Old Odin... Because of what I've done...there will be no Asgard soon. The Age of Odin and his sons is ending... Fire and chaos are coming. And I am the Lord of Chaos! 
- —Loki
Appearing in "The Crooked Path"
Featured Characters:
- Loki (Main story and flashback)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- unnamed troll (First appearance; dies) (Only in flashback)
Other Characters:
- unnamed farmer (Only in flashback)
- unnamed farmer's wife (Only in flashback)
- unnamed farmer's son (Only in flashback)
- Balder (Mentioned)
- Hoder (Mentioned)
- Aegir's guards
- Valkyries (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
- Frost Giants (Main story and flashback)
- Trolls (Only in flashback)
- Humans (Only in flashback)
- Cows (Mentioned)
- Sheep (Only in flashback)
- Asgardians
- Hawks (Referenced)
- Manta Rays (Referenced)
- Salmons (Referenced)
- Snakes
Locations:
Items:
Events:
- Ragnarok (Referenced)
Synopsis for "The Crooked Path"
Before Loki became what he became, he traveled from Asgard to Midgard and helped a farmer and his wife and crippled son. The farmer was terrorized by a troll who would eat his cows and sheep and in response, he would pray to gods including Odin, Thor, and Balder, although they would sometimes not listen. Loki declared that the farmer and his family were under his protection and killed the troll before insisting that the farmer and his family prayed to him instead of Odin, Thor, or Balder for protection.
Disguised as an eel, Loki swam underwater, beneath the island of Hlesey, to the castle of Aegir, God of the Seas, and snuck past the guards. Loki burst into a hall where Odin had gathered the other gods to discuss Ragnarok which was heralded by Balder's death. The Jotun was upset that Loki did not invite them although Odin offered to let him drink the ale Aegir was serving them. Heimdall commented that Loki would drink the ale that was given to him although would not cry to save Balder. When Loki claimed that Frigga could not definitely say who Balder's father was, Thor threatened him although Odin ordered him to calm down and claimed that the Jotun's tongue was "as loose as a woman's", pointing out that he spent years living as one, causing laughter from even Idunn. When Idunn claimed that Hoder did not deserve to die at Loki's hand, the Jotun insisted that she enjoyed being violated by him before Sif asked him what he was trying to provoke. Loki claimed that he was trying to provoke "truth" before Thor was enraged and his rage was heard throughout the Nine Realms. Thor revealed that there was something he did not tell Odin before Loki revealed that he manipulated Hoder into killing Balder. Then, Odin declared that Loki could no longer live in Asgard before the latter transformed into a hawk and flew away.
Later, Loki fought Thor and was defeated before waking up in chains under a venomous serpent. Thor claimed that he did not kill Loki as "their story wasn't finished yet" and that he had a part to play as leading the armies of the dead according to a dream and that he could never kill his brother. After Thor left, Loki imagined the armies of the dead and believed that his destiny was to be feared and that all he had to do was wait.