Odin walked into the council hall, late. Everyone else was already sitting around the table, although they stood when he walked through the open doors. He nodded at his council to be at ease, closing the doors behind him with a wave of Gungnir. Things remained silent as he walked around and took his seat at the head of the table. After he sat, everyone else did. A moment later, an image of Heimdall appeared standing to one side.

Odin looked between his council members. There was Tyr, the general of his armies, and his younger brother Vir, the Commander of the Star Guard. Akir was the head of Asgard's internal trade and the most in tune with the civilian population, as well as Jonelle's father. Freyja was present to represent Asgard's mages, bearing both her falcon-feather cloak and the Brísingamen necklace. Fey sat beside Freyja to represent the healers. Huginn and Muninn flew over and sat on either of his shoulders, whispering what they had learned. This was a closed session, but normally the captains of various squadrons were free to attend.

"All right," Odin said with a sigh once his ravens were done reporting. "What do we have on Alfheim? Heimdall, perhaps you want to go first? You said you had something to report."

Heimdall inclined his head to Odin and then began speaking. "There are two things I wish to report. I will start with the more immediate problem. Daris's rebels have Asgardian weaponry."

There was a moment of silence as that sunk in and then Odin hung his head. No wonder Heimdall had kept something of that magnitude to himself.

"What?" Vir asked, the first to break the silence. "They can't have our weaponry. We're on two different realms. The only way it could get from Asgard to Alfheim is if someone…"

"Someone delivered it to them," Tyr finished when Vir's voice trailed off. "Which means we have a problem. Daris has supporters on Asgard."

"That does complicate things," Freyja said dryly. "If Hallien sees Daris and the rebels using our weapons, he'll assume Asgard is siding with Daris. That will not make relationships between us and them even easier."

"If Hallien defeats Daris then he might turn to Asgard for answers," Akir pointed out. "He will want to know why he was using our weapons. I don't see that ending very well."

Fey made a soft noise of agreement. Odin remained quiet, thinking. Finally, he spoke.

"Heimdall," he asked, "do you know how the weapons are getting to Alfheim or who is supplying them?"

"Neither, my liege," Heimdall admitted.

Odin's one good eye shot up in surprise. Heimdall turned his head away, both embarrassed and frustrated. It wasn't everyday someone could work without his knowing, and it spoke volumes about the supporters' skill. Whoever they were, they were good.

"And how would they get past your senses?" Akir asked pointedly. "Magic?"

Freyja snorted, a very unlady like noise, and glared at Akir across the table. "You were just waiting for a chance to accuse the mages of this, weren't you? You're always looking for a chance."

"How else could these traitors get past Heimdall's awareness?" Akir demanded.

"Traitors?" Vir whispered and blinked, giving Tyr a curious look.

When had the sympathizers to Daris's cause become traitors to Asgard? Tyr had the same curious visage to his features.

"Perhaps Heimdall should spend a little less time looking abroad and a little more time keeping watch over Asgard," Freyja countered. "He cannot catch someone if he is not looking. Skill can also prove a greater asset then magic, given the right circumstances."

"Heimdall is aware that he has been keeping a closer watch on the situation on Alfheim then might be wise," Heimdall interceded, hating it when people talked about him as if he wasn't there. "The fault is my own."

"No," Odin sighed and shook his head. "I ordered you to watch Alfheim so closely. Freyja is correct though. Where there is a will there is a way. Even if you had kept up your regular patrols, I don't doubt these troublemakers would have found a way around you."

Heimdall made no motion, but he was grateful Odin was not upset with him.

"Our security on Asgard has become lax in the past century," Tyr pointed out. "The last time our security was lax was last century, a lapse both the Jötnar and Nira were quick to take advantage of. It appears these sympathizers have done it this time."

"We must found out the identity of these wrong-doers and stop their weapon shipments," Akir put in, "now. Before Hallien realizes Daris is using our weapons."

"He already knows," Heimdall interrupted this time. "One of his men reported finding a slain rebel with an Asgardians sword and shield. That is how I found out as well."

Silence, icy, tense, silence fell between the occupants of the room again. If Hallien did defeat Daris then he might turn his attention to Asgard next for "supporting his enemies" and start another war. At best, the slight trust between Alfheim and Asgard had been shattered. Things could become very difficult down the road.

Odin rested his forehead in his palm, trying to figure out how to make up for the disaster that was starting to spiral out of control. Freyja was the one who spoke though, and when she did it was in a quiet, submissive voice that rarely passed her lips.

"Perhaps we should be helping Daris."

Odin frowned and looked up at her, surprised by her statement. "What do you mean?"

"Daris might make a better king then Hallien," Freyja exemplified, licking her lips. "Maybe these sympathizers on Asgard are doing the right thing by helping him."

"I knew it!" Akir almost shrieked with triumph, slamming a hand on the table and leaning forward towards Freyja. "You and the mages are helping Daris! You mages think you're so much better than the rest of us – that the laws don't apply to you."

Akir looked at Odin eagerly, waiting for the Allfather to agree with him. Odin didn't though. He thought about Freyja's words and her tone, weighing them against the situation.

"Freyja," Odin said in a voice far gentler then Akir would have liked to hear. "Do you know who is smuggling weapons and supplies to Daris? Is it your mages?"

Is it you? The unspoken question hung in the air.

"I do not know names," Freyja promised him, "but I could see some of the mages doing something like this. Hallien is a poor king. He has done nothing to help the inequality between the blonde and black-haired Ljósálfr – appointing Arlen as his right-hand seems to have just made it worse. How he treats his foster daughter Tilaria notwithstanding, don't you think it might be time for Alfheim to have a new king? Many of Daris's troops are night hairs. If he becomes king the discrimination will stop."

"Something as venomous as discrimination does not stop overnight," Tyr corrected Freyja, not liking the fact that she seemed to be one of Daris's sympathizers. "If Daris wins then the only thing that will happen is that the discrimination will be reversed. The night hairs will turn on the blondes and take out all the suffering they've been dealt on them tenfold. In the long run, it might make things worse."

"And it might not," Vir muttered. "Unless one of you is a Norn and hasn't said anything, we don't know what the future holds. You might be wrong."

"And if I'm right?" Tyr challenged after gawking at his brother after a second. "What then?"

"Given the mindset most of the night hairs have, General Tyr is probably correct," Heimdall interjected knowingly.

Freyja's eyes seemed to cut through the air when she looked at Heimdall, and she straightened in her seat. "You don't know that for sure. How can things ever change if nothing does? Alfheim is often romanticized as one of the most beautiful and perfect realms, but it is no more peaceful then… then Midgard. The tensions are not as visible as it is between human tribes, but they are every bit as strong."

"Alfheim's affairs are its own," Odin told Freyja sternly, certain she was involved with the missing weapons. "We do not interfere with the other species and they do not cause trouble for us. That simple rule is what has kept the realms from war."

"Inter-realm war," Freyja agreed, "but not civil war. You're hands-off policy does nothing to prevent the realm from falling into civil war."

"Are you challenging me?" Odin asked her, his eye hardening.

"Perhaps I am," Freyja said without backing down, running her fingers across the surface of Brísingamen's jewels.

They sparkled like hot embers, the magic stored in them, magic Freyja could draw off when she cast her spells, almost palpable. The tension in the air thickened. Akir held his breath. Fey cleared her throat, a stunningly loud sound in the silence. Everyone but Freyja and Odin whipped their heads around to look at her.

"Perhaps this can be settled after council," Fey offered. "We need to discuss what to do about the weapon shipments and what steps we need to take if Alfheim's civil war becomes an inter-realm war. Whatever we think of Daris or Hallien and whichever side we support, there is a very real possibility that Asgard might soon be at war. That should be our primary concern."

Fey had the right idea to try to break Freyja and Odin up, but for a few seconds it looked as if they hadn't even heard her. Gungnir hummed and Brísingamen sparked with energy – the two royals from two different realms locked in a silent combat of wills. Both Gungnir and Brísingamen had once been the tools of the Elder Gods, immortal weapons that had been inherited by their descendants after their creators had killed each other. One was of the Vanir and the other of the Æsir, but they had about the same power at their fingertips, and the royal instruments each possessed were of equal power.

"You're right," Odin said briskly, not removing his eye from Freyja. "But Alfheim's war is their own. I will not tolerate interference from my people. Anyone caught helping either faction on Alfheim will be held accountable for their actions."

For a few breaths, everyone thought there was going to be a fight anyway. Then Freyja lowered her hand from Brísingamen and put it on the table in a silent admission. She had stood down this time, but would she the next?

"Heimdall, what else do you have to report?" Odin asked without looking away from the Vanir mage and royal.

"Only what I have discussed with you previously," Heimdall said smoothly as if the tension didn't ruffle him. "It is getting steadily colder. I believe it will freeze tonight or soon after."

"Freeze?" Akir asked blankly. "It's early autumn. How could it freeze?"

"Not here," Heimdall corrected, "Alfheim."

"Right," Akir snorted and shook his head, "because that makes more sense. A realm in an eternal summer is about to freeze?"

"Which is a problem," Odin assured Akir in a tone befitting a king. "Isrena made her realm in an eternal summer. For the fifteen thousand years she ruled it and the fifteen thousand years that have passed since her death, Alfheim has never once experienced temperatures below freezing. What do you think happens to plants when it freezes?"

"Well, the leaves turn black and wilt," Akir said. "We know that."

"But Alfheim and the Ljósálfr don't," Tyr continued where Odin had left off. "Not a single plant or animal on that world has ever experienced freezing temperatures. When it freezes, at least some of the plants will die from the frost, leaving nothing for the prey to eat. The prey will die, leaving the predators to starve in turn."

"A measurable amount of animal life on Alfheim has already died because of the chill," Vir finished softly, having kept up on this issue. "They're not looking at a war anymore, they're looking at an ecological disaster. If nothing knows how to survive the cold then once it starts to freeze everything will die."

"An extinction-level event?" Freyja asked, befuddled. "But there hasn't been one of those since the Convergence War when Borr fought Malekith for control of the Aether. You're saying there's going to be another one?"

"It depends on how long and hard the freeze is," Heimdall told her, "and if there will be one."

Alfheim's atmosphere was thicker than the other realms and it trapped heat more effectively than others, accounting for its higher temperatures and humidity. In fact, it did such a good job this that the realm was the same temperature no matter where on the surface you were. It was the same temperature at the poles as it was at the equator. There was only two seasons: spring and summer, each happening twice a year. Some years it didn't even cool off enough to have a spring. If one part of Alfheim would freeze then all of it would.

"We lost many soldiers during the Ice War," Odin said as he thought back to the war with the Jötnar five centuries ago. "For every one that was killed by the enemy, two more died from exposure to the cold. Blankets, jackets, scarfs – using fire for warmth – they are all foreign concepts to the Ljósálfr. They know about them only from our contact with us, not through any firsthand experience. This cold will be more dangerous to them then it would be to us. We are used to snow and ice, but those are concepts that are myths to them."

"To be facing a disaster like this in addition to a civil war…" Fey's voice trailed off and she tightened her hands into fists in frustration. "Isn't there something we can do to help them? Not with the war, but to provide humanitarian aid?"

"We would have to provide aid to both factions," Tyr warned her. "I don't think Hallien wants us interfering anymore then we already have with the weapons. If we can stop the supply shipments to Alfheim then that should be enough."

Fey shook her head in disagreement. "We're not on the same page. I'm talking about the ecological disaster and you're talking about the war. Those are two different things."

"Not really," Tyr disagreed. "They're both internal affairs that we have no right interfering with. The only people that can die are Ljósálfr."

Fey opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She looked floored by Tyr's callous appraisal of the problem. Tyr's only concern was stopping the weapon shipments and cutting the only tie between Asgard and Alfheim in this affair.

Tyr glanced around, seeming to notice that everyone was looking at him. He looked down at the surface of the table shyly, realizing he had overstepped.

"There was one cold snap earlier shortly after the first battle of the civil war, but then it warmed back up to normal, right?" Vir asked, trying to pretend he hadn't heard Tyr say that.

"That's right," Odin agreed, wondering where Vir was going with this.

"Why is it getting cold then?" Vir got to the point.

"What?" Tyr muttered and looked down at Vir.

"It was a simple question," Vir shrugged. "In the past thirty thousand years that Alfheim has existed, it has never gotten close to the freezing point on the realm. Why is it suddenly getting cold now?"

That was a good question, everyone realized.

"The Emerald Crown," Heimdall guessed first. "It's directly tied to Alfheim's lifeforce."

"So the crown is freezing Alfheim because it doesn't like the war?" Freyja muttered tartly and shook her head. "It's magic is created to nurture and protect. I doubt very much it would cause such death on Alfheim."

"Who has the crown now?" Akir glanced at Heimdall.

Heimdall glanced at the Allfather and answered only when Odin nodded. "Daris. He stole it from the capital some time ago, and Hallien has been unable to retrieve it. There are signs that it might not consider him Alfheim's king anymore and rebonded itself to Daris, but that has not been confirmed."

"Then Daris might be the one forcing Alfheim to freeze," Akir leaned back in his seat. "It might be his way of forcing Hallien to concede his defeat. If he does have the crown…"

"Something would have to be causing it," Fey agreed. "The climate of Alfheim has been stable for the past thirty thousand years. There is no reason for it to change now in the matter of a few weeks."

"Hallien might be doing it anyway," Freyja corrected. "If he really is who the rumors say he is."

Odin almost groaned when Freyja said that. She was hinting about Hallien being Set reincarnated. How many people knew about that? When Odin didn't rise to the bait, Freyja pushed the issue.

"A trick like this is not beyond an Elder God of death," she said bluntly. "If Hallien is Set, then it would not be difficult for him."

"That is an unconfirmed rumor," Odin leaned forward and looked at Freyja strongly with his one eye. "If you are allying yourself with Daris based on false information like that then you are making a mistake."

"We could always ask Hel about it," Fey added, obviously not convinced the rumors were false. "She might be the youngest of the Elder Gods but she is still an Elder God. If anyone would know if Hallien is Set it would be her."

"Going to the realm of the dead to ask a favor from its ruler is a poor idea," Odin shook his head.

And she resurrected Tilaria, Odin thought to himself. Hel did not interfere with the living and she did not let go of the dead once they were in her custody. For her to break that cycle and let a soul return was highly unusual. That, more than anything, was proof more that something much larger then a skirmish between mortals was happening on Alfheim. If it didn't involve another Elder God then Odin wasn't sure what it was. Asking Hel for some conformation might sound like a good idea – at least then they would know what they were up against – but Hel was manipulative and her heart was as cold as Niflheim's wind. She couldn't be trusted.

"There's no way to safely speak to her, so nothing can be confirmed," Odin decreed. "I won't have anyone try. She kills any living that stray to her realm, and I won't lose people. Our concern is stopping the supply shipments to Alfheim and being ready in case it becomes inter-realm."

There were sounds of agreement from most everyone.

"Freyja," Odin added when she didn't respond. "What do you think will happen after this war? Alfheim will be decimated and frozen. Do you think the Ljósálfr, as emotionless as they are in war, will stop? Do you think they will just stay on their realm and suffer?"

Freyja looked taken aback by Odin's questions, but didn't answer. Odin pressed his point.

"They will need resources to rebuild," Odin addressed his glare around the table. "If they can't get them on Alfheim, then where will they be able to turn except off-realm? No matter which faction wins, we will be feeling the aftershock from this for some time to come. The longer it freezes the worse that aftershock will be. This war needs to end quickly, and supplying weapons will only make it last longer. Once the war ends, I feel it likely that Alfheim will stabilize."

Odin wasn't sure about the last statement, but he could tell that everything else he said was making sense to Freyja.

"As of now," Odin added, "I will not allow Asgardian supplies to fuel either side of Alfheim's war. Sympathizers taking an active role in supplying them will be held accountable for their actions in a court. Make sure your mages know that, and make sure you tell them what else has happened."

"I'll tell them," Freyja said bitterly.

Only Brísingamen's jewels, flashing like hot embers, revealed her frustration. The rest of the meeting was calmer as they discussed ways to monitor actions on Alfheim, Asgard, and what precautions to take. Odin would need to figure out how much to tell the people of Asgard, and whether he needed to make an inter-realm announcement about the war. He didn't think he would as long as the war was contained to Alfheim.

While the adults finished their conversation, a small serpent watched them from the rafters above the hall. He was black with green eyes and had small crystals growing from behind each eye. Right now, the crystals were a dark content blue that bordered on smugness. The adults didn't even know he was here. Slítas would stay here until everyone left and then would return to Loki. Loki would draw Slítas's memories of the council meeting from him, and then his Jötunn friend would know everything that had been said here.

It certainly looked to Slítas like this conversation had been worth eavesdropping on. Loki had great instincts.


They went through a lot of subject in that chapter. Does everyone understand what they were saying? Was it too repetitive? ...Why are my readers so stubborn about refusing to leave reviews?

And yeah, Loki is definitely Loki. He's going to get in so much trouble if Odin finds out he was eavesdropping.