The smell of blood and shit was everywhere, the remains of those who had hidden here were unrecognizable. The young man bent down and picked up a small hand, he shook it, just a hand. The world was ending, and before the young man it was his world that was ending, something grew in his chest, the young man let it rise, let it spill out of his mouth. It was a laugh, dark, filled with madness. As he held what was left of his little sister, the young man hidden in the shadows laughed.

Reminiscence

The flavour of the game was peculiar, she was not used to eating this stronger meat, that of animals that had lived in the wild, fortunately, there was no shortage of choice. There were many fruits and vegetables, some with a taste she had never experienced but very pleasant.

She thought she had reached the peak of weirdness, but as time went by she had to face the fact that the current situation was truly... weird. Leila had no other word for it because everything that had happened to her was simply absurd, but what terrified her was that it would only get worse unless she could find a way to get home to her family. And even though she didn't know how to do that, she already knew that the events she had experienced had already changed her profoundly, what had happened to their classmate...

A horror that began to feel familiar took hold of her, slowly putting down her cutlery, her appetite gone, she observed the incongruous situation she found herself in. Even in her wildest nightmares, she could not have imagined herself in such an absurd situation, she was in a palace, dining at the table of a royalty from another time on a world that was not her own with an individual who was not even of her race.

She could have marvelled at the unreal beauties that this world seemed to hide if she was only too aware of her situation. Would she ever see her family again? Her fellow sufferers sat around her with their host, enjoying the meal as if it were natural for them. Had they gone mad while she was unconscious? Was she the only one here with any semblance of lucidity? Aurora seemed to be making the best of her situation, sitting on his left side and squealing with delight at each new food she dutifully devoured. True, they hadn't had a real meal since they left to go home, but damn it if she wasn't a little more aware of the situation. While she ate as she'd never eaten anything so good in her life she listened to Jonah, sitting next to her, talking with Lenaël himself, sitting to Jonah's left, occasionally her asking with questions also. Leila hadn't really listened to what they were saying but there was a lot of talk about embroidery apparently, or weaving, she didn't understand the difference. No, she was much more concerned about their situation and if Jonah had any sense he would do the same instead of discussing clothes with strangers. No doubt that if he had noticed the dark look she was giving him he would have kept quiet, to finally become aware of their current reality. Unfortunately, he was absorbed in his discussion, as if he was in control of the situation and everything was normal...

She looked away before she started to seriously think about throwing her glass of water in the face of these two phenomena, then continued her tour of the table. Next to Lenaël was an Eldar woman who, while young, had wise and aged eyes. When their eyes met she couldn't help but shiver, she caught a glimpse of sadness in her beautiful silver eyes, so quickly hidden that she doubted she had seen it. Lenaël, had named her Veridice, the steward of the palace as well as a distant relative of the imperial family.

Leila continued her tour of the table, looking at the young woman sitting next to her, their captor, who was deep in conversation with Mat. Had she been in their world, surrounded by her people, she would have been amused by the obvious interest the young man seemed to take in her. In fact, of all those present in this dark adventure, Mat seemed to have changed the most. Of course, she didn't know him well, but he had always been dark and distant with the others, now he seemed almost like a normal young man. At last, she was able to take an interest in the last of their comrades in misfortune, Mustapha, who seemed as agitated as usual and who was trying to cheer up Marie, who was sitting next to him. Leila didn't know Marie, but of all the people here she was the only one who was aware of their situation, along with her. She mentally approved of her introspection. Finally someone normal. Marie was deep in thought, nibbling at the food on her plate with her fingertips, she was a small, slightly plump brunette, but not without a certain charm. She paid no attention to Mustapha, merely reflecting with a little pout on her mouth. The only one absent among them was Lucas, who had remained in the flats, lying in bed, and who had not reacted to the invitation to dinner, as if only his body were present. Leila was worried about him but she didn't know how to react to what was happening to him, he just seemed to have given up.

- This is not magic, she heard. Humans have mages, or at least what they call mages, we are weavers.

- We are weavers. Really? But what's the difference?" said Jonah. From what you've told me, weaving makes what isn't real...

- That's not the case," answered Lenaël with a patient smile, "if you don't mind, I'll let the young Zarune explain the difference, which she should know if she's learned her lesson well," he gave the young woman a piercing look.

The girl tensed at the mention of his name and grimaced. Giving a cautious look to Lenaël, she answered:

- Well... It's mainly in the source of the knowledge and how to use it, isn't it? It was Karrus, the god of secrets, who taught us how to manipulate the weave that makes up the world, and that is simply to redirect the weave in the direction you want it to go to achieve what you wish to create or see appear. Whereas humans are content to wrest the power they desire without any thought for the damage they do to the weave.

- Apart from the young lady's prejudices and a few approximations, that's about it," said the Eldar with a sigh. If you want to use weaving, you have to understand that using force is counterproductive...

- Wait," Leila intervened. What do you mean, want to use it?

Jonah met her eyes and she could see a great deal of determination in them.

- Yes, Lenael has agreed to teach me and Aurora to weave.

- Why did he do that?

- And why not," Aurora answered. You can't imagine the opportunity of what we're being offered, not to mention our home, on Sa I'm sure it's not an offer usually made to humans.

- Doesn't it seem strange to you that we foreigners are being offered this?

After his announcement, a heavy silence seemed to fall. Slowly, everyone turned to Veridice, who sat at the end of the table. At the soft smile she gave him, Leila could not help but blush. When she thought about those words and where they were, she felt uncomfortable.

- You are right to be suspicious, given your situation," Veridice said gently. But I can promise you that we have no ill intentions towards you, you are at home here as long as you want. I was going to tell you about it at the end of the meal, but since we are here, you should know the situation our people are in." She looks around with a sad and weary look. You may have noticed how empty this palace and the city are, and this is the case simply because most of our people have gone to face danger... Because we are at war.

At this announcement, the young Earthmen held their breath.

- At war? Jonah asked in a white voice. Against whom?

With a smile Veridice said:

- Given your situation and your arrival here, such an answer will mean nothing to you. If I had to explain it to children who know nothing of our world, which is somewhat the case with you, I would simply say that beyond the ridges of Ride, the mountains south of Irvanon, lies a land forgotten by the gods and populated by a group of races that humans conveniently call the Rhogar. You must understand that the Rhogar races are as dissimilar to each other as we are to Humans and that they are even more warlike than Humans. But in the last decade or so we have seen a change, for the first time since the Schism they have united and are moving together in one direction, northwards. And if we let them through, it is not only the Emerald Kingdom that will suffer but all the nations of Imir.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Seeing the faces of her young guests a little lost, she added.

- I understand that all this may seem somewhat nebulous to you, so I will say this. We are at war for our survival, and for the survival of the Imir peoples, even if they are not aware of it. You are now part of this world, will you help us?

Incredulous Leila says:

- Will you help? How do you help? By making war? We are children, ignorant of this world, how can we be of any help to you?

- On the contrary, Lenaël replied. If you are not aware of your skills, each of you is unique in this world." Caressing the stick he never took off, he continued. It must be difficult for you to understand, not knowing how our world works, but there is one thing that distinguishes you from us, natives of Sa, something that is obvious to those who can see. You must understand one thing, every living being on Sa has what is called the prism. The prism is... everything. It is difficult to explain what it is, many philosophers have studied the question, treatises have been devoted to it, a symposium that examined the question in the city of knowledge of Irin lasted more than 6 months causing many disagreements between the different schools of magic, philosopher and greats thinkers of the time. Which was one of the causes of the red summer of Halamrish. Anyway, I digress. What you need to know is that the prism exists, and it is what designates you as a living being as opposed to the undead. The one whose prism is the most powerful, or the most extensive depending on his school of thought, is capable of much more than an ordinary living being, for example, manipulating the weave, or brutalizing it if you are a mage. This is what I am getting at, what distinguishes you from the mortals of Sa and that you possess a prism that has no limits... I don't know if you understand what this means but it makes you extremely valuable in this world, and extremely dangerous...

Stunned by this avalanche of information, the young Earthmen did not say a word, and when Leila realised that in breathless, she's taken over. Her head was full of questions, she was about to vent her frustration when Jonah caught her off guard.

- I... I'm not saying I understand the whole thing but... But even if, as you say, we have a prism without any limits... What do you want from us? If you want us to use this... power to fight, I'm not sure we'd agree.

- In no way would we want to force you to fight," said Veridice gently. No, we have something else in mind. Our people in their golden age, before the arrival of the Humans, had begun to conquer the regions beyond the Ride ridges. In the end, they preferred to give up these inhospitable lands. But having become aware of the destructive power of their inhabitant's, heirs from the ravages of the first conflict caused by the Schism. To avoid a situation like the one that exists today, the greatest weavers of the time, with the help of the Gods, built three towers with three artefacts at their centre, which, powered by the most powerful weavers, would make the access to Imir impervious to the Rhogar hordes. What we are asking you today is to reactivate these artefacts.

- So basically you want us to serve as a battery," scoffed Mustapha.

- A battery?

- A power source," translated Jonah.

- Don't get me wrong, I know what we're asking you to do may shock you, but we're in a desperate situation. Our people are fighting and dying in a losing battle, there are not enough of us to face the countless hordes of Rhogar, and no help is coming from the northern peoples of Imir. To us, you seem to be the solution sent by the gods to deal with this situation.

- Do you think it was your gods who sent us here? Leila asked hopefully. So if that's the case maybe they could send us home, right?

At her words the steward and the Eldar with the staff looked at each other, sharing a secret knowledge.

- We do not know, the gods no longer intervene directly in mortal conflicts and no longer walk among us. Even if they could, we do not know if they would want to.

While they had been talking several young Eldar were passed by to take the rest of the meal and brought candied fruit in crystal bowls for dessert.

To Leila, these explanations had an air of falsity about them that bothered her, if she took into account the words she had heard when they first entered the throne room with the threat of death they had been told she felt that information was being withheld from her. And she didn't like it.

- Whatever you decide, know that we will not force you to act against your will. And if I have offered to teach you the way of weaving, it is because I recognise in you the ability to continue my art. I think that with the skills you possess you might be able to recover the lost knowledge of the weavers of yesteryear," added Lenaël gravely, looking at Jonah and Aurora. Besides, even if you were to agree to reactivate the artefacts, we need to teach you to control your prism first, which takes time and effort.

- In the meantime," continued Veridice, "I suggest that you finish this meal and then return to rest, may the sleep of Dicat take you and bring you rest and guidance.

*

There are cold, dreary silences that men shun, and the silence surrounding his friend was one of those. Jonah stood alone over Lucas' bed, his eyes open and reflecting neither light nor life. Jonah put his hand on his cold forehead, this body that yesterday was full of life seemed empty. He didn't understand why, but his friend's spirit seemed to have deserted him, he had only an empty, inanimate shell in front of him...

- He still does not react? he heard.

He turned towards the door of Lucas' room, in the doorway stood Aurora. She was reaching for his chin with difficulty but radiating a power that Jonah could not describe, her long chestnut hair shone in the strange light from the walls of this strange palace and from her large, soft green eyes he perceived the same sadness that he could not admit to himself. Her face was thin and pale, in total contrast to her radiant and wandering personality which makes her go out more often than not. But for the moment she was just compassionate and weary. It was as if for the first time since their arrival in this world reality was touching her and it was with a tired smile that she told him.

- The others are coming, do you want to have a meeting here?

With another look at his friend he replied:

- Even if he doesn't seem to react to the outside world anymore, he is still alive, he has the right to know what we will decide, together.

So she approached, and slowly sat down on one of the sofas in the room, waiting in silence for their companions to arrive.

As time passed, his companions came, each stopping for a moment in the doorway of the room to observe the sad spectacle before them, and in silence, they sat down to wait for the conciliatory meeting requested by Jonah. When Mat, the last of them to arrive, finally appeared, Jonah turned to his companions. In a calm voice, but with a hint of fatigue, he said.

- We have to decide what to do, are we going to let them use us?

A heavy silence accompanied his words, and it was from an unexpected place that an answer came:

- Do we have a choice," Marie replied in a small voice. It's true, they've said they won't impose anything on us, but they've made it clear that it's either that or death...

- I think it would be useful for us to learn what they will teach us," added Mustapha. Whatever we do afterwards, it's always good to know that we can cope with it, isn't it?

- I agree," said Jonah. I intend to learn the weaving that Lenaël wants to teach us, what we do with that knowledge is up to us. I'm in favour of accepting their... training for now. We need to acquire the abilities that will allow us to face anything that might happen to us, and above all, we need to learn more about this world and how it works.

- Already, what we know is that we are in a nation at war. Also, from what I've learned, although their level of technology has evolved differently from what we are used to, they are still very archaic in some ways. They have not invented gunpowder and their weaponry remains focused on bladed weapons, swords and bows. Mat has added ironically.

Everyone looked at him strangely for a moment after he spoke.

- You know a lot," said Leila. In such a short time...

- I'm not going to sit around and whine and wait for others to decide what to do for me," he said with a cold stare.

When Jonah saw the dangerous glint in his ex-girlfriend's eyes, he intervened.

- There's no need to be so condescending, Mat, but thanks for the information. Did you learn anything else?

After an amused look Mat replied;

- I've been assured, that if we wanted to we could be trained to handle their weapons, although most of their senior instructors are in the war, there are still enough who are training the younger Eldar to allow us to take their lesson as well. Also, Zarune told me that she has a collection of beautiful bows and would be happy to show them to you, Leila.

- What?! What right do you have to talk about me too...

- I think it's a great idea," Jonah interjected again. Don't you think it's a great chance to learn more about our hosts, Leila?

- Well... I guess so.

- Great, how about we tell each other what we're going to do tomorrow? Aurora and I will be busy gathering information from Lënael.

- Yes, that sounds exciting," said Aurora, her eyes shining, all fatigue gone from her features.

- I'll go see Zarune then, since that's what we decided for me," Leila added coolly.

- I'm going to poke around their city a bit, see if there's anything to learn and stuff," said Mustapha. We might as well take advantage of the freedom of movement they're giving us for the time being.

- I'm going to accompany an Eldar to their training ground," said Mat.

After a few seconds of silence, everyone turned to Marie, waiting for her answer. The latter, lost in her thoughts, was startled when she realised she was the centre of attention in the room. She answered shyly:

- I think I'll stay here and look after Lucas.

At these words, a suffocating atmosphere seemed to fill the room, and everyone turned to the bed where Lucas lay still. It was then that all the fatigue accumulated over the last few days weighed heavily on Jonah's shoulders, and it was with a weary tone that he said to his companions.

- Well, I think we've said everything that needs to be said. I suggest that we get some rest so that we can be in shape tomorrow. We'll meet here tomorrow night. Good night," he added, turning his back on them and moving closer to his friend's bed.

And it was in silence that everyone got up to return to their rooms, or almost.

- And may the sleep of Dicat take you and bring you rest and guidance," scoffed Mat.