POV: Baldur.
Near the Royal City, Nidavellir.
Two Hours After Ratatosk's Arrival.
The battle didn't drag on much after Ratatosk's arrival. The Fire Demons were wild but not foolish. Once they realized they had lost the advantage in numbers and firepower, they retreated into the forests. I ordered them to be hunted down by ships and drones. Unfortunately, this wasn't very successful; the Demons had an escape route prepared underground, where they hid.
It happened so quickly that my infantry didn't even have time to land. The Demons' retreat was well planned, so they must have a competent leader guiding them. Plus, with the convergence still happening, they could send more troops as reinforcements. This war won't end quickly.
With the end of this fight, all available people started tending to the wounded. Many of them will be out of commission for a long time due to burns, but those are the lucky ones. The Angels left no one wounded; each of their strikes was deadly for every dwarf they attacked. The title of one of the most powerful armies of the Ten Realms is well-deserved.
We had to move all the wounded as quickly as possible because of the dead Fire Demons. When one of them is killed, their body dissolves into flames that spread rapidly across the ground. The wounded who couldn't move were at great risk because of this. After all the wounded were taken off the battlefield, it was time for the dead.
"I must thank you once again, lad."
Dwarf King Eitri thanks me. He was sitting on a rock while one of his healers was tending to his shoulder where he was burned. A difficult task for the healer, as the dwarf kept moving while drinking mead with his other hand.
"I'm over a thousand years old, King Eitri. I haven't been a boy for a long time."
"Talk to me again in five thousand years. Maybe I'll consider stopping," he says jokingly.
"And the losses?" I ask, shifting to a serious topic.
"We lost three hundred warriors, and we have over a hundred wounded. They really caught us off guard," says Eitri with a sad look.
Dwarves, like all races with a long lifespan, have a great difficulty in producing offspring. This provides a certain balance in things; imagine how many elves or dwarves would exist if they could reproduce like humans. So three hundred deaths are an astronomical number of casualties for them.
"The battlefield situation isn't favoring us either," he says.
The Fire Demons have a lot of destructive power; half of the battlefield is ablaze. Fighting in this location against an army that controls the flames is foolish.
"I can extinguish the flames. The most important thing is to know where they'll set up camp."
(It's highly unlikely they'll stay underground for long.)
Eitri thought for a moment before responding to me.
"If I were a Flame Demon, I'd choose the Infinite Flame Swamps in Skornheim. There's no better place for them on the surface; the flames of that place can even burn the gods!"
"Besides the forges in the underground of your planet, that's certainly the best location."
"Anyway, lad. Who's that sleeping lady on your steed?"
Sleipnir returned with Angela still unconscious, wrapped in golden chains.
"She was with the Angels," I tell him.
"She doesn't look like one of them. Did you tear off her wings?"
"No. She doesn't have wings because she's Asgardian. In fact, her birth name is Aldrif Odinsdottir!"
"Eugh!"
Eitri spits out his drink when I mention Angela's true name. He is one of the oldest beings in the Ten Realms; he should have been alive when the war against Heven was fought. So it's no surprise that he knows who she is.
His shock was amusing to see, but he quickly returned to his calm expression.
"I see, so the heir is alive. The queen will be very pleased to hear this."
"I think she'll cast another curse on them."
"That's the second thing she'll do," says Eitri, nodding.
Odin banished Heven from the World Tree, and my mother cursed them. All the souls of that people will be forced to serve the Lady of Hel for all eternity. The wrath of the Allfather is well known as something terrible and brutal. Brutal, but swift. My mother's wrath, on the other hand, extends throughout eternity.
"When will you cut to the chase with the Father and Mother of All?"
"I've already sent Heimdall to warn them."
As the Fire Demons retreated, he was able to see us.
"I see."
"Now we both need to have a family conversation, King Eitri."
"Take all the time you need, lad."
"I've ordered my men to help prepare more defenses. As for the flames..."
I drew a magical rune of elemental control in the air, and the clouds of Nidavellir darkened. Shortly after, a heavy rain began to fall on the battlefield.
"Impressive. Your runic magic is second only to the Allfather's," Eitri says, surprised.
"Even if I spent a billion years studying it, I still wouldn't match his runic magic. Not for lack of talent, but because you can't attain that level of power without making the same sacrifice he did."
"The Allfather offered his eye as payment to drink from the well of wisdom, and he also hung himself on the World Tree for nine days and nine nights in contemplation to gain the knowledge of the runes," he says, as if reciting from a history book.
"My father and I agreed long ago that such a sacrifice would only go against my future goals. Even with the immense power I could acquire."
I let the rain extinguish the flames on the battlefield and mounted Sleipnir to go to a quieter location. I have to have a long conversation with my sister, but I doubt she'll stay calm listening to me. So it's best to find a more private location.
The chosen spot was the top of a mountain a little distance from where we were. I leaned her against the rock and moved a few meters away, sitting in front of her. The mountaintop was covered in snow. But this temperature has no effect on either of us. So I undid the enchantments on her golden chains. That's why she hasn't woken up yet.
"What!"
A few seconds later, she woke up, surprised.
"Release me, you damn fool!"
She shouted as she struggled to break free from the golden chains around her body. Unfortunately for her, I was feeding the chains with enough energy so they wouldn't break. If she hasn't managed to do it yet, she won't be able to break my chains.
After a few minutes of thrashing around like a madwoman on the ground, she finally calmed down. She then looked at me with fury burning in her eyes.
"You don't need to be so angry. I'm only restraining you because I don't think you'll listen to me calmly."
"Let me go, and I guarantee I won't run away," she tells me.
"I think you're more eager to fight than to flee, but it was a good try; our brother Loki would be proud."
"And once again, you're spouting nonsense to me!" she says, irritated.
"I am indeed, Aldrif Odinsdottir?"
"MY NAME IS ANGELA!"
"That may be your name now. But that wasn't your first name, Aldrif. It was the name given to you when you were born, before your death was forged by the queen of Heven. Only then did Odin and our Mother not turn the ten realms upside down searching for you."
"So that's your plan!"
"I don't have a plan, sister."
"No. You want to turn me against my people with this ridiculous story."
(We're not getting anywhere at this rate.)
I ignore Angela and look up at the sky.
"Heimdall? Can you hear me?"
{Heimdall and I can hear you, son.}
It's not Heimdall's voice echoing around us, but that of my father. It seems Heimdall has already informed them of my battle against Angela, and the Allfather has focused his vision on me.
{Your mother can hear you too}, Odin adds.
The "death" of Angela isn't a secret. People didn't talk about it out of respect for the King when it happened, so after many years, everyone forgot about her, but Heven's history and the war are documented in the archives of Asgard. My Father shouldn't have been surprised that I read them, as I spent half of my childhood living in the library.
"Who's there? Reveal yourself!" Angela shouted, also hearing Odin's voice.
"She inherited our family's stubbornness. We could be here talking for years, and she wouldn't believe me," I tell Odin, ignoring Angela's hysteria.
{So, what do you have in mind?}
"Othala!"
{I understand. I agree.}
Othala was the rune with the meaning of inheritance. With it, we can give something to others. That's the simplest explanation of what it can do. My plan, easily understood by Odin, was to use myself as a conduit so that he and my mother could share their memories and emotions with her. Only then, perhaps, would she believe us.
Without wasting time, I create a rune in the air that moves toward Angela.
"What are you trying to do?"
I also feel the power and presence of Odin and my mother merging with my rune from a long distance away. Then the rune touches Angela's head, and she closes her eyes as if she were sleeping.
POV: Third Person.
Enchanted Forest, Alfheim.
The Moment Baldur Arrived in Nidavellir.
Then the Allfather pointed his hand at the sky, as if trying to grasp a cloud high above. The sky then distorted, and a portal opened in the air, showing the image of a beautiful forest full of flowers. Alfheim.
Thor and his group crossed the portal, leaving Asgard and appearing in the enchanted forests of Alfheim. Normally, Thor would be a little upset at the sight of the beautiful flowers and the tranquility this realm offers him. But now a large portion of the enchanted forest ahead of him was completely frozen. All the trees, flowers, and unicorns that freely roamed this place are now frozen like ice statues.
"They're moving toward Ljosalfgard," says Hogun after observing the direction of the destruction trail left behind.
"I must go ahead then. I can only take one with me," says Thor.
The drakkar that Thor's friends used to cross the portal was destroyed the moment they crossed to this side; luckily, they managed to land before it stopped working entirely.
"I'd rather walk. I highly doubt you with that skinny body can carry the mighty Volstagg."
"I'll go," says Sif, sheathing her sword and approaching Thor.
"You three try to get there as fast as possible, and be careful crossing the forest. Just follow the path of destruction left by the ice giants, and you'll be fine," Thor says.
The enchanted forest is not a fairy tale place, even though it's as beautiful as one. There are several hidden dangers in it that would give even them a lot of trouble.
"Be careful too, Thor. From Heimdall's narration about the battle between Malekith and Prince Baldur, he proved to be as powerful an enemy as he is intelligent," Frandall warns his friend.
"Don't worry, Frandall, that's exactly why I'm going with him." Sif certainly gives Frandall some peace of mind.
"We'll meet soon then."
Thor then puts his arm around Sif's waist, holding her tight as he takes off into the air using Mjolnir, heading toward the battle. A battle that would turn into one of the most dangerous traps that Odin's son has ever fallen into.
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