A new age of Divinity: Theomachy

Arming for The End

The four walked out to the training ground where a boat had been gifted for them. They got in and it turned out it was Skidbladnir, Freyr's flying boat. Freya must have called in a favor with her little brother, or just asked him, Freyr was a relatively relaxed God. The means to which they had gotten the boat was not something that needed to be thought about at the moment. They got on and the ship somehow began to fly to its intended destination. It rose up over the walls of Asgard and Mikayla had to hold Eden so the latter wouldn't have a panic attack because of being so high in the sky. As they soared above the realms, a colossal snake was just barely visible. Jormungandr's titanic eye glared up at them from the depths, its faint glow unnoticeable to most, but Nate could feel it. The serpent was clearly not a fan of them being in, what he thought to be, his world.
"Is that..."
"The big snake, yes," Nate interrupted, "Can we just... focus on where we're going?" He sat back in the boat and hung his head with his eyes closed, trying to get the vision of the humongous monster's eye out of his mind, but being who he was, that was going to be difficult.
A few minutes later, they arrived in Svartalfheim, seeing everyone covered head to toe. Being dwarves, they couldn't be exposed to any sunlight, otherwise they would turn to stone like the one they had seen before entering Odin's fortress. The little town was quaint, not much really happening. The boat touched down in the river, but it wasn't water. When Nate put his Bifrost hand into the strange liquid, it lit aflame instantaneously. Somehow, as the boat kept going down the river and he kept his hand in the liquid, the fire continued to burn for about five or six seconds before going out. It clearly wasn't gas or oil, at least not one that any of them were familiar with, otherwise the entire river would've been up in flames the moment he'd put his hand into the river.
"What is this stuff?" Eden asked, but none of the Dwarves around her replied, likely because they couldn't hear her relatively quiet voice.
Nate and Marc both seemed entranced by the lines of fire and the latter of the two decided to get in on the action. He electrified his hand and put it into the strange liquid they rowed through. The lightning bounced and sparked next to Nate's, but also dissipated after a few seconds. A few Dwarves noticed this and seemingly murmured, but they were also probably not used to outsiders, especially ones with arms made of pure power.
"This place... isn't it meant to be underground?" Mikayla asked while looking around.
"That would be Nidabelir," Kenneth explained. "This is the upper level, Svartalfheim. This is where they live, while the much bigger underground segment was filled with caverns and caves and what not, well that is where they build and craft anything needed and anything paid for."
"So, they play for all sides?" Eden asked.
"More like no sides," Marc tried to explain "They're just craftsmen. Ivaldi, their leader, is probably who we need to see."
The boat dipped down into the small tunnel they came to and they descended down into the depths. For a split second, the cave was completely dark, only being lit by the warm crimson light from Nate's arm. After that moment passed, they saw a vast cave system filled with the smoke and fires of forges. The clear flammable liquid continued to run down here, and it seemed that this was the place where it originated. There were pools, entire lakes of it down in the lowest parts. Pumps and harvest teams fished it out all the time, since days didn't seem to exist in this place as there was no sun. Skidbladnir stopped at a dock and they all got off. Unlike with Charon's boat, when they looked back, Freyr's was simply drifting down the river until it disappeared into the smoke.
"Wow, this place is-" Mikayla had to duck away from a blast of hot smoke that burst from a metal pipe "A fucking death trap!"
"Yeah, well... so was Hephaestus' place," Kenneth reminded her "The difference was that he was a God, so he knew how to keep his place neat. These people are a lot more... messy, I guess."
"So, where do you think Ivaldi is?" Eden asked.
"Let's look around. We'll find the tiny bastard eventually," Nate suggested.
As they walked through the cavernous society, the effect of Fimbulvetr was. The smell was almost unbearable and the mist felt like it was melting their eyes. Mikayla had a pretty strong gag reflex and had to use every fiber of her being not to throw up. She didn't know what it would do, the gas could light it on fire instantly, and blow it up within her. Everyone had masks that looked like medieval versions of gas masks, more akin to plague doctor masks than human gas masks. When Nate looked at a mask resting on the ground at his feet, he could see herbs in the mask. That must have been how the Dwarves could stand the stench. The group continued walking through Nidavelir, the cave systems all looking very similar. Everything was just browns and yellows with mining machines and Dwarves digging holes in the walls and ground. Metals and rocks were being given to minecart workers to be carried off.
"Wow, this place is incredible," Marc marveled as he looked around at all the work being put in.
"Yeah, it is," Nate agreed. "I wonder where all the actual building happens."
After another... long indistinguishable amount of time, they finally reached the forgery. There, Dwarves worked tirelessly to get weapons, armor, and machines out for the rest of the realms to use. Shields and swords were being built for the Einherjar, different walls for houses in Midgard and luxury resorts in Alfheim. Everything the realms needed construction wise seemed to come from here. In the middle was a room all on its own. Smoke was billowing out of the vents and up into the vents that pumped smoke up out of Nidavelir and into Svartalfheim.
"Okay, that's probably Ivaldi's workshop," Mikayla said as they walked toward the hut.
As they walked through the large cavern, Dwarves stopped what they were doing to stare up at the newcomers. It wasn't all that surprising to see that they were confused. Even Eden was taller than all of them, and she was a head shorter than Mikayla. Nate took the handle of the door and opened it. They walked in and were surprised to see who was in there. There were two short Dwarves, but also one that was taller than even Nate, and possibly Beth.
The one in the middle, who they assumed to be Ivaldi, was much like all other Dwarves they had seen. He was short, which was normal as he was a Dwarf. He was muscular, which was also to be expected as he spent his time mining all day. His skin was dark, which was an actual surprise seeing as how a Dwarf couldn't be in the sun at all, but since most of them also had dark skin, it could be deduced that it was just what Dwarves looked like. He had a long brown beard that dragged across the ground and nearly fell into the flames of the forge. He was wearing a long sleeve white shirt with a black apron over it and black baggy pants with tools in every pocket.
The taller Dwarf had pale black hair and a braided beard that only fell to his chest. His skin was lighter than his brother and father, but still darker than even Nate's. He had a Svartalfheim iron chestplate and protective gloves on while also having baggy pants and leather boots. Unlike Ivaldi, he had a much slimmer build for some reason despite also working day in and day out in the mines. He was working on a chest plate, likely for an Einherjar while Ivaldi was working on some miscellaneous piece of metal.
The other dwarf had skin like the other two, except his was somehow darker and paler at the same time. Like Ivaldi, and unlike the taller Dwarf, he was very muscular. He had a bunch of weapons strewn all around him and he was working on a sword at the moment. He was bald, but still had a short beard that clung to his chin and neck. On his chest, he had a chestplate as well, but unlike the taller Dwarf, he had an apron over it. He was also wearing gloves and baggy pants with boots.
When Ivaldi heard the door open, he turned and exclaimed "Ah! The visitors from the realm of Mortals have arrived." The other two turned to look at the group "The All-Father informed us you would be coming."
"Yeah, we've been workin' on some stuff that'll surely give the ginger bitch what for. All-Father already had us make some new armor for your friend. It's been shipped on that boat you all came on," The shorter Dwarf told them as he waddled over.
"We'll just need to get your measurements," The taller Dwarf requested "Then we'll make some armor and weapons fit for God killers."
"God Killers..." Nate mumbled as he looked back at his friends "Think the name suits us."
"I mean, that is what we've been doing for a while," Mikayla agreed "I like it. We'll be the seven God Killers!"
"Wait, seven?" Kenneth asked.
"Yes, we're including Hayden," Mikayla told him "He deserves the title as much as any of us."
"True, but how about we talk about this after we prove the title true and murder Athena?" Kenneth sighed "Come on, we need to arm up."
Ivaldi took them all into the backroom and asked them to undress, to which Mikayla exclaimed "You pervy little-" Nate calmly slapped his left hand over her mouth so she wou;dn't say anything that could be taken as a racial slur.
"Oh, no, no, we just need the measurements of your bodies." Mikayla continued to shoot daggers at him and Nate looked down at him with his mouth still tightly covering her mouth, but not her nose as he didn't want to kill her "To fit you for your armor. You see, we have ways of making sure armor is just the right size, so- why is he naked?" Nate looked over at Marc, who had stripped completely nude.
"Dude!" Nate hissed.
"What? He said get naked?" Marc retorted.
"Have you never been strip searched? He meant down into your underwear, you moron!" Nate scolded him.
"Wait, why and when were you strip searched?" Eden asked as she gently pried his hand off of Mikayla's mouth.
"Unimportant, but the first time I went to Las Angelos. I was eighteen, apparently not only enough to drink, and people thought I'd stuck a whole bottle down my pants."
"Uh... huh... I apologize for asking," Eden sighed "Alright, can we go one at a time?"
"Yes, that would be preferable," Ivaldi agreed "Plus, we have a special- could you please put your underwear back on in the very least!?!"
They all looked back to Marc, who groaned and pulled his boxers back up. With him now ready, they decided to start with his measurements first. When they were done, they got to work on the armored chest plate first. They settled on a design of two goats ramming into each other on the front to pay tribute to the Thor family. On the shoulders were the Greek symbols for storm, which looked like a nine and a six merged at the circles, and death, which was an O with an I in the middle of it. It was mostly shiny white and gray, but when he accessed his lightning, the armor glowed along with it. They gave him gauntlets with the design of a goat running to the fist on either side. The top also had the greek symbols and blades over the knuckles. The waist protection had three segments, the goats, death symbol, and storm symbol going from top to bottom. The leg protection was simply armor that could be strapped on around his legs, but they kept the designs the same for the sake of synchronism.
Eden was next, after taking her measurements, something Mikayla happily watched, they built her body protection. For hers, since she was clearly the supporter of the group, she needed armor that was sure to block any incoming damage. Using this knowledge, they had contacted Tyr and asked for some suggestions. After he came and spoke to the three for a while, they decided to use a samurai style armor. They had to use some Asgardian metals to keep it powerful enough to stop any incoming attacks, but Dwarves were very proud of their realm's natural resources. For the shoulder guards, which were rounded rectangles, were made mostly with Asgardian Steel... also mined by Dwarves. They were lined with Svartalfheim Gold which they had Freya come and enchant. The chest plate's main metal was Svartalfheim Gold that was turned into an alloy as it was fused with Svartalfheim Steel. The armor was built so that Eden could move around freely in it, as well as the sleeves, which were also armored. Her legs were protected by another alloy, this time of Asgardian and Svartalfheim steel.
Nate was next and he had a heavier set of armor on him than usual, but it was to be expected when he was going into the fight of his life. For the forging of this armor, the process was a bit more difficult, seeing as how they had to accommodate his arm. Ivaldi, however, was a master craftsman, and so were his sons. They got material from both Muspelheim and Nifilheim so that Nate's Bifrost abilities could be channeled and magnified through the armor. This is what they made the chest plate and shoulder guards out of. On the shoulder pauldrons were runes that were enchanted by Freya to enhance his power even more. With all the power coursing through the armor, it began to glow Nate's signature bloody red with rainbow sparkles slowly fading in and out like dying stars. His legs had the same materials for armor plated over his shins, insteps, and thighs. On his left hand was a gauntlet that was built of an alloy of Muspelheim stone and permafrosted Niflheim ice. The two materials from the realms that existed before any life in the Nine Realms helped harness more power than Nate's body could handle at his current level of power and training.
Kenneth was next and his armor was the most light weight of them all. It made sense, seeing as his speed was his main form of combat. As usual, his chest armor was made of Svartalfheim Gold and Steel alloy. The shoulders had wing-like blades protruding from either side. He didn't have gauntlets, but instead wrist guards, also with blades constructed in the shape of feathers protruding out.
Finally, there was Mikayla, who had taken a liking to Thrud's armor. She had asked for something similar, but with a twist of her own. The Dwarves took a moment to figure something out, but in the end, it came out as well as they could. She had a sleeveless chest plate with a chain design around it. On the back were sheathes for her blades and on her arms, there were hooks for her chains to be attached to.
"Well, aren't they looking good?" The tall dwarf asked as they saw their handy work.
"Yep! Not a bad set, Sindri!" His brother agreed with slapping him on the back of the leg due to the height difference "But now it's time for ol' Broke to arm 'em up good!"
To Nate, they gave two blades made out of the same Primordial Alloy that most of his armor had been crafted with. Along with that, there was also finely woven leather for grip strength. To Kenneth, they gave golden shoes that would enhance his speed when he had to battle someone. For Eden, they gave her a staff, as that was the weapon that they'd heard she liked using the most. Mikayla's blades were simply upgraded again, now looking even fancier and being more durable with the Asgardian Steel and Svartalfheim Gold. Like Mikayla, Marc's weapon had only been improved upon as well with some Primordial Alloy so he could channel his power through it even more effectively.
"Now that! That is what a team of God Killer should look like!" Ivaldi exclaimed "You all look magnificent, ready for your climactic showdown!"
"All three of you, no, all of Dwarf kind," Nate said as he walked toward the three before... actually bowing to show his respect "You have all done a great service. We won't let your work go to waste."
"Yeah, he's right," Marc agreed.
"Come on, let's take her down," Mikayla told her friends while cracking her neck... and then they were all transported to Odin's study where they found Beth staring at her new armor and weapons.
Her armor was made of Asgardian Steel and Gold, which gave it an Olympian appearance. She had a white cloth around her waist and armored boots that protected her shins as well. In her hands were Hofund and Gungnir. The golden broadsword and spear made of bone and shards of the Bifrost bridge were clearly powerful, having been wielded by Gods.
Beth put on her armor and looked as if she had something on her mind, Nate noticed this and sighed, "Okay what's on your mind and I swear if its about you and Hayden banging-"
"No. No it is not," Beth snapped, "I'm just thinking about what happens after we kill mom. Do we get to live... I do not know... normal lives?"
Nate snorted and replied with a chuckle "N- no! Ellie, we're Demigods. No matter what we do, no matter who we meet, what kind of people we become, that will always be what we are, a part of what and who we are."
"I... yeah, I guess that makes sense. I hope after we defeat my mother, everyone can go back to Earth and lead some semblance of normal lives... wait, how did you- stop looking into my head!"
"No, now, if we can go. I'd like to get some God blood on my hands."