Ad Infinitum

Tyr stood beside Odin on the viewing platform, watching the new recruits drill. There was something ...different... about his king, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He'd brushed it off as a result of the Dark Elves' attack and losing their beloved Queen in defense of a mere mortal. Had the short-lived creature not been harboring the Aether at the time, she'd have not lived long enough after setting foot on Asgard to require a defender at all, being cut down where she stood - at the side of the Crown Prince or no.

Oh, he'd have offered Thor abject apologies after the fact, of course, and accepted a reprimand for it. Not that Odin would have truly punished either him or whoever struck the killing blow.

Privately, Tyr thought Thor had been too easily forgiven too many times if he thought bringing a mortal to the Golden Realm was in any way appropriate. It had been quite clear to anyone with eyes that Thor would have petitioned to keep the female as more than a mere pet. Thor's banishment to Midgard had been intended to reduce him to the level of those animals to learn some humility, not to raise them in his eyes to some semblance of equality, of deserving regard. The fragile creatures with their fleeting lives could barely manage civilized speech, much less hold their own among true warriors. Yet somehow Thor had returned with tales of valor and honor. The only possible explanation was that his dishonorable brother (may his body rot forgotten where it fell) had addled Thor's mind in some way.

Nearly as concerning was Odin's recent slew of suggestions regarding training and defense. Yes, the Dark Elves had had space-faring ships, but the bulk of the damage had been done by a group that came through the dungeons. Increasing the number of archers, practicing from the flying skiffs for combatting an aerial foe - it was ridiculous! Developing the needed accuracy against moving targets while shooting from the skiffs would take away from the far more useful training in ground-based maneuvers of large groups and close-quarters fighting, such as the skirmish with the Dark Elves had quickly devolved into. Not to mention the lack of honor in killing from a distance. (He could concede Odin's point that the implosion grenades of the Elves have a limited area effect, and killing such creatures at a distance would limit casualties. And the Dark Elven Kursed had undergone rituals that rendered them little better than mere beasts, undeserving of such considerations as 'honor'. But still!)
(Nonetheless, archery practice was added to the training regime over his objections, and various challenges and contests of skill did end up including such scenarios.)

Even worse than the archers, though, was the 'suggestion' Odin had put forth of peasants receiving similar training, more advanced than the usual childhood lessons in handling a blade. Tyr was not the only one of Odin's Councilors to balk at the idea. Asgard's Warriors protected the Realm; mere peasants would be impossible to train, being lower. Certainly, there was the occasional peasant youth who showed enough promise in the basic lessons to be given the chance to try for more, but they were few and far between. Even fewer actually demonstrated the mettle to succeed. So Tyr could admit, privately, that - much as with females - the peasants were not unformly abysmal at fighting. It simply seemed a massive waste of resources to try and refine the dross into anything resembling a honed blade - and without conscripting them, even! It would be one thing to fold them into the less-skilled ranks as canon fodder, to drill them over and over in basic techniques until their bodies learned what their minds were too dim to comprehend. But Odin had mentioned sending teachers out to the rural areas, working around the peasant's lives and schedules, as though they were worth concerning himself over. He hated to think that old age was catching up to his King, that perhaps the cunning, ruthless Commander he'd known was slipping into dotage. Surely reviewing the troops like this would help Odin see that such measures were unnecessary.

'Odin' watched the recruits train from atop the viewing platform with an impassive face, making noncommital noises of mild agreement to Tyr's commentary. Loki mentally rolled his eyes, wondering whether the General had ever actually watched the peasants work, with the frequent little hints he kept throwing in about how inherently stronger and better the raw recruits were.
(He'd already decided to organize practice groups among the outlying villages to revisit the basic swordwork all children were taught and introduce new techniques as they grew past fumbling adolescence. He was sure there were a few retired Warriors who would like a chance to contribute to improving Asgard's overall defenses. Working a weekly practice session or three in the more remote areas would not be too physically taxing, even for the old and disabled, and they'd get whole new audiences to be awed by reminiscent tales of valor from their youth.)

Still, Tyr was a potential problem. The General was as close-minded as could be while still possessing just enough competence and flexibility to adjust tactics as needed during a battle. Unrepentantly classist as well as racist, Tyr looked down on everyone who was not a Warrior and did not outrank him. (and even a few who did - Loki, himself, being a prime example.) He was not quite so much sexist - not anymore. The brief glimpse Loki had gotten when he skimmed the General's mind showed a genuine respect for Frigga and he had trained Sif. Under duress in the beginning, granted, but he had eventually admitted she was worthy to bear a sword. However, the General's outlook would deny Asgard a host of able bodied men and women to stand as defenders when the worst happened, simply by refusing to see them as anything but chattel.

If leaving the army leaderless - even temporarily - wouldn't put his plans in jeopardy, Loki would seriously be planning a very public 'accident' to eliminate the man.

As far as Loki was concerned, one of the man's few redeeming qualities was that Tyr was strict in disciplining and preparing those he did accept for training. He hadn't particularly catered to Thor, working him just as hard as any of the others and not allowing him to pass culpability and blame off to Loki for every little infraction.
(Loki had no illusions that the General held even the most tenuous respect for him, but that he had not simply let Thor get away with declaring everything to be Loki's fault had been refreshing. Loki still got in more trouble than he deserved, but it was usually with Thor, rather than in his stead.)

Tyr would, of course, accept Thor as King, eventually, and was obviously angling to position himself as a trusted advisor to guide and direct from beside the throne. Unfortunately, Tyr's own biases and Thor's love of battle would not lead to peace and prosperity for Asgard. In the short term, with the necessary preparations for the Mad Titan's eventual reappearance, Tyr's expertise was needed. In the longer term...? 'Odin' was subtly maneuvering things to diminish the General's practical influence in the actual ruling of Asgard.
(and perhaps the Norns would finally smile upon his plans and the man would fail to survive the coming conflict intact. ...honestly, it would be easier to ask Hela to arrange it. Then he could be certain of the outcome - unlike petitioning the Norns.)

At the thud of dozens of spearbutts hitting the ground simultaneously, Loki forcibly wrenched his attention away from such pleasant musings and back to the review at hand. The troops had come to parade rest and he would be expected to make some sort of comments before dismissing them.

As they watched the Warriors-in-training file off the grounds, Tyr commented, "As you can see, Your Majesty, our ranks have filled quickly, and our Warriors have been working to improve. Even the lower ranks are skilled fighters - they have been training constantly, and many are ready to be promoted into positions left vacant by recent losses. This cowardly attack did catch us by surprise, but the Dark Elves have now truly been defeated, Your Majesty. Asgard need not be concerned about them returning."

The Dark Elves... no. But there were other danger lying in wait for the unprepared and arrogantly unwary. "Yes, General, and I am glad to see the skill demonstrated today. However, More yet needs to be done. This skirmish with the Dark Elves has shown us that our defenses could be better than they are, and gives impetus to the common soldier to improve. This attack was a reminder that, secure though we are, preparations have been let fall to the wayside and our vigilance has suffered for it. Why waste the opportunity? After all, Loki fell into the void, yet appeared on Midgard with an army of creatures known only from rumors, said to live on the edges of existence. While it appears he failed to successfully bring that army to Midgard, we should still be aware that they are there, and they are now aware of the Nine. Who is to say they will not one day bring war to our borders?"

Tyr blinked, clearly caught off guard, and Loki silently preened at having thrown the man without breaking character. "Thor says they were defeated. ...by a Midgardian Hero... I can see your point, my liege. Such a thing is nigh unthinkable, and some preparation for the worst is advised. Particularly now, when we've just been given proof that improvements are needed, though I should hope we have time to expand the ranks with properly trained Warriors, rather than thrusting swords into the hands of the uneducated and untested. On that heading, did you manage to make Loki tell you aught of their origins, before his death, that we might construct a reasonable timeline for preparation?"

"Would you trust Loki to tell the truth?" Loki was truly curious. He knew well enough that General Tyr loathed him personally, but in this - where the safety of Asgard and her people were at stake - would he have found a listening ear?

Tyr grimaced. "Again, I see your point, my King. That Liar - "

Loki 'Odin' growled, barely remembering the guise he wore. Tyr's biases would have blinded him, and he'd probably have advised Odin to disregard anything Loki said merely because it came out of his mouth. "Liar though he may at times have been, he was my son and your Prince. I seldom insisted he be given the respect of his rank in life, but I would have you mind your tongue now."

Tyr quickly schooled his face, unwilling to show in public how disturbed Odin's words and attitude left him. The changes he'd noticed recently had been minor, but this... was more pronounced than he'd have ever thought to hear. Odin saw some hint of his feelings, and Tyr barely caught a fleeting expression of anger and disgust as his King huffed, but explained. "Many things have become clear to me in hindsight, General. I have been forced to see that my chosen Heir is unfit to lead even a regiment in battle, much less guide Asgard or her armies in times of peace. He has shown himself completely ignorant of tactical thinking and wields words much as he does his hammer - with little thought and much force. In acknowledging that truth, I have also had to confront other truths as well."

Tyr winced, but did not disagree. He'd occasionally tried to discretely and tactfully bring that very point up to Odin before. It was unfortunate that the price of opening Odin's eyes to Thor's chief weakness was the life of the Queen, and didn't explain the new-found concern Odin showed with redeeming Loki's image.

...no, that might possibly be a side effect of Odin's public acknowledgement of Thor's flaws through those surprisingly popular plays. Tyr had to admit, having such examples of how embarrassing it would be to need to be saved by a seidr user made it a lot easier to get it through the recruits heads' that charging ahead blindly was not always a sound tactic.

Hmmm... perhaps there was as much of Odin's old slyness in his current actions as there was grief. And if the price was holding his tongue regarding the deceased Trickster, well and good. It was no great hardship to let the ignoble dead be forgotten.