"So Loki, what is Asgard like?" Charles began as he poured tea in Strange's library.

The ebony haired god almost rolled his eyes. "I'm sure Doctor Strange has told you of it…. or Thor, at least.

Xavier shook his head. "They didn't; I hoped that you would tell me about it." He pulled a small book from his coat pocket. "Have you heard of the Poetic and Prose Edda?" At Loki's unimpressed expression, he leaned his elbows on the table and folded his hands together. "These were written in 1270 A.D. The stories about Asgard, the Nine realms, and the gods themselves, of course. The Norse Pantheon. So I assume most of it is real because of…" he waved a hand, "You and Thor." Loki snorted, but Xavier continued. "By the time these stories were written down however, Christianity had overtaken the poly-theistic gods of Norway, and some of the stories were Christianized. The stories said that each of you had a 'hall' of your own."

"Then why ask me what Asgard is like if you have read these stories?" Loki returned somewhat testily as he sifted through the book.

"The Eddas don't really give a descriptive knowledge of what Asgard looks like. Suffice to say that it probably matches the lifestyle of the Norse people, including the royalty of the time."

Loki snorted, "It's why Asgard believes that Midgard is so backwards."

"You haven't answered my question though, Loki." Xavier interrupted.

The former God of Mischief shrugged. "That book is correct in that there are nine realms, including Asgard which is the realm of the Aseir, and Midgard, home to the mortals. Asgard itself is a planet on a flat disk, more or less. The city is golden, in a literal sense; it's made of gold, much like your fictional tale of El Dorado. No, we don't have our own halls, but we did live in a palace in the middle of the city. We lived in the palace. Tyr is our-Thor's uncle. As to the other gods, yes, they do exist as well. Eir is the healer of the gods; I've been sent to her more times than I care to admit. Later, I was a guest of the dungeons that were across the metropolis, which is underground. There is an infinity waterfall that flows downward to the edge of the planet that falls into a void. Across this is the Bi-Frost, which you have to either walk, ride or fly to reach the observatory, where Heimdall stands guard. From there, the Watchman turns a key, and the bridge extends to whatever realm you wish to visit."

The same waterfall where Frigga's body was plunged and her spirit became stars, and the same bridge I let go . Loki thought to himself while a pang of guilt tugged at his heart. He took a deep shuddering breath as his mind once again shouted ' You led them to her. '

"So, you and Thor lived near each other in the palace, then?" Xavier inquired.

Loki nodded. "We shared a room until our tenth birthday, then we were relegated to separate chambers. Thor was to begin lessons in ruling Asgard."

He drew in his mouth a little. I knew I would never be king, even if Odin said we were both born to rule. How naive I was. No one on Asgard wanted a bookish king with Seidr, they wanted someone strong and brutish like Odin…or Thor. Clearing both his throat and his mind, he continued his narrative. "When Thor was 12, he was considered of age to go on adventures with Sif and the Warriors Three, sometimes into the forests surrounding Asgard's capital city."

"He didn't invite you?" The Professor asked, somewhat surprised.

"He did, at first. But the Three didn't like me much, I was seen as a tag along that was only useful when we got into a spot of trouble. They tolerated me because I was Thor's brother and a prince as well. It didn't help that I was learning magic from both Amora and my-mother. They said it was ergi …an insult that means unmanly." He set his teacup down hard, a bitter expression in his face. "I didn't care though; my magic gave me power against those who would bully me. Perhaps that's why I became untrustworthy to so many, including Thor."

"Didn't Thor defend you?" Xavier seemed surprised at this.

"He did at first, but soon found the jokes about my Seidr funny, thanks to the Three; they like to boost his ego by tearing me down." Loki snapped. "I was always getting us out of difficult situations where we were over our heads. Thor didn't have Mjolnir at the time, but he was still hot-headed and always in the mood for picking a fight. I used my Seidr to get out of a fight with a Bilchsteim."

Xavier tilted his head slightly, "Bilchsteim?"

Loki paused, suddenly thrown out of the flow of his story. "I forgot that mortals don't have such creatures on this planet.'

"You'd be surprised. Over 200 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed this planet. In the 16th century, sailors who traveled to the Caribbean saw manatees and thought they were mermaids." He fished out a phone, and after a few taps, slid it over to Loki.

He observed a stocky looking fish with a flat tail fin. "I do see where they get the notion. You mortals have such odd superstitions, like with black cats."

"And Asgard doesn't?"

"Certainly not," Loki affirmed. "Ours is a world of actual monsters and beasts that we must be on guard against at all times. We have order and rules of engagement with the enemy; and use both magic and technology to combat them, and at the same time, sustain our society."

"Technology? Such as?" Charles wanted to know.

Loki grinned, "Actual flying vehicles for travel. Not like your…aero-planes or fighter jets…. well perhaps slightly like those, but more advanced. Our technology is 1000 years ahead of Midgard's own. It is a shame that mortals are not really allowed on Asgard's soil, because they could learn a great deal. It could evolve your society too fast. That and Aseir look down on mortals for their short life spans."

"Point taken." Xavier sighed, making it a subject to discuss what some famous mortals had achieved in their lifetimes in a future meeting. "Now, you were telling me of this creature you fought?"

"Oh yes." Loki seemed to shake his rant and followed with, "Bilchsteim are huge, scaly, with large antlers. They roam the forests. We were cornered by one and tried to battle with it. Unfortunately, its skin is very coarse, and no weapon could penetrate its flesh. So, I used a screen of smoke that allowed us to retreat behind and escape. Later, Thor told the story as if he had slain the giant beast and did not mention my efforts to save us." He looked down, "At that moment, I knew that he or the Three would acknowledge me, or even credit my efforts to help. So, I stopped going with Thor out on his adventures and returned to my study of magic. For a while, he tried to cajole me into joining him, but soon found that it fell on deaf ears as I told him that I was studying."

Xavier nodded, "I think that is enough for today Loki. It's nearly time for dinner and I think we've talked about Asgard."

TBC…..