บท 24: Fragments of a past.
Hela smiled as she watched her father.
The man amused himself with a simple trick of illusion by changing the colors of the napkins.
"Why don't you eat with us dad?"
Loki sighed a little tiredly. "Today is Narvi and Vali's first day of school... Sigyn insisted that I should be a more present father and take them..."
Hela had some brothers: Fenrir, Sleipnir, Nari, Jörmungandr, Váli and Narvi.
Anguborda was the mother of Hela, Loki's first wife.
Anguborda was the mother of Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hela.
The woman was a Jotun, of the race of giants.
For a long time worshiped as the goddess of fear, her name is synonymous with sadness and fear.
Killed by Odin, for fearing her and her children.
Everyone believed that everything it generated would be synonymous with chaos and destruction, therefore a constant threat to such order and peace in Asgard.
Of course... Hela was also part of what everyone considered an atrocity.
Her body was half alive and half dead, how could they stand her?!
Hela boiled down to a freak.
She and her brothers.
Fenrir was a wolf, cursed to live chained on an island.
Jörmungandr was a serpent that was thrown into the great ocean that surrounds Midgard,
And what about Hela? Odin just dropped her in the middle of Niflheim... When she grew up enough to demonstrate that she wouldn't be any kind of threat, she became a goddess and was allowed to move freely through the other worlds.
Which she did very little in her entire existence.
She left her realm only when there were meetings or invitations from Freya to visit her.
Soon after Hela was born Anguborda was killed.
So she had no memories related to her mother, it all came down to some feelings involving curiosity and respect.
Loki was the only one who openly spoke of her mother's stories full of bravery and honor, but who unfortunately was misunderstood and treated like a monster.
After a long time immersed in pain and reluctance, Loki fell in love with Sigyn, a relationship that originated Nari, Narvi and Váli.
Loki, despite still feeling melancholy when it came to Anguborda, was really happy with Sigyn.
In any case, much had changed and despite the distant relationship with her father and brothers, Hela did not harbor any grievances or adverse feelings.
She was just trying to live happily, ambitious to carve out a future with her wife.
Hela smiled feeling funny, Sigyn was an interesting woman who lived exclusively for her family.
She is the goddess of fidelity and constancy.
She leaned against the back of the chair and laced her fingers with Ina's.
It felt funny, she didn't know her younger brothers very well, so it was a little curious for her to hear her father talking about them.
"I can't understand why you guys created that school for the gods, it doesn't make any sense to me."
Grid a giant created the Norse School for Formation of Gods, better known as Skáldskaparmál.
Directed by Vidar, it accepts gods of all kinds, whether they are Nordic, Greek, Phoenician or wherever.
Initially focused on protecting the nine realms, it evolved into focusing on developing gods capable of dealing with any kind of adversity.
As the world and humans changed, she gradually began to accept other gods and shifted her focus from development to integration.
Therefore, Gods who cooperate with each other and are able to deal with adversity.
Anyway, Hela never came close to this school, but she knew full well of its fame.
After all, it was really hard not to know about the school guarded by Kraken.
Skáldskaparmál was located on an island that floated on the sea.
It is located between the mouth of the waters of the Aquerontes and Nastronol rivers.
The two rivers met and ended in the sea.
The meeting place was where Kraken lived.
It seemed like the ideal place, there was neutrality and it was away from any humans.
Lands from the depths of the ocean were brought above sea level and an island was formed.
Thus was born the school.
Ina didn't know about the existence of this school, it was something she was truly interested in.
After all, what would a school for gods be like?!
Maybe it was chaotic, but it could be fascinating.
Loki who didn't share such fascination simply sighed.
He also didn't understand the need for a school, but if his wife wanted it their children would study for years and years.
Well, there's no denying that Hela inherited her father's devotion to the beloved woman.
"I don't understand either, but the gods are having to adapt to the changes in humans… It's a little annoying."
Hela nodded, maybe there was some logic to that.
Ina who listened intently smiled at the brief thought that crossed her mind.
She wanted to be able to have the opportunity to have a child and put him in a school.
Watching him grow from a beautiful child to a beautiful adult.
"If we had a child I would want him to go to school..."
Hela listened to her wife and couldn't hide her surprised expression.
The subject 'son' was not common among them.
Ina was always very hesitant to talk about it, so it was really surprising to hear her talk about it.
"Really?"
Ina nodded, she really wanted to.
"Yes, you don't think it's valid?"
Well, schools don't look all bad, what would be the problem with having your child live with other people of the same age and trying the opportunity to learn something in the meantime?!
Hela thought briefly about it and there was no doubt she would agree with her wife, she didn't even have a real opinion about school.
She never went to a school, so in her life she didn't change anything about the existence of that place.
But maybe she would have a very different life if she had the opportunity to be frequenting such a place.
Her life in Niflheim was lonely and difficult.
She definitely didn't want the same for her children.
"Well, I think you're right… I agree with you, our son will definitely go to school."
Loki smiled, his daughter looked happy.
Happy Hela meant happy Loki.
But Loki easily noticed that Ina didn't look entirely happy about the matter. "Why are you sad all of a sudden, little Ina?"
Ina smiled a little awkwardly, she felt melancholy about not having children.
But it was also a little funny to be called 'little Ina' by her father-in-law.
"Hela and I can't have kids."
Loki nodded understanding the situation.
He kept fiddling with his napkin, but it wasn't really the end of the world not being able to have kids.
Hela and Ina would still have a lot to figure out about themselves before they could really think about children.
He smiled after this brief reflection and spoke in a light tone. "Nonsense, just enjoy the moment to live a happy marriage... The future is a box of surprises."
Ina smiled at Loki's relaxed tone, she would simply push those unimportant thoughts from her mind.
Now her only concern should be loving Hela intensely.
"All right."
Hela gently stroked the hand and wrapped her arms around it.
She faced her father, not much time had passed since their last encounter.
But a lot had happened.
"How is Odin?"
Loki smiled, he really thought that Odin wouldn't die so easily.
But it was still a good opportunity to get support in the adventure she was about to take.
"The old man is finally healthy… He has recovered perfectly and seems very grateful to you."
Hela smiled contentedly, it was good to know that Odin had good thoughts for her.
She didn't want interference in her plan and if she could accumulate allies her path would be less tortuous.
"That is good"
Loki was still smiling, he didn't easily ask for a good sense of humor, but he felt genuinely intrigued by his daughter's temper. "I don't care about Odin… I'm interested in you, how are you feeling?"
Hela let out a weary sigh.
Ina watched the conversation between father and daughter.
She also wanted to know how her wife was doing.
"Well... I still haven't gotten used to the feeling of being dead, but it should only be a matter of time before I take it all in."
He nodded, it really would take time... After all, she gave her heart.
Loki did not witness the mystical experience of Hela and Odin, during the entire ritual process all he did was observe the progress of everything in the corner of the room.
It was always a little terrifying to watch from the outside, when you had no idea what was going on and what they were experiencing was just people talking and acting without any connection or sense.
There was no logic.
When Loki saw his daughter pierce Odin's chest he even felt his legs tremble.
Yeah, that wasn't a good thing.
But it was even worse to see her daughter stab her own chest and remove her heart.
Everything was done that way and hidden by the illusion of prophecy.
Completely anesthetized by the unknown and intriguing power of seeing the future.
Or at least see the future we wish to avoid.
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moonsside
moonsside Nordic School for Formation of Gods, Skáldskaparmál. That sounds really good haha. Just when you think the story universe can't get any bigger I come up with more and more layers.
Finally 40k words haha. Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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