The days began to blend together as training began. It was the same schedule, every day, except on Soldagr, which was a day of rest, a day where the recruits were allowed outside the walls of Vigrid to enjoy the sunshine of spring.

The day started with a long morning run around the walls of Vigrid and Asgard, where Blader got to stare up at the beautiful walls surrounding the city of the gods and also see the colossal, scarred trunk of Yggdrasil. It was breathtaking, which wasn't ideal seeing as Blader needed all of his breath for that run.

Breakfast was served before history class, which went over both the history of the Old and Reborn Cosmos', the most important things einherjar had to know. Blader remembered a lot of it from his years of schooling, but to see what the gods thought it important to know was interesting. There was also a section where the teacher, a female einherjar in her late fifties, talked about the Reenactment.

Sodull asked his question about Dyr Gunar first chance he got, on the first day. The teacher regarded him for a moment, eyebrow lifted, before answering. "Recruit, Dyr Gunar was deemed fit to be a recruit and the Reenactment affirmed he had the integrity needed to serve. And if you examine his service record, you will see that his five years after the Reenactment were blemish free. Only in the year leading up to the Battle of Sigra were any irregularities in his behavior noted. So no, the Dyr Gunar case does not prove the Reenactment faulty – it only proves people are."

Sodull did not look satisfied with that answer, and neither was Blader.

After history came dueling, where the recruits armed themselves with their swords and shields and practiced the art of sword fighting. A lunch break came after that, followed by survival training – learning what plants served as food and which ones were poison, how to follow a trail, whether human or animal, how to build a shelter, and other essential skills. Wolfsted excelled in survival training, which made sense with him being from Aldri.

Group maneuvers were next, allowing them to practice moving as a unit when marching or charging into battle. Horseback lessons came after survival training, and Blader always enjoyed this time of the day. It was where he could pretend he was back home on Fjorsen, helping Hilda round up the cattle. His years of riding made him one of the experts in the class.

Basic weapons training occurred after the horseback riding, where spears, axes, and bows were introduced to the recruits before the general workout. This was where the recruits were allowed to create their own workout schedule to best suit their weak points and skills, although there were certain areas in which they were required to train. A cooldown happened after the workout, which was followed by cold showers.

The short social period following dinner was the only time during the day when Blader had any time to just think. If he didn't feel like talking, he would barely listen to his friends as he let his mind wander. It never got far, however, before his attention was yanked back to the present by a question or a comment.

Their group remained the six of them, Blader, Sodull, Erik, Skalfi, Wolfsted, and Vandri. Despite their differences, they stuck together at meals and in the evening, talking about their training and asking about each other's pasts.

Wolfsted came from a large family of bounty hunters. His three older brothers and one older sister were all hunters; it was the family tradition. The Kyll family had been bounty hunters for as far back as Wolfsted could recall. He himself would have been a hunter, but he had decided the einherjar would be a better opportunity for him. Aldri was filled with the bounty hunters that crossed the border into Jotunheim to hunt among the mountains, but those same hunters also could be paid to track down elusive criminals. There was more money in the army, he told Blader.

Vandri, a second generation legacy, was from a well-to-do family in the upper circles of Hraustliga. Her mother had served in Intelligence and had several medals for her service. Vandri had chosen to enlist to continue her mother's legacy and to earn a name for herself.

Sodull and Erik were the sons of merchants in Drottning. Best friends since a young age, they had wanted to enlist since they had been kids. "Fishing's so dull," Sodull had said in a joking tone. "And the only not dull part is the vikingr, and we aren't supposed to like them showing up."

The vikingr, the sea raiders, often sacked villages and cities along the coast, Drottning being an especial target. But its walls served to keep the pirates out and provided a source of protection to the inhabitants of the city.

Skalfi talked the least about her past. She hadn't known Sodull and Erik until enlisting, so there was nothing they could say about her. The only thing she mentioned about her life was her younger brother. But her lack of details went unnoticed by the others, she choosing often to fence questions onto others to keep the attention from herself.

It took Blader a couple weeks to realize he knew next to nothing about Skalfi's past. She was so friendly, so personable, that one felt like he knew her extremely well when he in fact didn't. That's how the group seemed to see Skalfi; there was no need to ask questions of someone they already knew so well.

[----]

As the end of their two month training period drew close to finishing, the horseback rides in the afternoon became more and more important to Blader. Being able to escape from the mounting pressures of training, if only for a little bit, was cathartic.

Blader had proved to be one of the best riders of his class, and Wolfsted and Skalfi had also shown great skill. In the week before the Reenactment was scheduled, their instructor allowed the three of them greater freedom during their lessons, realizing they already knew what they needed to know.

The walls of Asgard sailed past as Blader galloped his horse through the field outside the city of the gods. Wolfsted was right behind him, his dark hair blown back by the wind, as Skalfi rode behind them, her horse slightly slower than theirs. Vigrid faded out of sight as they followed the curve of the walls until they were behind Asgard.

Although they ran this route every morning, seeing Yggdrasil rising above them still took Blader's breath away every time. He slowed his horse into a canter as Skalfi drew alongside the boys.

"That tree is really something," Wolfsted said, staring up at it. "It stood in the Old Cosmos, burned to the ground, and then regrew. Right? That's why it still has the scars."

"Right," Skalfi said softly. "The scars remind us of what was and why we lost it all the first time. They're supposed to teach us."

Wolfsted halted and Skalfi and Blader, cantering past him, slowed down and turned back to come up alongside him. He was still looking at Yggdrasil, a strange look on his face. "I want to see it. Closer."

Skalfi and Blader exchanged a look before Blader shrugged. "Sure, let's go."

Wolfsted still had that strange look as he urged his horse into a trot. The other two followed as they headed for the base of the huge tree, its leaf-bearing branches forming a thick, high roof over their heads. Blader had heard that Yggdrasil always had leaves, no matter what season it was.

Wolfsted halted his horse when they reached the edge of the root basin. The ground sloped away to create a depression that circled around the tree. Blader had heard that, in the days of past, the gods would meet here to discuss the affairs of the Nine Worlds. There were sacred wells by the exposed roots of the tree. It was a place that was not to be violated.

Dismounting, Wolfsted crouched by the lip of the slope, gazing down into the basin. Skalfi and Blader copied him, dropping the reins. Blader was very grateful the horses had been trained to ground tie, so they wouldn't leave.

"The roots," Wolfsted muttered as they crouched down beside him.

"Yes," Blader said. "What about them?"

Wolfsted glanced at him, narrowed his eyes, and then began to climb down the slope.

Skalfi shot Blader a glance, her eyes wide. "Wolfsted!" she hissed. "Come back!"

He ignored her and Blader grimly set off after him. With a sigh and a shake of her head, Skalfi slid down, following Blader as she muttered something under her breath.

As Blader reached the bottom, he glanced around. They stood outside the nest of roots, the twisted, gnarled coils arching up before digging into the soil. There was a waterfall off to their right, caused by the river they had sailed to Vigrid on, the water making a rushing sound as it splashed into a pool and then continued on in a smaller stream, snaking through the roots.

"Whoa," Skalfi breathed as she came to a stop beside Blader. "This is...whoa."

Wolfsted stood several feet before them, gazing up at the roots. Then he began to run forward, his boots making no noise on the soft, grassy ground.

"What's he doing?" Blader asked in an undertone. He felt like if he was to speak normally, the sacredness of the root basin would shatter.

Skalfi shrugged hopelessly. "I just hope this doesn't get us in trouble. We can't be late to rejoin the others."

The two of them headed off after Wolfsted, their muscles tense. Blader hesitated outside the root nest before he sighed and stepped underneath the arch, Skalfi right beside him. Suddenly, the air got darker, cooler. It was like they had just entered an entirely different world.

When Blader and Skalfi finally caught up with Wolfsted, he was crouched behind a thick root, his hand resting on the tree as he peered intently forward. Skalfi and Blader crouched beside him, following his gaze out into a small clearing between the roots.

Sunlight filtered down, touching on the heads of a small circle of beings. Blader instantly knew they were gods. They had the slight otherworldliness about them that the gods seemed to have, an ageless quality to their eyes.

Modi, Magni, and Vidar were there, along with three other gods he didn't recognize. Neither Baldor nor Nanna were present. Blader guessed the other three were probably Honir, Hod, and Vali. They had the same otherworldliness that the other three gods he did know had, a quality that seemed to be lacking in the children of the older gods. He tried to figure out which god was which and due to what he had learned, both over the course of his education and in his Vigrid history classes, he was able to place the names to the gods.

"Wolves," Hod muttered, shaking his head. He was tall and broad, but his brown eyes were dim. His feathery hair was a very light brown, cut short. "Why is it always wolves?"

"They were associated with Loki for a reason," Honir said softly. He was the tallest of the group, and wiry, his brown hair shoulder length but neatly kept. "They symbolize his chaos."

"Not exactly," Vidar said. "My father had wolves that served him."

Odin.

Vali was nodding. He resembled Vidar enough to be his half-brother, both sons of Odin. In the Old Cosmos, he had been the one to execute Hod for his hand in slaying Baldor. "Two wolves, untamed by any. We never spoke of them."

"Odin was the one to allow Loki into Asgard," Magni said. "He let the wolf in, and as a result, he died by the wolf."

There was silence for a moment as Honir tilted his head towards Vidar. "I heard Baldor has already received your report?"

Vidar nodded. "On the thirtieth day of Tyrmanadr, on a Freyjadagr, the wolves ran rampant over Midgard, launching attacks near all major settlements in the evening. This wasn't just the raids we have grown used to; this was an organized attack."

Modi frowned. "We are aware of the intelligence of these beasts, but how would they organize such an attack?"

"I haven't been able to find the source yet," Vidar said. "But I am afraid this will lead back to the Dyr Gunar plot."

"The Wolf King," Vali said with a snort of disgust. "But what power he had over the beasts was minimal. They were simply drawn to the chaos."

"I know," Vidar said. "But we were never able to apprehend everyone involved in the plot. Although we have rooted out many of his supporters, and discharged those einherjar suspected of allying with him, there were some who escaped our grasp. Unfortunately, we have no names."

The three recruits exchanged glances, Skalfi's face going hard as Blader tensed and Wolfsted absently brushed his hair out of his eyes, before they returned their attention back to the gods.

Hod stroked his bearded chin thoughtfully. "How did Baldor take this report?"

"He wasn't happy," Vidar said. "But who would be? He's spent his reign trying to erase Loki's mark on the Cosmos, only to see it repeatedly rise, under new guises. We are to increase our vigilance."

"What about the Reenactment?" Magni asked. "It is to be held soon."

"That will proceed as planned," Vidar said. "Baldor told me he is going to speak with the seers about extra precautions."

The gods nodded. "We will discuss this later," Vidar added. "With Baldor himself. But be vigilant."

"Always," the gods replied.

Blader's eyes widened. They had to leave before the gods did. He hastily rose, tugging at Skalfi and Wolfsted as he did so.

The three recruits ran as quietly as possible out of the root nest, clambering back up the slope to where their horses stood waiting. Mounting up, they swung their horses around and set off at a fast gallop, heading to where they had left their group.