

I looked up to Odin and my spectators, most of whom were the crew on the ship I had sailed on.

"Well, I would say Daniel won this battle. I only hope my son learns from this mistake." Odin said, shaking his head slowly as he rubbed his temple.

After that, I was taken to an empty room in the Palace where I was told I could stay.

I decided to lay down on my bed and think about the woman I had dreamed about before. Part of me felt like I knew who she was now, but another part of me was confused.

Who was she? Why did I feel this way about her?

Although, all of that was overruled by the look of fear in Artemis' eyes when she looked at me. I hated the fact that she had changed from being happy with me to openly fearing me. I wished I could go back and stop myself from making Hephaestus fear me as well. I wish I could have stopped myself from going near that cliff on Othrys.

There were a lot of regrets I now had and as I fell asleep, I felt my heart clench as the fear in Artemis' eyes caused tears to flow from my eyes.