Loki Listens

Things are very, very hectic right now. The economy is killing me, literally. this site’s domain expires at the end of this month, and I doubt very seriously I’ll have the $10 to renew it. Yes, it really is that bad.

Tags: domain, new, now, update, US

Check out this week’s episode of Something Kinda Techy!

Jack
I Listen.
SKT

Tags: azimuth, comedy, feedburner, jack, linux, odd news, pegwole, podcast, something kinda techy, talkshoe, tech, threethirty, twitter, xoke

My good friend Shawn, has decided to take twitter’s #followfriday to another level and blog about one person every Friday. Well, this Friday, it was me! Check out the link!

Thanks Shawn!
Jack
I Listen.

Featured

Tags: #followfriday, 2009, AWN, blog, feature, featured, follow, jack, link, sean, thanks, thattalldude, thattalldude.com, twitter

This is the 23d section of my novel. If you haven’t read the first 22, you might want to start here.

The Marks of a God
—-

When he awoke again, he was not sure how long he’d been out. He went through all of the realms of paranoia, anxiety, depression, elation, mania, and so much more. He battled his demons, trying to recapture something that was lost.

It was night time now. And slightly chilly. Minus felt very disoriented. He had relied on alacrity and synchronicity for so long. But these things were useless in the trial of gods. His magic was about movement and charm. Things he did not need here, alone in the forest. He pulled his arms up and looked at the scars Odin had left. They looked like the runes of Norse magic, which Odin received when he put himself through the first trial of godhood, the world tree. Yggdrasil was older than man. Older than gods. It only made sense that this was the only place left for true magic.

Odin had once been mortal, but he had hung himself on the world tree for nine days and nights to gain insights into ancient magic. The world tree and the elder gods had given him magic in return. A magic he unleashed on the world, and eventually used to overcome the forgotten gods. He used the magic to take his place in Aesir, as the All-Father. His brothers and sisters, and sons and daughters had taken their spots in the royal court, and a new generation of men and gods had begun.

Minus had hung himself on the world tree twice now. This was important. It was important because it was the path of self sacrifice for forgotten knowledge. He knew that Odin often saw him as a son, but was weary to allow him into the heavens. The last man he had allowed in had been Loki Sky-Walker, who caused much destruction and sadness in the royal court. He would not take that chance again. Not easily anyway.

Minus knew all of this, but he had been hanging on this tree so long that he wasn’t sure how he knew it. After Odin’s last visit, he had blacked out, and he had no idea how long ago that was. He had spent hours trying to meditate, trying to understand.

His temples throbbed and he could not feel his arms or legs. He pulled his arms up into view, so he could see the marks that Odin had left. The sigils glowed in the dark night. A bright blue. He had no knowledge of runes, but he knew instinctively that one meant strength and the other meant power. Minus tried to settle back into meditation, but he ending up passing out instead. The blood in his head was getting worse. He guessed that he had hung for five days. But his thoughts were fading into blackness.

On that same day, Jane had asked Mancini about the Akashic Library.

—-

Jack
I Listen.

The Cost of Magic
Section #23
The Marks of a God

Tags: 2008, aesir, akashic, akashic library, alacrity, anxiety, battle, Cost of Magic, depression, forgotten, god, jack, Jane, knowledge, library, magic, Mancini, meditation, Minus, movement, new, Norse, novel, now, Odin, old, OS, rune, runes, sigil, sigils, synchronicity, The Cost of Magic, thought, thoughts, time, true, US, world tree, yggdrasil

This is the 22nd section of my novel. If you haven’t read the first 21, you might want to start here.

The Birth of an Aesir
—-

Minus wasn’t certain what day it was. He awoke in the midday sun to the cawing of a raven. Or, more accurately, two ravens. There was a small pool of sweat about ten feet below him, in the mud. His whole body hurt, and he had no doubt that he had several burst blood vessels on his head because he’d been upside down so long.

He took a deep breath. “One-Eye! Are you here? Or do I hear the carrion birds awaiting my death?â€

Alacrity and synchronicity had become ideas of the past. Minus thought he had moved beyond these ideas. But he wasn’t really certain of anything.

“Two nights and three days. And you think you have found power? Do you think this is enlightenment? Do you think you are Aesir? You are none of these things, youngling. You are impatient. You have not seen magic.â€

The old man didn’t look weary now. Not at all. He looked powerful and commanding. We looked like war incarnate.

He climbed the tree and sat on a branch just short of Minus’ head. He reached out to touch Minus’ limp arms. He took hold of both of Minus’ wrists, and Minus jerked in pain. There was a smell of burning flesh. The old man let go. Minus clenched his teeth with the pain and lifted his arms so he could see them.

The flesh on his arms was bright red and still smoking. He recognized some sigils of power and strength burned deeply into his skin.

“What is this, All-Father? What are you doing to me?â€

But the old man had already took his leave, and the ravens with him. Minus hung on the tree feeling completely and utterly alone. He has never felt so lonely in his life. Or had he? Once before.. He wasn’t sure. He slipped back into unconsciousness.

—-

Jack
I Listen.

The Cost of Magic
Section #22
The Birth of an Aesir

Tags: 2008, aesir, alacrity, branding, cog, Cost of Magic, death, enlightenment, ideas, jack, life, magic, Minus, mud, novel, now, old, OS, past, pool, raven, ravens, short, sigil, sigils, sun, synchronicity, teeth, The Cost of Magic, thought, US, war

This is the 21st section of my novel. If you haven’t read the first 20, you might want to start here.

Electric Lights
—-

Minus was aware that he was unconscious. He knew he was seeing his past. He saw the memory from the third-person. He was shocked when he heard his own voice begin to narrate the memory.

I lie awake at night, watching the air sparkle, like electricity.

When I was a child, they told me these things were not real. But, one day, I reached out and grabbed at a sparkling strand. When I did, life changed, and fell, and melted.

Shortly thereafter, I found my nine-year-old self standing at the foot of a long staircase cut out of rock, laid with wood, and dirt, and cement in certain places. I was utterly confused. I did not know where I was, or how I got there, but I started running up the stairs. I remember tripping over a step, and falling. My knees and elbows were scraped, searing with pain. I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was on a sofa, in a large, rustic house. A fire crackled in front of me. I sat up, surveying the room. There was a grisly old man sitting in a chair across from me.

“Hi there,†he spoke when he noticed I was awake. “What brought you to my steps, young man? Few people show up around here these days. My name is Othin, what’s yours?â€

I stammered through a story of the confusion and the electricity, and the sparkles. Othin merely nodded as the story went on.

“I understand,†Othin said as the story came to a close. “I have a feeling I know your father. Let’s talk. There are two pills on that table next to you. Take the red one, it’ll make this easier..â€

That little pill that tasted like jelly, was the cause of a grand awakening in Minus. Grabbing that electric spark had changed his life. Curiosity. Insatiable. And it would be that way for the rest of his life.

He thought about this for a long time in the black-out that was forced meditation.

—

Jack
I Listen.

The Cost of Magic
Section #21
Electric Lights
flashback

Tags: 2008, AIR, change, Cost of Magic, falling, jack, life, magic, meditation, memory, Minus, new, novel, now, old, OS, Othin, past, people, pills, rock, short, spark, talk, The Cost of Magic, thought, time, US, war

This is the 20th section of my novel. If you haven’t read the first 19, you might want to start here. Section 20 starts Part 2 of the novel.

Enter Odin, or The Hanging of a Demi-God
—-

Minus woke up a few hours later, hanging upside down from the giant tree. He could see an older man, with unkempt hair and beard. He only had one eye and the ravens were sitting on his shoulders. He was still very large and muscular for his age.

“What is it this time, old man?†said Minus.

“Oh, so you do remember our last talk, youngling? This is indeed a surprise. My brother Othin told me you would be here. Of course, I knew already. What is it you seek, child? What more could I possibly teach you? You are too weak. Your mind too fragile.â€

“All-Father, I did not come here for your knowledge. I have come for my own.†Minus spoke with a harshness that his expression could not show, since he was hanging upside down by a rope tied to one ankle.

“Ahh… I see. You are tired. Tired of your delusional life and your ‘doctor’s’ pineal poisons. This is admirable. To hold ones own memories as only the Aesir can. I will take my leave. Should you succeed, you will see me again.â€

The old man looked weary as he left. Minus had never seen him look so tired and beaten. He didn’t like what this could mean.

***

Back at Minus’ house, Jane was busy studying with a see-through Victor Mancini. She was alone today. Some days Kotoko would show up, and they’d study together, but Kotoko had a job and she was still in school.

Minus had been gone for three days now. Mancini insisted he would be fine and return unharmed. Jane tried not to worry, and regularly took the tiny little purple pills that Mancini had recommended. Apparently they were something that Minus had made up in his “Apothecary,†as Mancini referred to it.

Sometimes Jane would go upstairs and look out the windows to watch that horrible Mist. She didn’t like the idea of Minus and Kotoko being out in it. Kotoko couldn’t even see it until the night she met Minus.

“And what was so important about Minus?†Jane thought to herself. She loved him, she knew that much. But it seemed like he affected everyone he came into contact with. Without even realizing it, people seemed to find that their lives revolved around Minus and his actions.

Sometimes, when Mancini would be talking, Jane would daydream a little. She would start to get the feeling that there was something important that she could not remember. There was a hazy feeling to her eighteenth year. She started to think a lot about that time period.

After Mancini would leave for the day, she would try to remember things about that year. But everything seemed perfectly normal. That’s what really bothered her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that her memories had a sense of fabrication to them. It was too normal. She would dream of it at night.

These thoughts began to occupy more of her time as the days passed. On the fifth day, she asked Doctor Mancini about the Akashic Library, and how she could get there.

—-

Jack
I Listen.

The Cost of Magic
Section #20
Enter Odin, or The Hanging of a Demi-God

Tags: 2008, action, actions, aesir, age, AIR, akashic, akashic library, being, contact, Cost of Magic, god, jack, Jane, knowledge, Kotoko, library, life, love, magic, Mancini, memories, mind, Minus, mist, new, novel, now, Odin, old, OS, Othin, people, pills, pineal, raven, ravens, rope, school, talk, talking, The Cost of Magic, thought, thoughts, time, US, windows, worry

Well, it’s Monday again.

I took most of this week off in an effort to finish the final publishing details for Loki Listens Volume 1.  I think the effort went pretty well.  :)  You can now purchase my first book for download directly to your Amazon Kindle!  I’ll have details on the print release soon.  It’s in the final approval process.  I’m also working on a release for mobile readers.  More details on that soon.  Also, please remember the book is available in eBook(PDF) format for free on the ‘Classroom’ tab at the top of this page!

As many of you know, I am a regular guest on the podcast, Something Kinda Techy.  There is a new one up now.  You can listen to all of these podcasts from here.

In personal life, I’ve had some bad dental problems this week, but I believe they are now resolved.

With all of that out of the way, I think we are ready to head into Part 2 of The Cost of Magic.  Look for it tomorrow.

Jack
I Listen.

Monday Update
February 23, 2009

Tags: 2009, age, amazon.com, book, cast, class, classroom, Cost of Magic, ebook, effort, feedburner, guest, i am, jack, kindle, life, Loki Listens, magic, monday, new, now, OS, PDF, podcast, publishing, readers, something kinda techy, tech, The Cost of Magic, update, work