Chapter 1
The golden throne room was adorned with a lavish, red velvet runner splitting the room in two symmetrical sides, glistening in the gentle rays of Asgard’s sun. The King and Queen sat side by side on their respective thrones, perched on a slightly elevated stage overlooking the space filled with rows of golden speckled pillars and pristinely polished granite tiles. Along with the royal couple, two guards stationed on either side of the stage gripped their silver pointed spears as they scrutinized the presence of a powerful Seer, decorated in long, charcoal colored, billowing robes, that, on any other, could too easily aid in the dangerous art of concealment.
The Seer’s gaze was pointedly downcast, causing her ginger curls to fall slightly past her loose veil, as she knelt on one knee with a fist across her heart. “I’m afraid you won't like what I have to convey.”
King Odin exchanged a cautious glance with Queen Frigga. After a moment dedicated to their private, silent exchange, curiosity eventually won out.
At his wife's gentle nod, Odin turned back to the Seer. “Tell us your prophecy.”
“Okay.” Secretly, under the curb of her vail, the Seer's eyes glowed purple. “Despite my warning, in choosing to hear anyway, please listen closely to what I say, for if you don't, everyone will pay; fretting in uncertainty. Every five years, there shall be an arena battle to celebrate your golden son's birthday.”
Odin and Frigga shared an excited smile at the word, ‘son.’
“It will be there, under the watchful crowds survey, where he will win over all, to his opponents dismay,”
Frigga happily rubbed her protruding belly as Odin gazed at her stomach proudly.
“A great, undefeated warrior he will be, against all but one, who will take his breath away,”
Frigga’s and Odin’s bubble of happiness suddenly popped at those words.
“They alone wield the power to claim his young heart in victory. Eventually, with this deed done, the throne will be given up and Asgard will be set back on a path to prosperity.”
“He will die!?” Frigga guarded her belly in a protective manner.
“You would condemn him to such a fate!?” Odin spat, his knuckles white against the throne. “He has yet to be born, and you are already prophesying his death!? How heartless! We won’t let that happen!”
Where others would’ve trembled, the Seer simply closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. “At the risk of sounding cliché, I will say, fate can neither be changed, wielded or escaped. It affects us all anyway. ‘Heartless,’ you may say, but I’d like to remind you, I gave you the choice to remain in blissful ignorance. You were the ones who chose not to shy away.”
Odin’s eyes flashed with anger. “Leave. Leave before-”
The Seer lifted her head for the first time and flashed her glowing eyes, echoing Odin’s next words the second they left his mouth as if she had always known it would end like this. “Before my guards arrest you and take you far away.” A puff of thick purple smoke rose from her robes, encircling her and obstructing her from view.
The guards rushed forward, slashing desperately at the one who had just condemned the future prince to a battle-ridden death.
The smoke eventually cleared, unfortunately, revealing the guard's blind efforts to be in vain. The Seer was gone. The only thing left in her place was a rolled-up scroll that was quickly snatched up to reveal her dooming prophecy, permanently painting the page in sparkling ebony ink.