Heimdall was standing in the observatory, hands on Höfund's handle, surrounded by the pure Asgardian gold. He was bored, which was typical for any guard or gatekeeper, but at least Heimdall had his eyesight to keep him entertained.
He loved to look out into the realms, to see what lay out there, or what was transpiring in the nine realms. Right now, he was watching a tropical, mountainous area on Midgard, as refugees were chased down by riders on horseback, with weapons in their hands.
He had known this story all too well, he had seen it dozens of times on countless realms. He watched as one of the men kissed what was presumably his mate and children, and went to sacrifice himself for his group. Heimdall could not help but think of how brave he was, worthy of ascension to Valhalla. He knew he likely did not follow the Asgardian gods, but he figured if he did, he would be a worthy addition to Odin's hall.
The riders slashed the man, and… 'Wait..' he thought to himself. He watched as the woman's candle was seemingly blessed, casting the riders into the distance, and the mountains around her growing.
'Magic… on Midgard?' he thought to himself, astounded by the discovery he had made. He skimmed the rest of the earth in search for any signs of magic, but found… none. He realized Midgard finally had achieved the ability to match other realms, even if it was just a few of them that could.
He hastily took Höfund from its place in the observatory, placed it on his back, and ran for the Palace. He had done this before, he had done it to warn the Allfather of impending threats. He knew that the last time Midgard was involved with Asgard was before his watch began, and it was the Jotunns that caused that encounter, not the Midgardians themselves. He knew this was different.
He was in good physical shape, he was barely out of breath by the time he made it to the palace. He entered the halls, as the guards were aware of the urgency Heimdall would have to be running to the palace, and he was the trusted gatekeeper, after all.
There Odin sat on his throne. Heimdall came before him, caught his breath for a second, and kneeled. The Allfather spoke. "What is the news you have brought that you have come to me with such urgency, Gatekeeper?"
Heimdall looked up. "Magic on Midgard." This seemed to bring alarm to the face of the Allfather.
"Can you be certain of this? Midgard has lacked magic since the birth of the realms." Odin said, his voice booming through the halls of the palace.
"My eyes have never failed me before, my liege."
Odin's right eyebrow cocked, over his eye patch. "Guards, summon my children and the Warriors Three. I want nobody else in or out of the throne room."
10 minutes passed by. Heimdall had set up the 'hologram' with a map of the magical place. Loki came in first, with Thor and the Warriors Three following behind a minute later.
"What's the situation, Father?" Thor asked, his voice filling the hall.
"Heimdall will brief you, to catch you all up."
Heimdall spoke. "A group of Refugees on Midgard have somehow created a unique magical system. This is the first time ever during my watch that the Midgardians have concerned Asgard without interference from another realm."
"Midgard is incapable of Magic. That's not possible." piped up Volstagg. Fandral gave a "Hmm" in agreement.
"Do you doubt the eyesight of your gatekeeper?" Heimdall spoke up.
Loki looked intrigued by this change of events. Heimdall could only wonder what was going on under that skull of his.
"Father, dispatch me to Midgard and let me embed into the place where this 'magic' is. I am unparalleled in my ability to blend in, or stay hidden. I could be there for a hundred years and they wouldn't even know it." Loki suggested, with an eager tone. It was obvious he wanted to go.
"Heimdall, what language do they speak?" asked Thor. Although he was typically uninterested in the affairs of Midgard, in this case he seemed attentive and in the present. Heimdall looked into the area where the magic moved the mountains. He now saw a large house, not quite as big as the palace, but still too large to have been built by hand in an hour. There was a town in the valley now, with people roaming. He listened into a conversation.
"I am uncertain."
"Show me where they are on a map of Midgard, I might recognize it." Loki suggested, seemingly curious yet confident that he might have learned of the place in his centuries of studies. Heimdall knew that Loki was well-educated.
Fandral zoomed the map out to cover the entirety of Earth, with an orange glowing dot on a mountainous area on a continent.
"Looks like Latin-America." Loki said, summoning one of his books, which contained a map of each of the realms. He flipped it to a page titled Midgard. "A nation called Colombia. They likely speak a dialect of Spanish."
"I don't understand why this is important, we have the Allspeak." said Thor, obviously confused.
"Dear brother, the Allspeak leaves an Asgardian accent in whatever language you are speaking. That's why mother still put us in language electives. Luckily, one of the languages I learned was Cuban Spanish, they will think I was just an immigrant from Cuba."
Odin slammed Gungnir into the ground, the sound booming throughout the palace, silencing everyone. "Loki will be embedded into this place for exactly 86 Human years, and it may extend if their lifespans are extended by their… 'Magic.' Cast the illusion of age on yourself as the time progresses."
"Thank you, Father." Loki said happily, surprisingly grateful for this assignment. Heimdall had rarely seen Loki satisfied, even with his allsight.
"Heimdall, you will keep an eye on him. Make sure the Bifrost bridge is not sighted by them. Do it while they're sleeping, and at the edge of the valley."
"Yes, my liege." Heimdall kneeled in obedience.
"Loki, as soon as you are embedded, cover up the markings of the Bifrost. I will consult Frigga about getting you a culturally appropriate set of clothes." Loki nodded in obedience.
"Thor, Warriors Three, you will be contacted immediately after Heimdall informs me if something goes wrong. You will be dispatched to retrieve him if he is uncovered, stealth will not be necessary at that point." Thor put his head down, while the Warriors Three kneeled behind him, fists on their heart and head down.
"Loki, son, this is your chance to make me proud." Odin finished.
"I will not let you down."
Heimdall returned to the Bifrost, walking. He stood there for hours, observing the Colombians. He learned a great deal, they had had dinner with some of the families and he learned that the leading family was a family called the Madrigals. They determined that the candle was a gift from God. He learned that the head of the Madrigal family was the wife of the man who sacrificed himself, and that the large house was… alive. She had triplets; one was a boy, and two girls.
Loki came in, followed by Thor and the Warriors Three. Loki was dressed in brown pants, with a white button-up shirt and a dark-green wool poncho. Thor and the warriors were in their standard outfits. He could hear Fandral poking fun at Loki about the poncho.
"I see you are ready to be sent to Midgard, Loki." Heimdall said.
"You know me well, Heimdall." Loki responded, as he went to stand in front of the gateway. "Are they sleeping yet?"
"Yes."
"Then I guess it's time." Loki said, turning around. "Farewell brother, friends." he said, before turning back around to the gateway.
Heimdall was still suspicious about Loki's intentions, he was extremely eager. Heimdall also knew that Loki's deepest desire was to be useful to his family and kingdom. That must be it.
"Are you sure you are ready?" asked Heimdall.
"I am, Heimdall. You already asked me." Loki said, seemingly annoyed.
Heimdall turned Höfund on its pedestal, as arcs began running from its pommel to the ceiling. The observatory sphere began to spin, with the floor staying still. The sphere kept spinning as it rotated into position and shot the rainbow bridge out into the realms. Loki was sucked in, and the observatory returned to its idle position.
Heimdall watched as Loki's bridge landed at the edge of the valley. Nobody seemed to notice, but he did notice the large house shutter a little. He presumed that the living house; which the town referred to as Casita, felt the vibrations. No matter, the town probably thought it was a light tremor. After all, their mountains had just grown a matter of hours ago. Nobody was looking at the sky this late, he knew it. After all, he saw it all.