Part I
- Kya - Orrin - Sayrin - Aldrin -
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Kya felt the stone underneath before she opened her eyes. Sitting bolt upright, and then clutching her head and groaning at the sudden movement, she looked around in utter confusion.
"Where..." she uttered before trailing off.
Last thing she remembered; she'd been climbing into bed after an unconscionably long day. Now, however, she was... well she wasn't quite sure where.
Taking in her surroundings, it seemed to be some sort of old church or temple. As she looked about, from the walls to the ceiling, Kya started to get that feeling she imagined one gets when entering the great Sistine Chapel, or Notre Dame, or the Pyramids of Giza, one of those types of structures. She hadn't ever been huge into architecture and the like, but you can't help feeling awed at the sheer scale and sense of age from things like this.
Hanging down from the ceiling several stories above were numerous worn and faded banners. While they may have been vibrantly colored once, there remained only hints at color now. Each one, however, had a distinct pattern of three interlocking triangles.
Of course, the ceiling itself was the real wonder to behold. It had friezes of what looked like mosaic tiles, still trying their best to hold onto what traces of brilliant color they once held. On them was a depiction of the night sky so clear and crisp, Kya almost forgot it was a mosaic. If they'd still be in their full measure of beauty, without the harm done from the passing time, Kya wondered if she would have even been able to tell it was artificial at all. It was like being in a planetarium, stars and galaxies contrasted in stunning detail, although... depicting planets and constellations she'd never seen before.
While the banners were interesting, and definitely worth note, and the ceiling artwork was magnificent in its own right, it was absolutely the stained-glass windows that stole the show. The sun seemed to be just rising or just setting, Kya wasn't sure which, and the light hitting the windows almost seemed to bring these images to life. Several were broken of course, shattered remnants lying discarded on the dusty ground below, but the ones that remained were utterly magnificent. They showed epic battles of armies and what looked to be monsters or beasts. There were great mythical figures, men standing above all others and women in beautiful silk gowns. They were so lifelike and so radiant in the suns light; Kya could have sworn some of them seemed to be moving. However, no matter the scene depicted, there was always the unifying figure of a midnight black raven crowning the scene. Wings outstretched as if to hold it all together, it looked down at each glass pane with radiant rosy eyes.
Every part of the building was a work of art. Each gray stone of the walls was intricately carved with an elegant design reminiscent of a microchip, interlocking and woven patterns of lines and symbols. Each column, those that remained at least, was a marvel of engineering splendor putting even the Romans to shame. She wished she could have seen it in its prime, it would have been truly... well, divine.
After tearing her eyes from the wonders of the walls, Kya tried to take stock. It was so dreamy in here that she felt... actually no, wait. Of course, this was a dream. As if she had gone from her apartment to an old stone ruin.
Still sitting on the stone dais, she tried to concentrate on making herself float away... to wake up... to manifest a warmer jacket as the sweatpants and hoodie in which she'd fallen asleep weren't entirely keeping off the chill in this place... but, nothing. Frowning she opened her eyes and huffed in annoyance.
"This has to be a dream" Kya thought. Afterall, turning head to gaze upwards, she saw that there was behind her a tree the size around of two car garage and the height of the building itself. Kya knew the stone pillars were pitching in an effort to, but it almost seemed that the tree itself was determined to hold up the ceiling of the temple by sheer force of will. It was almost a show of force, proclaiming its power by the simple virtue of its presence. Standing and walking over to the tree, she placed a hand on its bark, and felt an immediate sense of warmth and comfort. Like she was back in her bed, and like she was safe.
Just as the thought of home crossed Kya's mind, she heard a scraping noise behind her, and subsequently suffered a bout of whiplash from snapping her head around so quickly yet again after waking up and doing it then. On top of the stone table, a section had opened up and a small black box had risen out like this was a prop from a movie or video game.
"Well, that seems portentous if nothing else." Kya mumbled as she went over to inspect the new turn of events. It was about the size of a shoebox, and intricately detailed. Every single other thing in the temple was covered in a greenish moss or thick layer of dust, but this box was pristine, almost unsettlingly so. The matt black lacquered material gave off absolutely no reflection, almost seeming to absorb the light around. However, to contrast this, thin streaks of white quartz worked their way out from the trim of the lid to form complex patterns she couldn't even begin to comprehend.
Feeling secure with the magnificent tree behind and the mantra of "It's just a dream" looping in her mind, Kya reached out and opened the box.
Not sure what she had been expecting, Kya was a little disappointed when all she saw inside was a simple brown leather bag. It was unimpressive at a glance, but "Come on" she thought to herself "this is a hidden chest at the center of an abandoned temple... this has to be important." At this point, she just hoped it wouldn't be full of sand from someone having been here first and needing a counterweight. While Kya was skeptical, an overwhelming sense of curiosity won out over her trepidation. Gaining a sudden empathy for Pandora, she reached out.
Picking it up, it was pretty light, but definitely had something inside. Something of the non-rough and course variety. "Here we go," Kya thought. Opening the small bag and pulling out a five-foot-long walking stick with a faintly glowing gemstone embedded to the top.
"Huh" Kya said as she looked at the bag with a significantly more impressive gaze, being now unquestionably magical in nature. She stuck her hand in and rooted around, but there didn't seem to be anything else forthcoming. She therefore turned an inquisitive eye on the hopefully magical walking stick.
Other than the glowing crystal at its peak, there wasn't much else going on. it was about the same diameter as a quarter. Tapering off down towards the bottom and getting slightly wider towards the peak. She gave it an experimental jab towards the ceiling, hoping for something cool and magical to happen, and immediately she got that wish granted as several things all seemed to happen at once.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
All the banners hanging above started leaning in towards Kya, as if drawn by magnetism. The closest one even tore and started falling much more quickly than was proper or appreciated for something coming directly towards her.
Then, a heartbeat later, a feeling of absolute mental exhaustion started to overwhelm Kya, to the point of almost making her black out, until she dropped the staff and sagged in exhaustion.
At the same moment of the staff's waving, the eyes of every single crow in every single window on the wall glowed unnaturally bright with a blinding radiance. Even the tree behind her reacted. It wasn't glowing, as its radiance would have overwhelmed everything else in the room. But rather it was as if it sent out waves of heat.
However, as quickly as it had begun, everything came to a sudden and unceremonious end as the staff clattered to the floor, rolling a few feet away.
The falling banner fluttered harmlessly to the floor beside her in a heap, as Kya reeled from what she had just experienced. The dizziness and blackened vision had already begun to subside, and she righted herself with a groan.
"Okay, for now, no more playing with the magic stick" she said, regretting her choices and hoping it wouldn't start again simply from holding it.
With the feeling of holding onto a snake and very much hoping it won't decide to bite, she put her absurd glow stick back into the small leather bag. Repeating her newfound and favored mantra "It's just a dream" in her head, she went over what had just happened.
Had Kya ever felt pain in a dream before? Maybe she had, right? That can happen. Again, this is all just a very lucid dream. She knew that at this point, she was more trying to actively convince herself of this than anything else. Every other possibility made little to no sense or meant she had gone certifiably insane... sooo... a dream then. "It's just a dream" she thought again, forcing the confidence.
Deciding that was that Kya turned away from the magic tree, the stone table, and all the crows she was certain were now looking directly at her. She walked down the center of the hall towards the impressively large stone doors. On either side of her, small channels only a couple inches wide had been dug and fresh clear water still flowed through them. Looking back, the water was flowing from somewhere under the roots of the great tree.
Around the central walkway, the ground sloped down gently for only about a foot before leveling out again. The main area of the temple was filled with rotten wood. The remnants of tables and chairs, or pew perhaps? She wasn't sure, but at this point, was more just focused on exploring the outside world.
Arriving, the doors must have been at least twelve feet wide and thirty feet tall each. Would she even be able to open those? They had to weigh an absurdly large amount, not even daring to think about how thick they were.
Kya was pretty active for an average person. She went on runs two or three times a week and tried to hit the gym every Wednesday. But stone doors that would accommodate an airplane hangar might have been slightly above her limits. Deciding that not only were there few other alternatives, but that this was also a dream anyway, she'd try her luck at opening them up.
Bracing herself against the doors Kya pushed with all her might... to no avail. She stopped, took a deep breath, and then suddenly and without warning threw her shoulder into the doors.
Cursing under her breath as she rubbed her now probably bruised shoulder, she stared daggers at the stone gate. Repositioning and focusing only on the left door, she kicked off her fuzzy slippers and tried again and again. All of it in vain.
Sitting back and breathing heavily, she finally noticed something life changing. Something, she was almost ashamed she hadn't noticed before.
"Oh my god..." Kya grumbled with a deep sigh of someone realizing they've been very silly. Sweating slightly now she wiped a hand on her pants and grabbed a handle just about shoulder height. With the barest of pulls, the immense stone door soundlessly swung inward as if mocking her efforts to force it the other way.
Shaking her head, Kya walked out to the overgrown but still beautiful courtyard. It was at least the size of a football field, with large (though not monstrously so) trees at each of the corners. Small hedges dotted the landscape in what might have once been an intricate pattern, but now was too unkempt with weeds and wild bushes to tell. Radiant flower patches of every shade dotted the lawn and lined the grassy cobblestone walkway leading out from the doors.
Stopping at a fountain, or at least the remnants of one, she admired the stone sculpture of birds in flight, and regretted the damage it had suffered with age. Several of the birds were missing one or both wings and an upper part of the basin was missing, allowing most of the water to drain away.
After taking another second to absorb it all, she was about to keep walking when something peculiar caught her eye, freezing her in place. Most of the water was gone, yes, but a small pool of clear water still laid within the basin. She saw, therein, the reflection of the sun. Nothing odd about that... so what was the second reflection? Looking up, and looking through the cracks in her fingers, she saw the normal yellow sun shining down. Then above it, and just to the right, was a small blue sun, shining upon the world for all to see its... wrongness. Admittedly, it was pretty damn cool, but Kya just couldn't help except to be utterly thrown by the sight of a blue sun sitting just above the yellow.
After what felt like ages, Kya roused herself, and continued along the cobbled path to find the edge of the courtyard. A worse for wear leafy arch was waiting for her right where the cobbles came to an end. Sloping down, she found herself on the top of a moderately sized hill overlooking a vast forest of what must have been predominantly cherry blossoms. The hues of pink were endless, creating an ocean of radiant beauty.
And just there, at almost the edge of her vision, she saw the outlines of buildings.
Just as the thought of "well I definitely need to explore that place" crossed her mind, an obnoxiously enthusiastic voice rang out in Kyas's head, and a small message popped up before her eyes:
- - - - -
New Quest!
A New Perspective: You have awakened in an unknown place in an unknown land. You have limited skills, limited tools, and limited knowledge. But one thing's for sure, dying would totally suck! Find a way through the forest ahead and get to the village in the distance for help. But be warned, you are not alone in these woods...
- Objective: Survive the forest and make it to the town ahead.
- Time Remaining: 6d:23h:59m:53s
- Reward: Class Selection
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Kya stood in silence watching the timer tick down on her newfound quest for survival. The thinly veiled excuse of 'it's just a dream' that she had been holding on to this whole time fell away. As she tried to comprehend her situation, where she was, what was going on, and how far into the cuckoo's nest she had fallen, she couldn't help but ask herself a single all important question. A question, she thought, that Plato and Aristotle themselves would be proud of.
"What... The Fuck... Is Happening?"