"This won't work, Thor. I don't see the sincerity of Asgard here." Solomon shrugged off Thor's arm from his shoulder. As the sun began to dip below the horizon, the flowers and grass near the training grounds cast long shadows. Thor could no longer clearly see Solomon's expression, but his next words left Thor feeling a bit embarrassed, though thankfully the shadows concealed his awkwardness.
"Kamar-Taj has yet to receive a clear disposition plan for Loki," Solomon said. "Though Kamar-Taj hasn't been around as long as your years, it is still recognized by Asgard as a sovereign domain. We agreed to Asgard's request and refrained from chopping off his head. But as for how your rogue prince, who caused an uprising under our roof, will be dealt with—at the very least, All-Father should formally inform us. The reason I didn't directly bring this up with the queen is that I don't want to add to her worries. So, I hope you can bring this matter up with All-Father yourself. At the very least, issue an official notice. This is your responsibility as the future ruler."
Thor scratched his head awkwardly.
He had rarely dealt with such diplomatic, back-and-forth matters. Most of his duties handed down by All-Father revolved around battle and combat. Diplomatic affairs and correspondence had always been Loki's domain. Loki had relished such responsibilities, seeing himself as the orchestrator of Asgard's vast empire, controlling the flow of countless resources and influencing the fates of the Nine Realms and numerous smaller nations through his decisions.
It wasn't until Thor eventually ascended the throne that he began to truly understand the foundation of power. It wasn't pen strokes or politics—it was violence. Without overwhelming military might to back it up, all authority was hollow. Power stemmed from iron and blood, from an invincible army. This was what All-Father had generously granted Thor but denied to Loki. From the beginning, the throne of Asgard had always belonged to Thor, not Loki.
Loki had realized, bitterly, that his role in Asgard was nothing more than a glorified jester in All-Father's grand design.
Now imprisoned and consumed by resentment, Loki had left Thor to shoulder these responsibilities alone. Yet Thor had no idea how to handle the kinds of bureaucratic tasks Loki used to excel at. And Loki, confined to the dungeon, had no inclination to help his brother—or anyone in Asgard for that matter. In his view, he had been robbed of his birthright and subjected to the unjust treatment of the Asgardian gods.
Thor couldn't understand Loki's grievances, and Solomon had no interest in trying. Solomon wasn't one to fight for titles, not even the mantle of "Sorcerer Supreme." Expecting someone like him, with his minimalistic ambitions, to empathize with Loki was laughable.
Seeing Thor struggling to articulate a response, Solomon decided to drop the issue for now. He resolved to communicate with All-Father through Heimdall instead, giving Odin advance notice of the concerns. This would allow All-Father to prepare an appropriate solution by the time a formal assembly was held, preserving Asgard's diplomatic credibility while avoiding hasty, poorly thought-out decisions that could damage its prestige.
The only person who could help Thor in this matter was Sif. As Frigga and Odin's chosen future queen of Asgard, she was undoubtedly undergoing political training. However, as an Asgardian woman, Sif refused to let herself fall behind Thor in any aspect, which is why she had chosen to take up arms and fight alongside the warriors of Asgard.
Solomon wasn't some political hostage; he had come to Asgard as an envoy. His approach to diplomacy was cautious and measured—a skill he had picked up from Athena and the Sorcerer Supreme. His understanding of noble etiquette and diplomacy was primarily shaped by observing them. However, certain convoluted notions he held were purely his own overthinking. Solomon often imagined noble dealings to involve labyrinthine plots and layers of subtext, akin to the political intrigue found in novels. Reality, of course, was far simpler—power games rarely reached such levels of complexity. But no one had told Solomon otherwise, so he approached these matters with extreme care and caution.
If no one ever corrected him, he might continue operating under this misconception indefinitely.
As Solomon pressed Thor with his concerns, Sif hesitated in the shadows of the nearby trees. She had initially thought Thor would ask Solomon about Jane Foster but was surprised to see him on the defensive. She decided to observe Thor's handling of the situation, only to be sorely disappointed by his inability to provide a satisfactory answer.
It's fine; there's still time, she thought, silently resolving to take on additional responsibilities. Her mission, assigned by Frigga and Odin, was to support Thor and ensure he didn't make foolish decisions in critical moments—a task that had previously fallen to Loki.
"Let's change the subject... How's Jane?" Thor blurted out, trying to shift the conversation. "I've heard some things from Heimdall..."
Sif lowered her gaze, expecting this. To be honest, she hadn't yet figured out how to face Jane Foster. This time, it wasn't just a passing fling; Thor seemed genuinely smitten with the mortal woman. While Odin and Frigga had assured her she would one day marry Thor, that didn't erase her lingering concerns.
"Maybe you should consider using a hammer, like me." Thor wiped the sweat from his brow, a red mark still faintly visible on his cheek. Spinning Mjolnir in his hand, he raised it again. "I've never encountered an opponent like you, who wields a sword but fights up close with the hilt. Why don't you use the blade? You know you can't break through armor like that, right? Wait—you promised no magic!"
"I'm just a human, Thor. If I don't use magic to strengthen myself, how could I possibly defeat you?" Solomon replied, adopting the Vera Croce stance from Italian Fiore longsword techniques. This was a guard position from armored combat, with one hand on the hilt and the other gripping the blade, pointing the sword's tip toward the opponent.
He avoided activating the sword's energy field precisely because he wanted to use this technique. As one of his primary disciplines, Solomon was well-versed in the German-inspired techniques recorded in The Flower of Battle. However, he would rather not use maneuvers designed for armored combat when unarmored—one slip, and the blade could easily sever his own fingers.
Earlier, Solomon had tried raising his sword to bind Thor's hammer with an upward tilt of the blade. But Thor, using his strength and heavy armor to his advantage, had forced Mjolnir directly into Solomon's guard. Left with no choice, Solomon had stepped sideways to avoid the attack, using the sword's momentum to land a blow with the hilt against Thor's face.
For good measure, he'd added a sharp kick to Thor's knee—a small act of vengeance against the Asgardian's overpowering physicality.
To counter Thor's sheer force, Solomon abandoned the more traditional Liechtenauer techniques and switched to Fiore's system. He focused on targeting Thor's armor gaps, knowing that Asgardians like Thor—used to brute-force tactics—wouldn't pay much attention to subtle shifts in stance.
Thor, undeterred, leapt into the air with a ferocious hammer strike aimed directly at Solomon. But the sorcerer didn't attempt to block. Instead, he used the reflexes granted by his magic to sidestep the blow, positioning his sword against Thor's arm and aiming a thrust at the gap in his shoulder armor.
The blade didn't even pierce Thor's skin. Laughing, Thor grabbed the sword by its blade and, with a grin, hoisted both Solomon and the weapon into the air.
"S.H.I.T!" Solomon cursed.
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