It was my first night under the starry sky of a world not my own, to be honest, if I hadn’t yet come to terms with the fact that this was not my world, I would now. I always loved the nighttime sky back home, so full of lights and mystery. Even now that hasn’t changed, if anything I’m even more drawn to it. The reason? I was looking at sky I had never seen before, one drastically different from my home.

No moon, and the stars seemed to shine brighter than the ones back home, in place of moonlight, there was a brilliant ring of god knows what encircling the world. The light from the ring shone a pale white light in contrast to the brilliant stars. Vorn told me the ring was used in navigation; it always went from east to west. This meant if you knew where star formations were you would rarely get lost.

This place is so foreign to me, I feel… out of place, yet drawn to its mysteries. Magic and monsters, strange human like races, the things of fantasy or myth coming to life before my very eyes. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t confused, afraid and delighted all at once. Though I have to admit, ever since I woke up in that cave I’ve felt… disconnected? I don’t know, but it feels like something is out of place.

I pulled my eyes from the sky and refocused them on my surroundings; we had travelled quite some distance from the caves. In that time we had run into roving wolves and a few other wild animals.

During each encounter I would wait and flank the enemies blind spot with my dagger. It’s strange but whenever I’m fighting I feel better, like something has snapped back into place, maybe its just adrenalin or something.

Vorn is cooking the wolf meat right now over a small guarded fire, hidden behind a boulder. He was rather adamant about it not being seen. I could only agree with him, I knew next to nothing about the dangers of this world, but I did know a fire in the dark was more or less a beacon for trouble.

We made camp up high on a ridge overlooking the swampy forest below; it’s a rather safe path. Unfortunately Vorn said we’d still have to descend and go through the forest to get out of here. From what Dola told me earlier, the forest was full of creatures that were extremely dangerous and hungry. I’ll try to contain my excitement.

Speaking of Dola, I can barely see her out there, she’s outside the camp on watch for anything that might want to kill us, which as far as I’m concerned would be just about everything out there.

Dwellvari have excellent night vision, due to their race spending most of their lives underground. Her eyes literally shine like a cat in the dark; it’s a little creepy at times to be honest. With her short size and doll like features she kind of looks like a possessed ceramic doll in the shadows... I shiver slightly, darn Chucky movies.

I lay my head back against the rocky wall, we’re conveniently right next to a mountain, and the shear cliffs make a great backrest. Ben in lying next to me, he’s pretty tired, thanks to all the wolves we fought earlier today.

Vorn tried teaching me how to skin a wolf, but I had a hard time of it, on top of Ben giving me an accusing stare the whole time. As if he thought he was next, I swear that dog is too smart for his own good. Or rather, was he always that smart?

I’d be a fool to not notice the changes in myself as well. First was the incident with the Crocs, that bright blue light… then with the Daemon. What exactly is happening to me? When I told Vorn about it he gave me a complicated look, and asked me if my world had any connection to magic.

I told him that those who stated they had magic in my world were either shunned as crazy or thought of as good performers on stage. He simply shook his head, stating that if there was magic, there would be no doubt of its existence.

Apparently magic is rather flashy.

He said we would look into it tomorrow before we enter the forest, but for now we needed some distance and rest. I agreed. Looking back at the sky, losing myself in its depth, I wonder if my home is out there somewhere. Probably not, according to my companions I came from a different reality entirely.

Oddly enough, that put me in the same boat as Daemons and the like… hope that doesn’t mean I’ll be sprouting horns any time soon. Though it might be funny if Ben grew a pair.

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The next morning I was woken by something wet repeatedly touching my face; Ben seemed to think I was a lollipop. Shooing him away I spotted Dola smiling at me as she packed her things.

“tha’ pup is quite somethin, moment I started packin he woke ye up.” She giggled as she finished folding a thin sheet of fabric used for camping outdoors and placed it in a sling pack strung over her shoulder and fit tightly to her back. Those packs seem rather popular, even Vorn wore one under his cloak; next time I go traveling I’ll need to pick up something similar.

Ascending the steep slope leading to the forest below, Vorn walked casually over to us and sat on a small boulder. “We’re in luck, we should be able to reach the forest by mid day, if we hurry we’ll be out before nightfall.” He stated flatly, an obvious look of ‘things are never so easy’ plastered on his face.

He could at least try to look optimistic! Of course, given what I’ve seen so far, I can’t say I blame him for being a bit cynical. Also, with an inexperienced fighter in the group, things might get very dangerous.

I’ve had my share of scraps sure, but I’m no trained warrior like Vorn, and my battle senses aren’t as honed as Dola’s. Though I have noticed I’ve been getting better, even while just using a dagger I’ve been improving little by little.

Once we leave the forest Vorn will be separating from us to warn nearby settlements about the influx of undead we encountered. That just puts more strain on Dola, I need to get a bit more accustomed to fighting, or she might start to regret having me tag along.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Vorn said I’d improve more if I used a weapon suited for me, but I’d need to make do for now. It’s weird, but Ben has been the most helpful one between us… he’s been growling each time before we are attacked, like an early warning signal. I swear something’s changed in him too, but maybe it’s due to all the fighting up till now?

We began to move out, the sky is clear today at least. The weather around here is rather chaotic, according to Vorn it wouldn’t be surprising if it were to rain for days. I can only hope our luck holds out, trudging through a swampy forest while it’s raining and looking out for monstrous beasts is not my idea of a peaceful hiking trip.

As we walked, staying as close to the rocky cliff face as physically possible, Vorn told Dola to take point and made his way next to me. “Now then, let us see if we might learn something about your ‘blue light’,” he said with a hint of curiosity in his voice. Vorn was no master mage, but he had taken the test long ago, and was trained in basic magic related to his affinity. As such, he knew a few ways to determine magical talents.

“First, lets determine your aptitude,” with that, he reached down and picked up a small unremarkable pebble and placed it in my hand. Similarly, he held another in his own hand. “Now then, watch carefully,” he said bringing his pebble up to eye level. “Focus on the stone in your hand with your eyes, at the same time, attempt to reach for the center of the pebble with your Essence.”

“My Essence?” I say with a confused expression. Vorn looks at me and with a tired sigh replies, “I forgot you don’t even know what Essence is do you? Well let me show you this, and then I will explain.” Vorn looks intently at the pebble, and seems to block out all else. After only a second, I start to see something strange, the pebble is wavering… no, its like there are heat lines distorting it ever so slightly. After a few seconds, the pebble completely disappears.

My eyes are wide, and it took me a while to realize my jaw had dropped. I’d been at the receiving end of magic once before, when Vorn forcefully taught me his language, and I’ve seen his ring in action, but this was different. This was magic used without some odd jewelry or crystal, and I could see it from start to finish.

Vorn relaxed his concentration and the pebble wavered back into existence. “My affinity is towards illusion magic, affinities lessen the capabilities of the magic caster in other areas, but allow them to reach unheard of heights with their corresponding magic’s. Thus my aura has this effect on the pebble.”

Vorn went on to explain how Essence was at the heart of all things living or inanimate. Positive, or Additive Essence induces growth and life, whereas Negative or Subtractive Essence was a cold bitter opposite. Despite this, both were required for life to thrive properly.

Within the body, there is something called Magical Essence and Natural Essence; Magical Essence can be linked to the soul, whereas Natural Essence makes up the body and all things physical.

There are those who use their Magical Essence to create magic from within and use it externally, they are known as Mages. There are also those who use the surrounding Natural Essence to weave complicated spells, these individuals are known as Spell-Weavers. Both are powerful in their own right, but only the Magnus are capable of both kinds of magic. They are the ultimate magic casters and only a few reach their power.

Listening to all this, I came to a few conclusions. First: magic is freaking complicated, second: this is the most I’ve heard Vorn speak, and third: I hate this pebble. I tried with all my might and mental willpower but the pebble just stays there… like it’s mocking me.

After some time of me holding my breath and making weird noises Vorn finally told me that it might take some time before my effort bore fruit. And I should try whenever we were relatively safer than at this very moment.

Confused I looked up to find that we were now approaching the tree line. A bit crestfallen I look at the pebble in my hand and think, ‘you win this round pebble, you win this round.’ And tossed the pebble to the ground. Time sure did fly by, but we were almost away from this dismal place and on our way to civilization.

The smell of wet rot and the slight hint of life assaulted me; the earth beneath my feet became softer and almost spongy. I could hear the sounds of birds, though none of them I recognized. Insects were flying around making it more uncomfortable the closer we got.

I guess no matter what world you’re in bugs will bug you. I think to myself with a distasteful expression, swatting an insect before it got a taste of me. On that note, we entered the forest; Vorn took point, warning us not to stray too far from sight.

The humid air of the forest made it harder to move and breath, but we trudged on with purpose. The smell of rot and decay became stronger the deeper we trudged into this place, the sun dimmed into a cold twilight and mist seemed to seep from the earth.

“SNUFF!” Ben sneezed rather violently, not even ten seconds in and our early warning signal has a runny nose… I have a bad feeling about this… but I had a bad feeling from the start, so I’ll just ignore it for now.  

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Some distance away, a small pebble lay propped up upon a cluster of weeds and grass. It began to crumble in on itself, small cracks webbed across its surface, until a strong wind blew and its remains, like dust, were carried off by the wind.

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