Chapter 214 - Chapter 51: Winding Down, Gearing Up part 2

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Harry strode forward at the head of his party, flanked by Ororo and Emma. He was clad in his Crysis suit, and for this special occasion, the advanced armor's color had been changed to a bronze and dark blue theme, accompanied by a black cloak that flowed out behind him. Resting upon his head, he wore a thin crown, one that Ororo had prepared for him herself. Its existence had been a surprise to him, as well as finding out that his ladylove had worked on it for weeks prior to this without telling him. Ororo's creation was made of silver and gold twined around one another like the limbs or roots of a tree, a single emerald set into its center over his lightning bolt scar shaped to almost look like a continuance of the scar in question. To complete the ensemble, at his side he wore the Sword of Gryffindor, and even his hair looked somewhat combed.

Emma stalked forward behind him in her full Diamond persona, her hair flowing down her back and shoulders like a waterfall, her face a cool mask of utter calm. She'd chosen to wear a flowing white dress that fit her tightly at the neck before slowly loosening up by the time it draped over her stiletto-clad heels. On her left hand, she wore the ring Harry had crafted for their wedding, a masterwork of platinum and glistening diamonds. Beyond that single adornment, Emma had a wide belt around her waist, the brown of it contrasting sharply with the white of her outfit. This was a gift from Freya to her, Jean, and the rest of the telepaths. Each belt had a small suite of defensive enchantments on them, nothing like the amount Harry could cast but somewhat longer lasting without needing to feed on the wearer's vitality.

By Harry's right, Ororo walked, resplendent in black and gold robes fit for any queen. Her aura and body language were such that all there would later whisper in their cups that she matched even Lady Freya in majesty. On her silver locks, Ororo's, normal headdress had been transfigured into a crown of gold, the spellwork matching it to her outfit's gold and black patterns. Like Emma, the only piece of jewelry beyond that she wore was the Panja ring given to her by Harry. The gift tinkled as she moved, unheard under the shouts and cheers of the crowd.

Opposite of Ororo on Harry's left Hela, strode with her brother Fenrir on one side and Garm behind her. Unlike most others, Hela only wore her typical armor set, having waved away any ideas of changing her state of dress. Instead, she had made a few concessions in the form of jewelry. First, her normal half-mask had been replaced by one that looked almost as if someone had carved a replica of her face out of onyx stone. She also wore a necklace—almost more a choker given how tight it was around her throat—of tiny steel, stone, and emerald links. Where that piece of jewelry had come from, Harry didn't know. Unlike with Emma and Ororo's dresses, he'd had nothing to do with any part of Hela's outfit, at her personal command. Even so, she definitely made it look good, and the secret smile Hela wore when Harry had first complimented her on the choker had set Harry's pulse to racing.

The two wolves, Fenrir and Garm, had not been cleaned up very much. Garm had flatly refused to do aught but fling himself into a stream to get rid of any smell, proud of his scars and his wild nature, seeing anything more as useless frippery. The fact Hela agreed was all the guardian of Hel needed to ignore Emma's demands or Ororo and Dani's cajoling.

Fenrir had acceded to the same thing, but flatly refused the offer of a combing, furious at the very idea that he would ever be or need to "Be combed and brushed like a pampered pet to be taken seriously by these Asgardian fools!" The two of them prowled forward, their lips pulled back to bare fangs, the look in Fenrir's eyes in particular causing several Asgardians and Asatru alike to twitch, that look calling out to the most primal part of their brains, speaking eloquently of death.

On Fenrir's other side strode Dani. Out of the entire human party, she'd been the only one to come dressed in something that could almost pass as matching the local garb, a mix between her semi-repaired power armor, which covered her legs as pants and booted grieves, and the traditional armor of the Valkyries, which she wore up top to cover her breasts, shoulders, and back. Like Ororo, Dani wore an altered headdress, though this one appeared to be a combination of a Valkyrie's winged helm and the feathered headdress of a Native American war chief.

Behind the rest, nearly overlooked by the raucous Asgardians stepped Sage. Unlike any of the others of Harry's party, she had flat out refused to wear any sort of dress or robe, instead hard lining that her day-to-day suit from her position as vice-president and chief secretary at Magical Minds was formal enough attire for business of any sort.

It was an odd hang up to Harry, but in the end neither he nor Emma had been able to see how it could be construed by Odin or any Asgardian as a slight, and had allowed Sage's stubbornness to stand.

As they closed with the Asgardian royal family, Harry took in more details of Odin and had to hide a wince. Underneath the weight of his Presence, Odin was still not looking well. There appeared to be a limit to how fast even Freya and her ladies could help him recover from having his vitality and magic so horribly drained. And I well know how fucking painful that had to have been for him, Harry ruefully admitted. The Sky Father still looked powerful, there could have been no doubts there, but he was now like a gaunt, aged tree that had lost all its leaves and much of its bark and signs of verdant life yet still stood undeniably strong.

This was proven when Odin raised a hand for silence and the entire hall became still within seconds. "My people! Vanir, Aesir, Valkyrie, Alfar, dvergar, Asatru, Asgardians all! We are here to give thanks to our Midgardian-born friends for the aid they have provided in freeing us from chains so duplicitous in nature we, to a man, had been blinded to their presence binding us in slavery so profound as to make the very stars weep! For that, they have my thanks as Odin, All-father. Yet brought a military force in to help us, not just yourselves as individual adventurers. To have come as adventurers would've been the act of individuals, and as such, individuals could have been rewarded by my hand alone, as friends. And they will be!"

This was answered by a roar of approval from every native throat present. Men, women, even race didn't matter just then as every single person living in Asgard and Utland knew they owed their lives and freedom to Harry and his people and they deserved such thanks.

Again Odin raised a hand, and again the hall fell as he continued, becoming more serious, if such a thing was possible. "Yet it is understood that you, Harry Potter, put forth your Empire's strength as a people to aid us. And as such, we must also speak as between Kings, Lord Potter."

"I agree," Harry said, speaking for the first time into the silence following Odin's final words, glad the Asgardian ruler had tried no tricks and had openly recognized their peerage so quickly. "Personally, I would have agreed to come for friendship's sake with the Lady Hela, as would many of my followers." He turned lightly and smiled at Hela, then nodded to Þór and Balder, who grinned or smiled back at him.

Then he sighed, gesturing around to cover the entire prepared panoply of the hall. "But, as you said Lord Odin, to truly battle the Shadows successfully my nation was required to put forth its military strength, and that puts us beyond mere friendship. Although, I would say that we should get the personal side of things over before speaking of the impersonal, political doings of alliances and agreements. That is, of course, if you too are not opposed to such?"

Odin nodded firmly, although his lips twitched in a wintry smile under his beard. "Indeed, I suppose there is no fault in expediting that which will proceed more quickly in the long run. Let us get the easy part over with first then, shall we? What would you personally ask of me, Lord Harry Potter, King of the Avalon Empire?"

Harry hesitated. A part of himreally wanted to know the story of how Those Who Watch Above In Shadow had tricked Odin and his people so badly. It burned at his curiosity, and likely Odin would never reveal the full story unless pushed, but ultimately, he'd already heard pieces from a few sources, including Odin himself, and his desire to know where Those Who Watch Above In Shadow came from and how they had initially gotten Odin to trust them wasn'tthe most important piece of knowledge the All-father could share. No, that honor goes to his runic knowledge.

"Your mastery of runecraft and magic is well known, Lord Odin, just as is as the price you paid for it. It is the epitome all those true seekers of knowledge must acknowledge in the end; that they much pay for their wealth," Harry began, the formal wording coming to him slowly but with a certain weight to them as he spoke. A bargain was being made here, and such things had a significance to them between beings of power, which Harry had to admit he now was however much he clung to his humanity, that went far beyond that between mortals. "I have an ongoing project, a runic-based enchantment that I am working on, for which I would you ask your aid. I am not, to put you at ease, asking you to power it, just to give me your thoughts and hard-won knowledge on how to succeed in making the array work. There is more, but I would rather not speak of it at present."

Staring at the barely mortal man before him, Odin's one eye narrowed speculatively. He had to wonder just what Potter was hiding, as his request was certainly not what he'd been anticipating. Odin had expected a request for some work of hand or magic, perhaps, or worst case, simply a blank pledge to help him in the future, as he had alluded to Freya just the previous day. But Odin nodded in acquiescence, "We will speak more of your reward later then, but I agree to it. And what will your queens require for their aid in my people's darkest hour?" Here the Asgardian king turned to look between Ororo and Emma.

Ororo stepped forward first, acting as the more senior between the two women. "Lord Odin, I would ask for a selection of herbs and plantings from Asgard, Utland and Svartalfheim if possible. I wish to explore the strange and magnificent plants, and their magical properties, that might be found here that do not exist on Midgard."

While she hadn't kept up her hobby of taking care of plants since moving into Camelot with Harry, Ororo still looked back fondly on the memories of the arboretums at Charles' mansion and High Note and hoped to create something similar in Camelot. Moreover, many of the poultices and potions that the Alfar and the human healers had used for the less serious wounds during the war had been very interesting, and the metal and glass plants of Svartalfheim had instantly intrigued her when Dani, Steve, and Stephen had shared their adventure with the others.

"Such a request will take time to gather, and since you included the plants of the Alfar within your boon, you know well the treasure you are asking for. Yet it will be done, although must needs it will come to you in small allotments rather than all at once," Odin warned. Such would also involve a lot of talking to his Alfar servants, but they would cave to his orders eventually, as they always did. "Further, can you speak for those who joined you in fighting the Dread Serpent as well? While they might represent a unit of your nation's military power, it is also true that they went above and beyond in facing that foe above all others."

Ororo bowed her head regally, wordlessly showing her understanding of what Odin was saying and thanking the King. A beat passed before she answered verbally. "I can, your Majesty. Those who fought with me gave me their thoughts and, to the last, expressed their desire to be paid in terms of weapons specially designed for them in mind. The abilities and skills of your smiths were well known to them before their endeavor and have only gained in reputation since."

"So it will be done! Much like your other boon, such will take time, but with the Rainbow Bridge now open creating and delivering such weapons is certainly possible." With that, Odin bowed his head lightly, formally agreeing to the terms. The ponderous nature of the motion was as good as a sworn oath, or perhaps better since it was coming from Odin. In response, Ororo bowed at precisely the same angle to show her respect and acceptance of the terms set.

As she took a step back, Emma stepped forward. Odin looked upon her thoughtfully. "And what will the representative of the mind warriors ask of us? That belt around your middle is but small recompense for the pivotal role you and yours played in freeing my people from the Shadow's influence . Not only did you defend our folk, but when Heimdall ,The Ever Watchful, was subjugated to especially forceful domination, you could free him in a way even I could not have."

"Lord Odin, as with my fellow Queen, I may speak for my fellows in this. One and all, we would ask for your martial artisans to join with ours in improving our armor. The armor Lord Potter can supply us with may be of immensely worth in many ways, but there is a limit to how protective they can be, magical or physical, without compromising themselves in other ways or draining those of us without magic of our vitality. I hope working together that such compromises can be dealt with through the agreeable trade of smithing knowledge and techniques. However, I understand the nature of such things and fully acknowledge some compromises might need to be made."

"Oh, I rather imagine that we will be meeting our compromise quotas soon enough," Odin murmured, and Harry snorted as a laugh went around the gathered hall before Odin banged the butt of Gungnir against the floor. "Very well. I will intercede on your behalf with the dvergar and will put forth my own knowledge in the endeavor. Together, we will forge armor for you and the other mind walkers the likes of which will be the envy of every world in your dimension."

With that, Odin looked to Hela and her brother. "And what of you two, daughter and son of Loki and Angrboda. What would you ask of me as individuals?"

"To be released!" Fenrir growled out, his rumbling tone instantly sending hands to weapons everywhere within the hall as he glared at Odin. For too long, Fenrir had believed Odin to be the source of all of his torments; his madness, his hunger, his being chained when he was younger to be tortured and broken in spirit and strength. Now, while he intellectually knew that some of that had come about due the Shadows, and that some of his very memories were not real Tyr still had both of his hands where he stood among the audience the Dread Wolf still resented the king of Asgard and the ostracization that had made him such a good tool for the Shadows.

Dani's hand stroked his fur for a moment, and Fenrir looked down at her before looking around at the gathered Asgardians. "I wish to be released," he said again, his words more formal this time, yet still a growl. "I wish for you to honor Lord Potter's acceptance of my plea for asylum, that I leave Asgard behind for good. Too long myself and yours have been at odds All-father. Even with our new knowledge, there has been too much bad blood between us for it to ever be truly forgotten. But it can be ignored, I think, especially so if I am no longer here among the boughs of Yggdrasil."

Odin stared back at Fenrir, at the Beast of Ragnarök. More than any other aspect of continually being forced to relive that horrible war, Odin resented the creature standing in front of him. Of all of his folk, only Odin had been able to retain enough of his free thoughts and memory throughout the ages to realize how often they had gone through the cycle of Ragnarök and remember some of the agonies he had felt dying one time or another. Each and every time, without fail, he knew his suffering had been at the fangs and maw of Fenrir. Was it any surprise that he had never truly tried to change how his folk treated the wolf cycle after cycle? It was shortsighted, he knew, but he had taken delight in it all the same.

Yet now, with at least a chance to start over, Odin worked to rein in his personal hatred of his blood brother's child. Let the King make the decision here, not the individual, One-Eye! "Very well. Fenrir, son of Loki. You are a free creature and may go where you will beyond the realms of Asgard. You will never be followed, nor tormented, by any of mine hereafter forever more."

With Fenrir dealt with, Odin turned to Hela, sighing faintly as he gazed upon the masked goddess. "And you, niece? Well do I know that it was your connection to Lord Potter that brought him and his forces into play, ultimately leading to our salvation. Yet, even now, I can also feel the stirrings of destabilization. Without the realm of Niflheim to support them, and with the damages done to Muspellheim, Utland, and Svartalfheim, the realms of Yggdrasil do tremble. Niflheim must be returned for the balance to be restored. So then, what price will it take for you to expedite that? And what pay do you desire for your aid in the war?"

The stirrings that Odin mentioned were not a comment on the overall stability of Asgard or the rest of the realms' physical makeup. Every realm connected to Yggdrasil had its place in the vast tapestry of enchantments that bound together the pocket dimension of Yggdrasil. That enchantment had been reworked by Those Who Watch Above In Shadow as part of their plan to cut off access to Asgard as well as the other realms from Midgard.

This scheme had culminated with not only the desired isolation, but also the merging of the dwarven, Alfar, and jotun realms into a new Utland, a feat not even Odin could have accomplished. The new, smaller format had been more efficient in cycling magic through the realms, a plus for the Shadows, and a byproduct of that increased flow had made the remaining realms healthier in various ways, although far less diverse in terms of people.

But when Hela tore Niflheim away from Yggdrasil, she had created a destabilization in the magical tapestry. The Shadows had stepped in to keep the system steady, but with them gone, that task had fallen to Odin, lest all the realms and even Yggdrasil itself face terrible collapse in the face of chaotic wild magic. Thus fat, The Sky Father had stepped up, but doing so had severely slowed his recovery. Unfortunately, there was no help for it; such work was far too complex and over far too much area for even Potter and Strange to have helped.

Hela had also cut off Odin and Freya from their positions in the resurrection system leaving the faithful dead of the Asatru who had died as warriors the only option of being sent to Niflheim. But that was not how the Asgardian system for the afterlife was supposed to work. All souls going to Hela's realm only empowered her while detracting from Odin's military and magical might. Now that the way to Midgard had been secured, Odin meant for the entire system to be restored so that any Asatru who died well would once more be able to be claimed by him or his wife.

"In return for this, I would require but two things All-father," Hela announced, her tone stern. Beside her, Fenrir huffed, but observed Odin closely. "First, tell Fenrir and I what has happened to our elder brother, Sleipnir. We have searched for him for days on end and have not seen hair nor hoof of him."

"…Truly, I do not know. Sleipnir was taken out from under me during the first Ragnarök, and since then, the eight-legged horse I've ridden to war with was not his equal, a pale facsimile," Odin mused. "That creature mayhap died somewhere or was never truly alive enough to survive without the Shadows' influence? Heimdall?"

"Your Grace, I can see all, but I do not see Sleipnir anywhere within the realms of Yggdrasil. Nor do I see a trace of him upon Midgard, which I can also espy now that the Rainbow Bridge connects our dimensions once more," Heimdall replied, his voice even deeper but far less strained than Odin's.

"Then the facsimile no longer exists, whatever manner its demise might have taken. As for the original, whether Sleipnir is dead or not, I cannot say. Even my memories of that vile battle are but a faint echo of what they should be. Þór?"

Suddenly being called upon like that Þór twitched, and he ran a hand through his red hair for a moment as he tried to remember. His face twisted in remembered grief as he returned to the fragments of the horrors he could recall. "I cannot say, Father. You were with the cavalry when last I saw thee during that battle. Tis an affront to admit, to even contemplate, but I couldst not even say how you fell, in the end, let alone your mount."

Fenrir growled a bit at how Þór spoke of his brother, something about it causing his hackles to rise. Hela simply sighed in frustrated resignation. "Truly it can be said that we of Loki's get do not have gentle fates. I can only hope that if he did die, he met his end fighting as best he could, and did not suffer the eon-long torture we have."

Odin and his family all nodded in understanding before the All-father brusquely moved things along. "And as for your other request?"

With a final thought to her lost half-sibling's unknown fate, Hela also moved on, a faint smile appearing under her accented mask. She pointed at Harry and said simply, "I wish to wed my Seidr Man. I have come to love him in the ways a woman does a man and wish to join my fellow wives in his bed and not just at his side. To that end, I wish for your blessing."

That caused quite a stir from the watching Asgardians. Few among them had realized the scope of Harry's relationship with Hela, let alone that he was involved with Jean, Emma and Ororo. Indeed, the only one who knew the full extent of that relationship was Freya, who looked about as pleased as punch by Hela's declaration, her lips twitching at the faint flush Hela's bold declaration had evoked on Harry's face. But harems were not a thing in Norse culture, and the revelation that Harry had multiple wives shocked many.

"BY the All-father Potter! How can any man have more than one wife without being henpecked to death?!" Þór immediately bellowed in shock, before quickly paling as he felt his mother and Sif's eyes on him from different directions. Considering the fact that he had made Sif aware of their former relationship, and the warrior woman had still not indicated she wished to try and return to it, her stare was a particularly torturous mix of giddy hope and sharp, painful dread. "Erk…"

"Yeah, you done goofed," Harry snorted, stifling a grin from breaking his impassive mask. He collected himself before announcing, "I too would dearly appreciate your blessing upon my union with Lady Hela Lord Odin. I have come to love Hela as do my other wives. You need not be concerned that she will be treated in any way below that which she deserves."

Odin let the shouts and exclamations from the watching crowd wash over him for a moment, staring hard at Hela as she turned slightly to send a smile toward Potter for his words. While he could not discern the loving connection between the quintet as his wife no doubt could, Odin could see well enough that Hela had no reservations about her decision. She truly wanted to marry a mortal, human, lordling wizard. Still, given his power, I doubt that Potter's life will be as short as the human norm. And if my niece wishes to join a pre-existing group, and none involved object, then it is her business. Indeed, one could almost see this as a political marriage that has the benefit of being a love match. Yet…

A small smile full of mischief crossed Odin's face as he looked at his niece, although by the time he silenced the hall this time it was gone, only a light sparkle in his one eye revealing his barely hidden humor. "I will agree to give you my blessing, niece, but I will not officiate such a wedding, nor will I give you away in your father's stead." He waited a moment, watching as Hela's face hardened, and Potter looked at him worriedly, Odin smiled. "Not until you have your father's blessing as well."

"But—but no one even knows where my father is! Let alone what kind of temperament he might have now," Hela protested, aghast at such a decree, while Ororo and Emma shot her commiserating looks.

"Indeed, and we believe he is probably an anchor for the Shadows as well. The fact he so often served as an antagonist in their various plays, where you all were but puppets, lends credence to such a thought," Harry added, now scowling. Is he serious?

"The pair of you are the next best thing to true immortals. You both should get used to thinking in the long term, instead of only focusing on the short. Besides, what proper wedding can there be without the bride's father in attendance?" Odin answered sententiously. "I will cheerfully officiate the ceremony, make no mistake, but only once my brother is found and returned to us. Until then Hela, you will simply have to wait. Or… perhaps you could look upon this as motivation to find and bring him home. After all, your Seidr Man has access to ships that could carry you across the stars of Midgard far faster than any magic of ours could accomplish."

Hela ground her teeth, but knew Odin's words held some merit. Searching for her father throughout the limitlessness of Midgard would be an interesting journey to be sure, and perhaps even necessary on a familial level, not just for the All-father's amusement. And she was not so petty as to allow Niflheim's continued absence from Yggdrasil's boughs cause harm the other realms just out of pique. Even so, she took a deep breath least she speak something better left for private ears and exchanged a glance with Harry. Meeting his steady gaze, she took a moment more to bask in his open acceptance and support for whatever she decided. Finally, she sighed, acceding the point with as much grace as possible while nodding.

"Good. And now that such has been agreed, let us move on."

Odin turned his one-eyed gaze to address Dani, the young woman visibly steeling herself, when Freya interrupted with a gentle cough. The king of Asgard paused as his queen came forward, stepping down the dais to stand in front of Dani. One hand gently rose to touch the Cheyenne girl under the chin, and Freya smiled as she looked into the younger woman's eyes, her considerable power coming to bare on her. "And you, Danielle Moonstar? What might my young Valkyrie ask of me?"

From her place in the crowd, Skadi huffed in irritation, almost pouting at the unfairness of it all, as her companion, Sif, had to bite back a snicker. Skadi's words, however, cut through the other woman's amusement. "Claim-jumping little—"

"That is our queen, Skadi!" Sif hissed sharply, cutting off her friend's muttering. "Draw too much her ire, and I will not be able to stand beside you when she turns that attention of hers to you."

"Her rank makes my words no less true," Skadi hissed back, although she did lower her tone further and made no move to interfere.

As the two goddesses watched, Dani remained silent to the Queen's question, clearly thrown off by the intensity in Freya's gaze. In the silence, Odin and Harry exchanged glances. 'Women,' the look seemed to convey, accompanied by empathetic feelings of exasperation men in most every dimension will feel at one time or another when their paramours up and toss aside their plans without so much as a by-your-leave. Thankfully for the two men, perhaps, the womenfolk around them missed this moment of masculine comradery.

"I was merely obeying the orders of my heart and my King, Queen Freya. I can ask for no recompense for that," Dani said, smiling whimsically. "Besides, it was fun."

In actuality, Dani would have asked for something like Sigyn's Gift if she thought such a request would be grated. She'd bonded with that weapon over the time she'd wielded it and greatly missed it since the weapon had been melted into a bare clump of scorched metal and char from Surtur's blood. However, Dani also felt that asking another god or goddess to craft her a similar weapon seemed like a betrayal against Sigyn. So, she kept that desire to herself.

Dani's humble words won shouts of approval from the crowd, while Fenrir snorted at his friend, his tail wagging only once as he watched the two women closely. Both Freya and Skadi smiled at the young woman's response, the mortal that had caught their eye checking another box on their internal lists. "You would ask for nothing? You, who have proven your worth as well as any blooded Valkyrie amongst my sisterhood?"

"I have a life yet to live and a duty to my Jarl, my Lady," Dani responded, working hard to keep her tone and wording as formal as she knew how under the pressure of that gaze. "While I am flattered beyond measure that you deem me worth such special attention, I cannot answer that such an esteemed call as of now."

"The key word in that sentence, my dear, is now, is it not?" Freya answered, chuckling as her eyes gleamed.

Watching the conversation unfolding before him, Harry suddenly wondered if this was Freya's real personality shining through; somewhat possessive, extremely playful, yet with an undertone of seriousness able to throw away formality at the drop of a hat. Glancing to his sides, he was able to eye both Ororo and Emma, the two watching the elder Queen in action yet making no move to intervene. Hela and Emma had warned Dani something like this might be coming, and once again his lovely wife had been right on the money. So, the question is, should we interfere or what?

As if sensing Harry's growing concern, Emma subtly shook her head once without taking her eyes off of the two women at the center of this little moment.

"P-perhaps? I… I will admit that I love what I have seen of Asgardian culture so far, and I have experienced great joy in exploring Utland alongside Skadi and Fenrir for fun. But, as I said my Lady, I already obey one Jarl. I cannot obey another. A-and I have always been drawn more to the worship of Skadi, th-than any of your personas," Dani stammered, her will finally starting to fray under Freya's attention.

At the mention of the other goddess, Freya's lips twitched into a small snarl for a brief second while in the audience, Skadi pumped her arm once in victory. Still, Freya did not answer immediately, instead taking the time to properly examine Dani more closely. She turned Dani's head this way and that, the younger woman powerless to stop her staring back into the goddess's eyes unblinking. As her prodding slowed, Freya's smile suddenly widened into one that could be called cherubic impishness. She leaned in, nearly nose to nose with her prey. "So that's how it is hmm? You know, my dear, worship in one form need not restrict that in another …"

At those low, almost sensual words, Dani instantly flushed, thankful she was facing forward and her face was mostly unseen by any in the surrounding audience. Unfortunately for her, Freya, the Goddess of Love, was still in her face and saw her reaction quite clearly. The goddess chuckled throatily, stepping back, before formally curtsying to Dani. "Your task, Danielle Moonstar, although not as dangerous nor as lauded as that of the team that brought down Jörmungandr, was just as important, make no mistake. Even if you ask no boon from my husband or me, you still deserve something for your efforts. Brunhild!"

The Valkyrie so called stepped forward from the section of the crowd the queen's warrior maidens had been densely packed in. Brunhild was a tall, extremely powerfully built woman that could have given Thundra a run for her money in the strength department. Unlike her queen, the Valkyrie's spiky blonde hair, which was almost the same color as Emma's, was cropped short into a buzz cut instead of long and free flowing. She also wore an intense expression as she neared, and kept such a look even as she knelt to one knee and clanged her sheathed sword on the ground in front of her, pommel up. "My queen, what would you command of me?"

"You are the greatest blade among my Valkyries Brunhild. Sword, spear, staff—you have mastered them all. I bid you travel with these Midgardian folk back to Earth. I give you the task of training our young future sister here in the arts of blade and spear." Brunhild nodded once in the affirmative, bowed to her queen, and stood back. Freya then turned to Harry, cocking her head to one side almost coquettishly even as her eyes held firm and challenging. "Ah, but this will not be a problem for you and yours, will it, Lord Potter?"

"Er, no. Obviously not," Harry answered, a hair's breadth from flinching. He'd had more trouble throwing off the impact of Freya's aura just then than he had Odin's earlier. The difference is like comparing a blast of cold water coming at you at high speeds and a nice-smelling gas released in your direction, he mused somewhat sardonically. "Although, perhaps that's a good segue into the next topic of this conversation?"

Odin nodded eagerly at that, and for a moment, Harry worried that the older king would try another sort of power play here; to try to make them stand while he sat back on his throne while they hammered out whatever agreements they would reach. However, Odin didn't go for such a childish tactic in the end. Instead, he made a simple gesture, and several Asgardians came forward, bringing along a series of chairs along with a square table that they set between Harry and their king.

"Indeed. I trust you have brought your own scribes? Good. Now that the business between us as individuals has concluded, it has come time to discuss the dealings of our disparate nations." Odin's one eye gleamed with cagy good humor as he gestured again with a broad hand. The surrounding crowd found themselves in front of several tables that suddenly rose from the floor. As all of them sat where they wished, a ward sprang up, allowing them to talk amongst themselves without interrupting the negotiating parties at the main table.

The ward actually had quite good timing, as Skadi's ability to control herself had ended about two seconds after the ward popped into existence. "Damn that woman! Dani is one of mine! With the machinations of the Shadows lifted, I've realized she's prayed to me ever since she forsook her people's beliefs and became an Asatru in the first place. I will not allow my first, true priestess in centuries to be poached from me!"

"Good grief girl, calm down blast it! Our believers can follow more than one of us, or has it been so long since you had a new follower you forgot that?" Sif grumbled, dragging the shorter goddess down onto a chair at one of the tables against one of the outer walls. She smiled in some relief as Dani instantly moved towards them, Garm and Fenrir in tow, with Hela stalking beside her. "See, here comes the child now."

Skadi had scowled at her, not enjoying being called 'girl' since she knew the other goddess called her that as she had not felt the touch of a man. But she now perked up smiling in welcome as Dani slid into a chair next to her, with the two wolves laying belly down behind her.

Meanwhile, at the front of the hall, Harry sat in the chair across from Odin, leaning forward as he stared at the Sky Father while Emma and Ororo sat to either side. As they did, Harry felt Emma touching his mind, going underneath his invisibility cloak-based mental defense via the existing connection created by Jean, while also reaching out for Hela. If they expected the loss of their local advisors to mean that they no longer knew the worth of what they could be asking, then Odin and the semi-amused, semi-annoyed Freya would be sorely mistaken.

"I find it both amusing and interesting to note how quickly Þór removed himself from these discussions. Even though he should be Odin's heir, it is very obvious he doesn't have any love for politics," Emma drawled, not even a twitch of her lips showing her internal amusement. "It's something that you and he have in common, Harry."

"Ah, but my dear, I've been forced to… what was that term that Illyana used recently? 'Get gud scrub'?" He could feel Emma laughing along their connection, despite her face remaining in its stern, commanding visage as she thought of the young Rasputin. "And while I would hate to inflate your ego any further, I've also had you and Ororo by my side."

The loving, possessive tinge added to that last thought nearly broke through Emma's self-control. After a moment and a deep breath, however, only her hand squeezing his thigh underneath the table made it through her impenetrable barriers to show her true emotional response to the claim.

As they all sat, two Alfar came forward, sitting at the still open end of the table to Harry's left. Harry signaled to Sage, who had come through the Rainbow Bridge specifically for this portion of the meeting, and she sat across from them, to his right. She immediately placed a small, Reed-designed printer to her side before holding up a hand. From the metallic bracer on her forearm, a small series of lights blinked on. As the lights began blinking faster and faster, a hardlight keyboard appeared above them. Odin and Freya blinked in surprise, neither having felt any magic from the woman who, until now, had been a completely silent and unassuming part of Potter's retinue.

"This is not magic, your Majesties. This is science. I have on my wrist what is known as a computer, which has a projection element built into it. That is what you are seeing above my arm now," Sage answered before either god or goddess could even ask a question.

"I have heard of this technology, and even of computers. Very well, I will allow its usage, although some warning would be polite in future endeavors," Odin murmured, staring at the thing on Sage's wrist in calculating interest for a moment before very clearly dismissing it as but a bauble. He then looked to Harry, his facial expression making it seem as if he was almost bored with it all, a sure sign that the real bargaining had already begun.

What followed was a polite but extremely cutthroat battle of words and wits. Both kings understood they had resources the other wanted, and both knew Odin knew that he owed Harry, but he had already settled a large portion of that debt through the individual rewards though, and now he instantly moved to settle the rest of it by stating that he would pay reparations for any soldiers that Harry had lost in the expeditionary force's campaign.

The haggling about the price of said preparation actually took more time than Odin accepting the responsibility. After all, Odin was willing to pay his dues, just not be taken advantage of. In the end, Harry knew that the families of the ODMs who had fallen, as well as Laynia in particular, would not want for money for a very long time, if ever.

With that matter settled without much issue, what the Avalon Empire as a whole desired from the Asgardians came to the fore. At that point, the battle of wills and smarts became more vociferous. Harry started by stating his position plainly; that what he wanted was a defense treaty with Asgard along with a series of trade agreements.

From the outset, the defense treaty became a sticking point purely due to the fact that Asgard was simply not in a good position at that moment. However, Odin couldn't deny that Harry had already come to his aid, so the demand was viable. Even admitting that, the exact wording of the official agreement still took more than an hour to satisfy both parties. Odin did not want such an agreement to continue on into perpetuity and further, most certainly did not want to be forced to come to Harry's aid against any terrestrial threat or be involved in human politics whatsoever. Harry was willing to concede the first point after much argument and didn't even bother arguing the other two, as he saw no reason he'd need such from the Asgardians anyway.

But Odin had yet another condition to tack on, once he saw his opposite's easy acceptance. He also wanted interactions between the humans of Midgard and his people to be held with the understanding that the Asgardians were Gods, and thus were not to be held accountable to human laws. "Now that the Rainbow Bridge is open, all of Asgard once more feels the flow of faith refilling us, charging our powers. Many of us will still be lesser than we were in the times before the Shadows, but we are Gods nonetheless, Harry Potter!" Odin roared, banging the table with one hand. "I will not allow my people to be held accountable by the laws of Man. They will answer to me and me alone!"

Now that the debaters were cut off from most of his folk, Odin's stern exterior had faded. He was still aloof, but his wording had changed dramatically, and he had reined in his Aura, as had Harry and Ororo. The first act was over, Odin's position as a just, powerful yet thankful king had been secured. But now, it was very clear to everyone watching from the fringes that they were seeing an argument occurring. All so inclined looked on with great interest as more and more braggadocio and histrionics gestures were thrown from both sides.

Knowing that he had to give as good as he got, Harry shot to his feet, arguing back complete with banging on the table that while he understood that Þór and those who came to Earth's aid when asked should not be held accountable to local laws when it came to property damage or such, that didn't mean that they should not still have to obey the local command structure in times of war. "Even you Asgardians can't be everywhere at once! A single warrior on their own cannot be as effective as one who works with a multi-armed military like the Avalon Empire. And why are you so worried about breaking our laws in any case? It isn't as if you're going to be constantly sending people through to wander around is it? Or do you fear they will follow the example of Lady Freya's sundered aspect?"

Odin blustered in return but came off more than a little shifty in spite of his denial. The Sky Father did not want to admit the truth to the younger king, that several of his folk, led by his son Þór and his estranged wife Sif, already wanted to go to Midgard and and just explore more. Only Þór had been there for any length of time. Odin even knew the cause for their intense interest in Midgard, and couldn't blame them if he were to be honest with himself. This was a direct result of the influence of the Shadows being removed from the minds of his people.

While they now knew that they had been used, only Þór had yet managed to regain his full memories of when the Asgardians had still been able to freely travel between Asgard and Midgard. It was something Þór had been having a devil of a time reconciling with during his interactions with others, particularly Sif.

For every denizen of Asgard bar Odin, their memories resembled that of two types of Swiss cheese that were molded into one exceedingly confusing mess. One layer was the version built at the hands of the Shadows, which dominated what the people knew to be real. The other layer consisted of bits and pieces of their real memories, which had slowly been returning over the past few days. Oftentimes, these older, truer memories seemed to contradict one another in their fragmented state, or floated, disconnected from others.

This was not a good feeling for any, especially those such as Hogun and Fandral. Both remaining members of the Warriors Three feared that they, like their late friend The Mighty Volstagg, had been created by the Shadows from power stolen from some pre-existing Asgardian that may or may not have survived the First Ragnarök.

So for many, they simply wanted to research and examine the histories, legends, and mythologies that had been left behind when they had retreated and Those Who Watch Above in Shadow had cut off the realms of Yggdrasil from Midgard so long ago. The belief, the hope, was that just a journey would be the only way to mend, if not expand, their knowledge of themselves.

Still, that was an internal issue, and Odin could handle it reasonably well so long as Potter himself didn't block such research expeditions. Additionally, the inherent weakness such a need revealed in the Asgardians was not one Odin wanted to mention, allies or not.

Beyond all of that, the real main sticking point regarding obeying local laws, however, dealt with the Asgardians and their faithful: the Asatru who had kept the faith on Earth. Odin refused to be bound by any mortal law that interfered with how he or his folk responded to their supplicants. Of course, most of the time an Asgardian wouldn't be responding to prayers in person, rather merely giving their energy or attention to a faithful in need All of the Asgardians preached self-reliance to a certain degree. But, in times past during periods of great distress, Þór for example as the common man's Protector, appeared in person.

Such rare, but inevitably important occurrences were what concerned Odin. "What my sons, or any of my people, do from that point on is entirely up to them. I will not have mortal law interfering with us when it comes to aid for our people!"

"Or consequences for yourself when you cause any trouble, such as your Wanderer aspect had?" Emma asked, a single eyebrow rising in sardonic inquiry as she stared hard at Odin, although the Sky Father appeared immune to the power of the eyebrow. In contrast to the god across from her, the blonde refused to put on a play for the audience around them, simply looking the picture of cold, precise control. Such made the histrionics of the others stand out all the more. "I believe our spymaster was able to determine your aspect racked up quite the list of offenses while making its way on our planet. Twenty three counts of Illegally crossing borders, eleven counts of generally causing trouble for local governments, stealing food too many times to count, and one count of kidnapping a young mutant by the name of Clarice Ferguson, who goes by the name Blink, whose powers you made profligate use of during said escapades."

Clarice, or Blink as the young woman had chosen to remain so named, had been taken in by the X-men after the end of the war. She'd immediately professed a desire to join the second combat team—and Harry and Scott had already spoken on the topic. Jointly, they'd agreed on putting Thunderbird in charge of that group going forward once they were trained to a decent level, while transferring Warpath back to the Custodes. James had done a great job training the younger team while they'd were gone, but the older Proudstar brother was still far more experienced in terms of leadership. Until then, the second team would be used to bolster the first for specific missions if needed.

"My Wanderer Aspect was my flightiest, tis true, and oft liable to cause mischiefs while out and about. But that food would have gone to feeding that young mutant Harry Potter, who is part of your charge, as I understand it. As for any trouble with local officials, I am also the Judge of Kings. I imagine that a lack of practice caused a little of my other aspects to bleed into the one I sent forth. And since my Wanderer was but a means to that end, and had little in the way of true autonomy, no doubt that contamination influenced its behavior," Odin answered virtuously, the perfect image of an elderly statesmen correcting a younger peer's misunderstanding.

Harry was almost tempted to ask if Odin was judging him that very moment but refrained. He'd not give the old man such a blatant opening. From the twinkle he could see in the All-father's one eye, it appeared as if Odin was hoping for some reaction along those lines. "I would be willing to provide lawyers for any local issues, so long as such does not involve too much property damage or death at the hands of the Asgardian party involved, but no one appreciates when foreigners come along and mess up in their country. If you allow such incidents, you will undoubtedly cause trouble, and by that, I mean for your Asatru. As you yourself said, even if your sons or another appears to aid a follower, none of you will stay around for long. The clean up afterward will be the issue of the locals, and they'll be looking at your worshippers with unkind eyes."

The two lords haggled back and forth on the point for nearly an hour. Eventually, Harry was willing to agree that in the various territories of the Avalon Empire, the Asgardians would be free to act however they wished and legal defense for any actions taken outside of its borders. Considering he didn't really think that any of the Asatru in his realm would run into issues that needed divine intervention, that wasn't exactly a big concession, though he argued against it long enough that it seemed to be. Harry was also forced to admit that his influence in the Middle East, and parts of the northern European countries, was not that great. He had excellent relations with Finland, and trade agreements with Norway and Switzerland, but had little to do with Denmark or Scandinavia. Also, those agreements were more with Magical Minds than the Avalon Empire proper as one government to another. As for the Middle East… well, the Mullahs had yet to declare him Shaitan reborn, but they had certainly done everything else so far.

But in return, Harry demanded that the Avalon Empire would gain access the metallurgical processes that Odin and the dvergar had created, the so called Star Forge. And that, in bulk.

This stipulation led into even greater histrionics than before, with Odin bellowing out about how Harry would drain his people of their very life's blood by taking their secrets. But Harry was adamant and gave as good as he got, pointing to all the trouble that backing the Asgardians legally in other countries might bring him, and the amount of freedom the Asgardians would have in his own territory.

But what actually tipped the balance in the Earther's favor was the knowledge of the Empire's preexisting space-based industry. When he heard that, Odin seemed almost childishly fascinated with the idea of space travel. Odin had traveled to the small star that served as the sun in the realms of Yggdrasil on occasion to use it as a special part of the smelting process the dvergar called Star Forging. But to use the far larger Sol that Midgard orbited, a star so vast it had nine planets circling it rather than vice versa? Now that would be a treat. So Odin gave in, although he did warn Potter that, "When it comes to the specific trade agreements between our nations, expect to quail in your boots at the price that work will demand!"

Harry took this with aplomb, already having assumed he would be paying through the nose for access to Odin's Star Forge method. But what he could get out of it would be incredible. Being supplied with a material equivalent to Orichalcum—or perhaps neutronium, to use a sci-fi term—in bulk rather than in the small amounts he could create via Blackfyre and his existing forging process? Oh my, yes.

Eventually, the exact wording of the various agreements was ironed out, and the mutual defense treaty between Avalon and Asgard was written. One copy of the treaty was printed out by Sage and given to Odin. The other copy, hand written by the two somewhat enraptured Alfar scribes, who stared at Sage's hardlight device avidly, was presented to Harry.

At that point, all that was left was the naming of the witnesses and said witnesses reading over both copies of the treaty to ensure no unspoken terms had been slipped in to the detriment of either side. Odin had magnanimously agreed that Hela could serve as a witness for Avalon, while putting forth Balder as Asgard's, but before he could name the third Harry had interjected, throwing a wrench in the Odin's smooth-talking. "I think these two are great choices, but why don't we have Tyr serve as third witness? Surely no one would doubt his probity or honor?"

Odin twitched slightly while Emma laughed inside their heads. "Score one for you, Hela!" she sent, also sending along Harry's affectionate thoughts. Their goddess had guessed Odin would make a play in selecting the third witness, and it appeared she'd been right to have Harry interject.

"But of course. Odin is not known for being both wise and sly without good reason. He will try anything to game any agreement reached for his benefit," Hela sent back, preening as she, Tyr, and Balder stepped into the protected area, grins on their faces as they crossed the ward line.

"Without sound, Father, this has been a most hilarious show. Þór, Fandral, and a few others have taken to providing a dialogue for us," Balder laughed, holding out a hand for one the treaties.

"Indeed, Þór's attempts to bellow like Lord Odin, and only succeeding in sounding like someone who has eaten a few too many mushrooms, has been hilarious," Tyr agreed.

While Odin smiled at the levity, Harry could only snort. So this kind of debate is just a different kind of flyting for them, hmm? Well, at least everyone else is enjoying the show I suppose.

The three witnesses read over both copies of the treaty first, compared notes with one another, and soon agreed that the two copies matched. One after the other, they each placed their own sigils upon the documents, claiming them true. As the God of Justice and Law, Tyr's position as a neutral party in the back-and-forth would be unassailable. Indeed, he and Lord Odin had almost come to blows several times in the past due to how Odin played fast and loose with contracts and his given word when it suited him.

But there would be none of that here, much to Odin's chagrin. He'd expected the barely mortal lord to demand one of his queens be the third witness, thus making the trio, and the treaty, suspect of bias and ripe for appeal. Calling the God of Justice forward like that right from the start would all but make the agreement ironclad.

After the trio had left and the copies of the treaties given to Sage and Lady Freya for safekeeping, the debate moved on to the next topic, which had already been hinted at: into discussing the trade agreement between the two countries. Here, the original terms that Balder had made in Odin's name with the UK were used as a starting point. Goods, clothing, designs, modern appliances, and so forth would flow from the United Kingdom and the Avalon Empire into Asgard at set prices. And as Odin had warned the material from the Star Forge would cost a lot. Yet that conversation was markedly simpler than the previous one, and within another hour or two, the haggling, the agreements, and everything else were finished. Odin stood as the three witnesses once more placed their sigils on two copies of the latest treaty. "And now, my good people, you have waited and watched these talks while being unable to leave for long enough. This Thing is done, and we may feast!"

With that, men, women, and Alfar dressed in colorful clothing appeared from every corner, laden with food and drink. The Asgardians roared in approval.

Harry and his party quickly found themselves sitting with Odin at a table situated at the head of the hall. As the feast carried on, Odin proved a magnanimous host, engaging each of them in turn in discussions regarding the battles they'd participated in or inquiring on the wonders of Midgard. He listened intently as they were plied with food, only commenting on the rare occasion he needed a clarification.

Even Fenrir was treated well as the merriment commenced. A whole roast ox, basted in some kind of the spicy rub, was brought out for the giant wolf to share with Garm. Both were quite happy at this delicacy, and while Fenris was still somewhat disturbed that Odin hadn't been able to answer his sister's question regarding their older brother, and despite his general feeling of loathing towards old One Eye that were yet to abate in their intensity, there were no complaints to be had between them.

For his part, if Harry wasn't speaking to Freya and Balder, he was solicitously seeing to the needs of his present three ladies, almost as if they were on a group date. Emma quite enjoyed the attention, while Ororo was simply pleased by it, but not surprised. Hela, on the other hand, could hardly repress the blush threatening to burn below the edge of her half-mask, but still returned Harry's interest here and there.

Still, as the party waxed on the three ladies fell deeper into their own conversation, one which eventually turned towards Freya and became exceedingly—and intimately—feminine in nature. Harry was thus left to quietly bow out, with Odin doing the same with a familiar shiver. Bereft of his ladyloves, Harry felt no compunction about following Odin as the Sky Father jerked his head towards an entryway at the back of the hall, following as the two practically snuck out of the party like little boys trying to escape bedtime.

The two men walked up a flight of stairs into what was very obviously Odin and Freya's private quarters given the opulence of the tapestries they passed and the lack of other people in this segment of the hall. From there, they wound ever further upward until they came out onto a balcony. The railed alcove was set in a small, nearly invisible tower and stared out over not Asgard the City or the distant Rainbow Bridge and the mountains of Utland beyond, but rather into the boughs of Yggdrasil and beyond.

Here, separate from the merriment below but for once able to stand purely as equals, the two men settled into already present chairs as an extremely elderly Alfar appeared as if by magic. The smartly dressed elf was easily the oldest example of his race Harry had yet seen, with an actual beard to go along with his solidly white hair, and in his hands, he held a wide tray. This held two mugs and a hand and a half-sized barrel of some kind of alcoholic beverage. After setting the tray on the table, he poured the barrel's contents into both mugs before stepping back, bowing creakily and disappearing as abruptly as he'd come.

Odin raised his mug first, Harry following, and the two clinked their drinks together before taking a swig, Harry murmuring a mental apology to Jean as he did so. Sorry Jean, I could get away without drinking before, I don't think that's going to fly this time. Still, I suppose the promise to not drink I made with her can't really be allowed to impose on politically necessary things like thissssSS GOOD GOD!

Harry's thoughts broke off as he gasped, shaking his head furiously at the impact of the drink hitting his tongue and his throat. It felt like dragon fire going down, making even fire whiskey seem tame in comparison. Yet, for such a burning, the liquid still carried a sweet, almost honey-like accent to it. "Bwah! If—if you ever wish to add your local meads to your trade goods, I can already tell you that would fetch a high price," Harry rasped.

Odin chuckled at that but did not reply, instead raising his mug to take another sip. Setting the drink aside, Odin merely said, "My thanks to you. I realize that we have already spoken of payments and boons, yet even so, I wish to add a sincere thank you, man to man on top of the political nonsense we've had to deal with for most of the day."

Harry chuckled quietly at that, and once more, the two clinked their mugs together, falling into an almost comradely silence like Harry would have with Ben Grimm or Steve. It wasn't quite the same, of course. Odin was not his friend, and probably never would be. But Harry could see his future-self approaching Odin much like he did Doctor Doom. Indeed there are several parallels to be seen there.

The two rulers sipped at their drink until both mugs were empty, and the elderly Alfar appeared again to fill them up with something much less potent. Once they were alone again, Odin became serious. The Sky Father didn't turn to look at Harry, instead simply stared out into the darkness beyond Yggdrasil's boughs, probably seeing quite a bit more than Harry could despite having only one eye to do the seeing with. "That which you wish my personal aid in. It is a dangerous thing, yes? Something normally beyond the scope of mortal men? Something… transformative perhaps?"

"You see deeply, Sky Father." Harry acknowledged before explaining how he had pushed himself to the extreme limits a human being could be pushed when it came to containing magical power. He recounted how he'd almost crossed the line between mortal and deity but had pulled back, fearing the changes he had felt to his very essence, and instead had sent the excess magic into the Earth's ley lines. From there, Harry explained the conversation he and Ororo had previously had with Gaia nearly word-for-word, somewhat shocking Odin due to Gaia's blatant mentioning of He Who Stands Above All and the fact that there was no longer room in the universe for a new Sky Father. The old god chuckled, his face creasing with a fond memory as Harry relayed how Gaia had looked at the time.

When the retelling was fully done, Odin understood and agreed with Gaia's words. Creation was no longer young, and there were indeed rules even Gods had to follow. That is part of what made the damnable Shadows so dangerous. They had sacrificed so much, but in return, they were allowed to play the rules far more loosely than the rest of us, which is what we thought we needed when we originally met them, the silver-tongued bastards, Odin reflected, grimacing internally. I thought I saw beyond their honeyed words to the truth, divined what they truly desired, but I was so, terribly wrong. That, and we were desperate to stave off the looming war against the Christian crusaders. Hmmph. Now that those savages have set aside magic for the most part, and their faith has become so flaccid a thing it starves their God instead of sustains, interacting with Midgardian humans en masse once again should not be so dangerous a thing.

The idea that Potter would be fit for the mold of a new God of Magic was understandable, as was his likewise unwillingness to be so. However, Harry's decision to attempt to ascend through becoming a Titan was something that Odin had never heard of before. Indeed, he'd only vaguely known what Titans were at all due to having been told of them eons ago when he and Zeus had sparred together as young gods. The idea that the title meant something more, something altogether different from a way to describe the monstrous foes his old friend had defeated in his rise to power, was another surprise.

Yet even with that, he still likened Thanos, who he had heard of before through various means, to the ancient Stone Lords of the jotun his people had warred against for so long rather than the Greek Titans, only of far greater power and potency of course. And intelligence, apparently, or else Potter would not be thinking about this plan of his. And, while I have never heard of such a scheme before, it is still a laudable and worthy goal. Potter wishes to push himself to new heights, to protect himself and his own no matter the opposition, all without losing what makes him who he is in the process. Would that more kings understood the mental and emotional toll endlessly striving for power takes on them without precautions.

"You do realize that unless you already have a strong starting point, any help I could offer in this project of yours would be minimal at best?" Odin asked, the words paining him somewhat as he very much did not enjoy admitting to any kind of weakness, be it in terms of knowledge or strength, or ability to give aid.

Harry nodded, he understood that point just fine. Without another word, he pulled out a rolled up parchment from a small pouch hung at his waist, laying it out on the table between himself and Odin. A flick of a finger and the Asgardian king had light to see by, at which point he stared down at the diagram etched out on the parchment.

It was the formation of the runic array Harry designed so far. While there were clear changes, he'd actually taken the base schematic from array the Shadows had used to drain Odin and reversed it in many ways. For example, he'd turned the points of the eight-sided star inward while the outer edges, which made the new points, wrapped around to form a circle, and had built it into a 3D-array rather than a flat array so it would surround Harry from all sides instead of just be on the floor. He'd long scrutinized the simple shape of the array, but its current shape just felt right. Further, a lot of different materials were listed as being part of the original. The array also incorporated the two runes that the Phoenix Force and Lady Death had shared with him in return for not killing Galactus, each placed with care so that all power involved passed through them.

For all that, there were still blank spots that kept the array from functioning. These empty holes were being left blank because Harry lacked the runes he'd need to obtain certain magical properties. Ultimately, after all of his toiling, he'd had to admit that his knowledge of rune-craft simply wasn't up to the task.

As his specific purview was runes and magic, Odin could follow most of what he saw on the parchment almost instantly. It was fascinating to think a mere human, wizard none withstanding, had created such a piece, but it wasn't the most impressive work he'd ever seen. However, a glimpse at the central foci of the array caused the Sky Father to rear back in shock as he spotted two particular runes Harry had been given by the Phoenix Force and Lady Death. "By my Father's name, what are those?!"

"Aha.., those are… gifts… from certain… higher powers. Two certain, ah, Endless ladies who I've met through my adventures passed them on to me in return for an agreement reached. They're particularly fond of Hela and Jean as well," Harry answered, trying not to come out and say he'd spoken multiple times with what amounted to Life and Death.

However, Odin understood instantly and stared hard at his fellow king for several moments, trying to discern if he was joking or not. When he eventually spoke, his words took Harry by surprise. "You have been within the Mkraan Crystal then?"

Harry had thought speaking to Lady Death, and the Phoenix Force besides, would have been a more salient point, but apparently not. "Yes. We were summoned there due to our nearly successful attempt to kill off… well, call I call him the universe's trash eater, but I suppose, World Eater would be his more known title." And I still find it annoying that I didn't have nearly as much trouble getting to grips with Galactus as I did the Shadows. Bloody psionic Dementors.

Odin's dry expression demanded more explanation, which Harry willingly gave. As he was regaled with a tale worthy of his own hall's glory, Odin leaned forward again, now staring down hard at the array. He managed to spot several other runes, ones he'd never seen before, whose meanings he initially had trouble discerning. Using a finger, he traced his way through the schematic slowly, calculating the amount of power this… this monstrosity would need to work and what it was still missing.

After a number of contemplative moments, Odin looked back up at Harry, single eye grave. "You are playing with incredibly dangerous powers here, Potter. The kind even I would hesitate to roll the bones with. And I am not talking about speaking to two of the Endless Forces in the Mkraan Crystal, the center of all dimensions."

"I know," Harry said, nodding his head whimsically in acceptance of the fact. "But ascending to Titan-hood should be tough, tougher than godhood even, or else everyone would be doing it." While his tone was light, there was no whimsy in his eyes at all when Odin looked at him. No, Harry understood perfectly the dangers inherent in what he was attempting. He would either turn into a Titan or become a magical bomb powerful enough to wipe out the entire solar system. Since he couldn't exactly test the array, there was no way to see which result would occur until he tried it for the first time. Such was the hazardous nature of what he was trying to accomplish.

Holes aside, it was very clear that the array in front of him wasn't complete as it was, even the sections that were drawn out. There were mismatched connecting runes, incorrectly applied runes of transference, and runes for the mind and one's will were just… missing. Odin almost snorted. As well they should be. Such runes do not exist. "You are not merely asking me to take a simple look over your work, are you Potter? Your boon would ask of me to create runes for you, specifically to use within this array, to finish this great work."

"Yes," Harry answered instantly, seeing no reason to deny the truth. "You are the premier Rune Scribe of Asgard. Your will created the entire runic structure my people called the Futhark alphabet, the runes that you gifted to your followers so that they could better utilize magic and write down their histories. I know Futhark, or… at least the Futhark from my home. I know the kanji of the Japanese and how they can be used in the place of runes. I have learned several other runic languages and can see magic in the very air. But what I cannot do is create new runes. I know what I need. The problem is I am still just a mortal, and no matter how powerful I may be, there are certain things outside my ability to accomplish alone."

Odin stared at Harry then down to the table again and the diagram resting there. "So you do understand what you are asking of me. Good. Hmmm. I suppose we must start at the beginning. Tell me what you want these runes of yours to do."

Breathing in sharply, Harry immediately began to speak. It took him a few minutes to explain everything in detail, but since Odin was already looking at the work he'd already completed, the Sky Father already had an idea. With Harry's further input, he could see what would need to be done. Eventually, Odin nodded. "Leave this with me, Potter. I will ponder, and I will craft, and in the end you will have your runes within the turning of the seasons."

Harry nodded and wordlessly pulled out a bottle of fire whiskey from his pouch, topping up both mugs instead of waiting for the aged Alfar to appear again with another barrel of whatever it was they had been drinking earlier. "I doubt you'll find the impact of this drink as strong as your ale, but it's at least nearly as tasty. In any event, here's to a fruitful alliance, Lord Odin."

"And to you as well, Lord Potter," Odin answered, once more banging his mug against Harry's.

OOOOOOO

When Dani found herself waking up once again in the dreamlike state of Sigyn's farmstead that night, she chuckled into the grass. Somehow she'd arrived in the internal realm in the same fetal position as she'd gone to sleep in. Looking around, she found Sigyn standing nearby, a kindly, matronly look in her eyes. "I don't think this is a coincidence. Were you listening in on us my lady, just waiting for us to discover what Loki had done to protect your body?"

"Hah! My dear Dani, while my husband may be the Trickster God, I am not so inclined," Sigyn answered with a grin, her smile widening as Danny hopped to her feet and bowed, formally asking to spend time in the older woman's home. "And of course you are most welcome. But truly, no, I was not waiting for anyone to solve that mystery, although I am grateful that someone did. Exactly how did that come about anyway, might I ask?"

Dani began to explain, reflecting as she did so that she was still having trouble understanding where her senses and Sigyn's connection to the outside world met. When she verbalized her confusion, Sigyn cleared up the mystery for her. "It isn't through your senses that I sense the outside world, child but your memories. since your discussion with Queen Freya about Loki and I is a very recent memory, which isn't imbued with any pain, shock, or any emotion of that nature, it didn't grab my attention. I don't go through all your memories after all, just those I feel are most important to me and to your life in general, and even then not too many or too often."

She paused, smiling faintly, her gaze far away. "That being said, your Jarl has it right. My love did sacrifice his powers of transfiguration and self-transformation in order to create the Crystal that has kept my body safe all this time. It was a power that he had always greatly enjoyed, but it was also the power that always got him into the most trouble. Out of it too more often than not as well, but…" Sigyn snickered, shaking her head in fond exasperation as she remembered an ancient conversation long past.

"Loki always desired to end an argument between us with laughter or a joke," Sigyn remembered fondly. "He ended the last row we ever had, which was begun by his latest 'joke, by swearing that if he had to get up any power, for any reason, then he would gladly choose the power that had allowed him to understand the pains of a woman far too well for any man's comfort. Apparently his time as a mare truly did not agree with him."

That caused the young Cheyenne girl to break into peals of laughter, and with smiles upon their faces the two women headed into the longhouse together. Once inside again, Dani looked around. Seeing the eternal fire, and the other items that were always present regardless of how often the rest of the interior changed, Dani raised the idea that she had previously brought up to Harry, Ororo, and Freya. "Some of the items here… Are they… are they Loki's… memories?"

"Well spotted young huntress!" Sigyn exclaimed, her smile of pride shifting into a impish smirk as she noticed her guest's faint little blush at the title of 'huntress'. In truth, the only memories that Sigyn had been able to access since the defeat of Surtur had been those of Dani's dealings with Skadi, and she was eagerly looking forward to teasing the poor girl about her ever growing crush on the Goddess of the Hunt.

That was for later, however. Now was for business.

"Several of these items are my dear husband's memories of . Born from an act of madness, they are the result of a plan scraped together in the face of sudden betrayal clamping its jaws upon us. but built on a strong foundations of the original plan he had concocted to save me should things go awry. I still do not know what exactly Loki saw in the shadows that had concerned him to the point of such caution, or truly if there was anything at all. Perhaps it had simply been that he had looked at serendipity, and found it too good to be true? I know not. But between us, we hid my soul, entombed my body and sheered away select memories of Loki's deemed too important to potentially lose, attaching them to mine own soul. I have guarded those memories within the blood of you and your ancestors ever since."

Dani let Sigyn have a moment of silence before deciding to move the conversation along to a somewhat less fraught, but still connected, topic. "Do you know of any way to find Loki? And if you do and we succeed in finding him, is there a way to return his memories to him?"

"As to the finding of my husband, I am afraid I can offer no help. Even if I were not trapped within your blood as I am, I still lack in the skills of Seidr to do so."

"I was afraid of that," Dani grumbled. "Harry and Lady Freya both said finding someone in the void between dimensions after so long would be next to impossible. Even Skadi has said that there is no way to track someone who has fallen through the endless void. And my second question?"

"There I can actually be of use. All you must do is share some of your blood with my husband in some fashion," Sigyn explained, shrugging her shoulders. "In so doing, my soul and the memories I keep will be able to interact with his essence, his memories joining his mind once more. I do not believe that I will be able to communicate with him directly as I do with you, however, although I am uncertain on that point. But the memories will certainly serve as a slap upside the head for that scoundrel."

Dani barked another laugh at the unexpected turn of phrase, which shoved aside her chagrin at the idea of somehow having to share blood with Loki. "Why am I not surprised that the woman known as the 'Victorious Wife' knows when to apply a little punishment?" The two women laughed again, but after a moment, Dani quieted and shook her head. "Do you think that Loki has been subjected to the far deeper, more sinister method of control and subjugation that the Shadows used on Heimdall, Hela, and Odin?"

The method had never fully taken with Odin, hence why the Shadows had needed to either force him into Odin-sleep and continuously keep a large amount of their attention on him lest he break free. In contrast, both Hela and Heimdall had been completely helpless against the intrusions of the Shadows. The two had been forced to go through insanely painful processes to have the influence of the Shadows removed from their minds, memories, and bodies. I'm still thankful that they haven't been forced to do that to all of the Asgardians. And of the two, that Heimdall had been something of a rush job, according to Emma. He was lucky that their influence wasn't nearly as embedded into him as it had been in Hela.

"Almost certainly. You have no doubt seen the pattern of course: how Loki and his children were set up as the enemy of the Asgardians prior to and during Ragnarök. Jörmungandr, the traitor, turned to them willingly and was given his requested roll of undefeatable glutton. Fenrir, once so young and foolish, was made the ultimate monster all too easily due to his bestial form. And Hela, due to her connection to the Realms of the Dead, was obviously to play an excellent villainess, lthough… obviously their control of my step daughter's actual actions, if not her thoughts, had always been limited due to her very connection to Death."

"With a capital D," Danny quipped, before remembering Fenrir's half-brother. "Sleipnir was just killed off, I'm assuming? Odin said the being who'd been acting as him was just a mindless construct." When Sigyn merely shrugged her shoulders in helpless ignorance, she nodded again sadly. "Pity, I would've liked to have met him."

"You've been doing a magnificent job with Fenrir, my dear. I have no doubt that you would have done just well with my husband's eldest child," Sigyn answered, shaking her head at the pointless loss. "But yes, my family was made to be the villains in the games of the Shadows and no doubt the chief villain would have needed to be controlled as tightly as possible. Loki will certainly need to be put through the same kind of treatment that your Jarl and his blonde wife had to perform with Hela and Heimdall."

Dani winced at that, but to Sigyn, any sort of pain was bearable if it meant she would be able to see her husband again. And she knew that Loki would have felt the same. A trickster, a jokester, a wanderer, and a rakish scoundrel he might have been, but Loki had also been, her loyal, loving husband, and she knew in the end that that mattered far more than all the rest.

So she waited a breath and then changed the subject, tired of such dreary thoughts. "As I said, I was not waiting for you and your Jarl to find out the true nature of my body's defenses. Instead, I was trying to re-create my gift to you. Unfortunately, when I crafted it the first time I seem to have used up a large amount of my stored energy in doing so. I'm afraid that re-creating that gift is beyond me at present. I'm sorry my dear."

Dani sighed wistfully, but she had thought something of that nature might be the case. "Understood. The weapon doesn't make the warrior anyway. I'll make do."

"Well said. Now…" Sigyn abruptly leaned forward, and suddenly Dani found herself wondering if perhaps Freya and her host also shared some point of origin, as the impish nature of the smile on the older woman's face would've looked at home coming from the Asgardian queen. "Tell me about these feelings of yours for Skadi, my dear. I had thought that you were pining after Piotr and Amara, but now I am wondering…"

Groaning, Dani knew she was in for another session of grilling regarding her romantic prospects. Still, as she accepted her fate she made a mental note about everything else they had discussed. Harry would want to know.

OOOOOOO

The next day, as Harry and the rest of the diplomatic group traveled back to Earth, Hela instead flew up and out of Asgard. Penetrating the dimensional bubble, Hela fell down into the boughs of Yggdrasil. From there, she flew through the boughs for a time, travelling always down and to the east. For a number of days she traveled through the boughs of the World Tree, all the way from where the Asgard-Utland dimension hung from branches of the tree like an elaborate Christmas ornament, to her destination. She caught a glimpse of Svartalfheim through the green leaves at one point, the dimensional sphere glistening black and silver in the starlight, but she ignored it to travel down further still.

As Hela descended, she sent out her magical senses, feeling the weft of the flow of magic through Yggdrasil and its subordinate dimensions. Following that sense, she moved towards where her own realm had once resided, feeling Odin's work there to keep the flow of magic moving. It was a undoubtedly a brute force approach to the issue, but Hela knew it was the only solution available to him without access to Niflheim itself.

Nearly a week after she had left Harry and the others to see to her duty, Hela landed atop a branch from which thousands of lesser branches arose, enough indeed to be called a forest in its own right. Yet directly in front of her was a wide, vast expanse an area where no smaller branches grew from the huge boughs directly below. Instead, the forest rose up from either side, like grasping hands to seemingly cup something no longer there. Here was where Niflheim was supposed to reside.

A small part of Hela wondered if her realm had always been here, even back when Yggdrasil had been more widespread, when the Alfar and the stone jotun had their own realms, when Utland had not been so interconnected with Asgard. If not, the inquisitive side of Hela wondered how long it would take her to find that original position, but the majority of her mind was very much against it. I have other duties to tend to, and my Seidr Man and sisters-in-love to return to besides.

With that, Hela stepped forward. An hour later she deemed that she was at the center of the clearing zone and stopped, raising her hands to the endless sky. Behind her mask, from her eyes a dark, cold blue light flashed, more of the same spilling from her mouth as she let out a silent scream.

Around Hela, a bubble of Other appeared, coated in the dark blue light. It was a vision perhaps, of Niflheim's own dimensional bubble, as if seen through a pane of colored glass. Out and out the bubble expanded, growing larger and more distinct as it did. In contrast, Hela herself seemed to become less real, her edges becoming less defined amongst the details of her reemerging realm.

After an eternity, Niflheim was fully returned to the boughs of Yggdrasil, the realm settling into its position as if it had never left.

Stumbling, Hela found Garm's flank under her arm, lightly pushing her to the side to slump into her throne in Hel. "Mistress?"

Hela did not respond verbally, instead scratching her loyal guard's ears as she felt the magic of the realms reconnecting with Niflheim. The entire process took some time, but when it was finished, Hela could immediately feel several of the souls of the dead she'd been keeping move, shifting away from her control to that of Odin and Freya to be judged. She also felt when a portion of the power of the Asatru's faith hit her veins, energizing her. It wasn't as much as it had been in the old days, before the Shadows, but enough for now. "I am well, my wolf. For the first time since the Shadows struck us down, everything aopears back in order. And that, that is a glorious thing."