Chapter Text
The sea tossed and turned as Jane looked out to the sea. Its gray skies and green sea bellowed as the ship continued to rock back and forth. Next to her, Darcy puked her guts out as she collapsed onto a nearby bench,
“Seriously? We had to go to Norway?” Darcy said, trying to steady herself as Jane handed her a breath mint, “I mean, why couldn’t we go to Spain or Italy? Why Norway?”
“Because, strange astronomical anomalies have been reported in the area, Darcy,” Jane said, “We were sent to study what is causing the disturbances, and if it’s something unknown to the world!”
“Relax,” Darcy said, “It’s probably just the Aurora Borealis or some crap like that.”
“We shouldn’t leave any stone unturned,” Professor Erik Selvig said, approaching Dr. Jane Foster and her intern/best friend, Darcy Lewis, “I have a feeling, ladies… I think we may prove your father’s theories, Jane,”
“On wormholes?” Jane said, “Are you sure? His theory relied on wormholes being a common occurrence, that one pops up on Earth once every two hundred years from his estimations, and that there were at least nine spatial dimensions in our Universe. But he could never get any evidence of any wormholes opening, and he never lived long enough for String Theory to advance,”
“Until now,” Selvig said as he showed them his laptop, leaving Jane and Darcy to be stunned at the data, “You see the gravity fluctuations? They occur the most here, in some remote sight in Norway.”
“If that’s true,” Jane said, “Then we need to go there, and run tests on the gravitational waves, see if any random particles are being produced in the area. I’m talking Neutrinos, Tachyons, Muons, Higgs Bosons, and Pym Particles, any sub-atomic particle not too common within our universe.”
“Good thing we have the particle detector,” Darcy said, pointing towards the weird-looking device, made by Fantastic Four Inc., “But, you guys realized that we’ll have to camp out in the middle of the Norwegian woods in the mountains, to find a nexus point for different dimensions.”
“Yes,” Erik said as he looked out into the sea, “I’ll acquire some supplies, but we’ll need a guide to help us through the woods.”
“I think we’ll be fine,” Jane said, “The site’s only a few miles from a rural town, we’ll just need to take a train up there and hike the rest of the way! It can’t be that bad!”
It rained the whole ride through Norway, large mountains sprawling as snow landed at the peaks. Jane, Darcy, and Erik stepped off the train, the pouring rain unrelenting. The team carefully carried the highly sensitive gear through the rain under tarps, making sure no water go onto the equipment,
“You’re right Jane, this isn’t bad: It’s horrible!” Darcy said through the booming thunder,
“Come on! We’re almost there!” Jane said, stomping through the mud,
“Jane, we can regroup in the morning after the storm passes!” Erik said, lightning flashing across the sky,
“We’re already out here, we might as well--” Jane felt her foot stuck as she tripped, stumbling backward as she fell down the muddy hill,
“Jane!” Erik and Darcy called out, setting the equipment down as they rushed over to Jane. Jane rolled through the forest, yelling as she twisted an ankle. She grasped her leg in pain, looking around the dark, muddy forest. She then shrieked as someone stood over her, reaching his hand down,
“Are you alright?” The man said in a strange, calm voice. One not disturbed by the raging storm around them. Jane reached for his hand, touching his rugged and calloused fingers. The rain then stopped, the thundering rumbling to a still as rain droplets still dripped from the branches of the forest, “Your ankle, is it broken?”
“Uh… No,” Jane said as she was able to see the man’s face. Dark blue eyes that shone through the night, and his dirty blond hair was rugged with leaves and twigs in his oily golden locks. His face was covered in dirt, with rough stubble stretching across his cheeks and mouth, “I just twisted it. Who are you?”
“Call me Donar,” The man said, his voice stiff and strong, “What are you doing in the woods? Don’t you know there are trolls out sniffing for Christian blood?”
“Please, I’m a scientist,” Jane said to Donar, “That’s just superstitious nonsense, there is no such thing as trolls,”
“Ah, in the old country, there is,” Donar said, “As there were once Giants and Elves, Dwarves and Gods. But they’re all dead now, after the last twilight. The trolls hide in the darkness, for even the light from a twilight sun shall turn them to stone.”
“Charming,” Jane said, “Look, I’m just here to examine a nearby site, for research and--”
“You mean the ruins?” Donar said, astounding Jane,
“Ruins? You know where we’re going?” Jane asked,
“Yes, ruins… To the old gods…” Donar looked grave as he clutched his head, “You mustn’t go there, for it is a cursed and sacred land. Tread there, and the dead of Vahalla shall defend their last hold on Midgard!”
“How can you even believe in this stuff?” Jane asked, “Why are you so afraid?”
“If I told you,” Donar said, “You would think of me as mad,”
“Like how I’m not doing right now?” Jane said each word dripped of sarcasm, “Look, whether or not you’re going with us, we’re going to those ruins.” Donar looked at the defiant woman, and although reluctant, bowed his head,
“Fine. But whatever may transpire there, it will be your head.”
“Don’t you mean, on my head?”
“It can mean many things,” Donar said, taking his walking cane and helping guide Jane back from the forest. They met flashlights that pierced through the darkness, and Jane was met with a tackle hug by Darcy, and a warm smile from Erik,
“We’re so glad you’re okay!” Darcy said as she took a step back. She then eyed the tall, blond stranger who held onto a walking cane, “And who are you?”
“He’s Donar,” Jane said, “And he’s our new guide!” Erik and Darcy looked at each other, raising eyebrows at the strange man. Darcy thought he was handsome, in a rugged, Conan the Barbarian way. But Jane thought he was kinda grody, a true wilderness man.
Donar led the group through the muddy marsh of the forest, taking the utmost care to respect the forest around him. He spoke in another language, one Erik almost recognized,
“Ó, faðir minn, blessaðu ferðir okkar,” Donar said, one of the many sentences he muttered,
“Is that Icelandic?” Erik said, “It’s either that, or you’re an expert on Old Norse!”
“I wouldn’t know either way,” Donar said, “I don’t remember where I come from.”
“What do you mean?” Jane asked, “You just popped up one day?”
“I remember waking up on a beach, my veins were on fire as I coughed up blood,” Donar shook his head, visibly disturbed by his recollection, “I remember reaching my hand out, as though I was… calling for someone, or something…”
“What happened after?” Erik asked, “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“I woke up in the hospital. Apparently, there was some sort of poison in my system, a sort of neurotoxin. It’s what made my foot crippled,” Donar rolled up his sleeve to show two nasty, puncture scars. Almost as though a humongous snake bit into his leg. Donar smiled, however, as he remembered the memories of spending those weeks with the doctors and other patients of the hospital, “They didn’t know who I was or where I came from, but they took care of me anyways. It’s what made me volunteer as a nurse for the hospital.”
“Then what made you into Bear Grills?” Darcy asked as she offered a Dorito to Donar. He shook his hand as he chuckled,
“As time went on, I remembered certain memories of my life. I know my mother was an environmentalist, caring for the smaller things of nature. I know my father was a mean old bastard, and we never saw eye to eye.”
“Anything else?” Jane asked,
“Nothing else, just those memories…”
“Then why do you believe in trolls?” Jane asked as Donar looked gravely at her, but kept his reasons to himself,
“I rather not--”
“Trolls?” Erik said, “My grandfather told me stories filled with trolls and giants. My favorite was the one where a giant stole the hammer of the gods, Mjolnir!” Donar flinched upon hearing the name of the mythical hammer, but was unnoticed by the others,
“Millner?” Darcy said,
“No, Mjolnir! A hammer made for the thunder god, Thor!” Suddenly, a crackle of thunder boomed from the mountains. Donar looked very agitated, his leg was bothering him even more now, “He, and his father’s blood brother, Loki, went to Jotunheim to get it back. However, they disguised the thunder god as a bride-to-be, tempting the giant to reveal the hammer! And when the hammer was revealed, he--”
“Bashed their brains across the floor,” Donar said, cold as stone as his steel eyes grew darker, “Teeth flew as the guests cried out in panic. Thor leaped from foe to foe, until his once elegant, white dress picked out by his mother was crimson and torn apart. His blond beard stained red.”
“I thought Thor’s beard was red in the myths,” Erik said,
“Common misconception,” Donar said, “He has blond hair, it’s just that in battle it becomes red.” Donar then looked ahead, his stern frown looking through the darkness of the forest, “Enough talk, let’s go,” Donar said as he led the group toward the ruins.
Donar looked up at the trees, seeing a raven in the trees. It looked down at him, studying his every move as he led the scientists through the dark woods. Donar shooed the raven away, tossing a rock at the branch to scare it away. But it remained, looking down at Donar,
“Damn birds!” Donar said as he kept marching,
“I thought you liked nature,” Jane said, “What did that bird do to you?”
“They’ve done nothing but stalk me. They watch me when I walk into town. They watch me when I walk through the woods,” Donar leaned forward towards the group, “They even watch me when I try to sleep.”
“That’s… Kinda odd,” Darcy said, “Maybe they think you have food?”
“Even when I do toss out food, they don’t go for it,” Donar said, “They just keep watching me… Maybe I’m just cursed,”
“Donar, you may be the unluckiest man I’ve ever known, and the strangest too, but I don’t think you’re cursed!” Jane said, “And hey if we’re able to prove our theories with the findings from the ruins, we’ll acknowledge you in the book!”
“Oh, I appreciate that, but I’m alright,” Donar said,
“What, why?” Jane asked,
“I’m not anyone special, I don’t want fame or praise, I just wanted to help,” Donar said, pointing ahead, “We’re here.”
Below them was a valley that sunk below the nearby hills and trees, a small lake forming around a moat around a large knoll in the valley. On the large hill, protected by the moat made by natural geography, was a large temple that was constructed from stone and wood. The wood was rotted, and the stone had stretched of vines and moss growing over the temple. Around the moat was a half-constructed wall of stone, most of the stone eroded away,
“My God,” Erik said as he looked at the temple, “It must be over a thousand years old at this point, how is it still standing?”
“The valley,” Jane said, pointing at the ridge of the decline and mountains, “It’s protected from the wind by the terrain, The only thing we have to worry about is water damage, but the foundations seem to be made of stone.”
“Man, that’s a cool hill,” Darcy said, “Can’t believe how lucky these Vikings got!”
“It’s a burial mound,” Donar said, “And not all Norse people were Vikings.”
“Y’know, for an amnesiac, you have a comprehensive history of the Norse, Donar,” Erik said, “Perhaps you were a professor before you were found stranded?”
“No,” Donar said, looking at his hands, “These are not the hands of a man of philosophy… I think I was a farmer…”
“Or a warrior,” Jane said, touching the rough skin of his palms, “But, I don’t know how a gun would make your hands so calloused over,” Donar blushed as Jane’s hands were in his. Something made his heart flutter as he looked into her eyes, like finding new lands on troubling seas. He shied away, placing his hands on his walking cane as he looked at the temple,
“We need to go to the Hof,” Donar said,
“Hof?” Darcy said,
“It’s the Old Norse word for Temples of Heathenry,” Erik then smiled, “Heck, even if we don’t find the data we’re looking for, the sheer discovery of this place alone would get us on the front page of a science magazine!”
“Right now, let’s aim for the first bird before we try to strike for two birds at once,” Jane said, carefully taking the equipment down the hill as Donar trailed behind. His leg was aching more than usual, causing him to rely on his walking cane more. He looked glumly as Jane and her friends, struggled to take the heavy equipment down safely, wishing more than anything to help them.
Donar then looked as two ravens flew overhead, peering down at the humans below. Donar furrowed his brow, and his heart began to race as the sky began to rumble. He glanced behind him, and for a moment saw an old man staring at him from afar, cloaked in dark robes as he held a staff. Donar looked back again, finding nothing as the clouds loomed in the sky.