eyesofodinn

[eyesofodinn]

Map of Firarheim (still in progress)

[eyesofodinn]

Prologue

“What are you doing?”

Hjuki turned to the direction of the voice, a welcome sound in the piercing silence that rang in his head. His eyes landed on a tall woman, with pale, almost white skin framed by long, silvery blue hair that was braided and reached past her ankles. She wore regal and elegant clothing of blues and silvers, with her shoulders covered in dark feathers and a vest of reptile skin that glittered against the moonlight. Her entire being appeared to almost glow in the darkness of the night.

Hjuki was mesmerized by the woman, but somehow managed to pull his eyes away to turn back to the well he was staring into. He didn’t answer.

“We’re waiting for father to come back,” Bil said, her voice small and weak. Hjuki didn’t need to look at his younger twin to know how tired she was. How long had the both of them sat here by this well, waiting for their father to return?

Their father had been the one to drag them here across the land, muttering constantly about eternal life. He was the one who told them to wait for his return, kissing them goodbye with a distant look in his gaze, before he jumped into the well.

They didn’t hear anything - no splash, no thud - as if their father had jumped into an abyss and vanished.

But they were good children, as their father sometimes called them, petting their head and giving kisses. Memories of his smile and gentle touches were what they often cling to, especially when most of the time he was the opposite, screaming obscenities at them and yelling vulgar, crazed imaginations they could not understand. All they could do was be with their father, and endure his moods.

The woman did not move from where she stood, just standing behind them and watching quietly. Eventually, she took a step forward and said, rather gently, “Your father is dead, you know. He’s not going to come back out of the well.”

Bil made a sound that Hjuki was sure was a whimper, but neither of them said anything. They knew, but they had nowhere else to go.

Hjuki heard the woman take a couple more steps before she stopped and knelt before the well between them. She said nothing, and so did Hjuki, while Bil shifted restlessly; the rustle of her ragged clothes the only sound in the dead silence of the night.

“Would you like to join me, then?” the woman asked after a long moment of silence. When Hjuki looked up, the woman was smiling. But it wasn’t a kind smile. She looked amused, rather, in a sort of cruel cold way that Hjuki had seen on people before. “Instead of staying here, you could follow me.”

Hjuki turned to Bil, who was staring at him with a blank expression that mirrored his. She blinked and her brows furrowed slightly in silent question, asking for his opinion. Hjuki stared into the well once again.

He couldn’t see anything it, never had seen anything in, even in the day. It was just pitch black; its darkness so dense it felt like it could pull him in. Their father was dead, and they both knew it. They had nowhere to go, so they waited; waiting for him or for Death, neither of them knew nor cared. There was nothing for them here.

But now someone was offering them another chance, but Hjuki wasn’t sure what to do. Did they deserve it? Was there a point to it? He glanced at Bil who shivered as the cold wind blew past them, and he remembered. How could he forget? He still had someone else to look after. Even if this woman had plans for them, be it good or bad, there was at least a chance. Something different to look forward to other than for the void in the well to suck them in and join their missing father.

The young boy took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, the sudden coldness fogging his breath.

“Okay,” Hjuki said, his voice hoarse from lack of use. It was the first word he’d said to anyone other than Bil in a very long time. The woman’s smile widened slightly, pleased as she met his gaze. Her eyes were glistening silver, cold and steely, almost inhuman, and yet, there was something pure in them. She held out her hand to him and Hjuki took it, gasping when he felt how cold her skin was.

The woman did the same to Bil who also took it, gripping her hand shakily as the woman brought them to their feet, holding their hands firmly.

“My name is Mani,” the woman said as they began to walk away from the well.

“Mani,” the twins repeated as they walked further and further away from the well, until they could no longer see it behind them.