"Tyr! We need to go!" My shout climbs over the mass of Draugr that are attacking us. Tyr has turned his weapon into a two-sided sword, twirling it around with one hand to cleave through as many enemies as he can. As for me?
"Raaarrgh!" I turn in time to deliver a horizontal backhand swing through three Draugr. My strength has increased tremendously, and I don't have time to think about why. I just view it as a blessing that I am capable of holding my own against these monsters.
My durability and stamina seemed to have increased as well. The Draugr claw at me but I feel nothing as they attack. My armour is doing a lot of the heavy lifting I imagine, but this probably can't keep up forever. We've been fighting for an extended amount of time. More and more undead crawl out from the woods, leaving my brother and I to be outnumbered by countless denizens of Hel. I've already killed at least a hundred of them, but they don't seem to stop funnelling out of the dead wood.
"We need to get out of here!" My cries fall on deaf ears. Tyr seems to be wholly focused on cutting down all the walking dead surrounding us, tuning out everything else. This is getting on my nerves. I want out of this situation. I didn't come here to fight for an eternity against dead Vanir. I came here to help. What use is there in killing these creatures if they don't stop coming? This is all just senseless violence.
"TYR!"
Something snaps in me as thunder roars over head. I raise my axe, fed up with this fight.
"WE ARE LEAVEING!"
Lighting descends onto Jarnbjorn's keen edge. It chains to a good dozen or so undead around me, frying them like a mosquito zapper does to those blood sucking insects.
"NOW!"
I Bring Jarnbjorn down, cleaving through two more Draugr, and slamming it into the ground.
From below our feet the muddy soil of Vanaheim shifts as the tectonic plates tremble under my blow, causing many of the Draugr to fall and even sending Tyr scrambling to maintain balance. Many of the dead are popped up off the ground for a brief moment, before descending. The brilliant blue glow of light coursing through the cracked ground gives an ominous feeling of opening up and unleashing all that power in one shot. It in fact, sort of does. The ground splits apart, bolts of lightning arc from the ground, before colliding with bodies, and arcing from one monster to another, before they can hit the dirt. Some of them are incinerated, most are charred, but all of them are finally dead.
Due to my frustration while delivering the blow, the mere fact that I had no idea what I was doing, and fully operating on instinct, I had no control of the ability. Which meant I had no real target when I acted, causing everything around me to be one. Tyr notices this in time to lift his two-sided blades and twirl them rapidly enough to make a sort of imperfect Faraday Cage. The force of the blow still sends him off his feet about fifteen feet back. When he hit's the ground he tumbles backwards and rolls into a crouched position, with his sword held out to his left. He takes a moment to breath and inspect his surroundings, as I panic about nearly killing my brother.
"Tyr! I'm so sorry! I-I didn't m-mean to..." I start to ramble and apologize profusely, as I spiral. The fear of my powers and the self-doubt resurfacing with full force. Tyr stands up and places his sword on his back, before walking over to me. The intensity on his face has me question if he wants to stick around anymore.
Then he claps his hand on my shoulder.
"Well done, Brother!" His wide, prideful grin, nearly cracks his face in half. The utter joy in his face baffles me, leaving me reeling in a slow realization of what was happening.
"I-uh..."
"The God of Thunder is indeed reborn! I am glad to see it! HA HA!" He begins to laugh heartily while shaking my shoulder a bit. This is when I snap out of my stupor and realize he isn't mad, or scared, or disappointed in me... he's happy. This feels... good.
"Thanks. I'm glad to uh... be of help." A smile crosses my face, but I have no idea what else to do. I've never been applauded for displaying my strength or power before. Eventually he releases me and turns to inspect the creatures. I follow his lead, and begin looking over the bodies.
"What are we looking for?" I ask.
"Any indication of how they came to be. Some Draugr rise on their own, normally due to a mishap involving the damned. Normally, however, Hel is good at her job. So you normally don't see this many undead in one place."
"So you're thinking somebody raised them with what... Necromancy?" He turns to me and nods. "Well... shit I guess I have magical equipment. Can't really deny that Necromancy kind of falls under the umbrella of magic."
"How do you think we use the Bifrost?"
"I dunno. God powers? Some ancient device that Heimdall guards and operates?" Tyr chuckles as he shakes his head, turning back to the bodies.
"Modern Day Midgard is a sad sight. The lack of magic and blatant denial of it's existence by the masses is disturbing. You aren't wrong about Heimdall's role as a God and the added use of a device, but magic is the main component to how we do almost everything. That said, I am looking for any mark or totem, or anything really, that might give me an idea as to the evil behind this corruption." Tyr crouches down as he speaks, lifting the arm of one of the dead.
"That's fair. My armour is enchanted after all, as is Jarnbjorn. What about your sword? The fact that it can transform is pretty cool."
"My portfolios as the God of War would have me capable of mastering the Art of War in all ways. This includes weapons mastery. The old you was efficient with many weapons yourself, but you were only master to the Axe and Hammer. If you didn't have those available, well let's just say I pitied anybody that wished to wrestle you, or come to blows with bare fists. I, however, have mastered all weapons from the Nine Realms. Many were mastered through practice and training, but as I became God of War, I attained the ability to quickly learn any new weapon I come across in an instant."
"That is pretty damn cool. So if you were on Midgard, and some alien invasion happened, you'd be able to pick up their weapons and use them?" He nods.
"Yes. I have encountered 'aliens' before. They exist in all realms." I balk at his claim. Completely losing focus on the task at hand. The idea that Tyr has battled aliens is hard to imagine. Clearly there is a story there.
"Wait? What kind? Even better question. Every realm has aliens?" Tyr nods absentmindedly. Clearly he is more focused on his search, but he still manages to split his focus between his investigation, and my questions.
"Where do I start? And, yes. Each realm is named after the planet that is the core pillar of said realm. Midgard, or Earth, is the planet. Midgard, the realm, is the dimension, or universe, in which said planet resides." I'm floored. If there was ever a time to claim that my mind is blown, it is now. The massive scope of the universe in my mind, just got impossibly larger.
"I'm... wow." Tyr waves me over as he seems to have found something.
"It takes some time getting used to it. Mere mortals can't normally retain the vast knowledge of the Omniverse. But enough of this topic for now. I fear I have made a grim discovery." I briskly make my way to my brother, and am for the second time this day, left speechless at the sight before me.
My brother is kneeling next to a woman wearing bronze armour, a burgundy leather skirt, a helmet and vambraces that cover the wrist and a quarter of the forearm. The weapon next to her is a spear, and on her right arm is a shield. Her helmet kind of reminds me of the ones worn by Spartans. A thought that finally gave me the words to ask the first of many questions.
"Did Spartans let their women fight?"Tyr shakes his head.
"The women would fight if Sparta was invaded or if they were attacked, but none of them were militarized like the men were. They were educated and had more rights and freedoms than any other Greek women."
"So, what? Is this a servant of Athena or something?" Tyr shakes his head.
"Worse. This is an Amazon." The grim look on his face gives me a chill up my spine, and I wonder if this is supposed to be a bad omen.
"Oh. I haven't read that much about them. I know they were considered formidable warriors but-" A howling from deep within the dead woods of Vanaheim interrupts my line of thought. Tyr stands abruptly, and growls.
"Wulver." Tyr mutters. He reaches for his blade, and I raise my axe, before we hear a chorus of howls from multiple sources.
"I thought these things didn't run in packs? Don't tell me they are actually werewolves." I remember reading about these things. Wulvers are depicted in the old stories of Norse Mythology as humanoid beasts, wolves, that usually kept to themselves. Not shape-shifters, but immortal spirits.
"No. Midgard is correct in calling them immortal spirits. Why they are actively hunting I have no clue, but facing a pack of them at your current strength maybe dangerous." Tyr seems to abandon his initial plan to fight the beasts, and turns to hastily leave the area.
"You saying the two of us should retreat?" I turn to follow him, slightly baffled that a Norse God of War is retreating from a battle.
"Draugr are weak and barely a threat to gods like us, but just one Wulver is enough to rip the mightiest of warriors to shreds. There is no telling how many of them there are. It would be foolish to allow them to reach us while unprepared. We may be gods, but you are still coming into your power, and facing multiple foes while I have to protect you will likely get us killed."
"So for now, we retreat. Got it."
"Think of it more like regrouping."
xxx
It's been nearly an hour of trekking through the currently swampy mess that is Vanaheim. Cutting down a few aggressive wild animals and more Draugr as we go along. We aren't sure if we managed to lose the Wulvers, but we are sure Vanaheim has been tampered with by outside forces. On the way off the battlefield, we crossed several other warriors that were fashioned in Greek armaments. Due to this Tyr is suggesting something terrible.
"So your saying the Amazons still exist, hidden from the world, and that the Olympians of all people, are waging war on us? Don't you think you're rushing to conclusions?" Tyr sighs as he lowers his head.
"If Baldur, Sif, or Ullr were to suggest the possibility, without my viewing any evidence, then I would say the same... however..." Tyr stops short and I look over to see that he is conflicted.
"You know more than you've told me." He nods. "Figures. That's my life after all."
"Thor, understand-"
"Name's Erik, remember?" Tyr frowns. "Don't give me that look. You want to call me by your brother's name, than earn it. I've been dicked around enough. What evidence do you have that states the Amazons or Olympians are attacking us? Cause quite frankly, I'm getting fed up with this bullshit!" Thunder roars overhead, but no storms come. Not yet, anyway.
"There was an attack on Helheim three months ago. The raiders stole away with at least a thousand souls." I scoff.
"What was Hel doing during all this? Napping?" Tyr looked at me grimly.
"She was attacked, and nearly killed. Heimdall's vision was blocked from Helheim at the time, and Hermod needed to go there to retrieve... Baldur."
"Wait, what? Baldur... he's dead?" Tyr nodded. The gears turn, the bells ring, and the dread sets in. It's now, in this moment, that I'm starting to realize why I've been having those dreams recently. Why Tyr and the gods were adamant about finding me. If Baldur's dead, than Ragnarok has already started.
This isn't good.
"Hermod, Ullr, and I, went to find out what was happening in Helheim, and to retrieve the part of his soul that went there. When we arrived-"
"Hold on. Did he not die in battle? Why was he sent to Hel? Was it a spear made of Mistletoe?"
"No. It was an arrow. And he was killed in battle... but the Valkyries have been rendered incapable of performing their duties. Helheim has become overrun with thousands of souls who are deserving to be there, and thousands more who are not."
"This is... a lot." Tyr turns to face me as I stop in my tracks, taking a moment to process all this new information.
"As I was saying, we discovered a cloaked figure standing over a defeated Hel, ready to deliver the finishing blow. Ullr forced the attacker back with a hail of arrows, and I charged him intent on making them pay for attacking one of the last Giants." Tyr stops, in shock, as if he said something he didn't mean to. It takes me all of two seconds to have my heart sink to my stomach.
"One of the last?" I question. Tyr's eyes go wider than dinner plates.
"Thor... we-"
"If you lie to me, we're done. I won't come back to Asgard, and I'll never make myself available to you again." Tyr tries to say something, but stops, before slumping his shoulders. Deep shame washes over him, before he straightens up, and faces me with an almost hollow expression.
"Thousands of years ago, while nearing the end of the last war between the Nine Realms, the Giants held out as one of the last to deny our rule. They refused to sign any treaties or bend the knee. In a final ditch effort to bring this bloody war to an end, before the Realms collapsed from all of the conflict, your Father sent you and I alone to Jotunheim. With the orders to 'End this, whatever the cost.' You knew there was a fight ahead of us, which I was game for, but when we got there, we weren't quite ready for what we faced. They were ready for us. We were ambushed, and you and I used the Warrior's Madness that is possible through our divine heritage, to overcome the odds. It came at great cost. We would normally come down from said madness soon after defeating our opponents. Unfortunately, nearly every Giant seemed to be ready to fight us to the bitter end. We both had fallen to the Madness, so neither one of us could bring the other out of it. We killed all that stood against us and when what remained was surrendering I came out of it. Thor... the old one... he didn't. I watched as he killed many who did not deserve to die. It took me entirely too long to work up the nerve to stop you, for you terrified me. It was the longest we'd ever been in that bloodthirsty trance. The worst carnage I've ever seen."
My brain lurched. Unable to accept the fact that Tyr and my old self were Giant Slayers. That Thor... that I killed innocents. Defenceless, non-combatants. They surrendered, and I continued to destroy them. Storm clouds brew above my head. This is why Gudrun was so afraid of me. This is why everybody looks at us like we are monsters. Whatever atrocities we committed in that war, that anybody committed, pales in comparison to what I did. I was the one that committed genocide.
"Thor! Snap out of it!" Tyr's voice pulls me to the present and I see that a rain storm has started. Complete with thunder, and lightning. I notice as well, that I am floating in the air, and looking down at Tyr.
"When were you going to tell ME?!" I'm beyond livid. All of this time, I thought I was finally going to be apart of something. That I had a place I belonged, and that I could try and help heal the wounds of the past. Break the cycle. I didn't know the cycle was one of unnecessary blood shed and blatant murder. Ragnarok is already here, and I do not know if I am so inclined to help the gods anymore.
"Thor! Shortly after-nngh-the massacre, you went to Yggdrasil and hung yourself-rrrgh-just like Odin, but you did it for longer, and sacrificed your eye and arm! You gained knowledge! You returned to us with a declaration of making the Madness one of the worst sins to commit! I gave my hand to Fenrir as a form of Justice! I began my journey on the road to becoming the God of Justice! We are different from our old selves! I still struggle with my rage, but I am struggling! Rather than giving in! You are literally a new person! With everything at stake, we have to be better!"
"You don't get to lecture me on being BETTER!" Lightning is striking the earth around us, and I am floating higher and higher into the sky. Until finally, I feel myself losing consciousness. Just like on the mountain. Blacking out. This has always been the Warrior Madness overtaking me.
"You felt guilt for the Elgfrodi! Even though they attacked first! You protected that child on the mountain! You protected the Dwarves from me! I promise you! Things can be different! We have to be able to be the gods we choose to be! Not the ones they made us into!"
His words fall on deaf ears. I am on the brink of lashing out... but I need to stop. Barely in control of my power as is, I was able to destroy countless Draugr with one blow, while threatening to split the world open. Yet again, I find myself stuffing down my emotions. Something that is easier to do with my new armour. I can already feel it pulling at my reserves, trying to siphon off the excess powers brought out through my outburst. It's preventing a full on tempest from unleashing itself. Then I remember the enchantment on Mjolnir.
...if they be worthy...
I begin to calm, using my breathing exercises and trying to think of anything that makes me happy. Which currently, wasn't a lot. My mom lied to me my whole life, and kept me isolated from the world out of fear. Raised me to fear my powers and doubt myself, intentional or not. Father and his family are murderers, that everybody is afraid of, and I'm the reincarnation of a genocidal maniac.
And now, Ragnarok was on our heels and I fear I don't have time to fix it.
Okay, this isn't helping. Breathe. Clear your mind. Focus on something else. Anything else. But what? I'm just floating here, trying to stop the storm that... wait.
I'm flying?
Opening my eyes again, I look around to see my armour has already helped me stop my storm. The thunder and lightning are no longer raging through the sky, and now there is a light amount of rain descending on Vanaheim. Looking down, I see that I'm still floating above the ground.
I can fly! That has to be the single coolest thing I can do. I mean yeah, summoning storms and my immense strength are nothing to glance over, but being able to fly is just... freeing. I attempt a few aerial manoeuvres, before nearly crashing into a tree. I spend entirely too long messing with my new found ability, before catching a glimpse of Tyr, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.
Right. Back to business. Will definitely be toying with this later though.
Upon landing next to my half-brother, it quickly becomes awkward. I'm still extremely upset with him, but there isn't anything I can do about it now. Besides, my feelings about our families atrocities aren't the main problem right now. It's the impending doom that's upon us, and the likelihood of a war with another pantheon. Which reminds me.
"You going to finish the tale of what happened in Hel? You still haven't told me how you know it was the Greek Gods that attacked." Tyr's expression still has shame written all over it, but at the mention of the possible upcoming war, a sprinkling of excitement, and worry, appear on his features.
"The cloaked attacker stole away with the piece of Baldur's essence that went to Helheim, but he dropped a pendant in the shape of the Omega Symbol from the Greek Alphabet." Reaching into a pouch on his waist, Tyr reveals said pendant.
The Omega symbol in question isn't very large, and for whatever reason is attached to a chain the wrong way. If you were to wear it, the symbol would look like a horse shoe instead of the last letter of the Greek Alphabet. The other thing about it is that it's a deep, crimson, colour. It seems like just any other pendant otherwise, and yet an indelible sense of dread fills me at the sight. I did not get that feeling while looking at the dead Greek Warriors, or the dead Amazon.
"You know. We have a messenger god, as do they. Should we not parlay with them before jumping to conclusions? Maybe whoever attacked us was acting independently from the will of Olympus." Tyr shakes his head.
"Not really how we gods look at things, unfortunately. The last war was caused by the Amazon's venturing too far north, and committing heinous acts on our people in Norway. You and Odin were livid, and ordered a raiding party to chase them back to where they came from, for we were mere godlings at the time. Fledgling in our power. The first meeting with the Greek Pantheon was on the battlefield. Many lives were lost, but borders were drawn, and agreements were made. There may have been one off battles between two or three gods here and there, but we avoided full blown war for many millennia."
"So why do you think they broke the peace treaty?" Tyr shrugged.
"It wasn't even a peace treaty. It was a non-aggression pact. One that was ignored every once in awhile when two opposing gods crossed paths and agreed to a 'friendly' duel in order to circumnavigate the agreement. Why they'd break it now, I have no idea. And as much as I'd prefer we don't go to another bloody war, ending in thousands if not millions of lives lost, I doubt Odin and the others would be keen on the sentiment."
"Why?"
"Because it wasn't simple mortals that started it. Whoever it was had to have been a god in order to defeat Hel herself. Not to mention, this was a transgression on a god in her realm. And that doesn't even start to explain the severity of stealing a soul of a god from our Underworld." All at once I feel as if a massive weight has been dropped on top of me. Tyr's points are clear as day. War is going to happen. We can hope that whoever this was acted alone, and that in the millennia that has followed since the first encounter with each other, both Pantheons would be willing to settle things with peaceful resolution, or at the very least a duel between two combatants, instead of full blown war. I mean the Greeks were the ones that created the Olympics, named after their gods. Maybe we can do competition without bloodshed.
"We should get moving." A howl is heard once again, causing us to abandon our conversation and head further into the wood, in the opposite direction of the Wulvers.
"So,where are we going anyway?" I ask after a few minutes of silence.
"To look for Freyr."
"One of the twins? Why's that?"
"I think he knows where Freya is. She and her brother need to be together in order to heal Vanaheim."
"She isn't here? Is she in Sessrumnir?" Tyr shakes his head.
"No. Sif has been given control over Freya's hall following her absence."
"Absence? She abandoned Folkvangr?" Tyr sighed.
"No... not exactly."
"Spit it out."
"Odin and Freya married as a part of the treaty between the Aesir and the Vanir to end their war thousands of years ago. Their children are the twins Baldur and Hodr, and the daughters Hnoss and Gersimi. Before you ask, no, she wasn't our mother. In fact, the legends are true about our parentage. Odin never married her, but Jord was your... his mother. The Giant embodiment of the Earth. My mother was Hrodr."
"Another Giant. For a guy who went to war with them and condoned their deaths... he sure did like them."
"You have no idea." At the moment Tyr heard the male voice reverberating through the forest he reached for his sword, but it was too late.
We completely missed the thick vines that were slinking through the grass like snakes hunting prey. We don't have time to react as they rapidly slither up and around us, binding our limbs and keeping us wrapped up tight. Tyr curses profusely while I try to use my strength to rip free, but stop when I see a man stroll out of the woods.
He's got a deep tan, brown curly hair with some of it tied in braids. He also has a few white feathers in his hair at the back of his head. His garb is vastly different from ours. Green, with splashes of blue, brown, and a little bit of red. He has a bow on his back, and a sword on his hip. His armour is minimal, I suppose to allow full flexibility, protecting only the most vital parts of his body, while the rest of his attire is cloth or leather. Looking into his eyes, I see they are glowing a chartreuse colour, as is his hand.
"Are you going to finish the story, Aesir? Or shall I?" His biting tone tells me he doesn't really care for Tyr, let alone any of us.
"Think we found our guy." My sarcastic remark earns me a groan from my half-brother. He's clearly unhappy.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure I found you. Tell me, Tyr. Did you find your half-brother after all these millennia? I noticed the freak storms and decided to come check out the commotion. Found a bunch of dead Draugr, then found you. I don't see Thor anywhere though." He glances over to me, and gives me a scrutinizing look. "This a new friend of yours? Never seen him before and yet... he's a god. Interesting."
"Freyr. Let us go. Wulvers are-"
"Sent away. I led them astray before cornering you." I'm impressed by his speed if he managed to keep up with us after getting rid of the Wulvers.
"You're a fast one." I remark.
"Seidr magic does wonders for travel. Now, tell me. Why are you here?"
"Why didn't you kill the Wulvers? They are corrupted." Tyr doing the answer a question with a question. It looks like I'm getting to witness the other side of combat, of war. Tyr's portfolios don't end with a sword on a battlefield, but extend further beyond that. Just like mine. Verbal sparring, negotiation, interrogation, I imagine are all things he excels at. Gotta remember to get him to teach me. Regardless of where I end up after all this, I need to be able to effectively communicate, persuade, etc.
"Not those ones. I've kept them safe from the corruption for some time. They are travelling in a pack because they figured out something is keeping them relatively sane. Since everything that's infected here now works together, regardless of previous hostility, I figured it would be beneficial to keep some of the strongest creatures in the realm alive, and cleansed, so they can tear apart many of the brood stalking these woods." Tyr rolls his eyes, but I'm thinking about how cool that is. Bipedal beasts fighting the undead. Classic. Though normally the undead in question are vampires, but whatever. Still cool.
"As awesome as that is, you kind of interrupted the story. Tyr was taking the long story route, and I'd like to get to the point of all this." The man holding us captive laughed mirthlessly.
"Oh it's simple, really. My sister got fed up with her mad man of a husband when the War of The Realms started to get out of hand. The Jotun suffered the most, and Freya could not stand by the actions of the Aesir. She and many of the Vanir took action against Odin, and in return, she was bound to Midgard, never to leave that realm or see her home, again!" His demeanour changed from devil may care to outraged. Understandable, considering who he is.
"Freyr. If you help us find her, we can set her free." Tyr's declaration earns him a vine around the mouth.
"Silence! I will not listen to your lies! Besides! You know as well as I that Odin, and the Valkyries, are the only ones that know where she is!" Tyr cusses under his breath.
"Can't Heimdall just find her?"
"You really are new." Freyr responds. "He could, if it wasn't for the fact that he helped Tyr locate her. Now, all but the Valkyries and the All-Fucker know where she is."
"So why don't we ask one of them?" I ask. "Surely it isn't that hard to do. Even if they won't be cooperative, I'm sure we can work something out." This earns another laugh from the Twin God.
"I suppose I can't blame you for being a fool. Seeing as how you are new to all this. It's a shame you've thrown your lot in with the Aesir. Though, I do suppose you hold somewhat of a resemblance to Odin. Another Giant I assume?"
"No. My mother was from Asgard if I'm not mistaken, but she abandoned her position to keep me from him. Not important at the moment. Why can't we ask the Valkyries? By your reaction to my question, you clearly know something I don't." Freyr sighs as he begins to circle us, mostly keeping his eyes on me.
"Silly boy. I have forgotten more than you know. But yes, I do know about the plight of the Valkyries. One of them deserted their post nearly two decades ago. As a punishment, Odin cursed them to be stuck in their physical forms, preventing them from performing their duties. Which, is driving them mad." Tyr struggles and yells through the vine, trying to communicate his clear denial and rejection of such events.
"So I know that the Aesir are a bunch of bastards, but can you let him speak please?" Freyr is behind me now, and I can't gauge his reaction to my request or my statement about my distant relatives. I wait in agonizing anticipation before finally, the vine removes itself from Tyr's mouth.
"Gods these things taste awful!" He spits a few times before continuing. "Freyr, it was not Odin that cursed the Valkyries. Think. Why would he prevent them from gathering Einherjar? You know how terrified he is of Ragnarok. How obsessed he is with preventing it. Cursing the Valkyries would not help him in this endeavour."
"You see, boy? All they can do is lie. You can't trust an Aesir. All their talk of honour and oaths is mere posturing. Rules they've made for all of us to live by, but for them to break on a whim."
"I'm not interested in your squabbles at the moment Freyr." I turn to my half-brother. "Tyr, if what you're saying is true, than what happened? How did they become cursed?"
"I... I don't know."
"See what I'm saying?"
"Maybe it was Loki. Maybe it was another outsider. All I know is Odin has been trying to fix it for a long time." Freyr has come around to stand in front of us now, and drags Tyr down to his eye level.
"If that bastard wanted this problem fixed, then he would have freed my sister to allow her to do so! She is the Goddess of Magic! Nobody in all the realms is more skilled or knowledgeable in the arcane arts than she is!" I'm assuming he means in the realms within our Pantheons jurisdiction. I'm not going to assume that the God Titan Hecate isn't just as powerful, given that is her domain in Greek myth.
"That... is more complicated." Tyr's words cause Freyr to growl.
"No it isn't! What's complicated is that more than Draugr are roaming our lands! Hel-Walkers have risen. An entirely new breed of undead! Faster, stronger, more capable, and more organized. Helheim is overflowing with souls, and Hel has suffered a set back with that attempt on her life. She's behind in processing all of the dead!"
"We don't need Odin to free Freya!" Tyr shouts. "The boy's mother is Hildr!" Freyr takes a step back, taken by surprise by this information, as am I. He turns towards me slowly, and his eyes widen.
"What is... your name?" Inside of me is a whirlwind of thoughts and emotion. What is my name? Thor Odinson? God of Thunder and son to a God and apparently a Valkyrie? Or Erik Torsten? Son of a concerned... controlling, mother. That taught me to fear myself.
"I... I'm... Erik. Erik Torsten." Freyr narrows his eyes.
"What is your given name?"
"My mother gave me that name. Her name is Hanna." Freyr scoffs and turns to Tyr.
"The Truth! Or I kill you both."
"He is Thor Odinson, reborn." Freyr steps back further from Tyr, clearly unnerved from the revelation. He looks over to me, scans me up and down, and screws his face into one of disgust.
"The sweet irony that you died, only to be reborn as ugly on the outside as you are on the inside." The words cut deep, despite them being directed to my former incarnation. I have virtually no chance to be anything other than a monster in their eyes.
"He's different."
"That's laughable. We don't change. Men are malleable, but gods are stone. We are what we are made to be. Nothing more, and nothing less."
"Your wrong!" Tyr roars. "I've seen it with my own eyes!"
"And I've seen the corpses littering the realm of Jotunheim! You really think that destroyers like you can change? Just because you want to? Don't tell me after all these countless centuries you are still trying to prove you are more than just a warmongering, genocidal, maniac!" Tyr struggles against his vines in protest to Freyr's harsh words!
"Believe what you want about me! I am damned! My sins span across the realms! But not him! Erik is a fresh start for Thor! He has already declared protection and a change for Nidavellir, and intends on doing the same for all of the Realms!"
"Talk is cheap, Tyr. You know that as well as I do."
"You don't understand. When I finally found him... he was trying to save a family from the same agents intent on destroying us. He didn't even know who he was. His heritage. Or why he was being targeted. Unfortunately, the parents died, but he protected that child with his life. When I revealed myself, he was ready to kill me if I so much as looked at the boy the wrong way." Freyr's attitude seems to simmer down a bit, but he still looks standoffish.
"Thor was always that way. Played the guardian, until his anger got the better of him, and he showed his true colours." Tyr shakes his head vigorously.
"No! Thor was lost and a drunk. Cruel because of our father, but he had a seed of hope in him for a better tomorrow. He drowned it in mead, instead of tending to it. This boy isn't tainted by that influence. When we went to Nidavellir, some of the locals were gathering as a mob, and one boy threw a tomato at me... there's no excuse, but I lost my temper and-"
"Unsurprising. You cut him down didn't you."
"I didn't get a chance to." Freyr became puzzled at this. "I swung at him, but Thor threw his axe, Jarnbjorn, to intercept the attack with acute precision. When I turned to face whoever dared to stop me, I was met with a vicious right hook. I tumbled into a fruit stand."
"Lies."
"It's true." Finally, I manage to speak up, which draws Freyr's attention. "I was livid, watching him charge the kid. I wasn't even thinking. I just ran at him, and would have continued to hit him if he had the audacity to fight back."
"He speaks true, Freyr. Afterwards, he gave a grand speech about making things right. He didn't hide anything from the people. He was honest, and he promised to be better." Freyr looks confused now. Conflicted on what to think. "Uncle, I'm telling you the truth. I'm tired of all this in fighting. Of our family being broken. We should be together when we face Ragnarok. Not for Odin's obsession or to prevent it, but so... so we aren't alone." The Vanir god's stern look of aggression and suspicion falters a moment as he looks upon his step-nephew. Tyr is slouched, and looks depressed. Something I wasn't expecting to see in him. Maybe I was too hard on him. He wants the same thing I do. His family to be whole.
Freyr looks between the two of us, and I try to give him as convincing of a look of determination as I can. I want to make things right. Despite how clear it is to me now that the odds are stacked against me, I need to earn the trust of the people. Otherwise, we won't be able to change anything. Of course, maybe I should say this out loud.
"I-" Before I can get a single word out, Freyr releases me.
"Thor Odinson... or... Erik Torsten. Whatever you are calling yourself. You will enter a pact with me. One that will cost Tyr his life should you break it."
"What?"
"I will keep your brother here, under my care, until you free my sister. A sibling for a sibling. Prove to me that you are willing to heal Vanaheim, and aid us however you can. If you do this, than I will vouch for you in the coming talks for an alliance."
"Wait, how do I-"
"Oaths are sacred, boy. Your word is your bond, and as a god your word carries more weight than that of a man. Most gods, even the more devious ones, don't tend to break their oaths so easily. For it would damage their reputation, and make it so that most of us will refuse to deal with them ever again. Being immortal, that can be devastating to have hang over your head." I listen intently to Freyr's words, crossing my fingers that he practices what he preaches.
"Listen to him, Thor. Freyr is one of the few that refuses to lie. One of many that keeps his word."
"How am I supposed to find her?"
"You have that answer already. Tyr gave it to you."
"My mother? I don't know that she-"
"You have one day."
"How am I supposed to get to Midgard? Heimdall can't see or hear me, I need Tyr for-"
"Heimdall!" Tyr shouts. "Open the Bifrost! Thor needs to go to Eagle Mountain in Midgard!" The rainbow colours swirl to our right as the port opens to the Bifrost. It did not go unnoticed that Tyr kept the information on my mother's whereabouts hidden, making me wonder if he ever reported where I was living.
"Seems that has been solved for you."
"God damn it." Standing up, I look between the two gods in front of me, and take a long heavy breath.
"I vow to free your sister, and face the wrath of Asgard if I must. In exchange, you will free Tyr, and the four of us will gather our strength and get to the bottom of the crimes committed in recent times." I stare at Freyr, and he simply smirks.
"I agree to these terms." I extend my hand, and he reaches for it. Grasping me at the forearm, he pulls me in and shakes my... arm, I guess. He gives me a look that is daring me to go back on my word, and I know he will kill Tyr if I fail to uphold my end of the bargain.
Letting go of my arm, the Vanir doesn't take his eyes off me, clearly ready to fight if he needs to. I grab my axe, and look back at Tyr. My brother gives me an encouraging nod, and I can tell he's worried. Undoubtedly because I will be on my own now.
I sigh, charging through the Bifrost without a second thought.