A sad tale of immortality (2012)

IT IS SAID: A young boy had his father taken from him due to sickness and his mother was slain before his eyes by evil men.  

They threw the boy into a well from which there was no escape. For three days he tread water, screaming for help that would never come until his voice was ragged. With his last strength he cried out to the gods themselves and then fell under. 

 He awoke in a cold chamber, wrapped in furs of slain bears, scared and confused. A woman was there, her face an equal division of light and dark, sun and shadow, love and hate, fear and wisdom.  

 HEL spoke to the boy and told him that she heard his cry and pulled him from the well. But, those who decide the fates have scolded her and she was to put him back into the well. The boy cried and asked why. 

 HEL imparted knowledge that the world is a vessel of souls that must not overflow, for there is a balance that must be maintained. For every soul that leaves, another enters. This is the way it must be. Mothers cannot conceive until there is a quota to be met. The hero that does battle against the foes of evil must fall to allow another into the world. Should he be brought back through wizardry, another must perish. 

This was kept in balance by fate, which directed some to their ends so that others may begin.  

The boy cried, rightfully, that this was not fair. 

 HEL spoke sternly and told him that fairness, equality, justice are of no matter in the balance. The balance must be, and thus he must die for others to live. 

 But, HEL would not allow the boy to drown. Instead, she would nurse the boy back to health, returning him to the world. But not without a promise. He must dedicate his life to bring knowledge and understanding of the balance to the mortals of the world. Lead a simple life with meager possessions, taking little from others, refusing gifts. And, in ignorance of reason, he must never save or take a life. This is the way it must be. He must not contribute to an imbalance of souls in the world. 

 He led this life, first under the care of a monastic order, and later on his own, travelling the land from town to town, preaching the need for the balance. Gaining pity from some and mockery from others, he followed this path. Accosted by drunken thugs in an alley with no escape, despite his youth and agility, he did not strike back and they relentlessly brought fists upon him. Watching as a craftsman slipped and fell from a roof where he worked, he did not provide aid to the man, turning away from the mans cries for help. 

 His life would become a curse and he despised it. He thought daily of his fate in the well and questioned the reasoning of HEL in providing this punishment for saving him. His only joy was the rising and setting for the sun, which he witnessed whenever able. 

 But, years passed and his promise became shrouded in memory. He began to gain joy from his life in the company of others, joining in celebratory feasts. His strong back brought him a few coins in places. His simple linen garments were replaced with silk, leather, and furs. But he still preached of the balance and was careful to assist only in simple ways that would do little to change the fate of others.

 A girl saw him give his last coin and his coat to a crippled beggar and was entranced with his generosity. She fell for him and he left the last threads of his life behind as they sought to seek their fortunes in the city.  

 The time came when they were to be married. The night before the wedding, they were accosted by a drunken solider in an alleyway. His club put the boy to the ground and he turned to the girl. When his senses returned, the man of war was upon the girl tearing at her clothing. The boy struck him repeatedly until the drunk moved no more.

 The girl, her purity saved, and the boy slept heavily that night. 

 He did not see the dawn that morning, for he awoke in a dark cold chamber, eyes of HEL upon him and with three dark figures at her back. Her voice, with both sorrow and rage, chastised him for the life he took, the promise he broke. The balance was gone. 

 But the boy gathered courage and spoke as a man, questioning the effect of saving a single life to that of the balance.  

HEL spoke of fate and destiny and how the balance is powerful, but delicate. The man who died was not meant to die. He was meant to give a child to the girl, who would carry it are care for it as her own. The soldier's end was to come at the hands of another in a dark alley, but not that one on that night.  

 The child was to become a soldier himself and slay two rampaging trolls in battle. But without his victory, for he was not born to her, they would invade a village and kill many before being brought down. Those affected, their own destinies were no longer true. And the fate decided for the children of the slain would never have would not come to pass. The balance was in peril, as the souls meant to pass into the world were no longer dictated by fate. And the blame was upon her shoulders for allowing him to live. For this, he would be punished. His soul would wander the otherworlds alone, directionless, without purpose.  But there is a debt to pay.

 The man declared that having the ability to alter one's fate and change one's destiny was desirable for mortals. Of this, HEL and the three figures did not protest nor acknowledge. But, HEL declared that the man must repay his debt to them. He remembered the well where he should have died, the sorrow and misery of what his life became, but also the dawn and dusk.  

And now the love of the girl.  

 He begged HEL for mercy, asking that whatever fate they have decided for him be brought down only after he has the chance to tell the girl that he loved her. HEL announced that this was already decided as well, and he would have his chance. 

 Judgment was passed and the man's fate was did not make sense to him. HEL spoke plainly 

 "YOU ARE TO BE AN INSTRUMENT OF DEATH, YOUR ONLY PURPOSE TO BRING ORDER TO THE BALANCE. THOSE WHO WERE AND WILL BE AFFECTED BY YOUR INDESCRECTIONS ARE TO BE SET BACK TO THEIR PATHS BY IMMORTAL MANIPULATION. THE BALANCE WILL NEVER FULLY RETURN, BUT THE DAMAGE DONE BY YOUR MISTAKES WILL BE GRADUALLY SWEPT INTO THE SANDS OF ENTERNITY. YOU WILL BRING DEATH TO THOSE WHO SHOULD PERISH BUT HAVE NOT SO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN CHEATED OF THEIR FATE WILL LIVE." 

 HEL granted the man life and strength to take it from others. SHE gave him ability to know the history of all mortals he looks upon. SHE gave him power to walk between the raindrops and to reside in shadow. But SHE took from him to will to disobey, though not the desire. 

 The three figures took their leave and HEL gave the man a final gift, the ability to hear the voice of HEL, who would whisper to him the names of those who are to die.

 SHE then passed to him the name of the first of many to come. 

 --- 

 HE wept uncontrollably at what HE had done. She cried out for but a moment before dying. Her blood on his blade. HE told the girl that he loved her, even as he committed the act. In sorrow, HE threw himself from the highest tower in the city and fell as the setting sun. But the ground never came and HE found himself floating in a fog of darkness and whispering voices. 

“YOU CANNOT DIE. YOU HAVE NO PURPOSE BUT TO SLAY THOSE THAT HAVE UNKNOWINGLY CHEATED FATE. YOU WILL NOT PERISH UNTIL YOUR MISSION IS COMPLETE  UNTIL I GIVE YOU THAT GIFT YOU WILL DO AS DEMANDED. IS THIS UNDERSTOOD?” 
 

 "Yes," said DEATH.