Episode 4
An end of all worlds was assumed to be inevitable--the final conflict on the
horizon between the gods and their many enemies would be more than enough to
wipe creation clean of all existence, but one man who grew weary of war
decided to see if he could make a difference ...
The Quest For Peace
a literary serial by Saab Lofton
Episode Four
Einheri was pleasantly surprised to find that the effects of alcohol worked
its magic upon the dead as well as it does on the living. What made feeling
this way all the better was how only an hour ago he was certain his soul
would be flung into darkness. Now an equally inebriated Frey was continually
slapping Einheri on the back and guaranteeing him sanctuary from Odin's
wraith. He had never felt more safe and free in his life or afterlife.
Vara, on the other hand, wasn't in the mood to wallow in revelry and Frey's
sister Freya noticed this. Then again, even if the Valkyrie was inclined to
join the drunken men, this goddess would've pulled rank, as it were, and
demanded an audience just the same. "I sense what you're feeling, Vara,"
Freya probed. "You're in love with this hairless ape, this lump of clay,
this heap of dust--aren't you?"
"You really don't like mortals, do you?" Vara usually didn't speak to any
goddess in such a tone and manner, but Freya's words stuck a nerve.
"As a matter of fact, I don't," Freya reasserted her authority by raising
her voice. "I don't see why there were created in the first place. They're
all addicted to the taste of blood, but unlike a giant or a troll or some
other, similarly horrid creature, they always deny how bloodthirsty they
are. At least a dragon is honest ... and yet, you seem to think this one is
different somehow?"
Vara lowered her head and blushed. "I do, my goddess."
"I don't need to remind you what you'd have to sacrifice in order to be with
him, do I?"
Vara shook her head. "No, my goddess, I'm well aware." She then looked up to
glance at Einheri and wondered for a moment whether she had just lost her
mind for even contemplating the sacrifice Freya spoke of.
"I suppose," Freya continued, after taking note of the look on Vara's face,
"it would be nice if all men went through so much to avoid bloodshed ...
Humph, by the rainbow bridge, I'd even settle for a world where most men
were so willing ..!"
All manners of creatures of light danced about the realm of the Vanir and
while Frey was slurring as he attempted to introduce some of them to
Einheri, one creature in particular wasn't what it appeared to be. A gnome
who stayed under his rock and never stepped forward as most of the others
did to shake Einheri's finger (they weren't big enough to actually shake his
hand) was not a gnome at all. Lowering the rock back onto his head, the
gnome transformed into a worm instead of simply burrowing underground as
gnomes usually do. The worm slithered its way with a supernatural quickness
closer to where Freya and Vara sat and talked so it could hear their
conversation. After that, the worm inched out of everyone's view, and once
it did, a bird sprang forth from its place and took off ...
... but once the bird took to the air, it laughed in Loki's voice, which at
first confused and then frightened all the other birds in the sky since they
knew what the Norse god of mischief was capable of ...
Back on Vanir soil, Frey stopped talking about drinking more mead and turned
the subject of discussion to Einheri's mission. "Now, my boy--you do realize
of course Odin's going to smash you and your girlfriend over there to atoms
if he ever finds out you're not dwelling in dark Niflheim, don't you? In
fact, if anything, he's probably already wondering why one of his Valkyries
has been missing this long ..."
"I'm sorry," Einheri was caught off guard by Vara being referred to as his
girlfriend, but as if that and being absolutely tanked wasn't enough,
something else had completely stunned him: "What's an atom?"
"Oh, yeah," Frey slurred. "You wouldn't know what that is, huh? Anyway, I'm
going to give you a shield. It's fitting since you're a man of peace and
you're only interested is defending yourself, right?"
"That's right!" Einheri shot straight up from his seat as if to accentuate
his point and then fell right back down.
Frey whistled and his horse-sized boar lumbered forward. On its side was a
shield which was strapped near Frey's saddle. Once he undid the buckle that
fastened it, the shield was handed over to Einheri. "This will deflect most
spells and projectiles well enough," Frey assured, but then warned, "still,
don't get arrogant with it--as you mortals always seem to when it comes to
this sort of thing. I've never tested it against a god before."
"You can count on me," Einheri mumbled before passing out altogether.
Copyright © Saab Lofton, 2006