The God of Yggdrasil

Spoilers for the Loki series, season 2

Once upon a time, there was a very lonely princess. To be frank, people found her strange and rather eccentric. Oh, she looked perfectly lovely, with fiery red curls and eyes bluer than the sky. Her appearance was perfect in every single way – the true essence of beauty, and the worthy daughter of Freya.

However, whoever met her could not stand her conversation for more than five minutes.

Did she stutter? No. Was her voice so unharmonious or high-pitched? Quite the opposite. It was melodious and soft, trained to sing the most pleasant and magical galdrs in the Nine realms.

Then why?

Well, I will tell you why.

She was obsessed.

And the subject of her obsession was an old tale, from the Golden days of the legends. Her old nursemaid used to tell her this story when she was a baby, as a way to put her to sleep. But the more the princess heard it, the more she wanted to know more. She started asking a thousand questions on the matter to anyone she would meet: her mother, her father, her uncles, her siblings, her friends... It became so out-of-control that whenever she opened her mouth, people feared she would start ranting on that precise subject.

And they were right. Most of the time, she would talk about that one tale and this one character.

What was this story about, you ask, and why was the fair princess so obsessed with it?

Well, it was a very old myth, about a prince – no, a king!- a great hero, who had chosen to sacrifice his freedom and life to save Time itself, and through his power, had created Yggdrasil. He was the God of Time, and lived at the center of the tree.

From there, he watched over all of Time itself, over the Nine realms and beyond. As a child, his character had fascinated her and she prayed to him every night before falling asleep, hoping he would protect her, her mama, her sisters and father, and all the people she loved. But the more she grew, the more intense her feelings for him became. She wondered what he looked like, what had been his story before his sacrifice, who were his parents... and most of all, what was his name.

"Oh Great Deity" had a certain appeal for some time, but after a while, the Princess started craving a deeper, more intimate bond.

Some Princes and warriors came knocking at her door, hoping she would pick one of them as her suitor. However, how could some ordinary man compare to the actual God of Yggdrasil? She gave them a chance to become her friends though, talking to them about the story that kept her awake at night. But all of them flew very, very far way, quicker that the wind after listening to her.

Oh, their loss! She would one day go on an epic adventure and meet this legendary figure. She had so many questions for him. Was it true that he was prisoner of this tree and could never leave? Could he get up or was he bound to his throne, as some artists depicted him? How did he eat, then? Or drink? Did he have anyone to take care of him, to keep him company?

Oh, how she would love to be that person! She would read her favourite books to him, sing him songs, bake him the most delicious pies, entertain him as well as she could. He would never feel lonely again, and neither would she.

She did not care if he was an old man, with a long beard, a wrinkled face and very tired eyes. Those things did not matter, as her love for him was pure and selfless. Though, if she were honest, she would admit that, in her dreams, he was young, with a handsome appearance, beautiful blue eyes, and a warm, though sad smile.