Crap.

Crap crap crap.

Surprise interrogation by teleporting raven lord of unknown but considerable personal (and political?) power.

How much trouble was Dan in? Less if he was honest and polite. Hopefully.

"I am Daniel Martin, Lord First Ray of Dawn Through Wet Leaves. It is my honor to meet you. As you somehow know, I am a stranger to your world, and I sincerely apologize if I have unknowingly trespassed, poached, or in any way given offense."

The raven somehow chuckled.

"Please, be at ease. It is good you are cautious and show respect. Thank you. But you are a fledgling here. Each fledgling of my people, always and forever into the past, is an incorrigible brat. We are patient with the inexperienced. You did well with the wrax. How was your initial trial?"

This was a disconcertingly well informed bird. At least the raven was at least outwardly courteous rather than hostile. Dan thought for a moment on how to answer.

"It came as a shock. I will not say that my world is peaceful, but my part of it was, and I was not accustomed to violence. I still am not. It was night and I was alone in my place of work when I was connected to the System and given an hour to prepare for an attack by a troop of goblins. There were twenty-nine of them. They died and I lived."

"You speak truly that you are not yet blooded in mind. You say 'they died' as if rocks fell on them by miracle from the open sky and you did not kill them. It is a hard thing to learn to kill. It will be harder. I am sorry for you."

Dan was quiet for a bit. He wasn't sure how he'd expected this conversation to go, but one thing that had not been near the top of the list was... grief counseling? No, not exactly. The raven was smart. It knew humans, something of human psychology, knew about the Vanguard title and the trials taken to get it, knew that Dan had newly arrived in the woods. Crows followed him yesterday. Surveillance? Even now, the Lord Raven waited for him to collect his thoughts. Patient. Why? Because it didn't want him to panic and lash out or run. And it wanted him to view it as benevolent and wise, a source of counsel. Which, to be fair, was working on both counts.

"Thank you for your patience. You're right, I am a fledgling here, although I was a man. I do not want to presume upon your time or good will, Lord First Ray of Dawn Through Wet Leaves, but I know very little of this world and how to make my way. May I ask a few questions?"

"I am quite curious what you most want to know, Daniel Martin. Ask three."

Three questions. Interesting. It was a nakedly arbitrary limit to the information the raven would offer for free. It wanted to test him then? Or also as a free sample of goods for sale before offering further information to be bartered? But what could it want from Dan? And if these questions were a test, what was it looking for? He was getting very tired of being tested. He didn't know what to ask because he didn't even know enough to know what he didn't know. Wait, was that an answer in itself?

"First question: What general course of action would give me the best chance of staying alive, in good health, and at least relatively free two weeks from now?"

"A good question. I do not know you well enough to give a good answer, so I will give one that may be poor. You are welcome to stay as a guest in my wood while you find your wings. If you do, kill only monsters and what you eat, and none of feathered kind except in defense. I believe you will be fairly safe, and you will be free. Or, if you wish I will escort you to the city of Weaverton. It will be a journey of four days. You will be protected in the city by those of your kind, but you may be less free."

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"Thank you."

Wow. That was way better news than he'd hoped to hear, and quite a bit more generous of an offer than he expected from First Ray. There was a city, with "his kind". That probably at least meant humanoid and sapient. If so? He'd take it and be happy. People. Not that First Ray wasn't a person, but it was, well, also a bird. Second question... hmm.

"Second question: Based on what you know of me and this world, if I were to die in the next two weeks, what would be the most likely causes of my death, and if it doesn't count as my third question, how can I avoid them?"

"Another good question. You are a member of a System integrated race, and monsters will hunt you. That is the danger you will face for the next two weeks and your life. It is rare for one of a System race to die young other than to a monster's claw. To avoid those claws, learn to use well the tools the System has given you and make friends."

OK, maybe he'd wasted that question a bit. That was exactly what he'd already thought. Still, it was good to rule out "the death mist of the third moon" or other thankfully nonexistent perils he was completely unprepared for. One question left. Many things that would be good to know. Need to remember that the raven is not in fact an all-knowing oracle, though it was clearly well informed. What to ask?

"Third Question: Lord First Ray of Dawn Through Wet Leaves, what is your interest in me?"

"Your first two questions were good. Your third is interesting. It might be perceptive. I believe you are an Esper. If that is so, there is potential for a partnership between us, to the great benefit of both. That is my interest in you. Also, Vanguards tend to flash across the world like drunk lightning bolts. That is always fun to watch, and thus interesting."

Uh... well then. Think about the last bit first, as that seems easier to process. It makes sense. Vanguards get dropped into foreign worlds with shattered conceptions of reality, Atlas like burdens on their shoulders, minimal hope of seeing home again, recent traumatic violence, more violence stretching into the foreseeable future, and powers that they aren't used to and likely can't control well. Logically, many would have a pretty chaotic impact on whatever world they ended up in. Drunk lightning bolts indeed. That was a possible fate to be aware of, and work hard to avoid. Also: Dan somehow had the feeling that if Twilight Ravens had a god, it was of the Loki or Monkey King variety.

That was all a distraction though. Partnership? What did that mean? Well, one way to find out.

"Yes, I am an Esper. What type of potential partnership?"

"First, do you have the Aether Ability 'Sense Deceit'? If you do, you should use it. It is wise to use in any conversation with one you do not trust implicitly."

Dan was chagrined. He should have thought of that. He quickly activated it. Interesting that the raven chose now to bring that ability up. Though maybe that was just because it was the first it had confirmation that Dan was an Esper.

"I do, thank you for reminding me. It is active now."

"Let me be clear that I do not offer this partnership yet. It is a thing that may be if we both choose it. There are good reasons why we each could choose it. There are good reasons why I could reject it."

"I understand. So there are not good reasons why I would reject the partnership?"

"No, there are not. You are young, ignorant, weak, and alone. You have the greater need."

That was... all accurate, actually. Young was iffy, but in the context of this world certainly plausible. Ignorant, weak and alone? Those were just facts. The bird was right. Dan needed whatever help he could get.

"You aren't wrong. May I ask a favor, Lord First Ray of Dawn Through Wet Leaves? This is the first time I have used 'Sense Deceit'. Could you please say something untrue so I can see how it works?"

The raven chuckled. Its iridescent black feathers ruffled out as it did.

"Of course. I did not watch over you as you slept. I would have allowed you to come to harm if you proved unable to defend yourself against the wrax. I need you as much as you need me."

Dan knew that each sentence was wrong. They tasted acrid in his brain. Which was a really weird sensation. You said that you needed me as much as I needed you. Sense Deceit showed that that was a lie. If he ever made it back to Earth, he had definite prospects as an ongoing gimmick on a daytime TV talk show.

"Thank you. So I know that you believe I need this partnership more than you do, and everything I can think of suggests you are right. You are not committing to it yet, whatever it is. It can be of significant benefit to both of us. Please, what type of partnership is it?"

"The meaningful answer is long. You are young, and the day has bled away your patience, and so you want the short answer. I understand. The partnership is an Aether Contract that would bind us together with me as your Familiar."

Wait... seriously? The benevolently condescending, extremely powerful forest Lord Twilight Raven wanted to be his familiar? Dan decided to give up on the concept of surprise.