The Family Lokison (Part 4)

Wind and Sunlight (LOKI)

Hope kept us going. It drove every footstep and every sword swing. Now that Surtur was gone, his giants lost their strength.

We kept fighting, but the wind changed. It came in from the west and brought with it, more light. Like the deities long lost were helping us through. Soon, Yggdrasil would be exhausted of evil. It was in our hands, now.

I swept through the remaining soldiers and gave gifts of Freyr's tincture on their open wounds. As I did, I took time to remember their names and give mine. They all knew me, of course, but their thanks came with understanding. Trust. Forgiveness.

One at a time, indeed.

Healers shuttled the wounded back to the palace if my efforts weren't enough; unfortunately, this left the somber task of reporting the dead to them. I wished to go with them and speak nobly of the fallen. Since that wasn't possible, I instead vowed to write their stories down as soon as this was over.

The battalions took shifts to spread the resources. Those not in service recuperated on the sidelines. Men and women sat on the field in organized lines, counseling with the commanders to strategize. Valkyrie had been forced to ground their horses when the wind changed, which was just as well—they were equally formidable on their own two feet, and their beasts could carry twice as many people back to the city as needed.

Theoric, splashed in multicolored blood, poured water over his face and singed hair during one of the lulls. He sucked air through his nose and shook the nerves from his hands. "I think they're slowing down. Yesterday, there wasn't time for this at all."

I pointed to a nasty scratch snaking over the left side of his neck and dabbed a rag with my healing tincture for him. "You're right. Either they're running out of people, or they know something we don't."

"Let's hope it's the former, then." He held the rag against his neck and grimaced for a moment at the heat, but then relaxed once the numbing effect took over. "Thank you for this."

"And thank you for only needing this small amount." I held the vial against the light and sighed. "Don't have much left for anything more."

Thor landed beside me after one of his private battles, looking victorious, though a bit charred on his right flank. He caught his breath while propping on his knees. "Storms aren't doing much anymore."

"Not surprised. Westerly wind is carrying your clouds to the Bifrost." I stepped back with my hands on my hips and admired the mountains above us. Besides our great golden city, the realm spread back in beautiful terrain that might someday rebuild everything that we knew. The warm, moist air of the central valley was temperate enough to sustain several crops. Snow on the peaks would make crisp, clear water for all. And that perfect sunlight—almost white against the pristine blue sky—was happiness personified, bringing joy to all it shined on.

As I looked, the light changed again. Grew brighter. And in the background, a rumble that didn't come from the fighting. It was ahead of us. Behind the mountain.

"What is that?" I muttered, squinting to be sure my eyes weren't deceiving me.

Theoric stood to watch with me and sighed at the beauty as well. "I don't think I've ever taken the time to appreciate how lovely all this is."

As we watched, the furthest peak sloughed like an avalanche decimated every rock and stone, not just the snowcap. As it fell, the light changed again, bringing more wind with it.

"Did...did you see that?" Theoric said, pointing to be sure.

I took slow steps backward, instinctively wanting to move away from the damage. My mind moved faster than my lips. The ground beneath Surtur. The way it fell under. The wind and the light...it's coming toward us.

Ragnarok is the destruction of Asgard. Not just Asgard as a people—Asgard as a place. The realm itself.

She's crumbling.

Thor wasn't watching with us, too preoccupied with a group of Fire Giants lunging at full speed. He swung Mjolnir in a few circles, clearly preparing to strike at the ground to blast them away. "You'd think they'd have learned from watching the others..."

"No, wait!" I dove to catch his shoulder and make him stop, but nothing could stop the momentum of the hammer and how hard Thor slammed it.

The giants flew from the shockwave, but Vigrid shook along with them. A crack, deep beneath us, snapped and opened the terrain in a craggly line from Mjolnir to the horizon.

I jumped to my left to avoid the spreading chasm, narrowly avoiding being taken down with it. The soldiers behind me panicked as well, scrambling to stay safe.

Thor held steady and braced himself against me. "Sorry about that," he said with a chuckle.

"Thor, look." I pointed to the mountaintops Theoric and I just watched fall apart. Dust climbed into the sky from what we couldn't see. And the fissure beside us grew wider to the south, until the very end of Asgard disappeared, just like Surtur and Odin.

The soldiers muttered and looked to us for guidance. Thor froze and twisted Mjolnir's grip in trembling hands. His guilt, even partly unearned, stole his bravado.

"This is over," I yelled while waving behind me, ushering everyone to get on their feet. Even our enemies stopped coming for us, petrified without a leader or a mission left to fight for. "Asgard is falling, do you hear me? Retreat!"