The feast hall pulsed with warm light as the Skalds' low chants grew into a rising chorus, their voices weaving old words of blessing and power. The gods settled along the carved benches, polished bronze cups now filled with thick golden mead that caught the flickering torchlight with each tilt. Servants moved silently between the tables, placing platters of roasted boar glazed with honey, braised venison, and steaming loaves of barley bread studded with crushed juniper berries.
At the high table, Odin sat with Frigg at his side, her pale hair glowing softly in the hearthlight as she cradled their newborn son wrapped in thick white furs lined with wolf hide. Zeus sat to Odin's right, his broad shoulders unmoving as he watched the gathered gods with calm golden eyes, each flicker of lightning beneath his skin casting faint shadows along the carved wood of his throne.
