Aether Beasts

Chapter 254

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a clear blue sky, though I didn't get to focus on it for long as a sharp pain blossomed in my head. I let out a groan and pressed a hand to my brow as I heard a shuffling sound nearby.

The pain didn't last for long and when it had mostly faded, I slowly turned my head in the direction of the sound and found myself staring into the eyes of a scared-looking woman.

I frowned and tilted my head as I tried to understand where I was. Then in a flood, it all came back and I bolted to my feet, quickly glancing around.

The girl stepped back and spoke a few words in an unfamiliar language, but I ignored her as I stared in shock at my surroundings. I probably should have realized it the moment I hadn't felt the biting chill that the burning desert had at night or its scorching heat in the day.

Instead, what greeted my sight was the verdant green of a forest. Trees surrounded me, normal-looking oaks. Leaves, sticks, and more covered the forest floor, and there was an earthy scent in the air along with a familiar smell that I followed to the corpse of an animal.

What in the world had happened?

I focused inwards, and my worry grew as my bonds were not as they should be. They were still there, but incredibly faint. Sandra was the closest while Zirani and Misty felt far. The lost queen was awake and her attention was on our surroundings. I could feel genuine surprise coming from her.

The last thing that had happened had been the alchemist's ritual and then nothing. Just darkness. I cursed myself for a fool as I thought back to what I'd allowed to happen due to my inaction and stupidity. Now, I was in an unknown place, alone, save for Aneva who definitely wasn't my first pick when it came to helpfulness.

I was broken from my anger by the woman speaking once more in that unfamiliar language. I turned to her and she glanced away as I tried to meet her eyes. She was young, probably in her early twenties, and was dressed rather oddly

She had on tight black breeches, a cloak, and light leather armor which revealed that she was wearing a plain brown shirt beneath. She was pretty with long golden brown hair and dark eyes that were full of wariness and fear. In her hands, clutched tightly was a dagger, and a bow was slung on her back along with a quiver full of arrows.

I glanced back at the deer. It had been her kill then. A huntress it seemed.

"Ermm, hello?"

Her brow creased and she spoke once more, but I just shook my head. This was going to be difficult. I needed to know where I was, though I had an idea. There was ambient aether around us, not even a spec which should have been impossible. Aether was everywhere in the world, in my world.

The huntress spoke once more, and I sighed, pointing to my mouth, then shaking my head.

She nodded slowly, but I didn't know if she understood or not. Was she just nodding because she didn't know what else to do?

"This is embarrassing to watch," Aneva said mentally. "Let me into your mind so I can give you the ability to speak and understand her language."

"You know it?" I replied, way about letting her into my mind.

Aneva sighed. "I swear on my soul that I shall do no harm to you, and only use this chance to aid you. There, is that better?"

I felt something settle into place, an invisible chain linking the two of us. If she broke the oath, the chain would pull her soul out.

"Fine."

The woman was muttering to herself and glancing between me and the deer. I could send no aether within her, no core, no essence, no power of any kind. She was just a normal human. I extend my arcane sense out to get a better feel but pulled it back when her eyes widened in fear and she shivered. I winced and tried to send her an apologetic look. That hadn't been a good idea. Using aether even in that simple way on normal people wasn't a good idea unless you were very delicate. Zirani had yet to train us in creating a proper aether aura and using it.

"Well?" Aneva asked. "Are you going to open your mind or shall I leave you to muddle about?"

I opened my mind to her and shuddered as I felt her look in. I felt exposed and it only got worse when she created a mental link of some kind, similar to the information link Zirani used to send things over, though deeper and connected to more parts of my made, including what I could tell were my instincts.

Then she began pushing information through. It was an uncomfortable experience, but not as bad as expected. It was probably due to the fact I'd experienced it before with Zirani multiple times.

All the while, the woman watched with a mix of confusion and fear, Her dagger was still in hand, but I wasn't worried about that. If she tried something, I could kill her with a smack or tie her up with some vines. She was just a normal human.

The information began to taper off and when it ended, I felt Aneva retract her presence from my mind and sever the link, leaving me with a ton of new information that I began sorting through. Just like I'd thought it was similar to what Zirani did but better. My mind wasn't overwhelmed and it felt like the language had always been there.

I turned to the woman. "Can you understand me now?"

Her eyes widened and she nodded. "Y-yes."

I smiled, but it faltered slightly. The language had several words which added to the theory I'd already had about not being in my world anymore. Instead of being scared of trying to push it away, I decided to just ask Aneva.

"This is not my world is it?"

"No," Aneva replied. "You're somewhere far and yet close. That alchemist's ritual opened a portal, a hole that expanded. You were sucked in and sent here along with the others."

"Can you take me back?"

"I think you should focus on finding your bedwarmers first," she replied.

I ignored her insult and turned back to the woman. I would find out where I was and then find the others, starting with Sandra as she felt the closest, much closer than the others who felt far, which was very worrying, especially for Zirani.

"Can you tell me where I am?" I asked the huntress.

"The Herrin Woods," she replied, still not meeting my gaze. She hesitated for a second then bowed. "Y-your lord."

"I think it's my lord," I replied and she flinched. I shook my head. "I'm not a lord, and you don't need to bow."

Had I just appeared out of thin air or had she found me unconscious?

"Not a noble?"

"No." I shook my head. "Just a stranger. The Herrin Woods, where is that?"

She frowned and I clarified, "What nation, what area?"

"Marik, erm…"

"Aiden," I said. "And you are?"

"Katie," she said. "Are you a mage?"

"Sort of," I answered, turning my head to the direction where I could sense Sandra was. "Where do you live, Katie?"

"A nearby village," she said, pointing to the direction Sandra was in.

"You wouldn't mind, guiding me there would you?" I asked, and focused on one of my storage rings. I didn't know what this world considered currency so I went for a guess, and pulled a gold coin from my ring. I didn't use coins anymore, not since I had left West Vale, but I still had all of the coins my aunt had given me and all I'd collected over the course of my travels. I hadn't really sold or done anything with them. I'd just left it in one of my rings. I had a lot of stuff in my rings.

The coin was the right way to go as her eyes widened.

"Payment," I said, flipping the coin to her.

She snatched it out of the air and started down at it in awe before looking back at me. "This is… Are you sure?"

I smiled. "I am, now your village?"

She nodded quickly and after pocketing the coin, moved in the direction of the village. She froze after a few steps and turned back to look at the deer with a conflicted gaze. "I... I can't leave it. It's a waste."

I leaned down and touched it, placing it in one of my storage rings. "There we go. I can pull it out when we arrive at the village."

She stared at where the corpse had been, then glanced at me with wide eyes. She mouthed the word 'magic' before she turned back and began walking again, her dagger still in hand. I could appreciate caution, especially since I had demonstrated something she clearly wasn't used to and had just offered her gold to lead me to a village. From her perspective, it all probably felt like a dream. I might have felt the same way once, but I'd been through a lot now, and while this was a shock, it just didn't phase me all that much.

After one last glance at my surroundings, I followed her.

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