Odin, Ruler of Asgard (harbard) wrote in deities_dot_com, @ 2012-04-19 13:33:00 |
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Entry tags: | ~frigg, ~odin |
A Word To The Wise (tag: Frigg)
Since hearing of Frigg's dream, Odin had spent nearly every waking moment in Valaskjalf, perched on Hlidskjalf. From his high seat in the silver-thatched hall , he could see everything happening throughout the Nine Worlds. It wasn't hard to know where to look; Odin had long known the location of the cave where his old friend had lain, bound for longer than he cared to remember. Whether he wanted to remember or not mattered little, for Odin knew well the date that everything went sour for the Trickster.
For days and nights he watched the entrance of the cave. When he needed to rest, he sent his ravens out with specific instructions to watch that location and none other. And when the news finally came, it was not unexpected.
Loki was free.
Huginn got to him first, with Muninn right behind. Odin wasted no time in climbing once again to his high seat. By the time he got there, Sigyn had just put her arms around Loki and then they vanished. Again, he sent the Thought and Memory out, hoping to find their location. Once, long ago, it had been easier, before the populations and cities grew to sizes that made it more difficult to see just one god or goddess in a sea of people. Odin was patient, knowing sooner or later they would be found. And so long as Loki wasn't spotted in one particular location, the Allfather could afford to give them a little time. They'd earned it.
He puzzled a great deal, during those long hours in Valaskjalf. Would Loki still call him brother? Was he to remain Odin's great friend, or to become his feared enemy? For if that had been the cave of the prophecy, if this was the breaking free the seeress spoke of, what came next was what they had all hoped to avoid for all these years. It was what kept Odin from just going and freeing Loki himself. So long as he had remained bound, they were all safe.
Loki could have been in any of the Nine Worlds, truth be told. But there was only one world that concerned Odin, and it was there his focus remained. For days and days he watched the frozen, misty land, for any sign of unusual movement. Each day that went by, Odin breathed just a little easier. Then, to his great despair, the day came he had hoped would not. Loki had set foot in Niflheim.
Where he was headed was not in question. What he wanted in his daughter's hall was another matter. It could be that he simply wanted to let his child know he was out, as any reasonably decent parent would want to do. On the other hand, he could be there to request her boat, the great ship that would carry his armies, if the prophecy was to be believed. Which up till now, Odin certainly had no reason to doubt. All had come true, and then some.
Knowing he could not possibly detach his emotions enough to make a rational decision on how to proceed, Odin decided it was time to speak to an old, old friend. He climbed down off his seat, and over to an ornate cabinet set against one wall. A lock was on the door, to which he was the only one with a key. Opening the door, he took our a square wooden box, covered in intricate runes. Odin placed the box on a table, then went back to the cabinet for a sack of powder. Very carefully he slid the cover off the box, revealing the content within. He reached his hand into the sack, grabbed a small amount of the powder, and sprinkled it atop the item.
"Wake old friend," Odin said to the severed head. "I am in need of your great council."
Mimir's eyes opened quickly, as if he had simply closed them for the merest second. "Woden, my old friend. It has been long since you have disturbed my slumber." Mimir's voice was deep and gravely, and a bit raspy from lack of use. It also held a note of reproach. Odin and Mimir used to talk often, but as the years went by, the Allfather opened the cabinet less and less. "What troubles you that you call on your forgotten friend now?" Before Odin could answer, the head's eyes looked around the room. "And just out of curiosity, what year is it?"