SHADOW OF DEATH
Chapter 29: Harvest
Loki and Jane made their way through the lush palace gardens and towards the tunnel that would lead them outside the city's defensive shield.
"I hope you are prepared for a long walk, Dr. Foster," Loki said. "It will take time to arrive at the location where my magic regains its efficacy again."
"I could use some time out of the lab," she replied. "My head is spinning from too much time staring at screens."
As they passed by the space where the Mind Stone had seen its demise, Jane paused.
"Loki, why is Mjolnir still out here?" she asked. She walked over to it and ran her hand over one edge to rub off the drops of dew that had collected.
"It is waiting for its mistress, Lady Jane. You require your own warrior's weapon now that you are a shield maiden."
She gave him a funny look. "You are only giving me half-truths. What aren't you telling me?"
"Fine. I am unworthy to wield Mjolnir. Only those who are worthy can wield it. I never have been and never will be deemed worthy."
"That's better, but even still, your last statement is false. You do believe it to be genuine, but it is not true in terms of reality. You can someday be worthy."
"No. I cannot."
"It's not that you cannot. You can. The question is if you will choose to."
"You suddenly feel compelled to wax philosophical?"
"No," she replied. "It is just what is."
She bent over to easily retrieve the weapon and admired its glow in the sunlight. She flipped it once in her hand.
"I suppose I will need some kind of way to carry it around with me. It's a little clumsy to hold it all the time."
"Thor had a magic belt," Loki answered.
"Not exactly helpful, unless you know how to make a magic belt?"
"Unfortunately, that was dwarven magic, forged along with Mjolnir on Nidavellir."
"Well, maybe I can use some rope to tie it to my back or something," Jane replied with a shrug. "So, does this mean I can call down lightning?"
"Try," Loki replied with eyes too full of mischief for Jane to feel comfortable immediately obeying.
"What? Will I make us both explode or something?"
"I do not know," he answered, the mischief extinguishing from his eyes and replaced by simple curiosity. "That is why I wish for you to try."
Jane held Mjolnir over her head, as she had seen Thor do in New Mexico, and gave the sky above her a wary glance. The sun continued to glare back. No clouds gathered and no strikes of lightning answered the call.
"Focus inward, Lady Jane," Loki replied. "The power does not originate in the sky but within yourself. Mjolnir focuses the power, but it does not create it."
She lifted the hammer over her head again and closed her eyes. As she did, a blue haze emanated from the hammer and engulfed her. She opened her eyes which now glowed like super novas and she floated above the grass and upwards towards the sky. She lowered the hammer upon a nearby rock and the rock exploded into pieces. She dropped the hammer as if it suddenly became superheated and the blue light vanished.
She sat on the ground and stared at the fragments of rock, fingering them with her hands. Then she lifted the hammer into the air again. The blue haze reemerged and engulfed not only Jane and the hammer, but spread to cover the pieces of rock as well. The pieces of rock floated upwards, as if Mjolnir were magnetic, and spun into a tornado-like funnel, faster and faster, until they collided together. The pieces fell to the ground coalesced together into the shape of a perfect cube. Jane dropped the hammer again.
"I can see," Jane whispered as she stared at the cube. "I can see the very molecules and the forces holding them together. It's as if I can sense the physical realities within objects as much as I can sense the inner truths of people. It's incredible. I could feel the sap running through the trees, the sun granting energy to the grass, and even the life forces of each insect beneath our feet. I can feel what holds it all together…and…manipulate it into something else."
Loki cocked his head to one side to consider her. "We will need to develop your mastery of Mjolnir further, Lady Jane."
She still sat slightly dazed but she nodded her head in agreement. Loki extended his hand to help her off the ground. She took it and grabbed Mjolnir on her way up.
"Let us continue on the task ahead of us," Loki said.
He opened the electronic door leading into the tunnel. When the motion sensors caught their movements, a series of lights illuminated the passageway before them and they walked on a smooth concrete floor through the maze of tunnels.
"Loki, can I ask you a question?" Jane said as they walked.
"You may, though I may choose not to answer if the question displeases me."
"Why did Asgardians stop coming to Earth? From the myths, it sounds like they used to come and go quite often. What happened?"
"Ah! Yes. In the days of Buri, grandfather of Odin, and Bor, father of Odin, the peoples of all the realms intermixed freely. Knowledge of magic was as common as the knowledge of the stars and the warriors of Asgard enjoyed many a quest and a dalliance across the Nine realms, including Midgard.
"There came a time of great chaos and unrest instigated by the Dark Elves and this exiled Svartaflheim from the other Nine. In the early days of Odin, the Ice Wars further limited free travel between Jotunheim and the other realms. He also forbid travels to Helheim due to a political dispute with its ruler, though it is not often spoken about. There are some traders, explorers, and mercenaries who venture outside of the Nine, but that is beyond the reach of the Bifrost or the branches of Yggdrasil."
Jane's eyes lit up that that and he could almost see the questions brimming from the glowing blue embers that were now her eyes.
"Wait-there are more? Have you been to any?" she began to ask.
Loki shook his head. "Yes, there are more than you could count and I have been to some, though do you wish to hear of the history of Midgard and Asgardian relations or more on the astronomy of the universe?"
She nearly bounced in her steps as she regarded him and grinned. "Can I choose both?"
"No."
"Fine. Continue on with your story-but I want to know more later."
Loki sighed. "Of course you do. As I was saying, the peoples of all the realms used to freely travel to Midgard. In long generations past, the longer living peoples of the other realms enjoyed coming to Midgard for sport and curiosity and trade and exploration.
"It was Bor who first established limitations on travel to Midgard. It was he who first declared Midgard a protectorate of Asgard and he forbid the denizens of other realms from unrestricted travel here. He set up, what you might call, a 'nature preserve' here to protect the weaker, short-lived peoples and creatures of this realm from being overrun with reckless, irresponsible members of other realms. There were some who would not hesitate to use their superior powers to dominate this realm, subjugate its peoples, and enslave the population for their own pleasure. Under Asgardian protection, Midgard was granted autonomy to do as it wished, without interference from beyond their own realm. A delegation of Asgardian diplomats were granted passage, but none others."
"Wow. That's really patronizing," Jane said with an eye roll.
"Lady Jane, to the peoples of the other realms, Midgardians are little different than a colony of ants would be to you," Loki responded with a sideways glance. He smirked as he saw the predicted irritation flash across her features. "As you could with an ant, I could break a Midgardian arm with my forefinger and thumb. I am over a thousand years old and I am still considered quite young. I can go for years without needing food or drink. If I use my magic, I could melt the entirety of New York simply by snapping my fingers. Your people are as strong as ants in comparison. It does not meant you are without worth, simply that you are small.
"You have seen the mighty ant hills that are built here in Wakanda? They stand as tall me and are harder to break down than wood. Ants, when working together, can accomplish wonders. They are brilliant creatures. They can hunt rats and devour the corpse of a cow if they work at it long enough and hard enough. In their short lifespans and in their great numbers, they are quite admirable. However, despite their stingers, capacity to build, and valiant hearts, they are still small beings in comparison with the lions and elephants that walk past them. Many ants build symbiotic relationships with trees or other creatures to aid their chances at survival. Your people are ants and if you wish to survive, you must remember that and learn to make your alliances just as wisely. "
"Alliances such as granting Asgard rule over us?" she scoffed.
"I guarantee you, Lady Jane, it has benefited your people greatly, though you may not see if from your perspective."
"Right, cause I'm an ant."
Loki tossed a grin at her as he cocked his head in the direction of the hammer on his back. "The bearer of Mjolnir can no longer be classified as an ant. You have at least risen to the distinction of mosquito or honey bee."
"Thanks. I'm flattered," she responded sarcastically. "Entomological comparisons aside, why did the Aesir stop coming?"
"Ah, yes. Well, during Odin's early reign, diplomatic relationships were still in place and emissaries from the realms were still sent to Midgard. The Aesir chose to interact with some of the strongest and most powerful kingdoms of Midgard, though, occasionally, less scrupulous diplomats chose kingdoms simply for their entertainment value. Later, Odin discovered that some of the emissaries misused their positions. The little natives saw them as gods and goddesses and worshipped them and brought them ever more lavish gifts to win their favor-and the emissaries rather enjoyed that.
"When Odin heard of their large harems and the human sacrifices brought to the emissaries to seek their blessings, he forbid it and refused further emissaries other than of the Asgardian royal family. It was much later, when Thor and I were already of age and had traveled extensively through Midgard, that Odin halted even our unrestricted travel. I am aware of no Aesir visiting Midgard since, well, since Thor's dalliances in Wakanda that the king spoke of which must have been five centuries ago. At least, not until Thor's banishment.
"When Odin totally abolished travel to Midgard, he spoke in the most veiled terms of the reasons behind his command. I was away in Alfheim much during that era and cared little for court gossip. Since I had no wish to visit Midgard again, I did not inquire much into the command. However, from what I have learned since our arrival here, I must assume it was, at least in part, due to Odin's attempts to restrict Thor's dalliances across the realms. It is ironic because some of the old servants say there were a great many half-Aesir children birthed on Midgard after Odin's journeys here. However, that was long before the days of Frigga and if anything could mend the wayward ways of an Aesir, it would be the wrath of the All-Mother."
"Does Odin have something against humans?"
"He thought it dishonorable for a warrior and, especially a prince, to bed a woman on other realms who he did not intend to wed. Odin felt that as princes of Asgard, it is unfair to impose ourselves on those who have less power. How could a woman of lower status, less advantages, and less strength have the full freedom to refuse? She may fear to. In addition, on some of the realms, a woman who has born children cannot be wed to another man. This leaves her and her progeny defenseless and without resources."
"Isn't that demeaning to women?"
"Demeaning? In what way?"
"Can't the women take care of themselves?"
"Jane, a woman can be a mighty warrior and a mighty hunter and highly capable-but I am speaking of real life."
"You are sounding sexist."
"Listen, woman, and I will explain myself," he said curtly. "You come from a society built with technology and with food mass produced for the consumption of skilled craftsmen and women who do not need to farm or hunt their own resources. Tell me, what would you eat if you had no markets or farmers to buy food from?"
"You mean subsistence farmers?"
"Yes. And in a realm where it is impossible to farm and one must survive entirely by hunting…," he began, until she interrupted him again.
"But you said women can be mighty hunters," she said.
"And I speak truth. But tell me, Jane, how fast can a woman run when she is heavy with child? Or with a suckling babe in tow? How fierce may she hunt with a toddler in her arms? She may be fierce and a strong fighter, but even she is made vulnerable by the presence of children. Without kin networks and warriors, who are not with child, to protect her and hunt for her and her children, she is defenseless and easy prey to beast, man, and hardship. Even some Midgardian birds and beasts require pair-bonded mates for their offspring to survive, why would the peoples of your realm be any different?
"During the years Asgardians traveled freely across Midgard, Asgardian warriors left their discarded lovers with children stronger than themselves, oftentimes endowed with magic or exceedingly long lives. True, their children grew to be heroes of legend, demi-gods, as you would call them, but their mothers often struggled to provide for them and manage such children.
"Odin said such behavior was dishonorable for the men of Asgard and if we were not prepared to grant our progeny our name, our protection, our purse, and our house, then we should not plant our seed in the wombs of their women. Thus, the continued decree against any from outside Midgard traveling here to disrupt the lives of your people."
Jane considered all of this as they continued through the dark passages. Loki turned down a few hallways, obviously familiar with the route.
"Why didn't Odin just allow Aesir to marry Midgardians? Wouldn't that have taken care of the problem?"
Jane frowned when she saw Loki laugh in response.
"Oh, Jane, it can hardly be called marriage for how short such an arrangement would last. In barely half a century, one's partner has withered and joined their ancestors. What is the purpose of such a union? Midgardians are seen as very entertaining since they can produce children so often. Many a Midgardian maid has been sought out to prove a warrior's valor through giving a fertile field for his seed. Many a Midgardian man has been sought to provide entertainment and distraction for a bored matron. While, it is true that Midgardians have often been sought for play and pleasure and curiosity, they can hardly be taken seriously as potential marriage partners. They could not even survive one Harvest Season, let alone live long enough to wait for the next, if the Harvest were still centuries away."
"The other day…in the library…you mentioned a Harvest season. I am assuming you did not mean a harvest of crops," she said.
Loki rose one eyebrow. "I am still waiting for the question."
"What is the Harvest season?"
"Every five hundred years, Asgard celebrates their Harvest Season. This is a hundred year span of time where warfare is avoided as much as possible. It is a time for marriages, births, raising of the young, peace, and celebrations. The warriors keep to their homes, their women bear them children, the children are raised to full strength, and Asgard rests and renews. It is the beginning of the next cycle of life and the next generation of society."
"Are you telling me that Asgard only has weddings every four hundred years?"
"Of course. We celebrate our marriages when it is possible for our women to bear children. What would be the use of marrying outside of the Harvest when there will be no children?"
Jane's mouth opened wide and she gave a slight squeak of dismay. "Loki, are you telling me Asgardian women can only bear children during the Harvest?"
He gave a long-suffering sigh and stared at the low ceiling for a moment before he resumed his explanation. "Of course. Midgardian women have seasons when they are fertile, yes?"
"I suppose that's one way to describe it."
"Anyhow, Aesir women, function on roughly four hundred to five hundred year cycles. All women of child-bearing years become fertile during the Harvest Season in conjunction with the rising and setting of one of our moons. The Harvest Season is declared upon the first pregnancy and it ends with the last birth. After a Harvest Season ends, there will be no more children until the next season."
"Wait-they can't have accidents in between?"
"Accidents? Oh, not in the way you mean. It is biologically impossible for Aesir women."
"So, they basically having a mating season and all the women go into heat."
"That is a crude way to explain it but it captures the truth of the matter. It is explained that it is biologically adaptive to our lifespans and lifestyle on Asgard. If Aesir reproduced as quickly as Midgardians, all Asgard would be overrun within a hundred years and it would be unsustainable. Midgardians, with your short lifespans and fragile biology, must reproduce like rabbits or their entire species would go extinct within a century. With as readily as your people succumb to disease, famine, injury, and age, it is a wonder Midgardians survive at all."
Jane rolled her eyes at that and Loki smirked in response.
"Ok, so you have a set span of time that everyone marries and has families. How does that work?"
"The cycle of Asgardian life follows the cycles of the Harvest. A hundred years of rest and new life. Then, the traders return to their travels across the galaxy, the warriors return to battle, the children grow up together. It takes nearly a hundred to two hundred years to reach full physical maturity. Each age set born during a Harvest grows up together. The youths from the last Harvest are considered full adults and full members of Asgardian society by the time of the next Harvest.
"During the Harvest, the warriors can choose to lay down their arms and pursue a trade. The shield-maidens can lay down their arms and choose to wed. If they prefer to maintain their warrior status, which is the most elite in Asgard, they may. The next Harvest season, they can choose to change again.
"Before the Harvest season, each age set of youth born the previous Harvest, prove themselves as warriors so they can compete for wives. At beginning of the Harvest, all women who would like to marry, remarry, or change husbands attend the ceremony that lasts years. Women, by order of rank, choose competitors from the men- all who wish a wife or another wife. The women are then honor-bound to wed whichever man is capable of defeating them. The men who are beaten go back into the pool for other women to choose from.
"As I mentioned before, the Aesir are fierce warriors. The women are as skilled with a blade as the men. Thus it is imperative that a man gains the respect of his wife and so he must best her in battle before he can prove is worthy of her hand. In order to declare his desire to wed a maid, the man will meet the maid in a ceremonial battle before all her kin and prove his worth. At the end of the battle, the woman surrenders her sword to the man.
"However, if the maid is the victor, she maintains her own sword. Her family will not allow the marriage to proceed, nor would the woman so shame herself. If the maid wishes to wed the man, she must fight fiercely, but she will not fight as fiercely as if she does not wish to wed him.
"It is not uncommon for a woman who, knowing the intentions of a warrior and despising them, will maintain an enchanted blade with her at all times to insure her victory and his humiliation before all. The man, once beaten by a maid, will be sorely tried upon to win the honor of another maid. It is not impossible, but it is more difficult and less likely he will gain the hand or respect of a high ranking maid. It is in the best interest of the warrior to secure her good affections before he publicly declares his desire to wed her."
"Do the men have more than one wife?" Jane asked.
"A man may have as many wives as are willing to wed him, but Aesir women are jealous and strong. It is a brave man, indeed, who would seek more than one at a time. There is also the danger that a first wife, upon hearing her husband's decision to seek another, will simply leave and choose new competitors for her hand from among the unmarried warriors.
"Winning a wife is a great honor. It shows not only his prowess as a warrior but his respectability among the people. If a man has a reputation for mistreatment, no woman will choose him as husband. The lowest ranking women have only the youngest, least known, or least respected men to choose from. If a man proves himself, future harvests may bring him a wife of higher rank. If a woman wishes to increase her status, she may choose to wed a miscreant of higher rank so that she and her children may be well-respected. All children born to a man belong to his house and line so it may benefit a maid to spend a few hundred years in a marriage of convenience in order to obtain the possibility of a greater position in future."
"Don't Aesir marry for reasons other than children? Why don't they marry in-between Harvests?" she asked.
"The royalty and some of the highest ranking families may marry their sons before the next Harvest to obtain political alliances, diplomatic ties, and gain status. The noblemen require exposure to the lives and cultures of the other realms and alliances between nobility are valued for the strength of the Nine.
"Aesir men reach sexual maturity more quickly than their female counterparts. If the next Harvest Season is still a long way off, noble youths will take their first wife from another realm and join them on their realm for an allotted period of time to learn their customs and their ways. Typically, for their first marriage, noble parents will seek a woman of high rank from the other realms. They wish for someone experienced both in marriage and politics, trade and the customs of their people who can train their son to be an honored husband of high rank. The first wife of an Aesir nobleman is typically a highly respected widow of a much greater age than the youth."
"Wait-so they marry their not quite of age sons off to old women?"
"Jane, for a people who live between 6000 to 8000 years, a woman five hundred years or even a few thousand years older than a youth will still appear of a similar age to the youth. Even more, if the first wife is from Alfheim, then she will never age and may live for tens of thousands of years. The only death that may befall her is battle or The Wasting.
"Let me illustrate. When Thor and I married, we were still youth, still growing tall. As princes, we were married off much sooner than even the noble youth, because it is imperative we continued our education and forge alliances. Thor was just over a hundred and had barely managed a beard by his wedding. Thor's first wife was a Light Elf, the widow of a renowned General and the daughter of the Principal Ruler of Alfheim. Nana was over 4000 by the time they wed.
"Thor stayed on Alfheim for almost a hundred years before he returned to continue his education and duties on Asgard. During his time on Alfheim, his wife taught him all the ways of her people and realm. Even when she returned with him to Asgard, she continued her role as First Royal Wife and taught him how to please a woman and behave as a proper husband. She was a lovely woman-very soft-hearted and kindly. She looked every inch the Elven princess. However, by our Harvest Season, she succumbed to The Wasting and joined the halls of her ancestors."
"What is that?"
"The Wasting? Elves, by nature, mate for life. For Elven women, only their mates can impregnate them. Elven men, while capable of procreating with other species, do not experience the same bond with their consorts as their mates. The bond between mates is intense, so much so, they can feel the emotions of their mate even if separated across the realms. If a mate dies in battle, the other will shortly follow. They simply waste away and no magic or healer can prevent it. While Thor's wife could perform her duties as wife admirably, she could not bear him children nor form the same kind of bond she had with her deceased husband. As her Wasting grew worse, she left Asgard and returned to the halls of her father for the remainder of her life."
"Do elves ever form…what do you call them?...mate bonds…with other species?"
"It is not unheard of, but it is considered a curse by most."
"Why?"
"Do you not remember me saying that elves are immortal? If an elf formed a mate bond with a Midgardian, what would be the end result? They would shorten their lifespan exponentially and leave their kin in mourning for the rest of their lives. Even an Aesir lifespan is incomparable to that of an elf. The Light Elves, in recent millennia, have forbidden their unmated youth from traveling the realms for this very reason. Only once they have formed their mate bond can they freely travel the realms.
"It has not prevented some foolish youth from trying and experimenting. However, their reduced lifespans are then on their own heads and it is seen as a just punishment for being foolhardy. It is not uncommon for an elf who has lost their mate to take a consort or love from the other realms or from the population of the Wasting, but it is never the same and they cannot help but waste."
"That's really sad. So-you said Thor's first wife-did he marry again?"
Loki laughed. "Well, you remember I told you we expected Thor would marry his Fire Giant mistress after Nana died?"
"I remember…and I can understand more why her relatives were so upset with Thor now."
"Yes, well, after Nana, he showed no inclination to take a proper wife from any of the realms. Well, it was decided that Thor's coronation would be held in conjunction with the beginning of the next Harvest. After, Thor was to wed the Lady Sif and she was to lay down her sword until the next Harvest. The All-Father thought she would make a capital queen and Thor did not oppose the idea.
"Perhaps, some other nobleman will manage it now that the prince is gone, though I doubt it. It would be a truly brave man who sought to best the Lady Sif in battle. The only sword I know who could hope to accomplish the feat would have been the noble prince's and now that he is lost, the Lady Sif could hardly release her honor enough to accept any other."
"I remember her," Jane replied. "Has she ever married?"
"Ah, the Lady Sif is one who does not balk at throwing off societal expectations. She was the only child of a high ranking nobleman and master swordsman. Upon her father's death, she gained sole ownership of his property. When time came for her first Harvest, she was the most highly desired maid in Asgard for her wealth, rank, and beauty. She choose the most renowned warriors of all Asgard and then, much to everyone's surprise, she systematically obliterated them each on the battlefield.
"She humiliated them all and, at the end, she lifted her own sword into the air and cut off her long hair as all Asgard watched in mortification. Then, with the pride of a queen, she said she required the sword and name and house of no man. Then, to add fuel to the fire, she proved to be with child during that same Harvest. She bore a son she called Ullr Sifson and she refused to claim a husband or father for her son.
"The nobles were so scandalized that they cried out to the All-Father to force her to submit to tradition and behave in a more 'womanly' manner. Thor, on the other hand, found her actions most impressive and entertaining. As soon as her son was grown, he invited her join his most elite force of warriors. She has refused to give her hand in marriage to any since, though many believed she would have been persuaded if it were Thor who sought to best her in battle. Such a surrender would not impugn the good lady's honor or her reputation as a warrior."
"That's actually kinda awesome," Jane replied.
It was Loki's turn to roll his eyes. "Of course, you would be impressed by such blatant disregard of tradition."
She raised one eyebrow in response and considered him carefully. "Tell me, oh prince, are you well-known for upholding Asgardian traditions?"
Loki's face broke into a grin and he stopped walking to give her a slight bow. "I must admit, I have been known to bend a few minor rules, on occasion."
Jane laughed and shook her head. "How many Harvests do most Aesir women marry for?" she asked.
"Aesir women may only produce children during three Harvests. Some may have four. I heard of a few who experienced five, but that is very rare. That is why is so important for them to have husbands and for their husbands to be home with them during the Harvest. If war is declared during a Harvest season, it could potentially prevent an entire generation of Aesir children from being born.
"This is one of the reasons why the Ice War still has such strong animosity around it. The Frost Giants, knowing full well the importance of the Harvest, thought that they could attack Midgard without repercussion. Many a warrior missed the birth of their babe and many a wife missed the opportunity to provide an heir to a warrior who now lay slain in the battlefield. It was a time of great anger and sadness because the war cost not only the lives of warriors, but the lives of children who could not be conceived. The higher status men returned home from the battlefield as often as they could be spared, especially the younger men since to leave them without heirs for their property could be disastrous. However, the lower ranking men and women suffered the most."
"I can see how that could be a problem. Wait-didn't you tell me that Thor incited another war with Jotunheim?"
"Yes. On his coronation, he traveled to Jotunheim and stirred up another conflict and it is still very early in our Harvest. This is a time when all warriors should lay down their arms and stay at home, but Thor did not consider that in his anger."
"He…oh…oh…"
"The All-Father was furious and banished him….and I sought to end the war as quickly as possible without sending our warriors to battle….but my efforts were not appreciated," Loki responded in a voice still tinged with the bitterness he felt.
Jane opened her mouth to ask him another question, but did not get the chance. Loki opened a final door and they exited the tunnels into the sunlit forests beyond.
"Now, Lady Jane, may I present to you the Casket of Ancient Winters, the treasure of Jotunheim," Loki said as he materialized the ancient relic in his hands. He gave a slight bow as he held the glowing object up for her to gaze upon. "I beg you not to touch it, despite your curiosity. It may not react well with your warm Midgardian form."
She nodded and stared at it. "I can feel it," she said. "The power emanating from it."
She pulled Mjolnir off her back and held it aloft. "I want to know more," she said and soon a haze of blue engulfed her and shined from within her and she turned all her inner powers onto the Casket.