Author's Note:

I've posted a glossary of terms (including the days/months and their English equivalents) to go along with these stories, it can be found at Bigcloset Topshelf, Fictionmania, & tgstorytime.

Shout outs go to the following people: Beyogi, Maggie Finson, Loki who served as either alpha and/or beta readers, The Rev. Anam Chara who helped edit some of the dialogue (spoken by the characters Hervor, Heime & Gilda) to more accurately reflect Elizabethan era English and last but certainly not least Holly H Hart for her superb editing prowess.

Vordag, the ninth of Einmander

Goddesses, Garik… He's so close to death right now. The last battle was a great victory for our side, but Garik took a huge burst of fire to the chest. The doctors and elven healers are doing their best, but when someone is that badly injured there's only so much they can do. If they flood his body with healing magic, they could wind up killing him, so they have to do it in small bursts.

If he dies I don't think I could bear it. I care about him, much more than I want too. I think I love him, but I love Eva too. Oh hel, I can't stand the thoughts of losing him. I'm so confused right now.

"Bryn, we need to talk," Eva muttered quietly coming over to place her hands on my shoulders.

"The doctors say he's going to live," I said quietly squeezing Garik's hand.

"You love him, don't you?" she asked and I could feel her apprehension through her bond.

I reached up to touch her hand, and felt tears well up in my eyes.

"Yes, but I love you too."

"I know," she whispered.

There were so many emotions swirling through the bond, but love was the most prominent among them. Surprisingly there was no jealousy or anger at my pronouncement, but there seemed to be a good deal of self-recrimination.

"I've been selfish–"

"What? Eva no! You're one of the most selfless people I know!" I cut her short.

"It's true, Bryn. I thought I could keep you to myself, but elves seldom confine themselves to a single mate. You deserve to be happy, and you can't do that if I keep you to myself."

I stood on my feet and turned to meet Eva in the eyes. "Eva… That's really… selfless of you, but I can't… I mean. It's not …" I couldn't bring myself to finish a single sentence because everything I want to say was a lie.

Human morality simply doesn't apply to me anymore. Of all the sapient beings, humans are the only ones who have confined themselves to such a strict and often times baffling moral code. All beings have a sense of right and wrong, but humans tended to get hung up over so many silly and pointless details that most Vattir looked on us with a sense of amusement. I was only half-human, and since Hervor had awakened my elven side I was becoming more and more elf-like.

Everyday I felt more like an elf and less like a human, and in many ways it scared the frizz out of me. And yet… A large and ever-growing part of me wanted to shed away the final remnants of my humanity and be done with it. It was my humanity that kept me from accepting what Eva was telling me, but I knew what I wanted, and it was my elven side and my heart that finally won out.

I let out a long sigh and wrapped my arms around Eva, "If I'm with him. I can be with you?" I asked.

I felt shame for even asking it, but that was my human side, and I couldn't let it get in my way. My heart was made up, and there was no going back.

Eva nodded and I felt her regret mingled with relief through the bond, "Yes, of course."

"Thank the Norns! I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders," I said with a nervous laugh.

Eva smiled and I felt her warm emotions flood through the bond. "If you're happy. I'm happy," she said before we joined in a kiss.

Laurdag, the third of Harpa

Today, I leave to face my destiny. It's been a long, twisted and difficult journey that has made me the person I am today. I'm ready to do what is necessary in order to insure my people, both humans and Lejosá¡lfar, survive. If that means I must die then so be it, but I will die fighting, and I will make my death mean something.

I'm so afraid, but what choice do I have? I must complete my destiny. I cannot allow for either Midgard or álfheim to be destroyed. They are my homes, and the people I care about are depending on the efforts of both myself and others.

It's time for me to go. My supplies are packed, and I'll be leaving this journal here in case I don't survive. If I die, I want to leave something of myself behind. I'm ready, goodbye to everyone and everything.

Manadag, the twelfth of Harpa

Well, I survived the trip to hel, but even I don't understand how. It's been almost a week since the final battle, and I still can hardly believe everything that has happened. So many of the things Hervor has done make sense now, but there so many questions that have been left unanswered. I think that I'll go back and recount everything from my last journal entry just to help my mind make sense of it all…

We departed from the root of the Yggdrasil just as we had when we left for álfheim, but this time Hervor was not with us. She was making final preparations back on the light elf home world and would soon be leading the last of her troops to Midgard for the final battle.

We said our goodbyes as we had before, but this time the goodbyes were much more emotional, as both Mom and Daniella realized it may very well be the last time they saw me.

Again, we mounted up on Else and Eksel, and again Sogvor was our dwarven guide. Finally, we were underway and our mounts were crawling up the root of the world tree.

We travel for a good ten hours before coming to a level section of root. We made camp and after a fitful night spent tossing and turning we broke camp, re-mounted the dragons and continued onward. We reached the trunk of the Yggdrasil in less than an hour. The world tree was so massive that the trunk appeared to go on forever, and I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't see its branches. I yearned to stay longer and explore every branch and root of the tree, but I knew that we didn't have the time.

Sogvor steered her mount down a nearby root and we started our descent down to Niflheim. At first things were calm and sedate as our previous days travel, but then we heard a loud howl coming up on our tails.

"Oh frizzing hel, dark elves" I cursed after turning to look back.

"Sogvor! We've got company!" I shouted.

"I see 'em!" Sogvor called back over her shoulder, and suddenly Eksel began picking up speed and Else did the same.

The dragons moved fast, but the dark elves were even faster as they scurried down the root of the world tree. I don't know how they kept grip, but I suspect there was some form of magic at work. I tore Mjá¶lnir loose from where it was strapped at my waist and summoned the power of thunder. I directed a bolt out at the dark elves and felt a sense of grim satisfaction as those at the forefront were sent soaring over the edge of the root. I felt, Eva and Gramor summon their magic and begin to help fend off the approaching Dokká¡lfar, but no matter how many we killed, more took their place. Heime, Garik, Sam and Leif all helped fend off the attacks with their dwarven fire-cleavers. Sam hadn't developed her magic to the point that she could use it without fear of losing control, so she had no choice but to depend on the fire-cleaver to defend herself.

Despite our best efforts, the dark elves got closer and closer until they were riding on Else's tail, literally. The dragon let out a loud rage-filled roar and snapped at a dark elf as it latched onto her tail. She bit into it with her mouth of razor-sharp teeth and flung it aside with a snap of her neck.

Three more dark elves leapt onto Else's back. She took out the first with a swing of her tail, but the other two climbed up the dragon's back and started ripping into her flesh. Sam took out another one with her rifle, but before she could level her gun at the third it was on her. The monstrous creature let out a loud screech as Leif grabbed it off her, but then it had already ripped the straps holding Sam to shreds. She slipped from where was seated and flew forward, directly into Leif and the dark elf that was tearing at his chest. There was a snap as the Leif's straps flew apart and all three tumbled off Else's back and into oblivion.

"No!" I cried out frantically feeling as if a part of me had just died.

Else lurched into motion, first loosing her hold on the root, then suddenly leaping into the open space 'above' us. Gramor summoned wind magic and I felt my stomach lurch as it whipped all around us. We went shooting past Eksel and landed about twenty feet in front of him. I tugged on the rein and Else lunged into a mad dash fueled by adrenaline and desperation. I looked back and watched as Eksel heaved into the same mad-dash behind us.

"Leif… Sam…" I whispered as we raced toward Niflheim and away from the dark elves.

The dark elves stayed on our tail for almost the whole ride. The hurried pace was taking a heavy toll on the dragons, but they were creatures of magic and seemed able to push themselves beyond the limits of any mortal creature. The viddrakis' pace kept the dark elves from getting too close, but not far enough for us to slow.

I tried not to think on Leif and Sam's apparent deaths as we fled. Logically I knew that it was extremely unlikely that they had survived, but for whatever reason I couldn't accept it on an emotional level. Too many people had died already, and I was sure more were to follow. Maybe it wasn't so bad, I'd probably wind up seeing them again very soon.

We reached Niflheim after hours of traveling with the Dokká¡lfar nipping at our heels. We were tired and weary from the ordeals, but were forced to press on as our pursuers showed no signs of relenting.

Niflheim proved true to its name. The place was dark and the fog was so thick that we could barely see a few feet in front of us. Not only that, but it was cold, colder even than the arctic back on Midgard. The root of the World Tree had been very cold, so we were still wearing our cold-weather gear when we arrived on the world of mist.

"The conclave will be expecting compensation for my continued services," Sogvor growled as she pulled Eksel up alongside us.

"Is that all you think of? Money?" Gramor asked from the other draki.

"What yeh think? I'm dvergar," Sogvor retorted falling into a fit of laughter.

"The conclave will receive their compensation," I replied coldly, then spat bitterly, "Let's just get going. The dark elves will be on us any minute now."

Sogvor nodded, and without another word, guided Eksel back into motion, Else followed a moment later.

The ride to Helheim seemed to drag on for days and it very well could have. There was no day on Niflheim and it was perpetually dark, which made it that much harder to tell how much time had passed. I know we stopped repeatedly to eat and rest, but time just seemed to bleed together and I had a hard time keeping track as the hours ticked by. We didn't dare stop for more than a few hours so we weren't able to get much sleep.

Several times the dark elves almost had us, but each time we managed to get away by the skin of our teeth.

Finally we reached the bridge leading into Helheim, but someone was waiting for us.

I looked around and noted something odd. Pale colorless figures were arrayed in a line and were walking slowly toward the Gjá¶ll bridge. They moved in perfect unison and seemed completely unaware of anything but the bridge into Helheim.

"Holy frizz," I muttered quietly as I realized what I was seeing.

"Bryn? What is it?" Garik's voice said from behind me and I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Can't you see them?" I asked him.

"See what?"

"The dead," I responded back turning to look him in the eyes.

Garik didn't give me an answer and I didn't wait around for one. I quickly pulled loose the straps holding me atop Else, jumped down to the ground and moved quickly toward the bridge. I stopped just a few feet away from the entrance. According to legend there was a Jotun named Modgud who guarded the entrance to Helheim. So where was she, and why hadn't she made an appearance?

"Modgud!" I called out.

I sensed movement under the bridge's gold-thatched roof and a figure emerged from within. She was huge, standing close to twelve feet tall, so huge in fact that she couldn't stand upright inside the massive bridge. Aside from being a bit on the muscular side she was actually quite pretty, and had she been my height she could have easily passed for human.

"Who calls me?" she asked her eyes moving to each member of the party.

"I did," I said, staring up at her defiantly.

Modgud stared down at me thoughtfully then spoke, "And who are you to speak my name so freely?"

"I am Brynhilde, daughter of Aryanna le Fey of the Seidskati and Prince Heime of the Lejosá¡lfar." I stared up at her feeling my breath catch in my throat.

"Your lineage means nothing to me, half-elf," the Jotun woman glared down at me coldly.

"Let us pass," I demanded meeting her glare.

Modgud shook her head and laughed, "You are a bold one, I'll give you that, but I cannot let you pass."

"Let me rephrase that. Let us pass or I'll flatten your ass with Mjá¶lnir," I replied coldly raising Thor's hammer for the Jotun to see.

Modgud threw her head back and let out a great booming laugh, "This is my task, girl, I must not let just anyone pass, even one who wields power such as yours."

I racked my brain trying to think of something that would help persuade the giantess to let me pass, but I had no idea what would persuade her. If I chose to fight, I somehow doubted I could win, yet I knew I couldn't convince her to let me pass. She was Jotun, and I was seeking to resurrect beings who were her sworn enemies.

"Modgud, what is it that you desire above all else?" Eva asked, suddenly stepping forward.

"To be free, but my oath binds me here as surely as if I had been cast in chains," the Jotun spat bitterly.

"Oath to whom?" I suddenly thought perhaps there was another way after all.

"Odin."

"Dost thou know why we are come hither?" Heime stepped forward.

"It does not matter. It is a fool’s errand. Turn back or suffer my wraith!" the Jotun howled.

"We've come here seeking to free the dead gods from Hel's clutches," Gramor added, appearing next to Heime.

"Then you are even bigger fools than I had realized! Begone from my presence!"

"We have to press forward, even if that means fighting you. I was conceived for this purpose, and I will not be deterred, even by the likes of you," I stared up at her defiantly.

"And if I let you through, what will you do for me?" Modgud asked, stroking her chin thoughtfully.

"You wish to be free, don't you? Perhaps we can convince Odin to free you from your debt!" I replied.

"I would have your word, little elfling. If I let you pass you will do all within your power to convince Odin to free me."

I hesitated, what Modgud asked seemed simple enough, but I didn't want to be bound by another oath. And there was no telling what I would have to do in order to fulfill such an oath. Yet I didn't have any choice… and it was as simple as that. If I wanted to pass I had no choice but to make the promise.

"I swear it," I said and felt a familiar click in the back of my head as my innate magic surged to life and forged the link in the back of my mind that would compel me to fulfill my oath.

"You and your companions may pass… Be warned. Hel will not welcome you with welcome arms. If she finds you, and find you she will, she will stop at nothing to destroy you."

"Thanks," I muttered quietly then I motioned to the others to follow and stepped past Modgud without another word.

No one spoke as we passed across the bridge. After a walk of about thirty minutes we made it to the other side and I looked down a long winding path. I swallowed hard and started forward. My destiny was waiting for me.

I lost track of all time as we journeyed that last little ways to Helheim. It could have minutes, or hours or days and I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. My thoughts turned to Sophie, Marion, Leif and Sam. Would I see them again? Would I get to speak with them and say my final goodbyes? Or was I destined to join them?

The dead walked along with us as we made our way down to Helheim. I tried my best to ignore them, but it was difficult when they were following the same route.

When we finally reached the gates to Helheim, Hel was waiting for us, and she just was as horrifying as I had imagined. She was standing in front of the entrance with a wicked grin on her face. One half of her face was that of pale-skinned beauty, while the other was the stuff born of nightmares. It was coarse and black and was all broken and twisted. Her split-faced countenance reminded me of Mengele, and I suppressed a shudder as I pulled Mjá¶lnir loose from my belt.

"I've been waiting for you," she stared at us with a predatory smile.

I didn't stop to think before I acted. I knew what I had to do. No one tried to stop me. Maybe they understood that what I was doing was necessary or maybe I caught them by surprise, I still don't know. I heard footsteps pounding on the ground behind me and I knew that my companions were following on my heels. I was just a few feet away from Hel when I swung the hammer at her. I let out a loud gasp as I felt it reverberate against the pale blue bubble that had appeared suddenly around her.

"Did you really think you could match the power of a goddess? Even with the power of the hammer you are nothing," she sneered.

I scowled back at her, lifted the hammer and hit it against her shield as hard as I could. The second blow didn't do a thing, so I hit it again and kept on pounding.

Hel scowled at me and I could feel her weave the magic just enough time to dive out of the way as a blast of fire came soaring my way. Pain exploded in my back, but I gritted my teeth and forced myself back to my feet. It hurt pretty bad, but I could still move and I was pretty sure the injury was superficial.

"Bryn watch out!" Eva called from behind and I swirled around in just enough time to see a large blood-drenched dog that could only have been Garmr jump right at me.

I brought the hammer down, swept it in a wide arc, hit the dog right in the snout and sent it soaring into the air. I didn't even wait to see it land before swirling back around to face Hel. She hadn't been twiddling her thumbs while I'd been distracted. Sickly green light filled my vision and I thought that it was the end. Then suddenly there was a bright flash of light and Gna appeared from out of thin air between me and Hel.

"Bet you weren't expecting that!" Gna grinned before pounding her spear into the ground. Pale light leapt up and down the haft of the spear and Gna brought it down to pound against the goddess of death's shield.

I felt a pair of hands on my shoulder, and winced in pain as I looked back to find Eva tracing her hands across my injured back. Light poured out from her hands and the pain faded to a dull throb as she worked a spell to heal the wound.

"Thanks, I needed that.," I grinned up at her, and shared a brief kiss just before leaping back into action.

"Pitiful!" Hel spat. "Is this the best Frigg could do? A half-elf, and a messenger. Neither of you have the power to undo me. Even together you don't have what it takes! Why am I even bothering with you?!"

Gna and Heime were both doing their best to fend off Hel's attacks. Gramor and Garik were duking it out with Gramr while Sogvor kept a safe distance mounted atop Eksel. Garik and my grandmother seemed to be doing a pretty good job keeping the beast at bay, so I moved in to assist Heime and the messenger goddess who were struggling to keep Hel at arm's length. Both Heime and Gna were more skilled fighters, but Hel’s magic cut through their attacks like they were butter. Each time Hel sent a burst of magic at my father he would raise his sword and it somehow seemed to dissipate nearly the entire brunt of the attack. That's not to say he escaped her attacks unscathed, as he had sustained several burns and a gash from a particularly wicked wind-spell.

I got as close as I dared, waiting for an opening, then jumped in the moment one became available. The hammer came down so hard on Hel's spirit barrier that the shield began to waiver. I let out a shout of triumph and moved in to follow up with another hammer strike, but that proved to be a mistake. Another, burst of sickly light came pouring out of Hel's hands and hit me square in the chest. It had happened so fast that I couldn't do anything to avoid getting hit, and I knew I was royally screwed.

White-agonizing pain shot through ever single pore in my body and I fell to the ground, unable to maintain motor control of my limps. I heard several voices call out my name, but by then I was so lost to the pain that I had no idea who they belonged too. Darkness crept into the edge of my vision, but it wasn't unconsciousness that threatened to overtake me, it was complete and utter oblivion. Not just death, but a total unraveling of my existence. I don't know exactly how I knew this, but I understood it to be true with ever fiber of my being.

"No!" I screamed out in defiance. I would not let Hel win! I wasn't going to fade into the darkness and let everything I had worked for be for nothing. I clenched my teeth and fought against Hel's spell. At first, it seemed to work, as I could feel the darkness withdraw, but then it was back with even greater force and I wept from the sheering agony of it. I felt as if I were on fire, but the pain transcended the physical. Hel was attacking me at the very core of my being. She was trying to destroy my soul.

"No! I won't let you win!" I screamed with renewed determination and did the only thing I could think to do. I let my magic wash over me and summoned a spirit shield to block her attack. Hel shattered my spell with almost no effort and continued her assault as I writhed helplessly on the ground.

Just, when I thought I was doomed I felt Eva reach out to me through our bond and I knew what I had to do. I reached back and anchored my consciousness to her. As one we reached across the cosmos to álfheim, where Hervor's mind was waiting to be touched. Just as I had with Eva, I anchored myself to Hervor, but it wasn't enough. I extended my magic and looking for something, anything, that would help me stop Hel and I found it. I reached out to Garik and my father in desperation. I could feel their emotions join Eva's and Hervor's as I formed a bond between them and me. Hel's spell of nothingness receded further and I knew I was so close from defeating it, and yet I sensed it still wasn't enough.

There were no more minds for me to join with so I lashed out with the hammer. A bolt of lightning struck out at Hel and hit her right in the chest. Hel's concentration broke just enough for me to gain an edge. The bond gave me the last of the strength I needed to fend off the evil that was attempting to destroy me. I erected another spirit barrier and funneled all the energy into it that I could muster. Sickly green light flashed in front of my eyes, then vanished as I sat bolt upright watching as the dark power consumed the one who had summoned it. Hel let out an inhuman wail, her face filled with horror as a whirling cyclone of pure black energy swirled around her flailing limbs.

The tips of her fingers turned from solid flesh to sand which was sucked into the cyclone then slowly the rest of her body dissolved into the same black dust. It started with her fingers then moved up past her wrists and soon consumed both of her arms, and finally her entire body was gone and nothing remained. The dark swirls of power faded away and I was left staring up in wide-eyed disbelief at an empty patch of ground.

I'd done it, I'd done the impossible, I'd turned the power of a goddess against her and killed her. No, she wasn't just dead, she was destroyed, her very soul had been ripped apart and nothing remained, not even a body. I let out a sigh of relief and fell into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"Frizzing Hel yeah!" I called out, the irony of invoking the dead goddesses name not lost on me.

"Bryn, are you alright? What happened?" Eva asked.

"I'm fine," I muttered and stretched out to touch Eva through the bond to reassure her and I felt Heime and Garik minds reach out to me at the same time. Heime's and Garik's concern for me matched Eva's, and was so strong that it nearly brought me to tears.

I felt my breathe catch in my throat and shook my head in a vain attempt to clear my thoughts. I looked over to Garik and remembered for the first time that he and my grandmother had been fighting Gramr before Hel had tried to destroy me. My eyes scanned the area nearby and I noted the hound of Hel's dead body and its severed head just a few feet away.

"Bryn, what happened?" my gramor asked.

I shook my head and looked up at her, but I didn't get a chance to talk since Gna spoke first, "Hel tried to use the vilest sort of magic on our young friend. Had she been successful, Bryn's entire being, her very soul, would have been destroyed."

"Norns," Gramor said biting her lips and wrapped her arms around me.

"So Hel is dead then?" Garik muttered from nearby.

"Not just dead. I think her spell backfired," I sighed shaking my head and moved to stand.

"Daughter, thou must rest," Heime said putting a restraining hand on my shoulder.

I shook my head again and stared up at him defiantly, "There isn't time."

"Bryn, Prince Heime is right, Hel's attack on you was traumatic and you've expended a lot of magical energy. You need to rest at least for a few minutes." Eva added staring into my eyes her concern flaring up through the bond.

I closed my eyes and let out a long steady sigh, "We don't have the time, Eva. I need to get into Helheim."

"She's not going to change her mind. I know that look, she’s just as stubborn as her mother," Gramor added quietly.

I gently moved Heime's hand off my shoulder then grabbed Mjá¶lnir from the ground and stumbled back onto my feet. Eva was right, I was weak, but I didn't think I had any choice other than to continue on. There was this sense of urgency compelling me to keep going and it was getting stronger by the minute. With it was a growing certainty that if I allowed myself to stop something terrible would happen.

I walked over to Helheim's gate and I shuddered at the sight of the place. The very air around us seemed to radiate a sense of foreboding and malevolence and I could barely contain my terror as I drew closer to the entryway. The gate itself was black, resembling wrought iron, but I doubted it was made of something so mundane. The walls on either side of the gate were solid black, completely devoid of color or light, but were smooth and solid to the touch.

With shaking hands I reached out to touch the gate's latch. It was freezing cold, but I didn't let that stop me as I lifted the latch and forced the gate open. It swung open without any resistance and I took one step forward and turned back to my companions.

"I go on alone," I muttered staring back at them.

"Bryn no!" Eva muttered immediately and her protests were joined by similar protestations from the rest of the party, well everyone except Gna and Sogvor. Sogvor had kept herself apart from the rest of us since coming to Niflheim and she had been perfectly content for things to remain that way. Gna, on the other hand actually agreed with me.

"Bryn must do this alone. The task is hers and hers alone," Gna said quietly.

A few minutes more and Eva and everyone finally relented and agreed that I had to go inside alone. We said out goodbyes and then I turned back toward the gates to Helheim, stepped inside and didn't look back.

A sort of pale luminescence permeated the air, but nearly as I could tell it didn't have an discernible source. Once I moved a couple dozen feet inside I began to make out the forms of the dead. They stood in row after unending row, looking blankly off into the distance. I suppressed a shudder and started forward again.

I moved through the rows of the dead, not really sure what I was doing or whether the gods could be found intermingled among the other dead. All the people I passed by were wearing modern clothing and none of them were old. I passed unfamiliar face after unfamiliar face and time seemed to have no meaning as I wandered aimlessly through the crowds of dead. I stopped suddenly in surprise when I realized I recognized one of those faces.

"Sophie," I whispered and moved closer to where she was standing amongst the columns of the dead.

I stared at her for a moment and I reached out to touch her face and quickly withdrew it when I realized that she was solid to the touch. I hesitated for a another moment then I reached out to her with my magic and watched in amazement as color slowly returned to her face and the rest of her body. She blinked suddenly and she looked at me with a look of confusion.

"W-Where am I?" she asked.

"You're in Helheim," I muttered smiling sadly.

"I'm dead then. That explains a lot. I was in a happy place, Mom and Dad were there and my grandmother."

I could feel tears beginning to form in the corner of my eyes and I did my best to hold them at bay. "Goddesses, I've missed you Sophie."

Sophie blinked at me, "Do I know you?"

I sighed and shook my head, "Sophie it's me, Neil."

"Neil? Right! And I'm the Goddess Frigg. I'll give you credit you sort of look like him, but last I checked Neil was a boy."

"Sophie, it's really me."

"Prove it," she said folding her arms across her chest.

"Last year, I walked in on you and Ham having sex," I replied quietly.

"That bastard! He swore he'd never tell anyone!"

I grabbed Sophie by the head and forced her to look me in the eyes, "Sophie I never told anyone. It's me."

Sophie's eyes grew wide and she gasped, "Holy frizz! It is you!"

"Look Sophie--"

"You're a girl! How did this happen?!"

"It's a really long story and I'd love to tell you all about it, but I don't think I have the time."

"Neil what are talking about? You're dead, you have all the time in the world."

"Sophie, I'm not dead."

"What? Than how'd you get here?"

"Ragnarok has come. I've been sent here to resurrect the dead gods."

"Okay, you know that sounds crenking thached don't you?"

"Like I said, it's a long story."

"Obviously," she replied back folding her arms across her chest with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Sophie… I don't know how to tell you this… but Sam and Leif… They didn't make it."

"How?"

I explained about their deaths and I saw a slow smile creep onto her face.

"If they're dead then they've gotta be here! Let's find them!"

"Sophie, I wish I could, but I have to find the gods before it’s too late."

"Did you know where they can be found?"

"No."

"Well then we can look for Sam and Leif while we're looking for them!"

"Yeah, I guess we could do that," I muttered quietly.

"So what's your plan?"

"Well… I thought I'd just keep looking."

"That's it? That's your plan?"

"You have any better suggestions?" I shot back sticking my tongue out at her.

Sophie snorted, "Well, you could always ask for help."

"Help? Where on Midgard am I going to find anyone to help me?"

Sophie shook her head and grinned at me mischievously, "Could you be any thicker? I see getting changed into a girl hasn't made you any smarter. Neil, look around you."

I did as she suggested and winced as I realized she'd meant I should ask the dead for help. Why not? I'd already awakened one dead person. Why not a few more?

"Call me Bryn," I muttered, then took off running through the columns of the dead. I got the feeling that waking too many of the dead was a bad idea, and I really didn't know which of them I could trust, so I looked for a familiar face. I stepped into another column and found that the people around me were wearing clothing that was several hundred years old. I almost turned back when I caught sight of a face that made me momentarily panic.

"Hey, what's the deal running off like that!" Sophie growled, appearing from behind a row of the dead.

I didn't answer, I could only stare at woman I had stopped in front of in utter confusion. "Oh, N- Bryn. I'm so sorry."

"It's not Mom," I said finally. The woman looked like Mom, and she was about the same height, but her hair was black which pretty much gave it away. Well that and the old-style clothes.

"Holy frizz!" I yelled suddenly.

I knew who the woman was, she was Lilith le Fey, my ancestor. I once again summoned up my magic and touched the woman on the cheek.

"Why have you awakened me?" she asked abruptly as color slowly returned to her face and body.

"Are you Lilith le Fey?" I asked her quietly.

"I am," she replied cautiously. "Who are you?"

"I'm Brynhilde le Fey. You're my ancestor."

Lilith stared at me with an appraising look that reminded me of my mother, "It's nice to meet you Brynhilde, but I don't understand why you've woken me."

"We're looking for dead gods! We thought you could help!" Sophie interjected enthusiastically.

"Dead gods… Oh, I see you're not dead. The fact that you've managed to get this far is astounding, but I'm afraid I can't help. I don't know where Hel has hidden the Allfather or any of the others. For all I know this gentlemen standing here next to me could Baldr."

"Any help you could give would be appreciated. Time's running short and I have no idea what I'm doing here," I replied.

Suddenly, Lilith looked down at my waist where I had the hammer of Thor strapped to my belt. "Maybe you already have what you need to find them," she muttered.

Of course! Why hadn't I seen it before? As soon as she said it I knew Mjá¶lnir was the key.

"Thanks!" I beamed at her.

Lilith nodded then her skin turned gray and then it was just me and Sophie again.

"You can probably go back to sleep too. I think I can find them on my own," I said quietly.

"You're kidding, right? I wouldn't miss this for the world!"

"I thought you might say that," I grinned back at her, then tossed Mjá¶lnir up in the air and willed it find its target, namely its master Thor.

Mjá¶lnir flew through the air and went soaring through the rows of the dead and we followed after it at a dead run. We swept past row after row of the dead, and I thought we might keep running forever when suddenly a building appeared suddenly from out of the abyss. The building looked like something out of the history books. It was built from what appeared to be ordinary stone, it was long and narrow and had a thatched roof.

I yanked the hammer back out of the air and clenched my fist around it. I expected some sort of guard as we entered the building, but there was no resistance whatsoever. My ears filled with the sound of laughter when I stepped into the main room and I felt my eyes widen at the sight before me. I'd found the gods, and they were sitting around a long table laughing and drinking.

They didn't seem to register our presence and I just sort of stood there trying to think of something to say. Of course, Sophie took care of that.

"Heya!" she said enthusiastically.

The laughter died down and all eyes in the room turned to look on us.

"Why do you disturb us?" a voice said at the other end of the room.

"YOU! What are you doing here!?" I said in shocked disbelief.

"Well last I checked it was because I was dead," Loki answered back staring at me blankly.

"No, you escaped. You attacked me at the dingha months ago. Why would you come back?"

Loki laughed and stared at me with a bemused expression, "Escaped? As appealing as that sounds, I haven't left Helheim since my death."

"Lies! I saw you! You trick me into releasing my power!"

"Enough, of this nonsense!" a voice said from the end of the table. He was missing an eye, and he looking every bit the image of an old viking warrior.

"You come here and disturb our rest and then you make accusations that cannot be true. Loki has been here by my side for all these centuries. He is bound by the same chains that bind us all," the old warrior, whom I presumed to be Odin, growled, pointing down at the floor where each of the gods was chained.

I stared at him in disbelief. If it hadn't been Loki who had attacked me, then who had it been? Obviously, someone had been masquerading as him, but with the sort of power the doppleganger Loki had displayed, it could only have been another god or Jotun.

"I was attacked by a god. He claimed to be Loki and he looked just like him."

"You were attacked by a god and you're still alive? Your story is getting harder and hard to believe!" another voice accused in disbelief. He had long gold hair and looked like a much younger and larger version of Odin.

"Be calm, my son. Let the girl speak," Odin said quietly eying me thoughtfully.

"Allfather, I'm incapable of telling lies. I'm a half-elf," I said staring up at the god defiantly.

"You're a what?!" Sophie asked from my side.

"She's speaking the truth, she is a half-elf as she claims. I can see the truth of it glow around her," another god said, thoughtfully stroking at his long-brown beard.

"She has Mjá¶lnir!" the younger-looking Odin called out suddenly and extended his open hand.

The hammer suddenly flew out of my hands and shot toward its master. Thor let out a howl of glee as he grasped the weapon in his hand. Abruptly, lightning flooded my vision and when it cleared, Mjá¶lnir had returned to its proper size in the grasp of the god's hand.

"Girl, why have you come here?" Odin said quietly.

"I was sent by my grandmother Hervor, the Queen of the Lejosá¡lfar, and my mother, Aryanna le Fey, on behalf of Frigg to free you."

"Hervor?! Queen of the light elves?!" A god with a long-brown beard suddenly leaped to his feet angrily.

"Freyr, be at ease, we have been gone for a very long time," Odin said quietly. then turned back to me.

"You say you were attacked by a god. There is only one of us that has been free to roam Midgard for all these centuries and that would be Lodur."

"Lodur?" I asked in disbelief. "Why would one of the creators align himself with the Jotun?"

Odin sighed and shook his head, "Long ago, when the Aesir and Vanir were at war, Frigg foresaw our end."

"Ragnarok!" Sophie hissed.

Odin nodded, "Lodur, my brother, grew angry at the pronouncement. He didn't wish to die, so he killed Skuld."

"What?!" Sophie asked suddenly.

Skuld, was one of the Norns, the trio of goddesses that controlled the fates of gods and men alike. Urd the oldest sister had control over the past, Verdani the middle sister kept watch over the present, and Skuld the youngest, kept watch over the future.

"With Skuld out of the way Lodur was able to manipulate events in his favor. He knew that the best way to do that was to ally himself with the Jotun. The Aesir and the Vanir were at war and he manipulated events to keep us fighting, instead of making peace as was foretold." Odin finished.

"You weren't supposed to die! Why didn't you try to stop him?" I called out in sudden realization.

"Because, we didn't realize the truth until it was too late!" Thor howled angrily, swinging Mjá¶lnir at the open air.

"But the codices and eddas all say that all the male gods died! Why didn't the goddesses know Lodur hadn't died with the rest of you?!" I asked.

"I don't know," Odin said quietly.

So many things were beginning to make sense, but that mysterious sense of urgency was beginning to creep up on me again. I had so many questions, but I knew that they would have to wait. Ragnarok was lurking at our doorstep and I wasn't about to let it come tearing into the house and catch me unaware.

"Allfather, Ragnarok comes. We have need of you. Will you join in the final battle to help save Midgard?" I asked urgently.

"You need not ask, girl," Thor spat.

"Lodur must be stopped," Odin agreed.

"Then what are you waiting for? Come on, let's get going!" Sophie exclaimed.

Odin cocked his head and furrowed his eyebrows, but didn't respond to Sophie's pronouncement. Instead, he turned to Thor. "You know what to do."

Thor grinned and let out a long bellow. Then with a mighty swing he threw the hammer out of his hands and let it soar right at his father. Mjá¶lnir hit the shackle on Odin's right foot and shattered it, but instead of returning to Thor, the hammer blasted into the shackle on the other ankle and blew it into pieces. The hammer flew through the room, and destroyed the chains about each of the gods' feet before finally returning to its master hands.

I felt a pang of regret as I realized that my time wielding the war hammer was at an end, but I took solace in knowing that it would do far more good in the hands of the one it had been crafted for.

"Shall we get going then?" I asked quietly.

"Not yet," another of the gods, whom I later learned was Hoenir said with a shake of his head and a toothy grin. "There's one more of our number that needs freed."

Odin and the other gods led us out of their prison, then, just as I had done, Thor threw Mjá¶lnir up in the air and we went chasing after it to find Skuld's prison.

"Allfather," Skuld said, her voice full of wonder as we approached.

Unlike the other gods she had been left outside among the other dead, but like the other gods she was still aware of her surrounding. She was chained to a tall post and she had a sort of hollow sunken look to her.

"Skuld, what has been done to you?" Odin asked with fists clenched at his side.

"As the eons passed. I have been forced to watch the future unfurl without my guiding hand. Nothing is as it should be. It is painful for me to see such things, knowing I cannot fix them," the norn said, staring up at Odin with a haunted look in her eyes.

Thor moved forward and slammed the hammer into the chains about Skuld's feet. "Then let's make a new future!" he bellowed.

Skuld nodded and took Thor's hand as he helped her to her feet.

"Now, we are ready," Odin pronounced turning back to me.

To be Continued

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