Thor: The God of Thunder

Chapter 1: The Dark Gods Saga I

"Normal Speech."

'Normal Thought.'

"Demon Speech."

'Demon Thought.'

"Incantations."

-X- Line Break -X-

Odin Borson, the All-Father and King of Asgard stood quietly over the crib of his sleeping son, Thor. A child birthed between the union of himself and Gaea. A union between Asgard and Midgard. He was to be the future of Asgard, the key to the breaking of the Ragnarok cycle that had plagued his people for thousands of years.

Yet, as he looked down at his son, all that filled him was worry and fear. Fear of the unknown and what it could mean for him, his family and his people.

"What troubles you, my King?" Odin did not look up as he heard the voice of his wife as she glided across the room to stand by his side. She too, looked down at her husbands eldest son and felt a frown cross her features. Yet it was not due to the boy himself, no in fact she loved the boy dearly despite the short time she had known him. He was a happy child and she held no ill will to her husband or the child's real mother. She understood that it was done for the betterment of Asgard.

"It is nothing." Odin responded, before turning away from Thor who slept peacefully in his crib. Frigga meanwhile leaned forward to stroke one of Thors cheek with one finger making the boy smile in his sleep, a sight that brought a smile to her own face before turning and joining her husband in bed.

"You need not worry about him, my love." She was well aware of what truly troubled Odin, the young prince upon being born had encountered another lost soul. A soul, that bonded and fused with Thor's very own. Of course, due to Thors divinity, the young princes soul would be the dominate figure, yet it would not be without its changes. "I have seen many futures."

Odin said nothing, well aware of his wife's greatest gift. A gift that allowed him to plan and prepare for his enemies, yet it came at a cost. His beautiful wife and Queen would be weakened each time she looked into the future and so, it was used sparingly.

"What have you seen?"

"Many things." Frigga replied. "I have seen the rise and fall of Asgard under many kings. But under the rule of Thor, I have seen Asgard flourish and prosper, yet I have also seen great wars waged."

Odin frowned in thought. "A worrying thought."

"Asgard will flourish, my love. Your son, Thor will be a great King." Frigga pressed.

"Asgard is not the place, but it's people."

"And they too, shall flourish and prosper." Frigga continued. "Do not worry for what the future holds as it is constantly changing and never certain." Odin released a sigh, recognising when his wife would not bow and nodded his head in agreement.

-X- Line Break -X-

The sound of metal clashing rang throughout the small courtyard as the two combatants traded blows. Swords sung as they cut through the air, sparks showered down upon the ground as the swords scrapped against one another. Shields moved blocking and knocking strikes to one side.

It was all mixed in with the sounds of the heavy breathing of the two fighters and the shuffling of feet as they moved around the courtyard with masterful footwork.

Despite these sounds, Odin watched the two with a scrutinising gaze. The tallest of the two combatants was Volstagg, a warrior of great renown and prowess among the Asgardian military despite his young age by Asgardian standards. There were very few that did not know of him, most knew him personally as a boisterous friend and ally. His love for ale and celebrations had made him a popular figure, easily recognisable from his peers.

And his love for ale, was matched only by his skill in combat.

This made him a perfect tutor for the second figure, a young child no older than seven years old. His blonde hair was short and slightly darker in colour due to the copious amounts of sweat and grime accumulated over the course of his hours of combat training. His face was scrunched up into one of extreme concentration as he desperately tried to block, parry and strike his opponent.

This child, was in fact the young prince of Asgard, Thor.

"Again." Volstagg ordered, his voice jovial with a large smile on his face as he looked down at the bruised figure of the prince. Unlike said prince, Volstagg was entirely unharmed, yet if one looked closely would see a small shine of sweat on his brow.

The young prince looked up at Volstagg and then his eyes turned to look at Odin, who's gaze and posture revealed nothing of what he thought of the performance. This it seems, resulted in filling Thor with great determination as he rose to his feet on shaky legs and held his sword and shield firm.

With a battle cry, he charged forwards once more with Volstagg prepared for the young prince with a smile upon his face.

Odin had always known that something was different about the boy who was his son, and it was not just the fact that his soul had bonded with another. He had no doubt that his masters that hide above knew of this development and he could feel their concern. It was a little niggling sensation at the back of his mind and he could feel it, they were scared of what this meant.

Thors powers were great, Odin and many others could see that. In fact, Odin knew that his son could surpass him entirely and from what he knew of his past incarnations, there were times in which Thor had very nearly done that.

Yet this was a different Thor, whatever soul he had bonded with had some measure of nostalgia about this place. It did not have a measure of divinity in it therefore it could not be Asgardian. It was in fact, all to similar to the likes of a Midgardian, but entirely different at the same time. Whatever it was however, recognised Asgard and had been a very smart and pragmatic individual.

Thor was already learning at a rate that while not astounding, was definitely above average. He was desperate to learn more with a curiosity that Frigga and many of his other tutors where more than willing to satisfy.

But the area in which he had shown most progression and promise in, was combat. Thor excelled in combat and despite being only seven years old, was already stronger than some Asgardian soldiers. Thors physical strength and his stamina were his greatest assets and it showed in his numerous spars with Volstagg that took place everyday in this very courtyard.

His stamina and determination allowed him to get up, even when Asgardian soldiers would have rested and his strength allowed him to match them blow for blow.

There was a loud clang as Thor raised his shield to block Volstagg's swing only for the blow to knock the Asgardian prince back a few metres where he eventually collapsed to the floor breathing heavily.

Though his strength was great for his age, against figures like Volstagg who were praised as being some of the most physically powerful, it was nothing special.

Having seen all he needed, Odin turned around and left.

-X- Line Break -X-

Breathing heavily, Thor slowly and shakily rose to his feet, every fibre of his body protesting at such movement so soon after the hours of beating he took at the hands of his combat instructor. Yet Thor ignored his body's protest and moved into a kneeling position.

"I believe that's enough for today, young prince." Volstagg spoke in his usual loud voice and Thor shook his head. "No?"

Thor took a few moments to steady his breathing and looked up to Volstagg with determination in his gaze. "I can still go." He had to get stronger, he did not know why, but all he knew was that he had to get stronger. There were things out there he knew could destroy Asgard and his family, he just did not know how he knew. It was like a gut instinct that told him he needed to get stronger or else.

"Are you sure?" Volstagg questioned, ignoring the glare sent his way by the young prince as he did so. "You can barely stand, my prince. You're determination is admirable, but pushing yourself too far will not help." That and Volstagg did not want to admit that even he was starting to feel a little winded.

It had being a surprise when Odin had summoned him to the palace and told him to train the young prince, Thor. After all, Volstagg did not have the best reputation as a responsible figure. A great fighter, yes. But that's all Volstagg was, a fighter. He fought, he trained and he partied. To expect anything more from him was a push and so he would have expected others to be given the honour of training the prince.

Still, when his King asked him to do so, he had accepted.

His second question – not expressed to the King of course, but in private – was as to why he was being asked to train the young prince when he had only recently turned seven. Sure, Asgardian's physical abilities far surpassed that of most individuals and suffered no detrimental affects to their growth as a result of training from a young age, but even so, seven years old was a young age to start training even by their standards.

Light training was common among Asgardian children. Learning to wield and swing a sword with some measure of skill and competency. But the heavy and brutal training the prince underwent was far from normal and from what he had heard, was a direct result of the young princes wishes and the King had accepted.

But once again, Volstagg did not refuse the Kings request, after all, Odin was the God of Wisdom and Volstag was not.

Then he met the young prince, he was comely lad. It was obvious he had held a blade before if a little unsurely, no doubt from sneaking into the palace armoury like he had heard the prince used to do. He also learned that the boy had numerous other tutors that taught him how to read and write, the history of Asgard, basic strategy, how to wield all manner of weapons and other skills that would be need for when becoming king.

Turns out, Volstagg's main purpose for teaching the young prince, was to simply be his sparring partner. To be the person to show the young prince that no matter how strong you are or how skilled, there was always someone better than you out there.

And with each day that passed, Volstagg found that harder and harder to do. Not entirely too difficult, but he certainly had to put some measure of effort into each spar, it would be embarrasing to lose to a child,meven if it was to the prince of Asgard. The boys aptitude for combat was impressive to say the least, he took beatings that would keep most men down for weeks and simply stood up for more. Not only that, but his skill with weapons was very high, though he was lacking somewhat when it came to wielding spears and other medium to long distance weapons. No, the young princes preferred area of combat was close quarters and it showed in his great skill with all manner of short ranged weaponry

Swords, axes, maces, clubs and other similar weaponry were the things he preferred to use and it showed. But even then, the boy had on more than one occasion looked at war hammers with interest, though due to his size, wielding one at his age with any measure of proficiency was all but impossible.

"Volstagg is right, my son." A melodic voice spoke, making those in the courtyard turn to see the Queen walking towards Thor, her adopted son, Loki walking behind her. While Thor was well liked amongst those in the palace due to his kindness and his never ending curiosity, not many were too keen on the adopted son of the King and Queen. Loki was a direct contrast to his brother, distant, arrogant and there had been early signs of cruelty in the boy with his love to play pranks on the many in the palace, some that were humiliating and could have potentially caused harm to others if he had not been stopped by Thor. They had started off harmless enough, but had progresively gotten worse and worse over the years.

The boy, unlike Thor was also a prodigy of the mystic arts and theoretical learning, something he never failed to taunt the young prince about, even when Thor consistently outperformed Loki in all of their sparring matches.

"Arrogant as always, dear brother." Loki scoffed and Volstagg once again wondered as to how strange it was that the young prince Loki acted like he was better than everyone, considering he was just a young child taken in by the King and Queen. If it had not been for their mercy, he may well have being just a peasant on the streets and nothing more.

"Mother!" Thor exclaimed wth a smile and despite his aching body, got to his feet and ran as best as he could to stand by Frigga's side, limping slightly and the ocassional stumble doing nothing but slow him down. "Is it time to learn magic?" He asked eagerly once again proving to Volstagg how different the two brothers were. Loki avoided doing anything he was bad at as to save further embarrassment, whereas Thor never once backed down no matter how struggling the task was.

"Yes, I have just come to collect you for that very reason." Frigga then turned to Volstagg and gave him a gentle smile. "Thank you, Volstagg." Bowing to the Queen, Volstagg spun on his heel and left, leaving the group of three in the courtyard. "Now, shall we go to library?"

"The library?" Thor moaned, his face twisting into one of dejectedness. "I wanted to continue practising magic, I've been trying really hard and I think I've nearly got it."

Loki looked at Thor and rolled his eyes. "You should just stop if you're not good at something, you're only slowing those that are good at it down." He said and Frigga gave Loki a disapproving frown that made the boy look down in bashfulness.

Thor on the other hand, shook his head at Loki. "Nope, you may be right that I'm not that good at magic, but I will continue to practise it. Like mother said, I may come across someone that I can't beat with my fists and may have to use my magic. If that's the case and I didn't know how to use magic then I'd be putting myself and all of Asgard at risk." He said determinedly and Frigga placed one hand on his head, making Thor look up at her to see the proud smile on her face. This made him preen while Loki looked at him jealousy.

"Whatever." Crossing his arms over his chest, Loki followed after Thor and Frigga all the while glaring daggers into Thors back. There had once being a time that he and Thor had been the greatest of friends, brothers that were all but inseparable.

But then their training began and Loki began to despise Thor. He was useless at magic and yet, insisted on learning it anyway. This resulted in Frigga telling Loki to wait for his brother to catch up meaning he had to put his own learning on hold till his brother learned a spell that only took him a few hours to learn weeks later. It was annoying, insulting and he hated it.

Not only that, but Thor had beaten and humiliated him in every spar. Always outshining him and outperforming him at every turn just because he was stronger. No, Thor may be loved by the people, but Loki did not love him as he once did.

He was beginning to despise Thor.

-X- Line Break -X-

Shouting, Thor swung his axe down and watched as it cut through the air before slicing completely through the wooden dummy positioned in front of him. His daily lessons with his personal tutor on the history of Asgard had finished little over an hour ago and Thor had instantly rushed to the courtyard to train his body.

Today, was one of the few days in which his combat tutors had allotted as 'his' days off, but Thor knew that really, it was their day off. It was not due to being lazy, but more about them wanting to party without having to worry about training the prince the next day. He had heard a few complaining about having to cut celebrations short in order to not suffer a hangover the next day. After all, when an Asgardian celebrated they did not hold back, or so he had heard.

And amongst Asgardians, parties and celebrations where a common staple of their society so he did not blame or begrudge them in the slightest.

Releasing a breath, Thor wiped the sweat off his brow and turned to look at the wooden dummy in front of him, studying it closely. One half – the top – had clattered uselessly to the ground after being cut in two and so he ran a finger over the top of the still standing half, the very area in which he had sliced cleanly through it.

It was jagged and not smooth as a result of him having to hack away at it a few times to fully cut it in half. But still, unlike when he had first started training it had only taken three swings of his axe to cut through the dummy.

"Still not good enough." He muttered and raised his free hand up before closing his eyes. Taking a few moments to remember his mothers words about magic, he tentatively attempted to lift the dummy off the ground. He could feel his magic extend like a tendril from his body and slowly wrap around both halves of the dummy. Then, he tried lifting the mental images of the tendrils higher and instantly felt a strain upon his core.

Despite being more than capable of lifting it himself, he had learned that the best way to get more proficient at magic was to practise, just like when it came to combat. And so, he had made it a routine to move objects like the practise dummies when he was finished with them with purely magic.

And it was hard.

His muscles strained and he scrunched his eyes up in concentration as he imagined the sight of the dummies being lifted off the ground. Eventually he opened his eyes to see that he had in fact done what he had attempted to do and saw the dummies floating a few inches off the ground. Nothing impressive he knew, but far more than he had been able to accomplish before.

With a laugh he raised his hands into the air resulting in his concentration being broken and sending the two pieces of wood clattering to the ground once more. Groaning, Thor hung his head and made a move to pick them both up and carry them manually. Simply lifting them into the air was a great achievement for him seen as though his skills did not exactly lie in in Magic. That did not mean he would not continue practising, magic was just another tool and weapon he would use to protect Asgard.

He was getting much better at using magic to lift objects off the ground than before, much easier though it was always the initial stage that was difficult. Even then, lifting two heavy pieces of wood like he had just done had being something he had failed to do before this day. Lifting one piece was easier and something he could do easily, but more than one piece was harder. It was the act of his splitting his focus onto more than one object that challenged him, unlike his brother who could lift a dozen objects with almost contemptous ease.

Not to mention, that he could do nothing more than simply lift the pieces off the ground let alone move them around the courtyard with just his magic. No, his brother Loki was far more gifted than him in the Mystic Arts. Perhaps at one point in time, he would have stopped pursuing magic, finding it useless and not fun and sometimes he did feel that way. But like always, he would feel this urge to improve himself, to be better and to continue striving for more.

More what? He didn't know all he knew was that he needed to be better and he did not know why or for what reason.

Slow clapping broke Thor out of his little funk as he turned to see his brother Loki walking towards him. "Well done, brother, well done." Frowning, Thor ignored Loki and continued to move the pieces to where he had deposited the rest of the broken dummies. He did not know why, but he did not trust Loki at all, it was a similar feeling to when he thought about improving himself. He had a vague feeling that Loki could and should not be trusted, yet at the same time he loved Loki. Despite all his misgivings, Loki was his brother and despite his gut urging him to distance himself from Loki, he never once did.

"What do you want, brother?" Thor asked, more annoyed at his failure than with Loki despite his condescension.

Loki came to a stop in front of Thor and mockingly acted confused. "Dear brother, you make it sound like I'm up too something bad." Thor ignored his brothers mocking words and walked towards the next pile where there were numerous dummies left intact and picked one up with ease and started to carry it to the centre of the room. "But in all serious, I just came to see how my big, strong brother was doing, am I not allowed to do that?"

"You are allowed, you know that." Thor said, placing the dummy on the floor while picking up the axe he had left on the floor. "Ignore me."

Loki smiled happily as he followed Thor across the courtyard to weapon wrack. "I always do." He chirped happily as Thor placed the axe back and picked up a sword. "Honestly, I don't get why you have such a fascination with training." Loki mumbled as he picked up a knife and started to flip it into the air and catching it. "You train your body and you train your magic, surely you should just focus on one. I mean, it would suit us both after all, you the warrior and me the magician."

'More like the deceitful.' Thor thought, blinking slightly as to where that had come from. "I know what you are trying to do, brother and like I've always said, no." Thor responded firmly, making Loki's smile disappear to be replaced with a deep frown.

"And why is that? You are already a greater warrior than I, not to mention your tutors sing your praises about how powerful a warrior you will become. Why waste your valuable time focusing on something like magic, when you could focus more time on training your body?" Loki whispered and Thor stopped himself from swinging his sword for the first strike, before shaking his head.

"No, means no, brother." Thor turned to Loki with narrowed eyes. "I don't know why you are so desperate to get me to stop studying magic, but I will learn as much as I can. I already know that I will never be as good as you, but I know that it takes more than using strategy and pure power to beat an opponent and that sometimes, magic will be needed to help me overcome an enemy." Loki's eyes narrowed further and his frown deepened into an ugly sneer. "Besides, mother said that learning magic will help me to gain more control over my power."

Thor raised his hands and allowed a few sparks to appear. It was nothing special and he knew that one day he would be capable of far more, but for now, it was all he could do.

"Oh yes, your great power." Loki mocked even further, the jealously inside him growing deeper. 'Power that a fool like you never deserved!' As he looked at Thor with narrowed eyes he looked down at the knife in his hands. 'I could do it? Make it seem like an accident or blame it on one of the guards. No! What am I thinking, he's my brother.' Yet despite his jealousy, there was still a part of Loki that loved Thor.

After a few moments of watching Thor swing at the dummy, using his great strength and skill with the blade to slowly cut it into two, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Slowly, as to make sure that whoever it was didn't know they had been caught, he carefully turned to look in that direction.

It was a young girl, no older than he or his brother and she was spying on them. Well, from the way her eyes were fixated upon his brother, it was more likely she was spying on his brother. But none the less, it was impressive that she had gotten this far.

She was either a very good thief/spy or she was the child of someone of great renown amongst Asgard and therefore had been invited into the palace along with whoever she was related to. Still, this could prove useful in getting some revenge against his brother, perhaps some form of humiliation and maybe subtle manipulation to get his brother into trouble. Yes, that sounded like the perfect plan.

"Brother." Loki called out making Thor groan loudly as the blonde prince turned to look at his brother with a mixture of annoyance and confusion.

"What?" He asked irritatedly, never liking it when someone interrupted him when he was immersing himself in practising. "If it is another one of your little games, Loki I will not be happy."

Loki despite the glare he was on the receiving end on simply smiled before turning to look straight at the girl who was doing a port job at hiding behind the pillar. "We have a guest." Thor himself looked and caught the sight of the girl trying to hide further behind the pillar, but it was too late, she had already been seen.

"You can come out, we've already seen you." Thor called out and after a few moments the girl revealed herself. She was young, the same age as them with short golden blonde hair and blue eyes. From what both boys could see from the short sword strapped to her waist the little pieces of armour she wore that she was definitely a future Asgardian Warrior. "Who are you and what do you want?"

The young girl looked between the two princes and bowed. "I'm Sif." She introduced herself and then looked at Thor. "And I wish to challenge you to a duel, my prince."

Both boys looked at Sif and then at each other. "You would not happen to be the younger sister of Heimdall, would you?" Asked Loki receiving a nod from Sif who despite her attempts at appearing stern faced, could not help the smile that came across her face at the mention of her brother.

"Will you accept my challenge, Prince Thor?" She asked, looking directly at the prince in question, her small smile gone.

Despite the stern faced looked the young girl sent him, Thor hardly found it intimidating and instead pondered her request for a few moments. "Why? Why do you wish to duel me?" Sif frowned, but before she could say anything, Loki intervened.

"Brother, Lady Sif challenged you to a duel! It would be rude and insulting to ignore such a challenge!" He exclaimed extravagantly making Sif nod her head in agreement while Thor looked at Loki with an annoyed frown.

"I know, but I was simply curious as to why she wanted to duel me. Is it so wrong to want to know why she wishes to duel me?" He questioned and it was Loki who frowned this time, the tension between the two brothers rising.

Sif however either did not notice or was aware and taking steps to ensure a fight did not break out between the two princes and so, answered Thors question. "I wanted to duel you to test my own skill with a sword. My brother talks to me about how you are going to be one of the greatest warriors in Asgard and I wish to test myself against you and prove myself worthy to join the Valkyries when I become of age."

Loki looked at Thor and noticed the growing smile on his face and felt his frown deepen. He knew that Thor would accept the challenge now without question, hell he would have done anyway, but there was a small chance that he might have refused and that is gone. Still, it offered him the perfect chance to humiliate Thor by using his magic to give Sif the advantage. When Thor lost people would realise that his brother was not as great as people make him out to be.

'Why stop there, why not further ensure the humiliation of Thor?' With a smirk, Loki stepped forwards before Thor could answer and looked between the two. "Why not make things more interesting?" While Sif was aware of Thors reputation, it seemed she was not fully aware of Loki's as she did not recognise the smile he gave or what it meant. Thor on the other hand, knew exactly what such a smile meant and he did not like it.

"Brother, no." He said sternly and Loki's smile only widened further.

"Why, dear brother, are you scared?" He gasped mockingly and Sif looked between the two brothers curiously. "I did not take you for a coward, it's only a little bet."

"I am no coward Loki, but neither will I play your games." Thor looked past Loki and directly at Sif. "I warn you, do not listen to my brothers words nor play his games." Yet despite his words of warning, Sif did not know Loki and therefore, did not listen to Thors words of warning and Loki simply fed the fire that burned in her heart.

"I did not take you for a coward like my brother, Lady Sif." The girl in question narrowed her eyes, her hand gripping the handle of her blade tightly. The words he had said had struck the perfect button and all but ensured she would play Loki's game perfectly.

"I am no coward." She said. "Tell me your bet and I will accept to prove my worth as a warrior."

Loki clapped his hands together with a big smile upon his face. "Perfect! The bet you see, is quite simple." He spared Thor glance, who watched the scene unfold with a measure of disbelief. "If you win, my brother becomes your servant for the rest of his life." Both Thor and Sif looked at the trickster in shock. "But if my brother wins, then you will swear yourself to him. Simple."

"Loki!" Thor shouted in anger, moving forward to his brother who made sure to keep an equal distance between him and his advancing brother. "You have offered too much and things that were not yours to give!"

Meanwhile, Sif looked in shock. 'Swear myself to the prince, as his servant. I would have to give up my dream as a Valkyrie to serve the prince as his sword and shield. Could I do that?' She asked herself internally before she remembered Loki's words. "I'm not a coward." She whispered, unheard by the two arguing brothers. "I'm not a coward!" She said louder gaining their attention as she looked at the two, her back straight and her eyes filled with determination. "I accept this bet, what say you, Prince Thor?"

"Excellent!" Loki clapped his hands together once more and looked eagerly at his brother. Sif's pride worked perfectly in helping his improvised plans come to fruition and besides, even if they failed what would Thor gain besides a servant. Nothing and Loki would stand to lose just as much if not less. Besides with his magic helping Sif, there was no way his brother could win. "Brother? Will you accept?"

Thor looked between the two and took in Sif's determined gaze. Even if he refused, she would not let this go and besides, it would be a good test of his skill to see how he faired against someone his age. Loki had no interest in weapons and his younger brother Baldur was only just beginning his training and therefore no challenge at all. Besides, he had no intention of really following through with the bet so there was no harm in accepting the duel.

"I accept." He said, moving forward to pick up the sword he had dropped to floor when arguing with his brother. "Signal the start of the duel." He said to Loki who agreed with a smile, despite being ordered to like a common servant.

Giving the sword a few practises swings, Thor stepped forward as did Sif who had also drawn her sword. "Ready." Loki raised one hand and the two fighters lowered into a ready stance, legs bent, feet wider than shoulder width apart and breathing even. "Begin!"

Upon those words, Sif sprung into action and swung her sword in a horizontal slash. Yet Thor moved his blade in the way of the strike and parried it, even then he found his blade hand knocked back leaving his entire body open to a strike. Luckily for him, Sif had also been taken off guard by the lack of resistance and was unable to capitalise upon the opening.

Still, the two seperated and Thor wondered as to what had happened. 'How did that happen, not even Volstagg has been able to do such a thing to me in our spars, so how did Sif do the same? Is she really that strong?'

Once again they moved in close and clashed their blades together and once again Thor found his sword knocked back leaving him open to a strike. This time however, he had prepared for this and when Sif - who had made sure to steady herself so that she could capitalise upon the opening she made – swung to strike him once more, he caught her wrist with his free hand.

Even then, he struggled to keep his grip on her wrist and felt something trying to pry open his fingers all the while Sif's arm got closer and closer to to his body. 'How is she doing this? I have been praised as being the strongest Asgardian for my age, so how is a girl the same age as me overpowering me. Have I been lied too?' He questioned and feeling his fingers struggling to keep a grip on her, decided to push Sif away making room.

'I need to calm down and think.' Thor watched Sif circle him and went over what happened in his mind once more. 'Ignore the fact that I'm being overwhelmed in a contest of strength, remember what Volstagg said. It's not about strength, but about skill. So if she is stronger than me I'll just have to beat her with skill.'

Sif charged forwards once more and this time, Thor did not try to block or parry her blade and instead stepped to one side, easily avoiding the swing. The young Asgardian girl stumbled forwards, off balance and exposed, unprepared for the dodge and looked to see Thor swinging his blade down towards her.

It was a fast, too fast for her to block or dodge and she knew she had lost. But at the last moment, it seemed to slow down and she quickly rolled out of the way. 'What happened? Why did he slow down? Is he looking down on me?' These were but a few thoughts that went through Sif's mind as she got to her feet and looked at the equally confused Thor.

Thor himself looked at the his blade in confusion. 'Why did my swing slow down? It was like something was personally resisting it. Like…Loki!' His eyes turned to where his brother was watching with a smile on his face and gave him a glare. A glare that Loki soon noticed and looked at his brother with a look of shock. He knew he had been caught and he knew that Thor was not happy.

"Why did you slow down, the fight was yours!" Sif exclaimed angrily and Thor turned to look back at her, temporarily ignoring his brothers tricks. "Are you looking down upon me?!"

"No!" Thor replied in shock. "I would never."

"Then why? Why did you not strike me down when you had the chance?" Sif asked.

Thor looked from Sif to his brother and frowned in thought as he tried to figure out how to answer Sif's question. On one hand, he wanted to reveal his brothers trick to Sif so that she would not be angry at him. On the other hand, if he revealed said information Sif would be angry at him and Loki would get off without learning the consequences of his actions.

"It was Loki." Thors mind was already made up and from the look the other two children gave him, neither had expected his answer at all. "He used magic to slow me down and to help you win, that was probably his aim from the very beginning."

Sif looked at Loki and frowned angrily while Loki looked at Thor with a mixture of shock and anger.

"But it does not matter." Thor continued making Sif turn back to him only to see that he had lowered himself down into a ready stance once more. "The duel shall continue and this time without my brothers interference."

Despite his words, Sif looked from Thor to Loki, unsure as to whether to believe him or not. Eventually however, her desire to fight Thor won out and she too lowered herself into a ready position. All the while Loki glared at Thor, stewing in his anger.

Even so, the fight did not last much longer.

Sif was skilled for her age, stronger than most and her speed was her greatest asset. But Thor was simply better, he moved much more fluidly, hit harder and with more precision. He had been trained by the greatest warriors in Asgard and had pushed himself to his limits in ways most Asgardians would not think of doing at such a young age. As a result, Thor had an explosive growth in strength, stamina and speed. Not to mention, that his never ending determination and will drove him to hone his skills with weapons to a degree that made him better than those three times his age.

It was no contest and despite Sif coming at Thor with all she had, moving with great speed and hitting with great power, it was just not enough. Each strike was easily deflected or dodged with masterful footwork, all the while Thor weathered the storm of her never ending assault.

Then, once Sif had exhausted herself, he came at her. A horizontal strike that Sif barely blocked sent her stumbling backwards. An upward swing caught her blade with such force that it knocked her off her feet and when she landed, Sif felt the breath leave her lungs. It was only when she had recovered did she notice the tip of the blade mere inches from the bridge of her nose lying between her eyes.

Sighing, Sif let her grip on her sword go. "I yield." She said and Thor smiled, pulling the sword away. Then, to her shock he presented his free hand to her and with a moments hesitation, took the offered hand with a grateful smile and allowed him to help her to her feet. "My brother was right, you are skilled."

"So are you, better than some of my sparring partners." This made Sif's smile widen even further.

But then the two descended into an awkward silence, neither knowing what to say. "I lost the duel." But it was Sif who eventually broke the silence and with a sad smile, dropped to one knee and bowed her head. "As per the agreement I swear myself, my sword and my life to protect and aid you in whatever capacity you see fit. That I do hereby swear upon my name and honour as a warrior."

Thor looked at her in disbelief and even Loki seemed shocked at her words, but neither could deny what they had witnessed Sif just doing. "Sif, you did not need to do that." Thor said and she looked at him in confusion. "Loki made that bet, convinced you to accept by playing on your pride and even interfered in our duel. The bet does not have to mean anything nor do we have to follow through with it."

Despite his words, Sif shook her head. "I am a warrior and despite your words about Loki's trickery being true, I none the less accepted the bet. My pride as a warrior demands I follow through with it and I will do so." After a few moments, Sif continued. "So, my prince, please accept my offer."

Thor looked at her in shock and went to open his mouth to convince her to rethink her position, when his mother appeared. "What is happening here?" She asked, looking at the three of them in curiosity.

"Mother!" Both Thor and Loki exclaimed, while Sif herself rose to her feet to stand beside Thor. "What are you doing here?" Thor asked.

"Well, I was simply curious as to where my children had run off to and I find you here entertaining a guest." She then turned to Sif and gifted her with an angelic smile. "Hello Sif, it is a pleasure to finally meet you, your brother speaks highly of you." The blush that adorned Sif's cheeks only served to make Freya's smile widen. "Now, will one of you two answer my question?"

"They had a duel, mother." Loki spoke up, attracting her attention. "Thor won." None of them missed the undertone of jealousy and bitterness in the way he said those words.

"Did he now?" She turned to Thor who nodded his head. "Congratulations, my son. I'm sure you did your best."

"I did, Sif is a skilled warrior." Thor replied, complimenting Sif at the same time who smiled happily at his words.

"But that doesn't answer the question as to why Sif was kneeling before you, does it?" Freya continued and Thor gulped at the stern look she gave him. Yet, before he could explain himself or Loki could twist things, Sif stepped forward.

"We made a bet, my queen." Sif told Freya as calmly as possible, though her pitch rose slightly due to speaking to the queen of Asgard. "It was Prince Loki's idea. The loser would swear themselves to winner as their servant. I lost, but despite that, Prince Thor refuses to accept my offer of servitude."

"Are you not happy for his refusal?" Freya asked and Sif hesitated before shaking her head.

"While I have dreamed of being a Valkyrie since I was a girl, my pride as a warrior demands I follow through with the bet I agreed upon and I will do so." Sif explained, her voice becoming steadier as she spoke and this made Freya smile.

With the smile on her face, she looked to Thor. "Then accept her offer, Thor." She told him and Thor opened his mouth to argue, she could tell by the look in his eyes. "No, Thor. You will accept her offer. Sif is a warrior and I understand your desire to allow her to live her life how she wishes, but do you not think that maybe by refusing her offer you are stopping her from doing that?"

"I don't understand?" Thor questioned quietly.

"Sif, like she said is a warrior. Maybe being a Valkyrie is her dream, but ultimately it is her decision to swear herself to you, bet or not. There was no magic in play to force her to make this oath, it is her decision. You should accept that and accept her." Freya told Thor, her voice gentle and understanding in a way that only a mother could.

With a nod of his head, Thor turned to Sif and bowed at the waist. "I accept your offer, Sif." At his words, Sif smiled brightly before also bowing to him in a sign of gratitude.

"Now, why don't you show Sif around the palace while I have a word with Loki."

Nodding his head, Thor turned to Sif and indicated his head to the door through which Freya had entered. "Come on, I'll show you the kitchens, I don't know about you but I'm hungry." Sif gave a small smile and followed after him, both paying little attention to what Freya was saying to Loki.

"I am a little hungry, so it sounds like a good idea." Sif agreed and the two walked in silence for a few minutes, the guards that walked down the corridors paying close attention to the prince and his guest.

After a few more moments, Thor looked at Sif who also noted his gaze. "What?" She asked

"You said your dream was to be a Valkyrie, right?" Sif nodded her head and Thor smiled at her. "Then I'll make sure that you'll become one." He told her and Sif looked at him in shock as she registered his words. Once she did a large smile broke out into her face and she quickened her pace to catch up with the prince.

-X- Line Break -X-

Breathing heavily, Lonkarr pressed his back to the wall as to make himself seem as small as possible. His body ached, blood covered his body and the blood dripping from the wound on his forehead was starting to get in his eyes, but even then he continued to push himself forwards.

The sounds of screams filled the air as he looked up at the night sky. This planet was always night, but the smoke from the burning buildings made it even darker and more ominous. It almost made him wonder as to why the Gods who ruled here treated their worshippers the way they do. Cruel beatings and torture were their religion and they themselves, the Dark Gods and their most loyal worshippers meted out this barbaric form of worship upon the others.

The worshippers were nothing more than slaves deformed by the Dark Magics inflicted upon them by their so called 'Gods'and that did not even take into account the hundreds of thousands of slaves already upon this planet. They themselves were treated even worse than the Dark God worshippers.

And to think, these Dark Gods had taken free men, women and children from the Nine Realms. Asgard had no jurisdiction nor any right to interfere with any other pantheons dealings with their worshippers and it was only due to the Dark Gods stealing those residing in the Nine Realms that was overseen and protected by the Asgardians that Odin was allowed to interfere.

It was something he was glad for, they could finally free these poor souls from their torture and show the Dark Gods what it truly means to be a God. They were meant to be benevolent beings, not monsters.

With a sharp intake of breath, Lonkarr snapped the arrow embedded into his stomach in half before peaking around the corner. Quickly he pulled his head back when he noticed numerous Dark God worshippers rushing past. Each of them dressed in a mix of animal hides and human skin to act as armour and holding crudely forged steel.

Making sure to keep his hearing locked onto their footsteps, he waited until they had passed before rushing round the corner.

That was his mistake.

For you see, in Lonkarrs desperation to get away from this planet and the Dark Gods who resided here, he forgot to make sure that the alleyway was clear. Over a month he had spent on this planet, hiding amongst the slaves, being tortured by the worshippers all the while gaining as much information as he could upon their military might, strategic positioning and other important information. Yet that month had being the most painful and traumatising month of his long life.

He wanted to get away, to tell his King Odin everything he knew so that Asgard could destroy these false Gods once and for all.

And in his desperation, he ran straight into one of those Dark Gods.

A hand clamped around his neck, picked him clean up off the floor and slammed him into the building. It was a woman and disgusting one at that. A disfigured face sat upon what looked to be a rotting figure that at one point in time could have been considered beautiful.

"Asgardian!" The woman snarled. "I thought I sensed one of your filth somewhere."

Gasping, Lonkarr slapped at the hand wrapped around his neck as it squeezed his neck tightly and started to cut off his air supply. "How long have you been amongst us, a month? Two?" She questioned. "No matter. What I really want to know is what you know about us?"

Her grip around his neck tightened even further and Lonkarr felt his eyes bulge, threatening to burst out of their sockets. "But I don't want you to tell me just yet, no that would spoil all the fun. You'll tell me eventually, after I've had my fun with you." Her eyes then turned to look at where the sound of an explosion came from. "I must say I am surprised at you for purposefully creating a rebellion to cover your escape, knowing perfectly well that all the slaves that raised arms against us will die. It was very cruel of you."

While she spoke, her grip had loosened, her eyes fixed onto the sight of orange glow in the near distance. This in turn allowed Lonkarr to gain some much needed breath that resulted in him being able to think properly.

And that was all he needed.

His eyes instantly locked onto the small dagger at her side and with a quick movement unsheathed the blade and stabbed it into her neck.

It was a quick and savage thrust and the blade went straight through her neck and out the side, black blood pooling out of the wound, around the blade and dripping down her neck and his wrist. The Dark God herself gasped in both pain and shock as she looked at him with wide eyes, unable to comprehend what had happened.

Even so, Lonkarr did not know if that would be enough and quickly pulled the blade free from her neck. It was like the strings holding her in place had been cut and she dropped to her knees, the arm around his neck releasing him and without even sparing himself time to recover his breath, Lonkarr pounced on her. The dagger in his hand stabbed into her chest repeatedly.

Each swing sent blood flying into the air and splattering across his face and scarred chest, yet Lonkarr did not stop.

After a few moments of repeated stabs, Lonkarr finally stopped and with heavy breathing looked down at the barely alive Dark God. She was desperately gripping onto the last vestiges of life, but both of them knew that she would not survive.

Taking in one last deep breath, Lonkarr rushed down the alleyway, knowing that he only had to make it out the city and he could call Heimdall to bring him back to Asgard. Ensuring that Asgards presence would remain unknown and giving its military time to amass its armies and launch an invasion upon the planet before the Dark Gods could even know what had happened.

But there was one thing he had not accounted for.

The Dark God that had caught him and was currently lying on the floor in a puddle of her own blood, was not yet dead. Her anger at the Asgardians was already great, but her injuries only further fuelled that rage.

And so, with the last few precious seconds of her life took her bloodied fingers and spelt a message into the sand.

Asgardians.

A/N: Right, there we are the first chapter of this new Marvel Fic based around what if Thor had fused with a lost soul and gained the memories of his future self due to said soul having read the Thor comics. Now originally, this was meant to be a Self-Insert FanFiction with a Thor fan using his knowledge to make Thor even more powerful than he already is in the comics.

But then I thought, I've already got a Self-Insert FanFiction called, I am not a Hero, nor a Villain (Note: I am working on another chapter for this, but I'm currently having a bad case of writers block due to everytime I write out a scene I come back and think that it's shit and try to redo it, I will try and get it out but no promises just yet) and thought about what else I could do.

So I went with this, Thors a God and therefore a divine being. As a result, when the soul of a Thor fan from our world tried to fuse with newborn baby Thor, it resulted in Thor being the only consciousness with a few changes. He's a little more pragmatic and smarter than he was in comics and in normal cases would have the memories of the future thanks to the comics.

But then I remembered about Those Who Sit Above In Shadows, which are kind of a huge deal in Asgardian history in the comics. They're kind of like the Beyonders, some like to say that they are and other say that they are completely different, if people know who or what they are, please let me know. But basically TWSAIS are extremely powerful beings that found a way to absorb the energy that is released in Ragnarok and I'm not sure if they need that energy to survive or if it simply adds to their already existing power. But either way, they ensure that the Ragnarok cycle happens so that they can gain the energy released and then repeat the whole process again.

Now, this leads me to why there will be no instant Rune King Thor and the storyline will pretty much follow the comic book history of Thor up until after WW2.

Odin saw the memories of the person from our world, saw the comic books that detailed what would happen and in doing so, realised that these memories could be a danger to both Asgard and the TWSAIS. This is because Rune King Thor is pretty much twice as powerful as Odin because in the RKT story arc Thor doesn't sacrifice one eye to simply gain the power Odin had, but instead he wanted more. So by sacrificing both his eyes I'm pretty sure they were symbolising that Thor is twice as powerful as Odin. If this is true or not, I'm not sure but sue me.

Now that is pretty fucking powerful, for those of you who don't know, Odin managed to damage Galactus and force him to retreat and considering Galactus is in the top ten most powerful being in the Marvel Universe that's pretty fucking powerful. Of course, Odin expended so much energy to dos that he was forced into the Odinsleep. But believe me when I tell you, RKT is OP as fuck. So powerful in fact that even TWSAIS feared Thor and tried to offer him a place amongst their midst just to stop him from freeing Asgard from this constant cycle of death and rebirth.

So to ensure that TWSAIS don't know about this, Odin sealed those memories under so many mental barriers that are empowered by the Odinforce that not even individuals like Charles Xavier or Omnipotent beings like TWSAIS can break through them. The reason why he didn't erase the memories is because, Odin knew that Thor when stripped of his powers and sent to Midgard essentially escaped the influence and control of the TWSAIS and therefore, those memories will help Thor become seriously OP much sooner. So right now, Thor is stuck with simply feelings of déjà vu as he goes through his early life as well as feeling like he should or should not trust certain people as shown when thinking about Loki.

Also, to ensure that the TWSAIS can't get a hold of Odin's memories, he erased them. As a result, Odin has no idea about the mental barriers surrounding Thor's hidden memories and therefore, there will be no great changes to Thors story. Events that happened in the comics will take place, but with minor changes due to Thors change in character.

But anyway hope you enjoyed this and please let me know what you thought in a review.