Chapter 63: An Unexpected Visitor
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07.
Two chapters today. The second will appear soon, refresh if it's not visible.
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A few days after the discovery- or is it an invention?- of Dargonite, and the night long "talk" with Chhaya, I was sitting in my Throne, taking a break from practicing making weapons. Chhaya was on Midgard, to request a few lessons in enchanting weapons from mother.
We had a lot of fun for two days, to practice for our eventual child conception, but making weapons was also important, so Chhaya had decided to go to Midgard to learn enchanting from mother, while I practiced the physical weapons making.
Kali was still in Andalok, keeping up with teaching Manasi whenever they had time off from teasing me. Chhaya had immediately bragged that she was going to get pregnant soon, but wasn't yet, and since I was the only person in Andalok capable of it, AND not related to her, Manasi and Kali immediately knew I was to be the future father.
Sigh, if only Kali wasn't bitter in her teasing, it wouldn't have been so.. troublesome. See, this is why I was content with staying alone, fucking my way through the Goddesses of Terra. But no, I had to create my own Pantheon.
Her crush wasn't getting lower, and I just thank the Queen, that Manasi wasn't picking up on it. She would take it badly if she thought I chose Chhaya over Kali, despite me doing no such thing.
Chhaya approached me, and has pestered me for a relationship for literally thousands of years. I was annoyed, obviously, but more of it was because I wasn't ready to bring a new life into a Universe where I wasn't the strongest.
Kali never even told me she was interested in a relationship, but I think it was because she is scared of losing me as a friend if she did that. I'm going to have a long talk with her, aren't I?
Suddenly, Kali teleports to the Throne room, Manasi to her side, while I snap my head up and change the view of the mirror. Someone was here, uninvited, and we did not appreciate it one bit. Kali joins me on my right, as we both stare at the man in the mirror, casually standing on a hilltop, without a care, and with not even a simple invisibility spell to hide himself.
"Who is that?" Manasi asks, as both Kali and I were silently staring at the mirror.
"That's Loki, the Aesir God of Mischief. What he is doing here, I do not know." Kali answers, while I think up on the reasons he might have to come here.
How he found me, is a problem that I will tackle when he leaves, but for now, I want to know why he's here.
"Kali." I say, gaining my companion's attention, and add, "Take Manasi to the Ship, and stay together. I will bring the Liesmith here, to see what he wants." The ship will be enough of an additional protection if Loki tries something malicious.
"But I want to see what happens!" Manasi whines, while Kali simply stands up with a frown. So, she agrees that Manasi should be away from Loki's eyes, but doesn't want to leave me alone with him?
Huh, nice to see she cares, but right now Loki isn't a match for me.
Waving my hand, I smile at Manasi and say, "You can witness what happens if you wish, but don't cast any spell while he's here. Sonny can help you to keep an eye on me."
Kali nods, and pulls a pouting Manasi to the room which houses the Ship. When I'm sure that the girls are both safe in the Ship, I create a green flaming portal to Loki's location, without bothering to get up from my throne.
On the other side, I see Loki standing with his back to me, looking towards a small tribe of Andals. Sensing the portal, he freezes, then turns around and raises an eyebrow. He observes the portal for a second, and then takes the silent invitation to my Realm, for what it is.
"Nice place you have here, Theos Jordson." Loki says, looking around the Throne room.
The entire castle was in lockdown, meaning that Loki couldn't see, sense, feel, scry, etc anything beyond the walls of the Throne Room. No-one could, except me. And Sonny, but he's a Celestial AI, so he doesn't exactly count.
Nodding at him, I conjure an extravagant chair for him, albeit nothing close to our thrones. Conjuring a cup of tea for him, and for me, I wait for him to take a sip, and ask, "Why are you here, Odinson?"
Loki smiles, and says, "Ah, no small talk then? I always look forward to a small talk. Tells you a lot about the person you're speaking to."
"And what does this tell you about me?" I ask, wondering what he's playing at. He won't come here without any reason, and most likely, if it wasn't beneficial to himself.
"That you don't like Small Talk. Nice tea, by the way." Loki says, taking another sip. Putting the cup down, he says, "I am here on behalf of Asgard, for a.. favour, you may say."
Tapping my fingers on the Throne, I finally understood one of the reasons he's here. But it's too late, by my estimation. Ragnarok should have happened a year after Baldur's death, not 5000 years. But well, he did not die by Hodr's hands, nor by Loki's machinations, so it's understandable that some consequences were bound to happen.
I look at Loki, really look, and see that he is exactly the same as I expected him to be at the approach of Ragnarok. Carefree. But well, he is the God of Lies, so.. yeah, I'm not sure he isn't still responsible for Ragnarok happening, but I also can't guarantee that he will cause it.
"What will the favour entail?" I ask, deciding to see what exactly they want from me.
"Well, I cannot say yet. The AllFather requested.. ordered me to bring you to Asgard." Loki says, smiling like he just told a joke.
Staring at Loki, and with steel in my voice, I say, "You should remind Odin that he is the King of Asgard, not of the Universe. I am not going anywhere, let alone to Asgard, unless I know the exact details of what the favour will entail, including what I will get in return."
Loki returns, "You do us a favour, and Asgard will owe you one. You do know how favours work, don't you?"
Not bothering with anger, I ask, "What use is a favour, if the newly reborn Asgard itself doesn't remember they owe me one?"
"Oh? You know then?" Loki asks, sounding curious, but my Celestial senses tell me, that he did actually know that I knew about Ragnarok. Bloody Asgardians.
"Cut the bullshit, Loki. You're neither doing Asgard a favour, nor yourself, by stalling in the negotiations. State what you want, and I will name my price. If you're not authorized to grant any of my demands, or you don't like them, then you will leave, and bring Odin here." I say, not in the mood to keep Loki here any longer than necessary.
Loki is here for something related to Ragnarok. So, I'm going to either help them delay Ragnarok, or join them in their final war. I don't know if I will survive the explosion that Surter's fire will cause, but I could probably escape to my Throneworld if it gets too dangerous.
Loki bows on acceptance, and says, "Odin has sent me with full authorization as an envoy of Asgard and its allies. Whatever your price may be, I am fully capable of accepting, or rejecting them."
Nodding, I order, "Tell me then. What is the issue you need my help with?"
Loki pauses for a few seconds, hesitation showing on his face, which means it's probably fake, and says, "Ragnarok, the cycle that the Nine Realms go through, has just been found to be a plot by some higher Gods. The release of Magic during Ragnarok, is what feeds these Gods above Gods, as we call them. Odin wants to destroy them once and for all, and so, we need your help to sneak into the Realm they reside in. If it comes down to it, we may ask you to fight alongside us, because the Gods above us are a threat not only to Asgard, but also to the other Realms, which includes Midgard."
"Tch. You lot have a lot of nerve, to ask a Skyfather to fight your battles for you, and threatening harm to Midgard? What would mother say, I wonder.." I say, absorbing what he just told me. So Ragnarok is not a spontaneous event? There are Higher Beings, these Gods above Gods, that cause it? I don't remember ever reading about them. Damn.
Loki bows his head again, and says, "No need to trouble Lady Jord over it. And, to be fair, I did not know that you were a Skyfather. I don't think anyone knows you even have another planet, let alone another Pantheon."
I click my tongue in obvious displeasure. On the one hand, I know that Asgard will be reborn, as these Gods above Gods have already caused Ragnarok for a Billion years already.
On the other hand, there's no guarantee that this War against the Gods above Gods won't spill out on Midgard, which Mother won't like. I also don't want any harm to befall Earth, as it is now. I do like my home planet. Decisions, decisions.
"Hmm.. If it's only a matter of sneaking you lot into the Realm of these Gods Above Gods, I will do it. But," I interrupt when Loki opens his mouth to thank me, and say, "I will require something from Asgard in return."
Loki considers it for a few seconds, and asks, "What would you like then, Lord Theos? Gold, gemstones Uru, a Dwarven weapon for you and your Queens each? Ask, and you shall receive."
I snort, not at all amused, and say, "I have no need for any of those material things. What I require, is knowledge."
"For the first favour of sneaking the Aesir into the Realm of the Gods above you, I require the knowledge of forging that the Dwarves of Nidavellir have discovered over the Million years. Since I'll just have to sneak you in, and out, I ask for a small price, don't you think?" is it too much? Probably, but I won't get such a chance to gain knowledge again. Dwarves are really stingy with their forging techniques, and not even Asgard knows how exactly they make the Uru weapons.
I mean, they know a bit of theory, but not everything. Even if they copy the Dwarves to the minute detail, just by looking, they probably won't even successfully melt the Uru, let alone shape it.
Loki nods, although a bit tightly, and asks, "And for the second favour?"
I think for a bit, and say, "The second favour, if it happens, will endanger the life of a Skyfather of another Pantheon. I think, a copy of every book Asgard's numerous libraries have will suffice."
Loki freezes, and warns, "Odin won't agree to the second one. The Dwarves might have no choice, but the knowledge of Asgard is sacred."
"Odin has sent for help to another pantheon, and I am not going to work for free. You can go take it to Odin, but do warn him that that is my price if he wants me to fight HIS wars." I point out, and say.
I did not outright reject fighting for his war, but I also won't do it for free. I'm already getting the Dwarven Knowledge in exchange of the first task, which is to sneak the Gods into another God's realm. That, will be a piece of cake even without my Cosmic Energy.
Dwarven knowledge will be a big help to completely master our weapons. While Mother's enchanting is better, the Dwarves know how to actually create said weapons good enough to harm Celestials, without any external catalyst.
I remember that Jarnbjorn, an Asgardian Steel weapon, didn't even scratch the Apocalypse armour, but Mjolnir punched through the head of Exitar, the biggest and baddest Celestial.
As for the second favour of fighting against the enemies of Asgard, that one's trickier. I'm a Skyfather, and have the capacity to become stronger than Thor himself. But that's only if I enhance myself using my magic, or the magic of Andalok, or my Cosmic Energy, but that's an obvious given. So, me going there might be breaking some unspoken laws, which is the reason for my steep price.
It's also a matter of me putting my life on the line for Asgard's survival.. or maybe it's destruction, but on their terms. Whatever plan they have, I will only know once I am in Asgard.
Loki stands up, wipes the dust off his robe, and says, "I will be sure to pass on your message to King Odin. When shall we expect you in Asgard?"
"When will your plans be ready to go forward with?" I ask in return.
Loki answers, "Thor is currently away, and will return within a fortnight, depending on how his mission goes. We still have to find the Realm of the Gods above Gods, so we would appreciate your visit to be within this week. That gives us enough time to prepare for the inevitable."
I nod, and create a portal for Loki, to Midgard. I say, "Very well, I will be on Midgard 7 days from now, and call out for Heimdall."
Loki teleported to Induk, and waited for me to bring him here, so I will give them the same courtesy by not teleporting directly to Asgard.
Loki bows again, showing genuine respect, surprisingly, and turns to leave. Just at the last moment, though, he stops, and turns towards me.
He asks, "Your realm currently only has 3 Gods, correct? You and your Queens?"
Frowning, I wonder where he's going, and nod. I say, "Three yes, but they're not my Queens. We're the three High Gods of Andalok. But yes, there are no other Gods here. Why?"
Loki smiles, once again putting me on guard, and says, "I have a proposal. A mutually beneficial proposal."
"I will not make you a God of Andalok, Loki, no matter what you offer." I say, before he can even put forth an offer. This turn in the conversation already gives me bad vibes.
Loki smiles wider, and says, "Oh, but I never said that it's me that I want to offer to Andalok."
Understanding what he wants, but still not willing to believe, I say, "Go on." And listen to Loki's proposal. Can't say I saw this coming, even with my visions. But well, what can you do?
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A/N: Okay it's pretty obvious what Loki is saying, but I still won't mention it yet. This idea was playing in my head for a few weeks now, and I decided to go with it. But I wonder what the effects will be.
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