A Ripple in the Mirror

“Indra, the God of Thunder. It was the title of a high and mighty god, a deity that existed and was revered among the people far and wide, but Indra had begun hearing some inklings of another. A rumble here and a murmur there. Growing tales of another God of Thunder wafted from an outside land into Indra's domain. How could another being share the same title? Indra alone controlled the heavens and could strike a mighty blow to the earth at a moment's notice.

“There can only be one God of Thunder!” boomed Indra.

Indra existed in religions of India, but somehow someone existed outside his realm. Indra longed to know the extent of this other god's power. It might have been possible that this deity's existence had split the power of God of Thunder.

Maybe it was possible to consolidate that power.

This thought permeated every fiber of Indra and it drove him to find the truth behind it all. But how could a deity of one culture traverse into the universe of another? Indra had heard faint whispers of a land that existed beyond the scope of his people. Maybe if he could come in contact with these people, he could get to the bottom of the existence of this other mystery God of Thunder. So Indra morphed into a human entity and used the guise of an intense thunderstorm to escape the heavens and move down onto earth. He then summoned his mighty elephant Airavata, and together they began the march towards the edge of the earth.

As Indra traveled, he began to hear more and more tales of a mighty and wrathful god of thunder. The more he heard the angrier he got. Why was it that even here, in the far reaches of this realm, in his domain, that these stories had run amuck?

The journey continued finally Indra reached the corner of mortal existence. But Indra knew there was more. Word had been spread among the gods of a place that no god had dare enter, and here it was. Before Indra, stood an endless plain. The same plain that stretched endlessly behind him. This was it. The edge of the earth and all existence as he knew it. There was nothing before him, only the reflection of what was behind him. It was a giant mirror.

Indra raised his mighty fist and in a flash of mighty lightning he smashed a small portion of the mirror and moved forward, but waiting on the other side stood a man. This man was muscular and of tall stature and maintained long straight hair that draped down to his shoulders. Clenched in his right hand he wielded a very large, metallic hammer.

“God of Thunder,” Indra's voiced cracked, “I have heard much of you and wonder how it is that you have been crowned the God of Thunder, for I too share this title!”

“The title was bestowed upon me at birth.” replied the deep voice of Thor, “I know not why I am the God of Thunder, but only that I am and have always been.”

It was the conclusion that Indra had dreaded, but simultaneously it was an answer he became most at peace with. This entity before him did not exist as a direct challenge to his own authority, but rather this Thor existed by mere chance and thus the two had more in common than he had previously thought.

“I realize this comes as a shock to you, but I am not the only other God of Thunder. There exist many more.”

Indeed this revelation was a shock to Indra as his world had already been upended but now there existed more Gods of Thunder?! And so it came to be that Indra, God of Thunder, began his journey to meet the many other iterations of himself.

Author’s Note:

This story actually came early on in the semester as I juggled a few different concepts. The name Indra popped out at me as it was a name I had actually heard in a TV Show. Furthermore, the title of God of Thunder really highlighted the notion that other cultures had mythical beings with similar or even the same supernatural powers. It is a weird idea because I think Zeus and Thor really stand out but it never truly dawned on me until recently that these are essentially the same type of entity that live in separate mythological universes.

I had the general idea of how the story could progress, but I ultimately had to shave down some details over time in order to keep the story short and in line with where I wanted to go. One of the last things I had to devise was how the two gods were to cross each other's realm in order to come into contact with each other. I pondered on this for a while and devised the journey based upon the belief that the world was flat and there existed an end. Thus it quickly became apparent that a mirror would be a great barrier as even though Indra breaks his reflection, there is another standing behind it.

Bibliography: This story wasn't taken or based upon any story directly. Instead, I decided to utilize two different and important characters by colliding them together to highlight some similarities between cultures. I am providing some sourcing below to both of these characters if you would like some more general information.