614 DCXIV. The Vàlaskjàlf (1/2)

”Hey, wait” Fulla said, resting a hand on Dag's shoulder and causing him to retreat, walking in front of him.

Soon after, the two colossal golden statues by the door came to life and crossed their long spears, preventing anyone from passing without permission.

Dag, who did not expect to see two inanimate objects moving, stepped back.

”I'm Fulla and he's the mortal the Alfather talks so much about. Let us through, he is waiting for us” the girl exclaimed with a serious expression as if she was not afraid of the giant humanoid faces that were looking at her.

The two statues depicted two colossal Viking warriors, identical in every detail: heavy armor covered their bodies and helmets horned their heads.

Both spears they held were similar to Gungnir, the infallible weapon.

Without saying a word, the guardians of the Vàlaskjàlf raised their weapons and let the visitors through, opening the heavy silver door for them.

*boom*

A deep noise marked the opening of the majestic door, which finally showed Dag the interior of the palace: a very wide entrance hall stretched for hundreds of meters and in its center, a statue of the Alfather slightly smaller than the guardians of the door had the spear in his hands and with his eye looked towards the exit.

Along the circular walls, which took up the shape of the base of the palace, there were artifacts and relics of all kinds.

Dag, unable to resist the temptation, without asking permission, walked away from Fulla, approaching the wall, in particular a kind of glass showcase.

Inside of it, there was a thick braid of blonde hair, tied by a rope at both the top and bottom.

”To whom does this hair belong? Why are they here among all of these relics?” Dag asked, knowing Fulla was behind him.

”In this room, there are all the most important objects for the Alfather. Some of them were destroyed during the Frostsinners' assault, but most of them remained intact. What you're looking at is a braid from the hair of Bestla, Odin's mother” Fulla explained, who knew by heart every object in the entrance to the royal palace, like all the servants of the Gods.

”Bestla? Do you mean the ice giantess? Mimir's sister and...”

”And Borr's bride, yes, I'm talking about her” the handmaid continued, who felt some satisfaction with Dag's enthusiasm.

”Amazing... the sister of the wisest of giants... it is said that it was precisely because of Mimir that the Alfather lost an eye... is it true?” Dag continued, who could not believe that such ancient legends could be real and tangible.

”Shall we proceed?” he exclaimed, suddenly turning to her handmaid and explicitly asking her to continue their walk to the throne room, avoiding wasting any more time and being distracted by all those relics.

Fulla smiled and with a gentle movement of her hand invited him to follow her.

Behind the large Alfather statue, a circular staircase led to the second floor of that high tower.

Every step, every detail of the carved wall, every edge, and every corner, was made of pure silver.

Continuing to climb to the top of the tower, Dag could not help but be amazed more and more: on the second floor, other precious relics and statues slightly smaller than those of the entrance adorned its corners.

In addition to Thor and Frigg, the colossal stone works depicted Vìli and Vè, the Alfather's two brothers.

Going from floor to floor, Dag retraced Odin's genealogy, seeing before him the statues of all those who had preceded and succeeded him, of all the Gods and Goddesses who had somehow helped maintain the balance among the nine kingdoms.

Fulla hastened the pace, knowing that the tower had more than 20 floors and that at the last of them was their destination, however, Dag lagged slightly behind, stopping to look at a statue in particular.

It was located on the 16th floor and depicted a long-bearded man, with the top of his armor torn off and an endless series of runes on his right arm.