As Jon looked into the beaming face of Woden the Allfather, he noticed a look of pride and reverie. The look from the most powerful God made Jon feel his own sense of pride, remembering some of his feats in battle, he chuckled. Almost as soon as he felt pride, he remembered the loss of his teacher. He had a yearning to ask of the soul of such a great warrior.
"My, little one, how you have grown. I can begin to sense your presence more than the last time we met. You grow stronger by the day. Almost like my own son Thor, as he grew into a man. Come closer, let me gaze upon your visage."
As soon as Woden beckoned him, he felt himself move against his will, one step at a time. Jon felt almost entranced and the only thing on his mind was to listen to the old God. One step at a time he crossed the throne room, which was made from granite and marble, giving the room almost a formal feeling, if not for the copious amount of mead barrels and bright white Birchwood feasting tables.
"Ahh! It's just as Muninn has told me, you do look a bit older, more mature. Battle aged more like! Tell me, young Berskaggr, how was it ripping a man from his soul, watching as the Valkyrie claim their prizes?" Woden spoke loudly and proudly at his champion, pointing at Jon's head.
The memories of battle flooded Jon's mind as Woden smiled, remembering all the sights, sounds and smells of all the battles fought in the Golden Isles. Jon saw his old teacher, combat master Gu, at the front of the boars Tooth formation, being stabbed and hacked into pieces as his friends pushed his broken body through the enemy shield wall. He tried with all of his mental might to stop the memories of his old friend. Woden took notice of his resistance immediately and asked, "Why do your memories feel so spiteful and sour? Gu is a hero who now eats and drinks at my table for eternity. He fights in glorious combat to his heart's content in eternal youth. He has his choice of women to battle in the bedchamber as well. His sacrifice was worthy of songs and tales told around the table. He died a warrior's death, happily I might add."
Once the words were spoken, the mental link between God and man was reinforced as foreign memories started creeping into Jon's mind. He was in the body of Gu every one of his senses was tied to the memory like he was living it himself. He heard the thoughts and felt the emotions of his old teacher. Where Jon thought there was pain, there was only calm. A calm like the water before a raging, violent storm.
Jon felt his old teacher's pain as he could hear joints cracking and popping with the anger and adrenaline coursing through his veins. He watched through Gu's eyes as the charge started. Halfway through he was no longer running, but flying on the shields of Valkyries to meet his end.
Even as steel ravaged his flesh, Jon still felt calm. He even watched as Gu beheaded a man four rows deep, who in turn ran him through with a pike. Jon felt the pain and watched the blood drip from his mouth, unable to take a breath, the pike had pierced and collapsed a lung. Even still the old man was calm like the world around him was completely still. Jon felt his senses dull as the world started to fade, steel biting deep through his flesh and bones, the pain began to fade.
As soon as Gu was thrown through the very last line of shields, the men behind him let go of his body to encircle the enemy. He hit the ground so hard he slid in the wet mud for a full 3 meters. The last thing he felt was the cold, wet ground filling his mouth and the warmth of his piss and shit leaving his body with his soul.
Looking up, Jon, through Gu's eyes saw the most beautiful warm light, as he began to stand from his corpse. As his vision focused he saw a beautiful shieldmaiden, with golden hair, she stood 6 feet tall, with a build like a giantess.
She wore a perfectly shaped, gilded breastplate, which made her look like she had a very ample bosom. On her chiseled arm she wore a heavy bronze covered shield, shining brightly in the warmth of the sun. She pulled Gu into her arms as an immaculate set of two silver wings came out of her back. She asked if he was ready for Valhalla with a voice as sweet as honey.
With an almost over enthusiastic nod, acknowledging he was ready to go, she jumped into the air as her wings beat the air hard, making a noise like a giant bird in flight. She flew so fast the world around them was a blur, until they flew into a bright golden light.
Jon felt his consciousness tug back into his own mind, he gasped for air, filling his lungs as deeply as he could, no longer feeling the pain of death.
Jon wanted to weep tears of joy and sadness for his old teacher. Valhalla was the paradise of the Northmen, the highest honor a dead warrior could receive. However, the violent death his old friend had faced made him sad. Another feeling began creeping into his mind. It was not placed there by Woden, but by the intrigue he felt after experiencing the mind link. He was truly curious and thirsty for knowledge.
"Allfather, thank you for showing me these things. I thank you for giving me peace for my friend. One day, you willing, we will meet again, eat, drink and fight along side one another." Jon said while going to a knee, bowing his head in respect for the old God.
"It is no issue, you fought hard, saving many of your countrymen from death at the hands of the enemy. It reminds me of my days hunting the giants of Jotun. I remember saving Tyr's ass quite a few times from the jaws of death." Woden spoke.
"Allfather, I do not wish to overstep, but my hunger for knowledge is gnawing at me. How do you force your way into my mind so frequently?" Jon truly was curious. A mind link, or reading minds like Woden, could open a whole new world for him not only in combat, but politically.
"HAHAHAHA!" Woden's laugh shook the entirety of Asgard, almost making it feel like an earthquake. "That is reserved for Godhood my child, no mere mortal can just invade another's mind without absolute power, however it is not impossible for someone chosen by a God. At your current level, you couldn't even feel another's mind fringes, let alone invade them! Grow yourself into a strong warrior and mage, meditate in the energy of Midgard. Focus yourself into my Gungnir and I will teach you to your heart's content." Woden chuckled softly, thinking of himself at that age and his thirst for knowledge.
"Speaking of teaching, you were a very large part of the success on the Golden Isles. You may not be rewarded with gold and trinkets fit for your contributions by your Jarl, but, you may take a look in my personal library. Choose three tomes as your reward. Just remember, the only true, unbeatable power will never be written down, only passed from the mind, master to apprentice. Go now, my child and search for your reward."
As Woden finished speaking, he waved a single hand. Jon felt the room spin slowly, gaining speed by the second. Jon closed his eyes to make himself feel less nauseated only upon opening them to find himself in a library that extended as far as the eye can see.
Taking a step forward, Jon had no idea where to start. There were no signs for which Tome was which. He would need to search for the knowledge alone, unaided. Jon picked up the closest book to him, blowing the dust off of the cover. The cover was a beautiful shade of emerald green with an orange spine. He opened up the Tome to the first page, gazing upon the knowledge.
To his surprise, all it was, was a book on how to make the tastiest, most succulent roasted boar.
After what felt like hours of walking and still no guidance, Jon started to feel weary. Not a physical weariness, as his body was more ethereal, but a mental weariness. Like he could lay down on the cold stone floor and sleep. With no guidance and no knowledge of where to start, Jon felt defeated.
"How am I supposed to find a good tome, if none of these fucking books are labeled?!" He yelled out loud to no one in particular.
Standing up, he grabbed a purple tome flipping to the first page, it was an elemental spell book. The knowledge it contained was enough to describe some ways to bring energy into your body to support your spells, as well as all of the lower elemental spells and conjurations. As he flipped to the last page, it had scribbles, annotations and corrections from the key points of the book. Some of the most insightful paragraphs in the entire book, signed by the great Goddess Freyja herself.
"Wow, I guess I learned my lesson. Always complain out loud... maybe more like ask and you shall receive? Ehh, who gives a shit, I'm keeping this one!"