Tayin and Ren approached the path from opposite sides, Ren immediately activated his ‘loot button.’

“By the Silver Lady herself, are you blessed or what, what sort of abilities do you have hidden elsewhere?” Hollwin was taken aback by Ren’s display.

“A hunter? Such abilities I only know of from high-level hunting ascensions.” Tayin said.

“Oh, that’s all I’ve got up my sleeve,” Ren nervously laughed.

“Well, what did you get?” Hollwin asked.

“Oh uh…”

Items Looted:

Great Bear Claws (Uncommon)

Great Bear Pelt (Uncommon)

“Just claws and a pelt.”

“Well, we better be going then, surprising to find one nearly twice ascended in this area. If I knew it would have been so tough I would not have let it drag out so long.” Hollwin put in.

“Couldn’t you tell it was? Like, read it, I mean.” Ren looked confused.

“Well, I can only read ascensions by the same method I used on you, such readings cannot be done easily on a beast such as that, it would be meaningless nonetheless.” Hollwin began walking down the path.

Following along, Ren noticed the peculiarity of Tayin, she was quite tall, taller than he or Hollwin, and those eyes, so pale blue to almost be silverish. Party beautiful but more than that, unsettling.

The path led far into the wilds beyond, looking into the woods several more beasts were in the distance, occasionally crimson deer, other times strange birds or rodents. Not through the great distance was there another bear. The occasional shot at the beasts strengthened him, though it was a shame to hurt the beauty of the world around him, he knew they would just as keenly kill him given the chance.

As the sun rose further into the sky at its apex, they made a quick lunch, the elderly cleric seemed to hardly touch anything but some of his tea. Tayin only had a foreign flatbread and odd fruit. On his part, he ate some of the rabbits from his first day in the strange world of Aethradin.

“Tayin, how do you make the winds guide your arrows and attack for you?” Ren looked up at her embarrassed at his own ignorance.

“I swirl my mana around the arrows, forming a point like a horizontal hurricane around my arrowheads. My mana has a strong affinity towards wind, and so it responds to me.” She spoke around eating bites of her bread. The way she spoke of it came with a sound of ease as if what she did was second nature and of no consequence.

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“In your world, do people not use elemental affinities based on their mana’s properties?” Hollwin look interested.

“Well, we don’t have mana, not that I know of.” Ren averted his eyes.

Silence took over the small clearing in which they ate. The two natives of this world staring at each other with knowing glances.

“We will speak more of this when the time comes, when we are at the Monastery that is.” Hollwin finished his tea and motioned for everyone to get ready and head off.

As the sun sank back down to the horizon, they made quick work overcoming the small hills and clearings within the woods. Small talk had evaporated after the ending of the conversation at lunch.

What, is it so weird to not come from a world of magic? Ren’s thoughts bounced from one topic to another, his dread of what would come next only mounting further as the day progressed.

As twilight began to come over the lands Ren glanced about seeing the trail they had been following split into two directions. One was straight for the most part, bending here and there as far as the limited view in the dim woods let him see. The other led into the mountainside, traversing the Stoney bank of the mountain leading to nowhere the eye could reach.

As the camp was set, Ren’s curiosity got the better of him.

“I would like to explore a little, seeing as this world is so new to me, I want to get a good look down from the mountainside as the sunsets.”

“If you think that’s a good idea, I will not bar your way, but I must deliver you unharmed to my people. Take this, as long as it is in your possession I will assume you are safe, channel a small amount of mana into it and we will come make sure you are safe.” Hollwin handed him a small silver coin with the symbol of a triangle bisected by a line.

“Thank you, I’ll be back, safe and sound.” Ren turned and left down the path, later turning onto the mountain pass.

Tayin looked to Hollwin. “What if he knows?”

“He is an ignorant child; he does not even understand the smallest fraction.” Hollwin shook his head and laid down by a small fire Tayin was stoking.

Ren’s eyes saw better in the darkness than before, the shade under unfamiliar trees blotted out what remained of the sun. To get a better view he would have to be fast. He pushed himself hard, breathing heavily he noticed something, an energy moving within him. The energy flowed from multiple points within his body, pushed into his legs and chest by unseen forces.

Focusing on this energy he tried pushing further into his legs, he watched as his stamina depleted faster as he moved quicker up the mountainside.

As he reached a clearing, the slope slightly let out, and a small patch of grass grew around a tree, under it he stood staring into the new stars above.

Ren remembered stars, though faintly, these were different. The moon though, there were… two? Had his world had two moons, why could he not remember? The setting sun shone in hues of golden grace, lowering into a bed of purple, orange, and red. The sight he desired was before his eyes, beautiful yet simple. Though the grace of these heavenly objects was beyond him, their beauty was as simple as the flowers growing in the fields.

The crunch of a broken branch sounded behind him; lost in the moment he was startled at the sound. Behind him was the figure of a woman, clad in a white dress she extended an arm to him. In a horrid yet beautiful duality two feelings came forth within him.

The fear was a primal response, his mana rapidly depleted itself burning away the infection stabbing into his mind. His vital energies swelled as his mana burned his own eyes, blood coming as tears when his Eldritch eyes activated.

The joy was the beauty and love overwhelming his mind. Something he was forced to forget, yet so buried deep within his mind that this thing had brought it out and shown it to him.