fossilised | I come from a land of ice and snow

I come from a land of ice and snow

Asgard sat atop the branches of Yggdrasil since time began, and little had changed in their society in the years since. Each Asgardian was long-lived into the millennia, their lands were fertile, their people brave and strong. They had their vassals, their allies, and their enemies. Yet even those who opposed them respected the might of the Golden Dias, and the royalty who sat upon it. Currently that was Odin Borson, though he grew weary more easily now and had begun to consider passing the throne to his eldest son.

He had been blessed with many children, but only two that he considered worthy of his lineage and status. His firstborn, Thor, strong and honourable and everything an Asgardian warrior should be. His second son, Loki, was not natural born, though none knew that but his wife. He was different, a creature of magic and mayhem, of sharp intelligence. Both were worthy, but together they would take Asgard to a new prosperity, he was certain of it.

Midgard, where the mortals dwelt, was a land raided every few centuries for stock. It was seen as a breeding ground, much like a corral for cattle. Mortals were lesser, short-lived and weak, they were fit only as slaves. The last raid had taken place when Loki had been but a baby, nearly a thousand years ago, but the mortals that had been taken had been bred and cared for so that a healthy slave population still thrived. Slaves were given a weakened mixture of Idunn's crop with their food, to extend their natural lives to at least a few centuries in order to make them worth the effort to train. They had no rights, but they were taught well that this was their natural position.

All slave children were raised in a central pen and taught the same when small, those that then displayed talent at cooking, riding, hunting, housework, artisan skills, or singing were then measured off to be specially trained for higher masters. Every five years those who could afford to buy a slave, or those of high enough status to simply demand them, came to the corral and chose. Those who were chosen were special, were envied, and those who were not ended up working the fields out in the far reaches of Asgard, the most menial of work.

Anthony and Steven had been friends since they were little and being raised in the large pens together. Both had excelled, Anthony at crafting and Steven at warrior's skills, but neither were chosen when they were five, nor ten, nor even fifteen. Now, at twenty, it was their final chance to be chosen before they would be assigned to one of the meanest farmers beyond the borders of the great capital. Steven woke Anthony as the dawn rose, mingled excitement and nerves on his face.

"Anthony! Wake up, I've got news! I heard the overseer talking to one of the passing guards, and Princes Thor and Loki are coming to the corral today."

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Of course Loki knew that Thor was the warrior he was acclaimed to be, but she could also see that he was still a boy when it came to wanting to be a peacock. She had enjoyed her moment of revelling in her wits and been admired for it, it would be fair for her to allow him to showcase his skill and praise him in return.

She watched the battle with a keen eye, taking in that Thor relied more on his strength than on tactics, but that he was not wholly stupid when it came to such things. Hogun was faster, but he stood no chance when the battle finally got going in earnest and was soon vanquished.

"Most impressive," she called out to the two. "You are strong and valorous indeed, perhaps one day we shall also spar together."

Thor dropped the hammer on the ground and stood with his hands on this belt, attempting to look suave perhaps as he tucked his thumbs into the band. "You mentioned this before, that you are a capable warrior. You are honourable, righting wrongs even against a short lived Midgardian. And you are beautiful."

Sif might have rolled her eyes. Fandral absolutely did, though he was good natured about it.

"Is there any part of you that is less than perfect?" Technically, Thor knew, Loki was a runt. She was by definition of her people, deformed.

But Thor had trouble seeing that.

He nodded the princess over as if attempting to get her to spar with her now.

Loki rolled her eyes along with the others, though it was similarly good natured. She did not shy away from rebuking him, however, he had to learn that while he was adorable and genuine, he also needed to be wiser in matters of the head and heart.

"If you think me perfect, you are a fool and I had not been led to believe you are. None of us are perfect, and a good husband can see the faults in his partner and help her correct them, just as she helps correct him, so that they may both grow into better and wiser people."

She did take out her daggers, intrigued by how a fight with him might go, and stepped up into the combat area.

"Do you wish to impose restrictions before we begin, my future husband?"

"I do," Thor said as he watched Loki approach. "Learn to accept my compliments for what they are without correcting me for them. I wish to make you understand that you are indeed better than I had ever hoped and if we had not been destined for one another, I believe that I would not have a future to look forward to as much as I do. So roll your eyes, all of you, if you must, but I shall say my piece!"

He watched Loki reveal her daggers and Mjolnir returned to his hand. He flipped it around, the handle already very comfort in his palm.

"Other than that, act at will. Hold nothing back."

It was good to see his fire, she would not like him if he rolled over like a meek puppy, she was too strong willed herself to ever enjoy a partner who did not offer her some challenge. But when he failed to impose restrictions, she grinned. He was a brilliant fighter, that much was obvious, but he had never faced a Jotnar before.

She had spent her whole life fighting those larger and stronger than herself, and the Frost Giants had a completely different fighting style to the Aesir or Vanir. She immediately changed back into her own form and replaced one of her daggers with a long spear made from ice. Four copies of herself suddenly shimmered into being, and all five of them rushed Thor at once in a confusing medley of real and illusion.

Though he'd not yet grown into the tactician that only true battle would hone him into, Thor still knew when his senses were being distracted. His eyes sharpened as his princess multipled around him and he tried to keep the original in view at all times.

That said, he did initially attack one of the obvious clones, sending the hammer flying at her. It passed through neatly and he called it back, snapping it through another illusion before he caught it again.

Fending off multiple opponents was easy, though. Even if several were not real, he did not allow himself to fight as if they were figmentary and instead tackled each head on as if a force to damage him.

Loki was dizzying however, swapping reality for illusion so totally that Thor found himself overwhelmed. He did have an ace up his sleeve, however, using Mjolnir to channel lightning from the sky to strike all of his foes at once.

He was magnificent.

Loki was forced to revise her earlier opinion that he was all brutish strength and not much else, she could see in the way he moved that once he had matured a little more then he would be near invincible on the battlefield. She was certain that if she were to win against him, this might be the only fight she would ever win, for he would be sure to research and learn how to fight her for the future.

So she put her all into it.

The illusions wavered and solidified, becoming more and less in a dizzying array of colour and sound designed to act as distraction, even as she span towards his left flank and tried to pierce it with the ice spear she still held in her hand.

Somehow Loki made it through his own defenses... Up to a point. Though he did not wear armour, clad in supple leather that left much of his body exposed for comfort of movement, her spike would not penetrate the Thunderer's skin. He felt her push against him, of course, and though she could hardly win if she could not properly land a blow, she came closer than most even did to causing damage. And indeed, were his skin less than nigh invulnerable, she would have had him.

So he dropped the hammer and raised his hands good naturedly.

"Next we meet, I shall protect my flank better," he said, a happy tone to his gruff guffaw as he turned. "You fight fantastically. I did not know that your Realm trained its royality in such a way. I dare say that an army of Jotun would be incredibly intimidating and deadly. Well fought."

Sif looked even warier now the fight was done, she had never seen Thor concede with grace before and she had disliked the trickery and illusion that the princess had fought with. The others seemed to be taken in, cheering the fight as they would any other, and Thor was obviously smitten, she would have to find a way to deal with this possible problem alone.

Loki allowed the illusions and the spear of ice to disappear, changing once more to Aesir form in order to grant him a light kiss on the cheek where a his beard was already akin to those properly full grown.

"I should like to see you fight my brothers sometime, I doubt you would have an easy time with them either, for it is Helblindi who taught me all I know."

"For our wedding, we shall have a great tournament. Your brothers may enter and you as well. All who wish to enjoy a fight should always be allowed. Perhaps even your servant would like to attend." Thor didn't know that he had lost gracefully so much as had been genuinely surprised that Loki had bested his lightning. She was right, though. It may be the last time she bested him on illusion though. He would study. They would spar again. And it would keep his sharp.

His smile faultered only when she kissed him and that was because he felt his heart melt before catching her around the waist.

"Walk with me? My mother does not approve that we two spend moments alone but how else shall I know you better?"

She laughed as she was caught up, and the Warriors Three even looked a little sentimental because they could hardly deny that it warmed the heart to see the royal couple looking so content. It would have been awful if they had hated one another and not found any joy in their union.

"I would not want to offend your mother, but perhaps she would not mind if I too were male for the time being."

She stretched and changed, still slender, still green eyed, but with a masculine edge to her features now. She wondered if Thor would still find her alluring in this form, in all of her forms. She held out a hand to him, teasing smile at her lips.

"Well? Where are we to walk?"

“Mother never complains about Sif,” Thor said, brashly, though the Warriors Three, still too young to understand a great many things like the jealousy that Sif had for Thor’s intended, thought that their friends was not exactly a maiden so much as one of them. She had many suitors already but she still took up a sword and bandied on with them in their adventures. So Sif did not count.

And perhaps Loki did not count either, considering that her race was genderless and she fought just as well, if not better, than Sif did.

When Loki’s outward appearance shifted, Thor did not seem surprised. He did give her – now him – a once over, however. “She will not be fooled. You look much the same,” he said as if he did not under stand the reason for her shapeshifting. It seemed to bother him none at least, and his arm was still offered to the Jotun.

Sif felt those careless words like blows, though she would not show it. Thor had never once looked at her as a maiden, only ever as a companion, and it ached to see how easily he dismissed her. She stepped closer to Fandral as the two began to leave, voice pitched low and concerned.

"I like this little, I fear an enchantment such as Amora enjoys. Sorcery of this kind is not natural other than the healing arts, and we know little of Jotunheim in recent years."

Loki did not catch those words, already too far away with Thor, his arm linked around that of his betrothed. "So then, tell me what it is you wish to know of me. I am an open book to you, for we are to be wed and you must know the worst and best of me."

“Your worst qualities?” Thor frowned at that. He didn’t know what his own worst qualities were, he wasn’t that self aware. Others would be able to fill Loki in on them, though they might have a hard time too and could make strengths sound like weaknesses if only to have an answer. Thor cared too much, he was stubborn and tenacious, he sometimes lost sight of other tasks to complete just one-- But those were not terribly bad qualities for a ruler to have, even if they could e exploited.

And trying to think of his own worst qualities was likely going to cause Thor much consternation.

“I have a far better idea,” he said, diverting from the group where Fandral looked at Sif as if trying to see if her worries were genuine or born from jealousy for he too felt the same for Thor, just as cast aside, and had been known to court Amora from time to time for attention. He was not her best confident in this. “Tell me what you enjoy the most. Activity or object or food or experience, your choice. I’ll know the good before you can attempt convince me that there is any bad.”

Loki was much more self aware, though she was arrogant enough to think that her poorer qualities - such as bending the truth or having a slightly wicked tongue - could be used for good purposes as well. To see Thor attempt to grasp that concept, though, was endearing as if she were watching a dumb beast learn to speak. He was not without intelligence, but somehow his naivety made him appear much younger than she though it was the other way around.

"What I enjoy the most is magic and the learning of it," she replied without hesitation. "It is my connection to the world tree, to my realm, and to my people. It feels as natural to me to change my shape as it does to breathe, and to learn more is always a privilege."

She had the distinct idea that he was not particularly given to scholarly pursuits, however, so she wouldn't torment him wholly.

"I also enjoy flyting, riding, and ice fishing."

Magic was not a subject that Thor knew much about. He might have singular control over the storms, something innate within him that had been part of his being due to his Valkyrie blood long before he was ever given possession and use of Mjolnir and yes, he could use Mjolnir in a variety of ways, but he was not a creature that studied magic and therefore, he was almost disappointed at first that Loki’s primary interest was not one that he could ever take advantage of.

Luckily for him, Loki was astute enough to know that and immediately include additional items to her list.

Thor was no master of words and so flyting was not part of his enjoyments, but he did like to listen to others game at it and so he mentioned that Fandral was proficient in the sport and Loki might enjoy the competition of it with his friend. “Riding and fishing are two things we can certainly enjoy together. We have the whole of Asgard’s stables for our use. Is ice fishing very different from the usual sport?” That Thor fished might be a surprise. He did seem to lack the patience for it.

Though Loki in her youth had dreamed of a husband who would be able to match her quick wit and razor sharp tongue, she was beginning to see that this may be better. Different, yes, but they could compliment one another and would not clash as someone too similar to her inevitably would.

"You must come to Jotunheim if you wish to see how ice fishing works, I do not think the ice layers thick enough upon any of the lakes or seas of Asgard."

It was something that saddened her a little; though Asgard was undoubtedly beautiful, it was also alien. It was not the quiet beauty of her snow-covered home, but a more overstated beauty of lush green and brilliant blue.

"I am certain my father would be glad to host you for a visit."

“I should meet your family. You have managed to pull ahead of me there.” The thought of going to Jotunheim was a long-held desire for the prince and he would not take the invitation lightly. They would be journeying back and forth once they were married but he could meet those who would now be his family before then. Surely! “And I would like to ice fish, truly. Though Asgard freezes over come winter and the mountains are perpetually snow capped, I would like to try the sport in the land it is meant for.”

Sif, for the moment, had fallen silent. Hogun was always silent and so that was no concern but the lack of chatter with his friends left the fiery redhead on edge. “I think,” Volstagg bellowed, “we should leave the royals to their royalty and return to the palace…?”

Fandral and Sif both gave him looks, but nodded. Fandral’s voice was smooth. “Oh, I suppose. Acting as entourage for a man not interested is no fun at all. Thor! Behave yourself!”

Thor glanced over his shoulder. “It is I that should offer you that advice, my friend!”

Loki glanced over at Volstagg and the others, already quite liking the fiery haired man for seeming to be more genuine and gentle than the others, and grinned very suddenly and wickedly.

"Why behave when the alternative is so much more fun?"

On a whim, she-- now he-- held out his hand for Thor to take with the intention to transport them both to Jotunheim that instant. She would see how well the warrior could hold his stomach when travelling in a way much less controlled than the Bifrost and to a climate much colder than even Asgard's snowy peaks ever reached.

He would find himself in a land as beautiful as it was austere, the whole place given a faint blue tinge from the brilliant blue of the sky down to the pure white of the ice and snow. He would feel the magic in the very air here, even if he were not a sorcerer, and would get his first glimpse of a true giant as one crested the ridge and began to run towards them in a long, loping gait.

"Sister!"

Bylestir had missed his brother and sister dearly having lost them to diplomacy, so to see her here once again brought joy to his heart.

Jotunheim was frigid but Thor was made of stronger stuff than most and felt little discomfort, if any. His lips curled slightly in shock, but even the travel bothered him little. This had less to do with his constitution and more with his mother's magical abilities. They used to steal together to Vanaheim after Odin gave her natural sons and Thor needed a little extra care since he was feeling left out. Frigga never wanted her eldest, produced by her body or not, to feel unwanted and their trips had been private and secret.

Thor was taking his time to draw in all that his wife's Realm had to offer when he heard the Frost Giant speak.

Sister? Thor beamed. This great creature was to be added then, and soon, to his own family! Thor offered his hand and arm, knowing that a proper greeting would burn him.

"You and I are to be family! I am Thor Odinson. Well met, son of Laufey-King!"

Bylestir was well behind the times when it came to the news and he had no idea that Loki had even met Thor, so it was with great surprise and interest that curious red eyes took in this tiny little Aesir. Perhaps it was good that his sister had been born deformed, she was clearly well matched with this similarly deformed Aesir prince. He had not done as much in lessons as he should have, and had never been off Jotunheim, so he had no idea that not all races were as sizeable as his own.

He made up his mind at once to not mention the deformity lest it upset the prince and welcome him warmly, striding forwards to immediately grasp the arm offered in the friendliest of greetings even as Loki frowned at him.

"Bylestir! You know that your tutors have taught you that our skin is harmful to those of other races, you shame our Father with your thoughtlessness."

Bylestir snatched his hand back at once looking chastened, voice like the rumbling of a far away avalanche. "I am sorry, my future brother, I meant no harm or disrespect. My sister speaks truly, I am not a good student but perhaps you can teach me more of your race."

Because the touch was not prolonged, though Byelstir was much larger than his sister, Thor healed right away. "I offered my hand, he was right to take it so no offense was given. My skin is make of stronger stuff," he laughed, though he spoke true indeed for only the scars Loki left were there... And faded.

A few days more and they would disappear too. Thor' ability to heal and to reject the point of a spear would make him nigh invulnerable. A good trait to have as All-Father, surely!

"As my future brother, I would extend to you the opportunity to visit your sister upon Asgard whenever your duties allow. We are to be a family and so I would like to know you as well as you care to know about myself. I fear that your father will be annoyed if I do not announce myself, however."

Thor didn't actually care but he was trying to impress Loki.

That was impressive, but it was still a foolish risk to take too often and Thor would need to learn that he was not invulnerable. Sadly, she felt that would likely be a lesson hard learned with serious injury at the end of it; or, perhaps, he would never learn it and simply end up dead for overconfidence on day.

"Yes, of course, allow me to take you to our father," Bylestir said, eager to redeem himself a bit in the eyes of his sister and future brother. It was wise of Thor not to risk offending Laufey-King for, even if he didn't really care, he might when he came face to face with the King himself for he was an imposing and impressive figure.

He looked down on Thor from a throne twice the size of the Aesir even at full height and spoke in a voice crackling with power. "Young Aesir child of the All-Father, this realm is not a safe one for playing in. Daughter of mine, you should know this."

Unfortunately, Thor was not the sort to let himself be intimidated. He had no frame of reference for it. His father intimidated him to a degree but mostly their relationship was respectful.

And Thor showed the King respect with a bow too. He might be the future ruler of the Nine Realms but Laufey was the current ruler of one and he wasn't going to risk angering him.

Not when he held the ability to remove him from Loki's side.

"I wished to meet. Your daughter has already become a favourite of my mother and it seemed only fair to meet my intended' family," he said, ever brash.

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throneenvy - 2017-09-09 18:47 (UTC) - Expand

It was a similar thing that Frigga had asked of Loki, amusingly enough, but Thor had no desire to stifle anyone. "We are to rule together. We both will wear a crown. I shall be All-Father and she will be All-Mother." Thor was not being argumentative. His mother had just taught him from a very early age that his marriage was a union, a side of one coin and he would be worthless without a second half.

It was very progressive. Odin himself might arch an eyebrow at his son's forward thinking.

"It is not for myself to deny her. We will work in union to provide for all." For a prince so young, these were very strange words. But it was likely best not to overlook how incredibly smitten Thor was with Loki.

And though his visit might be unexpected and dangerous, to have Loki loved so dearly already would be a massive boon to Jotunheim.