<center>Gather around, Oneiromancers, for on this day we bring to thee,
A story, straight from the mouth of Vindhlér!
The man of many names;
Watcher of Asgard;
Born of the seas;
The All-Seer;
Praise be to his name, and <b>[[listen]].</b></center><center> <h1>Sleipnir</h1>
The tale begins like this:
In the early days of Asgard, a builder approaches the gods with a [[deal]]...</center>The Builder tapped his pointer against the slide he'd set up. "...so in summary, the wall will fortify the entirety of Asgard, including your Valhalla, and will be done in under three seasons. As payment, I would like the sun, the moon, and the hand of Lady Frigg in marriage."
The Builder clapsed his hands together in front of them and smiled hopefully at the hall.
The Aesir gathered together all eyed him skeptically.
Odin had initially allowed him in for his presentation under the assumption that they were dealing with someone competent, but as the Builder's presentation had continued, the Aesir's optimism had waned.
It wasn't that his schematics were bad -- in fact, the more technical of the Aesir had noted that they were //amazing.// Perfectly up to the level they'd hoped for, and the level the Builder was promising. But his promises were his undoing in regards to opinion -- while the walls were expertly made, there was simply no possible chance he would finish it in the alloted time frame.
Either the man was a fool, or there was a trick afoot.
A man well accustomed to tricks chimed in.
"I think we should accept the deal," Loki offered, and his tinkling laugh caused a few people to wince. "I think he can do it."
His words practically decided it then and there, because he'd played his hand in support of the Builder, and there was no chance //certain people// in the hall weren't going to respond.
"I agree," Odin said, causing the builder to perk up. "We'll accept the deal, Builder -- but with a set of conditions of our own. If you fail to live up to them, you will receive no payment."
The Builder straightened his back and smiled at the group. "[[Lay them out,]]" he said.<center>Odin decreed the conditions of the deal with the Builder;
He would have only three seasons to complete the walls, as he had promised;
He may see no aid from any man -- this project was an endeavor sole to him;
And if he fails to fulfill his obligation or breaks a condition, he will receive no payment.
The Builder accepted these conditions, but made one single request,
"I would like to have the aid of my steed and stallion, Svadilfari."
And when the Aesir hesitated, Loki said,
"Not scared of a man with a //horse//, are we, Aesir?
At this point we're borderline cheating the man!"
And so Odin shrugged and said,
"Very well, you may have the aid of your steed."
[[This was a mistake.]]</center>The Aesir forgot about the Builder, for a time.
The Builder was clever, and he started his work at the outermost edges of Asgard, where most of the Aesir or the einherjar would not see his work, and he set about constructing the walls.
It was only when the walls began to close in on the cities of Asgard itself, after two whole season and then some, did Hoenir say, "Wait a minute... these walls are progressing a lot faster than I thought they would..."
And he brought this to the attention of the other Aesir, and they spectated the Builder's process.
The Builder himself was just a man, but his steed, oh, boy!
The steed Svadilfari carted stone ten times his weight, strode across the land faster than the fastest of the horses over in Vanaheim, and even laid the foundations of the walls with a surprising level of deftness, given his hooves.
Three days before the deadline of the deal, the Aesir realized that the Builder was going to win.
[[They convened.]]"So this is Loki's fault," Tyr said.
Loki squawked, placing a hand against his chest. "Excuse me?" he exclaimed. "Quite a rude and //unfounded// assertion!"
"No, my friend, it is most definitely your fault!" Thor laughed.
"You did step up for this man," Odin said, "and argue that we should agree to his deal."
"Why, but you agreed, All-Father," Loki said, smirking. "You set the wager."
"And if I hadn't, he might have finished already," Odin said easily.
A chorus of agreement with Odin and general blame washed through the assembled Aesir. Loki glanced around and saw no overly friendly gazes being sent his way. His natural instinct to //talk, talk, talk,// warred with his subconscious knowledge that he should keep quiet, and he visibly struggled not to start an argument.
"I agreed with this under the assumption that we were going to cheat this man," Frigg said.
"Oh, we are," Odin said. His eyes turned sharp when he looked towards Loki. "Loki, fix this."
Loki couldn't help himself. "Why me?" he whined.
"Thor, break Loki's legs if he doesn't go fix this," Odin commanded.
Thor and Loki both blinked. After a moment, Thor shrugged. "I am sorry, my friend!" he said, marching towards Loki.
Loki threw up his hands and backpedaled quickly. "Hold on, now," he said.
"We can drown you afterwards," Odin added.
Loki's laugh had a nervous tinge to it. "Alright, alright, no need for the violence," he said, causing Thor to stop and Odin to quirk a brow. "I'll have this problem solved by the [[end of the night]]!"The walls of Asgard were nearly done. The builder directed his steed Svadilfari easily, the mark of an experienced rider, as he guided the stallion down the rode towards the final deposit of stone they would need to complete the project.
The Builder heard a rustling in the forest, and tensed -- but then a horse trotted out into the road before them. Svadilfari came to a stop.
The Builder squinted at the horse. A solid grey coat, not all that skittish in demeanor...
Wait a second. That wasn't just a horse, that was a //mare.// And...
The mare neighed towards them.
Oh, no.
Svadilfari reared up suddenly, and before the Builder had a chance to react he had slipped out of the saddle. With his great strength, Svadilfari tore apart his tack and bounded towards the mare.
The mare turned and raced off into the woods, and Svadilfari followed.
"...Hm," the Builder said. "Fuck."
He [[chased after them.]]While the Builder managed to recapture Svadilfari around dawn, after an entire night spent chasing after his steed, when he set back to work he found his horse far lazier and his momentum gone.
The next few days went by, and as much as he tried, the Builder finished the walls a day after his deadline.
Odin and some of the other Aesir stood atop the wall the Builder had constructed and looked down at him.
"It's a good wall!" Odin assured him. "But you failed to meet the deadline!"
"So, what?" the Builder called. "I just don't get paid?"
"That was the deal," Odin said.
"But that sucks," the Builder said.
Odin shrugged.
"I just spent three years building this," the Builder continued. "And I'm not going to get any payment?"
"That's not my problem," Odin responded. "You agreed to the deal. But look on the bright side! It's a good wall. You can really get your name out there with this. Think of how many contracts you'll get as a result."
The Builder hopped off of Svadilfari and kicked at the wall. The wall was, unfortunately, too well made to fall at a few petulant kicks. "I'm going to climb up there and beat you up, old man," the Builder promised.
Odin frowned. "Well you're not going to be getting any more work if you treat your customers like this," he chided.
But when the Builder made as if to actually climb the wall, Thor hopped down and literally punted that guy into another realm.
Problem solved!
A few days later, completely out of the blue, Thor said, "Wait, [[whatever happened to Loki?]]"<center>The Aesir lived it up luxuriously in Asgard with their new set of walls;
A few of them happened to wonder where Loki had gone off to,
And nine months later their question was answered,
When Loki returned to Asgard, carrying with him a grey foal;
The foal, strangely enough, had //eight// legs;
His name was Sleipnir,
And when he grew up, Odin took him as his steed.</center>