CHaPTeR II - BiRTH OF THe CoSMoS

Few know the truth of the universe of which we live. It is my goal to alter that by beginning with you. Before the birth of the universe, there existed an infinite, timeless void named the Ginnungagap. I exist in the Highest Realm, outside of Ginnungagap and inaccessible to all physical matter. For I, Ginnungagap and the Highest Realm have always existed. I am Solareon, the Celestor and the Sun Dragon, a creature of limitless energy and the creator of everything to exist.

In the beginning, I realised that existing in emptiness was...lonely. Unable to leave the Highest Realm, I used miniscule amounts of my power to pour into Ginnungagap and begin my work. I decided to create life and took energy from my body to create a cosmic seed. This seed sprouted and became Yggdrasil, The World Tree that we now know it as today. This tree exists in the infinite cosmic void of Ginnungagap. It is the foundation and pathway to nine realities.

As this was my first time to create, my body was inexperienced. This caused a dreadful side effect. It led to the unruly energy inside my body to grow fierce, so much in fact that I had to cast it out and it took shape. The energy formed the very first humanoid being known as Ymir, the giant of ice and fire.

To aid me with creation, I made three children from the energy of my body. My first child I named Primogen, the Master of time, life and decision making. My second child I named Secundral, the Master of space, peace and natural order. My third child I named Tertiall, the Master of love, faith and compassion. Together they were dubbed the three Masters of Reality.

With their advice, I created an island out in the abyss and named it Avalon. It was on this vast island that I gave rise to the great cosmic cow known as Audumla. She fed and calmed the giant Ymir on this paradise island. As he was feeding however, the cow Audumla also groomed him, licking at parts of his body covered in ice. From this melted ice came the first deity, Buri.

After this, the race of Jotnar emerged from the armpits of Ymir, one of which I caused to be female. With this, the first woman was born and marriage was established as a sacred bond. As time went on, many generations of gods and giants were sired by Buri and the family of Jotnar. Significant figures such as Borr, Odin, Vili and Ve all followed as the years went by, causing Avalon to become a beautiful, thriving sanctuary.

At this point, Ymir grew irritated at the amount of bustling life that had sprang from his flesh. His thunderous rampage spread across Avalon. In his rage he struck the ground and made the first "Place of Power." He used this to travel back to Yggdrasil and unleash his anger against the World Tree, threatening to shatter the precious life that I had made. With my permission, I allowed Odin and his brothers to slay Ymir so that his body would be destroyed and become the very foundation of the nine realms.

After a hundred years of battle in Ginnungagap, Ymir was slain. Muspelheim and Niflheim fell from his body and landed in the roots of the World Tree. They fused themselves forever into the flesh of Yggdrasil, forming portals to their own universe with identical stars and planets. The energy from Ymir's remains returned to me and I was able to use that to turn his physical remains into seven more realities, each containing their own parallel universe like Muspelheim and Niflheim.

Asgard was placed in the tallest branches of the tree containing its own universe with stars and planets. Alfheim, the realm of the bright white sun contained stars and planets identical to Asgard and was placed in the centre of the branches. Followed by Vanaheim, the realm most attuned with the Fae was positioned in the lower branches, containing its own universe with stars and planets identical to Asgard. Jotunheim, the mountainous realm was placed at the tallest part of the trunk below the branches, containing its own stars and planets identical to the realm before it. Midgard, the realm of balance which you reside is positioned in the centre of the tree trunk, containing stars and planets identical to the realm before it. Svartalfheim, the realm of the dark black sun is placed at the lowest part of the trunk, below Midgard containing stars and planets identical to the realm before it. Muspelheim, the realm of intense heat was fused into the highest roots, containing stars and planets identical to the realm before it. Niflheim was placed further down in the centre of the roots, a realm of misty ice caused by it's cold sun. It also contained its own stars and planets identical to the realm before it. Finally at the tips of the roots, Helheim was nestled, also a realm of ice and frost, containing stars and planets identical to the realm before it.

Many of the realms were uninhabitable for many years. At this time only giants of ice and fire could occupy the realms Muspelheim, Niflheim, Jotunheim and Helheim.

Alas, all my efforts were somewhat in vain. I was betrayed by those closest to me. Primogen, my own child challenged me. Demanding to become the creator himself with Secundral in agreement. For their arrogance I banished them to the Duat, giving them the power of creation that they so desperately craved and certain jurisdictions over the nine realms to test if they truly were fit to be the creator.

And so, I turned my attention to Midgard, prioritising life in this realm first. I used my power to sculpt the landscape to my whim. After this I made the first primeval creatures to fertilise the earth. After they had served their purpose for many eons terraforming the land, I removed them. In their place I created modern animals that were smaller, more accommodating and easy to maintain.

As the world took the perfect shape, I wanted to create the perfect caretakers. Humans. They were to be free, perfect, ageless and caring of all animals that lived alongside them. These first humans were different from what you know today. They had full access to the entirety of their brain, being able to use power over the elements, body and mind.

In the centre of Midgard the deities that resided there fancied themselves to be the creators of the world. These gods viewed my sacred humans as lesser than them and disliked that they could not claim them as their  servants.

Ra, who had sprang forth from a lily flower from traces of Ymir's blood in the Nile river, insultingly proclaimed himself as the god of the sun and sired many other gods after him. Deciding to create his own version of humans that would serve directly under him, he whispered their names and wept onto the soil. A man and woman sprang forth from the dirt. They were imperfect, short lived and had limited access to their brain. The poor creatures went on to become a slave to the world and gave rise to billions populating it today.

After a disagreement of land, Odin leading the Aesir and Ra leading the Egyptian gods battled to the point of stalemate. With the war over, Odin agreed to take his people and set up a permanent home in Asgard. Up until this point, the Aesir had been travellers, using the places of power that had appeared after the death of Ymir. However there were no places of power in Asgard so travelling there proved difficult. Together, the Aesir gods built a rainbow bridge made of solid light, naming it the Bifrost. This was to be the only path connecting Midgard and Asgard directly. With their new home and universe assured in Asgard, Odin and the Aesir left Midgard behind.

When I saw what the lesser deities in the land of Egypt had done in spite of my creation, I decided to isolate the perfect humans that I had made. I created a hidden world named Overland, trapped between the reality of the Duat, Midgard and the Land of the Fae. In physical space, this land existed in the sky, floating high in the air above the Pacific ocean, yet still being noncorporeal.

Now begins the history of Overland...Alex, ALEXIS!

D

Alex's eyes slowly rolled open as she was shaken awake. Her dad was stood over her, hand on her shoulder, "Oh thank goodness, finally! Come on, have some water."

Alex sat up on her bed, rubbing her eyes, the dream she had just experienced was still hazy in her mind. So much so that it caused her vision in real life to be misty, almost like her surroundings were inside a murky soup. Shaun tossed Alex's bag onto the bed next to her, "You forgot that. Two episodes in two days? That's not normal, Alex."

"What, n-no I don't think I was..." her voice trailed off, her brain still foggy from her surreal dream. She looked up at her dad as her vision focused. "It was...the weirdest dream I've ever had. And I've had weird ones. It was like almost watching a movie."

"Don't really think it matters what you dream," Shaun sighed. "What matters is you don't have another seizure. In the morning, I'm calling the doctor."

"No, no! I'm fine!" Alex tried to reassure him, "I had a headache for sure but I'm good na-hey!"

Shaun jammed his finger into her cheek, "I am calling the doctor tomorrow whether you like it or not! None of this saying 'fine' when you're 'not fine,' Katy."

"Alright! Fine get off!" Alex swatted his arm away. She took her water bottle from her bag and unscrewed the lid, taking a swig.

Shaun's expression softened. He sighed and sat next to her on the bed. "Sorry, I don't wanna be harsh about it. Just me and your mother worry sick about you when this happens, you know?"

Alex nodded staring at her lap and lowering her bottle, "I know."

Shaun put an arm around her, "Well then. It's been a long day, how about we get takeaway tonight? There's a pizza place nearby. Sound good?"

Alex's eyes lit up, "If they have goats cheese!"

"And olives?" they both said at the same time.

Shaun laughed, "Of course. Now you get yourself settled. Have a rest if you need to, alright? But don't take too long I'll need help building the new table."

Alex's shoulders slumped as she rolled her eyes, "Okay, fine."

"I'll be downstairs when you're ready," Shaun got up and walked over to the stairs. He put a hand on the end of the banister and turned back with a smile. "And if anything else happens like this again, even if you feel it coming, you be sure to let us know, got it?"

"I know, I know, I promise," Alex replied with a defeated sigh.

"Love you!"

"Love you too!"

With that, Shaun left the room and there was silence.

Alex put her bottle next to her bag and stood up from the bed. She raised her arms and stretched her body from side to side with a big sigh. As she opened her eyes from her stretch, something stood out in the corner of her eye. She cocked her head and knitted her eyebrows, "Hm?"

At the back of the room in the left corner was her new bookcase that was half full of books. Next to the bookcase was a small round, four legged table with a book resting on top. However this book she didn't recognise as part of her collection.

Alex wandered over to the table and inspected the mystery book. The cover was dark red, scratched and weathered. The edges of the pages were yellow and crinkly, clearly showing that it was an old book maybe by at least fifty years. On the cover of the book was a golden symbol that looked like a sun with wavy sun rays surrounding it. The title was also gold, inside a rectangle just above the symbol. The writing however was not English. The words seemed to be symbols, none that Alex recognised.

Alex flicked through the book, scanning between pages. "This isn't mine. Where'd it come from?" she said out loud in confusion. All the pages had similar symbols to the ones they had on the front cover. Instead of English words they were all paragraphs written in completely alien shapes.

At that moment a thin red hair fluttered out of the book and fell onto the table. Alex paused and stared at the hair. Curious, she slowly picked the hair up between two fingers. The orangey red hair was soft and about two inches long, resembling fur that belonged to an animal.

"No way, the fox..." Alex turned to her bedroom door. "But the door was closed. Weird..."

At that moment, Alex's phone buzzed from her back pocket. She gasped, "Oh yeah, she said she might call!" She quickly grabbed her phone from her pocket and put the book and the hair back down on the table, the book cover softly closing. Alex went over to her bed and laid on her belly. She took one of the cushions from the windowsill and put it on her bed, resting her phone against it and accepting the video call.

"Jenny! Hi! How's it going?" Alex asked as she picked up.

The girl on the phone screen waved back at her with a big grin, "Hi hi! Good! What about you, how goes moving in?"

Alex sighed softly and looked around her room, several boxes still yet to unpack. "It's...going I guess."

Jennifer chuckled lightly, "That good, huh?"

"Yeah," Alex laughed. "It's okay. Cool place and everything. Quiet. When we got here a fox ran out the door."

"A fox?"

Alex laughed, "Yeah. No joke! We think it squeezed through the old catflap to get in. But still it was weird to see it in the house when we literally have no food or groceries yet. It was so cute though."

"Huh?! Like really? That's so strange! But oh my days I know right, I love foxes! Did you get a picture?"

"Aww no I should have," Alex replied disappointedly. "He was moving so fast though."

Jennifer was the same age as Alex, they had been in the same class for years and had left school together. She was more stylish and more into fashion than Alex was. She loved jewellery, wearing multiple rings, chokers, and a necklace with a small silver heart pendant. Her nails were painted orange and she had three small, gold hoop earrings on each ear with a small stud nose piercing as well. She was of Indian decent with soft light brown skin and extremely dark chocolate coloured hair tied to the side with a pink scrunchy in a plait. Her eyes were a light brown/gold colour with dark eyeliner around her eyes and small dark red accented flicks on the outsides of her eyes. Her right eyebrow was cut in half from a small scar she had from childhood and the hoody she wore was made from patchwork she had made by herself.

"Cool fox aside and everything, I was just gonna ring Rachael too!" Jennifer said excitedly. "Hopefully she picks up, lol."

"Ha, ha, yeah no worries!" Alex replied.

In the meantime, Rachael was listening to music with her earbuds, writing on some papers on her desk. The sleeves on her lilac sweater almost covered her hands. She wore small studs in her ears and reading glasses on her face. Like Jennifer, she had a few rings on her hands but her makeup was more simple with just liner around her eyes. She had small stubby eyebrows and her hair was a short bob, the tips of which hung slightly above her shoulders. Her skin was pale and her face splashed with freckles. Rachael's eyes were blue as the sky and her hair was a deep velvet red.

Rachael's phone started ringing, vibrating on her desk. The cartoon shark phone cover clattered against the hard surface. Rachael looked down and saw the owl icon for Jennifer and the rabbit icon for Alex. Rachael's face immediately lit up as she saw who it was and she instantly answered.

"Oh Ally and Jenny! Hiya!" Rachael beamed down at her phone. "How are you guys? What are you up to?"

"All good Ray!" Jennifer replied.

"Me too!" Alex confirmed.

"Alex just got to her new house!" Jennifer added.

Rachael gasped, excitedly, "Ooh! Really? What's the town like? What's the house like? Oh and your room! Wait, you already seen your room right?"

Alex laughed, "Only in photos. Haven't really seen the town yet. But the house is huge! My room is a little empty though. Not used to having so much space. It'll be perfect for sleepovers! It's so much better than the tiny apartment we had. My grandparents will be moving in soon too."

"Oh yeah!" Jennifer recalled. "I remember you saying now. Your grandparents are Canadian right?"

"Yep," Alex nodded. "Mom's parents. They're struggling with their health so we had to move closer. And we wanted a bigger place anyway so my parents said it'll be good for us all to just move into the same place. It'll be perfect. Just a long way from you guys back in Brooklyn."

"I knooow," Rachael groaned, "We need to meet up some time. But I'm glad you figured it out with your grandparents too. I hope they like the place as well! Oh Jenny how about you, did you get accepted?"

Jennifer grinned, "Yep! That's actually the reason I called you both! I got my letter this morning! I'm gonna study to be a vet in collage!"

"Oh my goodness, Jenny! Congrats!" Rachael cried.

"Yeah, that's such cool news! Congratulations!" Alex beamed, excited for her.

"Thank you so much!" Jennifer giggled, her hands pressed against her chest. "I'll have to get you both to visit my dorm when I get it! But how goes the search for your collage, Ray?"

"Still looking," Rachael replied with a sigh. "My brother recommended me a few to apply for. I was actually filling out some applications before you called. There's some good ones that teach music. But I'm not sure. I was actually thinking of being a radio DJ like him."

"That's aweomse!" Alexis said eagerly, "Be sure to keep us up to date!"

"For sure!"

Alex started to get up, "Oh but I might have to go now guys. Dad wanted my help with something. It's been awesome to catch up!"

Jennifer and Rachael both waved, "Yeah, see ya later!"