DIVINE CHAMPIONS 6: A FINAL CONFLICT

SKY: A HUNTING PARTY

Luckily for Rishi and Aitri, they didn't need to enter Matterhorn Ski Resort, which wouldn't have been possible without bookings and tickets anyway. Ullr came out as soon as they cut the call. "Come with me." He said. He was just as Mikael had described him. Covered in skiing costume, with jacket, gloves, cap and goggles. Purple eyes, black beard, and hair so short that the cap had covered it. "Ullr?" Rishi asked out of instinct.

"Very good, champion of Thor, come on. You too, Aitri."

The two followed him, as he got them into an RV. "Can you drive this thing?" He asked Rishi.

"I'm not used to the left side."

"I'll drive." Aitri volunteered.

"Go ahead. And head straight. I'll be back in a second."

The RV was supercool. It felt like a little house. There was a little kitchen, a fridge, a loo behind. There were two pairs of tables and seats behind the driver's area. The driver's seat and shotgun seat were up front. There were cabinets overhead. The windows were huge, and had blinders on them. A few minutes later, Ullr came back in a black T-shirt. His arms were covered by tattoos. He looked like a man with a lot of experience in the wild. Weirdly, he was Sif's son, and only Thor's stepson. Yet, the rugged face of a proper Viking made him look very much like Thor. Aitri was fully concentrated on driving. Ullr came ahead and said, "Straight up. Get into the forest."

"Where are we going, my Lord?" Rishi asked.

"I'll whack your face with the back of my gun if you call me Lord again."

"Oh, sorry."

"We are going on a hunting trip."

"But Ullr..." Aitri started.

"Yeah, little one, I know. Time is very less. Which is why I chose this forest. Too many bears in one little area. I don't carry the sinews of a bear with me. Plus, a little hunting is fun."

"Killing innocent animals is fun?"

"No. But knowing that I am a god, and can bring that animal back to life as soon as I kill him helps."

They drove into the forest, before Ullr asked Aitri to park the RV into an open space. He pulled out a rifle, and fashioned it like an absolute boss. "Come on." He said. Rishi turned his wolf instinct on. He sniffed around, and quickly caught a scent. "Follow me." He said, and ran towards the scent. Ullr and Aitri followed.

Nope, finding that bear wasn't easy. It took them an hour. In a forest, there were too many smells. Sometimes, they just lost the smell of the bear. So, Rishi had to stop and sniff it again. He turned and went towards it. The god and the girlfriend followed. And when they found it, it turned out to be the mother bear with two cubs. She was huge, almost ten feet long. She had brown fur all over her body. Her babies slept behind her, while she looked around for threats. "We are at a fix." Ullr said, "Do we kill her, or do we look for another one? What did your parents' culture gods do?"

"That was an elephant. And they needed the head of the baby. And the baby had been abandoned by his mother. That was totally easy." Rishi said.

"This is too." Aitri said, "We kill her, and then bring her back to life."

"Yes." Ullr said, "I want you two to look away."

"Why?"

"This is a scene no human can ever get over. It's highly depressing. Please, turn away."

The two turned, and Ullr aimed and pulled his trigger. The sound of gunshot brought back memories of old. Terrifying memories of a night in Pankhpur. Rishi looked at Aitri. The sound bothered her too. It took Ullr a while to call them. "Come on." He said, "She's passed."

The shot had hit her head, in what was one of the quickest and painless kills. Ullr went inside, and patted the cubs, saying, "Your mother will be fine in a minute. She'll be back. I promise." He hated it too, and so, he put the cubs to sleep. But the mother bear's sinews were needed for the existence of this world. Out of the back of his rifle, he pulled out a hunting knife. He ripped open the skin, as if he ate Bear Grylls for breakfast. The blood and everything inside, and the smell, specially with the wolf instincts on, made Rishi attracted towards it. He quickly turned it off. "Go, do your anatomy thing." Ullr handed Aitri the knife. Though reluctant at first, she knew exactly how to cut off the sinews from a body. Years of experience in anatomy had helped.

Rishi saw his girlfriend free the sinews off the bones, and pull it out. Ullr took it off the body, curled it into a big ball, and froze it off to preserve it. Then, he touched the bear's head, and started chanting in Old Norse. Rishi watched on as the body grew new sinews, the skin healed itself, and so did the head wound. And within a minute, the bear's dead and cold face turned into a lively one. Her breathless body suddenly twitched, as she lay down comfortably and started snoring. Rishi walked over, picked the cubs up and landed them beside the mother. "Two sons." He said.

"Only normal." Ullr said, "It was prophesied that if Fenrir ever needed a new rope, a mother of two sons would come in handy."

He handed Rishi the sinews, and said, "Now, head to Nidavellir. I guess you know a few dwarves down there?"

"We do." Rishi replied.

"They are the best fabric makers there."

"We know that too."

"The war in Asgard has taken a violent form. While Surtr has not been able to penetrate the citadel, the fortress is falling apart. The gods are ably handling that charcoal dumbo. We might win this. Go ahead, save us. Save yourself, and save everyone. You five are on your own from now on." Ullr almost had tears.

"Tell your parents." Rishi said, "We'll make them proud."

"I will. Now off."

Aitri helped Rishi with the ring, and opened the portal to Nidavellir. And in a second, they entered the world of the forges.