The man struggles to get his baring while floating inside the rift. The dimension filled with a massive void in time and space was relentless without any form of direction. Thoughts of the man's life swam inside his mind, "Is this it?" He thought. "Is this really the end of my pointless 20 years?" He doubted himself for every significant choice he had ever made.

Ripples of light flashed in the pit of darkness. His eyes almost missed the flicker of gold and green. He disregarded this event due to his despair from his life ending taking precedence in his thought stack. "I've only worked part time jobs, not for very long either. Would anyone even care if i died? Even notice? If anything the people that know me would be annoyed that i died. Attending my funeral would be a hassle for everyone."

Again the light flashed. The gold and green brighter than before. Taking on the form of a thin vertical diamond. A ribbon of yellow-orange light outlined a deep, forest green. Again the man removed the lights from his mind. "No family... No friends... The only one who would know i existed after i die would be the guy that stamps, 'DECEASED' on public records..." The third flash appeared. Nearly four times as large as the last. The diamond grew wider. The man could make out an image of a tree through the ever brighter golden light. "Hallucinations. The beginning of madness. I guess seeing things is better than nothing. Hell, madness might be fun..."

The man let out a sorrowful chuckle. The fourth flash came like an explosion. Bolts of energy capable of leveling cities erupted from the points of the diamond. Shrapnel of light splash thought the black abyss surrounding him. It swallowed the light as it traveled deeper, warping from the distortion of space. The diamond's edges trembled with instability, while the green rip in the cloak of nothingness began to suck him in. He felt his consciousness fading as his lower body was beneath the surface of the rip. The man shut his eyes, and soon enters a forceful sleep.

The creek of wooden wheels greeted him as he awoke in a wagon. At first the light shining through the branches above blinded him, but as his eyes adjusted, he could see that the leaves were moving. A man in a shabby tan tunic and torn brown trousers peered down at him from above. His greyed beard, thick and callused hands, and think smell of dirt made him out as a poor farmer. The two made eye contact.

The farmers eyes were bright blue, and cheerful. He grinned and said, "Lad, you must have had a hell of a night at the tavern. We found you in a rash bush a leap from town! Luckily me granddaughter spotted you. We put an ointment on ya, so the redness is gone. Damn those bushy bastards sting."

"Who..." the man groaned. His voice rough and dry.

"Me? I’m Dendrik. This is Clara. And you, friend?" The man felt his head on something soft. He quickly realized that Clara had been letting him rest his head on her lap. He saw Clara clearly for the first time. A truly beautiful girl, appearing to be around the age of 18 or 19. She had long black hair and the same bright blue eyes as her grandfather.

"Sorry... Im..." The man paused. He struggled with the answer. He could remember most of his life, but not the simplest and most important detail. His name eluded him. "I... I don't... remember."

Clara looked at her grandfather. Dendrik shrugged. "Do you know your roots boy? Your homeland?"

"Im from… Las Vegas." Again, Clara and Dendrik turned to each other. Confusion could be seen on their faces.

"Ive never heard of such a place." said Clara. "On what continent does your home reside?"

"North America…" the man replied hesitantly. Dendrik raised his hand to his brow and scratched his head.

"An outworlder." He muttered. Clara's eyes widened.

"That means... he's..." Dendrik shot Clara a look of unease, and Clara grew silent. Dendrik shook his head, as if freeing himself from an uncomfortable thought.

"I guess we can give you a temporary name, lad. That 'right with you?" The man nodded. "Then, I’ll call you 'Alder', from the word of the old world, Alderos. It means 'no one', or 'man of nowhere'." Alder accepted his name gratefully. He was surprised by the kindness of these two. Coming from a world plagued by war and death, it was comforting seeing people from a simple, yet fulfilling and peaceful lifestyle.

Alder sat up. The beauty of the surrounding woods hit him like a wave. His body filled with awe as he examined the towering trees lining the small dirt path. The trunks for the trees seemed to be almost 2 meters in diameter, with a dark, reddish bark and massive needles protruding from branches like swords. They reminded him of the pines back home, but far more extravagant. Small, squirrel like creature leaped from tree to tree, gathering insects for their meal. They had round ears and thin, cat like tails. "Tree Minks." Said Dendrik. "Native to the Red Forest."

"The red forest..." Alder mumbled to himself. He had a hard time convincing himself he was no longer in his own world. The evidence was all around him, the trees, the creatures, the wooden wheeled cart, everything pointed to a new world, yet it didn't feel real to him. Alder turned to the front of the cart. An old brown mare pulled the cart at a slow, but steady pace.

"That's Gretch. I've had her since i was a lad. She's old, but tough as nails." said Dendrik. For the next hour the three made smalltalk. Alder thought it best to keep most details of his life to himself, but gave a brief history of himself in a way they would understand. The topics of cars or the internet may be better left to another time. Gretch slowed, and came to a halt. Uneasily she hoofed at the ground, then huffed and reared. "Oi, old girl, calm yourself." Dendrik said soothingly, attempting to comfort the horse.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"What wrong?" asked Alder. Clara looked at him and put her finger to her mouth.

"Listen..." The forest was completely silent. No birds, no minks, only the sound of the wind in the trees.

"We should move." said Dendrik quietly. He snapped the reigns, bit the horse was still. Again he tried to move the horse, but she huffed, and turned her head. An arrow sped from behind a tree to the left side of the cart, whistling over Dendrik's shoulder, and grazed Alder's cheek.

"Bandits!" shouted Dendrik as he smacked Gretch's thigh. The horse reared and took off, rounding a bend, only to be blocked by a fallen tree on the road. Gretch came to a stop. An arrow rocketed past Alder’s face. He felt blood run down his cheek followed by a sharp pain. Dendrik slid off the cart and released Gretch from the cart's harness. After another slap, the horse was off. Clara leaped over the side of the cart, unsheathing a steel sword in one fluid movement. Alder was stunned with fear and in a dazed confusion. "Run! Leave the cart!" Dendrik commanded as Alder fell off the side, a large, bearded man upon him.

Alder could feel the chill of a cold blade on his throat; its edge cutting into the skin. "Move and this one dies!" Cried the bandit. Dendrik and Clara turned and froze as the bandit forced his hostage to stand. Alders eyes were wide with fear, his entire body trembling. The bearded bandit was large, an entire foot of height difference with Alder. His muscles seemed swollen with raw power. Two more bandits revealed themselves from the bushes nearby. One, equipped with a longbow and hip mounted quiver, the other a spiked mace. The archer was thin, but well-built while the other, strong but strangely short. "Oi, unload the cart." Commanded the bearded bandit. The other two obeyed, and began to take the haul. "You, li'l miss, drop the stick." he said as he shifted the blade. Clara tossed her sword away.

“Is this for real?!" Alder wondered in a panic.

"Alright missy..." The bearded bandit turned his gaze to Clara's chest. "It's a bit hot, ya think? You ought to take your shirt off." The bearded bandit grinned. "Or he dies..." Clara began to remove her shirt. She started to undo the buttons on her white, long sleeve blouse. She then untucked it from her slim, brick red trousers. Alder watched in shame and confusion.

"Please!" Dendrik pleaded, tears in his eyes. "Let the girl go! Please! Shes too young!" Clara slipped off the shirt, revealing a cloth wrap around her chest. Alder could feel anger building inside him. He was powerless. These two saved him out of the kindness of their hearts and now they would pay the price. Even now, the two wouldn’t leave a man they just met.

"Now, the trousers." Laughed the bandit. The archer and the mace user were watching now. Tears began to run down Clara's face as she untied the string at her thigh. The 3 were laughing together now. Calling out things like, "What a slut!" and "Smile darling!" Alder’s anger transformed into rage. “This is my fault…” he thought. “How could scum like this exist?!”

A blinding pain exploded inside Alders head. Flaming white letters spelt out a single word on the back of his eyelids. His brain screaming with pain, beckoning him to shout it out. Alder’s eyes began to emit a cold, silver light. Dendrik looked at Alder in horror. "Cover your ears, Clara!" he shouted. Without a moment’s hesitation, the both clapped the cups of their palms on their ears, creating a ringing that drowned away all other sound for a brief period. They then held their hands tightly over their ears.

Alder could feel the word clawing at his lips, its pronunciation branded into his mind as if it were a term he used every day. At last Alder gave in. "Dal'ven!" He cried. A deep, growling voice shadowed his own. A moment had passed and the pain subsided. The forest was completely silent. The blade lightly lifted from his neck. Alder noticed his eyes were tightly shut, his teeth grinding like a press. As he opened his eyes, the scene sent a shock through his entire body. The three bandits lie dead, hands clutching their chests. Birds had fallen from the sky and minks hung lifelessly from trees. Dendrik and Clara were the only ones left alive in a 300 meter radius, both crouched down, hands over their ears. Alder felt light headed, and soon he felt immense exhaustion. His eyelids fell as his consciousness drifted away.

The abyss. An endless void of black. The absence of all things. Again Alder floated through the emptiness.

“Weak… They’re all weak… and we are strong…” A voice boomed from all directions.

Alder’s eyes shot open, scanning his surroundings in a panic. “Here again?” Alder thought in confusion. “Wasn’t I just…”

“All of them… So weak… my voice alone swallows worlds…” Again the voice echoed, deep, and hate filled. The voice chilled Alder to the bone. He shivered. The presence of a being of immeasurable power filled him with Terror.

“Where are you?!” Alder screamed, his voice cracking from the fear and the sheer pressure of this being. A silver silhouette shined a short distance away. A thin line of silver surrounded what looked like the shape of a man, but with massive boney wings. Inside the silhouette, waves of warping black space pulsed from all directions.

“I’ll lend it to you… Use it as you see fit… Entertain me… Human…”