Chapter 01
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Henry's eyes fluttered open, greeted by an expanse of grass unlike any he had encountered before. It was a surreal blend of blue and green, its softness rivaling that of the most luxurious fabric. His hand, reaching out to touch it, paused in mid-air as he caught sight of his palm—small, pudgy fingers wiggling back at him. Panic fluttered in his chest; moments ago, he was a 24-year-old man trapped in the monotony of adult life, not an infant lying on an alien turf.
His mind raced trying to come to some kind of conclusion. Some rational explanation for what was going on.
“Am I in a coma? Some kind of simulation…” Was what Henry had meant to say, but his vocal chords betrayed him, all that he managed to produce was some infantile babbling.
Henry closed his eyes to consolidate his thoughts. “This is insane…Am I insane? I must be, because this is not right. Why is the Grass blue? Why am I a...baby?”
As he was contemplating this, he froze at the sound of approaching footsteps and incoherent voices. In what he believed to be a mad dash to safety, Henry crawled away awkwardly.
He was no match for what he perceived as the incredibly fast pace of the woman now reaching down to pick him up.
She was breathtakingly stunning, with straight silver hair that reached down to her shoulders, all white gear, ocean blue eyes, pointy ears, and…breasts that made his eyes nearly pop out of his sockets. He immediately shifted his gaze, feeling guilty for allowing his eyes to stray, but the woman didn’t even seem to notice.
Seeming inconsequential standing next to the beautiful woman, Henry now realized the source of the other voice he was hearing.
It was a man with similar features to the woman, except this man had black hair and wore red and white robes. He once again noticed the pointy ears, which had gone overshadowed by the woman’s…other features.
Shaking these thoughts away, he realized the man and woman looked similar to those people who cosplay and play nerdy games like Dungeons and Dragons, which he knew very little about.
“I’d reallyyy like to think this is Europe or something…but I don’t think the grass is blue in any part of Earth…then again, maybe I was forced into some kind of crazy test by the government?” Henry contemplated to himself.
Finn was gently placed on a cushion inside what seemed like a wagon from medieval times. Around him, a diverse group sparked his curiosity.
To his left, a formidable woman stood, her posture ready and alert. She seemed human, yet her demeanor suggested she was prepared for any threat.
Beside her, an imposing figure rested with eyes closed. His appearance was a fascinating blend of human and dragon, scales subtly glinting in the dim light. A silent guardian in deep meditation, his presence alone commanded respect.
A dwarf with a merry smile and rosy cheeks occupied the next seat. He busied himself with a blade, his hands deft and focused.
Across, an elf with less pronounced ears strummed a lute. The music he played was alive, painting the air with vibrant colors that mesmerized Finn.
The smallest among them, even tinier than the dwarf, intrigued Finn. Was she a different kind or simply petite? Her presence added to the wagon's mystery.
As the elves resumed their seats, the wagon stirred to life, setting off with this band of misfits into the unknown.
Henry stared at his surroundings. “I can not believe this is happening right now. Where the hell am I? Who are these people? How did I get here?”
Henry made several attempts to talk to the members of the wagon, but all he could manage was intelligible babbling, and he quickly gave up.
Changing tactics, he began studying the sounds they made while talking, as well as their body language. Luckily, the language structure at least seemed to be somewhat similar to his own, and some words began standing out more and more as he heard them repeated.
As the ride went on, the elf who had originally found him seemed to be having a very heavy conversation with the group. She would gesture in his direction, and he often heard “Finn” mentioned in reference to himself.
Henry considered this to himself, wishing he had someone else to talk to. “Am I supposed to be Finn now? I guess I’m not really a 24 year old in Australia anymore... am I even on Earth?”
With this heavy contemplation on his mind, he drifted into sleep.
In his dreams he caught a glimpse of what could only have been his final memory as Henry. All he could see was the shadow of a man running away as blood pooled around him. His blood.
“Am I really dead? This can’t be right. Even if I did die, why do I remember my last life?"
The concept of religion and reincarnation never really seemed realistic to Henry, who was largely agnostic, but then what was this...place? He was fairly certain there were no elves in Australia, and more importantly he had 24 years of memories, as bleak and repetitive as they were, he was pretty sure you don’t keep your memories when you die.
As the dream faded, the first thing he heard was the beautiful voice of the female elf who had picked him up and taken him to the wagon. She seemed to still be discussing with the rest of her group, who all had mixed expressions. Not having anything better to do, Henry, or rather Finn now, listened intently to study the language he was hearing.
After several hours (or what felt like hours) of chatter, the wagon came to an abrupt stop, and he saw the group jump to their feet as they all grabbed an assortment of gear that had been lying at their feet.
There were simple-looking shields, swords, breastplates, and even a plain-looking staff with some type of shiny red crystal at the top. The female elf said something he couldn't understand aside from “Finn” as she kissed him gently on the forehead.
Finn pushed himself up with the weakness of an infant to try to see what was happening, and to his dismay, the first thing he noticed was some kind of beast. In fact there was an entire set of them, squaring off against the group.
Finn recognized them as rats from his old world, although these were a little different.
"Ah, gross, they’re freakin huge!"
Indeed, the rats were easily akin to the size of a Saint Bernard. The rat creatures looked disgusting and foul, foaming white and red liquid from their mouths.
Finn watched in a mix of horror and astonishment as the group who had taken him in, cut down the rats with the practiced ease of working as a team.
Finn had played plenty of video games as his own method of escapism back on Earth, but was reminded now that this world seemed to be real life as he watched the blood gushing from the once living corpses of the rats, until he watched as the man with black silky hair drew out some form of magical circle.
Shortly after the man finished the circle, Finn watched as each dead rat began to warp into a small dark blue crystal, the blood and bodies now nowhere to be found as if they never existed at all.
As the team of people clambered back onto the wagon, the man with black hair seemed to notice Finn’s interest, pulling out the dark crystal, and handing it to Finn, who held the item with bright excitement. Being satisfied that Finn wasn't going to put the crystal anywhere it shouldn’t go, he went to join the group as they resumed their journey.
As the wagon rolled on, boring days turned into very boring weeks, and very boring weeks into nearly intolerable months. Periodically, the party would st`op to fight strange variations of creatures Finn recognized, or they would break to sleep. Finn had a clear view of their surroundings from the open ended back of the wagon.
With nothing better to do, he would watch with wide-eyed wonder as he saw things he would have only seen in movies in his old life, forests vibrant with color, plant life, and creatures, Ruins covered in overgrown plants, bustling villages, and Finn’s favorite, the magical night sky, free of pollution, and potent with magic, Finn reveled in the beauty and wonder of the cosmos, wondering what it had to offer him in this new life.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Luckily, Finn's strange situation, being a 24-year-old man in an infant's body, lent itself to an accelerated learning capacity. Although he couldn’t speak yet, his understanding of the language spoken by his newfound companions grew rapidly.
He listened intently to their conversations, slowly piecing together the structure and vocabulary of their language. His adoptive companions seemed to understand to some degree that he was trying to learn, and took turns making efforts to teach him.
Finn’s favorite teacher was the female elf, who he was fairly certain was named Elara. She was a kind, beautiful, gentle, and nurturing woman, who would sing to him and teach him words through picture cards she drew herself.
During this time, the group, whom he started to think of as his protectors and new family, took turns caring for him. Each member contributed in their own way to his education.
Elara would often sing to him along with the elf with the lute, together, filling the wagon with beautiful music. The man with the black hair, named Toren, occasionally showed Finn the crystals and other magical artifacts, explaining their properties in simple terms Finn could grasp, even if he lacked the ability to respond. Through these interactions, Finn began to understand not just their language, but also the basics of their culture and customs.
From what Finn could gather, he learned that the Dwarf’s name was Branok, who appeared to be both warrior and blacksmith. Finn found him to be stout and hearty, often bellowing with laughter. He was a hard, yet kind hearted man who would craft toys, trinkets, and simple tools for Finn, who enjoyed the little puzzles that Branok would make him, giving him something to do to pass the idle time.
Lia the Human, was a scout and ranger, she seemed to be the most practical, using skills rather than magic to create fires, build shelters, and scout. She kept to herself, although she seemed to be loyal to the team. She would sometimes bring Finn soft foods for him to try, showing off a thoughtful part of herself she seemed to typically hide.
Cadan was a Half-Elf and a bard, he used his abilities along with Elara to soothe and delight Finn. The man was charismatic, funny, and loved telling stories. As Finn grew more comfortable with the language, he appreciated the stories more and more.
Ariella was a gnome. She enjoyed practicing her alchemy and inventing, and often concocted strange potions and devices that used both magic and basic technology.
The last member of the group, named Kael, had the unique traits of a dragon-humanoid and seemed to be a monk. His serene presence brought tranquility to their ensemble. Kael's expertise in martial arts was evident, disciplined and refined. He dedicated himself to guiding Finn through the simplest practices of meditation and finding major internal peace, without speaking a word.
In quiet moments, while the others were busy, Finn would practice forming words, his baby vocal cords straining to reproduce the sounds he heard most often. It was a slow, often frustrating process, but he persisted, knowing that being able to communicate would be the key to truly understanding this world and finding his place in it.
As Finn grew in both mind and body, his connection with his protectors deepened, and the dissonance he felt between his former self lessened as he came into his new life. He doubted he would ever lose himself as Henry, but that person seemed farther and farther away with every passing day.
One evening, as the group sat around a campfire, Finn, now a toddler, spoke his first clear word in their language. “Elara” The surprise and delight on his party’s faces mirrored his own sense of accomplishment. It was a small but significant milestone, marking the beginning of a new chapter in his new life.
That night, he fell into a deep sleep, tired from all the excitement brought by finally saying his first real word. He was both proud and frustrated at the difficulty and the accomplishment.
There were significant challenges in learning to pronounce things in the dialect of this new world. Even when practicing using his original language, he found there was a dissonance between his mind’s knowledge and his new body’s capacity to perform the actions. His thoughts drifted, and he began to dream.
In his dream, Finn was a disembodied person, as he watched the 16 year old version of Henry running out the door for school, the heat blazed, but he didn’t seem to mind it.
As Henry jogged to school, he ran into a group of his friends, and they discussed a project they had at school, and their plans for the weekend. Finn felt a heavy tug on his heart, remembering the friends he had once been so close with, wishing he had done things differently.
If he had, perhaps his life would have gone down a better path, maybe he wouldn't have gotten stuck in the depressing cycle he was in for the last 6 years of his life.
Finn was abrubtly jolted awake, his somber dream quickly washing away when he was picked up by Kael, feeling the wind rush through his hair and the heavy thumps of Kael’s running. Finn looked around wildly, trying to piece together what was happening.
The grogginess of sleep being washed away by adrenaline, he caught a glimpse behind him as the bright sparks of magic and the clashing of swords behind him lit up the otherwise dark night, and he realized most of the group was fighting off a group of attackers.
From what Finn was able to gather about this world, there was a set of rules about infighting between adventurers and guild members, but some people who had a taste for violence would seek out murder for profit, the spoils of their kills and the satisfaction of murder enticing them to seek more victims.
Finn Panicked as he noticed The whole party, aside from Kael, was still fighting and appeared to be outnumbered. Finn’s age as a toddler won over his emotions as he began to loudly cry, with no other way to effectively express himself.
This was to Kael’s horror, who had been trying to escape unnoticed to keep Finn safe, but Finn’s cries had alerted some of the attackers now shifted direction to chase Kael.
Luckily, this provided Branok, Elara, and Toren a much needed reprieve. Finn watched from his shaky view as Toren, who had been on the defensive, conjuring fiery shields, was able to make two powerful firebolts engulf two of the attackers' completely in flames.
Finn watched as the men began screaming in pain, and then as Lia, who had been waiting for an opportune moment, took advantage, charging her bow with an arrow crafted by Ariella.
Now able to focus, Lia allowed her mana to flow and merge with the arrow, letting it loose. Finn continued watching as the arrow flew guided by Lia.
The arrow pierced the heads of the first two men, until it was incinerated by the third attacker's magical shield as she spat invective at ariella.
Finn jolted at the sight of the heads exploding. He absently noted the violent display reminded him of watermelons exploding. The sight caused him to vomit over Kael’s shoulder, getting a quiet “Eughh” of disgust from Kael’s when some of it landed on him.
Aside from the graphic violence he was not used to from his former life, Finn fretted for the safety of his new family. He had grown so fond of them, and loved them all to some degree.
He wasn’t sure if this was due to his new nature as a toddler, or the fact he relied on them all so heavily. Regardless, the thought of losing Elara filled him with violent fear, threatening to make him vomit once again.
Finn felt an aggressive influx of emotion and power, realizing he had reflexively produced some magic, but he was just a toddler, with no real knowledge of magic.
He felt the magic in his body swell up and flow, like electricity flowing through his veins, but it also felt like the magic was a wild beast with no way to tame it, and the power lashed out against him, until the magic had forced its way out of his body, sending little sparks of ultraviolet magic from his hands, and he passed out.
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