The suns had already set when Katya cleaned his wound and restitched it as well as she could given the circumstances. After that, she redressed it using a ripped piece of cloth from her dress. The pain was still there, yet getting less severe with every passing minute.

“Sorry, Mikhail.” Katya said. “I’d help reduce the pain if I could, but it's taking almost everything I have not to fall over.”

“No, it's alright, I can live with this for now.” He gave her a pat on the shoulder and looked at her. “So what happened, you've been out for a long while.”

“I used too much of my powers, my body shut down by itself to conserve the little strength I had left.” She shifted. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

A silence fell, and Mikhail shook his head. “It's nothing, I didn't know where I'd end up and I figured I'd need you. I didn't do it out of friendship.”

Katya smiled at him. “But the fact remains that you didn't leave me behind, so just accept my gratitude for now.” Her smile faded. “If you knew where I'd sent us, you might not have saved me after all.”

Mikhail frowned. "You've sent us out of the clutches of certain death, and that's good enough for me.” He put his fingertips together and looked at her. “I would, however, like to know where we are.”

Katya looked at Nebo, a shadow of pity covering her face. She intertwined her shaking fingers, and looked at Mikhail again. “We're in my home world, Yoradia.” She took a deep breath. “The Dunmori Empire, to be precise.”

Mikhail raised an eyebrow. “The what now?”

Katya's eyes closed as she searched for words. “If I’m correct we're in the Kelthas Forest right now, judging by the Arulian you somehow managed to kill outside.”

So that's what that thing is called.

Her shaking got worse. “We should leave this place as soon as we can, if the Wingriders know you killed an Arulian, there's no telling what they'll do. At best, we'd be pressed into lifelong slavery.”

Mikhail felt a chill creep up his spine. “Wingriders? Slavery? What the hell are you talking about Katya, what kind of world is this?”

“It's my home, and the world I ran away from.”

“Well couldn't you have sent us anywhere else?” Mikhail said.

“No, I couldn't.” She looked at her feet. “To open a gate, I need to have sufficient information about the world I want to go to. I managed to flee to your world because my Master had me study several artifacts from your world, including an encyclopedia.”

He sighed and pinched his nose. “Well, that's not really important right now anyway. We need to evade those… what did you call them?”

“Wingriders, they're elite soldiers from the Spirehold who fly Arulians into battle. They consider the beasts sacred, so you just committed a capital offense.”

“But it attacked us!” Mikhail said.

“They don't care, in their eyes we should have felt honored to become sustenance for the beast.”

He sighed and rubbed his temples. “What the hell kind of world is this?”

“I’m sorry, Mikhail. I had no choice.”

He relaxed his shoulders. “I know, Katya, I understand. Look, I'm sorry, it's just a lot to take in.” He looked at Nebo. “I just hope we'll be okay. Could you send us back to our world when you regain your strength?”

She shook her head. “Unfortunately I can't. Gates to other worlds can only be opened twice every 180 years, and I opened it the second time to get us here.”

“I see.” Mikhail said. “Then I'd best adapt quickly. Are you okay to travel soon?”

Katya thought for a while. “I can walk reasonably in an hour or so.”

“Good, let's hope that's fast enough.” He stood up and grabbed one of his daggers, flipping it in the air before catching it again. “I'm going to try and cut some meat from the overgrown piece of poultry outside, get some rest until then. We leave as soon as we can.”

After managing with great effort to slice off a few sizable pieces of flesh from the Arulian, Mikhail walked back into the cave where he saw Katya lying close to Nebo. Both were fast asleep.

I hope they'll be able to move soon. If they can't, I'm not sure what to do.

He thought about hiding the beast somewhere, but it would take far too much time to chop it up so it became easier to move. It was far too large and heavy for him to move it by himself, and the cave entrance was too small to pull the Arulian into anyway.

Well, it's no use thinking about what I can't do, I'd best wake them up soon.

He cleared his throat and walked towards the duo. When he got closer, he saw dancing threads of light connecting their foreheads together. He just raised an eyebrow, he was too exhausted to be surprised at the moment.

He knelt down and gently shook Katya's shoulder. “Hey, wake up, it's time to leave.”

The threads dissolved, and Katya opened her eyes. A faint golden glow started fading from her eyes as she did. She stretched and yawned, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “Alright, let's go before anyone finds the carcass.”

“What about Nebo, any change in his condition?” Mikhail asked.

“Not yet, but I've shared some of my energy with him when we slept, so he should wake up soon enough.” She stroked Nebo's hair. “For now we'll have to carry him, though.”

“But didn't you need that energy yourself?”

She waved away the question and chuckled. “He's still a child, he doesn't need much to walk around, but he won’t be able to use his powers for a very long time.”

“Still a child, huh? I'm not sure if you saw what happened outside, but he stopped that beast with a single shout.” He scoffed. “You're telling me that's normal for a child?”

“Yes, and no.” She said. “He’s like me, but with more potential. I’ll tell you more when we get to safety.”

“I’d gathered that he was like you, but yes, priorities first.” He said. “Are you well enough to carry him for now, then? I'll take him when you get tired, but I'd like to burden my shoulder as little as possible.”

She nodded. “That should be alright.”

Mikhail checked outside the cave one last time while Katya gathered the little belongings they had. When he was certain it was safe, they left the shelter.

The moonlight was obscured by grey clouds, and rain drizzled as they slowly made their way through the forest. Sounds of nocturnal birds were drowned out by the rustling of leaves. Their clothes started sticking to their bodies again, and the cold of night sent shivers through their spines. Mikhail didn't like moving after dark through an unknown wilderness, but they had little choice for now. Sometimes they stopped when he thought he'd heard a sound that didn't belong, but kept a slow and steady pace overall.

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After several hours of traipsing through the darkness, he noticed Katya's pace slowing down. He knew she wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.

“Are you alright?” He whispered.

“I'm sorry Mikhail, I don't think I can keep moving for much longer.” She answered through chattering teeth. “My legs feel like they'll give way any second now.”

He clenched his jaw. They couldn't stay out in the open like this.

“Hand Nebo to me, I’ll hold him for now.”

“Thank you.” She said, her voice quivering. It was a far cry from how strong it sounded back in the cabin.

He took Nebo into his good arm, and tried to continue their path when suddenly an ear-piercing screech thundered through the sky. His heart sank.

He looked at Katya, and saw the despair in her eyes as she fell to her knees, he knew she was too exhausted to do anything.

The flapping of giant wings came closer as three Arulians descended upon them. Mikhail shielded his eyes from the mud and leaves flying everywhere. As they came closer, Mikhail saw there were men riding them wielding spears and wearing dark leather armour. Their faces were completely covered by a black, goggled metal helmet, from which a tube ran to the iron contraptions on their backs. One of the Wingriders was accompanied by a boy seated behind him, no older than fourteen who was alwo wielding a spear. The ground shook when they finally landed.

The Arulians lowered their heads to let their masters safely step down, and remained like this, waiting for their commands.

The three Wingriders and the boy surrounded them. One of them wore a gold embroidered red band on his shoulder, and he started shouting at them in a strange language. The commander, no doubt.

After nobody said anything, he beckoned the boy to him and asked something while pointing at Mikhail. The boy looked him over, and nodded.

The leader shouted something, and before Mikhail could react he was pinned down by one of the others.

“Katya! What's happening?” He shouted.

She just stared into nothingness when they threw her to the ground and bound her. Nebo got dragged next to Katya like a ragdoll by the fourteen year old boy, and was tied up as well.

Mikhail struggled and raged to escape the hold one of the Wingriders had on him, but got kicked by a heavy boot of one of his colleagues in the face as a result.

“Don't you dare hurt them!” He spat.

The leader walked calmly towards Mikhail, knelt down and grabbed him by his hair. A fist clad in metal smashed into his nose, and the leader shouted in his face. Mikhail felt warmth spreading over his lips and the metallic taste of blood entered his mouth. He sneered at the armor-clad man, and spat on the ground.

“Fucking coward, feels good doesn't it, hitting a helpless man?” He chuckled. “Son of a whore.”

The Wingrider couldn't understand exactly what he said, but he got his general meaning judging by the three devastating punches that followed. Mikhail was starting to lose consciousness.

“Don't hurt them…” He sputtered.

The leader stood up and barked a command. Mikhail saw one of the others hit Katya in the neck, and she fell unconscious.

“No!” Mikhail shouted, but before he could say anything else he felt a heavy blow to his temple, and the world went black.

When he woke up again he was flying above the clouds through a magnificent night sky. He'd have cherished the view if it wasn't for the utter despair he felt right now. Freezing wind deafened him and chilled his body to the bone, and he noticed he couldn't move. His face felt swollen and sticky with blood.

He was hanging in the hind claws of the Arulian like a helpless mouse caught by an owl. He could see Katya and Nebo hanging under the other Wingriders, both still unconscious.

In the distance, he saw the gargantuan spire rise up above the clouds, and he knew they were most likely headed there so the people there could decide their fates. Trouble had always followed Mikhail, and he'd been in a lot of dire situations before his exile, but none were as hopeless as this one felt.

He wouldn't be able to talk his way out of this either, he didn't even know their language, how could he defend himself? From experience, Mikhail also knew that in most places strangers weren't looked kindly upon, least of all if they broke a sacred law.

His heart was beating wildly. The one time he wants to keep people other than himself safe, it goes wrong beyond comparison. Was this his punishment? If so, it was a cruel fate indeed.

The spire doomed closer and closer into view. If he wasn't in awe the first time he saw it, he was now. Only a small part of the tip could be seen from above the clouds, but just that part was already bigger than any building he’d ever seen.

The spire was made up of multiple sections, growing slightly wider the lower you went. It was built of what he thought looked like huge, black metal bricks interlocking with each other in an intricate pattern. Numerous platforms circled the humongous tower for the Wingriders to land on, and thousands of windows from which different kinds of light shone out of were built into the black walls.

While impressed, Mikhail didn't like the feeling the tower gave off, it looked far too ominous for his taste and he was sure that whatever fate would be waiting for them inside, wouldn't be a fortunate one.

Eventually, after a longer time than he’d thought it would take, they landed on one of the platforms beneath the clouds. The three of them were unceremoniously thrown onto the cold, wet floor. Several masked attendants came rushing towards the Arulians and brushed the proud beasts off with a large brush. They removed their saddles and led them inside to what Mikhail assumed must be their stables.

Mikhail got pulled to his feet by two of the attendants waiting on the platform for the Wingriders to arrive. The cold, thin air and the rain lashed his face mercilessly. His face still stung from the wounds he received when the commander had beaten him. Once he got his bearings a little, he looked around at the city far below.

A thick wall made up of the same dark material as the spire surrounded it. In the area within the walls, the grounds were split into three sections, each separated by another wall. The buildings seemed built somewhat leaning against the tower, descending the farther they were built from it.

Around the outside of the inner walls, the city sprawled out in a circular, yet far less carefully built fashion. There was no descending order to these buildings, and several districts were spread around the area in a chaotic fashion. From some parts, he saw thick, black clouds of smoke rise into the sky.

He closed his eyes, and faintly heard the sounds coming from beneath him. The ringing of metal hitting metal, a market vendor shouting his wares and prices to the public, the chaos of thousands of people living in the same place.

One of the attendants slapped him across the back of his head, motioning for him to get a move on. Mikhail narrowed his eyes at him, but decided to keep his mouth shut instead of making things worse.

Katya and Nebo were both blindfolded, and hoisted on a cart since they were still unconscious. One of the attendants grabbed something out of his pocket, and blew on it. A sharp whistle sounded, and Mikhail saw a huge, impossibly muscular man stumble out of one of the stables.

Mikhail was flabbergasted, was that even a man? It had tiny, beady eyes and a foggy look on its brutish face. Thin strands of hair covered some parts of its scalp, and scars marred the huge arms of the creature. Its mouth hung open, revealing the few remaining teeth it still had. It passed by one of the Arulians, and stuck its huge hand out to pet it. Mikhail thought he almost saw something resembling a smile on its face.

After the masked attendant blew a different tune, it immediately stopped petting the Arulian, and hurried towards the cart. The platform shook with each of the creature's steps. It kneeled and picked up the handles with ease, then started lumbering towards the entrance.

The attendant behind Mikhail struck him against the back of his head again, and barked something in a strange language while pushing him forward. A blindfold was placed over his eyes as well, and they went inside.

They were led up several stairs, and down a long, winding corridor until they finally reached their destination.

The people of the spire removed their blindfolds and chained them each separately to one of the three walls by their ankles. Nebo's shackle was too big to fit him, so they'd used a rope instead.

Singular drops of water fell periodically onto the stone floor, and the rancid smell of a half-filled bucket of excrement permeated Mikhail's nose. It was surprisingly warm in their prison, which was a welcome change from the cold, wet weather outside.

Strange how a person can still appreciate a thing like that, even in a situation like this.

A guard had thrown some rags and three bowls of something unrecognizable into their cell. Both things smelled almost as bad as the bucket.

Mikhail sighed and closed his eyes to go asleep, but Katya's voice stopped him.

“Where are we?” She said.

Mikhail chuckled. “I'd think you’d know that better than me.” His face turned grim. “We're inside a massive black tower, we were brought here by those flying knights.”

“Oh gods,” she whimpered. “Please tell me you saw a city outside and not an ocean.”

“No, there was a city surrounding the spire, why?”

“Oh, thank the gods.” She buried her head in her knees, and took a moment to collect her thoughts. “Then we still have a chance at survival.”

“How so?”

“We're inside the Spirehold of Satharia. The rulers here have at least a semblance of a justice system owing to the Gilded Council.” She said, looking up at him. “If we’d been taken to the Obelisk, there's no telling what horrors the weavers there would have inflicted upon us.”

“Tell me about that another time please, thanks. What can we expect here?” Mikhail asked, not wanting to think about the other possibilities.

“We’ll most likely be led in front of the Council since we’ve committed a capital offense. Since you and Nebo are outworlders though, they might grant you a shred of leniency.”

He frowned. “And what am I to imagine when you say leniency?”

“Well, they-” but she was cut off by the sound of the massive stone cell door opening. A guard entered the cell, and motioned for Katya to get up. He walked towards her, and she wobbled to her feet. The guard bent down, and unshackled her ankle, then he grabbed her by her arm and dragged her towards the exit.

“Katya!” Mikhail said, scrounging to his feet. “Where’s he taking you?”

She smiled at Mikhail, but he saw no comfort behind her eyes. “I’ll be alright, watch over Nebo.”