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"Try again," Kratos told his son, who was lying on the ground. Atreus tried to get up, regardless of his exhaustion after all their training. 'How do I even distract the God of War?!' Atreus, though, as he looked down at the snow in front of him, and with that, an idea occurred in his mind. Atreus grabbed fistfuls of snow and turned them into snowballs.
'I just need to trick him, if only there were a bear or something to distract him.' Atreus quickly threw one of the snowballs at his father, who merely dodged the snowball. Atreus ultimately caught his father off guard and threw another snowball, hitting his father, causing him to stagger. Atreus caught his father off guard and landed a hit. He was about to celebrate until his father swiftly grabbed him and ran inside.
Kratos put his son behind him as an act of protecting him. "Get ready!" Kratos yelled, leaving a confused Atreus to just stare at his father.
"Father... What are you talking about?" Kratos started getting irritated with his son's lack of care.
"Atreus! There's a bear, get ready!" Atreus looked back at his uncle, both having genuine concern for Kratos.
"If there were a bear, I would have known. Look," Atreus got in front of his father and opened the door, revealing that there was no bear. "See nothing!" Atreus stated, as he extended his hand out the door, with that, Kratos relaxed, despite his confusion. "It was as if you were seeing th-" Atreus stopped himself, recalling the earlier event. 'If only there were a bear to distract him,' The gears in Atreus' head began to turn. 'Did I do this?' before Atreus could continue to ponder.
"Brother, are you alright?" Mimir asked, with concern.
"I'm... fine?" Kratos responded, rubbing his temple with a bewildered look on his face. Atreus closed the front door, cutting off the cold air entering the home. With that, Atreus tried to comfort his father. "I'm fine, let's eat." With that, Atreus began preparing food alongside his father. They eventually finished cooking their food and sat down to eat. They ate in silence until.
"You landed a good hit," Kratos mentioned. Atreus remembered the punch and felt proud. 'I forgot my celebration was cut short.'
"I guess the snowballs were a good distraction." Atreus chuckled.
"What did you see?" It was a weird question, one that Atreus didn't know why he even asked.
"I saw a bear after you threw the snowball." This truly left Atreus puzzled, and for a while nothing was said; he decided to entertain the idea. 'I have nothing to lose.'
"I think I did that?" Atreus stated, as he picked at his food, not wanting to look at his father. Atreus eventually looked up at his father, who had an unreadable expression. His father didn't say anything, so Atreus decided to continue, "Before I hit you, I thought about a bear to distract you." Atreus just waited for his father's response, yet it didn't come. Not from his, at least.
"The Jotnar were known for being very private. So, nothing stopped them from concealing themselves." Mimir added. This comment was left hanging in the air. No one said anything. Kratos tiredly sighed and finished eating. Atreus thought about Mimir's words for a good while until he finished eating and headed to bed.
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Time passed, and the night fell onto the Midgard, yet Atreus couldn't sleep. He could only fade in and out of consciousness but never truly be able to sleep. He looked to his side to realize that his father wasn't present, not just his father, but also his uncle. This left him baffled as he heard a faint noise coming from outside the cabin. Atreus carefully sat up, not wanting to make any noise, and headed to the front door. He placed his ear on the door, hearing his father's voice.
"I worry for Atreus; his abilities are growing, and I can't help him." Atreus cautiously listened to his father's words, considering them; his thoughts would drown out his uncle's words.
"If only Faye were here." This statement sticks with Atreus, as he recalls all the things that his mother hid from him and his father. "Secrets only your mother knew! Secrets she hid!" His father's words were a constant reminder of what he could have known, what he could have had... and know it was gone... well, not exactly, he had Angrboda be he couldn't see her, and that pained him. All he could have had, and even now it slips from his finger, slow and steady, a constant stream of memories, and with time, he will forget, and that's his greatest fear. To forget her with time, and eventually she will become a distant memory, one that he will only see in his dreams.
How he longed to see her again.
Atreus slid down the door. He thought about the Jotnar. 'We truly are the last of our kind.' His mind wandered to Angrboda and his mother, sharing his father's wish. Atreus quickly and quietly stood up, heading to bed before his family caught him. He closes his eyes and tries to drift off to sleep.
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Atreus awoke in a sandy environment. He stood up and began walking around with no destination in sight. He remembered his last experience here and how the sand took form, yet nothing happened. For a while, Atreus just walked around. "Loki!" Atreus happily turned around to see, "Angrboda!" Atreus walked up to Angrboda, being relieved to see her. "What brings you here?" Atreus began walking alongside Angrboda.
"I had a weird moment this afternoon." This caught her attention.
"Oh! Weirder than what you're usually used to?" This made Atreus chuckle as he scratched the back of his neck. Atreus began to explain the situation.
"You must have gained the ability to create illusions." This didn't exactly shock Atreus, as he remembered the snowball situation and his father's panicked expression. When Atreus finished, he looked at Angrboda for some form of answer.
"The Jotnar used magic to conceal themselves and their surroundings from harm," Angrboda explained. Atreus recalled his home and the runes that his mother carved onto the wood, protecting them. Angrboda continued. "The only giant I can think of that weaponized illusions would be Utgard-Loki, tricking Thor and Odin with his magic... some say that he still wanders the realms, but... I don't know anymore."
This caused Atreus to truly feel for her; Her voice was filled with such pain that he thought of ways to make her feel better, but this landscape was only filled with sand. An idea appeared in his head, and with that, Atreus ran forward and got on his knees. This caught Angrboda off guard, as she ran up to Atreus, who was busy sculpting with the golden sand.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, just give me a minute." With that, she sat by Atreus, curious about what he was doing. Eventually, the sand would take form in Atreus's hands.
"Is that... Jalla!?" Atreus hands her a small sand sculpture. The sculpture was poorly made, with bits of sand falling off, but despite that, it made her smile to the point that she started to giggle. Making her feel better after the painful story.
"Let me show you how to do it," She put the poorly made sculpture to the side, carefully not wanting it to fall apart. She grabbed a fistful of golden sand and began sculpting a small animal. When she was finished, she proudly showed it.
"Tada! Look, it's Fenrir!" Angrboda held up a nicely made sand sculpture. She handed it to the Atreus.
"This looks better than mine," Atreus stated, while holding the sandy Fenrir sculpture.
"Keep practicing, and you'll get better. If you keep practicing with the sand, you'll be better at casting illusions." Angrboda added, as she took the sculpture from his hands and placed it down. She took his hands and placed some golden sand onto them. She held his hands with hers. 'I hope my hands aren't shaking,' Atreus embarrassingly thought as he tried his best to focus.
"Apply your intention onto the sand and cast it on someone or something... I recommend trying it on animals first before trying it on people." Angrboda concluded, as she removed her hands and began to manipulate some sand in her hand to take the form of a wolf. Atreus looked intensely at the golden sand in his hands, hoping it would take form.
The sand would spill out of his hands. Atreus looked up to see the wind disperse. Atreus stood up alongside Angrboda, "It's time for you to go, take care, Loki!" Angrboda waved Atreus goodbye. "Wait!" Atreus desperately yelled out; he could only stare at her until she disappeared. Atreus couldn't help the disappointment that rose in his chest. After some time, the wind became so strong that it caused the golden sand to blind him that he couldn't see in front of him.
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Atreus awoke quite exhausted after the dream events. Atreus looked around his home to see his father not present. Atreus was too mentally exhausted, so he lay his head back onto his pillow, only to feel something hard. He quickly sat up and lifted his pillow. Revealing a small leather drawstring pouch, upon closer inspection, it could easily attach itself to his belt.
It had different runes sewn onto the leather. The uruz, ansuz, Berkana, and wunjo? The final rune confused Atreus, but he swiftly brushed it off. 'It can't be?' He opened the leather pouch to reveal golden sand. Atreus held up the sand to his nose and sniffed it. 'It smells sweet,' Atreus recalled Ironwood and how the air was sweeter than that of Midgard.
He kept looking at the golden sand and thought about the dream he had last night. Atreus was going to sculpt the sand until he heard a noise outside. Swiftly hiding the pouch of sand. His father opened the door, causing Atreus to stand up and walk up to him, leading them to start training.
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Training ended early, and all that Atreus wanted was to rest and practice with the sand given to him. Sadly,
"Gather the wolves," Atreus knew what that meant. 'Hunting, Hurray!' As much as he enjoyed hunting, he had plans, and this disrupted those plans. Atreus gathered and prepared the sled to go out hunting. While they headed out into the woods, Atreus got an idea.
"Can I go hunting alone today?" For a while, there was silence.
"Don't wander too far," Atreus mentally cheered. They stopped, and Atreus helped his father set up camp until they finished. With that, Atreus left, not before his father gave him another warning. The snow crunched beneath his feet as he headed deeper into the woods. Atreus eventually found a deer and quickly hid before the deer saw him.
Atreus grabbed a fistful of snow and sculpted it. He carefully pulled the pouch of sand and poured it onto the snowball. Thankfully, the deer was still in the same place. Atreus held the snowball close, manifesting the illusions. 'I need you to see a fawn.' Atreus carefully fixed his position and threw the snowball at the deer. The startled deer was about to run off until it stayed in place, sniffing and lightly licking the air.
Atreus couldn't stop the joy that coursed through him, accidentally making noise in the process, startling the deer once more, causing it to run away. Atreus sighed, remembering that he was supposed to be hunting. He quickly followed the deer to hunt it down.
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Atreus realized that as long as the pouch has some sand inside it, the pouch will eventually fill back up with the sweet golden sand. It gave Atreus a tie to Ironwood and Angrboda; it filled him with joy, having proof that he wasn't alone. That the Jotnar are still alive. Atreus and his family found themselves in the realm between realms, heading to the dwarf's home.
"Brok! Sindri!"
"Atreus! Kratos! It's good to see you," Sindri exclaimed, as he put down his tools.
"You need our help?" Kratos asked. With that, Brok sighed, disregarding his work. "There is a problem in Midgard that is affecting us."
"So, what's the problem?"
"We don't know if it's just social, political, or if there's magic involved; either way, it causes a whole bunch of problems," Brok added. Kratos sighed, but agreed to help, nonetheless. This caused Brok and Sindri to be filled with relief and gave them a pair of iron rings.
"Just in case there's magic involved, you'll be protected." With that, the family headed out the door. Atreus was quite happy, finally having an opportunity to get out of the house.
"It's good they gave y'all iron." This caught Atreus off guard.
"Why that's?"
"Well, little brother, where I'm from, one of the many ways to protect yourself from magic is to arm yourself with steel or iron," Mimir responded. Atreus looked at the iron ring he was given and slipped it on his ring finger. After that, they headed down to Midgard.
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Atreus felt a strange feeling when he stepped onto Midgard. "Looks like not all of Midgard are affected by fimbulwinter," with that, Atreus recalled Skjoldr and how warm his village was.
"Asgard is quite warm, so some of the villages near Asgard might also be affected," Atreus mentioned, as he and his father kept walking to the village. The walk was long; thankfully, Mimir made the walk quite pleasant.
"Father, where's your ring?" Kratos showed his left hand wearing the iron ring. They ultimately arrived at the village, the village looked presentable, yet the people looked miserable. 'Clearly something happened,' "Let's look around," Kratos stated, to which Atreus agreed. They walked around the small town, seeing how angry the woman looked while the men looked between miserable or in a daze. The people who had it worse were women with long black hair, who suffered humiliation and bashing.
This gave Atreus more questions than answers. Thankfully, Atreus perked up, hearing a familiar voice. "Loki! Is that you?"
"Skjoldr!... What are you doing here?" Atreus walked up to a relieved Skjoldr and playfully greeted him. Only then did Skjoldr notice Kratos.
"O-oh, you must be Atreus' father... It's a pleasure," Skjoldr extended his hand only to retract it awkwardly.
"Likewise."
"So, Father, is it fine if I can walk around with Skjoldr?" The father looked at the boys and let out a sigh.
"Return before nightfall, in front of the inn," Kratos stated. With that, Atreus and Skjoldr left to wander the town.
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"Has anyone told you, your father is terrifying?" Skjoldr let out a sigh of relief as they walked away from Kratos. Skjoldr's eyes glance over to his friend's belt, seeing the leather pouch imprinted with runes, but one rune caught his eye.
"I didn't know you were seeing someone?"
"What!?" Such a suggestion took aback Atreus.
"Isn't a Wunjo rune used in weddings?" Atreus had thought about this for some time, wondering whether it or not it was intentional. Atreus felt his face grow warm.
"No, well, yes, but I'm not seeing someone... So what are you doing here?" Atreus quickly tried to change the subject. Skjoldr winced, averting his gaze.
"My family and I are here for my sister's wedding, though everything has been quite miserable," Atreus couldn't argue, as he looked around, seeing the people.
"Shouldn't your sister be living with you?"
"She moved here a while back due to an argument with my father," Atreus recalled his argument with his father and winced, yet he was also curious but didn't pry; with that, they continued walking.
"You should leave before the sun goes down," Skjoldr cautiously mentioned, not wanting to drag his friend into this problem.
"What?" This confused Atreus as he looked at Atreus and continued.
"When the sun goes down, many of the men go missing and the women get killed off," Skjoldr whispered low enough for Atreus to hear. They would stop in front of an empty home, without thinking. Atreus walked inside the house, only to be hit by the smell of iron and blood. A smell he was all too familiar with. The smell of blood from battle and the smell of iron from the forge.
The blood was dry, yet the smell stuck to the walls like a second skin. There were small blood stains all over the house. The inside of the home was a mess, the furniture broken, and things thrown across the floor. Dust covered the home like a fresh layer of snow. Skjoldr stood at the door waiting for Atreus to finish. Atreus knelt and traced his fingers on the floorboards.
Dust coating his fingertips, Atreus looked up, seeing something strange underneath a large piece of dusty cloth. Atreus stood up and picked up the dirty cloth, seeing something he would only see in battle. A larger dried blood stain, he quickly dropped the cloth and stood up. Finally, Skjoldr spoke up.
"This happened a month ago... no one talks about it." With that, they left, no words exchanged between them.
"We still don't know what happened; they were just found dead in the morning." This shocks Atreus, not knowing how this could have happened. 'Could magic be involved? I wouldn't be surprised; this stuff doesn't just happen randomly.' Skjoldr and Atreus kept walking around the town as they overheard prayers.
"O All Father, help us in our time of need-" Atreus kept walking, as he looked away from the people praying. They eventually arrived at the Inn. As they entered the Inn, Atreus noticed his father's irritation.
"Ah, Laddie. Right on time,"
"What's going on?"
"The Inn is full," Kratos responded as they left the Inn. For a moment, they just sat down to think.
"Hey Loki, I- is everything okay?"
"Yeah, the Inn is full, that's all," Atreus repeated. Skjoldr sat down by Atreus. "You can stay with us."
"With you?"
"My uncle rents out rooms to make extra money. He has two rooms available to make extra money; he might have some rooms available. It wouldn't hurt to try." Atreus looked at his father for a response.
"Well, that's convenient. What now, brother?" Kratos thought about it and spoke.
"We have no other choice." With that, the family followed the blond-haired boy to his family's home.
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The family arrived at a decently large cabin. As they walked closer, they could hear arguing, just as Skjoldr was about to open the door. A young lady threw the door open.
"I would rather die!!!" Storming out of the building, screaming colorful curses.
"What colorful language," Mimir commented on, as Skjoldr let out a defeated sigh. Atreus entered the home and couldn't help but marvel at the nicely decorated home. It wasn't as nice as Asgard, but it was still beautiful, nonetheless. It was filled with small, nice antiques and paintings, which made the building feel pleasant, and it gave the place character.
"Lord, that girl- I'm so sorry, you had to see that. Are you looking for a place to stay?" The man stated as he tried to hide his stress in front of customers.
"A room with two beds," Kratos answered. The man let out a slight hiss.
"I'm sorry the last room was just brought. Though we have plenty of other rooms available,"
"The lad does deserve his own room," Mimir stated, causing Kratos to consider the words.
"We'll take two rooms," Atreus couldn't help but mentally thank his uncle. The men retrieved the keys and handed them to the father. Kratos turned to face his son.
"Leave the room better than you found it." Kratos sternly told his son, and Atreus eagerly agreed as he accepted the keys that were handed to him.
"I hope you enjoyed your stay. Skjoldr takes them to their rooms." Skjoldr sucked his teeth as he guided them to their rooms.
"Lad, may I ask you something?" Skjoldr was confused, but Mimir continued.
"Do people come here because this is one of the few places unaffected by fimbulwinter?" Skjoldr didn't expect such a loaded question and taught about the question and answered.
"This place is still affected by fimbulwinter, it's just we suffer in more... minor? Ways. Many people come here because fimbulwinter is bearable," Mimir was satisfied with the answer that was given. They arrived at their rooms.
"Take care," with that, Skjoldr left. After that, Atreus and Kratos headed to their respective room. The room was small with a bed and a nightstand. Atreus walked around the room and investigated every nook and cranny. The place even had a washroom. 'Does every room have a washroom?' Atreus was too tired to think and decided to lie down on the comfortable bed and doze off.
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Atreus awoke in the same endless sandy landscape. He quickly stood up and began walking. Hoping to encounter Angrboda again. He would hear the sound of crunching sand behind him. Before he could react, he felt someone covering his eyes.
"Guess who?" Atreus chuckled. "Angrboda! Is that you?" With that, Angrboda revealed herself to Atreus.
"It's been a while. What brings you here?" Angrboda began walking alongside Atreus. Atreus didn't want to admit that he was thinking about her before he fell asleep.
"I was just worried about you." Atreus didn't intend to let the words slip out of his mouth, but they did. He carefully turned to face Angrboda, who had an unreadable expression. She merely looked at him, and for a moment, Atreus mentally cursed himself for admitting something so personal, and there was a moment of silence between the two. Angrboda stopped walking, causing Atreus to stop, turning to face her.
There was a bit of distance between the two; he carefully walked up to her, not wanting to startle her. He slowly grabbed her hand and lightly stroked her knuckles with his thumb. This alarmed her, yet she didn't move. Atreus kept this in mind. Atreus remembered Gryln and her cruel words that were directed at her granddaughter.
"You will be another forgotten chapter in his story!" Atreus disregarded the horrible memory and focused his attention on the girl in front of him.
"I-I don't think I can ever forget you." Atreus didn't know what to say and didn't know why he said that, but he hoped it could ease her. This confused Angrboda, but she didn't answer, and for a moment she just stared at Atreus. The only thing that could be heard was the wind and how it blew into their ears, until Angrboda giggled. She felt relief at those words.
"Thanks, Loki, I really appreciated it." With that, Atreus gently let her hand go. Atreus could tell that she was still unhappy.
"I think I've been improving with the animal sculptor," Atreus stated, as he looked at Angrboda to see her expression. Thankful, she perked up.
"Oh, really? Better than me?" Atreus softly chuckled, and he began to scratch the back of his neck.
"No, not better than you," Angrboda knelt, causing Atreus to follow. Atreus grabbed a fistful of sand and began sculpting a small flower in the palm of his hands, and showed it to Angrboda. Angrboda took the flower and placed it on her lap as she grabbed a fistful of sand and began sculpting something. She began sculpting a small wolf in the palm of her hand and handed it to Atreus.
"Guess who?" Atreus stared at the wolf and noticed that it was clearly different than any regular wolf.
"Is that... me?" Atreus asked, causing Atreus to smile.
"Yup! It looks like you have been getting better at manipulating the sand," The praise Atreus to smile.
"Keep having fun with the sand and you'll be able to do a lot of things," Angrboda added, as she grabbed more sand and began playing around with it in her hands, causing Atreus to do the same.
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Atreus awoke from the peaceful dream, disappointed that such a peaceful dream had to end. There was a strange stillness that Atreus hadn't expected. He sat up and heard... Nothing? There should have been some noise, whether it was the wind or the sound of dogs barking, yet there was nothing. It was truly deafening.
"Am I still dreaming?" Atreus said out loud. It felt as if he spoke louder than intended, but he had to say it out loud, for the silence was so overwhelming that he felt as if he was going mad. 'I need to get some fresh air.' With that, Atreus grabbed his keys and left the room and eventually the building. Despite the engulfing silence, the night was still young.
The night was pretty silent. Atreus walked around the town, and he could feel an overwhelming, strange suffocation; he couldn't explain it. Realizing that the walk did nothing, 'This was a waste of time... I should head to bed.' Just as he was about to leave, he saw someone he didn't expect to see.
"Skjoldr!?" The boy immediately turned around to the direction of the voice.
"Loki? What are you doing awake?"
"I could ask you the same thing?" Atreus shot back before Skjoldr could say anything. He grabbed Atreus and dragged him away to the alleyways between the homes. Atreus was at a loss, and just as he was about to ask, he saw a grown man sprinting out of the town. Atreus remembered the suffocation he felt when he awoke and how it felt unreal and unnatural.
Before he could think further, he saw his friend following the man. "Wait? What are you doing?" Atreus asked as he swiftly grabbed his friend’s wrist, stopping him in place.
"I need to follow him. If I follow his, then I can finally find out what's been going on," Skjoldr stated. With that, Atreus let go and took off his iron ring and handed it to the blond-haired boy.
"Here. In case there's magic involved," Skjoldr puts the iron ring on. "Come on, let's go." With that, Atreus and Skjoldr swiftly followed the man, hiding from him, not wanting to get caught. They would eventually leave town and would end up at the crossroads where the dirt path and the start of the forest met. The man would enter the forest, and Atreus was about to enter, though he felt a stronger suffocation than the one he had when he woke up.
Atreus was about to enter the forest, only to look back to see Skjoldr clearly more affected by the strange suffocation. Though he snapped out of his fear and took a deep breath, and looked at Atreus.
"Well... I guess we enter," Atreus could clearly sense hesitation and a bit of fear in his voice. Atreus took some sand from his leather pouch and blew it in Skjoldr's face, which caught Skjoldr off guard.
"What the h-hell?"
"Just in case, there's magic involved, you'll be able to see through it." This seemed to calm Skjoldr down. Atreus noticed how underprepared his friend was and took off the knife from his belt and handed it to Skjoldr.
"What about you?" Skjoldr curiously looked at the knife handed to him.
"I have a bow, and didn't I tell you that I know a little bit of magic?" This eased Skjoldr, and he accepted the knife, attaching it to his belt, and with that, they entered the forest. The boys stuck together as they followed the dirt path, hoping to find the man that entered the forest. They headed down deeper into the woods, and they would eventually encounter a beautiful naked woman with long dark hair.
Atreus got in front of Skjoldr, trying to protect Skjoldr. Atreus carefully tried to grab an arrow to defend himself, just in case things got out of hand. She was beautiful, no doubt about it, yet Atreus felt the air shift and felt a horrible feeling settle in the pit of his stomach. Atreus couldn't help but shiver, as the air felt so thin that he felt like he was out of breath, even though all he had done was walk through the woods. He tried to gather his breath. Atreus had it bad, but Skjoldr had it worse.
Skjoldr felt an all-encompassing suffocation that made him feel so lightheaded that he felt like he was going to faint; he wondered whether or not he was wobbling. He was quite grateful that Atreus was in front of him, since he clearly looked like he knew what he was doing. Skjoldr stared at the beautiful yet intimidating woman. She walked closer, causing the boys to walk back.
"Loki... her legs," Skjold whispered from behind him. Atreus couldn't help but feel irritated at Skjoldr.
"Not now!"
"No, look!" Skjoldr pointed at her legs. Atreus gazed down at the creature's legs and saw a cow's tail. Atreus looked up to see the creature's face and saw her face morph. Just as the creature was about to touch Atreus's cheek, a man suddenly appeared, the same man they saw earlier. He ran to the creature and began begging and parsing the creature. This left the boys bewildered, not knowing what to do.
There here, they encountered the creature responsible, but what now? He can't just fight the creature; he has Skjoldr behind him and a man entranced with the woman. 'What do I do!?' In a moment of desperation, Atreus reached into the pouch of sand and pulled out some golden sand. Casting his intentions onto it and casting the same spell he did with Skjoldr.
Atreus swiftly walked up to the unsuspecting man, much to Skjoldr's dismay; the man was all too busy, being enamored with the woman before him. Atreus blew the golden sand onto the man's face. The man separated from the beautiful woman, desperately trying to get the sand out of his eyes, just as he was about to yell at the younger boy. Skjoldr hesitantly pointed behind him, causing the man to turn around and feel fear wash over him.
The once-beautiful woman's appearance had changed drastically into an animalistic creature with sharp teeth, a cow's tail, dark skin with silver freckles that littered her skin like constellations, and large deer antlers. This caused the man to run away, yelling at the top of his lungs with fear, almost tripping on his feet as he tried to run out of the forest, thankfully following the dirt path, which caused Atreus to breathe a sigh of relief, having one less thing to worry about. Once the man left and was out of sight.
Atreus readied his bow and shot an arrow at the creature, who merely caught the arrow and turned to face Atreus. He readied another arrow. The creature summoned six corpses and forcefully pinned them to the trees with a loud, painful crack, the bodies circling them. The creature drew blood from one of the bodies and directed the bloody attack towards Atreus and Skjoldr.
Atreus shoves Skjoldr out of the way, protecting him from the attack. Atreus, on instinct, quickly summoned his magical shield, protecting himself from the gory attack. "Skjoldr, run!!!" Atreus yells, distracting the creature from turning to face Skjoldr's direction. He quickly dips an arrow in his pouch of sand. 'This should leave her disoriented,'
Atreus readied his bow and looked for an opening. He let the arrow fly, and it hit the creature avoided the attack, causing it to hit her arm. The arrow grazed her arm, and her face hardened as she glared at Atreus. She regenerated her injury, and she drew blood from a different corpse; the blood began to take form into a pointed attack, one that looked like a poorly made spear.
She began aiming. Atreus noticed this and tried to hide behind a tree. She threw the bloody spear at Atreus; he was able to avoid the attack, but the spear took shape and grabbed onto Atreus' leg. The blood wrapped tightly around Atreus like a rope, and he was lifted into the air, feeling the cold chill of night. He was face-to-face with the creature once again.
Atreus felt a feeling of dread wash over him as he stared directly at the enraged creature's face. The creature grabbed Atreus's face, forcing him to face the creature. She prepared an attack, and Atreus felt the blood tighten around his body, causing him to feel a slight numbness in the lower half of his body.
"Hey!!! Over here!" Skjoldr yelled out as he made himself a target. The creature turned to face Skjoldr and shot out multiple bloody projectiles toward his direction, noticing he immediately began trying to find some place to hide; thankfully, he hid behind the trees. In the moment of distractions, Atreus turns himself into a large bear, causing the bloody ring to break and to be freed of the spell. Atreus fell onto the ground; thankfully, his bear form broke his fall.
Atreus looked up and tried to get up on his feet. He looked up to see the creature gather blood from all the corpses; the blood circled her and kept shooting towards Atreus. He quickly summoned a bright blue ram and hopped onto its back, barely avoiding the attacks. He mounted the ram, and it allowed him to attack the creature while not having to focus ahead of him. He let arrows fly, some briefly hitting the creature. She eventually got tired, and, with a swipe of her hand, the ring of blood fell, and a wave of blood appeared, trying to swallow the boys.
The ram disappeared, and Atreus quickly ran behind a tree, protecting himself from the wave of blood that tainted the forest. Atreus found Skjoldr hiding behind a tree. Atreus felt some sort of relief knowing he was okay. Atreus looked at the corpses and had an idea. He rapidly grabbed a fistful of sand and blew it at Skjoldr. The blond felt the sand in his eyes as he tried to blink the sand away, only to find a rune glowing in his hand.
"Engrave the rune onto the bodies, and she'll lose her powers." Atreus readied his bow and got himself ready after the bloody tides died down. Atreus left the cover of the trees and began shooting his arrows. The arrows hit her, and she let out a howl of pain. She directed her attacks at Atreus, yet she missed every attack, causing her to grow more aggressive. 'At least the sand worked.'
With Atreus distracting the creature, Skjoldr carefully climbed up the tree to find a male corpse with his chest ripped open, his ribcage broken beyond repair. Even in the darkness, with the only thing illuminating the area being the moonlight and Atreus's magic, he could still see the broken ribs, the blood pouring out of the large wound, revealing a still beating heart. The heartbeat was louder and faster with the more blood and magic that was drawn out of the corpse.
Skjoldr tried to swallow the nauseating feeling rising in his stomach. He pulled out Atreus' knife and carved the rune onto the skin; the noise of ripping flesh drowned out any other noise. It made him feel sick, yet he couldn't fall. Atreus depended on him. Carving the rune onto the skin while balancing himself on the tree was difficult. When he finished carving the rune, the remains exploded into a bloody mess covering Skjoldr in a gory mess and then vanished into a bright light.
This act stunned the creature, causing her to fall onto the ground. Giving Atreus an opening to attack, only for the creature to summon her strength and throw Atreus into a tree. "Loki!" The bright light from the body and the worry for his friend's well-being staggered Skjoldr, causing him to lose his footing and fall from the tall tree onto his arm. He began groaning in pain.
Atreus noticed this and ran to Skjoldr, trying to help him up. The creature regained her strength. Atreus noticed this and summoned a pack of wolves and directed them towards the creature, distracting her. Atreus firmly grabbed Skjoldr by the wrist and ran.
They ran, they ran until the noise of the wolves was drowned out by heavy breathing, they ran until they made it out of the forest. They ran until they made it out of the forest. They ran until they were at the crossroads. They ran onto the dirt path, seeing no one present. They ran until they made it to the entrance of the town. They ran until they made it to the Inn.
Skjoldr didn't know how long they ran for, but he ran alongside Atreus. If it weren't for the pain coursing through his injured arm, he would have thought it was all a bad dream. He felt disoriented and just allowed Atreus to guide him, as he grabbed his wrist and dragged him away from the battle. One minute, he was in the woods, and then he blinked and suddenly he was in the Inn.
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Atreus finally let go of his friend's wrist. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door to his room. Atreus lit a candle, illuminating the once dark room. Skjoldr closed the door behind him, and with the light, he was finally able to see the sweat, blood, and dirt that stuck to his skin and clothes. The adrenaline finally died down, and Skjoldr felt exhaustion almost bring him to his knees.
He hated how the dirt, sweat, and blood stuck to him like a second skin; it made him ill. Atreus noticed how shaken up he was. Atreus pulled up a chair and directed Skjoldr to sit down.
"Do you have the keys to your room?" This puzzled the already shaken boy, yet he handed them over. Atreus left the room and headed to the blond room, grabbing a spare change of clothes with haste, he headed back to his room, to find his friend in the same position. Atreus felt immense guilt for how everything went down. Atreus closed the distance and offered the clothing to his friend; at that moment, his father's words rang in his ears.
"Close your heart to it." This was all that Atreus could say. This caused Skjoldr to look up at Atreus and glance down at the change of clothes. "Looks like you do know a bit of magic." Atreus was taken aback by the comment and nervously chuckled; this caused Skjoldr to chuckle alongside Atreus. Their chuckling turned into laughter. The laughter died down, and there was a moment of silence.
"Oh, we're sick in the head," Skjoldr sighed as he picked at the dirt on his pants. Skjoldr carefully stood up, walking unsteadily to the washroom. Atreus began to change out of the dirty clothes, and Skjoldr bathed and changed into clean clothes.
"You can take the bed," Atreus stated, as he sat on the floor.
"No, no, it's fine," Atreus was fed up with Skjoldr and how he acted like nothing happened; it made the guilt in his chest rise, yet he said nothing.
"How's your arm?"
"It's okay... doesn't hurt much." Atreus didn't believe it and grabbed the boy's arm, causing him to wince. Atreus noticed this and pulled up his friend's sleeve. Thankfully, there wasn't any blood, just a swollen arm. Concerning, nonetheless. Atreus breathed a sigh of relief; nevertheless, he carefully turned the boy's arm and softly pressed onto the arm, causing Skjoldr to flinch. Atreus let go, causing Skjoldr to carefully rub his arm.
'No broken bones, thankfully.' Atreus tried to recall Freya's words and medical knowledge; he eventually had an idea. Atreus hoped this idea would work. "Do you have anything cold?" It was a bizarre question, but Skjoldr answered honestly.
"On the first floor, where the laundry and kitchen reside, why?"
"Don't worry, just clean the knife and hold it over the fire until it's hot." With that, Atreus quietly left, not trying to wake anyone up, as he headed to the first floor. He found the kitchen quite quickly and looked around the place for anything cold to reduce the swelling. The only thing that was cold enough was a fresh bottle of mead; it wasn't cold that it numbed his fingers, but it was cold enough to help heal the injury. Atreus debated taking it with him, but only until he opened the bottle and sniffed the bottle.
'It would calm him down... I'm taking it with me!' Atreus took the cold bottle. With that, he headed to the laundry room, hoping to find bandages and towels to clean up the mess he was going to make. He grabbed what he needed and headed upstairs to find Skjoldr heating the knife.
"You ready?"
"For what?" Skjoldr curiously asked, as he looked at Atreus holding a variety of objects.
"I'm going to cut open the injury," This scared Skjoldr. Atreus immediately noticed this and tried to reassure him.
"It's okay. Don't worry, I got this." Atreus handed him the bottle of alcohol to try to calm his nerves. "It will ease the pain, and then I will tend to the swelling," Atreus stated, recalling Mimir's story about how he got his Bifröst eyes, how he numbed the pain with ale. With that, Skjoldr sat down on the chair and took a deep breath and took a swing of alcohol, trying to calm his nerves.
Atreus cleaned his skin and prepared a wooden bowl, under the injured arm, ready to catch blood for what he was going to do.
"Ready?" Skjoldr nodded as he drank more, hoping it wouldn't hurt. With his consent, Atreus began to cut the skin, causing blood to trickle down his arm towards his fingers. The blood dripped down onto the wooden bowl. The smell of raw blood and iron filled the air, and Atreus looked up at his friend to see the mead drip down his chin; whether it was a trick of light, he looked paler than expected.
Atreus placed the knife down and lightly pressed his fingers onto the skin, causing blood to rapidly ooze out of the cut, causing the bowl to become bloody. "Ugh... H-how does this help?" Skjoldr slurred, looking down at Atreus, who was now cleaning the blood around the injury.
"Are you drunk?" Skjoldr merely looked at him and slowly turned to face the door, as if he were underwater. 'Well? I guess that's my answer?' Atreus thought as he began wrapping the injury in clean bandages.
"Does it hurt?" Skjoldr simply shook his head harder than intended at the point that he held his head with his hands. Atreus stood up and took the bottle from Skjoldr. He sighed, seeing the empty mead bottle. He pressed the surprisingly cold bottle onto the swollen arm. Skjoldr rubbed his slightly cold hand on his pants, trying to warm it up.
Atreus looked at the bottle, quite curious about how it would taste. Skjoldr seemed to notice this. "We s-should get more," Skjoldr suggested, as he pointed at the bottle. Atreus didn't need to hear more to be convinced. His face thankfully no longer looked as pale as before, with the idea in his head.
Atreus headed out the door and headed downstairs, only to be stopped by turning around to see a slightly tipsy Skjoldr almost tripping down the stairs. Atreus quickly and quietly walks up to Skjoldr to help him down the stairs, and they both head to the kitchen. Skjoldr took the lead and found the alcohol; he almost dropped one of the many bottles they gathered. Fortunately, Atreus swiftly caught the bottle, and they headed upstairs. Atreus closed the door behind him to find Skjoldr already opening the bottle.
"Press the bottle onto your arm, so that the swelling may be reduced." Skjoldr sat down on the bed and pressed the cold bottle onto his arm. Atreus opened the bottle, enjoying the smell coming out of the bottle. Atreus put the bottle to his lips and took a sip. The mead was quite sweet, and it also had a beautiful golden honey-like color. Atreus could understand why Brok and Sindri enjoyed the drink so much.
The room had an assorted smell of blood and alcohol, and the room was filled with a comfortable, peacefulness that was much needed after the night's events, as if Skjoldr read his mind.
"That monster? What was it?" Atreus put the bottle down and let out a sigh as he thought about the creature. 'Cow tail... antlers?'
"Her back looked like tree bark." With that, Atreus sat up and recalled a story his uncle told him a while back. "A Huldra... that's what we fought," There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, only for Skjoldr to try and down the bottle and failing as he coughed up a storm. Atreus started patting his back until Skjoldr got himself under control.
"The house... the night before the incident, there was a lot of screaming, we didn't think anything about it since it was expected from the family. So, what if his wife was trying to stop him from trying to see the Huldra and he ki-" Skjoldr couldn't finish the sentence, which Atreus was all too grateful. Atreus came to a cruel realization.
"The daughter was also found dead. What if... he killed his own daughter, thinking she was the Huldra?" It would make sense, even if Atreus didn't want to admit it to himself. The words finally hit Skjoldr, and he felt sick as he tried to stand up, only to fail, and he forced himself to sit back down. Now everything made sense why the village was so fearful and angry towards the woman with long dark hair... but for a father to kill his own daughter?
Atreus put the bottle up to his lips again, and a deafening stillness followed. The only thing heard was breathing and the sounds of alcohol bottles. Eventually, time would pass in silence, and Atreus felt his face grow warm. "How do we kill her?" Atreus tried to think, but was too exhausted.
"Uhh, steel, iron. Can kill them and it protects us," Atreus kept drinking until he thought back further about the story his uncle told him.
"What if we marry her?" Atreus started laughing, almost falling off the bed.
"Y-you're going to marry her. You?" Atreus could see Skjoldr's face grow warmer despite the room being dimly lit.
"Listen, listen. We marry her off, and her magic goes puff!" Skjoldr stated as he playfully shook his hands. Atreus finished the bottle and lightly chuckled, knowing it wasn't a bad idea.
"Great idea, my liege," Atreus jokingly stated, as he tried to bow.
"I-it's a good idea, right?" Atreus nodded, and with that, the boys began to laugh, which was much needed after everything horrible that had happened. Atreus felt his eyes grow tired, and he began to fall asleep.
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Sunlight filled the room, announcing itself to the unconscious boys. Atreus awoke to not only the sunlight in his eyes but also a blistering headache. He sat up from the uncomfortable sitting position he had slept in and rubbed the back of his sore neck, hoping it would ease the pain. He stood up, seeing the bottles on the floor and on the bed. Atreus quickly grabbed the bottles and hid them underneath the bed.
"Ugh!" Skjoldr groaned as he rubbed his forehead.
"Come on, we have to do something before the sun goes down,"
"About that," Skjoldr sat up and started to stretch, trying to ease the dull ache after a night of drinking. Before Atreus was about to ask, he felt an overwhelming sense of nausea and ran to the washroom, where he began to throw up. Atreus hated the smell and was eventually able to stop and compose himself. "You were saying?"
"My sister is getting married this afternoon," Atreus recalled their earlier conversation.
"We can try to find a man to marry the Huldra before the wedding," Atreus suggested, and with that, Skjoldr agreed.
"Do you think your father can help us?" Atreus thought about the possible but quickly shut that down, knowing he was going to have to reveal everything, including the drinking.
"I don't know, I'll have to bring it up to him." With that, the boys left the room and headed to the mead hall, seeing the place slowly fill up.
"Take care," Skjoldr left, and Atreus noticed his father and uncle already sitting down. Atreus made his way to the table, hoping he didn't reek of alcohol and that the headache didn't make him a bad liar.
"Did you sleep well?" Atreus asked, trying to hide the pain on his face due to the painful hangover. "Yes," Kratos responded. After that, there was nothing said between the two; any other day that would have been fine, but Atreus couldn't help but experience mental panic, wondering whether his father already knew. 'Why isn't Mimir saying anything!?' Thankfully, they were served their food
"We are going to be staying here for a few days." This eased Atreus knowing he didn't have to convince him; then again, the problem they are facing isn't going to be solved overnight, so we're bound to stay. Yet Atreus felt curiosity rise in him and asked. "Why that?"
"We spoke to the town's people, and the problem is greater than we thought." Atreus debated whether or not to tell his father the truth... He decided to grin and bear it. "Do you think there's magic involved?"
"We wouldn't be surprised," Atreus stopped eating and explained the situation beside the drinking.
"You should know better than to drag someone into danger," Mimir scolded Atreus.
"What was I supposed to do, let him go by himself?"
"You were supposed to talk him out of it," Kratos added.
"Look, I tended to the injury and now we know what has been responsible for half the problems in this town." Atreus retaliated as he looked at his father, waiting for a response.
"If what you say is true, then we should prepare."
"We'll find someone, and y'all can prepare the wedding preparations; you might need to go to Brok and Sindri for some help," Atreus suggested to his father. With that, the family finished eating. The family would leave the town, and Kratos opened the Bifrost. Atreus said goodbye to his family when they left. Atreus immediately ran back to the Inn, hoping to find Skjoldr; thankfully, he did.
"Hide the bottles." Atreus didn't need to be told twice, as he raced upstairs into his room and quickly closed the door behind him. He quickly grabbed the bottles from underneath the bed and headed out the door. Thankfully, there was no one in the hallway, and he hurriedly got rid of the bottle with no witnesses. With that problem out of the way, he re-entered the Inn after getting rid of the bottle and tried to find Skjoldr, which he did.
"Who stole the alcohol? Your mother needs that alcohol right now... I don't have time for this shit!"
"My mother might have already gotten the alcohol." This must have calmed down the man; the man would leave the conversation, causing Atreus to walk up to his friend.
"Are you sure your family won't need the alcohol?" Atreus asked as they entered his room.
"I feel like we have bigger things to worry about, so where can we find someone?"
"Maybe a coal miner?" Atreus suggested, and Skjoldr thought about it. And then lit up.
"There's a man at the outskirts of the village, who isn't married; we can try that, though it's near the forest and I'm not ready to encounter the Huldra again," Skjoldr sighed. Atreus thought about what to do until he had a crazy idea. Atreus grabbed a fistful of sand and took off the outer layer of his tunic and applied sand onto his clothes, and put the clothes back on.
He grabbed a bit more sand and whispered some words that Skjoldr couldn't make out. He rubbed the sand all over his face. Skjoldr looked at his friend with genuine concern, wondering whether he had lost his mind. He decided not to question it once he thought back about all the things they encountered last night. 'At this point, nothing can phase me.'
Atreus stared directly at the reflection of the water as he began touching his face in awe. The other boy began walking up to his friend and looked at the water, only to see a girl. He looked between his friend and the water in shock.
"Wow, magic is... crazy. Wait! Wait, so does everyone see you as a girl?" Skjoldr tried to wrap his head around this weird situation.
"Well... Let's find out?" With that, they left the room and walked through the town.
"So why do I see you as... you?" Skjoldr asked as he waved his hand in front of Atreus.
"It might be due to the iron ring." With that, Atreus began to notice all the beautiful wedding preparations.
"We need to go!" Skjoldr instantly stated, as he quickly started to walk towards the entrance of the town, only to be stopped.
"Skjoldr! Stop goofing off and help your family?" Skjoldr's face turned red as everyone turned to face him.
"Where have you been! I-" The woman cut herself as she turned to face the young girl before her. "Oh, hello, who must you be?" Atreus didn't expect the spell to work. He? She? didn't expect to run into anyone.
"Oh, um," Atreus tried to think of a name on the top of his head. "Lillemor. Pleasure to meet you, Skjoldr told me a lot about you," Loki/Lillemor mentioned. Skjoldr glanced at his friend and panicked.
"Oh, he does. What does he say?" She stared at her son, causing Skjoldr to be overwhelmed with fear.
"He constantly talks about you and how grateful he is that you support him," Lillemor praised the woman, which caused the mother to feel a wave of pride wash over her.
"Oh, my boy... now come on, let's prepare for the wedding. Would you like to tag along?" Lillemor agreed, so that they may see how a wedding worked. They followed the family to see the wedding preparations.
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Lillemor followed the family near the woods and saw some stunning wedding preparations. The place was perfect for a wedding; the flower arrangement was lovely, featuring daisies, crocuses, and bluebells. Which were fitting for a wedding, the altar was also nicely prepared to make a sacrifice for a successful marriage.
"Skjoldr, go and put the chairs in the row. Lillemor, may you please place the flowers by the altar?" Lillemor grabbed the flowers and prepared them. Once they finished, they placed them by the altar, while doing so, Lillemor was able to listen to an interesting rumor.
"Yeah, I heard Olle is still hung up on her, even planning on marrying her, yet the groom arrived offering quite a dowry," The man sighed and continued. "I'll pray to Freya for that boy," The people were silenced once the mother walked by. Lillemor finished organizing the flowers, receiving praise from the mother.
"Thank you, dear. You seem quite interested in the wedding."
"My father and I are preparing a wedding for my older cousin. So, I couldn't help but be curious. Do you need any help?"
"You're too kind, it's alright, we can handle the rest." With that, Lillemor left the venue, heading back into town. Lillemor walked through the market and stopped in front of a food stall, selling a variety of fresh goods.
"Little lady! Would you like something to eat?"
"No, thanks. Do you have baked goods?" On cue, an older woman arrived with a basket full of freshly baked goods, enough to make Lillemor's mouth water.
"How many would you like, dear?"
"Three would be good," The woman handed Lillemor a bowl of bread, while Lillemor handed the money and left the village, not without people trying to sell them things.
"Earrings for the lovely lady?"
"Lassie, you interested in a pretty dress?" Thankfully, they left with no further problems.
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Despite fighting the Huldra in the dark, Lillemor was able to retrace her steps, though they stopped before heading further. Knowing they had to do something important before meeting with the Huldra. Lillemor encountered a squirrel and a weasel. They knelt and began talking to them.
"May you help gather some fruit?" The squirrel chirped. "Yeah, some nuts are fine." With that, the animals left came back while Lillemor sat down and began drawing the Huldra. They hoped that their father was doing well. Lillemor finished the drawing, and once they finished, the animals came back with fruits and nuts.
"Thanks! I appreciate," Lillemor patted the animals on their heads and grabbed a piece of bread and split it in half, handing it to the animals. Lillemor took the fruits and nuts and stood up and kept walking, heading to the Huldra's layer. They eventually arrived and felt the same overwhelming fear they felt that night. The Huldra looked at Lillemor, causing a wave a dread to wash over Lillemor, despite that they carefully walked forward and gave her the offerings.
The Huldra merely looked at Lillemor, and for a moment, Lillemor was afraid that they were caught. Fortunately, the Huldra accepted the offerings, and with that, Lillemor swiftly left before anything happened.
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Lillemor left the forest and found the home of the coal miner. They knocked on the door, waiting for a response. 'Is he not home?' Just as they were about to leave, a young man with dark brown hair opened the door. "How may I help you?"
"Would you like to get married?" The man merely looked at the girl before him and sighed, clearly too exhausted to put up with this.
"Kid, just leave. I don't have time for this shit!" Just as the man was about to close the door, Lillemor continued.
"I'm not joking! Here, let me show you." Lillemor grabbed the door and almost swung the door open with the force they had almost forgotten. 'Damn. I forgot I was a Jotnar for a minute.' The man simply stared at the girl before him and couldn't help but stare in awe. He sighed.
"Come on, it," The man stepped to the side, allowing the girl to enter his home, clearly defeated. 'This has to be some supernatural written all over. Thor all-mighty, what did I do?' The house was small and simple, yet it was nicely lived in.
"So... How old are you?"
"26"
"And you're still single?" There was a moment of awkward silence.
"Are you into the company of men?"
"What! No, it's just personal things came up." This man sat down, causing Lillemor to follow and sit across from the man.
"My parents are getting desperate for me to settle down, yet I've been so busy. I don't have the time." With that, Lillemor pulled out their sketchbook and showed him the sketch of the Huldra. The man stared at the sketch in shock.
"That woman. She was here a couple of nights ago. There was something strange about her, yet she spent the night, and then she disappeared... Is she a Huldra?" They said nothing, which gave the man his answer.
"If you marry her, her power will go away, and your parents will get off your back."
"Are there any requirements?"
"Have the wedding preparation ready, satisfy her.... Oh, and treat her with respect, that one is the most important," The man stopped and agreed.
"My parents are coming in a couple of days, so when's the wedding?"
"The day of Frigg, so your wedding will be blessed." The man was fine with the answer, and after they finished talking, he showed them the door. As Lillemor left the home, the man called out.
"Wait! Young lady, what's your name?"
"Loki or L-Lillemor... either one is fine!" Lillemor felt awkward after accidentally giving both names. 'Well, there goes my disguise.'
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As Lillemor walked closer to the town, they undid the spell. As he entered town, he realized that most of the villagers must have been at the wedding, making the place nearly empty. As Atreus walked around the town, enjoying the peacefulness, he saw a panicked Skjoldr running up to him.
"Loki! Loki! My sister! My sister!"
"Hey, hey, calm down! What's going on!?"
"My sister is marrying a Huldrekall!" Atreus froze, not knowing what to do. "Stop the wedding!"
"W-what! How!?"
"I don't know! Distract them, object, something!" Atreus ran to the nearest house, which was thankfully unlocked and empty. He grabbed a steel pan and swiftly ran to the wedding venue. Seeing a young man, whom he assumed was Olle, objecting to the wedding, while Skjoldr stood and watched. Atreus shoved the man to the side and smashed the steel pan on top of the Huldrekall head.
The creature fell onto the ground, groaning in pain. The villagers began yelling once they recovered from shock. Screaming profanities at Atreus, he was confused for a moment until he recalled the Huldrekall's enchantment. Atreus reached for his belt to grab some sand, just as he was about to throw it at the bride's father, he was apprehended by an older man behind him.
"Let me go! That's a Huldrekall!" Atreus tried to fight and free himself, only to fail.
"Oh, yes, and I'm a troll." During the struggle, the leather pouch on his belt fell off.
'What do I do!? Do I turn into a bear!? No, no, no, that won't work?' Atreus was able to gather some of his strength and break free. Atreus tried to grab the leather pouch, only to feel a strong bash in the back of his head.
"Loki!" Atreus felt his body be drained of all his energy, as he felt his eyes grow heavy, and he fell to the ground. The last thing he saw was Skjoldr trying to run to him.
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Atreus felt a sharp sting in the back of his head. As he sat up, he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. It was disgustingly overwhelming, yet it wasn't enough for him to puke. Atreus put his hand on his head, only to find himself chained to the wall. 'Where am I?' Atreus thought as he looked around the empty and cold cell. Atreus tried his best to stand, only to feel an immense wave of sickness and pain cover him like a wet blanket.
Atreus immediately sat down, hoping to ease the pain. Once the pain became slightly bearable, he tried to use his magic, only for it to weakly come out. Atreus tried for a couple of minutes, only for him to feel more tired each time. 'I should just stick to regeneration.' Atreus closed his eyes and tried to focus, recalling his father's words.
After some time, Atreus heard footsteps coming his way. "Loki!" Atreus looked up to see the guard unlocking the door and allowing Skjoldr inside the cell, locking the door behind him.
"Did you get my pouch of sand?" Skjoldr couldn't look at Atreus.
"About that... After you were knocked unconscious, the guards took it. Unless your father arrives, you won't be able to get it back." Atreus let out a disappointed sigh.
"And the wedding?"
"They're getting married in three days."
"Olle?"
"He has it the worst. Many people believe he was responsible for everything that happened... So, what now?" Atreus didn't know what to do now, but he knew he had to do something.
"I don't know?"
"Can't you just, I don't know, magically break out of her?"
"Who do you think I am, the All-Father!?" Atreus felt bad for snapping at Skjoldr, but the concussion wasn't helping him.
"I'll try to gather my strength," Skjoldr was satisfied with that. At that moment, the guard arrived, notifying that visiting hours were over.
"I'll try to check on you tomorrow," Atreus simply nodded as he left. Atreus felt miserable as he tried to recover his strength. The chains on his wrist didn't make Atreus feel any better; they reminded him of how pathetic he felt. He ultimately decided to get some sleep, hoping to recover.
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Atreus awoke to the sound of a familiar voice. "Atreus." Atreus simply looked up at his father, hoping he didn't look like a mess. The guard unlocked the door, walked in, and unlocked the chains on his wrist.
"What did you do?" Kratos asked. Atreus sighed.
"It's always what did I do, never what did they do for me to do what I did?"
"Enough," Kratos stated. There was a moment of silence, only for Mimir to speak up.
"We heard you hit the groom on the head... Why?"
"Because he was a Huldrekall," Kratos just sighed, and the guard gave him the pouch of sand. He looked at the sand with suspicion, and he looked back at his son.
"You hit an innocent person, because you thought he was a Huldrekall?"
"No, he is a Huldrekall?" Atreus finally got the chains removed from his feet.
"Can I have my sand back?" Kratos looked at the pouch and kept it to himself. "So, what now?" Atreus asked.
"I'll take you to Freya, and we're going home."
"What!? No!"
"Atreus-"
"So, you trust strangers over your own son-"
"Atreus!" Kratos raised his voice, causing Atreus's blood to boil.
"You've seen things no one can comprehend, but a troll taking the form of a human to marry a woman is something you can't comprehend!?"
"Lad! That's enough!" Mimir started to raise his voice.
"So, you can't comprehend it either?"
"You gone mad-"
"No! I've gone sane!"
"Enough!" Kratos yelled once more, causing Atreus and Mimir to quiet down.
"Where leaving?" Atreus couldn't argue with his father. "Can I at least say goodbye to Skjoldr?" Atreus pleaded with his father, who merely looked at him.
"No."
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Atreus sat down as Freya tended to his concussion. "He's fine, he just needs rest for a couple of hours," Freya stated as she handed some medicine to Kratos.
"And this?" Kratos handed Freya the leather pouch of sand. She just looked at the pouch of sand and noticed nothing wrong.
"It's just a normal sand, nothing special," Kratos looked at his son was about to hand the pouch back to his son.
"Where did you get this?" Atreus looked at the pouch of sand and couldn't respond. What will he tell him? He went to sleep, woke up, and it was under his pillow. He wouldn't believe him.
"A promise, like a promise you made with mom," That's all Atreus could say, knowing he had to protect Angrboda. Kratos stayed quiet for a while. He remembered what happened at the wedding and finally handed the pouch of sand back to his son.
"Show me." With that, Atreus poured some sand onto his hand and blew it on his father's face. 'This should show him.' Atreus thought about it mischievously.
Kratos blinked a couple of times and began to look around, noticing how everyone looked at him, seeing him differently. Which prominently confused Kratos. Atreus poured water into a bowl and a cup. Atreus walked up to his father and handed him the bowl full of water.
"Look." Kratos looked at the water and nearly dropped the bowl. He began touching his face as it looked inhuman and monstrous. Atreus took the water bowl from his father's hands and set it aside. Atreus grabbed the water cup and splashed his father's face with water. Atreus tried his best to hold back his laughter, making his concussion slightly bearable. Kratos was surprised as he whipped the water off his face. Atreus gave his father the water bowl, and Kratos looked into the reflection of the water, seeing his face again.
"How?" Atreus handed his father a towel to clean his face.
"I can cast illusions onto people, or I can allow them to see through the tricks," Atreus attached the pouch of sand to his belt, feeling quite relieved to have it back. The smell brought him a strange sense of comfort, since it reminded him of Angrboda and his promise to her.
"So, can we go back to town and finish what we started?" Kratos stayed quiet for some time and eventually agreed.
"We'll go once you recover," Which gave Atreus some relief knowing he could see Skjoldr again.
"Your commission is ready!" Atreus walked up to the forge to see the shiny golden pair of rings and the nicely crafted sword. Atreus had to hold himself back from touching the objects. Atreus felt his concussion flare up again, and his father noticed this.
"Go to bed," Kratos mentioned, as he handed his son his medicine. With that, Atreus headed to his room and took his medicine, heading to bed.
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The wedding was starting in an hour. Atreus walked into the town, seeing the same empty ghost town he had seen a couple of days ago. Atreus looked around the town. He saw Skjoldr and ran up to him. Skjoldr noticed this and lit up.
"Loki! Where have you been?"
"Busy, what's been going on?" Skjoldr sighed at such a question.
"My sister is getting married, and I did all I could do." Atreus stopped to think.
"Do you have access to the kitchens?" Skjoldr was confused by the question but agreed. With that, Atreus grabbed a large amount of sand and whispered his intent into it. He wrapped the sand into a piece of cloth and handed it to Skjoldr.
"Put the sand into the food and alcohol, then everyone will see the Huldrekall." With that knowledge, Atreus ran swiftly to the kitchens. With that in place, Atreus and Kratos quickly began walking around the town looking for a specific person. It wasn't until they entered a tavern that they found who they were looking for.
"Olle! What are you doing?"
"Leave me alone. Kid, I'm not in the mood," Atreus could smell the alcohol reeking off of the man; he couldn't help but feel bad for the man.
"So, you're not going to fight for her? -" Atreus cut himself off, bit his lip, and decided to say the stupidest thing he couldn't imagine saying. "Do you even love her?"
"Atreus!" Kratos yelled out, which caused Olle to grab Atreus by the collar.
"Shut your mouth! You know nothing! -"
"The groom isn't human, and the woman you love will be engaged to something inhuman. So, are you going to sit and cry or are you going to do something about it?" Olle sat down and stared at his cup in disappointment.
"What can I even do?" Atreus pulled out his knife and handed it to Olle.
"Kill it. The Huldrekall should be weak due to the head injury." The man merely looked at the knife and then grabbed it before leaving. Olle downed the rest of his drink.
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Atreus and Kratos sat down on a hill, having a surprisingly nice view of the wedding. Sadly, Atreus was unable to attend the wedding due to his past behavior. 'I could have entered as Lillemor?' Everyone got quiet. Once the music started playing, the young lady started walking down the aisle. Thankfully, the wedding went without a hitch, and the wedding would eventually come to an end.
Before anyone left for the mead hall, some of the people began to participate in the wedding festivities. The food arrived and was nicely set up. The smell was intoxicating; it caused Atreus to take deep breaths as he started realizing how hungry he was. The guest began indulging themselves in the food and drinks. Enjoying the wedding and celebrating the married couple. 'Why would the rest of the wedding be held outside and not in the Mead Hall?' Atreus decided to brush off the question and focus on what mattered.
"Should be happening any moment now," on cue, a woman yelled, pointing at the Huldrekall. No one said anything, and in this moment of stillness. Skjoldr snuck Olle into the wedding. He ran up to the groom and stabbed him. Only then did the crowd break out in cheers, as they gathered any nearby weapons and began driving out the creature.
"Come on, let's go," Atreus told his father, as they headed down to the wedding, being greeted by Skjoldr. "It worked!?"
"Yeah! No shit!" Atreus cheered as they went to check on Olle and the ex-wife. Olle's hands were covered in red, as his girlfriend helped clean him up. Seeing the younger boy, Olle stood up and handed him the bloody knife.
"Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to us," Olle mentioned, now holding his girlfriend's hand.
"I don't think I should be receiving all the credit?" At that moment, the villagers returned, clearly exhausted from driving the creature out of town. Eventually, people began to settle down and enjoy the rest of the evening, despite the wedding being ruined. After all, people didn't want the food to go to waste.
"So, what do we do with the Huldra?" Atreus stopped eating and thought about what to do.
"Go to the Gothi and try to schedule a wedding for Friday. I'll handle thee Huldra," with that, they enjoyed the rest of the party.
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Atreus stood in front of the forest with his offerings. "You can wait here. I'll be back," before Atreus could leave, his father placed his hand on his son's shoulder.
"Be careful," Atreus nodded and headed into the forest. The moment he was out of his father's line of sight, he grabbed some of his sand and covered himself with it. Atreus looked at the reflection of the pond and found a girl staring back. Lillemor headed to the Huldra's layer with a bowl of offerings. 'Hope this pleases her,' Lillemor finally arrived, seeing the Huldra sitting ideal.
Lillemor carefully approached the creature, who eerily turned to face them. This caused Lillemor to freeze, as the Huldra didn't move. Even then, they kept walking and offered her gifts to the Huldra; in turn, the creature smiled and offered her own gifts. Lillemor didn't understand, and as much as the gifts looked tempting. They politely turned them down.
"Would you like to get married?" The Huldra looked uninterested in the question, and they pulled out their sketchbook and flipped a couple of pages. 'I'm so grateful I drew him before arriving here.' It's only when they showed the drawing of the dark-haired young man did the Huldra perked up. Lillemor noticed and asked.
"So does Friday sound good?" Neither did anything for a while, and ultimately, the Huldra agreed. With that, Lillemor felt relief wash over them and decided to leave.
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Lillemor walks alongside Kratos as they arrive at the man's house. Lillemor knocked on the door and waited for a response. Just as they were about to leave, an elderly couple opened the door. The pair just stared at each other for a moment until the soon-to-be groom spoke up.
"You've arrived, please sit." Lillemor/Loki and their father entered the home and sat down. The elderly couple made way for the other pair and sat down alongside the family. 'Did he catch his family up to speed... how awkward.' The elderly couple waited for a response from the father and daughter until the young man spoke up.
"Did she agree?"
"Yep! The wedding on Friday is going to happen in the evening." The family was quite pleased with this news.
"Oh, my son is finally becoming a man," The mother whispered, wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye. The father was still quite skeptical, yet he was desperate for his son and let out a sigh. With everything in place, Lillemor and their father were about to leave when the older woman grasped Lillemor's hand.
"Oh, thank you, lass the gods have blessed us," Lillemor simply smiled, and with that, the family left. Once they left the man's home, Mimir curiously asked.
"Why did they call you las?... Laddie?"
"I used my sand to disguise myself,"
"So, you're a lass?"
Lillemor patted himself down, gathering the golden sand, and put it back into the leather pouch. "Not anymore." Atreus chuckled. They headed to the world between worlds and gathered the golden rings and the sword. "Ready for the wedding preparations?"
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The days went by in a daze between wedding preparations, Huldra offerings, and helping the village. Thankfully, he had help with the man's family, his father, and Skjoldr, helping whenever he had the chance, which was needed. The day arrived, and Atreus fell back onto the bed of the Inn. He allowed sleep to engulf him for an hour, knowing he had to be the one to go get the bride. He closed his eyes, trying to gather some much-needed rest for the busy evening.
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Atreus looked at himself, looking nicely dressed in a simple and new tunic. Atreus took some of his sand and smeared it on his clothes and skin, drastically changing his appearance to that of a young girl now wearing a simple dress. They grabbed the sword and pocketed the golden rings, and they headed out the door, towards the forest.
They eventually found the Huldra in the form of a beautiful black-haired woman that has terrorized the town and wreaked havoc. She truly was beautiful; there was no denying it. They carefully walked up to the creature, who turned around with a smile.
"You ready?" With that, the Huldra walked in front of Lillemor and headed to her wedding. The sun began to set, blending the sky with a lovely color of orange and pink; the colors shone nicely onto the Huldra, making her look otherworldly, which she is. Her long black hair draped over her back and shoulders, covering the tree bark on her back.
Her long black hair had small braids, giving her hair a simple yet elegant style. She had a beautiful flower crown on top of her head with an assortment of flowers, making it loud and clear who the bride was. She wore a simple white dress with embroidered designs and runes engraved onto the bottom and sleeves of the dress. Lillemor looked at the sleeves, noticing an all too familiar rune 'Wunjo.'
She smelled ancient, like pinewood, like the earth after it rained, like the dirt that covers the world, like moss, like mint. Yet she also smelled of iron, blood, and decomposition. Proof of her murders and her survival. It was as if she were the frost itself, neither friend nor foe, wild and unpredictable, yet neutral, strangely enough. The smells were so strong that the intermix of smells was intoxicating, enough to suffocate them. They'd wondered how strong the smell would be if they were a wolf or a bear; They didn't dwell on it for too long, since the sounds of the guest became louder the closer they got, making them focus in front of them and not on her scent.
They eventually made it to the wedding, which brought a lot of relief to Lillemor, thankful it wasn't a trap. The people began to quiet down, and the music was heard clearly. The groom was dressed elegantly in leather, nicely groomed, and he stood tall in front of the Gothi. His parents were standing by the groom's side. The moment she stepped on the altar, her cow's tail fell off. Lillemor noticed this and quickly picked it up and hid it, making sure no one noticed it. Lillemor held the cow's tail, and it felt warm and soft, yet it felt weird to hold such a thing, something so alive like a limb. They quickly hid it on their person.
Once everything was in place, the wedding began. Lillemor stood beside the bride, waiting for their turn.
"The rings," with the order, Lillemor handed the groom the pair of rings. He slides the ring onto the woman's finger.
"The swords," Lillemor handed the woman the new sword, while the groom's family handed him the family heirloom. The couple exchanges swords.
The family pulled out what were assumed to be handkerchiefs, most likely family heirlooms. Lillemor also pulled out some braided cords and began binding the couple's hands alongside the parents. Once these preparations were in place, the Gothi got the sow up on the altar.
"Shall Freya bless this union of this young couple." Lillemor held back a chuckle, yet she still hoped the couple lived happily. The Gothi sacrificed the sow and gathered its blood in a bowl. He dipped fir twigs into the bloody bowl and sprinkled them onto the young couple, staining the couple and the altar.
"Do you accept this woman as your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do."
"Do you accept this man as your lawfully wedded husband?" There was a moment of short silence that scared Lillemor, which was quickly muffled.
"I do." At that moment, the newly married couple and the families raced to the mead hall. Some guests followed while others stayed behind and partook in the wedding games, despite the sun being long gone and the sky now being littered with stars. Many people still had fun, whether it be with archery or axe throwing, with laughter quickly filling the air.
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The feast was incredible! The long wooden table was overflowing with food and drinks, including meats, baked goods, fresh fruits, and a variety of side dishes. Drinks were passed around, as people drank to their hearts' content. Something Lillemor couldn’t partake despite how sweet the alcohol smelled.
“Looks like the wedding was a success! Good job, lass.” Mimir proudly praised Lillemor. With that, Kratos gently squeezed their child’s shoulder. Lillemor smiled at such praise.
“You should also thank Skjoldr; he has been a big help even before the wedding,” Lillemor added. The father thought about their child's words. Lillemor looked at the ale being passed down and shared among others, and couldn't help but ask.
"Do you think I could have my first cup of alcohol?" Lillemor asked, as they stared at their father for an answer. Kratos stared back and simply responded. "No." Lillemor wasn't as disappointed; they almost expected such a response. Hell, no, is their father's favorite word at this point. Lillemor stared at the newly married couple and decided to go check on them.
"I'm going to go check on the married couple." The father didn't say anything and allowed it. Lillemor left, heading to the newlyweds, seeing them sharing a drinking horn. The groom and bride saw Lillemor walking up to them and got ecstatic.
"Here to wish us well?" The groom and wife shared a drink, clearly happy to see the person responsible for their wedding. Lillemor handed the newlywed a wooden talisman with the Wunjo rune, among others, engraved onto the wood.
"I wish you well." The couple joyfully accepted the wedding gift, and just as Lillemor was about to leave, they stopped themselves.
"One more thing-" Lillemor's voice dropped low enough for the groom to hear. Lillemor grabbed the groom's hand to make sure they had their full attention. The man focused intensely on the girl in front of him, only for that girl to vanish, as he now sees a young boy. Even then, they do not let go of the groom's hand.
"Treat your wife with respect. I cannot stress this enough because if you don't, you'll be dealing with more than a divorce and an empty wallet." The groom stared at the boy in front of him. They let go of their hand, and the man blinked, now seeing a young girl. Lillemor worried whether they had placed such a huge responsibility on the mortal man.
'I hope he gets the message.'
"I give you my word." With that, Lillemor felt at ease and left, wishing the couple a happy marriage.
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Lillemor walked up to see Skjoldr's mother talking with their father. Once they were in sight, the mother thanked the father and left.
"What did y'all talk about?"
"She wanted to talk about your wedding preparations."
"Guess I did a good job. Do you think I could become a wedding planner?" Lillemor and Mimir chuckled at the joke. Lillemor began enjoying the rest of the evening with their family and Skjoldr. The celebration would eventually die down, and the couple would leave to consummate the marriage. As much as Lillemor wanted to stay up and enjoy the festivities a little bit longer, they felt overwhelmed with drowsiness and decided to head to bed.
"I'm heading to bed, good night." Lillemor left the mead hall, and once they made it far enough from the mead hall and from the wedding festivities, they gathered the golden sand from their clothes and put it away, taking his original form, letting out a yawn.
"Loki! Looks like the wedding was successful."
"Yeah! Thanks for everything... Sorry for dragging you into this," Atreus uttered, as they both began walking towards the Inn.
"Are you kidding!? This was the most exciting thing all week, like imagine me telling my grandkids this one day."
"I can just imagine your grandkids being like. Yeah, grampa, we know." They both began to laugh at that dumb joke, and they ultimately arrived at the Inn.
"Take care," Skjoldr concluded, as he waved goodbye.
"You too." With that, they parted ways. Atreus entered his room and fell face-first on his pillow, allowing fatigue to engulf him. The final thing he thought about before going to sleep was Angrboda, as he held onto his leather pouch. Drifting off to sleep. 'I wonder what Angrboda would say?'
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It's been a couple of days since the wedding, and Kratos found himself walking around the town, ensuring everything was okay after the town events. He would ultimately run into Skjoldr.
"Oh. Hi, is everything okay?" The father nodded and recalled his son's words.
"Thank you for everything."
"Oh, it's nothing," Skjoldr added, with Kratos handed the boy a small medicinal container, causing the boy to stare at it blankly.
"For the injury."
"Thanks, it's all but healed now... but thanks nonetheless." The boy pocketed the container. Just then, a woman yelled out, causing the boy to leave.
"Tell Loki I said hi." Skjoldr waved the father goodbye and left. Having no reason to stay, Kratos left.