The villagers were beginning to panic as they muttered constant prayers to Kuan Yin. Esmeralda was getting worried and nervous but she was aware on how heavy the responsibility she had on her shoulder was. And she was determined too keep the people safe. The shelter was hidden in an alley. It had a heavy wooden door, which was five feet by six feet in dimension.
A child wailing cut her thoughts and as she looked around, she saw a little girl with gold locks, only one slipper on and a doll in one hand crying in the middle of the street. “Mother! Mother!” she wailed. A rushing woman tugged her forward and she fell on her knees and her hands, dropping the doll. The little girl stood up with scratches and got bumped as she tried to find her way in the middle of a frenzied crowd. Hugin released a loud eagle’s cry and as Esmeralda’s view went a little farther, she saw something coming out of the alleys.
Grayish skin, pointy ears and spears for weaponry… The Dark Elves of Svartalfheim!
Out of the dark, the dark elves emerged. How many? Hundreds, maybe. The screaming intensified and everyone rushed for the shelter. The men, who came with them to protect the shelter, raised their guard and ran into position armed with spears and swords and bows and staffs. “Protect the women and children!” And the onslaught began. The battle cry grew loud and solid and painful. Bodies from both sides dropped and blood spilled the pavement.
The humans scampered inside the underground shelter, praying solely to the goddess of mercy, none to the god of knowledge. Esmeralda felt a little sad but she had no time for it. She clasped her hands and closed her eyes and prayed to Odin far deeply as she had prayed to any of the other gods.
“Oh, the child! My baby! Aiva!” a woman screamed. Esmeralda’s eyes snapped open. The child! Esmeralda went up the stairs and opened the wooden door. The little girl had barely moved from her spot. She sat there, crying out loud for her mother. The mother tried to run out to the help of her daughter but was pulled back by the other people in the shelter. Esmeralda swallowed hard and with every inch of her strength and courage, she went out to get the girl.
But Esmeralda felt she was too slow. She made her way hurriedly in the middle of the battlefield, the sound of the women screaming for her to return in the background. “Aiva! Aiva!” Esmeralda called. The little girl began to look for the voice. Esmeralda continued running towards her, trying in difficulty to dodge the moving bodies. She had been praying that she get the girl before the elves do. Hang on. Hang on. Her prayers were then cut short when she saw a grinning dark elf approaching the girl in a hurry. Esmeralda assessed. She was definitely closer. She reached the girl first but she had not enough time to take her away.
As she picked up the child, she saw the dark elf raise his sword. There was no time to dodge. No time to run away! She could hear the cries of the women from the shelter but she could not understand what they were saying. The little girl was crying now, wailing, in fact and who could blame her? Esmeralda took the child in her arms to protect her, shielding the young one with most of her body. The sound of the battlefield was crisp to her ears. Esmeralda shut her eyes tightly as she waited for a stab but the moments passed and nothing came. As she opened her eyes, she saw the floating sash, glistening and the dark elf stabbing her spontaneously and in vain as sparks came from the sword as it hit an invisible force.
Munin screamed and swooped down towards the dark elf and assaulted it. Esmeralda got up, took the child and began to run away. She reached the shelter, knocked and said, “Open up. It’s me, Esmeralda, I have Aiva.” Then she heard the latches being unlocked and when the door opened, she saw the mother stretching out her hands to take the child. Aiva was still crying as she clung to her mother who was more than thankful to Esmeralda for saving her daughter. And the woman prayed her thanks to Kuan Yin and the Queen Mother for having mercy.
But Nataku was the one who gave the sash of protection…
Esmeralda wanted to sink to her knees. She bent slightly and it was only then that she realized that she had barely been breathing. Her lungs welcomed the gush of air that came into it and her heart was beating so hard that she thought she could hear it. It was thanks to the sash that she were still alive and she prayed to Nataku thoughtfully. Odin said he would protect them and she believed him.
“Oh, holy Queen Mother, please watch over us…” An old woman said shakily, “Most compassionate Kuan Yin, have mercy upon us, your servants with poor souls… Please do not let Persephone claim our souls.”
“Do not worry.” Esmeralda announced, finding a way to somehow smile brightly at them amidst the chaotic environment, “Master Odin promised to protect us.”
The women looled at Esmeralda and murmurs could be heard. She did not know what they were saying or thinking about her or Odin but she was glad she said such things. She was proud that she mentioned the god they were not praying to. The children were crying and some others were in trauma. The women were praying in either calmness or panic. Mothers were busily hushing their children, telling them that everything will be all right. Some old women were crying because their son is out in the battlefield. Everyone was praying to either Kuan Yin or the Queen Mother and Esmeralda wondered if the said Aesirs don’t get confused.
“ALL HUMANS! BACK TOWARDS THE SHELTER!” A loud voice echoed with the sound of a falcon. Esmeralda looked up and from one of the roofs, she saw Odin holding Laevatin. The small area he was standing on was giving off a strange mystical sparkle. Esmeralda’s face beamed as if a prince came to her rescue. She looked at him, determined to etch this picture of him forever in her memory. But then, only a few men paid any heed to Odin’s order. It seems as though they did not see enough reason for them to follow whatever this “stranger” told them to do.
Yes, that’s right. They do not know that this is Master Odin.
“Master Odin speaks! Back towards the shelter!” Esmeralda seconded the command in a voice as loud and demanding as she could. Odin struck the roof he was standing on with one pole of Laevatin and a strong wind blew. The human soldiers began to retreat as they fought off the elves. Odin leapt off the roof and began to help on taking on the elves and when everyone was huddled together to one side; Odin said a spell and a bright flash of light pushed the elves away.
And there was silence among the two assemblies.
“Retreat now and I will kill none of you!” Odin declared and when the elves did not answer, Odin spoke again, “I am Odin, son of the Jade Emperor Izanagi. A woman prayed to me and this village is now under my protection!” And Odin turned to Esmeralda, “Is everyone all right, Esmeralda?”
There was a rise of murmurs from the crowd and Esmeralda permitted herself a small smile saying, “Yes, my lord.” Then one of the elves lunged towards Odin to stab him with a knife and in a flash, a white wall of light came and sent the Dark Elf rebounding away.
“You will no longer bother this town!” Odin declared again, “Be gone!”
“What business does a god have in a war between men and elves!” an official from the side of the Dark Elves spoke. He had the trademark pointed ears, long black hair tied together in one end. He was of tall stature and wore a chain mail and a helmet and boots with spikes. His eyes were looking sternly at Odin as he came forward on a stallion with red eyes.
“A woman to whom I owe a great deal of favor prayed to me.” Odin replied seriously.
“Do you take me for a fool!” the Dark Elf official bellowed, taking a lance in hand as defiance.
“SILENCE!” Odin declared louder this time and a stronger gush of wind swept across the perimeter where they stood. The human men began to back away from the god probably in fear of getting involved.
“Do you take me for a liar or is that your way of saying you want me as your adversary!” Odin growled, gripping Laevatin and hitting the pavement with one of its poles. But before anything else happened, an elf came into the scene hurriedly and shouting, “Aesirs! Aesirs as frontlines, Sir!”
“WHAT! More Aesirs!?” The official gnarled, whipping towards his subordinate. Odin said nothing.
“Affirmative, Sir!”
“How many!?”
“Three, sir. A woman and two men!”
There was a loud roar from the Town Square. The men behind the Aesir of Light trembled in fear but stood ground. Odin’s eyes darted far and listened to its echo. It was Cerberus. He was sure. So Persephone took the side of the Dark Elves. But why?
“I know what you’re thinking.” The Dark Elf official said with a grin, “It is Cerberus.”
“Nobody’s asking.” Odin said, eyes fixed way past the elf as if trying to catch a glimpse of anything happening in the frontline. And as he did, he saw streaks of light across the sky.
Falling stars?
No. Something else.
Human myths say that if you see a Valkyrie in battle, you will die in that battle.
“Esmeralda.” Odin said, still looking at the sky, “Make sure everyone gets inside the shelter. Men, women and children.”
“But what about you, Master Odin?” Esmeralda asked.
“I will be all right. Take care of the villagers. They are my people now.”
Esmeralda did not know how to respond and the human soldiers did not wait for anything more. They hurried back to the shelter where their wives, mothers and children were waiting. Esmeralda continued to stand as the men went past her, staring at Odin but could only see his back. She knew Odin was a god but she could not help but fear for his safety. And then Esmeralda smiled and took the glance away. No, there should only be one image of him to be etched forever in her memory.
And she did not want this to be it.
“Such arrogance!” The Dark Elf official snarled and charged towards Odin, “You dare insult me with disregard!”
“You’re one to talk about arrogance.” Odin growled at him. Munin and Hugin swept down to aid their master and the God of Knowledge began to glow an angry white light as the stallion hurtled towards him.
The Valkyries coming at this battlefield’s early stage, Cerberus and Persephone… The plot was beginning to thicken. This isn’t a war between elves and humans any longer. And Odin was neither dumb nor blind.