The wall appears to be chiseled
from one large block of marble. As if the Gods
themselves found a piece of black marble large enough to cover an area
apparently the size of
Kansas. In fact the Gods themselves did, for this is the wall of Asgaard,
realm of the Gods.
Seated amidst mountains of mist and covering fully half of existence,
the city of the Norse
dead is surrounded by this towering wall of rough black marble. From
the mountains, a stone
paved path winds down to the foot of the wall. On the path a group
of figures are descending
its flagstones, working their way to the foot of an immense silver
gate, that stands ajar,
opening the way for any travelers.
The gate is a delicate appearing
mesh of shining sliver; if closed, even Thor could not
force it open. He has tried. It must be that strong, it guards the
only path between the land
of the living and the land of the dead.
Approximately forty souls
are approaching the gate; one leads. She is a large woman,
with long blonde hair braided down her back. Her white robes flow around
her, giving the
appearance of reality and solidity, an odd sight in the spirit world.
Turning to those who
follow her she focuses her gaze on each in turn, ³No matter what
happens, do not go through the
gate. Only the Seekers may go through. You are not prepared for what
will be on the other
side.² Her followers do not react, those whose eyes are open are
more interested in the
terrain.
The majority of the people
appear to be sleeping, their faces are relaxed and their
eyes are closed. Of those whose eyes are open, only a few are awake
and alert. Two are
especially noteworthy. One is a tall youth with shoulder length blonde
hair, the other is
sightly shorter, with long curly dark brown hair. He is wearing a kilt
and a short, ceremonial
sword at his belt.
The blonde lad is standing
still, absorbing his surroundings with a passion. He seems
to be looking for something.
After the leader¹s
speech she turns to the man wearing the kilt, ³Adric, are you ready
to find our guide?²
³Yes, I will go and
seek a spirit whose knowledge can serve our needs.² With a solemn
bow, he moves through the gate, vanishing quickly into the swirling
darkness on the other side.
The blonde youth finally
moves, walking slowly to the gate, peering through intently. A
piercing scream startles him and he nearly falls through. His proximity
makes it more natural
than intelligent to plunge between the silver mesh after a young woman
who has brushed him
aside and charged into the darkness after Adric.
The youth regains awareness
on a dirt road that winds away into a sunny forest. The
young man leans down to check on the woman, who is lying prone on the
ground, under a massive
oak tree. She has a bruise on her forehead, most likely a result from
her collision with a low
hanging branch. ³Dana, are you ok?²
Sitting up she asks ³Who
are you, and why do you know my name?²
³My name is Chad, I
met you at the Pombajira ritual last night, you dance very well.²
³Well Chad, no, I am
not ok, I was just chased by a huge wolf and I ran into a tree.²
³Wolf? I didn¹t
see a wolf.²
³How could you miss
that? It hundreds of feet tall snarling and howling, it chased me!²
Dana shook with obvious fear as she relived her flight.
Regardless of Dana¹s
assertions, Chad did not see the phantom wolf that drove Dana
through the gate. Chad was more concerned with discovering where they
were and how to get home.
³Any idea where we are?²
³No.² She replies.
The sunny forest and winding road were as unfamiliar to her as they
are to Chad. Before they could explore their surroundings any further,
a tremor threw them to
the ground. An ear splitting howl shattered the blue sky, and seemed
to rend the world itself.
Suddenly the woods before them exploded into splinters as a gigantic
wolf towering 400 feet
high at the shoulder ran through and nearly crushed them with his passing.
Close behind rode a
group of warriors, riding strong horses, with long braided hair whipping
behind them. Shouting
insults and battle cries, they shook their axes in the air and followed
the wolf in close
pursuit.
³What the hell was
that?² Chad exclaimed, dragging himself to his feet.
Before Dana could respond
a familiar voice interrupted him, ³I wouldn¹t say that word
too many times, the Gods tend to know if their names are spoken here.²
Adric appeared over the
same rise the warriors came from only moments before. He seemed much
more at home here than he
had before their journey.
³Hel, she¹s the
Goddess of the dead lands, right?² Dana asked.
³Yes, and this is her
realm you are in, don¹t speak her name unless you wish to meet
her.²
Chad stood upright, dusting
off his denim pants, regaining some measure of dignity.
³Adric, where is the gate we came through, can you find our way
out?²
³Yes, I can find it,
and I will not ask why you came here, when you were told not to.
Now that I have found you, little harm can be done, this way.²
Adric moves off in the same
direction the wolf ran. Before long they could see the towering wall
again, Dana was certain
she cold make out the sheen of the silver gate. ³What is that?²
³What?² asks Adric
looking up from the path.
³There in front of
the gate, I see it too.² said Chad. ³It looks like that wolf
we saw²
Chad is right, it is the
dire wolf Fenris, who killed Odin at Ragnarok. He has fallen
asleep in front of the gate, barring all passage. The hoard of warriors
is surrounding Fenris,
hacking at him with their axes, all they succeed in doing is dulling
their blades in his fur.
³Not even Thor could
move Fenris from that spot, we must wait until he moves, or find a
way to move him ourselves.² Adric replies, strangely calm considering
the large hairy problem
barring their path.
³What?² Dana shrieks.
³You say Thor couldn¹t move him, and you expect us too?²
³I don¹t know
how we could, but my patron will.² Adric replies, moving off to a
clear
spot of ground.
Chad steps forward, ³Wait
a minute. Who is your patron?² he demands.
Adric looks back with a
devilish gleam in his eye. Turning to the sky he cries ³Loki!²
and steps back, waiting a reply.
The response is not what
he expects.
A small tear begins in the
air before him, growing larger until is it over twice the
length of a man. Chad and Dana step back, Chad has a firm grip on Dana,
to keep her from
turning and running again. A man ten feet tall, wearing only short
breeches and a steel belt
steps through and seizes Adric with one hand, holding a mighty hammer
over his head with the
other. ³What do you want with that demon¹s spawn?² he
bellows. The figure is obviously a God,
his long blonde hair is tied back with a leather thong and he looks
as if he could lift a
mountain with one hand.
A steady stream of yellow
liquid drips down Adric¹s leg. ³My lord Thor, I merely sought
his council on how to get home. I meant nothing by it.²
³It is forbidden to
speak that name, you and your companions will return with me to
face judgment.² At this point Dana shrieks and collapses to the
ground, quivering and crying
that she doesn¹t have anything to do with it. Ignoring her cries,
Thor merely orders ³bring
her² and steps aside for Chad to walk through the tear.
Adrenalin can bring people
through many encounters. While every part of his being cries
to fall down or run away, Chad keeps his focus and manages to drag
Dana through the tear,
followed quickly by Thor.
They materialize in the
middle of a hall, filled with people. In the front of the hall
is a table. Seated at this table are the Ancient Norse Gods, save Odin
and Hel. Behind the trio
of mortals are hordes of chanting Vikings waving bloody axes and crying
³Thor! Thor! Thor!
Thor!² at a deafening volume. On the floor before the table, lying
in a pool of blood, is the
body of Loki, the trickster of the gods. As in legend he has fiery
red hair, now soaked in
blood. It looks as if his head has been caved in by a great hammer.
Thor is now seated behind
the table, holding Mjollnir in his right hand. In the corner a form
is slumped over an empty
tankard of ale.
Thor stands, ³You are
charged with disobeying the words of Thor, ruler of the Gods, the
punishment for this is eternal death. Have you any words for your defense?²
Chad steps forward, the
other two are cowering on the floor, ³Yes, if we are already in
the land of death, how is such a sentence to be carried out?²
³One of my warriors
will stand over you at every sunrise and slay you once again. So
you will not live in the next day.²
³Ah, thanks.
Got it.² Chad nodded. ³One more question, could anything we say
change
your mind?²
³No.²
³I didn¹t think
so, not even that we are not dead. Not yet, any...² Chad¹s sentence
is
cut off as Thor brings his hammer down on the table, smashing it in
two.
³Wait! It is nearing
sunset again, it is time.² Following Thor¹s decree all the Gods
rise and form a semicircle around the Body of Loki with Thor in the
middle, his hammer raised.
Now that the Gods have moved, the humans can see a tall iron door in
the wall behind the Gods,
bound and barred tight. Several minutes pass and all in the hall remain
motionless. Suddenly
things begin to move, first the shattered table begins to reform, then
Loki¹s body reforms as
well. The blood that stains the floor pulls itself back into his veins
and his heart begins to
beat again.
Looking up in terror Loki
only has time to stammer ³W-wait...² before Thor brings his
hammer down on his skull.
In unison the Gods chant,
³As life is given every night, so is Loki¹s taken with
evening light.² Adric¹s jaw is slack with horror as he stares
at the recently butchered form of
his patron.
After the Gods have taken
their seats again, Thor sustains his judgment. ³Loki is the
one who brought Ragnarok on us, and his blood condemned us to this
unchanging Hel. For that
will he be perpetually dead. Now you claim to be living?²
Chad steps forward again,
³Yes, mighty Thor. We seek only to return to the land of the
living, and to leave your affair; we seek no interference.²
Thor¹s response is
not heartening. ³If we cannot return to life, why should you? We
require time to consider this matter. Your judgment shall be passed
at tomorrow night¹s
council.²
The next evening the three
are again placed before the council of the Gods. The ritual
circling of Loki begins again, only this time as Thor raises his hammer,
the wall behind him
crumbles and Fenris crashes into the room, crushing countless warriors
and inspiring Thor to
alter his swing and hurl Mjollnir at the charging form of Fenris, right
as Loki regains
consciousness and rolls away from Thor.
By the time Mjollnir returns
to Thor¹s hand Loki is upright and standing next to
Fenris. ³Thank you my son. ³ he sighs, ³I do not relish
the feeling of Mjollnir.² With the
setting of the sun, the damage done to Fenris by Mjollnir is as past
as Loki¹s death.
Thor steps forward and appears
ready to smash Loki¹s head again, but Loki stops him
with words. ³Brother Thor, would you like to finish the world
as it was meant to be ended, and
quit this mockery of life once and for all?²
Thor hesitates, ³I
know your tricks, Loki. You brought the end upon us and betrayed us
more than once.²
³I know the horror
of this eternal life better than you Thor, and I know well how to
end it.²
³How?²
³Hel has not had a
companion since Ragnarok, I think we have found one for her.²
Turning to Adric, ³My child, are you ready to serve your master?²
The three humans have been
staring in awe since Fenris crashed through the wall. Now
Adric falls anxiously to his knees. ³Yes my Lord, as always.²
A smile crosses Thor¹s
face as he realizes Loki¹s plan. ³Open the vault!² The other
Gods hurry to open the iron doors behind the table. As they open Chad
discovers why Hel did not
come when he spoke her name. encased in transparent crystal the Goddess
Hel is as unchanging as
her Land has always been.
The power that keeps the
land of the dead, Asgaard, unchanged night after night, is the
power of stasis which surrounds Hel like a diamond tomb. Gently nudging
Adric to the front of
the room, Loki places his hand behind Adric's back and turns to Thor,
³You can apologize
anytime, I¹m waiting.²
Thor lifts his hammer, smiles
and says, ³Lets see if it works first Loki.²
In response Loki hurls Adric
into the arms of Hel. His body seems to meld with the
crystal. Adric¹s living essence comes into contact with the essence
of death, a reaction
unforeseen in the creation of the universe. The fabric of space begins
to unravel as the
paradox expands and it dawns on Thor what Loki has done. What Thor
thought would free them from
stasis has freed them from existence. The reaction here will expand
and destroy them all. Even
the lands of men will not escape this Ragnarok.
Before the tear overtakes
him, Thor hurls Mjollnir one last time, seeing it take a life
one last time.
The two humans only know
that what has just happened is very very bad. As the tear
passes through the Gods in just under a second, Dawn faints and Chad
has time to think, ³We
shouldn¹t have gone through the gate² before the nothingness
over takes his senses.