Accidental Surrogate

Ella

“Before the world existed, before there were planets or stars or even dust, there was only darkness, The darkness was ruled by a god of creation, an all-powerful celestial being the universe dreamed up to rule the heavens. He existed in quiet solitude for millennia, exploring the farthest reaches of his domain, never tiring, never asking for more.” The strange woman began.

“But didn’t he want thìngs, like friends? Or a puppy?”I ask excitedly, feeling uncommonly bold.

I’m leaning back against my visitors c.hest, running my small hands through her shiny hair and wondering at the way it makes my fingers glow and zing with electricity.

“Well that’s a good question. If you didn’t know that friends or puppies existed, would you long for them?” She asks, not the least bit bothered by my interruption.

I scrunch my face up in confusion, trying to work out this puzzle. “I guess not. You can’t want something if you don’t knows that it exists. But I think I’d feel lonely”

“And so did he. she confirms, “though he didn’t realize it at the time. But the universe knew, it had willed this God into being so that he might create but he wasn’t creating anything at all He needed a partner inspiration. So the universe dreamed up another magic, one that would be the perfect balance to his own powers, and one that would need someone to watch over it too”

“What was it?” I ask eagerly

“Can you guess?” The woman asks, “What is the opposite of darkness”

“Light!” I exclaim, with barely a thought. I’ve moved past her hair to toy with the fabric of her dress, but my hands seem to move right through it like fog.

“Very good.” She praises, filling me with warmth.

So one daylight appeared, and it shattered the God’s endless darkness. He didn’t know what was happening, only that everything was suddenly different… more magical. He went searching, and he came upon a goddess of light. When he saw her, he realized what he’d been missing for so long, and he instantly fell in love.” Emotion is heavy in her voice, though I don’t understand why. “She loved him too, and together they created entire worlds: galaxies full to bursting with life, every one different and special in its own way.”

“Galaxies likę in space?” I inquire, wanting to make sure I’ve got the information right.

like in space.” She confirms, “like this planet we’re on right now, it’s part of a galaxy, and it was one of their creations one of their favorites. Because you see, creating worlds takes practice. Each had its own magic, but some were more special than others. And on this one they learned to create animals and people and even a few beings in between. Now, these gods never asked to be worshiped, but their Creations could feel their magic coursing through their

running my fingers

had sharper senses.

in my explorations to look up

They thought the darkness was a curse broken by the light, when really they were two halves of the same whole. So the wolves didn’t give him a name, they forgot to worship him. Instead they feared and reviled him. Over time he became jealous of the one they called the Moon Goddess. He began to punish their creations, to haunt and torment them, to make them frightened and do things

not liking

the humans did find a name for him, but it was no relief, for they called him a devil. It wasn’t fair. He’d given everything to their creations, and they despised him. So his heart grew shriveled and cold, until the only thing he had left was his other half, but he sensed

wasn’ her fault she was busy.” I defend,

The woman

creation. I do not know if he meant it as a punishment or a test, or a desperate plea, but he put the events in motion

deeply upset by the thought of losing this story

interfere directly with their creations – so that they’d be free. At most

he’d been spreading discord between the humans and shifters, instilling them with so much of his own fear and anger, that he made it impossible for them to live side by side. It wasn’t always this way, you see. Once they lived in harmony, but before long the wolves went into hiding, building secret societies alongside the human ones. Still the god of darkness continued to sew rage and despair, such that it became clear that if the humans were to find out about the wolves,

I object. “I don’ think I

was up to, and she knew she had to act. She knew that she needed help, a source of her own magic on earth, someone who could bring together

that?” I question

survive a lot of very hard things in order to become the

his royal line, but she just wanted a child to love. She had a heart even more powerful than his magic, and one night

would be… a lot.” I

offered her tributes and blessings, and only

the Goddess had to tell her the truth, that the child would not be entirely hers. It would share