AETHER BEASTS

The next morning, I was ready to head out.

Kaite and Yollana had answered my questions as best as they could. It wasn't as much information as I had hoped for but enough that I could make my way. Marik was a nation ruled by a monarchy. A king and queen. It was home to a number of villages, towns, and cities. Traders came by every now and then, and that's where they got most of their information, but for the most part, their village was isolated. They had been apologetic, but I hadn't blamed them. I had lived in a similar situation. West Vale was much larger than this village, but it was also isolated. It had only been the caravans from Orton which had brought news of the outside world, and even then, it had been little compared to what I knew now of the Northern Plains and beyond.

They hadn't been able to tell me much of the magic of this world. They only had stories that varied wildly. Some seemed to have something to them, but others were clearly made up.

Another thing was the apparent existence of gods. Many gods it seemed, each representing certain aspects of reality. I didn't know if what they were saying was true, but I would probably find out since Sandra was in the direction of a city. It didn't mean she was in it, but I might pass through it on my way to find her.

I had given them a total of five gold which from their reactions was enough to buy their villages more than a dozen times over. They had been extremely grateful and had even offered me one of the few horses they had in the village. I had declined, and not just because I didn't know how to ride a horse. I could move far faster on foot than on a simple horse. I would cover more ground which was important.

I had no idea what was happening to the others and that worried me greatly. The bond had become something that I relied on. A was to always be able to speak to them, but now I couldn't. They were too far. ｆ𝑟𝑒𝐞𝚠𝒆𝚋𝚗૦𝐯ℯ𝙡. com

"Are you sure there's nothing else we can do?" Yollana asked for the fifth time.

"As I've said, no. You've done all you can.

There was a road leading out from the village. It was where the traders came from. I was planning on traveling to the side of it so I didn't attract more attention. I would be running as fast as I could, a speed beyond a normal human.

"I'm coming Sandra," I said softly. "Just wait."

I was off like the wind, at a full sprint. I knew to the villagers who'd come to see me off, that I probably looked like a blur. That was a good thing, if someone did see me, it wouldn't be in any detail.

As I traveled, I focused inwards on my bond with Aneva. She was still dormant, and i was starting to get annoyed. She clearly knew about this world, and what had happened. She could shine some light on things, but once again, when needed, she wasn't there.

Trees passed by as I ran. It was beautiful in its simplicity and its general peacefulness. There were no aether beasts to worry about. There were probably normal animals like wolves and such, but I didn't have to worry about that. Not at my current level of power.

The first people I saw were from a distance. A wagon, pulled by some sort of ox. The road had split into multiple directions after an hour, and I had followed the rightmost one. It was where my bond with Sandra was leading me.

I sensed that he was normal as far as I could tell, but not a normal human, at least not fully. His ears had a slight point to them, sort of like an elven fae. In this world, they were just called elves, and there were different kinds of them.

He was going in the opposite direction and I was passed him in seconds. He was the forest but certainly not the last. The road I was on seemed to be a busy one as not a few minutes later I came across more people until it became a regular thing. Some walked, and some rode on horses or in wagons and carriages.

I guessed that I was probably heading towards some sort of town then. At my current speed, I would get to Sandra in a few days. I could have teleported, and moved even faster, but that would have cost a lot of aether, and unless something changed through the bond, I would continue just sprinting.

The fact the land was relatively flat and the forest safe made for easy going and I didn't have to stop even once for the first few hours of the day. Things changed however as I came across more and more people and trees became more sparse. I was leaving the forest behind and entering an area of rolling hills and grassy plains. The road was still there, but now there was a much higher chance of someone spotting me.

I considered what to do as I came to a stop just beside the road. I could carry on, and simply risk the chance of being seen by someone who could actually keep up or I could hitch a ride. In the end, my choice was decided for me at the sound of a scream.

I held back a sigh, and for a second contemplated just leaving it alone. I didn't though. I wasn't the type to just ignore things like that and it wasn't like I wasn't already heading in that direction. It was coming from up ahead, and after squinting, I saw a carriage surrounded by a number of armed bandits. As I watched, a plume of fire launched into the air, much to my surprise

"Magic?" I muttered.

I was off like an arrow. My armor formed around me as I pulled my glaive from one of my rings. I spun it around as I neared, and the closest bandit, died before he could even say or do anything. The two halves of his body hit the ground with a wet thud, and blood began pouring over the road.

To my surprise, the next actually seemed to be able to keep up, barely, however. They were still too slow, but definitely not normal humans. They died almost as quickly as the first. All of the bandits had curved swords that looked to be made out of ordinary metal as far as I could tell. I hadn't really asked about things like when I'd been questioning Katie and Yollana.

The three had turned. There were two who looked like the rest, but the third was different. He was wearing a robe that looked to be made out of animal skins, and some other white material I didn't recognize. Behind the three, I could see a young woman who had her hand raised. I could just barely make out a blue dome of light surrounding her.

"Who are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," I said absently as I strained my senses. There was an electric feeling in the air, and I was certain the bandits and the woman were using magic, but I couldn't sense it completely.

The man looked odd. At first, I thought he was old, but then I looked into his eyes and guessed he was younger. There was an odd agelessness to his features, and my instincts warned me of danger.

"If you won't speak, then I'll just take what I need from your corpse." He raised a hand and a ball of yellowish flame shot forth. His following cackle turned into a scream of pain and surprise as I appeared at his side and lopped his arm off from the shoulder before taking his head. When he fell, so did the last two bandits.

I turned to the woman who still stood within the dome of blue light. Her features were elegant and her fair skin was unblemished, save for a few tracks which I guessed had come from tears. Her green eyes met mine, and she gasped, no doubt in surprise at my eye color. In my own world, it was odd, but not too odd, certainly not to the green court and those beyond the scar. Here it was very odd, and I'd overheard many of the villagers talking about it.

"Hello, you don't mind taking that thing down do you? This is a busy road and you should probably get going."

She just stared at me for a long moment. Then the blue light faded and with it went that electric feeling to the air. She seemed to compose herself, then curtsied. "Thank you, stranger, for your assistance. I'm afraid they killed my guards." She pointed and I followed her finger to see three men, laying motionless near the back of the carriage.

"My driver still lives, however," she said, moving to the side of the carriage and banging on the door. "Hue, come out, it's done."

The carriage door swung outwards and out stumbled a tall, reedy-looking man. He glanced around and when he saw the dead bandits, he gasped. "My lady, you killed them, all by yourself?"

The woman laughed. "Of course not. You should know I'm no battle mage. He did."

The driver turned to me and just like the woman, gasped when he saw my eyes. I was going to have to do something If I planned on staying hidden and inconspicuous.

"I think I'll be on my way," I began, but the woman held out a hand for me to wait.

"Ride with us," she said. "You are headed in the same direction. I will pay you to act as a temporary guard."