The bells are coming! Ragnarok is here! But, once again, what is Ragnarok really?
And what does it mean to be a Child of Chaos...
First things first. I promised to explain the whole singing-trees-into-shape thing. It's an 'Inheritance Cycle' thing. In Paolini's universe magic-users could sing with the ancient tongue (the language of magic) and coax plants into taking certain forms. Most magic-users were elves, and they used that talent to build their homes in the forest. What I have Tawariel be able to do here is mostly that (with slights hints of what the Ents do in Lord of the Rings -which is where the song comes from, actually- and what Maleficent does in the new movie!). I just wanted her to have her moment...
Chapter 4. Child of Chaos
Heimdall held his position, near the middle point of the Valley of Vigrid, where centuries before, a millennia in fact, had been prophecized that the battle of Ragnarok would begin. From there he watched King Odin Allfather, Prince Thor and General Tyr lead the battalions and get ready; he also watched Loki, his wife the elven lady Tawariel, their children and Sif standing in a loose formation on the other edge of the valley. The Gamekeeper just knew there was something wrong with that scene, he just couldn't place his finger on what.
And then the youngest Lokidottir began singing, quietly at first, but soon her voice was carrying across the to-be-battleground:
"You wake up believing this day will end by evening
It's taken for granted that seeds of life are planted
But nothing prepares you for nature's acts of virtue
It's Doomsday, ascending, the world you know is ending..."
It was a reminder, of what they were there for, what all of those standing against the forces of Asgard truly were: the Harbingers of Ragnarok, and yet... something still wasn't right. It was in the song even, something was missing... or not quite missing, it simply wasn't the way the prophecies had foretold. He had seen that already too. After all, weren't they supposed to have 'three winters with no summers in-between', a time when the worlds would be plagued by war and 'brothers will kill brothers'. There were wars of course (but there always had been wars, and always would be); but things weren't as terrible as it had been foretold. In fact, from the glimpses he'd taken on Midgard in recent years, things were better than they'd been for many years, possibly centuries, with the alliance of all those gifted individuals, organizations across the realm working together for the betterment of their world. And he knew also that, at least some of that, had come to be thanks to the Son of Coul and his wife (he'd seen them marrying shortly after the most recent Battle in the place they called New York).
Tyr blew his horn right then, calling for his soldiers to get ready to fight. Until Thor raised his own hand and, with a few words, broke everything:
"What enemy are we supposed to fight?" He demanded loudly.
It was then that Heimdall finally realized what seemed so wrong to his eyes. All the prophecies spoke about Loki breaking the gates to Muspelheim and to the realms of the Dead, Hela arriving at the front of her own army of the unholy; and then there would also be the giants, of ice and of fire, destroying all in their path... Except there were no dead, no demons, no giants... There was no army, no one standing against them except for Loki and his family...
Somehow, instead of setting them at ease, the question just seemed to make things worse. The Asgardian Warriors began arguing loudly among themselves, wanting to know what that mean, if the enemy would come at them from behind, above, or something else... the one thing none of them seemed to consider was the possibility that there was no enemy army coming.
"Attack!" One began yelling, above all others. "Attack before the monsters get the chance!"
"No, wait!" Thor called right away.
It looked like nothing would be able to stop the Aesir from madly rushing at the group standing before them, across the valley. No matter what Thor said, nothing seemed to work; even Tyr could do nothing to return the army to any semblance of order... and for some reason, it seemed to the Gatekeeper like the Allfather had no intention to stop anything...
Then another voice began singing:
"Mathach vi geven (Do you feel it in the earth)?
Nostach vi 'wilith (Can you smell it in the air)?
Mâb le i nagor (The war is upon you),
Bâd gurth vi ngalad firiel (Death moves in the fading light).
Dorthach vi mar han (Are you part of this world)?
Dagrathach go hain (Will you join their fight)?"
It was the Lady Tawariel, singing in elvish, and while at first it didn't seem that important, they all soon changed their minds, as the earth beneath their feet began shifting. By the time the she-elf reached the final line what looked like the start of a forest had grown scattered across the valley. It could have never been enough to stop the army, not at all, and yet the mere fact that something so unexpected had happened, and that it'd been caused by the very individual they'd all believed to be the most vulnerable... that was enough to make them all freeze.
"Very well sis, you're up." Hela whispered to the youngest in the group.
It was true. None of them knew for sure if it was because they really believed she was that good a talker (though the number of people she'd managed to persuade, at one time or another, of doing some pretty crazy things might confirm that), if it was her power, or simply the fact that they believed that her past might make others hesitate (after all, many Eihenjar had met her in the last few years, some had even trained with her... shouldn't that count for something?)
"Hope this goes well..." The brunette murmured under her breath.
It was as if she half-transformed, nothing magical, but a change in her presence nonetheless, as she stepped forward and ahead of the line her family formed, allowing her power to show (at least to a level, she didn't want to scare anyone just yet).
"My name is Meneliel." She called, choosing not to give that many details just yet. "And we're not here to wage war!"
"Lies!" All the soldiers began calling at once. "She stands with the Liesmith! They all speak nothing but lies!"
The girl just rolled her eyes, having half a mind to call them all idiots to their faces. It was one thing to be underestimated, even suffer of racism or someones predisposition, but that... that was beyond any of that, downright idiotic.
"Why do you believe that?" She asked almost in a drawl. "Because that's what your 'King' has told you for the last millennia?"
Anyone could hear the 'air-quotes' she put in the word King, it just seemed to anger the Eihenjar more, however, Menel did not give them the chance to reply.
"Tell me one thing, Ragnarok... is that really what you want?"
The unexpected question, finally, gave everyone pause.
"It's what you've come for!" One voice finally called, Volstagg's. "The Last War!"
"That's what you all keep saying." Menel shook her head. "But why?"
It was obvious that no one was expecting that question, as no one knew how to answer it.
"I will tell you why, because spirits-know how many centuries ago, one man no more virtuous or deserving than any of you, than any of us, decided that some of us deserved life less than some of you, and then justified those beliefs by making everyone think that we would bring forth the end of the universe." She was beginning to get into the mood of things. "Which is absolutely idiotic, let me tell you. Why, in the name of all that's holy, would I want to destroy that which I've spent the last six years of my life fighting to protect?"
Once again, there was no answer, at least not from the soldiers. Odin, seeing that the girl was somehow managing to sow doubt with just a few words sought to 'correct' the situation:
"You are a daughter of darkness, dweller of the shadows, harbinger of Ragnarok..." Odin stated, voice full of authority.
The army tensed once again, but Menel wasn't about to give up.
"Really?" She challenged, not caring at all that the one standing across the valley from her was supposed to be the kind og the 'gods'. "Says who? You? You are just a man, regardless of the titles mortals might have bestowed upon you once, the titles you might still insist on giving yourself. You have no more wisdom than any other man, and your fury against us is unjustified." She waved him away when he tried to interrupt, continuing her tirade. "I know it was you that created the myths. The same ones that saw dozens of innocent girls murdered in Midgard because they dared try to help Azazeal, and all for what? Because you feared the birth of my sister's baby boy? Five centuries ago you watched your Council condemn two of my brothers to imprisonment for no good reason, watched your soldiers kill an innocent, unborn child, and almost do the same to my sister, and not once did you move a finger to help any of them. You've claimed that one day Fenrir, Jormungandr and Hela will break free, and together with our Father they will bring forth the End of Days... they will kill so many. Tell me then, Allfather, according to your deranged fantasy, who am I supposed to kill?!" She took a deep breath before sealing it. "For I am Meneliel Lokidottir, surely if my siblings are monsters, so am I. So tell me, who am I to murder?"
"You are all, indeed, monsters." Odin replied in a booming voice. "And the universe will only be safe when you're all gone!"
"Is that why you've been trying to kill me since before I was even born?!" The half-elf demanded, already knowing the answer. "Is that why you murdered all those people in China, looking for me, two days after I was born? I was a newborn child, what could I have ever done to you? Nothing at all. And yet you still killed all those people, and tried to kill me. You tortured my parents, and then locked my mother up in a cell for twenty-four years while using the worst kind of magic on my father to make him forget, just like you'd already done after the loss of his other children. You hurt so many people, destroyed so many innocent lives, all in an insane attempt to destroy a weak, defenseless newborn baby-girl... makes me wonder why..."
"You are all abominations, you should have never been born!" Odin snapped at him.
"Where have I heard that before...?" Menel drawled, mostly under her breath, before she gave her actual, strong, reply. "Would it have not been easier to just kill our Father, then?" Silence. "Except, you couldn't do that, could you? It would have ruined your precious plans!"
Even Odin seemed shocked at where her rant seemed to be suddenly going.
"You say we're here to wage war, I say that's not true." Meneliel called in her strongest voice yet. "I say the only liar standing today, in this valley, is you, Odin Allfather! I am here for nothing more than my deserved birth-right..."
"To rule?!" Fandral called, mocking.
Sif could only roll her eyes, if she hadn't made her mind to follow Menel's and Loki's lead on the whole thing she would be telling her 'old friend' what she thought about his comments.
"No, to protect that which is undoubtedly mine, my family." Meneliel hissed. "I said it earlier. It's Doomsday, ascending, the world you know is ending! I may not be here to destroy your world, or yourselves, but I will not allow for things to remain as they've been thus far, we will not allow it! We shall not spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, waiting for the next time someone may decide we're less worthy of life than someone else! It ends here and it ends now!"
Before Odin, Thor, or anyone else could do or say anything to stop her, something made them freeze all over again; the moment a power rippled and expanded across the valley. It was her power, Thor knew, he'd felt it when she'd killed Amora to protect her match; and as she allowed it free, finally, it entwined with the energy previously laid out by Lady Tawariel with her song, and the power of every single individual that had her back (and it was then that Thor actually noticed it wan't just family, Sif stood there, too, in between Fenrir and Azazeal... he was shocked beyond words at the revelation).
Then Meneliel turned her face to the heavens and called with a loud voice, in a cadence rarely heard by anyone:
"I am Meneliel Lokidottir Tawardottir, Daughter of Chaos, Lady of the Midnight Blossom. From the lines of Frigga, princess of Vanaheim and Queen of Asgard; Laufey, King of Jotunheim; Santiel, Lady of Alfheim. I am a Warrior-Lady of Midgard, second in command of the world-wide organization SHIELD, sister of Hela Lokidottir, Queen of Helheim. I am a daughter, a sister, a wife, a protector..."
All of those present could hear every word said by the young brunette; she wasn't shouting, but the magic in her made her voice carry. What no one (not even her family) was expecting, was the abrupt turn she gave to things with what she said next.
"I present myself, with all I have, as all I am, before the judgement of the Higher Powers." The silence that followed that declaration was louder than any cry. "I call on their Divine Justice for Odin Allfather, call for him to pay for his wrongdoings, his sins, for all the lives that have been lost, all the hurt he's caused, to me and mine, to Midgard, and to the rest of the Realms. I call for Divine Justice! So mote it be!"
Shocked as they were (such a call had never been in the plans), her family still backed her up immediately, not a doubt in their voices and auras:
"We call for Divine Justice!" They all chorused. "So mote it be!"
"That's impossible." Tyr hissed. "No mortal can call on the Higher Powers..."
Heimdall would agree with him, and he did... except the Asgardian General had apparently completely missed the point where Meneliel had enlisted all the ways in which she was no mere mortal... she was more, a lot more... even more than he could have ever imagined. And the mere fact that she chose to go down that route, moreover, with such confidence... it clearly spoke of someone who had called on the Higher Powers before...
Meneliel had no idea how doing such a thing hadn't occurred to her earlier. She had done it before, calling on the Higher Powers. She knew the key factor to doing it effectively was being fully selfless in what was asked for. Like when she'd asked for a soul for Conner; that hadn't been for her, it had been for the boy, and for his fathers. She ended being blessed as well, with her own connection to the child, but still, it wasn't meant to be for her. And in that moment, the Call wasn't for her either, it was done as a way of protecting those she cared for, her loved ones... the only reason she'd included herself in the call was (aside from the simplest fact that Odin had, indeed, acted against her) that his actions against her had caused hurt to so many people, innocents, so it needed to be taken in consideration as well.
There was a tinkle, like bells, which soon cleared out to be laughter. It preceded the arrival of three figures in long, hooded cloaks of impossible colors.
"The Norns..." The gasp was general all around the valley.
"She has the power to call on the Norns..." Tyr mumbled, completely shocked.
She did, in a way almost no one could, but it was why she'd enlisted all her familial connections; for she knew it was one thing sure to call the attention of the 'Holders of Destiny', one individual claiming connection to all those lineages, all those realms...
"My ladies..." The brunette did an elaborate curtsy at them.
Asgard knew them as the Nors, humans had called them the Fates, they were also known as the 'Holders of Destiny'; though the Secret Circle had taught her another form: the Triple Goddess of NeoPaganism: the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone. Though still, their names, she knew, were Urd (What Once Was), Verdandi (What is Coming into Being) and Skuld (What Shall Be).
"No need to kneel child." Urd told her softly but authoritatively. "You've called for us and we've come, for that is what's right."
"You bring such delight to these boring times!" Skuld cried out, before letting out another peal of laughter. "Such beautiful chaos, the changes in the tapestry of destiny... I hadn't had this much fun in centuries!"
Meneliel wasn't sure what was shocking the Aesir more, Skuld's (the Maiden) words, or the fact that any of them chose to speak to them at all.
"You have called us, Daughter of Chaos." Verdandi (the Mother) seemed to choose to focus on their situation. "We have heard and come. You have raised accusations against Odin, son of Borr, Asgard's Allfather, in your name, and the names of many others."
"That I have, Honorable Ladies." Meneliel confirmed, bowing her head respectfully.
"Present your proof." The three ordered, completely serious.
Meneliel faltered, just for a second. Indeed, she had proof, she just wasn't expecting them to ask her to be the one to provide it. Didn't they have the power to See the past, present and, to a certain level, the future? Why then did they need her to say the things? Still, the power they held, the authority; the brunette knew there must be a reason, so she didn't question them, just accepted the order and reacted to it.
"Odin Allfather has made, not just Asgard, but all the Realms, believe that Ragnarok will be caused by my Father, Loki Friggason, with the aid of his offspring, the Children of Chaos." She elaborated. "It's that belief that has caused other titles to be given to us: like Dwellers of Shadows and Harbingers of Ragnarok... However, the prophecy is a fake, created by him to put the realms against us all. As a way to conceal himself, his fear, and his arrogance..."
"What proof have you of your claims?" Verdandi called solemnly.
"First, the prophecy, while widely-known, is not registered in the Hall of Prophecies here on Asgard, nor in its counterpart in Alfheim." Meneliel began enlisting solemnly.
"What have you to say to this claims, Allfather?" The Mother called then, turning to the King.
"The Hall of Prophecies are not my concern." Odin answered almost scathingly.
Loki hissed in the back, as did Thor, for they both realized (as did Loki's children) that by his words he was pretty much blaming his deceased wife, Lady Frigga, for the lack of a registry of such prophecy, and since she wasn't around to defend herself...
"We shall leave that matter for now." Skuld decided, before anyone could say otherwise. "Next proof, Lady Meneliel?"
"Of course." Meneliel pushed aside her indignation in her grandmother's name to focus on what was most important in that moment. "Lets suppose, for now, that the prophecy is genuine, that my father, sister and two of my brothers are 'destined' to bring forth Ragnarok. Which I'm not saying I believe, but anyway. How does that excuse his actions against my mother, Lady Tawariel of the Midnight Blossom, and myself? I do not figure in any of his supposed-prophecies, neither does my mother, and yet we were both persecuted, by him and a number of his Eihenjar, for imagined faults, the only of which he ever had the gall to tell my mother was bringing me to the world. How does any of that justify her torture and imprisonment for 24 years? How can he justify the murder of old Ms. Yue, of 14-year-old Xiefa Yue, of Agent Linda Avery, as well as all but one member of two tactical teams of SHIELD and the entire population of a town in the south of the Hunan Province, in China, Midgard?"
"Sacrifices must be made for the greater good..." Odin spouted an obviously rehearsed excuse.
The brunette felt like she could scream. She hated phrases like that 'for the greater good', she believed it was the kind of thing someone with no empathy said; someone who cared more about the results than the people involved. In the end they could end up killing more people than they'd actually saved, but as long as they felt they've reached their goal, it'll be alright with them... and it's not! No one, be they mortal or immortal, human, elf or so-called god, has any authority to sacrifice any life but their own. Especially not the lives of hundreds of innocents who did nothing except be in the wrong place at the wrong time! Or, at worst, be compassionate enough to want to protect an innocent baby not even a week old!
"Sacrifice is not your purview, Odin Allfather." Urd (The Crone) stated almost harshly.
"Of course, my lady." Odin replied, too quickly.
"That's good proof." The Mother decided. "Is it all you have?"
"I have one more piece of proof to offer the Honorable Ladies." The young princess stated with genuine respect. "It's a bit of a long story and somewhat complicated, but I will ask you to bear with me, for its relevance will be revealed in the end."
She suspected that they already knew. With the power they had, they must, right? Which meant that there must want her to say those things for a reason... but what could that reason be?
"Before I presented myself as ignorant of the Allfather's reasons for coming after me, and while I know not if all my assumptions are true, I do have a theory." Menel finally revealed. "It is because I am a Child of Chaos. As such, I cannot be controlled, my future cannot be properly predicted, even what prophecies have been made that concern me can be interpreted in a variety of ways, leaving them open to my choices. It is my belief that the Allfather has done everything in his power to either kill or 'keep under control' every child my father's had for that very reason. He believes if he cannot control us, he can at least make sure we will not ruin his plans."
"That's preposterous!" Several Aesir called in defense of their King.
"Have you any actual proof to back-up your claims?" Verdandi asked calmly.
"On the one hand, what other reason would he have for wanting me dead before I was a week old, before I was even born?" The half-elf asked rhetorically. "As I've explained, as a child of chaos my future cannot be predicted, so he cannot possibly say that I was 'destined' to do or be anything. The same thing applies to my siblings, for that matter. And even if their imprisonment could be justified with the claim of 'Dark Arts' that was made five hundred years ago, there is just no way the punishment befits the alleged crime." She shook her head. "On the other hand, even if he could somehow present proof that me and my siblings were a danger, were truly fated to be the Harbingers of Ragnarok, the ultimate Destroyers of the Universe... wouldn't the best solution have been simply to have our Father executed? Except, as I said before, he couldn't do that, because that would have gone against his plans. If he'd killed Loki, or had him killed by anyone, it would have rendered the whole point of stealing him from the temple in Jotunheim, adopting him, making all of Asgard believe he was truly his son... moot."
That declaration caused murmurs to rise, the young princess could see and even feel Odin's frigid stare on her, probably as he wondered if she really knew everything, like she was implying, and what that might mean for him... well, it wasn't like he was going to have to wait for the answers to his questions, she was quite happy to provide them... it was time the truth came out.
"The truth is that Odin Allfather did not adopt Loki Laufeyson out of the goodness of his heart, or because he'd taken pity over a baby abandoned in a temple, at the end of the bloodiest war in history..." Meneliel revealed in the coldest tone. "No, there was nothing good, or warm or pure in that man... that monster's heart when he took the child. He didn't see a child at all, only a tool, one that may allow him to keep the family he believed he deserved, the power he thought was owed to him; one that may allow him to protect his legacy from a betrayal he was convinced had to be a curse from an enemy, for there was no way he could deserve it..."
The sarcasm was thick on the half-elf's voice by that point, something everyone could hear and some could actually feel; but how could she not, when in that very moment a memory, of a vision, kept replying with heart-breaking intensity in the back of her mind; a fraction of the past, not her own, but her Adar's:
Loki Odinson (as he'd still believed himself to be) was standing near the back of the Weapon's Vault, both hands of the Casket of Ancient Winters, the most treasured relic of the Jotun, which the Allfather had taken as spoils' of war millennia before. He raised it, though it wasn't really necessary, he could feel his body temperature go down several degrees, could see his skin begin to turn blue, the moment he came in touch with the artifact.
"Stop!" Odin called loudly as soon as he entered the Vault.
It was too late, what was done could not be undone, and there was no way Loki could forget what he'd just learnt of himself (tough Odin might have been able to force him to, if only he'd had the time... it made Menel wonder if he hadn't learnt the truth before and been made to forget...).
"Am I cursed?" Loki asked, immobile.
"No." Odin asked quietly, stoically.
"What am I?" The young 'Aesir' demanded, lowering the casket but refusing to turn to face his 'father' just yet.
"You're my son..." Odin answered, though there was something not-right about his tone.
"What more than that?" Loki asked, finally turning, not shouting, but demanding nonetheless, even as his image seems to automatically return to his Aesir visage. "The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?"
"No." It seemed as if it actually pained Odin to answer, to be honest. "In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the Temple, and I found a baby. Small for a giant's offspring... abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's son."
"Laufey's son..." Loki echoed, shocked, struggling to make sense of it all. "Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me?"
"You were an innocent child." The Allfather tried to excuse.
"You took me for a purpose, what was it?" Loki wasn't going to take his lies anymore.
Yet there was no answer.
"Tell me!" Loki's desperate cry echoed across the room and, possibly, across the realms as well.
"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace... through you." Odin said. "But those plans no longer matter."
They were lies, all lies! What made Odin believe he could lie to the face of the God of Lies of all people?! Still, Loki couldn't help but reply anyway; an answer that could seem like it was meant to fit Odin's lies, though it wasn't, not really.
"So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me."
"Why do you twist my words?" Odin asked in what was probably meant to be a pained tone.
Yes, like always, everything had to be Loki's fault... except he wasn't buying it anymore. He didn't care anymore...
"You could have told me what I was from the beginning." He insisted, refusing to let the matter go. "Why didn't you?"
"You are my son." Her not-father insisted, though the tone was wrong for his words. "My blood. I wanted only to protect you from the truth."
Lies! All lies! Odin really should have known better.
"Because I am the monster parents tell their children about at night?!" Loki demanded.
The Allfather tried to speak again, but there was no point, he was growing weaker by the second and Loki simply wasn't listening to him at all anymore. They were all lies, and the God of Chaos knew, he'd been lied to for his whole life, for reasons Odin refused to admit... to think that he'd spent the last millennia trying to be accepted, to be loved, by a man who'd never cared for him, who wouldn't admit the truth, even when confronted with it. One day he would find out the truth, one day he would make everyone who'd ever used him pay for it... everyone...
The worst part was that Loki had been right, in every possible way... some that even he himself did not know yet, but he would. Some secrets had been kept long enough, it was time for all that to end, to bring forth the truth.
"I was in Alfheim several hours ago." Meneliel knew she'd to choose her words very carefully, otherwise it would all blow-up in her face. "I spoke with my mother's-brother, Lord Arphenion, who reinstated Naneth into the family and granted me, officially, the title of Lady of the Midnight Blossom." She gestured to her tunic. "However, the reason for my trip wasn't him, it was that someone wanted to speak to me; Lady Thenidiel, Alfheim's most talented spell-weaver as well as prophetess... few know this but she was the apprentice of none other than Lady Santiel of the Midnight Blossom... she was my mother's grandmother. The tunic I wear was made for her by her husband: Lord Beriadan, the Defender." She shook her head, knowing he needed to focus. "As her apprentice, Lady Thenidiel kept record of much of what Lady Santiel did, including her prophecies... like the one she made one winter night, 1055 years ago..."
The silence that befell was such as to almost be considered deafening. There was a mix of shock, confusion, disbelief, from practically everyone around... it was obvious no one was aware of any such prophecy... and it was only going to get worse. The half-elf could also see in the eyes of Odin how much he wished he could slay her down with one look, tear her to pieces before the rest of the revelation could leave her lips... only he couldn't do that, because any act of war in the presence of the Norns, at a time when they were judging something, would be considered the worst kind of offense against them; and even if he could find a way to kill her before the truth came out, Phil, Hela and Azazeal knew as much as her. The Truth Would Come Out... no matter what or who...
"Odin Allfather went to see Lady Santiel one night, shortly before Asgard discovered the Jotun were trying to take-over Midgard." Meneliel explained, mentally building up her shields; she knew that what was coming was going to hurt more than one person... "He was hoping she would share words of wisdom with him, something that might help him prepare a better strategy to defeat his enemies... what he got was another thing entirely..."
"Norns, is this really necessary...?" Fandral demanded loudly.
"Silence, Aesir!" Urd ordered coldly. "Listean and learn... learn the truth about the man you call your king and hail as a god; and the girl you call an abomination..."
Fandral didn't dare interrupt again afterwards.
"The prophecy, as Lady Santiel pronounced it that night, went:" Menel explained.
And yet, once she began reciting the prophecy, her voice wasn't the only one, Hela's was there too, and somehow, so was Tawariel's.
"The snow of endless winters shall melt, wars of brothers against brothers shall cease; warriors will lay down the steel, flowers will bloom. The change is here, they've brought it. They who dance in the shadows, the shifters of forms, who weave illusions for pleasure and break walls for convictions; they, the Children of Chaos, the unpredictable, the chameleons... Let the Bells Ring, let the worlds all know. Change is coming... the Children of Chaos are coming... the Bringers of Change are here..."
Not a word was said for several seconds, as everyone present took in the words and their possible meanings... as well as their likeness to the prophecy the Allfather had pronounced. They could see the similarities, and the more open-minded began to see there was something just not-right about it all... if they'd just known...
"When the Allfather demanded an explanation for that prophecy, Lady Santiel shared with him two images: first the Nine Realms connected in harmony, thriving; and one of Asgard golden and bright, with no palace and no throne." Meneliel announced.
Whispers of confusion turned into shouts of denial at that; however, it did not last long, a gesture from the Norns enough to quieted everyone.
"Odin refused to accept that." Meneliel went on, focusing on what needed to be done as a way to ignore her nervousness and fear. "He refused to accept that Asgard could exist without him on the throne. Despite the fact that Vanaheim has been able to survive perfectly well under the rule of a Council rather than a King, and that Alfheim stopped serving a single ruler millennia ago, instead choosing to exist as inter-connected tribes and clans." Somewhat like the vampire community in Midgard, in fact. "Lady Santiel tried to warn him, told him that some things were written down, fate rather than destiny... Other Realms were changing, and Asgard needed to, as well. He would not have it. She pronounced one final warning, before he left: 'If Fate you force to bend, Destiny your blood's blood will take. Your son will betray you, your line will be lost.'."
"What?!" Thor's roar echoed across the valley.
No one else dare say a word, though Meneliel could sense everyone's tension; she could also perceive the moment her Adar's mood went from stressed-out to a mix of hot-rage and cold-resignation... all his suspicions were being proven right; the half-elf was sure that if it weren't for Tawariel and his kids moving to surround him automatically, to hold him (though discreetly so as not to make him appear vulnerable) he would have crumbled under the weight of the revelations.
"A handful of days later the war against Jotunheim ended, and while still covered in blood, ice and dust, Odin Allfather heard a baby crying. A newborn child, a Jotun runt, left 'exposed' as part of an ancient Jotun tradition, meant to ensure that the child was strong enough to survive, strong enough for his line; after all, he was the firstborn of King Laufey..."
Yet again the chaos, the denials; and Adar was at a loss, Meneliel could feel it.
"That is a lie!" Odin finally spoke up. "That child was abandoned, left do die! I saved him! All I did was for him..."
"Your birthright was to die as a child!"Menel snarled, finally losing all composure. "Cast out on a frozen rock. If I had not taken you in, you would not be here now to hate me." She took a deep breath, fighting to regain her center, though everyone with the slightest magic could sense the hints of her rage, still. "Were those not your words, Allfather? The words you pronounced to my Father the day you condemned him to be imprisoned for the rest of his life?! Except, I now know you lied then to, we all do." She finally regained her calm, as she threw yet another revelation out. "I visited Jotunheim, once, years ago. I worried about them. What Laufey's successor might try against me or mine, if they were ever to discover about all of us... Especially if they were ever to find their way to Midgard again... I met a female Jotun called Yiresien, she's the Records' Keeper of the frigid realm. She also recognized me as Lokison almost from the moment she laid eyes on me, and the markings on my skin." She gestured to her shoulders for good measure. "It was a rather... enlightening meeting, to be sure..."
It was, she could still remember it:
It had been just a few weeks since Malachi was born. Having visited Hela before going to Asgard Menel knew she could have gone straight back to Midgard at the end of January; and yet, instead she found herself still stepping outside of the Bifrost path before she'd made it to her home-world; except instead of landing on Helheim, she landed on a world that, while just as dark and cold, had an entirely different aura. She hadn't exactly made a conscious decision, but her instincts knew what she wanted... she was in Jotunheim.
Following those same instincts (and an ability she'd discovered just a few months earlier), she'd allowed her body to react to the cold, shifting her body from human to jotun. It also vanished her elven dress, leaving her just with the skin-tight strapless top and shorts she wore underneath and her black-leather boots. She thought the style looked enough like the clothes the Jotun she'd seen in some visions wore, but just in case she wove an illusion around herself so that she may go unnoticed for the most part; aside from her clothing, she feared her height might give her away, or the fact she was a woman (she'd never sen any female jotun in her visions).
She spent that day looking around the place, the ruins of what once had been Utgard, the capitol of the frozen realm.
"It looks like this place must have gorgeous at one time, and yet now..." She whispered out-loud.
"Now it's nothing but an almost forgotten memory." A keen voice called from behind her.
Menel spun around, hand reaching for a weapon instinctively, not quite remembering that she'd placed them in her subspace-pocket; in the end it didn't matter, her ice-magic reacted to her will, allowing her to conjure a couple of blades made purely of ice. Still, the Lokidottir didn't have time to ponder on it, as she needed to focus on the one who'd approached her silently; it was the first time the half-elf saw a female Jotun (a full one), she had long dark hair in what looked like dreads, or many small braids (or maybe it was just the ice), wearing what could be described as a very skimpy bikini top and a loincloth, both made of what looked like tan-leather.
"So you are one of us." She said in the same high tone of voice. "I'd wondered... I don't think I've seen you before around here, and I'm almost sure I know every female Jotun living in this sector... though, at the same time, there is something about you that seems strangely familiar..."
"I'm just dropping by..." Menel admitted hesitantly, ready to fall into the Shadow Plane at a second's notice if attacked.
"You're not only not from this sector, you're not from this realm, are you?" The Giantess asked in an extremely suspicious tone. "You're not even full-Jotun!"
"What makes you believe that?" Menel asked, voice higher than she'd intended due to nerves.
"You're keeping your aura extremely controlled, but there is just enough of it slipping past you that I can sense it, there's is more to you than just Jotun..." The other said confidently.
Menel didn't say a word, she didn't dare to.
"I'm not going to attack you, you know?" The other seemed to guess at Menel's nervousness. "Regardless of what other races might believe, not all Jotun seek war..." As if to put the girl more at ease, she added. "Yiresien Fareladottir..."
Menel looked at the way the Jotun offered both hands, palms-up, it wasn't a handshake, not any kind of handshake she'd ever seen but, not wanting offend, she imitated the gesture; only belatedly noticing that she'd still been holding the conjured ice-blades in her hands. The moment she opened her hands to mimic the giantess the blades disappeared, leaving her hands empty.
"That's why we greet others the way we do." Yiresien confirmed her suspicions. "It's a way to show good will and that we're not armed."
"I see." The girl nodded, then remembering the introduction, added. "I am Meneliel Tawardottir, and as you've guessed, I'm only half-Jotun, my mother is Ljósalfár."
"Interesting." Yiresien admitted. "I've never known of such a match... who is your Sire?"
"I'm not sure revealing that would be a good idea." Menel admitted. "It is quite possible that some people around here will hold ill will against him, for past actions."
"I can guess who it is, actually." Yiresien admitted after several seconds. "You see, here in Jotunheim, much like in Asgard, females aren't warriors, instead we're relegated to other, less risky tasks. Though in our case it's less because we're believed less capable, and more because our numbers are so small our males fear that they might lose us all. In my case, I am Records' Keeper; I know there has only been one Jotun lost to us to something other than death in the last millennia, and I would guess he is your father..."
The half-elf didn't say a word, not to confirm or deny, though deep down she knew it wasn't really necessary, Yiresien really knew already.
"You're the child of our lost prince, Loki Laufeyson." The giantess stated, her expression and voice softened before adding. "King Helblindi would love to meet you."
"Actually... I'm not sure if I'm ready for that." Menel admitted quietly. "I... I came here to see the place, to try and find out where your race stands, I didn't really... I never planned on actually talking to any of you... Adar would probably freak if he knew I'm here at all."
"He's been taught we're monsters, hasn't he?" The female Jotun sounded incredibly sad as she said that, not truly requiring an answer. "I'm not surprised, it's what every realm believes. And while I'll admit Jotun have a particular enjoyment for war and an almost dangerous lust for blood... there's more to us than just that."
"I know." Menel blurted out, before clarifying. "I mean, everything I've studied tells me that if you were the 'mindless beasts' Odin would have us believe there is no way you could have survived this long. Yet you have, you have a functioning society, a hierarchy. I may not agree with a lot of what your people do and have done, but I do not think you're monsters simply for being Jotun and having blue skin..." She gestured to her own. "I'm not a hypocrite."
"But he... Loki, does believe that, does he not?"
"It's what he's been taught his whole life to believe... I'm not sure if anything we say or do will ever be enough to make him change his mind."
"It's alright. It's not your fault. Curse Odin to the deepest abyss for taking our prince from us."
That called Menel's attention, there was a story there...
"We did not know he was alive, you know?" Yiresien commented quietly. "For the longest time we believed him to be dead, the last victim to the bloodiest war we were ever involved in... our King cursed that war for decades, for taking his first-born. It wasn't supposed to be like that."
"But I thought..." Menel was shocked even as she expressed her full-thought. "I thought Laufey had abandoned Loki in that temple to die!"
"What?!" The giantess was scandalized by the mere idea. "No!"
"According to what we know, Odin Allfather found him in the middle of an empty temple right after the end of the war, alone." Menel explained.
"Well yes but..." Yiresien shook her head sadly. "It wasn't like that at all. I know this will sound completely barbaric to you but... we as a race have traditions, some which have existed since the beginning of time. A few clans hardly follow them anymore, especially the harshest ones, but as our Royals, King Laufey had to follow that one..."
What followed was one explanation Menel had never really sought, never imagined she would get... It was also one she'd never dared share with her father. How to explain that everything that had gone wrong with him had steamed from something like that? How to even begin to consider all the ways things would be different if only Odin hadn't found Loki that day, or if Laufey had chosen to ignore tradition, or at least postpone it one more day...?
She'd never shared with anyone what she'd discovered that day, not until that very moment, but it was necessary, it was one more piece of the puzzle...
"Jotun are, by nature a war-loving race, they enjoy the lust for blood it produces in them." Menel began her explanation. "Doesn't mean that's all there is to them though. They are still a society, the predominating species in Jotunheim, they have order, laws, a hierarchy... and they also have traditions. Some that while they may appear exceedingly barbaric to some, are important to them. One of them is called 'Exposure'. Most don't follow it anymore, due to its particular harshness; however, being the king, Laufey couldn't ignore it. The tradition consists in exposing the clan's heir to the open-cold of their world for a day and a night. Unlike newborns from other races and realms, Jotun do not eat as much, and are born quite resilient; which is why it is actually possible for babies to survive such a trial... if they're strong enough." She shook her head at the shocked silence that surrounded her. "Laufey went through it, as did all his ancestors. He probably did not expect that his child would be born in the middle of a war, but he couldn't ignore tradition, not with his first-born, his heir... and especially not when he was born a runt. In order for the prince to gain the respect from his future subjects the tradition must be carried... It is their belief that a baby who survives exposure has proven that Winter is in their blood, has been blessed, in a way, by the ice and the snow..."
"They did not want him for being a runt..." Odin began his denial.
"Considering that half of the Royal clan in Jotunheim are runts, and all of them are the most proficient spell-casters in the realm... I don't see how anyone would believe that to be a problem." Menel drawled. "It had never happened for an heir to be born a runt... but if the ritual had been completed as intended and the baby had survived (and there's no reason to believe he wouldn't have), he would have been named Crown Prince of Jotunheim on the tenth day, respected across all the realm for having been blessed by their world."
Menel could feel the shivers in her Adar as she said those words, the thought of how different his life would have been; how he could have grown as the first prince, respected, loved, accepted, rather than underestimated, made a fool of, rejected and sometimes downright hated... Maybe it was the wrong thought to have, considering that there's no guarantee, if he'd had such a life, that he would have ever met Svadilfari, Angrboda, Tawariel... that any of them would be there. But still, there was noting wrong in wishing someone they loved had had a better life.
"And yet none of that was possible." Meneliel pushed on. "Laufey pushed the ritual as late as he could, until the nine days were almost done, after that they would have to present the boy, and if the ritual wasn't done before he might not have been accepted as heir. So Laufey did it, he left his son in that temple, and he left, he placed no guards, hoping that, if the place looked empty, no one would care for it. Hoping that war would keep his enemies entertained enough... and in any case, why should his enemies care for their temple?" She shook her head sadly, tiredly. "Even when the war was lost, it should have never happened. The Asgardians had already taken the Casket, why then would any of them be interested in the temple? No one knows the answer to that. It doesn't really matter in the grand-scheme of things. The point is the same, Odin Allfather went, and stole the boy from that temple before the day and night of the ritual were finished. And that's exactly what it was, the baby was kidnapped, not rescued... and for what?"
Silence was her answer.
"Why would the so-called 'king of the gods' be interested in stealing a newborn Jotun instead of focusing on his own wounded and dead, after all, a war had just ended, he was still drenched in blood... and yet still he focused on that... why?" Meneliel challenged the man standing on the other side of the valley. "Will you say it or shall I Allfather?"
"What need have you for me to speak when you believe yourself all-knowing already?" Odin retorted in a mocking tone.
"I've never made such-claims, I have no such arrogance." Menel denied. "But I want you to say it. I could do it, that's true, I know why you did it. But I want you to be the one to say it, because I want there to be no doubt in anyone's mind that what is being said here is nothing but the truth." She let out a breath. "Besides, don't you think it's about time you were honest about something, anything at all?"
Odin was obviously angered by the girl's underhanded insult, but he didn't get the chance to even try to chastise her.
"Answer the question Allfather." The Crone ordered stoically. "With no embellishments, and no half-truths, I shall tolerate nothing of the kind. Just the absolute truth... Lady Meneliel is right, it's time for the Truth to be told."
"Why did you take Loki Laufeyson?" Verdandi specified the question for good measure.
"I took him from that temple, gave him my name, made him my son... so I may have a son that could betray me without having to worry about it being the one my own wife had borne." Odin revealed in an almost blank tone. "In the following centuries I did everything I could to guarantee it would happen that way too. Showering my son with compliments and affection, and leaving the other with nothing. He soon showed to be chaos, which made him next-to-impossible to control. But the right kind of treatment made it so I could predict his reactions. I was sure that would guarantee he would be the one to betray me. I also made sure my son, Thor, was loyal to me above any other, so when the time break, he would take care of the problem."
"I would never kill my own brother!" Thor roared from his place.
"Exactly." Menel nodded as she smiled at Odin with obvious satisfaction. "That's what went wrong with your plan. Or at least one of the first things that went wrong with it. Thor actually grew to love his brother... the first one was Frigga loving him, being a true mother to him. To the point where she did her best to care for him in every way you never did, she loved him, nurtured him, taught him history, diplomacy, languages, magic... and then when you decided you could finally get rid of him, she wouldn't let you. After the mess with Jotunheim and the destruction of the Bifrost, when Loki fell into the abyss, you thought that was it, you'd won, and you didn't even have to do anything to get your hands dirty... Except Loki came back." She hissed. "Luckily for you he did so in such a way you didn't even need to make an effort to paint him as evil. And Thor followed your orders on going after him. Only even when Loki was taken back to Asgard for his trial you couldn't kill him, because Thor and Lady Frigga wouldn't let you. They both loved Loki too much." Her voice turned mocking. "Congratulations! You did a good enough job pretending to want him as your son that, even if you didn't manage to really lie to him, you got your family to love him as such!"
"That was never supposed to happen..." Odin admitted, voice tight. "He's a Jotun! A blood-thirsty monster! Both Frigga and Thor should have seen that, should have wanted him dead..."
"How obvious it is that you know nothing of love, or of family..." Azazeal's voice rose behind her. "You never have really. Even with the son you claim to love, coddling him so much that you never actually taught him limits was as much a disservice as the lack of love you had for Loki." He shook his head. "It's a wonder the Norns ever allowed you to be a father at all!"
The Norns kept their silence, if there was a reason (whether good or bad) for it all, they didn't say a word about it.
"You've spent the last millennia, working for a goal, one that was never meant to be, and you tried to force." Meneliel stated in a serious, yet calm voice. "Lady Santiel warned you what would happen if you tried to bend Fate, but you did it anyway... and that's why I'm here. To right the wrong you committed."
That one was actually more of an assumption and less an actual knowledge. But still, it fit, being the only Child of Chaos who could live her life in freedom; and while she'd been raised without knowing the truth of her heritage, her family, from the moment she learnt the truth she'd done her best to do right by them. And the final point was right then and there, justice would be done, she had sworn that to herself before leaving Midgard.
"And so we've come full-circle." She stated, still in the same tone. "You, Odin Allfather, have spent the last millennia making your people, making all the Realms, believe that my Father, Loki, is a monster, one that would one day destroy the universe. You went as far as creating the most twisted tale of war and destruction you could, blaming innocent children, condemning them for fake crimes... And wanna know something? It would have come to pass. If things had continued as they were, one day, not long from now, Ragnarok would have come, pretty much like you imagined one day only... guess who would have been the last one standing...?" There was no satisfaction as she said those words, only grief, and remembered pain.
"See!" Odin was actually beginning to sound insane as he spoke. "I knew! I knew it would happen! Because he's a monster! You're all monsters!"
"Yeah, that's why..." Menel drawled, rolling her eyes for good measure. "It's got nothing to do with the fact that, I don't know, you've been imprisoning and torturing my parents and all of my siblings for the last too many years... Ever heard the term 'self-fulfilling prophecy'?" Her voice turned ice-cold again. "Yes, Ragnarok would have come, yes, we would have been the ones to start it. And how could we not, with everything you've done to every single one of us our whole lives?!" She shook her head. "But we found out. And we made our choices. Because in the end that's exactly what they were, 'our choices', not anyone else's. We will not be your Harbingers of Ragnarok, instead we shall be what the Norns intended for us to be: Bringers of Change!"
Her family called their agreement loudly behind her.
"And so, here we are." The half elf said, her whole body relaxing as she realized it was done, the truth was out. "You came here for War, but we will not fight you, not unless you give us no other option. And if it does come, the universe will know it was started by you, not us. So, what will it be, Allfather? Will you give up, or will you insist on this pointless war?"
"When Santiel warned me of what was coming, she never spoke of you." Odin commented, oddly thoughtful. "Yet she must have known you're her descendant, after all."
"She did warn you what you wanted could never be." Meneliel reminded him.
"Indeed." Odin admitted, oddly calm for someone losing. "Yet, if I am to lose, so shall you..."
That put everyone in alert all over again. Meneliel didn't even notice when her husband stood before her, blade drawn, her siblings at her sides, her parents behind her, along with Sif, all with weapons ready, prepared for anything that might come.
"Oh, I don't mean myself." Odin stated in an almost pitying tone. "She knows what I speak of, do you not, princess Meneliel?" His tone really turned mocking then. "You cannot be capable of calling on the Higher Powers and not know the cost of such summons..."
Meneliel let out a breath, at the same time as her family all turned to look at her. Indeed, she knew, she had from the very moment the first word left her lips. In that aspect, what she had done when calling for Divine Justice was different from the time she'd called for a soul for Connor. On that time what she'd wanted was for the Norns to intercede before the actual Higher Power (of which the Norns were envoys) so a soul could be granted for the boy; back then her price to pay had been a part of herself (it was how she ended connected to the child herself), and energy (which had left her weak for a while, but eventually she recovered). However, in that moment what she'd done was call for their presence, for their judgement. That called for a very different price... a higher price.
The silence on her part, and her tension, more than any words or empty reassurances, alerted everyone around her to what exactly was going on through the half-elf's head.
"No!" Phil practically snarled his denial as he dropped his sword, spun around and held his match tightly in his arms, refusing to let her go. "You won't leave me. I shall not allow it!"
"Aratoamin..." She murmured his favored nickname, in an attempt to sooth him, though she knew well nothing would be enough.
"We require no sacrifice from you, Meneliel Lokidottir." The three Norns announced in unison.
That, was certainly a surprise, to everyone, especially Odin...
"That's impossible!" The Allfather practically snarled in fury. "A sacrifice must always be made, a price paid!" He gestured wildly. "That's is what you told me the one time I attempted to gain wisdom from you!"
"It is still true." Urd declared calmly. "Though your request was denied, more on the grounds of the selfishness behind your denial, than your refusal to pay the price for it."
"No price needs to be paid, because it already has been." The Maiden added calmly. "It was paid in full... years ago..." Her voice turned almost mournful as she enlisted. "In freedom... memories... blood... and life..."
Freedom: Tawariel's imprisonment for twenty-four years...
Memories: The ones Loki had lost for almost as long...
Blood: Menel's blood smeared on the stone floor of a cellar in Midgard...
Life: A life lost, but whose?
The answer came with a flash of light, as a figure appeared in the middle of the valley. Tall, slim, with perfectly smooth skin, sky-blue eyes and shiny golden hair half piled up on the back of her head in an elegant twist, half falling down to the small of her back in perfect waves. Layers of gray cotton, green gauze and turquoise silk adorned with golden thread formed an elegant, long battle dress, upon which she wore perfectly polished steel-and-gold armor (chest-piece, shoulder and arm-guards); delicate shoes were on her feet and a simple but finely crafted sword of the best metals in the universe was sheathed on her back.
There was no way anyone could not know who the woman was the moment the light and dust cleared and all eyes laid on her. Though the most heard were three cries:
"Majesty!"
"Frigga!"
"Mother...!"
And it was, indeed, the Lady Frigga: daughter of Fjörgyn, wife of Odin, mother of Thor and Loki, princess of Vanaheim, Queen of Asgard and Lady of Valhala...
After a cold stare at her husband and a loving look at her oldest son, Lady Frigga moved in the direction of her youngest. The reaction of the family was automatic as they opened the way for her to approach Loki; with her reaching him just as a long, half-sigh half-sob escaped the God of Chaos and he half-collapsed into his mother's arms...
"Mother..." He gasped quietly into her ear. "You're my mother... you really are... you always will be... my mother... I love you..."
So long he'd suffered for the last words he'd said to her, his supposed rejection when she'd challenged him, asking if his denial of Odin's position as his father meant he also rejected her as his mother (of course, back then she hadn't known all she learnt later... how far her husband was willing to go for his selfish idea of what was best... she had known some of it, enough to want to do her best to counteract him, but nowhere near enough).
"I know, my darling boy..." She whispered back in the same loving tone she'd always reserved for him. "I've always known. It's alright my son..."
All of Loki's children smiled brightly at the moment, at the way it all seemed to take a huge burden off Loki's shoulders. Everyone could see it the moment he let go off Frigga, the way he stood tall, proud, serene... in a way he hadn't been for many, many years. Everything that had been revealed that day, and finally the reunion with Frigga, it had allowed his soul to heal in a way it hadn't been able to for so long...
"The Norns said you didn't need to pay any price, because it had already been paid." Phil stated abruptly, turning to look at his wife. "You think that means..."
He didn't need to finish his statement, for Menel soon realized what he meant, and immediately turned to look at her grandmother in shock. Everyone who had heard Phil (which were quite many) were doing the same in fact.
"Mother..." Loki whispered in shocked disbelief. "Did you... really...?"
He didn't even know what to ask, or how.
"Oh my son..." Frigga whispered lovingly. "That day... from the very moment the attack began, I knew that things needed to be done, decisions had to me made. I knew many wouldn't understand it, most wouldn't even see it..."
"You fought for Jane, and that bastard slayed you..." Loki whispered, pained. "And it was..."
'And it was all my fault...' That was what he wanted to say, but Frigga didn't allow him to. She knew what he'd done, but she didn't hold him responsible, she just hoped once she explained the decisions she'd made that day, he would understand too:
"It is true I fought and I died." She nodded, her tone the most soothing, loving, ever. "Everything that happened that day, I chose. I knew the battle was coming, I knew the likeliest paths the future had, and with that in mind, I made my choice. And as much as I regret causing you, all of you, so much pain and grief... I do not regret the choice itself. Because I did what I did knowing it would be for the best, in the end." She caressed Loki's face as she added. "In the end, I chose to fight so that she could live, but I chose to die so that you would live..."
She...Jane... and him... Loki.
She had fought for Jane, and died for Loki...
"What...?!" Loki was too shocked to properly scream his confusion and denial.
If she was honest, at least with herself, it was something Menel had always wondered. According to everything she'd read, Lady Frigga was not only a queen, she was also a warrior-lady in her own right, knew how to do battle, and had done so in her youth (which made one wonder why Asgard was so shocked at the idea of women like Sif and Halle wanting to be warrior-ladies themselves). Still, it had made her wonder about the battle. She'd seen it in her dreams, once, and something about it just hadn't seemed right to her. Like... like it'd been too easy, almost as if, from the start, Lady Frigga had given up, chosen to die rather than fight. And there it was: the truth about it, and the reason...
"I fought for Jane." Frigga clarified. "She's so young, and an innocent. One who would have ended paying with her life simply for being a woman of science, for her continuous search for answers. Odin did not give her life the value it deserved, but I did; and it had nothing to do with her race, or her position, simply because one of my sons loved her." She turned to look over her shoulder, at Thor. "That was more than enough reason for me to fight for her..."
"Thank you mother..." Thor called respectfully, love shining in his eyes.
"And you, my darling boy..." Frigga went on as she turned back to him. "I know you had reason to doubt your place in my life once, and I will never regret anything more than I do that. You are my son Loki... you have been from the very moment the Allfather placed you in my arms. Even when he told me not to grow too attached, that he had plans for you; even when I believed those plans to be for us to unite two kingdoms through you and Thor rather than something more sinister; nothing he could have said or done would have ever made me love you any more, or less than I did from the start. From the moment you first laid on my arms you became my son, and nothing else mattered."
"Mother..." Loki whispered in a half-sob.
"I saw your eyes, that day, when Thor brought you back after the attack on Midgard." She went on. "I saw the way they changed. There was a fire in them, in you, as you were escorted into the palace, heavy with chains. I knew your magic, those chains would have never been enough to hold you if you truly wanted to be free... nothing could have held you then. You were just bidding your time, getting ready to make your move. I saw it... yet I didn't realize the mistake I was doing until I stepped into view. Until your eyes met mine and I saw that fire go out. I realized then you wouldn't fight for yourself, not with me there. I had ruined your one chance to carry out your plan, simply because I was too eager to see you again, to hold you in my arms, that I hadn't realized how you wouldn't want me in danger."
"More that I wouldn't have wanted you to see me lose my head when the Eihenjar went into action to honor their dead King." Loki didn't bother trying to hide what his intentions had been at the time, and what he knew the consequences would have been.
"Yes." Frigga didn't care for lies in that moment either. "It pained me, to see you give up like that. I promised myself then, I would find a way." She shook her head. "It took me a year to realize it, that it was my presence there, my visits, that were keeping you from acting."
"To be fair, it was also your visits that were keeping me sane." Loki deadpanned.
"I know my boy..." Frigga nodded. "I also knew that if I allowed things to remain as they were you would lose yourself, piece by piece, until there would be nothing left of my beloved son. At first I knew not how to help you, I knew it was more than just a matter of the cell you were in, you could have gotten out of there at any time..." She shook her head. "The words I said to you that day, when I asked you if I wasn't your mother... I know I hurt you. It was a desperate attempt to make you react. I thought if you truly stopped seeing me as your mother then you would have no more reason to hold back..." She sighed. "Such a fool I was."
"You were only trying to help me." Loki said softly in understanding.
"That I was." Frigga agreed. "I might not have always done the right thing, but I always tried to do my best by you, you and Thor both."
"We are fortunate to have you as our mother." Loki declared proudly.
"I knew from the start that I needed to protect Jane Foster." Frigga explained. "Odin cared not for her, only for what was inside her, Thor was busy with the trouble in the prisons and..."
"And I wasn't there to help you..." Loki finished for her, self-loath obvious in his voice.
"It wasn't your fault." Frigga assured him. "I had no fear of war, even if it'd been many a year since I last was in one. Then Malekith came, and I fought him, came close to defeating him, until the Kursed appeared..."
"Why did you not escape?" Hela blurted out. "You could have saved yourself..."
"I could have, but what difference would that have made then?" Frigga agreed. "We would be exactly were we'd begun." She shook her head, touching her son's cheek. "It was my hope that my death would push Odin into seeing the truth, into giving you a second chance. And... sacrifice has always carried great power." The admission shocked everyone. "In my last moments I offered my life to the Higher Powers, that it may serve when it was needed the most." She turned to smile at the half-elven girl. "And that moment came when my beautiful granddaughter called on the Norns for Divine Justice earlier..." Her smile turned just the slightest bit mischievous. "Being in Valhalla also gave me the chance to send back to you the help you needed, when you needed him most." She smiled at Phil. "I honestly did not prevent for things to turn exactly this way, but I'm glad they did... All of you together, you are a miracle."
"We're all we are thanks to you, Grandmother..." Meneliel whispered with a teary smile.
Really, the woman had just told them that she'd pretty much let herself die in a most painful way, just for a chance that her sacrifice might save her son and his family one day.
The family took a moment for a quick but heart-felt hug before Lady Frigga turned back to where the Norns (and the Aesir) were still waiting.
"You have my gratitude for giving me this chance, my ladies." The Queen said with a respectful nod. "I have now said my piece."
"That you have." Verdandi agreed.
"All truths have been revealed." Skuld added.
"All secrets unveiled." Urd complimented.
"Now it's time for judgement to be passed." The three finished in unison.
"Honorable Ladies." Odin called unexpectedly. "With all due respect, the... Lady Meneliel was allowed to speak for her father, shouldn't I be granted the opportunity to have someone do the same?"
Some people probably would swear that the Norns actually arched a brow (each) at those words, yet when Verdandi spoke, she was perfectly cordial:
"Of course Allfather, that is your right." The Mother agreed amiably.
With what probably was supposed to be a magnanimous aura, the Allfather turned around, looking at the army of Eihenjar who'd followed him to the valley, most of which wouldn't look at him, not even Tyr; though somehow he seemed to miss that. In the end, predictably, Odin's eyes laid on his son; what wasn't quite as predictable (at least not to him) was Thor's response.
"No." The God of Thunder stated in the most solemn voice anyone had ever heard from him.
"My son?" Odin called, as if believing that his choice of adress would change Thor's mind.
"No, Allfather." The blonde's own choice of address showed his choice. "Not this time. All these years I've stood by your side, watched you, watched everyone look down on my brother, make him feel less. To the point where he doubted his place at my side, as my equal... then he lost his way, and I lost my center. But never again. I now know my place, and I'm no longer afraid to stand by my convictions. My place is by my brother's side, as it was always meant to be."
"He's not your brother!" Odin called loudly, desperately, in a way so reminiscent of how Loki himself had stated pretty much the same at one point. "He never was!"
"But he is my brother, always has been, always will be." Thor retorted with a quiet intensity. "It matters not if we did not come from the same womb; we were raised together, side by side; we played together, fought together... we are brothers by a covenant of blood, and that is much more important than the color of our skins."
Having said that Thor calmly went to stand by his brother and family; after a couple of seconds' hesitation, the Warriors Three followed after him, going to stand by Sif, who looked at them with an 'about-damn-time' expression.
"This is all your fault!" Thor roared at Meneliel and Loki.
"Actually Allfather, it's yours." Tawariel informed him evenly. "You mistook Lady Santiel's warning for a second prophecy. She warned you that if you tried to prevent her actual prophecy, which was the Coming of Change, then your son would betray you... you did all you did in an attempt to, in your mind, prevent both things from happening. Truth is, in trying to prevent the first, you caused the second. And the first could have never been stopped anyway." She smiled beatifically. "You can twist destiny, but never fate."
"How true..." The Crone agreed with a hint of satisfaction. "And now, the time really has come."
Odin did not get the opportunity to complain or delay them again; the sentence was pronounced before he got chance for anything:
"Odin Allfather..." The three began speaking in sync. "You have betrayed your blood, your people, the Realms you swore to protect and Yggdrassil itself. Divine Justice has been called, and therefore we declare you Forsworn, and we banish you from all those you've hurt by word or deed. May the memories follow you wherever you go, may you see the truth, be conscious of your own sins; so one day you might repent for them and seek atonement. Until then, be gone!"
And on their order, he was. That was the true level of power the Norns, as envoys of the Higher Power, carried; a power that'd never before been seen.
Truth was most present doubted that the Allfather would ever accept his mistakes, much less seek atonement. But at least they no longer had any need to worry about him. They were finally free.
This is where I was going all along with the whole 'Skye is magic, magic is chaos, therefore is chaos'... Hope you approve.
I know I've made Odin beyond evil in this one. It's funny because I made him a bastard in Nightingale, but he's still been redeemed in a few of those; and will be, eventually, in the main timeline. But after reading so many fics with him being downright evil I couldn't help but want to try my hand at that... I might have taken it too far in the end. I actually hadn't thought of the whole 'that's why he truly adopted Loki' until recently, but it fit everything else so beautifully, and it allowed me to give a twist to Odin's plans and at the same time explain why he's been wanting to destroy Loki's children all along yet never did anything to Loki himself...
About the Norns... in my head they're a mix of the actual Norns and the Greek Fates, like I said before (with a hint of Oh My Goddess thrown in before I just cannot help but think about that anime whenever I think about those sisters...). Their positions are based on what I found on a website, which explained the names of the Norns as I do in the fic and their function: not past, present and future; but past, present and necessity. Also, from there I got the difference between fate (written and unchangeable... and a Greek concept), and destiny (dynamic, volatile and always evolving... the actual Norse version and what concerns the Norns). If you're interested the website is:
So, no battle... yeah, I hope you weren't waiting for an epic confrontation 'King Arthur' style... I'm bad at those. Sometimes (very rarely) I'm capable of writing a believable fight (I liked how the fight between Skye and the Winter Soldier, before he was fully saved, went), but most of the time I'm no good. Also, it's one thing writing one battle, another writing a veritable war (there's a reason I've been avoiding those like crazy). Finally, lets be logical here, had there been a war, people on both sides would have had to die, and I just didn't have it in myself to kill any of Loki's children... not after all it took to bring them all together. So, no epic war.
"I chose to fight for her, but I chose to die for you"... that phrase had been in my notes practically since I began writing Lokidottir. I always knew I wanted to give a new meaning to Frigga's death. And I think like Menel, like it just doesn't fit with who the Queen was supposed to be, the experience she was supposed to have.
I hope you like the way I've woven everything together. I'm no Frigga but it's been hard work being able to justify every tiny detail in a way that's logical enough with the original MCU and everything else I've built from it.
Oh, one more thing. What Meneliel sings at the beginning of the chapter if the first verse (in English at least) of the song Doomsday by the band Globus. I think it reflects perfectly what Ragnarok is for me (got all these thoughts and feels about such topics in my head ever since I wrote my final paper for my grad studies on 2012, the Mayan Calendar and the 'End of Days' -it was awesome!-).
Next chapter: explanations, consequences, and people begin to find their place now that Ragnarok is off the table (at least for now!) Now that the threat has passed is time for Menel to begin to consider who she really is...