I like this chapter, it's one of my favourites! The scenery in the first part just turned out great - and I finally get to write the Midgard storyline and bring in a few Avengers characters - which means a loooot of banter. Because they bicker all the time :D I hope it makes an interesting and fun read!
XXVI. Stopper of Clocks
Everything stood still. From one moment to the next, the world had gone motionless. After the clamour of combat, the cacophony of screams and roars and destruction, the silence was a deafening, heavy blanket. Every soldier had stopped in his tracks. Halted mid-step or right after throwing a spear, the weapons just hovering in the air while their faces were contorted in perpetual fury, fear, vindication. Piles of rubble which had been falling a second ago now floated docilely above. Shattered glass domes, their countless shards twinkling in a kaleidoscope of colours.
The dragons too were utterly frozen in the middle of their terrible battle. They loomed among the chaos as the most life-like statues ever made, jaws wide open and mighty wings spread, overshadowing the tiny figures at their giant clawed feet. Their dragon fire hung in the air, streaks of pure shadow or bright-white light. The dust settled upon the figures in a sheet of grey and brown, making them look like curiosities inside an ancient manor, left unattended for ages. Time had stopped. It had become rigid, plunged into a solid state which allowed no flow into either direction. Nothing moved. Nothing, except…
With tremendous effort, Loki pushed the boulder which had almost crushed him out of the way. Ljosira's wing had protected him from the worst of the wreckage, but she had taken far too many hits of the falling rubble. The Lightbringer's body lay still between debris and casualties, her gleaming white scales dulled and murky. A Darkflight dragon was buried beneath her, jaws slack and unseeing eyes staring to the heavens.
Loki climbed the obstacles with feline swiftness to reach her head, frantically assuring himself that she was still alive. Shuddering breaths made her ribcage expand and deflate. The fringed spikes on her spine rippled.
"Ljosira!", he called, sliding down the crumbled side of a wall and nearly colliding with the side of her face. "Ljosira, are you alright? Everything –" But he never finished his sentence.
The sky suddenly split in two, and when Loki looked up, he saw the winged shape of a dragon above. He had seen Lightbringers, and Darkflight. This one belonged to neither. This being was made of flickering void and elusive arcane energy, fading in and out of reality with every blink of the eye. Indigo scales covered his entire body, the deep violet of his leathery wings almost transparent, ethereal. A creature who both existed and yet not, lived and yet not, forever oscillating between life and death.
Voidwalker. Loki understood without doubt why this particular dragon-clan rarely ever appeared to mortals. Lesser minds would not bear to look at them. They made a terrifying sight, somehow alien to all which drew breath and harboured a beating heart to flush the blood through its veins.
"Andlát.", Ljosira spoke into his mind, laced with pain and sorrow.
"Princess of Dragons. Ragnarok, the end of days is upon this land.", the Voidwalker's voice was just as unsettling as Loki remembered it from the Council meeting. It resonated inside his head, rattling against his skull. Ragnarok?! It couldn't be! This was not how the prophesy had foretold the end of Asgard. And besides, such windy myths weren't supposed to come true anyway.
"That is impossible!", Ljosira answered, shocked.
"And yet it is so. Natta will destroy Asgard if you do not stop her. I have halted time in this realm. Within the great dark beyond, I see many futures and pathways. This one would lead to unmeasurable disaster for all children of Yggdrasil. You have to prevent it." Ljosira lifted her head slowly, as though it took all of her strength. Loose pieces of rubble rained down and scattered around her. Loki merely stared at the Voidwalker's hulking silhouette, suspended above Asgard.
"How?", Ljosira sounded hopeless.
"You need to go back in time. Even a Voidwalker's grasp on time is limited, and right now we need our powers to keep this battle from escalating further. Too much unrestrained magic has been unleashed. I dare not send you back myself. You have to travel to Midgard."
"What?!", Loki and Ljosira both exclaimed with one voice. Andlát's wings flapped steadily as he gazed down on them with fathomless, blind eyes.
"Find the Wizard. Time is, as always, short and fickle. The Wizard holds a powerful stone which can send you back. But that will not be enough. Seeking to prevent Natta from forging Dragonbane will disrupt every time-line. It is not the right way. You also need the help of the Outsider.", Andlát explained, although Loki understood very little of it. He had never heard either of a Wizard or an Outsider on Midgard. But Ljosira seemed to know at least one of them.
"The Outsider? But he vanished thousands of years ago! And he cannot be trusted! How could he even –", but the other dragon cut her short.
"No time. He will know what to do! Find these two and your path will become clear. Now go! Your presence here makes it near impossible for me to maintain the spell around Asgard.", he said harshly. Ljosira looked like she wanted to argue, but then gave one decisive nod and lowered her head to the ground.
"Climb up, my love. We have to be swift.", she ordered. Loki obeyed, settling himself on her long neck, musing distractedly that he was about to become a regular dragon rider. Her mortal body lay securely between the silver strands of her mane, protected by the crown of ivory horns. She shook out her mighty wings, dispersing powdery clouds into all directions.
"What about Thor and your father, and Odin? We are leaving them behind?" Not so long ago, the notion would not have troubled him much. But things were different now. His brother was some way off, suspended in the middle of a lunge, Mjölnir held high in his hand. Only feet away from a dragon's glistening fangs.
"We are going to save them, Loki. We will return. Once we find a way to defeat Natta, for good.", her telepathic projection rang with undiluted ire.
"Thank you, Andlát." And then she pushed herself off the ground with her wings battering the air so fiercely, everything drowned in a vortex of dust. They rose in rapid circles and Loki could hear nothing but the rush of the wind around them as Ljosira climbed into the sky like a shooting star. He wrapped his arms around her horns, holding on to her for dear life. The half-ruined Asgard grew smaller below, until it turned into a shining golden coin.
Yggdrasil spread out before them, its star-braided branches enveloping the realms in a gentle embrace. Yet through Ljosira, Loki could sense the world tree's weeping sorrow for the violence wrought between her children. Far up, he glimpsed Life-Binders tirelessly circling around the crown, struggling to infuse the tree with their invigorating fire. Bright green dots scintillating like emeralds. They worked without relent to stabilize the branches and keep the erratic imbalance under control. Ljosira soared past them, plunging towards the azure and green pearl of Midgard.
"This will be uncomfortable. Close your eyes.", she instructed Loki. Her entire concentration went into flying at breakneck speed, but her agitation about the battle was such that he felt it like barbed wire cutting into his flesh. Doing as he'd been told, he closed his eyes. A moment later, Ljosira did something. He knew not what, but suddenly they were plummeting down in such a foolhardy swoop that his stomach turned. Breathing was impossible, not that there was any air left to breathe at all.
In a streak of lunacy, Loki opened his eyes again. He and Ljosira flew on a rainbow current of light which flashed in every imaginable colour. A Bifröst. Or something very similar to it, only even faster and charged to the brim with cosmic energy. It catapulted them through the vast distance between the worlds in mere seconds. He had been used to the sensation of travelling along the Bifröst, but this was ten times that speed, the pressure of raw magic near unbearable. He wanted to vomit, and at the same time the overstimulation elicited an insane urge to laugh. Uncomfortable indeed.
"I told you to close your eyes, madman!", Ljosira battered his mind with her ear-splitting yell. Or was it the rush of the current? He couldn't say. A moment later, it suddenly waned and stopped entirely as they crossed the border to Midgard. From blinding light to utter darkness to blue skies in a matter of heartbeats. Not many mortals would have even survived such a journey.
Loki breathed in the cool air carrying the scent of sea-water. The rippling blue ocean spread out below and Ljosira descended until he could see the blurred reflection of her body upon the glittering waves. She glided elegantly on the wind, dropping so low her underside almost skimmed the water.
Several times, she lowered her head and plunged her snout in, splattering sea-spray everywhere. He realized that she cleaned the dust and grime from her scales in this way, without having to slow down much. Only that he was equally drenched by her little grooming ritual. After a while of this, she climbed upward again, letting the breeze dry her scales and mane.
Loki looked up into the sky, where Midgard's sun stood at its zenith. Obscured by a dark disk, the life-sustaining star had lost a great deal of her luminosity. The eclipse served as an awful reminder how the Lightbringers were caught up in a terrible battle right now, unable to maintain their duty to shed light upon all realms.
"Yes, darkness is creeping into this land.", Ljosira said as though she had read his thoughts. "My presence here holds it at bay, but the other realms are not as lucky. They now live in the long night." He felt her pain through their connection and crouched between the flowing silver strands to touch the smooth scales on her nape. The bond was strong here, a gushing river close to the centre of her consciousness.
"Ljosira.", Loki sent this one thought to her. The calling of her name, together with an earnest attempt at reassurance as he had rarely managed to express towards another person. A shiver went along her spine and her flight became a little more confident, resolute.
"I know. I know. I just can't… think about it right now.", she answered his wordless appeal. He could not say 'Everything will be alright.', not even in his thoughts. It just was not like him, to make such boldly optimistic statements. But he could reassure her that he would do anything in his power to make things right again.
"Where are you taking us, my light?", he then asked after a long silence. She made a sound which sounded very close to a sigh.
"I thought… The ones who opposed you back during the Chitauri invasion. They are protectors of Midgard, yes? They might know the Wizard."
Loki groaned inwardly. The Avengers. Great. That plan wore the label 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' on it so obviously, it almost seemed sardonic. He deliberated if his 'old friends' would rather shoot, maim or behead him on sight. He definitely did not want to meet the green brute again, the Hulk. And the other one, the arrogant asshole who thought the sun shone out of his every orifice. What a delightful outlook.
"You told me of this one man who had a tower in a silver city? What was he called again? Steel?", Ljosira pondered. Yes, exactly that one.
"Tony Stark. The Iron Man.", Loki replied in a brooding tone.
"Steel is better for weapons than iron. Is he made of iron?", she inquired further, interested.
"No, he wears this sort of armour… or rather suit. He will be so happy to see me. I look forward to it with the same joy as to a hole in the head.", he grumbled sullenly.
"The Man of Iron it is. Sounds rather uncomfortable. And we have no choice. Worry not. You have me to protect you, trickster.", she placated. It did not quite comfort him.
"I am not entirely sure how the Midgardians will react to you… They might attack. I hope to speak to Stark before they can call in the cavalry. We should be careful.", said Loki, his voice apprehensive.
"Nonsense! They have seen dragons before. We have visited the humans only a millennium ago. Surely they will be overjoyed to see me –" He cleared his throat and interrupted her, trying hard to be sensible about it, because he could feel that she yearned for any kind of solace to distract herself from the disaster on Asgard.
"Ljosira, darling, for these people a thousand years is one fifth of their whole history. And history has a way of distorting the truth. Let's just… take it slow, gentle. Like picking up a little bird. We want to avoid any incidents.", he implored her. If she burst into New York in a volley of fire and roars, the first thing that would greet them would likely be a nuclear missile. He sensed her confusion about his unusual new proclivity to follow rules.
"Shame. Midgard is much less magically altered than Asgard, although my father taught the first human sorcerers. This is one of the few realms where we can appear in our dragon form without disturbing the fabric of space and time.", she noted in a disappointed sort of way.
The city rose before them soon, silhouetted against the horizon like a twinkling labyrinth of mirrors. Glass towers speared the sky, battling each other in height and perfect symmetry. Manhattan, a peninsula made of futuristic steel, sharp contours and the constant symphony of honking horns. Home to millions of people. All of whom would still remember that he had tried to force them into submission beneath his benevolent rule.
Loki barely fought down the urge to jump into the churning waters of the ocean and swim to the other end of the world. Trepidation lapped up inside him, followed by a deep regret that he had made the terrible mistake of attacking this place. It had been a pathetic failure, and his whole life had gone downhill from then, until Ljosira had set it on a better course.
Nobody wished to be reminded of their worst deeds. But he would face this ordeal with the very real possibility of a thorough beating, because he had sworn to the immortal creature carrying him that he would change. Walk the path of light. It did not mean he walked it in a casual stroll.
They had barely passed the first gleaming skyscraper when Ljosira suddenly opened her jaws and trumpeted her welcome in a deafening song that vibrated through every fibre of Loki's body. People on the streets stopped as though struck senseless, looking up to the sky at the giant dragon who danced and vaulted between the towers. Cars nearly crashed with each other.
Traffic came to an abrupt halt on entire boulevards. Humans everywhere poured from shops, restaurants and who knew where else, raising little black squares of unknown purpose above their heads or else gaping, utterly dumbstruck. Loki screamed when Ljosira did a devil-may-care backflip, but he couldn't even hear his own voice over her keen greeting. So much about taking it slow. Subtlety had never been her forte.
Her dragon shout rang and bounced back from the buildings all around, resonating the benevolent intention of her visit, soothing fears, lighting up the sky. A living sun, come to push back the long night and hold it at bay. Down in the streets, people's faces brightened with smiles as she flew by. Loki would never be able to put this experience into words.
Speechlessly, he signalled her the way to Stark Tower, although it was quite obvious by the large Avengers sign at the very top. Besides, it was the highest tower in the whole city. Ljosira glided in a gentle descent to the landing site, touching down majestically and folding her wings to her sides. Just the moment when the notorious Tony Stark stepped through the doors in a run.
"Son of a bitch! What the hell is this?!", he shouted, scandalized. One of his hands lifted, clad in some kind of metal glove. The circular light on his palm buzzed menacingly. Ljosira threw back her head and trumpeted one long, musical note which made the whole tower shake.
Loki could almost hear the exact words she intoned: Well met, Man of Iron, protector of Midgard! I come in peace! Stark looked anything but pleased or placated, instead he caught his balance again and pointed his glove directly at Ljosira. It whizzed louder.
"No, wait! Stark –", Loki began. In that instant, a web-like thread shot from thin air and latched itself to the space between dragon and man. The blink of an eye later, a thin figure jumped out of nowhere, using the web like some sort of rope and landing – in a vigorous tumble – right at the centre. It was a boy, a mere teenager, grinning wildly. Stark uttered a long string of profanities.
"What are you doing here, kid!? You're not supposed to –", he advanced on the boy, who whirled around to goggle at Ljosira in awe. The Lightbringer was a stunning sight, standing at full height, six horns shimmering in contest with her flowing silver mane.
"I saw the dragon, how could I not come, Mister Stark? This is so cool, just like Game of Thrones! You know Game of Thrones, right? There's this dragon, but he's not this pretty, more like roar, dracarys, and then usually someone dies. This one is beautiful.", the youngster babbled while Stark buried his face in one hand as people did when they felt a rising headache. Loki slid from Ljosira's neck smoothly, but kept his distance for now. The boy caught sight of him and walked up without a trace of fear. The cheekiness of youth.
"Hey, are you a dragon rider? Did you tame this dragon? It's gorgeous!" His eyes darted back to Ljosira, who cocked her head curiously.
"Most assuredly not. You have a colourful fantasy. One does not tame a creature like this, boy.", he answered in a calm voice. Stark grabbed the boy and pushed him behind his back, now aiming his energy-sizzling glove right at Loki's heart. "Stark, wait. We need to talk."
"Oh when little pink unicorns fly out of my ass, we will talk.", Stark snarled. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pulverize you on the spot!"
The ground rumbled as Ljosira stepped forth. Without preamble, her head lowered to eye-level with Stark and her jaws opened wide for a terrifying roar which flung the man backwards and blasted the glasses straight off his face. No more gentle greetings. This was the earth-shaking voice of a dragon protecting a life-bond. She knew how to put up boundaries in a very blunt manner.
"That is my reason. We intend no harm, have come in peace. But to antagonize my mate is… unwise. Let us speak.", Loki explained, holding up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Please.", he then added, not without great effort to sound polite.
"He can't hear me, Loki! Have the humans become so obstinate, closed-off to magic that they cannot perceive my voice?", Ljosira intoned into his thoughts, this time leaning close to Tony but hovering in a deliberately non-threatening way. "But his mind! It is very colourful, a great deal of knowledge mixed with some unhealthy delusions of grandeur. He quite detests you, I am afraid."
"I know that.", Loki murmured, making both humans stare at him quizzically. He skipped over his blunder with one slight cough. "Asgard has been made a battle-field between the dragon clans. The war between such powerful entities is threatening to destroy our whole realm in what we call Ragnarok, the end of days. We escaped to prevent that from happening, at all cost. We need to find –", but his explanation was cut off when a fiery, sparkling ring of magic suddenly uncoiled behind Tony and the overexcited boy.
The two of them jumped while Loki's eyes narrowed. He recognized a portal spell when he saw one. For a brief moment, an elegantly furnished, bourgeois room was visible on the other side, before a tall figure stepped through and the portal vanished with a hiss.
The newcomer had sharp, almost hawkish features. His dark hair was threaded through with two streaks of silver at his temples, their symmetry only outmatched by his perfectly groomed beard and moustache. But the oddest thing about him was the deep burgundy cloak he wore above his unusually traditional clothes. The Wizard, Loki immediately knew.
"Oh great, now there is this guy. Excuse me, who are you?", Stark inquired in a mock polite tone.
"Strange.", the man said distractedly, his piercing gaze fixed on Ljosira, whose stance – to Loki's surprise – seemed perfectly calm. At least compared to the annoyance she had just unleashed on Stark.
"Yeah, I got the 'strange' vibe from your… outfit, or whatever it's supposed to be. Listen Merlin, this is not a gathering place for would-be gods and cross-dressers and giant lizards. If you'd be so kind to escort yourself –"
"I think he meant his name is 'Strange', Mister Stark. Hey, I read about him! He's a doctor.", the boy piped up. Strange threw him a quick glance.
"Was a doctor. Now Master of the New York Sanctum of the Mystic Arts.", he merely corrected before turning back to Ljosira, while Stark mumbled something that sounded like "What a mouthful.". The Wizard's features were unreadable, giving none of his intentions away. Yet his remarkable blue eyes glinted with a keen interest.
"Dragon… The legends in our oldest scrolls are true.", Strange said quietly, lifting his hand. It trembled ever so slightly. Loki sensed him evoke magic, in a way very familiar to him – it was almost the same kind of energy that emanated from Ljosira whenever she cast a spell.
As though written by a scorching quill, fine runes appeared before his palm, until they formed neat little bands of light intertwining into perfect circles. Loki instantly stiffened, stepping forward. But Ljosira lowered to face the Wizard, her chin almost touching the ground. Her giant tail flicked in a gesture of curiosity.
"No need to worry, Loki. This one has a good heart, and I sense my father's hand in what he'd been taught. He just wants to speak to me. Isn't that right, Man with the Strange name? You can see what I am.", the telepathic projection of her voice spoke kindly.
"I can.", Strange said aloud, making everyone gawp at him. But he paid the others little attention, instead placing the glowing rune-circle, together with his hand, on Ljosira's arcing snout. Loki moved to protest, but she allowed the touch without qualms, which baffled him into silence. They both closed their eyes and he sensed the exchange of magic like little electric currents bouncing around between them. He couldn't help the ugly rush of jealousy and promptly cursed at himself for even going there.
"Ah, what is he doing? He's fondling your dragon.", Stark threw in, wiping his glasses and frowning at the little crack in one corner. Loki sighed.
"She is not my dragon. But she is my wife-to-be. They are having a conversation."
"Congratulations on making the world's weirdest match, I guess.", Stark murmured just as Ljosira opened her eyes. Strange took a step back from her and then bowed low.
"Thank you.", he said respectfully, making Loki wonder what sort of information had passed between them.
"I am the one to thank you, Stephen.", he heard Ljosira say.
"I'm getting this odd feeling that I am a fifth wheel in this whole… thing, freak-show, whichever. Would anyone care to fill me in or can I go pour myself a drink? I badly need one.", Stark commented. There was a sudden flash of blinding light that drowned out everything. Loki shielded his eyes from the flare, but it only lasted for a few seconds before it waned, leaving behind a soft, warm glow.
And Ljosira in her mortal body, wearing completely inappropriate clothing. She might have just walked out of a grand ballroom on the arm of some European businessman, judging by the full-length dress with the very revealing neckline. All gathered parties stared at her with open mouths. She turned to Loki, confused.
"Isn't this what the people on Midgard wear to such occasions?" He cleared his throat and nearly jumped to her side, casting a hasty illusion spell because the way the others were gaping at her made him want to thrash them from here to Asgard.
"Definitely not, my light. I really need to lend you this book on dress codes.", he whispered into her ear and earned a frown for it in return. The illusion he had dressed her with was something far closer to Midgardian standards – a pair of dark pants and an elegant white blouse with a ribbon around her slender neck.
Of the three humans in their little party, the boy was the first one whose trance broke.
"Hi, er, Lady Dragon. I'm Parker. I mean Peter. Peter Parker. Sorry, I just never met a dragon before.", he stuttered. Ljosira curtsied politely before all of them.
"Well met, protectors of Midgard. My name is Ljosira of the Lightbringers. I come in peace, but bring grave tidings and a great plea to you."