The Hundredth Oath

King Odin falls in the last battle against the northern beast tribes. With his dying breath, he makes Loki swear to protect his daughter Freya and to forgive her a hundred times. Loki takes the oath and renounces his divinity, becoming human. Only when the runes shatter will he remember who he was.

Freya ascends the throne. Loki, clad in white, lowers taxes, reforms the laws, and expands the army. He retakes the entire north and crushes the ice fields rebellion. The court whispers that he, not Freya, holds the realm together.

Surt begins to work on Freya. He feeds her rumors about Loki sparing an eastern lord's daughter and making her an envoy. Freya turns cold, strips Loki of the north guard's command seal, and orders him to kneel. Loki's men beg him to march on the throne. He refuses. He will not repay the late king's kindness with treachery.

The ninety-ninth betrayal comes when Surt provokes Loki into a duel, then falls back and paints himself the victim. Freya demands Loki apologize. He refuses. She strips his royal pardon rune in front of the whole court.

At the final council, the nobles accuse Loki of endless war and blame his captain Aiden for the deaths of eastern envoys. Freya follows Surt's counsel and hands the northern army to him. Loki chooses to surrender his command so the realm can have peace.

After the hundredth betrayal, Loki hands her a document to sign. Before she can, word arrives that the horde is breaching the ice field defenses. Loki ends the regency and the betrothal with one final sentence: “From this day forward, no matter how many lifetimes pass, you and I will never meet again.”

From that day, no one is left to guard the north.