"So, you wish to find the origin of Jennica, starting with the locket." Heimdal's statement was conveyed in thought, a deep thought that no one wished to interrupt. "I am not familiar with this, and my inability to see her prevents me from finding where it could be from." He paused. "I know of someone who could help you. She has not been seen or heard of in years, but it is worth the attempt."
"Who is she? Where will we go to find her?" Thor asked, aching for a clear direction on where to depart.
"The Great Fárbauti was last seen on the planet Vadella..." Heimdall glanced at Loki, whose eyes widened in fear at the mention of that planet. He was terrified, but he hid his worry behind an indifferent face before anyone else noticed. "...or so I've heard. The people there loved her and should be able to help you."
"Vadella? I'm familiar with that planet and their language. Isn't it quite small?"
Heimdall sighed, looking into the universe to see Vadella. "Very small, nearly insignificant. The people are poor and can barely look after themselves. Fárbauti was considered a hero in their eyes, and I believe she considered that planet her resting place. There is no formidable risk in going there."
"If that's our lead, then we must go." Thor replied slowly, looking for agreement from the others. Loki refused to give his share of opinion. It would only reveal unwanted attributes.
With a nod of understanding, Heimdall plunged his great sword into the bifrost, bringing it to life as the globe spun around them in a dizzying whir. The dread in Loki's chest kept him silent, but he didn't protest.
Jennica's eyes were wide but she held her anxiety beneath the awe of this strange place, colors dancing around them, energy pulling at their bodies to whisk them away. Was it a dream? Jennica could still not answer that question.
They landed in a white pond, the water tasting like diluted milk, and the overwhelming smell of mildew attacked their senses. As they climbed out, Loki looked up in anger at the orange sky that was colored by the light of a nearby star, knowing full well that Heimdall could have easily missed the water.
Their feet left a trace in the purple sand while the three of them made their way to a town near the horizon. The village was small, and a brick wall surrounded it, the sunburnt purple sand giving way to a dark, indigo dust that the small dirt and clay homes rested on. Gray skinned, noseless humanoid aliens, both male and female, walked around the small square. Their eyes were large and showed great need. Poverty did indeed rest in the place.
"Excuse me, kind sir?" Thor inquired as he grabbed the attention of one of the alien men. They looked greatly confused and almost frightened at the sight of newcomers on the planet.
"Šetsej kim? Îrax sej kim rākhnxt bativręt?" The alien babbled in his own language. Thor wracked his brain for knowledge on how to communicate with these people, working to remember the many languages he had been taught as a child.
Jennica was baffled by this creature. "What is he saying?"
"He is simply wondering who we are." Loki replied with a shrug, trying not to care about anything unimportant.
Thor attempted to communicate to the alien in the Vadellan language,
"Em sej elisnïox mga Asharda. Ej ovœ inas alecnod ahnü inas aram asaÿ dgal. Em zeżd kim vœsuh niįs diem bativręt." It meant, "We are the Princes of Asgard. She is a maiden from an unknown land. We hope you welcome us here."
"Asharda?!" The man gasped, surprised that beings of Asgard would find the time to come to their insignificant planet. Stepping forward, Loki slowly asked the villager to bring them to their master, called a Kujoyo.
"Em schüan bai an raįbal an kimra Kujoyo."
The villager nodded hesitantly and gestured for them to follow him to the outskirts of the village. They walked past crumbling houses, some of them burnt from the sun and others sinking into the sand. Everyone who happened to see the foreigners looked surprised but seemed to lack curiosity or worry and continued on their path. The only visibly cared for place was a gigantic clay statue of a scantily clad woman. The villagers laid succulents at the feet of the woman, praying for something unknown to Jennica.
Arriving at a hut, far more ancient than the small homes, the villager knelt in the scorching hot sand in front of the rusted door and roughly commanded the foreigners to kneel as well.
"Ężit!"
Thor immediately obeyed and Loki dreaded the thought, but Jennica was hesitant as the sand almost radiated its own heat. Slowly lowering herself onto the fiery grains, Jennica reached her hand out near Loki's shoulder.
Loki, filled with a sudden violent irritation, jerked her onto her knees, making her fall onto her back and shriek in pain from the heat. He sharply hissed,
"Quit your whining! We do not want to anger these people."
Jennica met his eyes with contempt, but when she saw his sunken face and small, almost decaying features, her eyes widened in horror at the sudden change. She knelt beside him and kept her eyes on the ground and her pain to herself.
Once the three of them had been kneeling much longer than they were able to bear, the door opened, and a female voice from within whispered in a soothing tone,
"Kujoyo chanïm raįbal anād. Edir, aleyu nœm îd avāvi ożi je aîrdu ulœ nęvajo an nufi diem mga tsordüm je ęrebhe." These words expressed that the Kujoyo would not be seeing anyone and to come back the following day.
Quickly pulling his burnt knees off of the ground, Thor stood straight up and put Loki, who was painfully motionless and shrunken two sizes too small, onto his feet. Jennica followed without a word.
Wrapping Loki's arm around his shoulder, Thor helped him trudge to the shadow of the nearest house to cool down. His brother looked like a skeleton. He found it best not to say that he knew what caused this– Jötun blood and weakened magic– for it might wound his pride and worsen the situation.
"Forgive him, Jennica, he is not merely irritable. His body does not handle heat well."
Jennica's knees were burnt a dark red and extremely painful to touch, but she managed to stay upright and off the ground with Thor.
The villager, who had led them to the hut, approached and spoke in his own tongue,
"What is your purpose here? Why must you speak with Kujoyo?"
To which Thor responded, after translating for Jennica,
"We were told of a woman who has vast knowledge of the artifacts and designs of peoples throughout the universe, Fárbauti."
The villager's eyes widened with sudden delight. "Honorable Fárbauti! She knows all. Kujoyo is discovering her wisdom now! It is his goal to find her and bring her home." These words slightly disheartened Thor, understanding that Fárbauti was not on the planet.
"She was not a native of Vadella, was she? I assume the statue is her likeness."
"From a colder place. She was like him," the villager pointed at Loki, "but she saved us and loved us anyway. If only we knew as much as Kujoyo! He must not spread her knowledge or else the Küxvæda will gain it. They stole too much. Their tribe is our enemy."
Once everything had been translated, all three foreigners were burning with curiosity and looked forward to when they might have access to this Kujoyo to learn more.
***
The sun never set on Vadella, and its people barely slept, but the foreigners borrowed the beds of a very submissive and trusting family who were only happy to serve the newcomers, even if they had very little to share.
Loki recovered indoors from the heat, beginning to feel like himself again. His size had returned to normal, and he was glad of that. Thor spoke with the Vadellan family sharing their house with them, a husband and wife, trying to learn as much as he could about the planet and their leader, the Kujoyo. He only received what he already knew.
During this time, Jennica sat in the clay house, tucked away in a small bedroom as Thor and Loki conversed with the villagers. Warm breeze rushed through a small window, brushing her cheek. It felt so real. This was not a dream. She was an alien on an alien planet. Her life had been left behind, she chose to leave it behind, to forget about her parents, Cammy, her passion for dance... no, it would be impossible to forget, but the path had changed.
Interrupting her deep thoughts, a little girl, who was the daughter of the two villagers sharing their house, walked over to Jennica with a small fruit in her hand. She placed the fuzzy, pear shaped fruit in Jennica's sunburnt palms and said,
"Ûnx!" which meant "eat".
Bowing her head in thanks, Jennica watched as the child retreated outside. She must have been the only one in the village, given as the place was so barren, and she was the only child to have been seen. With those thoughts swirling in her head, Jennica took a bite of the small fruit. It tasted like a plum with the texture of a watermelon on the inside. It's fuzz tickled her lips and the juice sloshed in her mouth with every bite. The bounty of it surprised her, remembering baskets of shriveled fruits catching her gaze not too long ago.
What a gift this was...
After wiping the fruit juice off of her mouth, she discarded the core and found Thor and Loki in a broken conversation with a Vadellan. He spoke fast, making it difficult to translate, and Loki already grew tired of this place.
"Any luck?" She asked when they had finally noticed her presence. This was taking too long and Jennica found herself susceptible to an impatience she never thought she had.
"What does it look like?" Loki grumbled his response. "The Kujoyo never sees anyone without permission and he is the only one to help us."
"That's what I thought." She found herself arguing back before seeing herself out.
She would go to the Kujoyo herself. There was no use in just sitting around, and Jennica did not wish to wait any longer. The woman still stood in front of the Kujoyo's hut, and at the sight of Jennica approaching, she stiffened.
"Let me through." Jennica demanded, "I must speak with the Kujoyo."
"No speaking today." The woman replied sternly with very poor English, although it was enough. "Kujoyo busy."
"This is a matter of life or death. I must speak to him. The Princes of Asgard–"
"Asgardian has no authority! Not to us!"
"Jennica!" Thor shouted, running over with Loki to where she was standing. They were cross. "It was unwise for you to run off."
"It was clear you were getting nowhere with the villagers, so I took some of the responsibility."
"By doing what is forbidden?" Loki grew angry. He had not been angry with a woman in a very long time, but his nerves were shocked and anger was a perfect substitute for fear. "Why is it that you need instant gratification? I told you not to anger these people, if you do want to learn anything! You're ignorant of their customs and you will only cause harm by trying to ignore them. You know absolutely nothing about feeling incomplete!"
Thor jerked him back, shouting at his troublemaking brother and chaos erupted. Arguments were scarce on this wanting planet, and a crowd began to form, murmurs of discontent surrounding them.
"I must speak to him, now!" Jennica begged the female guard, "This matter is serious. He needs to help us find Fárbauti so we can–"
"Kujoyo busy." The woman snapped, trying to lead Jennica away from the hut. "Leave now!"
"Vadella's order has been disturbed!" An aged voice bellowed from within the hut. It spoke much better English than any Vadellan encountered.
As the old man left the hut, silence erupted and the Vadellans began to bow, folding their hands together. He was one of the aliens, hunched over with a cane and a brown tattered cloak draped over his shoulders. Although he didn't look much different than the others, he had a glint in his eye of wisdom, curiosity, and caution that no one else seemed to have. He then turned to the guard and commanded for her to send the people away, motioning Jennica to his side. "You wished to speak with me?"
Jennica nodded, now feeling ashamed for the ruckus she caused. What a human heart she had...
"And who are you?" Thor asked the alien, having successfully stopped Loki.
"I am the Kujoyo." This Vadellan replied, "My name is Thrai Maw. Please, come with me into my home."
As Loki looked to see the Kujoyo, his anger immediately turned into fear. That face was almost identical to one he had seen before. A face that had haunted every nightmare, awake or asleep. Although it happened so suddenly, the three foreigners followed the hunched old man into the hut.
The little home was no different than the others, if not older looking and smaller. Noticeable cracks in the clay and mud walls ran up to touch the ceiling, threatening to tear the roof down. There didn't seem to be much room, even for standing, until Thrai Maw led them to a set of dirt stairs in the corner of the hut.
Expecting the flight down the stairs to be short lived, it was almost never ending as it led deeper and deeper into a basement in the ground. Thor stood right behind the Kujoyo, watching in surprise as the alien in front of him seemed to suddenly grow taller with each step. By the time they had reached the basement that was lined with wood planks, cold yet very large, Thrai Maw had plenty of room to stand up straight, revealing that he was not really a hunchback, but a leader towering at the height of seven feet. Loki's face went utterly pale at the sight. His hands shook as his mind spiraled into anxiety.
"You wish to know of Fárbauti?" Asked the aged Vadellan as he lowered himself onto a colorful mat. His voice was clear and smooth, evidence of his self-confidence and decorum. He glanced at Loki, who couldn't hide his fear from anyone, and gave him a smile that didn't help at all. "First, I wish to know, from each of you, who you are and your intentions. We do not offer information to just anyone, unfortunately."
"I am Thor, the crown prince of Asgard. We are on a journey to find the Infinity Fractals and secure their place in Asgard's vault for safety. This woman, Jennica, holds two of them. We wish to find her origin to discover the others."
"Ah..." Thrai Maw tapped his lips, looking at Loki again. "And just who are you?"
Everyone looked to Loki to introduce himself. He couldn't open his mouth. It was strange behavior but the Kujoyo seemed to understand.
"I can see your fear clear on your face," Thrai Maw said to him, "but I don't believe it is because I am different from you. I am peaceful. There is no reason to be afraid."
Only then noticing how terrified Loki was, Thor nudged him and asked,
"What's wrong?"
Admitting weakness is failure... Shaking his head, Loki stated, although he still trembled, "My name is Loki. I am also a prince of Asgard, Thor's brother. We have the same intentions. As for my fear... I am acquainted with another from your people who bears a striking resemblance to you. I do not mean any offense."
Thrai Maw sighed and nodded in understanding. "There is only one of us who could cause that reaction. I do not take offense, but I am disappointed that it has happened. Please do not expect behavior similar to his here, at least on this side of the planet."
"Who is this you speak of?" Thor questioned. "I have rarely seen my brother this fearful before."
The Kujoyo revealed a deep sense of regret, offering his reply in a wounded tone. "I cannot speak for Loki's personal experience, but the one he is afraid of is Ebony Maw, my brother." Loki nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. "He started a rebellion half a century ago, splitting our people into two tribes, the other tribe being the Küxvæda. He was being raised to be a seeker and keeper of knowledge or Kujoyo as well, filled with a sudden increase of knowledge. Unlike me, however, he was also filled with a mistrust of the traditions of the Kujoyo. He wanted to be able to spread the wisdom of Fárbauti so that our planet could become one of great power. However, he did not understand that Fárbauti's wisdom was not enough to fulfill his purposes. His intentions were honorable but led to the creation of a barbaric tribe made up of weak minded males who could not understand the knowledge they sought. Ebony Maw was outraged by the littleness of our people and found a stronger power than Fárbauti to follow. He disappeared nearly four years after it all began. I have heard of his studies in the arts of torture and dark magic, stories of the horrible acts he has committed in the name of salvation. Having fully abandoned his people, he now calls himself a child of Thanos."
Thanos. The name screamed itself in Loki's head. All his fears and tortures rested with the titan that had used him like a puppet. Loki no longer wished to serve anyone. Especially one who could overbear him. There was too much fear in one memory. He became lost inside of it...
Pain... It was a consuming fire, coursing through his veins. He felt the burning bite begin to take over his body, and it took everything in him to hold back the scream.
Ebony Maw stood in front of his chained body, two other beings accompanying them on Thanos' ship. Loki's eyes stung and watered, seeing Ebony Maw extending his gnarled, gray hands outward to inflict the torture, the demonizing methods he portrayed as cleansing.
"He does not scream easily, but he always does in the end." Maw's lips turned upward into a grin when he saw Loki squirm in pain. "However, fear is his weakness, more than pain. Loki is a coward, and you can always count on it to be so. Heat, delusions, and silent darkness are effective on these types of creatures. Do not be afraid to push him to his limits–" Ebony Maw continued explaining to the figures beside him while increasing the terrible pain he was inflicting on Loki, who was completely powerless, "his body can handle more than his mind. Reducing his mental capabilities is key to control of all, body and mind."
One who was listening stepped forward, revealing himself to be the Other, a person who Loki had yet to fear but soon would. The third person was unknown to Loki, an Elvish man with a sadistic grin. These faces were ones that would continue to haunt him for the rest of his life. Pressing the skin of his hands deep into the chains, Loki tried to expel the build up of pain in his head, but a scream escaped his lips instead.
"Now, we are near his breaking point. Soon he will be ours to dominate. Once he screams freely, it is your chance." It did not take long for this to begin. The screams did not stop, and Ebony Maw took control of Loki's mind and body. "I give this control to you. Use it wisely, my brother."
The flashbulb memory faded as quickly as it had come. Loki could still taste the blood in his mouth, feel the fire in his veins. When he noticed everyone staring at him, he brought his gaze to the floor.
For a moment, the room was silent, as if everyone felt the presence of Loki's fear. Thor heaved a sigh, feeling sorry for his brother. He clasped a large hand on his shoulder, making the younger brother flinch out of his recurring daydream. Jennica could only stay silent and ponder the many questions in her mind.
Thrai Maw motioned for them all to take a seat on the colored mats that were provided, hoping to end the silence and continue on with what the foreigners had come for. He took a deep breath and then spoke,
"If you are truly searching for Fárbauti to find Jennica's true heritage through a relic, then you must know that she is not one to give direction easily to beings she hardly knows. But, since two of you are princes of Asgard, she may perhaps believe your tale and help you. Fárbauti served Asgard before. Because of her courage during one of the Great Wars, she was known as a legend everywhere she went. Her knowledge of all the Nine Realms and her abilities in using magic has made her greatly powerful. Of course, us people of Vadella never saw the extent of her power, so we do not know if the legends are true. I cannot truly tell you what to expect."
"I heard that she is no longer here on this planet." Thor added. "Where is she now?"
Thrai Maw pursed his lips in thought, "A few years ago was when she left, and she told us that she was returning to her home planet. She did not give us a reason, but she left anyway. Her planet of origin is Jötunheim. I do not know if she is still there, but that is the only guidance I can offer."
Jennica had never heard of Jötunheim, but the looks on her companion's faces revealed their dread. A rock settled in the pit of her stomach.
"Please, rest here for another day." Thrai Maw offered, standing up to fetch a few more mats. His smile was kind. "You may stay here. Tomorrow, you can continue your journey."