84 Consequences of the Battle
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07
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Asgard: Odin's POV:
Odin sat on Hlidskjalf- his Throne, clenching his fists around Gungnir. He was upset, anyone could see that. He was fuming, angry at all that had happened in these last few years.
He had been forced to stay his hand from killing a mortal, not because he was afraid of the enemy. But because the other Gods had put pressure on him. He could feel their sights on him, and on the mortal. Zeus, Ra, Vishnu, Jord, Agamotto, Yahweh, and even her.
Phoenix.
They all were keeping a close eye on the situation, and they had subtly ordered him not to kill him.
The Mage. Guardian of Magic. Champion of Jord. An External. And above all else.. A mortal.
And unless Odin wanted to start a War with all those Gods and Beings, which he knew he wouldn't win, then he had to stay his hand.
And then, the conditions. Permanent Barring of Hela from Midgard, easily done, and easily accepted. He knew that if Hela went to Midgard again she would try to destroy it, or destroy the world of Magic altogether.
Or she might die.
And Odin didn't want her to die.. yet. Hela was stupid, yes, young too. But that didn't mean he wanted her dead.
Respecting Terran culture if any Asgardians visit Midgard, also doable. Punishing the miscreants was also something he was already going to do. They embarrassed him in front of the Council of Gods, and they embarrassed him in front of a mortal.
The second one was what embarrassed him more.
That last condition, that was what pissed Odin off the most. He was asked to look those tiny creatures in the eyes, and give them his word that they will not be attacked on their own home for just living their lives. He had to apologise to tiny, insignificant creatures that looked like hybrids of Light and Dark Elves.
And that was what had him so angry.
Not the fact that another External accumulated this much Power before coming to their attention, nor the fact that said External has the favour of the last Elder God still on the planet. It was that he had to lower his head to those insignificant creatures that call themselves Elves.
The doors to the Throne Room opens, and with heavy, angry footsteps, Hela walks in and immediately takes a knee in front of him.
"Father, you summoned me? Have we decided on a plan to kill the mortal once and for all?" Hela asks, as she looks up at Odin.
Odin glares at Hela, and states, "We are not going to attack the mortal."
"WHAT?! WHY?" Hela yells, as she stands up.
Still glaring, affronted by the nerve of this girl, Odin says, "The mortal that you almost died at the hands of has been named a Champion of Mortal Magecraft. Whatever actions he took against us happened when he was defending his Realm from invaders. And unless we want to declare War on the Hundred different Godly Kingdoms that Protect Midgard, Asgard will refrain from attacking the mortal, or any of his kind. Not without reason, at least."
"So that's it? You roll over and show him your stomach like a dog? You fulfill all his demands without even fighting for them?" Hela asks, as she starts stalking forward, her aggressive behaviour showing its head.
Slamming Gungnir down on the ground, Odin sends Hela back to her knees with a simple flex on his Magic, and yells, "SILENCE!"
Immediately, Hela snaps her mouth shut, not out of her own will, and fearfully widens her eyes.
When she looks up at him, wide eyed, Odin says, "Your actions after you supposedly killed the Mortal are what brought this on, daughter!" Neither had he ever used the word Daughter with such scorn, nor had Hela ever heard it like that from Odin. "You could have left the Tiny Witches, those Elves, alone. But no, you had to have your vengeance against weak, tiny creatures who only managed to defeat Asgardians by pure luck! If you had left them alone, we would have never even heard from them. So many of our weapons would not have been stolen from us in the middle of this War! And worst of all, when the time came to prove your worth by killing the mortal, this time for sure, you failed. You.. my daughter.. the Goddess of Death.. failed to kill a simple Mortal."
Hela glares up at him, defiant, and Odin sees that his words are having no effect on her. She still doesn't see her faults in what she has managed to bring forth.
"You, my daughter.. you almost died at the hands of a Mortal. You.. failed.. me." Odin says, staring his daughter right in her hateful eyes. "Not just failed, no. You humiliated me. In front of the Sorcerers, in front of the Mortals, in front of other Gods. And because of your actions, I cannot even send any assassin after the mortal because he has even more Gods looking at him now. Because of your loss at his hands, and his almost killing you, Gods are keeping an even closer eye on him."
Or trying, because for some reason, when the man doesn't want to be seen, he isn't. Only Jord could see him whenever she wants, and Odin could feel his irritation flaring at that fact.
And it was to be expected. A mortal became strong enough to challenge Hela, who is.. not a weak Goddess by any scale. She might not be the strongest, even Odin wasn't, but she was stronger than most Gods that don't rule their Realms. And a mortal defeated her in honourable combat.
And he wasn't even the Sorcerer Supreme!
If Odin was glad about one thing, it was that the Gods would never join hands with the man. They hate him just as much as he does. They know he is dangerous, and that he is a threat to them. It was only Hela's presumptuous behaviour that made them take the Mortal's side.
Hela scoffs, and asks, "What now? We forget the mortal, and go on living our lives?" Her biting voice did nothing to hide her disagreement.
Odin stares at her, wondering where he went wrong with raising the girl, and says, "It seems you still don't understand the gravity of the situation. Asgard has come closer to breaking the Laws of Old than any Kingdom has ever come. One step out of line, and we could face a War against all the Gods of Midgard. While we won against Alfheim and Muspelheim, the battle against Vanaheim and Jotunheim is still going strong. And you almost brought Midgard to the frey, along with all its Gods. But.. I see that even this is not enough to make you understand."
He then points his hand towards Hela, and as a Hammer magically forms in front of her chest, which she had kept hidden through a spell, he summons it towards himself. As Hela stumbles forward from the force of his spell, Odin says, "You do not deserve this hammer. Your actions led to it being sullied by mortal hands."
"Father!" Hela cries out, alarmed, as she looks on, horrified.
Ignoring her cries, Odin points his palms at her, and says, "You do not deserve this Power, your domain over Death, if you can't even kill one Mortal who managed to become as strong as us."
A bolt of thunder shoots out of Odin's hand, and strikes Hela in her chest. As she gets thrown backwards, her armour starts peeling off, all the while Hela stays down, screaming in discomfort.
Odin then says, "For 100 years, Hela, you will serve me not as my Executioner, or my Daughter, or my Princess, but as a simple soldier. For 100 years, you will live without the power that failed you, failed me. And then, when your term of punishment ends, you may return to serve me as my Princess once again. Hilde!"
Immediately, a white and blue leather armoured Valkyrie appears out of thin air, next to a struggling Hela, who is trying to cope with her sudden loss of most of her strength, and her Divinity. Kneeling down, she asks, "My King?"
"Take my daughter to your Halls to be fitted for Valkyrie armour. From today, until I say so, Hela Odinsdottir is just Hela the Valkyrie. Do not coddle her, and if she deserves punishment, deal with her as you see fit." Odin orders, as he keeps ignoring the disappointment that is his daughter.
"As you wish, my King." Hilde says, and picking Hela up like a bag of rice, disappears through a white flash of light.
Odin watches Hela appear in the Halls of the Valkyrie, now unconscious, and nods in satisfaction. This punishment will suffice, he thinks. 100 years living as an inferior being to her.
He would have preferred to send her to Midgard as a mortal, but his spell had already barred her from ever going anywhere near Midgard, it didn't matter if she didn't have her immortality or Divinity. So, this will have to suffice. She will still serve him, but she won't have her superior strength anymore.
This might even make her a stronger Goddess when her powers are returned to her. Make her a stronger warrior, so she can join him once again.
Maybe.. maybe when she returns, she might even be strong enough for the two of them to take on Midgard, all at once.
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Creating a portal to Sanctuary, I walk through it, most of my strength having returned fully now. I had stayed in Kamar Taj for a few hours, after Odin had properly vowed to fulfill his promises, as well as met with the Elves, listening to how Lady Bast and Master Ayesha even got together.
Turns out, Bast had been keeping an eye on me ever since I brought her her Claw pieces. She saw me die at Hela's hands, she felt my death thanks to her own connection to me, and my Kasha form, as well as her title as the Protector of the Dead.
And so, she went to the Britannia Sanctum to give whoever stayed there the news of my death. She got news instead, from Master Ayesha that I had survived my death, or returned from it, and that I was busy hiding, recovering my strength.
She learned that I was busy gathering my strength, training, and so, she asked the Magical Cats, who come under her dominion as the Cat Goddess, to keep her informed. She also kept meeting with Goddess Neith, or Gaea, to talk about my situation.
She also kept on meeting with Master Ayesha, to keep abreast of the situation, and when Master Ayesha saw using the Eye of Agamotto that I was going to fight Hela once more, they began making preparations. They contacted some other Gods, told them about Hela's attacks against the relatively harmless(to them) Magical creatures, and convinced them to force Odin to not kill me.
How they convinced all those stronger Gods to allow Odin, a King of Gods, to spare my life, I don't know.
But, since the Gods refused to personally interfere, Bast and Master Ayesha did it themselves, saving my life when Odin tried to take it.
Shaking my head, I ignore that and focus on the sounds around Sanctuary. I could hear the celebrations of the Elves, coming from their village. They were now free of the danger that is Asgardians. Or Gods, even.
Thanks to Bast and Ayesha's actions, almost every God now knows that I am not a weak mortal. That I will fight to defend my loved ones, my Magical Creatures. And even if I die.. they now know I will find a way to come back.
So, it is not only Elves that are free from Gods. Every Magical creature is now free from Divine dangers. And thanks to my killing of Kasha, even some Demonic dangers.
I could feel how happy every animal on Sanctuary was, my telepathy just.. catching those feelings without me even trying. Somehow, (I suspect the Elves), they all knew that they're safe from Divine and Demonic threats for now. Dragons, Kasha, Nemean lions, Nundus, Diricrawls, Graphorns, Unicorns, everyone knew that we were safe.
That Magic.. is safe from outside attacks.
But I also know that it won't last forever. When Magic doesn't have a guardian anymore, it will once again be in danger. And some day or the other, either I will die, or someone far, far stronger than me will threaten our lives. But that's not happening anytime soon.
And that's not counting the Mages that will still keep on hunting Magical Creatures for at least the next 1500 years, when the first Sanctuary was set up for Dragons, in Romania. But the Elves will ensure that no Animal goes extinct. Magical, or mundane.
Despite my misgivings about the urges that Gaea is sending to them, using them to save the animals, I can't help but appreciate the fact that they're getting to save animals from extinction.
"You won." Maya's voice welcomes me, as soon as I step into my Castle's library. She then looks up from the book she was reading, and says, "Not that I expected anything else, but I am glad you're back."
Chuckling, I say, "I almost lost the fight a couple times, but in the end.. I won."
"Did you kill her?" Maya asks, keeping the book down.
I sit down on the chair next to her with a sigh, and say, "As much as I wanted to, it wouldn't have ended matters. Odin would have kept trying something against me. So, no. I didn't kill her. I humiliated her, humiliated Odin indirectly, and I showed them that I can kill her if I want to. But I didn't."
Maya smiles, and nodding, says, "That was the best that we had hoped. For the matters to end. So, mortal Mages, Magical Animals, half breeds, Elves.. they're all free from the danger that is Gods. I.. I am proud of you, Atharva." And then, still sitting, she pulls me into a hug on the side.
Smiling, I close my eyes, enjoying the hug she had initiated, and say, "Yeah, I am proud of myself too." Pausing, I say, "Thank you, Maya. For all your help. I probably couldn't have done it without your guidance."
The Soul Magic that I needed to utilize for my Ritual wouldn't have been possible without an actual expert present. It would have taken me decades to figure the Ritual out by myself, if Maya wasn't there. So, yeah. I am glad she was here.
Maya chuckles, and says, "You are welcome, Atharva. You are welcome."
Maya then separates from the hug, and asks, "What are you going to do now? You've secured the protection of Magical Creatures from Divine and Demonic threats. You've built this Sanctuary. And you've created a Repository of almost all Knowledge on this ball of rocks. What next?"
Smiling, I say, "First, I'm going to make sure that the most dangerous knowledge is completely removed from the Repository, and keep it in my own Library. As I've just proved, Soul Magic can help a mortal defeat a God. I don't want other mortal Mages getting the idea and trying to take over the world or something. And then.. my Gauntlets proved that Asgardian Gold works similar, and somewhat better than the Magical Gold found on Midgard. So, I'll recreate my Prati Kavach, reforge it so that it gets better."
Pausing, I say, "And then.. I have an entire world to travel, sights to see, legendary battles to witness, treasures to rescue. So, I'll do that."
Maya smiles, and asks, "Would you mind terribly if I join you when you begin your travels? I do have a lonesome Castle to go to, you know."
I chuckle, and say, "Sure, I would like that. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to go and sleep for a couple days. Hela hits hard, and the hammer hits harder. Even with my body's fast healing, I'm feeling sore all over my body."
And that was not an overstatement.
The Hela chapter was over, hopefully. Also hopefully, Odin won't try anything against me or my Magical creatures, to circumvent the oaths he gave me. Well, whatever happens, I'll deal with it.
As I've just shown everyone with their Eyes on Earth. I am not just a weak mortal mage. I am the Guardian of Magic, and I will protect it with everything I have.
And if I fail, I will come back with even more to avenge what I've lost. Guess being an External won't be too bad after all.
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2 AD:
"You've changed the Repository." Master Ayesha's accusatory voice reaches me as I sit inside the Repository, with my feet propped up on the table, and a journal in my hands.
It was an interesting read. A journal written in Ancient Sumerian in the year 2000 BC. It detailed the life of a man named La'um, who was a Sorcerer Apprenticed to a Master Sorceress named Aamshed. Aamshed was forced by Varnae - the first Vampire, a Sorcerer who turned himself into the blood sucking monster through Rituals, to help him create a Ritual of Ascendancy that would turn him into a God.
Sort of like what I did with Matatabi, except.. more. It would have used a Divine Sacrifice, as well as a hundred mortal souls, that had to be sacrificed on the place where he was born. Unfortunately for Varnae, his homeland was Atlantis, which went underwater 15000 years before he even met Aamshed. And so, the Ritual failed before it even began.
La'um's journal basically gave details about his training under Aamshed, and his life after Aamshed disappeared after defeating Varnae. He details his travels mostly, as well as the interesting items he had collected over the years. But, he didn't write where he hid them, which is a shame, because I wouldn't have felt like stealing them if I knew where they were kept.
It was an interesting read, as I said.
Looking up at Master Ayesha, I say, "What did you expect? You saw how dangerous the knowledge here is. It allowed me to defeat a God. I don't want anyone else to do that, least of all someone who is not right in the head."
Master Ayesha asks, "Do you have so little faith in our Protection Spells?"
Shaking my head, I say, "Not in the spells, no. I have little faith in the mentality of people. Power corrupts, I know that. Even when I gained all this power slowly, bit by bit, I still know that my morals aren't the same as they used to be. What happens when someone goes directly from a normal Man to someone of my own strength? Either the man within prevails, or the Power corrupts him. We can't take the risk, Master Ayesha."
"And so what? You hide all the dangerous knowledge away from everyone? You know that isn't what we agreed upon, Atharva." Master Ayesha scolds.
Nodding, I say, "It isn't. But that's why we're here, aren't we? To renegotiate the terms of my Repository's use?"
Master Ayesha sighs, and asks, "Yes. What do you propose?"
"I propose the termination of our partnership as joint owners of the Repository. I propose the building of a new Repository, specifically for Sorcery related knowledge, that will be completely under your purview. Are you interested?" I ask, as I lean forward.
This way.. less people will have access to my Island.. my Sanctuary. This way, I can restore the Fidelius so that no one else comes here, except for those I trust implicitly. And also, this will allow us to hide the knowledge that might take even a normal, completely mundane man, to the level of a God, from anyone that can misuse it. And Gods know, that there isn't a shortage of such people.
Master Ayesha smiles, and says, "Very well. Let's talk."
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5 AD:
I sat inside the Repository, reading another Journal written by another Sorcerer, thousands of years ago. It is what I have done for a few years now.
The days of working are over, for now. I am just waiting to make sure that no one attacks Sanctuary while I'm supposedly gone, hence my laying low. I just read Journals, and I did not work. At all.
Okay, I worked a little bit. I built a new Repository for Master Ayesha and her Sorcerers, where she made all knowledge open to everyone. So, yeah, I'm glad I just gave her the Sorcery knowledge.
My Repository still had the three sections, Sorcery, Magecraft, and Mundane. But now, no one was here to read them. Save for Master Ayesha, and I. And Maya, whenever she has the time, or inclination.
So, yeah. It's a lonely existence, but it is necessary. After all, I have become something of a celebrity out in the Magical Worlds.
The Defeater of Gods. That's what they're calling me. Atharva Joshi, a Man who beat down a Goddess of Death.
Somehow, despite my Spell preventing such occurrences, various Soothsayers, Prophets, Seers, etc all got to see my battle with Hela, and her defeat by my hands. They then spread the news, that a man named Atharva almost killed Hela, and would have done so if Odin hadn't interfered.
Thanks to that, almost every Magical person now knows that there is a person named Atharva Joshi who has decided to Guard the Magical World as a whole. And thanks to Nalanda University, they just got confirmation that I am a Sorcerer, and a Mage. Fuckers just wanted to make their University more famous.
Already, Mages are visiting the Sanctums to ask for me, wanting to meet me. Thankfully, no one's worshipping me, so that's good. But this means that I'm going to have to change my name once again.
Atharva Joshi needs to die.
But, it doesn't mean I have to do it so soon. I'm in hiding anyway. And if I have to go outside, I can just become Athreos once again!
While I was reading, I feel someone appear inside the Repository Welcoming Room, and I smile. As she enters the room, I ask, "Ready for your travels?"
Maya smiles, and says, "Yes. Although, I doubt you will be taking me to any place I've never been to."
Chuckling, I say, "True. But I can show you sights you've probably never seen."
"Oh, like what?" Maya asks.
I stand up, and ask, "Have you seen Lanka, the land of which was burnt by the Vedic God of Strength, Hanuman? I was considering making that our first stop. And then, you can show me a spot that you find interesting."
Maya hums, and nods at me. She says, "That.. is a wonderful idea. Shall we begin, Atharva?"
Smiling, I use my Metamorphmagic to transform myself back into my Greek self, and say, "Call me Athreos, dear Maya. For that is what I shall be known as for now."
Maya smiles, as she offers me her hand, and says, "Then you should call me Selene, Athreos. For that is what I will be known as for now."
Smiling, I hold her hand, and with a flex of my Magic, both of us disappear through the Apparition tunnel to begin our travels. Starting with Lanka.
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A/N: Okay, just a few chapters worth of Plot Building, and then it will be a timeskip straight to the future, back to his own time. Whatever happens in between will only be shown in flashbacks, or as a throwback.
PS: I had written a short summary with Mason/Bast, where Mason eventually becomes known as Ptah, the God of Change, and Creation (his Metamorphmagic and his Alchemy helping in those titles), but it made me write Mason into an ass. Either he, or Bast, or both, would have allowed all that Wakanda ignored to continue happening(racism against Black people, slavery, and all that), and it would have made T'Challa worship Mason along with Bast, which.. I find it a bit awkward. Writing myself as a God that does actually exist is also not something I can do again, right after Baldur, and just taking Bast's husband Ptah off the plot for my own sake, urgh.
So, that was abandoned and I came back to the drawing board.
I also had a plan of redeeming Hela. One idea was for her to retreat during the last fight, and return again and again to challenge Mason to a fight. Some she wins, some Mason wins, but they eventually gain respect for one another, and fall in love.
Another idea was that Tatiana was Hela, who has been sent into the body of a child who was supposed to go through a lot of hardships, by Odin, to teach her humility like he did to Thor. Tatiana was supposed to die during their first separation, before she came to Kamar Taj, and then when Mason meets Hela, who hasn't changed at all even after the mortal experiences, he recognises his lover in her.
The fight, Mason dies, becomes External, and then Mason goes on a campaign to earn her love.
This idea was abandoned because Hela is a bitch who would definitely harm the Elves in revenge for Mason fighting her. And Mason will definitely say "fuck off" to any girl that harms his Elves who he worked so hard on curing.
Anyway, thank you for your support! Tata!
