NOVEL WEB The drunk calamity!
*Vol.1: Tales of a God.
Chapter 8 - The drunk calamity!
First of all, I would like to add that I noticed that you found some things strange in my fanfic. Like Loki being Odin's sworn brother, the brothers Váli, Hermód and Vidar are older than Thor and Baldur... and Zeus hasn't even been born yet.
So I'll say this: IT'S JUST A FANFIC; it will have some departures from the canon, or even from Norse myths; so keep in mind that some things (canon and myths) I will change, to fit my fanfic.
The warning is given, and now you can enjoy the chapter.
- Timeskip: 3 days later (Freyja's name day/birthday).
Pov. Thor.
Because Sif reminds me about what my mom did to me the last time I missed an important day... I decided to stay for the festivities.
I wasn't much into partying... I usually trained, forged items, or studied new runes. Unfortunately, in these 100 years of my new life, I haven't shown certain interests that other Asgardians had... One of those was partying and drinking nonstop... Besides breaking things in the process.
Actually, a god's name day was like a birthday, but there was a slight difference... The party was big depending on the hierarchy... And while the party lasted about a whole day and the food and drink were plentiful ... The difference is what happened during the celebration... Like drinking competitions, ax throwing fights over something simple, competitions for the hand of a woman... I had never participated in this... It wasn't that I wasn't interested in participating… I just thought I could do something more productive elsewhere.
However... There was another reason why I didn't like parties... I didn't want to repeat the same feat in my centenary.
The feat? Well... First I must explain something...
A curious fact... Alcohol is part of our lifestyle; you could find a five-year-old child with a glass of mead in one hand and a wooden sword in the other, and that was considered normal. In fact, you would be considered strange if you hadn't been drinking since you were young.
If I say I wasn't surprised when my mother handed me a drinking horn filled with mead instead of water at our 'family dinner' when I was four, I would be lying.
But I soon adapted to this small change from my past lifestyle... For the first time in my two lives, I felt what it was like to have a hangover... And I definitely didn't like it.
However, I liked the mead...
The hangover didn't stop me from drinking more... And over time I got used to a large amount of alcohol in my body. But, I 'changed' a little when I was drunk...
Let's just say the drunk self is... A little volatile... That's why I never intended to let the drink consume me.
Until my first centenary came...
It was the day that I got the most out of control, as it meant a hundred years in this world... So I decided to 'let go' a little... I drank, fought, drank some more, and fought even more... When I try to remember that day, it's all a blur... But according to some rumors that circulated in Valhalla the next day, I did so many things that my mother from my previous life would be disappointed... Some of the things were:
- I put Odin himself in a healing chamber after an arm-wrestling match.
- I fought against several men... who ended up in the healing chamber...
- Drinking straight from a barrel of mead... and knocking out anyone who tried to take it from me.
- Damage the Valhalla hall.
At least there were no fatalities... As far as I know...
And that were just some of the rumors... The funny thing is, I didn't get scolded; quite the contrary, my exploits were admired by others... I got a title that day too.
The drunk calamity.
I didn't think it was the most badass title... But… It is what it is.
But due to this episode of mine, I had more control over how much I drank. And I never exaggerated again...
But here I was, at a name-day party for a goddess who was the princess of the Vanir... Maybe I can drink some more, right?... It wouldn't do anything wrong...
Two hours later...
Pov. Third-person.
"DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT! DRINK IT!"
These were the cheering cheers of a group of men and women in Valhalla's hall, during the celebration of Princess Vanir Freyja's Name Day. These people were rooting for two people who ended up in a drinking competition...
One of them was the old-looking god, he was drinking mead from a traditional drinking horn... It was the god of the seas, Aegir.
The other man, however...
Considerably young-looking, what stood out the most were his long red hair and golden 'veins' in some parts of his body... That and the big barrel of mead he was drinking from... That was one of the princes of Asgard, the son of King Odin... Thor.
As people cheered, it only took a few seconds to see who was the winner.
And against all odds...
*BAM*
It was Thor who had thrown the barrel to the ground, breaking it in the process, showing that he had finished his drink first.
"YEEEAAAAH!!! THOR! THOR! THOR!" The fans now claimed the winner.
As the crowd clamored, Thor asked forcefully.
"*Hic* IS THERE NO ONE ELSE?!"
... Unfortunately... Thor was already showing the signs that made him deserve his title given in the commemoration of his centenary:
The drunk calamity...
One of those signs?... Crisis of hiccup.
"Waitress! *Hic* Bring me another barrel of mead!" asked Thor.
"Yes, my prince!" the waitress immediately replied, then began to run in search of a new barrel.
"... Thor... Don't you think that was enough?" asked Aegir.
"*Hic* Nah~... I'm just having a little fun~... One more barrel and I'll finish," Thor replied.
"You said the same thing when you took the third barrel of mead by yourself… The one you just broke on the ground was the thirty-fifth…" said Aegir in disbelief.
"Oh? *Hic*... I don't remember saying that~ *Hic*... Maybe one more barrel will clear my mind!" said Thor.
"…You said that in the twenty-second barrel…" grumbled Aegir.
"Heads up!" A voice resounded in the hall.
He was the leader of the Vanir, Njord, god of navigation and fishing; and beside him was his wife Skadi, goddess of skiing, hunting, winter, and mountains.
The hitherto unusual couple had reconciled...but still held the title of 'fastest divorce' in the Nordic pantheon. Only twenty-three days of marriage due to differences in where they lived... Until they found a commonplace and reconciled.
Only Thor, having lived two lives, discovered that the place was what would come to be called Greenland.
Njord then held up a drinking horn and began a little speech.
"Today is a big day! For it was today that my beloved daughter came into this world, for 130 years she has graced us with her presence. I would be lying if I said that the day of her birth was the most important day... The truth is, for a parent it is most important to see their children grow up! EVERY DAY IS PRECIOUS!" said Njord.
"YEEAAAHHH!" the hall roared in approval.
"For my daughter Freyja!" said Njord as he raised the horn towards a woman.
This woman had a small smile and was endowed with an unearthly beauty... She was Freyja, the younger sister of Frey and daughter of Njord and Skadi.
"For Freyja!" shouted the people of Valhalla.
"May the festivities come back!" said Njord.
And then the hall went back to eating and drinking…except for a small group.
"Such a beauty... Today will be the day I go to court her" said someone, it was Hermód, the son of Odin with a mortal woman.
"Hah! And do you think she will accept you? Look at you! You are a bad joke!" mocked the closest person, it was Váli, one of Odin's sons, who was abandoned by his mother.
"…Want to know another bad joke?… Your mom" scoffed Hermód.
Hermód was soon met with a punch at his face and hurled away.
"Váli... We've already talked about this... You need to control your temper more" said a man nearby, sighing; it was Vidar, another son of Odin.
"Control my temper?! He insulted my mother!" shouted Váli indignantly.
"While I understand your anger, you shouldn't let someone get you mad so easily," Vidar said rolling his eyes.
"What would you have done then?!" asked Váli.
"Well…I'd punch him," Vidar said.
"And isn't that what I just did?!" asked Váli in disbelief.
"Yes…But you sent Hermód flying to the wrong place…" explained Vidar.
"... Huh? What do you mean by that?" asked Váli, still confused.
"Look at the trajectory, brother…" explained Vidar, pointing to where Hermód was.
It was then that Vali noticed.
"…Oh…Oh, shit…" said Váli regretfully.
Meanwhile, with Hermód...
"He-he... Hi brother... I'm sorry that I… Spilled your drink..." said Hermód nervously.
In front of him was Thor, looking down at the barrel that lay on the ground and spilled mead.
It was then that Thor slowly turned to face his brother Hermód.
"Hermód... You better have a good reason..." said Thor, glaring at Hermód.
Another sign of the drunk calamity?... Well... it would be violence.
You see…
When Thor is sober... He thought clearly about the pros and cons before resorting to violence if there will be consequences if it is worth it to waste his time in a small fight...
When Thor is drunk, though?... Violence is not the answer...
It's the question! And the answer is ALWAYS, YES!
"Brother, please let me explain! It was Váli's fault! I—" began Hermod.
But Thor didn't hear the rest and grabbed Hermód by the collar, lifted him off the ground...
And flung him through the nearest window.
Those closest to Thor moved away, as they knew what was to come...
"Váli~ *Hic* come here brother~ *Hic* I just want to have a civilized conversation, I won't hurt you... Well, not TOO much at least..." said Thor as he swept his eyes through the crowd, searching for his brother.
Meanwhile, with Vidar and Váli.
"If I were you I'd start running..." said Vidar turning to Váli...
Just to see that his brother was already gone.
"Hmm... He's learning fast" reflected Vidar on his brother Váli's reaction.
"Well…There's only just one way to get Thor out of his quest for blood…waitress! Bring a barrel full of mead! And be quick! Or if not, Valhalla will turn to rubble... Again!" said Vidar, looking at the nearest maid.
"Ah! Yes sir!" said the maid as she ran away.
Why give Thor more mead? Well... When Thor enters this state, the only way to defeat him is to get him even drunker... And hope he blackouts.
Meantime, at the table of the main Vanir gods.
"Um... Where's Frey?" Njord asked his wife.
"He was here before… He said he was going to get Freyja's 'gift'," explained Skadi.
"Oh no…" said Freyja, putting her hands to her face and regretting it.
"Don't act like that Freyja... It's your brother's way of telling you that he loves you," Njord chided.
"I know that dad... It's just... While I recognize Frey's attempts, he exaggerates a lot in the gifts... I still remember the last gift... The boots were very flashy, they were the color of gold!... But it wasn't just that... they were made of a material that made my feet itch for two days! Besides that, I found out that at night they glowed in the dark dad! Do you know what Frey told me when I asked him why he gave me some boots that glow in the dark? He said, 'So you don't lose them!'" Freyja said in exasperation.
"Hahahaha-" Njord started to laugh until he was interrupted by a nudge from his wife in the ribs.
"Ah…I know your brother can act…shamefully. But he's still your brother, and he loves you… That's just who he is." Njord tried to explain.
"I just hope he doesn't try anything…" Freyja said.
Just then the doors of Valhalla's hall opened.
"My beloved sister!" shouted a voice.
Everyone in the room looked towards the voice.
It was Prince Frey with his hands holding a small box.
Frey then proceeded to walk towards his family's table as he spoke.
"On this memorable day, I come here to present you with the symbol of your beauty!" Frey said with a big smile on his face.
And then he handed the box to his sister, Freyja.
Meanwhile, Freyja had a nervous smile on her face...
"Oh... Brother, I appreciate this wonderful gift..." said Freyja as she took the box.
"Open the box sister!" offered Frey.
"Ah…Certainly," said Freyja.
Initially, Freyja did not want to open the present... The shame of the golden boots was still rooted in her memory. But she still did what her brother asked.
Only to come across the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen!
"Frey... It's beautiful," Freyja said smiling sincerely.
"I call him... Err... Brisingamen!" said Frey smiling.
No one seemed to notice Frey's slip, as the guests were looking at Freyja's beautiful smile... And Freyja was still looking at the necklace.
The moment was beautiful... Until being damaged by Frey who started to cry.
"Ugh *sniff* I finally did it... After over a hundred years *sniff*" Frey said as he took out a handkerchief and wiped his tears.
Then Freyja stopped smiling.
"Frey…Please stop…and go sit down," Freyja said.
"Ugh *sniff* yes sister," Frey said while still wiping his tears.
Freyja then sighed... But then smiled again.
"Thank you brother," said Freyja, while looking at the necklace.
But a question popped into Freyja's mind... She knew that this item was unique due to the runes and the quality of the materials... The necklace was forged... But Freyja knew that her brother was not a blacksmith... So...
"... Who made it?" Freyja asked softly, looking at the necklace curiously.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Don't forget to leave your sincere comment! It really helps me keep writing!
Pls, forgive me in case of any grammatical errors... I tried. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯