Come, dear reader, as we abandon our fragile world and sail through space and across dimensions to a realm beyond mortal ken! Come with us to the continent of Asgard, home of the legendary Norse Gods!

Suspended in the Sea of Space, this awe-inspiring land is tethered to our world by Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge. Just beyond the bridge lies the Golden City, the capital of Asgard. But to reach the city, we must first pass the ever-faithful guardian, Heimdall.

But what's this? Heimdall, the keenest and most alert of all gods, lies unconscious at his post, felled by some unknown force. The Golden City is now in peril, with only children and a small group of women remaining to defend it! Where are the legendary armies that call Asgard home?

The answer lies on the other side of the city, on the Plain of Ida. Here, Asgard's forces have amassed to repel an invasion by the Aesir's eternal foes, the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. As the harsh winds of the recently reopened Cask of Ancient Winters sweeps across the plain, the noble warriors of Asgard fight their massive foes to a standstill. Not wishing to prolong the battle, Odin One-Eye, the Allfather, has called upon his legendary Odin Power to swell in size, so that he may face off against Utgard-Loki, wicked ruler of the Frost Giants. Even now the ancient foes face each other, prepared to engage in a struggle of epic proportions. Faint of heart, turn back now before it is too late. Warriors, hear now the call of battle!

Thor, God of Thunder and Lord of the Storm, shields his eyes as another gust of frigid wind blasts his face. Even he, with all his power, cannot hope to squelch the fury of the Cask of Ancient Winters once unleashed. The only answer is to close the cask. And at this moment, the Cask lies behind the lines of the armies of Jotunheim.

Nevertheless, Thor knows that victory will not be obtained unless the Giants' lines are broken and the Cask is retrieved. The Asgardians are no strangers to the frigid winds of the north, but the power of the Cask is beyond what even the gods can withstand. However, its freezing temperatures only cause the Giants to grow ever stronger. Fortunately, the Giants are not known as the most intelligent of foes. All that is needed is a good distraction. A distraction that is forthcoming, Thor realizes as he watches his father rise up to challenge Utgard-Loki.

"Utgard-Loki, thou hast made a grave mistake, daring to threaten the sovreignty of the Golden Realm and its Liege Lord!" Odin boldly proclaims as he strives forward to stare his enemy in the eye. "Odin shall now teach thee the error of thy ways!"

Odin swings his mighty sword at Utgard-Loki, who blocks the blow just in time with his massive club. Even as Utgard-Loki holds off Odin's attack, he feels the undeniable force of the Odin-Power emanating from his foe.

"Nay, One-Eye," Utgard-Loki sneers, trying to maintain his bravado for the sake of his men, "it will be thou who is taught a lesson this day! Thou shalt learn that puny godlings will never be a match for the power of the Giants!" Utgard-Loki strikes with a ferocious blow of his own, and even though Odin blocks the blow with his sword, the Allfather is forced back by the unbelievable impact.

"Incredible!" Odin thinks as he feels the full force of Utgard-Loki's power. "The Cask has increased the Giants' already formidable strength a thousand fold! Ne'ertheless, they shall not win this day! They shall learn that the power of Odin is second to none!" As Odin prepares his counterattack, his eyes begin to crackle with raw energy, the Odin Power unleashed!

At that moment, Odin's beloved son Thor notices the Giants' concentration begin to waver, as their cowardly hearts are struck with fear upon seeing Odin withstand Utgard-Loki's attack. Thor calls together his most trusted allies to prepare for a strike against the enemy lines.

"Balder! Sif! Amora! Warriors Three! Heed my call! Now is our chance to take the Cask!" Thor begins to spin Mjolnir above his head as his friends rush to his side. "Strike without mercy!" Thor commands as he leads the charge forward. As one, the assembled heroes cry, "FOR ODIN!!! FOR ASGAAAARD!!!!!"

The brave heroes storm forward, surging through the defenses of the Giants with all the fury of beings protecting their very homes. Balder, the Shining One, radiates brilliant light as he attacks his foes, the heat and warmth he gives off weakening their enhanced powers. Sif strikes her foes legs with her sword, crippling them before delivering a killing blow. Amora the Enchantress weaves spell after spell to help clear their path. Fandral and Hogun battle side by side, while Volstagg follows, protecting the rear as usual. Thor himself flies straight into the faces of his immense enemies, cracking their giant skulls with mystical warhammer.

"See how our foes fall before us!" Thor cries. "Victory shall be ours!"

On the other side of the Rainbow Bridge, on the shining sphere the gods know as Midgard, but the mortals call Earth, Jerry Sapristi arrives at the offices of Warhammer Construction for another day of work.

"Hi, Amy," he says as he greets his secretary. "I don't suppose Sig is in today?"

"Haven't seen him," Amy replies.

"Figures," Jerry smiles as he heads into his office. He sits at his desk and begins to get started on the day's work. "I knew ol' Sig wouldn't be around a whole lot when we went into this together, but it does seem kinda odd that he misses as much as he does. He was out for a while there, came back in for a few days, and he's been gone the last two days."

Suddenly, Jerry puts aside the blueprints he was about to go over and leans back in his chair, scratching his head. "Wait a minute. It's been two days since the last time I saw Jenny, and I haven't even missed her. In fact, the missus hasn't said anything about it either. And even now that I realize she's been gone, I still don't quite feel worried... it's like there's something inside me that knows she's alright. But why? And why do I have this weird feeling it's got something to do with Sig? It's like there's something I know about him - or used to know - but I just... can't... remember!"

Unseen and unheard by Jerry, the astral form of Loki chuckles. "Poor, foolish mortal. The answer lies just beyond thy grasp. Oh, I could easily lift the simple spell that befuddles thee, revealing this mystery. But now is not the time that it will bring Loki the greatest advantage. Enough of this mortal plane - my plans here will come to fruition soon enough. Now, back to Asgard to see how things transpire there...."

Having cast aside their weapons, Odin and Utgard-Loki grapple each other in a test of raw strength.

"I will crush you once and for all, puny godling!" Utgard-Loki snarls as he attempts to apply as much pressure as possible onto Odin's wrists.

"Nay, vain one!" Odin replies. "Ne'er shall the giants be able to say they are greater than the gods! For ages have we battled, but now 'tis time for the giants to learn once and for all who their true masters are!"

"We shall never kneel before the Asgardians! We shall freeze all the nine worlds with the power of the Cask, and then all shall know the power of the giants! Prepare for Hela's kiss, One-Eye!"

Even as the struggle between Odin and Utgard-Loki rages on, Thor and his friends slice through the giants' defenses.

"Behold!" Fandral the Dashing cries out. "The Cask lies just ahead! Onward to victory!" By Fandral's side Hogun the Grim says nothing, but renews his attack with even greater fury.

"Press on my love," Amora calls to Thor. "My spells shall protect thee!" With the Cask now in sight, Amora weaves a spell clearing away the Frost Giants from Thor's path. With Mjolnir pulling him through the air, Thor streaks straight to the Cask. However, as the Thunderer reaches the Cask, Amora is felled from behind by one of the giants. Without the protective spell, several giants swarm around the Odinson.

"Thor!" Sif cries even as she strikes another giant with her sword. "He has disappeared 'neath the crush of the giants! We must free him!"

"Fear not, milady!" Balder answers even as he continues to glow brighter. "No Frost Giant may keep Balder the Brave from his comrade's side!" Balder dashes towards the hoard of Frost Giants that obscures Thor from view, but before Balder can reach them, the heavens erupt with sound and light.

Lightning strikes from the snow filled skies, electrifying the assembled giants. Then the earth shakes violently, knocking the giants off their feet. At that moment, Balder spots Thor standing in the midst of the shaken giants, bloodied but unbowed, holding the Cask of Ancient Winters in his hands.

"And now we shall see how thou fights without thine only thine own strength, unaided!" Thor announces as he closes the Cask.

In an instant the snows cease. The skies clear. And terror covers the faces of the Frost Giants.

"The bone chilling cold has fled us!" the Giants yell. "We are undone!"

"Stand your ground!" Utgard-Loki commands his troops. "We shall yet prevail!"

Odin retrieves his blade even as Utgard-Loki seeks to reassure his men. "Thou shalt ne'er prevail o'er the Aesir, not as long as the warrior's spirit fills us. And now, let your evil be ended once and for all!"

Utgard-Loki's eyes widen as he sees that fates have decreed this to be his final battle. Odin's blade flashes across the Asgardian sky. With one smooth motion, the Allfather removes Utgard-Loki's head from his neck.

All of the assembled warriors of both sides halt in the midst of combat as they watch Utgard-Loki's head land on the frozen ground, followed by his carcass a moment later. Then, as one the Giants flee the Plain of Ida.

"Now we have them!" Harokin, leader of the Einherjar shouts. "Pursue them, heroes! Let none escape!"

"Nay!" Odin calls to Harokin. "Leave the Giants be. We have defeated their invasion and slain their leader. Let us return to the Golden City and tell our loved ones of our victory here. Tonight, we feast!"

The air reverberates with the triumphant cry of Asgard's finest.

Later, the victors return to the Golden City. Upon their approach, however, they are surprised by what they see. Or rather, what they do not see.

"Where are those we left behind?" Thor wonders aloud upon approaching the Golden City. "Why do they not greet us?"

"Mayhap Gudrun has gathered everyone to prepare us a mighty feast, as befits the Lion of Asgard and his comrades," Volstagg suggests.

"Aye, but I would expect Hildy at least would have wanted to greet her hero," Fandral says with a sly smile to Hogun.

"True, my daughter does love her father," Volstagg says, failing to realize the comment was not directed at him.

As the warriors ride into the city, their concern grows.

"Where is everyone? Hello!" Balder cries out, but there is no response.

"Tis passing strange," Odin notes. "Frigga, my wife! Do you not hear me?"

"Look here!" Sif calls from one of the halls. Thor rushes to her side to see what the matter is.

"Od's blood!" Thor exclaims. "All the women and children we left behind are here - unconcious!"

As many warriors who can burst into the hall to see that their loved ones are okay. Thor pulls away, knowing that the answers the Aesir need to what has happened lies elsewhere. He scans the Golden City looking for some clue, some sign of what enemy could have accomplished this. And yet, there is no evidence of destruction, no evidence that this unknown foe has done anything to Asgard. And then Thor sees a sight that chills him to his core.

"Father!" Thor cries in astonishment. "Come quickly!"

In a moment Odin joins his son. "Yes, Thor, what is it?"

"Behold!" Thor says as he points to giant brazier that holds the Eternal Flame of Destruction.

"It cannot be!" Odin gasps. "The Fates themselves decreed that the Eternal Flame may ne'er be extinguished, and yet... it burns no more!!"

Two missives this month. First from Randy (VAULT) Lander:

Well, I don't have a lot of time to write, but I've suffered the deadly "no mail" morale killer before and I'd hate to see it happen to your Thor. To be honest, I've never been a fan of the character really, andI can't even imagine writing him. But you've done what I think a good Thor writer should...made things big and cosmic, and focused them in Asgard. I'm very interested in seeing what happens next, and incredibly curious about the identity of Loki's ally.

I have been reading THOR for over 20 years off and on and I felt like one of lifes small pleasures had been taken from me when it was canceled. I haven't been able to get the same enjoyment from the new story lines and found this site by accident while "Surfing." Just wanted to thank you for doing what I would do if I only had the talent. with the way the world has of constantly hitting a person in the face with reality, it is a good thing to be able to fantasize sometimes about a hero who never quits.