Biding Time

Thor was feeling many things.

The main one is anger. Anger at being denied his right to fight and defend Asgard as is his duty as the Prince of Asgard. Anger at the very thought that anyone would attack Asgard and threaten his people. But above all else, anger at himself for being helpless.

He was strong, Thor knew that much. His instructors praised him for his strengths and skill, proclaiming that he had a natural skill and talent for the art of fighting. But at the end of the day, he was still a child. A child possessing great power and potential, but with none of the experience to use it. In a battle such as this, he would only get in the way.

As he sat with his mother, he watched through her scrying magic – at his behest – as the siege commenced. Sif, Baldur and Loki were also there, each watching with varying degrees of interest.

Due to the way the siege had progressed, things were tense.

The young warrior Scurge had led the Asgardian fleet against the enemy own in the Sea of Mamora. It had been a slaughter. Powerful magical blasts fired at the ships, blasting holes into the wooden hulls. The smaller Asgardian Skiffs glided through the choppy and dangerous waters at speeds far surpassing the large boats and outmanoeuvring them easily. Some Skiffs flew out and attacked the ships from the air as others just barrelled into weakened hulls and smashed right through them.

On the decks, Asgardians who had boarded the large ships fought against the malformed creatures as up above, the remainder of the enemy fleet began to come down. Large creatures, Acanti and smaller more manoeuvrable Starsharks, each with their own riders and in the case of the former, crews firing down upon the Asgardian Skiffs.

Yet, the well-trained and disciplined Asgardian fleet made short work despite being beset from two sides. Proving to them all that even without Odin there to lead them, nor their greatest warrior Heimdall, Asgard was still unrivalled.

But other than that, nothing of real interest had happened in the other areas. Certainly, there were soldiers coming from the west, climbing over the rocky and uneven paths and venturing through the marshlands, but they were slowed by the creatures that lived there. They were making progress all the same, but it was slow and jagged, hardly of much use to the overall siege effort.

As for the east, besides possessing the largest force that had besieged Asgard in its history, only a single being, one formed of dozens of Dark Gods was doing anything. Gathering large quantities of magic and unleashing it in blasts that could be felt and heard all the way from here in the palace. It was a disgusting transformation to behold, one that created an even more grotesque being, but it was powerful, no one could deny that.

A single blast had cracked the barrier surrounding Asgard, a feat that had even surprised the Queen. Thor had seen it, the widening of her eyes at the sight and despite watching the cracks heal slowly, the beast continued to fire powerful beams of energy that caused the cracks to grow wider and wider.

It didn't take a genius like his brother to know that the barrier would fall eventually.

"Why doesn't King Odin march out and meet them?" Sif had asked, breaking the silence that had befallen the royal family. The only sound that had prevailed throughout the Throne Room was the idle chatter of those taking refuge.

There was silence, Baldur, Loki and even Thor looking to Freya for the answer, but the Queen simply smiled. "Well, aren't one of you going to answer?" Again there was silence as the four of them tried to think what the answer could possibly be.

Despite trying as hard as he could, Thor struggled to come up with an answer. His father was powerful and while the Asgardian military defending the city wasn't as large as the invading force, they should definitely be better trained. They were a warrior culture, battle was the core of an Asgardian, even if some pursued the lifestyle of a scholar.

The enemy was clearly confident in their greater numbers and was expecting to use that to win the day. They were also confident in this beast of theirs, enough to believe that they could prevail over the All-Father himself, for so long as he remained standing, Asgard would not fall. Many would expect the Asgardians to hunker down upon their battlements and use that to their advantage, but that would work against them in this case.

The beast they had was powerful and a threat that needed to be dealt with, Odin would have to handle it and doing so on the battlements was a risk. Allowing that beast close to them was an even greater risk for while Odin would defeat it, there was no doubt in Thor's mind that, the damage to their surroundings would be great. Even with that beast defeated, if the walls of Asgard fell, then the vast numbers the enemy commanded would flood into the city and that victory would be all for nought.

Not only that, but the enemy would not expect the Asgardians to charge out and meet them. Though a small thing, it was still something that the Asgardians could use to their advantage and every little advantage would only help them in the long run.

So marching out would certainly be the smart thing to do.

So why didn't his father march out and meet them? Unless his father was planning something else? It would not be out of the realm of possibility. His father was the God of Wisdom and being one step ahead of his enemies was what his father prided himself on being. It was one of the few lessons his father had taught him personally.

"He's biding his time," Loki answered gaining a smile from Frigga as both Sif and Baldur looked at Loki in confusion, but to Thor, it made perfect sense.

"Buy time for Heimdall and the rest of the army to return to Asgard and help beat the…Dark Gods?" Thor questioned, recalling the name his mother had told them when they first saw the enemy with her magics.

"Well done." Freya congratulated both Thor and Loki, with the two brothers sharing a slight smile at one another. "Yes, your father will be buying time so that your brother can aid us." The last part was aimed at Sif who nodded her head, her chest puffing with pride at the mention of her brother.

"Who are the Dark Gods?" Baldur asked innocently and Freya hesitated slightly before relenting with a sigh upon seeing the curious gazes of all the children directed at her.

"The Dark Gods are many things." She started. "Cruel, ruthless, merciless and very ambitious. The first of their kind was Majeston, he was a powerful God who also had ambitions of conquering the Nine Realms and so he allied himself with the Dark Elves, it was your father who beat them back into their own corner of the Galaxy, known as the Dark Space."

Thor remained enraptured, as did the others, each listening intently to the revelation of a new pantheon of gods and their rich history. They knew about other pantheons of Gods, like the Olympian Gods. But it was the first time they were being told about a Godly pantheon not directly connected to the Bifrost.

"They remained there for centuries, no one had heard anything about them until we heard about the death of their ruler, Majeston. Despite his cruel ways, Majeston was a reasonable leader and knew when to cut his losses, it was he that first reached out to your father in order to sue for peace. In his place, came Zelia, taking the name of the first Dark God as a title. Whether out of respect or as a mockery I do not know."

"Zelia is nothing like Majeston." That was all the warning the Queen gave on the current leader of the Dark Gods. "The Dark Gods had become reclusive, sticking to the Dark Space and not being seen or heard for, only whispers and rumours about rebellions. That was until a few months ago, a Dark God known as Slototh had arrived in the Nine Realms and took many residents with him back to their homeworld Narcisson."

Thor's hand clenched tightly in anger at those words, his gaze turning to glare at the Dark Gods through his mother's scrying magic.

"Will father beat them?" Baldur asked innocently and Freya smiled comfortingly.

"Of course he will," Freya answered, moving to take the young Baldur into her lap and as she comforted him, Thor moved towards the balcony. The Valkyries stationed there watched him warily to see what he would do, only to turn their attention away once they realised he was not planning anything.

Coming to a stop at the balcony, Thor leaned against it and stared out towards the Eastern Gate. He couldn't make out much besides the golden barrier surrounding all of Asgard covered in cracks.

Though he did note that the Eastern Gate was open and a tide of gold was flowing out onto the grassy plains.

Narrowing his eyes, Thor clenched his fingers wanting nothing more than to be there, fighting to protect Asgard. Fighting to prove to his father that he was a worthy prince and not a disappointment.

-X- Line Break -X-

In an ideal world, Odin would spend his days ruling as King over a peaceful nation, not having to worry about war and looming threats to the Nine Realms. His people would not have to die in battle, mothers no longer having to bury their children and husbands. But as an Asgardian, Odin knew that such a thing was impossible, especially in wartime.

It was why Odin had trained himself to be a master of the art of war.

To understand all its facets so that when war finally came to Asgard, he and his people would be prepared. After all, it was only a matter of time until one of their enemies grew a little too bold.

The Dark Gods were the enemy this time and in the future, Odin knew there would be someone else. But he couldn't worry about that now and could only focus on the enemy before him. He had already prepared Asgard as best as he could for all threats.

So, he marched his infantry out of the gates and positioned them outside the walls. Eight thousand men clad in gold-plated armour and standing firm and determined in their formations like the very walls behind them. Upon them, one thousand five hundred archers stood with an additional five hundred Sorcerer waiting.

Much like in an ideal world, Odin would have preferred to keep the Vanir Sorcerers back and not see the battle. They were skilled in the Mystic Arts and were constantly searching deeper and deeper in order to unlock new secrets, but they were not fighters.

Unlike the people of Asgard, the Vanir had not received any form of military training they never dealing with invasions, they instead had been admitted into an academy that nurtured their ability for magic. But like all the people of Asgard, they were intent on protecting Asgard because they knew if the Golden City fell, there would be nothing standing between an invasion of Vanaheim.

Stood calmly at the very front of his army, Odin waited just a bit longer. He had hoped that Heimdall would have managed to take control of the barrier by now, but it seems they had underestimated the complexity of the barrier. No matter, he could sense that Heimdall was almost finished, it was just a shame that the barrier would not hold out much longer.

Another two blasts from the Union and the barrier would shatter.

Tapping Gungnir on the ground, the sound reverberated across the battlefield, even stalling the Union as it prepared to fire another shot.

Then the barrier dropped.

It was obvious the Dark Gods had not been prepared for this change in tactics as they remained standing for a few minutes doing nothing. Then the Union fired once more, there was a great deal of power in it, but as it was released it branched into numerous smaller beams that arched through the air.

Each one was weaker than the combined might of them all and would not do much in the way of damage to any of the buildings. But that wasn't the aim, Odin could see the trajectory of the beams and knew that the Union planned to cause disruption amongst the Asgardian ranks with this blast.

'Like we would be fooled so easily.' Odin thought, almost insulted by such a simple tactic and stood unmoving like a mountain as the beams grew closer. The Asgardian soldiers behind followed in his steps, never once looking up and continued to stare at the enemy army as it stood and watched.

Just as the beams came within twenty feet of the Asgardian army, numerous shields appeared in the path of each beam and they detonated. Yet, even as the winds produced from the explosion washed over the Asgardians, they remained rooted still.

Again the Union attempted this again only for the Sorcerers of Vanaheim to thwart it once more.

Still, neither side moved forward.

'It seems there is one amongst them capable of strategic thought.' Odin knew that if he marched his army forwards to attack first, he would lose the advantage provided to him by the walls and Odin would not allow that. With his archers positioned there, he would need to get the Dark Gods within range. At the same time, the Dark Gods wanted the Asgardians to march out and meet them losing the advantage of their archers.

Knowing that the Dark Gods would not make the first move, Odin would instead use this opportunity to take advantage of their positioning.

'You should never have come here, Zelia.' Odin thought as he clutched Gungnir in both hands and allowed his magic to build up, the tip of the spear glowing a bright white. 'I have been preparing for invasions long before you even became the Masjeston of the Dark Gods. You were a fool'

With that thought, Odin released a powerful beam of energy. So powerful that when the Union – who had been preparing to fire another wave of energy attacks at the Asgardian army only to quickly change his target upon seeing the beam – fired his own beam of energy, it was swallowed up in Odin's attack.

Slowly, the attack subsided revealing a large trench had formed and the Asgardians cheered.

But while that one attack had taken out a good, thousand cultists, it had not been the aim. No, it was a signal and bursting from down through the clouds, numerous flying boats appeared rushing straight towards the Dark God army. A few squadrons of the Asgardian Fleet

They rained down hell, blasts of pure white, magical energy slammed into the army, exploding and causing the worshippers to go flying in the air in a shower of blood and body parts. At the same time, archers that were within the boats fired three or four arrows at a time from the bows.

It was a slaughter, in the space of a few minutes the Dark God army had been thrown into disarray as they moved to avoid the death that rained down from above.

All the while, Odin watched on as the Asgardian army cheered.