Thank you everyone again for the kind words. I wanted to address the sentiment of me contuing the story. As of now, posting the third chapter, I have written out to about chapter 25. I know how I want the story to end, and will get there. I've currently written about 60k words when I planned for this to be a much shorter 15k max but the ideas just kept coming. So don't worry, lots more of Kratos and Freya to come. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 3: The Oasis of Gods
She waited, taking short, quiet breaths so as to not miss a sound or give away her position should they be listening too. Her bow tightly clasped in her hands, dried tears she grew tired of wiping were now frozen to her face.
That's when Freya heard them. First she heard the boy, his steps were much lighter through the snow then his father's. She held for a few more moments, but still did not hear Kratos' lumbering steps crunching in the snow. With a hesitant pause she peered out from behind the rock, and noticed Atreus was standing alone in the knee-high brush, looking directly at her. Before she could react, she felt strong hands grip her arms and yank them down. Cold fingers tried to hold tight to the bow, but the sudden force and frozen air caused the smooth wood to slip from them. Her head wheeled around and she was eye to eye, and nearly nose to nose with her prey.
"Freya, we do not wish to fight. Please, let us talk," Kratos growled through gritted teeth.
The foreign god was undoubtedly stronger than her, but it still took a great deal of strength to subdue Freya's arms, she was still a god herself.
"I'm done talking!" She screamed directly into his face. With a twist, Kratos' hands on her loosened the slightest bit, and she was able to shrug his grip on her. Freya rolled to the side, deftly snatching her dagger from its sheath on her waist at its apex, and turned as she came out of it. Her arm spun with incredible speed and her blade found its mark as it stabbed into her prey's thigh, just above the knee and just below the edge of his waist armor.
A roar of pain escaped the Greek god as his fist slammed down on her wrist, the dagger slipping from her grasp. That fist ripped the protruding blade out from his flesh in a heartbeat, throwing it thirty paces away with a mere shake of the wrist. Freya wasn't done though, as she leapt out of Kratos' reach and swiveled before he could blink. An incantation for strength whispered from her lips, and an arrow launched from her bow that she had successfully managed to dive to. The arrow sped with haste and found its way right into Kratos' bare shoulder, the one without the large metal pauldron protecting it. Another groan came from the spartan as she grabbed a second arrow from her quiver and knocked it. This time he was prepared though, and knocked it away with his quickly formed shield strapped to his wrist.
"Freya stop, we do not wish to hurt you!" Her prey tried reasoning again, but she was done with peace.
Her hand traced back to her sword now, ready to charge her opponent and continually press his weakened right side. Before she could move however, she heard from somewhere behind her the boy's young, cracking voice begging, "Please Freya, we care about you! Please don't do this!"
Rage was tempered but for a moment, as she turned to look over her shoulder, meeting the young boy's gaze. "Your father did this, not me." She knew she could target Atreus, killing him would surely be easier than his father, and it would be an even exchange of dead sons. Something inside her though, no matter the rage and hatred burning to every corner of her being, she couldn't bring herself to do that to him.
Loud footsteps drew closer now. She turned back round to face Kratos, unsheathing her sword, the familiar clang of steel against steel sounded as sword met blade.
"I do not wish to kill you, Freya," he grunted, gripping his chaos blades tightly. She could tell he was holding himself back, a mistake he would regret. He was preemptively defending himself, restraining his own power so as to not kill the woman he once called friend.
"Then that's why you'll die," she solemnly uttered as she twirled, ducking under his blades and slicing him through the gut. Blood spewed to the ground from the wound, Kratos gripping her wrist tightly as he fell to one knee.
"Look away boy, I don't wish for you to see this, a kindness not shown to me," she stated plainly, venom dripping from her voice. The goddess raised her sword, and brought it down swiftly for the god's neck.
"NO!" Freya awoke shouting, cold sweat speckled her face and chest. Panic slowly subsided as she realized it was just an estranged dream of her past. The years of Fimbulwinter, when she hunted Kratos and his son through the snow thirsting for blood and revenge. Luckily, those times were in the past, and she was not that seething, vengeful shade of herself anymore. She rolled in bed, casting the blankets aside to cool her body from its distressed state. Her heart was still pounding, and she felt the muscles in her arms and shoulders still tensed.
I haven't dreamed of that time in so long, why now?
It had been some time since Atreus last visited. He had returned two to three times each in the first few years since leaving home, but had not come in nearly a year and a half now. The boy, turned young man now, would regale them with tales of his journeys to distant lands. He had explored some of Mimir's homeland, much to the head's joy, as well as lands to the southwest and far east.
Atreus spoke of tall wooden castles with pointed roofs and such purposeful architecture. Of Warriors wearing plated armor with masks adorned with facial hair, and brandishing all manner of odd weaponry. The young had witnessed long, serpent-like dragons with whiskers and massive creatures called elephants, with long noses and half moon tusks. He had even met a few gods of other realms. A blue-skinned woman with multiple arms, able to wield a sword in each with incomparable mastery. A being fully encased in fire, a man with bat wings, a woman with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a spider. Atreus had seen and experienced so many things in the short time he had been gone, no doubt thanks to his close friend Angrboda and her ability to travel on a whim. Kratos had been nervous about the boy's ability to charm a girl, but Freya could plainly see he was having no trouble in the matter.
A knock came at her door. Draping herself in her robe, she sprung from her bed and paced to it. Opening it revealed a concerned Kratos peering in behind her.
"Is everything alright? I heard a scream," he uttered.
"I'm fine, sorry just a little night terror is all. No cause for concern," she assured with a small smile.
"Mmrhn," he grunted in reply, and spun around to return to whatever he had been doing.
She closed the door and leaned against exhaling. It had been two days since they told Thoth they would join for the meeting with the other gods. The human-bird hybrid was delighted, and handed each of them a small glass ball, no more than a third the size of an apple.
"We shall convene in two days, I look forward to meeting you once more there," the foreign god exclaimed with delight.
"There?" Kratos asked, struck with shock. "Where?"
Thoth raised a hand in calm reassurance. "You will need to go nowhere. Remain here, and in two days' time, around dusk, just be sure you have those orbs in hand and that will be all the preparation you must do."
Soon after, their guest had returned to his bird form, bid them farewell, and fluttered away.
Fully dressed now, she ventured out into the common room and joined her housemates at the table.
"What's for breakfast?" She asked with a sly tone of glee.
"Rabbit," Kratos shortly replied as he set her plate down before her with a rabbit's cooked thigh and leg resting on it. It smelled quite good, but visually left a bit to be desired. She didn't mind when Kratos cooked, but he had a tendency to make any meat a tad dry.
"So the summit is tonight? I'm sure asking him would be pointless, but how are you feeling about it, milady?" Mimir posed as the two gods with hands began to eat.
"Unsure. If Tyr recommended our being there then I suppose there is that at least to assuage some concerns. We will be expected guests, if unwelcome with some parties," she uttered between bites.
"You are welcome, I am the one some take issue with," Kratos corrected as he dropped the stripped leg bones to his plate.
"We're arriving together. Even if I'm no fabled, infamous god slayer, us being partners will surely draw some ire from those groups. It should be little issue however. I can't say I've been to a meeting of the gods before, but I doubt they turn into all out brawls and blood baths. Perhaps only if Thor were alive and joining us," she mused. She should feel a bit guilty making jabs at the dead, but Thor was one of the darkest blights on the histories of the nine realms, even if he tried to be better in his last moments of life.
"Kratos, if I dare ask?" Mimir's glowing eyes turned to the silent god, curious if he'd honor them with a reply since it was such a special occasion.
He grunted, "I agree with Freya, I doubt there will be bloodshed."
Freya smiled, "See Mimir? Nothing to fear. I doubt any of them would wish to pick a fight with the man that upended not one but two families of gods."
Mimir gave a wry chuckle, "Aye, milady…let us hope.."
After breakfast Freya agreed to go hunting to scrounge up something for their dinner before it was time for the meeting.
"Perhaps a bath might be in order, brother. Your odor is, uhm, not as fresh as it usually is. What with you making some new friends this evening, may be in your best interest to be as presentable as possible," Mimir hinted while treading carefully across the verbal broken glass on which he stepped, metaphorically of course.
The Greek god grunted, with a quick snort of his nostrils, seemingly in approval.
In the bath, Kratos was scrubbing his hardest under his shoulders and his back. The Celtic head had been right, it had been probably a touch..too long, since his last bathing. They didn't have many amenities in this lodge but one thing Freya in particular was quite set on was a rather spacious tub for bathing. Mortals in this realm primarily relied on a large, usually wooden, bucket they climbed inside and dumped water into for cleaning themselves. Kratos, however, remembered the pristine marble bathhouses of Greece, and how the water cascaded from spouts with ease. The former god of war did not ask for help often, or call in any favors, but on this he made an exception. He called upon a few dwarven builders that Durlin recommended in Svartalfheim to assist him in building this basin as best as he could describe. It was a perfect circle, a head or two longer than Kratos was tall, and had a large spout overhanging the edge that could be pumped to fill it with water. The stones underneath were warmed with a simple spell from Freya, or Kratos' blades if necessary, and would remain baking for hours. Kratos would never forget the expression on Freya's face of complete exasperation and awe when he revealed it to her, and the utter satisfaction she had after her first usage.
"Even in all my years in Asgard, never did I have a bath that satisfying. I cannot thank you enough, Kratos, truly" she expressed with a soft touch to his shoulder.
Kratos of course merely replied in a grunt, but she had become accustomed to that typical response from him.
As the god began to focus on brushing out his beard, the door burst open and he spun around in a heartbeat. Freya stood in the doorway, blood drenched down the front side of her shirt and right arm.
"Freya, what happened, are you alright?" He urged, nearly standing up before Freya jumped back shocked, followed quickly by a roar of wild laughter.
"Oh, Kratos, you startled me. I'm sorry I didn't realize you were still in here. I was out searching for food when a boar came up on me from behind. I managed to kill it with my knife but it tackled me to the ground in the process. So I dragged it back here and as you can see, you are not the only one that requires a bath before the meet tonight," she urged with hands raised.
"What do you mean? It hasn't been that long," Kratos questioned as he looked to the window, but indeed the sun was already halfway down the sky.
"Kratos, it's been over two hours since I left. Have you been in here this whole time?" She exclaimed with a degree of surprise. He never took baths this long, ever.
"I, um, let me finish up and it shall be yours. My apologies."
She raised her hands again assuring him, "No, no it's fine. I'll just be over here in the hand wash bin cleaning off what I can, if you don't mind."
Kratos sunk back down into the tub fully, turning his back to the goddess uttering, "No. No, of course, do as you please."
Freya somewhat nervously stepped over to the small raised bin and began pumping water in to clean her hair and arm as best she could. In the few years they have been living together she had not once interrupted Kratos during his bath. Mainly because he only did once or twice a week, and on the off occasion he did, they lasted ten minutes at most. And for how often they returned to their home covered in the blood of either themselves or various monsters, he probably should have used the bath more.
The mirror hung to the wall in front of her revealed just how truly disheveled she appeared post hunt. Her right arm and half of her face were entirely coated in dry pig's blood, as well the right side of her long, tousled hair. The shirt would be easy enough to throw out, and her armor could be washed, but the hair would take some effort.
Still no harder than a troll or ogre's blood I suppose. Gods, do my eyes always look that gaunt?
Freya was certainly not one to care much for her appearance. Even during her days of serving as queen of Asgard, she never wore a dress or skirt, anything of the like. Trousers, armor, frocks, and vests had composed most of her wardrobe. Rarely she even wore footwear, truth be told. Her people were people of the forest, she preferred feeling the ground beneath for feet. Sif once critiqued her for dressing so plainly and like a man, but she'd rather be ready to move without restraint than worry about a long dress tangling about her legs. Perhaps she only had noticed the dire state of her appearance now because she was in their washroom with Kratos, naked, just a few feet behind her. The Vanir goddess wasn't one to blush or get flustered from such things, but it was an unprecedented situation to find herself in.
Her eye caught movement in the mirror behind her as Kratos' back and shoulders were visible, rested above the tub's rim in the mirror's reflection.
"So uh, do you think we'll have enough time to cook the boar before we leave? Or best not risk it and leave it for tomorrow?" She asked, trying to lessen the tension, seemingly only she felt. Kratos was a wall of emotionless pose when it came to any awkward situations. He probably could care less that she was washing herself but a few feet from him.
"Tomorrow will be fine, no point butchering it when time is pressed, and undoing the work I've done cleaning thus far," she heard grunted from behind her.
Freya blinked a few times in disbelief, "Was that…was that an attempt at a joke?"
There were a few seconds of silence followed by a short groan. "No, a fact. I have been..brushing, trying to get what blood and dirt I could off."
Smiling to herself, Freya grabbed the smaller brush to her left and began scrubbing her bloodied arm. "Yes, well, we wouldn't want to ruin all of your hard work now would we?," she scoffed.
They continued on like that for another twenty or so minutes, until Freya left and gave Kratos the chance to dry and redress. She took her turn deep cleaning and refreshing after, and before they knew it it was nearly dusk. Kratos took Mimir's head from his cushioned place beside the fireplace and attached it to his hip. The pair of goods stood in the living room, glass orbs in their palms. "I hope they don't forget about us and we're just left to stand around waiting all night," Freya only half jokingly stated. That earned only a quick grunt from Kratos as he stared down at his hand. "Nervous?"
He stiffly shook his head once, "No."
"If I recall, the last time you made an alliance with a group of powerful beings, the titans you called them..they betrayed you at their earliest convenience and you ended up having to kill them anyways. You aren't worried about that past potentially repeating?"
"No, this time is already different. Then I was alone, now, you're with me," he plainly stated. For all of his troubles accepting compliments and assurance, he sure had an inherent knack for giving such assurance at unexpected times.
Before she could reply the orbs in their hands began to glow. Light cascaded all around the dark room. So many colors shone in dancing, splendorous flashes along the walls, ceiling, and floor. As Freya stared harder at hers she began to notice etchings in gold begin to form. The runes were not ones she recognized, probably ancient magic if she had to guess, from "the land of the pharaohs" as Thoth dubbed his home. Then, the runes grew bright white, flashing them, nearly blinding them. The pair's eyes burned, slamming shut from the powerful light that had just blared out from the little spheres.
Before she even opened her eyes, she could already tell they were in a different place. As they finally did crack their eyelids, bright, warm light from the sun greeted them. Freya's hand cupped against her brow to give shade, as she gazed around and took in the new environment. For miles there was nothing, just blue skies with nary a cloud in sight. The ground from horizon to horizon was soft, white sand, enveloped in water that was barely ankle deep. The goddess gazed down at her toes and wiggled them, realizing that despite standing in water, her bare feet were not wet.
"Well this…is unexpected," Mimir sounded from Kratos' hip. "All my readings and stories I've heard, I've never heard of a place like this."
"It's…incredible," Freya exhaled in complete wonder. There was no place in all the lands like this one. The water was clearer than Alfheim's oceans, the sand as white as Fimbulwinter's snow.
"Welcome my friends!" A familiar voice rang out from behind them. They turned to be greeted by Thoth, wearing the same garb from before, and same joyful expression on his bird visage from when they agreed to his invitation.
"What is this place? And where are the others?" Kratos questioned, no amazement or awe in his voice, just straight to the task at hand.
"Oh, they are here already. I simply wanted to greet you myself first, and welcome you to the Oasis Between Lands," the southern god stated with a deep bow. "Think of this much like your Realm Inbetween Realms that you use to travel quickly from gateway to gateway across your nine realms, only this area lies between all of the lands. It bridges deserts, mountains, seas, it spans across oceans and all around our world. Those glass orbs I handed you were the keys, and you'll want to hold on to them, they will act as translators for speaking to the others. Some of them can be quite hard to understand even with your keys, especially the dreamtime gods, so just clutch them tight. Now, let us introduce the rest."
With a slow wave of his arm, it was as if a curtain naked to the eye had let loose, and suddenly the empty oasis was teeming with life as other gods appeared into view all at once. There was a man fully aflame, most likely the one Atreus had mentioned, a giant serpent with several wings spanning the length of its body, a man twice Kratos' height with the head of some strange buffalo. Such a number of beings and entities that suddenly, Freya felt quite small and out of place. She was snapped back to the present by Kratos' firm hand on her shoulder, "Let us proceed." Freya glanced back and shared a mutual, reaffirming nod with the spartan as they followed Thoth through the crowd.
"I'm sure in time we will be able to introduce you to all eighty one gods in attendance but for now we best keep the pleasantries to the most essential. Ah, speaking of which. Kratos, Greek god of war, Queen Freya of the Vanir, goddess of love, Mimir the fae of the Celtic lands, I would like to introduce my king, Ra."
Thoth bowed, even deeper than before, with an arm outstretched signaling to the back of one of the gods before them. The god turned, his whole body glowing a subtle golden aura, and sharing the same darkened skin Thoth did. Whereas the god of scribes had some form of water bird with a long neck and beak atop its shoulders, this god had that of a falcon. A short, curved beak stood in place of a nose, and wider, sharp eyes turned to meet the newcomers' gazes. The golden braces on his arm were far smaller than Thoth's, and the golden piece around his neck was much lighter looking and looped with a variety of colors: blues, red, violets. The most striking difference besides the bird appearance and the height (Ra stood a few feet taller than Kratos) was the almost amusingly large glowing orange globe atop his headdress. A small golden serpent with a widened neck looped around it with shiny fangs bared to any Ra looked upon.
"Welcome Kratos, Freya, Mimir, to our convene. I am as Thoth introduced, Ra, head of the Egyptian gods," the falcon face spoke with a polite bow at the shoulders. The Egyptian king had a rather older, deeper voice than Thoth's more lighter and cheerful tone. "Thank you for joining us today. I look forward to hearing what you have to say with great anticipation. It has been what feels like eons since we've had a representative from either the Greek or Norse pantheons in attendance."
Kratos scoffed, "I do not represent Greece here, I am here for myself."
The falcon seemed to take the correction with no offense. "Ah of course. I have no quarrel at all with you, in fact I am relieved to see you have joined us. I hope we can forge a shared future as kindred souls. Now, if you would excuse me." The falcon pressed on to speak with a large man of almost even height covered nearly head to toe in golden amulets and trinkets with a massive, golden mask and headdress on.
"Pressing on, over there we have the Japanese war god, Hachiman. The sky father Baiame of the Dreaming. There is the rain queen Modjadji, who is a southern neighbor to our land of Egypt. Above we have the winged serpent Kukulcan from across the ocean of the Mayan peoples. Ah so many names, such little time before the proceedings," Thoth prattled on.
The winged deity, Kukulcan, passed over them as they walked. Six wings stretched down the serpent's length evenly spread out, with a breathtaking plume of multi-colored feathers encompassing its neck.
"Oh yes, we've proven to get along quite well with colossal serpents, aye," Mimir quietly jested to himself. The mayan god was a minuscule fraction of Jormungandr's size, but still one the trio wished to steer clear of potential issues with.
Freya appreciated the attempt at levity with a smile, as she looked across the mass of gods and saw a figure made of stone nearly five stories tall sitting and speaking with a turtle roughly the size of Chaurli. She was so distracted looking across the number of gods she paid no mind to her path and felt herself bump into someone. The goddess' head snapped around and looked up to see the head of the buffalo entity staring down at her from atop its human shoulders. "Uh, apologies…" was all she managed to get out.
The buffalo's ear flapped as if shooing away flies, and with a snort turned back around to continue its conversation with a woman with a black cat's head. The goddess had a curved feminine figure draped in a similar white and gold cloth to Thoth's, most likely making her a sister god to the bird.
I never realized animal heads attached to the bodies of men and women were such a common trait for gods.
"You'll have to forgive Haokah. He is quite the conversationalist once you get to know him, but to strangers he can be quite gruff. I suppose it matches the temper for the buffalo he shares his profile with, but the man does know his way around herbs for certain!" Thoth chimed without missing a step as they continued through the crowd.
"When do we begin?" Kratos questioned, a thin tone of impatience lingering in his voice. Freya wasn't sure if the bird managed to note it, but she quickly did.
"Soon, my friends. Here, why don't you wait here, and I will go ensure the last of our expected guests have arrived and we will begin promptly. Excuse me," Thoth remarked with a bow and disappeared back into the crowd of human and creature deities.
It had not been long before they heard a deep voice call out Kratos' name from the crowd. Parting through the throng of gods strode a man a head taller than the Greek god, and armed with a very striking appearance. His skin was a pale blue, covered with golden, loose pants, bracelets, necklaces, and headdress. The headdress was pointed at its crown, and adorned with several large emeralds and rubies along the forehead. Wavy, black hair was swept back over his shoulders and reached almost the length of his back. The being had four arms, all moving independently with two gently nudging some gods out of his way, and the others finagling with a golden scepter he carried. The blue god's dark brown eyes came to rest upon Kratos and he smiled, "You are Kratos of Sparta, yes?"
Kratos grunted and nodded in affirmation.
"Oh heavens he did mention you weren't one much for talking. I am Lord Vishnu, god of preservation and eternity, from India. I have had the great pleasure of encountering your son on his travels. Loki, yes?" The god's smile widened.
Kratos' lips parted the slightest crack as his brows raised in shock at the mention of his son. "You've met him?"
Vishnu grew even more excited, "Yes! Well not myself he met my avatar, Rama, but I have spoken with him on several occasions, yes. Bright soul that one, in spirit and mind. He spoke at quite great length of you, regaling my court with tales of the infamous spartan ghost. Your duel with your god of thunder, giant wolves, serpents, dragons, they were enthralling! His woman friend was also quite the wonderful spirit, the artistic one."
Freya tried all she could to hide her smirk as she turned her head from Kratos' view.
And here he was worried about Atreus and his chances with young women.
"Thank you, for the kind words. He provides much to be proud of," Kratos spoke, trying his hardest to be socially agreeable and give gratitude to the foreign god for an update on his son. Freya knew he missed Atreus dearly, especially since it had been so long since his last visit. But they both knew Loki had a large part to play in the future of his people, and that would inevitably take him quite far from home.
The Indian god laid one of his hands on Kratos' bare shoulder with a friendly pat and large smile. "Any kin of that spirited boy is surely a friend in my eyes."
Their exchange was cut short as a loud, booming voice called out from above. "Everyone, please take to seats if you so choose and are able. We shall proceed!" Ra shouted with a commanding presence and rumbling voice that echoed through the crowd. Ra was flying, not with wings or an item, just floating of his own volition. A bright golden glow resonating from his being even more intensely than previously.
Solid golden chairs suddenly rose up in a ring from the sand and water at their feet. Kratos and Freya exchanged a quick glance and decided to sit, Mimir resting in one of Kratos' hands. It felt strange to the goddess, this water that was dry. Despite them having just walked many paces through the ankle deep, crystal clear waters of the oasis, their boots and feet had still not grown damp in the slightest.
Kratos scanned around the now seated assortment of gods. Some of the beings were simply too big to sit, such as Kukulcan who Kratos spied across the loop of seats coiled up in the back. Others were levitating or flying, either with wings, upon floating thrones, or one even stood on a large boulder suspended in the air.
At the ring of gods' center were three taller thrones laid out side by side. Ra drifted down and took his place in one of them. Beside him sat a man that looked strikingly similar to Vishnu only with bright pinkish skin in place of blue, and a different golden headdress with a loop wrapped around behind it. To Ra's other side was just… a man. He was rather short in appearance, made more apparent by the tall Egyptian and Indian gods to his right. He had a more regular skin tone and plain human face. Bright red and gold robes covered his person, and a golden crown with forged wings to each side wrapped around his hairline. The man's mustache was pulled at least a foot down in two individual strands to each side of his lips, with his neatly trimmed beard formed into a third one against his chest in the middle.
"Myself, Indra, and Shangdi welcome you to these proceedings! Now, the first matter to discuss is the fall of Asgard and the Aesir to the north!" Ra bellowed for all to easily hear. Kratos' back stiffened, and he looked to his right to see Freya was meeting his gaze with wide, stressed eyes. "I would like to call upon Kratos of Greece, and Freya, of the Vanir of Vanaheim to speak!" Ra continued as it seemed all gods' eyes made their way to the called upon newcomers.
"I guess we're up," Mimir reluctantly muttered with a strained, nervous swallow. The pair stood, and made their way to the middle of the ring of seats, before the three central deities.
"Humbly speaking, I did not realize we were to be put on trial for saving our home," Freya spoke first with a thin jab of dry sarcasm.
"This is not a trial, Lady Freya," Ra assured with a palm raised, "but when an entire dynasty and king of a region's gods are slain…it is undoubtedly quite the abnormal and powerful occurrence that radiates out and affects all of us. Though Odin had no friends here, his end and the Ragnarok crisis are both world changing events that we wish to learn more of. This has only happened once in the history of our existence, and that is when the gods atop Mount Olympus were single handedly snuffed out by the man to your left."
Kratos looked around, meeting the stares of hundreds of eyes on him. He grunted, and returned his dour expression back to the three seated before him
"I will not apologize for either event."
Ra gave a light chuckle behind his wrist, "Nor do we expect one. While we are all here in communion and a form of cooperation, the Greek pantheon were actively hostile towards us. Ares caused death and destruction in my home for two years purely out of boredom. Poseidon invaded Babylon on a whim, and Zeus… Zeus saw to it his lineage stretched beyond his borders, sometimes with cruel trickery or force. We have previously convened years ago to discuss the fallout of your actions in your homeland, Kratos. We wish simply to know the events that transpired leading to Odin's death, and the resulting happenings that took place after."
"Why now?," posed the god of few words.
The Egyptian god sighed and scratched his beak. "We do not meet regularly, Kratos. As you can imagine it is hard to coordinate with this many deities across the world. Our last meeting was more than three decades ago. Now please, explain to us what occurred."
For the next half hour the trio explained how Ragnarok began. Mostly Freya spoke and sometimes Mimir, Kratos mostly adding to the discussion only when he was specifically called upon. They told of Odin's state of mind and lies, the slaying of Baldur and Heimdall to bring about Ragnarok, and the proceeding battle that took place after. Then Freya spoke at great length for all the good that they had done in just the few years since. Mortals had returned to the heart of Midgard and were spreading. The millenia long battle between light and dark elves had slowed to the occasional brawl. The dwarves were sharing their innovations and knowledge with the other realms. There truly was an era of peace being ushered in.
"I see," the sun god voiced as his fingers traced the curve of his beak in thought. "Well, it would seem you not only did your lands a favor, but the world as well. Kratos, do you have anything you wish to add to your partner's summary before we proceed?"
The pale god looked to Freya, nodded shallowly, and to everyone's but her's surprise muttered, "No."
"Please, try anyways," the falcon hybrid insisted.
A stifled groan escaped Kratos' bearded lips as he took a single step forward. "I do not care what the rest of you think of me, or my actions. I have killed many gods, because I believed gods at their core to be corrupt, selfish, and evil in many cases." Kratos paused, looking back to meet Freya's eyes for a moment before continuing, "but I was wrong. I have been shown there are gods capable of change, and serving the mortals that worship them in earnest. I do not seek war, and I did not then. I do not understand the point of recounting our actions to you. If you are to judge us, I do not accept punishment from any gods, ones I have met or not. I came here purely for a lesson taught to me by my son. One of opening yourself to others and trying to find allies in unexpected places. So say what you wish, I feel we've said enough here."
For the first time in the assembly, Indra spoke from his seat, "Well said, spartan. We are not here to punish, and some of us are also here, because of your son." Kratos eyelids raised in surprise, as he turned to look straight on to the speaking Hindu god. "Yes, your son has graced some of our lands with his presence. As I'm sure my brother has already informed you, we have come to respect him a great deal in my homeland. He told of your duty, and a bit of your history, clearing myth from fact. Tyr, this council would call upon you to step forth."
Freya and Kratos both turned on their heels, seeing the giant of a man part the crowd and slowly step to join them in the center. Tyr's golden eyes never shifted to them, they remained set on the three head gods. The norse god of war looked nearly the same as from when they freed him five years ago. His long beard still reached just past his chest in a braid, and his brown, mid-back length hair still had the same wafted part to the left. Still dressed in the same teal shirt and baggy brown trousers, he looked ever timeless.
"Yes, Lord Indra," the tall god replied.
"Their story matches what you have been able to tell us. You have known a number of us for long before many even joined this convene. What are your opinions of the former god of war of Greece, and former queen of the destroyed Asgard?"
Tyr coughed twice, clearing his throat. "My Lord, these two have shown over the five years since my imprisonment has ended how much good my fellow Aesir could have accomplished had they not been obsessed with gaining power. The mortals are happier and praying to their gods more than they had been even before Odin locked me away. Kratos is an unpredictable force, yes, but he has shown to be one that serves humanity, not gods. Which, ultimately leads to the greater good, in my opinion. Freya was always the wisest one in Asgard, as much as Odin would have argued the point. She is still the same fierce, yet caring woman I knew from before. I support both of them in their endeavors, and Midgard as well as the remainder of the realms have improved through their presence and dedication."
"Thank you Tyr, you may return," Ra gratefully acknowledged with a wave of his hand.
Tyr bowed, and turned, meeting Freya and Kratos' gaze for a moment. The norseman clasped a hand to Kratos' shoulder in passing. "Thank you, both of you," he quietly uttered as his fingers left Kratos and he continued back into the crowd behind them.
"Tyr's opinion holds great weight in this court. As such, we have a bit of a riddle, in what to do moving forward. Kratos, we asked for your two's presence here to approximate your character. We had a proposition for you, but it is as you say. We gods have been meeting like this for centuries now in hopes to find some semblance of peace with one another, and avoid battles for expansion or resources. The two sets of pantheons you slayed were of the mind that wished power only for themselves, and saw no issue taking it from their fellow neighboring gods. We would ask you to please consider fully stepping into Odin's role, and becoming the King of the Norse gods. Freya already has served as your partner in your endeavors thus far, making a wonderful queen, and we would wish for no change in your path," Ra shouted in proposal.
Murmurs immediately began to flare up from around the ring of seated deities. The sun god raised his hand for silence. "Now as you stated, our opinion does not matter. We gods, even us three here that have been appointed head of this august body, do not have any say in the events and rises or falls of other lands. We would not be installing you to your position, as it appears you have already earned it freely. Your people worship you, your son and the trusted voice of Tyr sing your praises, and at the very least, you don't seek to use and manipulate all those around you for gain. All we, I, simply ask, is for you to consider where fate has led you, and hope to have you join this council of gods from this point forward. I believe your insight and that of Freya's, even Mimir's as well, would be welcome new perspective," Ra finished as he regained his seat.
Kratos' eyes darted around between the three gods and to those surrounding them in shock and confusion. Freya stepped forward now, glaring at the now seated sun god. "You wish Kratos to be king and I his queen? I have already married once for the betterment of my people, you cannot expe-"
"Apologies, Lady Freya," the human appearing Shangdi spoke now for the first time with an older, raspy voice."We did not mean to imply you must wed to keep your title. As has been said, we have no bearing over the events in your land. All we seek is partnership and reciprocity. Having you two ruling the nine realms to the north, trusted gods, and having you work with us here, would be a beneficial outcome for all parties. With the two of you serving as king and queen, it would be a welcome addition to our assembly, and we would seek to aid you in your endeavors of fixing your home after centuries of neglect."
"I…" Freya was speechless. For decades before meeting Kratos she had felt like nothing, a waste of godhood who was brought into life purely to suffer under fate's cruel thumb. Now however… Perhaps this could be a positive step forward for them. Even between aid from Vanaheim and Svartalheim, there were only so many resources to be spared and much work remained.
Why would they bring this to us? Do they want something? Do our lands have something they wish to gain? Can we afford to say no? We defeated the rest of the valkyrie sure but, Odin's grasp on the realms has truly only just started to loosen. Centuries of political and violent blackmailing and domination have not let go of their grasp easily.
"I wish to speak with Freya, alone, before I continue further," Kratos announced, fist clenched, with even the fingers gripping Mimir's stump a bit tightly. The spartan was surely an intimidating presence in this safe haven for gods of the world. During the deliberations she could scan around the room and see the apparent nervousness, even fear on many of the gods' faces as they looked upon the god that ended two separate godly reigns.
"As you wish," Ra stated, and with another wave of his hand the entire council and crowd vanished. It was just Kratos and Freya standing in the shallow water and sand alone now.
"I don't suppose they're still watching and merely hid themselves to us," she whispered as she turned to see all directions.
Kratos had not moved an inch. "I think we should accept."