When One Gambles against the House…

“Is that…?”

“No, that’s impossible. Isn’t it?”

“It must be paint or something. Odin would never…”

“But the markings. The magical essence. It’s gotta be-”

“Hush! He’s heading over here!”

John kept his gaze forward, desperately trying to ignore the various voices around him gossiping like school children upon seeing a new kid. Granted, he couldn’t outright blame them as he figured seeing his new raven familiar, created from his Odin rune, sitting upon his shoulder was quite the shock to those who actively worshiped the Nordic gods.

He turned his head and smiled at the raven, and if John didn’t know any better, he could have sworn the black feathered bird covered in glowing blue markings smiled back. “I think we are causing quite a stir in the community, wouldn’t you say so, Kenna?”

The bird cawed in response before leaning her head down, slowly cleaning her feathers with her beak. When John had summoned her, she had formed from the rune itself, which was now etched like a tattoo on her back. He somehow already knew her name and that she was, in fact, female despite never using Observe on her. His best guess was that this rune was akin to a recipe that he used to create a familiar, and that because he created her, he would automatically know things about her.

‘Wonder if that is just a rune thing or a thing about familiars in general? Should probably ask Frida, she probably knows more about this kind of magic than me,’ John thought to himself. Kenna gave off a soft caw before leaping from his shoulder, flying up into the sky and out of sight.

“You know, most people would be happy with the magical sword waifu. A pet bird might be a bit much.”

“Jealous?” John asked, turning to look behind himself at Mavis who had chosen that moment to materialize off his back into her human form. John did notice that her outfit had changed again, this time reminding him of a girl who would be at home in the mosh pit of a punk rock concert.

“What?” Mavis asked, due to John staring at her for an oddly long time.

“Nothing. Just… wondering if that sheath of yours comes with a clothing store built in.”

Mavis rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Ha ha. Very funny. I’m a fucking magical sword who was forged to be as strong as the greatest weapon in the universe. Me being able to change how I look is about as easy for me as breathing.”

“Yeah, but… why?”

Mavis shrugged. “Same reason you wouldn’t want to wear the exact same thing every day. You’ve got a lot of clothing options memorized in that head of yours, and I wanna try a few of them out.” She then gave John a sly smile, leaning forward a bit and saying in a whisper, “And not all of the outfit ideas are made to be worn outside of the bedroom.”

John blushed and took a small gulp. “You… uh… saw those in my mind?”

Mavis nodded slowly. “Yeeeeeep. Like that little black and red lace number? The one with the corset?” She gave him a small thumbs up. “Didn’t know you had such good taste.”

“That… uh… was part of a Harley Quinn outfit. Saw it in the window at Felicity’s a few times and I mean…”

“Ooooh, Harley Quinn?” Mavis faked surprise before taking a step forward and whispering in John’s ear, “Should I call you Mr. J before or after the spankings?”

Just as John was about to respond, probably with something that in his head sounded seductive but would only come out as “Blahghashpbplapaduhuh?” Talia, Frida, and Hálfdan chose to show up, turning the corner. Mavis quickly offered a wave and walked over, leaving John with a boner and a whole mess of confused emotions.

“Hey guys!” Mavis greeted the three elves. “How did you find us so quickly?”

“Well, we heard some people talking about a strange human with a raven and a punk girl. Didn’t take long to put two and two together,” Talia said, before turning to John. “Although the raven bit was new. When did you become a bird owner?”

It was at that moment that Kenna chose to return, announcing her arrival with a loud cry before finding her perch on John’s shoulder. Hálfdan took a step back in surprise, a look of awe on his face as he saw the glowing blue marking on the bird. Frida raised an eyebrow in surprise, but said nothing as she watched the raven closely. Talia, meanwhile, took the moment to laugh a bit and step closer.

“Holy shit, John! Your very own raven! And from the looks of those markings, it seems to have been blessed by Odin!”

“Should be,” John said with a smug grin. “After all, she came from the rune of Odin. Plus, she can do this.” John then reached up and covered his left eye with his hand and stared straight ahead at Talia. Kenna also looked to Talia, and after a moment, John’s and Kenna’s right eyes began to glow gold. It was at this point that Frida spoke up.

“The Eye of Odin.” Both John and Kenna turned to look at the elven MILF. “Very impressive.”

Hálfdan slowly walked forward, his eyes as wide as the smile stretched across his face. He slowly raised his hand and began to softly stroke Kenna’s head. At first, Kenna mirrored John’s reaction of surprise and confusion. However, after a moment or two, Kenna’s eyes closed and John felt the Eye of Odin close off and Kenna let out a soft noise and leaned into Hálfdan’s hand.

John gave Hálfdan a confused look, who smiled back at him. “Remember when I told you about Erik? The runic mage I used to work with? He just so happened to be a mage of Odin, and also happened to use a rune quite similar to this one.” He offered Kenna his arm, who quickly hopped on in hope to get more pets and scratches from Hálfdan. “His familiar was named Auga, and she was a raven that looked quite similar to yours. While she was Erik’s familiar, I always had a feeling that she liked me best.” Hálfdan gave a small chuckle before softly sighing. “I miss that old bird.”

“Auga?”

“Yes, but Erik as well.” He put his arm back over toward John's shoulder, and Kenna quickly climbed from arm to shoulder. Hálfdan gave a small sigh before straightening his posture up and walking back over towards his wife. Frida held onto Hálfdan’s shoulder, giving it a sympathetic squeeze before Hálfdan turned back around to face Talia, Mavis, and John. “Well, we need to get a move on! The council awaits!”

“Wait, really?” Mavis asked. “Last I remember of the Elven Council, you couldn’t get them to move even if you stuck a firecracker up their ass and lit it.”

“Well, we happen to be in luck,” Frida said softly. “The council leader has taken a special interest in John, and when he learned that John had returned, he was eager to call a special meeting to make a more permanent decision on John’s fate. Not enough council members voted for him to live, so hopefully this time around enough will vote in John’s favor.”

“What happens if not enough vote for life like last time?” John interjected.

Frida sighed softly. “Then another vote will have to be held. You will continue to have regulations when in Alfheim. You will have to stay with us in terms of living and sleeping, you can’t buy anything other than basic food and supplies, you will have a curfew-”

“These sound kinda… totalitarian,” John said, to which the three Ljósálfr nodded solemnly.

“Now you understand why we did what we did,” Hálfdan said softly. “They keep the rules this way in the name of security. They say that strict traditions and laws aid in keeping people safe and happy.”

“You must understand that the rebellion was the first internal conflict that the Ljósálfr had faced in millenia,” Frida added. “The idea behind such strict laws was that if we had strict rules, ones unlike what humans had, then we would not have as many conflicts as them.”

“And that clearly worked,” Mavis said with an eyeroll, at which Talia snickered.

“Well, no. Hence why rebellion occurred,” Frida said with a smirk. “Since then they lightened up on a few things in an effort to ensure any rebels they didn’t catch would be satiated enough to not rise up again.”

“Yeah, about that. Why haven’t they?”

Hálfdan shrugged. “Most of us went underground. It’s only been a hundred years since we lost. If we wanted to rise up again, we would probably wait a few hundred more until there were more of us. Plus…” He looked wistfully up to the sky. “Arvida was a real motivator and true leader. Losing her was rather crushing to many that were a part of the cause. We would probably need another leader like her if we ever wanted to do something like that again.”

‘There’s something for you to aspire to,’ Mavis said in John’s mind. ‘Johnathan Newman: Elven Liberator!’

‘I already have to bring back a branch of magic from the dead. Becoming the leader of a rebellion might be a bit much to add onto my plate,’ John thought back, causing Mavis to snicker slightly. John shook his head and looked up into the sky.

“It looks like it might be getting late. We should hurry and get to the council chambers.”

The others nodded, quickly setting off down the street and towards the center of the city. Kenna once again set off to the sky, and Mavis returned to her sword form on John's back. John had to admit that he was feeling confident. After all, he had gotten all the runes, he had a legendary sword, and the leader of the council was on his side.

‘This is going to go swimmingly.’

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“The vote is eight to four in favor of execution.”

‘Or it could go… I dunno. Whatever the opposite of swimmingly is. Drowningly.'

“Councillor Grímsson, we beg of you to reconsider,” Frida said, standing up and walking over to John’s side. She and Hálfdan had joined John in the council chamber while Talia had remained outside with Mavis, as weapons were not permitted in the chamber. When they, along with the 12 council members arrived, John had been quick to recount the exploration of the tomb of Beowulf as well as his discovery of the runes. He procured his glossary and showed it to the council members, who each took a few moments to look through the various pages while he continued to explain. Finally, John showed what he thought would be the clincher. He summoned Kenna, letting her fly around the room a few times before showing off his powers with the Eye of Odin. After a few moments of questions and deliberation, Lifthrasir called a new vote. Sadly, that did not go well at all.

Councillor Grímsson spoke up. “Mrs… Bragadóttir, was it? Mrs. Bragadóttir, you must understand that we have done all the deliberation that we require about the fate of the boy.” The councillor turned to look at John with a sneer. “Frankly, I am surprised he survived the first round of voting, but I suppose my fellow council members did not realize his dangerous potential like I did.”

“And pray tell, what is that potential?” Councillor Dínuson asked, clearly aggravated at the result of the vote. “Because all I see is a young lad who has been chosen by the gods about to be put to ****.”

“Well, Councillor Dínuson, allow me to explain,” Councillor Sigurdsson spoke up, with a clear look of joy on his face as he had a chance to best his rival council member. “What we have seen today is not a boy who has been chosen by the gods, but a human who is able to wield the power of the divine without the responsibility normally associated with it.”

“Indeed,” Councillor Grímsson interjected. “Normally runic mages need to undergo years of training and practice to wield such powerful magic, and can only wield a few of these runes at a time. This boy has shown that he is able to skip all of the work and go straight to the results, not earning any of it.”

“But to put the boy to ****-”

“Councillor Dínuson, we have seen what the humans have done with what little power they have now,” another councillor spoke up this time, one that was sitting at the right most seat. John decided to nickname him Jackass until he learned his name, and possibly keep it to Jackass after he learned his real name as well. “Most of them have forgotten magic, and they still manage to be a threat to all of Midgard. We are lucky that they are not as invasive as the skaven or else the world tree might fester and boil with all the vermin upon it.”

“Councillor, I hardly think that should-”

“No, Dínuson, it matters all too much. This boy could create or destroy worlds on a whim if he were allowed to grow strong enough. He has no upward limit on his power and has the ability to wield the strength of the divines. He is too dangerous to allow to become strong.”

“But…” John interjected, and felt a dozen sets of eyes turn his way as he spoke. “The gods favor me. They have allowed me to learn their runes. Isn’t that worth something?” He gestured to Lifthrasir. “Your leader told me this would be the key to proving my innocence!”

The council was silent for a moment before another council member spoke up. “Listen, boy. You and our leader thought that this little quest of yours would be just that, a quest. You would go, complete it, and the reward would be you getting to live. However, this was more of a gamble, and the more runes you obtained, the higher the stakes got.” He leaned forward and said with a bit of a smile, “Had you left well enough alone and left after the first vote, we would have just deemed that you were not allowed to return. However, you decided to raise the stakes and throw more runes in the pot, so we, as the house, had to raise the stakes from simple banishment to your life.”

“Thats… thats not fair…”

The council member laughed. “Boy, I run hundreds of casinos in your Midgard. I know what unfair is. This… this was just normal betting rules.” He spread his hands and leaned back in his chair. “You broke the cardinal rule about gambling. Never bet against the house. After all…”