Many believed Niflheim was a cold and foreboding world trapped in fog, the skies perpetually blanketed in dark clouds that never let a ray of light through. It was the world of darkness, devoid of life and inhabited only be the dead. They were right about Niflheim on all counts, and Hel, sitting on her throne of bones within her hall Eljudnir, knew it.
She was rolling a fuchsia-magenta orb on the back of one hand idly, her chin resting on the back of her other that was braced on the arm of her throne. The orb was badly cracked, and Hel watched it. This was one soul she wasn't quite sure what to do with.
Hel stopped rolling the soul around suddenly and slowly raised her eyes to the open doors that led from her throne room. "Yes. What is it?"
There was a moment of hesitation from outside, and then a young Asgardian girl about five centuries old reluctantly walked into sight. "You always know when I approach."
"I keep track of the dead, Sigyn," Hel agreed, "as is my duty. You sound wary about something."
"I am," Sigyn admitted and glanced to her left as a second dead being out of Hel's immediate sight.
Despite having been killed during a Jötunn raid on Asgard a century ago, Sigyn had continued to age normally thanks to Hel. Because she had continued to age as if she was still alive, she had remained the same age as the other Asgardian children. Namely Prince Loki, whom Sigyn had had a serious crush on before her death.
"One of the new Valhalla Einherjar is acting up," Sigyn admitted. "He won't listen to the Valkyries, and wanted to speak to you directly."
"Allain Folwinson of Alfheim, a junior Immortal Guard member," Hel called out loudly. "You have been causing a hassle, and you've barely been here for six hours. What do you want?"
Sigyn took a step back as Allain walked into Hel's sight with a defiant look. His armor had been temporarily disintegrated as he was not in a combat situation, but he still had his saber. Allain didn't falter as he walked up to Hel's throne, a respectable feat.
Hel tipped her head that Sigyn could leave, and the Æsir girl curtsied to her and then walked away. Once Sigyn's steps faded, Hel turned her full attention to Allain. She knew she had to be a fearsome sight. Not only was she still cradling a soul in one hand sitting on her throne, she was half-dead. The entire left half of her body was decayed flesh and bone, although her right side held fair beauty that was very pleasant to the eye.
There was no doubt her piebald appearance of dead and alive was unnerving Allain, but he did not waver. "Goddess Hel. You know of the situation on Alfheim I presume."
"How could I not," Hel said indifferently and rolled the soul in the palm of her hand. "There have been so many dead from there recently, like you."
"Send me back," Allain demanded disrespectfully.
Hel looked up at him dangerously, and suddenly Allain was slammed to the ground flat on his stomach, limbs sprawled out around him. He gasped and tried to move, but Hel had him pinned. She looked back at the soul without releasing Allain.
"Do not underestimate me mortal," she scolded him darkly. "Although I have lost my body and most of my powers I am still an immortal, and I am still an Elder God. I keep watch over the dead and rule the world the dead are present on. My Valkyries take the souls of great warriors who have fallen in battle and bring them to Valhalla. There they, like you, become Einherjar – the "once warriors" who make up the most powerful army in existence. It is a poor idea for a living being to challenge me, let alone for the dead to challenge the Goddess of the Dead."
Allain could barely twitch his fingers from the pressure he was under. It felt like there were several atmospheres piled on top of him, and he eventually stopped struggling. Hel wondered why everyone addressed her with such insolence.
"I have no obligation to help Alfheim stop its current civil war," Hel promised.
It was thanks to the mortals that she had lost her body and was unable to touch or feel anything, nothing more than a ghost for all eternity. Despite them being the cause of her pain, they still had the audacity to try and order her around – mere mortals who did not have the power of that bitch Gaea whom had bound her to this world and to maintaining the Nine Realm's afterlife.
"Please," Allain said, and his humble tone surprised Hel. "I have to warn Hallien that Rane has invaded the city and about his crown."
"You are dead," Hel reminded him, "and bringing someone back to life is not something I will do lightly. Let the living take care of their own. Do you not have faith in your ruler and kin?"
Allain swallowed at that and looked down. "I do."
"Then trust them," Hel told him sternly. "Return to the Einherjar's hall."
She glanced up at him and the pressure pinning him in place vanished. Before he had a chance to sit up, she teleported him to the entrance of Valhalla. Hel had a feeling that Allain was going to cause more trouble and she looked at the soul with a sigh.
"I thought I dismissed you Sigyn," She said.
"Got me again," Sigyn mused as she approached, having not left after all. "I know I was quiet that time."
Hel smiled at the game Sigyn had turned this into. "You obviously have a question of your own. If it's about Loki then there isn't much I can do since he is living and you are not."
"I know," Sigyn nodded, her hair colored golden like wheat swayed with the movement. "I just wanted to know if the rumors the new Ljósálfr have been spreading are true. If anyone would know it would be you."
"They're true," Hel agreed quickly. "Hallien is just an alias uncle Set is using until he reincarnates fully."
Sigyn didn't say anything else, and Hel raised her eyes from the soul to Sigyn's baffled look.
"I suppose it's only normal for you to be surprised," Hel mused.
"What exactly is Hallien then?" Sigyn asked humbly instead of demanding.
"He is an Incarnate," Hel shrugged. "The actual Ljósálfr who was born to Amras was stillborn, and Set placed his soul into the infant's body. He sealed his memories away to avoid complications, and did the same to his powers so that the sheer strength of them would not vaporize the mortal host. Once enough time passes, the mortal body he has borrowed will become strong enough that he will not need to limit his powers. Once his powers are freed, so are his memories, and he will be Set once more."
"So Hallien is just an alias Set is going by until he can fully reincarnate into his new body," Sigyn understood. "Once the limiter on his power fades and he starts going by the name Set again."
"Then he will have his own body and be back at full strength," Hel agreed. "I have just a fraction of the power I once did because I lack a solid form, and because I am bound to this world I cannot try and reincarnate as he did."
"The body of the Ljósálfr infant he used," Sigyn pried.
"Was stillborn," Hel repeated. "It's soul had already fled, leaving behind a shell which Set used. The younger the host when possessed the higher the chance that it will acclimate. It isn't easy to reincarnate. Not only does the mortal body have to survive long enough for the limiter to be released it has to become strong enough to withstand the immortal's power and evolve. Set has been trying for fifteen thousand years to reincarnate into a new body, and for the first time ever it looks like he might have it."
"Set's going to fully reincarnate," Sigyn whispered.
"Yes," Hel smiled. "The limiters on his power are started to disappear, and it won't be long until he starts to get his powers back. Set, or Hallien still, is starting to have his body adapt to the immortal's power. It is feeling the strain, but if he survives he'll reincarnate in a year or two at most."
"What will Set do when he does return?" Sigyn asked worriedly.
"It depends on him," Hel shrugged. "Normally Set wouldn't have much love for mortals and he'd be insulted that he got so close to them. In that case, he would likely kill Eragon and the other mortals he was close to as Hallien, and might do something to Alfheim as well. Of course, he would also still have the memories of growing up as a mortal. His time as Hallien might change his personality. Truthfully, I have no idea which way it will go."
Neither did Hel care, Sigyn knew. She usually didn't.
Hel narrowed her eyes at the soul in her hand. What she had told Allain was true, and the affairs of living mortals were of no concern to her. The war on Alfheim though also involved her uncle Set, who would go back to being Set very soon. What happened during the war would likely determine what happened with Set.
Set was an Elder God, and he would have a body back so he would be at full power. Hel would not be able to do a thing against him and depending on his mood when he got his memories and powers back, he could do a lot of damage. Just this once, it might be in Hel's best interest to interfere.
This time Sigyn really did leave to think over everything she had been told a great deal a lot on her mind, and Hel was left alone looking at the soul. Hel stood and walked to one of the giant stained glass windows once Sigyn left, and overlooked the area around Eljudnir.
The dragon Nídhögg who lived on Niflheim was curled up sound asleep in the courtyard, his scales of bronze and emerald darkened by the fog. His ivory teeth and claws were chipped and stained with blood from where he had been working to try and gnaw at the roots of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and make it fall. There were two bone spurs sticking out of his shoulders where his wings had once been before Gaea had torn them from his shoulders because he had defended Hel and dared disobey Gaea.
Lying in a heap next to the wingless dragon was Cerebus, the only other living creature on Niflheim. All three heads of the giant wolf-like hound were asleep. The middle head opened his golden eyes and looked up at Hel detecting her presence. This stirred the other two heads, one with red eyes and one with violet, and of course, it stirred Nídhögg.
He hissed at Cerebus irritably, telepathically demanding that the *mangy mutt shut up or leave so he could get some rest.*
Hel telepathically soothed Cerebus's heads and the one by one they settled down and fell asleep again. Nídhögg huffed and then rested his head back on his forelimbs. Hel genuinely smiled, a rare occurrence, and looked at the soul in her hand.
It was a child's soul, and terribly scratched and scarred for one so young. Oily black shadows had leeched into the pure coloration, revealing that the child had killed before, many times, and did not regret it. In fact, the child thought the killing was of so little concern that she had forgotten about it. This soul was somewhat terrifying, but it was a soul raised on Alfheim. With any luck, returning this soul should shift the war going on there.
All throughout his reincarnation, Set had been acting surprisingly cordial and accepting, two words that were rarely associated with him. He was concerned for this soul, something that further surprised Hel. She believed that once his memories began to return he would go back to acting like his usual self, but she was no longer sure.
Cerebus's gold-eyed head, the one most in tune with Hel, stirred and opened his eyes again. Hel quickly soothed him back to sleep. Since the gold head was in the middle, if he awoke, the other two would as well and they would probably stir Nídhögg as well. Due to the wear and tear on his teeth and claws, he wouldn't bite or strike at Cerebus, but he would likely give them a few good whips with his prehensile snake-like tail. Nídhögg was one of those beings that hated being woken up in the middle of his sleep, and was very cranky when he was awakened.
Hel grasped a pinch of her magic and took a step forward on Niflheim – putting her foot down on the surface of Alfheim. She was blinded by the unfiltered sunlight and ducked her head, raising her free arm to shield her eyes. Currently she was above Alfheim's canopy, and she regretted coming her during the day. Once her eyes adjusted a little she lowered her arm and looked around to make sure she was in the right spot.
She was, and the body that this soul belonged to was still lying on the stone floor. Hel approached, and tssked when she saw the injuries to the body. That was done by Erve Gov, and impossible to repair. At least, it was impossible for a living body. This body was dead though, and that meant it was within Hel's jurisdiction.
Hel held the soul in one hand and ran her other hand near the injuries to the body's arm and leg. The skin mended, bones set, blood vessels wove together again, and nerves rejoined. It was fortunate that this body had died or Hel wouldn't have been able to do a thing to heal it. She made sure to repeat the treatment to the rest of the body's internal injuries and recreate the heart so it was whole again.
With the primary injuries mended, Hel held the soul close to the body. The fuchsia outer shell was lifeforce and power, and what a mage drew off of to use magic. It was the golden dust at the core of the soul, the essence, which made a person who they were. Hel was surprised when the essence lit up and began to swirl as it sensed its body was near. This soul was a handful, so Hel didn't doubt it would be able to make an impact. Would it be good or bad for Set's personality? Would it kill Set before he was able to finish reincarnating, or protect him?
This body was over a day dead instead of a few minutes as it usually was when Hel decided to resurrect someone, and she felt wary as she repaired the rigor mortis and decomposition that had already begun. She had never resurrected a body dead for so long, or with such severe injuries. Returning this soul when it was clearly past its time might not end well for the soul. There could be complications.
Well, Hel thought as she reached forward towards the body's chest. This child only needed to live long enough to make a difference, so a few complications shouldn't matter. Her hand with the soul reached incorporeally through the child's chest and directly replaced the soul back to its body.
Hel stood as the body's network of blood vessels glowed golden and looked out over Alfheim. The canopy below looked like a green sea with clear blue sky above that was beginning to be painted with the colors of sunset. Night was approaching. It had been so long since Hel had last seen the sun or the sky that she looked at the sight before her in a daze until she felt a pain in her chest where her soul had once been.
Her soul was now Niflheim, and that was what tied her to the planet. She had been away too long and she sighed, reluctant to leave the view. Hel had no choice however and took a step forward from Niflheim to Alfheim.
Just before Hel left, she whispered the body's name, "Tilaria."
Tilaria's eyes snapped open and she gasped at a wrenching pain in her chest as her heart started beating again. It took a moment for her body to remember how to breathe. As soon as it did, she took a deep breath and doubled over, losing her lunch. She looked around but realized she was alone on Anar's ruined base at Lome Elen.
"Could have sworn I heard someone say my name…" Tilaria whispered, still coughing.
She looked down at her hands, amazed that she was alive. For sure she would have thought Daris had killed her. Tilaria realized she was moving both of her hands and looked down at the damage to her limbs inflicted by Daris's blood crystal. They were all healed as if they had never been injured, and that was how Tilaria knew something was wrong. Erve Gov wounds could not be healed so easily.
She stood slowly to test the limbs, and shook her head in amazement. Something had certainly happened, but Tilaria had no idea what. Since she wasn't going to find out, she looked at the sunset and wondered how long she had been unconscious. Then her thoughts shot back to Eragon and she started to walk along the base. When her limbs didn't give, she began to run. As she had no skill in teleportation, she would have to move quick to make it back to the capital.
Back on Niflheim, Hel sat once more on her throne of bones. This should make the game a little more interesting. Depending on what happened, Hel may not be the only immortal in the Nine Realms for much longer.
Now uncle Set, Hel thought, what will you do next?
As i believe i've said, this Marvel AU does not just take place on Asgard with the princes, or only talk about Asgard and Jotunnheim. It encompasses ALL nine realms because what happens on one realm affects the other eight. What's happening on Alfheim currently is certainly going to have repercussions for Asgard later on. If you go to Marvel's website you'll find that Set is one of the biggest super villains in the Thorverse. Do not underestimate how much things might change in a year IF Set returns.
If you want to learn a bit about Norse mythology then type in a search bar "Norse Mythology For Smart People" to get the website. It talks about the people, places, and tales that make up Norse mythology. It does so in a way that is easy to understand, even if you have no previous knowledge, and the articles are also short. I'm not allowed to add a link directly so just type that.