A Step Into The Unknown

Shining brightly amongst a sea of black is the Létt River. The river's light pulsed and shined like a thousand suns, shattering into millions of stars. The light dimmed and the river seemed to put itself back together, leaving the stars behind.

Out burst another set of stars that coalesced into nine different spheres. They expanded and took the shape of nine individual bodies that curled into balls. One shone much brighter than the others, making waves of light disperse for miles. Finally, the light seized and down came a man that landed in a heap in the sea of black. His hair curled in golden waves stopping at the top of his ears. Muscles spread for miles underneath sun-kissed skin that glowed faintly against the darkness.

He rose, wearing nothing but a cream slit skirt that stopped just above the knee. Looking to his left he sees the Létt River twinkling as if it were smiling. In awe, he walked towards the river and peered into it, only to see his reflection. He gasped and examined himself noticing the faint glow of his skin, he put his arms in front of himself looking up and down his arms. He smiled and looked up only to take a step back when he saw the eight other shining lights floating in the air.

The man blinked ivy green eyes and took a few steps closer and reached his hand out to touch one of the lights. The light burst with heat and the man yelped in pain, covering his face. Just like the first man, another body fell to the black sea. His skin shone much brighter than the first man, and lean muscles underneath. Light brown hair that was shorter on the sides and longer on the top hung over his golden eyes as he stood.

Running his hand up and through his hair, the second man steadied himself and glanced up seeing the first man gawking at him. Both men stood in silence as the river lightly pulsed beside them.

The river seemed to sigh and said, "The first man to fall, please step towards my waters."

The first man turned and took hesitant steps towards the river, stopping just before the light. "Who are you, and what just happened?" he asked looking at the river, then at the other man standing just behind him. The second man shrugged, looking just as confused as the first.

"I am the Létt river, I've created you and the other man from my light. Those other lights behind you are Gods and will be your companions," said the river, "you and the other man are Gods as well, you being Himinn and the other man Ákvörðun."

Himinn nodded seeming to understand what the river was saying and looked at the other lights with amazement. "They are Gods as well then. Why haven't they fallen as we have?" he looked back at the river gesturing at the other lights.

The river didn't answer right away, giving some thought to Himinn's questions. "I needed to tell you what you were before the rest fell. If I hadn't, there would've been too many questions to answer."

"I see." Himinn stood up and turned to Ákvörðun, giving him a look of determination. A look of understanding swept across Ákvörðun's face and he nodded towards Himinn.

Turning to face the lights, Ákvörðun asks the river, "May we see them?" The river doesn't respond, leaving them to stand in silence. He turned, starting to ask again when light pierced his eyes. Ákvörðun fell to his knees, his palms pushing against his tearful eyes. Himinn ran forward placing his hands on Ákvörðuns shoulders, he turned to the lights as another body fell to the black sea.

Ákvörðun looked up as the body landed, he gasped, shoving Himinn's hands off of himself and ran towards the body when it stirred. He grasped the body by the shoulders, lightly turning them to face him. A woman, he thought. His eyes widened when he saw crystal blue eyes flutter and look back at him. Footsteps approached and Himinn appeared, he knelt down offering his hand towards the woman. Ákvörðun did the same and the woman cautiously took both hands as they pulled her up, her honey blonde hair draping her shoulders in long waves.

The woman let go of both hands to examine her glowing skin and complexion in the shining river. She wore a long haltered dress made of silk that slit at mid-thigh. The woman turned to the men and asked, "Who are you?" Before Himinn or Ákvörðun could answer, a light brighter than their own shown blinding them for what seemed like an eternity. All three people blinked the blurriness away as body after body slumped to the black sea. Six bodies lay on the sea, one after the other rose to greet one another.

"Silence!" the Létt river yelled over the jumble of soft and deep voices. "The first woman to fall is Vörður, the other three women are Elsku, Vann, and Seinna." The three women gasped and looked at Himinn and Ákvörðun thinking they were the ones to speak. Himinn laughed a hearty laugh and shook his head, he pointed to the river indicating that he nor Ákvörðun had spoken.

"As for the others that have fallen, they are all men-"

"Yes, we know they are men just like us," Himinn pointed a finger between himself and Ákvörðun.

"I did not ask for you to speak, Himinn." the river said sternly, "I only want you to listen, that is all I ask of you."

The group hushed at the river's pointing words, their mouths seemingly unable to move. Ákvörðun snickered as he spotted red blotchiness make its way up Himinn's neck where it settled on his cheeks.

"Now, the three other men standing with you are Morðingi, Sváfnir, and Viskan." Each god bowed to one another, showing their respects. They all seemed to know who they were without being pointed to.

"Himinn," the river called out, getting his attention.

"Yes, Létt?" Answered Himinn, taking a cautious step forward to the river's shore.

"I trust you know what you are meant to do. Along with the rest of the gods."

Himinn blinked, realizing that he had all this information in his head already. "River, are you sure I'm meant to rule over all the realms? Shouldn't it be split up between the rest of us?" he asked thoughtfully, sharing glances with the rest of the gods.

"Before you answer that question, river, I can answer that for you. That role is split up between all of us," Sváfnir said before the river could respond, "You are just the overall ruler of the realms, making sure we do our jobs the way they were intended." The other gods nodded in agreement, moving forward to bow in front of Himinn.

"What are you doing?" Himinn asked, taking a step back in shock.

"You do not need to worry, you will do just fine being the top god out of all of us!" Elsku said, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

"If you think so then I shall choose to believe you." Himinn bowed to them in return, he felt gratitude within his heart bubbling to the surface. He felt himself smirk, knowing that he had the most power out of the gods. I'm in charge now. Thought Himinn.

"We all know where we must go. Ákvörðun, you will travel with me, we're traveling to the same realm after all." Himinn stated.

"Do you wish for us to go to our realms now?" Sváfnir asked, turning toward Himinn, the others following his lead.

"Yes, I would like for us to get a good look at our realms before we waste any more time."

Sváfnir nodded and turned away. He waved his hands in a circle and muttered under his breath, an oval-shaped light slowly appeared in front of him and he stepped through. The light and himself disappearing. The rest of the gods did the same, heading off to different realms.