Devlin woke up in total darkness; unable to see his legs or his hands in front of him. He remembered being abducted and thrown out. The apprentice called forth light, and his fingertips illuminated in an instant. He realized he was dreaming.

He set out to banish the pitch blackness when he heard a beating heart, “Break the veil, Dream Master.”

The Errtan gasped and awakened. He laid on the ground, embraced by knee high grass. Trees towered around him, crowned by skies soaked in blood. A rough-looking fellow stared at him above a mammoth slab of rock.

“You are finally awake,” said the stranger who sported all things black - from a coat with frayed ends, shirt, pants, and spectacles. The glasses were oddly similar to Merlin’s, except for the tint. The man also wore it better than the old wizard.

Devlin opened his palm, but there was no magic present in it. He sighed and scrutinized the fellow before him. Foe? “Where am I?”

The stranger pointed to the Errtan’s clothes. “I’ve never seen browns in my life. Can I trade you for Gaean clothing?”

“No,” he said without a thought. Merlin gave these to him.

“You’re in Gaeus. That color marks you here. I say this for your own good.”

“I’ll managed.” He got up and surveyed the surroundings. So, I am in Gaeus. Not like what I imagined. “I’m Devlin. Excuse me for my late introduction. It’s just..”

“I understand. I saw you get dumped here.”

“You did?! Did you see who abducted me?”

“No. Sorry, bairn. A portal opened, and you suddenly came out like puke.” The man laughed. “Pardon my manners. I’m Alephon. So are you convict or peasant?”

“The latter. Convicts wear orange.”

“I always confuse the two. Why is orange for convicts?”

“Easier to spot a bright color if they try to flee.”

“Who could escape from the penal colony?“ the man chuckled. ”Oh wait, there is you.”

“Abducted, remember?” Devlin hissed. He had knowledge of Gaeus from Merlin’s papers and books. He can figure out where to go. How to return home. “Um, what do you call this place?”

“The Concaves, wild uninhabited land. Uninhabited by us humans, at least.”

The apprentice searched his mind, but couldn’t find anything on the subject. He wished Merlin kept maps of this world. Even one. “I don’t recall reading about this location. Was its name changed?”

“Reading?” Alephon suppressed his laughter. “As far as my memory serves, it has always been the Concaves.”

“Am I your prisoner?” He asked without hesitation.

The man gave a deep sigh. “Bairn, you’re not good at social situations, are you? Say that again and I’ll slap you for suggesting I’m a criminal. I’ll forgive you…this one time.” He spread his arms open. “I’m not your captor. You are free to leave. If you can survive by yourself, then go ahead.”

Devlin checked the surroundings for other people. “But you are by yourself?”

“No. I have this.” Alephon tapped his sword. “And this.” He pointed to his mind. “Knowledge and experience are everything, bairn. Stick with me if you want to live. I’m familiar with the area, and the two of us will be harder to attack.”

The Errtan deliberated. First, he had to leave this location in case three horns returned. Second, whether Alephon worked for the abductor or was alone did not matter at the moment. If innocent, the man could take him away from here. If guilty, then Devlin would deal with it later. “Alright, I’ll go with you until we’re out of this area. Is there a weapon I can borrow?” He observed Alephon’s face and body language.

The man reached into his back pocket and handed him a knife. “It’s small, but that’s the only one I possess. We may find something better soon.”

“Soon?”

“To reach a crash site. I’m a scavenger in my spare time. An airship crashed before you were portal pooped.”

He turned off his excitement. There were more important things to ponder. The Errtan gripped the knife. “How long was I out?”

“Not sure. I tried to wake you, but that didn’t happen. My conscience would have bothered me if I abandoned you to be devoured.”

Move a tile to the innocence board. “Is it normal to dump people here?”

“No idea. You’re the first one I’ve seen getting dumped here. She, he, it, they probably intended for you to die. It’s hard to survive out here, much less if you are unconscious. I had to shoo away some scaled badgers while you slept. They would have feasted on you.”

Scaled badgers...burrowing carnivores...persistently attacks weak prey... “Thank you. Were they a handful?”

“No, but annoying. The lot gave up when I beheaded their alpha.” He gestured to the bloodied grass to his right. “Your gratitude is misplaced, though. I would’ve left you if a larger carnivore came hunting. Some beasts you can’t fight or scare away. Luckily, I’m a fast runner.” Alephon grinned, “Let’s go. I watched over you while you slumbered, princess. At least help me scavenge a ship’s wreckage.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“And afterwards?”

“We exit this place before it gets dark. Head to the nearest town.”

“Great.” He trusted the man for now. “Time to move.”

Extending far into the forest, they followed the path of splintered branches, which turned into snapped trunks and uprooted trees, until they reached a deep trench. The crashed airship was ahead of them.

“Ah,“ Alephon said with clasped hands. “Please give me some excellent pieces.” He darted towards the wrecked craft with the grace and speed of a light-footed deer.

The apprentice looked at the knife and bit his lip. He would be no match for Alephon based on the way the man moved. “Any survivors?”

The Gaean pocketed his spectacles as he peered into the ship’s window. “There’s no one inside. They probably jumped before crashing. This thing has a maximum occupancy of five people.”

“So they might be somewhere around here?”

“Depends. Doesn’t matter though. They are likely dead.”

“How can you be sure?”

“No lodestones, no power, no ship, no life bubbles. So the passengers bailed at a high speed with no safety gear. You either die instantly from the fall. Or survive but meet a slow, agonizing demise. In both instances, you’re still monster food.”

Devlin frowned at the thought. “Lodestones?” He flipped through his mental dictionary and cracked a smile when he recalled how he conversed in fluent Gaean at five years old - to the astonishment of Merlin. He could’ve done it earlier, but the other book, Grammar Tome, had copper covers and pages too heavy for a baby to turn. Lodestone, a solid organic matter shaped by magic and science…green glow…absorbs god particles and converts them into energy to…

“They don’t exist in the colony.” Alephon said, interrupting Devlin’s thoughts. “They power everything here. Go to the ship’s back. You’ll find a dragon sconce with a stone in its mouth.” The man went inside and rummaged through the seat pockets.

The Errtan moved towards the stern and spotted a sculptured winged serpent carrying a rock as big as a man’s fist in its jaws. So this is a dragon. Pictures should be mandatory in dictionaries. “I found it!” he shouted. “Um, are you sure this is a lodestone? It’s red?”

Alephon pointed above as if Devlin could see him. “They changed color when those clouds appeared. Stopped working. The lodestones inhale god energy or whatever they call them nowadays. Infinite matter, or was it dark matter? The crimson is likely toxic to them. I recently got back from a town where people shouted superstitious nonsense like it’s the end times.” He emerged from the ship and gave the Errtan a bag of medical supplies. “Sort these. Show me any stone that’s green. But that would be impossible.”

Devlin squatted with the stash in his hand and scanned the skies above. He found definitions for red clouds, but nothing to explain a phenomenon which grew and expanded. Ah, if I have King’s Sight. “There’s no way to make the stones work again?”

“Hmm, take away the clouds?”

The apprentice scowled at the obvious. “Is the town you mentioned near us?”

“It’s a one day run. But I’m a warrior. For you,” Alephon paused in appraisal, “It will be days.”

Devlin’s head slumped. Weeks to be accurate. “What warrior rank are you?” he asked.

“The highest I can aspire outside the Riddarklassen. A Sword Knight.”

The apprentice raised an eyebrow. Alephon was higher than any fighter in Errt. Devlin removed an innocence tile from his mental board - though his gut leaned towards trusting the man.

“Oh, you don’t know about the Riddarklassen.”

I do.

“They’re the best warriors in Gaeus. Masters of any weapon,” Alephon said.

Because of a mind blade.

“And all of them are female. And beautiful. You think they will be a manly lot, but no.” The man moved to the craft’s other side. “I didn’t find weapons for you. Keep sorting. I’ll open the storage compartment.”

Devlin touched the ship’s non-metallic hull in wonder. “Do you know how I can get back home?”

The knight laughed and tried to control himself. “Why return to Errt? It doesn’t have magic and technology. Not to mention obliterates!”

Obliterate, a private space for...disintegration of excreted matter on an atomic level. One day. He shook his head to snap out of the spell. “It’s home.” Arthur and Father. “Besides, Gaeus will use horses if the lodestone problem continues. Soon you’ll be at par with us.”

“We still have obliterates!”

“Currently useless without the stones.”

“Hmm.” Alephon raised his hand and conceded. “You remind me of a good friend from long ago. Anyway, your best bet is to visit the God Office of Prison and Probation. Ask them for passage. I believe you call them Gaeus Prison Department. Errt has a way of erasing divinity.”

“Can you give me directions when we reach town later?”

“Sure, but don’t get your hopes up. I doubt anyone will be there during this time. With no power, everything is in chaos.”

“Why are the departments called god offices?” He knew the answer, but he gathered intelligence through small talk and observation. It was part of his training to be Arthur’s shadow.

“Because gods head the bureaucracies.”

“Like?” The Errtan pointed to the heavens.

“No, not real ones. But individuals given immortality to run the offices.”

“Immortals?”

“Yes. They are not actual gods, but they represent the Ancients.”

“You worship the Ancients?”

“Not me. Most do. The masses pray for the celestials’ return every day.”

“Why don’t you?”

Alephon went back inside the ship. “Because people don’t understand poop.”

A parade of cottonsedge billowed from the woods and descended on the crash site.

Alephon’s head peered out of the ship’s door. “Scitte!”

The white fluff landed on Devlin and broke into smaller, sharper fragments. “Ow!” he shouted as the bristles pricked his skin. More blew his way.

“Damnare!” the knight drew his sword and ran to Devlin’s side. Alephon parried the cottons in the air with the flat part of the blade.

“Scitte!” Additional pieces attached to the apprentice’s arm. The cottonsedge drank his blood and released a sweet jasmine odor. They detached from his skin and returned to the woods.

“Crap! You’re marked!” Alephon said. His eyes darted to where the cottongrass retreated. He raised his hand and pointed in the opposite direction. “Run!”

Devlin scurried away from the ship. He glanced back and saw the knight retreating into the vessel. The Errtan stopped. “What are you doing?”

“The ostrake is blind. I’ll attack from behind.”

Ostrake? The definition flooded his mind...hunts by markers which look like cotto...Damnare! His weapon would be useless.

Leaves crackled. Branches snapped. The monster emerged from the foliage. Its forked tongue flicked to pickup the chemical scent wafting in the atmosphere.

The sightless beast stood thirty-six hands tall, with the head of a giant cobra, the body of an ostrich, the wings of a bat, the roped tail of a rat, and long scaly clawed feet. Its back resembled the shell of an archelon littered with spiked barnacles on its scutes. The spikes released white cottongrasses and inhaled the ones with blood.

Scitte. Scitte! Devlin willed his legs to move, but they remained planted on the ground.

Alephon waited in silence for the ostrake to pass him. The behemoth tilted its eyeless face in Devlin’s direction. Its tongue flicked faster while its feet scratched the soil. It had caught Devlin’s scent.