The Conceptual Deck

Chapter 97: Peace offering

[H1]Chapter 97 - Peace offering[/H1]

I immediately cracked open the chest and pulled out the armor within. As far as I could tell it was identical to the armor Odin had been wearing at the feast, where I had first seen him. I pulled out all of the pieces and separated them into their sections, setting the helmet, chest piece, arms, and legs into different UCMs. The timer for them was surprisingly short, so I put the original back into the chest so I wouldn't have to worry about ruining the original. I also stored the original examples of sunstone, magical wood, Asgard water, and divine essence in my storage shed, just in case.

As I got everything set up and printing, I started planning out what I wanted to do. The bare minimum here was taking a bunch of copies of his armor, working them into the Destroyer armors, and layering in some bits and bobs to make it flashy.

That felt wrong though, and while I had a feeling going all out here would result in a set of armor that was actually superior to mine, it wouldn't be that way for very long as I would obviously take everything I learned here and use it to improve my own armor.

So I started spitballing ideas with Ema, going over the basic things I had to work with and what kind of crazy combinations I could come up with. By the time the copy of his armor was done, I was more or less ready to begin. Step number one was the basics, improving his base armor as much as I could.

I took plates of sorcerous damascus and mixed in branches of Asgardian wood and extra energy cells, then added a few stacked sunstones to a few plates of ultra metal before combining that with the sorcerous damascus. I worked all of that, as well as several plates of normal ultra metal and vibranium into each of the armor pieces. The result was a more efficient, more powerful, and quicker recharging eldritch reinforcement, certainly better than what my armor had.

After confirming Odin was right-handed, I added a deployable shield to the left arm, one enhanced in every method I had. I also combined it with a copied chunk of the Rainbow Bridge, working in dozens of energy cells. The two seemed to work together fantastically, as the shield came out with a massive carved rainbow gem in its center, with runic rainbow accents set into the entire shield. I worked down a shield projector as small as I could and added it to the shield, which allowed the user to project a glittering rainbow shield that resisted a dozen solid whacks from Thor's hammer.

When the UCM had printed out enough vials of water I started experimenting with it, discovering that it had the normal concepts usually attached to water, was powerfully connected to Asgard itself, and contained concepts of purity, growth, and perseverance. I worked it into several things to make it solid, before working that into an ultra metal plate, adding more of the Asgardian wood, before combining all of that into the armor. I also mixed more of the water with a maxed-out amulet of healing, combining it with the chest plate.

With the base armor finished, I set it up on the UCMs again, setting them up to print out twelve copies while I set on my next task, the Destroyer armors.

Unfortunately, since they took way too long to copy, I would have to replicate everything I did to all six of them so they would be ready to use. I attached a set of maxed-out wings to each, before adding two EVA suits to each as well. I upgraded them as best I could, including working in the improved sorcerous damascus reinforcement, as well as the plates of water and wood-enhanced ultra metal. I added vibranium for impact absorption and added another set of wings to each to make sure they came out in the final product.

After a quick search in the storage shed, I found something I hadn't used in a while, twelve max stacked arc reactors. I combined each of them with a chunk of rainbow bridge crystal, a dozen energy cells, magic rods, and a stacked sunstone enhanced with a handful of diamonds. I combined them down once, then attached one of each to the Destroyer armors. All of them now had an Iron Man style gem in their chest. It glittered in a rainbow shine at its core, with a glow of orange and yellow around it.

I grabbed a few helmets from my cabinet of tricks, the deployable ones that had the enhanced vision modes already installed, before using an enhanced knife to cut the helmets of all the armors and combined them together, using a repair tablet to fix them back together. I also worked a few cuffs of strength and stamina into each one.

After that Ema pulled me aside, forcing me to eat a late lunch, which was being served by a few Alfred bots to everyone who had stopped by to watch. Steve, Peggy and Bucky, The Warriors Three, and Lady Sif, as well as a few other Asgardians I didn't recognize, had all shown up at some point.

"How the hell did I not notice them?" I asked Ema, scarfing down a plate of chicken tikka masala.

"They've been very quiet," Ema said with a shrug. "And you do really zone out everything around you when your crafting."

I could only shrug, finishing my meal as quickly as I could before starting on the final phase. The enhanced base armors were done printing, and the Destroyer armors were done being enhanced as well. All that was left was to combine them all together.

I carded the Destroyer armor separately, combing each of them with two copies of the incredibly enhanced base armor, before combining down the final six into a final suit of armor. I looked at Ema, nodded towards the garage bay showed her two fingers. She nodded and hurried up the ramp.

"Maker, is it complete?" Thor asked, now standing by one of my work benches.

"Almost, only three more things to add," I responded, waiting for Ema to return.

When she got back I held out my hand and she placed a single ingot of Uru, which I carded and added to the armor, studying its concept. The Uru magnified its potency by at least fifty percent, making what was already an incredibly powerful set of armor even more powerful. I held out my hand and carded the second ingot, working that in as well. This one didn't do nearly as much, but it was absolutely a very noticeable increase.

When that was done, I walked to the UCM that was printing out divine essence, picking up one of the three finished crystals, which I quickly carded and combined into the armor. Its concepts flared, the divine essence unlocking its potential even more. I couldn't help but laugh, shaking my head. This outpaced any armor I had made by leaps and bounds, and I couldn't wait to get back home to make my own.

"An impressive display."

I looked up from the card to find Odin and Frigga standing by my workshop, Thor right next to them. Odin was wearing more casual clothes than the regal ones he had been wearing at our meeting, with no armor visible. I got the feeling he had been watching for a while, but the surprise that the others who had been watching told a different story. Frigga notice my look and winked.

"Thank you, King Odin. I wished to make a gift for you, something to show my gratitude for your hospitality, as well as a symbol of continued friendship."

"Is it complete?" He asked.

"All that remains is to bind it to you. I would need a few drops of blood, a lock of your hair, and a print from your finger,"

Odin was silent for a moment, before finally responding.

"Very well."

He reached out his hand, and into my palm dripped a puddle of his blood. I carded my hand clean, watching as Frigga used magic to cut off a small bundle of his hair. I provided the thumbprint device, something I crafted a while ago to make the process more simple. With the addition of a simple lock, I combined them together and added it to the armor, before turning to the god.

"Congratulations King Odin," I said with a smile. "You are the proud owner of the most powerful things I have made so far, and the second named item I've ever made."

I flicked out the card onto the closest workbench, the armor appearing a moment later. Odin reach out and laid his hands on the folded armor, which glowed brightly for a moment before shattering, the golden and orange glowing dust settling around the Asgardian king.

"You managed to replicate our equipping enchantment?" Odin asked, with a tone that was more curious than accusatory.

"No, I just made sure the armor carried the enchantment through," I explained as if it had been on purpose. I knew that the armor had some sort of enchantment on it but I hadn't been sure what it was.

Odin closed his eyes and his armor started to form around him, the motes of glowing dust reforming. The plates, links, and straps all connected and locked back into place. As different portions were finished it flared with golden energy, settling down after a moment.

Eventually, after a few seconds had passed, the transformation was complete. Odin stood clad in gold and burnished metal armor, with an orange and yellow flickering highlight coming from underneath. The chest held a carved gem, similar to how the destroyer armors looked, though slightly smaller. The gem glowed yellow but shifted through undertones of the rainbow. The closer the glowing highlights got to the gem, the more of the undertone bled through to them.

The armor design itself was very similar to the original set, though the cloth underlayer was replaced with bands of metal like the Destroyer armor. There were subtle, but just barely visible highlights of damascus in the burnished underlayer as well. Before I could prompt him his helmet deployed, locking up and over his head, stopping for a moment before shifting again to fully cover his face.

"I I can feel it," He said, more than a little awe in his voice as his helmet retracting fully. "I can feel its connection to Asgard."

"After what went into it, I'm not surprised."

He looked down at his armored hands, studying the armor for a moment, before looking to the sky. Suddenly the metal wings, glowing with glittering energy, all but exploded from his back. They flapped once and he was airborne, rocketing up into the sky. Not long after he took off something fell back down, clattering to the ground by my feet. I bent down to pick it up, turning it over in my hand. It was Odin's eyepatch.

I looked up at the sky to see him flying around in the air.

"Was it?" Ema asked, trailing off when I nodded.

"It was named," I confirmed with a nod. "The Heart of Asgard. Binding it to him was what did it."

Eventually, Odin landed again, his wings retracting back into the armor. Frigga, who I had passed the eye patch to, rushed into her husband's arms, who held her closer. I could tell they were talking, whispering to each other for a minute before Frigga pulled back, cupping her husband's cheek. After another moment he turned to look at me.

Sure enough, his eye was fully healed, with no hint of it ever being damaged in the first place. For a moment I worried that I might have gotten in the way of some sort of ritualistic payment or trade, like how the comic book Odin traded his for wisdom, but he only smiled at me.

"Your creation is very impressive," He said, reaching out his hand. "I never imagined having my eye returned to me."

I refrained from mentioning the palm healers, as I wasn't actually sure if they would work on him, considering I didn't know the level "for the greater good" this Odin got up to.

"I'm happy to have made it," I said, grabbing his arm in a warrior's shake. "It represents a significant increase in my capabilities."

"..someday, Thor shall inherit my rule," He said after a short pause. "Would it be possible for you to bind it to him, once the day comes?"

"I think so? I haven't actually done something like that yet," I admitted. "Worst case it would be bound to both of you. Well, the actual worst case is that I make another one for him. We will figure out when the day comes."

"Very well Now, what other functions does this armor have, I can feel them but I fear activating something dangerous."

I spent the next thirty minutes going over just what the armor could do, what its few limitations were, and how it worked. On top of all the things I already knew it could do, it seemed that it would also be able to call down the Bifrost, at least once it was repaired. I hadn't sensed that when I was holding the card, but Odin insisted he could feel it while wearing it. By the time we were done going over everything, it was beginning to get dark.

"Come, you and your friends will dine with us," Odin said. "It is the least we could do for the creator of such a gift."

Odin was much more open and friendly for the rest of the day and into the night, his stoic and harsh demeanor broken open just enough to catch a peek at who he was under the weight of his crown. We ate in a much smaller, more homely but still impressive hall, the singular large table filled by Ema, Peggy, Steve, Bucky, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, Thor, Odin, Frigga and myself. I sat beside Thor on Odin's right side, while Ema sat across from me next to Frigga, with the others taking up the other half of the table. We were still waited on by the palace staff, but the atmosphere was as informal as you could hope for such a setting.

Thor told stories of his childhood, describing the adventures he had had around Asgard, and even some he had had on other worlds. He described growing up on battlefields as if he was raised in constant war and fighting. The way that Frigga was rolling her eyes as he talked made me think that he wasn't being the most reliable of narrators. She was a lot less enthusiastic when he would mention Loki, something he only did a few times.

Odin seemed content to listen to his son's stories, as well as ours as we talked about our fight against the Chitauri, expressing similar opinions to his son's.

"They have no honor, they ravage and pillage like beasts, tearing apart the defenseless and innocent alike. I would like nothing more than to wipe them from the galaxy but they spawn like weeds in fertile ground." Odin explained, shaking his head and leaning back in his chair. "They dig into worlds and create armies that darken entire systems. Letting a single ship escape would mean their return in only a few years."

"That Sounds like a serious problem." I said, all of the earthlings at the table suddenly very interested. "Does Earth have to worry about being sieged by massive armies?"

"No, they are limited by their motherships and by whoever controls them," Odin assured me. "Whoever is in control of them somehow hides from Heimdal's sight, but they keep a firm grip around the armies, keeping them from spawning out of control."

"Why would they do that?" Steve asked. "Seems like anyone willing to hitch their wagon to a group like the Chitauri would be quick to let them loose."

"Unfortunately we do not know," Odin admitted with a frown. "My own thoughts are that they understand leaving the Chituari to spread unrestrained would call the attention of empires with less restraint than Asgard."

The conversation slowly turned back to lighter topics, though Odin did promise that our diplomats would be receiving briefings on many of the threats that could affect Earth. When I said I would be interested in getting that information as well he agreed to make keeping me informed as well a stipulation of sharing the intelligence.

Eventually, dinner was over and we were escorted back to our rooms. Thor escorted Ema and me personally, leading us back and stopping by the door.

"Maker, I wanted to thank you for healing my father's eye. That alone is a debt I do not think I could ever repay. Seeing him with so much energy Thank you." The Asgardian god said sincerely, grabbing my forearm tightly and giving it a firm shake. "While preparing for dinner I asked Mother if she could think of a way to try and thank you, and she suggested that a good way to start would be this."

Thor pulled a scroll of paper from behind his back, handing it to me with a smile. I pulled the scroll open and examined the writing inside. It was a series of numbers, followed by a couple of paragraphs of text, the pattern repeating around seven or eight times.

"I had a scribe put together a list of coordinates you might be interested in, as well as a short description of each location," He explained. "Xandar, Contraxia, Knowhere, and a few others. Be warned about traveling to some of these, however. Contraxia and Knowhere specifically, as they are not lawless, but certainly less lawed than places like Xandar. Xandar is the capital of the Nova Empire, they will deal with you fairly as long as you obey their laws."

I skimmed the first description before tearing my eyes back up to Thor with a smile.

"Thank you Thor. I'm not quite ready to go on galaxy-spanning adventures yet, but these will be very helpful when I am."

I shook his hand again and said goodnight before I headed into my room and crawled into bed.

Hello! I can hardly believe it, but we just passed 300k words for The Conceptual deck. This had been a lot of fun writing this story, and the fact that people enjoy it has been amazing. I want to thank everyone who has commented and supported me!

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