The continuous clanging of metal echoed, shaking both sky and earth. The source of the thunderous sound was a clearing in front of a large cottage, where a tall, muscular man was hammering a metal sheet with fierce diligence. His upper body was bare, revealing a physique of beautiful and exceptional strength, and his long, loose golden hair was soaked with sweat, clinging to his skin. A metal glove was on his right hand, gripping a strangely short-handled hammer as he pounded the metal, stretching it with each resounding blow.
This man was a divine hero, the son of a Heavenly General. The hammer in his hand was a divine weapon, the greatest in the universe. The man was the god Modi, son of the great god Thor, and his hammer was Mjolnir, a magical artifact considered the greatest of all in ancient times.
At the time, the god Modi was living in a land called Iceland, a peaceful part of Midgard where many different beings coexisted in harmony. This was the "era of light," ruled over by the benevolent Great God Baldur.
Modi was one of the few ancient gods who survived the Great War of Ragnarok. The passing of that brutal conflict left him as a survivor and as the nephew of the new ruler, the Great God Baldur.
About 600 years ago, Modi's younger brother, the god Magni, invited him to establish a new kingdom in Midgard. With the wielder of Mjolnir at his side, Magni helped transform the land, once known as the frigid Iceland, into a lush and fertile kingdom. There, humans, dwarves, and some elves lived together in harmony, governed by the divine Law of the Holy Hammer.
The Law of the Holy Hammer reflected the justice of strength, allowing the strong to expand their territory according to their power. However, when conflicts over encroaching lands grew beyond mortal measure, the involved parties would call upon the god Magni. He would then deliver a final, unassailable judgment, bringing all disputes to an ultimate end.
With the divine brothers working in unison—Modi as the strong head of the hammer and Magni as its guiding handle—Midgard flourished under their combined might, and the kingdom expanded rapidly.
Modi's frenzied hammering was driven by a powerful desire to forge a new magical weapon, to prove his power and ability after a recent challenge from the dwarves. With surprising skill, they had created a magical axe named "Snow White," which was said to be able to cleave a dragon's scales with ease. It had become the only magical artifact created in Midgard since the era of light began, and its existence was a bold affront to the divine smith.
For over 60 years, Modi had not ventured far from his forge, consumed by a relentless drive to create new magical items. His many inventions had transformed this land of ice into a more fertile and prosperous place, yet none of them had proven to be more valuable or impressive than the dwarves' magical axe. And so, Modi continued to hammer the metal, his will fixed on a single hope: to one day forge the greatest weapon in all of Midgard.
"Modi, you should rest a bit," a man's voice called out during Modi's intense hammering, and a tall figure appeared.
Modi immediately put Mjolnir down and turned to face the voice.
The tall man with short hair was shirtless, revealing muscles as strong and beautiful as the king of Midgard himself. A dried leaf, which dwarves believed helped to stay energized, was in his mouth. In his left arm, he cradled a long-haired young man who appeared to be unconscious. For this man to call Modi by his name, a feat few mortals would dare, he must surely possess a great history of his own.
"Magnificent, Magni! I've missed you so much," Modi greeted him, walking over to embrace his brother affectionately.
As Modi approached, the younger brother, Magni, gently set the unconscious, long-haired young man down on the ground so he could fully return his brother's embrace.
After the two gods embraced, Modi's gaze fell upon the young man lying unconscious on the ground. A question formed in his eyes as he looked from the stranger to his brother, silently demanding an explanation.
"He's my new disciple," Magni said simply, introducing the young man he brought with him.
"Another new disciple? Didn't you already take in a blue-haired elf?"
"He's become the king of the elves of the distant Poisonous Mist Swamp now," Magni replied to his brother with a proud smile, for a disciple of his becoming a king of a distant land meant that the Law of the Holy Hammer was spreading farther and farther.
"Sometimes I envy you, always traveling to new places. It's so different from my life, just hammering metal all day long," Modi said, complaining about his own life.
"You can end this right now. The success of those seven dwarven brothers was merely by luck and is worthless when compared to your greatness as the king of Midgard."
"Never mind that, brother. Just tell me some fun or important stories about the outside world."
"Right. The Great God Baldur is now very ill and weak." Magni shared the most important news of the moment.
"How can that be? The Great God Baldur, the supreme king of the universe, who holds the throne of light in Asgard, has fallen ill and become weak?" Modi could barely believe what he had just heard from his brother.
"I fear that the Great God Baldur may not have long to live."
"Is it because he once returned from Niflheim, and lost the pure essence of the gods, their immortality?" Modi suggested, having considered this possibility before. He had noticed that the Great God Baldur's appearance was aging rapidly, unlike the other gods who had survived the Ragnarok War with him.
"I don't know the real reason. I only worry that if this Great God must depart, which god will ascend to the throne of light in Asgard next?" Magni confessed his biggest concern.
"The Great God Baldur has so many descendants. Why worry about such a thing?"
"The heirs with the purest blood are merely sons and daughters born to the Valkyries!" Magni's words came as a surprise to his brother.
"!" Modi was shocked and surprised once more.
"The pure divine bloodline, besides the Great God Baldur, belongs to us, the gods who survived that great war."
"Are you...?" Modi felt uncomfortable hearing his brother's ambitious words.
"Don't misunderstand me. I love my free life in Midgard. But don't forget, besides us two brothers, there are also the gods Vidar and Vali who survived as well."
"The solitary god Vidar lives with the high elves in the Glacier Forest. He would not have any ambition for the throne of light. As for the god Vali, although he is the god of vengeance, in this era of light he has served close to the Great God Baldur. He is like the general of Asgard and would not have any desire for the throne of light either," Modi defended his two uncles, the sons of the Great God Odin.
"In the Ragnarok War, Vidar was the one who killed the giant wolf Fenrir after that beast killed the Great God Odin. For that reason, he considers himself to be above all of us, doesn't he? Wasn't he the first god to leave Asgard and create a new land in the Glacier Forest?"
"Asgard at that time was desolate. We were both bored, and in the end, we came down to Midgard. I believe Vidar did the same as us."
"But don't forget, we have another uncle named 'Hodor' of Niflheim, that dark and frigid realm of hell." Magni suddenly uttered the forbidden name.
"Why should we mention such a tainted one?" For Modi, the name Hodor was evil, and he wanted no part of it.
"You may have forgotten, but the Great God Baldur has never held a grudge against his twin brother. It has always been the god Vali who pushed away everything from Niflheim. If that tainted one were to return to Asgard for any reason, I fear the eight ice monsters would follow him. If that happens, a great war would likely happen again."
"No, a great war should not happen again, brother. You are smarter than me in every way. You must help resolve this crisis. Tell me your thoughts. Is there any way to avert this terrible crisis?" The great god Modi of Midgard asked for his brother's help. Although he was the wielder of Mjolnir, the greatest weapon of ancient times, many things could not be resolved by the Law of the Holy Hammer. Moreover, Asgard was above all other universes. This was a critical situation, and a great war had to be prevented before it started.
"If you will truly listen to me, the one most suited to be the next Great God is none other than you, the god Modi, who is full of goodness." Magni said this, placing his right hand on Modi's left shoulder.
"Sigh... What good is there to speak of me?" Modi sighed before saying these words.
"Wasn't it you who traveled to the ends of the sky to hunt down the wolf Skoll and bring the sun back to the heavens?"
"That foolish wolf swallowed the sun. It was burned from the inside, suffering greatly and wishing for death. When I found it in a deep cave under the mountains at the end of the sky, it was Skoll who begged me to strike its head with my hammer to end its painful life." Modi, being honest, told the true story behind the legend of how the sun was brought back to the sky.
"But it was also you who bravely fought the giant wolf Hati guarding the mouth of the cave."
"I did not fight the giant wolf Hati alone. There was a Valkyrie named 'Lylith' as well, and it was the sword in her hand that killed the giant wolf that had swallowed the moon."
"You are just like this," Magni scolded, his voice sharp with frustration, "so honest it's foolish. Think back! The death of the wolf Fenrir was not Vidar's doing alone, yet the legend says only he killed that great disaster. And you..." Magni's gaze hardened. "You were the first to venture to the end of the sky, fighting the giant wolf Hati for three nights and two days. The angel of death only arrived after you had fought it to the point of exhaustion. Just because she was the one who plunged her sword into the neck of that beast, you didn't need to announce to the entire universe that she was the one who killed that evil wolf." The hand that had been on Modi's left shoulder suddenly shoved him away.
"I am just this way. How can I be worthy of the position of Great God of Asgard?" Modi replied to his brother, stumbling backward.
"Sigh... I can't believe you," the speaker said, their voice heavy with exasperation. "Listen to me. Even if you don't think you're worthy of such an important position, those who covet the throne of light will not see it that way. I myself believe you're worthy, but they will see your very existence as a thorn in their side. Because of that, you must be very, very careful."
"How can I make them change their minds?" Modi asked, his voice full of hope.
Magni stared at his brother, utterly taken aback by the question. "What is that?" he finally stammered. "How can you even ask that?"
"You're smarter than me. I can't think of anything, so I must hope you can."
Magni groaned in exasperation. "I'm going to go crazy because of you..." he muttered, the words heavy with resignation. "From now on, be very careful. I will arrange for a more secure guard detail for you." Without another word, he turned his back, grabbed his still-unconscious disciple from the ground, and stalked away from Modi, his departure a clear expression of his annoyance.
Modi watched Magni's back as he walked away and couldn't help but smile. What god, he thought to himself, could be luckier than him? He had not only survived the Ragnarok War, but his brother of the same bloodline had survived with him. This brother was not only intelligent, but he also always looked out for him, always wishing him well.
Modi's gaze fell upon Mjolnir and the iron glove he had placed beside it. Most people only knew about the magical hammer, never knowing that the iron glove was another magical artifact in its own right, named Jarngreipr, an item that had to be used with the mighty hammer Mjolnir. They were the last remaining relics of Thor, who had met his end during the Great War of Ragnarok in a final, brutal duel with the giant serpent Jörmungandr. Both perished together. The serpent's body sank and disappeared into the vast sea, while only the upper half of the general's body remained. It was believed that the lower part of Thor's body had fallen into the mouth of the giant serpent as it sank, and thus only two magical weapons were passed down to his two heirs. The magical power belt, Megingjörd, was lost forever along with the body of the giant serpent Jörmungandr.
Modi decided to divide the two magical items fairly with Magni. As the elder brother, he was willing to sacrifice, intending to take only the magical glove Jarngreipr and give the legendary Mjolnir to his younger brother. But Magni argued fiercely and won the argument, so Modi was the one who received the magical hammer. Magni then "entrusted" the magical glove to his brother as well, ensuring the two artifacts would remain together. The story of that time was almost 700 years ago, and the glove Jarngreipr and the hammer Mjolnir have never been separated since.
The rhythmic clanging of metal echoed through the sky and earth again, shaking the very ground. But then, it was abruptly silenced by a voice that yelled from not far away, "Quiet down! You fool, Modi!"