Indra vs. Thor

After the battle had quickly come to an end all of the Gods who had come with Zeus slowly approached Indra. The Gods who had gathered for the fight had just seen Indra slay their foe with seemingly little to no effort. Zeus immediately demanded that they stop and they all looked up at him. Zeus approached Indra with a guarded and reserved demeanor and demanded to know who he was and where he was from. Indra told him who he was and that he was from the land they now walked on. The other Gods all gasped in awe. They had heard of Indra but had assumed he was a weak and non-combative God based on the things he had done for his people. He had not once tried to seek fame in battle on the world stage like most Gods of his apparent strength usually did. Zeus was shocked as well, as he could not believe he had never caught wind of a God so powerful and with control of the skies like himself.

Indra explained to the Gods that he didn't care much for conflict unless it was to protect himself or his people. This surprised the Greek Gods because their ways of doing things were vastly different. They rarely intervened in the problems of their peoples directly. This fight with Vritra had been the first time they had directly intervened in hundreds of years. They only did it because it was a foreign power that was causing global strife. Most of the time they would send their half-god offspring that they had conceived with their subjects to go deal with the problem. Zeus saw that Indra wasn't an immediate threat and decided they would all leave for the time being.

When Zeus returned to his domain he immediately summoned Thor to speak with him about this new Thunder God that they had never known existed until now. Thor and Zeus were long-time rivals that had fought many times over their right to the skies. It would always end in a draw, however, since they were evenly matched. They eventually decided to share their sky domain so they could focus on other things without worrying about each other. Thor hastened to Zeus' domain when he heard what had happened and that Zeus wanted to talk. When Thor arrived Zeus got straight to business. He told Thor that Indra had appeared to be very passive towards Zeus and the other Gods but that he thought it was just an act. He did not believe that someone as powerful as Indra did not seek power or control as almost all Gods with their strength did. He convinced Thor that Indra had to be dealt with or they would not retain their perceived supremacy of the skies. Thor told Zeus that he would go deal with Indra because he was convinced Indra would be no match for his strength. He had fought and beaten every God he had ever fought except Zeus and he had never heard of another God as strong as him.

Picture of Thor looking angry. Source: Flickr

Thor left Zeus and traveled quickly to Indra's domain. Thor found that Indra came to him immediately when he entered Indra's lands. He told Indra what he and Zeus had discussed and that he could not be allowed to share the skies with them. Indra, sensing the coming fight, leaped on his mighty elephant and prepared for battle. Thor lunged at Indra with his mighty hammer and Indra's elephant deflected the blow with its massive tusks. Indra fired many arrows at Thor but he was too quick to hit. They circled around one another scoring minor blows if any at all. Thor and Indra were evenly matched. Neither could seem to gain an upper hand. Finally both summoned all the strength they had and lunged straight for one another for one final blow. They collided in a massive thunderous explosion of lightning. When the smoke cleared they both saw that neither was harmed. Thor was impressed with Indra's strength and decided that for him, it was time to concede to a new power in the skies. He told Indra as much, leaving him with a warning that Zeus was likely to follow him. Indra accepted this stalemate and bid Thor farewell now that Thor was not an immediate threat to his land.

Author's Note: This story follows the immediate aftermath of Indra's battle with Vritra and how the Gods react to seeing his power in the fight. The other Gods are in awe of Indra because until then, they had no idea he was this powerful. Indra has always had a passive temperament and did not show off his power like many of the other powerful Gods tended to do. This story was original so there is no source to cite. Some of the character traits of the Gods were similar to common mythology to try and make the story feel more in tune with other mythological stories about them. Zeus is usually seen as very proud and power-hungry. This is why he reacts to Indra in the way he does, not wanting to share any more of his power or domain with anyone else. Thor is sometimes seen as arrogant, foolhardy, and proud if not sometimes a bit childish. He tries hard to gain fame and glory from other Gods and peoples, but he also tries to remain true to his words as well. This is the Thor in my story that is willing to charge into a fight without much thought if he thinks it will improve his stature or bring him glory.