The Smith
1.
Jack stood in front of his forge pounding away at the raw metal before him and with every strike the metal shimmered from a bright orange to a dull black and back again. Jack had become a well known blacksmith and his reputation reached farther than he could ever imagine. His figure was typical of any hardworking smith; his body was chiseled in muscle and when he worked he seemed even bigger than he already was. Three men looked on as Jack made their requested weapon, a great hammer much bigger than normal man could yield. Jack was barely able to move it as he worked and resulted to making pieces of it at a time. I hope they can move it once I am finished. He thought. He worked off of the measurements they gave him and they seemed confident it would give them no problem at all.
The three men were strangers to him, nothing out of place just strangers. They told him they came from a land far away across the ocean. Fools, no one dare goes out into sea anymore. He thought. Jack had not always been a smith, before he was a miner with his father. His parents were gone now; everyone's parents were gone now. The day the giant birds came, they gave a warning. Jack did not believe in things like that before but now he did. "What happened to your people? Why are their only young people now?" The strangers asked. Jack stopped working for a moment and a tear fell down the right side of his face. "I will tell you, and then you get to tell me your people's story."
Hugin and Munin they were called, nothing more than heralds in the begging. They landed on the mountain close to his small village. Most had forgotten about the birds, the elders of the village knew who they were but so amazed they thought it was an illusion.
Hugin sat atop the mountain and every syllable that came out of his mouth boomed across the village. "Be warned, the time has come for all who have forgotten us to stay and all who remembered to ascend. Your parents and their parents shall come to Valhalla to sit with Odin and aid his great purpose. Some of you may see them again the others will endure a great test upon your strength and character. Life as you know it will change. Live well and you shall die well." Munin did not say anything; he only sat next to Hugin listening to everything he said and the reactions of the people.
Hugin spoke again. "Be prepared this will all come when a great storm approaches your village unlike any other storm yet to come. The lighting will turn the night to day and the thunder will be felt in your bones, go now and be with your families while you still have them."
A great lightning bolt struck where the two birds sat and a great squawk echoed form the mountain top, and just like that the birds were gone.
My mother was Rebecca and my father was named Bruce. My father and I worked in the mines; everyone in our family had generation after generation. I had a brother also, his name was Robert. He was much taller and stronger than me, and more outgoing at the same time. My mother always talked about how she loved his long brown hair and blue eyes. She would always tell him he looked like a hero from long ago. I always felt like she loved him more than me, I never stopped feeling that way, I wish I did. The both of them are gone and all I feel I have is the jealousy to remember them with. A second tear descended Jacks face. My father was a man of few words, rise early, work hard, then tend to you family. It was his code. The man loved all of us and he never had to say anything to show it, we just knew. He would always make sure we were taken care of. I remember one holiday when I was younger as we all sat in the living room of our house talking the night before we went to church. My father put his arm around me and told me how proud of me he was for no reason. I wondered what he was proud of me for, I was smaller than Robert, unable to do as much work as Robert, and I was not as outspoken as Robert. I never asked him why, I now wish I had.
Several tears had fallen down Jacks face and the strangers just stared at him waiting for more. The night it all started I knew it was coming, the television forecast of the weather called for a massive storm front. Most of the people of the village ignored it, I could not. When the storm approached there was no rain, just thunder and lighting. Every few seconds I heard a loud thunder in the distance and I knew it was coming closer. My mother, father, and I sat on the couch watching the television. Once my father realized what was happening he grabbed the remote and turned the television off. My mother began to sob at this point, she hugged me so tight that I felt she would never let go. "Jack" she said sobbingly. "I love you." I love you to mother. The thunder was now coming closer and faster. BOOM! My father grabbed all three of us and held tight. It was this point when I knew it was coming. CRACK! "I love you son and I will always be proud of you." This time the thunder and lightning took the power out. I shuddered when it happened. BOOM! Mom, dad, I love you so much. A great lightning crack struck and light filled the room so bright I could not see them but I knew they were still there, I felt their arms around me still. Not another word was said that night and only a few thunders struck after that. Each thunder made me squeeze tighter, I felt like I could hold on to them. The last thunder boomed with so much force that it shook the walls in our house, and again the room became so bright that I could not see any longer, but this time I could not see them or feel them I knew they were gone. The thunder was still rumbling loudly as I screamed up at the sky cursing whatever god was responsible for this. I vowed from then on to go after whatever was the cause of this.
As Jack finished his story he realized the strikes of the hammer were in tandem with the lightning in his story. The last strike was the most painful to him. Tears continued to go down Jacks face. "So that was the last of them?" asked the strangers. "It was the last of everything, no more power , no more stores, no more cars , nothing. We were thrown into the olden times. I guess it was meant to make us remember what we had forgotten. "Is it like this in your land as well?" Asked Jack? 'Yes it is, however we did not have the heralds like you did strangely enough we were visited by our own faith." What is your faith if you don't mind me asking?"