Havardr bellowed down towards him about being impressed, yet that he needed more. A grunt that was lost un the winds of the mountain and snow was all that came by way of reply. Kei'taro concentrated on the task ahead, and willed himself forward. 

Ahead he could tell that the storm raged wilder, and that he had completed close to twenty percent of the climb. He gritted his teeth, and pushed ahead. His mind thought about several different challenges he had to endure. He thought back to [b]Mama Bear[/b], and how she manipulated solid earth, and that to get a good shot at incapacitating her, he needed to maintain balance. He thought of the [b]World Tortoise[/b], and how the underwater pressure was great, but his endurance willed him through. 

A slow realization began to dawn on him, as his balance on the thrashing mountain, and his ability to persevere through the storm increased. Many saw only the tattoos, and not how his body physically grew to accommodate his challenges.

Havardr was not far ahead not, he could practically smell the musk coming from the creature. They had passed the first way stone now, and the blizzard blew fierce. He had, of course, experienced several before but not while racing up a rumbling mountain, or racing a gigantic mountain goat. 

The cold chilled him to the core, but perhaps more thoughts and realizations of his changes would come to the forefront to aid him. His magic was still cut off, but no demesnes could take away the comforting presences, of his tattoos, and skills that they taught him. 

In a flurry, he gained on Havardr, and with the second of five stones in relative sight, he sought to pass him - even if he had to slow down. Despite his insight, the Mountain was still hard to climb between the blinding blizzard and the shaking surface.