Chapter 1
As his feet touched down in the bifrost observatory, Thor felt a sense of satisfaction. Midgard and all its unique wonders were a joy to explore but there was something about returning to his home that gave him a deep feeling of contentment. He greeted Heimdall, who answered with a taciturn nod, and proceeded out to the bridge. Before him lay all of Asgard, his future dominion. He stopped, taking a moment to remind himself just how extraordinary a place it was. The Realm Eternal, a shining beacon atop Yggdrasil. From this distance, he could see the many raised towers and turrets that filled the city. He imagined the many its many inhabitants who would one day look to him as their leader. In the center of it all stood the gleaming golden towers of Glaðsheim.
Thor's peace dissipated like mist under a hot sun as his gaze settled on the citadel. Although he missed the comfort and familiarity of Asgard when he visited the mortal realm, there was one aspect of his life here that he didn't miss while he was away.
With a sigh, he mounted his horse and rode across the bridge toward his home. A few times along the journey his gaze drifted out to the stars, looking for signs of the coming Convergence. Each time, Thor laughed at his efforts. He was neither a scholar nor a scientist. He had no idea what he was looking for or what it would look like even if he saw it. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel a burgeoning excitement for the interstellar event, a phenomenon that was rare even to a race as long-lived as the Aesir. He knew he wasn't the only one intrigued by it. All of Asgard's people waited with eager anticipation for the day Yggdrasil's branches would bend and bring in line all nine realms.
All save one, that is.
One person who had lately become nothing but irritable and impatient, who left the palace staff confused and anxious with his erratic moods and frequent ill-temper. Who grumbled and growled in response to even the most benign inquiries. Who had forsaken all pursuits but the one deemed impossible.
Thor left his horse at the gate, turning the reins over to one of the stable-hands. He made his way inside, determined to confront the one who had lately made himself the bane of everyone's existence. The closer he got to the library, the more harried the servants he passed seemed to be, and Thor knew why. He pushed open the library doors, knowing even before he did what he would find. Or rather, who. He knew because no one else dared enter the space of late, not even the library's keepers.
As expected, the place was empty except for a lone occupant sitting at one of the larger tables. On one end of the table was a stack of books yet to be opened and on the other, a second pile of books already read and discarded. In the middle with his back to the entrance sat the person Thor was looking for, his black hair flowing down over his hunched shoulders.
"Back so soon," Loki called out without turning or even lifting his head. "Tired of your mortal pets already?"
Thor rolled his eyes at the familiar barb. He came to a stop at the end of the table. "Loki, you should not speak of them that way. They are your friends as well, and heroes in their own right. And if I recall, it was your idea that Asgard maintain closer ties with the Midgardians."
"It was, though I didn't imagine you would take that as an excuse to spend all your time on Midgard to the exclusion of your duties here."
"That is a gross exaggeration-"
"Have you even remained here long enough for Father to tell you of the insurrection brewing on Vanaheim?"
"I don't know," Thor replied through clenched teeth. "Have you looked up from those tomes long enough for him to tell you it was quelled weeks ago by my hand?"
Loki's response was nothing more than a distracted hum. Thor sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger while he mentally recalled all the times his mother, father, and even Loki encouraged him to develop patience. He took a slow deep breath in and let it out just as slow. Temper in check once more, he moved around to the other side of the table and pulled out a chair. The scraping of the metal legs across the floor echoed, amplified by the emptiness of the room. Sitting down, he examined his brother from his new vantage point. Loki looked as haggard as the staff his foul mood had chased out from the library. Each eye had a dark smudge beneath and small lines crinkling the skin around them. His lips curled downward into a sullen frown. Even his skin seemed without any lustre. Thor wondered when the last time was his brother slept or ate, or ventured anywhere outside.
Recalling a Midgardian saying having to do with putting one's head in the mouth of a large predator, Thor braced himself to ask, "Have you found anything yet?"
His brother said nothing.
"Loki, do you think..." Thor hesitated, "do you think perhaps the reason you haven't found anything is because there is nothing to find?"
Loki slammed the book before him shut, the thump reverberating throughout the library. "So, you agree with the rest, do you? That I am foolishly wasting my time on a vain search that will turn up nothing?"
Thor held his hands up, palms toward him. "I didn't say that-"
"You didn't have to," Loki cut him off. "My focus may be on other things but I hear what they say about me. The think I'm obsessed, that being dragged through the dark paths by the Tesseract frightened me so terribly that now I jump at shadows and see enemies where none exist."
"No one says-"
"Oh, but they do, brother. It's only that you're too busy off gallivanting with your mortals to pay attention to the whispers of your own people."
"Protecting Midgard is hardly gallivanting."
"Protecting Midgard," Loki scoffed. "Is that what you call whiling away the time with that woman?"
Thor clenched his hand into a fist. "That 'woman' has a name, Loki. She is Doctor Jane Foster and she is one of the most intelligent of Midgard's scientists."
"Hardly an impressive distinction," Loki muttered. He looked away from Thor and reached for another of the sizable volumes on the table.
Patience exhausted, Thor slammed his hand down on the cover, preventing his brother from opening it. "She deserves your respect, brother. Even if she is not here to receive it."
Loki glared at him. He pushed his chair away from the table and got to his feet without breaking his gaze. Placing his hands on the table he leaned forward until he was looming over Thor. When he spoke, it was with a low and dangerous growl.
"Then go back to Midgard and respect her on my behalf. You can leave Asgard's protection to me since you care so much more for your precious mortals than you do your home."
With that, Loki spun on his heel and stalked out of the library, leaving an angry and frustrated Thor behind.
~~~|~~~
Boys fight, and brothers fight more. It was a truth Frigga was too well acquainted with. Her sons were the best of friends but once in a while, one or both of them lost sight of that. They were no longer children in need of their parents' intervention in their petty squabbles, infrequent as they were now that they were grown. Once in a while though, a problem would spark between them that would grow and grow until it caused an explosion. Different though they were, both Thor and Loki were possessed of immense stubbornness. Thor would never take the first step to reconcile if he felt he was wronged. If it was Loki who had taken offence, well he could nurse a grudge longer than anyone Frigga had ever known. More often than not, they would sort things out on their own in time. Other times, they needed someone else to step in and Frigga knew it was time.
She stopped outside the door to Loki's chamber and pressed her palm to it. A light tingle of seiðr brushed against her hand and a moment later, the door swung open on its own, warded as it was to allow entry only to those whom Loki wanted to see. She entered to find him at his desk, his usually impeccable posture changed into an uncharacteristic slouch. Before him on the desk lay a notebook. He held a writing quill in his hand but wasn't putting it to paper.
"How goes your study?" she asked.
"The same as ever."
"So that is the reason for your foul mood, then. I heard your brother wasn't back from Midgard an hour before you two fought again."
Loki sighed. He dropped the quill, leaned back, and scrubbed his face with both hands. "And he came running to you to bear tales, did he? The child."
Frigga crossed the room to better see him. Loki wouldn't meet her eyes, his gaze aimed downward toward his notebook but not truly seeing it. "He came to greet his mother after his lengthy absence, not to tattle. I saw his anger written in every feature of his face but I still had to question him directly before he told me the truth. I didn't realize you held the mortals in such low esteem."
"I didn't realize that would matter to you."
"You were fond of them at one time, Loki."
"Am I not free to change my mind?"
"You are, if it is an honest change," she replied. "But I recall a time not so very long ago when you gleefully regaled me with tales of your exploits with them. You were most intrigued by the man of iron's craftsmanship. And you seemed impressed by Jane Foster's intellect."
"It's Doctor Jane Foster, Mother," Loki said, the words dripping with disdain. "We mustn't forget that or Thor will throw another fit."
"Loki-"
"Mother, please." He looked up at her at last. "Must we speak of this now?"
She frowned. There was more she wished to say but Loki looked so tired. His eyes were bloodshot and hooded from so much reading. He'd spent so many hours indoors scouring for information on the Aether that his complexion was as pale as the white sheets on his bed.
"All right," Frigga relented. "But we will speak of it again."
"Fair enough." Loki said after a weary sigh.
Frigga took one of his hands in hers. "Now, why don't you close your books for a few hours and come to dinner?"
He groaned. "I'm exhausted."
"Loki. Your brother was gone to Midgard for weeks and you've buried yourself in research for far longer. You will put your books aside for one evening and join your family for dinner."
Loki held on to his sullen expression a moment longer before a hint of a smile broke through. "As you wish," he sighed.
~~~|~~~
A joyous reunion it was not. Loki spoke no more than two words and pointedly ignored his brother. Thor, still irked by everything Loki said when they argued, returned the favour by doing the same. Frigga's efforts to encourage their interaction fell utterly flat. Odin tried a different tack, engaging them separately. He urged Thor to relate his latest adventure with the mortals, which he did while Loki yawned loudly every other minute. When Thor was finished, Odin turned to Loki.
"And what about you, Loki? What of your search?"
"It's ongoing," was all he said.
"No progress at all?"
"Not as yet."
"What about Alfheim?"
"It was nothing."
For the first time, Thor acknowledged his brother's presence. "You were on Alfheim brother?" he asked, almost genially.
Loki glowered at him across the table. "Briefly."
"I see. So my efforts defending the mortals are nothing more than frivolous gallivanting but your pointless searches on other realms are, what, the height of importance?"
Loki threw his fork onto his plate with a clatter. "Pointless! What I do is for the safety of all nine realms, which is our duty as Asgardians to uphold. Unlike you, I haven't neglected eight of them in favour of one!"
"I've neglected nothing!"
"Silence! Both of you!" Odin shouted. "I'll not have you poisoning this evening with such bickering. When you are on the sparring grounds, you may snipe at each other as much as you wish but when you sit at this table, you will be civil. Is that clear?"
Though Thor and Loki fell silent, they continued glaring daggers at each other while Odin shook his head at their unseemly display.
Thor answered first but didn't break off glaring. "Yes, Father."
Instead of answering Odin as well, Loki stood up. "Excuse me. I seem to have lost my appetite."
He left without waiting to be dismissed. Odin cast a questioning glance in Frigga's direction. She shook her head.
"Do you see, Mother?" Thor said, pointing the direction his brother went. "He is ever more unreasonable and does nothing but belittle my deeds."
"As you belittled his," she pointed out. "Pointless searches?"
"Your mother is right, Thor," Odin agreed. "Even with one eye, I could see Loki's bitter mood. Did you really think calling his efforts pointless would improve it?"
"Neither of you heard him in the library," Thor objected. "He called our mortal comrades 'pets', he dismissed Jane Foster entirely, and he accused me of ignoring my duties to Asgard when he was so preoccupied with his nonsense study that he didn't know it was I who dealt with the insurrection on Vanaheim."
"And are you a child that you respond to such provocation in kind?" Odin returned.
Thor's face took on a stormy look. "I am no child."
"No, you aren't, which is why you should know that Loki's tongue becomes sharper than his daggers when he is troubled by a problem he cannot solve."
"Why do you make excuses for him?"
"I'm not," Odin said firmly. "Nor am I suggesting he was in the right. But you of all people should have learned to recognize when Loki means what he says and when he is lashing out to provoke you."
Thor took a long slow breath, making an obvious effort to calm himself. "And what of his search for the Aether? It's been nearly a year. Do you not think if there was something to find, he would have done so by now?"
"Perhaps," Frigga said. "Nevertheless, the search is important to him, so it should be important to you."
"You indulge him too much. You both do."
"That is untrue."
"Is it?" Thor replied, his irritation resurfacing. "Remind me, how was it Loki learned what he did about the Tesseract in the first place? Oh, I remember. He stole Erik Selvig's computing device in the middle of negotiating our alliance with Midgard. And was he made to return it? No, that task was left to me, along with convincing them that his flagrant disregard for their laws was not emblematic of our attitude toward them."
"All right, Thor. You've made your point," Odin told him. "Perhaps we have lately given Loki too much latitude but that is for us to correct, not you. Besides, there are greater concerns to attend to. The Convergence is almost upon us and there will be disturbances enough to keep both of you too busy to argue. Until then, try and exercise some restraint in dealing with your brother."
"And I will tell him to do the same," Frigga put in before Thor could protest about being singled out.
Though it sounded somewhat grudging, Thor promised, "I'll do my best."
~~~|~~~
After finding his rooms to be empty, Frigga knew where to look for Loki next. There was only one other place in the palace her son thought of as a refuge, a place he went to find peace. She entered the library, pausing as she crossed the threshold. The lamps had all been extinguished, leaving the only light coming from the moon outside. Loki must be here, she knew. Only he would do such a thing.
Frigga found him easily. With no other light sources, her eyes were naturally drawn to the windows. Loki sat in one of the window seats, his knees drawn up in front of him and his arms wrapped around them. It never ceased to amaze her how small he could make himself when he wanted to. His face was turned out toward the sky but he heard her approach.
"I almost never just look at them anymore," he said.
"The stars?"
"Mm."
Frigga joined him at the window, sitting on the other end of the seat. The moon cast a pale light over Loki, making his already wan complexion look even more sickly.
"It's good to do so now and again to remind ourselves of the beauty of Yggdrasil."
Loki frowned at the mention of the world tree. "The Convergence is mere days away and I am yet no closer to the Aether."
She sighed. The question had to be asked though she knew what his reaction was likely to be. "Loki, is there a chance you might be wrong about it?"
With the moonlight shining on them, Loki's pale hands fairly glowed where they emerged from his sleeves and rested against his dark clothing. Illuminated as they were, Frigga saw them tighten in response to her question.
"Not you too, Mother," he groaned.
"Loki-"
"I'm not wrong," Loki cut her off, anger bleeding into his tone. "I'm not wrong, or obsessed, or mad, or whatever you all think."
Frigga fixed him with a hard look. "My son, please do me the kindness of not telling me what I am thinking. I was not even implying any of what you said. I believe, as you do, that the Aether was not destroyed. But Loki, if one as clever as you and as dedicated to the search as you are could look for an entire year and find nothing, is it not possible that Bor's precautions were enough to keep it hidden?"
Loki didn't answer. At least, the answer he gave was not in response to her. He turned his gaze out the window once more and jutted his chin toward the city below. "They think I am."
"What?"
"All of Asgard. They think I am a fool who's lost his mind to be worried about the consequences of a war fought five thousand years ago."
"They think no such thing, Loki."
"You know that for a fact, do you?" he said, still looking out and away from her.
Frigga reached over and placed her hand on his arm to get his attention. "Yes, I do. For one thing, the ultimate goal of your quest is known only to a few, so there is no chance the entire realm has an opinion on it. For another, it is not your preoccupation with the Aether that has bewildered everyone. Rather it is that their charming, silver-tongued prince has been replaced by an abrasive, volatile wretch with moods as changeable as the wind, and they know not how or why. They are baffled by you, Loki. Nothing more sinister."
Her son still wouldn't look at her, choosing instead to focus on the hand she laid upon him. "Thor knows the truth. He knows, and yet he treats it as if it is nothing."
"Even you must admit you provoked him into saying so."
"It's not just-" Loki caught himself and took a breath before starting again at a calmer pitch. "It's not just what he says. He spends his every spare moment on Midgard, shirking his responsibilities here. How can he not see that the fate of the entire universe is more important than a single realm?"
"Your brother has not been shirking anything," Frigga told him. "He's fulfilled his duties here before journeying to Midgard each time, with the permission of the All-Father and in accord with the alliance agreement you helped broker. And let us not forget how you have devoted yourself entirely to your search for the Aether to the exclusion of all else, including Thor. What else would you have him do?"
Loki merely shrugged in reply but his eyes strayed over to the book shelves.
"Do you want his aid in finding the Aether?" Frigga asked, a disbelieving smile upon her lips. "Loki, be honest. Would you truly wish him at your side for hours on end in the library, you who prefers silence and solitude when you study?"
His sighed and looked back out the window without speaking. Frigga let the silence linger, using the time to regard him. Loki was grown and possessed of immense power and intellect, yet at times all Frigga could see was the quiet withdrawn boy from her memories. The one who so desired his father's and brother's approval despite doing his best to give every sign to the contrary.
Loki broke the silence before she did. "Thor would be a terrible research partner."
"Indeed, he is far too restless," Frigga agreed. "You'd have to shackle him to the chair to make him sit still."
The barest hint of a smile appeared on Loki's face.
"My son," she went on, "Thor may not share your zeal but I know he doesn't believe what you're doing is unimportant. He wouldn't have sought you out here as his first stop upon returning if he didn't care. It's only that you make it difficult to remember why he should."
"I make it difficult?" he replied, affronted.
Frigga raised an eyebrow at him. "'Mortal pets'? 'That woman'? You are too artful with words to claim that was a slip of the tongue. You know the fastest way to spark Thor's temper is to demean that which he cares about and yet you deliberately provoked him by doing just that. Is it any wonder that he loses sight of the more important things when you aggravate him so?"
Loki heaved a weary sigh. Raking his hands through his hair, he said, "I know. I don't even know why I did it."
"Because you've spent your every waking hour doing nothing but this for a year and you're exhausted. A tired mind doesn't make sound decisions."
There was another reason Frigga suspected why Loki took such exception to Thor spending so much time away but she kept it to herself. Voicing it now would only put him on the defensive again. Perhaps another time, when he was not so worn out she would raise the subject with him. Instead, she got to her feet and extended her hand toward him.
"Come," she said. "You've earned a good night's rest."
"I really should get back to work," he protested.
"No, no more work tonight. It will do no one any good if you are too sleepy to see the words that are before your eyes. Rest now. The books will still be here in the morning."
"But I-"
"Loki, please. Leave them alone for one night and go to bed. Even if you can't sleep, at least allow yourself to rest. As a favour to me."
That last was a bit of a cheat, Frigga knew. Neither of her sons had strength enough to resist an entreaty such as that when it came from her.
"All right," Loki predictably acquiesced.
Frigga smothered the urge to smile watching him unfold himself from the window seat. Taking her proffered arm, they made their way out of the library together.
~~~|~~~
Out in the bifrost observatory, Heimdall turned his attention away from Glaðsheim and out toward the cosmos. As guardian, it was his duty to be on alert for any threat to Asgard, including those that might come from within. A bit of turmoil between the princes was nothing new but if it were to grow into something more, if their discord began to spread beyond the two of them to the rest of the Aesir, it could be the beginning of a civil war. The king and queen had things well in hand but even so, Heimdall knew the course of wisdom was to keep on alert for any more signs of trouble.
Looking outward again, he watched the realms draw ever closer. The Convergence was beauty and chaos entwined, and a sight not seen since before his watch began. The chance to see it all was thrilling, even if he made no outward show of it.
Many in Asgard referred to him as all-seeing but that was not accurate. He could see anything, but not everything and certainly not all at once. There were things in the universe he simply could not see, pockets of darkness into which he could not peer even with his extraordinary sight.
In one such place, an artifact began to stir, awakened by the unusual forces brought on by the Convergence. In another rests a ship, its crew and leader held in stasis, their long sleep soon to end. When it does, a darkness not seen for five millennia will threaten every life in the universe. But not before it tears a family apart.