The warrior and the god stood at the edge of a field, a dirt path trailing across it and ending where they were; in front of a large gate, surrounded with a massive wall - if one flew for days, they would not be able to make it all the way up. It appeared to be composed of some kind of wood, coloured a pale blue with gold at the bottom. The gate appeared to be standing on its own, and outlined with a golden frame with patterns styled after feathers. It looked majestic, and it was slightly open, allowing one to see the bright blue sky on the other end. This was the main link between Asgard and the rest of the realms, mostly Midgard. This was the Val Gate.

"So, you know what to do here, yes?" Thor was the first to speak. "Just step out of that gate, and your fate is in your hands."

"Yeah, as long as Odin agrees." Oz chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "We can only hope that my victory is what's preordained."

Thor watched as Oz slowly stepped forward, taking a deep breath and crossing his arms. "Hope is important, but if you don't try, it is meaningless." he said, watching as the einherjar nodded. "I'll be back at home, okay? I can watch and communicate with you telepathically, but only once you leave Asgard."

"And this gate...is the first step." he said, pressing his hand to one side of the gate as he stood right in front of it. "Alright. Wish me luck."

"Hah, very well, then. Good luck, Oz!"

At that, Thor punched the air, and in a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder, he was gone. Oz took a deep breath and put his hand to his chest, feeling his heart pounding as he looked ahead, trying to envision what fate laid before him. He knew his promotion hinged on this, so he knew he had to put on a good show. So, putting on both a figurative and literal mask, he pushed the door open and stepped out, looking out at the beautiful scene that lay ahead of him.

https://youtu.be/QM3YC6Wmlfo

Yes, the sky was a gorgeous azure, filled with wispy white clouds that stretched out through the entire ether. From the mouth of the Val Gate, there was a bright burning rainbow, extending out and dipping down below. Oz knew what this was, naturally.

"Bifrost...the bridge between the Realm of Light and the land of humans." he thought, feeling the rushing wind blowing against him as he spread his arms out. "All I need to do is keep my destination in mind, and this rainbow will lead me."

So, keeping his sights on the rainbow, he jumped off the precipice and allowed himself to fall along its length, until he saw it curve to his right as he fell. As he kept his arms spread out, a rune appeared on his back, just below his neck - a green runic circle with the 'ᛋ' character in the centre. At once, a pair of dovelike wings, seemingly made from light, sprouted from the rune, and flapped as they guided him to follow the rainbow, with Gleipnir in mind.

He watched the rainbow twist and turn, following its every move while laughing joyously. Moving away from the heavens and into the sky, Oz soared as fast as he could, clearly enjoying himself. Eventually, he heard a familiar, thundering voice infiltrate his mind.

"Oz? Can you hear me now? It's me, Thor!"

Nearly thrown off-balance by the sudden sound, Oz continued to fly, sighing slightly. "I hear you loud and clear!" he exclaimed.

"Good, good." Thor said. "Now, I can see you're following Bifrost. This would be your first time, right?"

"It would," Oz replied. "And it's exactly as you described! This feels great!"

"I can imagine it does." Thor chuckled a little. "You have your destination, so do keep following it. You'll get there eventually."

Smiling, Oz obliged, continuing to follow the rainbow as he kept his eyes on it. "You know, now that I'm here, I wonder." he began. "What would happen if multiple people were to fly on this bridge to go to different destinations? Would it branch? Or can it only work on one person at once?"

"A good question. Of course it branches. Not that people go to different places very often, but Odin thinks of everything, after all!" Thor exclaimed cheerfully. "It's a very convenient way of getting to places when monsters threaten Midgard."

"Yeah..." Oz murmured, staring at the beautiful rainbow.

"Which, as luck would have it, is exactly what is going on now." Thor sighed. "But worry not, Oz! For you have me to guide you as your unofficial Patron!"

"Truly, I am blessed." Oz agreed, smiling. "But now I wonder, why aren't you an official Patron? You'd be great at it!"

"You think so, huh?" Thor said, slightly more quietly. "Do you know what the relationship between a Patron and a Guest is?"

"I'd like to say yes, but I feel like I'm about to learn I've been misunderstanding it." Oz said, after thinking about it for a little. "Why don't you exposit away?"

"With pleasure!" Thor cleared his throat. "The role of a Patron is a simple one: to act as a warrior's guide. We Aesir are a blessing bestowed upon those smiled upon by the power of Myriad Might! And the Aesir who guides one of these warriors is a 'Patron', while the warrior himself is that deity's 'Guest'!"

"And...why don't you explain for us just what the Patron gets out of this deal?"

"Gladly. In exchange for the god's protection and guidance, the Guest is expected to assist the Patron whenever needed. Usually through helping with their divine duties. Odin, God of Wisdom, has had numerous Patrons serve as fortune tellers to help keep fate on the right track." Thor explained. "And therein lies my problem; I am a war god."

"...oh."

"Yes, that's right. If I were to take on a Guest, they would be expected to accompany me in battle!" Thor chuckled quietly. "And the battles that I get into are not the sort that most einherjar, humans, or any other lower being could handle..."

"...so in the end, it's just better for everyone if you leave this system alone." Oz commented, turning his eyes to the rainbow as he began to see the land below, somewhat clearer than before - though each individual structure wasn't even an ant to him. He knew Thor was also a thunder god and a sky god, but he wondered just how one would help him with either of those.

"Precisely." Thor stated. "Not being a Patron also allows me to use my time to train up the weak and make formidable warriors out of them."

"Like me." Oz smiled beneath the mask. "I suppose it's a good thing, then."

"But, Patron or not, just know you have my guidance!" Thor exclaimed. "With your brilliance and the master of the skies on your side, you cannot falter!"

"That's right!" Oz cheered in agreement. "Onward! To Gleipnir! We've got a wolf to muzzle!"

In seemingly high spirits, Oz continued his flight, following Bifrost's every curve as he looked at the ground below. Being so high above the Realm of Humans made him feel like a god, and it was almost enough to make him forget what he was there for. As the brilliant bridge of the gods began to slope downhill in a wide spiral, Oz followed suite, recognising that he was nearing his destination and the only way from here was down.

"You're nearing the end, Oz!" Thor exclaimed, seeing that Midgard was close enough for the einherjar to see more clearly. High above the ground and beneath the clouds, Oz saw an enormous, arcane-looking structure take up most of his vision, surrounded in a vast grassy plain, and saw the rainbow leading in front of that structure.

"I see." he nodded in understanding. "Then in that case, full speed ahead!"

So, he put his hands together and flew even faster, shrouded in a thick aura of green lightning that hid his body, leaving a white silhouette in his place to anyone who might be looking. In this way, he descended to the earth on ivory wings.

.........

https://youtu.be/QQ8y81D_IGY

In a crash of lightning and a marvellous explosion, Oz landed on the grassy field, assuming a three-point stance before standing up and taking a bow. Hearing Thor beginning to clap loudly, he smiled and looked up.

"Nine out of ten!" the god exclaimed. "That landing was so good, it almost made me ignore how your ankles should be shattered!"

"Thank you, thank you." Oz replied, clearly proud of his superhuman physiology as his wings disappeared and he turned to face the chamber in front of him, taking off his mask in the process. And what a marvel it was; its appearance was that of a giant cube, black in colour with glowing blue cracks and a subtle bluish glaze that made it seem like it was covered in ice. Surrounding it was a circular stone podium with steps leading up to it, imprinted with runic symbols that lacked the expected glow. The podium itself had broken bone-steel chains strewn across it. "So...this is Gleipnir..."

"Indeed." Thor agreed. "As you can see, it's in quite a sorry state."

Staring at the empty symbols, Oz had his hand on his chin as he read the runes, each one reading "ᛒᛖᚲᚾᛁᛏᛏᚨᚾ" in the Elder Futhark alphabet. Recognising this as the incantation for a binding spell after wracking his brain, he hummed. "There used to be an enchantment here, didn't there?"

"Right you are." Thor's voice echoed in his mind. "Mere chains alone couldn't possibly keep Fenrir at bay, especially not while he is at the peak of his strength. So this chamber was formed with Odin's finest binding magic, keeping Fenrir trapped inside."

"And yet, he managed to break free..." Oz murmured, shaking his head. "Or more like, someone broke him free."

"Now, that's a scary thought..." Thor said quietly, and at once both of them became shaken at the idea that someone out there was strong enough to undo Odin's bindings. "Surely, it's the first option, no?"

"It can't be, that doesn't make any sense." Oz shook his head, frowning. "If he couldn't break out at the start, why would that change now that he's weaker? No, my friend, this was an outside job!"

"Ah, you must be right..." Thor sighed. "What a troublesome incident indeed. Perhaps this ought to be reported to Odin."

"Perhaps." Oz nodded slowly. "Thor, do you think you could scan the area? Maybe we could get a hint as to where he went from here."

"Oh, good idea!" Thor audibly perked up. "Here goes...Warzone Radar!"

Once he said that, Oz heard a cacophonous thunderclap as he felt Thor's divine power flowing into him like a flourishing, passionate rush of adrenaline. His eyes glowed yellow and his vision became outlined in a dark glow, with multiple different colours on different parts of the field, each one he could sense as the leftover traces of different types of magic. The entire chamber, for instance, had a few grey magic particles rising off it, corresponding to Void magic, the absence of Light and Dark. So presumably, a human's doing.

Oz couldn't see much else, however, with the only other thing worthy of note being the odd red glittering on the field ahead, which he understood to be the faint residue of Fire-element magic. "So he went somewhere this way...but where?"

"See anything?" Thor asked, to which Oz nodded.

"I see very little." the warrior replied. "What element does Fenrir wield? Because I sense a Fire element somewhere north of my position."

"Aye, that would be him." Thor said. "You don't see anything more specific, though...so shall we get going?"

"Of course." Oz nodded, beginning to walk across the field and following the sparkling black magic. He only made it a few steps across, however, when more magic began to litter his vision, he stopped. These took the form of multiple circles, a very pale shade of blue that he could correctly identify as warp-type magic. "...actually, hold that thought."

Thor, going from watching Oz from a third-person view to looking through his eyes, saw this and shook his head from his seat. Turning off the Warzone Scan, he watched Oz's eyes return to their usual green colour. "Look sharp!"

"Are these robes not sharp enough?"

"You know what I mean! You're being ambushed!"

https://youtu.be/z1Hc52irbis

No sooner than Thor had said that, several figures appeared in brief pillars of light where the circles had once been. People of varying frames and statures hidden by their black, hooded cloaks that concealed all. As they eyed Oz and stepped forward, some of them let out sinister chuckles.

"Just you?" a feminine voice spoke out. "Is Odin truly so arrogant as to send a lone knight to deal with us?"

"Must you sound so disappointed?" Oz shrugged with one hand, standing there and examining them closely. They didn't look too strong individually, but there were six of them. Perhaps they had good teamwork.

"Must you look so disappointin'?" a rambunctious-sounding male retorted. "Standin' there with that dopey little grin like you're better than us?"

Oz pouted at that. "I've never claimed to be better than you, I thought it went without saying." he said, before getting more serious. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I wouldn't provoke them too much." Thor warned, audible only to Oz. "Anger can make a fearsome opponent out of even a weakling."

One of the robed individuals cackled while Thor was speaking. Oz narrowed his eyes and watched them as they stepped forward, clutching their sides and hunching over. "Would you look at that!" they exclaimed loudly. "The little knight wants to know who we are!"

"I'm afraid we can't share that information." the first female shook her head, her arms crossed. "I suppose next you're going to ask about Fenrir, correct?"

"Correct!" Oz clapped quickly. "Now, I've already been powerscaled, so could you kindly give me the information I seek? I promise I'll let you go."

"Don't be ridiculous." A deep male voice spoke up. "You're going to die here, Knight of Odin. At least do so with some dignity."

"...alright, I did try." Oz frowned, summoning his pistol to hand and staring at his enemies, who readied themselves into battle stances with their hands raised. "So, this is to be my debut, against..." he trailed off, trying to find a more respectful way to say 'cannon fodder'. "...these 'opponents'. Do any of you wish to introduce yourselves?"

"Take this seriously!" an energetic-sounding woman yelled, frustrated.

"I guess not." Oz nodded his head, twirling his gun dramatically and holding it out with a smile. "If you won't make your introductions interesting, you can at least go out with a bang."

"...was that a-"

https://youtu.be/5Gyv0sAXRxo

Before that unruly individual could finish her sentence, Oz opened fire, striking one with a magic bullet to the chest and startling him somewhat. He didn't let up, moving from side to side and keeping the same target, who put up a translucent magical shield to block the attacks after regaining his bearings.

The rest of them kept him in their crosshairs and went on the offensive, firing off magical spells at the warrior. With aggressive motions, blades of wind, jets of flame, blasts of water, bolts of lightning and chunks of rock were cast and fired. All with gaps between each other, none of the robed mages firing at the same time in order to keep Oz on his toes.

And kept on his toes, he certainly was. Oz was quick and nimble, light of foot, and could avoid the onslaught of magical mayhem like a serpent gliding. Sidestepping out of the way of a lightning lance, he didn't let up for a second as a small barrage of fireballs came his way. He twisted and turned his way out of the salvo, only to be met with a shower of jagged brown stones. At this, he started running forward, quickly picking up speed and sneaking in shots of sacred bullets, moving left and right to dodge the water blasts that came his way. Once the stones were about to land, he warped forward in a flash of light, landing safely in front of the shower only to spot razor-sharp crescents of wind coming in from multiple directions. Thinking quickly, his gun disappeared and he summoned a sabre made from holy magic. Once the blades closed in on him, he parried the one in front of him, clenching his teeth as he allowed the others to hit him.

Seeing a crackling blast of lightning fired towards him, he then narrowly dodged it and began to advance once more, sprouting wings and flying up while reforging the sabre into a dagger. In the air, he had an easier time dodging, and as he drew nearer, he surrounded his body in green lightning and dived straight down, releasing a shockwave upon landing that left the mages momentarily stunned.

Standing up, he twirled the dagger, holding it in reverse grip before lunging at one of them, swiftly slashing them before moving on to another, dodging any magic that was fired at him. This process continued, with the one putting up the barriers not always able to keep up with his speed, and when he moved, he would sometimes drop a pill-shaped grenade with the word Galan inscribed in pink.

Before they could notice what was going on, Oz warped out of their ranks, having dropped a spherical Bladesung grenade near some of them, and took out his gun, shooting said grenade and watching the electrical explosion. It grazed one of the mages, but also set off some of the Galan bombs, which let out a weak wave of energy that set off the other grenades in a chain. The main draw, however, was that with every Galan set off came a piercing, loud and high-pitched screech.

To say the least, it was immensely distracting for the mages, and as they desperately tried to stay focused, Oz faced them. "Thor!"

"As you command!" Thor exclaimed, filling Oz with that same divine adrenaline rush. "Sky Hammer!"

Oz smiled as he punched the sky, causing a low rumbling sound to be heard. Pointing his finger at them, he watched as the sky darkened, black clouds filling it. The barrier mage looked up and panickedly began to cast as an enormous hammer made from lightning fell down rapidly, striking the entire area the enemies were in. As the hostile lightning magic coursed through their bodies, they could no longer put up a fight and, save for the barrier mage, they all collapsed, unconscious.

The barrier mage looked upon his colleagues as they disappeared in a pillar of light, and then looked at Oz's smiling face in fear as the latter slowly approached him, twirling his gun. "So, it's just the two of us, is it?"

"H-Hey, pardner...put the gun down." he stammered, raising his arms defensively. "I-I never meant no harm, really! It's just a prank, bro!"

"You guys mentioned Fenrir, did you not?" Oz asked, his smile unflinching. "Where is he? I'll let you go if you let me know. And if you don't, well...you are human, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"You won't be for much longer!"

"Ah, don't kill me! I'll start talkin', I swear!"

"That's good to hear." Oz spun the gun around a little before pointing the gun at him. "Answers. Fire away."

"F-Fenrir...we sent him to the town of Peuma..."

"Peuma? But why?"

"T'kill people, duh..." the mage answered, and at once Oz put the gun away, thinking that was all he needed to hear. Looking ahead, he began to walk away.

"Thank you." he murmured, his face growing more serious. He left the man alone, taking a deep breath. "Thor, guide me to Peuma."

"Alright, will do." Thor said, divining Oz's surroundings. A few seconds later, a pillar of yellow light began shining somewhere in the distance. "I've marked your destination for you. You'll want to get there quickly, though. It's awfully chaotic there."

Oz nodded wordlessly, and his stride became a sprint. Filled with determination, he knew he had to get there. People had, most likely, already died. The least he could do was prevent the casualties from piling up higher. So he soldiered on - if not to be a first class knight, then to be the hero that Peuma needed.