abcnovels
Chapter 280: A Tale of Two Brothers
Chapter 280: A Tale of Two Brothers
Chapter 280: A Tale of Two Brothers
If you want to support me check out my patron at /athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 15 chapters ahead as a bonus.
I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.
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11th February 2013, Sayre Manor
(Loki Odinson POV)
Nothing is supposed to stop Mjolnir from obeying Thor's commands. Loki had tried in his youth, and the only time he had seen someone else control Mjolnir was his father, when he banished Thor to Midgard all those years ago. Well, it's not like the Morrigan hadn't surprised him before.
Thor was gaping at his teacher's actions, "Why are you protecting him, Lady Morrigan?"
"Because he did not lie. Odin sent him to us, on a mission."
"And what mission could that be?"
Loki, irritated, dryly responded, "He wished for me to give you this."
The God of Mischief took out the Uru box which was filled with runes and held it in the palm of his hand. Suddenly the runes started glowing and the box started to float. It started to fold away like a complex puzzle until it opened up, revealing a white glowing light. It looked oddly like a star, but it didn't burn. It didn't even hurt his eyes. It was oddly comforting. The light just stayed there for a few seconds before suddenly flying towards Thor's chest.
The moment the light touched Thor's skin, the world turned white.
The God of Mischief blinked his eyes, hoping to stop his sight from blurring. The light had been blinding in its intensity. For some reason, even after it was gone, a strange warmth remained. Loki felt like he was home.
It took a good minute before Loki's sight returned, and he was met with a bewildered Thor looking around. The light had specifically targeted Thor and there was no way that it wasn't done deliberately by Odin. This had his fingerprints all over it.
Loki looked towards the only person who might have an inkling to what happened, "What in the nine hells was that?"
The woman's vivid green eyes turned towards him, and Loki felt as if they could see through him. She answered with an irritated tone, "I'm trying to figure it out."
She waved her hands and dozens of small glowing runes appeared from thin air. He had no idea what she was doing, but Thor still looked confused, "Did something happen?"
Loki looked at his brother incredulously, "You mean you missed the light show?"
"What light show? We were just talking, and you gave me this box. Are you pranking me again, brother? I have to say that it's not very inventive."
Thor was holding an empty box of high quality dwarven forged Uru, which definitely didn't radiate the raw power it did previously. The runes had disappeared somehow. They were carved into the Uru, a material that was almost indestructible, something that wasn't supposed to be possible. The metal was forged for the main purpose of layering multiple enchantments over it. It was entirely reserved for the royal family or used as an award to warriors who had managed to impress the All-Father, somehow. They usually performed some sort of epic deed to earn it.
The Asgardian blacksmiths had attempted to recreate to metal and had succeeded in a way. It was far inferior to Dwarven made Uru, in both the number of delicate enchantments it could hold, and its strength. It was generally used when forging the Berserker staffs for Asgard's Berserker Army.
Shaking himself from his distracted thoughts, Loki remembered what Thor just said and gaped at his brother's idiocy. How could he just ignore something like this happening, or perhaps the light made sure that Thor forgot, for some reason.
Before he could speak, he was interrupted by the Morrigan's voice, "Well, your father is a crafty one, I'll say. Although, this does not bode well for me, in the long run."
Thor turned towards his teacher, "Lady Morrigan, did something truly happen? This isn't a jest?"
The black haired woman shook her head, "I'm afraid not, Thor. Congratulations, you're now officially Odin's heir."
Loki was bewildered. Wasn't Thor already Odin's heir? What was that woman speaking of?
Loki's brother seemed to share his confusion, "I don't understand"
The Morrigan shrugged, "You were the crown prince of Asgard, that's true, and your father recognized it. Now, your father, for some reason, made a link between you and the Odinforce. Should anything happen to him, it will revert to you, meaning that you won't have to sacrifice anything to gain access to it. You might see some improvement in your raw power, but it'll pale compared to Odin's control over it. He's its master, and you are just a guest, for now, at least. Although, I'm afraid that his knowledge of runes will remain unavailable to you without a suitable sacrifice."
Thor gaped at the woman in front of him. Loki wasn't any better and there was a good reason for it. The Odinforce was the All-Father's prized weapon, his greatest accomplishment. He was incredibly secretive about it. No one knew what he was truly capable of; Odin never needed to use his full might for any battle, which made Asgard's enemies all the more anxious at confronting him. The All-Father giving someone else access to the Odinforce was unheard of. The King of Asgard used it to rule his people with an iron fist. No one could argue with the man that controlled your very power, your very strength.
Unconcerned by the brothers' bafflement, the Morrigan continued, "I have to say that I didn't know that something like this was possible. I theorized that only someone who performs the correct ritual and sacrifices could have access to it. It's nice to be proven wrong every once in a while. I have to say that his command over the Odinforce must be very impressive to be able to bypass the ritual like this."
Thor burst into hysterical laughter, "Of course my father is mighty. No one would dare ever question his power and control. Although, I hope to prove myself worthy of his trust."
Honestly, Loki was slowly getting enraged by the insult Odin was throwing his way. He had thought that Odin loved him, or at least was merciful enough to send him away from his cell. He expected the King to trust him, and while the key for the Odinforce was a large prize, the All-Father had decided to formally crown his brother as his heir in front of him.
Making sure that he wouldn't explode in his anger, Loki restrained himself and vowed to destroy a few things to relax slightly. Instead, he mumbled, "Typical."
He wasn't as quiet as he thought because Thor heard him and asked, "What is typical brother?"
Loki didn't want to blow up on his brother in the middle of a happy occasion. The All-Father had proved his trust of his firstborn with this action, and Loki was, in a way, happy that his brother had received his distant father's approval. But a familiar jealousy was resurfacing, and with it came the madness that prompted him to almost commit a genocide.
The God of Mischief tried to stop Thanos' little voice in his head, telling him that he would never be good enough for his family, that he was barely more than an amusing pet to them. He shook his head and replied, "Nothing brother"
"Loki, are you in pain?"
Thor approached the groaning God of Mischief and Loki couldn't help but punch him in the face. Thor was barely phased by the attack but dodged the other one, "Brother, what's gotten into you?"
Loki sneered, "This always happens, doesn't it? Thor gets everything. He gets the crown, father's attention, and now this. The Odinforce. As if a bumbling buffoon like you could use it without blowing up a realm. And what do I get in the end? Loki the Jotun, the freak. He doesn't deserve anything more than the scraps. What a joke!!"
"I don't understand, Loki. What are talking about?"
"I'M TALKING ABOUT EVERYTHING!!" Loki bellowed, "I'm talking about how you were always more loved than I was, when you were given everything without even trying. The people love you, the warriors praise your prowess, even now, you have just received Odin's power."
"This is madness, Loki!" Thor protested.
Loki conjured two daggers and tried to stab Thor. The God of Lightning dodged and walked back. This was probably a bad idea, but Loki was beyond caring. He had tried to repress the monster hidden inside, the madness that he pretends is not there. But he failed. Odin's insult was too far, it had wounded his fragile pride one time too many and all he cared about was his rage.
"IS IT? IS IT MADNESS?" Loki cried out, "You were always the favorite, the prized son. And why wouldn't you be? You were the trueborn son, the prized warrior, the perfect prince. How could I ever compare to you. I was the weakling, the freak, the Jotun. They always knew, even mother, and they SAID NOTHING!"
Thor protested, "Loki, I am not perfect. I was an arrogant fool, with a fragile pride. Even as a warrior, I made foolish decisions that risked us all. Father did not choose me because I am an adequate warrior, he did so because I learnt humility and understood the value of innocent lives during my banishment in Midgard."
Before Loki could retort, a sharp voice interrupted them, "Alright boys, that's enough."
Both Loki and his brother were startled by the voice and turned towards her at the same time. It would be comical, if Loki wasn't inwardly shaking in fear from the glowing green eyes glaring at him, he would have laughed.
They forgot about the Morrigan. How could someone forget about the Goddess of Death who was watching them with an amused and yet frustrated expression. They were in her home for crying out loud.
The moment Loki had looked at her eyes, the madness had disappeared into nothing. Was it the fear? Was his own madness scared of this woman as well? He didn't know. But suddenly, Loki felt in control. He was calmer and could now think with a clear head. He was still angry at Odin's decision, jealous of his brother, but it was muted. It wasn't the overwhelming all-consuming anger that he felt moments before.
The witch raised an unimpressed eyebrow, "Are you done acting like children?"
The two brothers meekly nodded, looking down. The green eyed woman turned to face Thor directly, "You are a childish man who has the emotional capacity of a teaspoon. Your brother is jealous of you, he's always been jealous of you. It's not like he does a good job at hiding it."
Loki made a noise to protest but the Morrigan silenced him with a glare, "As for you, Loki. You're an insecure jealous man who is desperate for his father's affections and completely forgets that his mother loves him."
"I do not," Loki retorted.
"Don't interrupt me, kid. You have brief spells of madness, probably from your time with the Mad Titan, and that's not even mentioning the compulsions hidden deep in your psyche to hate your brother. The paradox inside you between your love for Thor and your hatred of him is slowly causing your psyche to tear itself apart. You are constantly battling yourself. You resist every action you are doing, but sometimes it's just too much. Sometimes you have the urge to stab your brother in the back. How am I doing?"
Flabbergasted, Loki nodded. She was scarily accurate in her analysis. The God of Mischief looked over his mind shields to make sure that there was no intrusion. He was barely holding on, the chaos constantly swirling inside his mind was slowly weakening them.
But there was something wrong in her analysis, "I have betrayed Thor long before my time at the mercy of HIM."
He still had trouble saying his name, even in his mind. Whenever he thought of HIM, he remembered his pain. He remembered his psyche being flayed where his very self was shown bare in front of the monster.
"I never said that your madness originated from the Titan. The compulsions inside your mind are too ingrained, too old. You've been manipulated for a very long time."
Loki was confused, but Thor somehow understood what the woman was referencing, "Are you saying that THEY did this? THEY made him betray our family, betray me?"
"Yes. It wasn't completely their fault, the seeds were there, but they made him act on them."
Slowly getting angry Loki asked, "What are your two talking about?"
"It's a long story, kiddo, and it involves you. Let me tell you about the cycle of Ragnark, and the beings that feed on it."
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If you want to support me check out my patron at /athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 15 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.