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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“He is called the All-Father for more than just a title of respect,” Anthony said, standing where he was by the uprighted table. “And there has been talk already. About your pride, yes, but questions among the slaves about what would make you react so strongly for me.”

And Anthony now knew the answer. He almost wished he hadn’t. He could no longer pretend that his love for his master was one sided and proper, as all slaves should feel. And that meant that he had failed in some very big ways here. Loki wouldn’t understand, he wasn’t a Midgardian. While he had punished Anthony before less for mistake and more for his own anger, he still wouldn’t understand the mentality of his servant. Anthony was bred to be companion and labourer and whipping boy and sexual object and cook and maid and everything anyone could ever want him to be. But he was not meant to be equal. He was no Asgardian.

And Loki was treating him as such.

“If the slaves begin to think that you are possessive, I will be taken from you to break you of the folly. If I am a crutch, I will be taken from you to cause you to walk on your own. If you love me... you know what they will do to me. And its not an honourable death, that one. I’ll go to Hel and never be with you again. But you’ll learn the lesson they want at least.”

Loki did not think that he was treating Anthony as an equal. Love him, he might, but he still expected him to adhere to the duties of a slave and did not feel guilt for making him clean or fetch or carry. He was property, well loved property, but still property. He knew that this didn't make it more acceptable in the eyes of Asgard, but it was an important distinction for him.

"I will not let them take you, Anthony, you must know this by now."

This was the ruin that the All-Father predicted. He could not make the right decision. If he took Anthony and tried to force Loki to learn the lessons of the Aesir, he would end up with a rebellion and an unstable wrath unleashed. If he allowed Loki to keep Anthony, he would risk shame and the royal household being manipulated by a Midgardian.

"You will not go to Hel, and nor will you be sold, cease your fears on both. I will not allow it."

Anthony nodded. He could see only ruin ahead, and all because of him. He could not leave Loki, his prince needed him. He could not stay with Loki, his prince was tumbling down a terrible path. “There is no one I trust more than you,” Anthony said, bending down to pick up a bowl that had been dropped when Loki turned the table over. If there was anyone in this terribly cruel and yet beautiful existance that could figure out a way to make this all look like something else, it would be Loki.

They could distract from this campaign in some way, surely. There had to be other reasons to come here….? Perhaps if they said that they needed to visit the sickness in order to close it up again, the All-Father, who was not magically gifted, would fall for the explanation and let it go?

Anthony did not voice his opinion at the moment. He had to work on making himself look less afraid. If he trusted Loki, he needed to prove it.

Anthony was not wrong, Loki needed him, more than most Aesir would ever need a loyal slave in their corner. He was so often alone and misunderstood, reckless and foolish and wise all at once, that he needed the steadying influence of someone who cared and who he could always know would be staunchly on his side.

If he lost that, he might well fall into the madness that Frigga sometimes feared for him, and then Odin's prophecies would all come to fruition.

"Then set down your work and retire, I need silence to think."

If this was a true danger then he had to find a way to mitigate it before disaster fell.

“Gladly,” Anthony said as he let the bowl alone and climbed back into bed with Loki and burrowed against him.

Tony, on the other hand, had no warm body to ease himself against. He was cold, he was miserable, and he was stuck with Steve. Today was not his best day. At all. He had finally managed to find something to bring back to the Princess, grumbling the whole way, and he and Steve were back up to see her when he saw Thor fly overhead and head into the cave. His face turned grim.

“You’d better hurry up before that asshole thinks we killed you,” Tony grunted in Steve’s direction. He wasn’t running, thank you.

Back up in the cave, however, Thor was not immediately looking for Steven. His eyes settled on the strange Jotun form of his brother’s other self while he stood in front of her. “We have accepted your suggestion to remove the ability for any world attached to this from entering the majority of Yggdrassil.”

Loki had not slept well.

She had spent the night in worry that her actions may have caused the ruin of her people, the Midgardians, and a danger to everyone else on the Tree. She had taken her first look at truly how her actions could have ramifications beyond her own welfare and it had scared her into looking at herself more closely.

This was the difference between her and the other Loki, the difference in their culture and upbringing, that allowed this Loki to have more wisdom despite her younger years. She very nearly let the relief show when Thor returned with the good news, but instead just nodded.

"I believe that the All-Mother of my universe is capable of such a task, is yours?"

“More than,” Thor boasted. “My brother fancies himself the most powerful sorcerer in Asgard but my mother is more powerful and I imagine there are others just as or with more power than she. I do not understand the terms well. I will need to visit with this version of my mother for details. Or, if you wish to do so, you can bring me the information I need. I will wait here in this Realm.”

He was being uncharacteristically diplomatic and that was only because he had fought with words enough this night and he longed to return to sleep without metal insects and female brothers waking him.

“Where then is my slave?”

Loki didn't want to give that slave back, it felt wrong, but even she knew that it would be a pointless show to refuse it, especially when Steven wanted to go back with Thor. She would just be causing war for her own sensibilities, and so she swallowed her distaste and gestured to the edge of the cave where Tony and Steven were approaching.

"I do not have the authority to allow you entry to Asgard, where the All-Mother sits, but I will take a message to her there and return here as soon as I can. I must have your word that you will remain in isolation and not attempt aggressive movements towards my people."

“I am aware of how tenuous this momentary truce is. I would prefer to stay in warmer clime, but I will not ask my brother to move.” Loki would be looking for trouble. “Do not take much time.” He did not know how long his brother would be willing to concede to his truce. Likely, not for too much longer.

He turned as Steven approached and pressed his fist to his chest. Thor did not smile at him, he merely reached for his property and headed back towards the cave entry way so he could fly them off.

That left Tony standing there, bending down to cover his head from the blast of the wind of Thor’s take off. He glanced back over his shoulder at the girl, looking old and tired, and dragged himself back into the shelter.

“I think my frostbite has frostbite.”

Even though this was far from over, things could still go wrong, Loki felt a flare of hope that they could actually get this done without anyone else needing to die. What they did to themselves once they were back in their own universe wasn't her problem, they could wipe each other out for all she cared and remove the actual infected branch.

She smiled over at Tony and reached out to take his hand, allowing her skin to bleed to paleness before she did so, and squeezed his fingers.

"Do not falter now, the home stretch is in sight and we go now to Asgard where the climate is much warmer and your body will be able to recover."

“Asgard? Sold.”

Tony wasn’t the biggest fan of the place, not without his armor, but he would rather be there than here. Loki’s magic was a boon, but he was still frozen to the core even though he wasn’t in danger of his body completely shutting down from it. One moment they were in the frozen land of Jotunheim and the next, with only a minor tug of guts and blood to his head, they were in Asgard. The warmth was immediate and Tony let the air out of his lungs, this time without the vomit.

“No offense to your Kingdom, but I like this one better,” Tony said, stepping back given her appearance.

He needed to work on that.

He was about to mention maybe finding a place to relax for a little while when two men on horseback rode up to meet them. Tony tried not to roll his eyes. “The Lady Frigga All-Mother is requesting an audience.” That was quick. Maybe someone had been watching them.

"That is only because your physiology prefers the warmth, should you care for both climates equally then I am certain you would like my realm better than Asgard."

Loki pulled herself up onto one of the horses behind the rider, as this seemed the most logical choice, and glanced over to make sure that Tony could do the same. These horses were massive, after all, but she was used to dealing with a world made for people much bigger than she was.

She had to hope that the All-Mother found merit in the decisions they had made when talking with Thor, if she had been watching, and they weren't about to be hauled in so that they could both be imprisoned for treason. She sat tall and straight, refusing to show her nerves, though Tony might be able to see them for how well he knew her now.

"Ride swiftly," she said to her particular escort. "We should not keep the All-Mother waiting."

Tony really could have done without all of the horseback riding. “I know you guys have planes. I’ve seen them. I’ve flown in then. Come on. Help a man who still has his balls out.” Evidently the Asgardians didn’t get the insult but that was just as well. They were carried to Asgard with complaining but Tony arrived without his lip bloodied. He walked a little funny, shaking his legs with each step like a spaghetti monster and frowned as they were joined by Thor.

He was younger than the last man they had seen, shorter beard and hair. He greeted Loki heartily, but did not stop her progress.

“Princess. I will accompany you to the All-Mother. She requests that we move quickly and without attention drawn to the All-Father.”

Tony rolled his eyes. How did he get mixed up in all of this all the time?

Loki had not ridden often, there were no horses that could survive the climate of Jotunheim, but she had ridden on similar beasts that were bred to endure the snow and so she did not suffer from the ride as Tony clearly had. She might have been tempted to laugh at him and tease, if she were not currently preoccupied with what the All-Mother might say.

She reached out and lightly touched Thor's cheek, a gesture of affection, though she did not slow her walk.

"Thank you, my future husband, it lifts my heart to have a friendly face by my side. You remember Tony Stark? My closest companion, and hopefully someone who will agree to come and work here in Asgard once this becomes my home."

“Work? As what?” Thor barely glanced at Tony. He was just some old human, ready to be returned to soil. That hardly seemed like a decent company for a princess. “I fear any work would end his time quickly.”

“You know what I need,” Tony snapped back, “I need you guys to stop thinking that you’re better than everyone. And yes, okay, I realize how that sounds coming from me.” Especially since neither of these people knew him before his tragedies. They had no idea how arrogant he had been. Or that he had really tamed it down a whole lot over the last year and a half.

Thor just ignored him, either wisely or because they were approaching the royal chambers.

None would be allowed entry save for Loki, which would give ample would be suitor time to glare at each other outside and for Tony to get off a few quips that Thor would not understand.

“Daughter,” Frigga said, alone in the center of the room before a glowing portal of ice and stars. “Come. Join me. I have seen all. And we have much work to do.”

Loki was vaguely aware that Tony was a little jealous of Thor, but she thought he was a fool for being so. She would marry Thor, being jealous of that was stupid, and it didn't change their relationship as friends at all. They could still bed one another after the wedding if they chose to, to be envious was silly male pride.

"I am glad you have seen it, and I must confess that the wisdom for this came from Tony. He saw that we should pretend to see their way of thinking, and it has gained us the agreement to close the rift from both sides."

She took a knee briefly in front of Frigga and then moved to join her next to the portal, her heart singing for the sense of seidr in the room.

"Tell me what it is I need to do."

“Put all others from your mind, Loki. You will need all of the concentration you can muster. But first, I will need to speak to the other you in Jotunheim. I would request that you remain silent.” She had done more than just snoop on her daughter in law to be and had been watching the tall, majestic man that Loki chose to be in the other Realm. She had heard the other version of her son call Loki ‘brother’ and determined correctly that Loki must have been adopted and not married into the family. And she would use that knowledge to speak to him.

“Loki?”

Her voice was dulcet, soft, attempting to rouse the other from sleep.

“May we have a word?” The dark hair of the young human beside him lifted but then dropped again as she used magic to soothe him back to sleep. “I am sorry to disturb your sleep, young prince.”

Loki woke immediately when his name was called, sitting bolt upright in his furs with one hand clasped around a dagger that appeared in his fist. He couldn't see anyone in the room, but he could feel the pulse of seidr and the voice was familiar. His mother, but not his mother. He was no fool, he knew to recognise a voice nearly, but not quite, the one he loved above all others.

"You are Frigga All-Mother of this realm."

No.

He did not want to speak with her. He could condemn anyone else to death, he could call them all twisted and inferior, but he did not know if he could say as much to any iteration of his beloved mother.

“I am,” Frigga said with a smile. She knew at once the connection this Loki had to her counterpart, she could feel it even through the vast distances she and the boy had between them, even without magic. They were kin in magic and Frigga herself felt much this way towards her future daughter in law too. Some connections were instant and love blossomed just as quickly. Perhaps this Loki was his mother’s favourite. It would not surprise her. “All-Mother to everything save for four warriors and travelers whom I intend to assist to return to where and when they are from and to seal the wound between our planes after. I will need your help, though I sense a reluctance in your willingness.”

Magic was fickle. If Loki chose not to perform his end of the spell, there could be tears and neither plane of existence could endure such a thing.

“I have eased your beloved to sleep beside you. He will not wake until you return with your brother and his back to your plane. Once there, the spell to seal the gaps between us is complicated, but I know you are capable of such a feat. Our seidr knows one another.”

Damn Frigga, but Loki could not help the sway to his mind that made him want to go along with her words. He did not want to disappoint her, anger her, or make her sorrowful. It was a power over him that no other possessed, not even Anthony, and it was not completely diminished just because she was another Frigga.

"I have no reason to assist you in this," he said, forcing himself to remain firm and strong. He would not be dissuaded and ordered like a meek pup in training. "Your people stole from me the most precious of my possessions, and I will not slink back home without the recompense I deserve."

Not when it could be possible that Anthony would be taken from him when he got back home, and this time in a far more permanent manner.

“What would you seek for recompense? The favourite possession of the one that stole from you?” Frigga tread lightly here. She did not know if the other Asgard preferred to have like crimes answered by like punishments. Her eyes shifted towards her Loki. The girl’s prized possession was likely a keepsake from her mother or perhaps an ancient tome of Jotun knowledge. Princes and princesses, who wanted for nothing, did not tend to have favourite possessions. Their time was spent learning and in diplomacy and with rule. She felt as if a spider on a web, unsure of which strand to step upon so as not to upset its owner.

She knew of Loki’s chaos, however. She had been the same as a girl. Rule and marriage to the All-Father had settled her, though it really took until Odin ascended the throne and they had children that Frigga could control her own chaotic tendencies.

But she had never been evil. She could, however, taste that on this Loki. He had such potential to fall. And that was what worried her the most.

“I am not sure that would soothe you, should you examine that desire. You have been happily restored that with which you lost, after all.”

"This branch of Yggdrasil is diseased and I must make some effort to cull it before I return back to my home."

It was mostly about selfish revenge for him, but he could not just go home and admit that. If he had a reason for being here that wasn't Anthony, that was much wider reaching, then none could whisper about his inappropriate feelings for a slave. None could take his Anthony from him.

"Your soft words will not sway me, I am a son of Asgard and not so easily manipulated as that. It is well that you fear a fight with me enough to come and attempt to change my mind, but it shall not be."

He might have been persuaded to leave if he could be certain that he would face no recrimination back home, if he could be sure he would not lose Anthony.

“Change your mind?” Frigga chuckled. She did not rise to the words of a son who had not spent his childhood in her skirts. She would not allow him to press her buttons. They had all been worn down anyway, barely there to be pushed. “Your brother made with us the alliance to seal our worlds. I had assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that working with you would be the best course of action to see that contract satisfied. If this was erroneous, there is nothing to fear. I can trace your seidr back to your mother.”

Frigga could deal easily with herself. She had met many versions over her lifetime and though not all were as she was, they all typically were willing to work together towards a goal.

So yes. She threatened to tell Loki’s mother on him, or rather, she promised to. The spell would take much out of her to connect to Asgard through planes of existence but she had done much more taxing spell work before.

“Unless, of course, you are going against this alliance and you and Prince Thor have changed your minds. Perhaps that is for the best. I am curious to meet your All-Father and All-Mother.”

She was threatening to tell his mother?

Something universal across all species and all worlds was the desire of boys to not be told on to their mothers, no matter how old they got. Though it would be better if Frigga found out the truth of this situation because she would likely help him to keep Anthony, she knew how important the slave had become to him, than the All-Father would if he were the one to be called on.

"Such base threats only prove your low character."

It felt wrong to even say this to any iteration of Frigga, his mother was the wisest and most moral person he knew.

"If you will not deal with me and the rightful consequences of your actions, then do as you will, I have no interest in your petty machinations."

Frigga nodded gravely, though Loki could not see her do so. “Allow me to offer one small word. You above most have the potential for grate ness and yet you walk along the razor’s edge. One way, you may step into the light and be a boon and a blessing for yourself and your people. But if you are not careful, you may tumble into the abyss and into ruin. You must take care, you must learn to swallow your pride and not be proved by petty slights. Only then will you become the great man I have glimpsed in this small meeting.”

She did not wait for a reply and dropped the portal, though Loki would feel the tugging of her magic against his, following the line of it from his heart to the core of the tree of life from where he had been born.

Frigga turned towards the girl beside her and affectionately touched her cheek. “My words would do well for you to heed too, daughter. There is much chaos in you. Should you ever feel yourself starting to tumble, know you may come to me, always, and I will guide you back to your path.”

She stepped away after that and from her heart shot forth golden and emerald strands of seidr towards a massive gaping wound of a slash in the fabric of reality. Frigga’s skin turned translucent and her eyes filled with countless stars.

“Frigga, All-Mother. It is I, It is you. I seek with you an audience.”

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