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—
Asgard
1075 A.D.
Loki woke up with a yawn, stretching on his bed.
Today was a grand day. His brother would be receiving Mjolnir, the legendary hammer forged in the heart of Nidavellir from the equally legendary Uru metal. As the God of Thunder, Thor's control over his powers required a focus, and what better than Mjolnir?
He just wanted the ceremony to be over to continue his studies.
The bathtub was filled with warm water with the wave of a hand, and Loki sat down, enjoying the warmth it offered. A weird thing to say for a Jotun.
Clean and dried, clothes flowed out of the cabinet, and Loki was ready for the day. He didn't need any servants to do his chores, since it gave him small opportunities to practice seidr.
Walking through the halls, he finally found Thor, who was surrounded by Lady Sif and the Warriors Three.
"Brother, there you are," Thor greeted him, his heavy hand landing on his shoulder.
"Thor, ready for the big day?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Of course I am."
"Just checking, brother."
"Loki, will the Allfather give you a weapon as well?" Sif opened her mouth. Loki didn't think she did it out of malice, but her intentions did not make her any less irritating.
"What for?" he said. "I don't need a focus for my seidr."
"It is a matter of prestige, brother, to have a weapon worthy of a warrior," his brother said. He could see that Thor was restless, as expected, and decided not to lower his morale with needling comments.
"If I ever need or want a weapon, I can always make one for myself," he said. "Though, I think it would just gather dust in my room." Loki had considered acquiring a weapon for himself, but his seidr was extremely deadly. A weapon would just be for show, not worth the trouble.
Thor shook his head. "You and your seidr."
"I am sorry, whose seidr was vital in winning twenty championships?" Loki asked, putting his open hand behind his ear to hear the amused responses of "yours."
"At any rate, there is only Mjolnir and Gungnir. A hammer isn't my style, and Gungnir is too seidr hungry for anyone else other than Father," he reasoned. The spear of Allfather was even better than Mjolnir, but ultimately unnecessary for him.
"I'll take your word on that," Thor said, patting him on the shoulder again.
Servants informed them it was time, and the group made their way to the throne room.
—
The ceremony would be taking place in the throne room. Warriors, ambassadors, and other people of great importance were gathered inside, waiting.
The Allfather was on his throne, with his queen waiting down at the stairs. Loki swiftly positioned himself beside her, accompanied by Lady Sif. The Warriors Three were arrayed on the opposite side, smiling.
Thor walked through the door, raising his fist to the applauding crowd. It devolved into a show, with him fanning the crowd's jubilation.
Loki's palms itched.
He was so close to creating a spell that would stop Bifrost from being a necessity for him. Each second Thor dragged out the ceremony, his considerable patience was waning.
The Allfather slammed his spear on the floor, silencing the whole room in an instant.
"My king," Thor said, kneeling before the throne, waiting.
"Rise, my son," Odin ordered, his voice carrying across the room. He got up, with his wife following, holding the cushion carrying the Mjolnir.
His father was dressed in his armor, a sight only possible in ceremonies and celebrations. His mother, on the other hand, was dazzling, dressed in a golden gown adorned with countless jewels fitting the most powerful female in the Nine Realms.
"You have proven to be a valiant and just warrior and must have a fitting weapon," his father declared. "Mjolnir has unmatched potential in destruction, as well as creation," he continued.
Though, the weapon's history confused Loki. It was locked away in the vaults but was mentioned in history texts. When he asked the Allfather if Mjolnir had a previous user, he had said no.
Then why did Odin see the need to have this weapon forged? Perhaps he had seen a vision of the future and knew it would fit his son and heir?
Over a century, he had come to understand that the Allfather hid a lot. Not because he discovered any secret knowledge, but due to the small discrepancies in history.
What they were, he could not be certain, however.
"Do you swear to use your strength to defend the Nine Realms?" the Allfather asked, all ceremonious now.
"I swear," Thor responded, waiting for the weight of the question to settle.
"Do you swear to carry this weapon with honor and pride?" his father asked once more, and Thor responded much the same, "I swear."
"Then, in my name as Odin Allfather, I grant you Mjolnir," Odin proclaimed.
Mjolnir rose from the cushion and floated to Thor. His brother raised his hand, deliberately slow, and grasped the handle, raising the mighty weapon up.
The silenced crowd cheered once again, chanting Thor's name.
He smiled, happy for his brother but also that this ordeal would be over quickly.
"Your first task is to travel to Nornheim," the Allfather informed Thor. "Brigands have been seen, threatening a world under Asgard's protection."
A weapon like Mjolnir and a first task outside Asgard on the same day? Their parents must have planned this in advance.
"You will be given the command of a company of Einherjar and may take any companion you wish," Odin added.
Given his first military command too? This was certainly a day of many firsts.
"My brother, Loki, along with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three," he said without asking for anyone's opinion.
His smile fell at being mentioned, and he looked at Thor, shaking his head. His research was already delayed because of the ceremony. A quest to defend Nornheim would only make it worse.
Thor had his new fancy weapon; he should be able to handle everything without him.
However, his brother only grinned, misunderstanding the urgency in his eyes.
Loki felt like face-palming.
—
"You don't seem happy, brother," Thor said to him.
Loki's flat smile and tight jaw must have given him away. "I was about to achieve something great, and now, I am being dragged to Nornheim," he said with an accusatory voice.
The first realm he wanted to visit certainly wouldn't be Nornheim.
"You can always achieve that great thing later, Loki, but I want to go and fight shoulder to shoulder with my brother," Thor said, giving his shoulder a squeeze.
The warmth in his brother's voice made him finally relent.
"Let us just finish this swiftly and return home," he said. The enemy were just brigands; they shouldn't take long to dispose of.
"Very well."
—
Thor, Loki, Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three gathered before Heimdall with a hundred of the finest Einherjar, ready to travel to Nornheim. The Allfather had already prepared supplies and the soldiers for ease of travel, and they could leave mere hours after the ceremony.
"Hail, Heimdall," Thor greeted the Gatekeeper of Asgard. Loki found him to be an intriguing person in lieu of his seidr.
The power to see and hear all that was happening across the Nine Realms, unless they were hidden with seidr, was one of the reasons Asgard reigned supreme.
"My prince, congratulations," the Gatekeeper said, bowing slightly. "Mjolnir is a weapon fit for a warrior like you."
"My thanks, Heimdall. The Allfather tasked me to put an end to the brigands in Nornheim."
"I am aware. Be on your guard, my prince; these brigands are numerous," Heimdall warned. They could ask for more information, but Thor had a different idea in mind.
His brother chuckled, palm on the handle of his new weapon. "You don't believe they are a match for us, do you?"
"Caution is never misplaced, my prince," Heimdal said, pressing his sword into the Bifrost, and the mechanism flared to life.
Gears shifted, and a portal glowing with the colors of a rainbow opened.
"Forward," Thor called out, gesturing with Mjolnir.
Loki followed him wordlessly, his face blank like the skies of Nornheim.
Sometimes, he hated how thoughtless Thor could be.
—
Nornheim, in his most royal opinion, sucked.
It was a medieval place, with towns and villages of wood and stone, inhabited by Asgardian-looking mortals. Their lives were usually peaceful under Asgard's protection, but every now and then, a band of brigands would appear.
The only good part he found was the scenery. Asgard, being a planetoid, was limited in size, but Nornheim had greenery as far as the eye could see.
They landed in the middle of the village, in an opening prepared specifically for Bifrost. A Nornheimer, dressed much cleaner than his guards and fellow villagers, rushed to greet them.
He was old, with graying hair, nut-brown eyes, and a wrinkled face.
"Hail, I am Thor, son of Odin," Thor declared, and the poor Nornheimer's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"My prince, you honor us," he said, attempting to bow deeply, but his brother stopped the old man.
"Rise and speak, good fellow."
"I am Chief Urd. Please, this way, we can speak inside," the chief gestured.
Thor nodded, ordering the Einherjar to disperse and assume defensive positions across the village.
During the short walk, he inspected the village. It was rather orderly, with a well-paved and wide road going through the middle. Side roads branched between houses, mostly two stories tall.
Going by the size, the population was at least half a thousand.
The longhouse of the chief, built over a small hill, was at the end of the road.
They were taken inside and seated before a map. The place reminded him of Viking halls, though, seeing as they saw Asgard as their protectors, it wasn't far off.
"The brigands have clashed with our guards at the north and the south," Urd said, pointing at the parts in the tattered brown map. "The attackers on the north were more numerous, and our scouts found trails. There is a clearing in the forest; we believe they might be camping there."
Thor looked at Loki, a silent request, and with a wave of his hand, a colored holographic map rose over the original. The chief was taken aback, as were the people around him, but they continued regardless.
Loki enlarged the map, creating axe-brandishing figurines to mark the brigands on the indicated parts in red color.
"What are their numbers?" Thor asked, examining the map. It wasn't very detailed, but it still gave him a general location of important places.
"We are unsure, but twenty on the south, twice on the north at the least," Urd responded.
The indicated numbers, with question marks on top, appeared over the hostile signs.
"Thor, what is our plan?" Sif asked.
"Brother, I want you to scout where those brigands have assaulted. Get a clearer sighting on their numbers and location," Thor said.
Two ravens were conjured on Loki's palms, flying out of the window to scout the locations. He watched through their eyes and touched the middle of the map. The rough images quickly became clearer, giving them a more precise map.
"I shall admit, brother, I kind of expected you to rush ahead and assault the brigands," he winked.
Though, perhaps it wasn't such a terrible idea to find and destroy the brigands immediately.
"Please, the last time I did that, we lost the quarter finals in Realms of Valor."
"Ah, yes, that was amusing," he said with a smile. Conjuring a small screen, he rewatched Thor's avatar being surrounded and destroyed by the enemy.
His brother huffed, not sharing Loki's feelings.
The map continued to expand as they waited, and when the ravens reached the enemy, he conjured two more screens. The visual was then relayed through him so everyone could watch.
"Your abilities never cease to amaze, brother," the God of Thunder said.
Down in the south, the enemy had camped around a cave at the base of the mountain. Their numbers were certainly much higher than a mere twenty. There were also the ones that entered and left the cave.
He counted close to a hundred brigands there.
The north was much worse. Fifty or so were camping in an opening across a wide and raging river, but there were four camps around it. They were far enough to be out of sight but close enough to surround the clearing from all sides.
The only option left for any attackers would be to take their chances with the river.
"A trap to surround any attacking force. These brigands are not fools," Fandral said, grinning. It would be no fun otherwise.
"But they are no match for us and a hundred Einherjar," declared Volstagg.
"Indeed."
"We should assault the southern encampment first," spoke Hogun, gesturing to the cave on the edge of the map. "Destroy the smaller force and turn our attention north."
"That was my thinking as well," Thor agreed. They could even take prisoners and learn where the brigands had arrived from.
Sif, however, raised an interesting point: "If the enemy retreats inside the cave, the battle could turn in their favor."
Assaulting a cave where the enemy had the advantage would most definitely result in unnecessary losses.
"We draw them all out then," said Thor, a growing smile on his face.
"How?" Hogun asked. The enemy
Thor turned to Loki and said, "Brother, do you remember how we fooled the Ljosalfar that visited Asgard for the festival?"
He snorted, remembering that day, "Ah, I see."
"Thor, please, that is not a proper battle plan," Sif begged. She too was a witness of that little incident and wanted to murder the siblings for it.
Thor and Loki just grinned more.
—
The cave was a day away from the village by foot. Some considered the idea of requesting horses, but Thor was all too happy to march.
The attack plan was simple. The brigands would be distracted and drawn out of the cave. The Einherjar would be waiting to surround them to demand surrender. If not, the warriors of Asgard were all too ready to solve the issue with force.
Before they left, the guards of the village were positioned to the north in case there was an attack; they would resist long enough.
Loki's surveillance of the brigands had shown that they were not gearing up for an assault, but it was best to be ready for anything.
He still had the conjured map, and they could take the straightest path.
There weren't proper roads to either of the camps, only to the west where a town lay. It made the march all the more challenging.
"Isn't this great, brother? You and I, fighting together," Thor said.
They were sitting near a lake while the Einherjar set up camp.
"It does feel relaxing to be out in nature like this," Loki admitted, throwing another piece of bread to the fish in the lake.
Tall, green trees, the chirping birds, the crystal-clear lake, and the soft grass—it all was very serene and helped him keep a clear mind.
Thor laid back down, watching the sky. "If only our enemy were more challenging," he said wistfully.
"Like?" Loki wondered which enemy his brother had in mind.
"Like the Jotnar."
"I thought we had this conversation about not starting a war with them?" he asked. They were, what, eight years old? He clearly remembered telling his brother the real reason behind the history lesson Odin had given that day.
"I am not saying we should go and fight the Jotnar," Thor clarified. "I only wish that our enemy could challenge us."
Of course Thor would want to fight an enemy worthy of Mjolnir.
"How about you take the brigands all by yourself? Would that be a challenge enough?" he offered. Thor could do that, he was sure, though there would be some scratches.
"And leave the rest of you out? I am not so selfish, brother," Thor replied.
Loki shook his head, though a smile crept on his face.
---
Notes: There is no information about Nornheim in the MCU, though it was mentioned a couple of times, especially between Thor and Loki about being surrounded by a large enemy force. As such, this is a rather unknown territory that I am adding as we go.
—
In the next chapter:
Their companions were about to leave to rest, but his brother saw Lady Sif's slumped shoulders. "Sif, don't tell me you are still sour over our tactics. It worked wonderfully," he said.
"I think she is angry for a different reason," Loki suggested, smirking.
This would be fun.
"What would it be?" his brother asked, head tilted.
He conjured the bait again, the one with milky skin and melon-sized assets. "I mean these conjurations, they are rather comely, aren't they? Lady Sif, for all that she is a great warrior, is rather lacking in certain areas," he said, winking at Thor.
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