Post by GuardianAngel1911-Admin on Aug 10, 2013 18:52:14 GMT
Chapter 11
I find myself drifting in the void of my mind. We gods don’t dream the way mortals dream, most of the times we see either the past, or in some cases the future. Many a night I’ve watched the failings of my past, the night I betrayed Odin. This night I see an open field appear around myself, three towering mountains in the distance. I raise an eyebrow looking around curiously, this must have been a long time ago, I don’t know it off the top of my head. I start walking towards the mountains, whatever event this is I’m betting they have something to do with it.
After a few minutes I hear voices, two specific voices. I run forward and over the crest of the next hill I see two figures walking, young warrior gods both carrying a sword and shield. The taller of the two gods is Odin as he was when his father, Bor, was still king. His short white hair shimmers in the midday sun and his two blue green eyes have a fierce determination. He was a hot blooded god back then. The warrior behind him is struggling to keep up on the steep hills, his shoulder length black hair and violet eyes a vast contrast to young Odin’s. I don’t have to pay attention to know who the other warrior is though, it’s myself at the same age.
“Come on Loki, you can move faster than that, the Dragons nest is only a few miles ahead.” The young Allfather says.
“I’m trying…..you…you know I’m not that athletic….why would you even drag me out here? Your father has armies of more able warriors than me…..I’m just slowing you down.” My younger self says.
“You’re my friend Loki, I’d take you over my father’s entire army any day.” Odin grabs my younger self’s wrist pulling him up on top of the hill they were walking up. “Now come on, if we hurry we can reach the mountains and camp out before we find the dragons den.
“Okay but….didn’t your dad say there were two mountains here…..why is there a third smaller one there?” Young me says pointing at the smaller somewhat round mountain in front of the other two. I suddenly remember exactly what the third mountain is, part of me wants to warn them, but I can’t, this is but a memory, and I’m just a shadow here.
“I…huh that’s odd. My dad’s never gotten details like that wrong before. Oh well, just another mountain for us to go through looking for this dragon, though it’s nearly sunset, dad said the dragon leaves it’s roost around this time, we’ll have its home narrowed down once we see it take off.” Odin grins confidently staring at the mountains. Young me looks as well and I can practically feel the chill down his spine as the mountain trembles.
“Odin….I don’t think….I don’t think that’s a mountain…I’m pretty sure that’s the dragon…” The fear in my younger self’s voice is unmistakable. I watch ass the massive stone grey dragon uncurls itself rising up to stand as high as the mountains beside it on its four massive legs. I feel myself take a step back in fear as the massive beast unfurls its wings rising up on its hind legs to tower over the mountains and unleashing a massive jet of fire straight up into the air. The dragon is as massive as any giant even on all fours.
“Oh this is just perfect, I was worried it would be too easy.” Odin says drawing his sword from its sheath. Young me looks at him ready to say don’t do it but too late. Odin bangs the sword and shield together loudly repeatedly to get the behemoths attention. The massive beast bends it’s head on its long serpentine neck towards us massive pupils dilating angrily as it sees us.
“Odin are you crazy we can’t fight this thing by ourselves we’ll be lucky if it doesn’t crush us underfoot…or claw….” Young me draws his sword and fearfully raises his shield. The dragon bends its hind legs, and leaps straight into the air rocketing up so fast it’s a blur, a massive explosion behind it as it speeds towards us. Or I should say them, it’s confusing I never know what terms to use when I’m seeing these memories.
I look up as do Odin and my younger self just in time to see the massive dragon diving down, its cavernous mouth open unleashing a mountain shaking roar as the gas deep in its gullet is sparked unleashing a massive plume of flame and smoke. I quickly look in horror as Odin and my younger self leap away barely avoiding being on the edge of the blast of flame as it wipes out one hundred yards of land, coating the top layer in molten superheated glass and utterly annihilating the hill they previously stood on. I close my eyes out of habit but don’t need to, I open them again and look down at the liquid glass under my feet boiling and bubbling as if it were heated water.
The dragon pulls back its head and lands forcefully creating four craters on par with the one I created in Olympia just landing, it’s feet sink into the ground as it turns quickly towards where Odin and my young self leapt. The beast moves far too quickly for something so massive its tail moving as fast as lightning. Odin grins confidently as the beast leaps towards them, ripping what amount of ground was under it up and throwing it miles back. As the beast flies towards them both my younger self and Odin leap over its head Odin landing directly over the beast’s eye ridge, my young self overshooting it and grabbing onto one of the massive neck spines hanging over the neck by several feet. Odin stabs his sword at the beasts head to try and kill it, when his blade hits the beasts flesh it shatters like glass with pieces flying in all directions. Odin is thrown off balance and falls off the beast in flight, my young self uses a fire blast to break the spine and takes it as he falls down to the ground. My young self tackles Odin into one of the craters as the beast spins around, in order to make sure it doesn’t see them again. I walk over and hop into the crater standing in front of them on the now cooled glass coating the ground, looking at them as they sit there, Odin clutching his wrist.
“Dammit Odin I told you, we can’t do this….I’m useless here, my specialty is fire. I was lucky to break off that spine with a blast. We need to retreat and get reinforcements or something…..well after I see if I can fix your wrist….let me see what happened.” Young me says looking worried.
“Okay…but I wanted you because you’re more than a warrior, you’re like a brother to me.” Odin says taking his hand off his wrist for young me to examine. I already know the wound though, one of the pieces of his sword sliced clean into the armor and into his flesh, blood trickling through the mail armor. I had nearly forgotten, this was before we had come into our full godly powers, we hadn’t gained our ability to regenerate near as quickly yet.
“You have two brothers already….besides I’m nothing….just the runt giant son of a small giantess….if I died here your father wouldn’t give a damn and there would be no funerary feast. No week of mourning…..” Young me says looking up, I know what he’s thinking, it’s amazing the dragon hasn’t heard them, I don’t think I’ll ever understand how it didn’t. I suppose the Norns were smiling on us.
“I see you as more of a brother than either of them….and I’d make sure you’re death feast was the greatest the Nine Realms has ever seen. Neither of us are dying though, we’re going to kill this dragon and go home heroes.” Odin says as young me takes the vambrace off and folds the mail on Odin’s wrist up so he can get to the flesh. Before young me can do anything though Odin does the same to his, my, opposite wrist and slices it with the piece of blade that cut his own wrist.
“Why did you do that Odin, what’s wrong with you…..” Young me says horrified staring at the blood dripping onto the ground.
“Just wait….” Odin says ripping some of the shirt under his chainmail off and putting young me and his wrists together at the cuts and tying their, or our, arms together. “Loki Nulson, my friend, my brother in arms, I Odin Borson, prince and future king of Asgard, do this of my own will. Through my authority and power I declare you now part of house Borson, my brother in blood and flesh now. My blood now flows through your veins and yours through mine. You now and forever shall be my brother, born and baptized in battle. I dub the, Loki Borson.” Odin says casting a few runes. I remember the feeling, the exchange of blood, his blood flowing into the wound on my wrist changing me altering me. My younger selfs eyes widen as we both watch Odin perform this ritual.
“Odin….can….can you really do this…..do you really have the authority?” Young me asks as he rubs his tied arm feeling the power of Odin’s line flow into his veins. “Will your father allow it?”
“I have all the authority I need. My father can’t undo what I’ve done, we’re true brothers now brothers in blood. Now come on Loki Borson, we’re the most brilliant strategists in Asgard, we can figure out how to put down a giant lizard.” Odin says smiling.
“Okay but let me at least cauterize the cuts on our wrists. We don’t need to bleed to death.” Young me says untying the strap of cloth and getting ready to use fire to stop the bleeding.
“Wait Loki, I want to do something…” Odin says grabbing young me’s hand again, then he casts a fire rune, but instead of just sliding his finger across the cut he draws a pattern, his signature runes, order and wisdom, burned forever into my wrist. I smile a bit as young me stares a smile crawling across my young face.
“Odin….these are your runes….well since you did that..” Young me grabs Odin’s hand and does a similar process, only branding Odin’s wrist with fire and chaos. “Now we’ve got something to remind us forever, who we are, what we are, and that we’re brothers. Now let’s kill a dragon.” There’s a change in both young gods as I watch, a gleam of confidence in their eyes. Blood brothers ready for war again.
“Question is how do we kill that monster, our weapons aren’t going to pierce its hide, and both of us combined don’t have the raw magical power to blast through its magic resistant hide….” Odin says thinking, but as he does so young me grabs the spike he sliced, and using the strip of bloody cloth ties the shard of Odin’s sword to it, creating a very crude spear. Odin watches confused, and gets an even more confused look on his face as young me burns a couple of runes into the blade. “Okay what are you doing?”
“The dragon is virtually indestructible from the outside like you said…but the gas it sparks to make fire is on the inside, enough gas I bet that if we were to ignite it while the beasts mouth was closed the bastard would be blown to Gingungap and back.” Young me says a mild version of my crazy look on his face, only more of an extremely clever brilliant smirk.
“And how are we supposed to get a spear in its throat…and how will the spear spark anything.” Odin says. I laugh a bit, we were both green, neither of us were great strategists yet, but we were great at pulling ideas out of our asses.
“Easy, I’ll hold its mouth open, you throw the spear without hitting me, I close its mouth and hold it shut, and then I’ll take care of the spark.” Young me says calmly, though with a hint of my I’m winging this out of madness and chaos tone. It’s funny how I’ve changed since then, how much more violent and chaotic I’ve become.
“That is utterly insane….that monster has literally bitten through mountains with the ease we bite through carrots…..the thick part of mountains….it…none of dad’s greatest warriors could hope to pull something like that off.” Odin says a bit loudly and incredulously.
“None of your dad’s greatest warriors are runt giants that still have enough strength to shatter those same mountains with their fists, and we both know you’re already more powerful than anyone in your dads court, maybe more powerful than your old man himself. Besides we’re the start of a new age. Asgard will be better defended than ever when we’re in charge.” Young me says smiling and grabbing Odin’s shoulder.
“Loki….” Odin says mirroring the gesture. “You’re still insane, and so is that plan, but you know what, we’re doing this anyway. Worst case scenario isn’t any worse than it was when we set out on this little venture.” Odin says laughing, but he quickly stops and stares in horror at what’s behind young me. My younger self and I both glance at the same instance to see the dragon’s head peering over the edge of the crater.
“Well….that was still longer than I thought we’d stay hidden…” Young me says leaping up as does Odin grabbing the spear. The massive dragon rears back on its hind legs again and unleashes another earth shaking roar. But this time young me leaps straight for the behemoths mouth and grabs hold of the upper jaw pushing up with his arms and down with his legs locking the monsters jaw open.
“Loki!” Odin shout’s as the behemoth’s jaw begins shutting on young me. I don’t need to see it to know how painful it is. The strain of the force to crush mountains on my tendons and biceps trying to snap me like a twig, were it not for my giant heritage it likely would have.
The dragon thrashes its head back and forth slamming down on the ground creating more craters from the sheer force of its stomps. Young me strains in its jaw holding strong pushing with all the might he can muster. The dragon slams the front of its snout down on the ground and I wince feeling the pain in my own spine, course that could be my body’s pain receptors catching up to the rest of me after that fight with Ares. Odin runs towards the small crater where the dragon crashed down as it lifts its head up again, young me crawling out of it wiping blood off his face.
I watch as my younger self picks up a rock and throws it at the giant dragons eye. The stone makes contact, and though it’s small compared to the massive orb in the beast’s skull it hit’s with enough force to catch its attention, and to make it mad. It launches its mouth towards young me again, striking fast enough that there’s a loud crack in the sky behind its head. Its mouth opens just as quickly and as it reaches me starts to close just as fast, I watch part of me wanting to scream to move out of the way but the other part knowing that young me is safe.
With the same speed as the creatures strike young me throws out his hands and catches half the creatures jaw with either hand holding steady the dragon unable to gain ground this time. The beasts eyes narrow in anger at this resistance to its might. Odin stands a dozen feet away starring awestruck at young me holding off this colossal monster with his, my, bare hands. The creature takes a massive breath in through its serpentine nostrils and then unleashes a massive torrent of flame straight onto young me and around for fifty feet. Odin leaps out of the way just in time to avoid being burnt to a crisp by the draconic fire. He looks up, ash on his face, eyes wide in horror and he screams out with the pain of someone who’s just seen his brother killed.
“LOKI!!!!! No….please….you can’t be dead Loki!!!” He half screams half cries. His head starts to turn downwards then stops. The fire engulfing the area is suddenly pulled back towards the creature’s mouth swirling into a single small focal point, my younger self, completely covered in flames, perfectly silhouetted in flame.
“You think that’s enough to stop me you overgrown salamander!” My younger self yells laughing as he does. “I’m a giant and god of fire, anything you blow my way I can take. So go ahead! Give me everything you’ve got you great stupid glorified salamander! Show me what you’ve got!” He cries out laughing and confident as he twists the behemoths head so that Odin has a clear view of the breasts throat as the flames subside for an instant, the vapor refilling its gullet.
Odin stands as it does, realizing this is his chance, he lifts the spear as young me looks back towards him nodding once as he holds the beast, arms of fire trembling. Odin takes his spear throwing stance, the one his father tried to beat out of him, and that he now uses all the time, for the first time in combat. He aims the crude spear taking careful aim in the brief instant he has to work. Then he throws it, the spear soars past me as quickly as the beast’s head struck towards young me mere instants ago. The spear passes young me’s fiery face and lands deep in the gullet amidst the green gas that the beast normally ignites.
“Well dragon….you showed me your fire….” Young me says forcing the jaws closed and making a rune as best he can with his fingers as he holds the jaws of the dragon tight. “So let me show you mine.” There’s a flash of red power through young me’s fingers as he cast the runes, the dragon’s eyes widen in what is unmistakable fear as it realizes what’s about to happen, it’s meager understanding of godly magic allowing it to put two and two together.
Odin watches wanting to do something as the beast starts expanding rapidly the gas inside its body igniting all at once. His eyes widen as the beast body bursts fire erupting and the explosive blast expanding out in all directions. He pivots on his feet and runs as fast as he can leaping into the crater the previously hid in ahead of the blasts shock wave. The fire washes over the crater and outwards engulfing the area for miles around, the blast easily visible from Asgard thousands of miles away. I look at Odin as the skin on his body ripping away from the raw heat of the blast, and healing just as quickly in those same seconds as the very walls of the crater are torn away as the landscape is destroyed. I remember that this day is the day we managed to unlock our full potential, but I had forgotten just how terrifying the potential of a being like Odin is.
After a few more seconds the blast finally ends the air superheated. Odin pulls himself to his feat slowly, shaking molten glass from his body as he rises. He looks around as he regains his bearings, and walks towards the center of the crater slowly. He looks closely trying to see my younger self lying on the ground but all he can see is dirt and molten glass flowing into the center of the crater. He keeps walking, slowly picking up speed until he’s in a full sprint to the center of the crater. He reaches it and finds a small hole going deep in the ground at the center, the glass flowing into it.
“Loki!” He shouts. “Loki, are you in there? Say something Loki!” He shouts kneeling by the hole trying to see in it.
“Something….” My younger self says as he pulls himself from the hole, flesh slowly reforming after using his, my, aspect to overpower the dragon. Odin glares and pulls my younger self up only to punch him hard in the gut once my younger self steadies himself.
“This isn’t a joke, I thought you were dead Loki, I’m not ready to lose my brother yet.” Odin says. “Now come on you crazy god….when we get back to Asgard…..I’m getting you the biggest container of mead I can find….” He says laughing some.
“Good….I think I’m just going to sink to the bottom of it….I really need a drink right now….” Young me says wiping some sweat and soot from his brow and laughing some as well. “Ow…I think that laugh broke the last intact rib I had…oh well…considering I have ribs right now we must have unlocked our full powers….guess it just needed near death from dragon to unlock them.” He says managing one last laugh before passing out and falling to the ground. I smile and take a glance at my own wrist, seeing the runes still burned deep into the flesh, only thing hiding them right now is Aphrodite’s bracelets, I swore to myself long ago I would never shapeshift them away. As I watch Odin start reviving and healing my younger self I feel myself being pulled awake.
* * *
I wake up a bit suddenly feeling a hand on my shoulder shaking me, I quickly bolt upright to a slight kneeling position pulling Aphrodite’s emergency dagger from the hidden compartment on her bed frame. I grip it tightly and bring it to bear as I break away from the hand on my shoulder and aim the dagger’s blade, only to see Thanatos standing there, back in her armor staring at me confused. I relax letting out a sigh of relief happy that it wasn’t something else happening. I slide the dagger back into its hiding place and stand up.
“Is there a reason you’re waking me up Thanatos, the sun’s barely creeping over the horizon…” I say rubbing my eyes as I glance out the window.
“Well yes, you just missed Zeus, he wanted you to get extra combat training in case another attack happens, he was about to suggest Athena when I said I would do it, since as far as they know you, Ahprodite, have little experience in combat and aren’t all that great in a fight. Granted she’s an okay fighter but as you well know she’s nowhere near up to snuff to face something like the attack last night. I figured I could give you a hand in keeping your cover, by avoiding you needing to fake it in front of Athena.” Thanatos says lifting her axe which she must have gotten when I was still asleep.
“Well…thanks I guess, though I could have used the opportunity to pump her for information. Still I suppose after we’ve played around a bit I suppose I might get a chance to talk to her…maybe get her to test my abilities after your training or something…I’ll figure it out.” I say thinking, and at the same time wondering what Thanatos has in store for me while we fake training.
“We’ll figure it out, now, come on, we’ve got to whip you into shape lady Aphrodite.” She says smirking at me as she turns to leave the room. I glare at her a bit but can’t help smirking some too as I follow her. If nothing else I’ve made a powerful and dangerous ally, the question is, will she stay an ally, or stab me in the back first chance she gets.
I find myself drifting in the void of my mind. We gods don’t dream the way mortals dream, most of the times we see either the past, or in some cases the future. Many a night I’ve watched the failings of my past, the night I betrayed Odin. This night I see an open field appear around myself, three towering mountains in the distance. I raise an eyebrow looking around curiously, this must have been a long time ago, I don’t know it off the top of my head. I start walking towards the mountains, whatever event this is I’m betting they have something to do with it.
After a few minutes I hear voices, two specific voices. I run forward and over the crest of the next hill I see two figures walking, young warrior gods both carrying a sword and shield. The taller of the two gods is Odin as he was when his father, Bor, was still king. His short white hair shimmers in the midday sun and his two blue green eyes have a fierce determination. He was a hot blooded god back then. The warrior behind him is struggling to keep up on the steep hills, his shoulder length black hair and violet eyes a vast contrast to young Odin’s. I don’t have to pay attention to know who the other warrior is though, it’s myself at the same age.
“Come on Loki, you can move faster than that, the Dragons nest is only a few miles ahead.” The young Allfather says.
“I’m trying…..you…you know I’m not that athletic….why would you even drag me out here? Your father has armies of more able warriors than me…..I’m just slowing you down.” My younger self says.
“You’re my friend Loki, I’d take you over my father’s entire army any day.” Odin grabs my younger self’s wrist pulling him up on top of the hill they were walking up. “Now come on, if we hurry we can reach the mountains and camp out before we find the dragons den.
“Okay but….didn’t your dad say there were two mountains here…..why is there a third smaller one there?” Young me says pointing at the smaller somewhat round mountain in front of the other two. I suddenly remember exactly what the third mountain is, part of me wants to warn them, but I can’t, this is but a memory, and I’m just a shadow here.
“I…huh that’s odd. My dad’s never gotten details like that wrong before. Oh well, just another mountain for us to go through looking for this dragon, though it’s nearly sunset, dad said the dragon leaves it’s roost around this time, we’ll have its home narrowed down once we see it take off.” Odin grins confidently staring at the mountains. Young me looks as well and I can practically feel the chill down his spine as the mountain trembles.
“Odin….I don’t think….I don’t think that’s a mountain…I’m pretty sure that’s the dragon…” The fear in my younger self’s voice is unmistakable. I watch ass the massive stone grey dragon uncurls itself rising up to stand as high as the mountains beside it on its four massive legs. I feel myself take a step back in fear as the massive beast unfurls its wings rising up on its hind legs to tower over the mountains and unleashing a massive jet of fire straight up into the air. The dragon is as massive as any giant even on all fours.
“Oh this is just perfect, I was worried it would be too easy.” Odin says drawing his sword from its sheath. Young me looks at him ready to say don’t do it but too late. Odin bangs the sword and shield together loudly repeatedly to get the behemoths attention. The massive beast bends it’s head on its long serpentine neck towards us massive pupils dilating angrily as it sees us.
“Odin are you crazy we can’t fight this thing by ourselves we’ll be lucky if it doesn’t crush us underfoot…or claw….” Young me draws his sword and fearfully raises his shield. The dragon bends its hind legs, and leaps straight into the air rocketing up so fast it’s a blur, a massive explosion behind it as it speeds towards us. Or I should say them, it’s confusing I never know what terms to use when I’m seeing these memories.
I look up as do Odin and my younger self just in time to see the massive dragon diving down, its cavernous mouth open unleashing a mountain shaking roar as the gas deep in its gullet is sparked unleashing a massive plume of flame and smoke. I quickly look in horror as Odin and my younger self leap away barely avoiding being on the edge of the blast of flame as it wipes out one hundred yards of land, coating the top layer in molten superheated glass and utterly annihilating the hill they previously stood on. I close my eyes out of habit but don’t need to, I open them again and look down at the liquid glass under my feet boiling and bubbling as if it were heated water.
The dragon pulls back its head and lands forcefully creating four craters on par with the one I created in Olympia just landing, it’s feet sink into the ground as it turns quickly towards where Odin and my young self leapt. The beast moves far too quickly for something so massive its tail moving as fast as lightning. Odin grins confidently as the beast leaps towards them, ripping what amount of ground was under it up and throwing it miles back. As the beast flies towards them both my younger self and Odin leap over its head Odin landing directly over the beast’s eye ridge, my young self overshooting it and grabbing onto one of the massive neck spines hanging over the neck by several feet. Odin stabs his sword at the beasts head to try and kill it, when his blade hits the beasts flesh it shatters like glass with pieces flying in all directions. Odin is thrown off balance and falls off the beast in flight, my young self uses a fire blast to break the spine and takes it as he falls down to the ground. My young self tackles Odin into one of the craters as the beast spins around, in order to make sure it doesn’t see them again. I walk over and hop into the crater standing in front of them on the now cooled glass coating the ground, looking at them as they sit there, Odin clutching his wrist.
“Dammit Odin I told you, we can’t do this….I’m useless here, my specialty is fire. I was lucky to break off that spine with a blast. We need to retreat and get reinforcements or something…..well after I see if I can fix your wrist….let me see what happened.” Young me says looking worried.
“Okay…but I wanted you because you’re more than a warrior, you’re like a brother to me.” Odin says taking his hand off his wrist for young me to examine. I already know the wound though, one of the pieces of his sword sliced clean into the armor and into his flesh, blood trickling through the mail armor. I had nearly forgotten, this was before we had come into our full godly powers, we hadn’t gained our ability to regenerate near as quickly yet.
“You have two brothers already….besides I’m nothing….just the runt giant son of a small giantess….if I died here your father wouldn’t give a damn and there would be no funerary feast. No week of mourning…..” Young me says looking up, I know what he’s thinking, it’s amazing the dragon hasn’t heard them, I don’t think I’ll ever understand how it didn’t. I suppose the Norns were smiling on us.
“I see you as more of a brother than either of them….and I’d make sure you’re death feast was the greatest the Nine Realms has ever seen. Neither of us are dying though, we’re going to kill this dragon and go home heroes.” Odin says as young me takes the vambrace off and folds the mail on Odin’s wrist up so he can get to the flesh. Before young me can do anything though Odin does the same to his, my, opposite wrist and slices it with the piece of blade that cut his own wrist.
“Why did you do that Odin, what’s wrong with you…..” Young me says horrified staring at the blood dripping onto the ground.
“Just wait….” Odin says ripping some of the shirt under his chainmail off and putting young me and his wrists together at the cuts and tying their, or our, arms together. “Loki Nulson, my friend, my brother in arms, I Odin Borson, prince and future king of Asgard, do this of my own will. Through my authority and power I declare you now part of house Borson, my brother in blood and flesh now. My blood now flows through your veins and yours through mine. You now and forever shall be my brother, born and baptized in battle. I dub the, Loki Borson.” Odin says casting a few runes. I remember the feeling, the exchange of blood, his blood flowing into the wound on my wrist changing me altering me. My younger selfs eyes widen as we both watch Odin perform this ritual.
“Odin….can….can you really do this…..do you really have the authority?” Young me asks as he rubs his tied arm feeling the power of Odin’s line flow into his veins. “Will your father allow it?”
“I have all the authority I need. My father can’t undo what I’ve done, we’re true brothers now brothers in blood. Now come on Loki Borson, we’re the most brilliant strategists in Asgard, we can figure out how to put down a giant lizard.” Odin says smiling.
“Okay but let me at least cauterize the cuts on our wrists. We don’t need to bleed to death.” Young me says untying the strap of cloth and getting ready to use fire to stop the bleeding.
“Wait Loki, I want to do something…” Odin says grabbing young me’s hand again, then he casts a fire rune, but instead of just sliding his finger across the cut he draws a pattern, his signature runes, order and wisdom, burned forever into my wrist. I smile a bit as young me stares a smile crawling across my young face.
“Odin….these are your runes….well since you did that..” Young me grabs Odin’s hand and does a similar process, only branding Odin’s wrist with fire and chaos. “Now we’ve got something to remind us forever, who we are, what we are, and that we’re brothers. Now let’s kill a dragon.” There’s a change in both young gods as I watch, a gleam of confidence in their eyes. Blood brothers ready for war again.
“Question is how do we kill that monster, our weapons aren’t going to pierce its hide, and both of us combined don’t have the raw magical power to blast through its magic resistant hide….” Odin says thinking, but as he does so young me grabs the spike he sliced, and using the strip of bloody cloth ties the shard of Odin’s sword to it, creating a very crude spear. Odin watches confused, and gets an even more confused look on his face as young me burns a couple of runes into the blade. “Okay what are you doing?”
“The dragon is virtually indestructible from the outside like you said…but the gas it sparks to make fire is on the inside, enough gas I bet that if we were to ignite it while the beasts mouth was closed the bastard would be blown to Gingungap and back.” Young me says a mild version of my crazy look on his face, only more of an extremely clever brilliant smirk.
“And how are we supposed to get a spear in its throat…and how will the spear spark anything.” Odin says. I laugh a bit, we were both green, neither of us were great strategists yet, but we were great at pulling ideas out of our asses.
“Easy, I’ll hold its mouth open, you throw the spear without hitting me, I close its mouth and hold it shut, and then I’ll take care of the spark.” Young me says calmly, though with a hint of my I’m winging this out of madness and chaos tone. It’s funny how I’ve changed since then, how much more violent and chaotic I’ve become.
“That is utterly insane….that monster has literally bitten through mountains with the ease we bite through carrots…..the thick part of mountains….it…none of dad’s greatest warriors could hope to pull something like that off.” Odin says a bit loudly and incredulously.
“None of your dad’s greatest warriors are runt giants that still have enough strength to shatter those same mountains with their fists, and we both know you’re already more powerful than anyone in your dads court, maybe more powerful than your old man himself. Besides we’re the start of a new age. Asgard will be better defended than ever when we’re in charge.” Young me says smiling and grabbing Odin’s shoulder.
“Loki….” Odin says mirroring the gesture. “You’re still insane, and so is that plan, but you know what, we’re doing this anyway. Worst case scenario isn’t any worse than it was when we set out on this little venture.” Odin says laughing, but he quickly stops and stares in horror at what’s behind young me. My younger self and I both glance at the same instance to see the dragon’s head peering over the edge of the crater.
“Well….that was still longer than I thought we’d stay hidden…” Young me says leaping up as does Odin grabbing the spear. The massive dragon rears back on its hind legs again and unleashes another earth shaking roar. But this time young me leaps straight for the behemoths mouth and grabs hold of the upper jaw pushing up with his arms and down with his legs locking the monsters jaw open.
“Loki!” Odin shout’s as the behemoth’s jaw begins shutting on young me. I don’t need to see it to know how painful it is. The strain of the force to crush mountains on my tendons and biceps trying to snap me like a twig, were it not for my giant heritage it likely would have.
The dragon thrashes its head back and forth slamming down on the ground creating more craters from the sheer force of its stomps. Young me strains in its jaw holding strong pushing with all the might he can muster. The dragon slams the front of its snout down on the ground and I wince feeling the pain in my own spine, course that could be my body’s pain receptors catching up to the rest of me after that fight with Ares. Odin runs towards the small crater where the dragon crashed down as it lifts its head up again, young me crawling out of it wiping blood off his face.
I watch as my younger self picks up a rock and throws it at the giant dragons eye. The stone makes contact, and though it’s small compared to the massive orb in the beast’s skull it hit’s with enough force to catch its attention, and to make it mad. It launches its mouth towards young me again, striking fast enough that there’s a loud crack in the sky behind its head. Its mouth opens just as quickly and as it reaches me starts to close just as fast, I watch part of me wanting to scream to move out of the way but the other part knowing that young me is safe.
With the same speed as the creatures strike young me throws out his hands and catches half the creatures jaw with either hand holding steady the dragon unable to gain ground this time. The beasts eyes narrow in anger at this resistance to its might. Odin stands a dozen feet away starring awestruck at young me holding off this colossal monster with his, my, bare hands. The creature takes a massive breath in through its serpentine nostrils and then unleashes a massive torrent of flame straight onto young me and around for fifty feet. Odin leaps out of the way just in time to avoid being burnt to a crisp by the draconic fire. He looks up, ash on his face, eyes wide in horror and he screams out with the pain of someone who’s just seen his brother killed.
“LOKI!!!!! No….please….you can’t be dead Loki!!!” He half screams half cries. His head starts to turn downwards then stops. The fire engulfing the area is suddenly pulled back towards the creature’s mouth swirling into a single small focal point, my younger self, completely covered in flames, perfectly silhouetted in flame.
“You think that’s enough to stop me you overgrown salamander!” My younger self yells laughing as he does. “I’m a giant and god of fire, anything you blow my way I can take. So go ahead! Give me everything you’ve got you great stupid glorified salamander! Show me what you’ve got!” He cries out laughing and confident as he twists the behemoths head so that Odin has a clear view of the breasts throat as the flames subside for an instant, the vapor refilling its gullet.
Odin stands as it does, realizing this is his chance, he lifts the spear as young me looks back towards him nodding once as he holds the beast, arms of fire trembling. Odin takes his spear throwing stance, the one his father tried to beat out of him, and that he now uses all the time, for the first time in combat. He aims the crude spear taking careful aim in the brief instant he has to work. Then he throws it, the spear soars past me as quickly as the beast’s head struck towards young me mere instants ago. The spear passes young me’s fiery face and lands deep in the gullet amidst the green gas that the beast normally ignites.
“Well dragon….you showed me your fire….” Young me says forcing the jaws closed and making a rune as best he can with his fingers as he holds the jaws of the dragon tight. “So let me show you mine.” There’s a flash of red power through young me’s fingers as he cast the runes, the dragon’s eyes widen in what is unmistakable fear as it realizes what’s about to happen, it’s meager understanding of godly magic allowing it to put two and two together.
Odin watches wanting to do something as the beast starts expanding rapidly the gas inside its body igniting all at once. His eyes widen as the beast body bursts fire erupting and the explosive blast expanding out in all directions. He pivots on his feet and runs as fast as he can leaping into the crater the previously hid in ahead of the blasts shock wave. The fire washes over the crater and outwards engulfing the area for miles around, the blast easily visible from Asgard thousands of miles away. I look at Odin as the skin on his body ripping away from the raw heat of the blast, and healing just as quickly in those same seconds as the very walls of the crater are torn away as the landscape is destroyed. I remember that this day is the day we managed to unlock our full potential, but I had forgotten just how terrifying the potential of a being like Odin is.
After a few more seconds the blast finally ends the air superheated. Odin pulls himself to his feat slowly, shaking molten glass from his body as he rises. He looks around as he regains his bearings, and walks towards the center of the crater slowly. He looks closely trying to see my younger self lying on the ground but all he can see is dirt and molten glass flowing into the center of the crater. He keeps walking, slowly picking up speed until he’s in a full sprint to the center of the crater. He reaches it and finds a small hole going deep in the ground at the center, the glass flowing into it.
“Loki!” He shouts. “Loki, are you in there? Say something Loki!” He shouts kneeling by the hole trying to see in it.
“Something….” My younger self says as he pulls himself from the hole, flesh slowly reforming after using his, my, aspect to overpower the dragon. Odin glares and pulls my younger self up only to punch him hard in the gut once my younger self steadies himself.
“This isn’t a joke, I thought you were dead Loki, I’m not ready to lose my brother yet.” Odin says. “Now come on you crazy god….when we get back to Asgard…..I’m getting you the biggest container of mead I can find….” He says laughing some.
“Good….I think I’m just going to sink to the bottom of it….I really need a drink right now….” Young me says wiping some sweat and soot from his brow and laughing some as well. “Ow…I think that laugh broke the last intact rib I had…oh well…considering I have ribs right now we must have unlocked our full powers….guess it just needed near death from dragon to unlock them.” He says managing one last laugh before passing out and falling to the ground. I smile and take a glance at my own wrist, seeing the runes still burned deep into the flesh, only thing hiding them right now is Aphrodite’s bracelets, I swore to myself long ago I would never shapeshift them away. As I watch Odin start reviving and healing my younger self I feel myself being pulled awake.
* * *
I wake up a bit suddenly feeling a hand on my shoulder shaking me, I quickly bolt upright to a slight kneeling position pulling Aphrodite’s emergency dagger from the hidden compartment on her bed frame. I grip it tightly and bring it to bear as I break away from the hand on my shoulder and aim the dagger’s blade, only to see Thanatos standing there, back in her armor staring at me confused. I relax letting out a sigh of relief happy that it wasn’t something else happening. I slide the dagger back into its hiding place and stand up.
“Is there a reason you’re waking me up Thanatos, the sun’s barely creeping over the horizon…” I say rubbing my eyes as I glance out the window.
“Well yes, you just missed Zeus, he wanted you to get extra combat training in case another attack happens, he was about to suggest Athena when I said I would do it, since as far as they know you, Ahprodite, have little experience in combat and aren’t all that great in a fight. Granted she’s an okay fighter but as you well know she’s nowhere near up to snuff to face something like the attack last night. I figured I could give you a hand in keeping your cover, by avoiding you needing to fake it in front of Athena.” Thanatos says lifting her axe which she must have gotten when I was still asleep.
“Well…thanks I guess, though I could have used the opportunity to pump her for information. Still I suppose after we’ve played around a bit I suppose I might get a chance to talk to her…maybe get her to test my abilities after your training or something…I’ll figure it out.” I say thinking, and at the same time wondering what Thanatos has in store for me while we fake training.
“We’ll figure it out, now, come on, we’ve got to whip you into shape lady Aphrodite.” She says smirking at me as she turns to leave the room. I glare at her a bit but can’t help smirking some too as I follow her. If nothing else I’ve made a powerful and dangerous ally, the question is, will she stay an ally, or stab me in the back first chance she gets.