Chapter 278: Illusions of Greatness
11th February 2013, Sayre Manor
(Loki Odinson POV)
Loki was flabbergasted. No one was supposed to know anything regarding the Odinforce. It was Odin’s and his alone. Any attempt at deciphering its secrets was met with an immediate and often fatal retaliation from the All-Father. How did the Morrigan know as much as she did? No matter how powerful she was, she can’t have discovered all of this without the King of Asgard knowing about it.
Seeing him think so hard that steam was nearly coming out of his head, the Morrigan chuckled, “Don’t worry you pretty little head about it. One day you’ll get to sit on the adult table. Unfortunately for you, you’ve still got a long way to go.”
Loki glowered at her. How dare she look down at him. In response to his probably frightening glare – at least to Loki – the woman burst into laughter, “Oh, that’s so cute. Now, come along, let’s go see your brother.”
“Wait, what?”
The Morrigan turned around, her eyes practically twinkling in amusement, “Didn’t you know? I’m Thor’s new teacher now.”
Gaping at the woman, he tried to say something but was absolutely flabbergasted by the woman’s statement, and nothing came out. How in the nine hells did Thor manage to get the Morrigan as his teacher? It’s not like he even needs it; he doesn’t even use magic. Their mother had tried for centuries to get him interested in the magical arts but to no avail. The God of Thunder had tried it for the Frigga’s sake, but he had no talent in the arts.
Thor had decided not to explore the field beyond the basics, preferring the arts of battle which he was extremely talented in. Yes, Loki would never deny that Thor was an exceptional warrior like no other, but he was also wary of exploring things that he is not an expert in.
The Morrigan was without a doubt an expert in the magical arts, and Loki had no idea what she was supposed to teach Thor in the first place. How had Odin managed to find such a fearsome woman to be Thor’s teacher in the first place?
The Morrigan was a figure that’s shrouded in mystery and various tales. Very little was known of her, beyond her terrifying accomplishments, which unsettled the God of Mischief when he learnt that she wasn’t just a tale used to frighten children.
So, Loki doesn’t think that the Morrigan would obey Odin’s commands just because he was a king, which means that there was a mutual agreement between them, one that no one knows about. How interesting. At first, Loki had thought that the Morrigan was speaking to him as the protector of Midgard, not Thor’s teacher. He could use this. He just needed to know the details of the deal between her and Odin.
The God of Mischief put his usual charming smirk on his face and spoke up, “I am curious about your deal with my father…”
The green-eyed woman snorted, “Your attempt at gathering information is very direct and juvenile. From Thor’s tales, I thought you would be a man whose cunning is unmatched in the universe. It seems that he was mistaken.”
Gritting his teeth at his attempts being so obviously rejected. He had successfully fooled buffoons like Thor for so long, that his skills have gotten rusty. His years in prison with almost no contact beyond his mother, that he refused to upset in any way, didn’t help either.
Before he could retort, the Morrigan continued, “However, Odin would have said something if he didn’t want you to know about it, and considering what’s at stake, I believe that you will not betray him. Don’t worry, I will explain what you need to know when we get inside.”
“You seem awfully certain in the fact that I will not betray you or the All-Father.”
She looked amused for some reason, “Because should our plan fail, then you would suffer as much as everyone else. Ah, your fate will be dire indeed, and it wouldn’t be at Odin’s hand.”
Confused, Loki tried to ask her for more information, but the woman waved her hand and reality shattered around him. Slowly, the endless forest that they were walking in had dissolved away, and a large mansion with a well-cared garden presented itself in front of him.
That was an illusion at a scale that he had never imagined to be possible. Loki had made it his life’s work to master the arts of illusions and deceptions. He had learnt how to enchant people, make them see what he desires. He had learnt how to create almost tangible illusions that no one, not even his mother, could notice without physically touching them. He had even learnt how to use tangible illusions, although on a small scale – in this case in the forms of knives – that could actually physically hurt people. But something of this scale isn’t supposed to be possible. The power needed to power it, on its own, is far more than anyone is supposed to have.
Mesmerized, Loki asked, “How did you cast an illusion on this scale? The concentration and power to do this would be immense.”
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She shrugged, “It’s not that hard. I’m not physically powering it, instead I’m using one of the ley lines that run through the planet to do so. As for the concentration, it’s just a basic illusion with an extra magical effect to keep any imperfections from being noticed. While the illusion is quite impressive, what you’re seeing now is not too dissimilar to that of a regular mage home. The impressive wards are the ones you’re not seeing, because if I hadn’t disabled them and invited you in, you would be dead.”
“You can use the planet’s magics to power your spells?”
Loki had never heard of such magics. The only energy sources that could be used on Asgard were the golden apples grown in the manifestation of the world tree. They were used and juiced, to power spells and to build enchanted items. Each apple was saturated by the energy of the Odinforce, which acted as a source of power until it’s fully drained.
The problem was that the All-Father allowed only a certain amount to be given away, meaning that he had a monopoly in their growth and distribution. They were mostly given to the healing chambers, or the army during times of war. The fact that these mortals had such a ready access to virtually unlimited magical sources was baffling. Perhaps he could take advantage of it somehow. Loki had many ideas for enchantments he wanted to try out and this could prove to be an opportunity of a lifetime.
His plans of power and glory were interrupted by the Morrigan’s chuckles, “I can see what's going through your head, Loki.”
Growling, he retorted, “I very much doubt it.” He had checked his mental shields and they hadn’t been breached.
The woman grinned, “Darling, I don’t need access into your mind to read your expressions. You thought that you could use the magical system here to your advantage. You’re practically drooling at the thought, kiddo.”
Scowling, Loki turned away, embarrassed at being read so easily. The woman burst into laughter at his reaction, “Don’t be a sore loser, kiddo. But I don’t believe that you could use the magical system on Midgard. You can’t use our spells, our runes, or their energy. Absorbing Midgardian magics would destabilize your own magics, and your death would be rather explosive. I don’t have to tell you that it would be inadvisable to do so.”
Angry at himself, at hoping that he would ever grow in power to match Thor, to surpass even Odin himself, “Typical!”
“It’s not like Midgardian mages don’t have limitations. They’re very diverse, but they cannot use their magics outside of this planet. Well, they can, but they can’t recharge their magics without returning to this planet.”
Loki nodded, “that makes sense. Everything has drawbacks, in the end.”
The woman gave him an unusually warm smile, “You don’t need anymore power, Loki. You’re a far stronger than you realize. Mastering your own power will benefit you far more than gaining even more.”
“Is that what you’re doing with Thor?”
“Yes, you know as much as I do that Thor hadn’t even tried to use his powers to their full potential, and in a way, you haven’t either.”
Loki sneered at the woman, “I have trained for centuries to perfect them.”
“You have trained to use them as an Asgardian warrior would. You are not an Asgardian warrior, Loki. Your birth origins aside, you were always different. You wanted to use your mind where others simply wished to solve their problems by fighting. You sneer at the thought of honor against victory. You’re practical and intelligent. And yet you approach the arts of battle as if you are an Asgardian. You are not, and you need to take advantage of that. It’s not your fault, really. You haven’t been taught any differently.”
Enraged at the thought that the woman deemed his mother to be an unfit teacher, “Watch your mouth wench. My mother was the one to teach me how to use my magics.”
Immediately, Loki couldn’t breathe. He felt as if he was being suffocating from the immense pressure of the being in front of him let out. He felt insignificant, small, weak. He hated it. He had forgotten who the woman in front of him was, that behind that kind smile, that lovely face, a powerful monster was hiding. The bringer of Death, they called her. And he could understand why. Was she toying with him during their fight in New York?
The woman’s green eyes glowed, “Do not forget yourself, Odinson. I will not tolerate any insolence, do you understand?”
Loki frantically nodded and the pressure immediately disappeared as if what just happened was a short dream. The woman smiled and continued as if she hadn’t scared the nine hells out of him, “Now, don’t misunderstand me; I was not insulting your mother. You were taught her magics and you reveled in her illusions. What you haven’t done was make them your own. You are casting magic as Frigga’s student, not Loki Odinson. People often forget that magic is a journey of self-discovery, one that you haven’t even begun. You have been taught the basics well, but you haven’t learnt to make them your own.”
That somewhat made sense, but something still irked him, “How do you know all this? You have no access to the Odinforce.”
“Magic is energy, no matter what source it comes from. Some rules might differ between systems, but the principle is the same. No one has ever become powerful with the powers of their teachers. You haven’t even explored your domain, your connection to the Odinforce, so to speak.”
That didn’t make any sense, “I have no divinity. Only Thor was granted a domain in the last thousand years.”
The woman smirked, “Is that so? I can feel your connection to the Odinforce, so you do have a domain, whatever that may be. Your father called you a God of Mischief. You should explore this further.”
Still confused Loki asked, “How do I do that, exactly?”
Before she could respond, the God of Mischief heard a thunderous boom, and watched as a gigantic beam of lighting gathered in the cloudy sky and fell into the forest far away. The Asgardian was blinded by the attack. He turned to the Morrigan for an explanation and found her looking at the forest with a slight smile, “He’s getting better.”
Wait what? That was a bolt of lightning, one of Thor’s main attacks. Was Thor the one who cast this? His brother had never showed this level of power before. It can’t be him, it just can’t.
He turned to his companion, hoping for her to deny his suspicions. She just shrugged, “What can I say? Your brother flourished under my tutelage.”
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