Breakdown of Reality

               Wulfgar stood at the base of the waterfall, looking up. He could feel the flow of the water behind him, crashing on the lake it fed into. There was four feet of clearance from the base of the cliff and the water itself, and Wulfgar stood on a small island in the space between them. He could see the small cave, about thirty feet up that was his goal.

               As he found the worn groves in the cliff base and began to make his ascent, he thought about the trial ahead of him. His tribe had always undertaken the trial; his father had gone throw it, as had his father and his father’s father. When a boy reached the age when he was ready to become a man, they traveled a week’s distance to Highfather Lake and climbed the waterfall to the cave. No man spoke of what they saw in the cave, except to say that it imparted wisdom.

               Now it was Wulfgar’s turn to transition from boy to man and so he was at Highfather Lake, climbing the waterfall to the Cave of Wisdom. He wondered what it was in the cave that waited for him. Would Odin himself appear, imparting words of strength and courage? Would Loki test his resolve, attempting to trick him? Or would Thor tell some secret of conditioning, allowing him to commit acts of heroism that would forever place him in the annals of the tribe?

               He reached the mouth of the cave and pulled himself up into it. His arms burned, his legs were sore, the muscles tired from the exertion of climbing the cliff. Even with the worn groves from those that came before him, such a feat of climbing was not an easy task. He took a moment to catch his breath and looked down at the lake below him; it would be just as hard a task to climb back down.

               He heard a small chuckle emanate from the back of the cave. He looked in its direction, seeing a light. As he walked he studied the light, something looked off about it. This light wasn’t the light of a flame, which he was familiar with. The light from a flame flickered and danced, casting shadows about it. This light was steady and true. It was also brighter than any other light he had ever seen, other than the light of the sun.

               “You are an interesting lad,” the voice of a man said from behind a corner. As Wulfgar turned the corner he saw the source of the voice, and the chuckle from earlier. It was a man, a man who looked to be no older than twenty summers. He was dressed oddly, with pants that were made from no fabric that Wulfgar recognized. The breeches on Wulfgar’s own legs were woolen, coarse and rough. The man’s pants were smooth and fine, like silk. They weren’t silk though, they appeared to be much stronger than that. The shirt he wore seemed to be made of a similar fabric.

               The man watched Wulfgar watching him, and nodded, as if in approval.

               “You are an interesting lad indeed,” the man said. He took a seat in front of a strange device that seemed to be the source of the strong light, though Wulfgar could see no flame spouting from it. He waved at a seat across from him.

               “Please,” the man said, “Sit.”

               Wulfgar took the seat across from the man, and sat, waiting in silence for what to do next.

               The sat and looked at him for a few seconds, studying him, pursing his lips, both nodding and shaking his head at various points. He did however not talk, so the two sat in silence as he examined young Wulfgar.

               “So,” the man began finally, “You are Wulfgar, son of Thullen, of the Straaken Clan, from Tribe Boros, the mightiest tribe of the Viking people.”

               “That is so,” Wulfgar answered, nodding his head, “But how do you know who I am?”

               The man chuckled, leaning back in his seat, crossing his arms.

               “Well,” he answered, “You told me.”

               Wulfgar frowned at the man.

               “I did no such thing,” Wulfgar said, a little heated, “I spoke no word of identification.”

               “No,” the man said chuckling.

               “You didn’t tell me here,” he said, pointing to his mouth.

               “You told me here,” he said pointing to his forehead.

               Wulfgar’s eyes widened as he realized that the man had listened to his thoughts.

               “Ah, quick study you are,” he said, a grin crossing his face, “Though I already figured that from the way you wondered about the light.”

               He nodded to the device that was giving off light.

               “Indeed, for it is a wonder,” Wulfgar said, entranced by the light, forgetting for a second that the strange man could read his thoughts, “How does it work?”

               “Solar energy from the sun is collected during the day,” the man answered, “Panels up on the mountain. A complex series of wire connects the solar panel to my cave here, providing me with a rudimentary source of power. The solar output of your star doesn’t quite match the energy levels with which I’m used to, but it allows me to get through.”

               Wulfgar stared at the man, confused, understanding but a few of the words that the man had said.

               “But, you didn’t come here for a science lesson,” the man said, “You came here to learn a secret about the world, the way of being a man.”

               He sucked on his teeth for a second, running his tongue along them once before nodding.

               “Well…” he started, before Wulfgar interrupted him.

               “You said your star,” Wulfgar said suddenly, a realization breaking through to him.

               “What?” the man asked, a slightly puzzled look on his face.

               “When you were talking about your light,” Wulfgar explained, “And talking about the sun, you called it my star, indicating that it wasn’t your star.”

               The man looked at Wulfgar, a mildly shocked look on his face.

               “You know,” he said, “I did do that.”

               He studied Wulfgar a while in silence.

               “I wonder how often I’ve done that,” he said, “Making statements like that; you’re the first to pick up all the long years though.”

               “Long years?” Wulfgar asked, “But you hardly look older than me.”

               The man laughed.

               “Boy,” he said, humor in his voice, “I was here when your father conducted his trial, as I was for his father before him, and his father before him.”

               He shook his head, drawing in breath.

               “I was here when your tribe settled in the area,” he continued, “Making it their own.”

               “I am Melchor,” he said, finally identifying himself, “I am of the Triolos people, from the Gehron galaxy, of the Blue Star of Kashun.”

               Wulfgar was awed, putting together what the man had told him before, he came to the sudden and brief realization that this man was from the stars, from another plane entirely.

               “We call them planets actually,” Melchor said, “They usually orbit a star, such as your sun. And yes, I can read your mind.”

               “Why are you here?” Wulfgar asked him.

               “Well,” Melchor said, “My people go through a sort of… sabbatical phase. We take a portion of our lives and dedicate it to enlightening people that are less… wise then ourselves. I chose your planet.”

               “A portion?” Wulfgar asked, “But you’ve been here for so long, for so many lifetimes.”

               “And I’ll be here for many lifetimes more,” Melchor explained, “My people our extremely long lived, I will remain on this planet for another sixty summers.”

               Wulfgar nodded, understanding dawning on him.

               “And what would you teach me?” Wulfgar asked.

               A sly smile crossed Melchor’s face.

               “I taught your father tricks for irrigating the soil,” Melchor said, “Which increased his crop production tenfold.

               “I taught grandfather a muscle conditioning system that increased his strength tenfold.

               “I have taught men how to be excellent lovers, increasing their wives’ pleasure tenfold.

               “But you, I have taught you the greatest lesson of them all, already.”

               “What?” Wulfgar asked, surprised at the answer, “What is it you have taught me?”

               “I’ve taught you that the world is not necessarily what you thought it was,” Melchor answered, “So you will never look at it with the same assurance that you did before. You will question, you will wonder, and you will discover.

               “And your knowledge of the world will increase tenfold on tenfold.”

               He nodded at Wulfgar, apparently very pleased with himself. Wulfgar understood that the meeting was at an end and walked to the cave entrance once more. He climbed down the cliff, musing over what it was that Melchor had taught him.

               On the walk home he began to think of everything in the world that he had taken for granted. And began to wonder if it necessarily had to be that way after all.