Author's Notes:
Originally created by Jack Kirby in 1971, the Black Racer is the avatar of Death for the New Gods, whose touch sends their essence back to the Source. No one can outrun him and he comes for all the New Gods when they are about to perish.
In old Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is the immense tree connecting the nine worlds, attended to by the three Norns (Fates).
XCIV
Yggdrasil
On a field in Elysium, Barbara stared in horror-tinged disbelief at the returned Raven…
"He wants you?!..." It took Raven a moment to piece together that Barbara had misunderstood her exact meaning.
"Yes… To rule by his side as his daughter, Barbara... And to kill everyone I love so that I may embrace him."
"Again, ewww… And I am so sorry, Raven. I have no idea how that must feel."
"We do not choose our mothers and fathers, but we can choose our actions. I will never sacrifice the people I care for to appease a father who cares nothing for who I am."
"I can see now why Bruce married you… You two are more alike than I even thought possible. Speaking of, how is he?"
"… He is alive. Lex Luthor is dead and Bruce has now become the acting President. He urges the forces of Earth to rally as a unified resistance against Trigon and urges us not to delay with any assistance."
"We have all the time in the world here in Elysium. We should plan this carefully…"
"You may have time Barbara Gordon, but Scott Free does not. Behold the dark figure rising beyond the crest of that hill…"
They all looked at the grassy knoll where Raven indicated, perhaps three hundred yards in the wind-swept distance. Highlighted against the blue sky there was a dark man, dressed in strange garb who was no spirit. In each hand he held a pole and moved without walking… gliding towards them. Pushing against the stream of time, the dark figure of death made his way towards Scott.
"NOOOO!" Barda's scream pierced the quiet still of Elysium as she stood between Scott and the far, impending figure of omen. "The Black Racer will not take him!"
"Barda," From behind her, Raven placed a reassuring hand on the large woman's shoulder, "we must leave now. Let us travel to the edges of the Promethean Galaxy while there is still time and plead with the Highfather for the life of his only son."
"I will drag Izaya here myself if I have to. Take us, traveler. I am ready."
"Hold my hand and don't let go. We travel to the ends of the Universe."
The familiar black smoke arose as Raven and Barda disappeared in the Cosmos. As the dark plumes dissipated, Barbara's clear blue eyes were still fixed on the ominous figure as he inched steadily forward, his own gaze locked upon the dying New God.
Scott's life was in the hands of the Gods now…
Into the unknown blackness of the Universe, Raven traveled farther and faster than she ever had. She blazed past stars where demons feared to tread, then past the tears of lost angels abandoned, towards the very origin itself.
The empty blackness of space rippled and became the Sea of Oblivion beneath her… becoming colder and colder as she streaked across empty immeasurable distance. Oblivion's waves soon became cascading ice beyond the light of stars as she entered a dimension of frozen solitude with an eternal sky. In her soul, she felt the hatred of forgotten ages unmoving beneath its glacial core, frozen in time.
Past the perpetual icescape she became engulfed by fogs and mists... All direction was lost to the cold miasma now surrounding the pair, stealing all sense and reason. These were the cold mists of Oblivion.
Raven sensed and followed the faint traces of love and hope in the land beyond, allowing it to become her beacon in this numbing pall of despair. There was only one path to escape the Eternal Fog and she prayed this was it. The god beside her wept, Barda's fears of lost-love overwhelming in sorrow's mists.
"It's alright, Barda... There is a way out."
"These cold mists bead against my warrior's countenance… Hurry, girl."
The beacon of hope had not led her astray…The mists broke to reveal the totality of life, a sight beyond anything Raven could ever have imagined.
Thousands of miles before them was what Raven could only describe as the largest tree in existence. Had they not emerged from the fog so far away, Raven was not sure she would have realized it was even a tree at all. Perhaps a brown planet below a green nebula.
But it was a tree!
A tree at the very center of the Universe, upon an island composed of the sands of time with massive roots spread into the Sea of Oblivion. As impressive a sight as it was, it was the emotion and power that held Raven in a rapture.
Power flowed through her from the brilliant doorway composed of a thousand stars suspended above this mighty tree… the sum of all things combined. Through that doorway lay eternal knowledge and the power to create all existence itself. Even the great tree's branches sought the light as a seedling seeks the sun.
She had never beheld such a light, or felt such a power as the fiery rectangular supremacy of light that beamed within her, through her, beyond her. It was understanding, knowledge, consciousness, order, the very power of life!...
It was all that Azarath had stripped its soul bare for so many years ago. A tiny spark now reunited with the sun. The entirety of the civilization within her soul rejoiced… before them was the divine presence of their very essence!
"Ye Gods, Girl. You've taken us to the Source itself…" Barda's voice was barely a whisper, lost before the majesty of the power shining all around them. Emotions crackled in the air around, a million stories inhaled with every breath.
"I was guided here, Barda. That is the… Source?"
"Aye. The Source of Creation itself. Gods, men, stars… The source of all consciousness and light. That a simple god as myself should ever gaze upon its eternal glory… It is too much."
"You are welcome here, Barda of Apokolips."
Before them was a giant woman, at least three times the height of Barda with long, flowing hair of white flaxen gold cascading down past her waist. She carried an ancient jar as large as Raven which she dipped into the Sea of Oblivion, allowing its waters to fill the emptiness before effortlessly lifting it upon her shoulder.
"Come. There are things we must discuss." She turned and walked barefooted upon the waters, back towards the tree. Each step seemed to carry her fathoms across the sea. Raven had no choice but to follow…
Perhaps it was a lifetime of study suddenly remembered, or that all was revealed in the shining light of the Source, but in an epiphany, Raven realized who it was that they now followed...
"By the Mother! You are the Weaver!" The giantess turned back to reply.
"I have many names, Mistress. I am but one of the Three Fates, the Norns. You may call me Urd… It is the great tree Yggdrasil before you which is Fate's true weaver. My sisters and I are but humble caretakers."
"The Fates…" Barda's mind spiraled into a land devoid of structured thought, adrift in dancing catatonia with the sudden possibilities and ramifications. The Gods themselves were not beyond the domain of the Three. And the Source…
"And we are your humble charges," replied Raven. "Thank you for your guidance and for accepting us into this holiest of creation."
"Your fate is of the iron thread, Raven Wayne. But you may become greater still. I did not name you Mistress lightly… Indeed, it is only a single word away that you should become our mistress. Come, let us talk with my sisters."
"There is a life we endeavor to save, wise Urd. Time is short."
"It is a life we will endeavor to save as well, my Lady."
"These are happy words. You have moved my strong companion beyond words."
Urd only smiled. Upon the shore were two other women of similar stature whom Raven could only assume were Verdandi and Skuld. Urd appeared to be the eldest while Skuld was the youngest. Raven was in the presence of a power greater than any she had ever known, and she had stood before Trigon himself.
"The true Princess of Apokolips," spoke Verdandi bowing her head at the two visitors. "We welcome you."
"… I am not a Princess." Barda regained her senses only long enough to become confused by the words of this formal greeting.
"You are a Princess of New Genesis by marriage, Barda Free. Beside you stands the true Princess of Apokolips by birth. Princesses of dark hair and loving hearts both of you. But the Iron Thread of Fate runs through young Raven. And now, the path of creation is being foretold in her future…"
"I am of Azarath, my Lady. Demon-sired and born of human mother. I am not from Apokolips."
"Your father is a Prince of Apokolips, Raven Wayne… You will realize this in time." It was Skuld who answered her now. "But let us talk of your future."
"My future, my Lady?"
"Our future, Mistress. Far above us in the Great Tree, an ancient branch has withered and died. Once, it was perhaps the greatest branch of Yggdrasil itself, reaching across the edge of night to caress the Source itself. But the branch has allowed itself to die and fall so that another branch from the farthest reaches may grow in its place. A branch with the iron thread…"
"That my thread should be even tree sap in such a splendor as this is beyond mortal understanding."
"And yet it is so much more… Only the iron thread may grow so tall in the presence of the Source's burning light, yet only the soft sap of Love may bend the bough to spread its shade below, to shelter the tree. An iron thread will take the place of the fallen branch…" Skuld lowered herself onto her knees so that she could now look at Raven eye-to-eye. "And we pray that it is you."
"I… I shall serve you however I may, Great Mothers."
"If this destiny is to pass, you may command us." Verdandi again.
"No… I could not. I would not. To command fate is to destroy the natural order."
"You are wise and you are good." It was Urd who spoke once more. "Go with our love, Mistress. We shall meet again and discuss these things further."
Skuld gently took Raven's small hands… "Obey your father's last wish. Only by this filial duty will the black soul of Nidhogg finally find peace in the waters beyond, the brother's sin cleansed by its waters. You will know what to do when the time comes."
"Depart with Fates' blessings, Princesses of the Gods. Save the life of Scott Free so that the Great Tree may prosper in the Universe."
With a wave of her hand, Verdandi waved farewell to the strangers as they traveled through a rainbow of light, beyond the Source and into the very throne room of New Genesis…
Guest Notes:
The author is very pleased to welcome a special guest star who is well-suited to help explain recent events… Coming all the way from the Anime/Manga section of FanFic, please extend your warmest greetings to the Goddess of the Present…
Belldandy!
"Thank you, mina-san! I promise to do my best. What a strange twist of events that Raven and Barda should journey to the Great Tree itself! And they even met my mythic namesake, Verdandi! I assume she's the pretty one. My sisters Urd and Skuld seemed much less mischievous than where I'm from...
But back to the task at hand… Ahem…
You may have noticed various references to the Great Ocean throughout this story, terms such as the Sea of Oblivion, the Nun, The Seas of the Styx and so forth. The founder of analytical psychology Carl Jung referred to a Collective Unconscious, which others have likened to the black tides which surround the islands of our Personal Unconsciousness, or our spirit.
In this story, when the personal unconsciousness, or essence of an individual, is submerged into these waters, it is dissolved. A million collected memories, emotions and dreams become eroded into tiny atoms, like what happened to Teth-Adam's lover Isis when she hurled herself into the waters of the Nun.
But do not despair! These soul-fragments are reborn! Carried by this infinite ocean to the Great Tree Yggdrasil, where it draws upon them to grow and create new life and weave the threads of Fate up through its sap and into mighty branches. It is the power of the Source which draws the essence of souls back to itself through the world tree. An everlasting cycle of spiritual decomposition and rebirth.
The dimension of ice and mist that Raven and Barda crossed before coming upon Yggdrasil was Nivlheim. In this vast wasteland, the souls of evil are frozen in the waters until their ways are forgotten or the fiery demons of Muspelheim liberate them as mists.
And I must admit that I am very eager to learn more of Raven's origin. A Princess of the war-world Apokolips! And will they save Scott in time? I do hope so. I don't like it when characters die in FanFics… I find it most depressing… In my manga, no one ever dies…
Oh… the author tells me my time is running short… Thank you so much for allowing me this rare opportunity to explain Norse mythology and the mythical metaphors the author is using throughout Elsewhere. Comics and mythology have so much in common.
Personally, I would find a 'Batman/Oh! My Goddess' crossover most entertaining! The blossoming romance of an athletic, crime-fighting Gotham U student who makes a wish with a certain Goddess of the Present… building funny snowmen on the mean streets of Gotham…. Sigh….
Five seconds?! Gomennasai!
Remember to stop by the Oh! My Goddess section of FanFic! Sayonara mina-san!"