The Sword of Summer

On the other side of the portal, Magnus stands in a sunlit field. It takes him a moment to remember Blitz and how they got here. He still feels the effect of the Squirrel’s insults with “corrosive thoughts rattling around in my brain” (267).

Magnus and Blitz climb a hill. On the other side, people hang out on picnic blankets, laughing and joking. They’re in Folkvanger, the afterlife for Vanir who died heroically. As they pass through the crowd, people compliment them on everything from their clothes to their ears. Magnus looks for his mother but doesn’t see her anywhere.

Blitz and Magnus make their way to Sessrumnir (the hall of many seats), which is an upside-down ship on another hill. Inside, they meet Freya, whom Magnus describes as “the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen” (273). Freya is Blitz’s mother.

Freya inquires as to Magnus’s progress with the sword, asking if he’s befriended the blade and unlocked its full potential. Magnus detaches the sword from its necklace, and rather than warm and humming, the blade is cold and heavy “like it was playing dead” (275). The sword partially blames Freya for Frey’s having given it up. Frey sat on Odin’s throne to look for Freya when she disappeared while searching for her missing husband, which led to Frey trading the sword for his heart’s desire: a frost giantess. The sword likely wouldn’t stay with Freya, and Magnus must keep the sword and learn to use it to stop Surt from freeing Fenris Wolf.

Freya warns Magnus that Surt will likely break the rope binding Fenris Wolf and that a replacement will be needed. Eitri Junior is the only dwarf in Nidavellir (the dwarven realm) who can fashion such a rope. Unfortunately, he also wants Blitz dead. In addition to obtaining a replacement rope, Freya assigns Magnus and Blitz the task of having Eitri Junior make earrings to match her necklace. She cries “small pellets of red gold” for Magnus and Blitz to use as payment (283). Freya wishes them luck, and then the floor opens, swallowing Magnus and Blitz into darkness.

Magnus and Blitz land on a dark street that looks like Southie (South Boston) but that is actually Nidavellir. Blitz brings Magnus to a nearby tavern for a drink. The place resembles “a claustrophobic tunnel” with a low ceiling and mismatched furniture everywhere (287). Blitz orders drinks, and the bartender offers the histories of their mugs and stools. Blitz’s chair was made by the bartender and survived a brawl from the year 4109 A.M. Dwarves believe every item has a soul, and they honor those souls by giving items names and detailing their histories. Blitz offers the bartender a red gold to call Eitri Junior. The bartender hesitates, fearful, but finally takes the gold and makes the call.

Magnus asks about A.M., which Blitz defines as “After Maggots,” the species from which dwarves evolved. Wanting a change of topic, Magnus asks about Freya’s tears of red gold. They are the purest form of red gold there is, and Magnus hopes that means Eitri Junior will work with them. Blitz says either he will or he’ll “chop us into small pieces” (294).