บท 1: Chapter 1.1 A New Beginning Part 1
Thor tried to not think about what he'd lost on lonely nights like this.
Remembering the exact moment his life drastically fell apart and what he'd been stripped of left a wretched ache in his chest that came from deep within, and these memories being evoked often left him in a foul mood that lasted for days. He was only able to drag himself out of that personal hell when he realized that this was his life now.
There was no going back, and he had to be okay with that; he didn't have a choice.
Although there were dire circumstances in his life where he shouldn't have made it and there were even more harrowing situations that seemingly would've prevented him from pressing on, he'd pushed through each time. He'd survived and carried on, and it was that drive, that refusal to succumb, that allowed him to become the man that he was now.
In spite of everything, he was proud of the man that he'd become.
He was currently the leader of the largest guild in the realm - and it was directing his people and sustaining their way of life that kept him going. As a leader, he was able to forget what could've been - what should've happened; the need to help his people often overriding his frustration with his situation.
Adding another log of firewood into the vast firepit his people were celebrating around, Thor sighed, a deep set frown on his face. He'd agreed to take on what would undoubtedly be the most dangerous mission he'd ever been on in his life, and he would begin setting it in place tomorrow. The King of Muspelheim, Surtr, was paying him $300 million in advance to kidnap Loki Laufeyson, the betrothed of King Thrym of Jotunheim. King Surtr wanted Loki delivered to him alive and unharmed in every way, and it was a mission that Thor knew was risky to take. The war that could be caused by this potential feud could wreck the realm, and the last thing he needed was his guild being caught in the middle. His people desperately needed the money though; their settlement only grew larger and larger each day. His policy of accepting anyone and everyone from any kingdom that had nowhere to go was costing him greatly, and if he didn't do something about the amount of money flowing in, their settlement would not last much longer.
In their realm of Yggdrasil, there were nine kingdoms. The kingdom of Niflheim was a kingdom of fog and mist. Their people were seclusive by nature, and hidden within the hazy lands. They didn't interact with their neighbors, and stayed out of every war that had been fought in this realm since its beginning.
Asgard was the home of the "gods", and the beings that lived there were often physically stronger and more skilled in combat than the beings of any other realm. The beings of this kingdom lived long lives - almost longer than the lives of the elven folk - and had the ability to master many gifts that were generally not made available unless one knew seidr -magic-. Not all Asgardians had mastery over various things of course, but carrying just a drop of Asgardian blood made one able to master powers that originally seemed inconceivable to those outside of the kingdom.
Midgard was the home of the humans - beings with no ability to learn seidr. These beings lived short lives - many of them did not live past the age of 70 - and they had no affinity like the Aesir. They were a kingdom full of mortals, that made up for their lack of powers and magic with strong weapons. It is said that the strongest weapons were forged in Midgard, and it was here that Thor's hammer Mjolnir was crafted. It was a hammer stronger than diamond, styled from a unique material called graphene that would never break. It had shattered the skulls of thousands of men and always returned to his hand, no matter how far he'd originally thrown it. It had been a gift from a strong welder for saving his daughter, and Thor cherished it near and dear to his very heart.
Jotunheim was the land of the frost giants, where no being stood below 6'0. Their tallest giants reached 8'0, and they were renowned across the land for being some of the fiercest warriors, with the bluest of skin and mighty black horns upon their heads.
In Jotunheim, there were three sexes that did not exist in any other kingdom in this realm; those that could bear life, those that could aid in its creation, and those that could do both. Those that could do both were known as dual-sexed, and were referred to as "Niouvi", only making up a measly 10% of the population of Jotunheim. They were incomprehensibly gifted in the art of seidr - the most powerful witches and mages in their realm were niouvi - and also had the astounding ability to control when they carried life.
They were known to be extremely alluring, blurring the line between femininity and masculinity. They were both sexes yet neither, and it was because of them that many, many kings have forged wars to gain their hands over the centuries. Children born from a niouvi were physically stronger and more capable than the children born from a woman, and because of their rarity, they were often hidden deep within Jotunheim. Thor hadn't seen one in his entire 25 years of living, and if he completed his mission successfully, Loki would be the first.
Vanaheim was the home of the Vanir, which were people that were exceptionally gifted in the manipulation of water. His closest friend Hogun could even pull water from the air and use it as a weapon, which had saved their lives more times than one could count. Vanaheim was a kingdom that allied itself completely with Asgard, and the two were close, with their kings Vidar and Freyr ruling each kingdom with an iron fist.
Alfheim was the land of the elves, and Thor found that he enjoyed his work when it sent him here. The elves were people who reveled in debauchery, casual sex, drug use, and alcohol the norm. The elven people were all gifted in the art of seidr and were more beautiful than any other race of this realm. Thor found that the best sex of his life often came from the people in this land.
Svartalfheim was the kingdom of the dwarves, the tallest of them not growing over 5'7. Unlike the Midgardians - who used something called "science" in place of seidr - the dwarves could use seidr, and often infused it within their weapons, which only the wealthiest of the beings could afford.
Helheim, better known as "Hell", was a land full of thieves, drunkards, murderers, and those that had been kicked out of their kingdoms because of the dastardly crimes they committed. Thor hadn't spent too much time here - and he honestly tried not to - as it was not a pleasant kingdom. Their queen was a witch by the name of Hel, who had grown infamous throughout the lands for drawing orphaned children of all races to her land, before killing them and using them as experiments for her horrid spells. She was a despicable woman, and it was because of her that numerous bedtime stories had been crafted, in the hopes that their retelling would scare children into remaining by their parents' side.
And finally, there was Muspelheim, land of the fire giants. Like the giants of Jotunheim, no one in Muspelheim stood below 6'0. Their skin was red - redder than fire it seemed - and they had fearsome black horns upon their heads, resembling the devils of many tales that were spread throughout their realm. Their lips were blacker than night, and they could manipulate and control the element of fire, much like the Vanir of Vanaheim could control and manipulate water. And it was their ruler, King Surtr, that paid Thor an advance of $300 million.
If Thor and his men could complete this mission, they would receive $700 million after giving Loki over to King Surtr. This would surely be more than enough money to reinforce the settlement that he and his men currently resided in.
In their kingdom, mercenaries often did the "dirty" work that no one else had the heart to do, and Thor's brigade was the strongest of them all. Over 100,000 men reported to him, and he commanded them with the strength and adeptness of a god, with only the wealthiest beings in the realm reaching out to him for work.
He and his men resided in an abandoned area of Yggdrasil near the great river of Hvergelmir, in a pseudo "kingdom" of their own. It was here that they lived with families of their own. Their settlement consisted of men and women from all walks of life, and Thor was certain that his settlement contained someone from every kingdom in their realm. Of course, he did not lead it alone, and had numerous guild heads that helped him make decisions and guide their people towards success.
Of those heads, no one had the prowess that his Warrior's Three had.
Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun were his closest friends and the men who helped him lead this guild. Volstagg was responsible for their food supply and was one of the main members of Thor's council of ten, which were men that dedicated themselves to helping Thor lead their guild. Fandral was their general, and was responsible for training their people, keeping them in tip top shape for battle. Hogun was Thor's dearest friend, a Vanir who was 2nd in command to him. They'd been friends since childhood, and Thor was very close to him and his wife Freya. The Vanir were very powerful people who had complete mastery over the element of water, and their gift helped their people in times of need.
It had been those three men, who were also in Thor's council of ten, that helped him decide to accept King Surtr's request.
And they were also the reason as to why he wasn't asleep right now.
They insisted on partying the night before Thor was set to leave for the kingdom of Jotunheim and he was exhausted, wanting nothing more than to retire to bed for the night. Lady Sif kept prattling endlessly to him though, and any attempts to slip away were met for naught. Looking up at the moon let him know it was past 2 am, and he decided then that he needed to sleep, as he was the pinnacle of their plan. He would be entering Jotunheim's capital city of Glefgir weeks before any of his men joined them so that he could map out the best way to kidnap Loki, and knew that the journey ahead would not be kind.
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