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The Fires of Muspelheim

Page 29

by Matt Larkin


  Only so it could come crumbling down again.

  And if he crushed this seed between his palms? If he, instead of planting it as he was meant to do, destroyed the seed of creation? Would that break the cycle?

  Breaths irregular, he held the pulsating seed up before his face. In his mind’s eye, he could see himself drawing a little pneuma. Smashing his hands together. Obliterating the beginning so that he would never again have to live through the end.

  What would they do, if took such a tack? Would the whole world cease to exist as the timeline began to unravel? Would he, in a sense, actually unmake both reality and his merciless masters?

  So … very … easy …

  To let this fire be the last fire. To let all end. And in so doing, perhaps buy himself respite from this interminable agony.

  Of course, Loki would not do so. Could not. And not only because of the implication, the fear of what a breaking of the cycle would mean, of what the dark powers would do.

  No. He could not destroy the seed of life, because, as soul-crushing as it was, still, there was something in life that made it worthwhile. That it ended, must always end, did not invalidate the joys experienced along the way. That life came from the primordial darkness and to the darkness would return did not mean glimpsing the the light lost its meaning.

  Because … because he would see them again.

  All those who had gone would now have returned to the Wheel of Life.

  Odin, Loki’s blood brother. No—not just blood brother. For they shared a deeper bond than blood, bound together in the web of souls. Along with Hel, his precious daughter, and Sigyn.

  Oh, Sigyn …

  If he shut his eyes, he could almost feel her fingertips tracing the line of his cheek. Whispering, without the need for words, the purity of love.

  If souls were fragments of light existing in a world of darkness, then love, the love they shared, it was beams of that light, poking out through the cracks. A single reminder that this dark existence was not everything they were.

  The howling wind whipped his hair about his face, but Loki hardly noticed anymore.

  In creating the eschaton cycle, he had created unfathomable pain for himself, and for whose souls were drawn ever to his own. For Odin and his loved ones.

  But he had done it with a reason, with a hope, that against all odds, a beam of light might shine through, unexpected, and catch off guard the forces that might have otherwise snuffed it out.

  The hope of light, emerging through the sea of time, forged in the crucible of suffering.

  Which meant, Loki needed to find a place to plant this seed, to shelter it and watch it grow, and allow the rise of another era.

  The eschaton cycle must continue to play out, at least a little while longer, for after all, Loki’s last, greatest gambit had not yet played itself out.

  Join the Skalds’ Tribe and get access to exclusive reader rewards like The Ragnarok Era Codex, as well getting free books like Darkness Forged and notifications on release dates and sales.

  https://www.mattlarkinbooks.com/go-ragnarok/

  Want maps, character bios, and background information on the Ragnarok Era? Look no further.

  Author’s Ramblings

  Almost no author should (or does) publish their first book. Probably not their first several. One of my earliest projects was a book I wrote and rewrote. A historical fantasy hinging on a man delving through time, partly via prescience, in a series called Eschaton. A book I eventually planned to title, Sea of Time.

  After writing it twice, I also realized, for this to be all I wanted it to be, I needed to further develop my craft. Like most author’s early books, it was a hot mess of set piece scenes, big ideas, and poorly arranged structure. So, knowing this, I began crafting other stories in the setting, mostly as prequels. Tales that, in many cases, Sea of Time had always presupposed as being ancient history.

  Skipping over all the intervening projects, that eventually led me to the Gods of the Ragnarok Era series, in which I was able to explore the same concepts of cyclical history, fate, free will, and reincarnation that I still plan to when I finally come back to my original project. This series evolved into something of its own, something I’m proud of. Something truly epic. Something, where I could care about the characters, even if many of them were deeply flawed (or maybe because of that).

  So it’s bittersweet, saying goodbye to them.

  While Gods of the Ragnarok Era covers a four hundred year saga chronicling the rise and fall of the Ás dynasty, in its essence, the series is ultimately about the relationship between two best friends.

  Loki said: ‘Do you remember, Odin, when in bygone days we blended our blood together? You said you’d never imbibe beer unless it were brought to both of us.’

  —Carolyne Larrington. The Poetic Edda (Oxford World's Classics)

  Odin and Loki become blood brothers. Loki, as we see in later books, knows all along it won’t end well for them, but still cannot stop himself from loving Odin as a brother. Part of this is empathy, maybe even guilt at knowing what he’s putting the man through, and part of it is the natural reaction to Odin’s own fraternal sentiments.

  Loki, as one of a handful of immortals from the dawn of time, finds himself called up to serve as a slave to history. Odin meets him as Prometheus, in an early era, and sees Loki’s development, his own feeling of powerlessness before urd, and finally gains sympathy for the man. Like the cycle of time, Odin’s feelings of kinship for Loki come full circle by the end, though of course it’s too late, at least in this iteration of the world.

  The entire Ragnarok series of events ultimately unfolds as a conflict between Odin and his brother, and their two families—their wives and children. Their families tear each other apart, as Loki, on some level, always knew they would.

  I want to touch briefly on why I left out or changed a few characters from their roots. Norse mythology is already massive, a huge collection of stories that don’t always fit well together chronologically. Factor into this meshing the whole of a mythology into the greater Eschaton Cycle framework, and the undertaking becomes massive enough to give Thor himself pause. More importantly, though, many of the changes I made here revolved around creating the more powerful family drama, and the more compelling arcs for the major characters.

  Consequently, for example, instead of Tyr dying in his fight with Garm, I’ve reused Fenrir (who was possibly the same character anyway). This also necessitated the removal of the character Vidarr, a son of Odin supposed to avenge him by killing Fenrir. But, given the history Tyr has with the wolf, no other ending would have worked as well.

  This conservation of characters is also why Thor, rather than Váli, avenges Baldr’s death by killing Hödr (and why Hödr is Loki’s son, rather than Odin’s). I didn’t make these changes lightly, but rather in the firm belief it would create the most powerful tale possible from the elements available.

  Will I write more books set in the Ragnarok Era? Almost certainly, someday.

  In the meantime, though, the Eschaton Cycle (which eventually became the name for the entire universe of retold myths, legends, fairytales, and history) compels me to explore the other eras. Time periods before (and in some cases after) the Ragnarok Era, which have been only touched upon in this series. And that’s both exciting and intimidating.

  But this one, while far from my first work, certainly will always hold a special place in my heart.

  Thanks to my wife for helping me bring this story to life. Also, special thanks to my cover designer and to my Arch Skalds (in no particular order): Al, Tanya, Jackie, Dale, Missy, Bill, Rachel, Kaye, Mike, Scott, Graham, Martha, Dawn, and Regina.

  Thank you for reading,

  Matt

  P.S. Now that you’ve read The Fires of Muspelheim, I would really appreciate it if you’d leave a review! Reviews help new readers find my work, so they’re very helpful. Thank you in advance for helping me build and grow my author career!

  Foll
ow me on BookBub:

  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/matt-larkin

  Books by Matt Larkin

  Gods of the Ragnarok Era

  The Ragnarok Era is a dark fantasy retelling of Norse mythology, chronicling Odin’s rise to godhood. If you love old legends, tragic mythology, and action-packed reads, check out The Ragnarok Era now!

  https://www.mattlarkinbooks.com/series/ragnarok/

  Legends of the Ragnarok Era

  Legends of the Ragnarok Era expands on the world developed in The Ragnarok Era series by delivering dark tales outside the main series narrative. Fans of mythology should not miss this epic series.

  https://www.mattlarkinbooks.com/series/ragnaroklegend/

  Runeblade Saga

  The Runeblade Saga is a series of dark fantasy sword and sorcery adventures set in the world of The Ragnarok Era. Filled with plenty of grim action, tragic heroes, and more than a bit of horror, these books are for fans of mythology and sword & sorcery alike.

  https://www.mattlarkinbooks.com/series/runeblade/

  For my wife. Always.

  THE FIRES OF MUSPELHEIM

  Gods of the Ragnarok Era Book 9

  MATT LARKIN

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, businesses, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2018 MATT LARKIN

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

  Published by Incandescent Phoenix Books

  mattlarkinbooks.com

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Prologue

  Part I Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Part II Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Part III Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Part IV Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Epilogue

  Skalds’ Tribe

  Author’s Ramblings

  Books by Matt Larkin

  Dedication

  Copyright

 

 

 


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