Chapter 42: Chapter 42) – Magic
Waking up similar to the morning before, Mara was in bed with Sif.
This time, however, the women were lying next to each other rather than Sif on top of her.
She had walked the Asgardian back to her room, as she was unable to do so by herself, and had been asked to stay the night - which she easily agreed to.
There was no sexual interaction, just a gentle embrace to soothe and bring comfort to her broken-hearted friend.
Although the private revelries were done, there was still the public address which would be performed later in the day and would end in a national celebration.
That meant yet another party, but at least it would only last a day.
Mara also wouldn't be expected to sing in front of the general public since there wasn't an official guest of honour for a national celebration.
Prior to the announcement though, Mara and I had some business to take care of that we had previously sorted with Frigga during the dress selection for the second night of partying.
Attempting to stealthily leave the bed, in order to allow Sif to continue her rest, Mara slowly separated the koala that had latched onto her during the night.
My host managed to remove Sif's legs relatively easily, but before she could even start work on removing the arms wrapped around her the koala's eyes began to twitch and she took in a deep breath.
Recognising that the woman latched onto her was waking up, Mara stopped trying to pry herself from the hold she was in.
Instead, she brushed the hairs out of Sif's face and gently spoke, "Morning little Xena, how's your head feeling?"
Yawning and releasing my host from her grip, to rub her eyes, Sif answered, "My head hurts a little from the alcohol, but it should pass before the announcement. What is a Xena?"
Helping the Asgardian clear her eyes of the sleep in them, Mara replied, "Xena is the name of a warrior princess written about back on Earth. She battles against gods, warriors, marauders, and many more villainous types in the name of the greater good. She had a troubled past as a villain herself, but acknowledges the errors of her ways and seeks to both redeem and better herself throughout her story."
Still slightly confused at the comparison, Sif asked, "Other than the people scoffing at the idea that a maiden could become 1 of the strongest warriors in the realm, and another incident, I have not had so much of a troubled past. I also do not always seek to redeem myself through the deeds I do. Is there some other reason as to why you referred to me as such?"
Wearing her widest knowing smile, Mara moved her mouth up to Sif's ear to sweetly whisper the answer into her ear, "The real reason is that you're the strongest Asgardian warrior, like how Xena was the strongest warrior. And just like Xena was a princess, you're our little pillow princess."
Shivering at the close whisper, Sif again asked in confusion, "I am unfamiliar with this term, 'pillow princess'. What does it mean?"
Licking all the way from the lobe of Sif's ear to the top of the helix, Mara responded, "Sometimes it's used negatively, but I'm completely complementary when I use it for you. It means that you really like the way we take control of your body in the bed and how you completely surrender yourself to us, so that we can play however we want. It's perfect for us, since we like being the dominant ones and I really, really, enjoy your sweet mewling whenever we explore you~"
Pulling her head away from the woman's ear, Mara then completely shifted the conversation while Sif was trying to hide the fact her cheeks had gone bright red, "Now. As much as we would like to stay here and fuck, El and I need to meet up with our new mother. We've got something to take care of before the big announcement."
Slipping out of the bed completely nude, Mara again spoke to the warrior, "If your head doesn't feel completely fine, or you just don't want to see the happy couple, then you don't have to force yourself to attend the announcement."
Performing a small nod, Sif stated, "I will see how I feel. Thank you."
Mara bent over to give the warrior a small peck on the forehead as I formed the replica of Sif's armour on her body.
Twirling around, Mara asked, "What do you think? Looks good on me right?"
Happily smiling slightly, Sif answered, "Indeed it does."
Walking backwards towards the door, my host blew a kiss and ended the conversation, "We'll see you later, Xena. Mwah~"
Turning around, Mara exited the room and headed towards our mother's room.
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Criminals.
Just like any other world, Asgard had their fair share of reprobates with a complete disregard for the law of the land.
Some may be able to see where this is heading just from those clues, but to spell it out so that it is as clear as possible; I'm going to eat some criminals.
Asgardians have a stronger physique than humans.
So, in order to get some of their genetic data, and reproduce it for my host to make her even stronger, we requested permission from Frigga to absorb some of the worst criminals.
We gave Frigga a rough explanation on how we were able to integrate other's abilities as our own through consuming them and rather than be shocked or disgusted, our mother was pleased for us and more than willing to help.
Even our father agreed with mother once he was informed of it.
Apparently there were some abilities that the criminals held which would be extremely beneficial for Asgard if used correctly, but said criminals abused their powers and thus they were going to waste.
The only reason they hadn't been killed off was because there was no benefit to do so. If Odin needed, he could use them as a sacrifice by deploying the criminals on a battlefield to cause havoc and save some of his loyal Einherjars.
That was the sole reason they had been kept around.
As a kind of 'Suicide Squad' if you will.
But, since Asgard wasn't at war, they were just sat around being of no benefit to anyone while eating up resources.
With both rulers already having agreed to the buffet, when Mara met up with Frigga in her room we swiftly made our way down to the dungeon under the palace.
Waiting within the dungeon itself was Odin who, although agreeing to the proposal, made sure that him and Frigga picked out the individuals we could absorb since not all the prisoners were serving sentences that warranted death.
Looking from the outside, it might appear that Asgard wouldn't have many criminals since it wasn't exactly the biggest world, but when its inhabitants lived for thousands of years even the smallest percentage of evildoers would build up over such a long period.
The dungeons themselves were made from dark stone and had intricate patterns carved into it. Whereas, in direct contrast, the insides of the prison cells were a pure white.
There were no bars like on human cells, and the door to the cells wasn't actually a door. Instead, a glowing golden barrier covered an entire side of the cell which allowed for relatively clear visibility into the containment units.
Stopping our mother and father, I created a head to speak with them, "Father, mother. It would be best to start with Asgardians that do not have powers if possible, so that we can get a genetic baseline to compare against."
Not opposing the request, Odin answered, "Of course, Elysium. Whether the individuals with abilities go first or last is irrelevant to us, so if that is your preference so be it."
Only walking forward for a few more steps, Odin halted, "The first couple of prisoners for consumption are in these adjacent cells. The man after this criminal was convicted for the murder of a family of 4. This woman was convicted for then eating that family of 4. Both were sentenced roughly 200 years ago."
Not caught off-guard by the information Odin had just informed us of, Mara quipped back, "How ironic that the 1 sentenced for eating people is also about to be eaten."
Stepping in front of the first cell's golden barrier, Mara waved at the cannibal and called out, "Hello there. I'm Mara, and this is El. We're here to give you a taste of your own medicine. Well, technically we'll be the ones getting the taste, but you know what I mean."
Sat on the floor, at the back of the cell, was the woman who just stared at my host - clearly not taking what she had said seriously, "I do not know how you got down here freak, but good luck getting in here without permission."
When Odin inevitably stepped in front of the cell barrier to reveal himself, the cannibal on the floor promptly stood up and took the situation a lot more seriously.
No further words were spoken as Odin unlocked the cell with some bullshit magic and Mara simply raised her arm out in front of her as I exploded forward - aimed at the Asgardian meal.
The meal held up her arms in an attempt to protect herself, but all I did was bite them clean off and transfer the limbs into my form as I continued on my trajectory.
With her arms freshly bitten off, the pain cause the meal to open her mouth – presumably to scream – but no noise came out as at that time my jaws closed around her head, decapitating the Asgardian in 1 swift motion.
Not even giving the body time to collapse to the ground, I wrapped it up with tendrils that originated from my outstretched head.
I didn't need the genetic data from the body, as everything I needed could be found in the brain, but additional data didn't hurt considering the severe lack I had regarding Asgardians and the fact that Asgardians weren't guaranteed to be the same as humans.
After absorbing my extended form back into my host's body, I began decoding and learning what made an Asgardian, an Asgardian.
Unlike the time when I had consumed Shriek, I wasn't just focusing on certain aspects of the genetic data and instead had to understand everything that encompassed what an Asgardian was.
Because genetic data, in its entirety, is so vast, it took a lot longer than Shriek's absorption.
By a lot longer, I mean it was a couple of minutes.
The analysis was made simpler by comparing it with the bountiful human data at my disposal.
Asgardians, appearance wise, were nearly identical to humans.
Using that as an assumption, I was able to presumably find the sequences that dictated Asgardian appearance as they were in similar locations to a humans.
I wasn't about to rely on assumptions or conjecture when it came to my host, however, so although the sequences were similar; I would compare the other Asgardian genetic data before confirming anything as fact.
Turning my attention back to the outside world, Mara was stood in front of the next cell talking with the family murderer, "…is what it is. You might not like the way it is, but you brought this on yourself really. We wouldn't be talking right now if you hadn't done what you did."
Creating a head from my host's shoulder again, I informed her, "I've finished absorbing the cannibal, Mar. Ready for the next 1."
Stroking the top of my head, Mara commented, "Good work, El. I assume the longer digestion time was due to it being a different species than human?"
In place of a verbal reply, I simply nodded my head as Odin lowered the barrier of the cell.
Not wasting any time, as soon as the barrier came down, I pounced on the fearful murderer.
Whatever Mara had spoken to him about got him so scared that he was crying and had pissed himself.
Not that it mattered, since I would absorb his form in its entirety and I was sure that there would be some bullshit magic to clean up the urine.
Since I had already absorbed 1 Asgardian, the second was noticeably quicker to understand.
Even with just the 2 genetic sequences, I was able to begin to piece together which sections dictated the various parts and functions of the Asgardian anatomy.
Again, returning to the outside world, Odin led us and Frigga towards the next prisoner for me to consume.
------
12 more Asgardian prisoners later and I had a solid understanding of what made the gods tick.
Actually, calling them gods was more inaccurate than I had originally thought.
When it came down to the genetic sequencing, it was more appropriate to call them evolved humans.
Their base Deoxyribonucleic Acid, or DNA, was made up of the exact same base pairs as humans.
The biggest, or rather only, difference between Asgardians and humans was in the double helix pattern that humans had which was the form that the hereditary material took.
For Asgardians, rather than a standard double helix, every sequence was in the form of what I would later come to know as a stacked Holliday Junction.
The appearance of a stacked Holliday Junction was essentially just a fusion of 2 double helixes.
1 strand from each double helix would fuse with each other to create a criss-crossing overlap.
The reason that I thought nothing of such an obvious difference in genetics after consuming the first Asgardian – the cannibal – was because humans can also adopt various forms of Holliday Junctions.
For humans, 2 double helixes might intertwine with 1 another to heal a broken double-strand, or to function as a key intermediate in many types of genetic recombination.
Asgardians on the other hand, had every sequence of their DNA in the form of a Holliday Junction which explained their physical dominance over humans.
The easiest way to explain it would be to imagine a wire.
Wire, on its own, is relatively weak. If it gets pulled too hard it snaps. If it gets bent too far it snaps.
What do humans do to strengthen wire? They weave it together, in the exact same way that DNA is weaved, to create rope.
Rope, made from 2 threads of wire, is stronger than a singular wire. A 2 threaded rope, also known as twisted rope, would be the example of human, double helical, DNA.
Asgardian DNA is twisted rope that is then twisted again to create double braided rope.
The construction of double braided rope means that it is the strongest weaving pattern and explains why even though Asgardians looked, and functioned, the same as humans, they were genetically stronger.
After informing the others about my findings, all I received back was confused looks.
I suppose I should have expected that outcome considering Mara wasn't a biologist, or geneticist - by any stretch of the imagination - and the Asgardian's culture wasn't exactly technologically inclined to delve deep into their own being to understand how they were what they were.
Summarising it as simple as I could, "Mar, I can make you as strong and durable as an Asgardian. Sometime would have to be set aside for it, since I would be duplicating and weaving your DNA, but it should be relatively straightforward."
Hugging my head, Mara practically squealed, "You're the best! How would I function without you?"
Not resisting the affection at all, I replied, "You wouldn't. But before you celebrate too much, now that I have strong foundational information, shall we finish off the scientific investigation?"
Separating herself from squeezing my head, Mara affirmed, "Yeah, let's get this all finished. If we have enough time after this, and before the announcement, I want to go back to the training grounds for a few rounds."
Stepping forward just as Mara had spoken, Frigga gently grabbed a hold of 1 of my host's ears and informed her, "No you do not, misses. You need to get ready for your first public appearance. This will not be like the private revelry where you just wore something nice. You need some emergency etiquette lessons, so that you do not embarrass yourself in front of everyone. Is that understood, daughter?"
Although she was being playfully scolded, Mara was happy at both being called daughter and the fact that it felt like she was already a part of the family.
Nodding slightly up and down, Mara answered, "Yes, mother. You're the boss."
Releasing the ear, Frigga kindly smiled, "That I am. Let us finish up here, the prisoners I chose are next. They are not the unique ones, but they are special, and I hope you will be able to replicate that Elysium."
Bobbing my floating head, I stated, "If I can identify what makes them special, I will do my utmost to make it so."
Following after Frigga, we only passed by a handful of cells before our mother stopped in front a cell with a single woman in it.
The cell was identical to all the others, but had a pair of guards stationed in front of it.
Even though the Asgardian locked within was noted as being special, all it warranted from a security side of things was a couple extra guards - which went to show the level of trust in how strong the cell barrier, and by extension the cell itself, was.
Although we weren't exactly sure what was special about the caged woman, since from the outside she looked the same as the others I had consumed, Frigga clarified for us, "This is Gertrud. She committed familicide… and I was good friends with her mother. The reason she is locked up here, rather than the other cells like those who have committed equally heinous acts, is the fact that Gertrud was blessed enough to be able to wield magic. Even I do not know what gives us the ability to wield magic, but your analysis of her very being, El, will be the best chance at finding that out."
With the technological limitations that Asgardians had, I couldn't agree more with the queen.
Nodding my head to show that I had understood, I prepared myself to explode forward at the prisoner once the barrier was removed.
When the barrier wasn't immediately removed, I motioned to ask if something was wrong when Frigga took the initiative to speak up, "You will need a slight hand with this 1. Before she committed her crime, Gertrud was rather gifted with her use of magic so the same tactics you have used may not work on her. Just because she cannot cast magic outside of the cell, does not mean she cannot cast it within the cell itself."
Once she had finished saying what she needed to, Frigga raised her hands and gently rolled her fingers as they began too glow mint green.
Since no-one said anything more, Odin lowered the barrier as Frigga pushed the built up green magic energy into the cell.
Prior to the cell barrier being withdrawn, Gertrud was sat against the back wall of the white cell interior - staring at our group with dead eyes.
After the barrier was removed, and Frigga's magic entered the cell, the figure of Gertrud on the back wall disappeared and revealed the fact that it was an illusion.
The real Gertrud was leaning on the right wall and as close to where the barrier was as possible without actually touching it.
She didn't have a physical weapon in her hand, but, with the way her hands were glowing blue, it was clear that she was planning to use her magic to deal with us.
With her plan completely foiled through Frigga's sorcery, Gertrud leapt out of the open cell towards us with her magically charged hands outstretched aimed at Mara's head or neck.
Even with a magical Asgardian launching herself towards us, we didn't panic and calmly reacted to the situation we had found ourselves in.
Mara jumped backwards, away from the cell, while I morphed my head into a thin spike and launched it at Gertrud's neck.
Slipping under the outstretched Asgardian hands, I pierced through the woman's neck just enough to exit out the back, before rapidly retracting the spike.
The reason for my swift retreat was that Gertrud reacted much faster than I thought she would, and she rapidly moved her hands to try grab hold of my extended form – presumably to either stop me from doing what I did, or to at least hurt me before she died.
Magic was something I knew nothing about, so I wasn't exactly sure if it would harm me and therefore it was better to be cautious.
Succeeding at neither of her presumed objectives, the woman landed where Mara had been stood before dropping to her knees and holding onto her punctured neck.
Rather than absorb my form back into Mara's body, I reverted the spike back into a head to study the dying magic user.
Magic could be used to create illusions and as a weapon, like the woman had tried to demonstrate, but could it be used to heal wounds?
What were the limitations of magic?
Mara was also just watching the kneeling woman bleed out alongside me, and curiosity was the only emotion I could feel coming through our bond.
When the glow of Gertrud's hands disappeared, the gargling noises had stopped, and her body fell flat, I set to work absorbing her body.
Almost immediately I found what I believed to be the reason why Gertrud could wield magic.
In the sorceress's DNA, there was a base pair that didn't exist on the other Asgardians or humans.
Both species had the same base pairs which were made up of Adenine, Thymine, Guanine and Cytosine.
Adenine bonds with Thymine, and Guanine bonds with Cytosine.
However, Gertrud's DNA had a 5th base that was completely different from the other 4 bases.
For clarity, I will term the new base as Magine.
The 4 standard bases are exactly the same, all the time. Adenine and Guanine are big bases, while Thymine and Cytosine are small bases.
That means that technically Adenine and Cytosine could bond together, but it would result in a mutation which would potentially cause a lot of damage to the cell.
The reason I explained that was because Magine breaks both of the rules.
Not only does its size change from big to small, but it also perfectly fit with any singular base. The mutation would still occur but rather than cause damage to the cell, it would enhance it.
Magine, just like the magic it is named after, is flexible and versatile. The building blocks of magic have always been there, surrounding us, but genetically normal people don't have the ability to interact with it.
Like not having eyes, and so not knowing what it was like to look at something, or not having a sense of smell so not knowing smells exist.
Even those with the Magine base might never realise their potential since, unless the proverbial muscle was used regularly, it would fall into a dormant state.
Shit, even Gertrud, who could actually wield magic and had been doing so for Stan knows how long, only managed to activate a tenth of her available Magine bases.
Pulling me out of my internal musings and wonderment was my host's extremely close face and excessively loud shout, "EL!!!!"
Focusing my eyes on her, and realising my head was held between her hands, I inquired, "Yes? What is it? What's wrong?"
Seemingly pleased I had responded, Mara replied, "You've been unresponsive for like 20 minutes, is everything okay? Don't be too concerned if you can't find anything, there's still a few more magic users to go."
Shaking my head, as much as I could with it being held in my host's palms, I answered, "I think I know what the cause is, but I will absorb more samples before giving clear confirmation."
Affectionately stroking my head, Mara said, "Sounds good. Just don't get too engrossed in it for now though, you had me worried."
As my host released my head, I felt a comfortable feeling within my being and, although I was extremely interested in analysing the remarkable data, I acquiesced to my host's request, "Of course. I will wait until after we've finished up here."
Nodding her head once, Mara resumed our task, "Sweet. Let's get the magical snacks over with and we'll see what the really unique main dishes have to offer."
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