Jacob couldn't believe it. He had just brutally injured two police officers who he was sure was corrupt. Oh yeah, and they were elves, which shouldn't even exist. With powers he had that also shouldn't exist. An energy aura that could both be used as the sharpest sword and the thickest armor, and a staff that could cast amazing spells of wonder.

A crowd had formed around him, some covering their mouths in horror and disbelief. What had they just witnessed? This human had somehow taken out two officers of the law. Was he a villain? Or something else... they had never seen these powers before.

Taking a deep breath, Jacob started running. Fast.

"Get out the way!" he screamed to the crowd. They obliged. Even the Dwarven troop stopped dead in their tracks to take a second look.

He was still glowing with the purple energy swirling around him, but his sword and staff had disappeared. Jacob deduced that when not in use, these weapons naturally retracted as to avoid hindering his hands. Or that his anger had subsided and his emotions weren't strong enough to conjure such weapons.

He tried to find a hole in the crowd where he could possibly sneak out, but the crowd was thick. Buildings towered over him in New Francisco, and cast a menacing shadow. The only way out was either running into a building and praying for the best, or somehow blending into the crowd. His purple aura made the second option hard.

But then Jake thought to himself... If my emotions are truly linked to the powers, then if I feel a strong enough level of fear, would that give me an escape route?

He thought about how he was in a new world, a new city, a new universe that he had never ever even experienced. And he thought of how every cop in the city would be looking for him now. And he also thought about how he was going to ever get back home, if that was even possible. All of these doubts quickly put his mind into unrest.

As if on command, huge purple wings sprouted from his back. Wings made of pure energy. Jacob smiled. It worked.

Taking a huge vertical leap, he started flapping his wings to rise above the wide-eyed crowd. Kinden and Swooze were clutching their wounds but still were able to stare in amazement as Jacob flew above everyone. Not looking down, he closed his eyes and started ascending and moving away as fast as he could.

The cool wind blowing against his face felt so refreshing. He had cleared the crowd and was soaring between buildings. I could get used to this he thought to himself. And again, as if on command, his wings started shrinking.

"What! Oh no, no no no, not like this!" Jacob knew he had made a mistake; he stopped feeling fear so the wings were no longer going to materialize for him. It was true then: his energy aura was a reflection of his emotional state.

As best as he could, Jacob lowered himself to the ground without crashing. Even though he still had a thin layer of energy armor left, he knew that it would not be enough to save him if he had fallen out of the sky.

He landed near an underpass, barely, without hurting himself. He could hear the sirens blaring in the distance, so he quickly ducked underneath in the shadows. All he wanted was a chance to catch his breath and think through what had happened to him.

Could they have been telling the truth about finding a new High Lord? Even though they were crooked, they didn't seem like they were lying to me about that part, finding a new leader for New Francisco. I have a way of telling these things, and my energy aura didn't go crazy or anything when they said that. Jacob knew, though, that in order to even have a chance of surviving, let alone leading this city that was both so foreign yet felt like home, he would have to master his powers.

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His powers. Energy swirling around him. He deduced that strong emotions are what trigger the manifestation of the energy into real-world things. He had learned that lesson (almost painfully), but also knew that he had a lot more to learn. For example, tapping into a source of any emotion at any given time would be critical if he wanted to use certain powers and certain times.

He also entertained the possibility that, however scary, the aura itself may cause a feed forward chain reaction with his emotions. Even though he was mad, he didn't plan on hurting anyone when he found out Swooze and Kinden had lied to him. But he couldn't help it: he felt a white-hot rage flush over his entire body, and before he knew it, the two were on the ground writhing in pain. Not that Jacob was going to go with them, but he didn't anticipate cutting off anyone's tongue.

The sound of sirens started moving closer to him. Fast. Jacob felt trapped inside this underpass. Sooner or later they would find him and he had nowhere to go, his purple glow probably a dead giveaway that he couldn't bluff his way out of. Would you believe him if he told you he was just a normal human being going about his daily life?

Not that he didn't know how to fight, and that he wasn't powered up and ready to brawl. But he'd rather find a way to figure out what was going on with his life first, than punch first and ask questions later.

All these thoughts and more were interrupted when he heard a voice coming from the shadows next to him.

"So, you're the one. You're the one everyone is looking for it seems." It echoed against the underpass walls and resonated for what seemed like ages.

Jacob narrowed his eyes trying to make out who was talking to him. Was it foe? Another band of elves interested in ratting him out to whatever evil had taken over the world? A pack of orcs looking for a fresh kill?

"Who are you?" Jacob inquired.

"I'm... I'm here to help." The voice grew closer, and Jacob could hear that it was from a female. Shy, and a bit scared. "But you'll have to trust me."

"Why should I trust anyone? The last people I trusted ended up dying on the ground. I want answers and I want them NOW!"

The energy around Jacob was growing in parallel with his frustration at his current situation. A foreign land full of magical creature with who knows what else in store.

"Eek! Don't hurt me please! I'm sorry if I scared you. Here, let me talk to you face to face."

Jacob, ready for the worst, held his hands up in clenched fists.

Slowly, she stepped out of the shadows. And that's when Jacob lowered his guard.

Standing before him was the most beautiful looking elf he had ever seen. She had the eyes and cheekbones of a high elf, beautiful red lips, and had long flowing black hair that ran past her busty chest and reached her skinny waist. On Earth, she would be a top model thought Jacob. What's she doing in a sewer??

So that's what he asked. "What're you doing in a sewer?"

She giggled lightly. "I'm here to bring you to the underground. But first, my name is Esme. I'm a resistance fighter trying to take back the city from the Overlord who has been corrupting the place for decades."

Jacob was awestruck. "Resistance? What? Overlord? I have no clue what's going on but you're gonna have to fill me in."

More giggles from Esme. Jacob was immediately smitten. "Well, you're our last hope! For freedom from the evil Overlord's clutches. We need your help. We've been waiting for this day, Highborn. Waiting for our hero to come."

"Forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical, but it's not every day that an elf model comes asking you to follow her... in a sewer underpass."

She quickly responded, "I'm not an elf. Not completely. And there's a reason why all of us in the resistance have to hide ourselves. But you'll see what I mean. Just walk with me and I'll fill you in as we go."

As she turned, he saw a tail coming out of the small of her back. A nice, sleek, elegant tail. And on second glance, he realized that Esme didn't have elf ears at all, but instead had what looked like the ears of a cat coming out of her hair. That's strange he thought.

He followed her into the darkness, a bit uneasy but also a bit intrigued...