Ensoulment
by Valerie Vancollie
valeriev84 at Hhtmail dot com
Notes: Sorry for giving you another shorter chapter, the next one will be longer.
But as for now, it's chaos time! And for learning exactly what species Sága is...
Yggdrasill, 2018 A.D.
"Hello, Níðhǫggr, have you been behaving yourself?" Loki inquired as the dragon flew up to land on one of the Yggdrasill's other branches.
Níðhǫggr hissed animatedly at him as always.
"He has missed you," Sága said, appearing on the bough beside him. "It has been too long since you came here."
"I have been busy, but I would have come more had I known the truth," Loki replied, throwing her a pointed look.
"You know I could not."
"Then you can hardly complain at my not visiting enough."
"But you have always enjoyed your time spent here."
"Of course, it is... calm, peaceful, accepting," Loki replied, closing his eyes briefly to simply take in the feel of being back on the Yggdrasill. "Like belonging or coming home."
"Oh, Loki," Sága sighed, reaching up to touch his face. "It is your home and always will be."
It still felt strange to Loki, knowing her and what she was to him, yet at the same time it felt like there had been a part of him which had always known. A part which had recognized her for what she was to him and had always yearned to get closer and be connected to her. It explained so much of his desires and drive from before, when he had still been alive.
"If I had but had the time, I would have come," Loki told her. "Alas, I did not."
"Not even when you took Thor and his mortal to Svartálfaheimr?"
Loki scowled. "And reveal to him my ability to sky walk? Not when I could so easily prevent it."
Though his mother pouted, Loki could tell she did not truly mean it. They had been acquainted only a short time, but already he felt he knew her very well, enough to know she would understand the sentiment. Sky walking had not merely been another skill he had acquired, it had been his passage onto the Yggdrasill itself which had already meant much, even before he had learned the truth of the World Tree's very essence and existence.
"They will all learn of it now," Sága pointed out.
"Everything is different now, not least of all me," Loki replied. "Besides, there will be none left who could oppose me."
"None who could even come close."
The realization she did not even hesitate or falter before that truth filled Loki with a sense of acceptance and love he had never felt before. Not even Frigga herself had ever been so happy or proud of him and his power as Sága was just now. Nay even his mortal mother had been held back by concerns and fears of what it could mean; of what he could do with it. And that had been with the seiðr he had possessed back then, hardly a fraction of the power he had come into now or would acquire when he finally moved against Thanos.
"Come," Sága said, taking his hand. "I wish you to view that which you have never dared witness before."
It took Loki a moment to understand what she meant. In all of his time spent upon the Yggdrasill there had been one place he dared not go. Even his ego had not been so great as to presume himself welcome there. Having been raised in the House of Óðinn, there had not been many he had learned to view as his equals, a mere handful of other leaders outside the Nine Óðinn had deemed worthy of such regard. Despite all of that, there had been one set of beings Frigga had taught both her sons absolute respect and reverence for, namely the three Norns. Holders of fate, both mortal and immortal alike.
Or so he had always been told. Loki was now starting to suspect it might not quite be so.
Sága laughed. "As quick of mind as of tongue, I see."
"One can hardly be quick at one without the other," Loki replied, still adjusting to having his mind read so easily. Surprisingly it was not nearly as intrusive as he would have thought. "Dare I ask what the most esteemed of three ladies are if not the deciders of fate?"
"Companions, messengers, servants."
"The Norns are your handmaidens?" Loki questioned, shocked to his very core.
"Yes."
"But..."
"Little One, I am a celestial, one of the greatest of beings to have ever existed in this universe."
At least Loki now knew where his own ego came from; it had been inherited.
"It is less ego and more simple fact," Sága smiled. "As you will come to learn once you become more familiar with your celestial half and all of its power."
"More familiar? I have lived with it for over a thousand years."
"Only parts of it- your shapeshifting for instance- the rest has been locked deep within you least it have been noticed."
"You trapped it inside me?" Loki asked with a frown.
"I would have had it been necessary, but it was not," Sága replied. "It never seemed to emerge on its own, something I also observed in Ego's son."
"Ego?"
"Not all of us were as modest in selecting our names as I was."
The words and evidence thereof caused amusement to flare within Loki. Though he could, on some level, understand the impulse he would never have wished to advertise any aspect of his personality so easily. The kennings he had accrued over the centuries- lie-smith, wordsmith, silvertongue- had been annoying enough to deal with for the suspicions and caution they awoke within those familiar with them.
A tug on his hand was all Loki needed to follow his mother down the Yggdrasill, towards the roots he had never ventured near. The trunk had been as far as he had gone before, wishing to see Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór for himself as they grazed beneath the World Tree. At the time he had found them surprisingly friendly and accepting of his presence rather than the skittish behavior he was accustomed to of most stags. Their behavior made far more sense now he knew of his true heritage.
"My Lady," a young voice greeted as soon as they appeared among the roots.
Loki looked over to find a face and body as young as the voice, fair of skin and beautiful as any maiden on Ásgarðr. She wore a simple purple dress, her long hair contained in a complex knot on top of her head.
"Urðr," Sága replied. "Where are the others?"
"They have gone to the Urðarbrunnr for water and sand."
Ah, so the Norns did dust sand over the Yggdrasill's boughs. Loki had thought he had seen some but it was hard to differentiate from the stardust which gleamed along the branches so he had not been certain.
"Shall I recall them?" Urðr inquired.
"No, they can meet Loki later, my son and I have much to discuss and not much time in which to do so," Sága responded.
"Of course. It is a pleasure and honor to finally meet you, my Lord. My Lady's creatures have spoken very highly of you, Níðhǫggr in particular."
"I- thank you," Loki replied, startled. "I have heard much of you too, Urðr."
"Ah, things perhaps not quite as they are?"
She had a sense of humor, Loki liked her. "Nay, not quite."
"Shall I bring some refreshments, my Lady?" Urðr asked.
"Please," Sága replied, causing Urðr to bow and leave.
"Where is sh-" Loki began before he cut himself off and waved a hand. "Let me guess, seiðr?"
"Naturally."
Loki was not entirely certain he was quite ready yet to call anything about his present circumstances natural, but perhaps in time he would. Instead he turned his attention to the network of roots which ran all around them. Some were thin, hardly thicker than his smallest finger, while others were more than twice the width of Thor's arms. They ran in every which direction, some spiraling in circles as if wrapped around something he could not see, others entirely straight. Light and energy raced along their lengths, running back up the way they had come, sustaining the trunk, boughs and Realms of the Yggdrasill.
It was a spectacle the likes of which even he had never seen before despite all of his prior visits to the World Tree and it filled him with no small sense of awe. Always one to analyze and question what he saw, it did not take Loki long to notice a peculiar pattern to the signals and he frowned, turning to follow as many of the roots with his eyes as he could. Was that what he thought it was? A few steps to the left and around a particularly large root brought a new part of the network into view, the section directly below the main trunk of the Yggdrasill itself.
What he saw made his breath catch in his throat and Loki froze in place. It was... But...
Everything he had ever learned of celestials rushed through his mind once more as Loki tried to understand exactly what it was he was seeing and all that it meant. Part of him found it obvious, but the rest of him was having trouble accepting it. Knowing and seeing. They went hand in hand, but not always easily or happily.
"Is that?" Loki asked.
"Yes."
Even the confirmation did little to help as what he was seeing was so astonishing and it took Loki several long moments before he could tear his eyes away and look at his mother's form beside him. This would take a while to become normal, even to him, as it was so very different from all that he had known before.
"Do not worry, Loki, I understand," Sága reassured him. "If anything it is my own fault for giving you away. Had you been raised by me, this would not seem so strange."
"Hmm. You wished to have words?" Loki finally inquired, drawing his attention away from the sight before him.
"Yes," Sága linked her arm with his, guiding him to where one of the roots flattened out and they could sit. "How are your plans progressing?"
"Very well. I have started connecting with the Soul Stone as well as working on wearing down Thanos' defenses. The second human I have chosen is also nearly ready to be resurrected."
"She is the one who will ensure they can aide you when you strike?"
"Aye."
Now that you all know who the 'son' in the Vormir segments was, I can say that the critical clue was there all along, in the date stamp. See the '965 A.D.' is the date from the beginning of Thor giving the time of the war with Jötunheimr and Loki's birth. I just tagged '2018 A.D.' onto all of the other scenes in order to make it as inconspicuous as possible.
In that same vein, I've hidden away other information that should give you all you need to discern the upcoming reveal about Sága. If you've caught the little clues. It would explain what Loki is looking at here which I've deliberately not described, because I'm mean like that.
Old Norse:
Níðhǫggr - a dragon/serpent who gnaws at a root of the world tree, "Malice Striker"
seiðr - witchcraft, sorcery / a type of sorcery practiced in Norse society during the Late Scandinavian Iron Age - i.e. magic
Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór - the four stags that eat the branches of the Yggdrasill
Urðr - one of the Norns, "fate"
Urðarbrunnr - a well which lies beneath the Yggdrasill, "Well of Urðr"