Read Online Fragments of your Soul (The Mirror Worlds Book 1) by E. S. Erbsland - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: E. S. Erbsland
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gloomily. “Then they simply bear with the pain. The City Guard has enough to do, believe me. That’s why it enjoys such a good reputation. People have a strong need for security.”
“And for light,” muttered Arvid.
“Yes,” Thoke said with a fleeting smile. “Those who can afford it move to the Temple City. There they get plenty of both.”
“What’s that, the Temple City?” said Arvid.
“Oh, that’s… the city around Asgard,” Thoke replied. “When Asgard was founded, it attracted a lot of people, because they felt protected by the gods. Over time Asgard turned into a pure city of gods, like an island surrounded by a new settlement. Today the outer city is called Temple City, because people have built countless temples in honor of the gods. They say there are over forty different ones.”
“Are there so many gods?” asked Arvid. She threw a stone into the black water, and the greenish glowing fish scattered.
“Even more,” Thoke answered. “I don’t know how many there are at the moment, but I think about two hundred. Not all are equally powerful. Usually their power grows with their age. And most gods get very old.”
“How old is very old?”
“Hard to say. It’s very different, but… Odin is over six hundred years old.”
“What?” Arvid said incredulously. “You mean… Odin is still alive?”
“Yes, of course,” Thoke said, obviously amused by Arvid’s reaction. “But he is the oldest of them all. It’s uncertain for how much longer he will live. His body is weakened by age. He rarely leaves Asgard.”
The thought was incredible. If Odin was so old and time passed more slowly here, he almost could have witnessed the construction of the Great Pyramids in the Light World, had he been there at that time.
Considering that the gods had previously traveled between the worlds regularly, it became clear that many of the crazy-sounding stories from the mythology of Arvid’s world possibly contained more truth than she had thought. Since she arrived here, Arvid had often wished she had read more of those stories in the Light World. They had never been something that had interested her, and except Odin and Thor, she didn’t seem to know any of the gods, even if some of the names Thoke mentioned seemed vaguely familiar.
“How old are you, Thoke?” said Arvid, who suddenly realized that she never asked him. She had always assumed that he was about twenty, but after what she had just heard, this assumption could prove to be completely wrong.
Thoke did not reply immediately, but after some hesitation he said, “I’m not sure how to answer that. When I left the Light World, I was twenty-three.”
Arvid nodded slowly. “So you’re thirty-six…” she murmured thoughtfully.
“If you just add up the years, yes,” he said with a slight smile. “But I never really know whether this makes sense.”
“Hmm. How old do… normal people get?”
“That’s very different. Most live for something around one hundred and fifty to three hundred years.”
“It’s a long time,” Arvid said, impressed. “Do you think this is also true for you?”
“You mean for us? I think so. After all, only our souls are from the Light World.”
Arvid looked thoughtfully out onto the dark lake. The brilliant schools of fish had approached again and swam around with quiet, smooth motions. Where the water surface was glassy, the radiant light of the stars, which again were clearly visible after two cloudy days with light snowfall, reflected. She was not sure whether she liked the thought of such a long life.
“Never mind,” she said lightly. “I won’t stay in the Shadow World for long anyway.”
When they came back to Falla’s house, the old woman opened the door for them, even before they had reached it. She looked very upset.
“Gjell was here,” she said. “He waited for nearly three hours, but then he left again.”
“Did the letter arrive?” asked Thoke and stormed past her
“And for light,” muttered Arvid.
“Yes,” Thoke said with a fleeting smile. “Those who can afford it move to the Temple City. There they get plenty of both.”
“What’s that, the Temple City?” said Arvid.
“Oh, that’s… the city around Asgard,” Thoke replied. “When Asgard was founded, it attracted a lot of people, because they felt protected by the gods. Over time Asgard turned into a pure city of gods, like an island surrounded by a new settlement. Today the outer city is called Temple City, because people have built countless temples in honor of the gods. They say there are over forty different ones.”
“Are there so many gods?” asked Arvid. She threw a stone into the black water, and the greenish glowing fish scattered.
“Even more,” Thoke answered. “I don’t know how many there are at the moment, but I think about two hundred. Not all are equally powerful. Usually their power grows with their age. And most gods get very old.”
“How old is very old?”
“Hard to say. It’s very different, but… Odin is over six hundred years old.”
“What?” Arvid said incredulously. “You mean… Odin is still alive?”
“Yes, of course,” Thoke said, obviously amused by Arvid’s reaction. “But he is the oldest of them all. It’s uncertain for how much longer he will live. His body is weakened by age. He rarely leaves Asgard.”
The thought was incredible. If Odin was so old and time passed more slowly here, he almost could have witnessed the construction of the Great Pyramids in the Light World, had he been there at that time.
Considering that the gods had previously traveled between the worlds regularly, it became clear that many of the crazy-sounding stories from the mythology of Arvid’s world possibly contained more truth than she had thought. Since she arrived here, Arvid had often wished she had read more of those stories in the Light World. They had never been something that had interested her, and except Odin and Thor, she didn’t seem to know any of the gods, even if some of the names Thoke mentioned seemed vaguely familiar.
“How old are you, Thoke?” said Arvid, who suddenly realized that she never asked him. She had always assumed that he was about twenty, but after what she had just heard, this assumption could prove to be completely wrong.
Thoke did not reply immediately, but after some hesitation he said, “I’m not sure how to answer that. When I left the Light World, I was twenty-three.”
Arvid nodded slowly. “So you’re thirty-six…” she murmured thoughtfully.
“If you just add up the years, yes,” he said with a slight smile. “But I never really know whether this makes sense.”
“Hmm. How old do… normal people get?”
“That’s very different. Most live for something around one hundred and fifty to three hundred years.”
“It’s a long time,” Arvid said, impressed. “Do you think this is also true for you?”
“You mean for us? I think so. After all, only our souls are from the Light World.”
Arvid looked thoughtfully out onto the dark lake. The brilliant schools of fish had approached again and swam around with quiet, smooth motions. Where the water surface was glassy, the radiant light of the stars, which again were clearly visible after two cloudy days with light snowfall, reflected. She was not sure whether she liked the thought of such a long life.
“Never mind,” she said lightly. “I won’t stay in the Shadow World for long anyway.”
When they came back to Falla’s house, the old woman opened the door for them, even before they had reached it. She looked very upset.
“Gjell was here,” she said. “He waited for nearly three hours, but then he left again.”
“Did the letter arrive?” asked Thoke and stormed past her
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