PROLOGUE 𓄿 [The Fall of Yggradsil]

Rosy colored dawn peeked through Runa’s fingers as she stumbled blindly through the forest, trudging through the thawing winter snow, holding her eyes closed with one hand and grasping her father’s hand in the other.

This was not one occasion for skipping through forests, no – Loki rarely tolerated that nonsense unless it was a “subjugative matter” - which is to say his usual tomfoolery and trickstery ways. Rather it was the day of sixteen crows, the celebration of sixteen winters - sixteen winters in which she had fought to survive. And here she was, deemed worthy enough to revel in her father’s greatest triumph. Maybe deemed worthy to do something with her life.

She squashed down that last hope like a bug, shaking her head quickly as if to brush away the thought. That was no way to think. Psh.

The somewhat tranquil, celebratory moment was interrupted by the loudest, ear piercing cry for help. She tensed, opening her eyes immediately, letting go of her father’s hand and looking around frantically for the source of the sound.

The sight alone probably added about forty years to her life. She jumped back, falling to the floor in shock, cursing at herself for reacting. She could hear her father’s voice in her head already. Weak. Pathetic. Useless.

Though what she saw was enough to make anyone cry out in terror. For Yggdrasil - the world tree - and all the inhabitants of the human world, midgard… and the giants. The elves. The dwarves. The gods. Hell. All crashing down into the widest chasm she’d ever seen. And he was doing nothing.

Loki casually sat down on a tree stump, pointedly facing her - and therefore not in the direction of the chaos. “G’morning! How fare thee this wonderful, brisk…” he trailed off.

“..morning.” he finished, muttering dejectedly to himself, apparently for his lack of diverse words instead of the very literal threat in front of him.

Runa had no time to yell at him, nor do anything regarding her own predicament, for a loud cry of “HELP!” came from a distance. A woman, desperately clinging onto a teetering branch as her entire world crumbled around her.

The same cry of help that had alerted the girl in the first place. Only now did Loki turn around, unfazed. “See I knew that ash tree wasn’t for long anyway. What did I tell Odin, hm? Building your entire civilization on a tree? Got to be the stupidest thing I’ ever heard.”

Runa had frozen in shock now, her hands clasped steely at her sides. She could do something. No, she couldn’t. She should? She wouldn’t. But why?

She looked away for a second as the tree toppled out of view, not wanting to seem weak in front of her father. Her fists tightened into balls as she nudged the iron sword at her side. They deserved it. They deserved it and they’re gone now and –

“A tree can live for thousands of years. But one day, a woodcutter is destined to come along –” he mused “- and chop it down.” And the man thought he was Allan Poe.

“You should go inside. I’m sure your sister’s awake by now.” he commented, after a moment's silence. She knew a dismissal when she heard one.

“Yes, father.”

With one last, hurried glance at the devastating sight, she blinked back bitter tears and slowly trudged back up to the cabin. She wasn’t sure what possessed her, but she began to run faster. Faster. Anything to get away from him and from the world and from the hellfire… oh why. Why? It was no use – pointless, it all was – the cabin was approaching why didn’t she slow – out of control – fire – the eye the EYE it was blinking at her –

“Runa?”

A small girl had appeared in the doorway, her silvery white hair glinting in the morning sun. Her doe-brown eyes stared at her older sister in concern, trying to process what was happening. She hadn’t seen. Or maybe she had.

The soft voice of her younger sister felt like a punch to the gut. Runa whirled around, inhaling and exhaling slowly, trying to put on a calmer demeanor. For her.

“Hey Mani! I thought you were still sleeping” she giggled, scooping up her sister into a bear hug and ruffling her hair gently.

The girl smiled, but something was bothering her.

“What happened to the big t-tree?”

notes + excerpts from the original version to embarrass myself :>

Reducio

This particular prologue was something that didn't get many rewrites and I wasn't happy with it even at the time. I feel like my full rewrite above completely captures the characters in a different light (especially since I switched from first person to third) which is really interesting. There was also a bit more emotional development for Runa - who, in the original portrayal, is kind of depicted as a coldhearted daughter who does what she does for her sister's survival - and Mani as a more sweet and bubbly character who's rather excited about the prospect! But I hope you enjoy these silly lil snippets! :3