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VII. Honorable Warriors

Chapter Seven
Naomi

Most of the Vanir have been sent out to fight, but there's still a large amount of the population that's been left behind on Vanaheim. Enough to stage a coup at least.

Most cities on Vanaheim aren't being lived in, instead citizens are in camps between the cities. According to Freyr, it's been this way for a long time. Njord has spent so long involving Vanaheim in fruitless wars that so many of the cities are destroyed and so many resources have been all but depleted. These people are tired, heartsick, and starved, and Njord couldn't care less. If he really cared, he would have signed the treaty and allied with us in the first place. But he didn't. He couldn't look past his pride, and now that we've wounded it, he's involving his people in yet another war. As we walk through one of the camps, I can see that Freyr is just as angry about this situation as I am. Unlike his father, he loves his people, and they clearly love him too. Once people catch a glimpse of him walking they practically fall to their knees, all of them reaching out to hold his hand, to thank him for honoring them with his presence. They don't pay much mind to me or Thor, and I can't say I blame them. After all they've been through, I wouldn't be too warm to outsiders either.

Freyr has gathered the people of the camp together, telling them that an urgent matter needs to be discussed. Once everyone is waiting for the discussion to begin, he comes and stands beside me, addressing his people as he gestures towards me. "This is Naomi Jackson, ambassador to Earth. She came here a few years ago and asked my father to join the alliance Earth has formed. Initially my father was willing to discuss an alliance, but he was too prideful, too blinded hatred for old enemies to consider making new allies. He claims the Frost Giants are monsters, but they took Earth up on the offer of an alliance and have been loyal allies ever since, as have the Light Elves of Alfheim. Earth had wanted to rebuild the bonds of the Nine Realms, but my father destroyed those bonds further. And now here we are, fighting another war that could have been avoided."

"You might be wondering why we are telling you this," I continue for him, shooting him a smile. "It is because I can see what Njord's insistence on fighting has done to you. I see what war has done to your planet, your cities, your lives. You are a people without a voice, puppets being pulled around by a ruthless puppeteer. You are being used to fight Njord's wars and when those wars are done, it is you who have to pay the repercussions. You who suffer, you who starve and grieve for your loved ones killed in battle. All while Njord convinces himself he's doing these actions for the good of his people, to make his people stronger. It's time you show him just how strong you are. Yes, you are all scattered, beaten, and broken, but together, you could make real change for yourselves and for Vanaheim. Njord may be powerful, but he's just one man. And one man isn't powerful enough to stop his own people from turning on him."

"What you are speaking of is treason." Someone in the crowd shouts.

"Yes it is," Freyr replies. "But as Ambassador Jackson can attest to; sometimes treason is necessary to repair what a corrupt leader has broken."

I take a step forward, my eyes scanning the crowd of faces staring right at me. "Destroy the pillars of a building and the roof will fall, but the pillars will remain. The roof relies on the strength the pillars provide, not the other way around. Similar to a leader and their people. A leader is only as strong as their people allow them to be. I know how terrifying it is to stand up against your leaders, to rebel against them. But sometimes rebellion is what's needed to make real change, to put someone in power who will take their job seriously and not use their people as pawns in their selfish games. Before Earth became what it is today, it too was ruled by tyrants who cared more about themselves and their pride than their people. I led a rebellion that helped change that, so I know from experience that this avenue is effective. I know from experience what the power of the people can accomplish."