WOLVERINE'S WORLD - THE GOD OF THUNDER
Olivia was laying half-collapsed in her puddle of bloody rainwater. It was from there that she'd made her plea.
Thor helped her to her feet. He was huge - easily a head and shoulder taller than Olivia, and Olivia was a tall woman. Removing his long red cloak, the god of thunder carefully wrapped it around her bare body. I noticed that when he touched Olivia, it was not as man - even a man with innocent intentions - might handle a woman. Instead, it was as if he was a father seeing after his daughter.
It was all too much for Olivia. Clutching at Thor, she buried her face in his chest. Thor held Olivia, stroking her hair and gently rocking her.
My women were kneeling. Anna was staring at Thor in rapt fascination. Emma kept her eyes averted - doing her best to show appropriate courtesy while not violating her oath to reject other pantheons. Rahne was on her hands and knees. She had her head to the rain-soaked ground and was whispering one heartfelt prayer after another.
I was on my feet. I am a seeker of the Old One. His spirit guides me. His spirit is within me. I do not kneel to any man... or any god.
Olivia became calmer. Thor picked her up and cradled her gently - Mjolnir dangling from his wrist by the loop attached to its handle. Olivia was breathing slowly and easily and her eyes were closed as she rested in the thunder god's arms. It seemed impossible that she was asleep, but she seemed so at peace.
Thor finally looked in our direction. His eyes met mine. I crossed my arms over my chest and bowed slightly. No, I wouldn't kneel to Thor, but one of the lessons of a long life is that courtesy costs you nothing, yet can save your life.
"I can see your grandfather around your eyes," Thor told me thoughtfully, "but actually, you take more after your grandmother. Tell me, did you know her?"
"No, honored one. She died when I was very young. I have no memory of her."
"She was a fine woman," Thor said with a slow nod of his head. "And a great warrior. When Rogers put together a war-band of Avengers that included your grandfather and grandmother, they treated each other as if they were a respected elder brother and a beloved younger sister, but many of us wondered if they would join together someday. The furies that drove them seemed in abeyance when they were near each other."
"I know your grandfather's tale," Thor continued after a brief pause, "but tell me, how did your grandmother find her end?"
"It was during the final war against the Sentinels," I answered steadily. "By then, she was a lady of many years, but she took to the field anyway. She destroyed the last of the demon-machines, but in the end, her injuries and the strain of battle were too much for her."
Then I paused before continuing - not sure what to say, but knowing that there was so much more to tell. "Among my people, there is a day sworn to her memory. Children smear a streak of ash into their hair and destroy wooden replicas of Sentinels. We give them sweets for their courage, and it is said that if the ritual is ever forgotten, the Sentinels will return."
Thor nodded slowly. There was something distant in his eyes. I suppose he's seen many mortal endings. And all too often, some of them had been friends.
Actually, I understood the feeling quite well. It can make you seem strangely hollow - as if those who are gone are real and somehow you are not. It is exactly the opposite of what some might expect.
"A shame the beliefs of your grandfather and grandmother did not allow them to enter Valhalla," Thor mused quietly. "It would be good to have them fighting with Asgard on the day of Ragnarok."
Then Thor laid Olivia on the ground next to us. Still not looking directly at Thor, Emma scooted over to take charge of her friend. She rested Olivia's head in her lap.
Thor smiled down at Rahne's praying form. She still had her forehead pressed to the wet ground.
"Stop that, little one," he told her mildly. "You're getting mud in your hair."
Rahne stopped in mid-prayer. Then she hesitantly looked up. When she saw Thor looking down at her, she hurriedly dropped her eyes and bowed her head again.
Then Thor looked back at me. "As I arrived, I saw a mob of dark-elves heading in this direction."
"There's an encampment of them nearby," I replied. "They certainly saw Olivia's fight with the Destroyer."
"You don't have much time," Thor pointed out.
"We're not really done with our business here," I replied.
The look on Thor's face was almost regretful as he glanced at the crumpled and mangled heap that had been Laufey. His expression hardened quite a bit as he contemplated the Destroyer.
"The dark-elves are after the Destroyer," Anna added suddenly.
"And Malekith is here," Emma said softly, still not allowing herself to look at Thor.
Thor gestured with his hammer.
This time, there was a terrific cascade of red and orange energy from the heavens. It was encompassed by a whirlwind that left all of us - except Thor, of course - staggering and shielding our eyes.
The base of the eerily lit whirlwind almost delicately touched the still form of the Destroyer. Then it lifted away.
The Destroyer was gone.
The whirlwind touched down again. This time on Laufey's body.
And then Laufey was gone as well.
A tremble rippled all along the length of the whirlwind and then it - and the strange energies it contained - simply vanished.
"Thank you," I said. It was difficult to express the relief I felt.
Thor looked at me. "By Odin's decree, dealings between Midgard and Asgard are still forbidden. I was only allowed to come here because Strange told us of the Destroyer. However, I'm sure the Allfather won't mind if I take care of one more task."
Thor glanced at Rahne and smiled. "After all, one of mine has requested my aid."
Rahne made a mouse-squeak of a noise. Thor paused just long enough to put an affectionate hand on her head. Then he turned and strode away.
"I'll deal with your pursuers," he told us over his shoulder.
"Great lord, how did the Destroyer get here?" Emma called out suddenly. She was still holding Olivia - one hand on her friend's face, the other on her shoulder. And perhaps there was some anger in Emma's eyes.
Thor froze. He replied without turning to face us.
"What name is always spoken whenever there is an act of rebellion, treachery, or cruelty that emanates from Asgard? Who do we speak of when a deed seems incomprehensible, and carries nothing but woe and misery in its wake? Perhaps there is a rational reason - a plan - in bringing the Destroyer to Midgard. A plan so deep that it will be decades or centuries before it comes to fruition. Or perhaps it was simply to visit misery on everyone touched by that action."
We all fell silent. Off in the distance, I could hear the approaching dark-elves.
"Kill Loki," Anna said softly. "Please, honored one, kill him."
"Someday, I will," Thor answered. Both the conviction and the regret in his voice were as deep as the ocean.
The last I saw of the god of thunder was his silhouette as he walked into a horizon that was yellow-white with wild lightning. Mjolnir was grasped in his right hand.
Actually, I almost felt sorry for the approaching dark-elves.
Almost.
Thor's battle with the dark-elves was over. I had no fear that we were being chased.
We cautiously dismantled Laufey's circle, taking the stones and throwing them over the cliff. We were careful to not actually enter the circle. Instead, we simply clawed at its periphery, removing it stone by stone until there was almost nothing left. However, it was impossible to move the large central stone. We had to leave that in place.
Emma and I could actually feel the circle die - its power slowly and surely dissipating as we tore its physical structure apart. Perhaps Olivia could sense it as well, but she said nothing.
When we were done, we retreated southward, back towards the fort. Night had long since fallen, but we kept moving. Olivia was better, but she was leaning on Emma for support. Rahne seemed a bit dazed, but she was steadily recovering.
Anna was beside me, her hand in mine. "Would you be angry with me if I told you that Thor is one hell of a sexy beast?" she asked me.
I smiled, but said nothing. It would be ridiculous to be irritated at Anna for that.
Rahne and Olivia shot offended looks in Anna's direction. On the other claw, the wry expression on Emma's face seemed to suggest that she agreed with Anna.
"What's next?" Rahne asked quickly, obviously trying to change the subject.
"Go back to the fort," I said, "and get the various factions ready for battle. Vanity and politics will be a problem. We have to get our forces moving as soon as possible."
The others stirred uneasily.
"Will they be able to handle a dark-elf legion?" Anna asked. "You seemed to have your doubts before."
"We simply don't have the logistics to sit around and wait," I replied. "Our strategy is simple and ugly - now that the call has been given, the dark-elves will be under steadily increasing pressure. If we fail, then other armies will gather. The Blood will attack from all directions until the dark-elves break."
Anna nodded, but I could still see worry in her eyes.
Actually, it was entirely possible that we might lose an army or two in the process of defeating the dark-elves. That was a cold and terrible fact, but it was the price of war. When a seeker calls the Blood to battle, it is never a pretty thing. However, it is quite final.
"Thor said that Odin has ordered that Asgard and Midgard be apart," Rahne suddenly said. She had been very quiet since meeting the thunder god.
I nodded.
"Do you know why?" she asked.
"Rahne - Odin does not ask my counsel," I replied gently.
Rahne nodded, but she was clearly disturbed.
"My guess is that Odin feels that Midgard is actually no more," I added.
Rahne gave me a sharp look, obviously unsure of what I'd said.
"The Midgard that Asgard knew was populated entirely by Folk," Olivia explained quietly. "Today, most of the world is inhabited by Blood and Wilder. The Folk are vanishing as they interbreed with the children of the Crippled Lord and have children who are themselves Blood or Wilder. Someday, all that will be left of the Folk will be the tribes of the true-breeding Scatter. And perhaps even they will eventually vanish."
It was strange to hear stolid and bluff Olivia speak with the quiet assurance of a scholar. It occurred to me that Olivia - herself part Asgardian and part Wilder - had reason to consider the mixing of blood-lines more than most.
"Perhaps Odin is mourning the loss of what once was," I suggested.
"Or perhaps some connection - a relationship of some kind between the Folk and the Asgardians - is being cut?" Emma speculated.
Rahne was silent for a long time. Contemplating the vanishing of an entire people is something that should fill anyone with awe and regret.
"If you and Anna have children, what will they be?" Rahne asked me eventually.
Anna laughed. "Blue-tinted hellions with tails and claws," she chuckled.
I shrugged, "And if they take after their mother, I imagine they will be beautiful."
Anna smiled and squeezed my hand.
We paused for a short rest at mid-morning, and that was more than enough. Perhaps we were buoyed by successfully ridding our world of the Destroyer. Or perhaps Thor had given us some invisible aid. But we didn't tire and we quickly covered the ground back to the fort.
On the way, we passed numerous bands of chaotic, but aggressive, Blood militia. They were probing at the dark-elf skirmishers - and the dark-elves were fighting back viciously. The northern approaches to the fort had turned into a vast and confused running battle. It was the kind of fighting at which the Blood excel.
Dark-elves live a very long time. I wondered if any of them now on Midgard remembered their last intrusion - or had perhaps even been there. This was how the beginning of the end began for the dark-elves the last time they were on our world.
What we saw when we got to the fort was breathtaking. The host of troops in and around the fort had swelled massively. The fort was now the center of a large and sprawling encampment. In some places, bivouacs were neatly laid out and well-organized. In most, it was acre after acre of anarchy. Overhead, various types of flyers patrolled the skies. I saw one of the Iron Men and a dozen angels with their white, red, or black wings.
The Blood of the lower Huds had mustered.
Ancient Strange had brought the Scatter.
And the Captain's professionals and allies had arrived.
An army had been created. It was disorganized, couldn't possibly be fed or otherwise supplied for very long, and was almost surely fractious. But it was an army.