Athol - Ashes

"This is the narrative version of the opening for the second volume of my story Athol. This is the only spoiler I can really post at the moment because the story is still very much in flux and I don't know for sure which scenes I'm going to use and which scenes I'm going to throw out.

I do wonder what this scene must look like to one who has not read the first volume." -Casey

Sorcha walked up to the edge of the police tape, her long hood drawn over her head. The frame of house was hardly standing anymore, just a broken wall with charred black posts lying across it. Nothing was recognizable. This mess didn’t look even remotely like the home Sorcha had left behind.

“Hey! You there!” a voice called from behind her. “I’ve been telling you kids to stay away from this place for two days now!”

Mrs. Clarke stomped over to the girl with leather suitcase tucked under her arm. “It’s the sight of a tragedy, not a magical spectacle!”

Sorcha drew her hood back and wiped a tear from her eye as she looked up at the woman. “Mrs. Clarke,” she managed to whisper.

The woman dropped her suitcase and ran forward to hug the girl. “Oh, Sorcha dear!” Mrs. Clarke gasped. “Child, where’ve you been? I’d have sworn that you’d died in the fire!”

“Mistress Fiona was supposed to call you,” Sorcha murmured.

“Fiona?” Mrs. Clarke spat. “That witch was here yesterday and she didn’t say a word about you or Ciar.”

Sorcha bit her bottom lip and turned her eyes to the ground sadly. Mrs. Clarke noticed the sudden change in the girl’s face and her own expression dropped. “Where is Ciar?”

“He…he was…” Sorcha squeaked.

“Sorcha, where is your brother?” the woman asked firmly, but kindly.

“He was kidnapped by the monster that burnt down our house,” Sorcha managed to say at last. She wiped her tears from her face once more, this time with more resolve in the action.

“Kidnapped?” the woman breathed.

Sorcha pulled away from Ms. Clarke’s grasp and then draped her hood over her face once again.

“The imp was probably smart enough to avoid reentering the woods here,” she assessed as she picked up her broom. “So, I’ll need to figure out where else he could have gone.”

Sorcha quickly mounted her ride and Ms. Clarke got to her feet once again to stand in the girl’s way.

“Sorcha, you need to stay here with me!”

“No can do,” she replied simply. “My brother needs me.”

With that, she rose into the air and zipped down the street again, leaving Ms. Clarke alone by the burnt out house calling after her.

As she gained altitude Sorcha glared back over the forest to the west. She had always wanted to become a sage so that imps and such creatures would never be able to hurt her. Now she would learn everything she could so that they’d never be able to hurt her or her brother again.

Characters and Story (C) SuperheroGeek13

Loki Laufeyson - First Chapter!

"Well, not the whole first chapter, but it is the start of it. I kind of have to write this poor little fanfic out of order because of how Loki's mind works. Everything is a scheme within a scheme and he's always thinking twenty steps ahead and I just can't keep up with him! It's much easier to just write it all out in different sections and then go back to make sure that the young prince is behaving as if working towards a goal I've already concluded in a later chapter.

This is how Loki's mind must work all the time! No wonder its a box of cats in there!" -Casey

 "a long time ago..." by GraphiteDoll

Loki glanced over his shoulder cautiously as he approached the mouth of the cave. Behind him was little more than fields and great lakes that lead to the very edges of the realm eternal. He could faintly hear the rushing of the falls in the distance. No one would think to look for the young prince of Asgard in such a remote and begrimed place, especially without some form of escort, but Loki had had his fill of palace. It was Thor’s birthday today and the All-Father had gifted him with the weapon Mijonir. The boy had spent the better part of the afternoon smashing through anything that didn’t move in the lower courtyard, much to the delight of the many party guests.

Loki had found it easy to slip away in the midst of the chaos, though he was sure that his mother had spied him as he left. He was grateful that she had not drawn any attentions to his actions. The last thing he wanted right now was to upset his father by his leaving early.

Once he was sure that no one was around to observe him, the young boy entered the cold damp cave with slow and testing footsteps to avoid slipping on the wet stones. As he got deeper into the cavern the light from outside grew dimmer and finally the shimmering crystals that he sought came into view. They were embedded in the walls of black rock giving them the appearance of shining stars in the night sky. There were dozens of them and they all glittered with the same colors of the Rainbow Bridge.

The young prince ran his hand over one of the opalescent gems and felt a steady pulse of power emanating from it. These crystals were an undervalued part of Asgardian history. They were what made it possible for his father and his father before him to rule over all the nine realms though the power of the Bifrost. Loki cleared the grime from the face of the gem and it came loose from its place and fell gently into his hand. He was certain that there was an old book on ancient stones of power in his father’s archive. He’d have to look for it when he returned so that he could learn the name of the crystal.

A low rumbled echoed through the cave, vibrating the walls so that the gems threw shimmering fractals of light all around. Loki steadied himself against the wall of rock as the rumbling continued. He began to hear muffled horns blaring and faint screaming in the distance. Quakes were not common in Asgard. They were under attack and he was miles from the palace grounds, from the palace guards, from his brother, and from his parents. He darted for the mouth of the cave, slipping on the wet ground but still avoiding falling into the mud. The horizon was just as he had left it, but the rumbling persisted.

Loki ran back up through the tall grass of the uneven plains that had brought him to this place of solitude. He climbed up the hillside until at last he was standing well above the caves he’d been exploring. That’s when the city and the golden palace came into view. Now he understood the rumbling beneath his feet.

The towering palace in the distance was being consumed by mounting icebergs that were sprouting up from the ground.

“The frost giants…” Loki breathed as his home was completely obscured from view beneath the ice.

This version of Loki (C) Marvel Studios

Story (C) SuperheroGeek13