Power Play: Act 1 Svartalfheim (Ragnarok on Ice) (15 page)

“When you called it icing, I just expected something more exciting.  To give such a name to something that has no point does not make sense to me.”

That just gave me an idea.  “Hey, why don’t we give it some meaning then?  Doesn’t Icing sound like a pretty cool name for my new dagger?”

Dad had laughed for awhile when I told him what I decided on naming my dagger.  “Your mom would laugh at that irony!  She thought icing was a total waste of a call.” 

“Well then, this dagger will be in honor of all women who don’t understand the sport we love!”  That snarky comment got me punched in the arm by a very strong elf-girl.

“Jack,” I could tell dad was about to go into something serious, “you need to learn to fight.  Taking a beating and getting a lucky strike in isn’t the way to survive here.  Starting tomorrow, Hargna will assign you with a dark elf to teach you some basic one on one combat technique.  My hope is that you never have to use anything you learn, but here it’s better to be safe than dead.”

It was Hargna’s turn to continue this train of thought.  “You are still healing from the attack, but I think the sooner we can get started the better.  Tomorrow, I would like you to observe and maybe get a better understanding of our strengths and weaknesses.  Each one of our races has them and so do you as a human.  Find out yours and how to use them against us.”

I sat there thinking for a little bit.  The fact they wanted me to learn basic fighting skills meant that it might be awhile before I was able to get home.  That lead to the thought of did I really want to go home which in turn started blowing my mind. 

Pulling myself back into the present and hoping to just think about one issue at a time I looked over at Rumil.  “I thought you were going to protect me and now I need to learn how to fight?  Giving up on me already?”

“No Jack, never!  That is not what this is abo…”  I know it was mean but I can’t help myself sometimes.  Dad knew what I was up to and I could see he was barely keeping a straight face.

“Rumil, I’m just kidding, to lighten the mood you know.”  The rest of us starting laughing but Rumil put on the mad face.  No matter where you are, men will always annoy women to no end.

“I am glad you all find such humor in my confusion and discomfort.”

“Well everyone, it has been a long day for us all.  Let us retire to our rooms and see what tomorrow brings shall we?”  Oh Hargna, you really knew when to get out of the oven when it was getting hot didn’t you?

I got the silent treatment most of the way back to Rumil’s room, but when I went to open the door, I got a sharp pain in my chest and winced quite a bit.  Did I totally play up the still wounded and physically vulnerable card?  You’re damn right I did.  And did it work like a charm?  You’re damn right it did.  From that moment on she was right back to her sweet and caring self, with a touch of overbearing.  After getting ready for bed and lying down, I could tell there was still something on her mind.

“Everything okay in there?”  I poked her in the side of the head and she laughed.  A bit of a forced laugh but at least it was something.

“It is nothing that we need to worry about tonight.  You are still in your recovery period so please do not worry about me.  When the time is right everything will be as The Norns want it too.”

A bit cryptic and it did make me wonder if I needed to be concerned with what was going on with her, but after the day I had I couldn’t stay awake.  Right before I feel asleep, I tried to remind myself to bring it up again tomorrow.

When I did wake up the next day, I felt amazing.  Without really thinking, I hopped up out of bed and started my morning routine.  I was in the bathroom cleaning up myself when Rumil came in.

“Jack, you should really take it easy, it has only been a day since…”  She stopped talking and just gawked at me.

“Rumil, what’s wrong?”

“Your hair Jack, it is completely white.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, my hair was brown.  I walked out of the bathroom and went over to the mirror by the changing area.  No longer brown like my mom’s had been, my hair was in fact white.  Not that old man faded gray-white color but as white as fresh snow. 

I sat back on the bed and began taking stock of the whole situation.  I could breath and it didn’t hurt at all.  I could even touch my chest where the arrow had hit me and it wasn’t sore.  The red mark that had been the only indicator that something had happened after dad’s blood healed me was gone too. 

Wait a minute, dad’s blood…  “Rumil, I need you to go get dad right now.  Something’s not right with me.”

She left the room as quickly as she could.  I went back over to the mirror and looked again.  Was this some sort of delayed reaction?  Hadn’t they said it had been four to five days since they gave me a blood transfusion? 

I looked over myself trying to see if anything else was off.  My five o’clock shadow and eyebrows were still brown in color.  I looked over my face and a thought hit me.  Did I look younger?  I wouldn’t say I was a shop worn thirty years old but something didn’t seem to fit.  I didn’t have long to mull over it when dad came into the room with Rumil and one of the shamans from the infirmary wing.

“Well I always said you were uglier than me but you didn’t have to go copy my hair color to try to prove a point here.”  He was joking which told me he was nervous.

“Thanks for the ego boost but that’s beside the point.  Dad, I don’t feel right.  I should be in pain, especially when I breathe or laugh but I’m not.  I feel better than I ever have.  How’s that possible?”

The shaman cut off the father-son banter and took over the situation.  “Please get on the bed and lay down.  I will be using a set of energy analysis runes to see what is happening to you.”

I did as I was told and let the shaman do his job.  Rumil was on one side and dad was on the other side.  Each time the elf ran one of the runes over my body; he’d take a few minutes and write stuff down in his book. 

After running the fifth rune over me and writing down his findings he stood up.  “I wish I could tell you exactly what is going on, but right now what I am seeing does not match anything I have ever seen or recorded.  I am going to take my findings to Izek and we will return later, hopefully with news we can share.”

“Do you mind if I come with you?  This is my son after all and I think it’s my blood making him react like this.”

“Of course Master Fenrir, you are welcome to oversee our research and add anything you wish.”

“Thank you.  Jack, we’ll figure this out okay?”  I nodded and gave him a quick smile.  “Rumil, stay with him until I tell you otherwise.”

“Of course, he will not leave my view.”

“Good.  Now let’s go and get to the bottom of this.”

The elf and dad left my room.  Well you can’t say any day in this realm is boring, that is for sure.  Rumil sat there with this worried look in her eyes.

“Hey, there’s no reason to sit around pouting.  I am famished; let’s go grab something to eat.”

“How can you think about food right now?”   Her smile told me she was just happy I wasn’t down in the dumps.  We got dressed and headed back down to the dining hall. 

On the way down, we ran into Hargna as he was on his way to the research labs.  Word had traveled around quickly that something was happening to me.  “Do not worry Jack; we will come up with an explanation for all of this.  I am sure you are in no immediate danger.  After you two enjoy breakfast, why do you not go to the training grounds?  Rumil, you could oversee the start of his training and give him insight to our fighting styles.”

Rumil and I agreed to head over there and he quickly went off down the hall.  When we got to the dining hall, one of the elves came over to Rumil and asked her what we would like to eat.  At least I think so, they were talking in Druhir.  When they had finished, the elf nodded and walked off towards the kitchen.

The hall had about eight elves at different spots eating.  I guess these were the different guards and personnel that helped with the security and upkeep of the stronghold.

“How many elves work or live here for your father?”

“On a usual day, besides the Darklighters who are here not out on assignment, we have a staff of thirty from the various lower clans.”

“So your people fall under a caste system?”  Look at me dropping knowledge from a high school history and civics class.

“That is correct.”  I’m pretty sure she was surprised by my insight.  “The lower clans work for the higher clans in the hopes to either be partnered into the clan through the bonding ritual or if their work is highly regarded, an elf may be elevated on their own merit.  Izek is one such case of that.”

I can’t say I approve of such a living system.  When I thought about it though, that’s kind of why I’m here and why people hold me in such regard.  If it wasn’t for Rumil’s palms taking an immediate liking to mine, I probably would’ve been thrown out to the dogs.  Well at least until they found out who my dad was.

The food got there and I started devouring everything.  I was always a big breakfast eater and this morning was no different.  The meats and fruits were delicious and as with every other meal there were a variety of wines to choose from. 

Getting my fill, a question that’d always been at the back of my mind crept forward again.  “I know there has been a lot going on as of late, but I’ve always been curious about your mother.”

“My mother died some cycles ago.  As one who has also lost their mother, you understand the pain that goes into talking about it.”

That I did.  Just telling the story of how my mom died was always a bit too much for me.  Rumil knew it was an accident and that is all it really was.  Nothing I could say or do would bring her back, so I did my best to honor her memory.  I figured since I hadn’t seen her or even heard Hargna talk about her, that their loved one was also on the other side now.

“One day when everything is settled, I promise to tell you everything about my mother Jack.  I also hope on that day to hear everything about yours as well.”

“That is one promise I can make.  I’m sure my mom would have liked you.”

“As I know mine would have enjoyed having you here with us.”

“Enough talk, let’s go to the training arena and see what skills you dark elves have.”

The training grounds were outside the castle stronghold.  It was nice to leave and have the chance to explore more of the area.  The elves that we passed on our way were the ones from the lower caste that worked for the Darklighters.  Most of them had not seen me before and I got a lot of curious looks from everyone. 

It didn’t bother me too much; I knew they all just wanted to see if the rumors they had heard were true.  I just hope I didn’t disappoint them.

When we got to the training area, there were three elves in the area already sparring.  It was two guys and a girl and it looked like it was every elf for them self.  I was mesmerized by what I saw.  It was a deadly dance of knives flaring and body movement.

“This is the Dark Moon unit of Ayr, Gretta, and Ustin.  They represent the best of what dark elves can do.  We are not as strong as the Aesir but we are fast and agile.  We use our speed to enforce our attacks.”

I translated that into terms I could understand.  The faster the stick was moving before it hit the puck, the harder the shot.  The elves were doing what was natural for them.  They were long and flexible so they could generate speed over raw power.  “Rumil, couldn’t their speed be used against them?”

Her eyes flashed excitedly, like this was supposed to be the lesson I was learning here.  “How would you do that Jack?  I am most interested in what you observe.”

I put my thoughts together in my mind going back to my own experience.  The faster the stick was moving, the greater the chance of it breaking if it hit something that didn’t give like the ice or an opponent’s stick.

“What I would do is use a weapon that was blunt and hard.  That way I could attack the limbs directly in a counterattack and use your speed against you.  If I timed it right, your arms or legs might break if they hit weapon at the right speed.”

“That is excellent thinking young man!  I had my doubts about all of this when I was told Rumil had brought a human back.”  The loud booming voice had come from behind us. 

When I turned around, I saw a monster of a dark elf.  Besides Hargna, all the elves I had seen were taller and more toned looking.  This guy on the other hand was built like a brute.

“Algrim what are you doing here?”  Rumil apparently knew him which made more a little bit more at ease.

“I heard you were back, but with all the activity that has happened the past few days, I decided to let everything calm down before I came to visit.  I was on my way over to take your father’s next order when I saw you and the human heading over here.  I figured now would be as good as any to meet him.”

“Jack, this is Algrim.  He is the weapon’s master and black smith to all the clans in Svartalfheim.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Algrim.  I’m Jack Skelton from Midgard.”

“That is not all.  Jack here is also my chosen one.”  She held up her palm and grabbed mine to do the same.  Algrim looked both over and for a second didn’t say anything.

“I’ll be Garm’s dinner!  I did not expect this at all.  Congratulations are in order for the two of you.  When will the ceremony be held?”

Rumil gave me a look that said asks questions later please.  “We are not sure yet Algrim, but as soon as we know what is happening, I will make sure to inform you.  It did not seem right to do anything right now while the land is still mourning the loss of King Oor.”

Algrim’s dark eyes flashed.  “The king will be avenged no matter who the killer was.”

That statement was loaded with questions, but neither Rumil nor I asked what he meant.  I’d talk to her about it later, once we were by ourselves.

Algrim joined us as we continued to watch the Dark Moon team train.  I wanted to test my idea out at some point, but I’m pretty sure dad and Rumil would have a panic attack if I tried anything.  I guess I’d follow orders until the shamans figure out what’s going on with me. 

Eventually, the Dark Moons finished up and left the training ground.  As Algrim and I were talking tactics, I heard multiple footsteps approach from behind.

“So it is true, the esteemed Darklighter clan is now housing rodents.”

When we turned around, there was a group of four elves dressed in black armor.  The one in the front who had spoken to us had a red pattern over the front.  I guess he was the leader of this merry little band.

“Mallerk, do yourself a favor and die in painful agony.  I hear Fenrir is back and you would make an excellent chew toy for him.”  Oh yeah, I’d forgotten that not everyone knew that Fenrir was my dad.  I don’t even know if they knew he could take the form of a human.  I wasn’t about to mention that fact.

“The blacksmith thinks he is above us, the elite warriors of the realm’s mage.  We will deal with you in a minute Algrim.  I am here to see the human.”  The way he said human made it sound like he was about to throw up.

“Well here I am.  You can look all you want.”

“I plan to do more than look human.”

Before we knew what happened, the three other elves with Mallerk quickly rushed Rumil and Algrim.  Rumil scream out for help but I don’t think anyone was close enough at this point.  I had no time to see if they were even okay as Mallerk was all over me. 

He hit me with a left cross to the face and before I even hit the ground caught me with a kick to the stomach.  I rolled to the ground and reached down to find Icing. 

Before I had a chance to reach it, Mallerk grabbed my arm and picked me up.  “After I finish with you, I think I am going to have my way with your precious mate over there.”  I guess my eyes gave away my surprise as he went on, “Oh yeah I know everything about what is going on.  Do not worry however; I will take extra care of that.”

The bastard winked at me and threw me down on the ground.  As I lay there, my breathing was becoming labored and I started to feel an intense pressure inside of me.  The world was starting to have a red hue to it.  I was pissed; how dare this arrogant elf do this to us?!  I reached down, grabbed Icing and ripped it from the sheath.  Mallerk laughed at me and threw another punch.  It never connected.  I caught it with my off-hand and smiled.

****

Algrim and I were holding our own for an uneven attack.  I saw Mallerk beating on Jack, just toying with him.  I needed to get by these traitors and help him out.  Algrim knocked one of them cold and grabbed the other one when we felt it.  The energy released was unlike anything I have ever felt.

“Rumil, look at Jack!”

I looked over and he was holding Mallerk’s fist in his hand like it was nothing.  Mallerk was in pain, he was screaming in agony.  The elves that were holding us up stopped and looked on in shock.  Jack was not the little rodent that was here to be crushed.  He was some sort of monster to them.  His eyes were red, his teeth had elongated, and his hair had grown out.  He looked just like Fenrir had on the day he came to save Jack. 

Of course, I knew what was happening.  “Algrim, we need to get Jack under control.  I will explain more later but he has Fenrir’s blood in him and that is what is doing this.  I do not know to what will happen if he continues to release this essence. ”

I knew there was nothing to do to save Mallerk.  Jack unleashed a roar that could awaken the legion in Helheim and slammed him into the ground.  He then moved in a blink of an eye and with Icing decapitated the elf that had been behind me.  As I turned around in shock to see, the elf in the confusion was going to stab me in the back.  Knowing I had one chance I grabbed Jack’s arm.

“Jack, this is not you.  Please calm down, the threat is over.”

Being this close to him, I could see there was a faint white glow encasing in.  When I grabbed his arm my hand had passed through it, but I could feel the pressure of energy radiating off of it.

“The threat will be over once this clown is removed, permanently.”  He did not even sound the same anymore.  His voice was low and dangerous.  I knew he was still there as he gave me a kiss on the cheek before he went back to Mallerk.

****

I was in control and I enjoyed it.  They thought they could come here and threaten my friends like that?  That one pathetic excuse for an elf was going to stab Rumil in the back like a coward.  Cowards had no place here.  I looked down at Mallerk and he was starting to come to.  I’d give him a chance to explain before he ended up like this friend.

“Jack, please you must stop.  Please Jack, come back to me, and let father deal with him.”

“No, he was going to hurt you and one of his little elf buddies was going to kill you.  I’ll deal with this.”  I placed his hands over top of each other and stabbed Icing straight down, pinning him to the ground. 

He screamed out, back into consciousness.  As I got down to question him, the power I was feeling started to fade.  The world was not so red anymore, and I started to realize the horrifying acts just committed here.

“So the monster was just on borrowed time I see.”  Mallerk started to laugh but it dissolved into a cough.  “I hope you enjoyed what you did.  My master will be most pleased at my findings here today.”

By this time Rumil and Algrim were over by me.  The other two elves from Mallerk’s group had run off with their leader down and one already dead.   The shock of what I did was taking hold of me and Mallerk was enjoying every minute of my misery.

“You fools cannot even see what is in front of you.  Soon your clans will be reduced to ash.  When…”  He never finished his sentence.  Mallerk screamed for the last time and there was a bright blast of yellow that engulfed him. 

When the light vanished all that was left was the charred remains of the elf.  Rumil and Algrim gasped and looked straight ahead to where the light had come from.  A tall, middle aged dark elf stood there in gray robes.  The look on his face said it all though, this was the most dangerous man in all of Svartalfheim.  His eyes were black as night and his long ashen hair was pulled back in a ponytail.  In his hand was a long iron staff that had a wicked looking blade firmly attached to the top. 

In unison, the pair of them both just said a name.  “Lord Azmodeous.”