From Out Of Nowhere, Chapter 1: A Dying Ember, A Raging Fire

Chapter 1 - A Dying Ember, A Raging Fire

Angelina stared out of her son's bedroom window, watching the setting sun. She remembered how she used to sit on the porch with her dearly departed husband and watch the sun sink below the distant mountains. But that was years ago, before his fatal heart attack.

"Mom, what causes the stars to shine," her son asked.

"Climb into bed Greygor and I'll tell you," Angelina said, "Do you remember how I told you that life creates light? Well, the stars are alive, just like you and me, but their light is not the same as ours. The light we create can not normally be seen. One day, I will teach you to see it."

"If the stars are alive," asked Greygor, "does that mean the universe is alive as well?"

"Oh my precious little boy," said his mother lovingly, tucking him under the covers, "you are so bright. I can see that one day your light will shine with the fire of a thousand suns. You are right, the universe is alive. I will tell you more tomorrow. Now it is time for you to sleep."

"Tell me a story before you leave. Tell me how the universe began," pleaded Greygor.

"Alright," his mother said, "but after that you go to sleep, ok? No one really knows how the universe began. There have actually been many universes. It was originally a never-ending process of two natural forces exchanging energy, but that was before the arrival of gods. You see, gods have not always been, though many people like to believe they have. Gods are merely people with unbelievable power, and many gods were originally mortals. A lot of gods claim to have created the universe and many actually believe that they did, but none of them actually knows the truth. Some gods have driven themselves insane searching for the truth, but despite all of their power and magic, none have ever succeeded."

"But what exactly is the universe," interrupted Greygor.

"I was just getting to that," his mother replied, "The universe is like a river. Space is the water and time is the current. Sub-Space is the dirt holding the river on course. There are also other dimensions between space and sub-space."

"What is sub-space," asked Greygor.

"Well, that's complicated," Angelina replied with the calm patience that only a mother could possess, "I'll tell you more about that some other time."

"What's a dimension," Greygor asked.

"I think I'm straying from the story a bit," she said, "You see, the universe hasn't always been alive. Life evolved on its own, but it was the first god who breathed life into the universe itself. This fact has become twisted to mean that he created it, but that is not true because he was once an ordinary mortal just like us. He was a man with a highly scientific mind, but also secretly dabbled with magic. He began to see it as a science. Like any man though, he wasn't perfect. His enthusiasm led to a critical oversight while experimenting with unknown magic. His experiment produced a huge magical explosion which destroyed his labratory and home. Somehow, he survived totally unharmed with his clothes intact. He soon found out that the explosion had somehow transformed him into a being of incredible power. Not only was he immortal, but magic was now as easy to him as blinking. His powers enabled him to help people in a way no one had ever been able to do. He became a local hero, and within a few years a religion dedicated to him began to form.