Martin floated through an abyss of darkness, not a single thought came to his mind just an overwhelming feeling of peace. The Peace was short lived however, as a booming voice echoed through the Abyss calling his name and the warmth of light embraced him and freed him from the darkness.
Martin awoke suddenly, in a wide palace hall, made from a dark brown wood, intricately carved with symbols and pictures. At the end of the hall, an old man sat upon a large wooden throne with swords, spears and battle axes adorned to it. The man had long grey hair as well as a long grey beard, with only one eye visible. The man sat upon the throne with a battle axe across his lap and a spear in his hand. As Martin approached, the man grabbed the axe and stood, towering over Martin, as the man appeared to be at least 15 foot tall.
"Welcome to Valhalla, Martin, Son of Erwin." The man's voice bellowed throughout the hall "I am Odin, the King of Asgard."
"Damn, how much did I drink?" Martin asked himself as he looked up at the God before him.
"You have arrived in Valhalla after an Avalanche buried you in the snow, your body was recovered but you remain in a coma. If you wish to return among the living, I offer you your life if you complete a quest for me before you succumb in twenty-four hours."
"Look, uh, Mr. Odin Sir, I'd love to help but I'm pretty sure I'm just dreaming and I'll wake any minute now." Martin replied nervously.
Odin slammed his spear's hilt into the ground, silencing Martin.
"You dare defy me? Odin, King of Asgard and your only hope of survival?" Demanded Odin as he began to anger "Every Second that passes brings you closer to death, you think this is but a dream but do you wish to risk death if it is not a dream?" Odin asked him.
"...Shit, I guess you're right, this does feel too real to be a normal dream, and the last thing I remember is seeing the snow coming down the mountain toward me." Replied Martin as he looked down to see he was still holding the Axe he grabbed earlier as well. " Fine, I'll help you with this quest if you help me get back home."
"Very well, then come forth and accept this Battle Axe to begin the Quest!" Odin exclaimed holding the Axe out in front of him.
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Martin reached out, taking the battle axe into his hands and watched as it shrank in size to fit perfectly in his hands. Martin could feel an unnatural energy swell in his body as he raised the axe into a battle position and examined the weapon. A small rune glowed softly on the hilt of the axe, shaped like a rotated "Z".
"The axe has no name yet, you shall name it when the time comes. The Rune, Eihwaz, represents the Yew Tree and the Strength it gives. I bestow this rune onto thine weapon to aid you in your quest, as it shall not be an easy quest." Odin explained.
"So, uh, what exactly is my quest? Save a Damsel in distress? Slay a dragon? Restore half the universe?" Martin asked.
"You must travel to Yggdrasil, The World Tree. There you must descend to the roots of Yggdrasil and Slay Nidhogg, a mighty Dragon that gnaws on the root of the World Tree, and has devoured more than the tree can withstand. If Nidhogg continues, the root system of Yggdrasil will be wiped out and the rest will crumble, unleashing Ragnarok across the Nine Worlds." Odin explained gravely. "The path shall not be easy, some shall attempt to stop you as they wish for Ragnarok to begin and for my reign to come to an end."
"Hmm...Sounds easy enough. Just travel to the world tree, slay a dragon to prevent the world from ending and hope no one else tries to kill me first, got it." Martin responded sarcastically.
"Excellent, I shall summon a Valkyrie to escort you to Yggdrasil at once!" Odin interjected wholeheartedly,pulling out a War Horn and blowing into it, causing a resounding call throughout the hall.
Moments later, an armor clad woman opened the hall doors and strode inside, kneeling in front of Odin. She wore a black fur over her shoulders, with blond hair braided to the side, her armor was a mixture of dark leather and chain mail, with a shield and spear on her back.
"M'Lord, how may I assist you?" The woman asked.
"Kara, escort this young warrior to Yggdrasil and assist him in navigating to the root where he can slay Nidhogg." Odin ordered.
"Yes, M'lord" Kara replied as she stood and turned toward Martin, gazing at him with strong grey eyes. "We shall depart at once."
Without another word, Kara strode to the large open doors, where a large black horse awaited outside, speckles of snow on its fur.
"Art thou coming?" Kara asked Martin as she stopped in the doorway, seeing as he had not followed her.
"What happens if I fail?" Martin asked, looking back at Odin.
"If you fail, then Ragnarok destroys the World Tree, and all of the Nine Realms, including your Midgard." Odin replied blatantly.
"Why am I, a random person with no fighting experience, the one chosen to save the Nine Worlds?" Martin questioned.
"You weren't, there have been many others who have failed before you. You just happened to arrive after them." Odin informed Martin "Only a Human who is not quite dead but not yet alive is able to safely travel to Nidhogg's Domain without drawing too much attention."
"So, if all of the others have failed, you have no real reason to believe that I'll be able to succeed and you could be lying about bringing me back to my world." Martin realized.
"If you do fail, the world shall end anyways, as Nidhogg is nearly done with the root, but should you succeed, you have my solemn oath as King of Asgard, that you shall return to Midgard." Odin replied in a stern yet reassuring voice.
And with that, Martin turned toward the door and stepped through the with Kara, ready to take on his quest.