Alfheim was proving to be the worst realm so far. She had been traveling for several months already with no major bumps in the road. Occasionally she found herself sidetracked by people in need of assistance. A dragon hidden inside a cave set her back a week thanks to her fear of lightning. But all in all, she was pleasantly surprised by the ease and comfort she found in traveling. Niflheim had been her first destination, hoping to run into any info on the whereabouts of Narfi. Sadly she found no sign of them.
She memorized the trip a lifetime ago. She walked it countless times in her dreams. Laufey dangled from her legs inside a cave within the ring temple, the fabric from her skirt tucked in between her knees, some of it threatened to brush by the wet paint of the finished runes.
Trying to keep as quiet as possible as she concentrated her spell within her right hand. Her legs and upper body fought with itself back and forth on how to keep balanced. Golden lines form the shape of runes. They promote the reader to climb up and to the right. She arches her body up and grips a hold of a crack in the wall. When she found there weren't any more places to grip she reached for her axe off her back and slammed it into the stone. Making a new notch to grab onto. She groaned as she reaches her arm to her back to sheath the weapon all while still holding onto the wall. She looks up and sees she is almost at the top. Campusing herself for a moment she swings her feet onto the wall and jumps up to the top. Easily making the long jump up thanks to Brock's boots. With her arms starting to grow tired, she decided she would finish the painting from up here.
It was quiet and peaceful work. She rarely found herself thinking of the fact no one may ever use this. She was grateful for her physical training all those past 5 years built up her upper body strength. As for her skills with the axe, she found herself using it often and suddenly without warning. Brok was right, the world seemed to grow even more violent. The enemies were not as easy as her imagined ones in her routines, but she got better with each one.
Alfheim was in a permanent war between the dark and light elves. At the moment the light elves held control over the light. She knew better than to get in the middle of it. Hopefully, all the fighting will distract them from seeing her work.
She leaned back in her little rowboat. Her arms hurt from climbing, swinging, and now rowing all day. It was so beautiful here. She let the boat wake in the river as she laid down her head on the seat and propped her feet up, dangling over the edge of the boat. It was hot outside, at least hot for her. She pulls her dress over her knees and airs out her inner thighs. The light of Alfheim was shining brightly. What a waste she thought. They overuse it too much, getting drunk off its effects. She herself feels the high from the outpour of light. It felt entrancing as if she was floating. It plays tricks with her emotions sometimes. Some days it made her body suddenly ache for a lover. But most of the time it simply caused every muscle in her body to relax until she grew lazy off the feeling. She rolled her eyes at the way it affected her, reaching up to grasp the edge of the boat lifting her back to her seat. She would never involve herself in the war by choosing to fight for one side. But she knew the dark elves were correct in their goal. This is too much. This power, It is a drug and the light elves are addicted to it and risk overdosing all the inhabitants of Alfheim whenever they were in power over it.
She still has several more spots to paint inside the ring temple. But she needed to take a moment to gather her thoughts. Working so close to the light she feared she'd lose herself to it and its effects. Overhead a dark elf zooms by her. She ducks suddenly, rocking the boat back and forth violently, almost capsizing. She probably wouldn't have been noticed if she simply sat still. But he saw her and approached.
"ᛈᚢᚱᛈᛟᛋᛖ?!" It screams in its language. 'Shit.' She thinks to herself. She was always a little rusty speaking their language.
"No foe, only traveler." She manages to spit out.
"ᛃᛟᚢ ᚠᛁᚷᚺᛏ ᚠᛟᚱ ᛚᛁᚷᚺᛏ! ᛁ ᚾᛟᛏ ᚠᛟᛟᛚ, ᛞᛁᛖ!" It screams, diving at her with his pike.
She sighs and jumps high off the boat, leaving her axe behind as she lands nearby in a bush on land. He follows her, weapon in hand. She runs towards the light of the ring temple far away. He is right behind her. She gauges where he is in lieu of her hands. Then, summons the axe. It flies directly into him as it rushes to meet her hands. She dodges the dead limp body as it flings past her. The leviathan quickly jets back around into her hands, covered in slimy blood. She guesses she's walking the rest of the way back.
As the last guard drifted out of sight she moved into the center room holding the light. It was blinding, she held a hand up to shield her eyes. She ignores the temptation to dive into it and makes quick work of the last few spots to paint within the temple. Once finished she rolls her shoulders in satisfaction, each rotation making popping sounds. She looks around and sees the pillar of light. It certainly is beautiful. She approaches it slowly. Pausing to try and listen for the voices it offers in temptation. She is surprised she didn't hear her brother's voice in it. That would probably be the best way to tempt her into doing something foolish. Honestly, it was almost too quiet in her opinion. She got closer to the light, hovering her hand out over the beam. Suddenly her ear began to sting. The cuff, it was burning her ear. She grasped for it but tripped forwards a few steps in pain. She accidentally falls into the light. She felt the sting of electricity and fire overtake her body. A bright white engulfed her vision, then, darkness.
"With you, I remember..." A voice says. A man's voice. It was deep and reverberating, like a bear. She turns to try and find the source, but she was all alone in the darkness. She walks forward in a direction she isn't sure of.
"Momma Wait! Let me do it all by myself this time!" A boys voice asks her. It wasn't Loki's though. She'd recognize the prophesied boy's voice anywhere.
"So do I give you my life to keep." Two voices say simultaneously. One was hers, the other the man's from before. She felt something brushing up against her hand, a ribbon. When she felt for it nothing was there.
She suddenly finds herself inside a house, everything gave off a distorted glaze. She looked around, shelves filled with books and bottles filled the walls. Two beds out in front of her. She was standing next to one of the beds. A boy, barely a child sat huddled over some books and loose paper.
"Momma?"
Suddenly the glaze faded. She was there, physically. She felt the warm air of the fire pit mixing with the coldness that seeped in from outside. She could smell smoked meat drying above the beams on the ceiling and the fresh moss stuffed inside the pillows on the bed. The small child sat before her. She thought she was looking into a reflection of herself from long ago. Blue eyes shining brightly like a whisper of happy memories from her past. His head was round like a duck egg. Scrapes of brick red hair peeking out from his scalp, like a man's faces in the evening when he shaved early that day. When he breathed in his nostrils flared unevenly, the right first and then the left. His eyebrows scrunched up in contemplation as he held a quill in his hand. He pressed his teeth down on top of his withdrawn in lips, just as she did when she was thinking. Only his lips were uneven thanks to several teeth missing in his mouth.
Loki?
But he looked so different this time, nevertheless, he was there, in front of her. She felt it, this was her son. She reached out trembling hands, they pulled back before they reached his face. He looked up from his work and smiled. Leaning casually into her touch with the side of his head. The bristly soft hair caressing her hands. Something drove her body forward. She lunges and embraces him, engulfing the small child. She wanted every part of her to shield and touch, protect and embrace him. Love? No, it would be too frivolous to call this feeling love. She wanted to inject herself in his world any way she could find, even if she had no right to. What a strange and foolhardy way to feel she laughs. Every weight she's ever felt lifted from her, yet a strange new one took its place. One she doesn't mind, it makes every part of her delighted.
"Momma?" The boy says in her arms. "Are you sad?" He looks up at her, worries in his blue eyes. "Be happy mamma!" He said with a stern look, wiggling his arms free from her grasp. His dirty hands press harshly onto her cheeks and pull them up to her ears. Spreading her lips into a smile, he didn't put any effort into being gentle. She followed his demands and smiled through her now cracked lips from the stretching. She brought his forehead close to kiss. But before her lips meet his skin Loki vanishes. "No!" She yells out. Her arms waving around desperately trying to find him again.
From below the wooden floor of the house, a chain wraps around her neck and yanks her backward. It burns her skin as it had previously. A hand shoved into her hair and pulls her scalp away from her skull. Something begins breathing in her ear. An animal? The chains jingles as she is pulled closer to the beast behind her. She turns to look at her capture but Loki reappears in front of her. Crying. He is watching her get subdued. "No! Stop it!" the child yells. He starts convincing, finally, he screams out a painful roar. The chains leave Laufey's neck almost instantly. They fly towards him, their new victim. Wrapping around his arms, legs, and neck. They glow with a dim red flame as they loop around his skin several times. He continues to scream, bringing his hands up to his face before they are torn away by the chains. The blue from his eyes fading.
Her baby. Hysteria overtakes her.
She lunges forward to rescue him but runs into a man. A man painted white and red. He grips her arm, preventing her from reaching the boy. "I have to help him!" She pleads, not even looking at his face. "Please, he needs me!" He shoves her back onto the floor. The white and red man turns to face the screaming child and walks towards him, alone, without her. "Wait!" She calls out on hands and knees. Then everything disappears.
The light, that's right she is in the pillar of light right now. She closes her eyes in the light and searches for a dimming sensation on her face. She feels her eyes relax in one direction and walks towards it. Her foot slips and she falls down into a bottomless pit. She spits out of the pillar into the center of the ring temple. Drenched with sweat. She catches her breath and calms down. Emotions still threatening to overtake her. Focus. 'It is simply a trick of the light,' She tells herself but this one was done well. It had been a while since a vision has disturbed her this much. She's had them all her life. But to make the idea of motherhood palatable? This was a first, along with the two men she saw.