Lightning in the Lanterns of Fortune

The gods punishment can be cruel, depending upon the law, but far more cruel is being cursed with such depth of love for the fool who broke it. My very soul lies broken with you upon this punishment my husband, but I shall never leave your side. Daughter to the Æsir, Lady who rules over loyalty , faithfulness... compassion, I leave not mine husband to face this ill fortune alone.

Skaði perched the venomous serpent above you to torture you with her wicked venom. Our sons are utterly spent, Nari's very entrails used to bind you to your torture, but they had not reckoned that I had come to love you. I, the "victory bringer" have loved you, Loki... with a love like no other. Each jâer only brings us closer as I languish in this pool of night by your side.

Angrboða cannot give you the love that you deserve. She does not know the lighting in my veins that cries out for your touch. She cannot see the lantern light of your eyes, that pierces my soul to its depths.

Nay. I alone have loved thee when all else has perished. Even as I must leave you to empty the venomous vessel, the very earth shakes from your torture. But, on my return to catch the venom that you may live, so that you may endure this torture, you are ever the phoenix, rising from the ashes of death and returning to the glorious god you were meant to be.

Oh that you could witness the solstice of my love for you that rises above my own need; the outcry for your desire that lingers upon my heart like the venom I have captured to save you alive.

And I have loved you like the songs of the siren mermaid, ever beckoning you into the safety of my arms. My reward for such passion, repaid with indifference, quells my verlangen until those eyes once again light upon me and I emerge the shadows emboldened by your gaze.

Was it your hand that murdered Odin's son, Baldr? Nay, but the hand of Höd. Each man is accountable unto their own deeds, my love. How could he not know his brother's own secret of the mistletoe? Odin stole your children and you have stolen his. Oh the pain of Angrboða's loss... and now my own. My Váli, mine Nari will never breathe again! And for that, my love, I am with thee; ever at your beckoned call.

When Fimbulvetr comes, its icy breath sending the sun into the sea and the clans of Ásgardr into battle against one another, you shall rise as according to your royal right. I shall bear you many sons, as many heirs as the seashells of the mighty waters and you shall overcome them all... if you but stay with me here, now. Do not perish here, my love, for I shall surely die with thee from grief and sorrow.

Follow the map that is written in my heart and you shall find respite for now, knowing that the shelter of my love will keep thee until Ragnarök comes, until your Fenrir shall cleave Odin limb from limb for his misdeeds, and all of our sons shall be avenged in that day. Lesser gods shall perish in the sea of forgetfulness, but your mighty feats shall be remembered unto eternity.

Who can know a man's hjartaðr, Elskan, elskan mín? (... a man's heart, love, my love?) No one; only his Fylgja and his woman. Should the cycle of the moon wither and die, and should all that the world knows meet it's end, let them see that I am Sigyn, daughter of the Æsir, and I have loved thee Loki Laufeyson like the dew upon the fading flowers in the gardens of Valhalla, like the glory of a single white feather as it lilts through the air in its fall from the sky. I shall claw out the eyes of any who stand in our way, my love. And together we shall empty every chasm of Niflheimr and pull down the very walls of Ásgardr! You shall reign in Ginnungagap, and I shall love you in spite of foul deeds, because I am Sigyn, soul mate to Loki, God of the night!

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This answer to the challenge is brought to you by old Norse Mythology. I saw the name "Sigyn" in the crossword, and I couldn't resist. The words from the puzzle used in the story are in italics. Below this short back story is a lexicon of the meaning of the old Norse words used.

Odin was so upset over the fact that Loki had married and conceived children with the frost giantess, Angrboða, that he basically judged and stole away his children of that marriage. One of them, he whom liked, he made ruler over the dead. Another, he tossed into the sea, and the third, a wolf named Fenrir, he was afraid of, so he banished him.

Angry, Loki retaliates by causing the blind god, Höd, to hurl mistletoe at Odin's son, Baldr. Höd had no knowing that this would kill Baldr. As retribution, Odin and the other Gods turned Loki's son Váli into a wolf, who immediately killed his brother, Nari. Then they bound Loki to rocks in a cave, using Nari's entrails, with a venomous snake strapped to a stalactite above him. As the venom fell upon him, the pain was so great that he struggled and the earth shook. This was to be Loki's fate until Ragnarök, but his wife, Sigyn, the goddess of faithfulness and compassion, took pity on Loki.

She held a cistern above him to catch the venom. In the moments when she would go to dump the cistern, the venom would torture Loki and he would cause earthquakes as he writhed in agony. No one understood why Sigyn took pity on Loki. He was a player. He was married to someone else also, and he slept around on both of them. I think, for my part, the breaking point was probably the Gods killing her children to torture him. Sigyn had a very deep capacity for love and compassion. This is my idea of the kind of love letter she would have written to Loki.

NORSE WORDS:

1.) Ragnarök - likened to our Armageddon, this is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish

2.) Æsir - The Æsir are the gods of the principal pantheon in Old Norse religion and Norse mythology. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir, these two pantheons waged war against each other, resulting in a unified pantheon.

3.) Skaði - In Norse mythology, Skaði is a jötunn and goddess associated with bowhunting, skiing, winter, and mountains

4.) Jâer - A Year

5.) Angrboða - a jötunn in Norse mythology. She is the mate of Loki and the mother of monsters. She is only mentioned once in the Poetic Edda as the mother of Fenrir by Loki.

6.) Fimbulvetr - From Old Norse, meaning 'awful, mighty winter'. The prefix fimbul means 'mighty' so the literal interpretation is 'mighty winter'. This event is the predecessor to Ragnarök.

7.) Verlangen - longing

8.) Baldr - The son of Odin and Frigg. Beautiful and just, he was the favorite of the gods. Many stories tell how the gods amused themselves by throwing objects at him, knowing that he was immune from harm. Loki tricked the blind god, Höd into hurling mistletoe at him, because it was the only thing that could kill him.

9.) Höd - A blind god, associated with night and darkness. Höd was also the son Odin, and his wife, Frigg.

10) Fenrir - Also called Fenrisúlfr, monstrous wolf of Norse mythology. He was the son of the demoniac god Loki and a giantess, Angrboða

11.) Ásgardr - The dwelling place of the gods, comparable to the Greek Mount Olympus. Legend divided Asgard into 12 or more realms, including Valhalla, the home of Odin and the abode of heroes slain in earthly battle; Thrudheim, the realm of Thor; and Breidablik, the home of Balder.

12.) Ginnungagap - The primordial, magical void mentioned in three poems from the Poetic Edda and the Gylfaginning, the Eddaic text recording Norse cosmogony.

13.) Niflheimr - A location which sometimes overlaps with the notions of Niflhel and Hel, the land of the dead.

14.) Fylgja - A supernatural being or spirit which accompanies a person in connection to their fate or fortune.

15.) Hjartaðr - Heart

16.) Elskan - Love, Sweetheart

17.) Elskan mín - My Love