Displaced

Chapter 1

"It will not work," the first god said. There was a mocking tone in his voice, as he shook his head at his companion's audacity "You know it will not work; we all have a fate, and there is nothing that we can do to change it. No matter how hard you may try, or how much you may wish for it, each man and god has a future already laid out for them."

The second god looked unimpressed at this proclamation. "Or perhaps that is simply what we believe because nobody has ever challenged it. We live out our lives, with no idea of what the norns have in store for us, and so we have no choice but to accept it."

"So? If we have no choice, then we have no choice."

The second god smiled wryly. "But what if we do have a choice? What if fate can be changed?"

"If it can, it would be impossible for us to know it, because after we walk our new path, we could not be certain of our original one."

"No. But what of somebody else's? The fates of men, maybe? For some, we already know the paths laid out for them, so what if we could alter them? Surely then, it would stand to reason that if we can do that, we can change our own fate too."

The first god shrugged "It will not work, but if you think you can do it, please, feel free to try."

The second scowled, irritated at the implication that he needed permission. "Fine," he said. "I will. And you know what? I'm so certain that I can do this, that I'll let you choose the humans in question. Make it as difficult as you like."

The first god ran his fingers thoughtfully through his beard, and smiled to himself. "If that's what you want," he said. "How about them?"

The second god's eyes widened when he saw who had been selected. "Fine. What do I get if I win this bet?"

"You didn't say that it was a bet."

"It was implied."

The first god gave a long-suffering sigh. "I suppose the pride of knowing you were right would not interest you?"

"Of course it interests me a bit, but you gave me a really difficult one," the second god told him. "I feel like I should get something else as well."

"The same as last time, then? The loser has to be a servant for the winner."

The second shook his head before the first had finished speaking. "Bragging rights are fine," he said. "I still haven't forgotten what you made me do last time."

"Bragging rights, then. If you win, you get to know that you were right," said the first. "And if you lose, I get to know that you were wrong."

The second god nodded "Fine," he said. "Agreed."

"Agreed?" The first frowned. "Really? You do realise that if you are wrong, I will tell everybody about it?"

"Likewise," said the second god. "Now, come on, we should drink on this bet before I change my mind."

Something was wrong...

Sigurd shifted slightly in his bed. He was not yet ready to wake, but uncomfortable enough that some semi-conscious part of his mind accepted it was an inevitability. Still, he refused to open his eyes; if he could keep them closed, perhaps he could get a few more precious moments of unconsciousness. If he was really lucky, maybe he would even be able to fall back to sleep and wake in a few hours, fully refreshed.

He did not understand why his bed was so uncomfortable. It felt too hard, and when he reached for the furs that covered him, his hand found only air. There was something hard digging into his upper back, and his legs ached for no reason that he could find.