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Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Brothers

Kievan Rus

10th Century

Day Break

In modern times, nations such as Russia, Belarus and Ukraine consider the East-Slavic state of Kievan Rus to be their cultural ancestor, but none know that there were once gods among the land. The state that saw its existence from the 9th century to the 13th century held a tale buried deep, a tale of two brothers.

It was a cloudy day in a settlement in the land of the Rus, where there was almost a calm before a potential storm. Traveling down the waters of a river was a group of northmen, who were prepared for an oncoming raid of the settlement. Unbeknownst to the rest of the raiders, two princes sat among them. They were not royalty of any mortal lands, instead they were princes of Asgard. They were the sons of Thor, Magni and Modi. The two young princes had been sent by their father to live amongst the humans for reasons unknown. They carried no godly weapons, only the limitations of living in a mortal body. As there were not enough oars to go around, the brothers took their turn in rest as they drifted towards their location.

"Why must father do this to us? Is this punishment for trespasses we have made?" Magni asked his younger brother while trying to temper his irritation so as to not be overheard by the other sailors. He wore the simple clothes the other sailors were wearing, as was his brother. By this point, Magni's blonde hair had become full of dirt from the elements to where it almost looked as brown as his brother's.

Modi, who had been laying down on the boat and staring up at the sky, glanced over to his brother. "I see it not as a punishment, but an opportunity."

"What opportunity does this present us? These weak mortal forms? Trivial labor? Sailing to the land of Rus to slay their men? Is this father's way of revenge against Perun? Their last clash nearly wiped out the Baltic Sea," The still immature prince looked to his brother, who despite being younger, seemed to carry more wisdom. "Tell me, what opportunity am I not seeing?"

"The power we possess…do you see it as a birthright, or a gift?" Modi asked as he crossed his legs and folded his hands onto his stomach.

Magni furrowed his eyebrows. "Can it not be both? We trained hard, did we not?" Although he sounded entitled, the older prince didn't feel as though he deserved such treatment.

"Yes, but such training is still more than the mortals could even perceive. We spend…so much time looking down upon them from our ivory towers that the thought rarely forms of how they live. How they struggle, how they fight, how they die," Modi sighed and sat up. "They worship and learn from us, it is only right that we learn from them as well."

Magni thought to retort, but found himself unable to provide a valid response against his brother. "I may not like the tasks ahead, but I trust your words to be true brother."

One of the older raiders approached the two and raised an eyebrow. "Looky here, new faces. Mere cubs still wet behind their ears now running with wolves to hunt the Slavs. You were not a part of our previous raids…speak your names boys."

Magni was on the verge of getting offended, but he managed to cool himself with a reassuring glance from his brother. "I am Ma…nir," he cleared his throat. "Maenir the Strongborn. This is my brother…"

Modi raised an eyebrow at his brother's attempt at a pseudonym. He refocused quickly on the raider and nodded with a much more confident demeanor and smile. "I am Moldolf the Daring."

"Maenir and Moldolf aye? I'd be suspicious if we could spare the men," he stroked his graying blonde beard. "You boys ever been to Rus? The Slavs have attacked many of our settlements."

"So we are raiding their settlements for revenge?" Magni asked.

"No, we are raiding a stronghold. Their men are huddled up there preparing for their next attack," the raider explained.

"Do we have an offensive strategy?" Modi asked. Being the Norse God of Battle, was quite the tactician when it came to any kind of form of attack.

The raider gave a hearty laugh and shook his head. "The boy talks of strategy! It's a raid, we attack them thoroughly and without mercy!"

"Sounds like fun!" Magni exclaimed. He was good at brute force, and therefore liked the idea of a straightforward attack.

Modi sighed and looked off to the side. "How…primitive," he said under his breath.

Magni gave Modi a playful shove with his elbow. "Now now brother, what was that about learning from them again?" he said in a hushed tone as the raider returned to his previous position.

"Some lessons are not meant to be learned, such as having no tactics whatsoever," Modi responded.

"There is a simplicity to their strategy but it usually works. It is intimidation. If you are a regular human be it Slav, Saxon or whatever and you see a group of large northmen berserkers storming your stronghold, no fear in their just ruthless determination to take your life, the enemy will often be shaken with fear and then either surrender or become sloppy in combat," Magni said while staring off at nothing in particular. The fire of a good fight had been lit in his eyes. "They may not realize it, they may think it is simply Odin's protection giving them the advantage but there is some tactical advantage in their methods."

After a few moments of silence passed, Modi blinked. "...Tell me, how long did it take for you to think of that?"

Magni refocused on his brother and sighed. "Uncle Tyr told me about it."

"Of course, you never had such a way with words," Modi said with a soft chuckle.

As Magni continued to use his oar in conjunction with the rest of the raiders rowing the boat along, he looked away from Modi with a mock offense. "I can be eloquent when I wish."

"Only when attempting to court a maiden, and even then you have much to be desired," Modi replied with a slight roll of his eyes.

"You think of me nothing more than a raging bull but I have my moments. I still believe you and that Olympian girl Athena would be great together. What a shame she is committed to eternal maidenhood," Magni said.

Modi looked up in thought. "Perhaps, I have not given much thought to courting maidens, or any relationship in general. I suppose there is ample time for such to manifest itself. After all, we will live past the next Ragnarok."

"Do you truly believe in it, brother?" Magni asked with a self-reflective look on his face. "I mean not to question the fate that the Norns have spun for us, but are our lives so linear that our choices matter not?"

Modi looked off to the side and their destination in the distance. "I believe our choices matter. We may be fated to survive the next Ragnarok, but what we do before then still brings some form of consequence, especially for what comes after."

The boat began to slow as they came up to the river bank. In the not too far distance, smoke could be seen as a sign of life.

"Everyone grab your weapons and head forward!" One of the raiders yelled. Modi picked up his sword and shield to hold in both hands before glancing over at his brother.

"Do not die out there…oh wait-" he said, cutting himself off mid sentence at the remembrance of their godhood.

"...What actually happens if we die? We do return to Asgard…right?" Magni asked with a brief feeling of uneasiness. That feeling quickly began to disappear as the boat reached land and the other raiders began to charge forward. He grabbed dual axes and looked up to the cloudy sky for some kind of confirmation from his father that they would be okay.

"I'm sure of it. Perhaps Heimdall will open the Bifrost before the killing blow is struck. Just…try not to think too much of it," Modi advised.

Magni pulled off his shirt, tossed it to the side and joined the rest of the raiding party on land. "That I can do brother!"

Modi shook his head and followed Magni, electing to keep his shirt on. "Was that necessary?"

"You know what they say brother, when in a raid, do as the raiders do," Magni said as he gestured around to the raiders in various states of dress. Some were fully clothed, others were stark naked and everything in between. "Let us go brother, victory awaits!"

"I hope this is not a trend that continues through time," Modi said under his breath as he followed the raiders from a bit behind.

Magni looked over to his brother with an excited smile on his face. "You think father is watching?"

"Perhaps. Heimdall surely is," Modi responded while looking up and around at the environment. "I've kept an eye out for Hugin and Muninn as well."

"Surely grandfather is not observing us as well, is he?" Magni asked. He swung his axes a few times in order to get a feel for the weight.

"It would not surprise me. How often do us gods fight amongst men?" Modi asked.

"Not much recently I imagine, it probably draws unwanted attention," Magni said. He looked ahead at the high walls of wood in the distance that marked the stronghold they were approaching.

Modi took notice of the walls as well and lowered himself a bit in his stance as they continued ahead. "What do you plan to do once we return to Asgard?"

"A feast of course! Then return to training," Magni responded as he edged ahead a bit. He took note of his brother's stance and would crouch just the same.

Modi chuckled and shook his head at his response. "It never stops with you, does it?"

"Stopping is when you cease living!" Magni said with a bright smile. He moved ahead further to join the berserkers up front. With his grip around the handles of his axes tight, the God of Strength was ready to show off his strength in battle, even if it was at a human level.

Modi followed behind Magni, but he wasn't as eager to attack just yet. In his mind he was mapping out a course of action almost like an equation. Upon getting in range, a horn was blown to signal the raid had begun. Magni sped ahead of the berserkers and began to scale the wall. Even without his goldy speed or agility, he was quite the impressive specimen. Magni hurdled the final stretch of the wall, taking out a soldier waiting atop the barrier with a hard kick that sent him to the ground below.

"For Valhalla!" he roared, practically leaping into the enemy frontlines.

Meanwhile, Modi carved out a path in his head and would sprint into battle where he attacked the opposing warriors with more precision than savagery. The Slavic foes seemed to be thrown off completely by the full frontal assault of the front lines as Magni swung his axes. Rus men began to drop like flies.

Modi ducked under the swing of one of the Rus men and cut the inside of his thigh before stabbing him through the back. He brought his shield up to block another, kicked him in the knee and bashed the shield in his face. It appeared to be simply a natural order to Modi, while Magni seemed to enjoy the thrill of the fight. It had been quite some time since he'd fought seriously.

"Is this not entertaining brother!?" he yelled as his axe splintered a wooden shield.

"I do not find it as entertaining as you do, but I enjoy it nonetheless," Modi responded. He swung low to take out another warrior's legs and stabbed him while he was down.

"I suppose you'd rather be studying the art of war than tasting battle?" Magni asked. His overconfidence ended up getting the better of him as he turned to address his brother. This small pause allowed another Rus warrior enough time to strike him in the back of the head with a blunt weapon, sending the prince to the ground.

"I prefer a mix-" Modi stopped himself and threw his shield directly at the head of Magni's attacker out of instinct. The attacker fell onto his back, surely unconscious if not dead from the impact. Modi furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his hand. "That…was not meant to happen…but I suppose effective nonetheless. Why have I never thought to throw a shield?"

Magni struggled to his feet, grabbing the back of his head. There was a bleeding wound, but no serious damage. "Don't be foolish brother, who in grandfather's name throws a shield? It leaves you completely vulnerable!"

"Not if you can throw it with the strength of 20 men," Modi responded as he rolled forward to pick up his shield and press on.

Magni picked up his axes from the mud and ran to catch up with his brother. Now walking alongside him, he elbowed him softly in the arm. "I prefer the strength of 50."

New Asgard

Modern Day

Afternoon

"And so we vanquished the Slavs with merciless brutality, and the most of ease that day. Well perhaps not without any difficulty. Modi suffered a leg injury and I had to carry him through the gates of Asgard."

Magni stood next to a tent where various assorted goods were being sold by a duo of Asgardian women. He was much larger now than in the human form he was given many years ago, standing at 6'8. He was also larger in weight, having the physique one might imagine the God of Strength to have. Another difference was his now long red hair that flowed past his shoulders.

"That is an exaggeration and you know it," Modi said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. He too was different in appearance. Although he wasn't as big as his brother, he was still in amazing shape. He shared the red hair that his brother did, although it was much shorter. Perhaps the most noticeable thing about Modi now, was the difference in the color of his eyes. His right eye was brown, and the left eye was blue.

Magni patted his brother on the back and casually tossed Mjolnir in his other hand a few times. "I would never dream of exaggerating the truth." He looked back to the women and gestured to his brother. "His mother, Lady Sif, was quite up in arms about it."

"It was a proper level of chastisement…" Modi said under his breath.

The women both giggled and whispered to one another. The older and taller of the two gestured to Mjolnir. "I must ask, if the prophecy of Ragnarok has been fulfilled, why do you not wield Mjolnir as well, Lord Modi?"

Magni glanced over to his brother, curious as to what his response would be. As he expected though, Modi appeared to be briefly bothered by the question.

"A question I have not the answer to," Modi responded with a forced smile. He turned to leave and gestured towards the palace. "If you would pardon me, I must return to the palace now for an…urgent matter."

As Modi left for the palace, Magni flashed a confident grin to the women, bid them farewell and hurried to catch up with his brother. Once he was walking beside him, Magni placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I was under the impression you had moved past your feelings on Mjolnir," Magni said with an eyebrow raised.

Modi shook his head and waved the notion off. "I only told you that so you would cease your so-called attempts at making me feel better."

Magni furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Are you saying that having Ledrahl forged didn't make you feel better?"

Modi came to a stop and turned to glare at his brother. He was referring to the Uru enchanted sword at Modi's hip that most if not all Asgardians were aware of.

"Ledrahl is a consolation. It has similar abilities to Mjolnir solely because I am unable to wield it. You had it forged out of pity," he said.

Magni scoffed. "It was not out of pity, it was a thoughtful gift. Ledrahl is a powerful weapon. Mjolnir may be stronger but I shall tell you an area where it beats Mjolnir: reach." Magni held up Mjolnir and gestured to it. "Look at how small it is. You would have stabbed me with Ledrahl before I could even land a single hit with Mjolnir."

Modi found himself smiling at his brother's attempt to cheer him up. Nonetheless he shook his head and continued on towards the royal palace. Magni looked up to the sky and sighed before following along.

"You are much more than Mjolnir, brother. You are the God of Battle. Any weapon in your hand is dangerous. You've led Asgard forces to many victories, and there is no one else I would have rather appointed as the commander of the army than you," Magni said, an attempt to provide some kind of silver lining.

"It's not about Mjolnir," Modi responded with a sigh.

A look of confusion washed over the face of Magni. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself briefly to think about it.

"I must admit, I'm quite confused."

By now, the two had reached the royal palace and were greeted by the guards that stood at their watch. The two walked down the expansive halls en route to the throne room, and as they passed through, many paused to show the Asgardian king and prince their proper respect.

"Ragnarok occurred as prophesied. Uncle Balder was slain, Loki and Heimdall killed each other, father fought and killed Jormungandr before dying of his poison. Where the prophecy was not fulfilled, was the two of us being able to wield Mjolnir. Only you can, brother. I am unworthy," Modi explained.

"I am confident that one day you will indeed wield Mjolnir. It will be in a glorious battle, where we combine our strength to vanquish our foes!" Magni exclaimed with a high amount of energy.

Upon reaching Hlidskjalf, the throne belonging to the ruler of Asgard, the two would come to a stop. With Magni having been out with Modi, one would expect the throne to be empty. However, seated upon it in a rather lackadaisical manner was a blonde woman, seemingly younger than both Magni and Modi, dressed in green and black. She wore a sleeveless green top with matching arm sleeves along with black tights with several green runes designed down the legs.

Magni stared at the woman with wide eyes, while Modi appeared more puzzled than anything. Magni found himself at a loss for words initially as he stepped towards the throne. Once he managed to collect his thoughts in order to speak, he tilted his head to the side.

"Mother?" he asked, tentatively.

The woman smirked at first, and then followed up with an amused laugh. She brought her hand up to rest under chin and sighed.

"I do resemble her quite a bit I suppose, but no. I am not your mother, Amora…I am your sister."

A/N: That's right, we're sliding right back into the Marvel 2043 universe. This time we'll be departing predominantly from the land of mortals as the previous stories have been set, and we travel to Asgard. This story will be following Magni, one of the sons of Thor and the God of Strength. We will discover more about the state of the Asgardians in this future, and what perils the current king of Asgard will be forced to face.