The next morning Astyr went jogging with Randy and they made plans to go for a ride the next day. She was already busy today, Grima wanted to teach her how to read runes and then Hakon was going to pick her up to go visit with Gunnar again. Astyr jogged two laps with Randy so that she could spend more time catching up and hearing about his week. Even though she saw him every morning, they couldn't talk while riding on his motorcycle. So she listened to his stories of people who came into the shop where he worked as a mechanic and she told him about her week at school. There was an easy familiarity between them and Astyr was sorry to have to say goodbye again all too soon.

She spent the next few hours with Grima learning how to read Old Norse manuscripts written in runes. It was easy to learn the twenty-four different symbols that made up the alphabet and as soon as she knew the sounds each rune stood for, she merely had to memorize the meanings of all the words. Before lunch, she was easily reading a story about the truce that had ended the Aesir-Vanir war. "I always thought that runes were only carved on stones and metal." Astyr said. "Where did you get all of these manuscripts from? Museums would kill to find things like these."

Grima laughed at that. "Yes, museums would fight for these if they knew they existed, Astyr. But these were my own personal accounts of the stories my parents told me and I wouldn't want to give them up or have to explain how I got them. And humans never find things like these because we make sure not to leave them behind. They have enough stories of us already. And now that they outnumber us and have technology on their side, we're safer staying off the radar."

"So your parents fought in this war?" Astyr asked. "What was the war about?"

"Yes, my parents fought." Grima said, "And the war was about the same thing all wars are fought for; power and control. In this case, it was for control of the humans."

"Why were the Aesir and the Vanir fighting over humans?" Astyr asked.

"We fought over humans for the same reason they fight over land to grow crops on, Astyr." Grima replied. "You have to remember that in those times there weren't a lot of humans around, yet, and they were helpless creatures who lived in small bands fighting for survival. When our kind realized that they were a rich source of energy, we started to keep them and taught them how to farm and raise food so that we could have a healthy supply whenever we needed. The Aesir mainly lived in southwest Asia at that time, the humans even named the continent after us, and that is why all of their histories point to Mesopotamia as the beginning of their civilization. But changes in the weather sent bands of wild humans into farther territories and when the Vanir started to copy us, some of our elders thought that they should pay us a tribute. The Vanir didn't agree, of course; they felt that wild humans belonged to no one and could be caught and drained by anyone. We didn't think it right that they were killing them; it was wasteful and would have seen the humans as extinct as the other hominids who had crossed paths with the Vanir before. So we invaded their territory even though they outnumbered us. The fighting lasted for hundreds of years and when both sides were tired and worn down, we agreed to a truce. The Vanir were allowed to keep humans as long as they treated them well, and we returned to our lands. We left some of our people with them to ensure they followed the terms of the treaty and the children of some of their elders came with us to ensure the safety of the Aesir who had remained behind. Of course, after so long, there were those who had come to find love and there was much intermarriage after the war. You can't really find much difference at all anymore between the two races."

Astyr took a moment to think about all of this. "So, none of the other races took part in this war?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," Grima said, "The issue of how to deal with humans affected all of us. They all had a stake in the outcome of our war. The Alfar naturally sided with us because they are far more closely bound to the energy of nature. They don't like to see the balance upset by extinctions. The Jotnar took our side as well but that was a purely political decision. Their bodies use energy only to become big and strong, they cannot manipulate it in any other way, but if they mate with an Aesir, their children can. They took our side just to make sure they would still be accepted in marriage by us. The Nithavelir sided with the Vanir because they can only process energy when they absorb it internally; the idea of draining every drop of blood they could find really appealed to them."

Astyr couldn't help stopping her to ask another question. "What do you mean that they can only process energy internally? What happens if they go out in the sun or stand too close to a heater or something?"

Grima answered quickly, "Well, the radiation from the sun or the heat from a heater will overload their system and they'll burn to death. That's why the stories say that vampires can't go out in the sun. Humans thought the Nithavelir were the same as Vanir and so vampires were given the characteristics of both races combined."

"So are there any of them left?" Astyr asked.

"Yes," Grima said, "but you're better off not running into any of them. They have a reputation for cruelty and they like to make sure they live up to it."

They were finishing with lunch by this point and Astyr could hear the engine of Hakon's car coming down the driveway so she quickly helped Grima to clear the table and then she grabbed her jacket and ran down the stairs to greet Hakon. He was waiting by the passenger door for her and he held it open for her as she sat in the seat.

"Thanks, Hakon." She said as he climbed into the driver's seat. "We might actually be able to turn you into a gentleman."

Hakon laughed as he started the car and drove off down the driveway. "I was a gentleman before that word was even invented, Astyr. Don't think you're going to be able to teach this old dog any new tricks."

"Come on, Hakon," she said, "You're only four centuries old. You're practically still in diapers, aren't you." She was laughing but he was giving her a dirty look. "If I'm still in diapers, what does that make you, little girl?"

She laughed again at that but then decided to ask him a question seriously. "Hakon, how come you're still single after four hundred years?"

He laughed even though he knew she wasn't being funny. "I'm still too young to settle down. I've got millennia ahead of me, there's no rush. Most Aesir don't get married and start a family until they start getting white hair."

"Why?" She asked. "Isn't it hard being alone for all that time?"

"It's better to be alone than to spend thousands of years with someone you can't stand." he said.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "Why on earth would you marry someone if you can't stand them?"

"I wouldn't if I had a choice in the matter." he said. "But I'm the eldest child so I have to marry someone else who is firstborn. There aren't that many firstborn daughters to choose from so I'm not looking forward to seeing who my parents might think suitable."

"Ok," she said, "I know your parents are really old, but arranged marriages!? That's just ridiculous. Why would they do that to you?"

"It's not old-fashioned, Astyr," he told her, "It's genetics."

Astyr rolled her eyes at him. "Could you say something that makes sense now, please?"

He gave a small chuckle before giving her an answer. "We're Aesir, and the amount of energy our bodies can process is determined by our genes. When two Aesir have children, the first child gets programmed with the capacity of both parents, like a double shot of espresso, you see."

Astyr nodded to show him that she was keeping up and he continued.

"But any other children can take the capacity of only one parent. So our kind have always arranged marriages between firstborns to ensure the strength of our species."

"Well, that sucks for you, Hakon." she said. "But anyone who isn't firstborn can marry anyone they want, right? Like Gunnar or me?"

He gave her a sideways glance and took a second before answering. "Well, Gunnar can, but, Astyr, you're firstborn, too. Your father isn't going to let you marry just any one."

"What do you mean I'm firstborn? How do you know? How do you know what my father will do? You don't even know who he is! How can you say any of that!" All of her questions and accusations were running together because she was truly shocked by what he had said.

Hakon reached his hand out towards her and turned his wrist so that she could see his bracelet. "This shows that I'm firstborn. I wouldn't have one if I wasn't, and neither would you. And as to your father, I know who he is because his name is on your bracelet. And I know how he will feel about your marriage because Tyr is the most respected of our elders."

They had arrived at the Falkor's massive Georgian mansion by this time and they were still sitting in his car in the garage. Astyr had a million questions but didn't have the heart to ask them right now. If Grima and the Falkors knew who her father was and they knew him, then surely they would have told him by now about her. If he wanted to meet her, wouldn't he have come right away? Obviously having a daughter wasn't a big deal for Tyr, the respected elder. Astyr knew her mother had abandoned her at birth, but she felt like it had just happened all over again. Her father didn't want her.

She opened the door to the Camaro and made her way silently out of the garage and up to the game room where Gunnar was usually to be found. He was once again feeling lethargic so they spent the afternoon watching movies and not talking much.

Grima came over later and they all had dinner together and after saying goodnight to everyone, Astyr rode home with her guardian.

"Is there something wrong, Astyr?" Grima asked her. "You seem a little sad."

Astyr looked down at the name carved into her bracelet and said, "Grima, you know who my father is, don't you?"

"Yes, dear, I do." Grima answered gently. "And he knows now that I found you."

"But he's not going to come and meet me, is he? He's not going to come and claim me?" Astyr asked.

Grima sighed sadly. "It's really not that easy, dear. Your father wants to protect you. He's afraid of someone taking you away or hurting you or worse, just like your mother. He thinks that as long as no one knows about you, they won't target you. He's working on finding a way to meet you but he wants to make sure he won't be endangering you. Just be patient. There's plenty of time."

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