“The gods of different pantheons know of each other? I would’ve thought each pantheon was exclusive.” Audrey stated aloud. Apparently, being in front of a single god caused her no amount of fear.

“You’re far too young for me to teach you how those things work.” said Loki with a chuckle. “But no, you can assume that every god know of the existence of the others, and that they can meet, should they want to. Ah, here’s our ride.”

As he lifted his eyes, a gigantic crow landed in front of them. Loki led the way and went to mount him. The two girls followed and sat on the crow’s back. Seeing him in front of a real, though colossal, crow, Sarah noticed that the god’s hair was indeed the same black as the bird feathers.

The crow soared through the air, to a fork on a branch. There was the repetitive sound of a hammer hitting metal, typical of the medieval forges both girls saw innumerable re-creations of. A tall bald man with a splendid mustache was working over an open pit, on what looked like a black piece of metal. As they passed him, he barely lifted his eyes, focused on his work. The crow landed a few minutes later, in front of what seemed like a small grove, and the start of a dirt path leading inside. After Sarah got down from their flying mount, and helped Audrey do the same, they looked at the scenery and felt a burst of air on their back.

“See you later, ladies!” The crow took to the air again, and Loki waved them goodbye before quickly disappearing under a low branch.

“Why does it seem those gods don’t have time for anything? Is it too hard to just sit down and explain a little?!” exclaimed Audrey, apparently upset by Loki’s unceremonious exit.

“Maybe they’re really busy?”

“THEY.ARE.PARTYING!!!” Audrey shouted. She seemed genuinely angry. Sarah took her by the shoulders and hugged her. The heavy breathing of the girl calmed down, and Sarah heard small sobs, as she felt Audrey hugging her back while shuddering a little. It seemed the stress of the two flights and the meeting with all those gods was fraying her nerves.

After a few minutes of Sarah gently stroking her hair, the sobs started to calm down, and Audrey finally lifted her head from Sarah’s chest. “Sorry.”

It was really hard not to laugh at the little voice of the red eyed girl in front of her. She looked nothing like the young energetic doctor she saw a few hours back, and more like a lost little girl. Sarah grabbed her hand, and started to walk toward the grove. “The guy here is supposed to explain things, right?”

They walked in silence on the dirt path, before entering a small clearing, with a calm pond on its center. In front of it was a stone bench, and sitting on it, an old man with white hair and beard. He was looking right at them, a kind smile on his face.

“Welcome, young ladies. Please, sit with me as I answer your questions.” He pointed toward another bench in front of him that was growing from the root of a tree. They sat on it, Audrey visibly relieved to see a patient man.

“Let me introduce myself first, as it is improper that I know your name without you knowing mine. I’m Mimir, god of knowledge. Now, I know you have a lot of questions, and it pains me to say so, but I won’t answer them all, as some knowledge isn’t deemed safe for mortals. But I’ll do my best, so by all means, go.” His voice was calm, with a hint of sadness when he spoke about that forbidden knowledge.

“Well, first of all, they called me Tivarvinar, what does that mean?” Sarah was eager to fill the hole in her knowledge of the events, and the passion for discoveries and history that first drove her to archeology burned bright once again.

“Well, it would be hard to translate exactly, but I would probably go with ‘Breaker of chains’ or ‘Liberator of the jailed ones’. It’s the title you display as of now.”

“The title I display?”

“Have you played any of those MMORPG’s things I saw when checking human history? To make things simple, just know that for us gods, you have something akin to a health bar, with a name, a title, and a level. There’s a skill to see things like this, and while most mortals don’t have it, it’s commonplace for us. It’ll be easier to comprehend once you’ve bonded with the new tablet, but Wolündr is barely finishing, it will need some time to cool down. Before that, what other questions do you have?”

As strange as it was to listen to an old Norse god talk about videogames, there were more important questions as of now.

“Why were you imprisoned?” How freaking GODS could be detained was beyond her understanding.

“Well, it’s something I would like you to research for us. Whatever it was that happened, it falls outside of my abilities to know. No one remember anything besides going to Atlantis for our millennial meeting, then nothing. I asked every god I know, and I plan to meet with other knowledge gods, but I think it’s something hidden from divine sight. Would you search clues for us?”

Sarah didn’t hesitate a second before agreeing, and she was surprised to see a window pop up in her sight, before quickly disappearing.

You accepted the request of a divine being. The ‘Divine quest’ perk is no longer hidden.

“The hell was that?” She was the only one startled by that strange blue window, so she guessed she was the only one to see it.

Mimir had a small smile. “Probably the notification for the ‘Divine quest’ perk. You’ll get used to this.”

It was something Sarah doubted a lot, but she didn’t dare voice it. “So, can you explain me in details what you remember from this meeting?”

“Well, we were meeting to celebrate the discovery of the western continent by the Atlanteans, and they had build this big hall for us gods to feast. There was a giant orb, with a representation of earth. They were pretty proud that it was complete. As we were gathering to listen to some speeches, there was a red flash from the walls, and the doors shut suddenly. But we were confident all that was merely a play. I mean, who would try something against all the assembled gods?”

Mimir seemed pained by those memories. He clearly blames himself for something.

“And then?”

“And then, nothing. Just pain, noise, and a long, long wait in a white space, without power nor body.”

“Oh. Anything odd from the beginning of the gathering? No, better, describe everything, I’ll take some notes.”