Asgard Awakening 2, ch 17

Trav was lying in bed with Tiffany, the sheets wrapped around both of them in crazy ways.  The ceiling overhead was gone again, and he was looking at a distant nebula.  Trav thought the sight was beautiful, and so was his new wife.  The fact she might be immortal, and he might be too, was something he hadn’t really considered before this moment.

He tightened his arm around her shoulders and thought of the past for a while.  Being remarried felt weird--it would have felt strange even if he hadn’t just spent a few days with his new wife in her celestial temple.  He knew without any doubt that Beth would approve.  She’d always said he was destined for great things.

“What are you thinking about?” asked Tiffany.  She idly traced her finger through his chest hair.  “Sometimes you get really moody and I can even see the magic inside you swirl differently.”

Trav gave her a look.  “Sometimes I forget you can do that.  How many on Asgard can actually see magic like you and I can?”

“Oh, probably not many.  There are some truly powerful Kin on Asgard, but we are probably in the top dozen right now for seeing magic itself.  You will pull ahead of everyone else eventually.  My future talents will lie in seeing the big picture, not knowledge as a whole.”

Trav nodded.  

She asked again, “What are you thinking about?”

“I was thinking about the past.”

“Oh?”

He nodded.  “There is something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”  Tiffany waited patiently, and Trav started speaking again.  “When I came back from this place to Faith, the town was in the middle of the attack by the Church of Self.  I’m pretty sure they were mixed with Kyvendi forces.  Anyway, Risscith helped me, and he asked that I tell you that he served you faithfully until the end.”

Tiffany nodded gravely, and her eyes grew watery.  “Thank you for telling me.  I felt when he died.”

“There’s more.”

“What?”

“I killed him.  It was a mercy killing.  He asked me not to leave him for the Dacith and I thought that sounded like a good idea.  In fact, the crazy sonofabitch was so honorable I did...something.”

“What did you do, Trav?”  Tiffany’s eyes bored into him, intense behind their sheen of tears.

“I held my hand out and said, ‘Bravery.’  After that I felt a little weird.  Does that mean anything to you?”

Tiffany blinked in surprise and lowered her gaze until she was staring at Trav’s chest.  She looked up and said, “I can’t believe this.”  She tapped her chest.  “It’s here.  I can’t believe I didn’t notice before!”

“Huh?”

“You honored him.  When you recognized his bravery, it must have moved you, and you actually marked his soul.  He must have accepted the gesture too, otherwise it wouldn’t have worked!”

“Tiffany, I didn’t grow up in a magic-based world.  Can you please explain what the heck you’re talking about?”

“Because of what you did, you honored Risscith and more importantly, you marked him.  After I get stronger, I will be able to find his soul!  It’s weakly attached to both of us right now.”

“Find his soul?  You can do that?”

“I can with a marked soul.  Any Restless can mark a soul, but it can’t be faked.  A mortal has to impress us, to make us respect them.  It means more when we’re more powerful, but...this way I can try to fulfill his desire as a faithful servant, even after death.”

“What sort of things can you do?”  The conversation fascinated Trav.

“I can use a marked soul for magic, or enchanting, or find them and put them in an afterlife I eventually create--”

“Afterlife!?”

“Of course.  Oh that’s right, your mantle was from a leader of a pantheon, and a loner.  None of this would likely interest you much, but mortals have called Restless ‘gods’ for a reason.  When we’re at our most powerful, there isn’t really much in the universe we have to fear, other than Titans, or each other.  Some Restless can do all sorts of crazy things, even manipulate souls.”

“That doesn’t seem right.”  Trav frowned.

“Well, you and I both started off mortal, so we’re going to see a lot of this stuff differently than the original Restless.  Religion is very, very complex.  What’s more, there are higher existences than the Restless.  There is also scary stuff out there.  Really scary stuff.  Even the Restless don’t really understand everything in the Universe--remember that, Trav.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.  But still...afterlife?  Like, some of us can seriously make a heaven?  That seems...heretical.”

“Why?  You’re a god.  But I know what you mean.  There are some Restless that serve a higher power, but they’re usually looked down on by other Restless.”

Trav nibbled on his bottom lip and asked, “How is it all even possible?”

“Instinct I guess.  Could you explain how you make valkyries?”  After Trav shook his head, Tiffany said, “Magic is sort of like gravity.  The more of it there is, the more...weight it has and the more it can affect the universe around it.  It’s kind of like talent, too.  Have you ever asked yourself why incredibly talented people don’t usually find out about their talent in their twilight years?  Nature hates a vacuum, and it hates a wasted talent, to the point mortals have to often actively suppress their talents in some way in order to never discover them.  Well, nature also seems to hate magic just sitting around and not being used.”

Trav turned over a hand and looked at his palm.  “It’s crazy for me to think about this stuff sometimes, you know?  Like how strong I could be one day.  Odin was one of the most powerful beings in the entire universe, right?  I can look at how much I’ve grown in the last few months and it feels unreal.”

Tiffany didn’t respond right away.  Finally, she said, “We are both a lot stronger now than we were when we first met, but the reality is we are both very weak.  You still aren’t even a match for a mid-range Rakshasa.”

“Thanks.”

“Better than me.  I am not much of a fighter.”  Tiffany grinned.  “But I am not a pushover either.  Anyway, we both need to build our power.  That means faith, and in your case, you probably need to find another valkyrie or two.”

Trav scratched his cheek. “Does my valkyrie situation...bother you?”

“We’ve already been over this.  It is what it is.”  She shrugged.  “And right now, we need to survive.  Your valkyries are part of you now, and the ability to create them is part of your mantle.  You have inherited one of the most powerful Restless mantles in the entire universe, Trav.”

“Yeah, but you’re my wife now!”  Trav playfully squeezed her thigh and gave her a smile.

Tiffany smiled back, but her expression fell and she played with a lock of her hair.  “Yes, and that will make my own star rise...if we survive.  But by crossing pantheon lines, we’ve made future enemies.”  She saw his expression and elaborated.  “We’ve created a new pantheon just by marrying.”

“Say what now?”

Tiffany sighed.  “There are some Restless, even some mortals and powerful beings out there that don’t think it’s moral or ethical for Restless in different pantheons to marry.  This was one reason Zorya stayed single for thousands of years.  Sure, part of it was the mantle, but part was because new Restless in any pantheon are rare.”

This was all new to Trav.  “Patheons are like god families, right?  Like the Greek gods, the Aztec gods, stuff like that.”

“I don’t recognize those names, but I’d likely recognize the Restless involved.  Restless get around and we can hop Veils pretty easily once we’re powerful enough.  I’m guessing you are right about your understanding of pantheons, though.”

“So Restless in different pantheons don’t get along?”

Tiffany wound some hair around her finger as she stared up at the stars.  “It depends.  Some do, some don’t.  The newer generation seems to be a lot more tolerant, but most of us started off mortal.  Honestly, the entire universe is like a bomb that is ready to blow up at any time.  There are too many individuals running around with too much power and too many grudges to believe otherwise.”

“Lovely.  So why didn’t you tell me all of this back before we got married?”

Tiffany blushed and for a rare moment looked embarrassed.  “I kind of figured you might have already figured it out, and it was a lot to throw at you at the time.”

“And it would make me less likely to agree.”

“That too.”  Tiffany shrugged.  “I’m not going to lie, Trav, I’m on a mission and that hasn’t changed.  The fact I like your company is just an added bonus.  We are a team now, and I don’t intend to lie or mislead you ever again, but I don’t regret withholding information before.  The entire universe runs on struggle, and I can’t lose.  People are depending on me.”

“It is true that the world sucks.”  Trav thought about all the slaves he left behind.  “And small people continue to get fucked, eh?”

Tiffany smiled but it didn’t meet her eyes.  “Oh, always.  That’s always the nature of things, though.  Even if there were unlimited resources for everyone and everything, some would still take advantage of others just to watch the world burn.  Even animals can be evil for the sake of being evil, Trav.”

“This is a cheery subject.”

“Sorry.  Want to do something that requires less talking?”  She propped herself up on an elbow and gave him a hooded look.

Trav growled, “I thought you’d never ask!”  He mock-tackled her back onto the bed and Tiffany squealed.  Before he lost himself in the moment, Trav carefully filed away everything he’d just heard to think about later.  

***

A week came and went too soon in Tiffany’s pocket universe.  She’d confided that she’d named it Tiffyton, and knew it was a stupid name, but didn’t care.  When Trav had asked her why she was only telling him if she didn’t care, she’d punched him in the shoulder.

“Are you ready to go back?”  Asked Trav.  The two of them were properly dressed, refreshed, and both feeling a little sad, but also eager.  Vacations had a way of making a person want to get back to work.

“I don’t think we can put it off any longer.”  Tiffany put her hand in his and quietly said, “Thank you for this.”

“What do you mean?  I was just doing my husbandly duty,” Trav joked.

“No, I’m serious.  This was one of the first times in my life I’ve sort of felt like a normal girl.”

“You mean as you hung out in your personal palace in a pocket dimension in space while you spied on multiple worlds whenever you thought I was sleeping.”

“You saw me!?”

Trav smirked.

Tiffany pursed her lips like she was upset but it dissolved and she gave a helpless shrug.  She chuckled.  “I’m a curious person, and it’s part of my mantle.  What can I say?  But I meant what I said.  You are a good guy, Trav.  You’re a little rough around the edges, and I don’t blame you after all you’ve been through.  I don’t regret marrying you in the slightest.  Thank you for... helping me make this happen.”

Trav was taken aback for a moment.  “Sure.  And thank you for taking care of my valkyries.”

“Of course!  I’m compelled to now, but I like them.  Even without the vows I swore, I would have helped.”

Trav gave her hand a squeeze.  “Maybe we could do this again sometime.”

“I’d love to, but staying here for this long, with the time turned up this way really takes a lot out of me.”  Tiffany shook her head regretfully.  “I’ll definitely keep you informed for when it’s possible, but maybe this can also be another incentive for us to get stronger.  The more power I have, the easier it will be to find a private moment.”

There wasn’t much to say after that, so they just smiled at each other and stepped into the portal back to Asgard.

***  

“I told you,” said Yaakova.  “She’s glowing.  They’ve been mating like crazy.”

“You really think so?” said Ysintrill.

“Definitely.  It’s what I’d do, and I’m a harpy.  For sappy types like you and Tiffany, there is no doubt.”

“This is really not fair.  I only get him for a night at a time anymore.”  Narnaste’s tail swished.

“How long have we been gone?” asked Trav.  All three valkyries were still wearing the same clothes and standing in the same places, so after his first second of flashback terror, remembering Faith, he’d calmed himself.

“Only a few minutes,” said  Yaakova.  “Lady Tiffany, did you mate?”

The blonde Restless smirked and cocked an eyebrow.  “For days.”

“I win.”  Yaakova held out a hand, and Ysintrill rolled her eyes before putting a gold piece into the harpy’s talon hand.

“You bet on this?  Seriously?”  Trav knew he shouldn’t feel embarrassed, especially since he’d been intimate with every woman in the room.  He still felt a little hot around the collar, though.

All three valkyries looked away.  Narnaste’s nose twitched.

Trav sighed and said, “Okay, well moving right along, we haven’t all been reunited yet.  I would like to find Jang-mi to make sure she’s okay, and get her help with what comes next.”

“What comes next?” asked Narnaste.

“Since it sounds like our plan worked earlier...uh, today, we’re going to be training Bravoosa’s Pinions.”

Yaakova folded her arms.  “You know there is no guarantee that the trial for the royal tree will be with squad sized forces.  You might not get the Pinions either.”

“Yes I will.  I can be very persuasive.  Besides, you are going to help me right?”  He winked at her.

She sighed.  “Of course.  But some of us have not just had a vacation and are still in the middle of a very, very long day.   May I eat first, New One?”

“Of course,” said Trav sheepishly.  He caught Tiffany’s eyes and the goddess smiled.  The group dynamic had changed for sure.  Old rage that used to drive him was more of a memory now, but his drive hadn’t decreased at all.  In fact, Trav was still angry, but he was more angry for other people than for himself.  Kyvendi needed to fall, for justice if nothing else.  But that was a concern for tomorrow.  Today, he needed to solidify his shaky position in the East Tribe and train some Harpy soldiers.

“Let’s get to it,” he said.