Dawn comes to the city of Alexandria, the war was still an ongoing matter to most but for now there was a sense of calm at last at the city of Knowledge and Wisdom. At the harbor of the city, most pedestrian and workers turn their gazes to the marching formation of warriors heading to their ports and docks. Suits of armor bearing Anubis's likeness with flaming blue resin inside of them to denote their souls. They carried pikes, swords, spears, shields and other weapons of the Hellenic and Egyptian Army. At the forefront of them was their General, Anubis riding on his steed Ramiel leading the men to their ships for war. The Egyptian navy was busy at this point loading up supplies and equipment for the army, logistic experts plan their baggage trains with mules to haul the military's might to the battlefront. There, Athena herself directed the Greek hoplites to embark on their ships to travel with Anubis and retake their homes. She stood proudly on the deck of her flagship directing phalanx formations moving onboard with Hermes and Apollo watching them leaving Egypt after a month or so of Egyptian hosts were gracious enough to open the doors to allow refugees into the country, but now seeing well mannered guests leaving was a bitter drop to swallow. Anubis saw at the docks some of the Hoplites were bidding goodbyes to their wives and families, with promises of liberating their homeland of Hellas from the Romans. "War, war never changes. Hard to swallow glory when fathers perished in the field of battle." Anubis sighed out seeing the sight.
Thoth on the back of Sophia met up with Anubis read his book of the dead still. Although, now it sounded like he was giving off a faint prayer as he read the text form his most trusted book. He rose his head from his book to look forwards at the navies that have amassed in the bay. Each one of the ships gave him a feeling of power he needed for the incoming war. Seeing Athena at the front of one of the vessels gave him a proud smile knowing most of the work here was done by the perseverance and dedication by Anubis. "You know you should feel proud. You've managed to single handedly bring together forces of two pantheons and even create, and at the same time lead an army to fight for what you believe in. Which is of course your homeland." Thoth said moving to the vessels on Sophia's back. He began to humm an old Egyptian tune as a bird song while reading a gin from his book.
"I know but so much is at stakes. First thing first off to Rhodos, to where Horus grew up all his childhood and teenage life. I pity that he didn't grow up here." Said Anubis as he went onboard his personal flagship, it was a massive Ptolemaic vessel, with two masts instead of one, the size of the vessel was equal to that of the other assault ships. On the top deck were two towers to rain arrows down on the enemy with shields and Marines of the Jackal Guards standing by to board enemy ships. The front of the vessel was a golden statue of Isis spreading her wings over the water and underneath was a ram tipped with steel to increase the ramming power of the ship should they go up close and personal. "Anhur and Sekhmet will command the fleets on our wings, we'll be the main force landing at Rhodos to refit after a long journey, then move up to Halicarnassus." Said the Jackal Deity as he inspect the ship's deck seeing the ballista on the towers and Marines on deck preparing the ship for leaving port. As Anubis looked out to the Northern sea he saw that the waves were rising and the wind blew strong gusts at them as he felt the arrival of another deity. "We've got company." Said Anubis as he gripped his scepter and ready himself for possible hostility.
As the waves and wind gust over Thoth's feathers he felt the sudden urge to flee from the battle. The natural instinct that was self preservation, and yet he stood his ground and glared at that direction of the wind coming towards him. On guard and startled by the presence approaching he opened his book and flung his finger to the air pointing upwards. "Poseidon reveal this presence to us! What approaches us from the horizon?..." Thoth asked in a threatening tone. Anubis saw that Thoth's teeth were almost grinding. Of course he knew as well that incoming battles were going to drain on anyone's patience, and cautionary instincts. Thoth was no different. Even Mercury from where he was dashed towards the wing gusts. Although he was much more light hearted about this presence. "Hey! Is that what it feels like when I'm running around like crazy?" Hermes asked.
"He's here…" Anubis stated while looking out at sea where he saw that indeed Poseidon was rising from its depth riding on the back of the Kraken towards them, he wasn't in a rush or even with hostile intents, as his pace was rather slow and well. He soon came to them simply by walking on the water surface while his Kraken sunk into the depth of the sea frightening some of the men. Athena quickly ran from the pier to Anubis's side when Poseidon approached them and bowed his head to Anubis to greet the Egyptian deity. "Anubis, Patron of the Dead, the oceans brought news to me that you have prepared an army to take back Olympus." The god of sea asked, news travel far and wide apparently and with him controlling the sea perhaps news could have come to him in various ways.
"That Indeed is true. This is for Zeus and Athena as well as Aphrodite. Take back their home and make the Latin pigs pay for their transgression." Said Anubis to Poseidon as Athena nodded to her uncle. "That is true, Anubis is now our symbol of unity between the two Pantheons. So therefore, we must support his effort as much as possible." Said Athena while Poseidon twirled his flowing white beard in his hands pondering his thoughts. "Yes I can see that my niece. I aided you in arriving here faster, perhaps I can offer the same aid to Anubis now. Though my power is not as potent since the invasion of Hellas." He sighed out regrettably as his trident sparked energy ball of Aquamancy only to fizzle out in an instant.
"I appreciate the help, keep the Romans away from this part of the Mediterranean Sea, I'll handle the rest." Said Anubis as Poseidon placed his beefy hand on the athletic jackal's shoulder. "The ocean is at your service then General Anubis, my Kraken can keep the Roman navy away from you as you move about the place where do you aim to land first?"
Anubis opened a world map then pointed the island of Rhodos where they were expected to arrive in, before moving his index finger up to Halicarnassus. "First we'll land our men at Rhodos and use the island as a base of operation close enough to retake Halicarnassus. Then we'll launch an amphibious landing to retake the settlement and Mausoleum there. Just keep the Romans off our backs as much as you can." He then wrapped the map up in his hand and keep it inside a leather pouch slung on his back. "Consider it done, I'll move first and keep the Romans away for as long as my Mana allows me." Poseidon then jumped into the air and landed into the sea swimming away as fast as a dolphin with the Kraken departing Alexandria ahead of them. "Time to get going then. Set sail!" Anubis ordered and the crew of the ship began to release their sails and the slaves began to paddle their oars to exit the harbor. They moved out of the city port and were soon joined by other Egyptian navy ships and transports alongside the Greeks moving out in a massive convoy heading northward to Rhodos. However, the first casualty in war is truth, and the truth first died miles and miles away from the Mediterranean.
[hr]
Far from the busy and troublesome Mediterranean Sea, out in the thick forests of the North, where the Rhine begins and the icy shores of the Scandinavia marked the end of the world, stood the proud Asgard Kingdom, a hall of heroes on Valhalla, a ship soaring across the skies with a mighty castle on top of it with a world of its own onboard where no mortal or deities can comprehend the scale and elegant design let alone who built it. In the plaza before the great hall, stood the statue of Odin the Allfather with a pair of Ravens on his shoulders, the people of Valhalla went about their daily lives, the majority were of Viking origin while others were from various other tribes neighboring the Viking and influenced by their culture. A squirrel zapped from one tree top to another, watching the populace moving about the place, his fur was brown with some blue streaks on his head, ears and tail. He brought with him a leather pouch with gleaming beady eyes. The mammal then bolted from the tree top and scurry through the streets to the door of the Great Hall and opened it, he sneaked inside the place and began to tiptoe into the place, knowing that if Thor caught him here he will be doomed to all sorts of punishments. For what crime did he commit to warrant punishments if any at all? His pouch was heavy with some tumbling back and forth inside of it that others would be curious about but not to Ratatoskr, as his scavenger tendencies seem to render him numb to the new and innovations.
However, as Ratatoskr moved through the Great Hall, and believed he was as stealthy as a ninja, the pouch he carried produced a loud sound that was of course oblivious to his own ears. Each jangle inside of the pouch and whatever content it held echoed throughout the massive expanse of the halls. The echoing noises soon reached the ears of a certain deity Ratatoskr made sure to look out for. Suddenly, from behind the squirrel god he heard a crack of thunder land behind him, and an extremely gruff voice clear its throat out at him. "Ahem… Might you explain where you are headed off to Ratatoskr?..." said the voice of Thor. Once Ratatoskr turned he saw the god of thunder armored in blue, cuffs made of high quality brown leather, shoulder pads that almost resembled a football player, and of course the long blonde beard as well as the flowing golden hair Thor was well known for. However, Thor looked down at Ratatoskr with a raised brow, and with his foot tapping on the ground still wondering what possible plans the rodent had scurrying around in his mind.
Ratatoskr of course chuckle and grin nervously at the God of Thunder as he held his acorn in hand ready to unleash his ultimate weapons at Thor, cuteness. "Well...just so you know I was heading to the...uh...um...uh Vault! Yeah Vault! I was going to deposit some artifacts into it until you came. Hehehe. What's up doc?" He began to munch his acorn in front of Thor trying to look adorable in front of him. Though Ratatoskr failed to realize that Thor may have something bothering his mind lately, namely the near constant absence of Loki and Hel from where they should be.
As such Thor didn't seem to be all too convinced by Ratatoskr's adorable appearance. Thor grumbled and picked the squirrel up by his tail, but still not in a rough manner. Just enough for Ratatoskr to know he wasn't buying it. "Enough Ratatoskr. The trick may fool those who haven't met you, but that won't work on me you chaotic mess of a squirrel. Now tell why you are really here. The last time we let you in all of our busts and statues were missing, and replaced with acorn shrines, and statues resembling you, but with hulking muscles…" Thor started making a grumbling noise.
Ratatoskr of course shivered and chuckle even more nervously than before when he was reminded of the mischief but he quickly thought on something, anything that can remotely convince Thor to let him off easy. "Oh...well you see...I was...okay I was looking for a place to recharge my latest property!" He grabbed the object inside his leather pouch and pulled it out quickly. Thor could could only see for a brief moment a rectangular object in Ratatoskr's paws, it was metallic by the looks of it with a plastic cover of acorns wrap around it. On the back of the device was an acorn symbol and Ratatoskr simply chuckled to Thor. "Smile God of Thunder!" He then quickly took a snapshot at Thor's face with a flashlight switched on to stun the God of Thunder before running away from him across the hall of Asgard. "You can't catch me! I'm so fast that not even Loki can!" He boasted as he ran into the art gallery of Valhalla.
Thor grunted, and held his eyes in pain feeling the flash of Ratatoskr's new mystery weapon sting his eyes down to his very retinas. He roared out enraged by Ratatoskr's continued use of shenanigans. "OH! YOU! YOU CRAZY RAT YOU! DAMN YOUR BLOODY PRANKS!" Thor shouted holding the mighty hilt of Mjolnir as he groaned in pain. He blink his eyes several times,but all he saw was a bright blur around him. The effect was nearly identical to the effects of a flash bang. He swung his hammer around confused while shouting angered, and blind. "NOW THESE ANTICS OF YOURS HAVE GOTTEN MALICIOUS! WHERE HAVE YOU GONE RODENT?!" Thor shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice echoed through the halls. He shook his head out and stumbled in a drunken matter down the great hall head for where he thought Ratatoskr had traveled to. Not without crashing into many of the valuable statues erected in the halls.
"Don't worry Thor! It won't hurt you forever...I think." He giggled childishly while keeping out of sight of Thor, as he went about he felt that something was afoot in the art gallery, as he passed by the displays of statues, he felt that one of them was clearly not donated by the worshippers of Asgard. He saw a statue of a squirrel carving a statue of another squirrel carving a statue. The illusion and and visual trick was a dazzle for Thor to see as it was clearly Ratatoskr trying to show off his...Artistic vision. At the base of the statue was an acorn symbol of the squirrel with a tagline that said "Definitely not made by Ratatoskr who may or maynot be here." It was enough to give Thor an unimpressed expression.
The art display caused Thor to huff, and look down at Mjolnir. He raised the mighty war hammer to his face, and shushed it. "Be very quiet… I'm hunting rabid squirrels…" Thor said sarcastically. He reached his hand out to the statue expecting the visual illusion to break as soon as a foreign object entered the field of illusion. "Alright enough of these gimmicks… I think I need to see our eye doctor now damn… Squirrel… Rat… Thing!" Thor stated grumbling again.
As he did, he saw himself inside somewhere that was not Asgard, a place full of golden splendors of light and dazzling work of arts far removed from his time and realm. Pieces of work that in no ways were made by familiar artisans and cultures of his realm. First he saw a painting where a squirrel was holding his face with both paws while screaming at the audiences. Another he saw an island full of picnic goers but they dressed in outfits that in no way resemble Viking armor and were all squirrels with their fluffy tails dragging on the ground. Another more famous work, as shown by spotlights shining on it was a painting of Ratatoskr in long black dress clearly for a woman with a black wig on his head smiling at Thor, all the while revealing his buck teeth to anyone who saw it.
The new change of location caused Thor to grunt confuse by the new setting around him. His voice cracked leaving a stutter in his voice. As he looked around he could tell all of what he saw was Ratatoskr's inflated ego, but regardless how Ratatoskr managed to construct this place, and without it collapsing around him even caused Thor to let out an impressed expression on his face. Of course not without frowning as well seeing himself taken out of his own normal realm. He looked at each of the pieces of squirrel themed art and cringed at a thought in his head. "I sincerely hope he does not make love with himself… Or to any woman… The last thing I need is more of…. Eugh… Him running around…" Thor said to himself. He walked about the room finding no exit, and sighed. "I swear if whatever trapped just killed me, and this is my personal hell i'll start thrashing around…" Thor stated.
Just as he thought the place couldn't be any worse, he was fatally wrong as he heard a high pitch squeaky helium voice of Ratatoskr spoke through the PSA system of the place. "Attention! Attention! It is now opening hour, I repeat it is now opening hour.' Thor then saw doors near him swung open with a sign that said "Horaire d'ouverture!" and hordes of squirrels scurry into the building muttering and chatting with each other of the work of arts by the great artist and sculpture, painter, musician and magician Ratatoskr. "Hey Thor, like my museum? Of course you do! I built it ran it and make money off it! Now I'm rich!" Ratatoskr giggled and rolled around on the floor in joy, though Thor himself could hear that there was a hint to escape the place. He felt that the door way that the squirrels use was corresponding to that of the entrance to the other corridors of Valhalla in terms of direction and design, clearly Ratatoskr can't quite create a perfect illusion through and through. Not only that, but Thor felt that there was a strange song playing in the background, a song that clearly was not hymn, chant or any genre known to the other deities for the time being. The theme was jubilant and jollyful with the a guitar sounding riff to it with the lyrics singing "I'll just keep on loving youuuuu; Cause it's the only thing I want to doooo!"
Thor however didn't close his hearing to the song in the background. Rather his foot tapped itself on its own much to his own surprise. He however planted his foot on the ground to make himself stop. He shook his head out, and carefully moved around each of the fluffy squirrels in the room. "Pardon me. Excuse me. Move! I cannot stand this place!" Thor shouted in a booming voice while he made his way to the exit the squirrels were using. "I swear by the time i make it out of this place i will study on how not to be so easily manipulated by your tricks... " Thor stated as a promise to himself. He then made his way out of the exit, and huffed. He dusted himself off of any stray fur particle and fluff that the other squirrels may have gotten on him. He shuddered thinking some of them had crawled on him, and he looked behind himself at his back, and then at his arms to ensure none of them had gotten on him. "Eugh... Never show me a small furry creature for a century." he said sarcastically.
As he ventured out the illusion disappeared and he was back in Asgard, in fact he simply ventured into the corridor connecting the gallery with that of the dining hall where Vikings and warriors of the Norse come to dine with the Allfather. As he passed by he saw that Ratatoskr hung pictures of himself on the wall, each one in a slightly larger frame than the last until the very last picture showing him with muscles flexing at a beach to impress female squirrels who swooned and fell to their knees over him. "Impressed? I made it myself. Teehee!" He giggled and rolled on the ground laughing out loud at the picture he made that was so realistic that Thor would have thought that he was being tricked by more illusions.
The sight of the pictures in the dining hall caused Thor to rub his eyes in shock. "I'm beginning to think the flash of the mystery device you used is causing this!" Thor said. He shook his head out seeing the overly buffed out Ratatoskr, and cringed at the sight. He blocked the sight out with his hand and continued to walk toward Ratatoskr, but by this time more in rage. "This was not the sight of your body i needed to see today squirrel thing! I have much too many issues on my mind and you are distracting me with your very presence!" Thor shouted while rubbing his eyes out again. "If this the work of narcotics and hallucinogens I will use you as a nail for Mjolnir here..." Thor said grinding his teeth back and forth.
"Oh don't Thor." He giggled childishly as he twirled his tail around until it spun like a rotor blade and lifted him up into the air briefly to Thor's face. "At least you know that I don't start wars and genocides or destruction of civilizations all the time? Right? Unlike your brother Loki the trickster God, I trolled him like no tomorrow." Said Ratatoskr as he fell down to the floor before munching on his acorn again then took a selfie of himself using the phone he had in his hands. "Upload to Furbook and Bleeter and done. Wow 450k likes already? I really need to keep this up." He sarcastically giggled as he check his status on the Internet, a concept that was way too foreign for Thor or other deities to know.
Thor squinted at Ratatoskr perplexed on the foreign contraptions he had with him. They all looked alien, and extremely high tech even to the deity realm. Everything that Ratatoskr said only cause more confusion to swell up in Thor's head, and made him more frustrated. Even the slang terms Ratatoskr used made Thor confused. "You sent a troll to attack Loki? Where did you even find one? You're lying to me about what you just said you devious mouse!" Thor said glaring at Ratatoskr. "And what do you mean likes? Are mortal appraising your antics, on that device? How does it even work?... Oh never mind… You saw Loki?" Thor asked growing impatient.
Ratatoskr shook his head around waving his fluffy ears before chuckled and laughing his head off, it fell literally off of Ratatoskr and rolled on the floor like a ball briefly before he pulled it out of his pouch and reattach it to his head again. "No of course not. I didn't see Loki and I'm sure as HEL that I haven't seen her either. And BTW, I didn't send a troll, it's a new hip word the mortals of Midgard made up where you pull pranks on people, and I'm the best at it." He pounded his fluffy chest to show off how tough and bold he was with all sorts of antics he can pull on the various people around him.
Skeptical at the statement he gave, Thor squinted his eyes at Ratatoskr. He knelt down and knocked him on the head though for his own reason. "You really are a nut. Keep that dismemberment thing between you and me, or else citizens will cry witch craft." Thor said giving off a slight chuckle. He envisioned Ratatoskr being chased by angry barbarians with torches which gave him some joy wishing to see that. Although satisfied with the answer knowing this was all he would get out of Ratatoskr he stood up and grumbled. "Well I got bad news. Your head is as empty as it is easy to detach. You're a bad nut. Regardless. I highly recommend you be careful with…. That." Thor said as he pointed to Ratatoskr's phone. "I don't know what sorcery is being used here, but it could very well be destructive…" he finished showing clearly the deity realm was not yet ready for electronic devices.
"Don't worry it's not like it's going to send stuffs flying at you and crash into your face or anything. I heard that Sun Wukong lost his magic staff but nobody knows who's the thief. Oh and I also heard that Fenny O' Fenrir is still a basement dweller for some reasons. I wonder what's he's going to do when he breaks out." Said the hyperactive squirrel as he scurry and scamper out of the dining hall and up the towers of Messengers to see what's new in his mails were mainly his subscription to various clubs and Jester groups of Asgard. There was nothing of interests to Thor except for the gossips and rumors of a theft of some other Deity's tool. Sounded rather annoying but somewhat interesting at the same time, perhaps, concerning even.
"Sun Wukong… Hmmm… Missing staff. I have yet to conversate with many of the other deity realms, but this is most troubling now to me." Thor stated with great concern in his voice. He already knew Ratatoskr wasn't going to take much seriously, but Thor already knew that the news of a missing relic, and prized weapon would lead to some issues, and possible havoc. "Why if anyone ever took my Mjolnir… Oh that would cause me to strike a furious lighting strike down from the heavens." Thor said dusting off his precious hammer. He however looked to Ratatoskr, and sighed. "Well i suppose i owe you some type of thanks. So thank you for the information. Now keep your eyes out for anything that might cause trouble. Anything out of place. Or you know anything shiny since your eyes always seem to be caught on that." Thor said point to Ratatoskr's golden acorns.
"Oh yippie! That's awesome I get to be your scout from now on heh? Cool day good day it is! I heard some gossips from Fafnir the other day in the mines that he and Loki are out to do some businesses at Olympus and that Fafnir is going to leave the mines with a bucket load of gems or something." He rolled around on the floor like barrel back and forth at Thor's feet to conjure static electricity into his fur. He however quickly bolted into the air with his fur standing straight up after he achieved his static electricity. "Oh and now Zeus is dead, Hellas is invaded by the Romans after they kicked some tribes out of their homes West of here, oh and I heard that the Egyptian just have a new general appointed." He squealed around Thor while opening a scroll detailing the news for the day as things were going on around the realms. "And all of this happened by none other than...NOBODY!" He tossed the scroll in the air madden by the lack of information on the identity of the perpetrator for him to make a punchline.
However, the sudden news of the events in other realms caused Thor to gasp loudly shocked by how he was out of the loop of information between each of the realms. The news of the death of Zeus however was the most shocking to him knowing how powerful the Hellenic deity was. Not only that though how similar the powers Zeus and Thor once shared. "EXCUSE ME WHAT? Ratatoskr! Why am I now receiving this news!? You're supposed to be the messenger god for our entire realm! And yet i am only now just receiving this bloody news! The Greeks were one of our allies! You do realize how powerful Zeus was in the entirety of all of our pantheons right?..." Thor questioned. However, the news of Loki in Olympus made Thor's heart sink. He himself gulped thinking more and more on the fact Loki has been missing, and Ratatoskr, being the only news source, had stated his presence by Olympus just as Zeus was murdered. Thor frowned and bit his lip knowing Loki was not always the most stable of deities. "And then there is that… I might have a suspect to this as much as it kills me." Thor said regrettably.
"Then let's go tell the Allfather then Thor, otherwise, we'll have to have dinner without Loki and I think Odin won't ground him anymore since he's too old for that now." The squirrel flew up to the air and scurry up to Thor's shoulders and used his teleportation spell to bring them to meet Odin, as he performed his spell, there was an acorn symbol on the ground where he casted the spell before they flew through space of Asgard to where Odin was. As they streaked through the portal, the world around them blur and gel into colorful streaks in a tunnel before they fall down at a Viking encampment where various axe wielding, shield bashing and sword swinging seamen and warriors were practicing their trades. They even had hunters gathered into archer groups and practice archery skill and marksmanship at straw dummies. "Ah, God of Thunder and son of Odin. Finally it's good to meet you here." Said a thick Scottish accent as Thor and Ratatoskr turned to meet the one and only, Tyr, the Lawgiver. The hulking balding warrior of Asgard approached them with his right arm now nothing but a stylized metal wolf glove, "It is good to see you here, we had a raid on the Roman camp last night bad losses all around." Said Tyr disappointingly as he mourned the losses.
"Oh darkest days then. Hmph. And they say we are the warmongers…" Thor stated as he placed the hilt of Mjolnir over his right shoulder in a more relaxed position. He looked to many of the soldiers in the camp and saw most were still licking their own wounds. "Blasted Romans have more land under their belts they they can even handle while we've been pushed out all the way out here to the farthest regions." Thor said in a grumpy manner. He looked to Ratatoskr on his shoulder still, and held his arm out pointing him over to Tyr. "We have some news however. Late news… By our oh so talented squirrel here... Apparently Zeus, and you won't believe your ears are speaking this… Has been assassinated by an unknown assailant." Thor said with a cold chill running up his spine. He knew very well that the many of deity realms would be in turmoil without Zeus, and he could still feel a certain tense atmosphere around him once he uttered the words. He shook his arm slightly for Ratatoskr to speak the news. "Go on Ratatoskr. You must tell him what else you know. Coming from me the circumstance with you know who, and my rivalry with him make me seem like a paranoid fool." He said frowning.
"Oh and Sun Wukong's staff has been stolen by someone and the Monkey King is asking and fighting everyone in his pantheons for it back. Also also, the Romans butchered the Greeks at Halicarnassus and Hellas, prompting the Egyptian to send someone after them. Rumour has it that Ra appointed Edge lord Anubis as a new General with his own army to take on the Romans." He chuckled hearing the amount of news he spilled out of his motor mouth though he was not cautious with how he deliver the news. Tyr however was appalled to hear the revelation and development as he gasped out hearing the incredible development. "Curse me missing arm! The Romans are THAT vicious! Why if I had me right arm here I'll send them and their Bellona flying back to Circus Maximus whatever it's called. I lost one me best fighter earlier too, one Gunter the Geats. He was captured by the Romans and probably their slaves now. Poor lad, If I'm lucky I'll find him and bust him out of their chains in a heartbeat."
Thor squinted to the statement made by Tyr on the recent events. "Gunter of Geats? Captured by the Romans? This all seems like some type of mad coincidence." Thor stated. However he spun his hammer around, and thought for a moment on just how many events were happening at once. He knew the Romans causing more trouble than they could chew. Although he scratched the beard in downwards pulling motions having many suspicions. "The death of Zeus followed by the Romans invading Greece… I can't see how that's a coincidence. Their attack was far too fast for them to even receive the news of his death. Unless they truly are just that anxious to go to war… Not sure what they would do once they found they might have taken all of the world. Although, I don't plan to find out either." Thor stated with a stern voice.
"Trust me Thor, those Romans are way too eager to jump start war. Maybe it was all a coincidence with their planning, maybe not. But one thing is certain we'll make them pay. Odin is expecting you in his tent." Said Tyr as he led Thor through the camp, the place had for the most part wooden barracks with fences built in round curves to funnel attackers through to choke points, there were also other facilities for the men like meat currier and storage house for food. Beer was a luxury as the wheat was needed needed for food, so the men opted to drink looted Roman wines. They soon came to a tent with a statue of the Allfather standing proud outside of it with a pair of ravens on his shoulders. Inside sat Odin the Allfather, in his segmented armor and a metal belt bearing the symbol of the Norse Pantheon, he bore his signature eye patch and halberd in hand while sporting grey hair showing his age and wisdom. "Ah my son, come in please. I've been expecting you would come. Grave news I've already know no need to remind me, however, I do think I should discuss with you a few things." Said the Allfather as he sat and drank his golden goblet of beer. He glanced over at Thor with an ominous glare, "Namely, on matters of Loki and the recent development in Egypt." Said the Allfather.
Thor sat down on a chair, and sighed. He himself crossed his arms, and sighed to himself looking at a the glare in his father's eyes. "It is a twisted situation. Something's not right with the world, and will not be right for a while. With the death of Zeus no deity is safe anywhere. Worst yet if indeed Loki is a suspect then by the forces of everything against us we will be attacked. Either by the Greeks or possibly even the Egyptians. Knowing how allied they are…" Thor said not taking any drinks. He seemed too stressed by now within this situation to even relax for a single drink. He clenched his fist and tapped a foot on the ground anxious. "I feel the need to report all the way to Anubis himself so he can spread the word. I've seen what he was able to do as a child, and I know he's a force, and an ally both to be reckoned with. If I can act now then maybe I can lower any possible arms against us." Thor said with a voice full of urgency.
"That I have no doubt you can and will do my son. But know this, force of arms are nothing compared to a dagger up your throat in the dead of night. There are too many coincidences right now to ignore. Loki been missing for months if not years by now, along with Hel, Fenrir remains where he has been but I doubt that will last in trying times. Ragnarok is upon us. I want you to find Anubis link up with him and be Asgard's bridge to him. But be weary of Loki, as I fear he may truly be the engineer of this chaos." The wise elder instructed carefully to Thor before handing him a scroll written for the Egyptian, what he warned Thor about Loki however may raise a lot more concern from Thor as he knew Loki himself was the cunning trickster and would no doubt cause mischiefs. But mischiefs on a scale like this...Thor must see it to believe it.
"I will succeed this task. I promise you this on my blood father. May the odds be in our favor for chaos and mischief are in the air around us. Anything is now a possibility" Thor stated as he saluted Odin. He then walked out and looked to the sky above him. He held onto the scroll tightly in one hand while knowing just how he was going to travel. He even let himself smile taking some enjoyment in his method of travel. He held onto the string Mjolnir had on the end of its held, and used it to spin the hammer around in a circle. Finally he swung his arm out at the sky, and let the massive enchanted weight of Mjolnir throw him at incredibly high jet like speed towards the sky as if he were actually flying. He directed his flight path for of course Egypt where he knew he'd land. From the sky a flash of lightning busted lightning every cloud around while a deafening crack of thunder sounded off signalling Thor was traveling now.
[hr]
While Thor traveled across the sky and into the far reaches of the world, Anubis and his fleet by now had reached the island of Rhodos with the blessing of Poseidon's protection. It took them three days to sail across the Mediterranean at full speed towards the island and were now entering the port of the island, as the sun sets in the West, Anubis disembarked from his ship with Ramiel and his entourage and went ashore with his men to set up camp outside of the city to begin their invasion of Halicarnassus. Anubis kept to himself for the most part as he and Horus set up their tent in the center of the camp adjacent to Thoth, Anhur and Sekhmet's tents. The Jackal deity sat inside his tent on a wicker chair with the hair strand that Athena recovered from Zeus's body. A blonde hair strand, one that was far too out of place for the Mediterranean. "You still think that some conspiracy machination wrought all sorts of problems on us?" Asked Horus as he poured a goblet of wine for Anubis.
The Jackal deity nodded to Horus as he continued to examine the strand sniffing at it, picking up the scent of ink and...a scent of beer, and no one in the Mediterranean drank beer as the drink required a specific kind of plant found in Germania and the Scandinavia to brew it. "Precisely so, the assassin is possibly of Norse origin. Drink beer on occasions, and not only that he also has a penchant for using blades, daggers to be precise." Said Anubis as he looked at the strand attentively. "I see your point there brother, though without any kind of knowledge, or even a Norse in here I have no clue how to help. Other than my patronage." Said Horus as he sat down next to Anubis with the war table set up, the sight of Halicarnassus and its mausoleum was displayed in a scaled up strategic view, when Horus pinch his fingers on it, the view zoom in gently passing through the clouds and flocks of birds to see the ground up close in a more tactical one to survey the landscape. He found the area to be a hilly and lightly forested grassland region. "If only we have someone from the Norse Pantheon here to make some sense of the situation. Bleh, be careful with what one wishes for." Said Horus as he winched himself, not knowing that his wish may indeed about to come true.
Much to Horus's fears the wish did indeed get granted, but not in the way many of the deities there expected. To their surprise the first thing they heard was the sound of thunder crack up high in the sky. Thoth raised his head and raised a brow curious. "Strange i did not forecast a storm today." Thoth said to himself. He looked to his book and tapped inside of the pages confused. "Are you holding out me?" Thoth asked to his book expecting it to answer. However, another crack of thunder and a crack of lightning showed that this was no ordinary storm. Or at least one nature would make. From outside of the tent they heard the viking war cry followed soon by a massive crashing noise outside of the tent and the Earth around them shaking as if an earthquake had hit the area. Thoth's eyes widen and he let off a loud scream while he fell backwards in his chair. "GOOOOD LORD! WHAT IN THE NAME OF KNOWLEDGE?" Thoth shouted as the atmosphere around them turned quiet again. However, whatever the source of the noise was now just outside of their tent.
Anubis bolted out of his seat and grabbed the Xiphos blade from the table and ran out of the tent with Horus following him to see who could this be. He had a very clear idea however of what his visitor was judging by the sound of the thunder and lighting. Anubis's eyes pierced the darkness around him at dusk and saw the grasses in his camp was burned with a rune of the Norse's Pantheon and Thor standing in Ground Zero. "Thor, son of Odin and God of Thunder, it's been a long time since I last met you. I recall I was...10 back then." He sighed out when he mentioned the troubled time he had as a child when he met Thor the first time, back then he could potentially sour relationship between the two pantheons all because he was moody and clouded by the death of his mother. "What brings you here in a sudden?" He asked keeping his sword sheathed while his men were exercising caution around Thor with their likes and swords held ready.
Thor looked to Anubis, and bowed his head to the now general deity. He quickly pulled out the note Odin had given to him. "A message from the all father. Read this and read it well. This will provide you some insight on your current situation… And I'm afraid part of my pantheon could be source of the trouble." Thor stated placing the scroll firmly in Anubis's hand. "Oh and pardon my entrances. Mjolnir can get excessive."
Thoth's ruffled feathers stuck up in a startled manner. Each individual feather stood up making his appearance way more comedic, and yet nonthreatening. He brought both hands to his face and began to adjust the feather back into position while grumbling. "Well you certainly have quite the entrance… What does the note say Anubis?" Thoth asked.
As Anubis reads the scroll it's content became a warning for him, not just a warning but a premonition to a fate Odin has long foreseen. "It's Odin's request that I attend his funeral when his death comes at last. But he also warn me of his son Loki, and Hel and Fenrir, telling me to do as I see fit to them. The rest is military coordination between us to attack the Romans and how best to proceed." Anubis rolled up the scroll and handed it to Horus who held it tight in his hands for safe keeping. Anubis would then handed Thor the blonde hair strand of the assailant found on Zeus's body. "I think you would recognize this as it is not of the Mediterranean, I smelled ink that was used to dye it to match my fur. But I also smell the scent of beer on it, only Asgard has plentiful beer enough to make the scent stick on one's hair for so long." Said Anubis as he let Thor inspect the hair strand, it was rather long and woman like, in fact, Asgardians tend to have long flowing hairs. "I have no doubt that Loki frames my brother for the murder of Zeus, his interest, I dare not say." Said Horus as he leaned against his tent.
Thor took the strand of hair, and squinted his eyes to it. He didn't need much time to inspect the piece of hair however, and made a furious glare towards it feeling a sudden urge to smite it with a strike of lightning. He got down to one knee after lowering himself to the ground and bowed his head. His long flowing blonde hair covered his face completely as if hiding his shame. He let off a very long sigh feeling much of the air in his lungs escape slowly. "Loki… You have brought the Norse shame, and have brought a war of which all the pantheons are not ready to view… Worst yet the blood of Zeus is on the hands of all of the Norse. What has possessed you my brother?... Why have you cursed us this way?..." Thor said in remorse. With his reaction, and feeling of grief it was clear where Zeus's blood lay.
"By now he's out somewhere else, beyond our reaches and perhaps plotting again. Keeping close contacts is key to survival from now on, Thor, tell Odin this, when I invade Rome, he can take back the land of Germani and I shall invite him to Rome and share the glory." Said Anubis he helped Thor up to his feet before handing a goblet of fine wine made from grapes to help him drink his sorrow away.
Thor held the goblet of wine in his hand, and circled the red liquid around a couple of time taking a smell of the aroma the wine created. He brought the goblet to his lips and tilted it to drink the alcoholic beverage. His troubles were soon over however knowing that Anubis was now on the side of the Norse Pantheon, and that both would share a possible glory once the blood of Rome had been shed on Roman territory. Thor handed the goblet back to Anubis, and wiped his mouth of any alcohol and gave him a single nod. "I'll send the message to father. May the storms be on your side." Thor said. He looked up to the sky again, and spun his hammer around in one hand before throwing his arm out to point at the sky. The weight of Mjolnir threw him up towards the and in the blink of an eye he was gone. Already headed back for Asgard.
Anhur sighed out as he looked down on the ground where Thor was standing as it left an impression of Norse Pantheon logo burning on the grass slightly. "That man has no respect for lawn maintenance." Anhur quipped while Anubis cracked his neck before heading into his tent. "Generals meeting now." Said Anubis as he headed inside the tent, followed by Thoth, Sekhmet, Anhur and Horus to see what Anubis had planned in mind. They saw that he had built an elaborate and detailed model of Halicarnassus with the Mausoleum to use as landmark and reference point for them to know what kind of battle they were going into. Anubis was kneeling on the ground setting up the pieces of Roman and Graeco-Egyptian troops on the model to illustrate his battle plan to them. They saw that Anubis placed the ships that represent the fleet on the Western beach of the Halicarnassus hilly terrain and settlement, showing them where they will land.
With the hills in mind as the landing point, Thoth had a better idea of what was to be expected when landing. Although, he made a very deep humm listing the possible conflicts they would see when landing. He already knew that the enemies they were to face were going to use the hills to their own advantage. On Graeco-Egyptian forces side however he saw the hilled terrain as possible cover they could use. "Not much cover besides the hills. Without any trees we will be out in the open once we climb over those rigid hills. Before we even land though the enemies will surely have the high ground. We are facing a literal uphill battle." Thoth stated.
"Not unless we catch them off guard, if we land before they anticipated then we will have the advantage over them." Said Anubis as he began to elaborate his battle plan to the group inside the tent. "Our advantage can only be realized and capitalized by landing at night or latest at dawn, before the sun even rises. On the western side of the Peninsula, the Sun will silhouette the enemies and render them exposed to our eyes. If we take one highground before they do, we will hold the advantage for the rest of the battle."
Anhur however cleared his throat when hearing this, to him, it was a rather superficial plan and advantage at best to even try and move up on a hill at dawn with little light to guide them. "Even if we take a high ground with some slopes and elevations, the Romans can still beat us with their infantries. You saw what they did to a Phalanx formation?" Asked Anhur as he pointed to the lines of Hastati and Principes that would inevitably lead an assault uphill against them.
"There's always a weakness, and I know the Roman's weakness. Their Equites, the cavalries that protect their Infantry's flanks. Without the Equites, they will be broken and vulnerable as any infantry armies." Said Anubis as he placed the pieces representing his Hetairoi (Companion Cavalry) on the right flank of his army while the main line were Phalangites marching forward supported by Hoplites and Thorax Swordsmen of the Jackal Guards. In front of the main marching formation were Peltasts and slingers to skirmish the enemies while Anhur commanding the left flank had Citizen Cavalries with Hypapists and a number of Pikemen to guard the Romans from coming in too fast.
"What are you intending to do to them this time Anubis?" Asked Sekhmet as she tried to decipher to plan of Anubis in details as she saw herself being placed in command of the center force while Horus was going to lead the skirmishers. "You said if we break their Equites we break their army. How?" She asked perplexed by it. "Their Equites are the only forces capable of giving them an eye on our forces, but their riders are impatient and rowdy noblemen seeking personal glory with rash actions. Play to their vanity, draw them in first before smashing them without relent. Without their own mobile force to hit back at us, their infantries are sluggish and like rabbits before a lion." Said Anubis as he pushed the pieces of his Hetairoi cavalry forward, he swung around to the Roman's left flank and show them that he was going to slam into their Triarii at the very rear of the line.
Thoth nodded seeing the strategy play out as a demonstration, and felt more confident in the plan now then before. He was already envisioning many wounds, and maiming strikes on the enemies with Anubis's method of battle just by the demonstration he layed out "I see then. Take out each of them on the flanks, and then the main force will be completely exposed to our blades. Sounds extremely bloody, but necessary. I can still provide magical attacks but at a range of course. Perhaps the archers will appreciate a glyph of pain?" Thoth asked.
Anubis nodded to Thoth. "Perhaps they need it. Considering that they can deal out deaths from a distance. Wiping them out will help tilt the balance in our favor." Said Anubis as he pushed the rank of skirmishers forward to engage the Velites of Rome. "If we can break their skirmishers early on, we'll tilt the balance of power in our favor latter." However Sekhmet when looking at Anubis's maneuver to attack and overrun the 600 Triarii at the rear saw that this was being rather risky if not insane even for Anubis. "You're taking cavalries to overrun spearmen, what if they turn to face you in time?" She questioned him sounding rather doubtful of his tactical and strategic foresight. "Not if you break their Hastati and Principes, Sekhmet, they let their Triarii rest from the battle as reserve if their men break and rout in the first assault. If we break the Triarii at the same time as their Hastati and Principes then they are doomed on the battlefield." The Jackal Deity replied as he pointed out how the Principes and Hastati would retreat behind their lines when an assault had failed to gain fruition. Horus nodded to Anubis as he knelt down and pointed at the Legatus of the Legion. "What about their general? Or Military Tribune whatever they call him...do you intend to off him as well?" Horus asked, to which Anubis tossed the command piece representing himself at the Legatus toppling the Roman general in the process. "I'll send him to the Underworld myself." Said Anubis.
Impressed by his reasoning and tactical foresight Anhur whistled out in utter amazement that the pupil has surpassed the master in planning but executing his own plan will require the battle to proof that Anubis can indeed lead a massive campaign with Anhur relegated to the back seat for the most part. "When will we leave?" Asked Anhur as he checked his sun clock under the moonlight, he saw that it was now 2 o'clock in the morning. Hours away from dawn. "Within the hour. Let's get going then." Said Anubis as he began to put on his armor, an ornate suit with the casts of Horus carved into it to display the strength and patronage of Horus over the wearer. There was also a breast plate design similar to that of the Greek and Macedonian armor for Generals and Basileus. He then walked out of his tent and lit the torch with some red color powder to signal to the men that it was time for them to move out.
The Jackal Guards saw that their general had signaled the invasion and that time was running against them so they run out of their tents and grabbed their weapons and shields in a haste. The men quickly loaded their mules and camels of the supplies and packed up the tents as fast as possible though they would require more than an hour to perform the task. Anubis and Horus would embark back on their ship with Ramiel in the cargo hold ready to go while the men embark on their transports in a hasty forced march manner to get going soon. They have no clues what kind of plan their general had concocted in his mind but they will execute regardless. As the hour went by Anubis's army was setting sail from Rhodos to cross the sea to land at Halicarnassus, the initial invasion force will lead the way and land first while the supply and baggage train will follow closely behind them. Their baptism by fire was about to begun.