Thunder rolled across the plains of Asgard. Thick snow swirled like millions of tornados as the thin flicker of a man moved between them nearly unseen. The man moved quickly on his unknown mission. A howl cut the night air freezing the man in his tracks.
"Yes son...this will work...Odin will pay for crossing me.." the thin man's face twisted into a snarl nearly as menacing as the howl heard across the plain.
The man made a standing leap across a rift in the plain. The jump so easy for him would normally be deemed impossible. He landed deftly on a frozen riverbed. Below him he could see the shrine, built by the gods themselves. Inside he knew what rested there. His son the wolf, Fenrir the Wolf, chained and punished for the fear that lived in the great god Odin.
The doors to the shrine creaked and hissed as they pushed open. Snow swirled inside as if trying to escape the cold that kept it present throughout this area of Asgard.
A broken growl rumbled over the marble floor, " Loki" My father....have you come back?"
"Yes....I am ready."
In the dark the massive wolf could be seen chained to the earth. The chain so unmenacing had been his son's downfall and the end of Loki's plan to assume control of Asgard from Odin. Built by the dwarfs of Asgard it was thus far unbreakable.
Shaking his shaggy black body he rose facing the thin, unimposing god.
"Father, I want to repay these gods for crossing our family....this must work. The power of Ragnarok I control shall be unleashed on this land and these cowardly gods."
"It will work my son.....I will place this crystal on your head. It will draw all manner of good from you. It will push the weakness from your body, once all the good is gone your true evil strength will reign. Break the chains....kill Odin."
The great wolf's eyes normally black glowed red. "With pleasure father."
Reaching into a sack on his side Loki removed the glowing crystal. As if predicting future events the wind ripped around the shrine, thunder crashing and lighting strikes crackling the air around them.
A soft mutter of unintelligible words cause the light to pick up around the stone. Placing it upon the wolf's head Loki stepped back. Raising one hand with a flick of his wrist he ended the chant.
The gem pulsed once. With a sharp howl of pain Fenrir collapsed and trembled. The glowing stone sinking into his black fur and skull.
Concerned Loki stepped forward, wondering if he had just sealed his own son's doom with poor research. A blast of energy sent the god Loki spinning like a rag doll to the other side of the Shrine. A small marble dwarf statue shattering like glass as the god hit it.
The wold writhed on the ground, light emitting from his maw as if the light itself was trying to split him in half.
Loki rose quickly in time to see his son lurch forward a wolf cub tumbling from the putrid and yellow jaws.
The cub yelped and slid across the marble coming to rest near Loki's feet in a wet mass.
Fenrir laid back eyeing the whelp. Weakly he stammered, " Wh...What is this?!" A snarl crossing his features.
Loki eyed the pup confused himself. " The....The gem...You should have left the gem. I was supposed to destroy the gem to complete this ceremony."
" Then kill this thing now! Just looking at it causes me pain. I can taste the good in it. I feel weaker, and it is because of this beast, I know it."
Loki paused looking to his son and then the wolf cub laying motionless at his feet. " Yes, kill it. I will throw it into the divide, I'll let the dwarfs clean up the mess." Loki knew he could not spill the cub's blood in the shrine without leaving evidence of his involvement in this conspiracy.
Loki reached down to get the cub as he looked to his son. " In a moment Ragnarok will begin and Asgard will be ours."
He swept the cub under his cloak and hurried from the shrine. Fenrir's dark eyes closing as he rested from the ordeal.
The snowstorm which had begun was nearly blinding as Loki made his way towards the rift he had previously crossed.
As he made his way there he removed his knife to slit the cubs throat ensuring its death should a long fall not do the trick. The movement caused the still wet and small cub to slip from his grip. Once in the snow the cub seemed to take on a life and speed that appeared magically granted. It started jumping up and running from the god.
" Blast!" he yelled the cold wind stealing the air from his lungs. He chased the wolf cub along the plain approaching the precipice that led to the land of Dwarfs. Loki knew the fall would kill any god or man. As he chased the cub he himself became blinded by the near whiteout of the storm. He could just see in the distance the wolf cub running. Then just as suddenly he saw the small animal disappear from sight. He stopped looking down into the emptyness where the cub was last seen.
Shaking his head he considered going down to ensure the deed was done. Thunder rumbled from the mist beneath him. Concerned one of the dwarven warriors below would see him he decided against following up on the lucky fall of the wolfling.
Leaping to the otherside he quickly made his way back towards the Great City. He would need to account for his absence. He could check on his unconcious son at a later time.
-=-=-
In the mist the Dwarves looked at the cub which had fallen from the skies.
" By Thor, it is the spitting image of the Great Wolf, Fenrir."
A gold armored dwarf knight stepped forward. " Yes, I see in his eyes, there is great power in this cub. He is important. But he should not share the same evil name. We will call him FenrisWolf. How this whelp survived such a fall I know not. He is strong. Take him to the city and tomorrow I will look into where he came from and why he so resembles the great evil beast."
Two more warriors stepped forward bowing, " Yes Highness." The warriors scooped the cub up and hurried it through the cavernous opening to the Dwarf city.
((to be continued))
((to be continued))