Ragnarok: Fallout of the gods

It wasn't only his mother and Aksel who were waiting for him. There were kids around the same age with Ragna stationed around the large table, with the servants serving plates for dinner. His Mother and Aksel were at the front of the table, muttering to each other. The kids in the hall were all children of Vikings- the Warriors dedicated to protecting their land. As the leaders and commanders of the Vikings, it was Ragna's parent's responsibility to look after and care for the children who were the future protectors of their land. Ragna took his place at the table filled with the children. Even though he was royalty and a Prince, Ragna was treated the same as the other Viking children, which he preferred instead of being singled out as some kind of genius like his past life. As Ragna settled down, Aksel got up from his seat, his brown eyes wandering through the hall on every one of the children. And then his gaze settled on Ragna, giving him a nod. Aksel was not Ragna's biological father, it was well obvious as they looked nothing alike. But just because Aksel wasn't his blood Father, didn't mean there wasn't any love between them. Aksel treated Ragna like he was his blood. Like everyone, Aksel adored his mother, and loved her, and from what Ragna had observed, it seems his mother loved Aksel just the same. And to Ragna that was enough for him.

"Boys and girls, Congratulations on the beginning of your journey as Vikings, Warriors dedicated to maintaining the safety and peace of our people and Kingdom," Aksel said. " As you well know, our world is not the same as it once was. The World is more dangerous than ever. Which is why our existence as warriors is more important than ever. The path that you walk as Vikings is an honorable and just cause, and May the Ancestors look down on you all with pride. Skol."

"Skol," The children exclaimed. And they all began indulging in the food around them. As one who was still growing, Ragna made sure to fill himself up, eating the nourishing foods that were grown on the special farm that served as an agricultural source of income for Kattegat. The Norsemen culture was also an agricultural based society. Ragna had no idea how the crops and plants were grown, but with his Mental force, he could sense that there was something about the food they ate that played a part in why the Norsemen grew the way they did. They were just kids, eight years old, and yet they were taller than the average eight years old from his former world, even the normal children that didn't become Vikings were of the same height and build. As Ragna tore through the steak on his plate with his fork and knife, he sensed the presence of something within the food. He was not surprised at sensing it as he had become used to its presence in his food. While Midgard may have lost its ambient energy, Ragna had also discovered that some kind of force still existed somehow. He had sensed it from the Vikings that protected their town, and he had sensed it from his parents. It was called Odr in the old Norse language. In the common tongue, the word was Essence. His food had little amounts of it in it, and its quality was not strong enough. Ragna had once tried to see if he could form his core with the essence of his food but it didn't work. The essence that they receive from their food mostly affects their body, refining it to make it sturdier and stronger.

After they were all done eating and the servants came and cleared the table of the plates, the children were redirected to the hall where Bestla held meetings. The servants made space for the children to sit on the floor and gather around mother. Ragna knew what was about to happen. He had seen this happen with other kids of previous years before his eight years and he knew what Mother was about to do. Though text and manuscripts existed in their society, the Norse society in the ancient days, used to be oral-based, their people passing their myths and stories through words instead of writing them in a record. Of course that all changed when a certain figure rose and began a campaign that saw the conquest of Midgard under the Norse rulership. That was when the Norse civilization began to have written records and texts of every event. But that didn't erase their ancient traditions. This event was how they honored the old ways. Bestla settled on her seat and she smiled at the faces of the children as they waited for her to recite the story of their people. She noticed the excited look on their young, baby-like appearances. The wonder and innocence were quite contagious. She turned to stare at her baby boy who was in the middle of the children. Unlike the others, Ragna's eyes had none of the excitement, his baby faces taking up that usual serious face he always had. Bestla sighed as she knew the reason why Ragna had no interest. Bestla was well aware of Ragna's eavesdropping on her story time with the previous Viking's children but she had said nothing to him about it, letting her baby boy do what he wanted. Ragna was a curious boy who seemed very interested in the world that they lived in. She couldn't understand how a child could be more curious than even the adults around her. She sighed again as she began to recite the story of their people.

"Long ago, the world as we know it was nothing more than an endless Void, an emptiness known as Ginnungagap. From the north came the cold, icy darkness, and from the south came the hot, burning light which mixed to create the First beings, Ymir and Audhumbla. Together they gave birth to the first ancient beings, the Jotunns." Ragna was caught off guard as Bestla began reciting things he had no idea of. Mom's never spoken of this before! Bestla smiled as she noticed Ragna's eyes bore the same curiosity as the other children. She was glad that there was something that could pique his interest. "Among the Jotunns was Buri who was the grandfather of Odin, Vili, and Ve. Together with his brothers, Odin turned against Ymir and Audhumbla and slayed them." Hmm! Interesting concept. Ragna thought to himself.

"Why did Odin turn against Ymir," One of the kids asked.

"Who knows? Perhaps it was fated for the brothers to turn against Ymir. Only the Norns know the reason behind their action. But we do know that from Ymir's corpse, the World as we know it was formed. The Nine Realms. And ruling the Nine realms from Asgard with his family, was Odin, the All-father and ruler of the gods. But as time wore on, the gods received an ominous revelation. A prophecy about the end of all things."

"The end of all things," A black-haired girl repeated it.

"Ragnarok," Bestla said.

"Ragnarok," the children muttered. Bestla had reached the part of the story that Ragna was familiar with. But this time he was well into the story that his Mother was reciting.

"Yes, Ragnarok, Twilight of the gods, an event which began after the death of Baldur, the incarnation of light itself. Baldur's death brought about the most terrible of the winter storms, Fimbulwinter. It is said that this winter nearly destroyed the Nine realms, and released the forces of darkness upon the world. Monsters of all irks rose against the Aesir. The Fire giant Surtr and the demons of Muspelheim, the Frost Jotnar of Jotunheim, the monsters from Nifheim, the Reavers from Hel and thus they began their campaign across the nine realms to get to the gods in their Abode of Asgard." The children's attention was focused on Bestla's words.

"The war ravages the Nine realms, and the prophesized deaths of the gods were approaching. Freyr was killed trying to stop Surtr, and the death of Thor and Odin approached. Odin in his desperation hung himself on the World Tree for more than nine days and nine nights, an act that went against the law of the Universe."

"And what happened next,"

"Using forbidden Ancient Magic, Odin turned the Magic and Odr of his enemy against them," Bestla said. If Odin truly existed, Ragna was amazed by his Magical prowess. To be able to turn the will of the World against his enemies. That was an impressive feat.

"How did he turn Magic against them," A boy asked. The boy was a child of a Volur, a Volur himself, and was thus interested in anything that had to do with Magic.

"It is said that he whispered to the World Tree, enchanting the will of the Cosmic being to turn the Runes against them," Bestla said. "You all know that the Runes are the very language with which we use to invoke the elemental forces. It is said that the All-father armed the Runes with sentience, giving them form, and used them as his weapons to stop Ragnarok."

"And did he stop Ragnarok," The Volur boy asked. Of course, he did. Or else we wouldn't be here. Ragna scoffed at the kids question.