Thor (vol. 2) #52 — Nick Peron

May 13

May 13 Thor (vol. 2) #52

Realization

Balder the Brave arrives at Bilskirnir, the castle of Thor, the Lord of Asgard. They were supposed to have a meeting an hour ago and he hasn’t shown up. Thor finds Thialfi inside the castle and demands to know where the thunder god is. All Thialfi will say is that Thor is off on a private matter and he will be back soon. Balder makes it known that he doesn’t trust Thialfi and suspects, nor understands why Thor keeps close council with him. In fact, Balder believes that this new comer is nothing more than a spy for Loki. Balder is incorrect, but Thialfi keeps silent, choosing to keep the truth to himself.

Thor has gone to Midgard, where he goes to a winter swept valley in the middle of nowhere. There among the bitter cold he reflects on the past for guidance on how to govern in the future. When he thinks back on a time centuries earlier, a single tear forms in his eyes.

This was the time when the Vikings were conquering their way across much of Europe. Their attacks were brutal and those caught in the path of destruction had two choices: Fight and die, or flee and perhaps live to see another day. P'aesi, her husband, and their son chose to flee the Viking raids. However, they didn’t make it very far before they ran into a group of warriors led by a barbarian named Jyrsk. They demanded the young family hand over their valuables. When it was explained they had none, the Vikings murdered P’aesi’s husband and left. Soon Jyrsk and his cohorts set up camp for the night and gave praise to Thor, the god of thunder, for whom they dedicated their pillage to.

To their surprise, Thor had heard their praise and had come to offer them a boon. As the warriors bow to the thunder god, P’aesi comes out of the bushes and chastises Thor for what his followers have done in his name. At the time, Thor was young and naïve and was completely ignorant to the horrors being carried out in his name. Before she can show Thor what has been done, Jyrsk fatally stabs the woman to silence her. The Vikings then admit that killing is their way of life. Horrified, Thor batters the warriors away and carried P’aesi’s body to the site where her husband was murdered and confirms that she was telling the truth. That’s when he learned that things were even more tragic when he finds P’aesi’s son and learns he is now an orphan.

Thor then cried out for his father to know why this was allowed to happen. Odin appeared before his son and explained that they must turn a blind eye to the mortals as they are flawed beings. Thor can hardly understand why they would allow such atrocities to be committed in the name of Asgard. Odin explains to his son that humanity needs to learn things the hard way, on their own, and over time they will move beyond this barbaric time. Thor is still troubled by this and asks what he shall do until then, as he is particularly concerned about the fate of the now orphaned child. He refuses to allow the child to suffer any further cruelty. Odin knows that his son speaks from the rashness of youth, but sees some wisdom in what he is saying. As such, Odin transfers power to the young orphan. He tells Thor that the child shall now live in Asgard and learn their ways. Odin does this for the orphan on one condition: When the boy reaches maturity, Thor is to take him into the fold and treat him as he would his closest friend.

With his recollection over, Thor returns to Asgard and finds Balder waiting for him. His old friend expresses his fears regarding Thialfi, but Thor assures Balder that the newcomer is beyond reproach. However, Thor will not explain why and asks that his friend trust him when he says Thialfi is no threat to Asgard. In fact, Thor says that he has known Thialfi since he was but a boy. Balder then leaves without another word. When they are alone, Thialfi asks if the valley has changed since he lived there as a boy. Thor tells him it has only changed in appearance, as there are still ghosts there to remind him of the errant ways of man and god alike. However, he believes he has learned the lesson from those long ago times and promises that the same mistakes will not be repeated again.