Prologue

Prologue

In the beginning...

As Odin placed the final dwarf- South- ’neath Ymir’s skull, he knew that his work was not completed. He and his brothers, Villi and Ve, congratulated each other on their so-far success. The terrible frost-giant’s body had been used well- his bones were now mountains, his teeth rocks and pebbles. It had been Odin’s idea to throw Ymir's brains into the sky to create the clouds, and then he took sparks and embers from Muspelheim for the sun, moon and stars. The great cow Audumla- once Ymir’s prime source of life- stood licking at the giant salt-blocks which had created the brothers’ grandfather. Four great rivers of milk ran from her udder. Odin smiled and saw that this Garden was good. He had a thought, and smiled more.

            “Villi! Ve!” he cried to his brothers. “Come hither! I have thoughts to share with you both!”

            “What, brother?” called Ve, edging his way down the mountain he stood upon. Once he reached the base, Ve jogged to Odin and was soon joined by Villi, who was holding a large, slimy-looking, scaled animal. Odin eyed the thing curiously.

            “Villi,” he began, “what is this you hold?”

            “It is a fish,” Villi smiled. “I named it so for there is no other word that exists to us.”

            “A ‘fish’?” Odin was cautious. It was a new object, a new word. He didn’t like this ‘fish’ he saw. This was, however, a new world. There had to be new things for it to be unique.

            “A fish.” Villi looked proud, but displeased. “It is a first-stage name- I will name it something better when we return to Asgard.”

            “No need,” Odin said. “There are no fishes in Asgard, and there never shall be! Let the fishes remain here- this is their world, where they belong. Now come, my brothers. Let us walk along the river heading to North, and let us plant some seeds to harbour life.”

And so they walked along the river that headed towards North, the dwarf at the northernmost corner of this new Garden. For every half-a-day they walked, they lay some of their seeds to grow. The atmosphere of this new Garden was humid, and perhaps something would be made of the seeds to cool and dry the air. All the while, the three brothers walked and walked until they came to a vast, green expanse that so bewildered them, they could do nothing but gaze with open mouths and wide eyes. They had grown up in Niflheim, the home of mist and ice. After, they had happened upon Asgard, and had taken this with their parents to be their new home. This expanse reminded them much of Asgard, and it was Ve who pointed out that it was directly beneath Yggdrasil.

            “So it be,” Odin mused, running a hand over his chin before moving to his empty eye socket. He touched the closed lids and pushed back into his skull gently before resting the arm at his side. The expanse was lined with bushes bearing rich fruits and patches containing vegetables. What disappointed Odin was that there were no animals for meat- this was the one thing this expanse lacked if it had hoped to be an exact replica of Asgard.

            “Brother, is this why we have walked so far?” asked Ve. “Brother, what drew us here? Surely you must know, as for many days Villi and I have followed your lead to this valley.”

            “My brothers,” Odin said gently. “This is precisely why we came! O! What is the use of a new Garden when we spend our lives frolicking in Asgard? Surely we would tire of this new World given time enough? So heed me when I say that we must populate this currently uninhabited land. We will call it Midgard, for it rests in the between of Asgard and Helheim. It rests at the centre of Yggdrasil. This is the focal world. Ve, go upwards to our childhood home where you will find ice and mist- bring some back. We must have water on this Garden if anything is to survive! Villi go to Asgard and take a chalice of the mead. While you both are gone I shall set about a search of my own. Go now!”

And so Villi and Ve went. It was not hard for them to fulfil their quests, but it did take some time to find the perfect specimens. Ve looked over the mist and ice- in places the mist was too thin, in others it may as well have been ice. In an effort to satisfy both requirements, Ve fashioned a bottle from some white ice and captured some of the thickest mist with his hand. Through his clenched fist, he blew the mist directly into the bottle and plugged it with a clump of ice. His task was complete.

Meanwhile, Villi searched the racks in Asgard for the perfect selection of mead. He knew that when Odin had an idea, only the best was necessary. As he scoured the racks, he began to lose hope. All of the honey-coloured meads he sampled and held were imperfect! And then he remembered... Of course! He rushed quickly to the great hall, Valhalla, and entered. Within, many of the other Aesir feasted on meats and wines. He stole undetected through the crowds, stopping briefly to admire Frigga as she twirled and danced her way through countless gaping men. He continued his short journey to the back of the hall where he eased open a cabinet and took a bottle of mead. He only needed a chalice-worth, and so took Odin’s emerald-encrusted one to be safe.

Flitting together Odin’s two younger brothers came to him after weeks of fulfilling their duties. Odin was not displeased- he had used the time to craft his vision. Out of an ash tree, he had created Ask- the first man of Midgard. Ask’s body was straight and thick with knots for muscles. With an elm, Odin had fashioned Embla- the first woman of Midgard. Her hips were curved, like many a goddesses’, with a smooth neck for a seductive voice. Both were naked.

Odin looked upon his wooden creations and saw that they were good. Villi and Ve saw them and also saw that they were good, and they knew now why they had been sent on their quests. Ve stepped forward to the wooden statues and unplugged the ice bottle. He crushed it, releasing the vapours within. The vapours took lives of their own and embraced the wooden man and the wooden woman, soaking into every crack of the barks. Ve stepped back nine paces and Villi took his place, uncorking the mead and pouring it into the emerald-encrusted, diamond chalice. He gripped the bottle and chalice confidently as he strode to the ash and elm figures. He stopped between them and poured through the still-embracing vapours the honey-wine- half a chalice upon the top of each- and backed away nine paces, clutching still the bottle and the chalice.

Finally, Odin stood between his brothers and smiled as the wooden carvings took movement, shrinking as they began life. Their once hard, rough brownish bark began to smooth and lighten to an olive complexion. The vapours had given them souls. Both the man and woman fell to their knees and breathed their first breath. The man was undoubtedly handsome, and the woman was breathtakingly stunning. The man had sharp blue eyes and hair coloured like ash, while the woman’s eyes were a soft grey and her hair reminiscent of elm leaves in the third season. Odin smiled as his creations came to life. The mead had given them knowledge, for it was no ordinary mead! It had been the mead that Odin had stolen! They now knew poetry, music, philosophy and were wise in the ways of the Aesir.

            “My children!” Odin proudly declared. Both the man and woman looked up at Odin. He knelt down- they came up to his knees- and spoke gently. “You have been created from lifeless bark. You, man, were created from the ash tree over yonder by the pond of souls, and I have named you Ask. You, woman, have been fashioned from the elm by the compass, and I have named you Embla. In time I will make more of you to populate this Garden, and then you shall tell the tales of your creation. You will love, you will write and you will live. This is why I have made you. My brothers- Villi and Ve- have given you souls and minds. The remaining vapour that formed your souls will make rivers for the plants and food to nourish your bodies. The mead and stickiness you may feel will form your skins. You are free to think and learn, and you may do as you wish. This Garden is yours to protect. Protect it well.”

***

Present day...

With a knot in his stomach, Loki scrawled one last word and looked his speech over. He had dreaded this day from the start of his reign of the Organisation. With everything that had happened in his thirty year reign, the speech wasn’t descriptive enough. And now? With a possible emergence of the fabled Virtuous Ones? Loki would have a hard time on the floor. Sighing, he looked around his office once, as though he might never see it again. Perhaps he wouldn’t- the crowds he would be speaking to tonight were known for their brash ways, for want of a better phrase. The bookcases along the walls kept volumes of the myths, legends and histories of his ancestors. Also contained within the tomes was the Ancient Fable. A message so cryptic its existence was doubtful. As the Maestro, his life’s work had been deciphering the message, but even had he not risen to power, if his brother had taken the position, deciphering the message would still be his life’s work, even if he would be prohibited from the tomes.

There were two doors in the office. One was the entrance to the office for him and the others in the Organisation. The other... well, you had to be Loki to even know it was there. It was secreted in the gap at the far end of the office between two of the bookcases. The gap was slight, so it was excused that not another bookcase could fit there. Instead, Loki knew there was a door. A door that could take him anywhere, but tonight would decide his fate. Reluctantly, he stood and skirted around the desk, grabbing his speech and hurrying towards the gap. He concentrated on the gap, narrowing his eyes and concentrating. Soon, he was standing on a large circular stage much like a theatre. There were lights at the edge of the stage and he was staring out into a sea of faces. There were three levels of seats and the boxes at the top of the theatre. Folding his speech in half, Loki placed it next to his heart. There were several hundred, nearly a thousand, faces here tonight. All of whom were high in status and would decide Loki’s fate. Loki paid no due to the ones on the lower levels of seating- who were talking amongst themselves- and instead looked upwards to the boxes. The ones who truly mattered were sitting there. He saw four of them- an elderly woman, a slightly younger gentleman and two young women. The elderly woman turned, gave a nod, and silence fell. The knot in Loki’s stomach tightened and tightened until he could no longer feel it. That was one problem taken care of, but his throat wouldn’t open. He searched the crowds. Almost one thousand faces and only the four at the top were familiar. He coughed. How could he admit to these people what he had to? The seconds ticked by until he could bear it no longer- he would have to speak. Now or never.

            “It is with deepest regret that I announce my failure at the task at hand,” he began. “But it should not be forgotten,” he continued amid groans of annoyance, “that this is a difficult task for even the best of us. My father failed, and his mother failed. The Maestros before them, even, had failed, right up to the first Maestro when this community began. Back then we were few in number, weak and wary from war. In the centuries- the millennia, even- that we have existed as a community, our numbers have grown. In the beginning, it made sense that only one would study the tomes, the fables, the legends. Perhaps now, with hundreds of thousands of us in number, it is time to assemble a team? The principles would still be the same- the methods would still be the same, all clues would still be kept a secret until further information can be known- but they will be followed by more of us.

            “Moving forward, it may have come to your attention that there is something wrong with the stars. They appear to be disappearing, while those which remain are becoming brighter. I can assure you that I have my best Guardians on this case, although this does concern another matter: the Noble Virtues.”

The silence tensed and Loki could feel everyone leaning forward.

            “As you know, there are nine,” Loki reminded them. “The Odinic Rite surmises them as: Courage. Truth. Honour. Fidelity. Discipline. Hospitality. Self Reliance. Industriousness. Perseverance. The Virtuous Ones are fabled to represent each of the Virtues, but it is unclear how they will manifest. This is, however, just a fable. The story goes that, many moons after the creation of Midgard, nine humans populated the Garden. We know two of them: Ask and Embla. They led the other seven in the creation of what is now the human race.

            “Onwards, many of the texts I have studied indicate that we shall witness the emergence of the Virtuous Ones.” A gasp of shock echoed through the crowds. The air went chill and the hair prickled on the back of Loki’s neck. “Indeed, I share in your shock. More so, even, as my second charge was to begin the search for them. In truth, I did not begin my search. Before you object, the search came to me. If anybody remembers- as I am certain some of you do-” he stole a glance at the four he had seen earlier “- we ran a series of genetic experiments. I have recently come into contact with five of the results of these experiments.”

There was a murmur of approval among the onlookers, but also a murmur of suspicion. The genetic research had been an ongoing project and was nearly forgotten among those who had not been involved. It was frowned upon and often compared to the eugenicists. Loki disagreed- the eugenicists sought a master race. The genetic research was merely routine and was meant to provide answers for the Organisation, the Order and the Council. Twelve results had been produced, and Loki had contact with five of them.

            “I understand the controversy,” he admitted, “but understand me: my father called for the research two years before the end of his reign, and like it or not we have come to understand several things about ourselves. First and foremost is that we are of the Earth, the stars and the very air we breathe. The rest I shall count upon later. My brother, Odin, and I were on the first team to draw up the ethical case studies for the research. We met with the parents and matched the genetics, although no one on the team held a science degree of any kind. We were working by instinct. It was not long before we discovered that this was a controversial area, and had to draw up every consent form, follow every participant, evaluate every result at birth. Years later, perhaps it was chance, or fate for that matter, that Odin and I happened to be in California. We were speaking in our native language, and it just so happened that one of the results was eavesdropping on our conversation, and understood every word we said. We confronted him and, convinced that he was harmless, we took him in and trained him. Watched him mature, but it was soon clear that we had taken in more than we could handle. He showed strong anger, passion and excellent warring techniques. He grew to be a natural warrior. Alas, we did not expect this. His mood swings were erratic, far more so than any ordinary adolescent. We interviewed him regularly, and every meeting we had with him, he complained of a strange feeling he had whenever he thought of his mother. He wouldn’t go into detail to describe it. I knew his mother, personally, years ago. She was a courageous woman, but made weak decisions. Her weakest decision was to reveal to him the truth behind his birth.

            “The last item on this agenda is the progress of the Organisation in the Heritage Scheme. Jeremy Hollow had recently taken his father’s place, but is starting at the lower ranks. We are aware that he is not Track material, and we hope for him to become an International. Finally, Agent 9: Richard M. Amsterdam. Due to his recent personal tragedy, he will be taking eight weeks’ personal grief leave and shall be replaced by Agent 16b: Cory Endsly.

            “That is it, ladies and gentlemen of the Council. As I have said, we have our best Guardians on the case of the disappearing stars. As for the Virtuous Ones,” a shudder of contempt ran through the room, “we can only hope for the best. Thank you and good-night.”

His audience applauded, if only for the fact that it was over. As the crowds thinned, Loki waited nervously on stage for the assessment. It came in the form of the elderly woman, the slightly younger gentleman and the two young women. They had come from behind, where a staircase led to the upper levels. How had they descended that staircase so quickly? Loki had attempted this once before, back when he and Odin were young, foolish, and their father’s reign was mere hours from beginning. A race through the building had resulted in a sprained ankle and a fractured wrist, not to mention a waste of an hour which had been spent by the adults on a search party for the boys and which the boys had spent racing to the top of that staircase and beyond, which stretched on and on. After the climb, which had taken just over forty-five minutes, they spent the rest of the hour engaging in rough horseplay, which had led to their being discovered after Odin tripped up on a chair and grabbed a curtain for support and thus brought down the curtain rod, which landed atop Loki and caused his wrist to break. The foursome had almost come from nowhere, but when Loki saw them, he shuddered. The elderly woman was slender with a bewitching face. Her hair was clearly blonde, once, but had faded over time; the man was a year or so younger and it was obvious that he used hair dye to conceal the grey hair; the two young women were twins, but looked like opposites. One was vibrant, with dark brown hair that was complimented by sparkling grey eyes. Her twin, on the other hand, had paler brown hair and paler grey eyes. All four, however, held themselves gracefully.

It was the elderly woman who spoke first, with a voice so crisp and young Loki felt decrepit in her presence.

             “Loki Mafuro, I do not believe you have been introduced to my company,” she said, turning to the man and young women. “This is my younger brother,” she indicated the man, “Herbert. These are his daughters- Gevaux-” the girl with dark hair and sparkling eyes “-and Nicolette-” the girl with pale hair and eyes “- and I am Adenna. We are pleased with your performance, and approve your proposal to form a team, although we disagree that this will be of any benefit to the cause. The Ancient Fable is of utmost importance, and always shall be. Have you any progress?”

            “Miss Fenris,” Loki began, the knot in his stomach reforming. “It is with deepest regret that I have made little progress, which is why I have failed.” The theatre was silent. To be sure, Loki looked into the levels of seating and saw no one.

It was Gevaux who had assured him that their conversation would remain private.

            “We have silenced the building,” she assured him. “Father’s abilities include a sphere of silence to shroud those whom the exchange must remain between.”

Loki smiled his thanks. “In which case, I do believe that there may be some progress after all.” He smiled heartily. “As I mentioned, I have contact with five of the research results. I believe that the key to unlocking the Ancient Fable lies within all twelve!”

            “Astounding!” Adenna gasped. “Genetic research finally benefits our kind!”

            “Indeed it might,” Loki said with a smile. “There is one result in particular- the first result, actually, whose conception inspired the research in the first place- who is very hard to trace. He keeps moving around, but he does stop by the HQ from time to time. Perhaps if I extract something from him, I can begin to unlock the first part of the Fable!”

            “What would you need to ‘extract’?” Herbert asked. He had his arms crossed over his abdomen and a suspicious glint in his eye.

            “Nothing verbal, I assure you.” Loki said. “It would have to be something like blood or saliva. The code might lie in the genetic make-up of the results. In fact, it may lie in our genetic make-up!”

            “For a scientific ignoramus,” Adenna commented, “you seem to know a lot.”

            “I only know what I have deduced from lab reports.” Loki admitted.

            “You say you have contact with five of the results? I would assume it to be either a personal or professional level,” Herbert said, “I suggest you extract what you need from those five, first. It will be easier, and work can begin right away. Extract from some of our kind, too. If it is as you say, then our genetic make-up will help. One lab work is underway; you can begin your search for the other seven results. Find the other seven and decipher the Fable. The future of Midgard depends on this research, it seems.”