chaotix14

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

Yue just taking off like a rocket was quite unexpected, the rocking on the house even more so. Exercise is quite a good way to clear ones head... However something nagging in the back of Zolya's mind reminded her that only works if they can feel tired... Pretty sure it was Raudd's voice too, which made it twice as annoying.

At least the flash of the Greek sculpting desperately trying to dress up in a hurry was a good distraction from the annoyance. Of course he had to destroy that mood, not only with covering up, but also opening his mouth with a very much blaming tone. With similar sentiments as the nuisance noise within her mind, proving to even be powerful enough to involuntarily shifting her facial expression to one screaming Duh-are-you-dumb-or-something? For a moment when asked to keep an eye on yue with her birds. "Sweetie, we both know they aren't fast enough to keep up. But yes, they will be keeping an eye on her." She says her expression plastered with a cheeky grin as she approaches the now dressed Renaissance art piece. "After all neither of you can take a breath within the Undercity without the ravens knowing it. That includes exposing that lean cut of meat..." She continues as she walks straight into Archers comfort zone, running her hand over Archers chest with barely a hairs width of air maintaining non-contact and leaning in real close to deliver a last line "And I don't mind a little extra equipment." whispering it right into his ear while grinning ear to ear, only to pull back right after and step away.

"Anyways, it would seem my attention is needed elsewhere. I've got a little situation that appears to have riled up quite a few of my flock that I'll have to deal with. Both of you go ahead and I'll make sure the ravens guide you towards Yue." With her quota of making other people deeply uncomfortable filled... Temporarily... She walked out the door taking one of the collected stags and having it traverse her through the wilderness that the mana cascade had created.

"I am so sorry she did that crap to you, she really picked up the worst character traits alongside her magic." Raudd apologized towards Archer for Zolya's little outburst before turning his attention back towards the situation at hand. A Super-Athlete with potentially super sonic capability and no ability to feel fatigue creep up on them going on a little jog, in the Undercity. What could not go wrong?

"We really gotta get a move on, I don't even wanna know what kind of mess she's stirring up right now." The words barely having left his mouth before he noticed himself walk-running towards the stags and mounting one himself. "Heading east you said?" He asked without really waiting for an answer as he turned his stag towards the general direction of ShieldTown finding what practically amounted to a bread crumb trail of ravens leading his way.

---

Outside of ShieldTown bathed in the slightest sliver of sunlight filtering down through the cracks of the plates she stood, soon to find three ravens descending on her position as she looked to the sky with questions, longing, worry, maybe regrets. They looked with curiosity, attempting to understand whether this human would try to fly, perhaps already having forgotten the long fall it took her to even get down here. One of them cawwed and shook it's head, taking off with a soundless clap of it's wings.

Wings that soon seemed to melt as it ascended through the pillar of sunlight. Growing smaller until there appeared to be no more wing to fly with sending the creature tumbling down to the earth below, landing with a thud in front of the human. It cawwed once more as it stood up, shook the dust off itself, and looked at the human trying to see if it had managed to understand.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

"I agree Zolya is at fault, her design hid the fact that things were about to go haywire up until the point we no longer had time to avoid it." Raudd replied to Zolya's teasing making sure to do so at the exact moment she was stuffing her mouth with a potato cake she practically used as a spoon for the sauce. Her reaction was priceless as her tried to look angry at Raudd with her cheeks stuffed with food, bringing out a grin on Raudd's side.

Watching Yue wolf down her food was while satisfying a little bit concerning. Seemed like the girl had been missing a couple of meals over the course of the last day... Well, it was quite the hectic day to be sure, and it wasn't like they hadn't skipped lunch either.

Her question on the interactions of sword song with tinker made items made Zolya shift her focus from her plate towards Archer's answer, and even Raudd had to admit a minor amount of curiosity for what the man was about to tell them. However the explanation as he feared fell flat quite a bit, causing Raudd to gain a bit of glare from Zolya urging him to speak up.

After quickly swallowing the last bit of the poached egg Raudd obliged the request. "First of all, welcome to my world, tinkers, mages, heck in general powers are just bullshit. I put them into three categories, those that bend the laws of physics, those that break the laws of physics, and magic. Funnily enough that second category and the third look practically the same to me. So it might not be a stretch of the imagination that if something looks similar to magic some of it might be similar enough to interact with mana."

"And that's ignoring the fact that every human could make items which are magical to a very minor degree. Weapons forged through ritualistic methods, good luck charms crafted with care, heirloom items passed through the generations. Belief, tradition, and will, either during it's creation or during the lifetime of an object can make them gain a spark of magic, I don't see any reason why tinker made items should be excluded from that, when I've had a fair share of modern technological items screaming at me in ways that magic does." He finished quite dryly before cleaning scraping the last crumbs of potato and sauce from his bowl leaving Yue to stare into the void.

"I'd have to agree with Archer, it's best not to think too much about it all. In that way it's worse than quantum physics, at least there every answer only leads to five new unanswered questions."

Just after Yue snagged another handful of latkes from the plate Raudd bagged a load of them up and gave them to Archer. "They're even better after reheating. Just chuck them into the oven for a bit and they'll go even crunchier on the outside and fluffier on the inside." He mentioned with the assumption that Archer and Yue were gonna spend the next evening topside. The remainder of the potato cakes went plate and all into the fridge, good for a side dish later.

Meanwhile Zolya had already put on her cloak and grabbed her spellbook from her room, making herself busy to gather enough rides for them all. "Yue dear, do you know how to ride a horse?.. Actually I'm pretty sure keeping up with the stags on foot would barely be an exercise for you." She asked from just outside the door where four stags had decided to gather, and had begun dining on some of the overgrown vegetation.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

Like a pressure vessel bursting at it's seams the cairn stone vented it's overflow of mana into the environment the heavily enchantment aligned mana immediately latching onto the fortification domain and the mass of runes that covered the cairn stone, until in the blink of an eye even that could no longer contain the pulsing mass of mana and trails of mana shot off every which way like a decaying atom.

Trails which were eagerly sucked up by the many rune stones in the area, flooding them with mana to degrees they were never meant to utilize. The world around the stones groaned as roots churned through the earth, wood creaked as it engorged itself as it readily sucked down the plentiful nature mana and forcefully nurtured by the magical sunlight exuded by a nearby growth stone, and stones themselves rumbled a few even shattering to pieces as they were subjected to an excess of mana. A rude awakening to most of the inhabitants of the area as houses began to stir almost as soon as their foundations had begun rumbling. Though many a man would try to take shelter outside of their homes, the rain of splintered bark and wood quickly dissuaded most forcing them to hide within the confines of their abode.

As soon as the worst of it had stopped a silence fell over the Stoneworks, moments passed before anyone dared stir themselves as visible throughout the area the growing of plants still progressed at an unnatural speed. Soon though the bravest of souls began to stir, followed moments later by others and more noticeably flocks of ravens sprouted from every corner of the Stoneworks flying with haste and determination to their master carrying messages and reports. Not soon after they flooded the manor at the center of what once was the Stoneworks, now it was more akin to an elven forest or perhaps looking at the size of it's bounty the forest of giants might be more apt a description.

Through an open window the incessant cawing of the unkindness that had formed outside could be heard, each raven their own report, and they spoke of those who'd been outside as the nature magic was unshackled and cascaded throughout, of those taken up into the trees some in person others in their houses foundation and all, of the bountiful harvest grains of wheat the size of grapes and apples the size of watermelons. However most importantly all reports began with "No casualties" to the relief of the mage overseeing the Stoneworks, people had been cut, bruised, caught splinters, and some (severely) inconvenienced, but none had come to pass or sustained severe injury.

"Indeed even after all the chaos and the bombastic display of magic... The scent of blood in the air is thin." His words carried almost like a lament on the wind as his brush combed through the fur of a stag at the side of the wolfskulled man.

---

"Well, I'm sure you can hear it as well. But it would seem even after all that happened everyone is mostly okay. Some injuries, and quite a bit of damage. But considering what just happened I think we've been quite lucky that it happened this early in the morning." Zolya mentioned to Archer and Yue as the cawing from the ravens outside had let up and most of them had gone off to wherever they'd desired once more.

"And don't worry about the magic going awry, even if it was a bit of a mess, I would consider this to be quite the net positive." "Yeah, you probably single handedly solved the grain shortages within the undercity. But yeah, honestly as long as you don't sit next to that stone for four hours straight everything will be fine. I mean it was all fine one moment and then suddenly it was not okay and that's when all the hell broke loose, nothing we could have done to prevent that... Well maybe the more experienced mages should have used their heads better instead of just fucking around with magic." Raudd interjected as he had taken back full control of his kitchen and was poaching the eggs as the latkes were frying in the pan. "Oh, and breakfast is practically ready, so unless you wanna try your luck with the local cuisine of Shieldtown or eat another Meal Rejected by Everyone... I'd suggest you'd at least stick around at least another ten minutes." His voice rang from the kitchen as the sound of hot crispy potato cakes leaving the fat and landing on plates filtered through in the background.

The announcement of imminent breakfast caused the other Erling in the building to do a rare bit of housework as she began setting the table. And a minute later a pan of hot bubbling sauce came out of the kitchen carried by Raudd and quickly followed by a plate stacked with potato cakes. "I'm more for the self service style of home dining. I only have an egg for each, but you're free to grab as much sauce and latkes as you want." He mentioned to the guests as Zolya was the first to pour herself a good couple of ladles of the red bubbling liquid with a poached egg hidden in between until her bowl was filled to the rim and as quickly snagged a couple of the latkes from the plate, and Raudd motioned for his guests to follow suit. Leaving him as the last one to fish for the white golden treasure in the volcano sauce.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

Both of the siblings listened to the explanation that Archer gave them about the chime sound and the other sounds that Yue produced when touching items. Though one was only half listening as the bubbling pot of veggies in front of him took most of his attention. Zolya on the other hand seemed to have found a new fascinating field of study to enhance her knowledge with, mana acoustic resonance probably wasn't just a gimmick of mana and unraveling that thread could lead to better understanding and usage of magic as a whole.

"Basically what he's saying is that it isn't weird, you guys just aren't used to magic screaming at you." Raudd interjected as he turned his attention from the bubbling pot towards Archer to give the now idle hands in his kitchen some new work, mixing the grated onions and potatoes with chickpea flour and making a batter with it.

"hmmm, I might have to go look for them then. These sorts of things tend to have very interesting applications, though I'd have to figure out a way to study it in a contained environment, especially since the sound is merely a secondary effect to the magic..." She said deliberately ignoring her brother's statements entirely as her words and thoughts slowly decayed into ramblings as her mind slowly switched back into researcher mode.

It was at this point that Raudd felt like there was something missing, wrong... Yep, not enough paprika powder in the sauce it needed to be more angry red... Though that didn't quite feel like that was the thing that was bothering him. At that point it hit him, normally there was some magical 'noise' outside, but now there was none as if all of it had been turned off. A chill ran down his spine as he realized the 'noise' coming from the living room had gradually been ramping up. "for no reason in particular, Yue, could you do us all a favor and take about 2 steps away from the stone you're leaning against."

However his request came a little late as the stone began rumbling in a low heavy tone sending a light tremor through the manor. "Oooh, this is something I do know. Though I didn't expect something like this to happen. Seems like the amplification of the fortification domain is amplifying the cleansing stones haze conversion causing it to overwhelm the nature stones. Leading to a slight enchantment domain which feeds into the fortification domain touching it, creating a kind of feedback loop..."

"Yeah yeah, we know you studied this aspect domain interaction crap. Make it stop, before our breakfast spills over the kitchen tiles." Raudd cut off his sisters lecture now holding the pot of sauce in his hands as it had begun to dance across the stove top and threatened to lose some of it's delicious contents.

A thought crossed Zolya's mind as Yue moved away from the stone, this wasn't something that had just happened, it had been ongoing ever since she had sat down against the stone and had kept amplifying itself... How long did she say she sat here... Well fuck, that probably cleaned all the haze all the way to the western parts of the Undercity, and made that cleaned mana part of the Stoneworks domain and most notably Yue's fortification domain. That was going to be a mess, she just knew it.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

"Gallus gallus domesticus..." Raudd replied to Yue's paniced voice with a glance that put an maliciously evil smile on full display for her to see. Before allowing that smile to fade into something much more mellow as his second sentence flowed out of his mouth."Otherwise known as the common chicken. I am aware of your 'dietary restrictions' and it would be poor sport to make something everyone else can enjoy, while you don't even have your MRE's with you to fall back on." Raudd said said before rounding the corner out of their sight. Where he had a little shiver running across his back from the combined thought of chalky MRE potato mash and the entropic screaming coming from the little magic class going on in the living room.

Zolya in the meantime was watching with a mixture of excitement and intrigue as Yue managed to activate the medallion practically without instruction on how to use it or even how to consciously manipulate the flow of mana. However most of all what caught her eye was the threads of [silver] that peeked through the [crimson], eliciting an almost impulsive "Hmmm." and even a slight smile as Zolya could see that at long last the road to her recovery seemed to have had it's first few footprints made on them.

Before she could recompose herself enough to start explaining what Yue just instinctively had done to the very confused Yue Archer beat her with a rather simple and practical explanation in the form of displaying the effects of the medallion. Followed with his explanation that the phenomenon in front of them was the Sword song he'd been talking about reacting to resonance from an enchanted item. "So this is that Sword song you've been raving about. Well the medallion does seem to be enjoying the ample supply of mana, but I can't say it appears any different from the average user... No, that metallic chime. That wasn't a normal sound."

Raudd didn't quite know whether to be mildly annoyed or mildly pleased by Archers invitation to 'help' in the kitchen, especially knowing him leaving Yue there would probably make the realization a little bit worse for her. That being said he wouldn't turn down the offer if it meant pawning of the grating work to some other fool, even if said fool was probably going to use magic to accomplish it. "Well if you want to help how about you peel and grate some potatoes and onions for the latkes, while I fix up the sauce for the shakshouka? Oh, and no grated fingies please, I don't know if reincarnated Greek god fingers counts as 'monster meat', but I don't care to find out." He asked his kitchen assistent leaving him little time to complain before turning his attention to the bunch of peppers, onions, gralic, tomatoes, and a pickled lemon he intended for the sauce.

Zolya's ramblings were cut short when Yue's face flushed with horror snapped up to her, looking straight at her with an expression that practically screamed 'help I fucked up'. Which initially caused her to send a barrage of spittle flying into the barrier as she tried to stifle her laughter. "Pffff... I mean, yeah. That might be a little tricky since that Sword song of yours decided to interact with the medallion on it's own rather than a concentrated effort on your part. You'll have to learn how to consciously cut off that flow of mana, which is much harder than consciously establishing the connection." Zolya said in a matter of factly manner after which she took a little sniff to confirm that the sauce was already bubbling, as if to say that Yue should better hurry or miss breakfast.

What followed was a slightly too long pause as a cheeky smile widened on Zolya's face. "Well, eventually that is. For now just dropping the medallion on the ground should be more than enough to make that barrier pop like a soap bubble and break the mana supply. It requires a close contact both to maintain the mana supply and maintain the barrier, that's one of the safety features built into the runes, exactly for cases like this where the magic decides to take on a will of it's own." Which is always a risk with experimental arrays. She said with a little hint of teasing in her tone of voice, not that the smile left any doubt about that.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

A hint of violent intent washed over the room for the most minute period of time and Raudd, who had managed to get himself caught in the line of sight of it's source, prepared to dodge an invisible and intangible threat on reflex. Though given that it was intangible and probably would break the sound barrier, that would likely be both unnecessary and impossible at the same time fueling a bout of laughter from his side at the silliness of the situation.

However that laughter was short lived as Yue spoke about her... Sleeping problems, which were no doubt partly caused by allowing the original problem to fester without any action to remedy the situation. The siblings shared a glance between each other making no attempt at hiding their discontent about the statement and the underlying causes. "Yeaaah, that's why we try to treat the problems before we have to deal with symptom management." Raudd reacted her statement as Archer made his presence known in the group.

"I have to agree with Archer on this one. Magic is not some formula you can just copy from a textbook, it's formed by dreams, thoughts, the very things you believe in." Zolya replied to Yue's grumble in an almost over the top mocking tone. Swiftly followed up as her face shifted to a very smug grin. "However that statement can go choke on a horsecock in my opinion. Here catch." Out of her cloak she produced a small rectangular steel medallion it's entire surface carved with intricate patterns and it's details filled with a deep blue glazed paint, which was promptly tossed at Yue.

"Normally you can't just use someone else's magic, my magic is a bit of an exception, as long as I've 'prepped' the array in question anyone with the ability to wield magic can activate it. Now try to activate it, send your mana into the medallion just as if you were going to punch someone with it and just allow it to flow all the way into the medallion." She explains as she demonstrates doing the same with her arm using the index and middle finger as a visual guide of the mana flow.

"Yeah, while you're all doing that I'm gonna make us some breakfast. Anyone against Shakshouka with Latkes? No, good." Raudd interjects leaving next to no time for the others to react before he makes way towards the kitchen clearly not enjoying unintentionally being forced into the middle of a magic lesson.

Zolya on the other hand is too focused on her little magic lesson to give any acknowledgment to her brother other than an "Oh, okay.". As she moved from demonstrating the flow of mana through her own body with aiding Yue in guiding the mana in the right direction without forcing anything. The medallion was an inelegant early design rather than the pages she used these days which were focused on efficient use of mana this medallion was much more suited to deal with aspected mana being brute forced into it at large amounts. As such she wasn't worried about Yue burning through the medallions arcane formula, it was more that she was worried she might force herself and put a burden on her own body to 'make something happen' as she hadn't quite shown the restraint for a more scholarly approach given her earlier statements.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

Tap, tap... Tap tap tap... TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP... TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP. "Hngr, I heard you you damn birdbrain." Raudd groaned from within the comfort of his warm bed. He rolled over towards the window clearly seeing the corvine harasser's shadow outlined on the curtain by the early morning sun. Unfortunately there was a window between them otherwise...Well, he would probably have to purchase another alarm clock. TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP! The creature tapped onto the window once again channeling it's inner woodpecker to make it as rapid and loud as possible.

With another groan the man got up from his bed causing it's frame to respond with a groan of it's own. Making no attempt at being silent he stomped to the window and opened the curtains, only to be met with the sight of the raven taking off from the windowsill. "Fucking birdbrain." He muttered before noticing the present that had been carefully placed on the windowsill, a rolled up piece of paper... "That could waited until after breakfast, but no you're fixated on your new project and need it done now." He continues on as he grabs the piece of paper from the windowsill.

Making his way down the stairs the smell of coffee and slightly burned bread met him alerting him to other life having awoken within the manor. Before finding the source of this activity though he needed to make a little stop at his workshop... Assuming the burned smell didn't get stronger. After a few quick strides through the workshop the piece of paper was unceremoniously dumped on a table alongside an assortment of measuring tools and chisels without Raudd having taken a moment of time to look at it's contents.

With that out of the way he was now free to go look which one of the two guests had awoken before him. It didn't take long between following his nose and his sixth sense to figure out that it had been Yue and that she had made herself comfortable sitting against the cleansing stone. And given the way she was settled cradling her coffee and muttering something about reptiles, it would seem she had her own difficulties. "Morning, is she giving you trouble with her scriptures? ...And I see you've taken it upon yourself to raid my pantry. You know grain products are worth their weight in gold down here." He greeted the girl in a teasing tone.

"Oooh, I smell coffee and toast. Did you make breakfast already?" The voice from Zolya rang across the room as she followed the smells wafting into her own atelier. That question however was immediately countered with a flying pillow pulled from the couch hitting her square in the face. "You know damn well I've just woken up, and don't send your creatures to disturb my sleep next time." Raudd grumbles as his sister completely unfazed by the pillow to the face walks off to greet Yue. "Good morning, did you sleep well?" She asks with a cheery tone of voice.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

"Trust me I'm fully aware of that, the world around me is never 'silent', mana or otherwise. But there is a difference between the low hum of these plants here, the slow roar of a bonfire from the sun, and the violent screeching that magic and some deviants produce. Something about the way they bend reality I guess." Raudd explained with a sigh as he noticed Yue getting flustered and getting up.

"Don't worry about it, would have done the same thing if I were in your shoes. I'm only annoyed at the one knowingly polluting the area." He said with a slightly annoyed glance towards Archer, who proceeded by reassuring her himself and draining away some of the annoyance on Raudd's face as he explained he would clean up the place.

With Yue getting up and walking away to head to bed, explaining she would probably get little sleep and would likely be diving into the book she had just gotten. "I'll swing by in an hour or so to give you a little nightcap, sleep is important to the mind. Helps one to take in the day's events so to speak." He said as he watched Archer pull more of his magic shenanigans, though this time he seemed to be cleaning up like he said rather than add to the tumultuous waves the two of them had created in the garden.

"That's... At least one worry less with all the magic bullshit going on around here." Raudd replies with a sigh after Archer gives his a little startle by speaking when his presence has been mostly erased and masked by the background noise of the magic he just used.

"You know with the history he has with tragedy befalling those he takes a fancy in... I think I'd rather stay away from his peripherals, he might actually perform the impossible. Not to mention we both know this curse of yours isn't going to last and within the next few incarnations you'll both return to your preferred form and call me superficial all you want, but I'm not going to bet on that cointoss." He says with a little bit of jest as he makes his way towards a particular piece of shrubbery. "Besides, love has to grow naturally, not even magic can change that... For me at least."

At the end of his statement he bent over grasping one of the branches of the shrub besides him, pinching it off with his nails rubbing it between his hands before handing it to Archer. "Put this one in the vase with the lavender, a little fresh rosemary should help her calm her mind. Anyways I'm gonna head into the kitchen, gotta make a few nightcaps for the ladies in our midst or they would work themselves till dawn. Could I interest you in a warm cup of ginger, honey, and turmeric infused milk as well?" He asked as his feet began dragging him to the entrance of the garden and towards the kitchen.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

"Yeah, the stories you all know are mostly... Quit polluting my garden with magic, miss extra equipment. It's gonna take days for this mess to clear up." Raudd said before taking a long drag on the cigarette burning it down to a stub as well, handing it to Archer for collections after smothering the flame between his fingers.

He listened with delight to the story Archer told about Ladon, despite all the efforts of the rest of the pantheon Zeus tended to feature as the main troublemaker in most of Greek myth... Made you wonder if that still held true, or that time and therapy had managed to get a handle on his behavior.

"That's the case for most of the ancient deities, the Norse pantheon is still causing trouble... Just not on this branch of the world tree. Even with Odin's attempts as the head you really can't manage that headstrong bunch." He corroborated to Yue after Archers statement about his family.

At which point he turned to Archer "On the note of trees and golden apples, could you please request Hera to not approach our garden in the future? Zolya would really prefer not having to explain to Iðunn, or Freyja for that matter, why her golden apples are gone. We really don't need that cross pantheon myth." He ends with a laugh imagining the mess that would create.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

Raudd was fully fueled by the energy that both Yue and Archer radiated. One like a kid in a candy store, the other the candy store owner showing the kid all the kinds of special candy they have and handing out free samples. He had wanted to comment back to Archer about the mortality and changing nature of his family, but before he had any chance Yue's pent up energy burst out.

Archer got a little grin from Raudd as he reacted to Yue's words. "Dragons you say, well sorry to disappointing you, but they are just the people of ancient times trying to make sense of the giant dinosaur bones they happened to come across and filling in the blanks with their imaginations." He opened up leaving just long enough of a pause for Yue to react before continuing. "... At least most of the time."

"Now, how about I tell you a little tale about how Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent came to be? But first I want you to know that most of Norse myth has gone through ages of mistranslations, creative retelling, and some exaggerations, the real stories are often more spectacular in other ways." He asks the giddy girl getting an enthusiastic nod almost immediately.

Raudd resettles him on the edge casting his gaze into the 'mountain face' in across the pond. "Long ago there was a tradition that the powerful men of the North were to set sail on the first day with favorable weather of the year, each tasked with bringing back the biggest bounty from the seas. Testing the waters for the common folk whether it made sense to go fishing yet, if you will.
As such three men of the Æsir lineage, Odin, Thor, and Loki prepared themselves for the trip when that fateful day of the year came, except Loki had been drinking till the early hours of the morning and was about as sober as a fish in a whiskey barrel. He knew that if he were to set foot on a boat that day he would be in for a seriously horrible time, which lead him to 'preparing' in another way." He said with a grin on his face. This was one of the genuinely funny stories of the horrible, bad, and stupid crap Loki managed to get himself into or caused willingly.

"When the time came to set sail Odin and Thor met at the beach both arriving in their boats, only to find Loki on the shore without a boat in sight. He yelled to them "Look we can't go sailing, there is a wyrm blocking the sea." pointing to line of scales barely coming out of the water. Enraged by what clearly was shenanigans from Loki Odin and Thor sailed around the island to find a way around the wyrm, both to force Loki to concede and to maintain the tradition, only to find it ringed the entire island and had bitten it's own tail to prevent any gaps existing in the obstruction. Thor even sailed to the head of the wyrm and smacked it with the oars of his boat in hopes of making it lose grip, it only made the creature hiss in anger which lead to Thor swiftly choosing not to pursue that option any longer." He said while animating the movements of hitting some large creature in the head with a long oar with a little chuckle.

"What followed after was a long argument between the three with Loki unwilling to give in without getting out of the fishing trip all together... Eventually as the sun had started to get low in the sky Odin decided to give in and grant Loki's wishes for the sake of upholding the tradition himself. Loki then whistled to Jörmungandr and it let go of it's tail to dive under water. Almost as soon as the wyrm was out of sight Odin and Thor set on their way with Thor boasting he would get the largest catch this year within earshot of Loki. Who then egged Jörmungandr on to follow the boats and snatch any bait Thor set out."

Raudd unable to hold his laughter chuckles as he tells the last part of the story. "Unfortunately for the wyrm, Thor was a tiny bit stronger and faster than it expected and Thor indeed caught the biggest catch as he hooked the wyrm and managed to reel in what he thought to be a really big fish up until the point that the wyrms head broke surface. A struggle occurred as the wyrm also hadn't forgotten the oars to the face it had gotten, both sides taking blows left right and center. Right up to the point that Odin intervened and the wyrm spewed a cloud of poison and dissappeared to the depths. In the years that followed the wyrm grew quite a lot larger, though never to the size of circling 'Midgard' as attributed in the myths. Of course even though the wyrm had managed to escape, the same couldn't be said about Loki who had to deal with a severely pissed of Odin that had had a few days to stew on that anger on the seas."

He finished the story then looked over to Yue. "It's not quite an epic story, but it's quite a bit more interesting than just being the love child of a trickster god and a giantess. Quite a bit more silly though."