The insights I gained from forging a partnership with Draioct were profound. My understanding and control over my [Domain] deepening. Most people, at some point in their lives, wondered about their place in the universe and if their lives had meaning. I now began to know mine.

I had begun to lift the curtain that shrouded the mystery of the Divine. As I advanced, I was becoming my [Domain]. As I lay claim to my part in the framework of order and chaos, my reason for existence was becoming apparent.

I would have time to ponder the secrets of creation, the infinite stretched before warping to make room for me. My immortality had always been transient at best. While true that I could live forever, the chances of that happening were slim.

As I took my place within the Tuatha de Danann Pantheon, I escaped the chains of [Death] and his bindings.

For now, my goal was clear. I needed to finish the quests I'd accepted and wake the Tuatha de Danann. I could not take that final step of advancement or claim my place in the Pantheon as a God until they woke.

I exited the [Ring of Hidden Depths], my confidence that I would succeed bolstered by the epiphany my moment of reflection and meditation had allowed.

I returned to Asgard. The area around me was without any of the environmental dangers found within the [Forest of Nightmare Plants] or [Flaming Chasm]. The air was brisk but no colder than a winter's day one might endure on Urt.

There was the slightest smell and taste of cherries in the wind that was hard to isolate. There was no reason for the scent, or at least no apparent reason, but I suddenly had an urge for a cherry-flavored snow cone- a treat I'd enjoyed on hot summer days in my first life.

Ready to move out, I mounted Draioct without issue. His gate was smooth and lacked the jarring motions he'd used to try to unseat me earlier. I settled into a canter, Tia changing to a snow leopard form and navigating the snow, quickly joined me. Ag bounded happily behind, acting more like a spoiled puppy than a fearsome Sidhe hunter.

. I wanted to find the Ice Giants of Jotunheim, and Draioct assured me that he and the Hrimfaxi could safely enter their city of ice. Draioct knew where we were headed, so I left it to him to navigate our course

Jotunn giants were not the mindless, ravaging brutes that folklore would have you believe. They had created their own city and ruled their people with the same trappings of civilization as the Asgardians. They were much like the Titans of Olympus, a defeated people just as much imbued with the Divine, just as much a race of Gods as Odin and his ken.

I began seeing the Jotunn long before their city came into view. Early enough that I was able to warp the fabric of reality using my [Domain] of [Illusion and Glamour] to shape my appearance as well as signaling for Tia and Ag to do the same.

My body grew in size, my skin changed to shades of blue and purple, and my hair became a crest of ice spikes. The [King's Regalia] and [Ring of Hidden Depths] reacted to my illusion and new appearance.

The ring reformed, enlarging to form a vambrace, one stylized with Norse runes. The torc, diadem, and cloak transformed into the armor and clothing I noticed on those Jotunn we came across. The [Scepter of Authority] morphed into an ice pike, twelve feet in length.

My final form was an amalgam of disparate individuals. An every-man persona that would allow me to blend in, my features average and forgettable. There was nothing about me that stood out, nothing that would leave a lasting impression in the minds of those Jotunn I encountered.

Ag had also transformed, his coat of shadow and fire replaced with shadow and ice. His Cu Sith race, hidden in the shape and seeming of an animal from the Fenrir pack. The wolves were as much a part of the Jotunn martial forces as any warrior, the pack's strength adding an element of ferocity that blended well with the Jotunn barbarism.

I would hide in plain sight. My conformity would allow for anonymity in itself.

The city we approached was a fortress built to withstand the eternal battle between the Jotunn and Asgard. The walls had been crafted and imbued with the Jotunn's divine control, able to withstand even the brunt of Thor's hammer for a time.

A shield was raised, a defensive bubble that protected the city from attacks above and below. The shield and walls required an army of Jotunn wizards to funnel their divine magics in a never-ending stream of energy to power the city's defenses.

If the Jotunn wizards ever fell, so would this city.

"Behold, Utgard," Draioct proclaimed as he paused, giving my companions and me the opportunity to take in the immense proportions of a city built to house a race of Giants.

Draioct wasn't really speaking. He was using a form of telepathy, speech augmented by changes in body and muscle to punctuate and make clear what his mind speech missed. Tia and Ag had animal forms of their own, so they were able to interpret what he said easily. Draioct was now a part of me, so I had no difficulties understanding him.

"Why are so many of the outlying towers demolished," Tia asked, her nature as a cat demanding an answer to her curiosity. That was a trait that I would have to monitor carefully. It would serve no purpose for her unbridled curiosity to get us embroiled in something unrelated to our goals.

"Asgard warriors are always trying to test themselves. They attack the Jotunn to prove their strength, braving the walls and towers in order to garner tales of bravery and strength they can boast about. They spend their nights in taverns, belching and farting with abandon as they toast each other with ale and mead by the barrel," Draioct explained with disgust.

I had to admit the mental picture he evoked was not something I cared to witness, and I made a mental note to remain far away from any Asgardian tavern or inn.

"The entrance is near, a passage built from stone carved out of the glacial ice. It is guarded by artifacts and divine portents. Defenses that will strike at any Asgardian, no matter how adept they might be at stealth or disguise."

"Even Loki and Hel?" I asked.

I didn't mean to question the validity of Draioct's claim, but Loki was well known for his schemes. The children he sired were with the giantess Angrboda, and I doubted she would stand for her mate being barred from a city ruled by giants.

As for her children, I was confident they had always been afforded passage without contest.

"Loki, as well as his and Angrboda's children, have been gifted with an artifact of Giant manufacture. Trinkets that allow them to ignore the sentries and defenses that would activate and test them if they tried to enter Utgard without them," Draioct replied.

"That may present a problem," I mused aloud. "My [Glamour] will probably not withstand the scrutiny of a divine artifact."

"You needn't worry," Draioct assured me. "The artifacts recognize the Hrimfaxi as allies of the Jotunn. Our herds and the Fenrir wolves have the same protections as the people of the city.

"You and I have joined our destinies. We are partners, and the spark of divinity that protects me from those artifacts now extends to you and your bonded.

"That bonus comes with a disadvantage. My enemies and the enemies of the Hrimfaxi will treat you with the same hatred they hold towards us."

Not the worse disadvantage, more like a faction reputation than anything. It didn't matter. I would not change my mind or regret my decision to claim Draioct. We would not be staying in Asgard, and he would have no enemies among the Tuatha de Danann.