The sound of water gave Killian something to focus on. He stood in his bathroom in his base, staring at his reflection in the mirror. The edges of his vision pulsed as the parts of the room he could see swapped between blurry smudges and sharp lines. His reflection grinned back at him as he thought that it wasn’t as bad this time. There were enough familiar features swimming among the elven ones. He followed a droplet of water as it traveled down his cheek, only half feeling it as it reached his chin and fell into the sink to join the rest.
Killian lost himself for a few more moments as he wondered if there was something like mental healing magic here. He hoped for it as much as he dreaded the idea. It was times like this, when he did his best to hold on to himself, that he hoped he could change the scars that he still carried with him. On the other hand, when his mind wasn’t trying to float out of his body, he felt dread at the idea of being any different. Amy had said a lot about the mind recently, on how it took very little to change you from the inside. He hated quiet moments like this, teetering on the edge of stability or detachment. But would he still be himself if someone could wave their hand, mending the wounds he held most of his life? Or would it create a stranger with a copy of his memories?
The sparking jolt of memory brought him back to himself; he had come here for a reason. Taking a towel from the shelf beside him, Killian wiped what little water hadn't already evaporated from his face. Realizing he must have stood there a while, he quickly went about the tasks he had shifted into his base for.
Reloading the weapons he had used earlier that day and refilling the ammo on the shelves was the main reason he had come here. The thought of reaching for a shell in his armory only for nothing to arrive in his hand gave him enough anxiety to take care of it now. Finishing quickly, Killian grabbed a change of clothes, turning to stare at his massive, comfortable bed. Groaning to himself, he shifted the clothes into his wallet. There was a chance something could attack the camp he and his traveling companions had set up. The possible scene of the three adventurers fighting some monster and calling for his help, only to die as he slept comfortably in his luxurious bed, none the wiser, played out in his mind. He hadn't even slept in it yet, but the first night in this new world would be spent camping. Criminal.
The next morning, Blue Feather looked quite rested, clearly used to sleeping outside after long practice. Killian felt like shit. Well, in comparison, his body felt much better than he would have thought. The work he put into designing his body is already paying dividends. He had woken during the night a few times due to some noise or another, but he had always been a light sleeper. Killian offered to provide breakfast for the trio. They looked close to asking why he disappeared into his tent in silence for ten minutes before coming back out with a deli meat sandwich for each of them. They seemed to enjoy it enough to keep their questions to themselves.
The morning had a bit of a chill to it, so Killian got to introduce the trio to the heating in his Jeep. Imari seemed to get cold easily, and so praised him for the wonderful machine on this feature alone, more than the distance it could cover. The pleasant chatter between everyone nearly lulled Killian to sleep, only to be kept awake by questions from Blue Feather. Imari asked what he planned on doing once he arrived at Falcons Rest. He told her that aside from trying to learn some magic from her relative, he planned to sight-see and generally follow his whims. Arden asked if he wanted to enlist at the Adventurers Guild, seeing as he could take care of himself. Killian said he might; it was indeed tempting, but he would have to see about the magic first. The talk of magic reminded Imari of Killian's experiment, and she told her friends about what she had seen. Arden begged Killian to stop the Jeep and show him the blade that can cut stone, but Killian told him he could see it after he worked out the kinks. Shan's snort in reaction to the disappointed look on Arden's face was enough to distract Arden from his desire. Killian wasn't sure, but he thought she did that on purpose to help Killian out.
A few hours later, Killian could see the mighty redwoods the trio described to him the day before. They were astounding. The redwoods back on earth were nothing to sneeze at, but what he saw in the distance made them look like children standing next to their parents. Some of them rose above the clouds and looked wider than his apartment building back on earth. Starting before the tree line of the edwood forest was a city, great stone walls enclosed it from the front he could see, but Shan informed him that the one hundred foot tall wall ringed all of Falcons Rest. He couldn’t get a clear view from the road, but he thought he could make out the back forth of the city, which was indeed in the redwood forest, and built between two of the mighty trees must be the Rangers Guild. It had to be enormous if it could be seen from this distance. Killian drove as close as he was comfortable before asking the trio to travel on foot with him for the rest of the way. When asked if they would keep what he could do and what he had to themselves, Blue Feather responded in a serious and honest way. They would take anything secret entrusted to them to the grave. Killian thanked them but ensured them that it would only be a matter of time before the information got out; he just wanted to control how.
Lugging their packs and supplies down the road, the trio looked excited. Happy to nearly be home, and even happier to collect their coin for the job they completed. They also told Killian that they would most likely receive some reward for information on Morrachel, seeing as it was much closer to the city than everyone had assumed. Arden told his friends that he would collect what they were owed from the Adventurers Guild, and Shan said she would inform the Rangers Guild about the nightmare. This left Imari able to show Killian to her teacher's place and hopefully be able to help convince her to teach him as well. By the time the details of the wide front gates began to resolve themselves, Amy spoke into Killian's mind.
"Killian, before you enter the city, I wish to inform you of something."
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Araleon Glass, Diviner of Distant Truths and free wizard of Falcons Rest, sat on the floor in the top floor of his manor home. He didn’t see much of the expansive space, a space where all of the walls were knocked down and pillars erected, so the entirety of the top floor was a single room. His work room. He didn’t see the floating crystals above him providing an even and constant white light. He didn’t see the many tables and benches filled with various esoteric materials and experiments in varying stages of completion. He didn’t see the book shelves covering every space along the walls, save for the massive window with its many odd shapes at differing angles. The light from the sun draped across him, warming his back. No, the only thing that held his focus were the many sheeves of parchment scattered around him on the floor. An outsider would think he was trying some intricate magical ritual. Araleon hadn't cast a spell for hours.
He was exhausted. Down to his bones. He couldn’t remember when he last slept. Taking a moment to finally move his gaze from the ring of paper surrounding him, he glanced down to the only reason he was still conscious: his wide eye amulet.
"Running dry," he mumbled to himself. "Must have been about sixty hours since I started."
His normally pleasant voice, often compared to silk and soft leather, was now closer to the sound a box full of gravel would make if you shook it. Hearing it made him wince. It would appear he forgot to drink water while he worked again. Housekeeper Vera would scold him again. He rubbed his eyes hard, not noticing the dark circles that blended into the black smoke-like patterns across his face.
Araleon's eyes fell back onto the ring of paper and ink he sat in the center of. It drew his gaze like a load stone, the undeniable truth scattered across dozens of sheets, the puzzle he had put together clear as day. A new age had begun, and it could be disastrous. The ring he wore on his left middle finger caught the light from the sun behind him, helping to push his mind in the direction it needed to go. The sigil of Diviners, a crystal ball resting in the middle of an open book, worked in silver atop a circle of lapis lazuli laid into a ring of obsidian. He knew he must first send his discovery off to many of his colleagues, many eyes to confirm or disprove his findings. He knew what they would say and what they would see. A new age, an echo from the past. The Elder Realm was named for the coming and going of events and themes that came before. Some ages were always the same, like the age of cold winds that brought a many-year winter every cycle. But this age was not one of those; that would be too easy. His unerring gaze had brought to him the signs, the story of the world turning to the next page.
The age of renewal. Many would think it would be great; maybe it would bring prosperity to all who lived during it. But any student of history knows that renewal could just as easily come from the ashes of great forests, of shattered cobbles, and of broken towers. The Elder Realm would be renewed, but how this happened and how it would affect the people could be bad. The feeling he had in his gut told Araleon that turmoil was coming, and as a natural-born Diviner his feelings were right more than they were wrong.
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Araleon pushed himself to his feet, groaning at the effort it took. Walking to the window, he squinted his eyes at the light from the late morning sun. His eyes fell on the open gates and the line of those coming and going about their lives.
"I'm going to have to tell them, but how do I do so without sounding like some doomsayer?" He spoke into the quiet room.
Araleon had gained quite a reputation as one of the few high-order wizards here in falcons rest. More than a few disasters had been avoided due to his gazing into the future, and more still due to his magical talents. But anyone shouting to the world that hard times have come could only be taken so seriously.
He continued to grumble to himself, turning from the window to begin to send his findings to the other Diviners, unaware that one source of renewal was already crossing into the city. That renewal had already arrived at Falcons Rest.
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Killian let his personal goddess know he was ready to hear what she had to say. She began to speak, a feeling of humor passing along with her voice at the way he thought of her.
"Your real journey starts here; you will meet new people and see new things. During all of this, I can give advice and answer questions, but I am limited in what I can tell you. For example, I cannot give much information on the others who have transferred here with you. Even then, what little I am able to say you may view as worthless. After certain events or triggers, I may be able to tell you more. The important thing I wanted to tell you is about our link. It is powered by a deity, and though I am minor compared to the ones that I answer to, I am no slouch. All you need to do is focus on your link to me, and you should feel it. If you ever find yourself in a place where I cannot reach you and where you do not feel our link, you should immediately do everything in your power to leave. Anything powerful enough to block my link to you is certain death. At least for now. Do you understand?"
"If I call and you don’t answer, haul ass. Got it." He replied.
"Good, now I have your first task, my contractor. Take your time in this place. You can learn a lot here, especially if you succeed in swaying your new friend's teacher. Falcons Rest is a place where one such as yourself could gain much. Power, items, and allies. So stick around for a while. I will leave the time up to you. I know you plan to see more of The Elder Realm, but Falcons Rest is a place you could call home and never regret it."
Killian sent back feelings of understanding and agreement. If Amy made the point to tell him this, it was definitely a place he would spend time in. The conversation was long enough to distract him until they reached the end of a line to enter the city. The line wasn't very long, but the size of the gate was awe-inspiring. Many more people on foot made up most of the line, but there were more than a few carts. Killian asked what the name of the creature that pulled them was and learned they were called Bellow Cats. They were the size of a dire wolf, had blue-green fur with black stripes, and had a roar that shook Killian's bones when he first heard it, hence the name. He was also interested in a new race he saw in one of the carts. When he asked what they were, Imari was happy to answer; she seemed to jump at the chance to answer anything Killian asked. He thought it was a bit strange, but he took advantage of the chance to learn. Anyway, Killian was unsurprised that the tall wolflike men, moving crates around the cart for inspection by the guard, were called Weres, as in werewolf, and that they had many different animal-like subraces among them.
When it was their turn at the gate, the guards seemed to know Blue Feather and were able to vouch for Killian to enter with no issue. The guards, just like everyone else who caught sight of him, gawked and stared in his direction. He had heard whispers of "Fadeborn" and "Honored one". He had used the opportunity to train his spatial sense to "listen" in on what people further away were saying, but it was just more of what the trio had said. Arden had to shake the guard in charge to bring him out of his shock so they could proceed.
The city was, in simple terms, intimidating. Architecturally speaking. The building in this part of the city had an average of two to three floors. Style-wise, they looked like old German designs, with the cross-hatched wooden planks on the outside walls but without the pointed roofs. A main promenade branched off into small side streets that seemed to lead to businesses and neighborhoods alike. When Killian looked up, he saw the birds; falcons were absolutely everywhere. So much so that he thought the trio had underplayed how many there were. Every building or structure past a certain size held at least fifteen to twenty raptors, seeming to keep a watch over all they stood over. Killian thought that, if many rangers could see through the eyes of their birds, very little crime must happen here, if only because of the chance someone would see you.
After reaching a large splint in the main road, Arden and Shan told Killian and Imari they would make their way to the guilds, telling their friend they would see her later and offering Killian a place to sleep if he needed it. Telling them he wouldn’t need it but may call on them to hang out, the two of them gave Killian a genuine smile as they said their goodbyes. He thought that he may have made his first friends here in this new world. His new world. In his old life, he had a few friends. Killian had to admit to himself that after high school, the handful of people he talked to had dwindled to a handful. It was made even worse by his habit of not reaching out to people often enough, causing more than a few friendships to wither away. He promised to try better here, especially if he grew to like the trio as much as he thought he would.
Imari broke him from his thought by speaking into the empty air between them.
"The way to my teacher is a bit more of a walk. She lives closer to the center of the city, right before the redwoods start."
"Is there anything you can tell me about her? Anything to help increase my chances?" Killian asked in response.
"Well," she started, "Aunt Seren has a difficult personality. She has little time for the nonsense people do and even less for mistakes." Imari used air quotes to emphasize the word nonsense, leading Killian to believe her definition of nonsense would be different than everyone else's.
"Simply put, she's brilliant. If she wasn't, you can bet she wouldn't get away with being so awful to everyone. She is a seventh-order wizard, which, if you don’t know, is pretty high up there, seeing as the highest is nine. She specializes in large-scale rituals, spell theory, and elemental magic. I have a high affinity for elemental magic, so that’s why I had an edge when begging her to teach me when I was younger." She said the last part with a bit of a smile on her face.
"Do you use only elemental magic, or is there anything else you can do?" Killian asked, noticing the hope she held that he would do so.
"My natural affinity is for elemental magic, but I also have a talent for curse-breaking and what is called lifestyle magic. Most people say it's a waste of time to learn, but as an adventurer, it's a lifesaver. We have done a few multi-group quests in the past. Mages in the other groups would turn up their noses when seeing me do things like heat up food or do laundry, but I had the last laugh a week in, and they smelled like sweat and blood while we smelled like roses. Clean and happy beats dirty but proud every time."
Killian smiled as he listened. He also immediately decided that lifestyle magic was absolutely necessary for his new life in this world. The conversation moved on to more casual topics, with Killian asking questions here and there to start building a basic knowledge of the city and the culture within. He lost count of the number of people in Ranger's garb as they walked. He even stopped to watch a massive bird and it's rider take off from a building ahead. Killian's awe was cut short as Imari reacted differently to the sight.
"Oh no." She said, a pensive look coming over her.
"Everything ok? Is there a problem?" Killian asked.
"Maybe, that building is Aunt Seren's house. And that ranger is the one who regularly delivers the potion she makes to a client in the mountains to the north." She answered.
"Ok, what's the problem?" Killian asked, confused.
"He didn’t have his pack on just now, the one that carries the bottles. He's never left without it. Oh no, this might be bad." She twisted the length of her robes in her hands as she spoke.
"Come on, might as well see if this is a pointless endeavor." She said, a resigned tone in her voice.
Walking the rest of the way down the street, Imari brought Killian into a quaint three-story home with only half the hatching on the bottom half of the house. The houses on either side of the building had more space between them, though only a total of about fifteen feet, much more than the seven or so everywhere else. Pushing open the door and walking straight inside, Killian followed Imari, and she strode an unerring path through the entry room and its cluttered tables and shelves to a staircase leading upward. Killian assumed Imari knew where her teacher would be, as she didn’t call out at all. Climbing to the third floor, she opened a door into a room dominated by a large table in the center, filled with glass beakers, test tubes, bottles, and more. The smell of chemicals and more was noticeable, but not overwhelming. Standing at the far end of the room by a balcony door was an older Atali woman with purple patterns like bolts of lightning and broken rocks on her face and hands, staring at a large number of crates. She wore similar robes as Imari, clearly where she got her style from, and seemed to vibrate with rage. She turned at the noise, her gray hair falling to frame a face that would be beautiful, save for the glare that Killian was sure would light him on fire.
"Aunt Seren, I'm back," Imari said in the silence, speaking quickly to try and head off any angry reaction. "This is my new friend Killian; he helped save our lives when we encountered Morrachel on the way back home."
The woman seemed to drink all of this in, and it didn’t affect her mood in the slightest. She stared at the two like they had committed some heinous offense to her mere moments ago. Imari started to break under the look as she continued, her voice rising in pitch as she finished in a squeak.
"As you can see, he is a dusk elf, uh, I mean Fadeborn. I know you have an interest in the Elder Races. And when he asked if I knew someone who could teach him magic, I thought of you. That's okay, right? I-uh"
The woman's eyes were fixed on his. "Oh, good," he thought. "My first task is in hard mode. Lovely."