//------------------------------// // Under Yggdrasill-trädet // Story: Kristall Snö // by Kawat3ngusan //------------------------------// Under Yggdrasill-trädet Under the Yggdrasill tree Kristall Snö prepared well for the next day, she decided to bring her ice ax and magma axe, her bow and the Ulfberht sword that Tyr gave her, she also decided to bring the Lich staff that Hov gave her, she was ready, she just had to walk towards the stone arch that was outside the village to summon the Bifrost thanks to the crystal dragon skull, Rokk went close to her, -“Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?”- -“I have to go alone, and then in the village they need you, Rokk“- -“They need you too, since it was you who beat Tyr“- -"I don't think it's appropriate for someone to come with me, this is something I have to see for myself, it only concerns me, I have to know who my mother was, how do I know that the dragoness Regn told me the truth?" - -"Now that I think about it, it's been a long time since you carried her skin around, you should put it back on"- -“Mhhh, maybe you're right, it protects me from the cold and then it's resistant being an ice dragon skin, I'll go get it“-. So Kristall Snö went to get Regn's skin that was in a trunk and put it on as a cloak, it had been three years and yet her skin was still strong. -“Fine, now I can go, wish me luck, Rokk“-, Rokk hugged her daughter and kissed her mane, -“Go Snö, and remember, whatever you discover, you will always be my daughter, and you will always have somewhere to go“- -“Tack(Thank you)“-. Kristall Snö left the village, and arrived at the stone arch, wore the skull and invoked the Bifrost, she climbed the rainbow bridge which took her straight to the square of the realms, where she met Heimdallr again. -“ Hallå (Hello) Heimdallr, long time no see?“- -“ Hallå Kristall Snö, it's good to see you again, I heard that you defeated Tyr in combat“- -“How did you find out? Thanks to your special hearing?”- -“Actually the Valkyries told me, but I'll tell you what, if it's true that Loki was looking for you now maybe he'll know that you're alive, although no one knows what realm he's taken refuge in, not even Odin knows“ - -"How come? I didn't know this." -“Odin predicted that he would start a revolt, so he banished him from Asgard, but you never know, he's still a god, and he might think of something evil, usually it takes time, but then he always pops up with some evil plan and if it's not a plan it's definitely a joke, also Odin had also punished him for killing various fillies, but Loki never revealed what he was plotting, luckily he stopped doing it three years ago“- -"Three years ago? It means when Freyja saved me, so he really thinks I'm dead, and if he will discover that in my village I defeated Tyr he will come looking for me again, I just hope wherever he is he doesn't find out, however I need to ask you a favor"- -“Tell me, Kristall“- -"I need to know how to reach the Yggdrasill tree, I have to ask the Norns for questions"- -"Are you sure? Look, the Norns cannot reveal the future to you, they are seers, however, cannot reveal life to mortals“- -“But I have to ask about my past, I have to know about my mother“- -“Well, if it's for your mother, then I'm sure they will have nothing against it, I myself didn't know your mother in detail, and when you told me those things about Regn it seemed strange to me, she and your mother were very good friends“ - -“I still don't know what to think, but Flod kicked me out, and Flail told me a lot of things, although I don't like that guy, can you tell me how to reach the tree anyway?”- -“Simple, do you see the beam of light that is in the middle of this square? Just look towards the light and pronounce Yggdrasill and you will find yourself there, to go back just ask the Norns“- -“Tack, see you“- -“Hello, and I hope you can find what you are looking for“- -“I hope so“-, and so Kristall did as the god said, looked up, pronounced the name of the tree and then vanished into a light. She found herself in a clearing, full of flowers and plants, on one side was winter, and on the other spring, and then she looked ahead, there was a titanic-sized tree, usually she saw it from far above the Bifrost, but now there it was before her, the Yggdrasill tree, now she had only to seek the Norns. -“It's a really nice place, no Draugr, no monsters, no wild beasts, just peace and quiet, the Norns really live in a nice place“-. Getting closer to the tree, Kristall saw a hippogriff with white robes, it was pink in color and with a blue mane, it was watering a part of the tree with a large bowl, and then it began to spread some ointment on a root, Kristall in fact she knew that the Norns as well as weaving the fate of the ponies also took care of the Yggdrasill tree which was their home, Kristall approached that hippogriff, -“Excuse me, can you help me?”-, the hippogriff got scared and hid behind a big root, and looked at Kristall, then hid again, -"Excuse me, I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to ask you something, can you tell me where to find the Norns?"-, but the hippogriff said nothing, -"Oh poor thing, maybe I shouldn't have come up behind you, or you don't understand my language"-, but a door materialized from the tree from which a hippogriff came out, she was all blue with a yellow and green mane, she called Kristall, -“Never mind, she's Skuld, the youngest Norn, she's very shy, usually we don't have visitors here, just some gods, but even then she's always taciturn, it's not your fault“- -“Oh, Hallå (Hello), with whom do I have the honor to speak?”- -“ My Pleasure, I'm the middle Norn, my name is Verðandi, and today it was Skuld's turn to take care of Yggdrasill, I instead had to do the cleaning, and who are you?“- -“Oh, sorry I didn't introduce myself, my name is…..“- -“ I'm kidding, I really know you, you're Kristall Snö, I know all the ponies, yaks, and dragons of which my sisters and I weave the thread of their lives, you're the one who managed to defeat Tyr“- -"But actually….."- -“Do you still think it wasn't a deserved victory? By disarming Tyr you have won, no one had ever succeeded, except Thor and Odin, you have done an epic challenge, my dear“- -“Since you already know about me, do you also know why I'm here?“- -“Ja, to ask questions, right? Which ones I don't know, my powers aren't that strong, but come with me, I'll take you to our elder sister, right now she's fixing the looms” - -“Tack, here I am“-, at that moment the younger hippogriff stopped Kristall, -“Wait, are you really Kristall Snö? I know a lot about you, I want to get to know you better“- -“So you flatter me, Skuld, I'm not that special“- -"Are you kidding? I myself wove your thread when you faced Loki before being saved by Freyja, and I also wove the part when you met Rokk“-, Verðandi stopped Skuld, -“ Skuld? Little sister? You can't reveal the future to mortals, we have rules" - -“But I didn't tell her about the future, but only about her past“- -"I know you well, you're still young, and therefore you might miss saying something to someone, like when you said about Thor that it was Loki who cut Sif's hair"- -“But Thor had to know, Loki had to be punished“- -“Keep dealing with Yggdrasil“- -"I wanted to take a break"- -“Fine, but don't say anything to Kristall Snö, try to pay attention to what you say“- -“Okay“-, Skuld entered, then Kristall Snö turned to Verðandi, -"But I don't care about my fate, I just want to know my past, and then I don't want you sisters to quarrel"- -“Sorry for the show, Kristall Snö, but every now and then I have to remind Skuld about our rules, after all she is still a beginner, she can weave well that's true, but she can't keep secrets, after all she is only 400 years old, now come inside“-, Verðandi entered, but Kristall thought to herself for a moment, -“By Thor's hammer, she is the youngest and she is 400 years old? Who knows how old the older one will be?" - Then she too entered. What she saw was the inside of the Yggdrasill tree transformed into a house, there were several rooms, and several looms on the walls, there were also golden skeins, while the other strands were white, the looms moved by themselves , while one was moved by a gray hippogriff with white hair and glasses, Verðandi led Kristall towards that adult hippogriff, -“She is Urðr, as you understand she is the eldest among us three, and she is the one with the most experience, sister Urðr, she is Kristall Snö“-, the old hippogriff looked at her, -“Bless the gods, it's really you Kristall Snö, I've known you since you were born“- -“But…but I have never known you, oh noble Urðr“- -“Not in that sense, just know that it's me who starts the thread of a new life, and therefore I've started weaving yours too, as you can see here we use magic to weave the various lives of the creatures of our lands, but we also use our paws“- -“ And those golden skeins?“- -“Those belong to the gods, they grow by themselves“- -“And what do you do when a life is about to end?“- -“One of us takes turns taking the scissors and unfortunately she has to cut the thread, and unfortunately how many fillies and dragons we had to cut the thread three years ago, when Loki sent some Changelings to kill the various villages between Noreinway and Horsweden “- -"It's my fault, he was looking for me, now he thinks I'm dead, but as soon as he knows that a mare defeated Tyr, he will look for me again"- -“I think we should talk to you a bit, let's all take a break“-. So all the Norns and Kristall Snö sat down at a table made from a large stump and there were biscuits and hot water with some leaves of the tree, the Norns offered that infusion of leaves to Kristall, -“Mmm, good, it has something magical“-, Skuld then said -“The Yggsrasill tree gives us everything we need, a roof, food and even water, and its leaves placed in hot water create an infusion that gives you energy, since we need them because we sleep little because of our work“- -“You are really very kind, I'm sorry to disturb you“-, then Urðr replied, -“ No disturbance, we get so few visitors, mainly because mortals don't come here so often“- -“I need a favor from you”- -"What is it about?"- -“ I don't care about my future, but about my past, I need to know who my mother was, why do I have these special eyes? I'm sure my answers are found in my mother's past, and you who have woven many lives I'm sure you know her, but I don't know anything about her, and who better than you can give me answers about my mother?" -, the Norns were silent, then Verðandi answered, -"Actually, dear Kristall, we can't show you the thread of another person you know, be it a pony, a griffin, a dragon or a yak, especially a god"-, then Skuld interrupted her, -“But this is about her mother, she wants to know her past, she has the right to know about her mother, we know very well that Kristall Lumi was a good mare, it's a pity that she hasn't met her daughter"- -“Skuld, please, we have rules to follow“-, then Urðr spoke, -“Actually, we can show Kristall the life of a creature that is now gone, I myself had to cut her mother's thread, don't take it personally Kristall, but when the thread stops shining with white light it's time to cut, so come with me, I'll show you the truth about your mother"- -"Tack, thank you very much, you were the only chance I had to get to know my mother"-. Urðr went near a closet carved into the wood to look for the skein of Kristall Lumi, but she didn't find it, then she whistled and an orange squirrel with big ears came at great speed from a window, Urðr spoke to him, -“ Please, Ratatoskr, go find for me in the upper floors for Kristall Lumi's skein“-, the squirrel nodded yes and ran away like lightning, Kristall Snö was amazed, -“ Ratatoskr? Was that….was it really the legendary Ratatoskr?“- -“Yes, it's really him, he's the fastest little creature in all the nine realms and often gives us a hand, he's a very intelligent little creature“-. As soon as Urðr finished speaking, Ratatoskr brought a white skein and handed it to the old hippogriff. -“ Great job Ratatoskr, if you want you can also take one of my biscuits, you know where we keep them“-, the squirrel immediately ran into the other room and went out with a biscuit between his teeth, -“You know, dear Kristall? He is crazy about the cookies we make“- -“I understand, they are delicious“-, Urðr unraveled the skein to look for the point that interested the pegasus, -“Now let's see, which part should you know about your mother first?”- -“I would like to know where she came from and if she was born in my old village“-, with a magic, the old hippogriff unthreaded the skein and an image appeared in the air. -“This is the birth of your mother, Lumi is in those bands“- -“But who is that strange pegasus with the armour? I do not know her"- -“That is Siegmund, one of the many Valkyries, the famous winged warriors who rescue dead warriors to bring them to Valhalla“- -“I know the Valkyries, but why is my mother in the arms of one of them?”- -“If you want me to continue, you must be ready for any truth“- -"I'm ready, I want to know everything about my mother"- -“You see, Siegmund is your mother's mother, your grandmother, she had a daughter from a mortal pegasus“- -“Vad? (What?) That means my mother is half Valkyrie“- -“Exactly, and that makes you half a Valkyrie, that's why some who look you in the eye become generous, mostly just magical creatures, but I don't think it would work with Loki, he's immune to certain special gifts that bring goodness in the heart, and then he might try to kill you“- -“ But I don't understand, why nobody, not even my father told me that my mother is half Valkyrie? “- -“Because no one knew, not even your grandparents, you see, sadly valkyries can't have children, so Siegmund came to Midgard to leave your mother outside the door of your grandparents' hut, and so your mother didn't know her real identity, she lived as a normal pegasus, however she had powers, her voice was magical, and she could use runes"- -“That explains why the crystal dragon skull worked on me“- -“That's right, it freed your part of Valkyrie, and that's why you are so strong, and also skilled with magic, in your veins flows the blood of the noble Valkyrie, and that's why Freyja saved you“- -"I can not believe it"- -“If I were you I wouldn't tell anyone, many villages would like a warrior half Valkyrie, but maybe you could tell Rokk and your brother“- -“How do you do know….ah yeah, you know everything about everyone“- -“If we continue to look at your mother's life, we can see that she was always good with magic, and good at reading runes, but when she met your father, he didn't want her to do magic or fight, so your mother had to stop practicing“- -“So my father was forbidding me from doing magic because he had forced my mother too“- -“He thought that this way he would protect your mother, and you too, and look this is the moment your mother meets Regn“- -"That's enough, I don't think I want to see anything else, I found what I wanted to know"- -“It's fine for me, also because there are no other secrets about your mother“- -“But…just out of curiosity, isn't it possible to see the life thread of Regn or Flail?”- -"I'm sorry, but I can't show you the thread of who is still alive, but I can show you your father's life, but he was a normal pegasus"- -"I don't think I want to see the last moments of my father's life, I already know that he wouldn't have approved of what I did to him, but I just wanted to protect Sven"- -"You did the right thing Kristall, know that, and if you want advice you have to know how to recognize who is lying and who is sincere"- -"On purpose? Do you know what happened to Rockhoof? Is he really in Vinland?“- -“I couldn't tell you, dear Kristall, the threads of the people of that village mysteriously disappeared before our eyes, if they were dead their thread would have become dark, but they really disappeared“- -"And......one last question, do you know a seer named Solar Calendar?"- -“What we know about her we learned from your point of view, and from Rokk and Henrik's point of view, we don't know anything else about that mare”- -“Then she really comes from another land, perhaps as she said from Vinland“-. Kristall Snö stood thinking, then she turned to Urðr, -“Thank you noble Norns, thanks to you I was able to understand a little about myself, I know the truth about my mother, but just because I know I'm part Valkyrie doesn't mean I'll stop training, I'll try to improve to protect the my village“- -“Now what are you going to do? Will you go in search of Siegmund?“- -“Nej, that would mean going to Asgard, and I don't think I'm allowed there“- -"Actually...if you look the gods in the eyes, they won't be able to tell you anything, but that doesn't mean that you can stay there for a long time, and then I don't know if your eyes would have any effect on Odin"- -“Anyway, I'm not interested in going in search of my real grandmother, I could cause trouble for her if the gods knew of my true origin, what I want to do now is go back to my village, thank you for the help you have given me “-, Kristall Snö started to walk towards the door but Skuld stopped her, -“ Wait Snö, sister Urðr, can't we give her anything? I mean, we can't show her the other threads, nor tell her about her future, but we can give her gifts to help her in her quests”-, Urðr and Verðandi looked at each other, then the older one replied, -"You're right Skuld, it's not right not being able to help her in her battles so dear Kristall we will teach you some spells that you can summon with that magic stick"- -“Are you sure? Won't you break any rules?” -“Our rules are all about threads, not magical arts, so we can teach you some“-, Urðr took a rune from a piece of furniture that depicted a squirrel, -“If you put this rune in your staff, you can summon the spirit of a squirrel, you can summon squirrels that will help you“- -"Seriously?"- -“It's a rune that holds a part of Ratatoskr's power, you can summon one or more copies of him, and you can send them ahead in a place, or use them to distract an enemy, just say Ekorre(Squirrel) and them you will conjure“-, Verðandi approached, -“And I'll teach you a spell that will allow you to create portals to transport you from one place to another, but careful they only work in one realm, you can't use them in two realms, only two portals per realm, and you can also prevent someone from of hostile you enter it, you just need to touch with the stick who has to enter, the one who has not been touched will remain outside the portal, oh, and of course it only works on places you have already visited“- -“Tack, Verðandi“-, then it was Skuld's turn, -“And I will teach you a spell with which you can enchant your arrows with a soporific spell, it is called Pilarna av sovar (Arrows of sleep), and since I like you I will also teach you the Aura av isen (Ice Aura) , it's a spell that invokes a magical aura on whoever you want and if he is knocked to the ground, this spell will make him recover his energies, also healing him from his wounds, but you must use it before the fight” -. So Kristall spent the day learning those spells from the Norns and was happy, because that way he would be more useful to the village. Finally, towards evening, Kristall Snö had learned those spells and thanked the three Norns, at the end they said goodbye, then it was the young Skuld who accompanied her outside. Kristall thanked Skuld again, -“I don't know how to thank you for these spells“- -"It's thanks to your eyes, magical creatures want to be generous with you, but in our case it's because we want to help you"- -“ I would have liked to have some advice from you, but then maybe you would have broken some rules, so I salute you“-, Kristall Snö walked towards the beam of light to return to Heimdallr, but then Skuld called her, -“ Vanta Kristall Snö! Jag måste prata med dig! (Wait Kristall Snö! I need to talk to you!)“-,the pegasus approached the hippogriff, -“What's up, Skuld?”- -“I know I could get in trouble but I have to tell you something, and you have to listen to me“- -“It won't affect my future, I hope?”- -"Yes, and I already know what my sisters will tell me, but no one ever comes here, except some god to visit us, and then you're a special pony"- -"I don't want to get you in trouble"- -“They can't punish me anyway, I'm one of the Norns, it's just the three of us who weave the lives of creatures“- -“Do I really have to know?“- -"Let me talk, please"- -"Agree"- -“Listen, what that seer told you, well, I would listen to it you have to use your heart together with your brain and your muscles, because there will come moments when you will have to use weapons, and other times you will have to use your heart , besides you will meet a mysterious pony, he will do something that you won't like, but listen, you don't have to see him as an enemy, because you don't want to have him as an enemy, just try to reason with him, that's all“- -“Do you also know when I will meet him?“- -"I can't tell you, I already revealed too much, but I had to do it to change your fate, because otherwise you would have had to face him in a duel, while instead I saved your life"- -“Okay, your secret is safe with me, I won't tell anyone about this prediction“- -“Wait, there's another thing I want to give you“-, Skuld took a cluster of red crystals from a bush, and took some to give to Kristall, -“Take these and give them to a dwarf bison“- -"What are these?"- -"It is crystallized sap of the Yggdrasill tree, if you fuse these crystals to your weapons both the handle and the weapon will become indestructible, I will also give you some others for your brother, they also work for bows"- -“You were even too generous Skuld, I'd like to come to you meet more often“- -“Better not, we can't have too many distractions, even if it's nice to have known you, now do your best to be a great warrior, and practice your weapons and magic, try to invent new spells, this is a other advice I can give you”- -“To be the youngest you have some advice“- -“What do you want me to tell you? In 400 years you learn things“-. Kristall Snö embraced Skuld, and then they said goodbye definitively, the pegasus returned to the beam of light and dematerialized to return to Heimdallr, who saw her and asked her how she had gone, Kristall told him about her mother's secret. he was surprised, -“So your mother was Siegmund's daughter, I knew that she had a daughter from a mortal, but I didn't think she was really your mother, this means that you are part Valkyrie“- -"Exactly, but I don't want to go in search of my real grandmother, I don't want to mess with the Valkyries and the gods, I just want to become stronger to protect my village, and therefore I have to go back to my village to train"- -“ Lycka till, Kristall!(Good luck, Kristall!)“- -“Tack Heimdallr, see you soon“-. Kristall Snö returned to the entrance of the Bifrost and then flew to her village, by now it was night, so she thought of going to the bison Städ the next day, so she returned directly to her house. She found Rokk, her grandmother and Henrik at the table eating, Rokk was delighted to see her again, -“ Snö, dear Snö, I was worried, I know that the Norns are not dangerous, but the fact that you didn't arrive made me anxious“- -“They are also very generous, I'm a little hungry, if you give me some bread and cheese I'll tell you everything“-. So Kristall told what he could tell the three of them, Rokk answered her, -“So Valkyrie blood flows in your veins? Now that's a nice discovery, who knows how many things you've seen in that place“- -“Just what I wanted to know, now I know that my mother was half Valkyrie, and that's enough for me to know, only that when she met my father…well….he didn't want her to use her powers, she did everything to protect me and the dragon eggs, but she was finally killed by the Changelings, I bet those Changelings maybe Loki sent them, if only I could confirm, but I wasn't allowed to see the thread of the gods, not even a mortal, I …I almost hate my father, if he had allowed my mother to use magical arts now maybe she would still be alive“-, Rokk comforted her, -“Hey Kristall, don’t say these things, remember that if you are here it is thanks to your real father, it is true that he went a little too far to prevent your mother from using magic, and he shouldn't have done the same with you, but now you are here and you are the strongest warrior in the village, forgive your father, surely he had his reasons, but you mustn't hate him, he will already be suffering from the fact that he had to die by your axe"- -“Thanks Rokk, i mean, thanks dad“- -“Wow, you never call me dad, that's cool“- -“Now you are my father, and you allow me to fight and use magic, and thanks to you I am a strong Viking“- -"It's also thanks to Chief Hov, he always believed in you, as well as his wife, now you just have to keep in training, just because you defeated Tyr doesn't mean you can rest, and neither do we Vikings, who knows how many things will await you “- -“Yes, but for the moment I should upgrade my weapons and Henrik’s with the sap of Yggdrasill, so he too can train without the fear that his weapons may break“-. Meanwhile, inside the Yggdrasil tree, Skuld was talking to Verðandi, -“ But we really couldn't tell her anything? Not even of what she will have to face?” – -"Why? Did you say something to her?” -“Ehm… just to follow her heart”- -“Listen, we couldn't tell her about the lie she carries around without knowing it, she has to figure it out on her own, and if she won't figure it out, well, she'll find a solution, she's one chosen by the gods“- -“It's a pity I can't tell her“- -"I know you wanted to help her, but you couldn't tell her anything, I hope you didn't say anything?"- -“Ehm….actually….“- -"Actually?"- -“…I gave her some crystallized sap from the tree”- -“Ah well, for a moment I thought wrong, now let me go back to weaving“-, Skuld started thinking about Kristall, -"I hope you’ll reflect on the advice of that seer, I gave her a paw as long as I could, now everything about her is in her hooves"-. To be Continued…. My little pony by Hasbro & Lauren Faust