Chapter 2 – The Allfather Plans

The Allfather was seated upon Hlidskjalf, the great high Throne of Asgard, which according to the mortals of Midgard allowed Odin to look out upon all the Nine Realms and witness anything that was occurring in the Universe. In truth, however, Hlidskjalf was simply a gilded chair set on a high platform to impose dominance over would-be supplicants with its golden images and large stature. It was also damned uncomfortable to sit on, especially for long periods of time, a fact that its occupant was all too aware of at the moment.

Odin was leaning far back in his seat, arms outstretched, one gripping the mighty spear Gungnir whilst the other was firmly placed atop the large golden armrest of Hlidskjalf, and he was currently half-listening to Mímir provide a report on crop yields to the gathered royal council. It was a subject that, whilst vital to the survival of the kingdom, was not made for easy listening, and several of the other advisors in the hall were beginning to nod off

Whilst he was hardly an inattentive King, Odin was also struggling to pay full attention to his advisor. His mind was currently occupied with other matters than how many bushels had been brought in this month. And was beginning to feel his back protest at the discomfort of having been seated on Hlidskjalf for nearly thirteen hours, eleven of which had been spent listening to Mímir provide his reports.

"Thus, as you can see my King, the forecast is currently 15.1 billion bushels, up less than 1 percent from the previous forecast and up 7 percent from last year. Based on conditions as of the last harvest, yields are expected to average 177.0 bushels per harvested acre, up 0.5 bush-." Mímir's voice had the unfortunate quality of being extremely monotonous and even Odin in all his patience found it trying.

"Yes, thank you, Mímir. Just as detailed as always, I will review the account and make any changes that are needed. My lords, I believe that we are finished for the day, I thank you all and will let you know my decisions before the morn." Odin offered his closest advisors an appreciating nod and wave of his hand signalling their dismal.

The other occupants of the throne room gave small bows and departed, leaving the Allfather alone with his thoughts. 'Thank the Norns, any longer and I would have entered the Odinsleep' He thought, releasing a deep long-awaited sigh once he knew Mímir and the others were gone.

With that he attempted to get up from his seat, and though he did raise in a single movement his body greatly protested at the sudden effort, for his muscles ached and his joints were stiff. Whilst this could have been explained away because of his long periods of being seated in recent days, and his overall lack of physical activity in the past few years since the War with Jotunheim had ended, Odin knew what the real cause was. Age.

'I am getting old.' The thought troubled Odin deeply, the aeons were beginning to catch up to him, and whilst he was nowhere near the grave yet, he could feel that the changes were beginning to set in, his missing eye was proof enough of that.

Once he had been the greatest warrior alive. He had waged wars, battles, and campaigns across the cosmos for ages never suffering a wound or injury, but now his eye was gone, taken by a Jotun of all things, his back would go rigid from simply sitting, and all his joints protested movement especially in the morning. Age was truly beginning to catch up with him.

He subtly rolled his shoulders allowing him to dispel the stiffness and aches without alerting any would-be observers that the King of Asgard had trouble simply sitting for lengthy periods. He began his descent down Hlidskjalf's steps, careful to ensure he did not appear to be using Gungnir for support whilst also scanning the room for any servants or courtiers that might have witnessed his difficulties..

The Allfather knew better than most that a large part of power was the perception people had of someone. A tried-and-tested scarred warrior king would be respected, but an old one-eyed greybeard man that had trouble simply sitting would not be.

Once he had reached the bottom of the steps, Odin quickly departed the throne room and headed for the Royal quarters before he could be caught by another advisor or some petitioner. He walked briskly, guards and servants bowed their heads as he passed and where necessary parted to allow their King an unobstructed path to his destination. He only slowed when he came near the balcony that overlooked the training yards where the Valkyrie and Einherjar drilled.

Odin paused, stepping out onto the balcony to witness the exercises occurring below him, the sun was hanging low in the sky, but dusk was still at least an hour away. The sound of metal striking metal could be heard, magnified a hundredfold as the warriors of Asgard trained below him. The sound brought back memories of things long since passed, battles fought, brothers buried and a woman in horned black armour. The Allfather quickly pushed that particular thought away.

He sighed deeply as the warriors trained, how he wished that they were training for battles that would never come, that none of them would need to know the horrors of war, but Odin knew better that there were always more battles to come. Asgard and the Nine Realm were at peace, true, but it was a peace built solely on Asgard's might and would come undone as soon as those keeping it faltered.

As his father Bor had once said 'A wise king never seeks out war, but he must always be ready for it.' A philosophy that Odin for a long time had ignored but now he had taken it to heart, after witnessing so much death and destruction in his long life.

'But how does one be ready for it, that was the question, no?' Odin pondered to himself.

One very tangible way stood below him, the mighty army of Asgard. Its soldiers were constantly training, never idle, and always prepared, commanded by either himself or the veteran General Tyr, a man Odin knew he could rely on. An army always ready for war often discouraged others from starting one and there were few foolish enough to challenge the one before him.

Another way was one he had just departed: Hlidskjalf. The perception of power did much to make one ready for war, for if people perceive you as strong, they are more likely to talk than fight you. Odin had prevented many a war and enforced many treaties between warring people by simply showing up in all his glory, no need for actual force to prove a point when the simple projection of power would suffice.

But still constant training and powerful imagery were not enough to keep Asgard strong or the Nine realms at peace. No, more was needed Odin knew.

He returned to his journey to the royal quarters after spending a few more moments observing his warriors train, departing just after the one-handed General Tyr knocked a raw recruit to the dirt with their own weapon.

'I have strong warriors; I have the perception of might, true, but Asgard will need courage, wisdom and certainty after my reign is over to face all threats that will come' Odin thought to himself as he pushed upon the doors that led to the Royal quarters. 'And for those Asgard will look to their Princes.'

Odin knew that Thor would have no end of courage, his eldest was already brave and courageous. Despite being only 5, the boy ran headlong into everything he did and no matter what was in front of him showed no fear or hesitation. The other day Odin had to prevent the lad from charging off into the forest when his son had spotted a particularly large Bilgesnipe and declared he would defeat the beast that could have easily crushed the would-be hunter with a single toe.

So Asgard had no fear of lacking courage in the days to come.

He also suspected that Asgard would be well equipped for trials of the mind that may arise, thanks to his youngest son ('Second youngest' he corrected himself) Loki who had just turned 3 and was already showing intelligence beyond his years.

Whilst Thor was a little brash at times and ploughed through everything, Loki was curious, inquisitive, and attentive, always asking questions and arguably knew more words than his elder brother. Loki also had already started to perform minor spells under Frigga's guidance and was showing great promise in all his studies.

Whilst wisdom was not merely intellect, it was a solid foundation to build on and under Odin's guidance, he was sure he would make Loki into a wise man and great advisor for Thor.

The last was the trickiest of the three, certainty was no easy thing to create and could not be merely conjured at will, it required the people to have a belief and conviction not only in their leaders but also in themselves, that would allow them to weather any storm. Without it no matter how strong or wise Asgard was, it would fall at the first force that it meets that does not simply yield in the face of Asgard's might. Odin had spent many a night awake pondering how he could bring certainty to his people that was not reliant on him and had unfortunately yet to find a solution.

However, Odin suspected maybe the Norns, those tricky weavers of fate, had provided the means to provide certainty to Asgard in the form of his and Frigga's newest child, Kal.

Another Prince would show that the future of the royal family was in no doubt, allaying any lingering fears people might have about how secure the succession was, three sons was more than enough not to worry about the availability of heirs. Especially once they were married and had children of their own.

And if what little Odin understood of Kryptonian physiology was true Asgard was about to be provided with a warrior of a potential nearly unequalled in the known universe. Kal could perhaps be the certainty that Thor would need when he was King, a brother as strong as an Army, who if raised right would be righteous, true, and perhaps have access to the remaining knowledge of Krypton. A powerful symbol to be sure.

'Yes, that could work. Thor as King ruling with strength, courage and compassion, Loki as the grand advisor counselling, planning and fostering peace. And Kal as their champion, defender of the Throne and ofAsgard,a pillar of strength for his brothers to lean on.' Odin ruminated on his plans for the future as he opened the door that allowed entry into the noble quarter of the Palace.

The sound of laughter and sobbing greeted him as he entered the royal residence, the hall before him was large and circular with a fire pit placed in the centre of the room, the edges bore doorways and other openings that either led to more rooms, corridors, or staircases. The noise that had greeted him came from his left behind a large set of double doors that were slightly ajar, allowing the sounds of laughter, giggling, and crying to be heard from within.

The room had originally been one of Odin's many libraries but was now a playroom that Frigga had originally set up for Thor before being used by all of the children. Odin approached slowly not wishing to disturb those inside yet, standing close to the door he peered within to witness what was occurring.

Inside, it appeared that Ragnarök had occurred early.

Currently, Thor was having the time of his life and doubted that anything would ever be its equal. His mother had been gone for the last few months, and he was not sure where she had been. Still, she was back now, and even better: He had another brother to play with!

Thor was only five so there was much he did not know, like how to ride a horse, how to do magic like his parents, or how to open that stupid jar with the delicious treats inside, but he had figured out one thing.

He found that baby brothers obviously came from somewhere far away, for his father had gone away for a long time then when he had returned Thor had a brother named Loki, and then his mother had been somewhere for a long time and now he had a brother named Kal. Therefore, Thor had smartly figured out, baby brothers came from somewhere far away.

Feeling proud in his first mental triumph Thor was confident in his ability to teach his newest younger brother his favourite game, however, the results had not been great so far and Thor couldn't figure out where he was going wrong.

The game in question was one of Thor's own invention, and it involved using the carved wooden figurines his father had given him to create a battle between two opposing sides, one being Father and his mighty warriors with the other being the terrible Forest Giants. Thor was a little hazy on all the rules but that was no matter, as his father's side always won, so who needed rules? The game was very simple, just knock the Jötnar over and claim victory.

However, what was currently causing a problem was that there was no epic battle happening. Instead the figurine of Father was currently being clutched firmly by his newest brother who was proceeding to drown their father in a sea of saliva. His younger brother had picked up the figurine of father and immediately stuck its miniature head into his mouth and began trying to bite it, which horrified Thor who quickly saw teeth marks appearing on fathers head.

"NO! That's father!" Thor had naturally yelled and then attempted to yank the figurine away from his little brother, in an effort to save the effigy of his parent.

However, this did not work out as Thor had planned as instead of freeing Father as intended, Kal had grabbed onto the figurine and was now involved in a tug-of-war over the wooden toy, which was proving decidedly more difficult to win than it should have been. Whilst Thor was clearly older than the babe before him, he could not for the life of him overpower the infant, resulting in the other figurines and toys around them going flying as they were knocked away by the two struggling.

Both of them broke out into wild fits of laughter as they tried to overpower the other, each believing themselves involved in some sort of game.

This nevertheless had resulted in alarming Loki who had just been a passive observer originally. From his perspective, his mother had returned which was great and then told them to greet his new brother, a small baby with black hair like his and blue eyes like Thor. He took little interest in the baby as he was currently fascinated by the book his mother had given him; it had large golden pictures that moved when he touched them and had been content to flip through the pages that she had placed before him.

But no sooner had he started to flip through the wonderful golden tome than it was being pushed away and an assortment of figurines came flying at him, as his brother Thor was now apparently wrestling with their new brother. In his alarm, he responded the only way he knew, crying and magic.

Whilst he was no great wielder of magic like his mother and was only 3 years old, Loki had mastered one feat of magic, levitation, namely making small objects float.

Which was what he was currently doing, causing the toys that had been sent flying at him instead of crashing into the walls, to instead float through the air bouncing off objects as they went. This caused them to return towards Thor and Kal which resulted in them being rocketed back outwards by the pair's struggling.

This of course resulted in Loki crying more and causing even more things to begin floating, all of which just made Thor and Kal laugh at the amazing feats occurring around him.

Kal on his part was incredibly happy, the pretty golden lady had been with him for as long as he could remember, she fed him when he was hungry, dried his tears when he cried but best of all she would play with him whenever he wanted! Then today she had introduced him to more people to play with!

One was a large blonde boy who had a big smile on his face, bright blue eyes and was sharing toys with him, whilst the other was a smaller, but still larger than him, black-haired boy who had an amazing book in front of him that the pretty golden lady had given him.

Kal could not blame the small-but-still-larger-than-him boy for not playing with him, as Kal too wished he had the golden book with its moving pictures within, it looks amazing. He wondered what those pages would taste like?

But that was something in the future to figure out, right now he was currently playing with the large blonde boy before him, the large child had given him something remarkably interesting which Kal had quickly assessed was for chewing.

However, he had been mistaken on that part as soon as he had done that, the blonde child and shown him what it really was for: It was for pulling!

And Kal had happily obliged, beginning the tugging match between the two to see who would win. Whilst he was happy to play, Kal was finding it difficult to hold on, the large blonde boy was extraordinarily strong and Kal was barely holding on but would not let the boy win if he could help it.

Observing all of this was Frigga who was trying her best not to break out in a fit of laughter at the absurd scene that had broken out before her. She had taken her eyes off the boys for all but a moment whilst she sorted out a seat and turned back to find Ragnarök occurring.

She had simply introduced Kal to his new brothers and told them the reason mother had been gone for some months was because of the baby and that they needed to be kind to their new brother.

Kal was now about 7 or 9 months they believed, and Frigga had spent nearly half a year looking after the infant, partly to sell the story that he was her and Odin's natural child, with her having gone into seclusion during the last months of pregnancy, just as they had done with Loki before. But the main reason was that Kal had still been violently ill for most of that time. Keeping him outside on the balcony or by an open window seemed to have helped, but nevertheless, he only recently seemed to have gotten over his difficulties breathing.

So, they had now decided that Kal was now well enough to meet his brothers.

And what a meeting it had been, she had literally just placed Kal on the floor in front of Thor, turned her back for a second to pull up a chair, which she proceeded to sit in before quickly dodging a flying wooden figurine. Before her was sheer and utter chaos accompanied by tiny booming laughter, infantile giggles, and frightened sobbing.

Loki was crying whilst constantly casting the only spell he knew, levitation, causing green blots to fly out of his small hands striking objects that then proceeded to float up. Thor and Kal were tugging something back and forth, both of them laughing like mad, one out of sheer delight at the challenge and the other because he believed it was a game. And what made it all the more humorous for Frigga was that she had just spotted her husband appearing at the doorway.

'Oh yes, behold the sons of Odin in all their might.' Was the wickedly amused thought that passed through her head as she smiled at her husband in the doorway. A very unqueenly laugh threatened to escape her lips.

Odin for his part just observed the whole situation for a few moments before deciding to intercede before this mini Ragnarök threatened to spiral into a real one. Pushing open the door, Odin stepped into the room, believing that his mere presence would stop the children.

It did not.

For his troubles, the Allfather had to dodge several figurines, a book, and what looked like a cup Frigga had set out for the children. He was unsure of the last one because of his need to move his head or lose his one remaining eye. His effort to impose his presence on the room did not go unnoticed as his wife simply smiled at him shaking her head slightly.

"AHEM." Odin coughed loudly, that always worked with his advisors or unruly nobles so it should easily work on children.

Again it did not, the children, children simply got louder and completely failed to notice the new arrival in their midst. The king was now at a loss at what to do, his brow furrowed as he tried to decide his next action… maybe magic would work?

Frigga took pity on her husband and merely clapped her hands together, which caused every eye in the room to turn to her. Thor and Kal were still holding the figurine but were not moving, whilst Loki was doing his best to stop sobbing, staring up at his mother.

"Okay little ones, that's enough excitement. Who wants me to read them a story?" Frigga spoke softly whilst providing the widest smile she could.

At that offer, Thor and Loki immediately forget what they were doing, both raising their hands and chanting "ME, ME, ME!"

This had the benefit of both ending Loki's sobbing and allowing Kal to claim his prize which he promptly placed back in his mouth. The youngest had no idea what was happening but looking at the other two boys quickly raised his little hands mirroring them whilst sucking on the wooden toy.

Frigga smiled and with a quick cast of a spell set the rooms to right, the figurines bar the one Kal had flew back into a neat line by the rug on the floor, Loki's book quietly soared through the air and landed next to him, and a series of cups returned to their proper position on the table next to Frigga, ready to be filled with water for the children.

She moved her chair forward slightly and waited for the children to position themselves before she started her tale, Thor was quick to half-scramble to sit almost on top of her foot whilst Loki looked at Kal who was struggling to turn himself around and crawl towards her intent on joining Thor by her feet. Before Frigga could raise to help him, Loki had walked over and offered a hand, which whilst not much proved sufficient allowing Kal to turn and crawl over to her all whilst gripping his source of support.

Frigga smiled at the adorable scene which was made all the sweeter in her eyes when, upon reaching her feet, Kal did not let go of Loki, instead sitting next to his new brother hand in hand. In reward for his help, the infant also offered his new ally the small wooden figurine from his mouth which was hesitantly accepted, either because he was unused to toys being shared as he had Thor for a brother or more likely because of the large amounts of drool Kal had placed on them.

Nevertheless, Loki took it and the three boys settled in whilst Frigga regaled them with the tale of Odin's epic battle with the Surtr, which was aided by her conjuring images of the two to amuse the children. The boys watched in awe as the phantom Odin battled the illusionary Surtr with the two trading blows that caused small firework-like sparks to fill the air above the boy's heads.

All the while the real Odin watched as his wife enthralled the children with a slightly smug look on her face at having upstaged him by controlling the children, who still had not noticed his presence. Odin only merely smiled at her, remaining quiet as he listened to her child friendly and embellished version of his battle with Surtr the fire giant.

It was times like this that Odin was even more thankful to the Norns, than he always was, for placing Frigga in his life, she was his rock and had turned him from a petty conqueror into a true King. He half suspected that if had she not chosen to stay by his side Asgard, and all the Nine Realms would have fallen into complete chaos long ago.

Time slowly passed, with the children never noticing his presence, too entranced by the story until after Frigga had finished her story. It was starting to get late; the sun was almost fully set now and even Odin was feeling the need to retire for the day.

Frigga pointed over to where Odin stood and drew the children's attention to him. "Look who it is, yes it's Father back from his boring meetings."

The reaction was immediate both Thor and Loki turned around and upon seeing Odin broke into wide grins and rushed over to him, both immediately started jabbering away trying to be the first to tell him about their day. In response, he carefully placed Gungnir to one side and whilst chuckling leaned down to wrap both of them in a tight bear hug and then proceeded to lift them into the air one in each arm, which caused them to break out into laughter.

From Kal's perspective, he was somewhat left out of the fun as he did not yet have the fine skills to crawl swiftly over to the large, bearded man who smelled like trees and honey and thus was missing out on being lifted into the air. But before he could think about it the pretty golden lady had lifted him into the air.

"Up we go! Did you enjoy playing with your brothers?" Frigga asked with a broad grin whilst slightly bouncing Kal in her grip and gently tapping his nose.

Kal responded by babbling incoherently whilst smiling and clapping his hands together, conveying at least to Frigga's mind that he did indeed have fun. However, no sooner had he started than did a yawn broke free from his small lips and he began rubbing his eyes.

"Oh seems, this little warrior is ready for bed. Which reminds me that it's far past time you two should be heading off to bed, no?" Frigga said to the boys Odin was currently lifting.

A chorus of no's broke out from Odin's arms with the two elder boys declaring that they were not tired and had no need of sleep, just as Kal fell asleep in Frigga's grasp, his eyes fluttering closed despite his desire to stay awake.

Kal's new brothers' protests against sleep were quickly undermined when Loki began rubbing his eyes to stay awake and Thor provided a near-deafening yawn, which elicited a chuckle from both his parents.

"Come now boys, off to bed. A warrior needs to be well-rested after all and I promise that we will do something fun, maybe an outing to the Theatre how does that sound?" Odin offered, a blatant attempt to bribe his sons into going to sleep.

Which proved effective with both boys eagerly agreeing to the offered terms, with Loki offering a yawn before passing out in his father's arms with Thor following shortly behind his blonde head resting firmly on his father's shoulder. The room was now mostly quiet apart from the stifled snoring coming from Odin's right arm where Thor was nestling into his father's arm for warmth.

Odin gestured at Frigga to the door behind with his head whilst slighting raising each of his sons indicating that he intended to put them to bed himself, which his wife nodded at and then gestured to Kal in her arms showing she would take care of their youngest.

With that, the two briefly departed Odin making from Thor and Loki's room which were next to each other and just a slight distance from their parent's room. Whilst Frigga headed to Kal's nursery which all the children had once slept in, which was an adjoining room to her and Odin's own bedchambers.

Settling the lads proved of little effort for Odin, his only real difficulty was prying Thor off his arm without waking the lad but managed the feat through a combination of a warrior's skill and a small bit of magic. Whilst with Loki all Odin had to do was take the small figurine that he had been clutching and place it on the bedside table lest it be lost in the mountain of pillows and sheets which were Loki's bed.

After settling the children in for the night Odin retrieved Gungnir from the nursery and returned to his own chambers, gently placing his weapon in its rack on the wall before removing his armour, a task his wife assisted him with.

"Dam, this blasted armour has shrunk." Odin cursed as he fiddled with a clasp on his right shoulder.

"You're getting fat is what has happened." Frigga smiled at her husband whilst swatting his hand away and doing his clasp for him.

Odin glanced at his wife. "Fat? Is that how one speaks to the King is it?" he chuckled at her playfully.

"It is when he is getting fat." Frigga undid the last of his clasps letting his armour fall from his body, and to prove her point patted his stomach, which burgling he admitted had grown in recent years.

He sighed as he picked up the pieces of his armour and placed them on their own rack that stood beside his bed and next to a wall mirror the Allfather was now looking at. The image reflected back was one that had changed in recent years, grey was fast setting into his beard, sliver streaks were appearing in his hair, crow's feet were clearly visible around his eye and of course, he had only one eye left.

"You need not worry my love; you have strength enough left for the tasks ahead." Frigga offered a reassuring embrace, wrapping her arms around her husband's waist from behind.

Another deeper sigh escaped his lips, "Do I, my love? I fear the ages will catch up with me before we are ready."

"Of course, you have plenty of strength left. And if you fear growing weaker remember that I am always by your side and that whilst we may grow weaker with time our sons will grow stronger and they will take up the duties, we are no longer able to do. Now come to bed." Frigga voice offered no argument as she firmly dragged her husband from his pondering to their bed.

Odin pulled back the sheet and sat in his bed as his wife climbed in next to him, she gently placed one hand on his stomach whilst the other stroked his hair, Odin breathed deep taking in his wife's scent and warm soothing touch that always quieted his worries.

"Thank you, my love. I will ensure we have time to attend the theatre tomorrow, a king must keep his word. And besides, if I have to sit through another one of Mímir's reports for the fourth day in a row I might end up starting a war just to escape." Odin joked, causing his wife to chuckle.

"That sounds lovely, the children will enjoy having us both their and it will be good to show Kal out in public. The people need to get to know their new prince" Frigga shifted moving to get something from the nightstand on her side of the bed.

"Yes, my thoughts exactly, he seems to be in better health and can I ask what was happening when I walke- OH no, I don't need those blasted herbs." Odin's change of topic was a result of his wife shifting back with his evening herbs and a cup of water.

Odin whilst he loved his wife's caring nature and knowledge of medicine, lamented the bitter herbs she had him take every morning, noon, and night although he begrudgingly admitted they did help and were a large part of getting him through the day, they also made him feel old. Like he was some invalid only kept going via herbs and magic.

However, one sharp look from Frigga stopped any argument, Odin took the offered herbs and whilst muttering his discontentment consumed them with the water in one gulp. The effect was immediate the Allfather felt looser, more relaxed and a little drowsy too with sleep looming to overtake him at any moment.

"There we go not too bad, was it?" Frigga offered her rhetorical question with a smile. "And yes, Kal is doing better, I believe that starlight is the key he does much better when outside."

"Interesting, I will get Eir and Mímir-" Odin started yawning "to look into it."

"That would be for the best, and for the other matter your sons seem to have developed a petition for destruction." Frigga chuckled whilst she waved her hand using her magic to cause the light levels to begin dropping.

"Mmmm, we will have to look into correcting that." Odin started descending so that his head was firmly on his pillow.

"We? I spend nearly all day with them, stopping them from destroying the kingdom is on you ALLFATHER." Frigga offered, placing a kiss on her husband's cheek before turning over and drifting off to sleep for the night.

"Of course, my dear how foolish of me." He placed a his of own kiss on her cheek. "Sweet dreams my love." As he too settled down for the night.

'It cannot be that difficult to prevent his sons from causing any real damage to the realm, right?' He thought to himself as he began to close his eye for the night, before hearing a loud crash coming from Kal's room and the sound of laughter following.

'Right?