Fara i Viking - Chapter 15

Chapter XV – The Truth Behind the Myth

Mathias, Eiríkur, Tino and Berwald were lead in through the gates of the city. Up close they could see that the construction was all very old, ancient even. The outer walls were stone, carefully shaped and constructed by what must have been master craftsmen. They passed through a pair of large wooden gates, carved with the designs of trees and plants. Inside the walls, the buildings were just as ancient, wooden walls and thatched roofs set atop stone foundations. It was like stepping back in time, to a time that the four men could barely imagine.

As they passed through the streets there were very few people. Those they did see were dressed in the same fashion as the group that greeted them, and all were just as tall and elegant. The men could not help staring a little at the strange people and even stranger scenery. But for there part, most of the people they saw stared right back, just as curious about the otherworlders.

The walk through town felt longer than it actually was. Eventually they were shown into a building. The main room comprised a meeting hall of sorts, an oval table surrounded by chairs. The wooden walls were decorated with fabric hangings and tapestries that depicted men and women amongst beautiful scenery from forest glades to striking cities. The weaving on these tapestries was so fine it was almost impossible to see and easy to mistake for a photograph. It was only when the men got closer they were able to see that it was actually fabric.

Vala, their guide, directed them to sit down at the table and took a seat herself in one of the high-backed chairs. By now the other members of their greeting party had left them. Clearly they did not see the men as a threat. Mathias almost felt insulted.

"I would like to welcome you to Alfheim," Vala said as she took a seat at the head of the table. "My people have always been happy to help those who travel through the stars."

"Thank you," Tino smiled and leaned forward in his seat. The little gunman greatly preferred how this meeting was going over how their last few landings had gone. "We are grateful for it, and we're happy to have found you. I'm Tino, and this is Mathias, Eiríkur and Berwald," he introduced them, pointing to each man respectively. "We're very pleased to meet you."

Vala smiled back at him kindly. Suddenly Mathias was glad to have the cheerful Finn with them. Tino was much more personable than the others; much better in friendly situations like this. "I am pleased to meet you, as well; and pleasantly surprised, as well. Your kind has never traveled beyond the asteroid belt. What brings you to our part of the galaxy?" The woman asked.

"We're looking for Asgard," Mathias said bluntly. "But we have no charts of this sector and no knowledge of its location."

"You are lucky that you found us, then," Vala replied. "It is not advisable to wander the galaxy without direction."

"So you know where it is?" Tino asked, perhaps a little too eagerly. He sat himself up on his knees to better see over the table, which was designed for the high-statured people of this land and just a bit too high for Tino's comfort.

The woman nodded, "We know it well, although it has been many years since any of our people sought to go there."

"Can you tell us where it is?" Mathias asked, leaning forward impatiently.

Vala turned her attention to the overeager captain and favored him with an annoyed stare. "That is within our power. But I must first ask what your business is. Asgard's civilization has been dead for centuries, there is little there worth finding."

"We are looking for something," Eiríkur said. "An item out of our old legends. We only want to see if the stories are true."

"You are treasure hunters," Vala concluded.

"No," Tino said quickly. "Well… I guess we are, in a way." They were looking for legendary treasure. But if the woman thought they were only looking for personal gain then she would never give them the location of the planet. "But we just want to find out what parts of the legends are true."

However, Vala did not look as though she believed this story. If so, she believed quite rightly. "The artifacts of Asgard are extremely dangerous and should not be used without knowing the consequences. It would be easy for one of your kind to misuse their technology."

"If they didn't want anyone else to get their technology, then why did they give some of it to us?" Mathias asked.

The woman frowned as she looked at him. "Of what do you speak?" she asked.

"Well we have-," Mathias started, but was quickly cut off by Eiríkur.

"He means there're stories," Eiríkur was quick to interrupt before their captain said something stupid and lost them this chance to get information. "About these keys that were given to all the races, and you need all of them to open some temple."

"I see," Vala said thoughtfully. "I believe I know of what you speak. There are some things that the Aesir built that were so powerful they believed it dangerous for even their own people to use them. These they locked away in a vault, making them inaccessible to anyone without the proper keys. It was designed to be impenetrable, and to ensure it remained so, the Aesir scattered the keys across the galaxy. For safe keeping, each race was given one key. This way no one could access the vault without the cooperation of all three races in your sector, as well as the Aesir themselves. It was meant to ensure that no one race gained control of the technology within, for if they did it would give them far too much power over the others.

"We have always feared that your people might follow the same path as the Aesir," Vala added. "A path which lead them to ruin."

The four men looked at each other nervously. This was sounding much more serious then they had imagined all those months ago on the space station. "What, exactly, lead the Aesir to ruin?" Tino asked nervously, uncertain he wanted to hear the answer. Anything that could decimate an entire civilization, especially one so advanced, must be terrible to imagine.

Vala stared at the men thoughtfully for a long moment before she began to speak again. "There were once three civilizations in this sector: the Aesir, the Vanir, and ourselves, the Alfar. Both the Aesir and the Vanir were highly technologically advanced; advancements beyond your comprehension. We had dealings with them, but their technology was never of any interest to us, and they had little else to offer for trade. However, relations between the Aesir and the Vanir were always strained. Their planets, Asgard and Vanaheim, shared the same parent star and they frequently quarreled over resources. The conflicts escalated until finally war broke out between them.

"This war lasted for many decades. Our own people regularly found ourselves suffering the collateral damage or serving as intermediaries. But their two peoples were never able to find a common ground. Not until it was too late. The decades of war decimated the population on both sides until there were simply not enough citizens left to fight. Only with the threat of extinction were they able to find peace.

"They hoped to save their race by merging their remaining peoples. But it did not work. The population was already too devastated. And so they died out. None have stepped foot upon either planet since then."

When the woman finished speaking silence descended upon the room. It was a sobering tale. The reality lessened the glamour of the legendary Asgard. "Then that is why they broke off contact with our people," Eirikur surmised after a long moment.

"I expect as much," Vala replied. "Though I do not pretend to know their minds, it was not long before the war began that the asteroid belt was constructed. It would not be foolish to guess that the Aesir knew what was coming."

"They knew the war would come," Tino breathed. "And they did not want to get us involved."

Vala nodded sagely. "Yours are a primitive people," she stated.

"Primitive?" Mathias scoffed.

The woman stared at him, once again frowning at his outburst. "The technology of the Aesir and Vanir is beyond your comprehension," she said pointedly.

That statement only irritated Mathias more. "Lady, you haven't seen or heard from our people for hundreds of years. You don't know what we're capable of."

"And yet I see you now and you do not seem to have changed significantly," the woman said.

Mathias bristled angrily and seemed about to say something more before pointed, angry looks from his crew members silenced him. They would gain nothing by arguing with this woman. "Will you tell us the location of Asgard?" Eiríkur asked. "We understand what we are getting ourselves into, but we can only give you our word that we will do what's best."

Vala turned her attention to the teen and a smile played on her lips. "I appreciate your honesty," she spoke. "And I will consider your request. For now, I will invite you and your crew to take respite in our city and replenish your supplies. Rooms here can be prepared for you to stay if you desire."

"Oh, yes please," Tino smiled. "We would really appreciate that."

"Very well; four rooms?" Vala asked.

"There are two more of us back on the ship," Mathias said.

"But Berwald and I can share," Tino added quickly.

"In that case I'm sharing with Aleks," Mathias decided.

"Don't make those sorts of decisions without him," Eiríkur snapped.

"Four rooms'll be fine," Berwald said, speaking up for the first time to put an end to his crewmates' bickering.

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The rooms they were given were a definite step up from anywhere the crew had stayed in the past. While Eiríkur ran back to the ship to fetch his brother and Peter, Mathias, Berwald and Tino were given a brief tour of the facility they would be calling home for the next few days. From Vala they learned that the building was a meeting hall, and the living quarters located at the back of the structure were designed to house visitors from other settlements on the planet during councils and negotiations.

Vala showed them four rooms they could use for the duration of their stay on the planet, all lushly decorated in the same style as the meeting room where they had spoken. Everything here was so much more lavish and beautiful than anything the men had seen before. It was breathtaking. Vala assigned them four rooms at the end of a corridor, and bowed as she left them to sort out the arrangements themselves.

"This place is amazing," Tino breathed when he thought she was out of earshot.

Mathias nodded in agreement and poked his head into one of the rooms to take a look, whistling in admiration of what he found. "People actually live like this? I thought it was only in stories."

"It's almost like a dream, isn't it?" Tino mused, and pushed open the door to another room to look inside. "Are they all pretty much the same? I guess we'll take this one then," he decided after a quick look around.

"Aleks and I'll be next door then," Mathias decided.

"I told you not to make decisions like that on your own," Eiríkur snapped in annoyance and swatted at the captain, but Mathias dodged out of the way.

"There's no need to be jealous, Eiríkur," Mathias teased. "Just because your brother has me all to himself."

"Gross. I could never be jealous of you," the teen grumbled. "I have no idea what Aleks sees in you. You must have brainwashed him somehow."

"I think you give him too much credit," Tino laughed. "If you think he's capable of brainwashing anyone."

Mathias pouted; he never liked it when the others ganged up on him like this. "Sure I could, if I wanted to. But I didn't need to. I got Aleks with nothing but my charm and good looks," he bragged.

"Since when've you had either of those?" Berwald asked flatly.

"Since always," Mathais retaliated easily. "But I wouldn't expect you to be able to recognize it."

Berwald rolled his eyes, but let the subject drop. He wasn't in the mood to get in another petty fight with the captain. Although arguments with Mathias provided good entertainment on long and boring space flights, there were many things he would rather do when they were planetside. Namely, spend time away from Mathias.

"Well," Eiríkur interrupted the silence, "I'm going to get Aleks and Peter, then. And when they get here you can discuss where my brother will be sleeping tonight," he said, looking pointedly at Mathias, who did not even have the decency to look ashamed of himself.

"Tell Aleks I'll be waiting for him," Mathias said with that same stupid grin on his face. Eiríkur flashed him a rude gesture before leaving, but the captain just laughed it off.

With a sigh and a roll of his eyes Tino watched the pair. "You really shouldn't tease him like that, you know," he said.

"He likes it," The captain insisted. "Don't worry. He only disapproves because he can. You know how kids his age are." Tino was not certain that was entirely the case, but it was unlikely Mathias saw any deeper into the situation. And arguing with him was pointless. "I'm going to have a look around," Mathias announced, bringing the conversation to a close. "You two have fun," he added with a suggestive wink before turning on his heel and heading off to explore.

As soon as they were left alone to settle into their room Tino trotted over to the bed and flopped down onto the mattress, immediately sinking into the soft cushions and blankets. He sighed happily, "I love beds."

Berwald chuckled a little as he watched this display and followed Tino to the bed at a more sedate pace, although he was just as happy about their accommodations for the night. It had been a long time since they had slept in a proper bed. And as much as he loved Tino, spending every night crammed into their small bunk on the Hofvar was not the most comfortable. Tino watched as the tall man crossed the room and seated himself on the edge of the bed. Berwald let out an almost imperceptible sigh as he lay back and let himself relax onto the mattress beside Tino.

"I miss beds," Tino said after they had lain there for a while. "Being this comfortable every night would be amazing." Berwald grunted in agreement. After another moment Tino rolled over onto his side to look at his companion. "How's your back?" he asked.

"S'fine," Berwald replied.

"Let me see," Tino said, sitting up quickly and looking down at the other man.

Berwald frowned. "Y' saw it this morning," he said. "It hasn't changed."

Tino sent him a pleading look and leaned down over Berwald. "I just want to be sure you're alright," he murmured.

"M'fine," Berwald assured him. "S'all healed now. Nothin' t' worry about." This was not the complete truth. There were still patches of freshly healed pink skin around the toughening scars and Berwald was constantly stretching to be sure those scars did not tighten up as they were healing. But there was nothing more that Tino could do to help.

With a heavy sigh Tino lay down again. "Alright, if you say so," he murmured.

But as Tino lay back down, Berwald sat up. "Let's just go t'sleep," he said.

"Sleep?" Tino raised his head to watch the man, a frown on his face. "You want to go to sleep?" He sat up again and crawled over to Berwald. "We might only get to spend one night here. I hardly think we should let this opportunity go to waste."

"Opportunity?" Berwald looked over at Tino curiously.

The gunman nodded. "This bed," he murmured, and looped his arms around Berwald's shoulders. "It's so comfortable. And it has plenty of room for two people." Tino watched with amusement as his lover's cheeks turned pink behind the rims of his glasses. "Let's make the most of it while we have the chance."

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With help from one of the Alfar who had greeted them, Eiríkur found an easier way through the forest between the settlement and their ship and was back to retrieve Aleksander and Peter. He trotted in through the cargo bay door and headed up to the main deck in search of his brother. The clanging of his footsteps on the metal flooring was more than enough to announce his presence, almost better than any vocal warning he could have given.

He found the two on the bridge. Peter was practically sitting on the controls while he looked out the windows, trying to see everything he could of the planet while he was stuck on the ship. Aleksander sat in his usual seat, keeping an eye on the boy just in case. They both turned when Eiríkur arrived.

"I assume since you're not running in here screaming that everything went well?" Aleksander asked.

"Yes," Eiríkur replied. "We met the natives. They're nice, and they're letting us stay in town for a while."

Peter hopped off of the control panel and ran over to Eiríkur, grinning excitedly. "Do we get to meet them now? I want to meet the aliens! What are they like?"

"Yeah, you can meet them," Eiríkur assured. "They… I guess they're not that much different from us. But they're all as tall as Berwald and they wear kind of funny clothes. But you shouldn't tell them that. And you shouldn't call them aliens, either, they won't like that. They call themselves the Alfar."

Peter repeated the name in wonder, still grinning. "Can we go now? Let's go!" he cheered.

"In a minute. I need to get some things from here," Eiríkur said. He looked over at his brother, "You should probably get Mathias' things," he advised. "Berwald and Tino are going to come back later."

Aleksander nodded and stood up after shutting down the ship's engines fully. "Should only take a minute, then we can go," he said, and ruffled Peter's hair as he passed the boy, heading back toward their quarters.

"You should probably grab anything you need, too," Eiríkur added.

Peter looked up at him with wide, curious eyes. "Like what?" he asked.

"Clothes," Eiríkur said before he could think better. Peter had no other clothes. "Um… Or, you know, anything to keep yourself occupied. You can bring my scanner if you want," he said quickly, attempting to recover.

The boy did not seem to mind or even notice his slip up, though, or did not show it if he did. "Okay," He nodded, and smiled. "I want to take pictures of the aliens! And all their stuff!" he enthused.

Eiríkur nodded. "That sounds like a good idea," he replied. "I'm going to help Aleks; you can wait for us by the door when you're ready."

Half and hour later Peter had practically paced a rut outside the cargo bay door while he waited for Aleksander and Eiríkur to come back out. While they gathered fresh clothes and other necessities for staying away from the ship for a few days the boy had nothing to do except wait in anticipation. This was the first planet he had ever been on other than Svartálfaheim and it was different in almost every way. He had already spent a good amount of time playing in the grass and examining the trees, things which did not exist on the only planet he had ever known. In fact, most of his time had been spent running around the clearing where their ship was landed while his mind attempted to process everything that he was seeing. It was all so new and amazing; and so much better than he could have ever dreamed. The grass was soft, the trees tall and their bark rough, the air smelled fresh and green, and the sky was blue without a single cloud. But this clearing was only a tiny part of the planet, a pin prick on a map. He wanted to see the rest of it, to see if it was just as amazing, or perhaps more so. And he wanted to meet the people who lived in such an amazing place. Even though Eiríkur had described them briefly he still wondered what they were like. And what their city was like. He had never seen anything other than Svartálfaheim and the few pictures that the men of the Hofvar were able to show him. The pictures barely did nature justice, in his opinion.

When Aleksander and Eiríkur finally emerged from the ship, each with a small satchel of their things, Peter felt like he was about to explode from excitement. Aleksander closed up the cargo hatch, securing the ship to anyone or anything that might come by, and the three set off back through the trees toward the settlement.

Following Eiríkur's lead they made quick time over the ridge and through the trees, even if, in his curiosity about everything new, Peter had a small mishap with the same thistle bushes that had given the men so much trouble on their first trek. When they finally broke the tree line Aleksander stopped and stared out at the settlement that lay before them. "Amazing," he breathed. "It truly is like stepping back in time."

"They live here?" Peter exclaimed in awe. "It's so pretty!"

"Wait 'til you see where we'll be sleeping," Eiríkur told the boy, and started making his way down the hill. Peter immediately trotted after him, practically vibrating with excitement.

However, Peter's excitement faded when they passed through the city gates. Approaching the town he had alternately run ahead then waited for the other two to catch up with him. But as soon as they walked into the town the boy became shy. For all his eagerness, Peter was not good at meeting strangers. In fact, he was terrified. As they walked down the street he stuck close to Eiríkur and Aleksander. With wide eyes, Peter stared at everything that they passed, the buildings and the people, holding on to Aleksander's sleeve so he would not be left behind.

The sun was dipping below the horizon when Aleksander, Eiríkur, and Peter arrived at the rooms they had been loaned. Mathias appeared shortly after their arrival, back from his brief exploration of the town. Immediately the captain ran over to Aleksander and smothered the pilot in a hug. "Aleks, I missed you," he gushed.

In annoyance Aleksander wriggled out of the other man's arms. "I was only gone for four hours," he pointed out.

"I know. But I had to explore this place all by myself," Mathias complained, and attempted to hug the pilot again, but Aleksander just shoved him away and rolled his eyes.

"What about Berwald and Tino?" Eiríkur asked.

"They're probably…" Mathias stopped himself and glanced down at Peter, who was still nervously hiding behind Aleksander. "Just having some alone time. 'Cause, you know, they don't get much of that on the ship."

Aleksander raised an eyebrow curiously. "Well, they're probably done by now," he reasoned. "And I don't know about you lot, but Peter and I haven't eaten all day. We'd like to have some dinner."

"Oh! Good idea. We haven't either," Mathias replied. "Eiríkur, go get them."

"No," Eiríkur refused flatly.

"What? Why not?" Mathias looked taken aback by so blatant a rejection of his orders.

"I don't want to walk in on them. You do it," Eiríkur said.

Mathias sighed. "Fine. I'll get the honeymooners. Then we'll eat."

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