Escaping the Sand

by Demon-of-Asgard

After being exiled from Asgard along with her father, Raven is summoned by Loki to serve him as the general of his army. Using her skills, she will try alongside him to reclaim her seat in Asgard and avenge the deaths of her mother and father. Through any crisis, she will stand. Reviews welcome. My first fic! Raven is about equivalent to a teen, Loki an adult.

1. Chapter 1

I lie huddled in a tight ball, trying to protect myself from the howling winds that pull up sand from the nearby dunes. I am not built for this environment. My father had not been either. Since his and my exile from Asgard over 500 years ago, his life had been claimed by dehydration. He had given up fighting it. I held him in my arms as his last words slipped from him with his last breath:

"Promise me, child. Reclaim what is yours. My Raven…"

All I could say back was "Father, I swear it." He did not hear me.

My mother had been long destroyed by the time of his death. She was a demon, a guardian of death that cared for the people of Midgard after they passed away from their world. Once news of my birth had reached the ears of Odin All-father, her life force was torn apart forever. I saw it happen. I was helpless. But a life shared by a God and a demon was doomed to fail from the start, as Odin had said. But on that day I made a vow to avenge her, and I would do anything to fulfil that vow. And with my father's death, I had another reason.

But I have not yet found a way off the planet that serves as my prison. No one from any other realm visits me. But do not assume that means I have given up. I search night and day for anything that could help me in anyway. I am so far unsuccessful. But every night I say that I will not allow myself to fall into despair as my father had done. Raven, friend of darkness, does not give up.

The sand storm subsides, and I slowly uncurl and dust myself off. I turn to make my way back to the small cave I have made my home. But I stop. Staring into the distance, I see something new on the horizon; a bright beam of light, seemingly shooting down from the evening sky. I freeze, studying it intently. I have heard of these before. The light comes from the gateway in Asgard, and appears when someone wishes to travel from there to another world. Is this a blessing, or a curse? A new inhabitant, maybe. Or a hidden friend in Asgard, offering me an escape from this hell hole I've been trapped in these past years. I decide on the latter, and sprint for the light.