The first thing Helel heard was his name.
"Helel."
He opened his eyes.
Light filled the place around him. He raised a hand, and light shone through it too. He turned it slowly, watching the brightness gather in his fingers.
Someone was waiting for him to look up.
Helel knew him as the one who had called him into being. The others would call him the Speaker, for he had spoken and the Cosmos had begun. Before that first word there had been no stars, no worlds, and no one like Helel to wonder at them.
Now there was so much to see that he scarcely knew where to look.
He stood near the Speaker's Seat, in a vast, bright realm called the Vaults. Beyond it, stars were forming. Some burned steadily; others were still clouds of fire drawing together. Around one of them a small world turned, its surface hidden beneath white cloud.
Helel stepped toward it. The world remained far beyond his reach.
"There will be work for you there."
The one beside the Seat had spoken. Helel turned to him and felt the same life he had felt in the voice that woke him.
This was the Heir, the Speaker's Son. He had been with the Speaker before the first star. Through him the Speaker had made all that Helel could see, and through him it continued to live.
The Heir held out a hand. Helel took it.
Together they approached an opening at the edge of the Vaults. Through it, Helel could see a star more clearly. He felt a faint pull against his fingers, as though something on the other side were asking him to take hold.
"What is that?"
"The star gathering itself."
Helel watched the bright cloud draw inward.
The Vaults were joined to the worlds below. At these openings the beings who lived here could reach into the young Cosmos and tend it. Helel would have to learn how. For a while, he was content to stand beside the Heir and watch.
A sound behind them made him turn.
Others were waking near the Seat. Like Helel, they were made of living light. One had already risen and was looking from face to face, making sure each new arrival had someone beside them.
"Michael," the Speaker called him.
There would be many of them. Together they would be known as the Host.
One of the newest stood apart. He wanted to come closer to the Seat, but each time he tried, the brightness made him draw back.
Helel glanced at the Heir, then went to meet him.
The light passed through Helel as he moved. He discovered that he could soften it, spreading its brilliance until the other could look up without flinching.
The newcomer took a step toward him.
Helel held still. He had found something he could do.
"Keep the approach," the Speaker said. "Help them come near. Let them see him through you."
Helel looked back toward the Heir. The light he was sharing came from there; he could feel it flowing into him as freely as he gave it.
Another of the Host approached, and Helel made room.
Beyond them, the little world turned beneath its clouds. There was no one on its surface yet to look up at the stars. Helel wanted to see what would happen there. He wanted to learn how to help.
But first there was someone beside him who needed a little more light.