I awoke to the sound of crying.
Opening my eyes I saw the sky above. It was a clear blue broken by the wisps of a few clouds. I looked around and saw the stone walls of what seemed to be an alley. Looking from below the sides of the alley went up maybe two floors before they met the sky. Littered around the alley were boxes, crates, piles of junk and other assorted crap. I think I’m laying down on a box.
Looking down I see the source of the crying. Bent over me, face down on my chest a girl is sobbing her heart out.
It's obvious from a glance that she's been living under arduous conditions. Her once golden hair has been sullied to a near brown by dirt, there's dirt under her fingernails, and really I can't see a spot on her body or clothes that isn't covered by filth. If it wasn't for her long hair I may have mistaken her for a boy because the only clothes she has on are long baggy pants and a simple shirt.
Having zero experience with children I was at a complete loss on how to handle this situation. In the end I decided to simply reach out my hand and rub her head.
As I ruffled her mud streaked hair she looked up to my face, tears still streaming down her face. To me in that moment she looked like she had the face of an angel, perfection itself. Her sapphire eyes shone with moisture and were more beautiful than any gem. Maybe that god had chosen right after all, as I knew I would do anything to protect her.
"Stein!" she exclaimed, leaping up and pulling me into a hug. She continued sobbing against my shoulder so I simply patted her on the back and quietly reassured her I was alright.
After several minutes of her embracing me she let go and sat next to my head on the box I lay on. I would have sat up next to her but my body felt dead tired, so I didn't want to move until I had gotten my strength back.
Now it was her turn to stroke my head, and she played with the locks of hair I felt adorn my head. Still looking close to tears she said, "I was so worried. Zak said there was nothing that could be done. Then you just kept getting weaker and weaker, and when I tried to wake you up you felt so cold. Stein please don't ever leave me. I was so scared."
"It's okay, I promise I won't leave you. I feel better now." I reassured her.
We sat like that for a minute or two. She was just content to know I wasn’t about to die. Meanwhile I was racking my brain for a way to break the ice and explain I didn't even know her name. I can't just tell a girl her brother's soul had died and been replaced by some weirdos soul from another world. Yeah, I think it's best we avoid that route entirely. In the end I think I'll have to rely on the only skill I was ever good at, though I had hoped I wouldn't need to so much in this world.
"I'm sorry," I hesitantly start, "you were so worried about me but I don't even know your name. I… can't remember how I got here. Where are we?"
"Huh?" she asks with a dumbfounded expression. "You…" she tries to continue but the tears form in her eyes again and she starts bawling.
******
After a while I was able to calm her down and she explained several important things.
First, my name is Arnstein (though I go by Stein most of the time) and her name is Alice. We're siblings but not twins. I'm 15 years old and she is 13. It seemed like we were in some sort of boat accident but when I tried to ask for details the tears started flowing again, so I let the matter go. Evidently our parents were involved as well because she also teared up when I asked about them.
Second, this body definitely would have died had my soul not possessed it. Evidently we had spent close to three days walking to this city from where we had washed up on a shore. After that grueling walk that neither of us was prepared for, Arnstein had managed to get food for the both of us and we somehow survived. Another three days passed and he had started vomiting blood and passing out randomly. They went to the church in town to ask for aid, but the clergy determined he had been subjected to 'soul devastation' and there was nothing that could be done. Also he had been unconscious for the past 18 hours and had apparently been chill to the touch since half an hour ago.
Third, we are in a port city called Hornhaven. Hornhaven is a medium size port city on the northern coast of the kingdom of Maulia. Despite Maulia being a monarchy it seems like the church my sister mentioned also has considerable sway in the government.
After she had finished answering my questions I asked, “So Alice, how was I getting us food before? And do we have any left?” After talking for a while I realized I was hungrier than I had ever been in my old life.
“Hmmm.” She said, putting her finger on her cheek in a thinking pose, “You said you found some really nice men who agreed to give us food for free. I suppose we need to find more nice people to give us food now, huh? Since I bet you forgot where to find the nice men who gave us these.”
She walked over to a box and lifted it up, revealing a semi-hidden cache of necessities we had. Among bits of cloth she pulled out two orange fruits that looked like pears. Sitting back down next to me she handed me one and bit into the other.
“What are these called?” I asked curiously.
She looked at me for a moment and forcefully swallowed her barely chewed bite, almost choking on it, and replied, “These are almas, you can eat all of it except the top part near the stem.”
“Okay next time chew your food before answering.”
“Hehe. Sorry, it's just fun being the one to help you, Stein. Usually you can do anything and I always have to rely on you. So it's gonna be so fun helping you for once!” She made little pumping motions with her fists as emphasis to her statements and I thought in that moment Arnstein had truly been blessed with an adorable little sister.
I took a bite of my alma and found that it tasted like a watermelon with the texture of an apple. It was very strange to my otherworlder senses.
******
After we finished eating I asked Alice if she would show me around the city, to which she gleefully obliged.
As we left our little alley of safety and entered a street I realized I was in a remarkably different world than the one I had left behind. Walking the streets were people of more races than I could count. The standouts I actually recognized were beastpeople, elves, dwarves, and others I didn't know the names of. It made for a very vibrant street life, people of very different statures and complexions walking around. Many had very distinct hair colors as well, the little people who looked like hobbits in particular had a vast array of very brightly colored hair.
“So where do we go first?” I asked.
“The church, the church!” Alice said excitedly, “The priests are all suuuper nice and friendly, so I want to pay them a visit.” She all but bounded off down the street, fast enough I had to yell after her to slow down. I still felt tired, so I didn't want to stress myself too much.
We walked through a business district passing a variety of shops and I realized something extremely important. Many shops had signs out front to advertise merchandise and such, and most were depicted in drawings. There were some more exclusive looking shops that had a written advertisement on their sign, but what really stood out to me was that I could read them. Despite everything being written in a language completely alien to me I could read and understand it perfectly. I spent a couple minutes walking while pondering this mystery before I understood.
It's the brain, huh?
I was a foreign soul in a used body. But even though I had no memories of Arnsteins’s life his brain still retained crucial information. Amnesiac patients can still speak and read normally even without remembering how or where they learned those skills. Arnstein’s brain has been filtering that information to me in a way I can understand it without me even realizing it. The entire time I’ve been talking to Alice we’ve been speaking a language I’ve never learned yet I was able to speak and understand it perfectly.
As we walked through the markets I took the chance to examine the types of goods for sale. I couldn't buy any of them, as far as I knew we had no money. I wanted to gauge the technological capability of this world through its everyday products. I also paid attention to currency and the market value of items.
Seeing no familiar signs of what I considered modern technology but still decent architecture I came to the conclusion we lived in something between medieval and renaissance type of era. There were shops specializing in magical items of various kinds so I figured it was that kind of world.
Fantasy, huh?
After examining prices I learned the currency of this world, or maybe just this region, was called zel. There were several different coin denominations for zel but I didn't get a good enough look at them to figure out the specifics. Looking through the stalls that sometimes lined the street I picked up that a loaf of fresh bread was worth about 50 zel and common clothes were worth about 1500 zel for a shirt, pants, and undergarments. We passed a bookstore and I saw books were a premium item, a slim one about the ecology of mountain dwelling monsters was worth 20000. I guess the printing press hasn’t been invented yet either, they probably still rely on scribes.
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Outside a clothing shop I spotted a mirror facing out into the crowd. I took the chance to take a look at my appearance, and was kind of shocked. The first thing that immediately stood out was my stark white hair. I had expected it to be golden in color like Alice's since we’re blood related. It was also unusual even by nonhuman standards from what I could tell. The closest I saw to it were dyed streaks of gray in a dwarfs beard. Though that might have just been because of age. Dwarves had so much hair it was a little hard to tell.
Coming back to my appearance, I had blue eyes like my sister and soft facial features. I was also very well toned for a boy of 15 years. Luckily it seemed like our hungry journey to the city hadn’t robbed us of too much weight, but we were on the scrawny side. I wanted to look a little longer but the crowd pushed me along and I caught up with Alice who had stopped a little ways ahead to wait for me.
We arrived at a giant plaza that looked like it could be in the center of the city. The road was neatly paved and there were a few fountains scattered around. I saw a line of citizens with buckets waiting to draw water from a well. I also saw several guards with pikes walking around keeping tabs on things. I guess the town's main water supply was as good a thing to protect as any.
I asked Alice, "Is the fountain water good to drink?" I was parched and wanted a drink.
"Yeah, everyone always drinks from that one over there." she said, pointing. The fountain she indicated did indeed have a small crowd around it. We went over and joined them. Alice happily cupped her hands and drank a handful of water. I at least tried scrubbing some of the dirt and dust out of my hands before I took my drink, though that may not have been a great idea from the looks the others around the fountain gave me. I should have thought about the fact I was adding dirt to the fresh water. Opps.
I noticed the water was pretty warm, which made me think the well water was probably nice and cool. I could definitely understand waiting in line for cool water in a world without refrigerators.
Moving away from the fountain I looked at the massive cathedral that dwarfed all the other buildings in its majesty. It was easily the largest building in the city, and it almost seemed like the city had been built around it. branching off from the cathedral were several smaller connected buildings that I saw men in white robes coming in and out of.
Alice led me inside the main entrance and I saw the cathedral proper had a very familiar design. Similar to roman catholic churches, the cathedral was primarily a single room with rows of benches lined up facing the front. At the far end was a statue of a man wrapped in free flowing cloth, and behind was a beautiful stained glass window.
I felt Alice pull on my arm and saw her pointing to a clergyman sitting behind a table writing something with a quill pen. I let her guide me over to the table the man was sitting behind. As we got closer I saw he had a slight red tint to his skin, jet black hair, and a pair of small horns protruding out of his head. The irony of someone who looked like a demon serving as a priest in a roman catholic style church was not lost on me. He was also somehow incredibly pale, despite his skin having that reddish hue. I wondered to myself whether he was some kind of cross between a demon and a vampire.
“Mister Zak, mister Zak!” my sister called out as she let go of my arm and ran towards the priest. I saw him flinch at hearing her voice and put on a forced smile before turning to her.
“Why, if it isn't little Alice. How's… your brother doing?” I almost felt bad for the guy. He looked extremely uncomfortable. I wasn't sure if he was just bad with kids or if we had just interrupted some important paperwork.
“Look, look mister Zak! Stein’s gotten all better! Even though you said he wouldn’t.” She made a pouting face as she said the last bit.
“He… what?” He looked at me as I walked up behind my sister. He gave me a quizzical look and I felt his sharp eye examining me from head to toe. I noticed he spent half a second more looking over my hair than the rest of me.
I lifted my hand in greeting and simply said, “Hello.” I didn't know this man so I simply went with a plain greeting.
He stood out of his chair and said, “How fascinating. Stein, you don't feel tired or weary? No weakness in your arms or legs?” I presumed this man must have at least some rudimentary medical knowledge because he asked these questions with a practiced familiarity.
Alice seemed to trust this man so I figured I might as well for now. “No, physically I feel fine. But…” I stopped before continuing and looked to Alice.
“Steins lost all his memories. He can’t remember me, or you, or mom and dad…” I saw tears well up again in her eyes but she managed to stop herself from crying.
I gave a half hearted shrug, “That’s how it is. Sorry but did I know you before, mister priest?”
I saw him bring his hand up to his chin and mutter, “Fascinating.”
Oi, I’m not a lab specimen.
"I suppose a reintroduction is in order. I am Zak Hop, a priest of the church of the Great Creator. I serve as Hornhaven's primary contractor." He gave a small, but genuine smile this time. "I suppose there are many things you will wish to know. As a priest in service to the public it would be my pleasure to assist you."
He crouched down before me and reached out his hand. I returned his smile and said, "I'm Stein, as you already know." I shook his hand.
******
Zak took us on a tour of the church and explained many of its various functions. He also explained the purpose and theology of the church.
The church of the Great Creator was founded to worship and uphold the ideas of the god Bymos, who's physical body was apparently that of the world itself. The church's main focus was to give aid to those in need. By Zak's own admission Bymos didn't care about being worshiped that much, which was a little bit of a culture shock.
"Yes, the Great Creator has stated that any who follow his ideology should focus on helping others before worshiping him in any way. Believers who come in to pray before his image sometimes are given the great gift of being able to commune with him, and he gives guidance. Those who devote their lives to his ideology like myself can on extraordinarily rare occasions be given blessings as well.”
"What does being blessed do?"
"It is said there are different ways a blessing will manifest. I know general good health is supposed to be a shared trait, but some experience good fortune, others are blessed with remarkable vitality. One of the archons, the leaders of the church, received a lesser blessing and is almost 200 years old, even though he’s just a human."
"Is there a written record of interactions with the Great Creator? You make it sound like there is a long history of appearances."
"Every church in the world has a copy of Erudition, the book that details him shaping this world in his image and entrusting it to the races of the world. Each country in the world also has a cathedral-city, which hosts one of the archons and an archive. The archives collect verified instances of interactions between Bymos and mortals from around each country."
He frowned and stopped walking, "By the way Stein, do you remember meeting anybody who looked exactly like you today? Alice, you too. Have you seen someone who looked like Stein, but wasn't actually Stein in the past few days?"
The question caused me to freeze, as I understood exactly what he meant. I just hadn't seen him in the form of Arnstein.
Alice almost immediately replied, "No, I would have noticed and asked him for help. Obviously." She put her hands on her hips and made a face that said Well duh.
"It's good that Stein has such a knowledgeable sister. And you haven't seen anyone like that Stein?"
I shook my head, I didn't know what the consequences of admitting I had would be, and further complications to our situation were something I wanted to avoid.
“Hm. Well, to explain why I asked, Stein, Lord Bymos sometimes comes to people in desperate need of help and will give divine assistance. As I mentioned before, the archives in our cathedral cities catalog records of all the people he helps. I had wondered if perhaps he had decided to help you in a time of such dire need, but I suppose this is not a miracle of his design. It is still, nonetheless, a miracle that you are alive, Stein. You should treasure this life you have very dearly.”
We continued moving through the halls. He introduced various functions of the church and I half listened. What I was really focused on was the magnificence of the church. As I had thought before, the town really had been built around the church itself. The church also provided and maintained vital functions, such as managing the infrastructure, keeping pollutants out of the well system, and hiring a portion of the guard. The influence and power the church held in this town was massive, and this isn't even one of the cathedral cities Zak had mentioned.
“Does the church run the country?” I asked. I figured with this much power and influence it was entirely possible for this nation to be a Theocracy.
“No, this nation, the kingdom of Maulia has a king and queen and is ruled by a royal family. The church helps manage many of the citizens affairs, while the royalty divide borders and squabble over resources and power.”
Sounds like a delicate balance of power. The royalty need to make sure not to step on the toes of the church lest the church turn the entire country against them. And the church is duty bound to not interfere with the government, but is limited in what they can do or it’ll look like they're making a grab for power.
Zak continued preaching about various aspects of his religion, “Perhaps the only other real directive Bymos has actually given, besides simply helping others, is that promises should always be kept. Remember this, Stein. Promises should always be kept, but never break a promise in a place dedicated to Bymos.”
We finished our tour and ended up back in the main cathedral.
"I wish I could do more to help, but the church has already filled its quota for charity this month. Funds are a little tight this month with an upcoming event so there isn’t as much to go around as there usually is. Please, take this as a little something from me." Zak handed us 250 zel.
"Thank you. Tell me, is there anywhere in this city that I could find work?" I thanked him and asked something I had been wondering about.
"There are places you might be able to find work Stein, but I'm afraid Alice is still too young to work." He looked to make sure she wasn't listening. She was off admiring a statue. "Stein I know you have no memory of her, but please value her above all else. She is quite possibly the only thing you have left. Even if you found work I would fear for what mischief she may get up to while you were away."
"Yeah, that's a good point." I grimaced. "I'm just trying to think of how to get a reliable source of food."
"I know. I'll ask around to see if there are any church programs we can use to provide for you. This city doesn't have an orphanage of its own so it will take some time to inquire to other churches. I hope to have a better solution than pocket change in a month. Come back in a week as well, we'll have food and clothing handed out then."
"Thank you father Zak, I appreciate you looking out for us."
"Be careful out there. Many other children you see belong to gangs led by bad men. Make sure not to fall in with them." A dark look crossed his face. "It would be extremely dangerous for Alice if you did."
Alice and I left the church and I got us some bread on our way back to our alley. We spent the rest of the day talking about this and that, and I learned more about the world I was in.
As night fell I couldn't help but notice how radiant the stars looked in this world. It was refreshing to see the sky in such clarity after a lifetime of having it drowned out by big city lights. Their blue and white hues blanketed the crack of the sky I could see from within the alley, and I felt thankful. I had seen many different and new things today. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about the untenable situation I found myself in, but if nothing else, I was thankful the world I had been brought to had such a beautiful night sky.