《Gods among us》 Prologue: Honor (1) Deep into the night upon the highest peak of the tallest mountain. The blood of dwarven blacksmiths is spilled forging unbreakable chains inscribed with the strongest runes imaginable. Days pass as the sounds of hammers reverberate down into the mountain unending. The blacksmiths are driven only by the purpose of their actions, not stopping even as their hands crack and muscles tear. Their blood only adds to the cryptic runes covering the chains, pulsing with light every second they grow closer to completion. ------- Deep in the mountain a group of men smaller than 5 foot surround a hulking man of muscle that has a sword far larger than would seem wieldable. ¡°Am i not staining my honor enough by helping you achieve this¡± ¡°Tyr without your blood they will never be finished. The runes need to absorb your power to fully counteract his power¡± ¡°What happens after?¡± ¡°You will lose a portion of your strength, but there will be no visible changes for months and by the time they show up you will already have regained what you lost.¡± ¡°...fine..¡± ------ Through the mountain halls of Bellgost Tyr walks with a man that has features more wolf than man. His mouth, or rather maw glows red with cinder and ash as he talks ¡°Tyr why do they keep making me test these chains¡± ¡°They want to have a proper weapon if ever we are threatened. An insurance if you will. Just incase something we can''t defeat whatever shows up ¡± ¡°An insurance huh. If you didn''t ask this of me i would have never come.¡± ¡°I know that you don''t like them, but please try to be civil¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°It is not I who dislikes them Tyr. They hunt me and my family like animals all for the ramblings of a blind old woman.¡± ¡°In time they will change fenrir, but you have to show them¡± ¡°.....i hope so¡­.¡± They walk deeper into the caves in silence ------ Tyr along with Fenrir enter into the burning furnace room. As they enter the hammering stops. An eerie silence falls as all the blacksmiths look at fenrir with fear in their eyes as well as hope. Tyr pulls Fenrir over to the blacksmith with the most ¡®hope¡¯. He''s a short muscular fellow with a beard as white as snow braided in intricate designs. Years of smithing has adorned his arms with burn marks and scars. ¡°I¡¯ve brought him as asked Thromir¡± ¡°Yes, thank you Tyr. So you think you can break these chains boy¡± ¡°Do not doubt my strength dwarf. Very few things can hold me¡± ¡°..don''t doubt dwarven smithing boy¡± Fenrir smirks at the statement before slowly turning to Tyr next to him. ¡°If he calls me boy again Tyr i''m going to bite his head from his shoulders before Fafnir himself can stop me¡± ¡°Fenrir pls. You promised to act civil¡± ¡°Fine. Let''s get this over with, J?rm is still waiting for me at home¡± Tyr and Thromir bring Fenrir to a table upon which lays a set of chains with bloody pulsating runes. ¡°Make it quick, I''ll try not to break them completely but i can''t promise anything¡± Thromir quickly starts to chain up Fenrir. As the locks close the runes grow brighter with every additional one. ¡°Tyr these make me feel uncomfortable. Like my blood is burning¡± ¡°As they should, we forged them with the law-bringers'' own blood. His power courses through these chains. They are as much him as they are metal¡± Fenrir stops Thromir before he clasps the last lock onto the chain. The runes already near blinding levels of light. ¡°These are made with your blood Tyr!?¡± ¡°Yes a small price i had to pay for peace¡± ¡°Tyr promise me these aren''t made for me¡± ¡°....i promise¡­.¡± ¡°I don''t believe you.¡± ¡°Fenrir it''s just one more lock, let him close it and we can be done and you can go back home¡± ¡°No, like these chains I myself need insurance¡­.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Put your left hand in my mouth Tyr and if i cant break these bonds nor do you free me i will take it from you¡± ¡°....Fine¡± And with a click the last lock was closed. And with it a life was exchanged for the left hand and the honor of the law-bringer Tyr. Prologue: Honor (2) In a dark cave hidden away from the world a thin, weak looking man with only one hand sits alone staring at the ground. His hair and beard look like they haven''t been trimmed in years. Scars litter his body showing he was a warrior in his prime but now just a withered husk of a man. ¡°I knew you would come eventually¡± ¡°So why would you still do it if you knew?¡± From the darkness a silhouette of a woman appears. She wears a long scaled robe and heels that produce a piercing click with every step. But, the most noticeable trait would be her eyes. Far too narrow and cold to be humans. ¡°Someone had to stop him. We all heard the prophecy it was only a matter of time before something happened¡± ¡°You say that but since you locked yourself away there is chaos. Cities burn, there is no-one to keep check on them with the ¡®law-bringer¡¯ pretending to be a guard dog.¡± ¡°Why do you say pretending?¡± ¡°We both know you lost most of your powers Tyr¡± ¡°Even then, im forced by my honor to guard his cell¡± ¡°Huh honor. Isn¡¯t that what you swore by when you locked Fenrir in this crypt. That''s what it is right? A crypt. You never meant to release him, you all hoped he died down there.¡± ¡°.......¡± The silence lasts uncomfortably long as they stare at each other. Even as the years grew Tyr still holds the stature of the one known to police the other gods. Weak as he may be, the pressure released from his mere stare reminds all who he was. ¡°So what do you want, J?rmungandr?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve come to free him from this hell¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Tyr goes quite processing what he has been told. Maybe she doesn''t realize what this means. ¡°Do you know what you''re doing?¡± ¡°Yes I do. I''m freeing my husband¡± The air seems to freeze for a few seconds before Tyr slowly stands. He grabs at the wall behind him, rocks falling as he pulls a two-handed sword the size of a door from the cave wall. ¡°Come. i¡¯ve grown tired and my blood is the only way to free him from those chains¡± ------ For years he was chained away from his loved ones. Forever thrown away in darkness, only lit from the flames of his anger and rage. Weakened by time and the runes from the metal, his strength and mind fades. Only brought back in fits of rage of the people who locked him here for FEAR of what he might be. Memories long forgotten haunt him of his wife who tried to convince him not to go. ¡°Please don''t go. You know they hate you, fear you.¡± ¡°J?rm I have to, they will never change if we hide. They have to see we are different than they think we are. We are more than just monsters¡± ¡°But they don''t see that. They see us as freaks¡± ¡°Not him. He judges all fairly. He was the one who gave us freedom, he could have cut us down long ago. But he didn''t, even for just that i have to go.¡± ------ In a cell as black as night even the littlest of sunlight is blinding to the eyes. The only light from the maw of a beast trapped illuminates the thick metal room. Made from steel as black as night not to keep him from getting out but to stop anyone from finding him. The chains would stop the beast not the walls. Slowly the sound of gears fills the room. And the tiniest bit of light shines into the dark void eaten by the shadows. But, it''s enough to notice if you are used to the complete void. ¡° Did you come here to mock me? With your precious prophecy? Was it worth it? Your honor, your name. Do they still trust you? Their, Oh so honorable knight is nothing more that a betrayer and a liar¡± ¡°...stop¡± ¡°...i¡­.is.. That you?¡± ¡°Yes¡± As a wet thump and a dragging sound is heard slowly a silhouette of a woman is brought into view. But even then for one locked away in the abyss he can''t see any features other than a tattered dress and a limp leg. His eyes far too used to darkness. He knows shes there but can never actually see her again. ¡°Why¡­¡± ¡°I had to¡± ¡°.. you know he will come¡± ¡°I know¡± ¡°....Thank you¡± Years of not seeing each other only adds to how important this one moment is for them. He cares not for the scars she gained earning this chance. Only for the moment that it is possible. Such a shame that even as they hug and cry in reunion, the sound of thunder haunts the horizon.