Crying Wolf
A group of children stood clustered outside the city walls. Whispers, sobs, and frightened yells of defiance drifted from their tiny throats.
20 yards away from them, a gargantuan wolf paced back and forth. It stood over 6 feet tall at the shoulders, and held at least as much weight as a large horse. The wolf slavered foamy black saliva from his fanged jaws.
The children bravely pointed meat cleavers, knives, carpentry hammers, and clubs at the giant beast. A small stone arced from within the crowd and struck the brutish canine on the nose. The wolf snarled, and then turned to attack.
As the Guardians of the Galaxy moved to rescue the true Asgardian children, a black-haired woman leapt down from a wall. She landed between the children and their tormentor, then raised a gleaming sword to menace the wolf. The woman was the goddess Sif, whom Balder had assigned to roaming the streets of Asgard in search of such trouble. Without explaining herself, Sif commanded the Guardians to be gone.
The Fenris Wolf hesitated long enough for the guardians and woman to have a debate. Sif explained she was a warrior of Asgard and was perfectly capable of dispatching a solitary wolf. The guardians however, were urgently needed upon the plains of Ida.
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The Asgardian legions stood deployed in the foothills of the Asgard mountains. The scouts had pinpointed that location as the target of the Olympian fleet. The army faced the long fjord that stretched toward Asgard city and the sea of Marmora. Across the narrow strait, the tower of Loki's castle rose like a barren tree over a snowy field. The god of mischief's curled, antenna-like horned helmet was barely visible in the highest tower.
When the Olympians leapt from their ships, more than 70,000 Asgardians would face them. Asgard's single company of archers had taken position atop a hill overlooking the sea. As the ships approached, the archers would rain fire-arrows down upon them. The fierce Asgardian cavalry, led by Balder himself, hid in the foothills, ready to charge forth and run down any mass of enemy soldiers breaking the infantry ranks.
Each Asgardian's face was heavy and wet with anticipation and fear, for every warrior knew the enemy brought many mighty forces. The terrain advantage the Olympians had yielded in choosing their landing site did little to reassure the defenders. Instead, it raised the spectre of unanticipated treachery. Only the most inexperienced warriors would foolishly attempt to force a landing there.
Doctor Strange notices the bags of magical powder Loki prepared to scatter into the wind over the battlefield. So, Doctor Strange magically teleported to the tower to halt the god. Loki had devised a powder that would have placed the Asgardian forces in a comatose-like slumber, that would have rendered them useless in defending from the invading forces.
The two sorcerors began to duel.
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Ten-thousand gossamer sails billowed with starlight, like so many silk webs, catching an unfelt wind. They propelled a fleet of galleons across the vast emptiness of the sea of space. The tyrant Actus stood in the leading bow of that fleet, flanked by Ares, Hercules, Pluto, and even Death herself.
The fleet was met by Zeus, who ordered the Olympians to turn about and abort attacking Asgard. Immediately, Hercules abandoned the battle and the Olympian forces became disheartened. Zeus and Thor then began unleashing a devastating electrical storm and barrage of lightning attacks on the fleet.
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Dr. Strange was able to restrain Loki and prevent him from using his potion to drug the Asgardian defenders.