Hey, guys! I know it's been a long time since I updated this, but that's because I had lost sight of where this was going. I couldn't decide which path to take. However, I was going to go insane if I didn't take a break to write and I decided to pick this up again. Apologies for the wait, again. I cringe every time I look at that last date. But leave me your thoughts on the story. I'm even willing to take a few requests (if I can work them in) as to what you'd like to see in the future of this story. I'm actually editing the entire Renascentia Trilogy to make the continuation more fluid. I hope you enjoy the knew update!

Trigger Warning: violent death

Chapter Five

Asgard

The Court of Asgard hummed with curiosity, the voices of the many gods murmuring at the prospects of the new visitor. Odin stood silently between his father and brothers. But that did not mean he didn't have a few hundred questions himself. King Borr had received a letter earlier that week that Njord was sending a representative to settle a highly sensitive matter.

Apparently, Olfunson had decided to take justice into his own hands and several dozen Vanir had paid the price. Now all of Vanaheim was in a fury and King Njord hoped to avert war before it was too late. But it had been very clear in his letter that he was quite furious with what had occurred in his own home.

As the doors slid open, every Æsir within the court went silent as a woman walked through. She resembled any other being in Asgard, her figure long and willowy with skin a pale alabaster. But her eyes shone silver, cold and hard like a sword, and her hair was the darkest black Odin had ever seen. The women of the Court were murmuring to themselves at the many layers of sheer, but not entirely transparent, material she wore. It was the most scandalous attire Odin had ever seen, something not even the courtesans of the Realm Eternal would be seen in, but there was something undeniable about the way she held herself that demanded reverence.

She stopped ten feet from Borr's throne and met his gaze evenly, not even the slightest incline of her head to show respect. Odin could feel his father bristling beside him at the obvious sign of insubordination.

"It is an honor to find myself within your halls, King Borr," she announced. "Though I cannot say the circumstance of this visit pleases me."

The Court was silent, shocked by the fact that she had decided to speak first. It was common knowledge that the King was the first to speak. Odin wondered if the woman had been aware of that or if, perhaps, Vaniric customs differed from Asgardian. Beside him, Vili and Ve exchanged worried glances. If this was any forewarning as to how the rest of the trial would go, the results would not be pleasant.

"You flatter me, Lady…?"

"Heid," the Vanir answered. "My name is Heid, advisor to King Njord."

Another ripple of surprise ran through the gods. Women were not too highly regarded in Asgard, as most chose to take little concern in warfare and politics unless it was to do with the general public. To think that the King of the Vanir looked to women for counsel was a shock.

Borr nodded, not commenting on their revelation, "State the predicament King Njord wishes to discuss and we shall determine the terms of our agreement."

"Firstly, King Njord wishes to express his apologies for being unable to attend himself. He has been rather preoccupied of late with negotiations between the other Realms," she remarked before turning her attention to the rest of the Court. "A little over a fortnight ago, Vanaheim received a letter requesting the search for two siblings by the names of Ketiley and Eltor. It was an impossible request to fulfill, as a thorough search of Vanaheim would have taken far too long to be reasonable. However, when we stated such, it would seem your citizens took matters into their own hands."

Heid snapped her fingers, pale green-yellow mist seemingly trailing from her fingertips, and the courtroom seemed to disappear. Instead, it was replaced by towering silver walls and a seemingly ransacked room. There was a shriek, quickly followed by horrified murmuring, and Odin followed the attention of the other Asgardians to see a body on the blood-stained floor. He had been expecting to see the much-rumored true form of a Vanir, but instead saw a seemingly Æsir corpse with the silver eyes of the Vanir.

As he scanned the façade, he realized that it wasn't the only body in the room. They littered the floor like the fallen leaves he had seen on Midgard. Many of the gods fidgeted on now sticky floor, uncomfortable with the blatant display of magic. But Odin was mesmerized. He knew it was an illusion, but the level of realism it displayed was shocking. Unable to help himself, the eldest Borson kneeled down and prodded a half-dried pool of blood beside his boots. His fingers were clean when he inspected them.

"This is the scene the High Priestess and her apprentice found awaiting them at our Academy of Healing," Heid continued, drawing the attention back to her. "The victims were not warriors. They were not trained to handle magic in an aggressive manner. Their deaths were not honorable."

The Vanir turned to look directly at Borr, "Inform me if I am incorrect, but we in Vanaheim have been led to believe honor is an integral aspect of your warriors' unspoken code."

"You accuse my citizens of murder?" King Borr asked, his incredulous tone daring the woman to say more. "You have not the slightest shred of evidence that it was, in fact, an Æsir who killed your Healers."

With a wave of her hand, Heid caused the projection to move through the halls as if the entirety of the Court was on a moving pedestal. It stopped when they reached a room that was very nearly pitch-black. Beside him, Odin heard Ve give a short gulp at the sight that greeted them. A woman was speared to the wall, clothes stripped from her body and bloody runes carved into the skin of her chest. She, too, was in Asgardian form.

"This was what became of Ketiley, the Vanir spoken of in the request of Styrkar Olfunson. Eltor's remains were never found," Heid announced. "The language carved into this woman's corpse is yours. There are now several dozen families grieving the loss of their loved ones. All of this was caused because a few of your people could not handle rejection."

"I admit this is more than just recompense," Borr replied. "However, had your King not agreed willingly to our request, this could have been entirely averted."

The illusion disappeared with a quick burst of wind. The candles and oil lanterns around the room flickered in the assault and there was a strange crackle of energy in the air. Vili pressed against Odin's side in search of comfort and Ve shivered. Many of the gods stiffened as the Vanir's eyes seemed to blaze with anger.

"You would dismiss this murder – this slaughter of innocents – solely on the grounds that had we submitted, they would still be alive?" she demanded, all respect gone from her voice. "Have you not heard of what occurred to start this trouble? It is the talk of Vanaheim. Six Asgardian men approached her in the dead of night as she was walking through the woods. These men expected her to easily accept their advances. Are you to tell me, King Borr, that had she submitted to their assault, she would still be alive? Is this the morality you preach to your people?"

Borr stood suddenly, irate at the thinly-veiled insult, "If this is the story you tell in your homes, then Vanaheim must surely be filled with tricksters and liars. Your Ketiley and Eltor slayed three of our sailors."

Odin stopped short at his father's declaration, wondering when the King had changed his mind on the matter. Why would he have decided to believe Styrkar now when he had not before? What had changed?

"Why, if a sensible answer comes to your mind, would they do this?" the woman said, her voice seeming to echo through the room without her having to raise it.

"For sport. What more reason does a hunter need to kill an elk?"

"And the ignorance of the Æsir is revealed," Heid spat. "We do not hunt. When we do, it is for beasts that walk upon two legs, not four."

"There is nothing I can do for your people, Lady Heid," Borr snapped, tone suggesting the words had been spoken to himself before. "If Olfunson did indeed kill these people, there will be no finding him now. I have little time to search the entire Realm Eternal."

"Asgard is barely half the size of Vanaheim! It would take you little time to find him."

"And here we see the hypocrisy of the Vanir," Borr exclaimed mockingly.

Heid laughed bitterly, "I see it is as I previously told my King. Asgard is full of mindless, weapons-happy animals with no sense of diplomacy or shame. I pity you."

Borr stepped down from the throne, his grip as tight on Gungnir as to have made his knuckles white, "Mind your tongue, woman."

"You may be a King," she said with raised eyebrows, "but you are not my King. And a very poor one, at that."

Odin winced as the crack of Borr's hand across the woman's face echoed through the hall. Heid stumbled slightly under the force, indignation clear in her face as red began to bloom just under her skin. Borr, satisfied with the result of a silent Vanir, turned to walk back to his throne.

The was a collective gasp swept through the Court as yellow-green smoke wrapped around the King and brought him to his knees. They weren't the same smoky vapor as before, but know solid and firm as flax ropes. Heid gripped the free ends, tugging them viciously as the Borr fell. Gungnir clattered to the floor beside him.

Heid turned to the shocked crowd, gesturing towards Borr, "This, Asgardians, is justice. To bring judgment upon those deserving of it, pain to the cruel, sorrow to the lustful, destruction to the warmongers, and humility to the prideful. Vanaheim will expect reparations made to those who lost family in this tragic misfortune by the end of the lunar cycle. It is the least we could ask. Be grateful we are a generous race."

With that, she snapped the ropes and began to walk away. Rage flaring in his eyes, Borr snatched Gungnir off the floor and leapt to his feet. Odin pulled his younger brothers to him and covered their eyes to shield the sight from them. Energy shot from Gungnir's tip and the Vanir woman stumbled to the floor. She screamed in agony as flames enveloped her.

And then, something extraordinary happened.

Heid stood up once more, the fire still raging around her. As she turned to face them, Odin's jaw fell slack at the sight of her. The Vanir's skin was charred and peeling like burning parchment, her lips as red as blood, and her eyes shone more silver than before. When she spoke, her voice seemed to reverberate as if spoken by more than one.

"My murder will not end this predicament, Borr! It will only ensure it."

Odin held his brothers tighter against him, knowing they should never see the gruesome sight unfolding. Their mother would have their father's head if she knew what was happening. And he could not imagine what trauma Vili and Ve would receive as collateral from what the Vanir might do. After all, their friend, Heimdall, still woke up screaming in the night after having been mauled by a bilgesnipe and losing his sight.

Before Heid could do anything more, Borr threw Gungnir with a snarl. The gilded spear sunk through the woman's chest with a stomach-twisting squelch of tearing flesh. The faint thud of the body hitting the floor stirred Odin into action and he began to usher his little brothers out of the hall.

"Don't look," he murmured as they walked past the burning corpse. "For Yggdrasil's sake and yours, don't look."

Odin could remember the times when they had pretended to battle, claiming bravery and strength. But the frightened boys before him were far from the children he remembered playing in the gardens. He shut the door quickly after them, hoping they would be alright. Who truly knew what the aftereffects of Vaniric magic were?

As he turned to look upon the scene behind him, he watched as Borr pulled a cask of water from the many tables at the edges of the crowd. The King dumped the contents onto the corpse, successfully extinguishing the flames. He then put his foot upon her stomach and ripped Gungnir from her chest. The motion of his hand brought two Einherjar running forward.

"Take this corpse to Vanaheim," he ordered, disdain dripping from his words. "And make it well known to King Njord that this witch's actions were considered an act of war. And we shall retaliate accordingly."

With equal expressions of disgust, the two Einherjar picked up the corpse and carried it away. Over the distance between them, Odin and Borr's gazes met. It was then that Odin realized exactly what the next week would entail. The fragile bond between Vanaheim and Asgard had snapped. War was coming.

And, indeed, he was correct. Training increased tenfold, some boys as young as fifteen being armed and prepared to fight. Those who had witnessed Heid's hearing quickly spread the word like wildfire. But the recounts were skewed and riddled with hyperboles. She soon became known among the Æsir as Gullveig, gold-greed, for her demands for repayment.

Bestla was furious when she learned what her youngest sons very nearly saw and what they had been exposed to. The uproar of her arguments with her husband were the talk of the palace servants. Vili had developed a muteness which none of the Healers could seem to explain or remedy.

And the Einherjar who had been sent with the corpse and message to Vanaheim never returned. Their heads, however, miraculously appeared mounted upon spears before the palace doors one morning for Vili, who had woken early to play, stumbled upon.

The youngest prince refused to leave his rooms thereafter.