https://youtu.be/6rTdW-651Lw

Oz's house was a homely little place. The walls had cream coloured wallpaper, and the floor had white wooden floorboards, all immaculate. The tables in the living room and kitchen were crafted from marble, while the antique chairs in the living room were covered in white leather and cushions. Out at the back, one could even find a garden filled with an assortment of flowers. It gave the impression that this was the home of an organised and tidy person - naturally, because Oz would never settle for anything less.

It had been several days since his sparring match with Yuri, and Oz awaited a response with bated breath. Day in and day out, he trained with Thor by his side, focusing mainly on how to break an enemy's guard by the latter's insistence.

One morning, just when Oz had begun to worry that his request had been ignored, he was met with a knocking on his door. Initially assuming it to be Thor, who had always arrived on time for their daily training, he was surprised when he saw someone else standing there. It was Yuri, dressed in uniform and holding a letter in her hands as she looked at him with her usual stoic expression.

"...Oz Abendroth, right?"

"That is I. Welcome, Eagle."

She studied closely the man who answered the door, as if she were trying to get used to Oz's face - she'd only recognised him with his mask on, and had never paid much attention to his face otherwise. Oz had caught onto this fairly quickly, but decided to simply allow her to study away. He could understand wanting to remember the face of someone you'd just met, even if she was being awfully blatant about it.

After a while of silence, however, he began to feel the awkwardness in the air and cleared his throat, stepping away from her with a crooked smile. "S-So, may I help you?" he asked, the first to speak. As he spoke, Yuri caught herself staring and nodded quickly, averting eye contact.

"Well...as we agreed, I talked to Svafrlami..." Yuri began, taking a deep breath as she tried to remind herself not to blow this. "And now...he has replied. He wanted me to give you this letter."

"Svafrlami, dismissing me? How depressingly on-brand." Oz lamented, watching as Yuri held out the letter. Slowly, he looked down at the neatly-folded envelope and took it, examining it. It was white in colour with a yellow wax seal shaped like a sun. On the back, one could see the words "To 'Mr. Comic'" neatly written in black ink. "Of course, he does have other obligations. I can accept that, disappointing as it may be."

"Have you two...talked before? Directly?" Yuri tilted her head, to which Oz chuckled and nodded.

"We have! I actually knew him from before I became a knight - though I believe he was still the Knight Commander back then." he replied, shrugging. "He's always been rather...cold, for lack of a more charitable term."

"He's not that bad..."

"I assure you, he is every bit that bad." Oz protested, slowly opening the envelope. "It's either that, or he simply doesn't like me - and as you can imagine, neither option is very good for me!"

"That makes sense." Yuri nodded slowly, watching him as he unfurled the paper within the envelope. "But...why wouldn't he like you?"

"I've been meaning to work that out myself." Oz admitted, reading the letter in his head. "Odds are, he simply finds me annoying, but it'd be nice to know for sure."

Yuri's eyes lingered on Oz as she stayed silent, allowing him to read while he hummed to himself. He, too, was focused, reading the letter and taking in its contents, eyes scanning over every scathing word:

"To Oz Abendroth,

A little bird has told me that you think you're ready for first class. And to that, I say 'what a sick joke'!

The very idea of you matching anyone higher than the rank-and-file in combat almost made me fall out of my throne in laughter. I almost had the poor girl who delivered the news to me punished for lying, but, gracious as I am, I instead elected to let her off with a warning.

Do you think you're some hero, Abendroth? Because as your superior, it is my duty to disabuse you of such foolish notions. You ought to stay in your lane, lest something bad happen.

Now, I shall not be hearing any of this nonsense from you again, or there will be consequences.

Yours sincerely, Svafrlami.

ADDENDUM: Thor and Odin spoke to me on this matter, and by their decree, you should at least be 'given a chance'. The moment you receive this letter, head to my quarters so we may discuss this properly.

Yours sincerely,

Svafrlami."

While initially disappointed, Oz quickly grew overjoyed once he read the addendum. Thor had come through for him in the end, and he would be eternally grateful for that. As he put the letter away, Yuri watched him closely. "You seem rather happy."

"He accepted!" Oz beamed brightly, resisting the urge to do a happy dance on the spot. "And it was all thanks to Thor! Oh, this is amazing!"

"A-And on the topic of Thor..." Yuri murmured, clearing her throat as Oz looked at her curiously. "Are you...actually friends with the God of Thunder?"

"Hmm? Do you know another Thor?" Oz asked casually, much to Yuri's surprise.

"But...he's an Aesir! How are you so friendly with a god?"

"Well...he's like a mentor to me." Oz told her, looking up to the ceiling with a wistful expression. "We met shortly after I arrived in Asgard, and he taught me everything I would need to know to survive as an einherjar. It's thanks to him that I can fly, and it's thanks to him that I'm as strong as I am."

"How...kind." Yuri smiled slightly, and Oz nodded in agreement, only for them both to jump in startlement as they heard a familiar voice calling out from behind Yuri.

"Oz! You never told me you were bringing a girl over!" the thunderous voice of Thor boomed. Both of them turned to look where he was, and saw him walking up to the house on the mossy, rocky path leading up to it.

Oz smiled a little more as he watched the god approach him, while Yuri bowed her head in respect. "Good morning, Thor!" he exclaimed, holding up the letter again. "Look! Svafrlami got back to me!"

"How wonderful! I take it he accepted?"

"He did. Only because you and Odin made him, though..."

"Ah, I see..." Thor murmured. "Well, thank you for delivering it, Yuri. I presume that's what you're here for?"

"I-I..." Yuri didn't finish her sentence, instead nodding quickly to confirm it. After a moment of silence, she then said, "I...will be taking my leave now. You two should do the same."

"But of course! We wouldn't want to keep Svafrlami waiting, would we?" Thor glanced at Oz, who nodded in agreement. Patting Yuri on the shoulder, he gave her a thumbs-up. "Stay safe, Yuri!"

"Godspeed, Eagle!" Oz added, giving a friendly wave. Yuri, watching, took a deep breath and waved back, before turning around.

"...Good luck." she murmured, before quickly heading out, running off to parts unknown. Thor and Oz both watched as she left, smiling as they did.

"What a nice girl." Oz commented, stepping towards the exit. "Shall we be off, then?"

"Of course!" Thor nodded, making way for him to leave before walking with him. "Now, it shouldn't be too far from here, so there's no need to worry. At worst, he might just get a little angry."

"And a little anger, I can bear." Oz sighed, taking in the fresh air of Asgard as he and Thor walked. Away from his quaint little house, with his destination being somewhere far more grand.

.........

https://youtu.be/YyknBTm_YyM

Despite not being quite the ruler of the Great Sky, Svafrlami's quarters looked more like a throne room than the quarters of a knight commander. With a rounded ceiling with multiple banners trailing off it - mainly coloured in yellow, with golden images of wings printed on them. They served as an adequate decoration, but the second-most striking feature was the walls, more accurately described as a collection of compartments, each one storing a different weapon. There were swords, spears, axes, and more, each one of a varying level of magnificence.

The most, of course, was the golden carpet leading directly up to the great, golden and majestic throne, truly fit for a king. And, slouching in the chair was the beautiful knight commander himself; Sir Svafrlami.

Just as gold was the prominent colour of his room, it was also the colour of his eyes, which had a lot of pride reflected in them - and under one of said eyes was a small but visible mole. His hair was brown, and it was fairly short, barely heading past the top of his neck, but incredibly tidy and professional-looking, swept slightly to the side. As for attire, he was wearing a breastplate and armour on his arms, both coloured gold, and his legs were covered in black trousers and shoes. Over that, he wore a white-coloured cloak, held together with a white pauldron, shaped vaguely like a wing. All he was missing was a crown to truly look like a king.

Kneeling on either side of his throne were a pair of rough, sturdy-looking men, both dressed in chain mail and iron boots - one armoured in black and the other in white, with a large emblem with the letter 'D' inscribed on a chestplate in a large yellow font. These men were fair-skinned, bald and muscular with a bit of stubble, but slightly short of stature despite seeming to be in their twenties. The two of them, with dusters in hand, were polishing the seat to a shine.

As Svafrlami gazed upon his surroundings, abject boredom on his face, he suddenly looked up as he heard a knocking on the door at the entrance and cleared his throat as he looked ahead. "And who is this?"

"It is I, Oz!"

At once, apathy turned to contempt as he narrowed his eyes, sighing audibly. "Come in, I guess." he said. "And if you brought that god with you, tell him to wait outside."

"Of course, of course. Thor, could you?"

"I suppose I will have to, although I will be listening."

"Thank you! And now, in, I go!"

As Svafrlami snapped his fingers, an unlocking sound could be heard, and slowly Oz opened the door, walking in and treading along the golden carpet. Smiling nervously, he eyed his extravagant surroundings and sighed, wondering if the commander was perhaps overcompensating for something.

Now standing exactly nine feet in front of him, Oz bowed his head respectfully, his hand pressed to his heart. "Good day, Sir Svafrlami."

Svafrlami stared coldly at him for a few seconds before shaking his head, snapping his fingers once again as a glowing runic circle appeared, the green symbol of 'ᛇ' lying boldly in the centre. Oz looked back to find motes of light rising from it, forming a short wooden chair. "Take a seat, will you?"

"Aye aye, commander." Oz nodded obediently, stepping back to sit in the chair. Though it felt rather uncomfortable, he made the most of this anyway, doing his best to recline in his seat with one leg crossed over the other. Looking up at him with a more cheerful smile, he took a deep breath. "Now, I'd like to thank you for this golden opportunity."

Svafrlami rolled his eyes before glaring at him. "Before I am forced to remove your chair privileges, let's talk business." he said, sitting up slightly. "You're here because you think you're strong enough to rise above your rank, correct?"

"That's correct." Oz nodded slowly, looking up at him as he rested his arms on the armrests. "I made sure to prove it, too! As I'm certain Yuri already told you."

Svafrlami nodded slowly, looking to his two servants and clapping quickly to get their attention. "Dvalin, Durin! Fetch me the mission file!"

The two shorter men nodded, getting up from the throne and saluting before they disappeared into a gold-coloured, wooden door at the back. Svafrlami looked back at him, shaking his head as Oz smiled excitedly at him. "Ooh, the mission file..."

"Stop looking at me like that." Svafrlami spat. "Now, then, as I'm sure you understand, I can't simply take your word on this..."

"What of Yuri's word? Or Thor's, for that matter?"

"You should know not to talk over me like that, Abendroth." Svafrlami scolded, his tone somewhat threatening. Oz took a deep breath and looked up at him, meeting his eyes.

"I apologise. But I was merely pointing something out."

"And I was merely disregarding it." Svafrlami said calmly, his expression replaced with a smirk as he rested his cheek against his hand, returning to his slouching position. "Now, you'd better watch that tongue of yours, lest I disregard this entire farce."

Oz sighed, deciding he ought to listen and sitting up straight, no trace of a smile on his face. He remained silent as his superior spoke. "As I was saying, I cannot simply take your word on this matter. It would be an utter catastrophe if we made our important decisions based on 'he said/she said', would it not?" he told him, ignoring Oz as he rolled his eyes. "So I intend to send you on a mission. That way, you will be able to prove your worth directly."

Once he finished speaking, Dvalin and Durin opened the door and reappeared at Svafrlami's side, the one in white holding a yellow folder filled with papers. Svafrlami didn't even spare them a look, instead holding his hand out as the dwarf put the folder in his hand, and he began looking through it. "Let's see..."

"If I might chance a guess," Oz began, looking up at him while averting eye contact. "I have reason to assume that you might give me a ridiculously difficult mission as an attempt at getting rid of me."

"And what reason could you possibly have for assuming that?"

"Well, first things first, I am the protagonist here, and you're my superior, who isn't even making a token effort at hiding his disdain for me. I've read enough stories to see where this is going."

"You're being ridiculous as usual, Abendroth." Svafrlami said, not looking up from the files as he found one, smiling a little and pulling it out. "Ah, I believe I received this one just this morning...this will be perfect."

"Oh? And what is it?" Oz asked, silently praying for a mercy that he knew would not be granted. Svafrlami smirked slightly, staring at the paper and nodding his head.

"Have you ever heard of Fenrir, Abendroth?" Svafrlami asked, to which Oz perked up and nodded.

"I have! He's one of the most well-known beasts in the mythology this book's based-"

"Of course you haven't. Allow me to explain."

"...pardon? I said I have-"

Oz was cut off by a blade-shaped blast of golden light magic striking him in the chest, causing him to fall off the chair and land on his back. As he groaned, he looked up to see Svafrlami with his hand held up. "Next time, I won't miss."

"But you didn't miss..." Oz protested, beginning to stand up. Svafrlami, for his part, looked at him and gave him a wide smirk, watching him rise to his feet.

"I assure you, I did." was all he said in response, sitting comfortably in his throne. Once Oz had picked up his seat and returned to sitting in it, Svafrlami continued. "Now, as I was saying, Fenrir is a monstrous wolf, and a true beast whose power has only been kept in check these past centuries by Gleipnir! Do you know what that is?"

Silence. "Didn't think so. Gleipnir is the name of the chamber in which our king, Odin, has imprisoned this wolf. It exists in Midgard, land of the humans, and he has been there for over five-hundred years." Svafrlami explained. "As luck would have it, however, he has somehow broken free of his constraints, and is, to say the least, not happy."

He looked down at Oz with a neutral expression, beginning to sit up. "The good news is, after spending so long restrained, his strength is not what it once was. The bad news, however, is that he has already claimed the lives of dozens of humans and even some of our soldiers. The power of hate can be a strong motivator, after all." he said. "A perfect test, no?"

"I-I'm not too sure about this..."

"I'll take that as a yes." Svafrlami gave that little smirk once again, reminding Oz just why he didn't like the man. "You are to kill this beast on your own. No backup, and no getting Thor to do your work for you. If I see him doing more than Patron duty, I'll take that letter and shove it down your throat!

Oz nodded blankly, having steadied even his breathing at the order to kill. He didn't want to have to take a life, but it would be okay, right? Because Fenrir was just a mindless beast, right? Because it was all for the greater good...right? As he did his best to swallow his doubts, he looked up at his superior, who with the same smirk, gestured towards the door. "You're dismissed. Go."

Without a word, Oz got up from the uncomfortable seat and turned around, heading to the exit as Svafrlami watched him. Once he left through the door, Svafrlami breathed a sigh of relief before turning his attention to Dvalin and Durin, glaring at the two dwarves who were staring dopily at the scene. "Well? Get back to work!" he snapped, and at once, they scrambled to return to their duties.

Meanwhile, Oz emerged into a vast corridor, where Thor was waiting next to the door, and made sure to shut the door behind him before letting out a similar sigh of relief. "That man is a sociopath."

"I take it you didn't enjoy yourself, did you?" the red-haired god asked, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. Watching Oz shake his head quickly, he simply nodded. "I wish I could have done something about him, but he is Odin's grandson. Even I couldn't touch him without any consequences..."

"Ah, a shame." Oz frowned, beginning to walk down the corridor with Thor in tow. "I guess we're heading to Gleipnir, then."

"He never did give you an exact location, did he?" Thor crossed his arms, shaking his head. "But it should be fine, yes? We can just head over to Gleipnir and follow the carnage."

"And if we do, we'll find Fenrir!" Oz exclaimed. "And that, unfortunately, is the easy part."

"The hard part will be fighting him..." Thor agreed, as the two of them stepped out of a door. "Let's hope that centuries of restraint have weakened him down to your level of strength."

Oz smiled, hope beginning to shine onto his face as he looked ahead. "Of course! I've had the world's best combat instructor, after all!"

"Can't get better than a war god!" Thor chortled heartily. The two of them exchanged smiles and laughs as they saw a door, leading out of the headquarters. From there, they would make their way to the Val Gate; the door of the heavens, and the first step to Oz's path to knighthood.