Yggdra

"By blood we are borne, and thus by blood we shall fight!"

These were the words spoken by the men and women of the Yggdra Clan, the defenders of the Nine Realms, and to whom humanity owed a great debt. The Aesir Gods had grown tired of the affairs of Midgard, declaring war upon humanity in order to put an end to the chaos. Odin, the All-Father, led the charge personally, wiping out countless villages with his spells and trickery. He sparked wars between Clans, started whispers and rumors that there were plans to overthrow one king or another. Thus, mankind was divided, and Odin's army of Dead Warriors grew ever larger, an omen of things to come. Thor, son of Odin, took a more personal approach to the purging, attacking village after village in a drunken rage, storm clouds following his every step.

Loki, blood-brother of Odin, took pity on mankind. His children, Hel, Jormangandr, and Fenrir, had all suffered greatly because of the All-Father and his fear of a cataclysmic event that would end in his death: Ragnarok. Loki knew that if he were to spark Ragnarok early, it could very well mean the end of the Nine Realms. However, in order to save the Midgard, he made the choice. Loki travelled the realms, seeking out his children to prepare them for the day they were born for, finding the wolf-beast Fenrir sealed within the same cave that Odin had left him in for countless eons. upon seeing his father, whom had allowed the sealing of the wolf, Fenrir growled in contempt. Loki spoke not, simply undoing the ribbon Gleipnir that kept his child bound.

With a mighty howl, the wolf of Ragnarok was free to hun his query: Odin. However, Loki knew that if Thor were to intervene, he and his father would be able to overpower his son. That problem would be solved by Loki's second son: Jormangandr. The World Serpent, who was destined to kill Thor, was sealed beneath Yggdrasil, the World Tree. The journey through the roots was long, and arduous. Jormangandr was large enough to rap around the whole of Midgard, and yet the World Tree was even larger.

When Loki found his child, his heart was pierced with sorrow. The World Serpent, slayer of Thor, was naught but bones and blood, the roots of the World Tree drinking in the deep crimson of the snake. A spear pierced the skull of the once great serpent, the telltale sign of Odin, who had somehow found a way to slay the giant.

Loki returned to the base of the tree, his tears of grief further nourishing it's mighty bough, the leaves and branches quaking and resonating with a force of energy that even the god of trickery himself could hardly resist. From this resonation, and perhaps the tears and blood of Loki's kin, came a brilliant golden fruit, it's size as big as the head of Jormangandr. As it fell to the ground, Loki could see countless forms, all appearing to be humanoid, through the semi-translucent flesh of the fruit. Using a dagger, he attempted to free the forms, but found his efforts wasted.

Deigning the fruit a false hope, the trickster departed for Helheim, his daughter awaiting his word to unleash the Dishonorable Dead unto the battlefield to combat Odin's armies. When her father arrived, she saw a broken man, a man who had his hopes ripped from him in an instant. She sought to comfort him, her half-dead face a grimace of understanding. Loki explained everything. The loss of Jormangandr, the strange fruit that had appeared, and the culprit of the murder. This threw Hel into a rage. She summoned the Dishonorable Dead, unleashing them on Midgard in order to seek out and destroy the All-Father. Loki would have seen the obvious tactical disadvantage if he were not blinded by grief.

In the end, Odin claimed victory over Fenrir, once more sealing the unkillable beast in the cave where he had been found. Hel's army was next, the army of Valhalla easily erasing their souls from existence. Hel was then bound in shackles and thrown into the burning pits of Muspelheim, doomed to an eternity of burning agony.

As for Loki, he retreated to the roots of Yggdrasil, watching over the fruit as well as the corpse of Jormangandr. The flesh of the fruit, still uncuttable by any weapon, reflected the trickster's face of anguish. He had doomed all of his children with his actions, all of whom would now suffer and die for it. He watched from the World tree as Odin wiped out countless clans of Humans, with nothing to stop his rampage.

Perhaps sorrow had taken the mind of Loki when he began to scream and smash at the body of Jormangandr. Perhaps it was his desire to fix everything. Whatever it might have been, the shards of the bones left behind by the World Serpent flew past the fruit, each one leaving a small slit along it's flesh, until finally, to the shock of Loki, the figures burst forth in a blinding light.

Loki stood in amazement, and perhaps a little fear, at the massive army that stood before him. Two of them walked forward, both wearing golden scale armor and wielding heavy looking shields and axes. The man, a fair skinned black haired brute, kneeled before Loki.

"I am Lokir, son of Yggdrasil, and patron to the Yggdra Clan." he said, his emerald eyes reflecting in those of Loki's

The woman spoke next, kneeling in the same fashion.

"I am Mjoll, matron of the Clan Yggdra, daughter of the World Tree. We swear to you our undying allegiance in the war against the All-Father."

Loki was taken aback slightly by the sight of the tan woman, her eyes were pale, her hair a bright white. The fruit of the World Tree was large enough to house an entire people, therefore it must have created entire civilizations for there to be any diversity.

"I am Loki. By my blood are you bourn, and by blood you will fight! We move to combat the armies of Valhalla, and to end the rampage of the All-Father! Prepare your strongest men and women, for the march begins now!"

A chorus of yells and roars echoed from the crowd, as Loki began to lead them up from the roots of Yggdrasil and towards Midgard, where Odin's army was preparing to wipe the last scions of man from existence. The All-Father, upon witnessing his blood-brothers betrayal, commanded his armies to halt their attack on man, and to instead bring him the head of the Trickster God.

The Yggdra Clan, at the signal from Loki, met with the Armies of Valhalla head on, steel clashing with steel, dust and blood obscuring the battlefield. Loki found himself dueling Odin amidst the carnage, the All-Father easily outclassing the Trickster, Loki going to stab Odin, only to be met with a spear to the arm, severing it from his body. The blood of Loki soaked the ground beneath him, as Odin prepared to bring his spear down. However, before he could strike the final blow, the thud of something heavy slammed down behind him. turning to confront this new adversary, Odin looked on in horror as his son, Thor, was beheaded by Lokir, Mjolnir falling to the ground in front of the lifeless corpse. The All-Father struck out in rage, attempting to skewer Lokir, who stared at the god confidently. It wasn't until the sting of Mjol's axe severing Odin's arm from his body registered to him, that he realized what he was dealing with.

"You are... the will of Yggdrasil itself..." The All-father sputtered, falling to his knees. All at once the fighting stopped, the Armies of Valhalla beginning to fade from the world, leaving only Odin and his foes. Loki stood, grasping his bleeding wound, Mjol and Lokir lifting the All-Father by the arm and neck.

"Midgard must be reborn. And it will be by Odin's blood that we cultivate the fruits that will become the new race of Humanity."

Thus spoke at once the Clan of Yggdra, or perhaps it was Yggdrasil itself speaking through them. The clan returned to the World Tree, hanging Odin's body from it's branches, his blood dripping into the roots, until countless fruits were borne, a new race of men with the strength of gods soon inhabiting Midgard.

As for Loki and his kin, they all met once more before the end. The dawn of the new kingdom left no room for the gods of old. Fenrir was unbound in time to watch as he, his father, and sister were all erased from the world. Odin, as well, was wiped from existence. The World Tree soon withered into dust, along with the Yggdra Clan. The world was born anew, with Midgard at it's center, now called Earth by the inhabitants. As for the tale of the Yggdra Clan... Few are able to recall what transpired. However, the final gift to the new race of man was a pair of fruits, to whom the eaters would grant knowledge of the events that transpired. One fruit found its way into the hands of a young maiden. The other, to the grandfather of a young scribe.

And so, the Tale of Yggdra lives on.