The Hydra Sin (SDS)

Chapter 14- Queen Hel

We were led through many hallways which were extremely grand, with golden molding, many jade ornamentations, and cream walls that shimmered a bit, giving the entire place an ethereal look. We approached a huge set of oak doors and two guards opened them as we came close. This led into a throne room that was nearly all green, there were emerald and gold chandeliers, deep green rugs and walls, all will gold accents.

The focal point of the room was definitely the throne, it was massive, with a tall back and sloping sides, it looked like a waterfall made of green, and I had to stop for a second to decide if it was a throne or some illusion.

A side door opened and out stepped a woman, who I could only assume to be Hel; after the elaborateness of everything, I expected her to be much more done up, but she was wearing a simple green-black dress with a cape, and her hair was long and straight, half red, half white. What really made me notice her though, was her face; I had heard stories about Hel and her connection with death, but I never expected it to be this extreme. Half of her face was that of a young woman, with beautiful features and gleaming eyes; and the other half was that of a corpse, mostly bone and tendons, with her eye shining from the darkness of its socket.

She walked to her throne and sat with all the authority that her position held, "Lady Janis, it is good to finally meet you in person." She said and my jaw nearly dropped, just like her face, her voice was spilt into two, you could hear an almost lyrical tone and a raspy screech that came out at the same time.

"Queen Hel, it is good to see you as well, I have many questions."

She nodded, "I'm sure you do, but first, please sit; I can see this being a lengthy conversation, and I would prefer not to make you all stand throughout it." She waved her hand and the doors we came through opened, showing a number of chairs that floated over to us and landed with a series of gentle thuds.

"Now that that is sorted, I will jump straight to business; Janis, you have been asked to come here because the world of the dead is slowly falling apart. I'm sure you know that, but what you may not know is that there is more to you being picked as the one too save it than just the fact that you are the last good banshee. For centuries, this realm has acted as a buffer between the world of the living, and the world of the Gods. Forget the Goddesses, they are simply a warm-up act compared to those found in Asgard. (Okay, it may be cheesy to bring in this, but I've been using a lot of Nordic Mythology, so why not add their Gods?)

"One God, in particular, holds a hatred for his brethren and would like to break through this realm to control the realm of the living. That is the cause of collapse around here. My Father, Loki, is strong in the use of magic, and he is more than willing to use it to cause a massacre of untold proportions if he is not stopped; this is where you come in, Janis."

"Your family is the only one able to wield both Holy Knight magic, and the magic granted to you as banshees. This is not by accident, your ancestors knew the threat that Loki presented, and they took action against that; going so far as to infuse their banshee blood with that of an Asgardian. Since you are the only living member of your family, you are the only one that can stop Loki, and it appears that you will have to do it sooner rather than later."

"Janis, this is not a task that you will be able to do alone, which is why I allowed you to bring your friends. The Eight Deadly Sins were created to defend against threats such as the Ten Commandments of the demon race, but now they are also our only defense against Loki."

"You will require the aid of your other comrade, Merlin, she is a powerful warlock, and because of that, she will be especially helpful against Loki's powers of deception. I will also be granting you several gifts while you are here which will aid in your fight, though I do see something that you will face before Loki comes which will determine whether or not you stand any chance against greater foes."