Okay, so it has nothing to do with the chapter, but I find this to be so true...

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After coming back from the pits of my memories, the rest of the night was composed of a big feast. I begged to be let out of it, but Son-rah informed me that it was my duty to attend this and to enjoy myself, mainly because she said this whole thing was being hosted in my honor. I think that they just were looking for any excuse to celebrate, so I reluctantly joined in because I could see how much the Dryads needed good news and I was it.

About twenty minutes into the party, I was informed that it was the guest of honor's duty to accept any challenge given to them, which worried me slightly; I knew that the dryads were infamous for their drinking abilities, and I desperately did not want to deal with a hangover while speaking to Odin's representatives the next morning. I suppose that it was a good thing that I was in no position to refuse, because the instant I reluctantly agreed to this stipulation, the who crowd cheered and I was led from table to table, being congratulated and challenged to countless contests of both the eating/ drinking variety as well as competitions of strength.

I took the easy road out of anything to do with alcohol by claiming that I could not drink anymore after just one drink; thankfully, this didn't cause any animosity, rather, all those who had beaten me gathered together to see who was the best drinker out of all of them. I watched from the sidelines with a grin as a contest that would have been difficult for even Ban and Meliodas to compete in ensued.

Son-rah came over and sat by me with a content smile, "Thank you for this, Janis; my people have not had a cause for celebration like this for many years. I know that you only agreed to this reluctantly, but it has brought smiles to faces that sorely needed them."

I nodded, "I could see that it has been a while since I have felt a place with this much condensed sadness, it was the least I could do to offer some relief."

"In that case, my people owe you a debt." We sat silently side by side for a minute, both of us lost in our own thoughts until Son-rah sighed and said to me quietly, "I wish I could say that I simply came over here for idle prattle, but that is not the case; we have to discuss what I saw."

"Zaratras?" I asked just as quietly, and she nodded, "Well, I can't say that I'm surprised, and you of all people deserve to know the truth. Zaratras was killed just over ten years ago by his brother, who sought power, you saw that I was informed of this before-hand by a death vision, but what you didn't see is that my comrades and I were accused of killing him by the same people who killed him. We were forced to scatter and go into hiding for the next ten years. It was only recently that we reunited and removed his brother from power. I know you could sense the demonic power that was used, and that was a huge part of our fight; they were attempting to break the seal on the demon's world, and they very nearly succeeded, from what I understand. I was sent to the underworld during this time, to Fenris' realm, for saving a soul who had been marked for death."

"Why were my sisters and I not informed? We could have been a great help in this conflict." Son-rah said in exasperation, in the past, the dryads had been some of the kingdoms most trusted allies, but that had changed ever since they had totally isolated them on this mountain.

"Son-rah, you do realize' that very few people even remember that you exist, right? The Holy Knights are more and more becoming known as one of the few groups that hold powerful magic; that and everything happened rather quickly, it would have been difficult enough to get a hold of you as it is, but then you add to that the fact that we weren't on the best of terms before today."

She lowered her head and thought about what I had said for a moment, "I suppose that is true, but now my question is; why are you here? I doubt it was to reconnect with your long-estranged cousins."

I laughed and nodded in affirmation, "Perceptive as always, Son-rah; the truth is that I came here to speak to someone to get help in an upcoming battle that we are woefully outmatched on. Not just from you but also from someone who holds a great power."

"Who are you speaking of, Janis?" She said cautiously.

"Odin, Son-rah, I need to speak to Hugin and Munin."

Her eyes grew round, "Janis, I'm afraid that I don't know what you're talking about, I know of no Odin or anything about a Hugin and Munin."

"I know that I will be able to contact them here in the morning, you don't need to hide that from me, Son-rah, I imagine that you have been tasked with keeping those two ravens' safe, but this instance necessitates me talking to them. There is a threat approaching that we will need Odin's help for, and if I'm not wrong, Odin will want to know about this. Son-rah, this enemy that will be attacking is his son, Loki."

**

As I had expected, sleep evaded me throughout the night, so I climbed out of the bed that had been provided to me for my visit and began my trek to the top of the mountain. Last night when I had announced Loki was going to be attacking, she nearly passed out on the spot. Apparently, she had been raised on stories of the Norse Gods, seeing as how her people were protectors of this secret, I kept telling her that she was a horrible liar and that I knew all of this already, so there was no reason for her to keep denying it, especially since she had practically given away everything; but it took me letting Hel take over my body to explain her connection with Loki to convince Son-rah that she should probably cooperate with us.

Once she opened up, we quickly grew to realize that she knew much more than we would have guessed; she told us exactly how to call the two ravens down from the heavens, and when they would be coming. She went so far as to tell us where on the mountaintop we would need to be standing to get the best results.

I finally reached where I was going, and sat on a rock to wait, I knew that if I just sat there, my mind would travel to places I didn't want it to go, so I reached out with my mind and connected with Hel.

"Is there anything you would like your me to tell Odin about for you? He is your grandfather, I'm sure that he would love to hear from you."

I felt her snort, "Oh please, Odin is the King of Asgard, if he really wanted to talk to me, he could do it at any time. As it is, I haven't heard from my so-called grandfather since he abandoned me in Helheim; how do you mortals say it? That will be a hard pass for me. Just tell the ravens to tell him that I am the source of your information, that should get his attention."

"He sounds like such a sweet guy." I murmured sarcastically, "Why did you think that this jerk would help us again?"

"He feels responsible for everything that my Father does, since he was responsible for bringing him into the palace in the first place as a baby, Odin has always thought of Loki as his mess to keep an eye on, it is sad, but that is partially the reason that Loki rebelled, because he saw how condescending Odin was towards him, and how little he trusted him. It really didn't help that Loki thought he would be crowned king after Odin, but once he found out he was adopted and started showing ice giant traits, Odin tore that right out from under him."

"Okay, not to sound like I'm on the bad guy's side, but I can completely understand why Loki would do something like this, I bet he feels entitled to the throne, because that is what he was raised to believe but since his was torn away from him, he just wants the control of a realm, it matters little which one."

"Yes, and I would imagine that he also wants to tear Asgard apart, seeing how it betrayed him and his children. Be wary Janis, there is more at stake here than just our world." Hel sighed heavily, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to fight against your father, especially since she knew some of what he was going through, "Get ready Janis, I feel the ravens' energy approaching." She withdrew from me, and I stood, ready to get this over with.

"Hugin, Munin, rulers of the sky, descend from the heights to speak with me I beseech you. I have a message for your master, the ruler of all." I yelled, and a moment later, the beating of wings could be heard; just from the greeting that Son-rah told me to use, I could tell that the two ravens had an ego that was comparable to Odin's, but I didn't say any of that out loud.

Hugin and Munin were the size of small horses, so when they landed, I could feel the earth tremble slightly beneath me. They didn't speak but just stared at me with frustration and even a little smugness. If I guessed right, the frustration was in having been called down from their job, and the smugness was that someone like me was turning to them for help.

"I have news that the All-father needs to know, his son Loki is working to break into this realm, it would cause untold damage, and it is a disaster that we cannot allow. I get this news, not from myself, but from Queen Hel, Loki's daughter, and Odin's granddaughter. We have power, but even she thinks that we require the aid of Asgard. Please express to Odin that we would like his aid in any way we could get it." I said this professionally, and the ravens turned to each other and shook their heads.

Suddenly, a voice came through in my mind that was deep and croaky; it confused me for a moment until I realized that it was one of the ravens, "Banshee, we have heard your request, but what makes you think that Odin would care enough to help a people such as you."

"Because of the damage that Loki could do to Asgard if he successfully conquered this realm; the people here may seem simple, but the magic energy that we hold I incredible. If Loki were to get his hands on this, he would be a greater threat than he's ever been. I know that he would attack Asgard not only because Queen Hel informed of it, but also because he has alluded to it himself in dreams where he spoke to me. I hope you know that he holds a great deal of hate towards all of you. It's to the point that it almost drives him mad." I said simply, cockiness or sarcasm would not help to endear me to these messengers and if I alienated them, then they could mess with my message to Odin."

They put their beaks together and squawked at each other for a moment before turning back to me, "We will relay your message." They then took off and all I could do was stand there and wonder if it was really that easy, though they did seem sincere enough.