Beginning of the War

Majeston Zelia looked on in irritation as more and more slaves were herded into cages. They struggled of course, an unfortunate side effect of having so many slaves was that it was difficult to keep track and control the flow of information. She was well aware that a number of slaves had heard and even seen various rituals performed by the Dark Gods, each one requiring the deaths of a large number to fuel them.

Still, their struggles were useless, her worshippers having been blessed with dark powers that made their forms grotesque and deformed. It also gave them increased physical capabilities and in some, limited magical power. They were hardly a threat to a God, but they were useful tools to throw at an enemy in endless waves as a means to distract them.

As more and more slaves were herded into cages, she turned to her son, Perrikos. "What news does Adva have for us?" She asked.

"King Rugga has been defeated. He had moved to engage King Gnori but he was aided by Odin and the main force of Asgard led by Heimdall. They have set up King Rugga's fortress and the stronghold of the Frost Eagles is being used as their forward bases to lead incursions further into Jötunheimr." Perrikos explained making Majeston Zelia nod her head, though she frowned deeply. "The Asgardians hold the advantage and continue to press. The few skirmishes they have had has only weakened King Rugga further, Heimdall and King Gnori not letting him gain any time to regroup his forces that are scattering every day.

"And Odin, where is he?"

Perrikos hesitated a few moments before responding. "He has returned to Asgard." The hiss that escaped from Majeston Zelia was enough to make even the rowdiest of slaves fall silent in fear. This was something the worshippers used to herd the remaining slaves required for the ritual into the cages.

"Begin the ritual!" Majeston Zelia shouted, her tail whipping around in response to her anger. "Odin's presence in Asgard is of no consequence. He will be defeated just like the rest of the forces stationed there."

At the same time, those few worshippers capable of using magic fired streams of green fire from their hands into the hundreds of cages filled to the brim with scores of slaves. The screams of burning people filled the ritual chamber and then the symbol carved into the floor glowed white.

Chanting soon rose up, growing louder and louder as more and more slaves eventually died.

As the glowing ritualistic symbol glowed brighter with every passing second, wisps of black smoke came from the cages and were drawn into the symbol.

Majeston looked on with a smile beginning to grow on her face, her earlier anger dissipating as the moment she had waited for grew ever closer. "Tell Adva to begin and summon King Rugga to Asgard. He failed upon Jötunheimr, let us see if he has better success upon his homeland" Perrikos nodded his head and left the ritual chamber, his large thundering steps filling the room.

"Now, Asgard will burn." She murmured as a pillar of white light exploded from the chamber and shot through space, heading directly towards Asgard.

-X- Line Break -X-

Grunting, Thor let his blade cut through the air and strike the wooden training dummy repeatedly. Each time, his blade cut deeper and deeper into the dummy till eventually, he cut cleanly through it.

"Well done, prince Thor." One of Thor's many combat instructors praised, walking forwards with another dummy resting comfortably on one shoulder. "Five strikes this time, that's amazing progress in these last few days." As he placed the dummy down on the ground and picked up the two parts of the other, he turned to Thor. "Now, focus on twisting your back foot more with each swing, this will aid you in gaining more momentum behind each strike. You may be strong, but proper technique will only increase your power."

Nodding his head, Thor gripped his blade tightly before staring at the stationary, wooden opponent before him.

With nary a grunt, Thor's blade sang as it cut through the air and cut deeply into the wooden figure. Already, with that single piece of advice, Thor could see a major difference in the amount of damage he could deal with a single swing. Still, it was a little slower due to having to really think about the movement of his back foot.

At the same time, the sound of another dummy being cut in half caught his attention.

Turning to his left he saw Sif, panting lightly as she looked at the fifth one she had cut in half today.

"Excellent, Lady Sif." The instructor praised, making sure to keep the young girl's spirits up despite being continually outdone by Thor who was just physically stronger. "Twelve strikes." Placing another dummy down, the instructor helped correct Sif's footing. "And don't forget to move your hips more."

Sif nodded her head and looked to see Thor watching her. Giving him a smile, something he returned, both then turned back to their respective training dummies.

However, before they could do anything, an alarm blared out throughout Asgard. Both Thor and Sif, looked at each other in shock before turning to watch in growing shock and awe as a large golden shield quickly rose to envelop the city.

"What's going on?" Sif asked and Thor shook his head not knowing.

"An invasion force has appeared." Both looked to see their instructor looking at the shield with narrowed eyes. "You should head inside to the throne room, my prince, Lady Sif." After a few more seconds of staring up at the shield, the two did as their instructor said and made their way inside.

They walked in silence, Thor and Sif occasionally looking out through the balconies they passed by to see the golden barrier surrounding the city.

"Will you be fighting?" Sif asked their instructor who nodded his head as he escorted the two children inside.

"I will be, it is my duty as a warrior of Asgard to fight in its defence. As will many retired soldiers and even civilians." Both Thor and Sif nodded their heads, while Asgard's military was not the largest, it certainly was the finest. That and the fact that in a siege, many civilians would also fight in the defence of the Golden City. This was because everyone had undergone basic combat training and each civilian was a proud Asgardian that would fight in the defence of their home.

This made invading Asgard quite tricky as not only would you be facing the army of Asgard, but the entirety of its people as well.

"You go," Thor spoke, gaining the attention of both the instructor and Sif. "Sif and I will head to the throne room and wait there till the invasion is done. In the palace, we will be safe and it would be best if you go and prepare yourself for battle."

Bowing, the instructor gave his thanks before quickly leaving as Thor and Sif continued walking down the corridors of the palace. However, instead of turning left towards the throne room, Thor instead continued forwards with Sif following behind him in confusion.

"Thor, where are we going?" She whispered, nervous that they might be caught sneaking around the palace in the middle of a siege.

"To the Royal Armoury," Thor replied and Sif looked at him in shock considering the Royal Armoury consisted of the most powerful artefacts and weapons not yet sealed in the Vault.

"Why?"

Thor came to a stop, turning to face Sif as he did so. "Because I'm going to help defend Asgard." He replied firmly, his eyes filled with determination.

Sif went to speak, but someone else spoke in her stead. "An admirable trait, my prince." The two spun around sharply to see Sigrún, leader of the Valkyries walking towards them. Clasped in brilliant golden armour that only seemed to amplify her natural beauty. "But your presence is requested in the throne room."

"Why?" Thor asked, Sif remaining silent as she stared up at her role model in awe, unable to believe that she was standing before a Valkyrie, let alone the so-called 'Queen' of the Valkyries. "I am not weak. I am more than capable of fighting in the defence of Asgard."

"That is true," Sigrún replied, one hand resting on Thor's shoulder and another on Sif's, gently pushing them towards the throne room. Sif put up no resistance whereas Thor attempted to resist, only to find himself overwhelmed by the Valkyrie's strength, which was shocking, to say the least.

Despite his young age, Thor was praised as being one of the strongest Asgardians. So it was a shock to find himself so easily overwhelmed when he was actively resisted her.

Thor quickly realised that his resistance was doing nothing and so quickly gave up, instead allowing himself to be directed to the throne. The Valkyries stationed on guard outside opened the doors allowing them to enter to see the throne room filled with a number of Asgardians.

The vast majority were young children and elderly individuals of an age incapable of properly wielding a weapon. Some even had lost a limb or two due in part to other battles in their past.

As they walked through the droves of people that parted and bowed to the young prince, Thor even spotted a number of pregnant women as he was led to the throne where his mother sat with a smile of fond amusement on her face.

"Thank you, Sigrún." Bowing, the Queen of the Valkyries moved down the steps heading out to prepare the Valkyries. After all, if the main defensive force of Asgard failed, the Valkyries would be the last line of defence.

-X- Line Break -X-

Stood upon the ramparts, Odin clutched Gungnir loosely as he looked down upon the invading army that had appeared beyond the boundaries of Asgard. It was a large force, easily numbering around a hundred thousand and it was obvious they had planned for this moment greatly.

He could feel the effect of a boundary surrounding the entirety of the realm, cutting them off from any reinforcements for a long while.

Odin knew of course, who these individuals were.

The Dark Gods.

He had done dealings with them before, mostly when he had started his conquests of the Nine Realms. The Dark Gods had also been invading the Nine Realms and had even allied themselves with the remnants of the Dark Elves – those that had not died at the hands of his father, Bor – for a short time. He had eventually managed to drive them back into their section of the Cosmos known as the Dark Space, but it had been a long and bloody war.

Now, it seems they had returned just like he had feared.

The Dark Gods while not as numerous as the Aesir, were still powerful and only made more so with their unique ability to fuse together. Combining their powers into one powerful being that had been capable of matching him in power.

It was obvious to him that they had been planning for this. King Ruggas's rebellion was nothing more than a diversion in order to empty Asgard of most of its military. Leaving them vulnerable to an invasion force and it had worked.

Odin only had a total of ten thousand soldiers with him while the remaining thirty-five thousand were in Jötunheimr.

But not for long, no doubt Heimdall would be using his gift of sight in order to find a weakness or even an opening in the barrier surrounding the realm of Asgard. There certainly should be a weakness as the barrier itself was crude and rough, no doubt a product of the Dark Gods' crude, ritualistic magic.

Powerful certainly, but not of great quality.

For someone like Heimdall, an opening should be found soon enough to give them aid. All he had to do was keep the invasion force at bay long enough for those reinforcements to arrive.