6 Frost Giants

"My king, a report has come in from Asgard," spoke a woman adorned in silver and grey armor as she entered the tent.

"Has it now," asked Odin, not looking up from the large map sprawled out across the table he was leaning over. "Does it have anything to do with those two battalions of yours that were sent to support Hela? The last few briefings since then have inspired confidence."

The woman smirked with pride at the praise of her sisters and stood a little straighter as she responded, "Unfortunately not, my king. This one was sent by Heimdall personally, so it most likely has to do with the prince."

Odin glanced up at the answer, pulling away from the table and settling back into the chair behind him. He rested an elbow on the armrest and scratched at his beard as he pondered over her words, "Hmm. What has it been, five weeks? He should be coming across his targets any day now."

He waved the woman over, indicating for her to hand him the missive. As he undid the enchanted seal on the letter and read it over, Odin continued, "Yes, seems like that's indeed the case. What do you think Brunnhilde, do you believe your prince can handle his task?"

From his seat, the king grabbed a mug of ale off the table and finished it off while he waited for the leader of his Valkyries to gather her thoughts.

"Had he been freshly fed and well rested, I would've said yes," she answered after a moment. "But in his current state? I can't say for sure."

Odin grunted in affirmation and set down his mug. After seeing she had more to add, he stood and began gathering his things before indicating for her to continue.

"It also depends on who he comes across," Brunnhilde shrugged. "During my rites I was probably less than 40% full strength by the time I reached my targets, if the prince meets any moderately sized warband it would be more than he can handle."

"That is my view as well," Odin said as he grabbed his spear and put on his helmet. "Luckily for the lad, most of their warriors will be elsewhere by the time he makes contact. If he can't take care of the few stragglers than he deserves to fail."

After tightening his bracers, Odin flicked a small flame towards the table which swiftly reduced the report and all other sensitive information to ash. Checking himself in the standing mirror, Odin nodded and began to step towards the exit, patting the Valkyrie on her shoulder as he passed.

When the king lifted the tent flap, revealing rows upon rows of black armored men and grey armored women to the pair, he continued speaking to Brunnhilde as they walked through the lines, "With the completion of his trial however, I'll be able to pass tentative command of the Jotunheim front over to him within the next few years. I figure you and Fyr should be able to finish up without me by then."

Brunnhilde nodded at the logic as she followed the king. It made sense, after a few years of honing his domain, the prince would be able to take over. Odin had injured Laufey quite badly around a decade ago and if reports from Asgard were to be believed, he would need at least a century to recover to the point of rejoining the war.

However, as the two neared the front of the formation, there was something that still nagged at her, "But my king, what will you be doing, if I might ask."

Odin grunted in affirmation as he nodded and answered her, "The situation on Niflheim is untenable and can't go on as it has. It's not a simple matter of troop strength or numbers either. The Hrímthur are nearly impossible to drag out into open battle, preferring instead to gnaw at our heels and wear us down before escaping into the ice."

He spit to the side in disgust as he spoke of the Ice Giants that had waylaid his plans of conquest for centuries, "I've tasked Hela to seek out a way to hasten their demise and once I'm relieved here, I'll be doing the same. This war has gone on for too long, it's come due time to end it."

Their discussion ended as the two reached the front line. Ahead, marching towards them in thundering unison, a hundred thousand Jotunn and Frost Beasts crested over the horizon. To their backs, tens of thousands Einherjar and Valkyries stood ready to lay waste to them all.

Seeing this, Brunnhilde grinned savagely as she mounted Warsong and donned her helmet. She reared back the winged steed and looked over her shoulder at the rest of her sisters, her cruel smile widening as she spots similar looks to her own across all their faces.

The bloodlust in the air was nearly a tangible thing and it sent shivers of excitement coursing through the veins of every Asgardian standing primed for battle.

As Odin strode forward atop his now legendary horse Sleipnir, Brunnhilde too spurred her partner ahead and called out to him as they charged, "Well my king, I'm sure most of us wouldn't mind if it lasts just a little longer!"

_______________________________

*Crack-*

"Hahh, hahh, ha," Fyr panted over the limp body of the first life he'd ever taken, his arm coated with fresh blood and shattered bone fragments as it sank into the space a Jotunn's neck used to reside.

It had all occurred so fast that Fyr hadn't even registered what was happening until his body was already airborne. A single spear of pure ice, almost invisible against the frozen canyon walls, had crashed into his back at near supersonic speeds and sent him skidding across the frozen ground. He'd have to do something for Hela and Fenris next time he saw the pair, their cloak had been the only thing preventing him from getting skewered.

On instinct Fyr had rolled with the blow, sliding to a stop just ten feet before a hidden crevasse that had escaped his notice till then. When he looked up it was to find two blood red eyes an arms length away, staring down at him with cruel malice.

Before it could finish conjuring another spear, Fyr had dove straight at the Jotunn, tackling it to the ground and pinning its neck beneath his forearm.

The Jotunn then abandoned its previous goal and opted for a knife that it stabbed towards Fyr's face. With a bit of telekinesis, he was able to adjust the blade's path enough to just barely avoid losing an eye, settling instead for a gash across his temple.

Enraged, Fyr had then grabbed his wrist and exerted all his strength into the arm pinning the Jotunn to the ground. In just a second, the Frost Giant's neck was crushed into a splattered mess of gore and even the ice beneath had cracked under the force.

The fight hadn't lasted more than thirty seconds.

*Crunch*

Fyr's head snapped around, the adrenaline of his previous encounter had thankfully not yet faded as three more Jotunn landed atop the snow behind him. They must've been following him from atop the canyon walls for some time now, his exhausted and long starved state not possessing the energy to notice.

Thinking quickly, Fyr jumped back near the crevasse, hoping to utilize it to thin their numbers if the opportunity arose. He knew the last fight only ended so easily because the Jotunn hadn't expected someone so haggard to attack as swiftly and with as much strength as he'd done. It wouldn't have gotten so close to simply finish him off otherwise.

Fyr began walking backwards as the Frost Giants moved to encircle him. Subtly, he used some telekinesis to pile up loose snow along the edge of the crevasse, hoping to obscure it from view before they noticed.

As they approached, the Jotunn in the middle spoke towards Fyr, "What do we have here, a lost Asgardian so far from home? Hehehe."

It conjured two ice daggers as it chuckled, the others remaining silent while creating spears of their own. Fyr could tell the laughter was forced and held an undercurrent of simmering hatred. He guessed this little scouting party was close and didn't take too kindly to him killing their fourth companion.

"You know," the Jotunn continued, "you don't look so good. I was quite surprised you managed to take down Agolodr so easily in that state. Sure he-"

An ice spear shot out towards Fyr's thigh from his left, forcing him to jump to avoid being crippled before the battle even began. As he was in the air, the Jotunn that had been speaking threw both his daggers at Fyr, aiming for his chest.

Fyr was forced to transition his jump into a backflip, utilizing telekinesis to create steps in the air to push off of. As he landed a second spear shot towards his stomach, to which Fyr wrapped his cloak around himself and took the blow head on. Since he was prepared, this time he wasn't sent flying by the strike but he guessed his right arm would be sore for the next few days.

"Well, well, well," the Frost Giant mocked as Fyr gritted his teeth. "You can even use some magic in your condition. That head of yours is just becoming more and more valuable."

Fyr didn't respond, talking would require him to exert energy and he couldn't waste any of the precious little he currently possessed.

He instead observed his opponents thoroughly. The speaker was clearly only doing so to try and make him act rashly, whether out of annoyance or pride it didn't matter. The Jotunn to his left was aiming to immobilize him with that last strike, while the one to his left went for the kill right away. He guessed the three had worked together for a long time, all of them aiming for different vital areas with no noticeable communication between one another and remaining spread out enough to not get in each other's way.

Fyr wiped the blood from his temple as he ignored the one who continued talking. He crouched down and slid the knife strapped to his boot in between the bracer on his left forearm. It would be useful to deflect anymore flying ice daggers if needed and could potentially incapacitate one of the Jotunn if he got a swipe in.

Had he been at full strength he might not have needed it, but in his present state, he'd take all the advantages he could get.

Coming up with a plan, Fyr's body tensed as he feigned jumping for the middle giant. It stopped speaking immediately and it's eyes grew sharp.

Fyr plastered a cocky smirk across his face to help sell the act as he stomped down with full force, lifting loose snow and rocks up into the air fifty feet in all directions.

Using telekinesis, Fyr exacerbated the clouds of powder to obscure their view of him and charged full speed towards his right, launching a kick at the knee of the Jotunn.

*Krek*

The Frost Giant's knee bent backwards with a sickening crunch as it let loose a scream of pain. Losing balance, the Jotunn began to collapse to the side while Fyr rapidly attacked its kidney, liver, and grabbed its wrist, striking up to snap the elbow.

An ice spear sailed over his head as Fyr ducked beneath the swipe. With the Jotunn's wrist in hand, he moved behind it to get some cover between himself and the other two before striking it in the base of the skull, shattering bone and killing the first of the three.

The clouds of snow still lingered in the air but that didn't stop two ice spears and six daggers from flying through the powder, striking the now dead Jotunn in the chest. One of the spears broke through the corpse and lodged itself into Fyr's shoulder, drawing blood and forcing the young god to abandon his newfound cover.

Fyr jumped into the air, cresting over the billowing snow and locating his two foes. As they also noticed him, he flipped his body downwards and created two steps with telekinesis to push off of, launching back into the obscuring clouds immediately.

"ENOUGH!" Shouted the dagger wielding Jotunn as it began to conjure more by the second, throwing them in the direction Fyr fell.

Fyr tried to dodge them as he moved towards the other Frost Giant with an ice spear but, little by little, more and more cuts started to appear on his arms, legs, and ribs.

As he reached the Jotunn, Fyr palmed a spear thrust to the side and close the distance between them. As he moved in however, the giant pivoted and dropped an elbow, striking Fyr hard in the shoulder, dislocating it easily.

Fyr let out a grunt at the pain, staggering and unable to complete his strike with only one arm. Thinking swiftly, he flicked his other wrist, revealing a steel dagger which he rammed up into the Jotunn's jaw, killing it instantly.

A sharp pain shot up from his calf right after the kill and Fyr flipped over the corpse for cover. Three consecutive thumps could be heard as more ice daggers found their mark in the recently deceased Jotunn's chest.

Fyr looked down and grimaced as he removed the one sticking out his calf, grabbing some shaved ice from the ground and rubbing it in the wound as he caught his breath.

*Crunch*

*Crunch*

"Kasyck," a new voice spoke, "we heard yo-"

"He killed Agolodr, Ornd, and Grinr," the first speaker, 'Kasyck,' interrupted. "Stick together, this Asgardian is full of tricks. He picked them off when we separated."

Two grunts could be heard over the crushing of snow beneath their steps as they moved on Fyr's position.

Fyr cursed in his head at the new arrivals. He was barely holding on as is and the addition of more fighters didn't bode well for him. His snow clouds were being dissipated by the Jotunn and the same trick wouldn't work a second time. It only did so in the first place because he acted before they could react, masters of ice magic would never normally be fooled by such simple things.

As the clouds were being removed, Fyr directed more snow towards the crevasse with his telekinesis, his body couldn't handle three more fights and it was his only chance. He stacked small mounds along the edge and hoped in his heart that they wouldn't notice the drop on the other side.

"There!" The clouds dissipated and one of them shouted. Fyr dove to the side, narrowly avoiding two ice spears that fell upon his previous position.

Seeing all three charging him, Fyr readied himself as he went over all the training he'd gone through during the past years in his mind. Suddenly, a certain event appeared in his memories and he inwardly smirked, careful to keep any expression from showing on his face.

As the three neared, Fyr dashed towards them as well. Using telekinesis, he created a small force barely a few inches off the ground, tripping two of the Jotunn's.

Fyr attacked the one that managed to remain on his feet, parrying a spear thrust and sending a kick towards its heel, knocking it to the ground.

The two he'd tripped quickly got to their feet, resuming their charge and attacking Fyr together. A spear thrust nicked into his shoulder as he dodged ice daggers being launched at him like bullets.

Fyr broke the spear construct with an elbow, grabbing the tip and slamming it into the Jotunn's chest. Unfortunately, the ice assimilated into the Frost Giant's body, not damaging it in the least.

As the third attacker rose and joined the assault, Fyr was quickly getting overwhelmed. He started guiding the battle towards the crevasse, occasionally landing a few blows but unable to inflict any lasting damage.

Three daggers found their way into Fyr's ribs as he mistimed a dodge, not penetrating deeply but still driving the air from his lungs and knocking him off his feet. Fyr performed a backwards roll into the blow and landed on his knees, only to receive a kick to the chin, forcing him to roll once more. This time landing further away and near his goal.

As a spearman lunged for his throat in hopes of finishing him off, Fyr sidestepped the strike and dragged the spear forward. The Jotunn stumbled, allowing Fyr to send a kick to his back, forcing him into the crevasse.

The two remaining Jotunn's were briefly stunned before rage overshadowed their disbelief and they charged, screaming savage warcries as they attacked. This marked the fourth Frost Giant Fyr had struck down and their blood red eyes were aglow with fury.

Fyr was beyond exhausted by this point. Weeks of starvation and being forced to use his divine power to maintain his body had drained him to the point where he could barely remain standing. However, seeing the two blue bastards glaring at him with such malice rekindled his own wrath that'd been steadily building up over his time on this world.

Without heed for his reserves, Fyr unleashed the full might of his divine power, crushing the shins of the spear wielder and the wrists of Kasyck with his telekinesis. The spearman crumbled to the ground, screaming in agony while Kasyck fell to its knees.

Fyr stumbled over to the one lying down in the snow and with his full strength, crushed its skull beneath his boot.

Kasyck, seeing its last comrade being executed in such a manner, snarled and bared its sharp pointed teeth at Fyr. The Jotunn spit at him as it rose to its feet. Though unable to launch its daggers any longer, it could still fight, if barely.

Fyr wasn't in a much better state, his numerous injuries compounded the weakness felt throughout his body. Nevertheless, he stalked towards the sole surviving Jotunn, intent on finishing the battle once and for all.

Kasyck lunged, driving its shoulder into Fyr's stomach and taking him back to the ground while the young Aesir rained down elbow strikes upon the Frost Giant's shoulder, to little effect.

The Jotunn stabbed a dagger into Fyr's thigh, roaring from the pain of its own broken wrists.

The prince grunted as he wrapped his arm around the neck of the foe atop him. As the Jotunn struggled, digging its blades of ice deeper into his thigh, Fyr squeezed and twisted.

With the last of his strength and a mighty howl, Fyr snapped the Frost Giant's neck.

The man laid there, heaving great gulps of air as he reveled in his victory. He couldn't get up, the pain of his many injuries so great that they even overshadowed his month long hunger. With great effort however, he managed to push the limp body off him and rolled away from the corpse, finally able to catch his breath with the immense weight now off his chest.

Darkness crept upon the corners of his vision and he knew he could no longer remain here. If he were to lose consciousness within what was undoubtedly near the main territory of the Frost Giants, it was unknown if he'd ever awaken again.

Right as he was about to call for an evac however, one of the requirements for his task crossed his mind, "…return with proof of your victory."

He groaned, unwilling and unable to move from his position on the ground. With a force of will, he rolled onto his side and stifled a cry as his shoulder popped back into its socket.

Seeing the body of Kasyck lying next to him, the individual who he assumed was the leader of this small scouting party, Fyr glanced over its form, searching for anything to serve as evidence of his victory.

The blue skinned being wore no pendants or rings, not even any armor more than bracers and what Fyr presumed was a kilt of some kind.

However one thing did catch his eye, a marking tattooed on its chest. He wasn't paying much attention to such things during the battle, but as he went over the fight in his mind he noticed that none of the other Jotunn possessed anything similar.

Coming to a decision and unwilling to spend another minute longer than necessary on this forsaken world, Fyr crawled back over to the corpse, picking up one of the discarded ice daggers nearby.

As he carved away the skin that held the tattoo, thoughts of how his current actions would be viewed in his previous life briefly passed through Fyr's mind, before swiftly being ignored as he didn't give two shits about what they thought.

Finished with his macabre task, Fyr flopped back down spread eagle over the frozen ground as his eyes began to close against his will. Right before he became lost in the realm of dreams, he called out to the one person still observing the canyon.

"Heimdall," he mumbled, "bring me home."

*************************************

Author Note:

Last chapter of the year!

Whew, this was the first time I've ever written a fight scene and man, it was hard. Idk if this is way too long for a fight, but I think this one is special bc it's one of the only (if not the only) fight mc will have when he's so incredibly weakened. Also this is his first 'real' fight where his life hangs in the balance so it should be longer right?

This is the longest chapter so far at >3.5k words and I hope you enjoyed it.

As always, your support motivates me to write more! Throw your stones at me and add to your collections, maybe this fic will top the ratings one day.

Lots of cool stuff coming to the novel next year, hope your all as excited to read it as I am to write! Happy New Year!