Book 4: Arcane [Thor]

Chapter 7

Anya quickly returned The Mystics of Illusions From The Covens to the library. To play it off as if it was just another interesting read for young woman during her time on Asgard. In case... Odin checked in with the historian as to its whereabouts. The ruler became more interested in having dinners where Anya attended. At least twice a week she found herself sitting in the presence of the ruler in an informal setting. Their conversations were of mundane topics. Odin seemed to be rather interested in things on Midgard. Obviously not having Heimdall at the Bifrost didn't give him the big picture of things anymore.

But when Anya inquired about the Nine Realms in general, well, the ruler merely glossed over those questions. And changed the topic very quickly. Odin prided himself on the protection of the Nine Realms. How Asgard managed to keep the peace and step in where needed for their allies. It was as if... Odin wished to not bother himself among the troubles beyond Asgard.

"Was Frigga gifted in the art of occlumency?" she wondered at one dinner.

The question seemed to catch the ruler off guard mid sip of his wine. The Asgardian cleared his throat.

"Yes, she was."

"And legilimency?"

"Yes, but my son, Loki, was more gifted in that area as he grew up. Why the sudden interest?"

The agent shrugged. "Just from my readings. I was curious about occlumency mostly. In regards to my mirages..."

"Go on."

"Occlumency is the art of closing off your mind to legilimency. But I wonder... if I'd be able to apply occlumency to certain projections."

"You mean besides the clones of yourself?"

"Yes."

His brow cocked in interest. "I wasn't aware that you were capable of manifesting your mirages any other way."

"I've been known to create an illusion of my surroundings to hide in plain sight. Like in New York when Loki attacked alongside the Chitauri. But it's always been hard to manifest something like that for long periods of time. I've been practicing to improve."

"May I see?"

Anya took a breath. To will the Aether away from assisting in this demonstration. To not give it away in her eyes. Just enough for her figure to ripple in the chair and then leave it vacant. Odin's eye searched the area to find any signs of her presence. Anya reappeared in another chair along the table.

"Impressive."

He hadn't seen the seat pull out or heard it shift. Even her footsteps were silent.

"And how are you interested in apply occlumency to it?" the ruler wondered.

Anya sat back in her original chair, arms crossed, and in thought, "If I created an illusion of my surroundings to either sneak into a facility or to hide teammates in plain sight on another S.H.I.E.L.D. mission... would it be possible to physically expel someone I may have drawn into the mirage once they are caught... though it's something I'll have to test once back on Midgard... since occlumency is a mental art."

"There have been rumors of witches where Frigga grew up that managed to manifest some mental arts into physical ones," Odin revealed. "But I know it is a high form of witchcraft, that I'm not sure if it's the same as the mirages you create. Still, I wouldn't fully rule out the possibility. Illusions are a tricky business. You wouldn't know your answer until you try it."