Chapter Text
Vogastisburg, middle Danube, 782
Sun was hanging low over the Danubian ford, so close you could hit it with a bow shot. Upturned faces of the combined armies of Bayan-khagan and Charlemagne would have been burned to ashes if it weren’t for the slight shimmer of air, area of slowed down time where the waves of scorching heat were held in place.
“So tell me, Bayan, were you there when they built that camp? It looks Roman.”
“Not really, Count Palatine. Rome built it before the Markoman wars, and I was in Anatolia at the time. Then and again, this is the second battle of Vogastisburg.”
“And the last, one would hope.”
As the two commanders rode along the road that would take them down from the hill to their camps at the river’s banks, they passed an old man sitting by the road, wearing a wide-brimmed hat.
Bayan suddenly stopped.
“And who might you be, grandfather?”
“A simple traveller, your graces,” answered the man without lifting his gaze from the ground.
“No. No, I do not think so. There is a cloak made not of fabric around you. Are you perhaps one of Svarog’s, trying to take us out under the scorching sun?”
“And who might you be, then, Great Khagan, that you see who I am not so clearly?”
“Someone very annoyed right now. Are you a friend or foe?”
“An enemy of your enemy, so a friend of yours, if you would.”
“An enemy of my enemy is my enemy’s enemy, no more, no less. Speak your name, and we shall see.”
“They call me Odin Borrsson.”
Walls of Constantinople, 911
“Hey there, Zoe. You look like shit.”
“Go die in a fire, Rego. Those raiders they sent us to hunt… I don’t know who they are, but normal people can’t turn the aurora into angular sigils and use it to tear your boat to shreds.”
“I would think not. Did you mange to capture anyone?”
“Yeah, a ginger that’s a real piece of work. Shame we couldn’t get her horse, it was a bit like a pegasus, but with wings at the feet.”
“Huh. You know, I think I know who our pirates are. I met them a hundred years ago at Vogastisburg. She’s an important one, one of the retainers of their chief god.”
“That doesn’t mean much, does it?”
“All-father is very unlike my little brother, Zoe, he actually cares.”
“Imagine that. So, we’re ransoming her.”
“Oh no. No, no, no. We will, in fact, be hiring her. Oh, and her name is Reginleif, you may want to use it. She’s about to be part of the Imperial bodyguard, after all.”
“Did anyone ever tell you you’re a dick?”
'U Prince' tavern, Prague, 992
To all those that were in this tavern, nothing out of the ordinary happened. One rich merchant approached the table where what was surely his colleague was sitting and enjoying the local beer. Some of the more observant locals noted that the new arrival had a hand made of metal, but such things were hardly unheard of.
“Well then, I am here, Tyr.”
“I see you are not the one for small talk.”
“Not when there is allegedly urgent business to be had.”
“Very well, then. We have a problem, and a big one at that. Tyrfing is lost.”
“Lost? Not stolen? That is… unusual.”
“Aye. It was given to daughter of Njord, Gutrid, and she married my son Karlsefni – and then they went off on a voyage of discovery. They sailed west and found land there, full of rich vineyards and called it Vinland.”
“I see the lack of creativity is genetic, then.”
“You really need to let the whole Iceland and Greenland thing go.”
“Never.”
“Oh never mind. The point is, Vinland was already inhabited, and the locals we call Skraelings were friendly at first, but then something went wrong and they started to fight. The last message from the camp came two years ago.”
“What does all of that have to do with me?”
“That’s the thing, they sent some of the words from the Skraeling’s language, and it seems to be similar to the one you said was the first you spoke.”
“Truly? That is interesting. There were rumours since forever of a bridge of ice into a new promised land, far to the north-east, well before the Olympians were born.”
“You see, then, why we would contact you. We need to go to Vinland, find out what happened, and rescue our children if possible. And if not, then at least recover Tyrfing.”
“Very well, then. Who is coming with?”
“A few valkyries, led by Brunhildr, some half-bloods and myself.”
“You personally? That is risky, going so far beyond your territory.”
“I am aware, but we are no Olympians. All-father would come as well, but he dare not risk it for fear of Ragnarokr.”
Arva Vara fortress, northern Carpathians, 1241
“Greetings, Ramiro Piccolomini. All-father has heard your call for aid, and has responded in turn. Our alliance stands, as it has ever stood.”
“Forever is a long word, Reginleif, even for me. But I am glad to see you, and your companions.”
“They are Snorri Thorsson and Helga Lokisdottir.”
“Ah. My most sincere condolences.”
“The journey here was… long.”
Port of Zara, Most Serene Republic of Venice, Dalmatian coast, 1244
“It was god to see you again, Ramiro.”
“Well, considering that Subutai has an egg on his face and is in full retreat, I have to say – likewise, Reginleif.”
“Ever so mercenary.”
“Hey, you are the one I hired for the Imperial bodyguard.”
“Fair enough. Before I go, though, I have to ask. How have you managed to get Snorri and Helga to not only not murder each other, but have a threesome with you?”
“Raw animal magnetism. A hundred florens says they are gonna end up married.”
“Bet.”
Port of Damietta, Nile delta, Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria, 1309
The mood in the inn was grim.
“So you are saying that we are facing the second Titanomachia?” asked Reginleif.
“Indeed. Gargarensis seeks to free the Titans and what is worse, has the favour of Poseidon, of that we are sure,” answered the dark-skinned priestess that called this meeting.
“Well, you are wrong on several levels there, Amanra,” sighed Ramiro.
“Do tell, grandpa.”
“It would be the third Titanomachia, not the second. And Gargarensis having the favour of Poseidon is a curious thing, because my brother may be a lot of things, but a complete idiot is not one of them.”
“What do you think is going on, then?”
“Something much worse. Politics. At a guess, Poseidon is seeking to obtain weapons and leverage over his brothers, and not just over them.”
“So you think stealing a piece of Osiris was not an attempt to prevent him from intervening, but a means unto itself?”
“Just so, Arkantos. We need to gather our allies.”
“Wait. If threat of Titans is there to collar Romans and Greeks and a piece of Osiris is to chain the Egyptians, what of us?” asked Reginleif.
“That is what worries me. Olympians aren’t the most… scholarly of gods, and I worry that he may go after the Gjallarhorn or some such without understanding the gravity of it.”
“We… should probably tell All-father about this.”
“The more the merrier is what I say when it comes to saving the world. It’s a bitch to do when you have something like three people.”
Quezon city, Phillipines, 1934
“I need your help.”
“Who the fuck starts a conversation like that, Loki? I barely sat down, let me order something first.”
“I mean it, Sharpe. You heard the rumours from Germany?”
“About how Klein wants to return to Norse pantheon worship because of his daddy issues?”
“Not that one. About their plans for Jews and other undesirables.”
“Rumours, yes. So far, it is only to the level of standard racism, and thing is, I really can’t afford to meddle with that. Mortal countries are for the mortals to govern.”
“And yet you keep going after human sacrifice.”
“I have my limits.”
“Well, the rumours are it is getting to that point. Not sacrifice, mind you, just murder. Systematic, state-sponsored murder. I don’t quite believe them, but I find them concerning.”
“More concerning that what the Japanese are getting up to?”
“More concerning than the Japanese pantheon at least. I need someone to go in there and find out whether or not it’s true.”
Hlidskjalf, Valhalla, 1940
“Loki was right.”