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"Mimir, before we met you, we talked to a spirit who said that his mom was killed by Thor, after he came to the spirit's family when they built a statue of him. Do you know anything about that?" Atreus asked the former ambassador of the gods. Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir were out exploring Midgard, when Atreus asked Mimir the question.
"Can't say I do, laddie." Mimir replied thoughtfully. "But Thor has a foul attitude, and a raging temper. It definitely sounds like something Thor would do, 'specially if he had one-too-many drinks."
"Thor, like all gods, is a selfish tyrant that built a reputation based on fear and death." Kratos interjected. "Anyone who isn't 'worthy' by his standards, either god or mortal, may fall victim to his cruelty."
"That does remind me of a story from my days as ambassador, though." Mimir recalled. "Have either of you heard the story of 'The Sad Lad'?"
"No, I haven't." Atreus replied.
"The tale goes like this." Mimir began. "Thor liked to make himself popular in small villages and towns, especially ones that praised him. He would enter their homes, eat their food, drink their wine, and sleep in their beds. On this one occasion, Thor had drunken far too much of this one wine, and had a nasty attitude to the family who he was with at the time. He got into an argument with the family's father, and knocked him out with his mug. Outraged, and far too young to understand the situation, a young boy kicked the God of Thunder in the knee to avenge his father. Thor replied by slapping the lad across the face, which knocked the boy off his feet and on the floor."
"What? Why would he hit a child?" Atreus asked.
"All gods are cruel." Kratos replied. "Think of Magni and Modi. They tried to kill you."
"Well, yeah, but they had their reasons to." Atreus said. "Thor just attacked this kid for no reason!"
"Not for no reason, lad." Mimir interrupted. "All Thor saw was a figure attack him. He was far too drunk to realize or care about the age of his attacker."
"He would not have cared even if sober." Kratos stated.
"Possibly." Mimir considered. "But he wouldn't have gotten so worked up about it if sober. He probably would have just scared the kid away. But anyway, back to the story. After receiving a blow from a god, the young lad burst into tears and loud cries. This sound was so repulsive to Thor's ears, that he covered his ears from the agonizing noise and left the village that night."
"Pathetic." Kratos stated, shaking his head. "To be defeated by only tears."
"Yes, well, the story doesn't end there." Mimir told the God and young Demigod. "You see, Thor left quite an imprint on the young lad. Such an imprint, that any time after that, when Thor returned to the village, the young lad would burst into tears of fear after just seeing the God of Thunder again. And every single time, the villagers would be ashamed and disgusted by the child's disrespectful actions, and Thor would grow more and more annoyed of the cries by the day."
"Poor kid." Atreus remarked. "It must feel awful to be scared of someone so terrifying, and then shamed for being scared."
"Yes, yes, poor kid. But what happened next was worse! After months of arriving to this village, and constantly being greeted with the annoying cries of a child, Thor snapped. He grabbed the kid by the wrist, and took him away to Asgard. There, he locked the lad in a prison cell under Odin's palace where no one would hear his screams, and just left him there!"
"What!" Atreus quickly rose from the boat in outrage, only to quickly lose his balance and fall back into the seat. "Thor can't just take a child like that!"
"Ah, be he can." Mimir shook his head sadly. "No one would ever try and contradict the decision of a god after all. Especially not one as powerful as Thor."
"That's the sad truth of this world, boy." Kratos said as he stopped rowing the boat, letting it slowly drift across the river. "There are some gods take what they want, do what they want, and don't get any punishment for it. Do you remember what Modi told you back in Tyr's vault?"
Atreus thought for a second, before his eyes widened in realization. "He said that he would make me his new brother."
Kratos nodded. "Exactly."
Atreus went silent for a few moments, before asking, "What happened to that kid?"
"I dunno." Mimir replied. "I was imprisoned in that tree you both freed me from before his mortal lifecycle would have ended. I would say he was roughly 37 at the time I was imprisoned. He's either dead, or was cursed with a fate worse than death at this point."
"Oh." Atreus said in a defeated tone.
"We cannot help everyone we learn about, boy." Kratos said, attempting to comfort his son. "Death is natural."
"Aye." Mimir nodded, which just looked him rocking his head back and forth. "Consider Modi's death as karma, if it puts your mind at ease."
"Quiet, head." Kratos quickly declared, sending Mimir a dark glare. "We shouldn't trade lives."
Mimir realized he shouldn't have said that, and quickly changed the subject. "Perhaps that's enough stories for today."
"I agree." Kratos said, beginning to row the boat again. "Don't focus on the past, boy. It cannot be helped."
"Yes, sir." Atreus nodded sadly.
The trio rowed in silence for the rest of the trip.