She felt the heat of the atmosphere before she burst through the end of the portal. She hit the red earth with enough force to wind her. She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes, involuntarily taking in a deep breath of the stifling air. There was very little of anything her lungs could use in their air, and as she tried desperately to reclaim her breath, her mind began to go dim, her vision became obscure. If only she could get some relief from the heat. If only she could breathe.

It had not crossed her mind to be fully ready the moment she touched ground on the planet, with its sweltering atmosphere. Everything here was damp as a result of the humidity, twelve suns hung in the sky in very close proximity to the planet. The inhabitants of Muspelheim were born in the heat, their bodies were well equipped to live in the climate, cold was foreign to them, it was a most unwelcome sensation in their realm. Everything on the plane shimmered in the humid haze, and seemed to be on fire, for everything was of a shade of red or orange: the earth, the stones, the mountains and the cliffs far off on the horizon.

The Wanderers took no notice of Sigyn, they took no notice of one another, they focused intently on walking in a straight line to the other side. Sweat poured off of them. The new inhabitants were easy to spot for they still wore clothes, all who had endured the heat for more than a few hours walked stark naked, unashamed. She tried to fight losing consciousness by grabbing the leg of a wanderer who passed by her. The Prisoner stopped abruptly in his tracks and looked down. He looked upon her with rage as he raised his leg high and stomped, first on her hand, then on her face, then on her chest. She could not breathe at all now, and writhed beneath his bare foot in agony, suffocating, slowly but surely. The prisoner took offense to her struggle, and stooped to grab her head and bash it into the ground. She mustered what strength she could to mush her hands into his face and hold him off, but he kept coming, his hands were in her hair, grabbing onto it tightly and using it to yank her head up.

And suddenly he was thrown across the plane, far away from where Sigyn laid. The guard stared down at her, heaving for breath looking distraught, and wondered what she was doing there and who she could be. She mouthed a plea for help to him, although she was frightened by his appearance, for he wore a suit of copper from head to toe, and she could see no face or eyes beneath the helmet he wore. He took pity on the human like creature, figuring she had to be hopelessly lost. He scooped her up and carried her off, across the plane in a direction it would never occur to the prisoners to walk.

They reached a small tower, and climbed a flight of stairs into a room with ten beds lining the cylindrical wall of the room. He laid her down on one, and removed his helmet. She tried not to recoil from his touch as she took in his appearance, the red skin, white eyes, pointed ears and sharp teeth were all characteristic of a fire demon. She needed his help, and did not seek to offend him. She could not breathe, the temperature in the chamber was no less stifling than on the plane, and Sigyn knew that she would lose consciousness soon.

"I am Greyjor, little girl. Who are you?" He leaned closely to her mouth and tried to make out the sounds she rasped into his ear "Sigyn of Asgard?"

She nodded. He looked puzzled, clearly she was not what he thought an Asgardian woman would like, covered in dirt, dressed like a man. But the helpless creature had no reason to lie.

Sigyn, I have heard the name before, but surely this is not a goddess. She looks like a fugitive.

I am the very goddess you think of, my friend. I have come to right a wrong I did to someone, someone who wanders on your plane. However, I fear I shall die in a moment, for I cannot breathe.

He looked shocked to hear the woman's voice in his mind as if she were speaking aloud. He backed into a corner of the room and sat there in awe. Sigyn took the moment to continue on.

Do not be alarmed, Greyjor, I am not in control of your mind, I am simply speaking to you. I need air, close to that which we breathe on Asgard. Where can I find it?

"You…you…you cannot, Goddess, there…there…is no such air here."

Come near me Greyjor.

He came to her quickly, as though pulled by a magnetic force, and kneeled beside the bed she laid on. She placed her hand on his chest, burning her palm on the heat from the metal. She had no time to feel the pain of it. She closed her eyes and focused on the inner workings of his body, trying to appropriate his lungs. He gasped deeply just as she felt a sudden shift inside her own chest. Her labored breathing continued, but was much more successful now, as her new lungs filled with the hot, wet air of Muspelheim. She gave herself no time to fully recuperate, jumping up off the bed and hopping over Greyjor's body as she ran from the room, removing the memory of what had just happened from his mind as she went. She paused for a moment outside the door of the tower and looked around her, knowing she would be lucky to survive another attack from a wanderer, or discovery by another guard. She decided precaution was her best hope of success in this endeavor, another careless mistake, another unanticipated setback, would cost her her life.

She raised her arm and waved her hand in a slow sweeping motion before everything before her. All movement on the plane came to a stop. The guards stood frozen in mid patrol, the prisoners in mid-step, even the flickering haze of the humidity stopped. Nothing moved except Sigyn, who lowered her arm and took no time to marvel at her feat, instead hurrying to cast the finding spell that would call Theoric to her. She waited anxiously, concentrating on his face in her mind, to ensure that the right person would break from the spell and come walking towards her. The sweltering heat was her only companion as she waited, sweat dripped off of her face, her nerves sat in a lump in the pit of her stomach, and her head throbbed where the prisoner had kicked her. She did not want to break her concentration to heal herself, knowing there would be time for that later. She knew she had to do it before Loki saw the bruise he had left, or the entire Wandering Plane would be annihilated. She felt a little sick at the thought of her husband, truly afraid for the first time that day, for if she did not make it back he would be destroyed.

Her apprehension lifted a bit with the sight of a figure coming towards her. She fought the urge to run to meet him, instead waiting patiently for him to come nearer; he took his time, still walking with the slow labored gait of a wanderer. He stood before her and stopped abruptly, breathing heavily and not focusing on her or recognizing her at all. She knew better than to touch him, instead she waved her potion under his nose and he fell to the ground. She stood him up again with a wave of her hand and conjured him a belted robe to wear home. His chin rested on his chest as he dozed upright, and Sigyn felt a twinge of guilt shoot through her like never before as she realized that rescuing Theoric was one thing, righting the trauma that had been done to his brain was another.

Heimdall, open the portal.

Loki hurried from the palace, mounted his horse and road across the rainbow bridge towards where Heimdall stood guard. He had been called away for absolutely nothing of importance, a fitting for his coronation robes. What did he care how his robes fit when his Woman was fighting for her life on the wandering plane, walking amongst criminals and fire demons.

He had been intent on following right behind her through the portal to Muspelheim, but when his father called he knew he had to go, or risk the old man finding out about Sigyn's journey. Now he had not heard from her or Heimdall in hours, he had spent the entire fitting at the tailor's throat, fighting the urge to jam his scissors into his eyes and hang him with his measuring tape. She was in danger, and nothing would ease him until she was back, safe and sound.

"Heimdall, what has happened to her? It should not be taking this long."

He stopped his horse and hopped off of it in one quick motion, the obedient steed did not need to be tied to anything, Loki stroked his mane affectionately and he turned and trotted back across the bridge towards the palace. Heimdall spoke with his usual tone of indifference.

"She was very much in distress upon arrival, she came very close to death, but was aided by a fire demon, and has retrieved Theoric. She shall return soon."

Loki collapsed on the bridge, laid flat on his back and covered his face with his hands. The idea that she had almost died alone in Muspelheim….It would have been completely his fault, all the way around….He regretted his actions towards Theoric for the first time, and he regretted ever letting her go to clean up his mess.

"It is too late to feel remorse now, your majesty," Heimdall commented "perhaps after this you will think more carefully before you act."

Loki regained his self control and stood up. The domed room glowed with a white light, and Sigyn and Theoric came shooting out of it. Sigyn looked harried, she was covered in the red dirt of the plane and there was a large bruise on her face. She looked at Loki, and noticed him noticing her wound. She quickly healed herself, but he was unappeased and furious, a feeling which subsided at the relief he felt to see his wife alive and well, though a bit battered.

"Go home Loki, I will be there as soon as I get Theoric settled with the healers."

"I shall come with you." He held her hand and she held Theoric's as they began to disappear "Thank you Heimdall."

They reappeared in Theoric's house, in his bedroom. There was evidence of a fight all over the place, broken chairs and scattered papers littered the floor, the glass of the window was burst, and in the fireplace sat the bricks of the chimney, which had apparently collapsed with the force of someone's body hitting the wall. Sigyn looked around in shock and astonishment, her gaze stopping on Loki, who looked sheepishly at the ground.

"I did make quite the mess, didn't I Love."

She rolled her eyes as he repaired the room with a wave of his hand. She shook her head as she floated Theoric from the floor to the bed. She sat next to him on the bed and waved another potion beneath his nose. His eyes opened slowly, and he looked around in earnest surprise.

"Pet?"

He asked, tentatively, as if he were unsure of who she was, or how he knew to call her that. She nodded and smiled at him.

"Yes, it's me Sigyn, Theoric. Do you realize where you are?"

"I am in a room, Pet."

"Yes," she said, cringing a bit at being called that again "But do you realize this is your room, Theoric?"

"Mine? No….Theoric? Is that my name?"

"Yes, honey. You are Theoric, Warrior of Asgard."

"Asgard? Pet…what is Asgard?"

"You are home now, Theoric, that is all that matters. Rest, and Pet will find someone to aid you in remembering yourself and the realm."

He nodded and closed his eyes, a dopey and content smile upon his face. He was in desperate need of a bath, and of something to eat, but these were not tasks she could accomplish with Loki hovering over her shoulder.

"He is even denser now than he was before…I would not have believed it possible."

"Do not poke fun at him Loki, his mind is in a shambles."

"Yes, Pet."

He scoffed, stopping as Sigyn shot him a look of pure reproach.

"You think it is funny what you have done to him. Even now you cannot muster some sympathy, some remorse for what you have done. You are absolutely reprehensible in this, please do not make light of it." She turned her eyes back to Theoric. "Call me a healer, and then we can go."

The healer came and gave Theoric a grim diagnosis. His mind would never fully recover from the trauma he had suffered. He could remember his nickname for Sigyn because she had been present on his mind during his very last moments of normal thought, but he would likely never regain his memory about anything else. He was to be housed in an infirmary on an Island off the coast of Asgard city, where severely wounded warriors lived out the remainder of their days. He would be secluded and unheard from. Loki and Sigyn left nothing to chance, wiping the healer's memory of their presence in the room and replacing it with a contrived one of her stumbling across Theoric in a heap at the base of the mountain outside his house, as though he had tumbled from a cliff.

They appeared in their bed room, and Loki conjured her a sweet drink which would cool her body and soothe any nagging pains she felt. She sank into the chair by their bed, and he sat on the ottoman before it, unlacing her boots and pulling them off. She sipped her drink and sighed her head resting on the back of the chair, her eyes closed. Night had fallen, and the room was silent except for the sound of her deep breaths, in and out.

"Would you like a bath, Wife?"

She nodded, and heard the water in the washroom begin to run as she did. She smiled as he undid the intricate lacing of her bodice, and lifted it over her head. The shirt she wore beneath it clung to her now, soaked with sweat. He undid her pants and removed them as well, before lifting her up and carrying her to the tub.

Bubbles filled it, the entire room smelled of the oil she bathed in and rubbed on her skin daily. He stopped the water from running and stood her carefully on the floor of the bathroom so she could climb into the tub herself. She got in with her shirt still on, removing it only when she was sure she was covered in bubbles. She was still too modest to be naked in front of him for very long, and she liked the idea of teasing him. She sank into the water, which was the perfect cold temperature, and smiled a smile of gratitude at her husband.

"I told you I would come home safely."

"The way I hear it, you barely survived," He said, removing his own shoes and his outer coat and shirt, until he wore only his pants. "I was going to come after you."

"I'm glad you did not. There would have been a war if you had seen what happened. I was alone and helpless in the bedchamber of a fire demon, my Loki." She teased him expertly, laying on her innocence, and noticing the vein in his neck begin to throb. She burst suddenly into laughter "You are so jealous over me Loki! I love it."

She flung bubbles at him, he shot her a look and suddenly a wave of water hit her in the face. She wiped it away and laughed even harder, he smiled at her.

"No more of this kind of thing Sigyn, do you hear me?" She nodded and bit her bottom lip, suddenly very interested in washing her legs. He grabbed her ankle as she raised her leg into the air to get her attention "I mean it Sigyn."

"I know." She looked at him and grinned "I'm going to be a mother, remember? I will not do this sort of thing when I am with child, or when I am taking care of the baby….Kiss me."

He happily obliged, leaning over the tub and kissing her softly on the lips.

"Stay in here as long as you wish, Love. I must meet with Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three for training."

"At this hour?"

"Yes. Thor has much on his mind as the coronation draws nearer and training before bed helps him to sleep."

"Let him train alone tonight, Loki…" she whined as she wrapped her wet arms around his bare shoulders. "If I recall correctly you want a child, not to mention the fact that I almost died today."

"Oh now you almost died, a moment ago you were boasting of your safe journey."

"I am a woman; I will never be constant in my descriptions. Go if you must, but do not be gone for long, I intend for us to have our honeymoon during my time off from my studies."

He kissed her again and left the room, pulled on a new shirt and shoes and left the house. Sigyn soaked in her bath for a while longer, then got out, dried off and put on her nightgown. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the stack of books on her night stand, all of them about frost giants. She shook her head at the fact that she had not needed to study this at all, for she had no chance to use it on her quest, just as a paper tucked into the binding of the book fell to the floor. She picked up the tiny folded scrap and opened it out to reveal a page which had been torn from the book.

Dimi-Giants and Frost Faiiries

If a frost giant were to breed with another species of being on Jotenheim, a being displaying the physical features and abilities of a frost giant, but of a more diminutive size would be the result. Such a being is known as a dimi-giant, though there is no evidence that such a being has ever existed. Frost Giants take great pride in their stature, they prize it as their most deadly asset in war, so it stands to reason that a dimi-giant would be a most unwelcome form of offspring. Such a child would probably be disposed of very early in life.

The rest of the page was torn off, and Sigyn wondered why anyone would bother to remove and hide this page. The book said these beings were probably not real, so who would care. She refolded the page, stuck it back into the binding of the book and returned the book to the top of the piled, She thought nothing of it, and resolved to return the books to the library the very next morning, she knew just about all she cared to know about the loathsome frost giants, except maybe how to melt them all one by one.