An incandescent blue glow lit up Lucas’ face, revealing the look of wonder and awe etched on it. He watched as a circle filled with lines and odd letters, all floating in midair, set the room aglow in blue fire. The various pieces of the circle of light moved, contracting and expanding, and some of the letters changed in shape, from one letter to another.

These letters were ones that the boy had never seen before. In this life, or in the one before. It was neither English nor the West Cimmerian common that he was taught here in Bel Vard.

As the man, Imrani, was sat before him on one of the rooms chairs, and was using his magic to examine Lucas, he had enough time to come to the only possible conclusion since waking up. This was a new life. He, Lucas, or William, had been given a second life. And, somehow, for whatever reason, memories of his past life came back to him while he was out cold for the past week.

It was either that, or the life of William Roydon had somehow been merged with the life of Lucas Calhan, but the implications of that were a little terrifying. He preferred to think that the soul inhabiting this body was the same soul from the memories of London. It was the most comforting thought for him as he didn’t want to think about the idea of displacing someone else's life.

“I cannot seem to find anything out of the ordinary.” The doctor from the city spoke almost to himself. “You just seem to have exhaustion as if you were recovering from a cold that had you bedridden for a week. And yet there's no trace of said cold... that is rather strange.”

Strange, the man said. Strange, as if a floating magic circle wasn’t anything to give a second glance.

That was another thing to come to terms with. He was now alive in a world that had magic!

“It was like this when you were asleep too.” Imrani continued. “All of my magic and Mrs. Tanea’s medicines could not wake you up, either.”

It was bizarre, but Lucas... or Will... was preoccupied with watching the magic circle. His mind was both stalled and racing at the same time. So many thoughts and implications were running through his mind but at the same time he couldn’t follow any train of those thoughts. He was just amazed that he was in a world of magic.

And Elves!

His friend Tanu was an Elf. Tall with pointed ears and everything.

With a breath of finality, Imrani let the magic circle dissipate into nothing. The blue glow was replaced by the more natural light coming from the window. Lucas was sitting on the bed while the doctor sat in a chair facing the boy.

“You appear as healthy as a boy your age is likely to be. If a little weak from inactivity.” The older man told his patient. He pulled his glasses from his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You need food, water, a little exercise, and some more rest. I do imagine, now that you are awake, that your parents will want you to go back to your home. However, I will be staying in Bel Vard for a couple more days to monitor you and the other child.”

“The other child? Who? What happened?” Lucas, William, asked.

“A girl called Meira. Her parents couldn’t wake her up just as yours couldn’t wake you.”

The boy with memories of another life felt concern for the friend he had known all of this second life. There was worry, but suddenly, he felt something else, more akin to dread. Or perhaps hope. Or maybe something in between.

Thoughts of how he must have passed away came to mind.

He had died in some sort of accident. There was a car? Or a van? He was eating a late lunch with his wife...

Things weren’t very clear to him, but he remembered the ache of seeing Kat hurt. Seeing her broken.

But now he was here and some... force decided to give him his memories back. And now he learned that Meira fell ill too. There was no way. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t help but wonder and get his hopes up. Giving him and his wife a second chance at life would be too kind. Giving only him a second chance without her would be too cruel.

“Is... is she alright?” He asked, while trying to show nothing except concern for a friend.

“Last time I checked on her was last night. She was as asleep as you were, but with you waking this morning, that gives me hope.” The doctor placed his glasses back on his head and stood up. “I should be checking on her now. I’ll ask for some breakfast to be sent up to you in the meantime. You must be quite hungry.”

There was an empty ache in Lucas’ stomach that he had been trying to ignore. Now that the topic of food was brought up, he couldn’t help but look forward to Petar’s cooking. He only had the Innkeepers food once before and it certainly left an impression. Just as good as any restaurant he had been to.

But still...

He really needed to know... if Meira was...

“Do you... Do you mind if I come along?” It could just be a coincidence. She might have had a real illness, unlike him. He still needed to know. But how would he find out? Just ask, ‘Hey, are you Kat, my wife?’

“Are the two of you friends?” The older man asked as he put the chair back.

“Y-Yes. We grew up together and our parents are friends and neighbors.” He told the doctor.

Imrani thought for a moment before nodding to himself.

“I’ll need you to stay outside her room until she’s ready.” The doctor said. “And that is if she is awake.”

Lucas, or William, nodded easily.

“Alright then, come along.” He said and made his way to the door.

Lucas followed him to the door and left the room. Outside in the hallway Lucas and the doctor noticed a woman who was in front of another door next to his room. The woman looked as if she had just tried knocking and had gotten no reply and was about to try again. The woman seemed familiar to Lucas. He felt like he should remember her, but her name was escaping him.

“Ah, Mrs. Tanea. Good timing.” Doctor Imrani called out to her.

The woman turned and was about to greet him when she caught sight of Lucas. It was then that her name came to him. She was Markita. A physician and midwife for the town.

“Lucas! You’re awake as well. Thank goodness.” The woman held her hand to her chest in relief.

“Good morning, Markita.” Lucas greeted her cheerfully. She was a very nice woman and he had memories of her visiting his home when he was sick. But he also felt odd about remembering things from this life. It all felt foreign to him, while at the same time everything felt natural. Both memories fell into place. Both distinct and alien from each other, while also being seamless. It was one the strangest things he had ever felt.

“Good morning, Lucas. How are you feeling? And why are you up so soon?” The kindly woman asked with concern.

Lucas couldn’t help but smile. “After a week in bed, I think I need to move around a little.”

Markita sighed. “You young ones are always so quick to jump around. Just don’t push yourself too much.”

“He wanted to check on his friend, Meira, and I assume she has also just woken up.” Imrani informed the woman.

“Ah, yes, I just got her some water. I’ll tell her that you’re ready to see her.” She said and shuffled over to the door across from the doctorss room. She knocked and poked her head in. She said something that Lucas couldn’t hear, and the response was just as muffled. More words were spoken before Markita closed the door and turned to the men. “She’s getting dressed now.”

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Imrani nodded his head.

“In the meantime, could I ask you to see about breakfast for these two? Perhaps Master Petar is in the kitchen.”

“Oh, that’s right, the two of you must be famished. A whole week asleep. All we could get into you was soup and water. I’ll check on it right away.” Markita said as she hurried down the stairs.

“So, are you feeling out of breath, or weak in the legs?” Imrani asked as they waited.

“Um, maybe a little weak. I won’t fall over or anything, though.”

“That is good.” Imrani nodded. “Though, you will tell me if things worsen?”

“Of course.” Lucas readily agreed. He wasn’t stubborn about his health. If he felt like he was about to collapse, he would definitely say something.

They fell into silence as they waited for the girl to get dressed. It was then that Lucas chided himself. This wasn’t a moment for awkward silences. He was standing next to a man who practiced magic and lived in a city from a fantasy world. He needed to ask questions.

“Um, so, you can use magic?” He started off. It was a silly question. He had already seen the man use magic on him. But still, he was getting excited at the thought of learning more.

Imrani chuckled a little.

“Yes, indeed. What would you like to know?”

“Uh, how does someone learn magic? Is it something you’re born with?”

“One form of magic is inherent in one's birth.” Imrani explained. “Manipulating the world around you without the use of Circles, Runes or Words, is called Elementalism.”

To demonstrate, the doctor lifted a hand, palm face up, and Lucas witnessed a drop of water form in the air above his hand. The drop grew bigger until it became the size of a baseball. Its formless nature gave it a slight wobble as it grew. Then the ball of floating water froze before his eyes.

“Some in this world are born with this talent. Others are not.” The doctor continued. The ball of ice floated and rotated gently as Lucas watched. His excitement was building. “For those who were not, they have other methods, like what I mentioned. Circles.”

With his other hand raised, a curved line of thin blue fire appeared and weaved around to form a circle in the air. Letters like the ones that were used before also appeared within the circle.

“Someone who cannot use the Elements, may draw these, with mundane writing utensils of course, to find similar results.”

Another drop of water formed inside the circle and grew to the same size as the ball of ice above his other hand.

“They will come across some limitations though. Even with this more easily accessed skill, some talent will propel some above others.”

The magic circle in his right hand disappeared and the ice in his left hand melted. Both floating globs of water were pushed together, and the doctor pushed the larger mass in some unseen way towards a potted plant. It floated above the soil for a couple seconds before the water was let go and fell into the pot.

“There is a method of testing people for these talents, but unfortunately, that is where I cannot help you. My talents and skills lie in healing and medicine.” Imrani Gardinae finished and bowed his head in Lucas’ direction. “My apologies.”

“No, no, that’s fine.” The boy shook his head. “Thank you for explaining all of that.”

Imrani nodded his head graciously.

“And what is the city like?” Lucas also asked.

The man gave a small grin before answering.

“Large. Though, not as large as the capital.” The doctor said. “Bustling too. You might be a little overwhelmed on your first visit.”

Lucas, or William, tried to hold back a smile at that. London was perhaps one of the most crowded cities in his old life. He thought he could handle a medieval/renaissance period city. The only issue he could see would be any sort of primitive hygiene. Not that London didn’t smell like piss sometimes.

“You will also see many kinds of people from other countries, since Mycenada does trade with her neighbors. You will also see Elves, though you have already met the Arudian family, Dwarves and the Aindhuine.”

The name Aindhuine made Lucas perk up. Elves and Dwarves, he had heard of, both in his old life and in this new one, but this third name had him curious.

“Who are the Aindhuine?” He asked.

Imrani looked a little surprised.

“Did they not teach you about them in your local school?”

“No. I don’t recognize the name.”

“Hmm, maybe they just hadn’t gotten to that part in your education yet. Country life may be a little behind the city in that regard.” Imrani said while scratching his chin. “Anyway, the Aindhuine are people who share some qualities with certain animals. And because of that they have subgroups with different names. You have the Kha’atdhuine, the Maradhuine and the Avidhuine. There are others, but those three are the more numerous one-”

It was at that moment that the door to Meira’s room opened.

----------------------------------------

Meira had some time to think things through. The fog of sleep was gone, and her body was feeling better than when she first got up. After she had looked out the window and saw the town she had grown up in, she paced the room and tried to understand the strange memories rattling around in her head.

She had quickly come to the conclusion that having two distinct sets of memories was not normal. It was indeed quite abnormal.

The thoughts of skyscrapers, cars and trains that she was associating with the city of London didn’t seem to mix with memories of the unpaved streets and horse-drawn carts of Bel Vard. The life she was living currently didn’t make sense when she remembered that she had gotten married at an age older than she was right now.

Here she was fifteen... no, sixteen. She slept through her birthday.

In her other life she was in her late twenties.

It didn’t make any sense.

She paced the room some more. To get her legs working properly and to help her work through this mess. Markita returned when Meira, or Katherine as that was the name she remembered having, was beginning to suspect that she may have been born again. Or reincarnated. Either that or this was some strangely elaborate dream, complete with a whole backstory for this girl she was living as.

But why did she suddenly get her memories back?

Markita walked in and saw her walking across the room.

“Meira, dear, should you really be walking so soon?” She chided the girl. A mug of, presumably, water was in one hand.

“I-I just felt a little restless. I’ve been in bed for a week, right?” Meira pointed out.

“Well, yes, I suppose so, but please don’t overexert yourself.” She said and brought over the water.

Meira, or Katherine, drank the cool liquid and cleared her throat. She was feeling better now after moving a little. The whole idea of living two lives was still difficult to grasp, though.

“I wasn’t able to find the doctor. He wasn’t in his room. Perhaps he had gone to the toilet. I’ll go and try to find him again. Will you be alright?” Markita asked.

“I’ll be fine, thank you, Markita.” The girl said politely.

The older woman nodded and left the room once more.

Meira sipped her water as she watched her leave. If this was a dream, then it must have been a lucid one because it all felt so real. Right down to the cool feeling of the water running down her throat and the fine threads of the carpet on her feet.

For a moment Meira considered something. Then she slapped her own face.

“...okay. That definitely hurt.” She said in English.

Maybe it wasn’t a dream. Then again, she didn’t fully understand how dreams really worked. Maybe someone could feel a slap in a lucid one.

She drank some more water and faced the thought that she was dreading the most. The thought that was the most distressing and that she had been avoiding thinking about.

She most likely died.

She was with her husband. They were eating lunch at a cafe. There was a commotion outside. Her memories were a little blurry after that point, but she remembered lying on the ground in pain... and Will underneath some rubble.

Meira, Kat, clutched her chest. Her heart throbbed in pain at the memory. She didn’t want to think about living on in this world without him. That didn’t seem fair. That wouldn’t be a life worth living. It would have been best if she didn’t have her memories in that case.

But Markita said another person fell ill and couldn’t wake up. Lucas was asleep just as long as she was. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she could remember how easy it was to like that boy, and she couldn’t help but draw some parallels between their personalities.

But... if he wasn’t him... if he wasn’t her Will... that would hurt too much.

If that were the case, what would she do? Just live here? Go on an adventure by herself?

That... didn’t sound very fun now.

She sighed, already feeling worried and apprehensive about meeting Lucas.

But then, no one else had gotten sick, she was reminded. It was just her and Lucas. They both got sick on the same day after...

That bird. They were both entranced by that... falcon, was it?

That couldn’t be a coincidence, right?

There was a knock just before the door opened. Markita poked her head in.

“I just found the Docter. He was with Lucas. He only just woke up today, too.” That detail made Meira’s hopes soar, along with her trepidation. “They are both waiting outside to see you. I suggest getting dressed.”

“U-Uh, wait, I only have this.” She said, pointing to her nightgown.

“Don’t worry, your mother left some clothes in the dresser over there.” Markita pointed to said dresser. “I’ll make sure they wait outside.”

Meira nodded, and suddenly she felt nervous and afraid. Things were moving faster now, and she was about to face Lucas in moments. All she could do was nod at the woman and she left the room again. She was left alone once more, if only for a brief moment, and she let out a breath, dispelling some of her stress. She put the mug of water on her side table and walked over to the dresser.

She didn’t feel prepared at all, but she knew that this needed to happen. She needed to know if Lucas was her William.