Asgardian Twilight

Resistance

The excavation of the crypt beneath Odin's Vault had proven fruitful, as Hela knew it would. Now, with her butchers and Fenris at her side, she knew her oppression of the nine realms would be unchallenged. And then? There were countless worlds awaiting the bliss of her enslavement. As she sat upon the throne and planned, the distant sound of hundreds of voices and an intermittent crashing noise could be heard beyond the palace walls.

"What is that noise?" she demanded as she looked up at Skurge, who was walking toward her.

Skurge knelt before her and bowed his head. "I'm afraid it is the people of Asgard. They have rallied against you. They're trying to knock the front gates down."

Hela flicked a hand and several of her butchers emerged from the nearby shadows and stalked down the throne room and toward the palace entrance. "They will deal with them," she said as she focused her gaze entirely upon Skurge. "I wish to know more about you, Skurge."

"Me?" he asked, taken by surprsie.

"Indeed."

"Well, me dad was a stonemason, me mum was..."

Hela held up a hand, silencing him. "I don't care about all of those details. What I want to know is what your ambition is."

Without flinching, Skurge spoke of his innermost desire. "I just want a chance to prove myself."

Hela smiled. "You crave recognition."

"More than anything," Skurge whispered. It brought sadness to his heart just knowing that his entire existence had been unremarkable and overshadowed by others. Never an opportunity to prove himself.

Hela stood up and began to walk around him. "When I was young every great King had an executioner. Not just to execute people, but also to execute their vision. But mainly to execute people. Still a great honor. I was Odin's executioner."

"You were?"

"Indeed," Hela said as she fashioned a large, double-edged ax of black steel. "Take this ax. You will be my executioner."

"Yes," Skurge whispered as he accepted the weapon and stood.

"Come. The Bifrost awaits. And conquest."

Hela and Skurge moved away from the palace as the butchers chased the frightened Asgardians into the forest. Hela chuckled darkly. They would be dealt with in time. For now, she wanted to venture out. It had been far too long since she'd seen the other realms. Nifleheim had been her only home for so long. Midgard, of course, didn't really rate. The least of the nine realms, in her opinion.

But a terrible sight greeted her when they arrived at Heimdall's Spire. The sword- the very key to operating the Bifrost- was missing.

"Skurge, where's the sword?!" She didn't wait for her newly-appointed executioner to reply. "That sword is the key to opening the Bifrost! Skurge- these people you mentioned, the ones who aren't falling into line. Round them up!"

A family of four ran blindly through the forest, their footsteps splashing in puddles and trampling foliage so loudly it wouldn't matter how quick they were being. Their continued noise was making the butchers' hunt more like a simple corralling. They chased the family down like a pack of terrible wolves, their weapons drawn and ready to take any life that was unfortunate enough to fall upon their path.

As the butchers closed in, they found that the family had stopped running. Not bothering to question it, the butchers hurried to meet them and found themselves face-to-face with Heimdall, the former keeper of the Bifrost.

"You won't trouble these people anymore," he spoke in a serious voice as he stepped between the family and their pursuers. "I may have been stripped of my station as keeper of the Bifrost, but I will still protect Asgard with my last breath."

The butchers rushed forward, neither hearing or caring. Heimdall reached beneath his tattered cloak and tore the Bifrost Sword from its scabbard and ran to meet them. He swung the blade with such violent precision, cutting through them with ease.

"These things are everywhere," he muttered as he turned away from the fallen butchers and looked back at the family. "Come with me. I know a place we can hide."

The family followed Heimdall through a ravine and toward the steep face of a mountain. Here, there was a carved relief of Yggdrasil, the world tree. Heimdall smiled encouragingly at the family before kneeling before it and whispering a few words. A portion of the mountain began to vanish as if it were merely an illusion, revealing a massive interior filled with Asgardians of every age.

"Will we be safe?"

Heimdall knelt before the girl and smiled at her, his golden eyes shining. "You will be quite safe. I promise you."