Chapter 197: Feast
9th March 2012, Asgard
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
Odin looked very interested in this, “I can see a few flaws, but the convergence isn’t due for almost a year now. We’ll have time to iron out the details. For now, let’s celebrate this occasion with a feast.”
I stifled a groan; I usually didn’t mind celebrations, but Asgardians can get pretty rowdy at times, especially during feasts. I just enter Odin’s mind with his permission and lock the conversation we had away, so that the Shadows won’t we be able to access it.
I then sigh and prepare myself for the long evening ahead of me.
I was right, of course. The moment Odin summoned the rest of his family after finishing our talk, I was immediately accosted by Thor who had apparently brought his friends out to meet me.
However, the first person Odin introduced me to, was his wife, “Ah, Lady Morrigan. I believe that you never met my beloved wife, Frigga.”
I snorted, “Ah, you two weren’t married the last time I came here. I think it was just after Odin was declared the King of the Nine Realms. Oh, yes, I remember, your betrothal was announced, but it wasn’t confirmed yet,” I bowed towards her, “The tales do not do your beauty justice, your majesty.”
“And you as well, Lady Morrigan.”
I smirked and then I was immediately accosted by the God of Thunder who was pushing his very uncomfortable friend towards me.
Honestly, I would be annoyed, but he seemed very excited, if a little weary, to introduce us, probably wanting to boast a little about our fight together, “Lady Morrigan, may I introduce the lady Sif, Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun.”
I nodded at them, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Of course, the blond one, Fandral, I think, immediately gave me a flirtatious smile, “Oh, my lady…”
Before he could do anything, I sneakily conjured a black knife that I discretely pointed between his legs. I gave him a very malicious smile, one that shut him up immediately, “Be very careful with your next words, young man.”
He looked confused for a second but then I looked towards the knife in my hand, and he followed my gaze. The man immediately stiffened and let out a girlish screech the moment his brain processed what he was seeing.
He jumped back and slowly backed away from me. Thor and his other friends laughed at his expense. Sif on the other hand seemed to glare at me, for some reason. I swear if I’m going to get pulled into some weird Asgardian love triangle thing, then I’m going to get very angry very quickly.
Thor then clapped his hand, “With the introductions done with, we have much to celebrate. We have defeated Loki and his schemes, battled thousands of enemies alone and emerged triumphant. And who could say that they fought alongside the Morrigan, the Angel of Death herself.”
Damn Feasts really weren’t my thing. I’ll probably leave an illusion or something halfway through and walk around the place.
It barely took half an hour for the feast to be in place. I was dressed in a green dress that I haven’t worn in a few centuries, it's just been sitting in my pocket dimension, gathering dust. I have to say, even if I personally don’t enjoy it, the Asgardians know how to throw a party.
I sat down and did nothing but listen to story after story, about victorious Asgardian battles, and Thor bragging about his hammer, not seeing his father’s look of disapproval at his overuse of the weapon.
Then finally, as I expected, they asked me for a story of my own, and while I pondered for a time, I decided to go ahead and tell them something, “My tales are often not happy ones. And the enemies that I fight rarely do live to tell the tale. There’s a reason there’s barely whispers and legends of my actions, of my feats. But if you insist, let me tell you the tale of my origin. I will tell you of the day the girl died, and the woman was born. I will tell you about the fall of a great kingdom called Atlantis.”
Silence reigned in Asgard’s halls, everyone listening raptly to my tale, “It was so long ago. Your King hadn’t even been born then, and I lived on an island, on Midgard. To tell you the truth, Asgard reminds me of that place, the gold, the majesty of it, the peace. It was a kingdom of magic, just like this place. Everyone there was as long lived as an Asgardian, if not even more so. I was very young then, adopted by the King, just like Odin adopted Loki, I had dedicated myself to the magical arts, and for a thousand years, I perfected my understanding of the arcane and of the workings of reality itself. I was declared a prodigy, hailed as the next queen, who would have succeeded my father after he passed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.”
I heard groans and whispers at my story, “There was a family of nobles, ones who weren’t happy with the way things were. They wanted to overthrow the King, and since my position as next in line to rule the kingdom was almost guaranteed, they decided to start a coup, to take over the rule of Atlantis to themselves. But they didn’t have the power to do so. My father was mighty, and my powers were growing every day. They hid in secret and assassinated my father from the shadows, but even then, they knew that the rest of Atlantis would immediately know their role in this and would rebel. They loved my father, you see. To secure their rule, they needed to be invincible, undefeatable, they needed to be feared. So, they decided to summon something far more powerful than they imagined. They summoned Death itself.”
A few women gasped in shock at the revelation, and I continued, “Yes, you heard it correctly, they summoned the avatar of afterlife, the end of all things, Death. And it came, this primal power in a shell that could barely contain it. A fragment of something incomprehensible, that no one should see or understand. It was too much, it killed them immediately, but not without dooming Atlantis in the process. And here I was, my father’s body was barely cold, where I promised him that I would protect his life’s work, protect our people, and I looked at the eldritch monstrosity before me, and I said no more, not today. The might of Atlantis will not fall. Because Atlantis was not a place, it was the people. And so, I ran towards the entity, trying to ignore the corpses in front of me, doing my best to stop Death from destroying the Island and killing everyone.”
Everyone was enraptured with the tale, even Odin looked completely focused on the story, “And when I arrived, I was a lone girl, fighting something so far above my league that we weren’t even playing the same sport. I saw the monster grab its scythe and try to slam it into the ground and I knew that if it had succeeded, Atlantis would be completely destroyed. I used everything I had and transported the two of us to a pocket dimension under my control. When it realized that I had trapped it, it attacked me. And we fought, throwing energy beams, black lightning, the shadows themselves were our weapons, space and time were barely more than weapons to use at our disposal. Had we fought on Midgard, we would have needed to redraw maps afterwards. Until finally, I was able to trick it, and bind it for a moment, where I then sent my most powerful attack towards it.
“Yet it wasn’t enough, it wasn’t even close. Death then sent its most powerful attack and I tried to stop it with my most powerful shield. I was able to stop it for almost a minute, until it broke, and I died as well. And yet, I was immediately reborn, because the entire pocket dimension was a trap, one linked to my life, to my soul. It was a time loop. In killing me, Death became my prisoner. Because, while I had no chance at winning, I could lose, again and again, for an eternity. And so, with no winner in sight, we bargained. And I was able to secure my people’s lives, to save the remnants of our civilization, in exchange for freeing it. On that day, I defeated Death, on that day, I looked to the end, and said ‘not today.’ On that day, I won, because Atlantis is not a place, it was the people, and my people were safe.”
Everyone looked flabbergasted at my tale, and then the applause began. It was Thor that started it, and finally, every single Asgardian, Odin included, looked at me with respect and awe on their faces. The King of Asgard gave me a nod, “A fine tale indeed, Lady Morrigan.”
I nodded and decided to take my leave. Telling my story, in front of all these people, was liberating in a way that I didn’t feel before. I walked the halls of Asgard and towards the balcony. I watched as the water moved and fell of the edge of this flat world. It was a beautiful view.
I stood there for minutes, maybe even an hour, admiring the view, in peace. I heard a cough behind me, and I turned. It was Sif. Oh god, I wasn’t ready for Asgardian drama.
She looked at me, with a little more respect than she showed me previously, “It was a beautiful story. Did that really happen?”
I chuckled, “Every story ever told really happened. Stories are where memories go when they are forgotten. But in this case, yes, that happened. It was a lot more complicated than that, and not quite as heroic, but, on that day, I defeated Death itself.”
The woman nodded and stayed silent. It barely took a couple of minutes before she broke and asked impatiently, “What are your intentions towards Thor?”
I stifled a groan, because this wasn’t fucking High School. Sometimes, I wonder if people immediately revert back to being a teenager when they deal with the matters of the heart. It would explain a lot, the impulsiveness, the questionable decisions. And here she was, a thousand year old goddess, asking about my intentions towards her crush. I was too tired for this. I wanted to go home, to Selene, to Wanda.
I took a deep breath; the poor girl didn’t deserve that I snap at her. Instead, I just decided to mess with her a little, “Ah Thor, quite the nice young man. A bit brash, but that will go away with experience. Good fighter though, although he relies too much on his hammer.”
I could visibly see her eye twitch, “Yes, that Thor. What are your intentions with him?”
I chuckled, “That depends, what intentions are you talking about, here?”
She looked so annoyed and petulant, that I felt like I was dealing with one of the kids I was teaching, “I mean romantically. Do you intend to court him?”
Well, the girl snapped. Now, I feel bad. Fine, I’m not messing with her anymore, “Thor is a very nice young man. Unfortunately, my wife would probably disapprove of me courting him. So, I’m going to pass on this one.”
The girl looked shocked for a minute, and looked at me with wide eyes, “Wife?”
I nodded, “Oh, yes. We’ve been together for thousands of years. Is it that irregular here? Because I’m pretty sure that it was a normal practice between Valkyries back when they were still alive.”
The girl looked lost, and I patted her on the arm, “Why are you so insistent in pursuing Thor? I have barely spoken to him since I came here, and yet the first thing you did when you saw me, was declare me as a threat in your mind.”
The girl looked away, and I groaned inwardly; damn, looks like I’m getting involved in Asgardian drama, after all.
Chapter 197: Feast
9th March 2012, Asgard
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
Odin looked very interested in this, “I can see a few flaws, but the convergence isn’t due for almost a year now. We’ll have time to iron out the details. For now, let’s celebrate this occasion with a feast.”
I stifled a groan; I usually didn’t mind celebrations, but Asgardians can get pretty rowdy at times, especially during feasts. I just enter Odin’s mind with his permission and lock the conversation we had away, so that the Shadows won’t we be able to access it.
I then sigh and prepare myself for the long evening ahead of me.
I was right, of course. The moment Odin summoned the rest of his family after finishing our talk, I was immediately accosted by Thor who had apparently brought his friends out to meet me.
However, the first person Odin introduced me to, was his wife, “Ah, Lady Morrigan. I believe that you never met my beloved wife, Frigga.”
I snorted, “Ah, you two weren’t married the last time I came here. I think it was just after Odin was declared the King of the Nine Realms. Oh, yes, I remember, your betrothal was announced, but it wasn’t confirmed yet,” I bowed towards her, “The tales do not do your beauty justice, your majesty.”
“And you as well, Lady Morrigan.”
I smirked and then I was immediately accosted by the God of Thunder who was pushing his very uncomfortable friend towards me.
Honestly, I would be annoyed, but he seemed very excited, if a little weary, to introduce us, probably wanting to boast a little about our fight together, “Lady Morrigan, may I introduce the lady Sif, Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun.”
I nodded at them, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Of course, the blond one, Fandral, I think, immediately gave me a flirtatious smile, “Oh, my lady…”
Before he could do anything, I sneakily conjured a black knife that I discretely pointed between his legs. I gave him a very malicious smile, one that shut him up immediately, “Be very careful with your next words, young man.”
He looked confused for a second but then I looked towards the knife in my hand, and he followed my gaze. The man immediately stiffened and let out a girlish screech the moment his brain processed what he was seeing.
He jumped back and slowly backed away from me. Thor and his other friends laughed at his expense. Sif on the other hand seemed to glare at me, for some reason. I swear if I’m going to get pulled into some weird Asgardian love triangle thing, then I’m going to get very angry very quickly.
Thor then clapped his hand, “With the introductions done with, we have much to celebrate. We have defeated Loki and his schemes, battled thousands of enemies alone and emerged triumphant. And who could say that they fought alongside the Morrigan, the Angel of Death herself.”
Damn Feasts really weren’t my thing. I’ll probably leave an illusion or something halfway through and walk around the place.
It barely took half an hour for the feast to be in place. I was dressed in a green dress that I haven’t worn in a few centuries, it's just been sitting in my pocket dimension, gathering dust. I have to say, even if I personally don’t enjoy it, the Asgardians know how to throw a party.
I sat down and did nothing but listen to story after story, about victorious Asgardian battles, and Thor bragging about his hammer, not seeing his father’s look of disapproval at his overuse of the weapon.
Then finally, as I expected, they asked me for a story of my own, and while I pondered for a time, I decided to go ahead and tell them something, “My tales are often not happy ones. And the enemies that I fight rarely do live to tell the tale. There’s a reason there’s barely whispers and legends of my actions, of my feats. But if you insist, let me tell you the tale of my origin. I will tell you of the day the girl died, and the woman was born. I will tell you about the fall of a great kingdom called Atlantis.”
Silence reigned in Asgard’s halls, everyone listening raptly to my tale, “It was so long ago. Your King hadn’t even been born then, and I lived on an island, on Midgard. To tell you the truth, Asgard reminds me of that place, the gold, the majesty of it, the peace. It was a kingdom of magic, just like this place. Everyone there was as long lived as an Asgardian, if not even more so. I was very young then, adopted by the King, just like Odin adopted Loki, I had dedicated myself to the magical arts, and for a thousand years, I perfected my understanding of the arcane and of the workings of reality itself. I was declared a prodigy, hailed as the next queen, who would have succeeded my father after he passed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.”
I heard groans and whispers at my story, “There was a family of nobles, ones who weren’t happy with the way things were. They wanted to overthrow the King, and since my position as next in line to rule the kingdom was almost guaranteed, they decided to start a coup, to take over the rule of Atlantis to themselves. But they didn’t have the power to do so. My father was mighty, and my powers were growing every day. They hid in secret and assassinated my father from the shadows, but even then, they knew that the rest of Atlantis would immediately know their role in this and would rebel. They loved my father, you see. To secure their rule, they needed to be invincible, undefeatable, they needed to be feared. So, they decided to summon something far more powerful than they imagined. They summoned Death itself.”
A few women gasped in shock at the revelation, and I continued, “Yes, you heard it correctly, they summoned the avatar of afterlife, the end of all things, Death. And it came, this primal power in a shell that could barely contain it. A fragment of something incomprehensible, that no one should see or understand. It was too much, it killed them immediately, but not without dooming Atlantis in the process. And here I was, my father’s body was barely cold, where I promised him that I would protect his life’s work, protect our people, and I looked at the eldritch monstrosity before me, and I said no more, not today. The might of Atlantis will not fall. Because Atlantis was not a place, it was the people. And so, I ran towards the entity, trying to ignore the corpses in front of me, doing my best to stop Death from destroying the Island and killing everyone.”
Everyone was enraptured with the tale, even Odin looked completely focused on the story, “And when I arrived, I was a lone girl, fighting something so far above my league that we weren’t even playing the same sport. I saw the monster grab its scythe and try to slam it into the ground and I knew that if it had succeeded, Atlantis would be completely destroyed. I used everything I had and transported the two of us to a pocket dimension under my control. When it realized that I had trapped it, it attacked me. And we fought, throwing energy beams, black lightning, the shadows themselves were our weapons, space and time were barely more than weapons to use at our disposal. Had we fought on Midgard, we would have needed to redraw maps afterwards. Until finally, I was able to trick it, and bind it for a moment, where I then sent my most powerful attack towards it.
“Yet it wasn’t enough, it wasn’t even close. Death then sent its most powerful attack and I tried to stop it with my most powerful shield. I was able to stop it for almost a minute, until it broke, and I died as well. And yet, I was immediately reborn, because the entire pocket dimension was a trap, one linked to my life, to my soul. It was a time loop. In killing me, Death became my prisoner. Because, while I had no chance at winning, I could lose, again and again, for an eternity. And so, with no winner in sight, we bargained. And I was able to secure my people’s lives, to save the remnants of our civilization, in exchange for freeing it. On that day, I defeated Death, on that day, I looked to the end, and said ‘not today.’ On that day, I won, because Atlantis is not a place, it was the people, and my people were safe.”
Everyone looked flabbergasted at my tale, and then the applause began. It was Thor that started it, and finally, every single Asgardian, Odin included, looked at me with respect and awe on their faces. The King of Asgard gave me a nod, “A fine tale indeed, Lady Morrigan.”
I nodded and decided to take my leave. Telling my story, in front of all these people, was liberating in a way that I didn’t feel before. I walked the halls of Asgard and towards the balcony. I watched as the water moved and fell of the edge of this flat world. It was a beautiful view.
I stood there for minutes, maybe even an hour, admiring the view, in peace. I heard a cough behind me, and I turned. It was Sif. Oh god, I wasn’t ready for Asgardian drama.
She looked at me, with a little more respect than she showed me previously, “It was a beautiful story. Did that really happen?”
I chuckled, “Every story ever told really happened. Stories are where memories go when they are forgotten. But in this case, yes, that happened. It was a lot more complicated than that, and not quite as heroic, but, on that day, I defeated Death itself.”
The woman nodded and stayed silent. It barely took a couple of minutes before she broke and asked impatiently, “What are your intentions towards Thor?”
I stifled a groan, because this wasn’t fucking High School. Sometimes, I wonder if people immediately revert back to being a teenager when they deal with the matters of the heart. It would explain a lot, the impulsiveness, the questionable decisions. And here she was, a thousand year old goddess, asking about my intentions towards her crush. I was too tired for this. I wanted to go home, to Selene, to Wanda.
I took a deep breath; the poor girl didn’t deserve that I snap at her. Instead, I just decided to mess with her a little, “Ah Thor, quite the nice young man. A bit brash, but that will go away with experience. Good fighter though, although he relies too much on his hammer.”
I could visibly see her eye twitch, “Yes, that Thor. What are your intentions with him?”
I chuckled, “That depends, what intentions are you talking about, here?”
She looked so annoyed and petulant, that I felt like I was dealing with one of the kids I was teaching, “I mean romantically. Do you intend to court him?”
Well, the girl snapped. Now, I feel bad. Fine, I’m not messing with her anymore, “Thor is a very nice young man. Unfortunately, my wife would probably disapprove of me courting him. So, I’m going to pass on this one.”
The girl looked shocked for a minute, and looked at me with wide eyes, “Wife?”
I nodded, “Oh, yes. We’ve been together for thousands of years. Is it that irregular here? Because I’m pretty sure that it was a normal practice between Valkyries back when they were still alive.”
The girl looked lost, and I patted her on the arm, “Why are you so insistent in pursuing Thor? I have barely spoken to him since I came here, and yet the first thing you did when you saw me, was declare me as a threat in your mind.”
The girl looked away, and I groaned inwardly; damn, looks like I’m getting involved in Asgardian drama, after all.
