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Loki Lore

Destined Kingship

In the immediate aftermath of the reckless mortals' clumsy scrambling of timelines, Loki noticed something quite curious. The sap bleeding from Yggdrasil had a new, particularly magical essence.

He began to experiment with it. Shape it. Concentrate and intensify it. Time, he discovered, was the core of its essence, and right away, he conceived an intense desire to visit a future Asgard to see what mischief he might make there.

Quickly, he learned how to do just that, but he came away not only disappointed but frightened and—not that he ever would have admitted it—saddened. For the future Asgard he beheld was a ruin, its throne broken and cast down, its collections looted, its surviving people grubbing in the ruins to survive.

No, Loki thought. Surely this is not Asgard's only future.

He brewed the enchantment once more...and discovered an Asgard overrun by Jotun, with Laufey himself grunting on the throne and Asgard's people little more than bones.

And another Asgard in flames, with Surtur bestride the blazing trunk of Yggdrasil while the fabled towers of the realm collapsed in fiery rubble.

And another, windswept and empty, the Cask of Eternal Winters broken open in the throne room.

And another, shattered into drifting fragments against a sea of stars.

And another, impossibly sunk under an ocean, with vast shadows moving in the moonlit waters above.

Hundreds more, thousands more. Asgards burned, Asgards frozen, Asgards overrun by Dark Elves or dwarves or enemies from Midgard or the worlds beyond the stars. A Kree-devastated Asgard, an Asgard ravaged by the Eternals, an Asgard ruled by an alien overlord whose minions oozed and sprang like living shadows, hunting down the last of the realm's true subjects. In all of these, Loki did not find the one thing for which he truly searched.

Himself.

And then, at last, an Asgard mighty and unbroken. An Asgard overarched by Yggdrasil's branches and underpinned by Yggdrasil's roots. Her towers shining, her people vibrant and untroubled, her wealth untouched...and her throne occupied by Loki.

He reeled back into his own time, mind aflame with the implications of what he had seen. How many destroyed Asgards had he witnessed? After all that, to see the one surviving realm be ruled by himself...

Well, Loki thought. The only Asgard that survives this absurd misadventure is one in which my true destiny is at last acknowledged, my primacy accepted, my sovereignty celebrated. As it should be. Now remains the work of bringing this future to pass.

Immediately the crucial points of the plan presented themselves to him. First, or course, he would have to maneuver the All-Father into the deep enchanted slumber of Odinsleep. Tricky, but he had done it before. The biggest obstacle was making sure that Heimdall didn't notice until it was too late. Then, Loki would use Thor's desire to help their father against him, guiding him into a certain place where Loki wouldn't have to worry about him for a long time.

But these were powerful enchantments, even for Loki. He was going to need to bring in a co-conspirator or two. It would be easy enough to betray them and rid himself of them later, but for a brief time they would be useful. Karnilla, of course. Aligning with the Norns was an absolute necessity if he were to retain rule over Asgard and not see it suffer any of the tragic fates he had witnessed. And while a master of magic, the Queen of the Norns was no great schemer — at least not compared to the God of Lies.

He also thought of Karnilla's closest ally, Hela. She was family, after all, and these kinds of things should be kept in the family whenever possible. Also, she would be useful because of her vast power and unlimited legions, who would keep the Valkyrior and Crimson Hawks busy, leaving the throne unguarded...

If Loki could just figure out what to offer Hela in return.

He manifested in her realm unannounced, just because he could, and he knew it annoyed her. As soon as she sensed his presence, Hela sent an escort. This time, it was a retinue of fallen Asgardian warriors riding skeletal horses and singing the ghostly songs of the Asgardian dead who never made it to Valhalla. To the accompaniment of these mournful, discordant strains, Loki followed his escort to Hela's throne. In this kingdom, bones twisted by dark magic paved the path to her castle while particularly favored souls became feasts for her Nastrond crows. Loki hated the décor even more than he hated the thought of Thor sitting on the throne of Asgard. Well, perhaps not quite that much.

And speaking of thrones, Hela sat on hers, regarding him with an imperious and icy stare as he approached and the ghostly retinue vanished. "Loki," she said. "Whatever foolish scheme has brought you here, be assured it will not succeed. Return to your realm and disturb me no further."

"O sister, great queen, it—"

"Whenever you call me queen, Loki—or, for that matter, sister— I know you want something. Tell me what it is and spare me the insincere implication that you care about family."

"Oh, I do," he said. "I do very much. Our family rules realms, and we have a responsibility to rule them as well as possible. Unfortunately, we are not currently doing that, because I am not ruling Asgard. I propose to rectify this error, and —"

"And you want my help."

"Yes," Loki said. "My plan will succeed with or without you, but as I said, we're family, and — "

For the third time, she interrupted him. "Why should I?"

"Why, to be rid of the All-Father, whose time is past — and to be rid of our beloved Odinson, who would otherwise succeed to the throne of Asgard."

"Which is the one thing you cannot stand to see happen."

Loki did not give her the satisfaction of agreeing.

"You see, Loki," Hela said, "of all master plotters you are the easiest to predict because all of your plots are ultimately only about one thing."

Loki inclined his head, again unwilling to make a verbal acknowledgement.

"You have been working new magic. I smell it on you," Hela said. "Tell me."

"Ah. The sap of Yggdrasil. Observe." Loki cut a small notch in one of the World-Tree's roots. As the sap oozed out, he captured it and began to work a charm to extract its essence. "As the World-Tree shapes the limits of our realms," he said, "this substance shapes the limits of our time." After a moment he held a small ball of what looked like amber in the palm of his hand. "Take it. It will show you the future of your realm just as it showed me the future of mine."

"Yours? You speak of Asgard?"

"Yes," Loki said. "That is why I wanted to see you."

He placed the ball in Hela's hand and began to describe what he had seen.

"Ah," she said when they had returned from the visionary voyage.

"Yes, it is quite deserving of an 'ah,'" Loki said. "But the real question is, will you help me?"

"I will," Hela said. "But I have my own vision for this — Chronovium — for it has fallen in my realm as well. In return for my help, you will help me bring this vision to fruition."

"Of course," Loki said, intending it to be a lie — but not even he knew when an attempted lie might become an inadvertent truth.