Gift to the God

Gift to the God was a virtual representation of one of Eivor Varinsdottir's genetic memories, relived by Basim Ibn Ishaq in 2020 through the Portable Animus HR-8.5, in which a vision of one of Odin's memories could be seen.
==Description==
Havi was rescued by two dwarves, Sigrun and Halstein.
==Dialogue==
Havi silently remembered more of what he had said in his last conversation with Baldr.
*Havi: Baldr, do you think I fear fate? No, you and I, we forge our own paths... we are fate.
An injured Havi walked alongside his newfound allies.
*Havi: (groan)
Havi fell to his knees.
*Halstein: Havi? Are you well? Havi's not well.
*Havi: A passing weakness. It's nothing. We should continue.
*Halstein: Are you sure? We could rest a while.
*Havi: They kidnapped my son! Murdered his mother! I will not rest till I repay these wrongs!
Sigrun and Halstein looked at each other.
*Havi: Forgive me. You lifted me from that flyblown Hel, set me on my feet again. You do not deserve my rage.
*Sigrun: And you do not belong among the dead. Not yet. Now, come on. Your gift await.
Havi started to follow the dwarves.
*Havi: You still have not told me the nature of this gift, nor why you offer it.
*Sigrun: Its nature you will know soon enough. As to why... well, you have seen the suffering the Muspels brought to Svartalfheim.
*Halstein: Fire and ruin and slaughter. They made wasteland of our green meadows, and enslaved those they didn't kill.
*Havi: They keep your people as slaves?
*Halstein: Aye. Surtr works them for some dark purpose of his own. What that is, we don't yet know.
*Sigrun: We can't fight them, Havi. Our people are broken, forced into hiding. But now the tides of fate have washed the Lord of Asgard to our shores.
*Havi: I'm not your savior. I mean only to find my son and return him.
*Sigrun: Rid us of Surtr, and you might save us nonetheless. That is why we offer you our gift.
Havi kept following his dwarven allies to a secluded hall.
*Sigrun: Look upon the splendor of our halls, Havi.
*Havi: A sight to stir a careworn heart. In all the Nine Worlds, the crafters of Svartalfheim have no equal.
Havi and his dwarven allies arrived to find his gift, only to see a Muspel guard surveying the space. Havi and his friends hid from the guard's sight.
*Halstein: A Muspel! Oh, hammer and tongs, they're here!
*Sigrun: They're looking for the gift!
*Havi: This dolt dares to steal a gift intended for me?
*Sigrun: Havi, you have to stop them!
*Havi: With pleasure. Keep back. I will deal with this.
Havi went and quickly killed the Muspel guard.
*Halstein: Well done, Havi!
*Sigrun: We should search around here. Hopefully with better luck than that Muspel.
All three of them conducted a search.
*Sigrun: It must be around here somewhere!
*Havi: What are we looking for? I see nothing but stone.
*Sigrun: There should be a hidden catch... It's somewhere... right about... here!
Sigrun found the hidden compartment and took the gift from inside. Sigrun walked towards Havi.
*Sigrun: Take it, Lord of Asgard. Put it on. From the dwarves of Svartalfheim to you.
*Havi: This is a mighty gift, indeed.
*Halstein: Told you they'd like it.
*Havi: With this bracer, you can draw out the essence of fallen foes. Steal their powers and make them your own. Try it now, with that Muspel you killed.
Havi used the Hugr-Rip on the dead Muspel's corpse and unlocked the Power of Muspelheim.
*Havi: I feel it! Fire charges my blood!
*Sigrun: Aye, but you'll need more of it before you can take on their powers. Let's keep moving.
Havi, Halstein, and Sigrun walked forward until they were met by more Muspel warriors.
*Muspel Warrior 1: It's the Æsir! Sound the alarm!
*Halstein: Here they come! Protect us, Havi!
Havi fought with two Muspel guards.
*Muspel Warrior 2: Spawn of Asgard! Flame and ash take you!
Havi defeated the Muspel guards.
*Sigrun: Yes, Havi! Absorb the essence of those you slay to charge the bracer.
*Havi: A powerful incentive to kill the enemies of the dwarves.
*Halstein: Aye, it's almost as if we planned it or something.
Havi and his allies moved forward but the door was blocked on the other side.
*Halstein: The door's blocked! Barred from the other side!
*Sigrun: Calm yourself, sparrow-heart! Havi will find us a way around.
Havi started to find a way to open the door.
*Halstein: Let's be about our business quick! Where there's one Muspel, there'll be others.
*Havi: Let them come. I have death enough for all.
Using the Hugr-Rip, Havi activated the Power of Muspelheim to pass through the lava.
*Havi: I drew upon the Muspel's power, and the lava did not harm me. What other gifts might this bracer grant me?
Havi found his way down back to the ground level and heard his dwarven allies call for him.
*Sigrun: Havi? Are you there? Open the door!
*Halstein: They're taking too long! Oh, what if the Muspels got them? We're doomed!
*Sigrun: Stop your fretting. They'll be here.
Havi broke open the barred door.
*Halstein: I knew you could do it! Didn't I tell you, Sigrun?
*Sigrun: Aye, sure. You never doubted for an instant. Havi, your bracer's magic will run dry if you do not replenish it. Look around. See if there's something here that will help you to do so.
*Havi: The bracer feels weak. Drained of power... Perhaps remnants of hugr abide in that shrine. I should check.
Havi looked around.
*Havi: The bracer grows weak. I must find a way to revitalize it.
Havi soon found and used a Yggdrasil Shrine, to which Havi sacrificed a portion of his health to replenish the Hugr-Rip.
*Havi: I can sense the bracer... speaking to the shrine. As if they are alive to one another.
*Halstein: No, Havi, not the shrine! It is sacred!
*Havi: Nothing is sacred anymore. The bracer grows strong once more.
*Sigrun: We must hurry. If the enemy found these hidden halls, they can find the shelter.
*Havi: Shelter?
*Halstein: A sanctuary. A secret hideaway only the dwarves know. When the invasion began, our people took refuge in such places.
*Havi: But the threat of discovery means we're always on the move. Halstein and I left our own shelter in search of resources. When we returned...
*Halstein: Everyone was gone! Leaving nothing but a secret sign to show us how to follow.
*Havi: That shelter is somewhere nearby. We'd better find our companions before the Muspels do.
Havi and his new friends came by another closed door.
*Halstein: Another door? By Ymir's bones! What we've done to deserve this?
Havi activated the Power of the Muspelheim again and traveled through the lava again. Havi went on the other side of the door and saw Hugr Blooms.
*Havi: Those flowers.... Like the shrine, they call out to the bracer... though their voices are but faint.
Havi opened the barred door.
*Sigrun: The High One always finds a way, no matter the obstacle.
*Havi: Obstacle? It was just a door, Sigrun.
Havi used the Hugr Blooms to replenish his Hugr-Rip.
*Havi: These flowers are useful when it comes to revitalizing my powers.
Havi and his dwarven friends moved forward until they across a broken floor.
*Halstein: The floor... it's gone.
*Sigrun: If that block of stone was closer, we could make the jump. The Muspels and their fire-sludge. It's everywhere.
*Havi: I will move that block nearer so we can make it across.
Havi utilized the Power of Muspelheim and moved the block of stone for the dwarves to cross.
*Halstein: Thanks, Havi! I knew you wouldn't let us down!
*Havi: And I never will. You saved my life not so long ago... I will forever be in your debt.
Havi and his allies found themselves the exit out as Havi replenished his Hugr-Rip.
*Halstein: Havi, the bracer... It allowed you to take on the guise of a Muspel.
*Havi: Then I shall use this new trick to my advantage. I will walk among them, yet not be one of them.
*Halstein: Havi, do you see those guards ahead? Why don't you approach as if one of them, and then give them a big nasty surprise?
Havi activated the Power of Muspelheim and launched a stealth attack on the two Muspel guards, swiftly defeating them.
*Sigrun: Well done, Havi. Now, let's be on our way.
Havi and his dwarven friends left the area and headed outside. Outside, they caught sight of a Muspelheim alarm, which made Havi tell his allies to hide. Approaching it, Havi was met with Sinmara and her elite squad, who rose from the lava.
*Havi: Sinmara.
Sinmara signaled her soldiers to disperse.
*Sinmara: I thought I heard the mewing of an Aesir kitten. My husband should have stamped on you when he had the chance. But mercy is no flaw of mine.
*Havi: I will see red vengeance on all of you for what you have done.
Sinmara laughed.
*Sinmara: And I will enjoy watching you fail.
Havi and Sinmara fought.
*Sinmara: You should have stayed in Asgard!
Soon, Havi disarmed Sinmara, who fell back to the alarm.
*Sinmara: You fight well. Better than your woman, at least.
*Havi: Come at me, then! Let's finish this!
Sinmara grabbed her axe.
*Havi: Oh, I'll be back. I will hunt you to the far corners of the Nine Worlds. Treasure every moment, Havi, for death is at your heels, and you know not the hour it will find you.
Havi quickly activated the Power of Muspelheim and charged at Sinmara.
*Havi: Sinmara! Damn you to Hel!
However, Sinmara quickly disappeared into the lava. Havi also acquired an atgeir, The Impaler. Havi met with his allies afterwards.
*Halstein: You beat Sinmara! I'd never dreamed I'd see it! Fate has truly sent us a hero!
*Havi: Fate bends to my will. Now, show me this shelter of yours.
*Sigrun: The sign they left us spoke of a hidden path. Look around in the woods. That will set us on our way.
Havi followed Sigrun and Halstein as they soon came across an abandoned barrel with a dwarf mark.
*Sigrun: That symbol! A dwarf-mark. It points the way to the shelter.
*Halstein: Let's examine the map for any clues.
Sigrun discussed the map of Svartalfheim with Havi.
*Sigrun: See here, Havi. This is a map of Svartalfheim. You can see the shelter should be nearby. There are other shelters too. We only have a rough idea of their locations, but when you get close, you'll see the signs.
All three of them kept following the sign.
*Halstein: I can't wait to see their faces when we arrive! Fimbar, Hroth, old Grott and his dirty beard.
*Sigrun: Fimbar still owes me twenty silver from losing at cards. Bet he thought he got away with it, too.
*Halstein: Remind me never to play you at cards.
*Sigrun: Ha! The day you part with a coin is the day the sky falls down.
They soon found another clue on a broken-down cart.
*Halstein: Another! We must be getting close!
*Havi: It is a hard path we walk, and well-hidden.
*Sigrun: Has to be, or else the Muspels will find it. But day by day, they're learning to read the signs.
*Halstein: And once that happens, no dwarf will ever be safe again.
On a trail, they could not find the next mark.
*Halstein: Where is the next sign? It should be here!
*Sigrun: Hidden, perhaps? Let's look around.
Havi looked around and found a shelter sign on a huge barrel up a trail.
*Halstein: You found it, Havi!
*Sigrun: Good work. Let's be on our way, then.
Havi, Sigrun, and Halstein followed the sign.
*Sigrun: We are getting closer.
*Halstein: You sure about that?
*Sigrun: Yes. We should go left after the next sign.
*Halstein: No, no. I'm certain it's to the right.
*Sigrun: You are mistaken as usual. Follow my lead.
Havi followed the dwarves until they came at a dead end.
*Sigrun: Hmm. Might be I took a wrong turn.
*Halstein: I told you, didn't I? Less haste, more care. Let's retrace our steps.
The group retraced their step and went right. Soon, they found another shelter sign.
*Sigrun: Yes, yes, this is the right path. The Sons of Ivaldi have steered us true, I see it now.
*Halstein: "Have a little faith, Halstein! I know what I'm doing, Halstein!"
*Sigrun: Oh, shut your face.
*Havi: Who are these Sons of Ivaldi you mentioned? Ivaldi is a name well known to me, but he never spoke of children.
*Halstein: Yes, he was your slave once, wasn't he?
*Sigrun: Halstein.
*Halstein: Oh. Sorry. Perhaps slave wasn't the right word. Your freedom-deficient associate.
*Sigrun: The Sons of Ivaldi are those who follow Ivaldi's teachings. We're not all male, either, though you can be sure whoever came up with the name was.
*Halstein: Ivaldi learned much from the Aesir during his time in Asgard. Not least the value of being prepared for unexpected attack.
*Sigrun: After his return, we set up a network of shelters. Boltholes, in case of disaster.
*Halstein: It's thanks to us there are any dwarves left free at all. If freedom's what you can call it.
*Sigrun: Speaking of which, first order of business is to find the chief and warn him about those Muspels. Else there'll be no one left for us to protect.
Havi, Sigrun, and Halstein arrive at one of the entrances of Jordber Shelter. The chief, Brudd, soon came out to meet them.
*Brudd: Sigrun and Halstein! Well, slap my bollocks and call me an elf! You found us! And with all those Muspels on our doorstep!
*Sigrun: You know about the Muspels?
*Brudd: Wouldn't be much of a chief if I didn't! Hope you didn't wear yourself out coming to warn us!
*Halstein: Actually, we kind of did...
*Brudd: And who's this you've got with you?
*Havi: I am Havi, called Wolf's-Bane, Raven-God, the High One of Asgard.
*Brudd: That right? They call me Brudd. Arse-Scratcher, Snot-Snorter, He of the Crusty Toe.
*Sigrun: Havi is here because we have an enemy in common. Surtr has taken his son captive.
*Halstein: He fought Sinmara to a standstill. I saw it!
*Brudd: Surtr, eh? Any enemy of that overstacked stack of hearth-sweepings is a friend of mine. Come inside. You two, get some rest.
They all started to head inside the shelter.
*Sigrun: Wait, Havi. Before you go, I have another gift. We would not have made it here without you.
*Havi: Nor I without you, my friends. I'd say we're even.
*Sigrun: Take it all the same. It's silica. Bring it to a blacksmith, and they will put it to good use on your behalf.
*Havi: Thank you, Sigrun. And you, Halstein. May our paths cross again soon.
They all entered within Jordber Shelter.
*Brudd: Silica! You must have done something right! That stuff's rarer than hen's teeth these days.
*Havi: The Muspels?
*Brudd: Aye. They seized the mines, and now they guard 'em carefully, bunch of overly flammable bastards. Still, if you ever need more, you're welcome to slaughter your way to one of their stockpiles.
*Havi: My son is in Surtr's clutches. I have no time for diversions.
*Brudd: Might be you change your mind once you see it put to use. Let me show you our blacksmith.
Brudd showed Havi to the shelter's blacksmith.
*Grungir: Salutations, Chief! Who's your friend here?
*Brudd: They've got too many names to remember. All you need to know is, they've got silica.
*Grungir: And a bracer of such craftsmanship as makes my hammer-arm weak with envy! That's a fine thing indeed. But maybe not so fine that it can't be enhanced somewhat. Any half decent blacksmith should be able to help you improve it. Assuming you have the right materials, of course.
*Brudd: Others here will be glad of a stranger's silver. Look around awhile, if you like.
*Havi: You know my purpose. I have no time to tarry here.
*Havi: "He asks for death who goes to battle unprepared." I'll see you at the entrance when you're ready.
Brudd left as Havi overheard one of the shelter's fugitives.
*Dwarven Fugitive 1: I ain't one to complain, but there is far too much work.
After he looked around the shelter, Havi met with Brudd at the shelter's entrance. Both Havi and Brudd started to talk and walk away from the shelter.
*Brudd: You know, you ain't the first stranger to come around here. A while back, our scouts saw a Jotun creeping about, name of Hyrrokin.
*Havi: Hyrrokin? No doubt she flees the wrath of Suttungr and Gunlodr. Hers was not a name I expected to hear in this place. Her presence may be an ill omen, or it might mean nothing at all.
*Brudd: You Asgardians like to be vague, don't you? Walk with me now. Let's have some straight talk.
*Havi: One thing puzzles me. You cower in these holes like rabbits. Why not fight back?
*Brudd: We fought at first. Fought hard. But they hit our leaders, scattered us. Once they divided us, we were done.
*Havi: Then join together! Raise your axes and throw them off!
*Brudd: That simple, eh? Look, we don't even know where the others are. The shelters were planned so that if one of us was caught, we couldn't give them all away. But you could find 'em, I'd wager.
*Havi: My business is with Surtr. And rescuing my son.
*Brudd: You might have noticed that Surtr can't be killed. Could be a problem.
*Havi: I will find a way. Or else, I will seize what he values most, and trade it for Baldr's freedom.
*Brudd: Either way you'll need our aid. You don't know an inch of this land. Listen, Havi. I understand. This isn't your war. You just want your son back. But those Muspels on our doorstep, they ain't no joke. If they find us, we're dead meat. Thing about Muspels, though, is they love to fight amongst themselves. All that's stopping them is fear of Surtr. Take out their leader, they'll tear themselves apart. Flee back to Muspelheim, most likely.
*Havi: And Svartalfheim will once again belong to the dwarves.
*Brudd: Dwarves who'll be very, very grateful to the one who delivered them. There's more gifts where that bracer came from.
*Havi: I make you no promise. But I will seek out your shelters. Perhaps there I will find the means to save Baldr.
*Brudd: Good enough for now.
Both Brudd and Havi found themselves staring out over Svartalfheim together.
*Brudd: Welcome to Svartalfheim, Havi. From here, you're on your own.
==Outcome==
Havi was saved and brought to one of the dwarves shelter by the Sons of Ivaldi. Havi proclaimed to find a way to save his son, Baldr, from Surtr.
==References==
*Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Dawn of Ragnarök
Category:Memories of Eivor Varinsdottir
Category:Memories relived using the Animus HR-8.5
fr:Cadeau à la divinité