Loki: Storm of Swords

Chapter 83 - Warriors of Ice

Loki was in awe as Helbindi showed him the army of Jotunheim. "It's taken some time, but I've made it work," the King of the Jotuns said as he proudly showed off his spearmen. Loki craned his neck to look at the nine-foot-tall giants in front of him. Helbindi had them wearing trousers instead of the loin cloths they had been wearing previously. They had long sleeved shirts on and chainmail coats over top of that. Belts criss-crossed their chests and they had fur trimmed cloaks. Their spears were taller than them and Loki knew they could skewer an opponent more than an arms length away from them. Their helms had horns on either side and their red eyes sparkled. "This is just one unit of spearmen. I have three more presently," Helbindi informed Loki. Loki turned to his brother and smiled.

"And what other units do you have? I'm genuinely curious now," Loki said. Helbindi grinned. They looked like they could be twins now with their blue skin and red eyes. Loki had wanted to see if he could use magic to make Helbindi pale like he normally was. The King of Jotunheim kept walking down, his hand resting on a baton that was strapped to his belt. Loki figured there was more to it than what he was seeing, but decided to wait for the battle to witness its true power.  

"See these?" Helbindi queried as they arrived at a group of very strongly built Jotuns. "These are my veterans. Some of them have been in service since our grandfather ruled the Ice Realm. They have seen combat against the Fire Giants before, Asgardian warriors, and even the ranks of the dwarves of Nidavellir. I trust them to fight to the death for their king," Helbindi said. Loki looked at them. Some of them had sparse hair on their heads and chins, and it was white, denoting their age. Their hair was pulled back in pony tails that were pulled through holes in their helmets. Visors came down and shielded the upper portion of their faces. They had sharpened their teeth so that they were fangs hanging over their lower lips. The heads of wolves decorated one of their shoulders, with the rest of the pelt draped over the opposite side. Great blades of ice were strapped to their hips; twin axes on their backs, and daggers tied to their calves. Loki bowed to them out of respect for their service. Helbindi waved his hand and the eldest stepped forward. "This is Nadir, the commander of my veterans."

"I am honored to meet someone who has served his realm so loyally these last several centuries," Loki said.

Nadir chuckled and said, "Just as I am honored to meet the first born of Laufey. I was involved in the retrieval missions of both your mothers. I remember Rhaella well. She fought tooth and nail like the dragon she was. And now I serve King Helbindi and he desires to help you. Therefore, I will be taking my giants and loyal friends to fight and quite possibly die in your realm. We are at your service, Silvertongue." Loki grinned at Nadir's veiled sarcasm. 

"Thank you for your honesty, Nadir. I'm happy to see that you can speak plainly. Although, since you know one of my many names, you will know that I do not always speak plainly," Loki rejoined.

"Indeed. You are also called the Liesmith. A fitting name for the person who tricked his own father," Nadir commented.

"Nadir," Helbindi said firmly and the old general looked at him. "You and I have had this conversation before. Honestly, if Loki hadn't done it, I would have. The man was a brute, who considered us merely pawns in his game. And isn't everything so much better now that I am king?" Nadir frowned at Helbindi and his eyes flicked between the two boys. 

"I can talk back to you however I want. I have lived three times as long as you, and have seen you both as newborns. Squalling, noisy things you both were," the old general retorted. Loki and Helbindi exchanged looks and they both grinned.

"Well, now that I've met him, can we plan, brother?" Loki queried. Helbindi nodded and with a wave of his hand, conjured up a table of ice that was flat.

"Create the battle plan for us," Helbindi said. With a wave of his hand, Loki magically carved Kings Landing, Blackwater Bay, and the plains surrounding it. 

"Surtur's forces are here," Loki said, pointing to the armies on the plains. "These men are mortals, the Golden Company. I can trust my half-sister's men to deal with them. Over here," he said, redirecting his gaze, "are the Fire Giants. And that's where you come in." The Jotun generals looked to King Helbindi. 

"And yourself? I can already tell you're not the type of person to sit idly by on the sidelines while others fight," Helbindi stated and Loki nodded.

"I have Rhaegal. And as far as most people in Westeros are concerned, I've been branded a traitor and fled," Loki answered.

"You said 'most people'. That means that 'some people' know what your plans are. Dare I ask who?" Helbindi posed and Loki stroked his chin. 

"My wife and half-sister know what my plans are. As things stand... I am glad that I did not say anything to my brother-in-law. He and I had a bit of a falling out the last time we spoke," Loki admitted.

"I hope you have a plan for falling back in once this is all taken care of, in your favor," Helbindi commented before he turned to his generals. "We've studied how the Muspels operate. How they move, how they behave, and what they think before they think it. We've trained for this moment. To show the worlds which element is far superior. Nadir," the King of Jotunheim said, making his commander straighten up. "Your veterans are to hold back on the first advance. I want the spearmen and the ice archers to waylay them in the beginning. They'll come for us just because we're Jotun and we pissed them off." The generals all snickered. "Once they charge, the rest of the units can fall back, revealing my pride and joy: my veterans."

"För kung och land! (For king and country)" they all shouted.

"For not just our realm; for Westeros as well. I will snuff out the threat of the Fire Giants before Surtur can think of turning his power against us. We will triumph! Ice quells fire!" Helbindi declared.

"Is quells eld!" Loki just stood off to the side and grinned.

Oh, yes! I plan on making such an entrance when I return.