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Even though 750 words has buggy javascript after I hit the 750 word goal, it's worked out pretty good for me so far. I might actually get some of my long story ideas written if I can keep it up.
Look what I got done today -- a bit of Sam's tale of "the six months I spent in Jotunheim in the hall of the werewolf-king, playing security blanket to a traumatized archangel":
They're outside, planing wood for a new outbuilding the day Kali come back. Or, Sam was doing the carpentry, and Gabriel was trying not to fall asleep again. He's sewing -- nalbinding, he called it -- a wool hat out of yarn. Sam had asked him why he didn't just knit one, if the kids were going to need hats soon, and the archangel had rather grumpily admitted he didn't know *how* to knit, but that Laufey had taught him how to do this years (centuries) ago. Sewing yarn in loops until it made a hat was just ridiculously time-consuming -- and kind of sad, given that Gabriel used to be able to snap things into existence.
Now, it was a good day if he didn't fall asleep twice.
The kids Flosi and Isfrida were sitting at Gabriel's feet, playing a game of not-chess. Sam hadn't quite gotten the rules straight yet, but it looked like Isfrida was slaughtering Flosi's men and would soon capture his king. Isfrida was a vicious little thing when there was a game to win, though she's sweet enough for Gabriel.
There was a howling from the woods suddenly. Everyone stopped what they're doing, to turn to look.
"Gabriel?" Sam asked. He still couldn't tell the howls apart; Gabriel could, though. He knew how the different meanings of the Wolves long distance calls sounded.
"Someone's coming. A visitor -- a guest."
A *guest*, which means someone welcome and known, instead of an interloper, or an unexpected traveler. Sam had learned enough of the Wolf society to know how dangerous strangers could be, but how welcome it was to have news from outside the homestead.
"Kali?" he asked. She'd promised to come back -- she's one of the few beings who could possibly restore Gabriel besides his Father, and Sam would be eternally grateful if she succeeded. It was quietly terrifying to have an *archangel* depending on you to keep him from flying apart; the patchwork that kept Gabriel together was going to fail *sometime* if they couldn't fix him, and Sam didn't want to see that. He was ... fond ... of the archangel now. Possibly because without the strength to manipulate reality, Gabriel actually talked to him. Sam liked to be talked to.
"Maybe. I think," Gabriel tilted his head, listening to the howling, "it's more than just her."
"Let's go see," Sam said and offered Gabriel a hand up off the bench. The archangel rolled his eyes, but he *was* unsteady enough to need it. He's not flickering again, but he looked woozy, like he's ill. Or wounded, which more accurate.
Jarnvidia was out in the homefield, her hair held back a band of gold that Sam'd never seen before. And she was wearing a silk shirt that she wasn't this morning, and thrown a square cloak over her shoulders. It's blue and embroidered all over, and pinned off to one side with the largest pennannular Sam had seen yet -- all gold and knotwork. There's even a short sword on her belt, hanging horizontally so that its hilt won't be fouled by her cloak.
It's an outfit meant to impress, Sam realized. Isbrand came out of the long house as Sam watched, and while he's not quite as dressed up, he'd changed his shirt as well, and was pulling on a jacket covered with embroidered bears. Fenrir followed him, but he's in wolf-shape, huge and slinking. They stood at Jarnvidia's left -- which left her free to draw her sword if she needed to.
*Okay. This was serious.*
Managrim and Managarm ran out of the woods in wolf-shape, barking excitedly. They run in circles, back and forth, and Jarnvidia's eyebrows rose up at their antics.
It all became clear when Soldis walked out of the woods with a man at her side, his grey-silver hair gleaming like water as he surveyed the Wolves assembled before him at Manahof.
"Orm," Gabriel breathed out in relief.
The World Serpent had come visiting. Sam was relieved to see him, which is something he would never have considered six months ago.
But there were others following -- Sam saw ponies and riders following, and stiffened. That tall figure in the long dress was Hel, Sam's pretty sure, and the smaller one in brilliant red was Kali -- she's as short as a Wolf, and her dark skin stood out.
Except there were two other riders -- two women, both beautiful and as different as the sun and the moon. The dark-haired woman was olive-skinned with gorgeous eyes and wore a gown that might in fact might be a sari wrapped and pinned -- Sam's not sure and he's not that familiar the details of women's clothing. Her face was classical perfection, like she could pose for a Greek vase right that minute. The other was pale and silver-blond and wore an apron-dress; she's pretty, but not the stunning beauty of her companion. But Sam immediately felt drawn to her, like she was warmth and kindness and maybe apple pie too.
"Sigyn," Gabriel murmured beside him, and Sam froze for a moment.
"Your wife?" he said. Not yelped, that wasn't a yelp even if he was a little surprised.
"Ex-wife," Gabriel corrected, and walked forward to greet her.
I'm trying to come up with names for the Jotuns that don't reference Odin (hard) or Thor (very hard), because the Jotuns are basically the same kind of beings as the Aesir and the Vanir, as they keep intermarrying. And it doesn't make sense that the Jotuns would venerate beings that are that much like themselves...
The Viking Answer Lady has nice lists of attested names with meanings, and I've decided that the Jotuns are more likely to reference Iron, Frost, Ice, and Snow in their names -- and the Wolves are going to references the Sun and the Moon especially often.
Look what I got done today -- a bit of Sam's tale of "the six months I spent in Jotunheim in the hall of the werewolf-king, playing security blanket to a traumatized archangel":
They're outside, planing wood for a new outbuilding the day Kali come back. Or, Sam was doing the carpentry, and Gabriel was trying not to fall asleep again. He's sewing -- nalbinding, he called it -- a wool hat out of yarn. Sam had asked him why he didn't just knit one, if the kids were going to need hats soon, and the archangel had rather grumpily admitted he didn't know *how* to knit, but that Laufey had taught him how to do this years (centuries) ago. Sewing yarn in loops until it made a hat was just ridiculously time-consuming -- and kind of sad, given that Gabriel used to be able to snap things into existence.
Now, it was a good day if he didn't fall asleep twice.
The kids Flosi and Isfrida were sitting at Gabriel's feet, playing a game of not-chess. Sam hadn't quite gotten the rules straight yet, but it looked like Isfrida was slaughtering Flosi's men and would soon capture his king. Isfrida was a vicious little thing when there was a game to win, though she's sweet enough for Gabriel.
There was a howling from the woods suddenly. Everyone stopped what they're doing, to turn to look.
"Gabriel?" Sam asked. He still couldn't tell the howls apart; Gabriel could, though. He knew how the different meanings of the Wolves long distance calls sounded.
"Someone's coming. A visitor -- a guest."
A *guest*, which means someone welcome and known, instead of an interloper, or an unexpected traveler. Sam had learned enough of the Wolf society to know how dangerous strangers could be, but how welcome it was to have news from outside the homestead.
"Kali?" he asked. She'd promised to come back -- she's one of the few beings who could possibly restore Gabriel besides his Father, and Sam would be eternally grateful if she succeeded. It was quietly terrifying to have an *archangel* depending on you to keep him from flying apart; the patchwork that kept Gabriel together was going to fail *sometime* if they couldn't fix him, and Sam didn't want to see that. He was ... fond ... of the archangel now. Possibly because without the strength to manipulate reality, Gabriel actually talked to him. Sam liked to be talked to.
"Maybe. I think," Gabriel tilted his head, listening to the howling, "it's more than just her."
"Let's go see," Sam said and offered Gabriel a hand up off the bench. The archangel rolled his eyes, but he *was* unsteady enough to need it. He's not flickering again, but he looked woozy, like he's ill. Or wounded, which more accurate.
Jarnvidia was out in the homefield, her hair held back a band of gold that Sam'd never seen before. And she was wearing a silk shirt that she wasn't this morning, and thrown a square cloak over her shoulders. It's blue and embroidered all over, and pinned off to one side with the largest pennannular Sam had seen yet -- all gold and knotwork. There's even a short sword on her belt, hanging horizontally so that its hilt won't be fouled by her cloak.
It's an outfit meant to impress, Sam realized. Isbrand came out of the long house as Sam watched, and while he's not quite as dressed up, he'd changed his shirt as well, and was pulling on a jacket covered with embroidered bears. Fenrir followed him, but he's in wolf-shape, huge and slinking. They stood at Jarnvidia's left -- which left her free to draw her sword if she needed to.
*Okay. This was serious.*
Managrim and Managarm ran out of the woods in wolf-shape, barking excitedly. They run in circles, back and forth, and Jarnvidia's eyebrows rose up at their antics.
It all became clear when Soldis walked out of the woods with a man at her side, his grey-silver hair gleaming like water as he surveyed the Wolves assembled before him at Manahof.
"Orm," Gabriel breathed out in relief.
The World Serpent had come visiting. Sam was relieved to see him, which is something he would never have considered six months ago.
But there were others following -- Sam saw ponies and riders following, and stiffened. That tall figure in the long dress was Hel, Sam's pretty sure, and the smaller one in brilliant red was Kali -- she's as short as a Wolf, and her dark skin stood out.
Except there were two other riders -- two women, both beautiful and as different as the sun and the moon. The dark-haired woman was olive-skinned with gorgeous eyes and wore a gown that might in fact might be a sari wrapped and pinned -- Sam's not sure and he's not that familiar the details of women's clothing. Her face was classical perfection, like she could pose for a Greek vase right that minute. The other was pale and silver-blond and wore an apron-dress; she's pretty, but not the stunning beauty of her companion. But Sam immediately felt drawn to her, like she was warmth and kindness and maybe apple pie too.
"Sigyn," Gabriel murmured beside him, and Sam froze for a moment.
"Your wife?" he said. Not yelped, that wasn't a yelp even if he was a little surprised.
"Ex-wife," Gabriel corrected, and walked forward to greet her.
I'm trying to come up with names for the Jotuns that don't reference Odin (hard) or Thor (very hard), because the Jotuns are basically the same kind of beings as the Aesir and the Vanir, as they keep intermarrying. And it doesn't make sense that the Jotuns would venerate beings that are that much like themselves...
The Viking Answer Lady has nice lists of attested names with meanings, and I've decided that the Jotuns are more likely to reference Iron, Frost, Ice, and Snow in their names -- and the Wolves are going to references the Sun and the Moon especially often.
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Werewolves and archangels -- there is no bad here.
As mixed as my feeling about 'Hammer of the Gods' is, it made Gabriel=Loki canon, and mentioned both the World Serpent and Fenris-Wolf. There was no way I was not going to run with it like a mad thing.
Hopefully I'll be able to hack something decent out of it -- right now I've got two plots going at once, one on Gabriel's past among the Norse gods, and one on his future in the season hiatus...