(no subject)

[damn_yourself_early]

There is a stone pylon standing in the Nexus, a waist-high obelisk with an iron ring set in its tip. To the ring is tied a rope, blackened with weather and age, that rises ramrod-straight into the uncertain distance above. Etched into the faces of the pylon are cryptic glyphs--utter nonsense, right-side-up, but upside-down, these runes read, "Here, above Ymir's cloven brow, do I set my anchor. Let him who cuts the rope have vipers in place of blood."

Normally, the rope is still, but today it sways faintly, twisting slowly this way and that, emitting the occasional creak. In time, the reason becomes clear, as a young boy in green and black and gold is climbing down it. Or up it, perhaps. He is upside-down, and closer to the pylon and the ground with every length he climbs, yet he seems to be straining against some strange gravity that would pull him away from the ground he seeks.

Hand over hand he descends, grasping at last the ring and flipping lightly to stand on the ground and crow in triumph. "I knew there was something up here!" Digging out a Starkphone, he holds it at arm's length. "Selfie!"

Having recorded his triumph, he turns his attention outward, balancing on one foot with his arms out to his sides, turning slowly around. "Advisers, counselors, sages, and oracles! What more could a soul in want of answers wish? But that isn't my question, don't count it. Do we have a set limit? Don't count that either."

"Sages! If you needed to learn, and learn quickly... what would you try to learn first?"

Comments

[damn_yourself_early]

"That is a distinction," Loki admits. "But still! Lots of mages do interesting things to themselves to help the magic. Or by the magic. Or to protect from the magic, I found some very interesting uses for eyeliner." Not a lie.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Eyeliner?" Okay, that's new. "What do you do with eyeliner?"

[damn_yourself_early]

"You put it on!" He grins. "With the right ingredients, it guards against curses coming in through your eyes."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Oh. So this isn't like Revlon or something." Definitely not Peggy's brand. On the other hand, uncomfortable topics successfully avoided.

"So... upside down rope climbing. That's a thing in Asgard?"

[damn_yourself_early]

"Oh, but it's not upside-down! It's right-side-up!" He grins. "It's a puzzle. It's a mystery!" It's a matter of perspective. "I wonder who put it there."

[brave_heart_verity]

She shrugs. "Where's the other end?"

[damn_yourself_early]

"By the World Tree! It's easy to overlook, though. There's so much going on, there. Lots of tree to get lost in."

[brave_heart_verity]

"I would think there'd have to be." She glances back at the rope and the pylon for a moment. "What does it say?"

[damn_yourself_early]

Loki turns to look at the pylon, tilting his head to one side, then the other. "Nothing. It's gibberish. Those aren't even--wait." He turns around and does a headstand. "Ah HA! Downside-up! It says, 'Here, above Ymir's cloven brow, do I set my anchor. Let him who cuts the rope have vipers in place of blood.' Woo, spooky!"

[brave_heart_verity]

"Yeah. Is that a requirement to be a god, or a happy accident?" Is that a smile? No, can't be, Verity doesn't do that.

[damn_yourself_early]

"Which? Spookiness, or vipers for blood?" He somersaults back to his feet, then looks around, disappointed. "Aw, my crown fell off."

[brave_heart_verity]

"The spookiness. Pretty sure you don't have vipers for blood. I would have noticed." Which is a painful memory. "Does your brother know you're here?"

[damn_yourself_early]

"I think most of them would phrase it as 'gravitas,' if that were a word in their vocabulary," the little god speculates. "Or they might phrase it as, 'more mead!'"

To the question about Thor, Loki gives a shrug. "He's doing important hero stuff, I'm doing important lesson-learning. And I'm learning so much!"

[brave_heart_verity]

"Mm. Not bothering with good manners. You might want to work on that." There's a moment's hesitation before she leans forward to confide, "Your brother loves you. He's willing to kill for you. He's willing to do worse than kill for you. Please don't make him regret that."

[damn_yourself_early]

"I have manners!" he protests (not a lie). "I was quoting! [Nope.] Paraphrasing. [Getting warmer.] Joking. [There we go.]"

"I know Thor loves me. I just want to help!"

[brave_heart_verity]

"Ever try being nice? You'll go further."

She sighs and puts her head in her hands for a minute. "I know you want to help. But if you keep everything secret all the time, you'll get into trouble. Not 'Thor taking away your phone' trouble. Trouble trouble."

[damn_yourself_early]

"I'm nice quite often," he muses, "and am told to go far, when I am. Or when I'm not. Mostly I'm told to go."

"If I tell people everything, they won't believe me, and they won't let me do anything to help. How am I supposed to help if I don't keep a few secrets?"

[brave_heart_verity]

"Some people will understand. Find them, and tell them. Let your friends help you."

She's not really good at this, having very little experience with kids, and it's only frustrating her more.

"Sometimes the most helpful thing to do is to respect what other people want."

[damn_yourself_early]

Loki grows quiet and solemn and thoughtful, before nodding. "Thank you. And I don't think I asked your name, yet?" He extends a hand, adding, "I'm Loki. But you already know my bird."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Verity Willis." She'll shake his hand because she'd be a hypocrite to lecture him on manners and then refuse. "Yes, I know. I think my dad thought it was funny."

[damn_yourself_early]

"Fathers have the oddest senses of humor," he muses, shaking her hand. "So you always know when someone is lying?"

[brave_heart_verity]

"I do. I can see through illusions, too." Which might explain why she doesn't know if Ikol is there or not.

[damn_yourself_early]

"Illusions. Huh." He thinks on that for a moment. "Does that mean illusions are lies by default, I wonder?"

[brave_heart_verity]

"I don't know. It might have been added into the spell. I don't really know who did the magic, so I can't ask them."

[damn_yourself_early]

"Maybe we should find out!" he suggests, excited at the prospect for adventure and discovery.