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A/N

This chapter was adapted from the short story of the same title that was found in a book called 'Norse Myths and Tales' by Dr Brittany Schorn.

I own the Hunter and all connected to him and the plot, nothing more.

Anything recognizable (for this chapter as well as the rest of the fic) is not mine.

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The wickedest of all the Aesir, none other than Red Loki himself, had done something of which he was very much ashamed to admit.

You see, he had gone and married a giantess; the ugliest, fiercest, and most dreaded giantess that had ever lived, and of course the wickedest of all the Aesir wanted none to know he had wedded one of their enemies. Father Odin would be indignant of his choice of bride, and none of his brothers would be grateful to him for giving them a sister-in-law so hideous.

And so he hid his wedding from all.

But alas the All-Father learned of Red Loki's deception.

Worst of all, he found that Loki and the giantess had four children hidden in the darkest reaches of earth – four children of whom Loki was even more ashamed of than their mother, though he loved them too. For two of them were the most terrible monsters which time had ever seen.

Hel, his daughter and second least ugly out of the four – though one could scarcely call her attractive – and was half black and half white, which must have looked very strange; and she was not easily mistaken by anyone who chanced to see her. She was fierce and grim to see, and the very sight of her caused terror and death to him who gaze upon her.

But for the other three!

One was an enormous wolf with long fierce teeth and flashing red eyes. Another was a scaly, slimy, horrible serpent that was hungrier than any serpent that had ever lived, and another hundred times more ferocious. The last of his four children was a shapeshifter that was as cunning and deceptive as Loki could have ever hoped for from his kin; using their abilities to create havoc wherever they went.

Can you wonder why Loki was ashamed of such children as these? The wonder is how he could find anything about them to love. But Loki's heart held a secret, for he loved evil in private, which included the chaos his children brought upon the earth.

Now when Odin discovered that four such monsters had been living in the world without his knowledge, he was both angry and furious, for he knew that these children of the mischievous Loki and his wicked giantess-wife were dangerous to the peace of Asgard. He consulted the Norns, the three wise maidens who lived beside the Urdar-well, and who could see into the future to tell what things were to happen in the coming years.

They bade him to beware Loki's children; they told him that three monsters would bring great sorrow upon Asgard, for the giantess that was their mother would teach them all her hatred of Odin's race, while they would possess their father's sly wisdom to help them in all mischief. So Odin knew that his fears had warned him truly and knew that something must be done to prevent the dangers which threatened Asgard.

Something needed to be done to keep the four out of mischief.

Father Odin sent for all the gods, and bade them to go forth over the world, find the children of Loki in the secret places where they were hidden, and bring them to him. Then the Aesir mounted their horses and set out on their difficult errand. They scoured Asgard, Midgard the world of men, Utgard, and Jotunheim where the giants lived. And at last they found three of the four horrible creatures hiding in their mother's cave. They dragged them forth and took them up to Asgard before Odin's high throne.

Now All-Father had been considering what should be done with the four monsters, knowing that three would cause great animosity and danger to Asgard, and when three of the four came, his mind was made up. Hel, the daughter, was less evil than the other two, but her face was dark and gloomy, and she brought death to those who looked upon her. She must be prisoned out of sight in some far place, where her sad eyes could not look sorrow into men's lives and death into their hearts. So he sent her down, down into the dark, cold land of Niflheim, which lay below one root of the great tree Yggdrasil. Here she must live forever and ever. And, because she was not wholly bad, Odin made her queen of that land, and for her subjects she was to have all the folk who died upon earth – except the heroes who perished in battle, for these the Valkyrs carried straight to Valhalla in Asgard. But all who died of sickness or of old age, all who met their deaths through accident or men's cruelty, were sent to Queen Hel, who gave them lodgings in her gloomy palace. Vast was her kingdom, huge as nine worlds, and it was surrounded by a high wall, so that no one who had once gone thither could never return. And here thenceforth Loki's daughter reigned among the shadows, herself half shadow and half light, half good and half bad.

But the Midgard serpent was a more dangerous beast even than Death. Odin frowned when he looked upon this monster writhing before his throne. He seized the scaley length in his mighty arms and hurled it forth over the wall of Asgard. Down, down went the great serpent, twisting and twirling as he fell, while all the sky was black with the smoke from his nostrils, and the sound of his hissing made every creature tremble. Down, down he fell with a great splash into the deep ocean which surrounded the world. There he lay writhing and squirming, growing always larger and larger, until he was so huge that he stretched like a ring about the whole earth, with his tail in his mouth, and his wicked eyes glaring up through the water towards Asgard which he hated. Sometimes he heaved himself up, great body and all, trying to escape and bring horrors to pass. But he was never able to drag his whole hideous length. For the evil in him had grown with his growth; and evil is the heaviest of all things to lift.

The third monster before the All-Father's throne was the Fenris wolf, and this was the most dreadful of the three. He was so terrible that at first Father Odin decided not to let him out of his sight. He lived in Asgard then, among the Aesir. Only Tyr the brave had the courage to give the beast food, and day by day Fenris grew; hungrier and hungrier, fiercer and fiercer, and finally, when All-Father saw how mighty Fenris had become, and how the wolf bid fair to bring destruction upon all Asgard if he were allowed to prowl and growl about as he saw fit, Odin resolved to have the beast chained up.

Twice the Aesir went to their smithies and forged long, strong chains – the likes none had forged before. But each time the great Fenris wolf was chained up, the beast just shook his great shoulders, kick his back legs, and - snap! - the links of the chain went whirling far and wide, and once more the fierce beast broke free.

They were alarmed for fear that they would never be able to make a chain mighty enough to hold the wolf, who was growing stronger every minute; but they sent Skirnir, Frey's trusty messenger, to the land of the dwarfs for help. "Make us a chain," was the message he bore from the Aesir, - "make us a chain stronger than any chain that was ever forged; for the Fenris wolf must be captured and bound, or the world must pay the penalty."

The dwarfs were the finest workmen in the world, as the Aesir knew; for it was they who made Thor's hammer, and Odin's spear, and Balder's famous ship, besides many other wonderous things that you remember. So when Skirnir gave them the message, they set to work with their little hammers and anvils, and before long they had welded a wonderful chain, such as no man had ever before seen. Strange things went to the making of it, - the sound of cat's footsteps, the roots of a mountain, a bear's sinews, a fish's breath, a golden-eyed tear, and other magic materials that only the dwarfs knew how to put together; and the result was a chain as soft and twistable as a silken cord, but stronger than an iron cable. With this chain Skirnir galloped back to Asgard, and with it the gods were sure of chaining Fenrir; but they meant to go about the business slyly, so that the wolf should not suspect the danger which was so near.

Despite their efforts, the great beast suspected a trick, and when they taunted him, he shook his might head.

"But even if you find that you cannot break our chain," the Aesir continued to taunt, "you need not be afraid. We shall set you free again."

"Set me free!" growled the wolf. "Yes, you will set me free and the end of the world, - not before! I know your ways, O Aesir; and if you are able to bind me so fast that I cannot free myself, I shall wait long to have the chain made loose. But no one shall call me a coward. If one of you will place his hand in my mouth and hold it there while the others bind me, I will let the chain be fastened."

The gods looked to one another, their mouths drooping. Who would do this thing and bear the fury of the angry wolf when he should find himself tricked and captured? Yet this was their only chance to bind the monster and protect Asgard from danger. At last bold Tyr stepped forward, the bravest of all the Aesir. "Open your mouth, Fenrir," he cried, with a laugh, "I will pledge my hand to the trial."

It was only then did the wolf yawn his great jaws, and Tyr thrust his good right hand, knowing full well that he was to lose it in the game. The Aesir stepped up with the dwarfs' magic chain, and Fenrir let them fasten it about his feet. But when the binds were drawn tight, he begun to struggle, and the more he tugged, the tighter drew the chain, so that he soon saw himself to be entrapped. Then how he writhed and kicked, howled and growled, in his terrible rage! How the heavens trembled and the earth shook below! The Aesir set up a laugh to see him so helpless – all except for Tyr; for at the first sound of laughter the wolf shut his great mouth with a click, and poor brave Tyr had lost his right hand which had done so many heroic deeds in battle, and which would never again wave a sword before the warriors whom he loved and would help to win the victory. But great was the honor which he won that day, for without his generous deed the Fenris wolf could never have been captured.

But although the monster was now safely secured by the strong chain which the dwarfs had made, a line appeared between the All-Father's brows. For despite having contained the three most fearsome of Loki's children, his good eye looked skywards as his mind went to the fourth – and currently missing – child. Calling to him his most loyalist of guards, Odin sent them off with one great task.

Capture the Hunter, no matter the cost.