Jotunheim Part 1

Sitting on a chair and cleaning the fish, Haemon watched Ulfrun embroider something from the rabbit skin. Her long fingers wielded the needle quite skillfully to create some kind of outline out of the ugly hide. "Is there something you want to ask?" Ulfrun suggested, smiling broadly. "What makes you think that?" Haemon asked, noticing the slight sneer in her gaze. "Hmmm let me think, maybe because you're looking at me like a bear at honey?" Pretending that she was really thinking about his question, Ulfrun stopped her sewing for a moment. Her single eye went wide, mimicking shock. "You're a former warrior, aren't you?" The Olympian's face was like a rock with absolutely no emotion, while her bloody hands gutted the fish.

"Wow, I thought Olympians preferred more romantic topics. Eh, I honestly wouldn't want to discuss it. Memories of the past can harbor something quite painful. But since you asked, and I don't want to be a hypocrite either, eh, I'll tell you about my past, if you'll tell me about yours in return! So do we have a deal?" Ulfrun held out her hand to seal the deal. To which Haemon nodded in agreement and, wiping his hand of blood, held it out in return. As they clasped hands together in a handshake, the two began to go about their business again, taking turns telling each other about their dark past.

"You're wondering why I gave up my military career and started living in the middle of nowhere, aren't you? Ha-ha I shudder to think of my own memories, does that happen to you sometimes?" Her voice trembled with her own pain while her fingers slowly clenched into fists. A slight anger boiled in her blood, though not for long, but still let the Olympian know that the woman before him had passed through a valley of pain and betrayal. "Yes," The warrior replied briefly as he continued to watch her in cold blood.

"Oh, then perhaps you can understand me. Once upon a time there were many giants like you in these parts, tall and strong, and their wisdom astonished many. And then one unfortunate night, walking through the woods, a Jotun girl managed to attract the attention of the King of all Ases to her misfortune. An evil old madman, eager to know all the secrets of the universe, but unable to see beyond his own nose. Ha-ha and this girl condemned her entire family to perdition by marrying an old madman. And no matter how much her sister dissuaded her, she still insisted. Thereby giving Odin a son capable of reaching the strength of the giants. A mad guardian of the gates! Whose greed could only equal his father's greed. Forgive me, I can't!" Unable to endure the painful memories, the girl covered her face with hands.

"You lost to your own son?" Haemon asked calmly, not noticing the woman's discomfort. His cold voice like ice brought the girl to her senses causing her to continue the story. "Oh, ha ha, no Heimdall is not my son at all! He is my nephew. Though if you had asked me that before, I would have said yes rather than no. For he was dear to me indeed! But that was before he and his bloodthirsty brother decided to have a massacre at the wedding in Jotunheim. You're wondering how I lost my eye, aren't you? Ha, so here's my answer. My own nephew plucked out my eye with the words that a monster like me is not worthy of it" Unable to stand it any longer she stuck the needle right into the table with a powerless scream of rage. "I hope you're satisfied Olympian!" Gritting her teeth, she was about to leave but Haemon stopped her: "I see even the other worlds are full of those who crave the suffering of the innocent. Hehehehe you say you got your eye taken out? It could be worse, like my own Uncle burned me alive when he kidnapped someone I cared about. So your anger is something very natural to all worlds. The weak will always be playthings in the hands of the strong" There was no pain or sadness in Haemon's eyes, only hunger. His creepy quiet voice, as if death itself enveloped the room, causing Jotun to sit back in her chair and not move.

Her eye froze with horror at the sight before her. The silhouette of a huge black snake stared at her with its huge red eyes, and the creature opened its mouth to reveal its huge fangs. The woman's nostrils were filled with the hideous, poisonous smell of rot and flesh. Only at that moment she realized that this was no ordinary Olympian bred beside the palace guards and retinue. Oh no, this is not a boy accustomed to the luxury of kings, this is a barbarian who worked his way to the top through the corpses of his enemies and brothers. A warrior who has tasted defeat, tasted his own blood. Defeated by a hunger for vengeance no less than her own. His fangs grinned in a sort of grin that made the woman look away so she wouldn't faint.

"Please answer the last question," the barbarian asked gently, rising from his chair and walking up close to her. "Yes, of course, ask what you want!" With a forceful smile she tried to suppress her growing fear. "Do you want to be complete again?" With a sharp black claw he slowly pointed to his own eye, letting her know that he could sacrifice his own flesh for her. All she had to do was agree and she would regain her ability to see fully. "I'm not offering you revenge, of course, but at least some of the mercy you showed me," his voice remained calm and gentle, trying not to frighten the girl. "What will happen if I agree?" With fear in her voice she whispered.

"You'll be able to see the world fully again. And if you want to, you can become part of my family" Haemon slowly touched her hair, watching her every breath. "If I agree to all of this, do you promise not to touch Vidar?" At this point she more or less came to her senses and confidently asked the fate of her ward. A motherly instinct burned in her eyes, and that pleased the Olympian quite a bit. "If you consider him as part of your family then I will also consider him as part of mine!"

"I agree!" Resolutely and sharply the girl replied, clutching the chair tightly and digging her nails into it. "Good! Then just hold still!" Grasping her firmly by the chin, the Olympian immediately plucked his own eye from her skull cortex, and inserted it into the giantess as a gift. Now she and Vidar were part of something new, something so grandiose that even Odin himself could not have imagined such a development. Ulfrun could not withstand the pain and passed out from painful shock. Leaving the Olympian and Vidar to cook dinner alone together.

The next morning

Ulfrun woke up to a noise outside, someone was obviously fighting with somebody, and frightened that the all-father himself had come after them, she immediately ran out to see what was going on....