Learn Me Right | NeverQuiteAwake | (33/33) - 156.5k | Mar - Jul ‘21 | Series Ongoing
As a maiden of Vanaheim, Eirlys never expected to deviate from the path set before her. Her life takes an unanticipated turn when she becomes Queen Frigga's latest apprentice, and she finds herself at odds with an especially vexing Asgardian prince. Pre-Thor and onwards.
Note: (In honour of the impending release of the Loki miniseries and my sceptical optimism for it, I'm highlighting a few canon-adjacent Loki works that can pass the time between new episodes or, if you're like me, distract from new content long enough to miss the first wave of inevitable Discourse.) This first entry in The Shieldmaiden Saga by NeverQuiteAwake was actually completed in early 2014 on FanFiction.Net, which lists the completion dates of two subsequent sequels as October 2014 and July 2017 respectively. I'd only recently learned of it though, when in March of 2021 NeverQuiteAwake began publication of an edited, M-Rated iteration of Learn Me Right on AO3. I've committed to avoid spoiling myself with the finished work, and have thus far deeply ejoyed their depiction of the trials a young seidr scholar might face among our favourite Asgardians. Not to mention NQA's updates have been so frequent I've been able savour the anticipation of a new chapter without dreading that the author might suddenly abandon the story.
- Author's Page on FanFiction.net | Series on AO3 -
The sky glimmered with the warmth of daybreak. Hands curled in the tangle of bedclothes, I blinked away the weariness that threatened to steal away the vision that lay before me. Like a child at play, the sun slowly peeked over the horizon, basking all that it could touch. A spectrum of reds and yellows lit the sky, the colours spilling across the rolling hills and sprawling woods. The lands of Vanaheim looked to be aglow in fire.
With a wistful smile, I clambered out of bed and padded onto the balcony. Leaning on the balustrade, I tilted my face upwards to revel in the burgeoning warmth of the sun. Autumn was upon Vanaheim, and soon the clouds would take up residence in the skies above. I’d awakened to watch the sun’s ascent, the dawning of a new day, for what would be the last time in a long while. Many months would pass before I’d be able to witness such beauty again.
A soft knock at my bedchamber door pulled me away from the sight. “Enter!”
The door opened to reveal my handmaiden, her eyes bright and cheery. It was a wonder, how she was able to awaken before me every day. And my father calls me an early riser. “A fine morning, is it not, my lady?” Arlessa said, bustling about my room to prepare my attire for the day.
“Yes, lovely indeed,” I sighed. “I will miss it. The rains will be coming soon, no doubt.”
Arlessa hummed in agreement as she went rifling through my wardrobe. She selected a sleeveless apricot-coloured dress—one of my more practical garments. “Your father bid me to tell you that he has gone to greet Queen Frigga at the Bifrost site.”
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