"You always favored a staff over a full spear, aye, Majesty?" Lieutenant-General Yngvarr inquired, moving to stand beside him.
"Hmm," Loki replied. "Or a scepter."
"Scepter?" his protector questioned, surprised. "The ljósálfar ones?"
"Aye, they allow for the addition of crystals or gems which aid in the enhancement or storing of seiðr to be used in battle."
"Ah, aye, I believe I have witnessed those in some tournaments on Niflheimr when I was young."
Loki hefted Gungnir, paying more attention to its weight and balance than he had before. Despite the decorative head which also served to help funnel spells and blasts, he found it to be surprisingly balanced and the slight weight difference could actually be used to his advantage were he to swing the spear.
A few steps back gave Loki the distance he needed from Lieutenant-General Yngvarr to spin Gungnir, being careful to hold it near the middle as he would a staff rather than down to the base as with a scepter. As he had suspected, the good balance made it relatively easy to judge the power and accuracy, if he kept the slightly heavier weight of the crown in mind.
Soon, Loki was performing the more complex movements he liked to utilize in a fight with only a few false starts. Similar movement beside him made him look over to see the head of his guard now held a regular staff.
"Shall we work through the steps?" Lieutenant-General Yngvarr asked.
'Twas a series of moves to properly warm-up the muscles and, while Loki knew it would not always happen in battle, he had done precious little exercise lately and so could well use it now.
"That would probably be best," Loki agreed, shifting into position.
The familiar moves further helped Loki acquaint himself with Gungnir and soon he felt ready to begin something a little more challenging.
"Shall I use the staff?" Lieutenant-General Yngvarr offered, shifting into a fighting stance.
"Nay," Loki decided. "I am far more likely to face a sword than a staff."
Even the jötnar ice blades were more similar to swords than staffs.
One of the Einherjar stepped forward to take the lieutenant-general's staff, drawing Loki's attention back to the others. He was pleased to see none were exclusively looking at them, instead guarding the perimeter or paired off to practice themselves. Loki did a quick check to ensure Gungnir's protections against damage still held as his opponent drew his preferred weapon.
"Simple sparring?" Lieutenant-General Yngvarr checked.
"Hmm," Loki confirmed, twirling Gungnir seemingly lazily before him.
He knew his opponent would not fall for the ploy, but it gave him more practice and had the added advantage of acting as a shield of sorts through which Lieutenant-General Yngvarr would need to penetrate to reach him with his sword. Therefore, he kept his movements uneven and without rhythm in order to keep them from becoming predictable, and thus would be all the more easily overcome.
As Loki had expected, the lieutenant-general used the opportunity to study him rather than rushing in blindly. They had not faced each other on the training fields in a few centuries and thus would need to watch for changes in each other's fighting style. In that, at least, Loki knew he had the advantage in some sense since Lieutenant-General Yngvarr had not witnessed him fighting with staffs and scepters as much as the man had seen him fighting with knives and swords.
Loki made the first move, shifting sideways and forcing his opponent to move in the opposite direction if Yngvarr wished to mirror him. The lieutenant-general did, but then Yngvarr was moving forwards, striking out with his sword. Loki deflected it with Gungnir, caught the next blow and shifted aside the third so he could twist his body in towards his opponent, allowing him to kick out towards Yngvarr's feet in an attempt to take him down. The lieutenant-general quickly shuffled out of reach, so Loki followed up the move with a jab of his spear, using the bottom to try to strike his guardian in the solar plexus. Again Yngvarr evaded the blow, but it had given Loki some space to move. He used it to twirl Gungnir a bit more grandly, passing it behind him and, if he had been in almost any other fight, he would have used the opportunity to fire a bit of seiðr at Lieutenant-General Yngvarr, but he had no desire to ruin what could well be a singular opportunity to show he could fight well without seiðr.
Again Loki went on the offensive first, unexpectedly sliding his grip on Gungnir to the very end and swinging out with it, forcing the lieutenant-general to raise his sword to block before the man tried to grab hold of the spear. Ásgarðr flashed a warning at him and Loki slammed down on the built-in defense Gungnir had to prevent precisely that type of action in battle. Instead of badly burning Lieutenant-General Yngvarr's hand, it merely warmed it, making the man jerk his hand back.
"Sorry," Loki said. "One of the defensive spells wrought on Gungnir is to burn the hand of any who would attempt to take it unsolicited."
"Good. You were unaware?"
"Hmm. I would assume Father informed Thor of all of the defenses."
But obviously with him there had been no handover.
Lieutenant-General Yngvarr's next swing came suddenly, but Loki had been expecting something as they had not officially ended the battle. They moved back and forth before, finally, he missed a step and Yngvarr's sword slipped in to tap lightly against the chest plate of his armor. Loki was able to knock it aside a moment later, but the damage would have been done in a true battle. He was already bracing himself for the comments and so faltered when Lieutenant-General Yngvarr merely retreated a few paces and seemed to move into a ready position once more.
"Majesty?" the lieutenant-general inquired, clearly having caught his hesitancy.
"I-" Loki began, ere he shook his head. "Nothing."
His head guard was clearly not convinced, but Loki knew Lieutenant-General Yngvarr would not press, not here and now in particular. Which was good as Loki had no desire to explain he had expected to be ridiculed and disparaged for his 'obvious failure', regardless of the fact all warriors were occasionally defeated in training, even his brother. Yet, whenever it happened to him, Sif and the other three had felt free to taunt him for it.
Well, not anymore. Loki smiled as he went on the offensive, moving into a series of swings and jabs with Gungnir which forced Lieutenant-General Yngvarr to retreat before him. Loki still failed to get through the man's defenses but, right before he had taken his hit, he had started to see a pattern in his protector's movements he thought he just might be able to exploit.
Hmm, aye, 'twas there.
Slowly, Loki allowed the battle to shift so he could position himself appropriately. When the moment came, he drew back as if to retreat, planted Gungnir firmly on the ground and moved to swing himself up and around, coming at Lieutenant-General Yngvarr unexpectedly from the opposite direction, feet first. He caught General Týr's second-in-command completely by surprise with the move, kicking him in the abdomen and knocking him back, off his feet. Loki allowed his momentum to keep him moving, rolling once before coming up near Lieutenant-General Yngvarr with Gungnir raised and at the man's throat.
Before, with Thor and his brother's friends, Loki would have been tempted to hold the position or warm the end of Gungnir with seiðr to flaunt his victory. But the lieutenant-general's earlier lack of crowing made Loki back off, returning the favor.
The clapping as he rose to his feet once more was the first Loki knew they had drawn a wider audience. Glancing over, he saw 'twas General Týr who was using the vambrace of his injured arm to produce the sound.
"Congratulations, Majesty, it has been quite a while since I have witnessed someone take down Lieutenant-General Yngvarr," General Týr said.
"More like bowl over," the man in questioned muttered as he rose to his feet, a hand on his abdomen.
The potential sting was taken out of the words by the quirking of Lieutenant-General Yngvarr's lips and Loki was glad. 'Twas hard to temper the impact made with that move as the strength and momentum needed to successfully swing around Gungnir had to go somewhere. 'Twas why it worked so well, but it did make it harder to practice without accidentally injuring his opponent.
"Where did you learn that particular move?" General Týr asked.
"Múspellsheimr," Loki replied. "Or at least, 'tis where I observed it first as the rjúfendr utilize it. It seems to work well against the eldþursar."
"I can image," Lieutenant-General Yngvarr stated. "The element of surprise also helped. I had not even considered such a move."
"Aye," Loki laughed. "'Tis not one Father could perform."
"Nor Thor, I suspect," General Týr mussed, studying Gungnir. "While he would have the strength for it, I doubt he has the agility or proper proportions to successfully manage it."
'Twas a polite way of sayingLokiwas not as built as his brother, but he had long since given up attempting to achieve that particular physic. At least now he had a pretty good idea of why he had been unable to attain it, despite all of his early efforts.
"I assume you have also been holding back on Gungnir's seiðr abilities?" Lieutenant-General Yngvarr questioned.
"Hmm, while they can be modulated, they are far more likely to cause injury. Especially at present while I have access to the Óðinnforce which I have not yet been able to test in a combat situation," Loki explained.
"We have some target dummies I was going to have disposed of as they are past their best," General Týr offered. "I assume they would still suffice for you to utilize for such an endeavor?"
"Aye."
It would not do to accidentally kill an opponent he wished to capture for interrogation purposes.
When the targets were brought out, Loki could immediately see what General Týr meant when he had said they were past their best. Some were hardly even in one piece any longer and most had lost at least one limb.
"May I recommend commencing at full power, my Liege?" General Týr suggested, coming to stand beside him as the targets were arranged at one end of the training field they were on.
Loki's lips twitched. 'Twas what the general probably considered a subtle way to ascertain Loki's true power levels at present. He was not offended, though, rather the opposite in fact. In the past General Týr would never have stopped to even consider knowing something like this, and Loki was not going to do anything to discourage the man's new interest in seiðr. He was not, however, planning to show the general and, more importantly, the rest of their audience the true extent of his current powers. Especially not since no one currently knew the full extent of his connection with Mother Winter.
That did not mean he could not provide them with a suitably impressive demonstration, though.
"That would not be advisable, I think," Loki replied. "Ásgarðr's power is immense and the space here not terribly large. Let me start at three quarters power."
Truth followed by a lie, his specialty.
As soon as the Einherjar had moved out of range, Loki took a few steps away from General Týr before he began to gather his seiðr, funneling it into Gungnir. He allowed the staff to glow, the tip in particular even as he felt the air around him take on a charge. That was new, even for him. While he had always possessed the ability to allow his seiðr to be felt thus, in the past he had needed to will it so. Therefore, he had only used it sparingly, when he had an audience to impress, as the display was a use of power in and of itself. Now, however, it happened effortlessly, and he made a note to work on ensuring he had full control of it, least the seiðr build up gave away his presence prematurely at a later date.
For this particular trial, Loki selected one of the dummies in better condition. Not only would it help prevent the seiðr from moving past its intended target, but it would make the demonstration all the more impressive, which was just as much a factor here as learning how to modulate his newfound strength. He could do the latter alone later, if necessary, the former he could not. And he was not fool enough to allow this type of opportunity to both impress and impart upon Ásgarðr's warriors the power of his true abilities.
With a thought, Loki allowed a little over half of his power to burst from the end of Gungnir, blasting the target dummy into so much useless shrapnel and blowing a not insignificant hole into the ground where it had stood at the same time. The silence which followed the initial exclamations was rather telling, and he tried not to allow too much of his satisfaction to show.
"Still wish for me to utilize Gungnir and my seiðr while we spar, Lieutenant-General?" Loki inquired, glancing over at the head of his guard.
"Ah, nay," Lieutenant-General Yngvarr replied, turning his head to meet his gaze. "At least not until you feel certain of your control."
The latter was a tempting offer, but Loki knew even then he would never come close to doing much more than mere tricks while sparring with anyone he did not wish to kill. Given the current view of seiðr on Ásgarðr, he could only imagine the reaction should something go wrong, and he accidentally caused either a grievous injury or the death of an opponent. He knew it would not be treated the same as when a regular sparring session went wrong, and even his regular status as prince of Ásgarðr would hardly protect him from the subsequent backlash against seiðr and seiðberandi.
With the remaining training dummies, Loki changed tactics, attempting to discover exactly how much power he had to utilize to either incapacitate or stun an opponent. The former was made all the more difficult when General Týr thought to add a second dummy alongside the first, which he had to try not to damage in order to simulate a battle situation where another æsir warrior may happen to be adjacent to his target.
After all of the upheaval already so far today, Thor had actually wished for some peace and quiet for once and had decided to use one of his brother's hiding places to achieve it. Loki did always know the best places to squirrel himself away where none but the most determined could find him. He had hoped utilizing one of those would also aid him in his thoughts as to how best to go about apologizing to Loki. He knew his mother had said he needed to do so to everyone, but the main part of his apology would still be to his brother and Loki was the one most likely to reject it, so he deserved the most thought and attention.
It had taken a few hours, but Thor finally thought he had what would be an acceptable apology which he would deliver at the High Council meeting the following morning. The need for it to be witnessed meant it could not happen any earlier least he convened a session of the Council now, or he called in both Lords Aðalgrímr and Ragnvaldr as well as General Týr, and he feared he did not possess the necessary authority to do either at present. Plus, if he did not wish to aggravate his brother any further, it would be best not to spring a surprise meeting on Loki, not with everything else his brother already had to deal with.
Decision made, Thor had wandered Iðavöllr's gilded corridors aimlessly for a while before finding himself drawn towards the training fields. Though he could not participate, he still liked to see for himself how the preparations for a potential war were progressing. What he had found had been startling, the presence of the seiðkonur a veritable shock. He had never witnessed any seiðr users other than his brother on the training fields, with the exception of the healers when something had gone wrong. At first he had been rather skeptical but, after witnessing what they had been contributing, he had been unable but to admit it could have been helpful for Fandral and the others to have been more familiar with some of those abilities before they had gone to Jötunheimr.
As he had been standing in the shadows cast by the late afternoon sun and the pillars around Iðavöllr, Thor had also overheard some of the warriors who had been training earlier in the day having words, and what they had said had been startling. His brother out on the training fields with Gungnir? And disarming Lieutenant-General Yngvarr? Even he was hard-pressed to win against the head of the king's guard. At least with the restrictions he fought under when sparring with a fellow Einherjar. If he could utilize the full potential of Mjǫllnir then the outcome would be vastly different.
As he approached the king's study once more, Thor tried to shove thoughts from earlier in the day out of his mind. He was hungry and he knew how oft his brother skipped meals when busy or stressed, so he would ensure that did not happen tonight. He would tell Loki he regretted his earlier actions, that he would give him a proper apology on the morrow, and tell his brother how he had done Father proud with his little display earlier. That way he would be telling his brother what Mother said he needed to hear and promising the apology without delivering it to only Loki.
Thor felt rather proud of himself as he knocked and entered the study. Given that part of the king's guard stood outside, and more were dispersed around the study, he was surprised to not be able to immediately spot his brother.
"The king is out on the balcony," Yngvarr told him.
"Ah," Thor replied, glancing towards the balcony before looking back at the head guard, a smile crossing his lips as he thought back to what he had overheard earlier. "I heard you lost a sparring match earlier today, Yngvarr."
"Aye," the man admitted, simply.
Thor frowned at the seeming total lack of an emotional response. Surely the man must be angry at what had occurred? He was the head of the king's guard and Loki had made him look a fool before not only his own men, but General Týr as well! He himself would have been furious at his brother if Loki had dared to do so to him! So why was Yngvarr seemingly so calm? Was the man afraid of his brother and what Loki might do or say were he to learn Yngvarr had dared to voice his displeasure with what had happened?
Or was it because the lieutenant-general had been prepared to seehimas king, and so did not wish for Thor to view him as anything other than very good at his job? It would fit with what his mother and Loki were always saying of how he was unable to see how his status could impact how people reacted and responded to him. Combined with the fact that the one who had trounced him was currently king, Thor could understand why Yngvarr might not feel able to express his true feelings on the matter to him at present.
"Do not worry," Thor reassured the lieutenant-general. "I heard 'twas through the use of dishonorable tactics and so does not truly count."
The way Yngvarr's eyes widened made Thor feel proud for a moment, thinking the man surprised by his perceptiveness for once, but then he registered the disbelief and horror. Before he could question it, Thor noticed how the man's eyes flickered to a spot behind him and he turned around to find his brother standing on the threshold to the balcony. Of course Loki would chose to come back in right in time to overhear his words!
"Loki," Thor began, floundering, all of his thoughts of how to commence this conversation from earlier vanishing in light of the exhausted and furious expression on his brother's face.
The latter alone would have told him Loki had caught his words. He had only been attempting to be more considerate and understanding of Yngvarr's feelings and position!
"Thor," Loki replied coldly, moving further into the study. "What did you want?"
"I- ah, wished to see if you were ready for dinner."
Even Loki should not be able to either misinterpret or malign that!
He truly should have known better; his brother could twist anything.
"Why would you wish to be seen seated with one so dishonorable?" Loki sneered. "A veritable níðingr."
Thor flinched at the ugly word, how had he managed to mess this situation up so quickly?
"Nay, Loki, 'tis not what I meant!" Thor protested. "I am-"
"What? Sorry? You are always sorry!" Loki snapped, eyes flashing and fists clenching. "Yet it never seems to prevent you from doing it again and againand again."
The words hit him like physical blows and Thor had to stop himself from stepping back. His brother seemed almost crazed, the look in Loki's eyes far too similar to when they had fought about his friends for Thor's comfort. He scrambled to find the right words to say, fearing he would not be able to do so in time.
"Mayhap rather than criticizing others, you should instead focus on your own inadequacies and deficiencies," Loki spat, tone scathing. "At least, if you truly wish to ever regain both Mjǫllnir or your power."
The urge to lash out and enumerate all of his brother's own plethora of weaknesses rose swift and hard within Thor, but 'twas accompanied by the desire to storm over to Loki and crowd him up against the wall, and he remembered only all too well how the last such attempt had ended. The horror that any would think him capable of hurting his brother was still strong enough to shock him right out of his anger. The resulting clarity allowed him to see the hurt and bitterness lurking in his brother's stormy green eyes, and it made him feel small.
Hehad caused this. He had provoked this anger and rage with his words to Yngvarr, belittling and degenerating his brother to one of Loki's own men. The sudden realization made Thor feel physically ill. This was precisely what General Týr had meant when he had spoken of his brother's authority being undercut. He had thought the man deluded then, or exaggerating the situation, but Thor could suddenly see it all with crystal clarity and it horrified him.
Had he done this with his friends? Washethe reason why they had started disrespecting his little brother? Or had they done it first and he had emulated their behavior? Thor knew it mattered little in some ways as the end result was the same, but he truly hoped he had not been the one to commence it all. He was not certain Loki would ever be able to forgive him if he had.
"I-" Thor began, before he squared his shoulders. "I truly am sorry, Brother," he said, trying to ignore the hurt he felt at his brother's snort. "I bid you goodnight."
'Twas terribly formal, but Thor did now know what else to say. When Loki did not reply, he turned and left the study, wondering how he had managed to make the situation between the two of them even worse than it had already been.
Loki was only distantly aware of his brother's departure, most of his attention focused on regaining control of himself. He could not believe he had lost it quite so spectacularly yet again. At this rate his reputation would be well and truly in tatters, precisely like his flayed core, the agony from which was not helping him any. Both Ásgarðr and Mother Winter were doing their best to aid him, but he simply wished to find a dark corner and curl up in it, not to rise until this whole mess had been sorted out by someone else.
Damn Thor and his brother's continued and imbecilic notions of honor!
Damn Óðinn and his stupid schemes for Jötunheimr and the rest of the Nine!
And damn Frigga for going along with it all and not informing him of who, and what, he was far sooner!
His anger was like a live thing, roiling within him and seeking to lash out at anything and everything. It took all of his ever-fraying control and willpower to restrain himself from doing just that; allowing his seiðr to burst out and the consequences be damned. But, nay, he would not become one of those seiðberandi who lost all control, he would rather his core truly snap than to becomethat.
'Twas simply that it hurt so much, and his stupid brother seemed to be utterly determined to make things that much worse! Loki knew Thor was a thoughtless idiot at the best of times, but his adoptive brother almost seemed to betryingnow.
The pain in his right palm made Loki realize he had reached up to clutch at his talisman with enough force to make the obsidian dig into his flesh. He had found himself completely unable to keep from wearing it even after the ignition of the Yggdrasill and Loptr's death. The amulet still felt like his temporal twin, and it served as a potent reminder of exactly why he was doing things this way when all his exhausted and agony ridden mind wished to do was throw caution to the wind and simply react emotionally.
A few steps took Loki to his desk and he collapsed into one of the chairs before it. The new location allowed him to put his elbow on the desk and press the talisman to his forehead. He reached out to it with his seiðr, desperately seeking the comfort and reassurance from before, when he had not been so utterly alone in this whole mess. Naturally, his quest was a futile one and he had to fight off tears, reaching out instead towards both Ásgarðr and Mother Winter,needingtheir help and support. 'Twas both frightening and shocking exactly how close to the end of his endurance he was, feeling wrung out, and it both alarmed him and left him completely and utterly cold at the same time.
Distantly, he knew the duality was not a good thing, but right now Loki found he could not bring himself to care. Not when such coldness and lack of feeling was so very tempting...
A snap of power from Ásgarðr jolted him back to the present and Loki shoved the thought aside. The faint sound of leather creaking reminded him he was neither alone, nor in a location where he felt truly safe, not without all of his own wards, painstakingly erected over centuries of detailed seiðr studies. Lowering his arm, he glanced over all of the parchments strewn seemingly haphazardly across his desk, and 'twas enough to exhaust him even further. Loki knew he simply could not continue any further tonight, not given his current condition and he could not risk pushing himself either, not with the treaty still in such a precarious position and both Óðinn and Thor as they were at present. The latter in particular had already proven repeatedly that he was not ready for Hliðskjálf, just as Loki had always known his adoptive brother was not.
With those thoughts, he rose to his feet once more, using Gungnir for support so the full extent of his exhaustion would not be quite so visible. Though he knew retiring now would merely serve to increase his workload tomorrow, he was certain 'twas the right decision. Besides, perhaps he could delegate some of it, no one would dare protest if he did so and he might as well take advantage of the situation while it lasted. Mayhap he could even dump some of it on Thor with Uncle Vili as supervisor, it would serve his adoptive brother right and he knew there was no better punishment for Thor than to make him do mind-numbing parchmentwork. Particularly if 'twas an area where the important decisions had already been made and all which was left was to complete the administrative follow up.
"Majesty?"
The voice suddenly penetrated his awareness and Loki glanced up to find Lieutenant-General Yngvarr halfway across the study and moving towards him. It made him wonder how many times the man had already called to him or exactly how long he had stood here, simply looking down at his desk.
"I am retiring for the evening," Loki stated, forcing himself to move.
The head of his guard seemed to hesitate for a moment before inclining his head and moving aside to allow him to pass, the rest of the Einherjar falling in around them as they left the study and walked down the corridor. Loki wondered if 'twas his imagination or whether he could truly feel the tension pouring off the men around him. He wished he could be making a better impression on them and all of the others he was interacting with than he knew he was, but there was only so much he could do, injured as he was.
Of course he was finally given the chance to prove himself, only for it to be ruined by something like this. He should know better by now than to expect he could be given a fair chance at anything. The Norns hated him.
As they entered the royal family's area of Iðavöllr, Loki was finally beginning to think he would make it all the way back to his chambers in silence when 'twas broken.
"My King," Lieutenant-General Yngvarr began, hesitance clear in his voice. "Regarding what Thor said. He is-"
Loki laughed bitterly. "I am well aware of how my brother is not alone in that particular assessment. Skulking about in the shadows like a coward is quite good for learning what people truly think of me."
"Majesty-"
"Do no try to placate me, Lieutenant-General."
"I am not," Yngvarr protested, making Loki stop to look at him. "I cannot speak for others, not even all of the warriors, but I have witnessed firsthand the difference a fully trained battle seiðmadr can have on the battlefield. Therefore, I can nevernotbe pleased to have one on our side, and anything which makes you more likely to survive is a good thing as far as I am concerned, as there is nothing worse for an army than the loss of its leader in battle."
The words were pretty and persuasive, but Loki knew full well how fake those could be. He spun honeyed words oft enough to know that too well to ever forget it. Lieutenant-General Yngvarr was not one to do so normally, though, and neither could he detect any obvious falsehood in the words either. Not that he trusted himself as much to do so after the devastating revelation about his true birthright. How many times had both Óðinn and Frigga called him their son and it had never rung false in his ears?
Or had Óðinn's, at least on some level, and was it the reason Loki had felt increasingly disconnected from the man these last few centuries? 'Twas something to consider at a later date.
Still, he had no proof of either deception or trickery now, so Loki acknowledged the words with a tip of his head even as he tried to lessen the suspicion he knew would be visible in his eyes. He was in no mood to be placated even with the truth, so he elected to continue on to his chambers, though he could not quite make himself shove aside all the lieutenant-general had said. Combined with Yngvarr's previous lack of derogatory comments or dismissive actions, he could not help but consider that the man might be fully honest. Pity he had not been head of the army when Loki was growing up as then his initial warrior training may have been quite different.
As soon as the Einherjar had retreated from all but his antechamber, Loki collapsed into the nearest chair, which happened to be at his dining table. He used that fact to drop his head onto his arms. He would rest his eyes for a few moments.
