27 Arc VIII Last days before travel - New Asgard

Two hours later, Eli had sent the teenagers Peter, Ty, and Tandy back to reunite with their families in New York with a spell after cleaning them up and healing their wounds. The rest of his 'faction', like Anya and her fellow widows, and Thor together with the Asgardians that joined this battle stood close to Eli. He prepared a spell that enveloped everyone seconds later to transport them just outside of New Asgard in Norway.

His grandmother was the de-facto ruler of this place for the last five years and technically was still here four days ago, so Eli knew the ins-and-outs of this place. The Asgardians' new home was truly weird. It was futuristic beyond compare, yet was in some places built in simple stones. It looked like olden architecture, yet at the same time, was outfitted in brightly shining technology centuries ahead of Earthen technology.

Instead of a palace, there was a modest mansion his grandmother had lived in next to the 'town hall', close to a cliff. The town hall was a place for gatherings and announcements. It and the mansion were also right next to Val's and Misty's place, but on the complete opposite side of his father's 'man-cave', his grandmother had called it.

"Eli, your grandmother has made arrangements for your living quarters in her abode. Would you follow me?" Sif's voice rang out from the army he had just teleported back. Her armor was knicked in many places, and small cuts appeared everywhere on her impressive figure. It reminded him that he should probably tend to the smaller wounds of the Asgardian army before sending the truly wounded to the infirmary.

Eli made a gesture for Sif to wait and began casting a spell that enveloped the entire army. It took a lot out of him, but he was in a safe space now. His exhaustion was nothing to the comfort and health of his people.

"Thank you, Prince Eli," the Einherjar shouted in unison with the standard Asgardian military greeting.

"Bring the truly wounded to the infirmary. Have everyone who has knowledge about healing and medicine help out where they can. For those who are on the verge of death or lost a limb, I can offer you a path to health. It will boost your strength, but it's not without downsides. Especially if you are a sorcerer or witch. Volstagg, bring me or Lady Val and Lady Misty a list of those still willing and those on their way to the afterlife in an hour at the mansion, and we can begin the healing process," Eli ordered.

"Yes, my prince!" Volstagg eagerly shouted as he began sorting out the army according to Eli's orders.

Not long after, Val and Misty arrived on their winged horses with Natasha and Eliza.

"Eli!!" The little girl immediately jumped off Warsong's back and ran toward the young Allfather.

"Wow, look at how much you've grown," Eli exclaimed in wonder as he picked up the charging torpedo for a hug.

"Ahhh, first mommy and then even you! I missed you so much! It's sooo nice to have you all back," the girl cried out, her head buried in the crook of his neck.

"Yeah, really, really nice. I missed you too, Eliza," Eli cooed as he softly brushed the little girl's hair.

"Volstagg is already in motion. What happened?" Val asked as she hopped off her pegasus' back.

"Sorry, didn't mean to undermine your authority, but I gave him the order to oversee the handling of our wounded. I'll gladly offer you the honor of arranging everything else, though," Eli replied with a soft smile as Eliza began braiding a strand of his hair with giggles.

"Well, good job. And no worries, we have a system in place for that. I was afraid there were no more royalty left with a sense of duty, now that Frigga is gone," Val quipped as she shot Thor a taunting smirk.

Before Thor could answer, Tuuli came shooting down from the clouds and landed on Thor's head. Tuuli had asked to fly to New Asgard instead of following along with the spell, which Eli naturally agreed to. He would never cage his majestic queen of the skies.

"Oooh, what a beautiful bird!" Eliza shouted in awe as she held both her cheeks in adoration.

"That's Tuuli, my new companion. She's a thunderbird," Eli explained.

"She's super pretty," Eliza gushed as the bird preened a little under the praise from atop her perch on Thor's head. Sif, who first had an amused smile when the bird landed on Thor's head, remembered her duty and coughed in her hand to gain attention.

"Ah yes, my apologies, Lady Sif. Let's go, like you suggested before their arrival. Nat, want to come along together with Eliza? I'm guessing we'll see where I will be living the next while," Eli suggested as Tuuli flew over to his free shoulder with the pauldron from his uru arm.

Eliza began cautiously and gingerly patting the beautiful feathers and giggling at the soft shocks of electricity that tickled her. Nat had a fond smile full of love directed at her daughter and her increasingly floating hair as a result of all the static charge she built up because of Tuuli.

Sif led the way toward the mansion as Misty and Val began to fill Eli in on what he missed. He knew most of it from his grandmother already, but he enjoyed the conversation, and it wouldn't hurt to find out more. And, he learned one thing his grandmother failed to mention; Jessica had married three years ago. A fellow powered individual from her time as a vigilante and eventual hero in New York, Luke Cage. Eli let out a sigh and wished her all his best in his heart, though it still stung. He could, however, use it as motivation to finally move on himself and get back in the game. After all, he had just spent an extra decade in Valhalla getting over losing her.

He also learned that Barbara Kaminska went by her birth name again, Maya Hansen, and she had moved to New Asgard under Misty's urging. She was currently in a relationship with Fandrall, who had narrowly survived Ragnarok with a missing arm. It had grown back, apparently, thanks to Asg-Extremis.

So Eli's urging to get a list for those he wanted to have healed with the Asgardian extremis strain was superfluous, Maya was already working in the infirmary. Eli inwardly scolded his grandmother for missing such a big addition to Asgard's forces in her description of the current New Asgard.

It wasn't necessarily his job to do it, but he still thought of how to reward Maya for her loyalty to Asgard and thought about the golden apples of Idunn. Now that he could grant divinities, he no longer needed to be stingy with the apples that could grant longevity. Hel, Buri even told him how to connect the future Asgard to Yggdrasil so he could potentially harvest new ones in the future. And a scientist of Maya's caliber would certainly bolster their forces in the long term. He would think about it before he began his travels.

And, he also thought about the divinities he could bestow. Those he blessed wouldn't become true gods like those with the royal bloodline of Asgard, but they would become gods nonetheless. Just like Allfather Bor described, he had a natural feeling about how many divinities he could grant when he thought about it, and the number was four right now. His current reserves were full thanks to the infinity stones. In time, these reserves would grow bigger. Misty and Val had surely earned theirs, but Eli would talk about it with his father, who he would deem worthy of such an honor.

"This here is the house your grandmother Queen Frigga left you. But her living quarters aren't what makes this building special because Frigga had managed to store most of the royal library in the ark before it departed Asgard. That makes this building the repository of Asgard's knowledge. Truly fitting for such a wise woman and leader," Sif reverently narrated.

"Oooh, I was already wondering how we could make sure we wouldn't lose all our millenia of hard earned knowledge piece by piece once certain Asgardians perish. That makes it so much easier. Do we have a librarian?" Eli asked with a happy smile. A stone had fallen off his shoulder.

"Queen Frigga had spent much of her own time organizing the shelves but hadn't opened it for public use. As such, no librarian was necessary," Sif answered.

"I understand we have schools for our children, but hoarding this knowledge won't help us. Please find someone to take that job, and Misty, Val, and I will figure out what books will be made available," Eli explained.

"Why can Thor sit out such a boring meeting?" Misty interjected with mock outrage.

"You want my dad to figure out who can learn what?" Eli asked with a raised brow, a question that Misty only answered with a wry smile.

"I feel like I should be offended by that," Thor muttered as he watched the interaction.

"I could do that. The librarian job, I mean. If Eliza wants to live here," Nat offered meekly. She still had no idea of what her future held now that her daughter had to live five years without her mother.

"Can daddy come here?" Eliza asked as she 'seriously' contemplated.

"Yep, Steve can come over anytime he wants," Misty answered with a warm smile.

"Then I want to live in the same house as Mommy and Eli!" Eliza concluded with a small fist hit upon an open palm. A gesture she picked up from Steve these last years whenever he had finished a thought and explained his plan to others.

"Sure, there must be two more rooms in this big house for you two," Eli instantly agreed before Nat could refuse. He wouldn't be here for long anyway, so he wanted to spend this time surrounded by people dear to him.

A quick house tour and assigning rooms to the mother and daughter pair later, Eli was alone in the study with Sif. Well, not completely. Anya had silently followed the group and made it clear she wanted to stay close.

"Lady Frigga had one last command for me should you come back," Sif explained like an attendant as Anya tried her best to be an actual attendant. She was even back in her usual black suit she wore when she was doing her 'butler duties'. Eli had no idea how she had the time to shower and dress in that. After all, both Eli and Sif were still in their bloodied armor.

"I just spent a decade with her in Valhalla, and she still hid something from me, from us... it truly sounds like her. No matter how often she bemoaned the fractured state of our family," Eli sighed out with a shake of his head.

"If you came back from Valhalla as she suggested you would, and you would meet her there, which you did, I was supposed to tell you about your uncle," Sif began explaining.

"Uncle Loki?"

"No, Frigga's first born, Balder Odinson," Sif declined.

"Grandmother had other children?"

"From what she explained, Balder was her only child. Hela, Thor, and of course Loki were born from other women," Sif offered. Eli furrowed his brows. Nobody had ever told him that. No other women appeared in Valhalla who would meet the criteria of being the one to birth Odin's other children. Would they still be alive, then? But Eli quickly broke out of his musings.

"What of Balder? What did grandmother want me to do?"

"Balder is still alive and a prisoner of another pantheon..."

When Sif finished her explanation, she left Eli behind alone in the study with a serious expression and a deep frown. Anya had left to make sure everything in the mansion was in order and to prepare some food.

This matter Sif has brought to his attention would require him and Asgard as a whole to be vastly more powerful than they currently were. He was sure his grandmother would understand when he would have to let this matter wait for the time being. If at all possible, it could come as Eli's first item on his to-do once he is back.

Why did she not tell him about it in Valhalla then? Did she not want Odin to know about it? That would make the most sense because even Odin lived with the humilation instead of going to war for his own son. He was likely afraid of the consequences of freeing uncle Balder.

"Eli, food is ready in three minutes," Nat shouted through the door with a knock.

"Eli, food is ready! Anya made your favorite," Eliza shouted a short moment later with a soft knock of her own.

"Thank you, I'm coming in a minute," Eli anwered finishing up what he wanted to do in the study.

"Do we still have the house in New York, Misty?" Eli asked as he sat down at the large table in the dining room that really was just a part of the large, open living room.

"Of course. Even in 'death', your sealing magics never lifted, and I had no real reason to sell anyway," Misty admitted with a shrug.

"Nice. I'll go there tomorrow morning to pick some stuff up that's better stored here in New Asgard," Eli said with a smile. But before he could put the first falafel in his mouth, he looked at Tuuli.

"Hey, do we have some fresh meat for Tuuli left? I doubt she wants to eat salad if we can't help it," Eli suggested, and the thunderbird agreed with a chipper squeak.

"Of course, give me a moment," Anya confirmed, immediately moving toward the kitchen. It didn't take long for her to come back with diced meat. "Is raw okay? Just describe your preference to Eli and have him translate for me, Tuuli."

"She wouldn't mind having it a little bloodier, the pieces have a nice size, the portion size is good too, and she isn't sure yet which kind of meat she would prefer, though she would like to try different meats with you," Eli translated as the bird merrily shared her opinion with happy, gull-like noises.

"Certainly. What a smart bird you are," Anya affirmed with a bright smile.

"So tell me, Eliza, what grade are you in right now?" Eli asked to start off a wholesome dinner conversation that had Eliza, the Valkyrie duo, Thor, and Anya share what they have been doing the past five years.

Eliza started describing her life in Brooklyn with Steve as a dad and how she had been getting lessons in playing ukulele. Misty had given away one of his instruments to Eliza five years ago to remember him by.

Misty and Val first showed off some pictures from playdates they had with Eliza who happily chimed in at times how fun it was and then the two described their dealings in Asgard together with Frigga, which councils they formed and how they ruled their people. Thor kept quiet through it all, it was obvious he didn't help out much. Anya kept mostly quiet, she only talked a little about how she was currently the head of W.I.B.E. because Misty had her duties with Asgard.

His father, too, didn't have much to share during this meal and he was too embarrassed to show off what he and Korg had done these years. That didn't stop Misty, who whipped out her phone to show off Thor and Korg's latest vlog titled 'How to actually wipe out tomato town vlog#1332'.

"It is a fun pastime," Thor mumbled shyly in his own defense.

A few teasing remarks later, Eli asked a question that had been on his mind for a long time now.

"Hey Val, Misty. You've pretty much ruled Asgard these past years with my grandmother. Seeing as she used to be a valkyrie, too... I was wondering why you never formed and recruited new valkyries?"

Misty looked at Val with an open mouth, and Val just kept looking at Eli like someone at the table was an idiot. By the way her expression became more and more incredulous, it was likely herself.

"Oh, by Odin's... scruffy beard. I feel like such an idiot," Misty eventually said half a minute later.

"You want to leave ruling Asgard in the hands of us two idiots?" Val joked with an exaggerated sigh.

"So you just never thought about it? I had feared you had deeper reservations because in the shiplog of the ark I checked, Frigga had apparently even brought the rest of the old valkyrie armor with her on the ark," Eli breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, she did? I wonder why she packed it and never told us after all this time," Val mused with a thoughtful expression.

"Who knows? But I do already have the perfect candidates in mind for the auditions: the widows, with Anya at the helm," Eli spoke about his recommendation, making Anya blush.

"Most of them make for excellent valkyrie material," Misty agreed.

"Maybe Lady Sif wants to lead them? On more than one occasion, I have heard her lament the fact that she was born after the era of the valkyries," Thor chimed in, which gained the support of almost everyone present.

"Can I be a valkyrie?" Eliza asked, tilting her head cutely.

"You can be anything you want littler Eli," Natasha supported her daughter.

"Yeah, we can start training you a little, and once you fit into the armor, you'll become a full-time valkyrie if you still want to be then," Val offered.

"On the topic of armor, what's the news on Nidavellir? Frigga was a little cryptic, and her mood soured the few times I brought it up," Eli inquired, though with a big smile because Eliza was excitedly hopping in her chair because she was allowed to become a valkyrie.

"Eitri spent a few years away from the rings to recruit new blood for the forges. He is the last dwarven master blacksmith left alive, but he is determined to not let their traditions die with him. You and your father should visit him to see if they still stand with Asgard, though. Eitri wouldn't answer us or your grandmother," Val explained with a wry smile.

"Sure. I still need to thank him for this master piece after all. I could probably fix his hands as thanks if he didn't figure it out by himself yet. Could probably do it after dinner," Eli agreed as he held up his destroyer arm.

It was the first time Thor had a good look at his son's arm, and only now he noticed the many intricate runes that littered the surface of the arm.

"You had your arm with you in Valhalla?" Thor asked with furrowed brows.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, you would know it didn't look like that before the snap. My mother was a genius. She had somehow predicted something like this would happen to me and had me teleported to Valhalla as I was and not simply as a soul of the dead. Maybe it helped that I didn't truly die. Frigga was there in her full glory, arms and all," Eli explained with a fond smile.

"She had predicted something like that?" Misty asked with a frown.

"Oh, I mean not the snap. No, in her words, she wanted me to rule wherever I would land in my afterlife, so she took precautions to have me go there with my full power," Eli expounded on his previous point.

"Yeah, that sounds like her. The earring, right?"

Eli nodded, and both Misty and he shared a knowing smile.

"You met your mommy in the time you were gone?" Eliza asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I was lucky to go to the place she was resting at," Eli explained.

"That must have been nice," Eliza concluded, again softly hitting her little fist in her palm.

"Yeah, I was luckier than most," Eli agreed with a warm smile.

After they concluded the dinner, with Nat and Eliza going for a nap, Eli, Tulli, and Thor prepared to travel to Nidavellir with a Stormbreaker bifrost.

The new tunnel felt different from the actual bifrost of Asgard he had used before. It certainly looked the same, but their travel appeared faster than before. Yet when they stepped out of the tunnel, it oddly felt like a longer time had passed. It was the opposite before.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Eli Thorson," a deep voice boomed out as they arrived.