God of War: Love & Strength

Summary- Kratos & Freya seek reconciliation, post-Ragnarok.

Celebs with Direct Sexual Action- Kratos, Freya.

Genres- MF, oral, anal, mature, BDSM (mutual dom and sub from both male and female partners), non-human, romance, fantasy/sci-fi, abuse recovery, shipping, fanfiction.

Intro- This is an adult fanfiction story related to the "God of War" videogame series. Reader familiarity with that series is encouraged, but not assumed. Like Kratos (the series main character), I seek to assume nothing. I also keep my expectations low, and always anticipate an attack. Kratos gives a lot of good life advice. Seriously, play this series, if you're into videogames. It rocks.

A few important disclaimers. Please do not read this story if you do not have a mature open mind. It contains adult material, including strong sexual content and some violence. I do not own the God of War series. The creative team Santa Monica Studios, led by Cory Barlog among others, owns that series. I am not connected to their team directly at this time, I'm just a fan. This story incorporates several theories of mine and additonal theories I have seen from other fans about where the God of War series can go after the conclusion of its latest video game entry, God of War: Ragnarok, released in 2022. Ultimately, this story addresses my opinion of what would make a good story for the series continuation over anything else. All opinions and religious interpretations expressed in the story below are the product of my own imagination, knowledge, and extremely liberal Christian beliefs. I realize other stories in the God of War series canon may eventually override my fan fiction story, as may the opinions of other fans and fan fiction writers, that is of course fine with me. I am not demanding anyone share my beliefs, merely attempting to write a good story. I hope you, the reader, agree that this story is a good story. Apologies for getting overly religious in my subject matter if that is a problem. It is difficult not to get religious when writing about Gods.

I must credit the Will Ferrell movie "Stranger Than Fiction" for inspiring parts of this writing. A few other sources of inspiration are mentioned directly in the text.

This is also a crossover story between God of War and another popular media franchise not in the public domain, at least in the concluding cliffhanger. I do not own the stories with which I am crossing God of War in that conclusion (read on to have those stories specifically identified, no spoilers here). If you are interested in a sequel to this story from me, or a prequel detailing the past conflict between Kratos and those stories (again, not spoiling things here, look to the ending), please let me know. I have a scrapped outline for a crossover story I may be able to resurrect.

Special Thanks to Bear McCreary, the Rolling Stones, Alicia Witt, and the other musicians whose work helped inspire as me as I wrote this story. Thanks to all my other inspiring artists also, Kratos and Santa Monica Studios especially. I hope I am not disrespecting any of them. I consider them my fleet officers, I am just a mere boat captain operating in their universe, one who can be killed easily but wants to keep sailing through their waters. I hope the analogy is understood by any would-be critical analysts of this story. Thank you in advance.

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Chapter 1- Summary of Previous Events.

If you need a summary of the God of War videogame series, I will describe here the most important plot elements I can give from the video games. Some familiarity with Greek and Norse mythology may be of help to understand certain concepts and characters. But again, I am trying not to assume audience familiarity with anything. Please skip to Chapter 2 of this story if you want to avoid spoilers and play the games yourselves. You may want to skip this story entirely, if you want to avoid spoilers, but if so I hope you will return and reread my work when spoilers are no longer an issue.

Previously...

"God of War (2005)": Kratos is a Demigod Spartan soldier and general living in the Realm of Ancient Mythological Greece. The Greek Pantheon of Olympian Gods, led by Zeus, consider Kratos their champion and assign him various missions to defeat Monsters and wage war in their name. Among the particular mission assigners for Kratos are Ares and Athena, the two Greek Gods of War. Ares is a God who represents the savage bloodlust of war, while Athena represents its strategic aspects. All the Greek Gods are greedy and cruel. In the past, Kratos primarily served Ares as a champion. That was until Ares motivated Kratos to murder his own wife and child. Ares did this by causing Kratos to get so wrapped up in blind anger he could not stop himself from committing the murders. After this event, Kratos turned on Ares and, aided by that God's rival War Goddess Athena, sought to overcome and defeat Ares. Kratos accomplishes this goal and murders Ares at the conclusion of his first videogame. Kratos then takes the position once occupied by Ares and becomes a new God of War.

"God of War: Chains of Olympus": Kratos has conflicts with the other Greek Gods and ends up killing a young member of the Pantheon who was trying to usurp power. This was necessary, but it turns several Gods against Kratos. Our hero is also briefly reunited with his child in Elysium, the Greek version of Paradise, but he must leave her behind for good to save the Greek Realm. This does not sit well in his mind.

"God of War: Ghost of Sparta": Kratos gets additional backstory. He has a dead brother named Deimos. There was also a prophecy that there would be a great marked warrior that wreaked much destruction on the Greek Realm. Ares assumed Deimos was the prophesied warrior, and he killed Deimos. Kratos took up the markings once worn by Deimos and swore vengeance, long term. That was why Kratos originally served Ares. Now, in the present, Kratos attempts to resurrect Deimos by killing the Greek God of Death, Thanatos. This quest succeeds, but Deimos dies again during the final battle with Thanatos. During the quest, Kratos also ends up killing one of his relatives and destroying a major Greek city, neither for the first time. The Olympian Gods dislike Kratos even more now. Only Athena and Zeus appear to still be on his side.

"God of War 2": Kratos destroys another Greek city in his crusade for power and vengeance. Zeus finally decides he's had enough of Kratos and tries to kill him. Kratos escapes from Zeus, allies with another Pantheon of Greek Gods- The Titans- and seeks to destroy Zeus and the Olympians. First, he must murder the Sisters of Fate, who hold power to determine the destiny of all beings. Kratos wants to prevent the Sisters of Fate from holding power over his destiny. He succeeds in killing the Fate Goddesses, but this has consequences. The Greek Realm begins to crumble. Kratos goes after Zeus again at the climax of the game, and nearly achieves victory, until Athena sacrifices herself to save Zeus. As she dies, she reveals to Kratos that Zeus is their father.

"God of War 3": Kratos, aided by the Titans, must overthrow and defeat the Olympian Gods. He is also aided by the spirit of Athena, who now claims to be a "Higher Being" than any particular Gods. Athena wants to help Kratos still, or so she claims. Kratos accepts her help. Kratos then fights his way through the fortress of Olympus, murdering many Gods and Monsters, as he has in previous games. This time around his opposition includes the Titans, who turn on Kratos once he is no longer necessary to their crusade. As Kratos murders various Titan and Olympian Gods, the Greek Realm continues to crumble. Kratos ultimately kills Zeus and then refuses to empower Athena when she tries to become the new dominant Goddess of the Greek Realm. Athena's spirit fades away. Kratos then leaves the collapsing Greek realm, not sure what he will do next.

"God of War" (2018): In a reboot of the series, Kratos reappears, now living in the Realms of Norse Mythology. He is now working to give up many of his past character flaws. One might call this version of Kratos a "Second Testament", as per Christian religious terminology. I call it a "Second Testament" instead of a "New Testament" because, like many fans, I hope Kratos will have future games and further character development.

Anyway, the "Second Testament" Kratos is doing his best to put aside anger and vengeance, and instead live a life of peace. Kratos has not chosen the safest realm as home, however. He is still haunted by Athena's spirit and his past. He also constantly has to battle various Monsters threatening his peaceful life. Kratos has managed to survive these dangers and he now has a new family. His second wife, Fey, is dead from unspecified cause at the start of the game and Kratos must now raise their son Atreus alone. Kratos has to do a lot to earn his son's respect.

To make matters worse, a seemingly invincible Norse Aesir God named Balder comes looking to kidnap Atreus. Kratos must now protect his son from Balder. Kratos and Atreus flee from Balder and seek to escape his attention while working to reach the top of the Giants' Fingers, the highest mountain in the Norse Realms. This was the last request of Fey before she died- she wanted Kratos and Atreus to scatter her cremated ashes from that mountaintop.

Kratos and Atreus fight and murder various Norse Gods and Monsters during their journey, including Magni and Modi, the sons of Norse Aesir Thunder God Thor, who were helping Balder. Kratos and Atreus also become friends with four exiled Norse Gods- Brok & Sindri, the Dwarven Gods of Craft; Mimir, the Faerie God of Wisdom; and Freya, the Vanir Goddess of Love, Preservation, and the Earth. Kratos and Atreus also learn that Freya is Balder's mother and this fact eventually turns her against them. Balder will not stop his insane plan to kidnap Atreus at the direction of his father Odin, the most powerful of the Norse Aesir Gods and Freya's former husband. Freya hates Odin, and she considers Kratos and Atreus her friends, but she does not want anyone to kill Balder.

This develops into a grand battle where Atreus learns Balder's weakness and makes him vulnerable. Balder then fights Kratos and Atreus and is ultimately defeated by them. Freya tries to intervene. Balder swears vengeance on Freya for casting his former spell of invincibility, which made him unable to feel pleasure or pain and thus insane beyond reason. Balder then tries to murder his own mother. Kratos kills Balder to save Freya, intending to end the cycle of vengeance. Freya swears vengeance on Kratos for his murder of her son and flees to gather her strength.

Kratos and Atreus then complete their journey to the Giants' Fingers, aided by Brock, Sindri, and Mimir. Upon reaching the mountaintop, Kratos and Atreus prepare to scatter Fey's ashes and then learn some additional startling facts. Fey, Atreus' mother and Kratos' wife, was in fact Laufey, a Justice Goddess of the Norse Jotnar Pantheon, a group of Gods opposed to the Aesir. The Aesir subjugated the Jotnar and many other Gods- including the Vanir, Faerie, and Dwarves- in their quest for power. In addition, Kratos is now recognized by the Jotnar's prophecies as their God of Strength, Farbati, and Atreus is recognized as the God of Mischief, Loki. The Jotnar are not present to provide further details, only their paintings and other lore remain. Kratos and Atreus return home with heavy hearts.

"God of War: Ragnarok": We rejoin Kratos and Atreus, now striving to survive in a Mythological Realm increasingly turning against them. They are pursued by a vengeful Freya and Thor, who seek blood payment for the deaths of their sons in the previous game. Odin also seeks to convert Kratos and Atreus to his side, but Kratos rejects Odin. Then, with aid from his various allies and additional Jotnar prophecies discovered by Atreus, Kratos seeks out the imprisoned Aesir God Tyr, who has power over War and Law.

Kratos and Atreus rescue Tyr, however Tyr has given up violence. This disturbs Kratos. Our heroes then discover an additional prophecy- a great war called Ragnarok will destroy Odin and save the Norse Realms from the Aesir's megalomania. Tyr and Atreus are prophesied to be major players in the Ragnarok conflict. Kratos and his allies seek to avoid Ragnarok at first, but ultimately come to consider it a righteous and necessary cause. Kratos fully joins the conflict, as champion of his son Atreus. Tyr attempts to caution peace, but is rejected.

As the game continues, Atreus has dreams of prophecy related to his Jotnar heritage. He meets and falls in love with Angerboda, a young Jotnar Goddess. They have two metaphorical children, the gigantic serpent Jormugandr and the gigantic wolf Fenrir. Atreus helps Angerboda overcome her bitter Jotnar grandmother, gains Angerboda's love, then returns to his father Kratos.

Kratos then fights with Freya again. She nearly defeats him, until Atreus intervenes with his developing powers of shape-changing and magic. Kratos then seeks to protect his son from Freya's wrath. Freya backs down, realizes she is angry at Kratos, but not Atreus, also that she empathizes with Kratos' desire to protect his son. Because of these facts and the fact that Atreus values Kratos, Freya can no longer pursue murdering Kratos. Freya then has Kratos help her reclaim a large portion of her power that Odin sealed away. She does not forgive Kratos for murdering Balder, but she does come to accept Kratos as an ally and a friend again. In their quest to achieve friendship, Kratos and Freya meet and ally with the remnants of the Vanir Pantheon, led by Freya's twin brother Freyr, God of Inspiration, and their associate Hildsvini, God of Dedication.

Atreus then infiltrates the Aesir Fortress Asgard, intending to spy on and betray Odin. Kratos does not entirely support his son in this plan, but he has to recognize that his son is growing up now and developing into his own man. Atreus makes an enemy of the Aesir Watchman God Heimdall, who is later murdered by Kratos. Atreus also makes friends with Thor's daughter Thrud, in the process achieving an uneasy peace with Thor and his wife, the Aesir Earth Goddess Sif. Thor and Sif are still angry at Atreus and Kratos over the deaths of their sons, however they are forced to hold back their wrath as per Odin's direction. Odin believes that Atreus is key to averting the Ragnarok prophecy and the destruction of Asgard. Atreus rejects Odin as a power over the Norse Realms. Naturally, Freya, Kratos, and all their allies do the same. Odin then reveals that he was disguised as Tyr and spying on the heroes all along. He murders the dwarf Brok and flees back to Asgard.

Kratos then gathers his allies and leads war against Asgard in the great battle of Ragnarok. During this battle, he is joined by Atreus, Freya and the Vanir, Mimir, Sindri, Angerboda, and various other Norse Gods and Monsters. Sif, Thrud, and Thor also turn on Odin, once they see that Odin is not a good God for whom they should give their service. Odin murders Thor for betraying him. He is then defeated by a team consisting of Kratos, Atreus, Mimir, Freya, and Sindri. Sindri ultimately murders Odin as vengeance for his brother Brok and retreats in bitterness. Freyr dies in the ensuing collapse of Asgard, but the Norse Realms ultimately survive. Atreus then announces he is going on a quest to find the Jotnar, aided by Angerboda. Kratos and Freya are then tasked with the recovery of the Norse Realms following Ragnarok. This story, "God of War: Love & Strength", takes place after Kratos and Freya complete most but not all of the various tasks associated with that cause. I reference some of these events below.

The God of War video games provide more detail for all of the above summarized events, as does my story below. If you are not familiar with the games, I recommend you play them, or at least watch Let's Plays of them on YouTube. There are many of the latter, too many for me to judge the best or worst. Seek and ye shall find. Watch all you require to fill in the blanks for the plot of the fan fiction story that follows. And remember my policy please- when writing, reading or reviewing fanfiction, no story is best, every opinion is valued. The reader or the writer is the judge, who may also be called the Father of Understanding, in the end. May that judge guide you.

And Now...

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God of War: Love & Strength

Chapter 2: Future Franchise Speculation.

Kratos entered his home on Midgard, tired from his latest journey. Freya was watching his back. Mimir was at his side.

We have reached a good point to take a rest, Kratos reminded himself. Odin was dead, the power of Asgard broken and scattered. The remnants of Asgard, all those he knew about at least, were destroyed. The Aesir who remained, those who had once served Odin, were all allied with Kratos, as far as Kratos knew. One vengeful remaining Aesir, Gna, was dead. The soldiers of Asgard allied with Gna were also dead, far as he knew. The Berserker Spirits wandering Midgard and other Realms were all defeated also, their power sealed within the hilt of a sword carried by Kratos. Various other Gods and Monsters that threatened Kratos and his allies had also been defeated. Kratos' newest ally, the real Aesir God of Law and Peace Tyr, was rescued and safe under his own power. Kratos' son Atreus was absent from his life now, however, that was fine. Atreus had his own tasks to accomplish, his own life to lead. Kratos had other allies, including Freya, his powerful friend and onetime foe, and Mimir, whom he and Freya both found of wise counsel. Mimir and Freya both seem content now, Kratos thought, regarding his friends. So, I too should be as content as I can.

Freya frowned when Kratos glanced at her, challenging his idea of her contentment. She shook her long dark brown hair and quickly looked away.

"What is the matter?" Kratos asked her, his deep Stoic voice echoing through his long black and tan beard.

"I..." Freya sighed, then turned back to him. "I am still thinking about Brok's funeral."

"Aye, I am as well," Mimir agreed. Mimir's severed head, which held the remnants of his essence after his death and resurrection, dangled from Kratos' belt. "It was a beautiful ceremony."

Kratos grunted to show that he concurred. He then looked around his home, deciding that his companions' discontent was nothing to worry about at present. His home looked undisturbed since he had last left, except... a strange package was on a table. Kratos moved towards the table and opened the package, then went through its contents. He smiled, seeing a letter in his son's handwriting addressed to him.

"What is it?" Mimir asked from his belt.

"Mementos," Kratos replied after taking time to look over the letter and the package's other contents. "From Atreus' journey."

"What will you do with it?" Mimir asked, seeing Kratos gather the objects back inside the package.

"Add it to our own," Kratos replied after a pause. "His story is ours. And ours is his."

"Too right, brother," said Mimir.

"I agree," Freya chimed in from the home's threshold. "May I..." She did not finish.

"Of course you may come inside," Kratos told her, guessing what she could not say. Freya's own home was denied to her now; she had upset Chaurli, her home's caretaker. Fortunately, both Chaurli and Freya had other friends to be their caretakers. "You are welcome here."

"Thank you." Freya walked to a bed he indicated and lay down her bow and quiver of arrows beside it. She also laid down her large satchel of magical charms. She kept her black cloak on, shivering in the cold hut. Kratos grunted as he observed this and moved to stoke the fireplace. With a quick strike from the chained Blades of Chaos he wore on his wrist, the gathered logs burst into flame. Freya cast a magic Sigil to amplify and prolong the fire. Kratos grunted at her in thanks.