Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

"Very well. Fulla, Hlin, and Gnà, my three handmaidens, couldn't wait to meet you" she continued, pointing to the three girls resting on the wall, who immediately after those words, blushed and timidly looked away from him, feeling a strong embarrassment, shared by Dag, who still could not understand what was happening.

"Eh... where... where am I? How long did I sleep?" Dag asked, trying to get back on the ground and not be distracted from all the beauty concentrated in the room, thinking of Freydis and all his other companions.

"You slept for three days, but fear not. You can stay and sleep a little longer if you want" she smiled, acting with him as if she was an apprehensive mom.

"Three days? How is that possible? Where are all my comrades? Where did you take me?" Dag continued, who immediately warned that the people who had healed his wounds and washed his clothes were not hostile, but still wanted concrete answers.

The woman had a sweet and moderate laugh, resting her hand slightly in front of her mouth and ajar her eyes.

"Your mortal friends, you mean? Well, I guess they're still on Skjold, my husband didn't tell me about any more mortals except for you." 

"What?! Mortal?! Her husband?! It's not possible?! This woman is... she's..." 

"My name is Frigg, Odin's wife and I am here to welcome you to Asgard, the kingdom of the Aesir" the blond-haired woman smiled once again, opening her arms and showing Dag her benevolence.

"As... Asgard... um... mmh..."

After barely uttering the first syllables of that word, Dag lost his senses for the second time and fainted on the floor, unable to hold back all that sudden emotion.

About 30 minutes passed, which in Dag's head seemed only an instant. 

*clap*clap*

The young Earth warrior felt light slaps on his face as someone tried to wake him up.

When he opened his eyes again, in front of him were two of Frigg's handmaidens, who as soon as they realized they had been able to wake him up, timidly rose up and returned close to their mistress, timidly.

Dag, still trapped in a whirlwind of confusion, laid his palms under his bottom and sat down, gradually trying to get up from the ground and knowing that, having fainted at the mere mention of the word 'Asgard', he had not made a good impression in front of the Goddess of heaven, love, and fertility, as well as the wife of the Alfather, the chief of all the Gods of the Norse Pantheon.

"I didn't think your mind was so fragile, Dag of Midgard. What's the matter? Ask me what you want, I'm here to answer your questions" Frigg said, anticipating every word of her interlocutor, who took the opportunity to get up from the floor leaning on the window shelf.

As soon as he was back on his feet, Dag inadvertently looked out the window of that majestic infirmary and the spectacle before his eyes was so beautiful that it took his breath away.

Asgard, in all its splendor, stood on the crest of clouds high in the sky, while the false Sun of the Xis illuminated its tall white and silver palaces, one next to each other.

The tower on which he was at the time was so high that it was difficult to see the streets below, but from that position, Dag realized that Asgard's location, unknown even to the most attentive Viking researchers, was in the skies of Skjold.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? I also stop to look at her splendor every now and then" Frigg continued, drawing the attention of Dag, who turned to her, catching his breath and trying to calm down to face a sensible speech.

"It's magnificent, yes. Maybe it's even better than what ancient legends tell. It is an honor to meet you in person, my queen" he exclaimed, taking a walk towards Frigg and kneeling with his gaze turned downwards, as a sign of respect, failing to believe that, in a short time, he had known the two most powerful Gods of his world.

"Your humility amazes me, young warrior, but at the same time, it makes me feel good. You are the only one capable of killing one of the strongest Frostsinners, yet your behaviors are absolutely 'human'. I congratulate you on what you did on Skjold, I saw every moment of your last fight." 

"Thank you, my queen. I just did what I needed to protect my people from those disrespectful invaders. I promised myself that I would make him pay for what he and his race did to us at all costs..." 

As he spoke, Dag realized that next to the coat hanger where his clean, polished armor was there neither Magni's hammer nor Giantbane.

"You can stay calm, Dag. Your weapons were taken under the custody of Odin himself. He's waiting for you to wake up so he can tell you about the plan he has in mind for you, young man. When you're ready, You'll be escorted to the throne room, where the Alfather looks forward to meeting you again" Frigg replied, moving her hands gracefully and speaking in the same tone of a gentle voice.

"I will wear my armor and go to Odin, in the throne room. My body was cleaned and healed and my armor was polished. Thank you very much for the care you have given me, dear Frigg, I owe you and the Alfather my life" Dag humbly answered, resting a hand on his chest and keeping his head down even after standing up, ready to approach the coat hanger.

"You mustn't thank me. My three handmaidens took care of you, undressed you, and cared for you in their loving embrace, and now here you are, in all your mortal glory. I repeat, welcome to Asgard, boy" Frigg replied, who after those words, without giving Dag the opportunity to answer, turned and walked towards the door.

Gnà and Hlin opened the large front door and let their long-haired queen pass by, while Fulla, well recognizable by the golden ribbon that wrapped her dark hair, followed her, closing the line.

Before the door closed to leave Dag his privacy, Fulla, who had both of her hands resting on the handles she was closing, once again looked at Dag with her big green eyes.

The beauty of the Frigg Goddess's handmaidens was otherworldly, but Frigg's was absolutely unimaginable.

Even the most lovesick man could not resist the temptation to admire that beauty and that grace and, indeed, even the young Dag could not help but reciprocate that look.

With a little final noise, the big door closed and Dag found himself alone in the middle of that huge bronze room.

He looked at his own hands, trying to realize that he was actually in Asgard, a place he had never seen other than in the illustrations on his old school books when on Earth he studied the Nordic myths that characterized the planet Skjold.

For a moment, the young warrior forgot about Freydis, Reidar, and all those who had remained on the planet and thought only about him, recalling that Odin himself had come down from his kingdom to save his life and help him defeat the strongest of his opponents.

"I can't believe it... the Alfather took me with him to his kingdom and I have just met his wife Frigg, the Goddess that all the women of Skjold pray when they cannot have children or when they are deeply in love... she was right here, before my eyes, in this room!" Dag thought aloud, who was so excited and let himself go to the most sincere and real feelings as an eighteen-year-old boy, without worrying too much about having to look like an adult warrior or a daring leader.

After brooding over what happened, the Alfather's face came back to his mind and the desire to tighten his weapons back into his hands prevailed over everything.

He approached the coat hanger, grabbed his armor, and wore it one piece at a time, making sure he looked presentable, not knowing if besides Odin, in the throne room, someone else was waiting for him.

"Okay, calm down Dag. Focus, don't get caught up in the heat of feeling like an important person. You are not an Aesir, but you are here because the most important and famous of the Gods was impressed by your powers. Proceed calmly and be sure of you, remember the mission" Dag said in a low voice, believing that hearing his own words, he would take courage and leave that room, heading towards the throne room of Odin, without knowing in the slightest how to reach it. 

Looking around and making sure he had collected every piece of his armor from the coat hanger, Dag began to walk, tucking his hand into the inner pocket of his jacket and that of his trousers.