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Loki arrived on Vanaheim, and began his trek up the mountainside. He could have teleported closer to his goal but that would have been a risky move, and it was a lovely morning for a hike anyway. In less than an hour he heard the excited squeaking of a recently hatched dragonet, announcing his destination.
"Loki Far-Traveler!" One of the younglings he'd met on a previous visit came bouncing out of the foliage that hid their colony's nesting grounds, only to stop short as she caught sight of him. "Mama!! Mama!!! Come see what Loki carries! Far-Traveler has a new story, Mama!!"
Her siblings poked their snouts out, curious to see what the fuss was about (Loki was a bit curious as well. He always had new stories to share, but his arrival alone had never garnered this reaction before.) and he quickly found himself surrounded and gently herded into the nesting grounds by curiously eager dragonets, all squeaking enthusiastically.
They backed off when he made his greetings to the Nest-Mother.
She acknowledged his bow with a regal nod. "So, Realm-Walker, it seems you've collected more than just stories on your recent travels. 'Tis a rare thing indeed for any to bear the Blessing of one of Midgard's Keepers of Balance. Their kind tend to hold themselves aloof, even more than most, and are nigh impossible to find when they wish it so. Will you share the tale with us?"
Loki was not at all certain what she meant by 'bearing a Blessing', but Keepers of Balance and Wisdom were the Great Dragons of the Realms, making it was easy enough to discern what story she was asking after.
So he gave her a cheerful grin and bowed again.
"Oh, 'tis a fine tale, if I must say so myself. Might I perhaps trade its telling for finally getting that introduction to Lord Skrymir I've been promised?" he replied cheekily. Vanaheim's Forest Dragons were the most approachable of all the Keepers, and he was comfortable enough with their customs for such banter. Through them he'd already met the elusive Fey Dragons of Alfheim and Jotunheim's greater Ice Dragons. They'd promised to also arrange an introduction for him to Muspelheim's solitary dragon, Skrymir, Lord of Flame and Shadow.
"I will certainly use the tale of how you gained their Blessing as leverage in the arrangements. If it is as interesting as I suspect, it will go a long way in quelling those who object, and likely pique the interest of Skrymir himself."
"Fair enough, Esteemed One." Loki settled upon one of the smooth boulders that lined the Nesting Grounds.
"As you may know, star lilies come in many varieties and colors. Most have five or six petals. I had heard rumors of a three-petaled variant to be found in the wilds of Midgard, with a throat as dark as the midnight sky and edges as pale as starlight. As my mother's 5000th name day was approaching, I thought to seek one out to present it to her for her garden. And so I spent some weeks traversing the wilder parts of that primitive Realm. 'Tis a beautiful place, with tremendous diversity of life, and all manner of unusual and lovely plants. The landscapes vary from desolate shifting sands to dense jungles, and temperatures range from the cold of Jotunheim to the heat of Muspelheim - it is much as though pieces of all eight other Realms were melded together to form Midgard.
"I had just broken camp, and was watching the tail end of a storm batter its way across the barren coast of a rocky island when a form was cast violently from the clouds and crashed a short distance away from the overhang I'd sheltered under. Naturally, I went to investigate.
"The creature I found was wondrous to see, a long sinuous body with scales to match even your children, shimmering in all shades of silver and blue and white. Slender limbs that looked too delicate to support the creature's bulk, taloned like an eagle but with tufts of fur at the joints and along its spinal ridge that rival Queen Freya's favored cats for softness. I approached with caution, but it was soon realized that I'd inadvertently found one of Midgard's Dragons, and it was very young, injured, in pain and disoriented from its fall. It was also very cold to the touch, though it seemed to take some comfort in the physical contact. I do not know whether it was its youth or injury that prevented it from bespeaking me.
"Thinking of you all, I attempted to warm it with a spell, but it quickly became even more distressed. Thinking then that perhaps it was closer kin to Jotunheim's Dragons, I sought to cool it down. It became listless. Not knowing what else to do, I made a simple cocoon of seidr and simply tried to support and protect it until help arrived. I could hardly imagine one so young would not have a minder.
"Certainly enough, the sun had not yet approached Midday when that minder appeared in a swirl of wind and mist, glorious and terrible with a thousand colors refracting and shifting like sunlight on moving water across her scales, the smallest of which were easily the size of my own head. Her luminous eyes held dire promises when she focused on me, the youngling wrapped in my seidr and my hand on its head.
" 'Mageling' she growled menacingly, full of fury and worry. I immediately rose to make obeisance, and hastened to explain.
" 'Esteemed One! Your arrival is most fortuitous. This youngling was cast down from the storm and is injured. I have offered what aid I can, but fear it is little enough.'
"She settled, then, her aura like deep ocean currents instead of a threatening tidal wave. 'You are far from home, Seeker, but you speak only truth' - as if I would dare do otherwise! - 'Allow me.' And she touched the cocoon I'd woven, filling the supporting web with her own power. 'You may take your life-force back, little mageling. For the help you willingly offered my child, I will grant you one request.'
"I removed my seidr-web, and responded, 'If you would but answer me a single question, Great One, I would be most honored.' She nodded for me to continue. 'My willingness to help is not matched by an ability to do so. Should it happen that I again come upon one of your kin in need, how best can I offer aid?'
"She did not smile, but I could feel that she was pleased at my question. 'Water. Water is Life. We are Water. The living waters of this Realm are best - fresh or salt makes little difference - but conjured water will suffice for a time.' And then - I jest not! - she turned into water, pressing heavy and close around me like the thick fogs on the fens in spring, only more so. The fog then dissipated, leaving me alone on the rocks.
"I spent another couple weeks traveling Midgard before returning home for the celebration. Though I did not find the trefolate lilies, I had collected enough other unusual specimens for mother's garden that I could not consider the effort wasted. That was three weeks ago, and I am now here to recover from the aftermath of the celebration and my brother's drunken escapades.
"I admit, I do not quite see why an ignorant attempt at helping a youngling would be worth receiving a Dragon's Blessing, but there is the tale of my meeting with Midgard's Keepers.
The Nest Mother laughed (a terrifying sound) "Oh, Far-Traveler! It was not your bumbling attempts at succor for the young one. It was your response to her offer. Midgard's Keepers See more than most; 'tis why the Waters of Sight are so potent upon that Realm. She called you 'Seeker', knew you to be on a quest. She offered to grant you any request within her ability. Riches. Power. Knowledge. Your quest fulfilled just for the asking. Yet you asked no boon for yourself, no aid in your own goals and endeavors, but only how better to offer assistance in the highly unlikely event of coming across another of her kind in need. It was that, that unthinking desire to better yourself to better give of yourself for another that gained her Blessing."