Prologue for Lake of souls

In the beginning the world was gray. The creatures of this world did not know life or death, hunger or thirst, nor heat or cold. The creatures merely wandered the planet occasionally engaging in combat with one another though it meant nothing. Their existence had no true meaning and the world was static and unchanging.

There were five gods who were as old as the universe and wandered it in search of something. What that thing was they did not know but it was a compulsion that pulled them from galaxy to galaxy. These five gods happened to pass by this gray unchanging planet. They stopped to observe it taking a break from their journey. After a short period the gods decided that they wanted to remake this planet and give it real life. For no particular reason but it was a break from their journey and this they did cherish.

First they brought heat and cold to the land. The creatures burned and froze while fleeing from forces they did not understand. Then they gave both hunger and thirst to the creatures. More of them suffered for at the time there was little food and water. Finally they brought life and death to the world as a whole. With this many of the creatures succumbed to their burns, freezing, hunger, and thirst. The population of creatures was cut down by ninety percent.

With the death of all these creatures the gods decided that new life needed to be brought to this planet. Life that would get rid of the rest of the creatures and would build a new world. So the gods discussed amongst themselves and decided they would make humanoid vessels. Vessels that could receive souls from the gods. So that is what the gods did. They created five thousand beings so that one thousand each could receive a soul from each of the gods.

The fire God Faslion took his one thousand and gave them souls of flame. With this they were given the ability to manipulate and create fire. They would be the warriors of this world. Of the thousand one was chosen and he was given a larger soul then the rest. With this he was gifted the title of Fire King. With this work done Faslion sent all one thousand into the world and told them to rid the land of the creatures and once done they were to burn the world to ash. So as to make way for new life.

The earth God Terra was next and he gave his one thousand the souls of earth. With this they were given the ability to manipulate and create new earth. They would be the defenders of this world. An Earth King was chosen. With that the children of earth were told to craft a new land from the ash.

The wind God Brant came after and he gave his one thousand the souls of the wind. With this they were given the ability to manipulate the air and create more if needed. They would be the thinkers of this world. A Wind King was chosen. The children of wind were told to bring the winds that would help life move to all the corners of the world. As well as to begin the process to bring weather to this land.

The water God Wist came and he gave his one thousand the souls of water. With this they were given the ability to manipulate and create water. They would be the providers of this world. A Water King was chosen. The children of water were told to bring seas, lakes, and rivers to the world. So that life may grow.

Finally came the life God Lovent and he gave his one thousand the souls of life. With this they had the ability to manipulate the life of the land and create more when needed. Without them no life would succeed for long. A Life King was chosen. The children of life were told now to spread their power across the world so that life would come and stay.

With all of this done the gods looked down upon their handiwork and they were pleased. But then they noticed that one vessel was left over. First they argued amongst each other about who created an additional vessel but none of them could come to an answer. So they then decided that simply one of the tribes of people would have one thousand and one souls with them. But when they tried to imbue any of their souls upon the vessel the souls did not take. They each tried multiple times and each time the vessel would take in the soul but it would not fuse with it. Finally the gods gave up. Content with their works otherwise they decided it was time to leave and begin their search again. And so they left their children to do their work while the lone vessel was forgotten and left on its own.

The vessel stood in that one spot for many centuries. It was but an empty creature given no life or thought. It did not need nor want for anything. Much like the creatures of the world before it the vessel was static and unchanging. One day another god happened upon this planet. This god was connected with the other five but he was also slower than his brothers and he was often far behind them. He looked over his brother's handiwork and eventually came upon the vessel. The god took a form much like the vessel and approached it, "Tell me. Why are you not like others? Did my brother's souls not fill you as they did the others?" The vessel merely nodded at this new person. It did not know why this person was talking to it.

The god slowly walked around the vessel looking over it, "Tell me this, if I could get you a soul that could fit you, would you take it? Even if it was a soul different from everyone else on this planet. Would you take it?"

The vessel cocked its head at this question. Something inside of it stirred for just long enough to utter its first words, "Yes I would."

The god smiled, "Good then I will tell you a secret. A secret that no one else on this planet knows. Somewhere on this planet is a lake. A lake that contains souls. So many souls that even if I were to give you a number it wouldn't mean anything to you. These souls are blank. No blessing from any of my brothers has been placed upon them. So if you were to find this lake then you would be able to obtain a blank soul. If it is blank then it can become whatever your body will accept. So do you want it?"

The vessel stared blankly at the god taking in all the information. Finally it spoke, "I do want it. However I do not desire anything enough to move from this spot."

The god grinned from ear to ear, "Ah now that I can fix. I can make you desire it enough to move. That's easy enough." With that the god placed his hand upon the chest of the vessel.

The vessel could feel something welling up inside of it. A longing that began to burn at its very core and filled it up from the top of its head to the tips of its toes. The god stepped away from the vessel, "Walk my child. Take your first steps and begin your journey."

I looked down at my feet and thought of the lake. A lake that would make me like everyone else at least somewhat. With that thought in mind I picked up my right foot and stepped forward. With that it became easier with every step until I was walking as if I had done it all my life. The god nodded ever so slightly with a small smirk, "Now go onto the kingdom of fire to begin your journey and claim your soul."

This story serves as a prologue to the beginning of my short story "Lake of Souls". Below will be a link going to the first chapter as well as a link to the original short story this is based on. I'll be continuing this forward and expanding the story and lore of this story. If you enjoyed this then please leave a like, subscribe, and feel free to leave a tip. You can also follow the third link to find this book for sale at several ebook platforms. Till next time.

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Original short story

Lake of Souls book