Time had never passed slower. With the crushing weight of the hammer on his back, it felt like eternity until Ard eventually heard steps nearing. Seconds later, the doors opened and he looked up as much as his extremely uncomfortable position allowed him to.

Thore, together with 4 guards, entered his room.

"Will you behave now or do I have to drag your carcass to the council hall, hammer and all?"

"I know you're desperate to have your toy back...go on, take it."

"One wrong move and the servants can sweep up your charred remains."

Thore stretched his hand out and the hammer flew back to its owner.

Ard got up. His body ached and his neck felt stiff.

Thore would pay for this, but now wasn't the time. The god of thunder had taken all weapons off him before he left and he had no idea where Eldri was. The bond between them didn't respond, which worried him. Whatever was about to happen, he needed to make a plan quickly.

"What are we waiting for?" he said. "We don't want to be late for this lovely little gathering."

Two guards grabbed him either side but Ard shook them off.

"There's no need," he said, flashing his teeth.

With two guards in front and two behind him, followed by Thore, Ard was escorted out of the north wing.

***

When the guards opened the gates to the council chamber, Ard didn't know where to look first.

All Elders lined up to one side of the hall, his father sitting on the throne and his brother Arl...standing next to his oldest brother Atlas. Ard couldn't believe his eyes.

Hella. Hella was there too. The goddess of darkness was standing on the other side of the hall, her eyes fixed on Atlas - her prize, her possession. She looked different to the last time he saw her. Her originally black hair was now golden blond and one of her onyx eyes now blue. One side of her grey and near skeletal face looked rejuvenated with fresh, pale ivory skin. What a peculiar look.

"How? What...?"

But Ard's thoughts didn't manifest into words. All this was too unbelievable.

His brother was back from Niflheim, Hella in Valhalla, his father on the throne. It was hard to grasp. What in the Wyrd's name had happened here!?

"Welcome Ard!" Asereth said. "I know it's been a bumpy start but I hope that from here onwards the meeting will go smoothly and more pleasant for everyone involved, especially with such special guests present.

Ard looked over to his brothers. Arl seemed confused but clearly pleased to see his long lost brother. Atlas though, his face a mask of nothingness.

"You might wonder what brought queen Hella here..."

"Queen!?" Ard snorted. "She is hardly a queen!"

Hella hissed and as if able to turn into a veil of darkness, she disappeared where she was standing just a second ago just to appear right behind Ard, laying a skeletal hand on his shoulder whilst dragging a sharp nail of the normal hand along his throat, drawing blood. Her smell was burning his nostrils. Decay. Damp. Death.

She whispered in his ear "You have grown even more handsome since the last time I saw you. I thought I picked the best brother...maybe I was wrong."

Ard turned around with godly speed and grabbed her by the neck.

"I'll break your rotting bones!"

Hella laughed and his grip thightened. Hella laughed lauder.

"Enough!" the highest Elder shouted. "We have a peace treaty. She must not be harmed!"

"Then tell her to keep her dirty claws to herself!"

Indeed, her nails were resembling claws. Remarkably long, black shiny claws.

Where Hella was a second ago, there was suddenly only air between Ard's hands. The goddess of darkness manifested back on the other side of the hall.

"Poisonous bitch from hell!" Ard looked over to his father. "How can you allow that murderous demon to be here in this hall? She was banned from Asgaard for all eternity!"

No answer from Wodran, instead, Asereth spoke.

"It's not your judgement to make. As you shall find out, once we can leave this little quarrel behind us, there is a good reason why her presence was requested, or shall I say why Atlas' presence was required."

Asereth smiled purposefully at Hella and added "And we are extremely grateful that she followed our invitation."

Just the thought of "inviting" Hella to Asgaard seemed absurd. He let his eyes wander around the hall.

His oldest brother still looked oddly disengaged, as did his father despite Ard addressing him. Asereth seemed to speak on his behalf these days.

The leader of the Elders stepped onto the podium, assuming a position visible for all that had gathered.

"Gods and Goddesses," he said as he raised both arms as a gesture of official welcome.

"Thank you for following my invitation. I'm pleased to see that most of you did so voluntarily."

Thore sniggered.

"We have gathered here today for a divine purpose. A prophecy was delivered to us by the fate bringers, the Norns. I cannot go into detail about the nature of the prophecy but I can assure you that the fate of our race is in danger," he stopped for a minute to take in the reactions and then continued.

"Hence...today...we need to find out a crucial piece of information, which involves the three sons of our king - Wodran."

Asereth bowed towards the king, who didn't so much as blink.

"With Wodran's permission, we have brought together general Arl, leader of the winged legion, general Ard, leader of the cavalry as well as Atlas, consort to queen Hella of Niflheim...for testing."

Ard's brother Arl suddenly looked alerted, he clearly didn't know what this meeting really was about.

Two guards pushed Ard towards his brothers.

"What are you doing?" he barked at them.

"Ard, we need your cooperation. It won't take long, I give you my word."

Asereth whispered instructions to some other guards who rushed to bring a small wooden table and set it in front of the brothers. The crowd gathered around them.

"Whatever it is you're doing, I will not be part of it!"

Ard pushed the guard on his right out of the way but Thore was immediately in front of him, hammer raised.

"Please Ard, don't make this difficult. Wodran gave his permission for Thore's lighting to be used".

In that hazy state the king was in, Ard had no doubt this to be true. He wasn't himself. He was a brainwashed marionette. He would allow his ass to be grilled by that hammer wilding hermit. How did this happen?

Damn Asereth, damn Thore, damn his father.

There was nothing he could do. Lugh and Hera weren't there and neither was Eldri. Both of his brothers were useless and wouldn't help him - one under the spell of the goddess of darkness and one under Asereth's thumb. Some of the Elders, particularly Turid and Namant, he thought of as friends, but surely they wouldn't dare rise against their leader.

Asereth, followed by Hector, walked over to the brothers and stopped on the opposite side of the table.

"Kneel," he ordered.

Arl turned his head to his brother but Ard didn't want to look at him. Fool. If he was smarter and true to his blood they'd perhaps stand a chance now.

"Kneel!" Asereth repeated in a more powerful voice.

Ard had no other choice but to kneel. All three of them did.

"Now put your left hands on the table, one on top of the other."

He might be the youngest, but he would be the one to make Asereth pay for this betrayal, would make them all pay.

"You will regret his," he said to the Elder.

The council hall was so quiet and his words barely a whisper yet they seemed to bounce off the ancient walls, a promise to be heard by those who were against the corrupting powers at work here, and a threat to those guilty of the corruption.

The three brothers had their hands stacked on top of each other. Asereth gave a signal to Thore, who pulled out a long, thick nail from underneath his armour.

Arl looked at Asereth in fear.

"Highest Elder..." but whatever he was about to say was cut off by Thore holding the nail over Arl's hand. Without hesitation he swung his hammer and forced the nail through the flesh of the three gods. Arl flinched, Atlas seemed unfazed, as if he was in a trance, and Ard couldn't feel any pain. His brain was flooded with adrenaline from the hatred he felt, the raging anger towards Asereth.

The Elder pulled out a small ampule filled with swirling liquid. Ard knew all too well what it was.

Asereth kissed the ampule and whispered "You have received our sacrifice, now reveal the truth."

He pulled the nail out of their hands, opened the silver stopper and poured the liquid into their wounds.

For a second, time stood still. No one was breathing. A few more seconds passed, everyone was staring at the silver translucent liquid now mixing with the young gods' gushing blood.

"Reveal him, him who the prophecy is about!" Asereth said nervously.

Nothing.

"It's not working," he muttered. "It's...why...it's not working...," despair written on his face.

The liquid stopped swirling and glowing.

There was hysterical laughter. Hella couldn't contain herself.

"Asereth, you old fool! I didn't think you'd be able to handle matters like this. You are too weak!"

Asereth still in disbelieve over his failed ritual stared at her like a helpless baby.

"I told you, should you bring me here for silly reasons not worth my while I'll require compensation."

Holy three faced goddess.

"Him," she said and pointed with a bony, sharp nailed finger at Ard. "I'll take him."

"Me?" Ard stared at her in disgust.

"Not in a million years will I go with you!"

Hella smiled at him.

"You will. I've made a deal with Asereth and if he won't honour it we'll be at war."

There was only one thing Ard could do. Things were already so bad that it didn't matter anymore whether he'd jeopardise his position he'd worked so hard for. Valhalla wasn't the same, something dark had infiltrated his home and tarnished everything he believed in and once stood for. He had to escape Hella's clutches at all cost.

He went into warrior mode. Everything faded into the background, only his target on the radar. He needed a weapon, a powerful one. His father was still sitting motionless on his throne, his three-pronged spear Gungnir on his side. Gungnir was the most powerful weapon of all and would only answer to Wodran. But the power was in the blood. The only gods who could take the spear off the king were his sons. Stealing from the king warranted capital punishment but Ard didn't have any other option to escape. He had to get to the throne, which was well protected by hordes of guards.

As fast as lightning, Ard grabbed the bloody nail that Thore had left on the table and before Thore could react, he rammed the nail into the chest of the god of thunder, then turned around and shot towards the guards lined up in rows in front of the king. Thore issued a battle cry, swung his hammer and threw it after Ard into the crowd of guards.

Ard leapt out of the way. The hammer ploughed through the crowd, leaving a swathe of unconscious guards in its trail. Before the hammer reached Wodran, Thore called it back.

That was his chance. Ard ran over to the throne, guards on his back and Thore readying to strike again. One big leap and Ard had his hand on Gungnir. As he pulled the spear from his father's side, the king, wide eyed, grabbed him. Without thinking, Ard punched him as hard as he could. There was a sound of bones breaking. He yanked the weapon out of the leather belt when the hammer smashed into his side.

Ard crashed into the wall, clutching the spear. Thore walk over, swinging his weapon over his head. Ard god up and shot a bright wave of power with Gungnir that hit the god of thunder so hard that he conveniently smashed backwards into Hella. Both tumbled over. Nice.

Ard ran, shooting guards left and right with the power of the spear, but where would he go? His plan didn't reach any further than stealing Gungnir.

"Strike him with your lighting!" Asereth shouted. "Stop him! Don't let him escape!"

Once more that day, Ard ran for the gates, shooting gushes of power waves over his shoulder as he fled.

The floor started to vibrate. Deja-vu. The thundering of angry clouds grew louder. Thore would strike him. This time he would do it. Ard ran faster, the air sizzled with electricity. Just before he reached the gates, a light appeared – bright and blinding. He closed his eyes, he would die now. That was it.

The sound of thunder faded. Ard opened his eyes, surprised to feel very much alive. In front of him stood the three Norns.