Colorful. That was the first word that came to Jack's mind as the delegation from Jotunheim stepped into the golden observatory after their trip through the Bifrost.

Asgard was unbelievably colorful.

Perhaps he should have been more concerned about the cautious looks and glares he and the others received from the 'greeting' party of guards, and he might have been if his eyes hadn't caught on the sunny blue sky and the beauty of the Rainbow Bridge up ahead.

This was the first time most of them had ever left Jotunheim for any reason. Thanks to the ancient war between the ice realm and the one which controlled the Bifrost, inter-dimensional travel had been effectively cut off for hundreds of years. None of Jotunheim's princes had ever stepped foot on another planet, and the only contact they had with outsiders came from those who chose to visit them.

Jack himself was the result of one of those rare visits, so he'd been told all of his life. The King had relations with a woman visiting from another realm, and months later the delegation returned with a baby and the sad news that the mother had not survived its birth. The baby clearly inherited its appearance from its mother, though it could also claim cold resistance and a natural affinity for ice magic from its father. Laufey had no choice but to keep this child, unlike the other runt he'd given up for dead many years back. He could risk trouble with the other realm if he did not.

And so Jack grew up in a world of giants.

Although he never reached 6' tall, nor did he have any chance at becoming a warrior, Jack proved he had some worth in the magical arts. With a wooden crook he'd claimed as a staff, he was able to work wonders with ice that other Jotuns found impressive in its own right. These powers, as well as his vastly different appearance, helped gain him a spot in the party sent to Asgard for the next few weeks.

He was absolutely thrilled to learn he'd be accompanying his father and a few of his brothers on the trip to help negotiate better terms with the golden realm. Not because he had any interest in sitting in on long, boring discussions, but because he might be able to meet the Jotun prince who was taken away to Asgard as a baby.

Sure, most people said it was just a legend. Don't listen to that nonsense, they would say. But was there really no truth to the matter? Jack began to believe with greater certainty when he found an old journal of his father's, sneakily flipping through the pages. There was mention of an abandoned baby, and also a note that the body had not been found. Jotuns who took part in the war spread old rumors that they'd seen the baby taken away by Odin Allfather himself.

Jack had to know if the stories were true. Did he really have an older brother who was small like him? Who didn't even know his true family? As difficult as it was to contain his excitement, Jack had no choice but to be patient as the guards led the delegation down the Rainbow Bridge and toward the palace. There would be a welcome feast that evening, and they would be able to meet the King, Queen, and both of the royal princes. Soon, very soon, he could set to work playing detective.