"Do you remember that Frost Giant warrior? The one who used a huge stone pillar as a weapon." Thor smugly tossed the hammer in his hand up and down as he boasted to his friends. "His head was this big, and I smashed it open with one blow! Hahaha!"
The Warriors Three crowded around Thor and kept singing his praises. From the sound of it, the Prince before them was even mightier than Odin.
Loki kept smiling. He was merely walking along with them, saying nothing, making himself as inconspicuous as possible.
Of course, he had been the one to suggest sneaking into Jotunheim to cause trouble in the first place. He had merely told Thor that there might be valuable prey among the Frost Giants, which they could take to Vanaheim and trade for hamburgers.
And so his foolish older brother had taken the bait, truly leading the others through the secret passage Loki had provided.
Odin of Asgard and Laufey of Jotunheim had a non-aggression pact. Asgardians would not set foot in the world of the Frost Giants, and likewise, Frost Giants would not enter Asgard.
The younger Odin had been a war maniac—his whole family had been like that—but as he grew wiser and older, he had become much more peaceful. He realized that every realm needed races living within it to provide spiritual nourishment for Yggdrasil, and the Asgardians could not exist in all Nine Realms at once.
That was balance, and it was also the tree's demand. Like a scale, Asgard and Vanaheim now happened to be balanced against the other seven realms. Any more weight would not do.
This concerned future plans and a whole series of complicated relationships. The ancient gods were not so easily fooled.
But Thor saw things very differently. What