This is the horn Janis is given by Heimdall, as the story says, it is called Gjallarhorn, and mythology states that this is the horn that Heimdall will blow at the beginning of Ragnarok. I know I didn't keep it 100% faithful to the myth, but it fits, roughly.

Also, sorry for the long wait for the chapter, but it's here now!

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It took several hours, but eventually, Odin called both Thor and me to his throne room to hopefully tell us his final decision. Nearly the entire time I was with Thor, we were fighting, and what a fight it was; When I pit Durendal against his hammer, it was immediately apparent that there were major differences in the fighting style needed to wield these weapons. Mjolnir was a blunt, forceful weapon that required the handler to go for attacks that were more obvious and far less strategic; however, when it hit, it delivered a crippling amount of force that could knock an opponent out of the fight with one good hit. Then there was my Durendal, which is a sword meant to be handled with finesse, not for forceful strikes, but rather, slashes and cuts that took an opponent down because of a loss of mobility or blood.

When I fought Thor, it was a difficult change for me, but once I got used to it, it was actually rather fun; if only because I was able to practice analyzing my opponent's technique to take them down. Sadly, I didn't win, but I didn't lose either, we both took a beating and we both found someone that we could respect as a warrior; though, I couldn't help but think that Thor certainly had it worse off as far as visible injuries went. I smiled as I looked at the black eye he was sporting from when I caught him with the pommel of my sword, and the cuts that littered his face, which made him glare at me when he noticed.

"Lady Janis, I cannot help but feel that you were perhaps holding back as we fought, why is that?" Thor seemed genuinely curious and I laughed.

"That's probably because I was, in a real fight, I would be using my powers as well as my sword to take you down; but when I'm practicing, I like to stick to only using one thing. I don't want to learn to rely too much on one or the other, just in case one fails me at the worst moment."

It took a second for him to process that information, "I suppose that makes sense. Where did such a young creature as you learn that lesson? You seem wise beyond your years." 

I laughed, "Thor, you do realize I am over three hundred years old, I'm certainly not a young creature! I've had plenty of odd encounters in my life that have taught me many lessons; if I'm honest, the harder the lesson it was for me to learn, the more important it has been in my life. If I hadn't have learned some of the things I did, I wouldn't be here right now." I said this gently with a smile, Thor was a kind, if not dense man, and the more time I spent with him, the more I respected him.

"My Lady Janis, you may be over three hundred, but I am over a thousand, to me you are still only an adolescent; though, I would never dream of underestimating you or your past experiences. I do still have the injuries to prove that point." He laughed his typical rich laugh and I was about to laugh with him until what he said hit me.

"Wait, you're over a thousand years old? How does that-" I was more than curious, but my slew of questions was interrupted by a guard opening the door and ushering us to the throne to face Odin.

"Lady Janis, please do not be nervous, my father may be stricter than some, but I know that he will help your people, so stop wringing your hands, you are beginning to make even me nervous."

I chuckled briefly as I realized that he was right and my hands were threatening to tear apart my shirt; we walked in and just like before, Odin was sitting in his opulent, golden throne. This time, however, I wasn't intimidated by the whole thing and was able to approach him with much more confidence than before.

"I have thought over the matter you have presented me with at great length, Janis, and while I wish I could send my troops to aid you and your people, it would be far too risky." Odin's words had a sharp edge to them, which sent the message across quite clearly that his word was final; I bowed my head and tried to think of what else I could do to get help from any source, but my thoughts were interrupted by Odin, who wasn't finished. "However, that doesn't mean that I am unwilling to lend you my aid; I wish to help protect your realm, so I will lend you Gjallarhorn. This horn has magical properties, which, if you blow it in your moment of need, will alert Heimdall and he will be able to trap Loki with the Bifrost. This is only to be used either in the event that you cannot stop him, or if he has been weakened considerably; Loki is certainly strong enough to do a great deal of damage to Asgard if this is attempted while he is at full strength, and there would be no guarantee that he would not return to finish you off. You would need to be sure that Loki was near you when you do this, as he has hidden from the sight of Heimdall successfully before, and Loki can only be trapped if we are sure of where he is."

I mentally went through what Odin just told me to make sure that I had it right, "I don't mean to sound rude, but there seems to be a lot of things that could go wrong with this horn; how can I be assured that this will work? I ask this for both our sakes, not just mine." It was hard not to question this, if only for the reason that we would be fighting a God, not a low-level demon, and I didn't want to greet my comrades after all this time with nothing more than a horn with a lot of strings attached to it and no guarantee of its ability.

To my surprise, Thor answered my question instead of Odin, "Lady Janis, I would be more than willing to offer you what little solace I can in this situation; sadly, there is little we can do as far as proving to you that it can do what we say, but I can allow you to speak to the owner of the horn, Heimdall, who may be able to offer insights that we cannot." I nodded and Thor turned to leave, sadly the All-father wasn't done with us quite yet.

'Lady Janis, I know that I don't have to tell you what would happen if you fail to subdue Loki; you seem to be a smart girl, so you would have to know all those who would suffer if he were to prevail against you," I nodded and Odin dismissed me with a wave of his hand.

We left the room together and Thor smiled down at me, "You did well in there, Lady Janis, I congratulate you."

When he said that, I could help but raise my eyebrow skeptically, "I barely said anything, how is that commendable?"

"Many have not the nerve needed to speak back to my father once he has declared his decision, they simply accept what he says and help after they leave; you were willing to make sure that his idea would actually benefit your people. You are indeed a worthy leader." I smiled at that.

"I am far from being a leader Thor, I'm more of a lone wolf, though I don't mean to be. People tend to separate themselves from me unless they have a good reason not to, so I haven't had the chance to get to know many people in my life."

"But I can tell that you are fiercely protective of the people who you do become close to; Lady Janis, I cannot help but notice that you tend to undervalue yourself, which isn't always a bad thing entirely, but it is more of a hindrance than a help."

We continued walking in silence and as nice as it was, my mind couldn't help but spin around what he had said, did I really see myself as a hindrance? I did a lot for my friends, but I wasn't sure if I thought that I was helping them. Could I possibly be holding myself back by thinking that I didn't do enough for the sins?

Before I could formulate an answer to what Thor said, we were already at the entrance to the Bifrost and Heimdall stepped towards me, "Odin asked me to lend this to you so we could be of help in your war with Loki, and he also said that you had some questions regarding it." I nodded, enjoying his kind, yet straight-forward attitude.

"Yes, all Odin and Thor could tell me was that I needed to blow the horn when Loki is either heavily injured, or we find ourselves unable to deal with him." I said quickly, hoping for a more thorough explanation.

"Well, they certainly got the minimum explanation down. The Gjallarhorn is a way to alert me and nothing more, it is connected to me through my magic, so when it is sounded, I will know exactly where you are so that I can assist you by bringing Loki to Asgard through the Bifrost. It truly is simple, though it would be difficult to give you a demonstration so that I could prove to you that it works, so my word will have to be enough. Did that explanation make sense to you?" He asked and I nodded, "Very well then, take care of this, it has been through many battles and is older than you by many centuries."

With that he handed me a curved bone horn that had been hollowed out, blackened with fire, and many symbols were carved into the outside, "I will be waiting for your call, Lady Janis." Heimdall stepped back and nodded his head respectfully at me.

"It is time for you to return to your realm, are you prepared?" Thor asked and I smiled widely at him.

"Yes, I miss my home, thank you Thor, Heimdall; hopefully, this will be what we need to win against Loki." I backed away from Thor and he nodded at Heimdall; just before I was sucked back into my realm, I called out to Thor, "We will need to fight again, my friend, I didn't show you my powers, and I would love for an opportunity to give you another black eye." I wasn't positive, but I thought I heard him laughing after I said that.