Duality : Book 1 of Codex Elysium

Chapter 42 (edited)

Chapter 42

900 years ago: Asgard

The golden hall, Valhalla had always shone like a beacon in the middle of Asgard but in the dull grey light, the hall looked old and faded. Odin sat on the grass outside the hall, he looked older and more haggard, and his normally clean shaved face had a thick layer of grey stubble. As he sat, he reflected on just how much times had changed. Asgard had always been a beautiful summer land of evergreen plants and life, it was always warm and summery. Now the view was a deep autumn scene, trees were heavy with leaves of orange, reds and yellows, the air held a chill. Odin drew his cloak more tightly around his shoulders, the witch's words echoing around in his mind. "When this magic is finished with Vanaheim, Asgard will be next, the new religion that ruined us will ruin you too!" The Aesir were no longer the strong, proud race that they once were, the gods were all aging, becoming weaker and fading. Gullveig had proved herself to be wiser. Clearly, she knew something about the mechanics of this darkness that he did not. How could the things that the mortals believe in shape the lives of gods? It just didn't make sense.

Odin had two great ravens called Huginn and Muninn. They were his eyes and ears. They travelled endlessly across the nine worlds. In desperation Odin had sent then out to learn all they could about the state of the universe. They had been gone for many years and he missed his friends.

Nearby Kvasir stood with arms crossed, surveying the scenery.

"The witch warned us about this, clearly she knew more about this than she was letting on, maybe if we had combined our powers, this could have been prevented?"

Odin glared at his old friend. "Don't be absurd! Even if we had done something, nothing could have stopped this ruin!"

"I will not argue with you, old friend but I don't agree, although I do feel you know something but you are not letting on?"

Before Odin could reply, the harsh caw of a raven interrupted them. Huginn and Muninn fluttered down onto the grass in front of him.  Odin gently caressed both the birds' heads. "Welcome back my friends, it has been a very long time."

Both ravens cawed in agreement.  Odin looked over at Kvasir.

"Come, sit my friend, you are wise, let us see what my friends have learnt." Kvasir sat down next to Odin, both gods focused on the birds, merging their minds with the ravens. This allowed the gods to see and hear everything the birds had seen. Time passed and the more the gods saw of the deterioration of the universe, the harder they wept.

This is what the ravens saw...

Vanaheim

Huginn and Muninn flew to the border of Asgard, as they neared the sea they saw the first bit of destruction. The great stone arched bridge that spanned over a thousand miles was in ruins. Some masonry and pillars still poked out of the sea like the broken teeth of some ancient beast. In the distance, the land of the Vanir was blackened and lashed by raging storms. The land itself was desolate, trees were dead, and the land barren, the great halls of the gods had been reduced to ruins. The ravens reached the great fortress of Vanaheim. During the war of the gods, the fortress had withstood everything the Aesir could throw at it. They had sent in giants with hammers and clubs. The gods had lashed it with fire and lightning but the fortress withstood it all.

Time and decay had achieved what the gods could not. The fortress was in ruins and slowly crumbling to dust. All over the land were similar scenes of ruin and destruction. Because of the violent weather conditions, Huginn and Muninn didn't linger long.

The ravens flew on...

Jotunheim

The land of the giants was a rocky and mountainous region on the western border of Asgard, the giants were master builders yet they never built anything for themselves, preferring to live in natural caves. The ravens flew high and fast across the land. Below them the giants seemed to have shrunk in size and stature, they seemed to be shambling around with no real sense of purpose. They sat down on the ground and became as still as rocks. Although it did snow in Jotunheim, it was normally high on the mountains but now the whole land was covered in snow. As more heavy flurries came down, the giants still just sat there and allowed the snow to cover them.