Chapter 27
He weighted the tome in his hand and opened it, out of curiosity, to see pages and pages of text, diagrams and runes. He could understand all of that if only he put his mind to it, but magic wasn't for a warrior and, besides, he had more pressing matters to tend to.
Thor put the tome on a pile with the others, to keep checking the spines along the shelf. Loki had been very specific about what he wanted, and those demands had been what had puzzled his older brother.
Because the book he had just taken was the only one about theory of magic, all the others were about old mythologies from other Realms and History books.
Loki hadn't offered him too many reasons for his request, only that he needed to know more about their enemy. It was just books, Thor thought, what harm could it cause?
When they were younger, Frigga often told Thor to take Loki under his wing, to include him in his games. There was a time, as it happens with children growing up, when they grew distant, one focusing in physical combat, the other in magic, and both believing that their path was the correct one.
He picked up another book about old traditions from Nidavellir and leafed through it. Deeming it useful, he put it with the others.
A clerk passed by, her arms full of books. She saw him near the History books and slowed her steps, before catching herself staring and resuming her duties at a faster pace.
The days right after Loki's trial had been the hardest: for two days their mother had locked herself up in her chambers, refusing to see anyone, even her own maids. Loki had been transferred to an unoccupied cell in the unused wing of the prison, courtesy of Tyr. The Commander had pointed out that a Prince shouldn't be mingled with regular brigands and looters.
He had come down to visit his brother the day after the trial. His cell had been furnished with his own bed, his desk and a bookshelf, and servants brought him the same food they served at the Royal table, as instructed by the Queen. He found his brother reading one of his books, but he didn't look up when he approached the window.
Thor had wanted to offer his brother an explanation, but the first thing he uttered was a question:
"Did you intend to take the throne?"
His brother took some time to answer. He closed his book and looked up at him. A brief "no" was all he said. Then he asked in turn if it had been Thor of Asgard the one to accuse Loki of such crime.
Thor argued and defended himself, claiming that both him and Frigga had been trying to make his case before Odin, but to no avail.
Loki seemed to ponder his words for a moment.
"I believe you only because I know you are incapable of lying," he said. "But I hope you will understand it if I don't have any desire to see you or speak to you for the time being."
His brother resumed his reading, ignoring him.
Giving up wasn't in Thor's nature, however, and he would visit Loki every day. He would talk about everything he had done that day, about news from the other Realms, Heimdall's steady recovery, about how the Dwarves of Nidavellir had offered their best builders and Alfheim their best artisans to help reconstruct Asgard, the difficulties they were facing sometimes, the good news, the setbacks... At first Loki seemed not to pay any attention, however, Thor arrived each day at the same hour and he noticed that, instead of retiring to the furthermost corner of his cell, his brother kept sitting by the same window, leisurely reading a book of his choosing.
Days went on like this; little by little, Loki seemed to change his demeanor. His older brother thought he was at last mellowing, until one day, out of the blue, Loki asked if Thor could find some books for the library for him.
He agreed, seeing no harm in it. And so he kept that routine, when his duties allowed it.
Looking now around the rows of shelves, he realized Loki had gone through almost all the books there.
On one of the upper shelves, a red leather bound tome caught his attention. He stretched his hand to take it and weighted it. The book was lighter than he expected, but it was covered in dust, as if it had been untouched for many years. There was no title in the cover and, opening it, it was filled with text and star charts from outside the Nine Realms. It wasn't what his brother was looking for, but he added it to the pile.
If Loki didn't want it, he could read it himself, outdated as it was. The Dark Elves had been hiding for five thousand years and, when they came back, they did it alongside creatures from outside any Realm or planet they knew. Their star charts would be useless, but Loki had a gift to find useful clues and information in the most unexpected places.
The fact that Asgard lacked a proper fleet of warships infuriated him. They had grown complacent in their own glory and thought that Yggdrasil would always be strong enough. Incursions from stray marauders was one thing, and easy to repel, but a whole invasion from a force they didn't know where it came from was something no one could have prepared for.
He then remembered that the jump system used by most spaceships was incompatible with the routes of Yggdrasil, for the branches of the Tree would interfere with the ship's instruments at best, or destroy it at worst.
Looking at the small tower he had formed with the tomes, he nodded to himself and picked them up. Training, fighting, drinking and eating, those were good to keep his mind occupied, but small tasks like this one also served their purpose. However, Thor had always been very careful that no one knew that fact about him.
Strutting his way out of the library, books under his arm, he went back to the prison level.