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Do you like Loki's creations, dangerous experiments, and willingness to challenge enemies that appear above his league? Then you will definitely like Thairon, the protagonist of my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
—
Asgard
1300 A.D.
"Father, I need the assistance of an Einherjar to test something," he requested. His father was in the middle of a tea party. With how peaceful the Nine Realms were, it was the only exciting event to conduct in Asgard.
He would change it.
"Theoric," his father turned to the present guard, "assist my son with whatever he needs."
Theoric slammed his fist over his left breast. "As you command, my king."
"My prince." Theoric bowed, noticeably shallower.
"Come along, Theoric, we have much to do."
—
"How good are you at seidr practicing?" he asked. The two were walking to an empty training yard.
"My wife has taught me the basics, but my duties do not give me much time to learn."
"Your wife?" he asked, vaguely remembering something about Theoric. "Ah, Lady Sigyn, I believe. I remembered your wedding now."
His wife in the myths of Earth had attended some of the lessons he gave on seidr.
"Correct."
"Did you know one of the reasons my father is the strongest warrior in all of the Nine Realms is because of his seidr?" The question was rhetorical. Everyone knew that his father, in tandem with Gungnir, was the deadliest warrior. A blast from his spear could reduce the strongest of the warriors to ash.
"Indeed. The Allfather is as strong in seidr, as he is with arms," he replied. Just like his father, Prince Loki was a great seidr practitioner. Denizens of the realm eternal adored his creations.
"Yes. Tell me, if every single Einherjar could use seidr to fight, how much would that increase the strength of our armies?" Every Asgardian had seidr coursing through their veins. It was as natural to them as the blood in their veins. Yet, very few took the time to learn it properly. Asgard's warrior culture put seidr on the back foot in that regard.
Theoric stopped. If every soldier could make use of seidr in a similar manner to the Allfather, the results would be devastating. "Twofold, at the least. Yet, there is no way to teach seidr to every single soldier without going to great lengths."
"You don't have to know how to forge a weapon to use it," Loki said. He pulled the prototype sword out of his dimensional pocket.
"Here, take this."
He took the sword, inspecting it. It was well balanced and flexible. "It is well made."
"It is Asgardian steel with a special caveat. I have managed to impart the seidr channeling properties of Uru to it. Now, we don't need our soldiers to go through decades of lessons to use seidr on the battlefield. That is, once I test its effectiveness."
His reason for imparting Uru's innate ability on Asgardian steel was to have a proper material for his big project. Rune arrays could do the job. Yet if a single rune was damaged, or there was a fault in the array, the entire component could explode.
In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to increase the capabilities of Asgard's armies.
"What must I do?" Theoric asked. The younger prince's creations were always well received by the people. He knew this would be no different.
"The sword does everything, but you have to imagine it. For now, try to visualize an energy wave leaving the blade with the intention to cut."
Theoric turned to the practice dummy. Taking his stance, he swung the sword. A golden crescent wave of seidr left the weapon. It struck the dummy, leaving a deep gash on the metal.
Theoric was centuries old. He had seen many things serving the Allfather. He would be described as a serious person by many.
It did not stop him from laughing in delight like a child.
"My prince, this is great," he exclaimed. A sword like this would be worth a fortune across the Nine Realms.
"Go ahead, give it a couple more swings. We still have much to test."
Theoric nodded. He swung the sword over and over again, each one leaving gashes on the metal. He stopped when Loki raised his hand.
"The sword seems to be working excellently. Now, let's test the armor," he said.
"There is armor too?"
"Of course," he said. Waving his hand, he put the armor over the dummy.
"Now, we will be testing its defensive measures first. Go ahead."
The Einherjar swung the sword again. The crescent-shaped wave struck a golden energy field and sputtered away.
Loki had charged the armor with seidr equal to what an Einherjar had. It took six more attacks before the field failed.
"As the armor draws seidr from the wearer, there is nothing I can do except perhaps to add an external source."
"Next, we shall test the remaining capabilities of the armor."
"Should I wear it?"
"That would take too long," Loki muttered. With another wave of his hand, Theoric wore the armor. His armor was stacked neatly at the corner.
"Start by running, and again, try to imagine yourself going faster than before."
His test subject, as a prime example of an Einherjar and a member of the Crimson Hawks, was in top shape. The mortals would not even be able to see more than a blur while he was at full speed.
He started running around the training field. As the armor drew on his seidr, Theoric created a circle of golden light around the field.
Strength and speed tests were great successes. His test subject adapted to the armor quickly. He could jump higher, run faster, hit harder, and had ranged attacks.
Theoric was a great warrior. The armor amplified it, making him greater.
His father was delighted to hear the results from Theoric. He ordered that all the standard equipment, mainly the weapons and armor, be replaced gradually. To that end, Loki was to teach the artisans of Asgard how to make this miraculous metal.
Asgard may not be seeking war, but it was always best to be ready for it.
The reason he had even bothered to create this metal was for his latest idea, the Tenth Realm. A simulated planet that was indistinguishable from reality. Asgard was small, and there were only so many amenities you could build. He could do whatever he wanted on the simulated planet, as could every other Asgardian.
At the same time.
—
Nidavellir
The dwarves, before he created the realmnet, tended to keep to themselves. The ease of sending a message with a couple of touches was too incredible to pass up. Now, they were less isolationist than before.
They mostly used the connection to exchange ideas with him. The news of the new brand of Asgardian steel had them interested. Eitri himself had sent a message, inviting him to visit the forges again.
"Loki, it has been too long."
"I am sure we all were busy," he said.
"That we are. Come; there is much to talk about."
Eitri led Loki to his abode, serving him chilled ale. "You finally cracked the secrets of Uru, eh? Looking to put us out of work?"
Loki chuckled. He knew Eitri was simply joking. "Don't be ridiculous. The Asgardian steel can't match the strength of Uru. Just as our artisans can't match the talents of your people."
Even if he had managed to replicate Uru, Nidavellir was under Asgard's protection. It would always be defended.
"What is your grand idea, then? I doubt it was merely to make weapons." Creating a metal that could channel seidr like Uru to mass-produce weapons of all things wasn't how Loki worked. There was always a grander idea behind his work.
"A realm inside a computer. One that anyone can enter," he explained. To digitalize a person inside a computer was challenging. The tiniest of errors could have catastrophic consequences.
"For what reason?"
"Anything. You can go there for a vacation. Have a war against simulated armies. Conduct experiments. All without worrying about the consequences."
Asgard was built on a nexus that drew power from Yggdrasil. It powered everything. His home existed because of that nexus. Abandoning it to settle on a planet was not viable. However, creating a planet in a digital environment was.
"The wildest dream of many individuals. Not to face the consequences of their actions," he smiled. It would be a project that could equal Nidavellir once completed.
Loki raised his ale mug. "Exactly."
"By Helheim. Boy, when you succeed, you will change life in ways never seen before. Are you ready for it?" Asgardians were warriors without wars to fight. The simulation rooms had already changed their society. Warriors fought each other over the chance to use the limited number of rooms.
Bilgesnipes, cursed warriors of the Dokkalfar, dragons, trolls, berserkers, and even Surtur were some of the most famous enemies in the simulation rooms.
Loki's new idea of a digital realm would take it to the next step.
"I am."
Eitri stroked his beard. "Something like that would require great power. How do you intend to supply it?"
The nexus that Asgard lay on was a possible source. However, with all of Loki's creations so far, it was already taxed. The boy would need something new to carry on with his project.
"Here," Loki said, handing over another prototype. A smooth golden orb that fit in his palm. He willed it to open, and the top half twisted off. It floated, revealing a green flame.
"How much power can this supply?" The flame was small and did not seem very impressive. Yet, appearances could be deceiving when it came to Loki's work.
"Infinite," he said before considering it, "or rather, eternal."
The last word filled the blank part. "The Eternal Flame. Is that how you created this?"
The Eternal Flame was the source of Surtur's power. When Odin had dreams of Ragnarok, he had defeated the ruler of Muspelheim. Since then, the Eternal Flame has sat in Asgard's vault.
Among many other trophies.
"Yes."
"I am surprised Odin even let you near it. Which means he did not," he said. There was only one individual the Allfather had ever allowed to make use of the Eternal Flame. That person was not the one before him.
Loki put the prototype back into his dimensional pocket. "Are you going to rattle on me, Eitri?"
"Nay," the dwarf shook his head. "I am impressed you managed to keep it a secret. Odin always keeps an eye on the vault."
The Eternal Flame, the Casket of Ancient Winters, the Tablet of Life and Death, the Tuning Fork, and the Warlock's Eye were all powerful tools on their own. They were a testament to Odin's strength. Which is why he always watched over the vault with his seidr.
"I only went there twice. One for a history lesson, the other to get scans of the objects for Realms of Valour."
He could go into the vault whenever he wished. His father did not mind it as long as the items were not used without permission. However, he also knew his father saw him too young to be meddling with the powers of the objects in the vault.
"I had always wondered. Why create something that fabulous when you never seemed interested in going on a great quest unless Thor asked? You used it for more than games, didn't you?"
Unlike Odin, Eitri had actually entered the Realms of Valor several times on Loki's request. He had seen the items sitting in the boy's inventory as items to be used for specific tasks.
He was also sharp enough to realize there was more to these items.
Loki raised an index finger to his lips, smiling.
Eitri guffawed. It served well to know Odin, for all his carefully kept secrets, was blind to Loki's little trick. "Brilliant. How does this work?"
"The Eternal Flame never runs out, because it is locked in a temporal stasis. No matter how much it burns, the flames always stay in the moment they are locked," he explained. Loki did not know how this was created, but it was possible that the time stone played a part in it.
Or another source that could manipulate time.
However, just because it was eternal did not mean it was infinite. There was a limit to the power that could be drawn from it at once. Alone, it would not be enough. Hundreds of them stacked together changed the game.
"It says something about Odin, doesn't it? That he defeated a demon who had a never-ending source of power."
"That it does." Loki nodded.
He still didn't feel comfortable enough to visit Helheim. But whatever secret his father kept, it would be revealed there.
The rest of his stay was on the subject of the Tenth Realm. There were components that required Uru to handle the seidr that would power the computer.
Eitri was willing to help.
On the condition that Loki helped the dwarves first. Harvesting that much Uru from the stellar remains was difficult. His sharp mind could come up with a solution. In return, he would have all the Uru components necessary for this project.
Uru was the result of stars going supernova. Yet, not every supernova produced Urur. The dwarves did not know the whys, nor did they care. As rare as Uru was, they were only interested in working it, not in how to create it.
The difficulty lay solely with locating Uru. In its raw form, it absorbed seidr, making all known detection methods useless.
Fortunately, Loki knew another material that did a similar thing.
He had located the ship plating that was part of a Dokkalfar ship through realizing there was a glaring hole. It was the same with the city.
An omnidirectional seidr pulse would cover vast distances and cartograph everything into a computer. Any seidr absorbed by raw Uru would be seen as dark spots. The equipment he had used to locate the hidden city on Svartalfheim was still in working condition.
Using the skiffs on Nidavellir, he seeded the devices across the asteroid fields. With one push of a button, the dwarves had located more Uru than they knew what to do with.
He had left the devices to them should they need more. It would take time to refine all the ore. But when Loki was ready, the forges of Nidavellir would be waiting for him.
—
Asgard
He had prepared an exact replica of Thor's armor, forged from the new brand of steel. His brother was delighted. So delighted, he had almost bruised a rib by hugging Loki like a bilgesnipe would bite its victim.
Thor had also asked for armor and weapons for Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. While more of Thor's friends than his, Loki had agreed. Even if they weren't true friends, he still saw them as acquaintances.
Which had made him realize he did not have many friends. There was Eitri, but he was more like a colleague that he collaborated with.
Perhaps he could try to be more social. If only there were people who took interest in seidr as much as he had.
—
Notes: There will be another timeskip in the next chapter. Also, if you are interested in the technological aspects of this chapter, I am sure you will enjoy reading my original story, Arrival. Your likes and reviews would be appreciated.
—
In the next chapter:
Turns out, Midgardians had seidr practitioners. They called themselves the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Based in Kamar-Taj, the sorcerers operated in secrecy. Naturally, it had his interest.
The city was well populated, and the streets were bustling. Tracking the sorcerers was easy. It was easy to detect the small breaches into different dimensions. Rather than an innate source of seidr, the sorcerers drew power from those dimensions.
But first, he had to deal with some irritants.
"Are you speaking to me?" he asked the ragtag of humans surrounding him. They kept speaking, but he did not care enough to listen. At least, until one of them got too close.
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