PROLOGUE
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Namo stepped through the aether, journeying the non-space between realms in strides that were both numerous and yet a singular one. There was a gathering of the Death Gods here, and Namo had some souls to trade.
Ea was a comparatively new world, having only been re-made twice or thrice… maybe more, honestly Namo wasn't paying attention to that. So long as the souls went out to live on their little realm, and came back through death, what did it matter to him really? Of course, some of the other death gods came from worlds re-made hundreds of times, so the souls they came to trade tended to be older, and more interesting when put in a new environment.
Namo approached a grouping of Death gods, sporting their various appearances – tall, small, macabre, benevolent, a single entity or a group arguing amongst itself – all examining a soul being held out by one of the gods of an older realm. An older realm meant an older, more expensive soul. Namo probably would not be able to trade for it, but it was still worth a look. The souls that had been re-born again and again as their realms were remade were always so much more interesting, they developed quirks that followed them from one life to the next. And to draw a crowd like this, this one must be really something.
"This one is interesting." One of the personifications of death commented, looking closely at the upheld soul.
"This one is troublesome." The owner of the soul muttered grumpily. A wave of amusement ran through the crowd. They all had souls like that, ones that never quite followed the rules. Namo himself, was reminded of Aule's little favorite, 'Durin'. Always somehow slipping back into the Cycle before it was supposed to. If Aule didn't keep such a close watch over the ridiculous thing, Namo would have traded it away after the first Remaking.
After a bit longer examining the interesting soul, most of the gathered death gods moved off, deciding this one was too 'troublesome' to trade for. Namo stepped closer. He was sure Aule had cheated on that bet, so it would serve him right to be paid with a troublesome soul. Maybe then he'd be too busy trying to keep an eye on this new one, Namo would be able to sneak away Durin, and put it through a full Cycle finally. That one didn't just have quirks – without a full Cycle, it kept Remembering. Namo swears it Remembers lives from past re-makes too. It needed a full Reincarnation Cycle like a mortal infant's security blanket needs a good wash every now and again.
The older Death God in front of him made an amused sound at the imagery Namo had unintentionally broadcast.
"Your 'brother' can keep his Security Blanket soul. I am trying to rid myself of a menace, not merely trade for another."
"What makes this one so problematic?" Namo asked, taking an up-close look at the shining little soul.
"It won't stay dead until it's good and ready to. Just keeps coming back to life until it has reached the natural end of its life-form." The god sighed. "Right from the start, as a new soul, then every Reincarnation and Re-make afterwards."
"That is a troublesome quirk."
"Indeed."
"I feel it will not want to go without the rest of the set." Namo noticed.
"Indeed." The other death god scowled, both at the soul in its grasp, and at Namo for stating his observations aloud as several other watching entities moved off, losing interest in the soul now that it wasn't only troublesome, but also came as part of a set. Very few death gods came to these with more than one or two souls to trade – the only realms that could actually afford to lose souls entirely were the very oldest ones that had been through a few mortal population booms per Re-make.
"I have these to trade." Namo brought out the handful of souls he had managed to scrape together, three of which had been elves the last two Re-makes, and were decidedly bored, apparently. The other god reached out to gently brush against Namo's offered souls, examining them briefly.
"They are very new." They commented. "Like you and your realm."
"Yes," Namo agreed, "But not a troublesome quirk in the lot. They have some points of interest but aren't going to cause you any problems, regardless of where you might put them."
When the older god hesitated, Namo moved to put his small collection away again.
"Fine. But I'll only include the strongest connections." The god finally acquiesced. "I may want to get rid of this one, but I'm rather fond of some of the others."
They pulled out the rest of the network, like a glowing web surrounding the original soul, and plucked away those of the dimmest branches. And damn, if some of those taken away weren't Interesting souls that had some of the dispersed group of entities coming back in closer again.
The end of the 'pruning' left only the strongest connected souls surrounding the 'troublesome' one that would be Aule's payment for the lost bet. Namo nodded in agreement, condensed the web back into a cluster he could hold, and handed over his traded souls. He silently wished them luck in their new realm as he backed away from the huddle surrounding the older god. Other death gods were now bringing out their souls to trade, having caught sight of the 'interesting' specimens kept back from the trade with Namo.
As he stepped back through the aether to his home realm, Namo inspected more closely the souls that came with his Interesting one. They were a decent haul, even if he was going to have to give Eru some of the best ones, so he wouldn't kick up a fuss about having traded so many of his elven souls.
"Don't say I don't pay my debts." Namo called out as he placed the soul on The Smith's workbench. The other Valar hurried over from his anvil.
"Where are you taking those others?" Aule questioned suspiciously, after grinning pleased at the interesting new soul.
"I had to borrow from Eru to get that for you, so the rest go to him to dole out." Namo dismissed, as he headed out.
He needed to put the rest of these through at least part of a Reincarnation Cycle, before Eru dropped them on Ea. Aule could do the re-forging of his new toy himself before they are set loose on the world. Like Durin, that one is officially no longer Namo's problem.
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As the title says - Prologue.
