The Nest of Gnori

Thor, Sif, and Balder are on a quest for four mystical items needed to forge into a brand new sword. After obtaining a scale from the dragon Hakurei, they have now ventured into the frozen mountains of Jotunheim seeking feathers from the giant eagle, Gnori. The trek is a miserable one and tempers are getting the best of the young adventurers. Balder once again brings up the fact that Thor volunteered himself and Sif on this quest without asking them first. This leads to another scabble between the three. When Sif takes Balder’s side, Thor takes offense and decides to take the lead so he doesn’t have to talk to them anymore.

This scene is being observed through the looking glass of a mysterious woman who wishes their quest to end in failure.[1] She is pleased that she doesn’t have to take a direct hand in driving the teens apart and revels in their own acts of self-sabotage.

However, before they part company, Balder calls out to Thor. While he still doesn’t think he owes Thor an apology, he believes it is suicide for them to split up. Thor agrees and they decide to put their differences aside again. That’s when they hear the sound of crackling ice and look down. They are astonished to see tiny warriors made of ice rise out of the snow. At first, Thor finds them amusing until one of them attacks and he discovers that their tiny swords are quite painful. That’s when the whole miniature army begins attacking them at once. Fighting back, the trio discover that when these creatures are shattered, they merely reform again, making them seemingly impossible to destroy.

As the fight progresses, Sif begins noticing their strategy. She tells Balder and Thor that the ice creatures attack in a triangle formation and always strike on the right flank. Standing back to back, they and at least strike the creatures before they can. But this is only a minor solution since the ice beings continue to reform whenever destroyed. Observing this process, Balder sees something he wants to test out. Using a spear to catapult one of the ice beings into the air and striking it with his sword, the creature is destroyed in a puff of snow. Balder then tells the others that the creatures regeneration abilities are tied to being in contact with the ground. The trio then begin picking up the ice beings and destroying them one-by-one. With their weakness exposed, the attackers eventually retreat back into the snow whence they came. Once again, the trio can’t help but think that someone tipped these elementals off and that there might be someone actively trying to thwart them.

That’s when they hear the screaches of a massive bird and suddenly, the snowstorm around them stops and the clouds open up to let the sun in for the first time. From the opening in the clouds come Gnori the eagle. Thor accuses the eagle for sending the elementals after them. Gnori reminds Thor that he is a friend to the king and asks that he mind his tongue. He says that the blizzard they endured was his only test, which they passed. The elementals were the work of someone else, but he cannot say who. Gnori also prophetically warns Balder that while he is beloved by all animals, love will ultimately be his downfall.[2] Thor then apologizes for making rash accusations. Gnori tells the boy there is no need for apology and says that Thor is truly his father’s son. Gnori then freely gives them one of his feathers before taking to the sky once more.

With half of their quest over, the trio press on to the next leg of their journey. As they leave the mountains, Sif suggests that Loki might be the one interfering with their quest. Thor defends his half-brother, unaware that the trickster is following from behind, shrouded from view under a cloak of invisibility.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Sif, Balder, Loki, Karnilla, Gnori

Continuity Notes

1. Next issue we’ll discover that this is Karnilla the Norn Queen.

2. The statement that Balder is the friend to animals is due to his respect for all creatures and his unwillingness to cause harm unless. Gnori also fortells Balder and Karnilla’s infatuation with one another. See Journey into Mystery #106-107.