Heroes Among Us

Once upon a time, the gods of old walked the earth. Their power poured onto the earth like rain. Some gods were good, and some were made of mischief or evil. The gods meddled in the lives of humans and humans coped the best they could. People and gods interacted, and the people believed. Heroes rose and fell. Great battles were fought, and the end of the world was stopped by gods and the souls of worthy warriors. Season bled into season, as year by year time flowed by. The gods faded, but never truly went away and they never stopped watching over the world. The gods see. They see everything, but mostly they do nothing. They watch and they wait. There are those, however, who do more, who strive to find the heroes.

There is a place that holds promise. A place that no mortal would look twice at. An office building on a boring street. From the outside, the office looked perfectly normal. A two-story brick building that looked like many of the other buildings on the street. The sign out front read: “Valkyrie Inc.” There were two windows that showed what looked like an ordinary office reception area. Anyone that went inside would simply see a receptionist desk with a few chairs and a hallway that led to the back. The receptionist was a middle-aged woman with brown hair who smiled at anyone who happened to walk into the building. Her eyes were timeless and her smile knowing, but mortals never noticed things like that.

No one ever saw anything out of the ordinary, because there were only certain individuals who could see what was truly there. Any mortal that went into that building found that they had forgotten something very important and never stayed long. Still, few would see anything anyway. Very few mortals had the sight these days.

If they did, they would see that the hallway led to a large garden with colorful flowers everywhere. All different types of flowers that didn't realize they weren't supposed to grow together or during any season. Roses thrived with tulips and forget me nots nestled next to marigolds. A patchwork quilt of tranquility and beauty. There were benches here and there and little pathways that lead to secret places within the garden. It was a bountiful and peaceful place.

In the center of this impossible garden was an incredible tree that couldn’t possibly fit into a two-story building. In fact, there didn’t seem to be a roof over the garden and the tree climbed impossibly high into the sky. The roots seemed almost alive and there were several doors leading from the trees and what looked like a bridge made out of a rainbow.

Around the garden were thirteen doors that led to offices. Behind the door marked Kara a young-looking girl with blonde hair, a fierce expression on her face, wearing shining armor, sat at a desk staring at her computer. The office seemed almost normal, there was a desk and computer and there were pictures on the wall. Besides the girl in armor there were other things which were not quite right. The pictures were odd. Most of them were warriors, but a few had ravens. The office also had a window that seemed to look out on a wild landscape that

If they did, they would see that the hallway led to a large garden with colorful flowers everywhere. All different types of flowers that didn't realize they weren't supposed to grow together or during any season. Roses thrived with tulips and forget me nots nestled next to marigolds. A patchwork quilt of tranquility and beauty. There were benches here and there and little pathways that lead to secret places within the garden. It was a bountiful and peaceful place.

In the center of this impossible garden was an incredible tree that couldn’t possibly fit into a two-story building. In fact, there didn’t seem to be a roof over the garden and the tree climbed impossibly high into the sky. The roots seemed almost alive and there were several doors leading from the trees and what looked like a bridge made out of a rainbow.

Around the garden were thirteen doors that led to offices, there was only one person in the garden. She was sitting on one of the benches. Suddenly a voice broke the tranquility.

“Kara,” the voice reverberated through the garden and everyone in the building heard it.

One of the doors in the garden opened and a tall blond woman with the expression of a drill instructor came out. She was wearing gleaming plate armor, and she started marching towards the door that had just materialized in the garden. The door was huge and had glowing runes radiating around it. Kara squared her shoulder and marched towards the door, the clink clank of her armor the only sound in the suddenly silent garden.

She walked into the room, a typical office, if oversized. There was a beautiful wooden desk, the size of three normal desks, carved with intricate battle scenes. Behind the desk sat a man who had a grisled beard, an eye patch on one eye, and a large sloppy hat. He had a raven sitting on his shoulder the name plate on the enormous desk read, “Odin.”

“Kara, I hope you are well,” said the man behind the desk genially.

Kara bowed her head, “Yes, all father, thank you. And you?”

He frowned, “I am a bit puzzled, honestly. I know wars aren’t as prevalent as they were in the old days but the other Valkyries don’t seem to be having all that much trouble. I mean, yes, none of them is hitting their quota and you are yes… but your choices are odd, Kara.”

“Odd, sir?” Kara asked, trying to keep her expression even as if she was not being reprimanded by her boss.

The man sighed, “I know you think using mortal tools is clever. Yes, the internet can be useful, but I am not sure you should be using it to choose souls for Valhalla. You know why we do what we do Kara. The Valkyries bring fallen warrior heroes to Valhalla so they can train to fight beside me during Ragnarök. If we fall the world will not be the same. The end of the world is at stake here, which you know,” He reached for a folder and tossed it onto the desk. They were stories that had clearly been printed from the internet.

“How in my name me am I supposed to defeat the other gods with a schoolteacher?” he asked pulling out one of the sheets in the folder, “Or this one,” another paper joined the other one, “he saved some people but there was no battle a flood Kara really?”

“Lord Odin, the world is different than it once was. Battles are not fought the way they were in the old days. Life is a battlefield for many people but there are heroes worthy of fighting beside you. People fight to feed their families, they fight to survive, they fight to get by.” She pointed to the papers on the desk, “That teacher died protecting his students from an armed attacker. He fought for their lives and died a hero. None of his students were killed, no other teacher managed this. He is brave. He is worthy. That man that died in that flood, he saved his whole family and all his neighbors and anyone he could. He died because he was so tired from rescuing others, he could not save himself. He fought against nature itself, against all odds and he died a hero.”

“Hmmm, well when you put it like that, I suppose I can accept those warriors. What about this one. A little girl? How is she going to be useful in battle?”

“That little girl saved her two younger siblings who would have been run over. She had no fear, she saved them and died doing it. She didn’t hesitate. She is a hero. Valhalla is a place for training Odin, she will be a fierce, fearless warrior and worthy sire.”

“That’s another thing,” he frowned at the fierce woman before him. “More than half of these are women, yes occasionally a woman ends up on the battlefield and even more rarely she distinguishes herself in battle, but Valhalla warriors are mostly men and…”

“Now don’t you start that my lord,” Kara snapped at him sternly. “This is a different age. There were always woman heroes but now life is a battleground and woman are just as capable of heroic actions. Don’t make me tell Freya about this,” she threatened and the man behind the desk laughed.

“Alright, alright, you’re right of course. Women are incredible creatures. I should have known better. Some of these files are impressive even if these are not typical battles. You are the only Valkyrie making quota and after hearing your reasons I cannot fault you. Perhaps I should talk to the others. Thank you, Kara,” he said clearly dismissing her.

Kara returned to the garden and the glowing door disappeared and Kara smiled, the gods were fickle creatures, but they wouldn’t be fighting in Ragnarök alone.