It was dark when Blader awoke. He raised himself up from the couch, twisting his neck to loosen his muscles. He had no clue what time it was.

Swinging his legs over the side of the couch, Blader blinked the sleep out of his eyes and glanced around the room. Skalfi was curled up in a chair, Sodull and Erik were sprawled across two of the benches, Deila sat in a chair with her head slumped against the wall, and Loqé lay on a couch near Blader's, her hands pillowed under her head.

He looked at the screen in the corner. The white numbers displaying the time of 4:45 on Manidagr were blinding in the darkness of the room. As he watched, the five shifted into a six. Blinking, he stood, stretching his limbs. He missed his bed.

Blader stepped out of the waiting room. The timekeeper from earlier had been replaced, the young man glancing over at him but not saying anything.

There wasn't anywhere to go in the small station. Besides a locked back room behind the timekeeper's desk, the waiting room, and the area between the two, there was nothing else in the place. Blader turned, heading back into the waiting room.

"Hey."

Skalfi had uncurled herself from her chair and her legs swung gently from where she had draped them over the arm. Her voice was quiet.

"Hey," Blader said, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing the others. Skalfi gestured to the chair beside her and he went to sit there.

"About forty minutes before we leave for Asgard," she said, glancing at Blader. Kicking her legs back over the arm, she shifted in her seat until she was sitting normally. "We'll be crossing Vigrid today."

Blader nodded and they sat in silence, staring out the window at the darkness outside. They could see the Bifrost through the thick glass, its colors giving off a faint glow in the night.

"It's strange to think we're going to Asgard," Blader said. "It's such a big part of all the legends, it's hard to believe we'll be there, actually there."

"Yes, it is," Skalfi said. "And to see Vigrid – that's where everything fell apart the first time. Well, I mean, where the culmination of things falling apart occurred. Things had already fallen apart by the Ragnarok happened."

"When Loki killed Baldor," Blader said quietly. "And showed his true colors once and for all."

Skalfi nodded. "Yes, that's it. When the gods realized the end was near and there was no longer anything to do about it."

Silence fell again as they pondered the stories they had both heard so often growing up. About how Baldor had been killed by the treacherous Loki, sent down to Helheim, his fate to rule over the Reborn Cosmos only realized after Ragnarok. Three gods, killed before Ragnarok, had come back to rule after the destruction of the Old Cosmos: Baldor, Nanna, and Hod, Baldor's brother who had inadvertently killed him and had been executed for his part in Loki's murder plot against the future High King.

At five o'clock, the timekeeper appeared in the doorway to the waiting room and announced, in a rather loud voice, "Thirty minutes until launch time!"

Loqé, Deila, Sodull, and Erik all jolted awake, looking various degrees of sleepy mixed with anticipation. After everyone grabbed something to eat and drink from the Sustain machine, warm granola bars and hot chocolate, they began to gather up their things, shields and swords going over their shoulders while their packs were carried in hand.

At fifteen minutes before five thirty, the timekeeper ushered them outside of the station. A chariot rested near the powerful bridge, a large, finely built horse harnessed to it. The animal nickered as the group approached it.

"At five thirty, the chariot takes off," the timekeeper warned. "Not a second before or after. So find your seats inside now. Akarn will not wait."

The horse tossed his head up, as if agreeing with the timekeeper.

Deila ushered her three recruits into the back of the chariot. The inside looked more like a ship, with short benches on either side of a middle aisle. Sodull and Erik sat up front, Deila and Skalfi across from them. Blader and Loqé took an empty bench behind them, their packs stowed at their feet.

The timekeeper checked the clock hooked to his belt. "Make sure you stay inside the chariot at all times. Do not stand while Akarn is moving; wait until he has come to a complete stop before disembarking. Once in Asgard, Avalt, the watcher, will give you further instructions." The timekeeper stepped back. "Safe travels."

Akarn tossed his mane as he pawed the ground impatiently, the passengers all gripping the oaken seats. The timekeeper kept checking his watch until he clicked his tongue in satisfaction and called, "Time!"

Not a moment later, Akarn raced forward, rocketing from a standstill into a full out gallop. Blader felt his body jerk backwards and then fold forwards as Akarn hit the Bifrost and began to surge up it.

Wind tore through Blader's hair and yanked on his tunics. Deila's braid lashed him in the face as it flew out behind her and Skalfi's short hair flapped in the wind. The blues, reds, and yellows streaked past him, the colors all around the chariot seemingly without form or definition. The power felt in every step the Asgardian horse took vibrated through Blader's bones.

Within minutes, they were off the Bifrost and on solid ground once more. Akarn's stop was only slightly less jolting than his takeoff had been, and it took Blader several moments to realize that the ride was over. He still felt like he was flying forwards.

"Welcome!" came a booming voice, and a young, broadly built man walked towards them, holding a spear in his hand, a shield strapped to his back. "I am Avalt, the watcher. Welcome to Asgard."

Only then, as Blader started to stand, did he realize that he was actually in Asgard.

A vast plain spread out around him, grasses swaying in the slight breeze. A river meandered through the meadow, with groves of trees dotted along its banks. In the distance, he could see the towering walls of the city of Asgard, behind which loomed the monumental branches of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, the scarred trunk rising above the city and making it look tiny.

"Whoa," Skalfi breathed. Birds were twittering to each other close by, a pleasant sound, as the water made a soft noise, flowing past. Avalt smiled at the group.

"Please, dismount from the chariot. You are the einherjar recruits and their Valkyries, I presume?"

Loqé and Deila both nodded, fishing their badges from their belts to show the watcher. Avalt nodded and pointed his spear towards a dock by the river side. "You shall depart from there. A longboat will bring you to Vigrid."

The group bowed to the young god before making their way over to the dock, their footsteps sounding hollow against the wooden surface. The boat tied up there had a figurehead carved to resemble a raven, with wings outstretched, and several wooden benches in the center that were unoccupied. Manning the oars was a crew of rekkr, runic manifestations of sailors.

The boat rocked slightly as Blader stepped down into it, this time taking a seat beside Skalfi, right behind Sodull and Erik. Deila and Loqé sat behind them and a rekkr untied the boat from the dock. The oars all dipped into the water and the boat began to sail easily downstream.

"I feel vikingr," Sodull laughed, and Erik elbowed him in the ribs.

"You can't say that. That's loki."

"No, being vikingr is loki, not feeling like it. It's not like I'm actually pillaging or anything."

The boat moved down the river at a quick pace. Besides quick, excited conversation among the four recruits or comments exchanged between the two Valkyries, there wasn't much said. Most of the voyage was spent gazing at the scenery and watching Asgard's walls draw closer and closer.

It was afternoon when the boat came alongside a dock and the rekkr tied it up. The six passengers stepped up onto the dock, stretching after the long ride and gazing around as a young woman approached them. Blader glanced back at the rekkr. All afternoon he had been looking at them, trying to catch any emotion streaking across their faces, but the rekkr hadn't displayed any.

Then why did the rekkr I fought with show fear?

"Welcome to Vigrid," the young woman said in a soft voice. Although she didn't look any older than Deila, her eyes had that ageless quality about them, signifying her status as a god. "Valkyries and recruits, welcome. I am Akkeri, gatekeeper of Vigrid."

Akkeri turned, slowly walking down the dock's length as the others followed her. When she stepped off the wooden planks and onto the grass, she waved her hand forwards.

"Vigrid is held in great respect among the inhabitants of our Cosmos. It was where the gods saw the worlds reborn, where peace was established. It is the site of our downfall, of the end of an era. Therefore, we shall walk silently through the meadow, where blood was spilled and worlds were killed, to demonstrate our respect for this sacred place."

She set off across the grass, following a path worn through the meadow. Blader, Loqé, Deila, Skalfi, Sodull, and Erik trailed after her, wordlessly.

Even if Akkeri hadn't asked for silence, Blader was pretty certain she would have received it. There was something awing about the field, something that demanded respect. Perhaps it was the huge runestones, reaching towards the heavens with names and actions inscribed upon them. Or perhaps it was the burial mounds, symbolically raised to commemorate all the deaths that had occurred here in the days of past. Whatever it was, whatever the cause of the spell was, it held everyone silent as they walked slowly through Vigrid.

The runestones and burial mounds were often placed near each other, the heroic feats the runestone described often done by the one honored by the mound. Freyr, Odin, Thor, Tyr, Heimdall, and more were memorialized, and more mounds and stones were spread out away from the path. Freyja, Frigga, the einherjar, the Valkyries. For Loki, all there existed was a spear, thrust point first into the ground with a runic snake engraved onto the thick handle. A cairn of stones surrounded the head of the spear.

Blader hated to admit it, but the stories of Loki and his relationship to the gods often reminded him of his friendship with Jorid. Although Sodull and Erik exchanged skeptical glances at the spear to Loki and Skalfi straight up rolled her eyes, Loqé and Deila refusing to look at it, Blader found himself understanding the sentiment that had led to its being implanted there.

Some bonds just don't fade, even when broken.

Before the small group, constructed on the edge of the memorial plain, stood Vigrid Settlement, the einherjar training camp and home. Blader's eyes widened. The walls of the settlement weren't as high or impressive as those of the city beyond, but they were still thick and strong, designed to withstand attack. At the front gates was a watchtower, rising above the walls to look out over Vigrid.

Akkeri didn't speak until they had passed the last burial mound and runestone marker. Then she stopped. "Behold, the Vigrid Settlement, home and heart of the einherjar."

"Who goes there?"

The voice came from the platform on the watchtower. A man looked down at the group, holding a bow in his hands, with no arrow on the string. He wore leather armor over his tunics and a short sword hung from his belt, a quiver hanging from his shoulder.

Akkeri lifted her face to the tower. "I present to you four einherjar recruits and their Valkyrie handlers."

The man turned, calling down for the gates to open. Slowly, the gates swung inward and Akkeri led Blader, Sodull, Erik, Skalfi, Loqé, and Deila into the settlement. An einherjar guard met them, nodding to the goddess as she stepped to the side.

"Welcome," he said. "You are the last group of einherjar to arrive. The welcoming ceremony starts in half an hour, in the central area. I will escort you there, and after the ceremony you will receive your assignments."

Blader glanced around as they followed the guard. The streets were wide, paved with stones. Barracks lined the streets, separated every now and then by dining halls and supply huts. Large, open areas were placed before training halls, and small groups of einherjar patrolled by them, glancing at the group as they passed.

The guard led them to the central area before the main hall, a large, square space filled with other recruits and their Valkyries. There, the guard left them.

"Magni and Modi will come out to give a welcoming speech," Loqé said quietly to Blader. "All of the recruits have arrived over the course of the last week, but tonight is the official welcome."

They waited in tense silence until the doors to the main hall swung open and Magni and Modi Thorson strode out. The gods were both tall, even for gods, and both shared the features of their father, Thor, strong and fierce. The two brothers strode up onto the stage constructed before the hall and gazed out at the mass of einherjar recruits.

"Welcome to Vigrid!" Magni shouted. "Welcome to Asgard, einherjar recruits!"

The recruits all cheered. The gods raised their hands in the air, both holding on to Mjolnir, the legendary hammer. A gasp rippled through the crowd at the sight of it.

"Today, you join us as recruits!" Magni continued, releasing the hammer and striding to the edge of the stage. Modi continued to hold the hammer aloft. "But in several months, you will be tested through the Reenactment, through the days of past, through Ragnarok, and you will return to us as einherjar!

"In the ensuing weeks, you will be placed through rigorous training to prepare you for the Reenactment, the test of your honor, skill, and courage. When you emerge on the other side of the trials drawn from the days of past, you will be ready to join the ranks of your comrades, defending peace across the Nine Worlds of the Reborn Cosmos."

More cheering ensued from the recruits.

Magni grinned wryly as Modi stepped forward. Not as broad or tall as his brother, Modi still exuded confidence as his father was said to have done in the days of past.

"So welcome!" he said. "The gods welcome you to Vigrid. Live and die with honor!"

The recruits cheered louder as the Valkyries applauded. As Modi and Magni stepped down from the stage, an older einherjar walked to the edge and waved his hands for silence. "All recruits, find your Valkyrie. She will take you to your barracks, where you will receive your assignments."

/**/

Blader has arrived at Vigrid! What did you guys think? Of Asgard, of the walk through Vigrid, of their welcome to the settlement?

Quick note: last chapter, I introduced the god who entered the station as Vali, when I meant to say Vidar. The correction has already been published, so going forward, the god checking on the wolves is Vidar.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and let me know what you think! Leave a vote and a comment!

Skylar Wittenborn