Lighting Up The Night

This story is a myth set in the same world as a novel I am currently working on. The myth is part of a series that details the exploits of the gods of this world. Enjoy, and please comment.

Lighting Up The Night

Hurin came to Lar-Ise when it was a young world. He walked the forests and the plains, the deserts and jungles, the beaches and hills, and made his home in the mountains. He delved into each peak, searching for ore and gems, and sturdy stone. Hurin carved his workshop into the roots of the earth, in tunnels where lava flowed in streams, and collected in pools.

 First, he carved a perfect sphere, twice his own height, from a block of grey marble. The orb was magnificent in its simplicity. It seemed to glow as it caught the light. Proud of his work, Hurin took the sphere to the surface. He was forced to roll, rather than carry it through the tight tunnels. When he reached the surface, the sphere was polished by the rough tunnels, and even more beautiful.

 The master of craftsmen mused: It was breathtaking, but where to display it? He could set the sphere upon a tower, for his fellow gods to admire, but no tower could reach so high that all could see. He was struck by inspiration while viewing the night sky, blank, like a slab of obsidian.

 The day was dominated by Elara and her sun. The yellow white orb, on the backdrop of blue, was truly amazing. But it only shone in the day. The night looked dismal by comparison.

His mind set, Hurin hefted the sphere and cast it into the sky. The orb flew true and caught in the fabric of the night. The beautiful marble sculpture hung just as he wished, but something was wrong. The sphere was surrounded by darkness. If Hurin wanted light for it to reflect, he would have to supply it.

 He returned to his workshop, to create a light source. If he created another sun, it would simply outshine his first creation. He would need something smaller, something to complement, rather than overpower. Perhaps it could be several lights that would illuminate from every angle?

Driven to obsession, Hurin set to designing his light. Would candles suffice? No, they would gutter and die. Open fires? No, they would need constant fuel. Hurin’s sphere, his masterpiece, would exist for all time, and so should its light. Fire was too fleeting, save for that of Elara’s sun. That was it. Hurin would capture some of the suns’ light, but how? His eyes alighted upon the gems collected from the mountains, gems that would withstand time. It was fitting, his sphere was of the earth, and so would be its light.

 Hurin labored for days, cutting and polishing the stones. He finished dozens. He finished hundreds. He finished thousands. He finished millions. He polished rubies and sapphires, diamonds and emeralds, garnets and amethysts. On the seventh night, he was finished. He carted the gems to the surface, and spread them across the ground. Hurin worked feverishly, to lay them out before the sun’s return. He finished, just in time, for the sun’s rays to strike the stones.

 The lovingly polished gems drew in the light, and started to glow. He spent the daylight hours guarding his creations. He drove off magpies, avarice in their eyes. He did battle with minor daemons, eager for the stones’ power. At long last, the sun set, and Hurin spoke words of binding to cement his work. Each gem glowed with quiet intensity. The light colored by the stone that contained it.

 The proud god beamed as brightly as his creations. His work complete; he took great handfuls of gems, and cast them into the sky. He continued till the sky teemed with light. The multitude of lights reflected from the sphere, illuminating the masterpiece in its glory. Hurin grinned; Elara was going to be livid.