Happy Halloween everyone, this is my favorite holiday! 🎃👻🍁 ️ 💀 ️
And it's the eve of NaNoWriMo too :)
The rest of the afternoon was spent with a mixture of doing parchmentwork and dealing with the fallout of what had occurred. For all of that, Loki managed to accomplish a surprising amount of work. The fact his brother had already checked over the King's Funds application responses helped, and it meant he could simply sign them and send them off. He was a little surprised Thor had not mentioned anything to him about his choices, though he supposed his brother might have been sidetracked by Loki's breakdown earlier in the afternoon.
Most of the members of the High Council also stopped by at one point or another to report in on the various tasks he had assigned them.
"It would seem Huginn and Muninn were correct," Lord Aðalgrímr said, as he took the seat Loki had indicated. "The ljósálfar believe 'twas the ignition of the Yggdrasill."
"Did they say why they thought so?" Loki asked, genuinely curious.
"Apparently, they have records of previous such occurrences and today's incident matches all of the signs thereof," Lord Aðalgrímr explained. "The music you yourself and Prince Vé mentioned, the fact every single seiðberandi was affected, and the excess seiðr in the air. Then they had a few others. They said known portals leading to other Realms became visible to all and emitted the... song of the Yggdrasill for all to hear, not simply those trained as seiðberandi."
"Truly?"
"Aye. I sent a message to those King Óðinn has standing watch over the portal we were examining, and they reported the same."
"Interesting."
"Additionally, the ljósálfar say it strengthened existing portals and grew new ones."
"General Týr is going to have a field day with that particular piece of information."
Lord Aðalgrímr smiled at the comment. "He already has a group of Einherjar searching the vault even now."
Of course the man did. General Týr was predictably paranoid if nothing else. In this instance, though, Loki would allow him to search the vault. It would put the general's mind at ease and it would save him having to reveal precisely how much he knew of portals, which could lead to all manner of uncomfortable questions as to why.
"Were there any other signs of the ignition?" Loki asked instead.
"Aye," Lord Aðalgrímr frowned. "Lord Kvasir said something of a living model of the Yggdrasill?"
"Ah, of course. It looks like a hologram of the World Tree, but 'twas somehow connected to the Yggdrasill when it was created. No one knows how 'twas done anymore, but it seems to be accurate. At least when Svartálfaheimr was wiped clean of almost all life, it dimmed on the model."
"You have seen this model?" Lord Aðalgrímr questioned with wide eyes.
Loki smiled at the memory. "Only the once, a very long time ago. I had just passed one of the bigger milestones in my ljósálfarian seiðr studies that few non-ljósálfar do, and Queen Sága showed it to me as a reward."
"'Twas generous of her."
"It had come up during my studies and I had asked about it. Apparently differently from how others did."
"I see," Lord Aðalgrímr paused. "I have to admit, Your Majesty, I was not aware of the extent of your connection with Álfheimr before... now."
Before his coronation. Which was odd.
"Father was aware of most of it," Loki said, though he could not immediately recall if he had mentioned the living model of the Yggdrasill.
He had intended to, but if he recalled correctly there had been some celebration about to start for some feat of Thor's, so he may never have had the chance to mention it. He knew he had spoken of his seiðr accomplishment, but it had been brushed aside, so 'twas entirely possible he had kept the rest to himself. Aye, Loki was almost certain that is what had happened now he thought on it. He had kept news of the model to himself out of spite at being ignored once again.
Oops.
Well, he had said 'most' rather than all. Thus, 'twas not strictly a lie.
"I am uncertain why he did not inform you of it," Loki continued, easily.
"'Tis of no matter," Lord Aðalgrímr replied politely. "But now I know who to come to with questions on the ljósálfar."
"I will do my best, but even I am no expert on their ways," Loki laughed.
The ljósálfar could be quite odd at times.
"Duly noted," Lord Aðalgrímr smiled. "But that was what Álfheimr reported. As Huginn and Muninn said, even Queen Sága succumbed to the effects of this ignition of the Yggdrasill."
Loki hummed in response. "And what of Vanaheimr?"
"They reported similar instances as here, with everyone succumbing including your uncle."
"No one else remained awake?"
"Nay, but the really interesting thing is Queen Sága apparently outright asked if you had managed to remain awake."
'Twas odd and yet further evidence to Loki that Álfheimr's queen may be prophetic. Or at the very least far more knowledgeable in various aspects of seiðr than she let on to most. Their respective statuses had always irked him as it had prevented him from approaching her to request an apprenticeship. He knew many others had tried and failed, so he knew his own chances would have been quite slim, but he still would have appreciated the opportunity to officially do so. Alas, he already knew what his father would say to the mere suggestion of it, so he had never bothered to ask.
Abstract rejection was somehow easier to deal with than outright rejection. If not by much.
"Truly?" Loki asked. "I am beginning to think she knows something we do not."
"The thought had occurred to me as well," Lord Aðalgrímr admitted. "You have no idea what it could be?"
"Beyond the fact she may be a seer who has some idea of what is to come? Nay."
And 'twas true even. Sure, Loki knew she may be interested in his ability to sky walk if she were aware of it, but this was more, or something far bigger than that. Could it be she too knew of what he and Loptr had done? But if so, how? She was not like Muninn, who was the embodiment of memory. Unless...
Unless Sága had seen the future as it should have originally been, and now things were clearly different. It would still make her knowledge of his involvement a little harder to explain unless she had seen what Loptr had done as well. It would be a lot of seeing of precisely the right things, but 'twas theoretically possible.
Loki wished he were alone so he could curse and swear and throw a bit of a temper tantrum rather than needing to remain composed. Everyone had already witnessed him being erratic and weak enough to not need that on top of everything else.
If Heimdallr and the Idiots Four had acted now, Loki could have almost understood it. He was definitely not the most composed or dignified king Ásgarðr had ever had. At least he was certain to have made enough of a mark to be remembered as having been king, even if only a regent for such a short spell. Well, hopefully.
"Then I shall keep an eye on it," Lord Aðalgrímr stated, before he hesitated. "If I may ask a more personal question, my King?"
Oh, now Loki was intrigued.
"Aye."
"You used to date Lady Sigyn and you danced with her again, recently."
"I did."
"Ah... your relationship with Lord Kvasir?"
Oh.
"I did not break his daughter's heart, if 'tis what you are concerned about," Loki informed him, knowing this was all Heimdallr's fault. Otherwise Lord Aðalgrímr would never have thought to question Kvasir's loyalty. "We parted on amicable terms due to her father's assignment to Álfheimr. There is no ill will towards me on anyone's part there."
"Thank you, Majesty. In that case, I will inform Lord Kvasir and ask him to see if he can uncover why Queen Sága appears so interested in you."
"Thank you, Lord Aðalgrímr. Is there anything else?"
"Merely a question. Does Miðgarðr have any seiðberandi as far as you are aware?"
Loki blinked at the shift in the conversation. "A few, none very strong last I was there, most of their cultures had... abandoned seiðr. Why?"
"Lord Birgir and I have been discussing our next communication with the humans, collating some information we promised them, and he asked if we should inform them of what happened to the Yggdrasill."
"Ah, of course," Loki responded. "We promised to share more information, did we not?"
"Aye."
"Then I would inform them. If they are aware of any seiðberandi, it will explain what happened to them and, if they do not, then they will either not believe us or know we are keeping them updated on matters which affect them."
"Not believe us?"
"The last time I was on Miðgarðr, several cultures had started relegating seiðr to the realm of fantasy."
The smile already spreading on his old mentor's face told Loki Lord Aðalgrímr knew exactly all the fun he had been able to have with that particular lack of belief.
"Can I inquire as to what punishment Lady Sif and the Warriors Three are likely to receive tomorrow? For preparatory purposes."
"Preparatory?" Loki retorted as there was a knock on the study door. "Enter!"
"It would allow Lord Birgir and me to finish our missive to Miðgarðr."
The door opened and Lord Ragnvaldr entered, hesitating as he saw Lord Aðalgrímr. Loki waved him closer.
"I am certain you can prepare it almost in its entirety without that information, you know the charges," Loki told his old mentor.
"I can come back later if it would be more optimal," Lord Ragnvaldr said.
"Nay, nay, Lord Aðalgrímr was ready to leave," Loki said, before he raised an eyebrow. "Unless there was something else?"
"Nay," Lord Aðalgrímr replied. "Simply that."
Loki could not fault the man his curiosity, he was far too aware of all of the trouble his own had managed to get him entangled in.
"Majesty," Lord Aðalgrímr bowed and left.
"How are you doing?" Lord Ragnvaldr questioned as he took his customary seat.
"Better," Loki replied.
'Twas true too. He had been slowly assimilating the excess seiðr into his own while he worked. Normally he would have been long done, but, with his core as badly damaged as 'twas, the process took time even with the ease with which the wild seiðr blended with his own.
"Good," Lord Ragnvaldr said. "I do not think we can take many more shocks of that nature."
There had been rather a lot of scares lately.
"Hmm," Loki agreed, eyes flickering over to where the head of his guard stood. "Otherwise, I shall be responsible for making Lieutenant-General Yngvarr gray prematurely as well."
"As well?"
"Father still swears I am the cause of his gray," Loki groused. "Which would be more believable if I could remember him not being gray."
Lord Ragnvaldr laughed. "I can confirm he was gray before your birth." The man's voice dropped to a whisper. "He went gray rather early."
"Let me guess, I did not hear it from you?" Loki asked.
"Hear what?"
A hunger pang reminded Loki 'twas nearly time for dinner, so he decided to move things along. To that end, he picked up the King's Fund parchments he had signed and handed them over to Lord Ragnvaldr.
"Thank you for having them sorted," Loki said.
"From what I hear, it was passed along to a few people," Lord Ragnvaldr said.
"Delegation is important."
"Aye, and speaking of which, I have sent word to various areas of Ásgarðr regarding what happened and I was able to find Gróa's address."
As he said it, his advisor handed over a small piece of parchment which Loki took and placed aside.
"Thank you," Loki replied. "Should I say something tonight?"
"I believe it would be best as people know you would have been affected, so seeing you are well enough to attend the feast and address people will go a long way to alleviating any fear or anxiety which might have sprung up as a result of what happened."
"Do we know if our guest was affected?"
"He was, but luckily he was in his chambers and one of the servants found him and ensured he was lying comfortably for most of it."
"Good. Is there anything else which is urgent or can it all wait until after the trial tomorrow?"
"There is nothing which will not keep other than one item, but I am still awaiting some information on it."
"Excellent," Loki said as he rose to his feet. "Will you be joining us at the feast?"
"If you have need of me, I can be there."
In other words, Lord Ragnvaldr did not want to be there tonight. A closer look showed the man did appear tired and it had been a frantic and stressful few days for all of them.
"Nay, 'twas simply a question," Loki said.
"In that case, I believe I shall retire early tonight, my Liege."
The Great Hall was packed as always, but Loki could detect the subtle change in the atmosphere as he entered the hall from behind the high table. 'Twas not a noticeable dip in volume, but rather a shift in attention and many people glanced over at him.
A quick look around showed why as those who possessed seiðr, whether trained in how to utilize it or not, were either absent or visibly under the weather. Compared to them, he would look radiant even with his now near chronic lack of sleep. He made certain to smile reassuringly as he moved to his seat.
Loki was happy to note Lady Borgunna had decided to place Lord Bragi next to him on the left, Uncle Vé and Aunt Ilmr's absence easily allowed for the extra room, but the placing pleased him since he had not had the opportunity to speak with this skáld before. Unfortunately, despite the man's excellent reputation, he had never before performed on Ásgarðr to Loki's knowledge. If he had seiðr, that could explain part of the reason why.
Not to mention, Loki liked to flatter himself, why the other had chosen to come here now of all times.
As he approached the head table, Loki waved down those who would rise. Instead, he moved to his chair and waited. The hall quieted almost immediately as people realized he wished to speak.
'Twas an aspect of kingship he could become used to.
It still did not make all of the rest worthwhile. Luckily, he had other objectives which did.
"I am certain you are all aware there was an event late this afternoon which affected all of those with seiðr. I myself felt its effects as well," Loki began, eyes sweeping the hall. "The cause of it is something which has not happened for several millennia and 'tis known as the ignition of the Yggdrasill."
Murmurs of worry and alarm.
"Nay, 'tis not something which adversely affects the World Tree," Loki hastened to add. "In fact, it seems to have done rather the opposite, revitalizing and energizing the Yggdrasill. What those sensitive to seiðr felt today was the excess energy and seiðr which rippled through the World Tree and all Nine Realms borne by it. So what we felt was shared by all of those living in the Nine, but not beyond.
While I know the aftereffects are somewhat painful to deal with, particularly for the very young for whom this might be their first experience with these symptoms."
A ripple of laughter as most æsir children overindulged at some point after their minor majority. So the effects of overindulgence were not commonly unknown.
"Take heart in the fact you have now experienced something few normally do," Loki said, feeling the sharpening interest of people as he spoke. "The music you heard at the start? 'Twas the song of the Yggdrasill, normally heard only by the most powerful of seiðberandi."
There was a wave of shock, disbelief and, aye, the first stirrings of jealousy as Loki finally took his seat. Let them be jealous of those with seiðr for once, it happened precious little and Loki was all for ensuring those who had mocked him before suffered for it now.
"Loki," Thor said as soon as he was seated, gesturing towards the man on his other side. "This is Skáld Bragi."
"Ah, aye, I had been informed you were gracing us with your presence today," Loki said, turning to the man.
He was shorter than the average áss with blue tinged brown hair, oddly shaped ears Loki could not immediately place, pointed at the bottom rather than the top, and eyes somewhere between gray and purple.
"The honor is all mine, King Loki," Lord Bragi replied. "I must say, your Lady Borgunna has extended me every courtesy since my arrival and she had even offered for one of your bands to accompany me later, if I had so desired."
"Your reputation precedes you," Loki stated. "And I do not believe you have visited Ásgarðr in an official capacity before."
"Nay, I have not. My interest has always been more in seiðr than anything else, so I was not certain I would find a ready welcome on Ásgarðr. But your reputation precedes you as well, King Loki, and I thought to use the opportunity of your regency to visit the eternally golden city."
Loki bit his lower lip at the latter. 'Twas a slightly negative title for Ásgarðr born in its title of the Eternal Realm and the fact Óðinn, and most æsir, liked gold more than was natural. 'Twas a sentiment Loki on the whole agreed with, and it never failed to amuse him when the words were used and went right over the heads of any æsir present. Like now.
The way Lord Bragi's eyes flickered, though, made Loki think the skáld had realized he knew of the darker meaning. Loki had to say he enjoyed the hint of wariness which appeared in those oddly colored eyes. He had no doubt 'twas his own reputation putting it there rather than any fear inspired by his current status.
Among magical circles, he was known to always exact his vengeance if slighted or wronged. Creatively.
Loki was rather proud of the latter as he despised doing the same thing over and over again. Not only was it boring, but 'twas predictable as well and the latter could be deadly for someone in his position.
"So your tales are more magical in nature?" Thor asked, his disappointment evident though Loki was relatively certain his brother was actually trying to hide it. "None are of battles?"
Loki rolled his eyes. "The two are not mutually exclusive, Thor."
"Nay, indeed not," Lord Bragi agreed. "Some of the biggest battles fought in the history of the Yggdrasill were won mostly with seiðr. I thought, given the tapestries outside of Valaskjálf, this might be more known here than I had originally assumed."
"Those have only just been moved there," Loki replied, surprised at how quickly it had been done. "Only the last few were replaced," he hastily added before his brother could protest. "Those post battle."
Hopefully Thor would understand what he meant, Loki did not want to come right out and state it with a foreign visitor present.
There was a brief lull in the conversation as the food and drink were brought out, and plates and drinking horns were filled.
"Your Majesty, if I may inquire, you spoke earlier of the ignition of the Yggdrasill," Lord Bragi began once they had commenced eating.
"Aye, 'twas the ljósálfar who first identified it, but all of the signs point to them being correct," Loki replied. "My own experiences correlate with what little is known of the ignition of the Yggdrasill."
"As does my own. I am actually rather pleased I was within the Nine for it. 'Tis not something I would have wished to miss, despite the aftereffects."
"Do you often travel outside of the Nine?" Thor asked.
'Twas something neither of them had as much opportunity to do aside from Nornheimr, which they visited more often by virtue of its proximity to the Yggdrasill, and it therefore being the most strategic landing point for anyone wishing to attack the Nine.
"Aye, my father was quasmori and so half of my family live beyond the Nine Realms," Lord Bragi explained.
"Does this mean you can perform non-Yggdrasilli seiðr?" Loki questioned.
'Twas something he had always greatly desired to learn more of, but tutors in it were quite rare within the Nine as 'twas so much easier to do Yggdrasill based seiðr here. Still, his never-ending curiosity drove him to learn what precious little of it he could. Well, within reason. Even he had balked at the type of attention the Grand Master of Sakaar had seemed to want in exchange for helping him do so when Óðinn had taken him and Thor along on a diplomatic trip several centuries ago. 'Twas one of the last times he had retreated to the safety of the guards, and some of the Einherjar must have either sensed it or noticed something amiss with the Grand Master's behavior, as he had perpetually had two shadows for the rest of their stay there.
"What little of it I can do," the skáld replied. "Alas, quasmori seiðr is blood based and, being of mixed heritage, my abilities are sadly limited."
"That is a pity," Loki said absently, wondering what Óðinn would have done if Ásgarðr's seiðr had been bloodborne.
He feared his adoptive father would have simply left it and pretended he had none. Loki shuddered at the mere thought. His seiðr was him; he could not imagine being without it.
"Aye, but there is nothing I can do about it," Lord Bragi shrugged.
"I wonder, will what happened today make every seiðkona as picky about instrumental music as you, Brother?" Thor mused.
"What?" Loki asked.
"Well, you seem to hardly like even the best musicians who have come to perform here. Mother and I thought 'twas because you have been hearing this song of the Yggdrasill for centuries."
An interesting theory, but his brother simply had to voice it before one of the best known skálds in the Nine. Although, if Lord Bragi thought it special enough to mention elsewhere, well, Loki could do worse than to be spoken of by a skáld focusing on seiðr.
The more Loki thought of it, the more he liked the idea. Even if it clashed horribly with the part of him which urged him to keep his magical skills secret.
Still, the desire to be sung about by a skáld...
"This was not the first time you have heard the song of the Yggdrasill?" Lord Bragi asked, completely abandoning his dinner to focus those peculiar eyes on Loki.
"Nay," Loki replied, taking a sip of his mead and savoring both it and the man's riveted attention. "I have heard it on and off since I first started studying seiðr as a child."
"So young?"
"Hmm."
"So what do you think, Skáld?" Thor asked. "Will you now be pickier about music than before?"
"I will definitely never forget it, but my exposure to it was fleeting at best," Lord Bragi replied. "Nay, I believe it shall haunt me in my dreams or tease at the edge of my awareness as I fall asleep, rather than act as a measure of comparison for other music. Besides, 'twas very otherworldly, distinctly different from anything else I have ever heard before, here or outside of the Nine."
Loki thought there was something very poetic to the first part of the skáld's words. He rather liked the image of the World Tree's song haunting others thus. It almost made up for the fact he was no longer nearly alone in knowing what it sounded like.
Almost.
Well, other than for his mother, of course. Or Sigyn.
The temptation to reach for Gungnir and check to see if she was alright rose hard and fast within him and Loki had to fight it off. Sigyn was on one of the Realms which was best situated to deal with the effects of this. She would be fine.
Still, the thought of her injured due to something he had done... it made Loki feel vaguely ill.
"Do we know how long it went on for?" Lord Bragi asked.
"Nearly half a candlemark," Loki replied.
"That is a very specific response."
Loki smiled. "Blame my overprotective guards. They are rather certain of precisely how long it took."
Lord Bragi laughed.
"I do not think you understand quite how frightening 'twas for the rest of us," Thor protested. "And I did not even see you at your worst with the light show you apparently put on."
"Light show?" Lord Bragi asked, eyes brightening in curiosity.
Well, Álfheimr and Vanaheimr already knew, so what could it hurt to let a skáld know?
"I managed to avoid succumbing to the effects by discharging the excess seiðr," Loki explained.
"Thus creating a light show, aye," Lord Bragi realized, before his expression turned wary. "But you say it as if 'twas so simple. The excess seiðr."
False modesty had never been his thing. 'Twas a trait Loki knew he shared with Thor, but, well, he had been raised as an Óðinnson and a certain level of arrogance simply came with that.
"I would not say 'twas simple," Loki replied instead, trailing off.
"But not impossible either."
"Obviously not."
Loki could not help it, he preened somewhat at the level of awe in the skáld's voice. 'Twas so rare for him to draw this kind of attention due to his seiðr, he could not help but savor it.
"I would ask for advice, but that would require having been aware long enough to have been able to implement any of it. Alas, I was pulled under almost before I knew something was transpiring."
"You dedicate so much of your talents to seiðr when you yourself have so little of it?" Thor questioned in confusion.
"Thor," Loki admonished, wishing he could not believe his brother had uttered those words, but knowing better.
He doubted Thor even realized the insult he had given.
"Nay, 'tis alright, Your Majesty," Lord Bragi said. "'Tis a question I am often asked and I can understand why. But it stems from a false premise when it comes to the regard seiðr has within so much of the Nine."
"A false premise?" Thor frowned.
"Aye. When it comes to seiðr, many seem to believe as you do, that one must be talented at it in order to appreciate it. Yet we do not do this with so many other things."
"Like what?"
"Great feats of strength and battle prowess, for instance."
Oh, Loki could see where the skáld was going with this and he was intrigued to witness his brother's reaction to it.
"Those are noble deeds, worthy of such praise," Thor started, making anger flash through Loki.
The immediately obvious implication of his brother's words was that great feats of seiðr were not such noble deeds.
"Why?" Lord Bragi demanded, bluntly. "Why are they noble deeds and worthy of such praise while great feats of seiðr are not?"
"Because the use of tricks in battle is dishonorable and-"
The way his brother abruptly cut off told Loki Thor had, for once, realized what he was saying before the words had fully left his mouth. He was impressed, for his brother 'twas true progress.
Not that it took any of the sting out of Thor's words. Alas, 'twas nothing new. Loki was well aware of how most of Ásgarðr viewed his use of seiðr.
Absently, he noted the somewhat awkward silence which had fallen over the whole of the high table, all of them waiting for him to react. Yet, what could he do? He had tried protesting their views often in the past and it had never gained him any favor or headway, simply further insults and pain. He found he did not have the energy or will to do so now, far too exhausted for this type of battle on top of everything else, even if it made him look weak before the others. Instead, he considered his half empty drinking horn for a second before tossing the rest of the mead back in one go.
"I see, so you consider your father dishonorable then?" Lord Bragi asked calmly.
Loki's eyes snapped over to the skáld, wondering if the man had a death wish or simply did not realize he was taking his life into his own hands.
"You dare dishonor my father!" Thor thundered, starting to rise to his feet.
With a sigh, Loki reached out and pulled his brother back down.
"Loki!" Thor began in protest.
"Oh, shut up and listen for once," Loki snapped. "He merely asked you a question."
"One that implied Father-"
"He did not imply anything, rather you did."
That seemed to shut his brother up, Thor's mouth clicking closed audibly.
"Good," Loki said, glancing around the table quickly and catching the slight smile on Uncle Vili's face. Clearly, he was not the only one who knew where this was going. "Now, use your words instead of your fists."
A dark flush came over his brother's face and Loki saw Thor's fists clench, but he did not care. Being subtle with Thor did not work and he was fed up with his brother's unthinking anti-seiðr attitude. He would not stand for it as king.
"You implied my father had no honor," Thor hissed through clenched teeth, glaring at the skáld.
"Nay, I merely asked if you thought he had none," Lord Bragi correctly, calmly.
"Nay, of course not!"
"Yet you said only those who had none fought with seiðr. Surely you are aware Óði-," Loki's eyes flashed at Lord Bragi in warning. "Sorry, King Óðinn, has used his seiðr in battle on many an occasion, including in all of his greatest victories."
"I..." Thor began. "Nay, he did not."
"Ymir, Malekith, Surtr, Thanos-"
Loki had to fight not to flinch at the name, all that Loptr had said (and quite clearly not said) the Man Titan had done to him flashing across his mind. Though he knew he could never picture how bad it had been (Loki had long since learned things could always be worse), his imagination nevertheless was determined to try.
"- and Laufey," Lord Bragi finished.
"Wait, Laufey?" Uncle Vili questioned. "He used no seiðr there."
"Nay?"
"Nay, I saw the whole fight myself."
"I see," Lord Bragi paused. "Then pray tell, Prince Vili, what King Óðinn did use in that battle."
"Gungnir."
"This Gungnir?"
The skáld moved a hand towards the staff which Loki had automatically placed between himself and Thor. Despite how far from Gungnir Lord Bragi still was, Loki felt his seiðr and muscles tense at even the gesture towards his most obvious, and currently strongest, weapon. He was not certain how he might have reacted had Livunn not chosen that exact moment to lean forwards and refill his drinking horn with mead, forcing the skáld to lower his arm.
Crazy, overprotective woman. Loki truly was fond of her.
"Aye, of course that Gungnir," Uncle Vili retorted. "Do you know of another?"
"Nay," Lord Bragi answered. "'Tis merely that Gungnir fairly glows with seiðr, so I would like to know how you claim your brother did not use seiðr in the fight if he used his spear."
Loki could see it the moment his uncle understood what the skáld was saying. The mixed looks of horror and shock on the table's occupants were truly wonderful and he basked in the ripples of chaos which washed off of them.
He had known the evening would be good and Lord Bragi had not even truly begun.
"Unless you mean to tell me he used it solely as a spear," the skáld continued. "Though 'tis not what I have heard."
"I... but... nay," Thor denied.
"Gungnir is a weapon forged in seiðr and strong with it," Loki confirmed, curious whether Lord Bragi would dare to take his opening to its logical conclusion.
He just so thought the skáld might.
"As is Mjǫllnir," Lord Bragi stated.
...
Just how do we think Thor will react to that? So many notions of his to dispel in so little time...
Not to mention our favorite little diva trying to convince he wouldn't want to be sung of 😂
And this chapter has pretty much the only reference to Ragnarök that this fic will contain. Most of that film couldn't be worked into this 'verse, but the Grand Master was someone who could given how long he's lived and how his existence doesn't rely on anything else from the movie being true.
I think this chapter also held my favorite word swap found to date while editing this fic: Word Tree instead of World Tree! I love the imagery it inspires and wish I had enough talent to actually draw it!
The wonderful Lilituism has once again provided us with some fantastic artwork for this fic. And not just 1 illustration this time, but 2! One for each of the last 2 chapters. A link to it can be found at the end of this chapter over on AO3. I just love the ghostly little Ratatoskr on Loki's shoulder!
Happy Halloween & best of luck to any fellow NaNoers!
Old Norse:
skáld - poet who composed skaldic poetry
ljósálfar - "light elves"
áss - "one of the gods/æsir"
Valaskjálf - one of Óðinn's halls, the room with Hliðskjálf – i.e. the throne room
seiðr - witchcraft, sorcery / a type of sorcery practiced in Norse society during the Late Scandinavian Iron Age - i.e. magic
seiðkona - a combination of seiðr ("witchcraft") + kona ("woman") - i.e. witch/sorceress/mage
seiðberandi - sorcerers
Up next week: The tale of Thanos...