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Do you swear to guard the nine realms?
And do you swear to preserve the peace?
Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and to pledge yourself only to the good of the realms?
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Frost giants. In the Weapon's Vault of Asgard itself. The Destroyer had dealt with the threat, as intended. Two guards lay slain, as did the giants themselves.
Such threat was unlikely to have come from the Giants themselves. They lacked the heart of their realm, the Casket of Ancient Winters. It was the source of their power as a people, and, cut off from it as they were, they had no ability to travel as they must have travelled so to come to his realm. Odin had ordered the Casket taken, at such great loss, that they might have no more any great sorcerer to open the ways across realms.
An outside force had aided them. Of this, Odin was sure.
Though his sons allowed him little time more to think on it.
Thor demanded retaliation. He raged and he thundered and Odin remembered why he had told Frigga their fool son was unready for the throne. The Odinsleep was needful for him, but not so needful as to leave this son on the throne.
Odin knew that his sons scorned his rule. Thor, overtly, loudly, and Loki, more insidiously, hidden from his eye. Odin preferred the former. The former might be directly dealt with. The later was more difficult. Loki had not grown with years out of his silence and his tricks any more than Thor had grown out of his stupidity and pride.
But. The two could work against one another to his benefit. They had in the past and they would, no doubt, farther in the future. Frigga had said nearly the same when she assured him that they could only aid each other while he slept and Thor was on the throne.
She would not like that he had revoked Thor's coronation.
But Thor would learn humility. By whatever means necessary.
His sons both were men grown. If they would not abide by his rule while he sat astride Hlidskjalf itself, what was he to expect of them while he lay asleep. He would have them learn the consequences of their actions while yet he bode with them in the waking world.
Sinking wearily down, Odin knew he hadn't much time.
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"AllFather," a guardsman saluted him.
Returning to himself, Odin focused his one eye on the man.
Distantly, Odin realized that the position of Asgard's sun was not as it had been. Longer time than he had intended had gone by.
"You may speak."
"AllFather," the man repeated, "I bring missive from the Prince, Loki. He bade me inform you that Thor has made good on his word to you."
Odin rose. "When did he give you this word?"
The man looked confused, startled by Odin's agitation. He blinked once, then stammered, "Only just now, my lord."
Odin watched the man for the space it took to inhale one breath. Then he looked away. The man lied. Likely, Loki had spoken with the man within the hour, but certainly not as recently as the man implied.
It angered him that the einherjar could speak loyalty to him and yet scorn one he claimed as his blood.
But such was Loki's affair. He was man grown. Should he desire the respect of the men he had but to win it. And should he desire aid in that, or advice, he need but ask.
"Ready my horse," Odin told the man, "I ride for BiFrost."
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If you want more "backstory" and more of my immediately pre-coronation theories, see the last couple chapters of 'In the End'