Winter seeped into his bones, the chill going all the way to his core. Numbly, Vargr woke from his slumber. He blinked. The sky was not blue, it was white. A blanket of ash that had blotted out the sun. And in front of him was not a cramped cell like he had expected, or the high-rising metropolis that was Midgard. There was nothing, an eternally flat plane of snow that stretched all the way to the horizon. The white haired boy shivered, both internally and externally as he took in the sight.

“How did I…” He began, reaching to rub his eyes only to find them bound. The jangling sound of chains rattled in his ears as he glanced down to see his body wound up tight in cold, harsh metal. And to make matters worse his arms and legs were cuffed as well. The only part of his body he could move freely was his head, gazing out into the snow in front of him. Instantly, his own winter came to him as he tried to escape, but the chains didn’t budge no matter how much he ramped up. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I find little amusement in this myself,” a light voice spoke from beside him. “Mostly because of how little you’re reacting. You could serve to act your age, you know?”

“I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to react here,” the white haired boy grumbled. His emotions were a complete mess, boiling up in his stomach. It was only thanks to the cold that he was able to keep his cool and not start screaming. Idly, he turned his head to look at his captor. “I’m still not sure what’s even… going… on…”

Vargr’s voice trailed off as his eyes registered what was in front of him. No, the who in front of him. She was a woman, older yet far from old. Her purple hair was tied up in an artfully messy knot, and she wore a dark gown with a distractingly high side slit, her arms clad in long gloves as though she had just returned from a banquet. Most eye-catching of all, however, was the eye patch covering her face, and the stole of ink-black raven's feathers draped around her shoulders. Their gazes met, the golden gaze of her eye piercing through him as she gave a knowing smile.  

“You’re…” The boy gulped as he glanced at the mechanical staff in her hands. “The One Eyed Queen?!”

“And you are the Vintrkind that they call ‘Vargr’,” The raven-cloaked woman replied in turn. “Can’t see why though, you’re more of a stray mutt then a wolf. I think your real name is much better, personally.”

He froze instantly. “My… Real name?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?” She gave the chained boy a look that told him full well she knew he hadn’t. “ ‘Ash Whitelund’.” 

Instinctively, his body jerked up, straining against the chains as panic raced through his mind. It was only the sudden deep flux of winter that allowed Vargr- No, Ash to recollect himself as he struggled like a worm in the dirt. HIs intuition screamed that he was in a bad situation. The One Eyed Queen, Odin, Inventor of the Valkyrie Gear, Ruler of Asgard and by extension all of Yggdrasil, the most important woman on the entire planet knew who he was.

“How…” Ash choked out. “How do you know that?”

“How does she know?!” A shrill voice cried. The white haired boy’s gaze drifted from the Queen of the Nine Realms to the mocking laughter of those that stood behind her. Behind her stood a woman in sharp military dress, her face hidden beneath a pewter mask in the guise of a horse. Perched upon each of her shoulders  were two mechanical ravens, one whose eyes were burning rubies, the other deep sapphires. Despite their clearly unnatural features, the cackle that came out of the ruby one’s mouth sounded much too genuine. “Ask a stupid question get a stupid answer! You total buffoon! Jotun’s Bastard! Fucking himbo! Kah Kah Kah!” 

Its companion huffed before smacking its counterpart on the head. The raven’s voice was quiet, but still proud as it continued to speak. “Do not insult the poor cub with language beyond his time. He is still ignorant.”

“Huh?! I’m not old! You are! You are! Shitty Muninn!”

“Enough, Huginn,” Odin ordered, silencing the scarlet raven. With a tired sigh, the purple haired woman turned back to Ash. “Apologies. They can get ahead of themselves on the best of days.”

Ash slowly nodded, before glaring at Huginn the moment he realized it was the fucker who knocked him out. The bird preened under his attention and the boy clicked his tongue before turning back to the One Eyed Queen. “And my question?”

“There is no possibility, past or future, that my eye can not see,” she declared. “I can choose to know anything, so long as I wish for it.”

“...I see.” Well that wasn’t creepy at all. “Then where exactly am I?”

Odin’s lips twitched up. “Look down.”

“Alrig- HOLY SHIT!” This time not even the eternal blizzard could freeze the boy’s shock as his gaze shifted down. A tumbling, deathly, deep drop stood before, him higher than fifty of Midgard’s tallest skyscrapers combined. In fact, those were piddly little inches to the massive structure below him. There was too much of it for the human eye to fully grasp, but he had seen pictures of it before. The great, man-made, artificial tree that housed all of humanity on it’s branches. “Am I on top of Yggdrasil?!”

“Correct.” The woman tapped on the metal of the tree with her staff. “Quite a view, isn’t it?”

Calling it a view would imply that he could see the whole thing, but it was quite awe inspiring, he had to admit. Though, all of the realms inside of it had been insulated from the eternal winter long ago, so it would be hard to make out which was which. The only realm he could recognize was the ruined remains of what was now called Jotunheim, it’s branch having crashed to the frozen wastes below as a derelict wreck. 

“When the Jotun came, bringing forth with them the Fimbulvetr, life didn’t seem like it would last more than a mere decade,” Odin sighed with reminiscence. “And here we are, three centuries later still clinging on.”

Ash glanced back towards her. “And that’s all thanks to you, right?” 

“I helped, but it was through the hard work of all of humanity that Yggdrasil was able to stand tall,” she dismissed with a wave of her gloved hands. “I merely gave the wisdom to create the Valkyrie system. You were the ones who made use of it.”

“...Right, the Valkyrie system.” The memory of just how he got here came back to the boy. The pain, the confusion, the feeling of… Squish. Blood rushed to his cheeks, and he quickly let out a hiss of cool air to try and purge himself of the memory. Focus, focus… “The one that’s supposed to be only operable by women.”

Odin tapped her chin as she spoke in an amused tone. “Hm, I’d say I saw a girl operating the Valkyrie though?”

Ash glared, though whether out of anger or embarrassment he would never tell. “You know what I mean.”

“Yes, well, that’s a misunderstanding a lot of people have,” the raven-cloaked woman lifted a finger. “The Valkyrie Gear only operates for users who meet certain conditions, and it just so happens that only women were able to meet those conditions. Until you came along that is.”

A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she continued. “You’re lucky you were wearing that gear on your wrist when you pulled that little stunt of yours. Vintrkind are a relatively new phenomenon, so there’s not a lot of knowledge about them. But if you were to keep pushing yourself, well… You might have frozen yourself to death or worse, become more Jotun than human.”

The white haired boy looked down at himself silently in thought. Flashes of faces filled with scorn and malice ran through his head. “...So it’s true then. The blood of the Jotun does run in my veins.”

“In a sense, you could say that, but the same could also be said of all Jotunheim survivors.” Odin shrugged. “It just happens to be more prominent in Vintrkind, that’s all. I’d call it more of a ‘contamination’ than anything else.”

“So I’ve gone from being monster spawn to a disease,” Ash snorted. “Well, not that I care anymore. I’m just wondering… what happens now? My punishment isn’t to be chained at the top of Yggdrasil forever, is it?”

“While I’m quite certain that there are many who would prefer that, no.” The One Eyed Queen shook her head. “You’ve caused quite a stir, and there’s also the matter of what you did. Even I am shocked that you and your friend-”

“I’d rather not talk about it.” That was something which was on the list of ‘things to never speak of again’. “I assume I’m going straight to Helheim, then?”

“Your fate is to be punished, but how it happens is your choice,” Odin declared. “Helheim is an option, yes, but I’ve also received several petitions to have you transferred over to Alfheim so that they can study you.”

“So the choice is either being, for all intents and purposes, dead, or to live as a lab rat for the rest of my life.” The words came out in an angry growl as sharp green eyes narrowed. “Great.”

The purple haired woman rapped him with her staff. “Only the foolish are rash. There is… a third option. One that’ll give you some time and even buy you your freedom, if you manage to prove yourself.”

“That being?”

“Well, you managed to become a Valkyrie did you not?” Odin smiled. “Did you forget where Valkyries go?”

Ash paused for a minute before his eyes widened. “You’re letting me into Valhalla!?”

Years of living at the bottom of Midgard kicked in. That was a deal that was way too good to be true. He’d be Asgard’s attack dog, but he’d still have ascended to Asgard. The realm of the elite. That kind of social mobility was something that most everyone in Yggdrasil could only dream of achieving. The One Eyed Queen seemed to be able to read Ash’s mind as she nodded her head.

“You’ll be monitored and placed under stricter supervision then most recruits, but you’ll still be granted the privileges of your station. Train, serve, and prove yourself as a Valkyrie, and you’ll lose the chains binding you.” She brought up a finger to her chin before tilting her head. “Well, there is the gender issue but… I’m sure a beastly young man such as yourself can manage to control himself, right?”

The white haired boy’s ears twitched. “It sounds like you’re trying to tempt me when you put it like that.”

“Is it that obvious?” The Ruler of Yggdrasil sighed. “I’d rather not waste the talents of youth. I can offer more, if you’re still on the fence.”

“What more could you even offer me?” Ash snorted. “The entirety of Yggdrasil?”

“Of course not. A king’s ransom is beyond your grasp, but I’m sure you’ll be happy just the same.” Odin drew closer to the boy, grasping the chains around his torso with one hand and lifting him up off the ground, her golden eye gazing into his own. “I am the one who sees how the thread of fate spins. Where I look, probability becomes certainty. That’s why I can say for certain that if you take the path of the Valkyrie, you’ll get what your heart desires most.”

The older woman leaned in so close that Ash could feel her body heat even through the eternal winter. Her gloved finger landed on his skin and trailed down his cheek. It felt heavy, but he couldn’t ignore the tingle the sensation of velvet gave him. Slowly, she brought her hand downwards before whispering into the boy’s ears.

“Revenge,” Odin spoke softly as she trailed down to the bottom of his neck. Right where… “Revenge on the ones who gave you this scar.”

Not even the blizzard inside of Ash could keep him cool as he slammed against his bindings, trying to lunge at the woman in front of him. His voice was hoarse as he roared at the top of his lungs. “You knew!”

“Indeed,” the Ruler of Yggdrasil said sadly, drawing away. “There is no possibility, past or future, that my eye can not see.”

“You knew and you did nothing!”

“I am doing something now, am I not?” Odin asked. “Whether that leads to anything happening, is a decision entirely up to you.”

Her words were as damming as Ash’s own curses towards her. Memories long frozen under the snow began to thaw. Faces he’d rather forget and the ones he couldn’t. Screams that rang in his ears before dying out in a whimper.  A house with no hearth. Days before he even knew the light of Midgard’s artificial sun. Despite years having passed since he got the wound, he could still feel the scar around his neck throb like it was yesterday.

If he wanted something to happen, if he wanted revenge, if he wanted justice, if he wanted closure, then-

 Ash grunted before letting out a sigh. “...I’ll do it.”

“Understood.” The One Eyed Queen smiled before tapping her staff against the boy’s bindings. Instantly the chains holding the boy vanished, and the cuffs on his arms and legs lost power, clattering to the floor with a metallic clang. Ash groaned, shaking off the stiff feeling as he got back on his feet. “Sleipnir, if you would?”

The woman in the horse mask nodded, reaching into her suit before pulling out a card and handing it to Odin. With a flick of her wrist, the purple haired woman tossed the card at Ash and he quickly snatched it out of the air before examining it. It depicted two snakes, coiling around each-other to form a complex knot. Below it, written in elaborate script, a word: ‘Loptr’.. 

“And this is?” His eyes squinted as he began flipping the card over to see if there was anything else.

“An Einherjar,” The One Eyed Queen stated simply. “You’ll need it if you want to be a Valkyrie. Oh, and it’s the only one that will work for you, so do keep it safe.”

Ash sighed as he pocketed the card. “I guess it’s official then?”

“Yes. Congratulations on entering Valhalla.” Odin smiled. “You’ll make a fine Valkyrie yet.”

And thus the Norns begin to weave their string. Bringing forth with it a saga of man and machine, frozen hearts and burning souls, locked within the eternal winter. But whether the end is written by fate or chance is yet to be known.

Till Ragnarok Comes, we sing this tale.