VP-7

Lies of gods
“Le...n...th.”
A voice called into eternal darkness. A friends voice.
“Lenneth.”
Light seeped into my entombed mind.
“Lenneth, my dear friend. It is time.”
Ah, Freya's warmth.
“Within the Seraphic Gate you...test...d...”
...The darkness pulled me back.
How long have I slept?
“Freya!?”
Freya's voice resounded, “Dearest Lenneth, seek the Water Mirror's counterpart. Prove that now is your time to serve.”
A familiar sound – a bell – rolled like ripples on a water's surface.
The link between mind and body reestablishing itself toyed with my senses. Green and gold leaves sifted in and out of focus as I opened my eyes. I laid dazed by the sudden sensory overload.
Unexpectedly, a voice called, “We have awaited your arrival, Lenneth Valkyrie.”
I quickly sat up and turned around. An old man dressed in white with two women beside him bowed.
How disgraceful. This is not the posture a god such as myself should have before a mortal.
I rose to my feet elegantly and prepared a hand to dust off my clothing. However, they were absent of any blemishes. A gods image of divinity is a principle not even nature could go against.
Examining their attire, I spoke authoritatively “Is this the southernmost island, Yamamoto?”
“This is not,” he paused, “the Yamamoto of Midgard. Come now.”
As a Valkyrie, it is my duty to prepare Einherjar – mortal heros who will fight in a war foretelling the fate of worlds. I have no time for indolence. However, Freya's words revived inside me, “You will be tested.”
I followed the man. A strange apathy towards these mortals left me feeling unpleasant. Something restrained my emotion. Was this part of my trial or an innate characteristic I had forgotten in years of dormancy?
I asked the man, no, ordered him, “Mortal, what of my trial?” A small pain pulsed in my chest then disappeared so quickly I was not sure if it had been there at all.
“One of Amaterasu's sacred artifacts was entrusted to this shrine, Ise Jingu,” he replied.
Amaterasu? I have heard of no such god in Valhalla.
With a soft intensity I called out,“Surely you dare not lie to a god?”
“Indeed I would not.” He chuckled, “Once every 20 years we must rebuild Ise Jingu and move the relic.”
The old man's chuckle unsettled me.
“We simply need divine hands to move the mirror for us.”

We arrived at a wood building with frail sliding doors.
The man faced me and spoke. “Not all men can handle the truth, nor do they want to.”
The truth?
“However, Valkryie, isn't that what makes humans beautiful? Their imperfections?”
Again, a distinct pain seeped deeper into my chest. Or so I thought. The old man motioned and the two women opened the sliding doors to reveal an empty room. “And may I add, Valkyrie, you are quite beautiful.”
With poise I corrected him, “Hardly would I call mortal imperfections beauty,” then entered the room.
His voice taunted me respectfully, “And yet, you are.”
The doors shut behind me. I peered calmly into the dim room. There was a movement at the center.
An enemy?
With a steel gaze, I raised my right arm. Holy energies condensed and in a flash of light, a silver sword with a golden hilt formed. The intense flash momentarily lit the room.
A young girl?
I approached her. Dignified in posture i looked down at her kneeling figure. A human. Something was...familiar.
“...”
She stood and held a mirror. It flashed images of a young girl – A painful past of an abusive mother and neglectful father. The images stopped on a boy holding the lifeless girl in a valley of flowers.
I tilted my head questioningly.
Her voice was exhausted and absent of life. “What carries water in the morning; leaks it at night, does no wrong but is never right, neglected while heeded, spoken to but not needed.”
A cold sweat of emotion instantly washed over me then faded.
“What is this to...” I examined the girl holding the mirror, “Me?”
A small crystal like glimmer fell and disappeared on the girl's sleeve. I reached my hand, and held the cheek of the girl.
My thumb wiped the tear's trail in an attempt to comfort the girl. Or perhaps, to comfort myself.
“...”
Suddenly, she was gone. The mirror remained idle in the air. The young girls face was reflected, perfectly aligning itself with mine.
“Perhaps I have been alone all this time...” I whispered.
Relaxing my arms at both sides, I closed my eyes and looked to the heavens.
Fragmented memories of my past began to flow into me, yet something bottlenecked the whirlpool of emotions pouring into my mind. A soft whisper escaped me.
“Lucian...”
My closed eyes welled with restrained tears.

Like embers rekindling their flame the room grew lighter and a voice brought me back to my senses.
“Lenneth!”
Freya's voice. The nostalgic trance moments before seemed unreal.
“Dear friend, are you still with us?”
She embraced me from behind.
“What did you see.”
“A girl.” I replied.
“Is that all?”
“...”
I turned around.
Freya diverted her gaze and spoke. “Almighty as gods may be, the emotions of humans can be powerful and mysterious. That is why we seek Einherjar”
“...”
Freya looked back at me with a soft smile, “Odin has given you a gift. To judge, you must first understand.”
Why do your eyes betray your smile dear friend.
I lowered my gaze.
“Know yourself to know your Einherjar. Do not forget the misfortune you experienced nor that of those you harvest.”
I turned back to the center of the room. A transparent flower – a Weeping Lilly – bobbed in a nonexistent breeze.
“Come now Lenneth. Your time to serve has come.”


(any feedback would be greatly appreciated, even if it just says this is crap)