DIVINE CHAMPIONS 3: THE RISE OF THE ELEMENTALIST

MOTHER DAUGHTER DEBATE

"Well, I think Aitri was too quick to judge you, dear." Freya said, "She should have been understanding about your intentions, in my opinion."

"Well, you are the goddess of love, Lady Freya."

"Sadly, Hnoss is also the goddess of love, just its passionate side though. And I am afraid she disagrees with me."

"Absolutely." Hnoss said, "Why would you not give her a chance to showcase her powers?"

"In a battlefield?" Rishi questioned back, "Without proper training?"

"Rick didn't have proper training either." Hnoss said.

"But he got time to practice." Freya said, "He had weeks to learn things, and gain control of his magical powers. It was not until two weeks had passed that they had their mission. Meanwhile, Aitri got her powers day before yesterday, first used it yesterday, and is out on a mission today. How risky is that, dear daughter?"

"What about Saptarishi himself?" Hnoss asked, "Even he didn't take long to prepare. Only about..."

"A month." Rishi added, "And I was fighting normal people with the supernatural. So I don't think my own mission counts as half as difficult as theirs have been. And I am the leader. I should be there. But here I am, taking active part in your debate."

"Whatever you say," Hnoss said, still unimpressed, "Not letting her find herself? Not passionate enough. It was a safe option."

"Well, when it comes to life or death, I would rather play safe than risking her life."

"But, you are going to get her back. That is very passionate." Hnoss said, "Mother, he needs help."

"I know." Freya said, rubbing her nails with a filer, "What is it, dear?"

"I need Skadi." Rishi said, "I think I know who has taken Idunn. And no matter how much prepared they are, that evil illusionist can't be defeated by Rick and Aitri. That is why, I need Skadi. She is the only one, perhaps, who could actually help us defeat him."

"I knew it was him." Freya said, figuring out who Rishi was intending to, "He has taken her before. And now again."

"Oh no!" Hnoss struck her forehead with her hand, "Him? Again? Didn't he die?"

"Apparently, when Hel was kidnapped, her absence helped Berg and company release quite a few of the gods' old enemies, including him." Rishi said.

"And why are we not taking his name?" Hnoss asked.

"Aren't we supposed to not take particularly his name, since he might hear?" Rishi asked Freya.

"It is true. He has all the powers, you know. He can hear his name from anywhere and everywhere. He can travel very quickly, across worlds. He is perhaps the most powerful of all giants. And also the smallest. So, why do you need Skadi?"

"She is his daughter, right?" Rishi asked, "She might just be the only one who can calm him down."

"And why do you think my ex-stepmother will help you?" Freya asked.

"She came to Asgard in quest of vengeance and blood-lust, isn't it? She must be thrilled to see her father again. Weren't you all desperate to calm her down, by marrying her off?"

"Yes. She was allowed to choose by looking at feet. She wanted Balder, but sadly chose the cleanest of feet, thinking it was Balder's. However, it was not his. It was my father's. And she was disappointed. After all, my father looked old. He was a simple sea god, nothing much. She seemed to forget that back in the day he was Vanaheim's leader. Then, after the marriage, he retired, handed the world to me, and left to live with her. He tried with all his might, and gave her all the love and care he had. She never took it."

"They say she couldn't adapt to the seas, since she grew up in the mountains."

"Bogus." Freya said, her beautiful face hardening, "She never even tried to adapt. Loki has adapted to every world under the shadows of Yggdrasil. Why would she not be able to? Isn't Loki a giant? It was nothing. She had never tried because she was still mad about us killing her evil father. And she was mad that she had been married to Njord, and not Balder. Then, she had to go and fall for other people. Do you know how heartbroken my father was? She is highly disgusting, Saptarishi." Freya's anger was visible. The runes on the armrests of her throne glowed red. Her eyes took a strange violent turn, showing her side as the Valkyrie in chief (She was Thrud's boss). Rishi's heart beat slightly faster. He had never seen Freya angry. She had made a very sweet, nice image in his mind. "I really want to help." Freya got up from her throne, "But I don't know where Skadi is. For all I know, she left Vanaheim ages ago. And I haven't cared since. I don't care now, either." And Freya stormed off the room, instead of just disappearing into thin air.

Rishi was genuinely scared now. He seemed to have angered Freya. Thor told him many times how dangerous Freya could be when she was angry. For the first time in the last two years of supernatural missions, Rishi was scared. Of a person he had a harmless image of. However, Hnoss was still there. She seemed to read Rishi's mind. She came over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "She isn't mad at you, you know. She just hates Skadi. I mean, after listening to everything for a millennium, I can't blame her."

"Neither can I." Rishi said, "But how does she not know where Skadi is? Aren't gods omniscient?"

"The God with a capital G is, yes. We are not. Freya could have known where she was, if there was any love involved. Freya feels every bit of love across the nine worlds. And since Skadi hasn't had a relationship for so long, not even a fling, neither Freya nor me, none of us have felt her presence. She has isolated herself from everyone. So even I have no idea."

She started walking, and signaled Rishi to walk with her. While Rishi followed her, he asked, "Is there anyone who knows?"

"You could ask my grandfather. He is still very much in love with her, and maybe he has taken some notes on where she could be. It is almost evening now. Why don't you have some lunch and rest for the day? I will take you to him tomorrow. You can ask and directly leave wherever he says she is."

Despite her feisty first impression, Rishi found Hnoss to be quite likeable. She had sensed that he was scared, and had come to his aid. Now, she had made him Vanaheim's guest for a night. Rishi took the idea. It made sense. He could figure out well that Njord wouldn't be available for the night. And if he had learned anything from a year's professional life, is that you should always respect your senior's choice when he or she isn't available. Of course, you should also expect them to respect your choice when you aren't available, but that doesn't happen. So...

Hnoss led Rishi to a room, and said, "You can spend the night here. I asked Mother. She approved. Like it?"

Rishi looked around. A small room with everything that was needed to live. A bed with pillows, a fireplace, where fire was burning, a cupboard, a table, a little couch. "I love it, Lady Hnoss. Thank you."

"Drop the Lady. I am quite young to be honest. Only half a millennium."

"Great." Rishi said, "Hnoss it is."

"There you go. Do whatever you want. Food will be here in time. Bye!" And she walked away. Rishi put his backpack on the couch and laid down on the bed. His eyes closed, and in front of him, was his destination. Aitri's face was still the same beautiful for him as it was before. There were so many girls in college who, after his encounters with Dahiya, asked him what she saw in her. Rishi would just smile. What he saw in her was so much more than her face. She was so simple in terms of her words, so straightforward. She would never taunt anyone, but rather go on and speak it out. He remembered how she disclosed their relationship to their parents, just because he was having second thoughts at his own quest. And then, Rishi had gone on and tried to deny her her own quest. Rishi hated himself for that. Maybe, he didn't deserve the breakup, but, he definitely deserved to be told off, the way Hnoss did. Rishi's favourite quality of Aitri had come back to haunt him. 

"No matter." Rishi said to himself, "I am getting her back by the end of the quest. That is my promise to myself."