Chapter Summaries

Odin rewarded Oaks for healing him by allowing him to choose one treasure from Asgard's Vault. After Thor accidentally showed him a replica Infinity Gauntlet, Oaks chose a strange stone that caught his eye.

• Odin offered Oaks one item from the Vault instead of granting him a title, since the reason for his reward could not be made public.
• Thor warned Oaks away from powerful artifacts and explained that the Destroyer armor could be properly forged by Dwarven masters at Nidavellir.
• Odin led Oaks and Thor through the Vault while Thor pointed out its treasures, including a spear and the Silver Scale Chestplate.
• Thor picked up a replica Infinity Gauntlet, dropped one of its gems, and awkwardly put it away as Odin's face darkened.
• Oaks declined the gauntlet and pointed to a strange stone, saying it was fated to be his.

Oaks received the damaged Tablet of Life and Time from Odin and arranged to study it in Asgard, where he hoped to learn more about nature and magic. Thor left to reorganize the army and invited Oaks to drink with him that night.

• Oaks sensed an affinity with a damaged tablet, and Odin identified it as the Tablet of Life and Time, an ancient artifact from Atlantis bearing the Life Evolution Equation.
• Odin explained that Asgard had failed to study the tablet because it was badly damaged, then gave it to Oaks and allowed him to research in Asgard.
• Oaks asked to remain in Asgard and promised to share any discoveries with Asgard, and Odin agreed and directed Thor to take him to the guest rooms.
• Thor brought the tablet to Oaks and offered to ask Odin for a different artifact, but Oaks chose to follow his instincts and stay to research and seek Queen Frigga's guidance.
• Thor thanked Oaks for healing Odin, said Asgard would remain his friend, and invited him to drink that night before leaving to reorganize the army.
• Oaks accepted Thor's challenge and promised to show him his capacity for alcohol.

Thor prepared Asgard’s army for the campaign that would follow the Bifrost’s restoration, then brought Oaks to Valhalla to celebrate with the warriors. Sif and Thor turned Oaks’s boast about his drinking capacity into a public drinking contest, which began with Thor challenging him.

• Thor trained the army while Asgard replenished the forces lost during Loki’s rebellion.
• Thor led Oaks and his companions into Valhalla, where he rallied the heroic warriors to eat, drink, and prepare for battle.
• The Warriors Three praised Thor’s potential as king, while Sif reflected on her feelings for him and recalled his changed nature.
• Sif told Oaks that Thor would test his claimed oceanic drinking capacity in front of the warriors.
• Thor drank his first cup and challenged Oaks, who picked up a cup and accepted.

Oaks studied the Tablet of Life and Time in Asgard and discovered a potion-making method that improved on his Recovery Serum. After four months, he presented Odin and Frigga with the new potion, which he named the Fountain of Vitality.

• Oaks pretended to pass out before Thor after realizing that outdrinking the crown prince might offend Odin.
• Oaks woke the next day, ate lunch, and began studying the Tablet of Life and Time using his connection to nature and life.
• Oaks discovered that Asgard’s underground crystal mine filled the realm with Cosmic Energy, which helped him cultivate Astral Energy and Nature Force.
• Oaks studied the tablet for months, learned the Storage Spell from Queen Frigga, and attended Thor’s departure ceremony after the Bifrost was repaired.
• Oaks told Odin that he had deciphered a potion-making method, then presented Frigga with the blue Fountain of Vitality.

Oaks demonstrated the improved Fountain of Vitality potion to Odin and Frigga, explaining its effects and offering Asgard the formula. After testing it, Odin was so impressed that he ordered an Enthronement Ceremony for Oaks, then carried Frigga away to celebrate.

• Oaks explained how the Fountain of Vitality improved on his original Recovery Serum by restoring vitality, healing wounds, replenishing physical strength and mental energy, and releasing its effects gradually.
• Odin drank the potion and found that it restored roughly one-third of an elite Asgardian warrior's stamina while also affecting his own body despite the Odinforce.
• Oaks agreed to share the potion's formula with Asgard, hoping it would strengthen the realm and help Odin remain active.
• Odin praised Oaks and ordered Frigga to prepare an Enthronement Ceremony for him.
• Odin carried Frigga into the royal chambers, leaving Oaks to wonder whether the potion's effects would give Thor a younger sibling.

Oaks was honored as the Oak Sage and appointed Asgardian Royal Advisor, receiving a magically reforged battle robe and permission to travel to Asgard through the Bifrost. Odin and Frigga then asked for his help with a matter affecting Asgard and revealed that Thor had an older brother, Baldr, the God of Light.

• Frigga brewed Asgard’s first Fountain of Vitality Potion, restoring Odin and her health.
• Odin named Oaks Lin the Oak Sage and Asgardian Royal Advisor, and Gungnir transformed Oaks’s robe with Uru Metal and Odinforce.
• Odin told Oaks that he could call upon Heimdall and travel to Asgard through the Bifrost.
• Frigga asked Oaks to help with an important matter concerning Loki and Asgard.
• Frigga revealed that she and Odin had another son before Thor: Baldr, the God of Light.

Oaks learned that Baldr, Frigga’s eldest and most beloved son, had been placed in suspended death in Hel after being gravely wounded, and that his death foretold Ragnarok. Frigga and Odin revealed that Frey, king of the Light Elves, might be able to project nature’s power into Hel and help Oaks revive him.

• Oaks was shocked to learn that Baldr existed, and Frigga explained that his death was the sign of Ragnarok.
• Frigga told Oaks that Baldr had been gravely wounded and placed in suspended death using the power of Hel.
• Frigga showed Oaks an illusion of Baldr preserved in Hel, where his body and soul were close to separating.
• Oaks said he could not heal Baldr in Hel or bring him back to Asgard, since Baldr depended on Hel’s environment.
• Odin revealed that Frey, the Lord of Alfheim and king of the Light Elves, could project nature’s power into Hel.

Oaks accepted Odin’s challenge to seek Frey’s help in treating Baldr, and began studying Alfheim, Frey, and Baldr. He concluded that he would need help from a special person before attempting the mission.

• Frigga explained that Frey could project Alfheim’s powerful Nature Force into Hel, which might let Oaks treat Baldr.
• Odin warned Oaks that Frey might refuse to help, and Oaks requested detailed information and possible Asgardian support for the mission.
• Odin agreed to provide information, equipment, and personnel when needed, as long as Oaks did not request Asgard’s fundamental secrets.
• Oaks learned that Frey often set trials for outsiders and that Alfheim contained dangerous regions and creatures.
• After reading about Baldr’s nature and abilities, Oaks decided he needed help from a special person.

Oaks visited Loki in Asgard’s dungeon to recruit him for Odin’s task, which involved Baldr, Odin’s long-presumed-dead eldest son. Loki rejected the idea of Baldr inheriting the throne and demanded to know Oaks’s plan.

• Oaks entered Loki’s private cell with Queen Frigga and teased him about his imprisonment.
• Frigga told Loki that Odin had made Oaks a Wise One and Royal Advisor, then left Oaks alone with him.
• Oaks explained that he wanted Loki’s help with Odin’s task and revealed that it concerned Baldr, Odin’s eldest son and first heir to the throne.
• Loki regretted losing his chance at the throne, then objected that Baldr had been presumed dead and demanded Oaks tell him the entire plan.

Oaks accompanied Loki to Alfheim to seek a favor from Frey, and challenged Loki’s belief that Odin had never intended him to inherit the throne. Loki left the conversation shaken as Oaks argued that his rejection of his Frost Giant heritage came from his deep love for Asgard.

• Oaks and Loki crossed Alfheim toward Frey’s palace, discussing why Loki wanted to rule Asgard despite despising its people.
• Oaks quoted a king’s advice about ruling with wisdom and strength and inspiring the fighting spirit of the people.
• Loki claimed Odin had always intended Thor to inherit the throne and insisted that he was not Odin’s biological son.
• Oaks reminded Loki that Frigga had entrusted him with Gungnir and the throne while Odin slept, then revealed that he knew about Loki’s actions in Asgard.
• Oaks pointed out that Loki had killed Laufey as the Son of Odin because he rejected his Frost Giant identity and loved Asgard.

Oaks confronted Loki about his motives and urged him to think beyond his ambitions, then accompanied him to Alfheim to meet Frey. Frey questioned why Odin had sent Loki and criticized both Loki and Thor’s fitness to rule Asgard.

• Oaks told Loki that his desire to become king of Asgard came from rejecting his Frost Giant identity and seeking Odin’s approval.
• Oaks accused Loki of letting go of Thor on the Bifrost and of coming to Earth intent on revenge and conquest.
• Loki suggested Oaks wanted Asgard to protect Earth, but Oaks said Earth could defend itself and warned Loki not to involve him or Earth in his plans.
• Oaks and Loki arrived at Frey’s palace in Alfheim and presented Odin’s token to gain an audience.
• Frey asked why Odin had sent Loki and said Loki had already failed while Thor had yet to prove he could rule Asgard.
• Loki told Frey that he was surprised to find they had something in common.

Oaks negotiated with Frey for help reviving Baldr, offering the Fountain of Vitality Potion in exchange for sustained power projection and the Sword of Victory. Frey agreed in principle but required Oaks to resolve a problem first.

• Oaks interrupted Frey and Loki’s flirtatious exchange to ask whether Frey would answer Asgard’s request for the Sword of Victory.
• Frey questioned whether Oaks could revive Baldr and warned that sustained power projection would be costly.
• Oaks explained that he needed Alfheim’s Nature Force for repeated attempts and offered Frey a Fountain of Vitality Potion to help him recover.
• Frey drank the potion, found it effective, and agreed that helping Oaks was possible with enough potions and the Sword of Victory.
• Frey told Oaks he must resolve a problem for him first.

Frey tasked Oaks and Loki with hunting the Magic Wolves Skoll and Hati, which had terrorized Alfheim while feeding on the aura of twilight. Oaks accepted Frey’s challenge and began looking for allies among Alfheim’s divine beasts, while Loki remained skeptical.

• Frey explained that Skoll and Hati had ravaged Alfheim’s herds, elves, forests, and grasslands, and admitted he could not defeat them without the Sword of Victory.
• Frey forbade Alfheim’s Light Elves and Asgardian soldiers from helping Oaks and Loki, then challenged them to prove their valor by dealing with the wolves themselves.
• Oaks accepted Frey’s trial and later reviewed information about Alfheim with Loki, who complained that they could not even locate the hidden wolves.
• Oaks told Loki that nature’s animals could become their allies and showed him a list of Alfheim’s divine beasts, including Durasol, Tanngjost, and Tanngrisnir.

Oaks recruited Frey's Golden Boar Gullinbursti and Bloodhoof Horse Blóðughófi to help subdue two Magic Wolves, then sought out Divine Deer Durasol for further aid and his nourishing Mead. Durasol listened as Oaks explained the mission and asked for his help.

• Loki went to find the goats Tanngjost and Tanngrisnir, remembering that he had suggested roasting them before Thor released them into the wild.
• Oaks used Wild Heart to recruit Gullinbursti, who agreed to join the mission against the Magic Wolves.
• Oaks also secured the help of Frey's horse, Blóðughófi, and followed the two animals into Alfheim's largest forest.
• Gullinbursti and Blóðughófi led Oaks to Durasol at the central lake, where the Divine Deer recognized something familiar in him.
• Oaks told Durasol that he planned to subdue two Magic Wolves and asked the Divine Deer to assist him.

Oaks recruited Durasol to help fight Skoll and Hati after learning that the wolves’ power came from sunlight and moonlight. Durasol revealed that Ragnarok was cyclical and that the World Tree had once existed, leaving Oaks determined to find it.

• Durasol questioned Oaks about his Druid powers and agreed to help after Oaks explained the threat posed by Skoll and Hati.
• Durasol explained that Skoll and Hati drew power from the sun and moon and that Oaks needed to sever their connection to those sources.
• Oaks demonstrated his Sun and Moon Power, convincing Durasol to accompany him.
• Oaks traded Life Essence for Durasol’s stored Mead, filling a small pond with it.
• Durasol told Oaks that he and his brothers had eaten Yggdrasil’s tender leaves, that the World Tree had disappeared, and that Ragnarok was cyclical.
• Oaks resolved to search for the World Tree beyond Earth’s Biosphere.

Oaks gathered Loki and several Divine Beasts at the Dark Forest to use Bite-Teeth and Tooth Grinder as bait for the Magic Wolves Devour Sun and Moon. The group prepared to lure the wolves out, with Oaks planning to fight the moonlight-wielding wolf before nightfall.

• Loki waited at the Dark Forest while Bite-Teeth and Tooth Grinder bleated incessantly behind him.
• Oaks arrived with Durasol, Gullinbursti, and Blóðughófi, and heard the goats mocking Loki and discussing their past with Thor.
• The goats tried to lick Oaks, so he restrained them with vines and showed them that he could summon lightning.
• Oaks explained that Bite-Teeth and Tooth Grinder would serve as bait to lure the two Magic Wolves, while the other Divine Beasts would fight alongside Loki.
• Oaks assigned Loki and the Divine Beasts to hold off the sunlight-wielding wolf and planned to defeat the moonlight-wielding wolf before the moon rose.

Oaks and Loki’s group were ambushed by the Magic Wolves Skoll and Hati after the smell of Oaks’ mutton skewers drew them out. Oaks lured Hati beyond the Dark Forest and cut him off from the Twilight-charged woods, preparing to fight on ground where Oaks had grown stronger.

• Oaks revived the two goats and cooked mutton skewers with a secret Earth spice blend while Loki and the Divine Beasts watched and ate.
• A burst of purifying sunlight exposed Loki’s illusion, and Hati struck Loki with a Moonlight Cannon before the group identified Skoll and Hati as their attackers.
• Durasol, the goats, the Golden Boar, and Loki engaged Skoll while Oaks attacked Hati with Moonfire and led him away from the forest.
• Oaks fled in cheetah form until he reached the forest’s edge, then raised vines and trees to block Hati’s return to the Dark Forest.

Oaks fought Hati in Alfheim, drained its Moonlight Force, and used starlight and natural energy to overwhelm it. After Hati’s howl made Skoll vanish from his battle with Loki and the Divine Beasts, Loki realized Oaks had likely won and worried that he was now third in command.

• Hati offered to spare Loki if Oaks surrendered and served it, but Oaks refused and prepared to fight.
• Oaks bound Hati, absorbed its Moonlight Force, and blasted it with Moonlight Strike before attacking with starlight and natural energy.
• Hati broke free and fired a Moonlight Cannon, but Oaks struck its waist with a Starlight Claw and tore out a mass of Moonlight Essence.
• Skoll suddenly howled and vanished while Loki and the wounded Divine Beasts were struggling against it.
• Loki concluded that Oaks had decided the outcome and worried that he would become third in command.

After defeating Skoll and Hati, Oaks returned to Frey's Palace with Loki and the captured Magic Wolves, completing Frey's trial. Durasol revealed that it had sensed a mysterious aura like Oaks's Starlight Cheetah Form in Alfheim, and Oaks left with the question of what—or who—it might belong to.

• Oaks healed the Divine Beasts and Loki, thanked them, and parted from Durasol and the two goats after giving the beasts Nature Essence.
• Durasol told Oaks it had briefly sensed a life-force aura like his Starlight Cheetah Form in Alfheim, appearing and vanishing as if it crossed through space.
• Oaks and Loki returned to Frey's Palace with the bound Magic Wolves, and Frey confirmed that Oaks had completed his trial and promised to fulfill his reward.
• Oaks asked Frey to leave the Magic Wolves to him, and Frey agreed before announcing that the ritual would begin in three days.

Oaks brought Thor and Loki to Baldr’s tomb chamber in Hel and began the ritual to revive Odin’s eldest son with Frey’s power. The chapter ended as Oaks unleashed the Nature Force over Baldr’s body.

• Thor learned from Loki that Odin had hidden Baldr’s existence from him for fifteen hundred years.
• Oaks led Thor and Loki through Odin’s Great Shield to Baldr’s tomb chamber.
• Oaks arranged the Ritual Array around Baldr and placed Odin’s token upon it as a beacon for Frey.
• Frey sent emerald-green power into the ritual, and Oaks commanded the Nature Force to revive Baldr.