athassprkr
patreon
Chapter 305: Of Darkness and Kings
🕑 Added 2023-01-08 15:40:54 +0000 UTCChapter 305: Of Darkness and Kings
7th May 2013, Royal Palace, Asgard
(Odin Borson POV)
“We’re almost here, almost over. This is the climax, the chance I have been waiting for. I cannot let that go, even if it means that I will need to break my vow to you. I love you Frigga, but I have a responsibility to my people, to our people.”
Frigga sighed, “I can tell that this is serious, on a personal level.”
Odin gritted his teeth, “do you have any idea how horrible it is to be trapped in your own mind, not being able to control your body, and watch as your people perish time and time again, without being able to do anything. I have seen you die countless times. I have seen Loki betray us countless times. I watched as the realms fell into chaos and war countless times And I couldn’t even try to stop these miserable scenarios, forced to pretend to be someone I am not, seeing my body speak and move without making a word. Believe me, Frigga, this is very personal.”
Frigga nodded, “You have my blessing, husband.”
Odin nodded, “Yes, it’s time to assemble Asgard’s army.”
Same Time, Svartalfheim
(Malekith POV)
Malekith was a proud dark elf. Their species was often disregarded, hated on occasion, and perhaps even dismissed. He himself was undisputed king of the Dark Elves, the symbol of their hopes and dreams. And he wasn’t even born to be a king. He was born as nothing, a seventh son of a weak family of dark elves during the warring age.
Back then, the nine realms were constantly at war. The light elves and dark elves were always on opposite sides, sometimes a side would be supported by the Vanir or the Aesir, but in the end, it didn’t matter much, the dark elves were bred for war, and they wouldn’t have it in any other way.
But with war came death and poverty, and thus they were a poor people. Even the nobility often bankrupted themselves just to wage the wars that they craved. Malekith himself was sold as a slave by his mother in exchange for weapons, and while he loathed his mother, he expected nothing else from a dark elf, for they were creatures of darkness and betrayal.
Malekith had lived for almost a century as a slave until he was freed by a dark elf sorcerer. The sorcerer had taken him as an apprentice, and it didn’t take long for the student to surpass the master. Malekith was simply unnaturally talented in the arts of dark sorceries, a true prodigy as his master told him.
Unfortunately, his master wanted to also pass down his pacifistic ideologies that made him an outcast to their people. The young elf had often ignored this lesson, his cravings for power and darkness sang in his blood. He knew that he was the epitome of what a dark elf should be. Thus, he killed the coward that stopped being useful for his ambitions.
For his ambitions were great and terrible alike. He wished his race to be the undisputed rulers of the nine realms, and since the dark elves were at their most powerful in the darkness, the universe will have nothing but darkness. And as everyone knew, the only way to gain prestige as a dark elf was through battle and victory. Malekith joined the army soon after.
His skills in sorcery and battle became well known to his people, and slowly Malekith rose in ranks until he became one of the generals. Having gained such a prestigious rank, he challenged the previous king and defeated him handily in one-on-one combat. With only his wits and power, he became the leader of the dark elves. He was the strongest and the dark elves followed the strong.
He became even more fearsome when he discovered the mythical Aether, a relic from before creation itself, capable of manipulating reality itself. It took centuries for Malekith to learn how to harness its power safely, and he was only capable of doing so using his mastery over sorcery.
With that done, he waged war on the universe, and he was successful. The light elves were almost eradicated entirely, the dwarves were barely a shadow of their true selves after Malekith used the Aether to darken the stars themselves. The Fire giants and Frost giants were conquered, and their realm fell to his darkness. Everywhere he went, darkness followed. And the Dark Elves reigned supreme.
Unfortunately, Bor Burison, the king of Asgard chose to retaliate and waged war against him, angry that his allies, the light elves, had been massacred. And after a long and pained war, Buri managed to take Malekith by surprise, sealing away the Aether somehow, perhaps by using that cursed Asgardian magic of his.
Malekith had been trying to use the convergence to end the war on his own. It would have been a night to remember where all light in every realm would be gone. It was an intensive ritual which was interrupted by the king of Asgard, something that Malekith did not expect.
In his shock, Malekith did not react as his entire forces were destroyed, leaving only a few platoons. He ended up barely escaping with his life, without the Aether, with only a single battleship to his name. Accepting that he could not face the might of Asgard without the Aether, he went into hibernation, and constantly powered a spell that would wake him up and his loyal subjects should any sign of the Aether resurface.
Malekith awoke slowly in his ship. He tried to sense of the Aether since that would be the only reason, he would awake but found nothing. That meant that someone had woken him on purpose. But they were hidden with their most powerful stealth technology enhanced by the Aether itself during its forging, and if it was an Asgardian, they were more likely to slay him in his sleep.
Malekith had no illusions that he had any allies waiting for him. His people were massacred by the Asgardian army, his realm plundered and set aflame in the war. He was on his own, which made it all the more curious as to who awoke him.
His questions were immediately answered when his entire world shifted into a throne room. It was filled with nothing but darkness and shadows, he immediately fell in love with it.
However, he didn’t have time to admire it further, because in a flash of light, the thrones were filled by gigantic people in Asgardian wear. They were also made of shadows with only a few lights coming from their eyes and mouths, illuminating the room. The man in the middle, probably their leader spoke up, “Malekith the accursed, you have been summoned.”
The king of the dark elves could feel the power in the man’s words. Although, he did not tremble. He had subjugated the Aether itself, a relic of creation, capable of manipulating the fabric of reality. The man looking down at him was powerful and the seemingly infinity well of power that he felt coming from him reminded him eerily of his beloved Aether.
Still, Malekith had lost the Aether, which was rightfully his, and there was no need to antagonize these beings who seemed to love the blessed darkness as much as he does “And may I know who was it that summoned me?”
“We have no names, for there is no need for us to have names. We are simply above, beyond, your existence. We are the gods of the gods, those who sit above in shadows. Very few have ever had the privilege to speak with us, consider yourself fortunate for that honor, Malekith.”
Their power certainly led credence to their claims, but Gods of the Gods or not, they had woken him. Malekith was the king of the Dark Elves for centuries, and understood that they must want something from him, something that they just couldn’t do themselves, “I can appreciate such an honor, but may I know why such an honor was granted to me in the first place?”
“We seek a bargain, King of Svartalfheim.”
That was odd, if they were as powerful as they appeared, as they claimed, they would not need anything he could provide, “And what could I possibly give you?”
“Your allegiance for one. Our subjects are rebelling against our rule, seeking to dethrone us. These cursed Asgardians have forgotten our power, and our knowledge, and are pursuing their foolish dreams of freedom.”
“And why can’t you smite them. You are the Gods of the gods; you are certainly capable of that?” Malekith drawled.
He could hear a mummer’s tale from a mile away. Dark Elves politics were filled with betrayals and manipulations. The king has had to rebuff many rebellious movements who tried to assassinate him to claim the thrones to themselves. He put these down hard.
The Shadows shifted slightly, “We will be busy. The foolish Asgardians are planning on releasing Nidhogg to attack us. We will need to bind it once more to prevent further damage. We need you and your battalion to deal with the Asgardian army that seek to break into our realm.”
Madness. Had these Asgardian’s lost their minds the centuries he was absent. Nidhogg, the dragon of the end, was a breast that couldn’t be reasoned with, that couldn’t be controlled or manipulated. It simply consumed everything it ever touched. Anything that touched its cursed jaws was destroyed, even the fabric of space and time. Malekith would not have dared to seek such a fight even if he had the Aether back on his side once more. After all, for all his experience, Malekith knew for a fact that he barely used the potential that the artifact held.
The dark elves relished in the darkness, true, but the dragon of the end brought only the void with him, the emptiness, and that terrified him far more than anything did.
If the foolish Asgardians truly planned to go so such drastic length just to deal with these Gods of the Gods, then there must be more to it. Alas, Malekith does not think that he’ll have the luxury of refusing. Without the power of the Aether, he was a shadow of the being he used to be. Still, this was a bargain, not a call of duty, he needed to understand what they were offering in return, “It is an intriguing proposal, but you did not mention what you will give in return for my allegiance.”
Malekith felt that the leader of these shadows was giving him a smug smirk, “Should you and your forces assist us, you will be free to continue your ambition, but most of all, we will give you what you wish the most.”
Before he could express his confusion, a portal, assisted using the convergence opened in front of him and Malekith could see the other side of it. He could feel it, greeting him as an old friend, the Aether.
It was trapped in pocket dimension of sorts which made sense at to why Malekith could never sense it before. That cursed king of Asgard, Bor Burison, was a clever one indeed. The Aether was obviously trapped, and Malekith could feel its desperation to escape, to join him once more.
The king of the dark elves slowly walked towards the portal, but a force field stopped him. He looked at his hosts questioningly, “You have found it?”
The man nodded, “Yes, we have. We are offering you your previous power, and our personal blessings in the fight to come.”
“I could just try to find it on my own…”
“The Aether is in a single pocket dimension that you don’t know its coordinates. The best you could do is to go through convergence portals and hope for the best. Finding it would be a one in a million chance of happening and the convergence will last for a few weeks at most. Are you willing to risk this chance and wait another five thousand years just to have another chance?”
Malekith inwardly cursed, the self-proclaimed god was correct. He was not willing to wait for another chance. And yet, the thought of being his attack dog grated him. And yet, the being’s power was no illusion, Malekith knew that for sure.
Perhaps after regaining the Aether once more, he would be able to resist somehow. I didn’t matter now, it’s not like he had a choice in the matter and from the smug feeling he got from his summoner he knew it as well. In the end, there was only one thing to do, “I accept the term of your deal. The Dark Elves will stand by you, during the coming conflict.”
