The dreamworld takes Sweiza peacefully. Despite their current ‘mission objective’, she feels completely safe. Perhaps it is because she is in good company. Speaking of good company, she is prepared for what awaits her in the dreamworld.

She is sitting on the chair at the bow of the ‘Gigas Dura’. She sweeps the ocean and then the landscape with Strife’s spyglass. Crystal clear skies all around; woods stretch clear up to the beach. Untamed country indeed. She smiles and muses to herself until she turns the spyglass to something blocking her view. She lowers the spyglass from her position of leaning over; she looks up. It is Demi. He doesn’t speak.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what I desire?” Sweiza says it half cocky. She turns her body away from him as she does so.

Demi says nothing.

Sweiza turns back around. She sees him gazing off into the woods. He turns around to face her. He looks as though he is about to say something, but he is shaking. Sweiza’s eyes narrow as she points his finger at her.

“You stu…” She stops. Demi motions at something behind her.

She turns her head around. She sees it. White hair, and blackness where the eyes should be. It is slowly coming out of the ocean. She turns around to Demi for help, but he is gone. She turns back around. She quickly runs for the cabin. Where are Strife and Lukas? Wait, this is a dream. No, a nightmare!

She sees it deep in her consciousness. The being slowly rising from the lake. It has an ugly long nose, its face looks flushed from drinking too much. It’s hair is tied into a long pony tail.

It continues to emerge upward.

Sweiza feels the whole ship rock. She knows in herself that the whole ship has been picked up by the thing’s hands.

It’s a giant!

It’s now waist high out of the water. It is covered in nothing more than an animal skin vest, wearing a necklace of wolf teeth. Are those teeth of the Fenris Wolf?

She doesn’t have time to mull it. The giant continues to emerge until the tops of its boots are just out of the water. They have a lining of fur on them. Maybe they are winter boots?

Again she is jolted back to reality as she feels the boat rocking.

She hides herself under the table. But she stifles a scream as she sees that terrible thing’s black eye sockets looking through the cabin’s window. It’s hand changes position around the ship. She sees the view of his face raise above the boat; he must be lowering it. She sees his other arm and his legs moving. He is walking towards shore!

She feels a huge jolt and things in the cabin are thrown about. She doesn’t see it from the cabin, but she sees it in her own mind’s eye. The giant has stopped. He looks down at his free hand. A chain appears on it. A giant and mighty chain.

He tries to pull against it, but it holds firm.

Sweiza sees something else. It is the eyes of an alligator, wait, no a serpent. A leviathan? Is it Jormungand?

The thing slowly rises from the water at the giant’s feet. It coils itself around his leg and his body. It’s coils appear all over the giant. The boat is dropped in free fall. Sweiza sees in her mind that this is indeed the legendary serpent “Jormungand”. It has wrapped itself around him entirely and leans its head above Loki. It’s mouth opens and venom drips from its fangs. The giant cannot be seen, but the form of his body coiled by the massive serpent shakes and flails. The ocean moves with deliberation and swells and waves rock the boat and landscape. An earthquake, the ground is shaking!

The chains stretching from the ocean to inside the coils of the serpent, begin to glow with a white and yellow light. The chain shrinks to within the serpent. A strange shape extends from the coil’s of the snake. It appears to be some kind of boomerang, but a very strange lookig onen. It has a pole sticking out of it. Wait, no, it is a hammer. It’s Thor’s Hammer. It glows with a white light as it raises and crashes down into one of the coils of the serpent.

Sweiza hears a scream…

And then a shuffle and commotion.

“Vera!”

The voice rouses her attention, and she lets out a murmur.

“Vera!”

She again murmurs. She feels something touching her shoulders.

She feels a sharp pain across her cheeck. She snaps to and the surroundings change.

Her eyes jump to alert status and she bolts up. As she hits her sitting position, her forehead narrowly misses Strife.

“Vera, you were screaming. Did you have a bad dream?”

Sweiza’s eyes widen as the mental fog and the fogginess of her eyesight slowly come to. Sweiza simply nods.

“What was it about?”

“I saw a giant pick up the ship. He became ensared in a chain as he tried to walk with the ship towards land. He became caught in Jormungand’s coils also. The giant’s chains formed into what I think was Thor’s Hammer and he brought it down upon the serpent and then I started to feel pain.

Sweiza reaches up towards her cheek with her left hand. She narrows her eyes at Strife.

“You chose to stay in a bad dream and not the land of the living.” Strife stretches her fingers as she says it.

“What did the giant look like?” Lukas says it with some suspicion.

“A white pony tail, a long nose, his face was flush like he was drunk. There was blackness where his eyes should be.”

Lukas’s eyes close as he nods and his arms cross. Sweiza continues, “He had an animal hide vest on with fur towards the neck cuff. His boots also had fur on them, but he was so large his boots were only just barely above water level. What else? He had a necklace of wolf teeth; I think maybe from the ‘Fenris Wolf’? His pants seem tanned like any other set I’ve seen. Do you know of him?”

Lukas opens his eyes and his face looks grim.

“That is Master Lokisenna. He knows we are here.”

—

Early that morning went as the two Valkyrie expected. Lukas refused to join them ashore; this isn’t his mission, but more importantly his ship cannot move to far inland. Instead, it will need to be anchored while they take one of the lifeboats (dinghy as Lukas calls it) to shore. Then the two are on there own.

And then they were on their own.

Sweiza is the first off of the small boat.

“Vera, come back here, help me pull this ashore!”

Sweiza turns back to her mentor. The boat is already ashore, why woul…

“Vera, it’ll drift off. Get back here!”

With nothing better to do. Sweiza simply starts walking backwards. Strife is not amused.

“Vera, this is not the time to be doing this! This is wild country and Loki is about us. Stay vigilant!”

Sweiza rolls her eyes. Loki is a forgotten legend chained up in a cave. Nightmares be damned.

Strife is aleady out of the boat with her back turned to Sweiza. She doesn’t catch the eyeroll. Sweiza does help her pull the small lifeboat ashore.

Sweiza is ready to head off in the direction of the woods again. Strife readily grabs her by her arms. Sweiza turns around with her hand midswing to slap her across the face. Strife’s gauntlet catches it. Strife hold the girl firmly restraining her hand; her armored gauntlet comes crashing into the girl’s ribs. The girl has no time to be surprised as he body slackens and her arms come down to the tender spot on her ribcage. She looks up with her eyes watering at Strife. Strife is tapping her foot with her arms crossed; a deliberate and displeased expression adorns the woman’s face.

“That nightmare of your’s is a premonition of the future. I’m not going to warn you again. Next time you can stay behind. I will not help you if you get into trouble.”

Strife’s arms drop. Her heels click together. She sets off for the woods without Sweiza.

Sweiza is left to mull her bitter contempt. Then the thought fills her mind, a nightmare and a premonition? Maybe Demi? He has helped her before. Maybe a premonition of the future? And what of Loki then? Would this tricker give them visions of ill omen and ruin? Sweiza looks down. Her arms are craddled. The pain in her ribs has subsided. She quickly fushes up to Strife.

One thing is clear. This Strife is just as potent as her older counterpart in the future. These confrontations will be avoided in the future.

—

Originally Odin was simply content to hunt with his Fenris Wolves Gerri and Frekki. They were well known for their keen sense of smell and always being able to bring him to a kill. While it is true they were loyal to a fault, they had one flaw. They names meant ‘the ravenous one’ and ‘the greedy one’ for a reason. They were relentless in their chase. Odin often had trouble pulling them back from their frenzy once they located his quarry. Once the spear of Gungir finished the hunt, Odin often had trouble controlling the reigns of the two wolves. More often he would have to give up one of his trophy kills in order to satiate them. Odin was content with this for a time. But he wanted more. The world was vast. It was his creation. There were nine realms to explore.

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Within his domicile, at the top floor of the highest tower, a special chamber would be constructed to enhance vision and bring clairvoyance to the nine realms. A high seat would be created for the all father to sit in. No less enchanted, this seat would be constructed of wood imported from the land of Vanir.

The world is a chaotic place, and Odin soon learned that amassing the world’s news was a very chaotic and precarious affair. It was too much information.

The land soon learned of his new pets, “Huginn and Muninn”. They earned the nicknames of ‘Thought’ and ‘Memory’ for a reason. They could be seen flying over head, almost hovering at points, and nosing into the affairs of humans throughout Midgard. They would cross through the treachery of chaos and bring order to this knowledge. It would then be brought to Odin.

During one of their travels, the ravens located one of the roots of Yggdrasil. Odin set out with his wolves. One week of misery and they found it. However, no sooner did Odin turn his back and the root disappeared. Perplexed, he put out a reward for anyone that may find it. It soon became legend that the Yggdrasil’s wood was haunted, as the roots always disappeared the minute people left.

Finally a special chain was constructed. Odin would have the root anchored down. However, when he turned his back, it too disappeared. Odin’s forms became many as he grieved that something could elude his wolves and ravens. How could something outsmart a god?

This went on for decades. Huginn and Munnin multiplied in number, but they were attributed to the same ravens. They found Yggdrasil’s many appearances over the years. More people learned of its existence. The so called “Tree of Life” or “World Tree” was thought to be a legend. Odin hatched his plan. He’d climb the damn thing!

Supposedly the legends state that anyone that climbed the roots and then descended on another, would find themselves in a distant land. Odin wanted this knowledge for himself. However, others in other lands had beaten him to it. When he finally climbed the roots, he found himself in the land of Jotunher. With one of the roots inside a small lake, he found himself suddenly thirsty. He takes a sip and feels the knowledge of the world pouring within his being. He needs this for his moat and high seat. However, for the time being, he would ‘bathe’ in this enchanted water and imbue himself with it. However, no sooner does he fashion a bucket when he finds himself snared and hanging upside down and naked from the root of the world tree itself.

The voice finally asks, “Who trespasses in my well?”

Odin’s voice booms, but the giant isn’t deterred.

“None may drink from Mimir’s well without a sacrifice.”

Odin thinks, he is the all knowing. His spear always hits its mark. Ah! He only needs one eye if he had the knowledge of the well. And so it was written into legend. The giant Mimir outsmartd the allfather and took out his eye for his own (Mimir’s) purposes. Odin was allowed to drink and bathe to his soul’s content. He knew about events that would transpire. Terrible events that would yield the destruction of the world. Known in the modern language as “The Twilight of the Gods”, the Ragnarok would be the end of civilization. Odin would not allow this. He would predict a thousand events and outpredict a thousand events. But he needed more clairvoyance of forethought.

Again at the “Well of Mimir”, he needed water. Again a trade. Odin thinks. His beard is much too valuable. The Spear of Gungir could not be traded, it would violate something people see as a good open. Ah! What if he spared land of Jotunher his word as law? Perhaps a place untamed without his presence, a type of nature preserve. Mimir did not agree with this. Rather, it would be this and more. Odin agreed. Mimir’s well would be outside of Odin’s rule. Mimir would hold sole jurisdiction. However, from that point on, only Odin or Mimir would be allowed to use the well.

…and so his high seat with enhanced reaching vision. All was well, until his son Balder started having nightmares about his (Balder’s) impeding death. This was impossible! Such foolishness! Baldr of all the gods was the most beautiful and favorite of said gods. How could anyone want to kill him? It was only a bad dream, but fate was set and Odin already predicted a thousand outcomes and predicted ways to prevent a thousand outcomes. He sat on his high seat for weeks at a time. He finally knew what would come of his son, but more importantly why it would lead to Ragnarok.

—

Frigg (Odin’s wife) found it an odd question from the maid. Why were only certain plants allowed within the palace walls of Castle Gungir? Frigg didn’t answer. The only fact that mattered is that just as Odin’s word is law throughout Midgard, so too she held absolute authority within the castle. Odin himself could not compete. This lead to many games between the gods, often including wagers over fate. The maid learned of these games. She hatched a plan to reveal the truth.

The fallen were only allowed to be male. They were the warriors, the women were the housekeepers. This was not fair, so explains the maid to Frigg that this was her (Frigg’s) domicile and her word is law. Simply put, women, especially those born of godblood, should be allowed at the table of the fallen. Odin disagrees. However, the maid hatches another plan. A drinking contest between the fallen, warriors and civilian alike.

The results didn’t matter.

What did matter was getting Frigg drunk and getting an answer out of her. Her son had been having disturbing dreams. She used Odin’s knowledge of future events to understand why her son thought he would die. It was uncertain, but it was said to be the spear of Gungir itself. This made no sense. So instead, she would outsmart fate. All beings would swear field loyalty to Odin and swear a blood oath not to harm her son. However, there was one plant she overlooked. Not native to Midgard, it was unusual to find it to begin with. It was mostly confined to the continent of Jotunher. It was also in the lands outside of Odin’s influence, so she ignored it.

Surely Balder would be even more invulnerable than he was before. When the blind god Hodr raised his spear, it was a dazzling sight. However, the euphoria wore off as horror set in. The spear struck Balder. He fell. His health waned from the poisoned spear. It didn’t take long, but the spear’s tip was found to be made of Mistletoe. Loki was the one that handed the spear to Hodr and goaded him into throwing it on the grounds the blind god ‘shouldn’t feel left out’. Further, there were suspicions of the maid being Loki. His mischief knew no ends.

Balder’s fall would be the first step in Ragnarok. His invulnerability was supposed to stay this. But as horror set in, Loki had fled. Odin’s son Hermod mounted his (Odin’s) eight legged steed ‘Sleipnir’ and traveled beyond the realm of Niffleheim to the underworld of Hel. A giant guarded a bridge, he answered her riddles correctly and was granted access to the queen of the underworld for which it was named, Hel.

His plight was simple. Balder must be with the land of the living, otherwise Ragnarok would commence. Hel disagreed. Odin’s law was not relevant here, this was her domicile and domain. However, Hel was not without grace. A great mourning within the land of Midgard to show his (Balder’s) absence was felt and his presence was needed.

Loki’s guile and shapeshifting knew no bounds. As a giantess, as the leader of a growing cult of followers, there were those that did not want Balder’s presence. Ragnarok should commence, and a new world order should arise. Namely, it would be Loki’s influence.

Known in legend as the giantess Tokk, in actuality a shapshifted Loki, she said “Let Hel keep the damned.”

Balder was forever cursed.

Loki was not a welcome saint in the realm of Midgard, let alone Valhalla. However, Odin’s word was law and he had sworn the two as blood brothers. Loki was to be unharmed. However, Loki was banished from the realm of Midgard.

He was not heard from again until that fateful day when Njord held one of his famous feasts within his underwater halls. Loki crashed the ensemble. He was not impressed. Njord’s underwater palace was well outside the limits of Midgard. In retaliation, he killed servant to the feast. He was ousted, but returned. Odin did recant. They were blood brothers. He was allowed to pull up a chair. But it was a ruse. His plan was set into motion. He stood up on the chair, planted one foot on the table and proclaimed his edict to all.

His edict—

The goddess Gefjun slept with men for as little as a necklace; her compliments and prophecising were the words of a harlotte.

Odin is guilty of practicing the magic of a woman; namely foretelling and prophecising. Odin is not a man, but a woman married to a woman (Frigg).

Njord’s walls were unholy; his mouth as foul as the unsavory naysayers that would urinate and defecate in it.

Any of Loki’s crimes he has committed were pale in comparison to the gods that would come to the feast of a god (Njord) who would sleep with his own sister to sire a son.

The god Thor finally had enough and threatened Loki to shut his slander, otherwise his (Thor’s) hammer would be brought to bear. Thor apparently was embarrassed by Loki’s lips and the story of a glove.

Loki finally left with enough threats as the gods grew angrier. He was finally banished from the realm and his existence as a blood brother by Odin denied. Odin ordered him captured. Thor and his legion of the slain (sometimes called the ‘Fallen Warriors’), found themselves with the trouble of the task of bringing the wily god to justice.

Loki was as smart as he was crafty. In Jotunher, he constructed a house with four doors and four mirrors. They allowed him to see anything incoming, as well as any communication throughout the realm. He knew Thor’s legion was coming.

Now being a god, he didn’t go without hunger. He wasn’t smart as far as hunting, but he did know how to fish. So is his nature, he constructed an odd type of net to capture salmon in the nearby stream. From within his chamber of clairvoyance, Odin knew where Loki hid. But by the Thor and legion found him, they only found his campsite and the net. Thor knew of the wily shapeshifter’s devices and threw the net into the stream. They caught him. The thundergod held onto the shapeshifter-now-salmon, and brought him to his final resting place in a torture chamber.

As punishment, Loki’s two sons were turned into a wolf and snake before his eyes. The snake and wolf killed each other. The dead snake’s corpse was fashioned and enchanted into chains that bound Loki to a wall. The snake’s head was fastened above him with its fangs dripping venom onto the mischief making god. His wife, while not rebelling from Valhalla entirely, agreed to help sooth the god’s wounds by holding up a magic bowl with an endless bottom. Sometimes the bowl does fill up, and when it does and while she empties it, the venom from the snake drops down to Loki’s face and he writhes in pain. Now these chains he is bound to are said to be indestructible, so when he writhes in pain and pulls against them, his might as a giant is felt throughout the land. These are where modern day Earthquakes come from.

The chains have developed cracks in them over time, so the legend has become distorted. Eventually the god is said to break free from the chains and will summon (among others), Surt and his army to rain destruction throughout Midgard. The trickster god will finally have his revenge.

—

“What did you think?” A curious and standing Strife says it, holding a stick with cooked game on it; A prize from their earlier hunt. Her form and especially face, lights up from the fire in a spooky form.

Sweiza from her sitting position, simply continues poking the fire with a stick. Perhaps she wasn’t paying attention.

Sprite speaks up first. “That was a stupid story!”

Strife’s head tilts forlorn. “It’s required reading for all Valkyrie. It would do you well to pay attention Vera, and -especially…” Strife points her stick with cooked game on it at the Sprite, “…familiars of said Valkyrie.”

Sweiza looks over at the stick. She looks away. She knows what is coming next.

Strife realizes her mistake, but pulls the stick away too late. Sprite darts at it and takes off with his prize.

Strife sees this as a learning experience, “Much like my mistake with that pest…” She looks off and amused in the direction of the Sprite’s flight path, but turns back to Sweiza, “…you should pay attention to your surroundings. Loki is about us. This is his domain.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Odin’s rules don’t apply here. Loki can change the realm as he sees fit, bla, bla.” Sweiza makes a face with her tongue, then points an accusing glare at Strife, “You didn’t have to punch me earlier!”

Strife smirks. “Maybe. But pain is an excellent motivator.”

“You were nice to me before!” Sweiza says it in defeat.

“Perhaps my future counterpart wanted to train you in an expedited fashion. Perhaps she knew terrible things would happen to you.” Strife says it with her arms crossed, a smirk of moral high ground on her face.

“That, that isn’t true! In fact she…” Sweiza says it in dismay.

“It’s a joke Sweiza. I thought you said I should have fun on occasion.” A smile slowly creeps on the Valkyrie’s face.

A wide eyes Sweiza simply tilts her head at the woman. She’d been outsmarted by her mentor, again.

“I will see you in the morning Vera. Remember, no secrets between Valkyrie. If you have any strange dreams, you tell me about them. It make be a clue to Loki’s location.” Strife attempts to walk off, but is interrupted by Sweiza.

“I still don’t see how any of this has to do with forging Thor’s Hammer.”

Strife turns around, hands on her hips and a very creepy smile worn on her face illuminated by the fire, “If legends be true, the very same chains that bind Loki’s humiliation, are made of the same enchantment that were used to craft Thor’s Hammer.”

Sweiza tilts her head to the other direction, her eyes wide in disbelief. Her mentor smiles once and walks off towards their tent. Strife has won again.