“You do not look Thaldish at all,” the old man, who introduced himself as Starseed, remarked as he led me through the forest. Metal trinkets tinkled softly with each step, creating a whispered melody against the rustling leaves. “Too bony.”

I had spent countless minutes explaining that I wasn’t from around here and that I didn’t know how I got to this forest, before he finally decided to guide me out.

“What’s a Thaldish?” I asked, the name completely foreign on my tongue. Dried leaves and twigs crunched under my rain-soaked boots, the sounds echoing in the stillness of the woods.

“And you sure are not Aetherian,” he continued, still ignoring my questions. “Or you wouldn’t be in those bulky clothes.”

I peeled off my coat, the damp fabric clinging to my skin, struggling to keep up with Starseed’s brisk pace. “I really don’t understand what you mean. Can you please tell me what this place is?” I pleaded, trying to mask the growing desperation in my voice. Fear and frustration churned in my stomach, but I tried to maintain some facade of strength. He had to think I could fight him off if it came to that.

“And why are you wet? Did you jump into the river? Why?”, his questions were uttered so softly, almost as if he was talking to himself. The look in his hazel eyes mirrored the curious, focused gaze my mother had whenever she was trying to figure out what was missing in her recipe. I could tell he was too lost in his thoughts to register my own questions. If this was overwhelming for him, how did he think I felt?

I shook my head, trying to make sense of what just happened. Just minutes ago – or hours, I wasn’t sure – I had been standing at my mother’s grave, the cold rain soaking me through. And now…now I was in this strange, twisting forest, being led by a somehow even stranger man.

I quickened my pace until I was in front of him, then I turned and faced him. He stopped before he could bump into me. His glazed eyes took a few seconds to finally focus on my face, confusion evident on his. I realized I was a couple of inches taller than him.

“Answer me,” I demanded, the tremor in my voice threatened to break the confidence I tried to project. “What is this place? Who are you really?”

Starseed blinked as if waking from a dream, his gaze drifting to the foliage above us and the skies beyond. It was still light but I could tell from the dimming light and cooling air that it wouldn’t last long.

“I – I’ll tell you everything you need to know but we must get out of the forest first”, his voice was more serious than when I first saw him. His eyes flickered with urgency. “You’re lucky I was the one who found you.”

The stars had begun to appear in the cloudless sky when we finally made it out of the forest. The sun had completely given way to nightfall as we stepped through the archway into a vibrant street, the sky above shimmered in hues of green, blue, and violet—the aurora pulsing softly like a living veil, stretching across the heavens. It bathed the streets in an ethereal glow, casting shifting patterns of light over the cobblestone road and the buildings that lined them. I could feel the dancing lights buzzing above me, not unlike the sensation before the lightning strike. I took solace in the fact that there were no clouds; I was safe from another strike.

Stalls filled with colorful trinkets, pastries, and hot drinks lined the streets, their vendors calling out cheerfully to the passing crowd. The smell of roasted meats and sweet breads clung to the cool evening air, blending with the sound of strings being plucked and drums being struck in lively rhythm.

Starseed must have caught me staring, because he clapped his hands together with a bright chuckle. “Ahh, the lights! They get everyone, don’t they? Welcome to Aurora’s Way, where the sky throws a party every night!”

I blinked, pulling my gaze from the heavens. “Aurora’s Way?”

“That’s right!” He spun around, his arms wide as if he were about to hug the whole town. “Named after those gorgeous lights above us! Everyone comes through this town if they want to go to the capital, Caelara. I bet visitors always get disappointed, though, when they finally meet those stuck-up elites up there, after enjoying the warmth and charm we have here.” He winked at me, clearly enjoying himself.

As the festive energy enveloped me, I felt a flicker of hope amidst my confusion, a sense of belonging. Aurora’s Way was a place alive with stories and laughter, a stark contrast to the somber gray I was forced to leave behind.

“What were you saying earlier?” I asked, brushing a strand of hair from my sweaty forehead, as we continued down the road, pausing only for a cart to pass. “You said I didn’t look Thaldish or Aetherian. What are those?”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Well, Aetherians are the best people you will ever meet,” he said, grinning. “Except for the ones in the capital, I suppose.”

“And Thaldish?”

“Second-best,” he quipped, clearly pleased with himself.

I eyed him with mock suspicion. “I take it you’re Aetherian, then?”

“Through and through.”

A reluctant smile crept onto my face despite the knot in my stomach. His roundabout answers, although mildly frustrating, were oddly endearing. There was a bounce in his steps that I could have sworn belonged only to a little boy. I imagined Mr. Tahir bouncing down the street like that but was met instead with a twinge of longing. What am I doing here?

“You should know those are absolutely not the answers I was looking for.”

Starseed chuckled, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. “Ah, but that’s the beauty of it, youngling. Sometimes the best answers are the ones you don’t expect.”

“Are you ever going to help me understand this place?”

“Well, alright then,” he sighed heavily, as if I were asking him to give up his left arm. “We are in Aetheria. The Thaldish are people from the kingdom past the Vespera Forest, Thaldrin. Those are the only two kingdoms bordering the Forest so I figured you must have come from one of them,” he explained. “But you are not. So you must be something else.”

“But I am not,” I confirmed, feeling the weight of the unknown. “So Aetherians and Thaldish look differently?”

“Look differently, dress differently, live differently, wield differently.”

“Wield what?”

“Magic, of course,” he answered, as if I should have known better than to ask.

I almost pointed out that magic was not an ‘of course’ answer. Then I realized, I was here – in this strange new world. Magic might be an ‘of course’ in this place.

“How–” I struggled to find the words to ask about something so surreal. “How do you wield magic differently?”

“You see those?” he pointed up at the strings hanging across the street, connecting the buildings from each side.

I hadn’t noticed earlier because of the aurora, but the strings held…stars? I gasped. “Are those actual stars?”

Starseed’s eyes widened before he laughed uproariously. He had to stop walking to catch his breath and contain his mirth. “No,” he answered between giggles. “We call them starlights, but they were made to mirror actual stars in the sky, yes. Can you imagine, giant balls of fire hanging from strings?”

I felt my cheeks heat up as I noticed some of the people around us turn and look at us. “No need to make fun of me. I’m trying to learn. What about the starlights, then?”

“My people draw our energy and magic from the heavens.”

“Like stars.”

He nodded, “Like stars, the sun, the moons, everything you see in the sky.”

The moons, plural?

“Can you show me?”

“I don’t have magic, so no. But the Astrals do,” his voice dropped as he said this. “Astrals are the magic-wielders of Aetheria. Most of them aren’t too bad,” he continued before I could ask him about the Astrals.

“And the Thaldish?”

“Thaldish has Gaians who draw magic from the earth. Trees, rocks, soil, you can probably fill in the rest.”

I was quiet for a while, trying to process all this information. “You didn’t ask me my name.”

“Was I supposed to?” he asked in that lighthearted tone.

“Yes, that’s what you do when you meet someone new.”

“Alright, what should I call you, youngling?” He stopped walking again and faced me. We were standing in the middle of the busy street now, as the people walked around us.

“My name is Elsbeth,” I said with a smile, holding out my hand to shake his.

Starseed just looked at my hand then bowed his head and held his hand to his chest. “Greetings, Elsbeth. I am called Starseed.”

“I already know your name,” I rolled my eyes and smiled. “But, thank you. It’s actually nice to meet you.”

“No, you do not know my name,” he said with a wink.

Just then, a shout broke through the merry bustle of the streets. I turned to see a vendor waving his arms frantically, “Help! Catch them!” A small crowd had gathered, murmurs of concern rippling through them.

“What was that?” I asked, my heart racing slightly.

Starseed’s amusement was replaced by focus. “Stay here. I’ll check it out,” he said, glancing at me with a reassuring smile. “It’s probably just a little trouble, nothing to worry about.”

Before I could respond, he slipped away into the crowd. I stood there, watching as the commotion unfolded. I stepped to the side of the street when I saw three tall figures in dark cloaks running toward me. I did not have enough time to move and avoid colliding with one of them, sending me sprawling across the street. Lying on the ground with my head reeling was becoming a habit that I had to stop.

I only got flashes of dark eyes and bronze skin before the figure stood up quickly and darted towards the alley across from us. I sat up, hips screaming from a sharp pain. “Get her! She’s one of them!” I heard a woman shout.

I whipped my head to find the girl the woman was referring to. Suddenly, I felt rough hands yank me to my feet and pin my arms behind me. “What are you doing?” I demanded frantically.

“You dirty thief! Where did your friends go?” a gruff voice snarled.

“What?! I’m not a thief! Let me go!” I tried pulling away from his hold to no avail. I screamed in frustration, my racing pulse pounding in my ears.

The vendor - his face twisted in anger - ran up to us and picked up my coat from the ground. “Why do you have this, then?” he asked, holding up a silver pendant to my face.

“I don’t know! Someone just bumped into me, I swear!”

“Nice try,” the man’s grip was strong, his fingers rough like tree bark as he pinned my arms behind me. I thrashed, trying to shake free, but he only tightened his hold. Before I could shout again, I felt a sudden sting against my skin—sharp and cold, as though a thorn had pierced my wrist.

A strange numbness crept from the spot where his hand touched me. The sensation spread quickly, my muscles slackening. My body felt heavy, like the energy was being drained from me.

“Let me go,” I wanted to say, but it came out gibberish.

“This’ll calm you down, thief,” he muttered, his voice low and firm. He pressed something into my skin, a rough plant that glowed faintly in his palm.

The world tilted as my legs gave out beneath me, the numbness turning to a full-body paralysis. My eyelids drooped, my vision blurring. I tried to scream, but my voice was swallowed by the sudden, overwhelming darkness pulling me under.