I was interrupted in my discussion when Coyote decided to throw a wrinkle into my plan and focus the attention of each Pantheon on me. “Does anyone else find it odd that the little Godling would cry foul while hiding behind illusion and glamour?

“I think the Tuatha de Danann representative should have the grace and bravery to reveal who he truly is.”

“Coyote, the trickster God is concerned with my small powers of [Illusion and Glamour]?” I sneered in answer. “I will be more than happy to drop whatever small illusions I might be using as long as you refrain from obfuscation and misdirection.

“This assembly can do without the little tricks you enjoy whenever you grow bored. Or simply want to stir things up.

“I know that is part and parcel of who you are, but these proceedings will go much smoother if Gods like you, Loki, and Hermes suppress your natural inclinations and stop trying to influence or disrupt this conclave of Pantheons.

“And what part of the future I warned against, a future that the Fates and Norns could not or would not swear is false, is about me crying foul? What I have shown this convocation of Gods is not a trick. That is more your [Domain] than mine.”

“Fine,” Coyote snarled, “I concede that what you have presented is a true representation of what the future may hold, the most likely outcome of events, but I still would see who it is we are dealing with.”

“You mean to say you can’t pierce the veil of illusion I have in place? Is a major God unable to negate the magics of illusion from a Godling? I wonder why that might be?”

I knew the Jotunn hadn’t been able to see past my illusions, but I’d assumed that had something to do with where they fell on the power scale. They weren’t worshiped, and I’d thought they barely passed the Godling rank.

That Coyote couldn’t see through my illusion, as well, was telling. I knew the Tuatha de Danann and [Fairy] had protected me from scrying. Perhaps that protection had grown to encompass my illusions. Or perhaps it was simply a function of protection each Pantheon enjoyed. It would make sense that Gods of similar [Domains] could not interfere with each other when in contested or neutral areas.

I had, in effect, invaded Asgard. Maybe the rules that govern each God offered me some protection. The matter of [Domain] overlap was certain to have nuanced applications that I was unfamiliar with yet. Something I probably wouldn’t understand fully until I took that final step into Godhood.

“No matter,” I continued, “it isn’t as if keeping my illusions in place makes much of a difference.”

Turning to the group that I had chosen to attend this meeting with me, those that were still mortal, for all their immortality, I motioned for them to turn around. “There are certain magics I would spare you from fighting. I have been ‘gifted’ with a [Curse of Beauty] that might captivate you and make you a mindless slave to that beauty.

“I would not see any of you trapped under that curse. It is best if you refrain from looking at me until I reform my illusions and you are protected.”

Dracula seemed the most curious, the most likely to risk a glance. It made sense; his hypnotic abilities and [Aura] cloaked him in his own type of glamour. It was how he beguiled humans, how he could feed without detection.

His [Aura] wouldn’t be strong enough to protect him, but I had given a warning. What he decided to do was on him.

I released the illusion and glamour that I had crafted, that had become such a part of me that it was almost like a second skin. It took actual effort to suppress the magic that I had become so comfortable using.

Once the illusions had been stripped away, I reached up to remove the mask that I had crafted of ice. I didn’t have to. The mask was not an illusion, but it was still a means to hide my appearance, so I took it off to reveal my true face.

Once that mask had been removed, I embraced my bloodlines. My connection to Beleros, Cyronax, Cailleach, and Arianrhod combined into a seamless whole as I allowed each aspect of those connections to blaze with power, releasing that explosive power as I expanded my [Aura].

For the first time since I’d gained them, I released all four bloodlines at the same time. I released them without restraint. Each bloodline, as powerful as they were, paled in comparison when I released the mantle of my [Domain]. As my [Authority] over [Illusion and Glamour] lashed across the chambers, they combined with my bloodlines with the echo of the Alpha and Omega revealed in all my glory.

Each God saw me in my full power. The first time I had allowed my true nature to expand, and as I finally lifted the veil of who I was, [Fairy] and [The Wild Magic] answered that power. The Summerlands responded, and those Gods that had coveted that realm saw the barrier between here and there thin. To part just enough that they could see for themselves what lay beyond that barrier.

Yet, even as thin as the veil appeared, that place in betwixt and between remained powerful enough to bar even [Order] and [Chaos] from entering.

“I am a true son of Tuatha de Danann. King of Seelie and Unseelie. And newly ascended Godling,” I proclaimed.

“You!” Bellowed Zeus.

“You!” Odin raged.

“You!” Loki snarled.

They each recognized me. Zeus saw me as the Sidhe King that had compromised Alexander and forced his armies to ignore the Sidhe as Caesar fought for the survival of his Empire. Odin recognized the magical signature used in Elfshot and saw the involvement I’d had in trapping Mothi in [Sleep]. And Loki saw that same involvement in trapping Utgard-Loki in that same version of [Sleep].

Zeus was the only one stupid enough to risk an attack with [Justice] observing. But he and his Pantheon had always found it hard to control their baser emotions. I instinctively knew that I could have deflected the lightning bolt he had cast at me, but I decided to test something else.

Time slowed as I entered a hyper-state of awareness. That place I’d reached when I connected with the Universe and the Universal Laws. I couldn’t win a fight with Zeus, he was the Supreme God of his Pantheon, but that wasn’t what I was after.

I needed his lightning bolt to complete my quest, and if I timed it right, if I moved my hand bearing the [Ring of Hidden Depths] exactly right. I would have the final quest item gifted to me by Zeus himself.

My gambit succeeded, partly, I’m sure, because of the machinations of [Justice] or [Chaos]. The lightning bolt that Zeus had released to smite me was stored safely in my [Ring of Hidden Depths].

I no longer needed to sneak into Olympus and steal one of his bolts. His anger would see the Tuatha de Danann freed. It was only fair. It was his hubris that had seen them succumb to [Sleep].

I had collected the last item needed to complete the Quest. Now I only needed to turn it in and receive my real reward. It was time for the Tuatha de Danann to wake. It was time to play my final card and reveal the secret I had managed to wrest out of the Athena and Loki of my Universe.