Ch49
When Magnus opened his eyes he found himself in his father's place in Alfheim. "Hello Magnus I take it you are ready?" His father Frey asked as he appeared behind him.
"Um hi dad yeah I am," he said. His dad summoned a chair and a small table and the two sat down and began to talk.
His father sighed, "Well just to let you know that this will be a painful ordeal. I will give you a position that will make you relieve your most painful memories, that should make the process easier."
He looked at his father who had a pained look on his face. "I understand dad but I want to be as strong as I can to help my friends. I will need all the help I can to fight in this war," he said looking his dad in the eyes.
His father sighed, "You are just as determined as your mother. Very well, just to let you know though what you will go through will be painful."
"I understand dad," he said.
His father smiled at him, "Well, I know you will be facing a major battle, as we speak the Greek world is about to be torn in half. Olympus is unguarded while its Gods are distracted out West."
"We know dad," he said with a sigh. "Percy and the others plan on defending it."
"I imagine you all are taking all the precautions. I also take it that your friend Percy is going to try and get the Curse of Achilles?" Frey asked
He nodded, "Yeah that's our plan. Also, Fafnir is going to attack us probably."
"Yeah we believe so. Even with the Curse of Achilles Fafnir will be a tough opponent," Frey said as a dark look spread across his face.
"Oh is Balmung ready?" He asked.
"Just about," his father said with a smile. "Its all but reforged now. I believe with both swords your chances of winning will be higher."
"Yeah we will need it," he said as he told his dad about the dream he had about Fafnir.
His father's expression became grim, "Fafnir is a tough opponent, but I believe that you and your friend can beat him."
"I know we can," he said with a smile. "Percy is strong and the rest of the campers can hold their own."
"I believe they can. After all, the Greeks were always more than just fighting stuff," Frey said with a smile. Then his father's expression turned serious, "Well then I say the sooner we do this the better. Leave your stuff in your room here and then we will get started, take off Sigurd's armor and Gram too."
"Alright," He said as he got up. He went to his room and set down his weapons and other belongings on his bed.
"Good luck kid," Gram said as he held him in his hand.
"Thanks man," he said with a smile as he set it down next to his backpack.
He took off his camp necklace which had many beads on it, "Good luck Percy, hold things down until I get back," he said as he carefully set it down.
He walked back downstairs and met his dad in the living room. "Are you ready?" Frey asked as he held two vials iin his hand.
"Yeah I am. What now?" He asked
Frey held out the bottles, "Drink these, one will put you to sleep along while the other will make you relieve your worst memories."
He nodded and took a deep breath as he took both bottles. He sat down on the couch and drank them both, one after the other and felt his mind go blank as he slowly lost consciousness.
He felt his mind swirl, he couldn't tell if he was conscious or not but the memories hit him. One moment he was young and was watching his mom get mauled by wolves. Her screams echoed in his ears as she told him and Annabeth to run. He felt the fear as it were happening to him at that moment.
The memory then changed and he was on the streets protecting Annabeth from some hoodlums. They kicked him as his cousin screamed in horror. He felt helpless as the men beat him and threatened to beat her.
Then he was with Luke and Thalia, he felt anger and dejection at the way Annabeth looked at them. The memories of all the times Luke and Thalia would be harsh to him ran through his head. The memories of how Annabeth was enamored by Luke and her telling him that Luke would protect her followed by the way she took Luke's side when he and him argued and fought over what to do. That memory in particular repeated itself.
Other memories came up in his head. Occasional feelings of isolation in the Hermes Cabin, sadness that Annabeth usually liked being with her siblings more than him at times, Annabeth's anger at him when Percy chose him to retrieve Zeus's bolt, his dejection at not being able to go to the Sea of Monsters with Percy and Annabeth, Annabeth plummeting into the unknown with Dr. Thorn, Annabeth's anger at him when he over him hiding the truth about his parentage.
He relieved various painful memories as they flashed in his head over and over like a broken DVD. However, one memory stood out among the rest. It was a recent one, it was the one he relieved not too long ago. The memory of his cousin yelling at him and telling to get lost along with her slapping him replayed often in his head. He felt like he was going to go mad at the memory as it replayed over and over again.
Occasionally he would snap out of the haze and he would see a large tree. He didn't know where he was and was still disoriented. He would occasionally see a well guarded by three cloaked figures. His father mentioned them before, it was the Well of Urd and the people he guessed were the Norns; the Norse equivalent of the Fates.
He didn't know how long he hung there, he felt nothing and looking back would describe as being drunk while being dangled in the air. He looked at the well whenever he could and peered into its dark ominous cavern. He didn't know how the hell he was alive without food or water but his father told him that the sunlight would strengthen him so he guessed that was the reason he was alive.
The dreams went on in his head as he relived various trials of his life. He didn't know how long he was hanging there before he saw a shape in the Well of Urd. Actually various shapes were in it, letters and figures slowly took shape.
He heard the Norns chant something, almost as if they were reciting some sort of prayer. The shapes in the well eventually took the shape of letters and slowly rose out of the well. His mind was a haze as the bright shapes came up to him.
His mind was still in a haze as the shapes circled his head. Everything was still a blurry haze as the letters entered his mouth. His eyes widened as he felt as if an encyclopedia were playing through his head. He let out a moan as the runes shared their knowledge to him. It was as if the runes were playing through his head forcibly teach him how to use them. As his mind absorbed the runes he suddenly felt wise. Like he had spent years studying and them and had been familiar with them his entire life.
He let out a sigh of relief as the knowledge he gained settled in his head. It was slowly entering his mind and adjusting to his thoughts. He let out a sigh of relief as he passed out as he watched the Norns look up at him.
When he felt himself regain consciousness his body felt like it was in pain. He looked up and saw his father's assistant Skirnir administer some potion to him. He drank the liquid which tasted rather sweet before falling back asleep. His mind still felt fuzzy and he didn't know how many times he woke up and fell asleep.
When he finally fully woke up he saw his father sitting on the chair in his room. "You are awake finally congratulations," Frey said with a smile.
He tried to open his mouth but his throat was dry. His father got up and handed him a glass of water which he drank quickly. His throat felt really dry and the cold water felt like relief as he drank it all. "Th-Thanks," he said. He wanted to say more but his mind still felt as if an encyclopedia had been jammed into his head.
"Rest while you can. I am afraid that you will soon have to go out in battle," Frey said with a sigh. "The runes will take a bit to settle in, rest while you can," his father said.
He only nodded as he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. He didn't keep track of how long he was bedridden, occasionally his dad or Skirnir would administer potions or cast healing magic on him. He felt his strength return to him along with his mind adjusting to the runes.
After a few days he was able to get out of bed. "Good job son I knew you could do it," Frey said with a big smile.
"Thanks dad. My head still hurts though," he said as he rubbed his head which still felt as if he had a headache.
His father laughed, "Don't worry son it will go away now I will teach you the basics of the runes." He said as he held out what appeared to be a wooden wand.
"What is this?" He asked as he picked up the stick.
"Flick it," Frey said.
He did as he was told and was surprised that the small stick turned into a long staff. "It will help you cast the runes since you are a beginner. I will do my best to teach you some basic ones that could be of use to you and your friends in your upcoming fight," Frey said as he summoned a book in his hand. "Lord Odin prepared this for me, I would have your friend Hearthstone come here but he does not like visiting Alfheim for personal reasons."
"Yeah I heard," he said. Hearth never would tell him the reason but he heard from Blitz that he had family issues and a tough upbringing here something about his family not accepting him because he is deaf. He didn't pry much since apparently it was traumatic for Hearthstone to talk about.
"Also I want to give you this," Frey said as he handed him a necklace with a cross pendant on it.
He took the pendant and squeezed it and was surprised as it turned into a large sword, "Woah, this is Balmung?" He asked as he examined the European long sword in his hand.
"Nice to meet you. I heard you are with my brother Gram," Balmung said in his head
"Hey, Nice to meet you. I am looking forward to slaying some enemies for you," Balmung said.
"Yeah it took us a while to restore him but Balmung is in great condition now," Frey said as he deactivated the sword and it turned back into a pendant.
"Now there is someone I want you to meet. Come with me downstairs," his father said.
He nodded and put Balmung in his pocket as he followed his dad downstairs. In his father's living room was a thin man with black and grey hair. "Magnus I would like you to meet the einherjar Sigurd. He is our pantheon's greatest hero and slayed Fafnir in the past," Frey said as Sigurd stood up and looked at him.
He gulped as he felt the hero's gaze on him, analyzing him. "N-Nice to meet you," he said as he extended a hand.
Sigurd smiled at him and shook his hand, "Magnus Chase, I've heard about you. How is Gram doing?"
"Um good thanks, I've used him well," he said.
Sigurd smiled at him, "I am glad to hear that. I hear you are with the Greeks these days? How's Chiron doing? He was my teacher, I have fond memories of him."
"He is doing well he mentioned you to me," he said.
"Well I am glad to hear that. Your father asked me to help prepare you for your fight with Fafnir," Sigurd said.
He nodded, "Yeah he has risen again and will attack our camp."
"Fafnir is a tough opponent, I will do what I can to make sure you are prepared to face him," Sigurd said.
"Thanks you," he said as he turned and his father gave him Gram and Sigurd's armor.
"Good luck son. Sigurd knows a lot of things I am sure he can teach you the basics of runes and how to fight Fafnir," Frey said as he patted him on the back.
"Thanks dad," he said with a sigh.
Frey nodded, "You both can use the backyard to practice. Don't worry no one will spy on you."
"Thank you," Sigurd said.
"Who would spy on us?" He asked.
"An old acquaintance I would rather not run into again less she try to kill me," Sigurd said with a sigh while Frey nodded with a sad expression on his face.
He followed Sigurd outside and activated Gram and the armor. "Nice to see that you are alive kid," Gram said energetically.
"Thanks, I'm glad to be alive. I hope you have been well," he said
"Yeah it was nice catching up with Sigurd a bit," Gram said as Sigurd drew his own sword.
"Gram and my old armor fit you well," Sigurd said. "But first I should let you know somethings about Fafnir."
"Like what?" He asked as he deactivated the helmet.
Sigurd sighed, "Fafnir's blood, it can affect a person just like the River Styx in the Greek World. Bathing in it will cause you to be practically immortal. Also, by eating his heart it will give you untold knowledge."
His eyes widened, "Wow that's cool and kind of disturbing." He had no desire to eat a dragon's heart.
"The heart wasn't actually that bad to be honest just add some seasoning," Sigurd said with a shrug. His expression then turned serious. "The problem is with the blood. Your father told me your friend the son of Poseidon plans to bathe in the River Styx. If that is the case make sure the blood does not fall onto him," he said in a serious tone.
"Why what would happen?" He asked curiously.
Sigurd sighed, "It is very unwise to mix blessings from different pantheons. It could at minimum cancel out the Curse Achilles and at worse boil your friend alive."
Magnus gulped, "So he shouldn't touch the blood got it."
Sigurd nodded, "Yeah, a little bit here and there won't hurt him unless it hits his spot. However, he should not under any circumstance be submerged in it."
He nodded, "So he should just be careful of the blood?"
"Yes," Frey said as he stepped outside. He turned to face his father, "Don't worry I have a way for you to keep the blood away from your friend." Frey produced a small vial in his hand. "This should be able to secure the blood up. I had it made to be able to contain Sigurd's blood, I'll make a case for you to hold Sigurd's heart as well. That is another thing that shouldn't be left in the wrong hands."
Sigurd nodded, "That is true. But don't worry we will make sure you are prepared to face and defeat Fafnir."
"Thanks, I just hope you guys don't get into trouble for helping me," he said.
Frey laughed, "Don't worry Magnus. Even the most Ancient Laws state that a father is allowed to help his son and defend his realm," he said with a sly smile. "Now then I hope you both train well."
He nodded as he turned to face Sigurd. Well lets get this done.