Hinn Ch. 60-62

"Greetings to you both, Lady of Youth and Lord of Words. Be welcome in my home. Is there anything I can get you before I continue the tale?"

"No, thank you," Bragi replied. His voice was unearthly, mellow and calm and intensely penetrating. Everyone in the room heard his words and turned to look.

"One second, please, folks," Ray asked, before turning to his team. "These are Idunn and Bragi, whom godi Helen follows. They are guests in this home." Tauriz nodded, sharing her warmth across Hinn, feeling concerned and pleased at Ray's accomplishment of having deities as guests.

"So! Without further ado - Six days ago, I arrived at my office to find a package waiting for me. It contained an ancient brass statue in the Arabic style, of a hound, seated and collared. It was in remarkably fine condition. Its one flaw was a trail of corrosion along its spine, from the collar to the base of its tail. Without considering why, and against all the training I've had in handling such objects, I ran my fingertip along that path.

"I passed out, and when I awoke I found I had been given a genie, who called me 'Master.' It quickly became apparent that Tauriz was enslaved, and that I had unwittingly become her latest owner. She is capable of many things, but cannot free herself. Of those things she could do, she turned me from human to what is known as Hinn. Do you folks know that term?"

Idunn and Bragi nodded, while Helen shook her head. "In short, humans are not the first sentient species on the face of this planet. The first mortals were the Hinn, created by those termed Angelics back before there was more than a single continent. These mortals eventually gained something of a collective memory, in that any Hinn can recall and use the knowledge of any Hinn of their time or before, back to the formation of this collective memory. Lots more to it than that, but that's the short version.

"So. Here I was, and what happens as soon as I regain consciousness as Hinn, but something else reached out to me. After time, we rescued Ousha from where she was held captive in quite appalling conditions. Tauriz and I helped repair her, and brought her back to as close to a normal existence as Hinn may have. Unfortunately, she is also bound as a slave. However, I did not become her master - instead, Tauriz is. Indirectly, I have many of the same 'authorities' over her as Tauriz does due to their slavery, but not directly.

"I am working with these ladies and one other who I cannot discuss to bring about their freedom, or at the very least and in the near term most likely best chance, to let them be the master for each other. IF I can make that happen, which is NOT a given, then at the very least they will have each other, without my being in the mix.

"That being said, I would expect our relationship to continue. Hinn have a remarkably difficult time lying to other Hinn. If the relationship does continue, wonderful. If not, then they will be sent on their way with my blessings and as much assistance as I can offer them, then or whenever they desire it.

"Does that answer your questions, folks?"

"You impress me, Ray," Bragi said. His voice was just as unusual as it had been, just as much an interruption as before, but this time people were able to continue their conversations and meals unhindered. "You spoke nothing but truth as you know, and yet protected the vows you have made. I salute you."

"From you, Bragi, that means a lot. Thank you."

"What keeps you from trying your plan of offering the ownership of one to the other?" asked Idunn.

"Proper timing and risk mitigation. Having the right place and the right tools and the right time to do so. We are running around dealing with what seems to us to be emergencies left, right and center. In point of fact, I'd like to ask you two a question, if I may."

"You may ask whatever you wish, Ray, and as long as you do not intend to offend, we will not be offended. We may or may not answer, however."

"As is your right, of course, and thank you for your generosity. This... reality, this realm we currently reside in has many links to others like it, but distinctly different. One is a realm whence come those we often refer to as 'fae' or 'faery,' another seems to be the home of beings that appear similar to the Haitian 'loa.' There is, or shortly will be, a relatively small reality that will connect to this reality and squeeze its way in, to merge itself with that which we know. This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened, nor would it be the last, normally. However, a third reality will come along and attack through the junction this second reality leaves dangling behind itself. It is possible that this third reality may change our reality radically, or drain us completely, or even fail and in its death throes cause our own reality to explode, for lack of a better word.

"Are you aware of this occurrence?"

For the first time, the two deities looked at each other. Their faces remained calm, impassive, and no indication of their emotions changed - no flush, no rushing pulse, no twitch or change in breathing. "We had not heard of this, Ray. Where did you learn of this?"

"I am one of the two Oracles currently walking the world, Idunn."

Both blinked, visibly shocked. "One of two? Which Oracle died, Ray?"

"Neither." The two gods froze into immobility, not even moving.

After five or ten seconds, both gasped and Idunn grabbed Bragi's hand. She met Ray's eyes and said, "We have been asked - not required, mind you, but asked - to bring you to the one-eyed wanderer in his home, where you would be both his and our guest. He would welcome as many as you would ask, of those here in this home of yours, as well as guarantee both their safe passage to his home and the return, but would request to hear the tale of this event, and of how you became one of two living Oracles."

"One second, please, Idunn. I need to talk to some of my team here before I can determine if I can accept this great honor the spear-bearer, he of the wolves and the ravens, offers.

"Amber? Monica? Oh, hell - everyone? I've just been offered a trip to a certain older gentleman's residence that usually would be a one-way trip. The father of the hammer-bearer, he who sacrificed half the light of the world, would learn more of a topic I am willing to share with him, and also to learn more of Baba Yaga and St. Yves. This also involves what we were talking about before we got up, Tauriz, Ousha.

"I'd like to go, but I wouldn't be smart if I didn't ask for your input first. So - Jessica? Go or no go, and do you want to come along?"

"Are you going, or are you visiting as a guest, Ray?"

"As a guest."

"Then go. I would prefer to stay here, but any of my people are free to go if they wish."

"Tomaz?"

"Go. I've got a couple of my folk already gearing up. They'll be here in a few minutes."

"Emily?"

"I don't know enough to offer anything meaningful, sorry. Annya and Updike both clearly want to join you, however."

"Jennifer?"

"I'm with Emily in this - not something I know anything useful about. We'll keep the home fires lit for you."

"OK, we'll go as soon as Tomaz' folks are ready. Annya, Updike, Amber, Monica, Tauriz, I take it you'd all like to come along?" The five agreed. "Five more minutes seem reasonable, Tomaz?"

"They should be here by then, yes."

"Then five minutes, ladies." Turning to the deities, Ray said, "As you've seen, we'll be ready to leave in a few minutes. Godi Helen, you are a guest here. You are welcome to stay, or if you wish, you are welcome to join us in our guesting elsewhere."

Vehemently, Helen thanked Ray. "I wouldn't miss this!"

"While we wait, Idunn, Bragi, might I ask you what you think of my plans for Tauriz and Ousha?"

Blinking, Idunn looked at Bragi, whose gaze remained locked on Ray. "I think," he said, "you are a good man trying to do good things. I cannot condone slavery. CAN not. It is not an option for me. I also find that you are doing what you can, as best you can, to correct the situation without causing additional harm. I would not ask you to trap them in their prisons - and yes, I knew that of their situation. These are not the first two genie I've met, nor the thousandth. They are among the few I will not kill for, at least not immediately."

Nodding thoughtfully, Ray accepted his words as Tauriz settled onto the couch and leaned into him. "Thank you for your words, Bragi. I do not intend to let this situation continue longer than I must, and I would not wish to come at you over bared steel or with hot words, but if I must to keep them conscious and as free as I can, then I must."

Bragi smiled reluctantly, "That is perhaps the core of why I have not left yet and begun working for your demise, Ray. You care for them, and are willing to do whatever you need to take care of them. Again, I salute you."

Shortly thereafter, the five women and a team of five from Skepsi rejoined the group in the third floor lounge. "We'd suggest you might wish an open area, Ray, perhaps thirty feet across, where we might leave with less concern for the surroundings."

"We have a nice dojo down in the basement that's sixty by forty feet, but it's only twelve feet high - is that a problem?"

"No, that should work quite well. Would you lead the way?"

"Gladly. Tomaz, a word?"

As the twenty-odd people worked their way down the hall and took shifts down the two elevators to the first basement, Ray asked, "So, who are you sending with me, and why them?"

"Erin is going to run the team. Trust her eyes, they're as good as we've got. She's got Danny and Betty, our unarmed and firearms instructors, Cat the medic who went up north with you, and our ranking NCO Jasper, who also happens to be Asatru and is a good man with his hands."

"OK, interesting choices. Is this a conflict for Jasper?"

"He tells me it won't be, his oath takes precedence. He's never lied to me."

"Fair enough, and thank you."

Tomaz nodded and took a step back.

As the team reconvened in the dojo, Jasper laughed as Danny started to take his boots off. "No, lad. Keep them on. They'll sweep up after we're gone, I'm sure."

Eyeing the display cases with weapons from around the world, Bragi and Idunn looked mildly impressed. Ray added, "Yes, some are live steel, and yes they're all used, not wall-hangers." Bragi quirked a grin at that and nodded.

"Those that would join us in the All-Father's home as his guests, and as our guests, please gather in the middle of the room. Idunn and I will need to be the outermost, and the rest closed in as close as is reasonably comfortable, please."

Ray stood facing Bragi, and felt Tauriz taking a similar position on the other side of the group, facing Idunn. As soon as the crowd ceased the bulk of its jostling, the deities raised their arms and chanted in ancient Norse.

"By the All-Father, O Guardian!

Send forth your ward

Let its brilliance gird us,

Draw us forth from here,

And set us down

Where the One-Eyed waits"

A flare of light descended from the ceiling, starting as dim as any rainbow seen by humanity but rapidly becoming brighter, stronger, circling just beyond Idunn and Bragi as its brilliance blocked the view of the rest of the room. It grew brighter still, almost painfully brilliant for a split second, before it disappeared as if it had never been there.

An old man sat in an ornate bone throne, a spear with a jagged ivory tip resting across his lap. A pair of ravens sat on the back of the throne and a pair of wolves lay at his feet, relaxed but ready. A red-headed giant of a man, nearly seven feet tall and disproportionately wide, stood to the old man's left holding an oddly-shaped hammer in his hands. On the other side stood three women, all almost as tall as the redhead but much more normally proportioned, all wearing dark robes and bare of foot and head. Finally, off to one side by himself stood another man who'd look huge in the company of anyone but the redhead, leaning on a glittering greatsword made of many-colored crystal with an ornate horn hung on the wall behind him.

"Be welcome, my guests, to my home," said the old man. His voice was rough, worn with age but strong and clear. His tone was no-nonsense but not cruel, direct without being an assault.

"All-Father, Thunderer, Ladies, Son of Nine Mothers, we thank you for guesting rights here in your home."

Turning to Bragi, Odin asked, "Did you coach him?"

"No, All-Father. He knew of our practices and has followed them admirably on his own."

"Raymond Helms, you are a delightful surprise in what looks to be a shit sandwich. Be welcome, as are those who came with you, even those of you who follow other ways."

Laughing, Ray bowed respectfully. "If what I believe is true, a shit sandwich looks downright appetizing in comparison."

"So. First off- second of the living Oracles?"

"Baba Yaga gave up being an Oracle without dying. She wouldn't tell me how she did it, other than as a duhk, a Russian Fae and thus an outsider, she could override the rules that apply to Oracles. As such, I'm now the second living Oracle. As of last night St Yves is still alive and active."

Bragi chuckled quietly, shaking his head. "I can hear the skalds tearing at their beards and crying, Ray. You tell the story, and you tell it well, but you are murdering their art."

"I'm not an artist like yourself, I am just a simple man in complicated times."

"Oh, to be sure! And your words are brilliant in their clarity, and appreciated for their utter honesty," Odin replied. "As a once-simple man myself, I have a piece of advice for you. Enjoy it while you may - time will change you as it will."

Nodding his acceptance and appreciation, Ray said, "And as to the second thing - The realm of Earth is or will soon be invaded by another, smaller reality. This merging itself is not a threat, and may be a boon with time, but the results of this other reality threatens everything Earth is or can become.

"As the second realm merges with Earth, a third realm will attack through that same junction, attempting to drain Earth's reality. There are four scenarios. In the first, the third reality 'wins' and drains Earth, game over. In the second, Earth and the third reality balance out between themselves. This would greatly change what is normal for both realms, to the detriment of much of what we consider admirable of Earth today. In the third, Earth absorbs the third realm. In this case, the Earth realm boils and quakes from the injection of the other reality, changing much as in the second scenario, but there's too much, too different. Somehow the whole detonates, leaving slivers of the Earth realm as new realms on their own and wasting the vast bulk of the reality. Seemingly quite unpleasant for the few survivors.

"The fourth scenario is probably the least detrimental. At some point after the second realm attaches itself, the junction is severed or blocked, preventing the third realm from interacting with Earth. This may be before any contamination occurs from the second or third realms, or after the second realm, or part way into the third realm's interactions with Earth. The greater the interaction with the third realm, the stronger the secondary effects, eventually leading to one of the other three scenarios.

"St Yves is working to gather the elder races - the Jinn, the Jann, and what remnants of the others he can find. The Hinn as represented by myself and my ladies will stand with Earth, and there may be others we can recover in time.

"Now, not as a guest - this is far beyond the bounds of what a guest may expect granted by their host - I'd ask for two things from you, if you are willing. One, we ask you share what knowledge you can, ideally including where and when this connection will form. Second, your alliance in defending the realm of Earth from the first three scenarios. I am merely asking as another with an interest in Earth, not as your guest."

Bragi laughed, starting slowly, but unable to control himself. His wife walked over to him, hugging him close as the tears ran down his face, even as Odin began chuckling himself and Heimdall rolled his eyes and grinned his famous golden grin. Thor remained quiet, scowling slightly as he held his hammer.

Eventually the laughter passed Bragi by, letting him regain his breath and composure. "I name you truth-teller and tale-slayer, Ray, one to whom the tale means naught but the truth means all. Bear the titles with pride, although the skalds who learn of the second may find it difficult to accept."

Nodding, Odin agreed. "So be it! Truth-teller, we thank you for your words. We appreciate you not attempting to draw on the guest-bond. We would join you in the defense of the realm of Midgard, the realm you entitle Earth, once we know where to bring forth the host."

Turning to the three abnormally tall women, he asked, "What may you tell us, Fate-maidens?"

In a cacophonous harmony, the three spoke with a vast multitude of voices, each female but all different. "This is not the first time this third realm, as it has been described, has attempted to drain Midgardr or another realm we care for. It has used allies before in this attempt, and will again, if it were to fail this time. This would not be a defeat of the foe, but a delaying action, as we cannot currently prevent this realm's future actions.

"Stay your command, All-Father, and send not your einherjar to battle. Send not the host to this war, for one and all would fall before this foe without gain, without benefit. Instead, recall the knowledge from the nights on the tree. Remember the draught you drew from the giant's well. Share your knowledge of the fallen bones of Yddgrasl, staining the futures with their passage. We see your way through this skein of fate. Build, share, and grow - do not harvest, do not slay this day. This foe may not be defeated now, but there comes one who with their armies, their allies, may one day stand and prevail." The three bowed to Odin, then turned and bowed to Ray, before turning silently and walking away into the distance, the walls not holding them as they would hold others.

"So." Odin planted the butt of his spear on the stone floor and hauled himself upright. "It seems we will not battle at your side this time, teacher of many, but I would show you what lore I have of the runes. Will you learn from me?"

"With gratitude and some understanding of the oddities of these realms, I would."

"Then come with me. We have a trail to trod together. Bring your runemaids with you, they will be of great assistance in your tasks. Bring those who would guard you, for the path is not safe for any, not even me. And bring those who sought the world as it is, not as they would have it. There may be value in their choice."

"Folks? Would you join me in this?" Ray asked them. Turning to Odin, he continued, "I assume they'd be welcome to stay on as guests while I and whoever else chooses to travel this path with you?"

"Of course!" he replied heartily. "Both my home and my hall will remain open for you and yours, who bears the flame of creation within your heart. Your visits are welcome, at whim or at need, as are those you bring with you, so long as they maintain the guest rights."

In a very short period of time, it became apparent that none of the team intended to stay behind. Ray decided to simply accept their decision, and nodded to Odin. "It seems we all shall join in trodding this path together, rune master."

"Then to Yddgrasl we bend our path!" the lord of the Norse proclaimed. Nodding pointedly at Heimdall, he waited. The farsighted guardian nodded in reply before a flickering wall of rainbow light started to form before Ray and Odin. Waiting together, the two stood ready but not tense, knowing that their moment would come, and they would act appropriately.