The Heroes of Asgard, Part One: The Magic Begins (a ReedsyCast story)

Submitted into Contest #78 in response to: Write about someone who keeps an unusual animal as a pet.... view prompt

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Adventure Fantasy

Hi.

My name is Carolina Shaw.

If you feel like you might be one of us, turn away. Trust me, you donโ€™t want this life.

Still reading?

Okay, donโ€™t say I didnโ€™t warn you.


Let me just say, Algebra classes are dumb.

You mess around with x and y for long enough, and you start to ponder why it matters. I mean, the only jobs a person would have that they would need this for are being a math teacher or a scientist. I donโ€™t plan to become either. Just sayinโ€™.

I look to the other side of the table, just because Iโ€™m bored, and see a girl named Nainika. I never really knew her, but recently the teacher changed seating, putting me next to her. Weโ€™ve never exchanged more than a few words.

โ€œHey,โ€ I said.

โ€œHey.โ€ She said, not even looking up from her paper.

โ€œDo you like this stuff?โ€

โ€œNo.โ€ She said, raising her head up to look at me. โ€œI just do it because I know I have to do it eventually.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s fair.โ€ I said.

โ€œYeah.โ€

โ€œSo, what are your hobbies?โ€ I asked.

โ€œMy hobbies?โ€ She thought for a moment, then said, โ€œI really like to cook.โ€

โ€œOh. Cool.โ€

โ€œYeah, I guess.โ€

Since she was new this year, I decided to ask, โ€œWhere are you from? I noticed that youโ€™re new here.โ€

โ€œVanaheim.โ€

โ€œWhere is that?โ€

โ€œOff Yggridasil, the Worldโ€™s Tree.โ€

โ€œYou mean the Vanaheim of Norse Mythology?โ€

She nods.

โ€œWow! Thatโ€™s really cool! Did you ever meet any gods?โ€

โ€œYeah. I met Frey once. He was summery.โ€

โ€œOh. Thatโ€™s cool.โ€

โ€œYeah.โ€

โ€œHey, you want to eat lunch with me and my friends?โ€

โ€œHuh?โ€ She looks back up from her paper. โ€œSure.โ€


The bell rang, and I walked out of the Algebra class, and to my locker to where my friend Addison was waiting.

โ€œHey.โ€ I said, and offered my hand for a secret handshake.

She obliged, and said, โ€œHow has your day been?โ€

โ€œEh, so so. You?โ€

โ€œSame.โ€

โ€œOh, and by the way, weโ€™ll be having someone new sitting with us at lunch today.โ€

โ€œOh?โ€

โ€œHave you met Nainika Gupta?โ€

โ€œOh, yeah! She seems cool.โ€

โ€œGood.โ€ I close my locker. โ€œSee you at lunch.โ€


In science class, we were doing chemistry. Can I just say, I dislike science almost as much as I dislike chemistry.

Mrs. Lewis tries to make it fun, but sometimes she falls short. Who can make learning the periodic table fun?

I looked over at my lab partner, Luke Howard. We didnโ€™t hang out much, he was a popular kid, and I was...not. He hung out with his friends, Jennifer Smith, Celeste Majikku Kocho, and Maya Emerson. Not usually anyone else.

We didnโ€™t usually talk unless we had to, we were just so different.ย 

Eventually, he looked over at me and said, โ€œHey. Did you hear about the pit?โ€

I looked over. โ€œWhat pit?โ€

โ€œThereโ€™s a huge sinkhole on the other side of town. Happened and unearthed some radioactive stuff, supposedly.โ€

โ€œInteresting.โ€

He cleared his throat. โ€œYeah. Weโ€™re gonna go later. You want to come?โ€

โ€œEh,โ€ I said. โ€œIโ€™ll think on that and get back to you.โ€

โ€œOh, come on.โ€

โ€œI didnโ€™t say no, I said Iโ€™ll think about it.โ€

Although I was really thinking no.


At lunch that day, I found my Addison and Nainika at the lunch table.

โ€œSorry,โ€ I said. โ€œI got caught up.โ€

โ€œYeah.โ€ Addison said.

We ate our lunch, playing get to know you games. Of course, me and Addison knew each other well, but Nainika was new, so we wanted to get to know her better, of course.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luke get up from his table. He casually strolled across the cafeteria like he owned the place.

โ€œHey, Shaw,โ€ He said. โ€œThink about that offer yet?โ€

Addison and Nainika looked at me, eyebrows raised.ย 

โ€œYeah, I decided Iโ€™m good.โ€ I said.

โ€œWait, what offer?โ€ Addison asked.

โ€œHe wants me to go to โ€˜The Pitโ€™ with him and his friends later.โ€

โ€œThe Pit?โ€ Nainika asked. โ€œThere is definitely something paranormal about that place, I can tell. It gives off vibes.โ€

โ€œWhy not, Shaw?โ€ Luke taunted in front of the entire cafeteria. Everyone had stopped to watch. โ€œScared?โ€

โ€œNo!โ€ I said, clenching a spork in my closed fist. โ€œFine, Iโ€™ll go, but only if my friends can come with me.โ€

โ€œSure.โ€ Luke smiled. โ€œThe more, the merrier.โ€

He sauntered back to his table, and the cafeteria unfroze.


The cold wind whipped my jacket.

โ€œWe shouldnโ€™t have come. I knew they would flake and make us look like fools.โ€ I said.

โ€œNot necessarily.โ€ Nainika said. โ€œLook.โ€

A group of figures appeared on the horizon. I sighed.

Addison put her hand on my shoulder. โ€œHey, itโ€™ll be fine.โ€

โ€œI hope so.โ€ I mumbled.

โ€œHey, Shaw!โ€ Luke called. โ€œGlad you came!โ€

I whispered to Nainika, โ€œCan we go now?โ€

โ€œNo,โ€ She whispered back. โ€œI need to investigate this.โ€

I sighed.

And we walked to the edge of the crater.


A wind blew out of the sinkhole and up into my face, ruffling my hair around. That was obviously where all the wind had come from, and it was swirling around the sinkhole.

Nainika licked her finger and held it up, like she was testing the wind. She made an unsure face and brought it back down.

โ€œSee, not so bad!โ€ Luke said. โ€œNow, who wants to go down?โ€

โ€œIโ€™ll pass.โ€ I said, shivering from the cold wind.

โ€œOh, come on, Shaw.โ€

I groaned. โ€œFine.โ€

All seven of us trudged into the pit. I thought I heard a bush rustle, but when I turned around, there was nothing.

Luke smiled. โ€œSee, this isnโ€™t so ba-โ€

All of a sudden, an ultraviolet light fills the space of the sinkhole. We are all blown backwards by an unseen force.

And the world goes black.


โ€œCarolina! Wake up!โ€ My mom shouts.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I looked around. I was in my room.

How did I get here?

โ€œMom?โ€ I said.

โ€œYes, honey?โ€

โ€œWhat time did I get back yesterday?โ€

She pauses, and thinks. โ€œAbout four-ish. You came in, said you were tired. And you went to sleep.โ€

Why do I not remember?

โ€œUm, thanks.โ€ I say, and get ready.


I find Nainika in the hallways at school.

โ€œWhat happened yesterday afternoon?โ€

She rubbed her forehead and clenched her eyes shut. โ€œI donโ€™t know, Carolina, but itโ€™s weird. Itโ€™s like a time burp that everyone seems to remember but us.โ€

I giggled. โ€œTime burp.โ€

Just then, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around, and Luke was standing there.

โ€œHello?โ€ I said.

โ€œWhat happened yesterday?โ€

โ€œA time burp.โ€

โ€œWhat?โ€ He said with a confused look.

โ€œAsk Nainika,โ€ I said as the bell rang. โ€œBye.โ€


Lunch. All seven of us ate together, trying to figure out what had happened.โ€

โ€œI-โ€ Luke started, but then went rigid.

โ€œLuke?โ€ Celeste said. โ€œHellloooo?โ€ She waved a hand in front of his face.

Jennifer shook him. โ€œLuke?โ€

He took a big breath, and disappeared into a cloud of blue light.

โ€œLuke?!โ€ We all said at once.

โ€œWhere did he go?โ€ Addison asked, looking under the table. The rest of the cafeteria thankfully hadnโ€™t noticed our predicament.

Nainika glanced around the cafeteria, her eyes narrowed.

Just then, the blue light returned, and Luke reappeared in the same spot.

โ€œLuke!โ€ We all said at the same time.

โ€œWhoa. That was weird.โ€ He said, rubbing his eyes like he had just woken up from a nap.

โ€œWhere did you go?โ€ I asked.

โ€œAtlas Shrugged.โ€

โ€œWhatโ€™s that?โ€ Addison asked.

Luke drew in a breath, ready to fight/explain it, but before he could, Jennifer did.

โ€œItโ€™s an old book he likes. By Ayn Rand. Itโ€™s dystopian.โ€

โ€œOh.โ€ Addison said.

โ€œIt is not old!โ€ argued Luke. โ€œWhen you say old, you imply it's not good anymore. Atlas Shrugged will never die!โ€

โ€œOhhkkkaayyy,โ€ I said. โ€œReel it in. What do you mean when you say that, though?โ€

โ€œI was in the world of Atlas Shrugged. Like, all the characters were there, and I was there with them. I met them.โ€

โ€œWow.โ€ I said. โ€œDo you guys think this has anything to do with-โ€

I looked up. โ€œMaya. What are you doing?โ€

Maya had been tossing a milk up in the air. Now, it hung suspended in midair.

โ€œI donโ€™t know.โ€ She said. โ€œThat is really weird.โ€

โ€œGreat time for carving numbers into our eyes.โ€ Celeste and Jennifer said at the same time.

Celeste looked over at her. โ€œHow did you know I was going to say that?โ€

โ€œI dunno.โ€ Said Jennifer, looking at her hands.

Nainika fell backwards as a wolf came running in and jumped on her chest. The wolf snarled, and it had grey fur with odd purple tips.

โ€œNainika!โ€ I said, and the air became thick with ozone.

โ€œWhoa, Carolina, chill. This is my pet wolf. And how are you doing that?โ€

โ€œDoing what?โ€ I looked down at my body. Electricity crackled across my clothes, wreathing my body in light.

โ€œAhhhh! Get it off!โ€ I tried to brush it off, but it just wouldnโ€™t go.

โ€œOh, no.โ€ Nainika said.

โ€œOh no, what?โ€ Celeste asked.

โ€œThat sinkhole, yesterday.โ€ She said. โ€œThe light. It was from one of the other eight realms.โ€

โ€œRealms?โ€ I said. โ€œWhat?โ€

โ€œRealms,โ€ Nainika said, โ€œAre the different worlds, different branches of Yggdrasil. Thereโ€™s Midgard, that's here. The human realm. Then thereโ€™s Vanaheim, where Iโ€™m from. The home of the Vanir, or summery gods. Frey, Freya, et cetera. Then, thereโ€™s Asgard, the home of the Aesir. Thor, Odin, Tyr, et cetera. And no, Thor does not look like Chris Hemsworth and he does not have an Australian accent. He gets quite angry when people even vaguely suggest that. Anyway, Alfheim, home of the Light Elves. Then, there's Jotunheim, home of the Jotuns, or giants. Nivadellir, home of the dwarves, Niflheim, the realm of ice, fog, and mist. Muspellheim, home of the fire giants and demons. And finally, Helheim, home of the goddess Hel and the dishonorable dead. And no, she does not want to destroy Asgard.โ€

I brushed my hands together. โ€œWell, all my questions are answered.โ€

โ€œAnyway,โ€ She continued, โ€œWe got our powers when the Bifrost opened within close proximity of us, which is amazing that we didnโ€™t disintegrate. A god gave us these powers, and gods only do good things for mortals when they want something.โ€

โ€œSo, we should hear from a god soon?โ€ I ask. โ€œWith a mission or something?โ€

โ€œPrecisely.โ€

โ€œWhoa.โ€

โ€œYeah, itโ€™s strange. So, soon-โ€

HEROES, a voice boomed. GOOD TO KNOW MY EXPERIMENT WORKED.

And then everything turned colorful, and the world dissolved.

January 28, 2021 02:30

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61 comments

MY FIRST REEDSYCAST! Character key: Carolina = me Addison = Amethyst Jennifer = Jennie Celeste = Celeste Nainika = Nainika Maya = Maya Luke = Luke (LitLover) Mrs. Lewis = Lalia (sorry! I'll include you more in the next part, I promise!) I hope I got your characters right! I hope you guys enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!

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OMG I LOVE THISSSSSS im happy your using Norse mythology, everyone seems to forget about it luke strutting in the cafeteria is a whole new mOoD XD what's my power again? i forgot lol ahhhhhh I'm waiting for part 2 :DDDD ~ Amethyst

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Ooh yayyyyyyy I wanna see what happens in part 2!!!

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Amara Tillington
14:33 Jan 30, 2021

First of all, I agree with everything in your bio. Second of all, I love norse mythology and I love friend stories, so this is epic. Can I be in one? For your nomination-- Hermione, and you might not know her, but Tsunami from Wings of Fire. A nerd and a dragon.

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yes, of course you can be in! ah, thank you! i will write that down. norse myhology is pretty rad. :)

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Amara Tillington
18:28 Jan 31, 2021

:) Can my power be mind reading? Or does someone already have that one?

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yeah, someone already has that, but its okay! a lot of us have the same powers, (namely flying) so im not too caught up about that.

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Amara Tillington
20:10 Feb 01, 2021

I could also be really strong or could talk to animals or something.

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okay! i actually am writing the scene where you're being introduced. we're half sisters in the story, the daughters of thor

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User_2443 0967
19:58 Jan 28, 2021

hey carolina this is not at all related, but I was on Amazom.com and I thought you might like this..? https://www.amazon.com/Indie-Room-Decor-Aesthetic-Collage/dp/B08PCBLW7B/ref=sr_1_17?dchild=1&keywords=aesthetic&qid=1611863884&sr=8-17

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Maya W.
14:12 Jan 28, 2021

Very, very Percy Jackson esque, lol. But I love Percy Jackson, so I enjoyed it. Question, though - am I Maya or is it Maya Emerson?

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Nainika Gupta
13:39 Jan 28, 2021

YESSSSSSSSSS Carolina....you're amazing honestly I love you :D:D:D Just caught a small typo "The bell rang, and I walked out of the Algebra class, and to my locker to where my friend Addison...." Addison waited?? Idk what you wanted there, but you forgot to put it in! AND EVERYTHING ELSE??? AAHHAHAHAH I loved how I explained the nine realms and GHAAA IT WAS BEAUTIFUL and er...Chris Hemsworth is Australian, not British XD YAY!! awesome start :D:D more parts, right??

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OH MY GOSH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU IMA FIX THAT RIGHT NOW ๐Ÿคฆ๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ gosh i feel dumb Anyway, thank you! Yes, you are definitely the smart one, irl and in the story, haha more parts!

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Nainika Gupta
15:12 Jan 28, 2021

aha no problemo!! YESSS I LOVE THAT!!! and I'm gonna be posting a new story soon!!

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So, I have to shoutout that line "You mess around with x and y for long enough, and you start to ponder why it matters. I mean, the only jobs a person would have that they would need this for are being a math teacher or a scientist. I donโ€™t plan to become either. Just sayinโ€™". It feels so sarcastic, yet they actually are pretty in-depth with the style. ANd... percy jackson vibes. Sometimes, I hate when people write things like this, but you really executed it well! (The fact that, even after taking a myth class, I still know the gods mostl...

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is it weird that my picture of you in my head looks really similar to your profile pic? XD ๐Ÿคจ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿ˜

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. .
12:48 Jan 28, 2021

THIS WAS SO GREAT!!! I liked the nose mythology!!! Also, Mira is truly my best friend, so maybe add her in there. In addition to that, I loved my bookworminess, but I seemed a little mean :( I'm a nice person, right? Also, I'm like SOOO NOT POPULAR!

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Thank you! You get nicer, I promise. Im thinking that the snarkyness is just kind of a front for your character but he kinda lets down his walls since he's with good friends and he's not really expected to be anything. :)

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. .
14:42 Jan 28, 2021

Wahhhhhhhhhhhh fine

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W H A T Hang on still processing this crazy amazing story Ok, I think I'm good now. Oh my gosh, Carolina!!! This was amazing! You were able to incorporate enough worldbuilding where you could understand the story and what was happening but it wasn't a huge info dump. This was a really cool idea and I cant wait for the next part!!!!

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Mira Caplan
23:58 Jan 28, 2021

OHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Intriguing... I LOVE IT

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Maya -
02:59 Jan 28, 2021

This was so ๐€๐Œ๐€๐™๐ˆ๐๐†, Carolina!!! I loved how the story started out with the line, "If you feel like you might be one of us, turn away. Trust me, you donโ€™t want this life." It was perfect. XD This was so fun to read, the way it was in a more modern setting but with a fantasy/sci-fi twist. OMG when you explained why we all had powers all the sudden, that was really cool. Lol a time burp. ๐€๐ฐ๐ž๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž story, I can't wait for future parts! :DDD โœจ โœจ โœจ โœจ โœจ โœจ โœจ โœจ

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Maya -
03:03 Jan 28, 2021

No problem! Oh, Percy Jackson, I love those series! Do you have a favorite book? :)

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Maya -
03:05 Jan 28, 2021

Oooh that one's good! I like The Lost Hero and House of Hades. :)

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:D My favorite from Heroes of Olympus is Mark Of Athena, just not what happens at the end. D':

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