Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

"Don't worry, I knew you'd help me... after all, this is not in my interest, but in everyone's interest. Anyway, she's Freydis, one of the strongest Shieldmaidens of the Crows Of Odin Clan. Besides, my woman is also courageous and she decided to take part in our mission" Dag said, immediately making it clear that Freydis should be treated with respect despite the fairer sex and the fact that she had the innocent appearance of a young girl.

"My pleasure, Freydis. You must be proud of your boyfriend's decision... together we will accomplish magnificent feats." 

"I already am. Dag always makes me proud" she replied, without giving Kranus too much confidence, despite his friendly manners. 

The ride to Tungvek lasted a short time, being the great city behind the hill from which the three horses had sprung.

When she saw the majestic and enormous outer walls, Freydis gasped, comparing the size of the Ice Giants' capital to that of Skjegg, which was quite smaller.

"It's magnificent, isn't it? I did the same thing when I first got there. And you haven't seen what's inside yet... you're going to like it" Dag said softly, noting his woman's astonished expression behind him.

The five warriors arrived in front of the huge stone gate, which opened as soon as the soldiers recognized Kranus's white horse.

"This way, Dag. Like the other time, we're going to head to the stable to leave the horses, and then we'll continue on foot" Kranus said, who proceeded behind his guards, making his way.

Freydis's reaction to the sight of the children playing after each other and all the people crowding the streets of the city, was exactly as Dag had predicted. 

As she marveled at everything, focusing on the manicured details of each balcony and corner of the palaces, the time came to get off the horse and tie it into the stable.

Continuing on foot, Kranus made his way to the palace where he lived, the 'Colossus Fortress' and Dag, followed by Freydis and this time also Thalos, joined him.

Although the wolf looked quite menacing, being different from large size dogs, the people who saw him did not seem to be intimidated, to the point that even some children approached him to play and pet him.

"I have to ask you a question" Dag exclaimed, out of the blue.

"What is it?" Kranus replied, opening his ears well.

"If we must first eliminate the threat of the Claws Of Fenrir and I have to fight alongside you, I need to know how exactly your army is structured. I know it's a risk for you to give such sensitive information to a total stranger, but if I'm not familiar with the role of your Jotunns and the commanders who lead your troops, I don't guarantee I will give my best in battle" Dag continued, unscrupulous.

"Ehehe... I already realized that you were a direct person by the fact that you don't use a lot of puns and you go straight to the point. I like it, it's a thing that we have in common! This way, follow me" the mage replied, pleased by Dag's pretentious request, demanding respect from anyone, even one as important as the leader of an unknown Clan.

The white-bearded magician changed direction and walked along with his two guests the road that lined the west side of the building, circumnavigating it and heading into the neighborhood behind it.

Once around the icy corner of the Colossus Fortress, the two adventurers found themselves in front of a giant black rock arena surrounded by some concrete constructions, in which many warriors were training.

"Wow! Their training arena is an entire neighborhood! I've never seen anything like it, they must have a lot of warriors!" Freydis whispered Dag, immediately noticing that detail.

"Becoming a Jotunn warrior is the greatest aspiration of any young man in Tungvek, that's why our army is the largest of Krypstorm" Kranus replied, hearing the whispered words of the girl, who was astonished.

"How do you do that? I mean... how do you turn into Jotunns? Is it a particular skill?" Dag asked, intrigued by the fact that the young warriors who were training in the middle of the arena were fighting in their human forms.

"Yes, exactly. It is one of the first skills we teach our warriors when they turn 18. It's called 'Growth'. I guess you're wondering why not all our warriors turn into Jotunns before the fight, right?" 

Dag nodded.

"Although the skill is very easy to learn, keeping Jotunn form for an extended period of time is not an easy thing and not everyone can do it. Only a warrior with enough experience, having practiced this skill for a long time, can fight in the form of Jotunn, unleashing all his physical strength against his opponents." 

"You have to drink the blood of human beings to do this, don't you?" Dag asked again, recalling what he had seen on the shores of Runar during the battle against the giants.

"Yes, more or less. As I was explaining to you, after the transformation, the physical strength of those who activate the ability triples or quadruples, depending on the characteristics of the subject... but this, as you can imagine, requires a lot of energy to the body, which from the moment of transformation, begins to consume quickly. To restore some of the fuel and to not interrupt the metamorphosis, you need to ingest blood, but not just anyone... you need the blood of the marrow, which is extracted right here" Kranus explained, pointing to the back of his neck with his finger, which is the exact spot where all the victims found on the beach after the Jotunns attack were injured.

Freydis made a disgusted expression, having not personally witnessed those macabre scenes of sets of corpses piled up in the sand and covered in insects and saltiness. 

"Anyway, this is just a detail. As you may have noticed, my warriors are not only specialized in hand-to-hand combat, but many of them are powerful wizards. I, before becoming the General Commander of the Giants Of Ymir Army, was their Master" Kranus replied, explaining for the first time a small part of his personal history.