Eternity | T.J.

My Brother Appears Out Of Thin Air

     I wasn't sure if this type of thing was usual for Blitz and Hearth. For me, it was the most interesting ( and probably dangerous) few days of my life, but even they were surprised when Magnus suddenly appeared in front of us after we'd finished speaking with a giant.

     " Heimdall's horn, kid! Where did you come from!?"

     " Where did I-" Magnus looked just as shocked." I've been here for almost an hour, I was talking to a giant."

     " Wait... we were talking to a giant," I stated.

     We have been here for hours, waiting for you. Hearth signed. Like Willow said, we talked to a giant. You just appeared.

     "... Maybe we should compare notes."

     Magnus began explaining what had happened on Harald's boat, meeting Ran, and his conversation with who I assumed was the same giant we'd spoken with, Utgard-Loki.

     " Ah, not good," Blitzen remarked." The giant told us some of the same things, but... the giant did not tell us his own name."

     Surprise! Hearth signed. Yikes, Utgard-Loki, most powerful sorcerer of Jotunheim, can make any illusion.

     " We were lucky. Utgard-Loki could've tricked us into seeing or doing anything. He could've made us walk off a roof, accidentally kill each other, or even eat steak tartare. In fact-" Blitz looked around at us suspiciously." We could still be in an illusion. Any of us might be giants."

     He punched Hearth in the arm.

     Ouch! Hearth stepped on the dwarf's toes.

     " Or maybe not. Still, this is very bad. Magnus, you've given an apple of immortality to a giant king."

     " And... what does that mean exactly?"

     " To be honest, I'm not sure. I've never understood how those apples work. I imagine it will make Utgard-Loki stronger as well as younger. And make no mistake, when Ragnarok comes, he won't be on our side."

     Wish I'd known it was Utgard-Loki. Hearth signed. I could have asked about magic.

     " Hmph. You know plenty, besides, you can't trust a giant to give you straight answers. Right now, you two need sleep. Elves can't stay awake very long without sunlight, and Magnus looks like he's going to fall over. Rest, Willow and I will keep watch. Tomorrow we visit my kin."

     " The dwarf world? Your home?"

     " My home," Blitzen confirmed." Some of the research Hearth, Willow, and I did today, it's looking like we'll need more information about the rope that bound Fenris. We can only get that in Nidavellir... Can I see it? The sword?"

     Magnus pulled his new pendant from his neck before placing the blade on the ground.

     " Bone steel... or something even more exotic."

     " T.J. mention bone steel," I remembered." Wasn't it what his bayonet was made of?"

     " He mentioned something like that," my brother agreed.

     Blitz passed a hand over the sword." To make steel, iron is smelted with carbon. Most wordsmiths use coal, but you can also use bones. The bones of enemies, or monsters, or ancestors."

     " Oh..."

     " Forged correctly," Blitzen continued." Bone steel can cut down supernatural creatures, even giants and gods. Of course, you have to quench the blade in blood to harden it, preferably the blood of whatever type of creature you want the sword to be most lethal against."

     Magnus was silent for a moment, as if realizing how disturbing that sounded, like I was." This blade was made like that?"

     " I don't know. The sword of Frey is Vanir work, which is a mystery to me. It might be closer to Hearth's elf magic."

     My brother looked at our elven friend, who was already asleep." You said Hearth knew a lot of magic. I'm not criticizing, I've just never seen him cast any... well, except maybe opening one door. What else can he do?"

     " Magic drains him. He's careful about using it. Also his family..." Blitz took a deep breath before continuing." Modern elves don't approve of magic. His parents shamed Hearthstone pretty badly. It still makes him self-conscious about casting magic in front of others. Hearthstone wasn't the son his parents wanted, between the magic and the... you know..."

     " It's not his fault he's deaf."

     " Elves. They have a low tolerance for anything that isn't perfect. Music, art, appearances, their own children... Get some sleep, both of you. Big day tomorrow. To keep Fenris wolf bound, we're going to need help from a certain dwarf... and that help isn't going to come cheap. We'll need you at full strength when we jump to Nidavellir."

     " Jump..." Magnus repeated." What do you mean jump?"

     " And how far?"

     " In the morning," Blitz answered," We're going to try climbing the world tree."

A/N: Alright, I missed updating yesterday, but here's a chapter for today, we're somewhere past the halfway point for the Sword of Summer currently, so hopefully it won't take to long to finish the rest of the first Magnus Chase book and I can move on to The Hammer of Thor. I hope at least someone somewhat enjoyed this chapter, any to all comments from anyone about anything make my day, and just keep in mind the world is your erster.