Treachery : book 2 of Codex Elysium

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Present time: Asgard

Valhalla's army stood ready and waiting in parade formation. They were wearing the legendary golden armour of the heroes of old, deep purple cloaks hung from shoulders, oblong shields of highly polished silver that glinted in the sunlight. Odin stood before the army with his arms crossed, his two ravens were perched on either shoulder. They had confirmed to him that the battle in Nidavellir had begun. Also they had told him that the fortification work in Elysium was complete.

Odin glowered at his army. They certainly looked the part but the truth was that these were not warriors, they had not been tested on the battlefield.

Kvasir stood beside Odin bony arms crossed over his skeletal thin body. His gaunt face was set in a look of utter disapproval.

"You know this isn't right, my old friend"

Odin turned to Kvasir as he pointed a bony hand towards the southwest

"The dwarves need our help and yet we run in the opposite direction!"

"We are not running!" snapped Odin "It is absolutely vital that we maintain our foothold in Elysium!"

Jason stalked over to the two ancient gods, a black look on his face

"Why? What is so important about that ruined hell world that you would waste the lives of thousands just to protect it?"

Odin glowered at Jason while he chewed on his reply, he had to consider carefully what he could and couldn't reveal to the druid. There was still no way to know which side of the war Jason would chose

"It has major strategic value and I do no not wish to abandon it lightly. The mansion and the docks are crucial, perhaps even reclaiming the city would be beneficial as well"

Kvasir's sunken eyes widened in understanding, Odin gave him a warning look to be careful what he said. The skeletal god gave Jason an odd look and said

"You believe that the ancient sea portal is still active"

"I don't believe, I know it is and it must not fall into enemy hands"

Jason frowned as he looked between the gods

"And where does the portal lead?"

Both of the gods gave Jason an identical withering glare, Odin shook his head in wonder. Jason could be extremely wise when he chose to be but when he switched his brain off he became incredibly stupid. The one eyed god weighed up whether to tell Jason or not.

"Why it leads here of course. To these very shores. Think of the tactical advantage. We could see an enemy fleet of ships coming from miles off but if the used the portal, we could be overrun with enemies in minutes"

Jason thought on this. He had seen the ruins of the great bridge that had once linked Asgard and Vanaheim. They said the stretch of sea between the worlds was a thousand miles, a long way for an army to march. He had also seen the ruins of the rainbow bridge that once lead to Midgard. Jason still couldn't see why the portal was so important, with the bridges gone and the giants building a great river to cut their land off from Asgard. The land of the Aesir gods was completely cut off. Surely that was a good thing? Surely that had better tactical advantages. The only way to access this world would be by the twin raven necklaces the druids wore. Oh. Jason got it no other soul worthy of Asgard would be able to enter this land. With all the other worlds turning evil, every mortal that died would end up in a Hell world. Odin needed a way for souls to still get in and out of his lands. The one eyed god nodded as he saw the realisation dawing on Jason's face