Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 619: DCXIX. The Harbor Square

As soon as he crossed the wall separating the stable from the main harbor square, Dag discovered Aslan was not among the few horses left there and that, besides him, even the horses of his companions were not there.

"Aslan and Light are not here... Gridd must have gone away and she must have taken my horse with her, knowing that I would never leave him here alone waiting in vain for my return... I have to check with my own eyes" Dag thought again, that as if he was a bee passing from one flower to another, got up again in the air and flew to Skjegg, getting over its gigantic walls and flying past the Rocky Crown, on which many of the Crows Of Odin soldiers had returned to their Clan headquarters.

Not wanting to waste any more time searching for Kjell and Sander, believing that their well-being was less important than that of his sister Gridd and his friend Karl, Dag continued to fly, heading to the city stable.

Skjegg was identical to how he had last seen it, with its gray, dull palaces piled up in the center of the walls and along its streets, life flowed as it did every day, as if nothing had ever changed.

As soon as he arrived at the stable, Dag entered, turning one way and the other and looking around, in search of his beloved horse. 

"Fuck... Aslan and Light aren't even here! Where did you end up, Gridd?!" he exclaimed aloud, beginning to worry about his sisters and his closest allies, who were still missing from the appeal.

Soon after those words, Dag felt an indescribable force pressing on his chest, as if magic was compressing his lungs and other organs enclosed inside his rib cage.

Unable to touch even his body made of air and particles of some ethereal substance unknown to him, the young Master was catapulted away from the stable and away from Skjegg, unable to fly and move freely.

In less than ten seconds, Dag saw the capital city of Runar disappear before his eyes and the world shrinking more and more.

His body was shot at great speed towards the clouds and after a few seconds, he finally opened his eyes.

...

"What... where am I? Am I back here?! But... but Gridd... and Karl..." Dag whispered, failing to form a complete sentence and feeling a great confusion in his head.

"Your time is up, Dag. One day of these I will allow you to sit on the Hlidskjlf again, if you will be worthy of it" the deep voice of the Alfather stated, who had remained beside him throughout the magical journey.

"But... but I couldn't find my sister! She, my master, my dear friend... they weren't in Gurn or Skjegg either! What happened to them?! Not even my horse was there!" Dag explained, noting that his shoulders were clenched in the hands of Odin, who had lifted him from the throne to manually interrupt his astral throughout Okstorm.

"Your sister and friend are traveling with your master to Jrdstal. They're headed right to your mother's house, if that's what worries you" Odin said, preceding the young warrior's next question, who looked at him with languid eyes as if those were the words he hoped to hear.

"Really?" 

"Yes. I told you, if you carefully follow Freyr and Freya's instructions, in the next few days I will give you the opportunity to check with your own eyes so that you never lose touch with your reality. Know that even if you've seen more than one place, your astral journey took about three seconds." 

"Three seconds? In just three seconds I traveled thousands of kilometers flying through the skies of Okstorm?!" Dag asked again, unable to believe that the Hlidskjlf was so powerful.

"My divine throne is the most powerful and ancient relic I possess. Your mortal body couldn't resist the prolonged use of its power, I just wanted to give you a chance to try. Consider it a welcome gift of mine" Odin replied, grabbing his Gungnir, which had been leaning against the back of the stone throne, and walking to the stained glass window.

Dag, after thinking of his sister and his friends, imagining the scene of the three of them who, on horseback, were traveling at full speed towards Jernhest, felt a wave of positivity flowing through his veins.

"Gridd doesn't know I'm here, but surely she can feel I'm still alive. When she and the others will arrive in Jernhest, they can finally tell my mother and brother what happened to us, I'm sure this will lift their morale! Thank you, Gridd!" Dag thought, clenching his fists as a slight smile appeared on his face.

After that reflection, he turned to Freyr and Freya and with a convinced and determined air, saying: "I'm ready." 

The two Gods who had offered to mentor him were still amazed that that mortal young man had the chance to sit on the throne of the Alfather and for an instant, felt a feeling similar to envy. 

However, by attributing that event to the infinite wisdom of Odin, who in that way had easily managed to convince Dag, they realized the importance of that unknown prophecy, which at that time, although not certain, represented the only way to their salvation.

"If you are ready, with the Alfather's consent, we can proceed. My brother and I will accompany you to the Asgard Arena and your training will begin!" Freya exclaimed eagerly as if she was more excited than Dag at the thought of making a normal human being as strong as a demi-God.

"Go, I'll catch up with you later. My mind is full of thoughts..." the Alfather answered, without even turning to them.

"Alfather!" Dag called, drawing his attention.

Odin turned his face slightly towards him, standing still in the same position.

"I won't let you down. I will be able to save you, it is a promise" he exclaimed with confidence, turning to Freya and Freyr and walking at a decisive pace towards the exit, without even giving Odin time to answer back.

"I really hope that, boy..." Odin said, continuing to look at the sunset sky from the window of Asgard's tallest tower.

When he left the throne room followed by Freyr and Freya, Dag met Fulla, who had remained next to the door waiting for him.

"Hey!" he said, waving his hand and greeting her with education.

The girl, after seeing the two Gods who were following him, avoided answering his greeting, merely keeping her head down as a sign of submission in front of them.

"Come on, Dag. There's no more time to waste, we're already late" Freyr said, walking down the corridor leading to the descending staircase.

Dag slowed the pace and the two golden-haired brothers overtook him, leaving him behind and proceeding at a quick pace.

"Fulla, hey! Come, come with me!" Dag said, moving his hand and asking the girl who had been so kind to him to follow him.

Her cheeks blushed suddenly and, despite knowing that she would not have to walk away from the door of the throne room without Frigg's consent, Fulla followed Dag, smiling and unable to look him in the eye for embarrassment.

"Did you hear what we said?" he asked, enthusiastically.

"The walls of the palace are made of silver layers more than a meter thick, it is impossible to eavesdrop on what happens in the throne room" she replied timidly, moving the black hair from her face and putting it behind her ears.

"The Alfather made me sit on his throne, on the Hlidskjlf!"

"What? The Hlidskjlf?! But it's forbidden! Only the Queen is allowed to sit next to Odin and his two faithful wolves, Geri and Freki! What... how did you get him to do such a thing?!" she replied, upset by that news.

"I didn't ask for anything, Odin proposed it to me himself! Thanks to the power of his divine throne I was able to return to Skjold and visit my mother, traveling thousands of kilometers in less than a second! I've never done anything like this in my life, it was like having all the power in the world!" 

"Wow... the Alfather is storing all his confidence and hopes in you, isn't he?" 

"Yes, I think so. But I won't let him down! Now I'm following Freyr and Freya to the Arena of Asgard, where my training will begin, which in seven days will turn me into Skjold's strongest warrior... or at least I hope so" he continued, increasingly galvanized, realizing what had happened to him one small step at a time.

"I imagined it would happen. If you will be Asgard's savior, you're going to have to be Asgard's strongest warrior, otherwise, that wouldn't make sense... well, I'm very happy for you, Dag. It was nice to meet you and..." 

"When I'm done, I'd like you to accompany me around town! There are so many things to see! What do you think, could you do it for me?" he asked, with an innocent expression painted on his face, making his good intentions shine through.