《A Broken World [Rewrite]》


 Chapter One - A New World

    If a person possessed the wings of a bird, and a constitution capable of handling the thin, frigid, air and they flew high into the sky. Far enough that the ruins of the city directly below them could not be distinguished as ruins at all and their breath was frost as soon as it left their lungs, and they observed the land before them, everything would seem normal.


    To the West, mountains stretched to reach the sky and to the East, an expanse of blue could be seen beyond the plains. The South was hills as far as the eye could see, many of which were steep and unwelcoming climbs while others were so low and long that from the ground it would be hard to notice them at all. Only the North seemed out of place, the plains that extended from the hills of the South and the sea to the East northward, but even if you were look in the light of noon, you would only see those plains disappear into the shadows that blurred the North.


    Aside from the shadows, a normal landmass. While the shadows were unsettling and unnatural, humans deceive themselves with great skill. That winged person might think it a mere trick of the light or a product of sheer distance. However, if they descended down to the city below, they would soon find the world they observed was anything but normal and only looked that way from a certain place and perspective.


    As the altitude drops, it would become increasingly obvious that the rather than one continuous land mass, gigantic islands of rock and earth were hanging in the air. Previously hidden from view, the person would see smaller islands that slowly drifted under and around the larger landmasses that seemed fixed in place. Even more mysteriously, perhaps, was that it would soon become clear that some of the rivers that had appeared to be on the ground, were not.


    Twisting snakes of water, gigantic and filled with mysterious fish that would sometimes leap from the water and extend their fins to glide to another- if they were not grabbed by the large, heron like birds, that despite their appearance, hung like bats from the bottom of smaller islands with viscous claws that were sharp and strong enough to dig into all but the hardest stone.


    And further down, beyond all the fantastical sights? No one knows, there was nothing but empty air that eventually disappeared into sea of white clouds kilometers below the lowest island. Sometimes the twisting rivers would impact the floating islands, forming great rivers across their surface only to drop off that surface in mighty waterfalls that disappeared into the White Sea below. In other places, humongous pillars of water streamed up from the clouds like the most gigantic waterspouts ever seen. Sometimes, parts of the White Sea would darken, and anyone close could hear the booms of thunder and see the occasional bolt strike at the islands above.


    However, there is no person that is capable of seeing these sights. The most mankind has managed is the occasional glimpse as they travel the islands on boats designed to travel the fantastical rivers. But that is not to say that humanity can not witness wonders, because the city that our imaginary person would have descended into was the ruined city of Uri and even in ruins its glory could not be denied.


    The hands of the builders and artisans who crafted it were so skilled that even in neglect and decay it was artful. The magics of even the least of the cities countless enchantments enduring centuries beyond their makers. Magical lights and fountains that spewed sparkling water to show scenes of soldiers and battle, victory and conquest- both lasting until the stone that houses them falls to dust.


    But even these magical ruins would fail to catch a person¡¯s eye, because today was the first day, of the First Quarter, of the first year, in a new era, the Fourth Era and both the humans and their mortal enemies that dwelled in the shadows in the North knew what that meant.


    The city center housed a truly massive cathedral, which had artistry and beauty even beyond the other wonders of human architecture that surrounded it. If they could, people would happily travel just to see this marvel- to see the high domed ceilings covered in paintings so lifelike you could swear they would come to live and walk off the stone.


    Beautiful murals covered the walls, seemingly put together from precious metals and stones. It was a particularly artful example of which that the fully armoured man flew into, with an impact strong enough to crack the mural he struck and deform the heavy plate the man had been wearing. Needless to say, the impact killed the man inside.


    The dilapidated beauty, wonderful though it was, could never catch the eye of anyone because it is human nature to see horror instead of beauty if both are present in one place. Indeed, to try and ignore horror for beauty may sound good, but the negative emotions associated with horror and the attention it demanded were there for a reason.


    In the center of this ruined city, in front of the still glorious cathedral, stood a large group men dressed head to toe in steel plate. Among them, a few had more ornate pieces of armor, and in any other situation it would be easy to see the slight glow of their enchantments that, while obviously weaker than the ancient craftsmanship on display in the city, were still respectable.


    Indeed, one hundred soldiers armoured like medieval knights, twenty of which possessing arms and armour enhanced by magic would be an impressive force. But the foes they faced matched or even exceeded them in terms of their imposing mien.


    Most of the horde defied description, just a swarm of twisted and corrupted things. Reaching maybe one hundred forty centimeters in height, give or take depending on how twisted the individual was, they let loose ear piercing screeches as they threw themselves suicidally at the humans. What had they been before? No one knew, but these Twistlings made the bulk of the Demon¡¯s forces whenever they fought. They were not supposed to win, the Twistlings lives were spent merely to exhaust the humans.


    Behind the hundreds of Twistlings, the real forces lurked. Firgue demons waited, noxious, fuming, liquid dripping from their mouths and beside them were dozens of the Bent. The Bent were corrupted, well, anything- besides Twistlings that is. No matter what they were before corruption, they became monsters with incredible strength afterwards. It was a Bent Bull that had tossed the armoured soldier into the wall as casually as someone might toss an apple to a friend.


    But these were still lesser threats. Twistlings and The Bent were not even true demons, and the Firgue were among the weakest of their race. The demon in command was¡­ Perhaps it would be the result if a thin human was grabbed by an evil god and streched into a longer and thinner shape, but the legs, and arms, and forehead were all stretched wrong and were much longer and thinner than one would expect even from the emaciated looking torso. Its skin was gray, and its arms and legs were tipped with needle-like claws of ebony black. Its eyes, they seemed to be pools of shadows and looking into them would cause even the most stalwart man to become stunned and frozen, reduced to mere prey before a predator. With its mouth closed, it was impossible to tell that the creatures lips did not cover the entirety of its mouth it could open which split its head ear to ear and revealed rows and rows of teeth and a freakishly long tongue that seemed to move as if it had a life of its own.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Humans called its race a Gray Starver, and the species had a reputation for intelligence and cunning. They were often seen leading demons on the field, and today was no exception. But despite its stick figure like body, the veterans chosen for this mission knew better than to underestimate it. Standing over three and a half meters tall, the wiry muscles that lay under its tough, grey, hide made it the physically strongest thing on the battlefield.


    But it wouldn¡¯t engage the knights in melee range. No, it merely held up its clawed hand and a ball of black fire formed within for him to toss into the fray.


    ¡°Hold the line, men!¡± The soldier in the most ornate, and most heavily enchanted armor, called out. ¡°Today we fight for the glory of humanity! For victory!¡±


    The ball of black fire was blocked by his enchanted shield, and the Bent that the Gray Starver sent to the frontline was struck down in a single powerful, skilled, strike.


    The soldiers answered their leader with a roar and pushed the monsters back. The secret to their morale in the face of such monsters? They were all dead men. Every soldier was a volunteer who had lost everything to the constant wars and they had nothing to return to, but they were not planning to return. No, they would hold the line until the signal and then their last assault would buy the other team the time they needed to retreat.


    These dead men would fall striking a blow against the demons and striking a blow for humanity¡¯s victory.


    ¡°Today we die!¡± He shouted over the din, ¡°But no man is allowed to die until he has brought down at least five of the bastards!¡±


    Even the demons were cowed by the men¡¯s ferocity, stunned by something they only very rarely saw. However, the demons had no idea how far they had pushed humanity and they had no idea what happened when certain madmen got pushed.


    They would learn.


    Inside the hall, beneath the dome, in the exact center of the cathedral more soldiers stood as watchful guards over the man shackled to the floor in front of them. The shackled man was in the middle of an ornate circle filled with designs that gave off the impression of some language, an ancient and forgotten language. Not that the man could see with the hood over his head and his head chained down like his arms and legs. Beneath the leather sack that served as a hood, the mans mouth was stuffed and gagged.


    A criminal condemned to death, he would serve humanity at the end of his wretched life. Perhaps this would serve as atonement for the sins the man had committed, but that was a matter for priests to decide and they were conspicuous in their absence from this group. They had cautioned the woman, the young woman who at times seemed barely out of girlhood and at other times seemed old beyond her years, that it was not a mission that could be survived.


    But she had convinced her brother to move a portion of the army as a distraction and had gathered soldiers all too willing to die for a cause, no matter how insane it might be and she had made it here. In moments, the ritual would be complete. The magic passed down her family line, she had learned how to perform this task before she had reached the age of seven, just for this moment that appeared only once every thousand years.


    As the chant reached its climax, Terrasin deVon Almistraus cut her palm with the ritual silver dagger and watched as her blood fell onto the circle below. The circles glow had been growing as the ritual progressed, and as her blood touched the circle it grew brighter still.


    Outside the stained glass windows, winged demons- unable to be stopped by the soldiers on the ground- pressed themselves against the panes. Striking, clawing, trying to find a way inside. But they were too late, a blinding flash of light burst from the circle. The summoning ritual was complete.


    -Somewhere in the Modern World-


    Lucas¡¯s confidence the closer he had gotten to this meeting. A month ago, he had been able to laugh about this and had been assured that everything would go fine. Three weeks ago, he was smiling and fairly certain things would be ok. Two weeks, then one week, then yesterday- Lucas had been a nervous wreck!


    Across from him was a banker, and this meeting was quite possibly the single most important thing in his life. He had prepared more for today than anything else in his life as well, a month ago he had even been able to joke that he had been preparing for this since he was eight years old.


    That was when he had decided that he was going to grow up and become a scientist, and from that point over two decades had passed. In fact, it was almost three decades now.


    Despite that, Lucas was in a cold sweat and trying his best not to show it. However, his acting was shitty and he knew no one would be fooled by it and he cursed himself for it. If his frayed nerves caused him to waste three decades of feverish preparation- best not to even think about it.


    He had endured a lot. They said it was impossible to work a full time job and go to school full time, and if Lucas was honest, they were right. Years of eighteen to twenty hour days and the minimal sleep that schedule allowed him had all but ruined what might have been considered a naturally gifted physique.


    But the degrees framed on his wall was proof of his victory, even over his own health.


    A doctorate in genetics and a doctorate in microbiology and a desire to start his own company focusing on commercial genetics. It was a dream he had held for years, and with a loan today he could make it happen. And the possibilities were endless.


    Love dogs, but happen to be allergic to them? Not an issue, a bit of a splice, a shot and presto, a hypoallergenic golden retriever. A cat person instead of a dog person? Not any real difference to Lucas.


    Want blue roses for that special occasion? Done, and as an added service for our loyal customers it produces its own natural insecticide to prevent pests from devouring them!


    Or how about corn that produces butter and salt in the individual kernels? Buttered popcorn without actually ever having to add butter! If you can afford it, we can make it happen.


    And then Lucas planned to take the money from commercial side and use it to fund more scientific pursuits. But he was just daydreaming now, and he cleared those thoughts from his mind. He did not want to get too invested in these hopes only to have them cruely dashed by reality. Fortunately for him, the banker did seem to be on board the more he looked through the literature Lucas had brought.


    Granted, decades of nothing but work and study had left Lucas¡¯s ability to read people a little underdeveloped- but surely it wasn¡¯t that bad.


    ¡°I admit,¡± the banker said as he leaned back and set the documents in front of himself as he looked across the desk at Lucas. ¡°I was very skeptical when I first heard about this. I didn¡¯t think technology had progressed enough for this to be possible, but your application was thorough and understandable even to a layman such as myself, and with your qualifications you are anything but a layman. You certainly have the education to back your claims.


    The banker paused, and Lucas found himself praying fervently to whatever god might accept an agnostic like him.


    A moment later, the banker leaned forward again. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve convinced me.¡± He took his ornate monogramed pen and signed the document in front of him. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know if you will make it work- but if you do, the bank stands to make a killing off this, and I am certain you will find a market for this somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Thank you sir!¡± Lucas¡¯s smile was wide and genuine and he shook hands with the banker as they both stood up. ¡°You won¡¯t regret this!¡±


    A few slight formalities later, and Lucas nearly skipping down the bank steps almost humming to himself in excitement, He could hardly stand when had to wait in the elevator, feeling like a hyperactive child as he exited the automatic doors and down the steps to the parking lot.


    The plan for his life, the effort of three decades of work and studies grinding him down, it was all crystalizing before him. He could see the path of his life right before his eyes.


    And then everything went white.

 Chapter Two - A Bloody World

    It was dark, but Lucas could see pinpricks of light through the gaps in the threads of the rough cloth hood that he suddenly found over his head.  The ground was hard and cold under him, his arms and legs were restrained, and there were loud and confusing noises echoing throughout a seemingly large space.  A hand roughly pulled him to his feet as he spluttered in confusion and pulled him along somewhere.


    Was he being abducted?  No, Lucas thought to himself, he had already been kidnapped.  The last thing he remembered was leaving the bank and then nothing.  Had he been drugged? He must have, but if they wanted the money he had been loaned Lucas was screwed.  It wasn¡¯t like he had walked out with a briefcase full of money after all, it was deposited into an account of his- one that was not associated with his debit or credit accounts yet.  In short, Lucas had the money, but had needed to do a bit more paperwork before it could be spent. Paperwork he had planned to come back the next morning and fill out.


    His abductors were speaking, but Lucas could not recognize the language.  It sounded vaguely latin, but he could not pick out any latin roots or identify their words in any way.  He had to admit, his language skills were very basic. He had neither the money, nor time to study them and he had not seen the need in the first place.


    ¡°He- Hello?¡±  Lucas called out as he was pulled along, the loud noises from before seemingly getting louder still and more clear.  Was that¡­ Screaming? And metal hitting metal? ¡°Who are you? What do you want with me?¡±


    His captors paused for a moment, and Lucas squinted against the light as the hood was suddenly pulled off his face.  When his eyes adjusted, he had to wonder if he was still drugged. He was in a ruined, but still grand and beautiful, cathedral-like building.  Standing in front of him was a rather beautiful and striking young girl with fiery red hair and green eyes, dressed like she was a member of old medieval European nobility.  Hell, she could not be older than seventeen!


    ¡°Wh- what the hell do you want?¡±  Lucas asked again, but the girl ignored him, silently studying his face.  He gathered himself and steeled his will- he was not going to lose his shit in front of some kid cosplayer!  ¡°Who are you? If this is about the loan, I can¡¯t give you the money even if I wanted to!¡±


    Rather than address him, the girl spoke a short sentence to the man holding Lucas- who was also dressed in medieval looking armor- and the man grabbed Lucas by the head and roughly stabbed something into his ear!  Lucas shouted in pain and recoiled, but the man had a firm grip on him even as blood began to fall down on to Lucas¡¯s shoulder. The girl¡¯s face was suddenly right up in front of his. The thing in his ear burned for a second and then turned ice cold.


    ¡°Can you understand me now?¡±  She asked, or did she? He heard those words and heard that same Latinesque language from before leaving her lips.  Was that thing in his earlobe a translation device? Why the fuck did they have to stab him with it?


    ¡°Yes, I understand you- whoever you are,¡± Lucas said and then asked the most important question.  ¡°What do you want with me? And what the hell is that sound?¡±


    He threw in that last question as an afterthought, but as he was once again pulled through the hallway he realised that it was screaming he was hearing.  A fight- no, a battle- and men were screaming and dying not far away from him.


    ¡°I am Terrasin deVon Almistraus, Lord Hero,¡± the young woman he now knew as Terrasin had a musical quality to her voice, completely at odds with what Lucas was sure was a slaughter going on past one of these walls.  Wait, Lord Hero? ¡°And we need your help, the battle you are hearing is the rearguard who will allow are escape against the demons. They are losses we can ill afford, but necessary.¡±


    Lucas¡¯s head was swimming and he stumbled as a sudden wave of vertigo overtook him.  He must have really been drugged, and this whole thing was some kind of chemical trip.  In fact, if anything made him believe that, it was Terrasin¡¯s next words.


    ¡°It is the duty of my family to welcome you to our world, and as the fourth princess- I wish I could follow that tradition in full.¡±  As they passed a window, something slammed into it. As a geneticist and a biologist, Lucas was familiar with even the strangest of life found on Earth.  He was proud of the knowledge he had, which is why he was certain that the winged creature now trying to claw its way in with its four legs and whiplike prehensile tail was nothing that did, or ever had, existed on planet Earth.


    ¡°Unfortunately, this is not the time or place to explain,¡± Terrasin and the guard dragging him ignored the creature- which was now letting loose an unholy screeching noise as its prey got further away- and continued pulling Lucas forward.  ¡°I beg your forgiveness, Lord Hero, but we must flee.¡±


    Trip or no trip, Lucas was not about to argue that getting away from that nightmare was a good idea.  He tried to move himself, that the guard would not have to drag him, but found he was too unsteady on his feet as another wave of vertigo and nausea overtook him.  In the end, it was not under his own power that he made it through the doors at the end of the hall and out into the sunlight.


    Lucas blinked at the sudden glare, made all the worse as it glinted off the armor of the men at the doorway.  Men whose swords dripped blackish-red blood and bore rents that looked like the work of a beast¡¯s claws. To the side, a more lightly armoured group in chainmail and leather shot arrows into the flying beasts that had tried to get at him earlier.


    ¡°The ritual is complete, we have the Lord Hero.¡±  The woman called Terrasin spoke to what Lucas assumed was the man in charge.  He was currently too sick and too confused to say anything himself, the entire world seemed to be spinning before him.  And was that¡­ Islands..? In the sky?


    ¡°Reform the lines!¡±  The knight, for that is all Lucas could imagine this plate armoured man with a shield bearing some kind of crest to be, shouted.  Lucas noted that the plate appeared to be silver, and glowing softly, lending more evidence to the hypothesis that he was either drugged or going insane.  ¡°Break through the center and open a path to the cities edge! Let nothing stop you, victory for humanity!¡±


    The soldiers roared in response even as Lucas was dragged up the steps of a light carriage.  It was a small thing, enough that Lucas would have wondered about it had he not now been able to clear his head enough to view the ruins before him.


    It was a majestic city, or at least, a once majestic city.  Even with the immediate surroundings slick with blood blackish-red and red- with bodies of monster and man- and the smell of ash and bile in the air, once could see the impressive workmanship that stood the test of time.  Still, an armor filled with nothing but a charred and smoking corpse took a lot away from the scene, just as the other bodies did. The smell itself would have been unbearable if Lucas had not been a biologist, and used to both the smell of death, blood, guts, and chemical preservatives.


    In the distance, however, despite the damage of age- and what also looked to be pillaging and destruction- were blasted manors and castles, temples and monuments.  Some nearly pristine and some clearly defiled even from a distance, though as he got a closer and better look, he found that everything had been torn down and diritied.  Only the remarkable quality of the original craftsmanship allowed the city to maintain its beauty from a distance, but when up close one could see the layers of filth and dirt covering everything, as well as the shattered buildings broken beyond any hope of repair or salvage.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The soldiers were using one of those buildings crumbling walls to fight from, and Lucas watched in horror as some kind of monstrous tentacle slipped through one of the holes in the wall and grabbed one of them and tried to pull him towards the gap.  His fellow soldiers ran to help him, and the hole was too small for the man to pass through, but the tentacle itself possessed inhuman strength and the guards shouts for help became yelling in pain, then shrieks of agony as he was not so much freed of the tentacle, as freed of the leg it had ripped off him and pulled through the hole to whatever monster waited beyond.


    Lucas looked away as the carriage began to move, but there was nowhere free of horror to look.  To one side, twisted monsters ripped into a still living mans chest- eating him alive. In another place, a freakish creature appeared to vomit all over a group of guards and closed its jaw with a snap that caused a spark and ignited the fluids, turning them into screaming and flaming torches.


    Lucas no longer thought he had been drugged.  No, he had died, and this was hell. When the feelings of weakness came upon him again, Lucas leaned into them and passed out.


    **Terrasin deVon Almistraus**


    ¡°Princess, the Hero has fainted.¡±  Sir Carsin Forus, a Knight of the Almistraus Household- though not a personal knight of Lady Almistraus herself, just a bodyguard assigned by her father to look after her on this mission- had a firm and steady voice even when in the middle of a folding carriage rattling down the ruined streets of Uri as demons swooped around them.  ¡°Although it would be a risk, we could reunite with one of the teams holding the road and have a healer attend him.¡±


    A risk would be putting it mildly, Terrasin thought.  The city of Uri was a demon-infested pit right now. Even though they usually avoided the place in general, the creatures- and certainly their King- were aware that there might be a chance we would try for something like this.


    ¡°We will continue onward,¡± Terrasin tried to mimic the firmness in her bodyguards tone.  ¡°The traditions our family has passed down suggest that the summoning magic weakens the Hero for a time.  So long as we keep him safe from injury, he will wake soon enough.¡±


    Besides the hundred guarding the cathedral itself, Terrasin had managed to bring quite a force into Uri.  Twenty-five Slipboats worth of soldiers, as well as two horses and a folding carriage, was a stunning thing.  Nearly five hundred soldiers had answered her call for volunteers and had gone with her into the SkyRiver Merri and attacked the demons who had, despite their precautions, not truly believed that humanity would risk such a thing.


    Now, if they could make it to a Slipboat, they would be almost guaranteed free.  It would take the demons time to bring any significant amount of vessels to this side of the city, and their flyers lacked the stronger breeds capable of chasing the humans from the sky.


    ¡°Forgive me, my Lady.¡±  Forus¡¯s voice took Terrasin out of her reverie, ¡°but I must confess that he does not look like much of a Hero to me.  Someone as weak-looking as this¡­¡±


    Carsin Forus had, Terrasin knew, never really believed or put stock in the legends of the Heroes.  If she was honest, Terrasin had to admit that when she completed the ritual and saw the criminal sacrifice they had brought for this purpose begin to writhe with his skin shifting, she was disappointed that the Hero was rather scrawny looking.  Of course, she would never be honest and admit that because part of it was rooted in a childhood fantasy of a glorious Hero coming to sweep her off her feet and she had discarded that fantasy half a decade ago, but that was not the point.


    ¡°Neither The Speaker nor The Sorceress had strength of arms, Sir Forus.¡±  She said instead, ¡°The former brought to us an entirely new power to use against Demonkind and the second refined what we had so much that it may as well have been something new altogether.  Might is not something that can necessarily be seen with your eyes, nor can it be measured in muscles and steel.¡±


    As the carriage continued to fly along the bloody and broken streets, when Terrasin could see the edge she could not help but start feeling relief.  The few Paladins that had come with her held the landing, literally glowing with the fervor of their faith as they chanted prayers and smote down any demon that approached with holy light.  Behind them was the Skyriver, a twisting serpent of rushing water that came up from the skies below to barely touch the docks of Uri and then swept up further still before spiraling downwards towards another island, a border territory controlled by the Kingdom of Francea.


    From there they would reunite with the camp they had left behind, including a Cardinal and other nobility like herself and make the trek across the contested land until they reached the border fort that guarded the next Skyriver to human territory proper.  She would have to meet with the General in charge, and Terrasin had to stop herself from smoothing her dress as a nervous habit thinking about that. A lot of men were dying for her choices, but still, she had succeeded.


    Not wanting to talk to the knight nor look out the windows at the fighting and devastation, Terrasin instead examined the Lord Hero himself.  The man was incredibly tall, almost two meters in fact, and while she had thought of him as scrawny not long ago, a closer look revealed that to be an illusion caused by his height.  The Hero was not muscular, but he certainly was not as thin as she had thought either. Though he wore the criminal¡¯s cloths, which now looked comedic on his much taller frame, his skin and short black hair seemed as well-kept as a nobles.


    A Hero.  In the flesh.  Terrasin had been preparing for this day her whole life, her family had been preparing for a thousand years, and she almost could not believe it even with the man in front of her.


    The carriage rocked as something exploded nearby- a demon¡¯s fell magic, no doubt.  Terrasin very much hoped that they would not have to run to safety. Even in a situation like this, etiquette and decorum did not bend far enough to allow her to dress in pants and her dress, while quite pretty, was not the best thing to run in.  Inwardly, she cursed whomever had made those rules and the people around her who would not let her break them.


    But all of these thoughts were just to distract her from her fear.  Even she could tell that the lines holding the roads were breaking. Behind the carriage, Twistlings overran the guards and soldiers left behind, ripping them to pieces with claw and fang.  Ahead, soldiers had been pushed into the street itself by the horror of Firgue demons and Bent monstrosities.


    More than once the carriage driver had to swerve to avoid one that had slipped past the soldiers or avoid the dive of a flying demon.  They simply did not have enough men to stop them all, even if every soldier fought to the death.


    She looked down at her hands and saw them shaking as they gripped her dress tightly, she could hear her breath quickening and feel her pulse racing.  Terrasin deVon Almistraus could distract herself from terror, had fancied herself immune to fear until today. She thought that if she did not acknowledge it and focused elsewhere, she could beat it.


    As a man was picked up and carried off into the air, held by the tail of a flying demon, she realised how wrong she was.  She had not seen much of the battle going in, nor witnessed the defense as she conducted the ritual, but seeing this now as they ran for their lives¡­


    She was so terrified she could hardly breath.


    A groan from the Hero preceded the man stirring, his eyes opening slowly- then immediately going wide as he seemed to witness what was going on outside.  His right ear was pierced with a rare and ancient translation stone, which was why Terrasin could understand him when the man suddenly shouted.


    ¡°Get down!¡±  His voice was panicked, and he lunged for Terrasin grabbing by the arm and pulling her down before she could even make sense of what was going on.  A moment later, a gigantic claw scythed through the carriages roof, passing right where her head was before, and stabbed the Hero through the shoulder to pin him to the seat behind him.


    A second later, the appendage was severed from the demon it belonged too by Sir Carsin and the carriage sped onward as the demon¡¯s body was suddenly bathed in holy light and burst into brilliant white flame.  They had made it to the Paladins and the Slipboats, and not even an hour into this world the man had convinced Terrasin deVon Almistraus that she had made the right choice and that he was a Hero.

 Chapter Three - A Shifting World

    **Lucas Jaeger**


    ¡°Fucking shit!¡± Lucas was more or less howling, and swearing his head off. ¡°Fuck this hurts! What the fucking hell was that?¡±


    Lucas had woke up and barely even recognized where he was before he saw what looked like the unholy child of a praying mantis and a shark. The monster stood six meters tall and had a body similar in appearance to a mantis, complete with with the enlarged forelegs that ended in claws nearly a meter long by themselves. The less said about the head with a mouth filled with rows upon rows of shark-like teeth, the better.


    And Lucas, from his angle, was the only passenger in the carriage that could see it- minus the driver, who did not seem able to avoid it- and that it was swinging its claws in an arc that would decapitate the girl sitting across from him. His instinct was to pull her out of the way and now he was pinned against the seat behind him by the claw. Lucas hardly noticed that the thing burst into flame a moment later, he was too busy swearing his head off and trying to focus on what to do.


    I¡¯m a biologist, for fucks sake, Lucas thought to himself. Not a Goddamn medical doctor, what kind of bullshit is this?


    ¡°We will have to remove it,¡± the armored man beside him said grimly, reaching towards the claw. ¡°Grit your teeth an-¡±


    ¡°Now just fucking wait,¡± Lucas swore at the man, swatting his hands away. ¡°Unless there is something to fucking bind it with you will just fucking kill me doing that!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, it could be poisoned. It has to come out as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Better to maybe die of poison later than to definitely die of blood loss now idiot!¡± Lucas shouted, his head reeling. He had never really had any major injury before, hell- he¡¯d hardly ever had a minor one. Lucas was careful with anything that could be dangerous, the kind of person for whom highway speed limits were gospel and not suggestions. It was true he could think clearly enough to know what he should do, but he had nothing to spare for kindness towards anyone else.


    ¡°Grab the part where it goes into the seat behind me and help me pull it out from the wall,¡± Lucas gritted his teeth in anticipation. ¡°We can tear up these shit clothes I¡¯m wearing and bind it as we move.¡±


    He had no idea where they were going, but the why was obvious. There was no way Lucas was going to stay in a place where giant shark mantises tried to kill him. In fact, he¡¯d be happy if he was as far away from here as possible and wanted to get there as fast as he could.


    The gauntlet wedged in between him and the seat, grabbing the claw, caused him to grunt in pain- and so did the other hand stabilizing the other side.


    ¡°On three,¡± the man said. ¡°One. Two. Three!¡±


    The man pulled and Lucas did his best to help, but the pain was horrendous- he thought, as much as he could think with pain exploding in his mind- that he must have broken a bone and that the claw might be caught on a part of it. Lucas had thought that a man shouldn¡¯t scream. Men were supposed to be manly. They could shout, they could yell, but screaming was something he had never associated with himself or the stereotype of men in general.


    Lucas had not even really thought that he could scream, until the agony of unsticking himself from the seat behind him proved that his vocal chords had a far further reach than he had initially thought.


    The whole thing left him panting, swearing, shaking, and sweating as the carriage finally came to a stop and he tumbled out of it, barely keeping his balance and hardly aware of anything but the fact he had been run through. There was a small puddle of blood in the carriage and a trail of it leading from the seat to where he stood.


    Thankfully, the young woman, Terrasin, and the idiot man who¡¯d have bled him and killed him over a maybe, managed to help him stumble and sit down. In a long, canoe like boat that had outrigger floaters on both sides for stability, four in total and two on each side along its length. Lucas had no idea what was going on, his vision had shrunk to the point calling it tunnel vision did not even clearly explain the issue.


    The girl and the man were telling him to control his breathing and relax his muscles- and Lucas did, or at least tried, and would for a few seconds but it was so hard to control. There were other people now, other hands and shouting, with something shoved into his mouth between his teeth, and then¡­


    If he had thought the pain had been bad at first, it was nothing compared to the claw being pulled out. Lucas knew better than to struggle, but he couldn¡¯t help himself and fought against the hands holding him down, screaming every last bit of air out of his lungs. He must of blacked out for a second or two during the worst of it, but unfortunately he did not fall unconscious.


    He felt cloth against his shoulder and gritted his teeth as the wound was bound, the pain was bad but hardly as terrible as that short burst of torture before and he found himself able to try and force himself to relax. The pain was horrible, but if there were more of those monsters about he had to be aware. Lucas forced himself to focus, his vision returning slowly to see that he was flying.


    No, he was on a boat! His back was on the bottom of the canoe like thing, he could feel the pull of gravity, so how the hell could Lucas see the ground!?


    Around him were heavily armored men, both the man who had been with them before and others, as well as the redheaded girl. Though they were tense, they hardly even bothered to look up- down?- at the ground as the boat moved. Suddenly, his vision twisted and the canoe moved like it was a roller coaster in an amusement park- except that gravity was always pulling his back to the canoe¡¯s floor and the water beneath it.


    The river was twisting and twirling through the air, but he was feeling only a fraction of the force he would have been if gravity had not been so strange. Because of the way it was acting, these twists and turns may as well have been the same as if they were simply turning left or right on a normal river.


    It had to be a hallucination, but the pain in his arm was real- too real. Lucas could not even begin to understand what he was looking at, or what was going on.


    ¡°Wh- what is¡­?¡± Lucas croaked, his voice sore and worn out from screaming. ¡°How is th- that¡­?¡±


    ¡°Shhh, rest.¡± Terrasin spoke softly, well as softly as one could over the rush of water. ¡°We are almost there and we will have a healer look at you, I am certain they have herbs that will help.¡±


    Oh God, Lucas shuddered as he realised the level the people around him were at. He did not where he was or what was going on, but these people were relying on swords and arrows to fight creatures which warranted nuclear fire on the sheer principle of their ugliness- to say nothing of their actual danger.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    There ¡°healer¡± would be more likely to kill him than make anything better. It was not that there weren''t herbs that could legitimately help with wounds and injuries, but that the vast majority of people knew jack shit about it and most herbs were absolutely useless. Could he even trust them to be clean? Hell, he doubted anyone here had washed their hands when they had pulled that claw out- but in an emergency situation he was not about to complain.


    ¡°Where,¡± Lucas tried to swallow and soothe his throat, it didn¡¯t help. ¡°Where am I?¡±


    ¡°You are in a different world, Lord Hero.¡± The girl responded, but Lucas could hardly process the response and what it meant. ¡°Whatever world, whatever land you came from, we desperately called for your aid and you arrived here. Specifically, you arrived in the city of Uri and we are leaving it for the territory of Francea.¡±


    Individually, he understood her words, but collectively she may as well have said gibberish. Lucas was hardly thinking clearly, he was disoriented and in pain and still suspecting that everything around him was just an extremely vivid hallucination caused by drugs or his fevered mind. However, he could have a sworn she had said he was in a different world.


    ¡°A different world?¡± Lucas repeated, wondering if he had heard clearly. ¡°You called for my aid? But how, and why me? What do you want and who are you?¡±


    ¡°I will explain everything later, as much as I can.¡± Terrasin said with a sigh, ¡°but we are almost at the landing and the camp, we have to have a healer look at you first- and maybe water some of the wine a little less for your pain.¡±


    Watering wine? Like the ancient Romans? He had come to a different world and was not only attacked by monsters, but they didn¡¯t even have decent alcohol? They were still moving wine as syrup and watering it down for consumption? It seemed like a petty gripe to consider when he had a hole in his shoulder, but it was very nearly the last straw of what Lucas could take.


    Soon, ropes were tossed over the side of the boat, and while he didn¡¯t see what they did precisely, Lucas could feel the boat slowing. Not long after, he was helped to his feet by two men- one on each side- and guided out of the boat by Terrasin into an orderly looking camp. Cloth tents were pitched and there men both in and out of armor moving busily about this way and that- though a good few had stopped to stare at him.


    Terrasin called for a healer, and a robed man rushed out to meet her- but after a single look at the stains on that robe, Lucas wanted nothing to do with him. Sure, they were not food stains but the kind of stains caused by the residue of grinding plants and herbs, but that still was not clean, to say nothing of the man¡¯s hands. The man approached, and Lucas very politely told him to fuck off and get the fuck away.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to die in some hell world because some uneducated shit doesn¡¯t understand hygiene.¡± Lucas said and meant every word of it. He was still in pain, but fear of an idiot sticking dirty hands into an open wound did wonders for his ability to focus. Who fucking knew that was all it took?


    The man looked shocked and offended, while the man who had been with Terrasin and him the whole time pointed out that he not only needed his bones set, but stitches too or Lucas would still be in danger of bleeding out right here. Just like the man¡¯s worry about poison earlier, whatever Lucas was worrying about now was a future concern compared to an immediate threat.


    This was, Lucas would admit later, a fair point. However, it turns out having a whole through your shoulder and broken bones did not leave people in a mood for fairness.


    ¡°I¡¯m not about to take advice from you,¡± Lucas snapped instead and had an idea. A shitty idea, all things considered, but better than nothing. Probably. He¡¯d at least get a placebo effect if he was wrong, so definitely better than nothing.


    ¡°You said you¡¯ve got wine, right?¡± Lucas asked Terrasin who nodded, seemingly unsure of why he asked. ¡°Get someone to bring it here- but don¡¯t water it. I¡¯m not planning on drinking shit if I don¡¯t have to and it might actually be useful for disinfecting.¡±


    Lucas had been fascinated with the Greeks and Romans from the time he could read until well after he had become an adult. He had not had time to indulge his inner helenophile, but he knew more about that part of ancient history than might be healthy. One of the related tidbits to that history was that what the modern world calls wine and what the ancient world calls wine are worlds apart.


    Modern wine does not really contain enough alcohol to actually disinfect anything, at least not quickly. It would work if you submerged in the stuff for a while, but you can¡¯t use it like antiseptic spray or soap. Ancient wine, on the other hand, was more like a highly alcoholic syrup or sludge, you had to add water to make it bearable and before that it could charitably be described as toxic. One ancient roman traveler had even described a certain variety of wine of having such heavy fumes that it would burst into flames if a candle so much as went near it.


    ¡°Lord Hero,¡± the healer began. ¡°I am trained as a surgeon and no matter what the rumors say about the profession, I assure you we can save lives. Even from here I can tell that the wound on your shoulder is dangerous, and that the binding isn¡¯t tight, delay could kill you.¡±


    ¡°Did you sterilize your tools?¡± Lucas asked, only to have them blink back at him.


    ¡°Lord Hero,¡± the man replied cautiously. ¡°That word did not translate, what does ¡®stair-ah-lies¡¯ mean?¡±


    ¡°Oh for fucks sake,¡± Lucas swore. ¡°Are you telling me you don¡¯t even have the concept? You should, maybe this thing you assholes stabbed into my ear isn¡¯t working¡­ Look, I¡¯m not going to explain this now. We are going to wait for the fucking wine, pour it on my fucking wound, and you are going to wash your fucking tools in it. Are we clear?¡±


    ¡°Yes Lord Hero,¡± the man shrank back from Lucas¡¯s tirade, clearly confused but unwilling to cross him.


    The wine was brought quickly, and Lucas was laid down on a table so that the surgeon could work. Lucas gritted his teeth when accidentally bumped his shoulder on the table, and hissed at the sting of the wine being poured on the wound at his direction. Fortunately, despite his lack of understanding regarding hygiene, was a deft hand at setting bones and stitching flesh, as well as bandaging wounds.


    By the time everything was finished, and the surgeon had excused himself from the ¡°Lord Hero¡¯s¡± side, Lucas was exhausted. But there was no time for rest, the camp was being broken down even as Lucas sat and tried to make sense of what had happened so far today. He had walked out of a bank, flush with excitement, and straight into a nightmare.


    ¡°Ah,¡± a voice called out from behind him suddenly. ¡°I never did introduce myself, Lord Hero. I am Sir Carsin Forus, Lady Almistraus¡¯s bodyguard and her family¡¯s knight. It will be part of my duties to protect you.¡±


    Lucas turned his head to see the man that had been accompanying him all day. The man had spoken in a rather apathetic way, with maybe a slight hint of annoyance or frustration. It did not take a genius to tell that he did not like Lucas, but right now Lucas could not give less of a shit.


    ¡°I¡¯d say thank you, but now that I have a moment to think I am starting to agree with my earlier thoughts that I¡¯ve been kidnapped by you people.¡± Lucas was blunt and to the point, his nerves worn too thin to bother with any kind of crap. ¡°That girl said she would explain, and it had better be a damn good explanation.¡±


    ¡°She is Lady Almistraus and you will address her with respect,¡± the knight spoke suddenly and sharply. ¡°That she, in her kindness, allows her lessers to address her without her title of ¡®princess¡¯ is more than gracious enough and you will not disrespect her, Lord Hero or not.¡±


    ¡°Firstly, I have no idea what you mean when you talk about Lord Hero or whatever bullshit that is. My name is Lucas Jaeger, and I am not your Lord Hero so don¡¯t call me that.¡± Lucas had a strong dislike for titles and nonsense, especially the concept of nobility. That the modern world was very nearly free of them was one of the greatest accomplishments of the twentieth century. Well worth, in Lucas¡¯s opinion, the two world wars that it had taken to eliminate most of them. ¡°And secondly, considering my suspicions about kidnapping and the fact that I saved her life, I see no reason that I can¡¯t call her whatever the hell I want. Though to be clear, I wouldn¡¯t see a reason even without either of those. She is not my princess or my lady, so don¡¯t expect me to be impressed or care about either title!¡±


    Lucas had to admit to himself he was letting his anger run away with him. But on the other hand, it took his mind off both his rising panic about being in a different world- one where rivers flowed through the damn sky and giant monsters attacked people- and the pain in his shoulder. So he did not much care.


    The conversation ended there, and Terrasin returned not long after with a young man and another young woman, both of which were dressed up in similar quality to her. Behind them, another carriage was being prepared- though how well it would work when Lucas could not see any visible paved roads would have to be seen.


    The important thing was that she had promised him answers, and Lucas intended to get them before the day was out, no matter how exhausted and hurt he was.

 Chapter Four - A Permanent World

    **Lucas Jaeger**


    The first answer he got was to a question he had not asked out loud. No, the carriage did not work well over and through the grassland that made up this island. Being bounced around would have been bad enough at the best of times, but Lucas had to be careful not to hit his shoulder as well and the effort to do so combined with the shaking was doing nothing to improve his mood.


    It did not help that the carriage was small and cramped. Even if the knight was not inside this time, in addition to Terrasin, he was joined by another young and nobly dressed boy and girl. Perhaps he should say young man and woman? The woman was a rather petite platinum blonde whose doll-like face and extravagant dress almost made Lucas think of one of those life-size dolls wealthy parents might buy for their daughters when the blonde was sat next to the more womanly Terrasin. The man, dressed in just as fine clothes and with a silver circlet glinting atop his wavy brown hair, sat next to Lucas with the two women across from them.


    ¡°Lord Hero,¡± Terrasin began the introductions. ¡°These are the Lady Archi deVon Versi, the daughter of Duke Versi from the Kingdom of Francea and Lord Alfred Moru, son of Count Moru of the same.¡±


    ¡°It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lord Hero.¡± The one called Archi bowed her head and picked at the edges of her dress in a faux curtsy.


    ¡°Indeed, a pleasure and an honor, Lord Hero.¡± Alfred likewise did as much of a bow as the cramped carriage would allow. ¡°If there is anything we can do to assist you, please let us know. Our houses will support you fully.¡±


    Lucas, still not perhaps in the best and most focused state of mind, barely heard the introductions as he had finally noticed, and been distracted by, the fact that words he heard did not match the movements of the speakers mouths. In fact, although the Latinesque language they were speaking had become easier to ignore, now it just felt like he was living in a badly dubbed foreign film. He seriously considered that he might be hallucinating this whole thing, but as Descartes said, ¡°Cogito, Ergo Sum.¡± The only thing someone could assuredly believe was real was themselves, as everything else could be a trick or illusion. You had to assume that for the most part, your senses provided you with some sort of accurate picture of the world around you that you could act on or you would end up doing nothing at all.


    Lucas had not noticed how uncomfortable the silence had gotten as he pondered his own sanity until Alfred discreetly coughed beside him, bringing him back to, he what he presumed was, reality.


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Lucas said. He was not actually, but they did not have to know that, even if his rather blunt personality would probably have them suspecting it soon. ¡°I was just debating on whether or not this was a very vivid hallucination and that I may have gone insane.¡±


    That got him a few looks of surprise, but Lucas simply pushed through them, having already come to the conclusion himself that he could do nothing but act as if the world he perceived was real and hope for the best.


    ¡°Regardless of whether I have or have not,¡± he continued. ¡°I have no idea where I am and what is going on, and would appreciate an explanation.¡±


    It actually look Lucas a lot of effort not to tell them to, ¡°fucking explain where I am and how the hell I got here.¡± But with the pain slightly more manageable, he did not think that would be the best and decided to try something with more tact. He also wanted to shout and yell in horror and demand just what the hell had stabbed him, but he was also not entirely sure he wanted to know.


    ¡°Of course Lord Hero,¡± Terrasin replied in a tone that suggested formality, as if she was reading off an official script or maybe something out of a holy book. ¡°It is the duty and the privilege of the Royal House Almistraus to provide such to you. Traditionally, we would welcome you with great fanfare but the current state of the Allied Kingdom¡¯s forces did not leave us with any choice.¡±


    ¡°As you have seen yourself,¡± she went on with a more grim tone and harder eyes than Lucas thought any young woman should have at her age. ¡°We, humanity itself, are at war with creatures we call Demons. Monsters that appeared over four thousand years ago from elsewhere, quite probably another world, and invaded this one. Our people have¡­ Have not been able to fight the Demons on our own, and every thousand years since the Five Heroes recovered the magic to do so, we have called on a Hero to aid us.¡±


    Lucas had not even noticed that his jaw had dropped in surprise. He sat there, being bounced around in a carriage next to three young adults dressed like medieval European nobility and stared at Terrasin like a slack-jawed idiot. For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of the carriage and the hooves of the cavalry that was escorting them- though how horses were able to be moved around in a world like this was beyond Lucas¡¯s understanding- as Lucas tried to process what he had heard.


    When he said nothing, Terrasin continued on. ¡°The first two Heroes saved humanity from destruction. Indeed, it was widely believed that the third summoning would see humanity¡¯s total victory- but we were betrayed, and the ritual was co-opted and turned to the demon¡¯s purposes. The Demon King summoned a thousand years ago spelled not only the destruction of the great city of Uri, but also the reversal of all of humanity¡¯s gains over the two thousand years prior- and then some.¡±


    Bowing her head towards Lucas, Terrasin¡¯s voice had become raw- filled to the brim with emotions and weighed down with stress beyond her years. ¡°And so we humbly ask you, Lord Hero, to help us. To save us, please, from the horror that threatens to consume us. You are a greatest hope, our only hope, and we throw ourselves on your mercy.¡±


    The plea was so heartfelt, so emotionally charged, that Lucas could not say he was not moved by it. At the same time, however, exactly what the woman was saying was still sinking in to Lucas¡¯s stunned and overloaded mind. He had hardly an idea how to react, but after Terrasin had said those words and had still had her head bowed, Lucas had to say something. And, unfortunately, Lucas was fairly certain he could not give them what they wanted. He was not a soldier who could fight, nor was he an engineer who could build weapons, or a leader who could inspire forces to victory. No, he was-


    ¡°Your name is Terrasin, right? I hate to say this, but I do not think I can help you. I am a scientist, specifically a geneticist, which you could look at as an advanced form of biology.¡± Lucas tried to run his hand through his hair out of nervous habit, but flinched as he aggravated his shoulder wound. That would take some getting used to. Still, he did want to do something, though maybe it was only because he was weak to situations like this where people desperately needed help. Lucas had seen more than a few places in his own world where- well best not to think of that now.


    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know how this all works.¡± Lucas breathed out as he spoke in a half-sigh, thinking out loud. ¡°But if you sent me back, I could get some people and weapons together- maybe look up some blueprints, even- and bring them back. Or, if I could convince them somehow, I could even get the army to help. I mean, if you can fight those Demon things with swords then wiping them out with firearms should be a piece of cake.¡±


    ¡°Many of the words you used did not translate Lord Hero,¡± Terrasin replied, and then her voice turned quiet and she spoke cautiously. ¡°And, Lord Hero, I am sorry to say this¡­ But we cannot send you back to your world, nor can the ritual be used again for another thousand years to bring another Hero to this one. You are all we have.¡±


    Another stunning sucker-punch to the gut that once again left Lucas gaping at Terrasin. He was stuck here? In this, clearly archaic, place filled with so much absurdity it would not look out of place in Wonderland? That was, perhaps most importantly, also filled with murderous Demonic freaks intent on murdering and eating every human here?Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Lucas had a life, had plans, and all of that was gone now. Sure, his workaholic nature and determination to reach his goals had not left him with a healthy social life- but he did have friends. And hell, he had a future too. A dream that he had worked himself to the bone and ground himself down for, spending nearly three decades of his life in preparation- all of which was now smoke and dust in the wind.


    In the silence left behind from that statement, the blonde haired Archi spoke. ¡°I hope, I am not being rude, Lord Hero, but would it be alright if you would tell us your name? And as my companion said, several words did not translate- would you mind explaining to us what a ¡®sigh-un-tist¡¯ is?¡±


    ¡°My name?¡± Lucas replied absently, almost replying on autopilot. ¡°Lucas Jaeger. But are you sure I cannot return? I am stuck here, forever?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord Jaeger.¡± It was Alfred who answered him, though he clearly was not nearly as apologetic about the fact. ¡°It is impossible to return. Although the Almistraus¡¯s are the ones who best understand the ritual, it is well-known that its nature makes travel to another world impossible. It can only bring one to ours.¡±


    Unfortunately for Lord Alfred Moru, the social stigmas and cultural norms that made Lucas unconsciously reluctant to shout at young women like Archi deVon Versi or Terrasin deVon Almistraus did not apply to him and Lucas exploded at him in anger.


    ¡°So you are telling me that you assholes abducted me from my own world, my own goddamn life, and brought me to this disgusting backwards hellhole so that you could force me to fight demonic monsters and die for you because you cannot handle your own fucking battles? And that you little shits don¡¯t even have a way to send me back?¡± Lucas more or less roared, barely resisting the sudden desire to strangle someone here and now. At least the good part of his anger was that he could hardly even feel pain at this point. He could probably even punch someone with his bad hand and not regret it until after his anger faded.


    ¡°I have not even been here for more than a few hours and I¡¯ve been stabbed twice! Once by that bastard tin-can you call a fucking knight, and the next by what looked like a very disturbed child¡¯s fever dream after reading a book about praying mantises and watching Shark Week! Not to mention that same bastard would have pulled it out immediately and let me bleed out then and there, or that your pathetic excuse for a healer does not understand even basic hygienic practices- after all of that, you have the audacity, the sheer gall to ask for my help!? I do not know how the hell I would even help you, and I am not sure why I would even want to try!¡±


    All three had shrunk away from Lucas as he raged, and now he was left panting and struggling to get his breathing and anger under control. The fear and confusion and genuine anger inside him had fused into a white hot fire that he could barely wrestle down. Lucas had never, ever in his entire life, been so incredibly furious.


    ¡°My Lord¡­¡± Terrasin spoke hesitantly, wilting as his glare shifted to her but then seemed to gather her courage and pushed forward. ¡°I cannot deny what you have said. We have¡­ Abducted¡­ You from your world, from your life, from your friends and family and I am sorry for that, I truly am.¡±


    She was, Lucas could tell. But regret was meaningless if you would do it again anyway, and any apology rings hollow if it does not precede a change in behavior, which was why he was unmoved by what he suspected was merely a token acknowledgement of his fury before she explained her reasoning and why she would have done it regardless.


    ¡°Please understand that the weight of my country is on my shoulders- no, more than that, the weight of humanity itself.¡± Terrasin¡¯s words confirmed Lucas¡¯s suspicions, and he sneered at the response even though in a small part of the back of his mind he understood the choice. A sacrifice of one person¡¯s life for the greater good of all, well, considering the stakes it was not a very hard choice, was it? But that did not mean that single sacrifice would not protest it or feel anger.


    ¡°It is my duty, and I must fulfill it, to help bring forth the Hero and to help you with whatever you need or want.¡± Terrasin continued, ¡°we need you, humanity needs you, but we will still do our best to provide you every comfort we can to help you with your loss. I know my choices have taken everything from you¡­ And that even after that I am still asking for everything you can do, but I swear on my family name that I will do everything to compensate and repay you. Already, I owe you my life, and I will not forget that debt either.¡±


    Lucas tore his gaze away from Terrasin and looked instead out the carriage window. Past the horses galloping beside them, far off and above the short, golden, stalks that made up the majority of the grassland, he saw another island floating in the sky in defiance of all physics he thought he knew. Beyond it, both past and to its right and left, where more islands of all shapes and sizes. In the distance, Lucas could see islands that were so big that they seemed to cover whole sections of the sky. In fact, if it was not for the slight, but seemingly perpetual mist, and the rivers and lakes in the sky, as well as the limitations of perspective, Lucas was certain that he would see that some of these islands were the size of medium sized states from his homeland. If he turned his head to look back towards where the carriage had come from, the North if he read the sun¡¯s movements right, past the island that held the ruins he had arrived in was an island far off in the distance of overwhelming size, underneath which there seemed to be islands permanently cloaked in its shadow.


    Contemplating the world he found himself in helped Lucas reign his temper in, though he could still feel it as a low boil under the surface. It would be hard for him to simply dismiss this feeling, the sheer injustice and unfairness that had been dropped on his head, and he was not entirely sure he wanted to. Lucas felt that these people deserved to bear the brunt of his rage, but even if that was true it was not productive, and there was still one point he had to address.


    ¡°A scientist is, at its most basic description, a person who seeks knowledge,¡± Lucas answered the question flatly. ¡°What sets them apart from others is the rigorous nature of their work, both in procedure and documentation. The other words you had trouble with¡­ Probably, ¡®biology¡¯ and ¡®geneticist¡¯ I guess, I think I said those words anyway. Biology means, literally, the study of life. A branch of science that encompasses everything alive and the efforts to understand living things. A geneticist, meanwhile, is a person that studies genetics- which you could view as a more advanced, or at least more specific form of biology itself. That is the short answer anyway, you would lack even the most rudimentary knowledge to understand a longer one without a lot of explaining that I do not feel like doing.¡±


    Did they think he was be condescending? Lucas did not care if they did, his answer was accurate. Understanding of his work and studies was beyond most people in his own world, barely intelligible even by fellow biologists who were not specialised in some form of microbiology or virology.


    ¡°As you might suspect from my explanation,¡± Lucas continued, thinking it was probably best to rid them of their expectations as soon as possible. ¡°I know next to nothing about killing or fighting, and my knowledge will be of very little use to you. I suppose I can possibly help with agriculture or some of the basics of medicine, but even there you would lack the tools to make the tools to make the tools I would need to even begin to apply my knowledge in a more than basic way.¡±


    Well, he did not know nothing about killing, but biological weapons were only used by idiots. Anyone with even a modicum of understanding about the subject would realise that bioweapons were not even a gamble, they were straight up suicide. Even if you could use them without backlash at first, unless you could guarantee that not a single trace of the infection remained to be passed on the disease would become a part of the natural world, like influenza or meningitis. And because it survived you could never be sure that one day, maybe even a hundred or a thousand years after it was used, that a strain would develop that would strike at not just the people who had used it but everyone alive. If it is subject to natural selection, it will evolve. And if it evolves, there is always potential for threat.


    ¡°Lord Lucas,¡± Terrasin spoke with a small smile. ¡°I think you may be selling yourself short. The ritual is blessed by the Gods, and they would not lead us astray. Your knowledge may be of more use than you know, or something you dismiss as irrelevant may be a revelation that gives us the power to fight the Demonic hordes on equal ground. Already your actions have proven your heroism, and I believe, truly, that you will be able to save us all.¡±


    Terrasin¡¯s eyes shone with her absolute faith, and the look from Archi was not very different. Hell, Lucas even noticed that the Alfred kid had a similar look, if more subdued. He was, admittedly, weak to this sort of thing. Lucas had learned that long ago during his volunteer work as he had chased after the path of his idol, Norman Borlaug, and visited some of the most poor and starving places on Earth. However, those memories also taught him that no matter how well he designed a crop to withstand temperatures hot and cold, or insects and vermin, or drought and poor soil, that none of it would matter if the farmer had been shot and left for dead. Violence and instability could put a torch to years of work developing strains of rice or wheat that would survive and feed the hungry even in the worst conditions, and Lucas figured that the Demons were likely worse than any local warlord or drug baron. Stil¡­


    ¡°I will do what I can,¡± Lucas sighed, still angry but without a place to really vent the feeling. ¡°But I am not going to simply accept that I am stuck here, if I can be brought here it stands to reason I can be sent back and I do not think I would want to stay here even if the Demons were all gone. I will find a way back, no matter what it takes.¡±

 Chapter Five - A Dying World

    After making that proclamation, Lucas was simply too exhausted to maintain his anger- or indeed, to stay awake. The mental burden and stress of being brought from the greatest moment of his life to a battle between humans and monsters, and then being injured in that fight, was simply more than he could bear. As the adrenaline faded the thinly cushioned seats felt more comfortable than Lucas would have ever imagined when the fatigue set in.


    Before he knew it, he was dreaming. Disjointed nightmares plagued Lucas, however, and the sleep could hardly be called restful. Still, it was not until he heard the sound of horns that he woke up and saw the fortress gate bathed in the late afternoon sun.


    The gates opened and the thudding of the horse¡¯s hooves against the grassland changed to the clip-clop of them striking cobblestone and the shaking of the carriage became rattling as they passed under and through the gate. Lucas moved to rub his eyes and winced because he forgot about his injury. He had hoped that this whole affair had just been one of the nightmares, but he had no such luck. Fatigued and worn out in many ways, all he could do was to ask his traveling companions- Lucas¡¯s abductors, if he was feeling less charitable- where he was now.


    ¡°The aptly named fortress-town of Northgate,¡± Archi deVon Versi replied, speaking instead of Terrasin. ¡°The northernmost permanent settlement of Francea and part of my father¡¯s territory. It will feel so good to be back behind our walls tonight.¡±


    That last bit had very little to do with Lucas¡¯s question, but Archi had said it with such relief in her voice that he found it hard to be annoyed. In fact, as his mind recovered from its sluggishness his sleep had brought, he realised that he wholeheartedly agreed with her sentiment. He too, would like to have walls between himself and those monsters. In fact, he thought it would be far preferable if they could add a few hundred miles as well. Lucas was not certain how fast they had been moving, but it couldn¡¯t have been more than ten miles an hour. If the time had been the same between worlds it would have been roughly noon when he got into the carriage and it was dusk now.


    So somewhere between six and ten hours depending on the season? Presuming this place had seasons like Earth, of course. Tangent aside, if Lucas estimated a top speed of ten miles per hour, a low of five, and then did the math¡­


    Thirty to one hundred miles worth of travel. Probably it was somewhere in between those, and probably closer to thirty than not. Which basically meant those monsters could be at this fort by morning.


    While Lucas was considering that unpleasant thought, the carriage rolled up in front of a structure that could best be described as a medieval keep- and it was a rather stark example of the architecture at that. The bare stone lacked any decoration and would have been little more than an ugly chunk of grey stone if not for the odd claw marks by the main entry that they were in front of. Something that made Lucas¡¯s quiet pessimism feel rather validated. After all, those marks were proof that those creatures had made it past the first gate before. Still, when the keep¡¯s door opened and a worried looking older man rushed out Lucas comforted himself with the knowledge that it apparently had been held by humans despite an obvious attempt to take it.


    Archi was the one to leave the carriage first, and the relief on the man¡¯s face rivaled Archi¡¯s own. The man bowed, which despite everything had an air of absurd comedy about it to Lucas, as the man was short, somewhat fat, lacked any hair on his head save for his magnificent moustache and all of this clashed horribly with his outfit. Even the legendarily fashion impaired Lucas could tell that the man¡¯s stature did not allow him to wear that much lace frills without looking like an idiot.


    ¡°Lady Versi!¡± He called as he straightened, wiping the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. ¡°Thank the gods you are back! When I heard you had left to the North I had no idea how I would face the Duke if you did not come back. I have already sent a messenger to your father- I had it sent just as soon as your outriders confirmed you were coming back.¡±


    ¡°It is good to be back Colonel Hamon,¡± Archi replied easily, yet formally. ¡°Although I very much wish you had waited to send a messenger until we had spoken. After all, despite my Lord Father¡¯s disapproval of the venture, Her Highness Almistraus succeeded. The risk we took was worth it, and the sacrifices made were not in vain.¡±


    ¡°Succeeded? But you left to-¡± the Colonel¡¯s eyes widened as Lucas half stumbled out of the carriage, taking in his odd clothes and the translation device in his ear. With a gasp, Colonel Hamon took a step back and then took a knee. ¡°Lord Hero! Forgive me, I did not realise¡­¡±


    Either because they figured out who, or rather what, Lucas was from the flow of the conversation or just simply taking their cues from their superior officer, the soldiers and guards nearby also kneeled towards Lucas. The area- a bailey, Lucas supposed given the context and then wondered why he knew that- became suddenly silent. The only sounds were the wind and the very much muted sounds of the town beyond the keep itself. For Lucas, who was more than half distracted, the entire affair was both surprising and exceedingly awkward.


    ¡°Stand up, please.¡± Lucas hurriedly spoke out, his voice carrying far in the sudden silence. ¡°And I would rather you not call me that, if you would- just call me Lucas.¡±


    ¡°I could never do that Lord Hero! For an august presence such as yourself to even speak to me is an incredible honor!¡±


    Lucas, given his current state, had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. Thankfully, Terrasin seemed to anticipate this and discreetly indicated to Archi that she should intervene. Lucas did not notice this- wouldn¡¯t have even if he had been looking at the princess instead of blankly staring at the Colonel- but Archi was well trained in the subtle nonverbal cues used by nobility and stepped in.


    ¡°Making full introductions and paying respects can wait,¡± she said to the still kneeling man. ¡°The Hero- Lord Jaeger- was injured defending Her Highness. He very much needs rest, if a guest room could be provided?¡±


    Lucas very much appreciated the assist, he was honestly having trouble keeping his thoughts in order at this moment. In fact, he had paid more attention to the fact Archi had remembered his last name despite him only saying it once. Lucas was rather impressed; he never would remembered if he had been in her place.


    He did not really remember being guided to a bedchamber, Lucas more or less just found himself in a bed. He did not really worry about that, he was more just annoyed that he could not sleep on his side with his wound and then he was asleep.


    **Terrasin deVon Almistraus**


    Unlike his foppish and foolish appearance, Colonel Hamon was anything but funny when preparing for battle. A short and pudgy ball of lace with a shiny head and a moustache, roaring orders like a stereotypical no-nonsense commander was a spectacle in itself. Unfortunately, it was not one Terrasin could take the time to enjoy.


    Indeed, every face she could see was serious. It was a warranted reaction to be sure, the Demons might have difficulty with cohesion but they certainly would not let their loss go so easily. It was almost a certainty that the fort would be under siege before morning. Terrasin would have prefered to push on, but travelling through the Low Goldengrass Island at night was ill advised.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    As the Colonel prepared for the inevitable battle, Terrasin and the other nobles conferred and with Sir Forus planned for the next leg of their journey. The final one before true safety and fully human controlled territory and the city of Lyus.


    ¡°Much as I hate to suggest it given that the Lord Hero is injured,¡± the knight was saying with a grim expression. ¡°We should consider ditching the carriage altogether and travelling on horseback. We had to run the horses ragged to get here before sundown; we would not be able to make it from waystation to waystation without a stop in between at that rate.¡±


    Low Goldengrass was a very large island and a strategically vital nightmare for the Francea Kingdom and more specifically for the Are-Versi Dukedom witch administered the area. The front lines were further north and forts held all the key points on islands that had skyriver access to Low Goldengrass, but the northern edge was a Drift Region.


    It was a rare natural feature, so rare that most civilians- even most nobles outside of Francea- were not aware of their existence. The islands never moved, fixed in the sky by the will of the Gods. However, in Drift Regions, the islands moved. Leaving aside the records of the Northern lands lost to the Demons, there were only two other Drifts beside the Goldengrass Drift and neither of them bordered Demon controlled land.


    The Drift Region islands never crashed into each other, and every indication seemed to be that they moved in a very specific pattern, but no one could figure out what it was. Anecdotal observations from the nearby garrisons suggested that the pattern repeated itself every three years. The issue was that there were many varieties of Demons capable of jumping onto those islands when they moved close enough, so even if the forts could hold the skyrivers the Low Goldengrass Island could never be free of Demons.


    Thankfully, there was only one way off the island and into the deeper parts of human territory and that was through its connection to High Goldengrass Island. A connection that the city of Lyus had been built upon. Past Lyus- and the border cities like it- Demons could be considered rare.


    Terrasin shook herself out of her pessimistic slump. It wasn¡¯t like her, especially not after a success- and this latest one was certainly the greatest one accomplished in the past couple of millennia. Low Goldengrass was relatively safe and developed. There were waystations and roads connecting them which were patrolled regularly. Not to mention the near constant flow of troops heading to the front. Nevertheless¡­


    ¡°I agree,¡± She very much agreed with her father¡¯s knight in this case. ¡°We absolutely cannot risk travelling that slowly, it would take us ten days just to reach Lyus¡¯s Outer Wall. We wouldn¡¯t make it to Lyus proper until the eleventh day, it would be nearly two weeks on the road.¡±


    ¡°First question should be, can the Lord Hero ride?¡± Lord Moru was fiddling with his hair in thought as he spoke. ¡°It is a rare skill, after all, and the second question might be the most important; if we only take riders, can we face an ambush if we must? Low Goldengrass is hardly a dangerous region compared to other places along the border, if we gather enough troops we will be unstoppable by any force the Demons can field there.¡±


    ¡°But can we gather that many forces?¡± It was Lady Versi who asked this, checking a report on the fort¡¯s resources. ¡°Northgate has a standard complement of soldiers, but there has never really been a need to station troops here in large amounts. Large Demons can¡¯t take the skyriver from Uri to here, nor can they move smaller ones in any great quantity; with an attack and perhaps a siege coming, can they afford us taking soldiers with us?¡±


    A few paladins and a mage or two would also work, but no one even thought of suggesting that. They were the keystone of any human force, after all. Humans were far more coordinated than their enemies, but sheer power, ferocity, and numbers that fought them overwhelmed that coordination until paladins had been introduced by The Speaker and they had held even until The Sorceress had improved human magic to be able to compete. Now that they had some coordination under the Demon King, the Demons would absolutely annihilate any human force that lacked paladins and mages. Of course, that applied to Terrasin¡¯s group too.


    ¡°We would be fragile,¡± Sir Forus gave his opinion on Lord Moru¡¯s idea. ¡°If some of our forces make it back here on foot, it might be a different story- but every hour that passes makes that unlikely.¡±


    ¡°My apologies for interrupting, my Lord and Ladies.¡± The Colonel had come over to them, ¡°but I could not help but overhear. If you will forgive my impertinence, I very much agree with Lord Moru on this issue and would be honored to provide whatever forces you need to guarantee your party¡¯s arrival at Lysus.¡±


    ¡°Colonel Hamon, it would be a strategic mistake to risk Northgate.¡± The knight frowned heavily as he considered it, ¡°with the proper garrison, Northgate is nigh impregnable. Given the terrain advantages Northgate possess and the facilities placed here it could be called the linchpin of the defences in this region. You know this.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, I do,¡± Hamon sighed, stroking his moustache. ¡°If the front holds, our smithies and workshops are the closest to the front lines and ensure there are always at least some supplies. If the front breaks, Northgate¡¯s height advantage makes taking it from behind difficult and allows us to flank the Demons and help push them from Goldengrass.¡±


    The hard glint in the man¡¯s eye did not fit well with his lace, but with eyes filled with determination like his, few would pay attention to the lace at all. His next words were filled with the steel of that determination, and perhaps, Terrasin thought, more than a little bit of madness.


    ¡°But there is a Hero upstairs,¡± the officer continued. ¡°The game has changed, and Low Goldengrass might be a reasonable price to pay for him reaching Lysus.¡±


    Sir Carsin Forus snapped back at the Colonel, meeting the soldier¡¯s steel with his own, ¡°I may not be a subject of Francea, but gambling the front on that man is madness! The exaggerated fairy tales we have passed down are hardly historical records- most of those were lost a thousand or more years ago! The man upstairs hardly seems Heroic to me, and so far he has displayed nothing but his ability to run and swear- and he is not even good at those!¡±


    Terrasin had expected this to happen eventually, but it seems that the Colonel¡¯s words caused it to happen sooner than she thought. As the others reacted with outrage, she acted to smooth over his words. After all, her family had the most complete records of the ancient Heroes, and she knew very well that they had been human and had human failings. But they transcended those flaws. The virtues they possessed outshined their weaknesses to an incredible degree, but perhaps most importantly, the myth of their near infallibility would provide much needed moral for human forces. Despair can break armies as surely as a sword or claw, and Lucas Jaeger was an antidote to that poison. Of course, she also believed more of those Heroic Tales than was perhaps wise, but who was to say they were wrong? Even the Almistraus line did not have complete records, simply the most complete that anyone had.


    ¡°It is understandable that you feel this way now,¡± Terrasin spoke firmly, very much believing what she was about to say. ¡°The legends don''t include the information contained within my family¡¯s records- disorientation upon summoning is normal. In fact, Lord Jaeger is doing phenomenally well; none of the other Heroes were summoned into a battlefield, they were welcomed by the City of Uri when they arrived. Despite that, he saved my life even when his predecessors were nearly incapacitated. He. Is. A. Hero. And I will hear no more of this from you.¡±


    ¡°However Colonel,¡± Terrasin turned to Hamon and shot him down as well. ¡°We cannot be so careless with the front. Francea has the most connections to the Demon¡¯s lands, and has the largest section of the front behind which lies the most fertile farmland in all of human held lands. Losing Northgate could very well lead to a siege on Over Lysus and there is no question that Under Lysus would be lost. And to be very blunt, we need Under Lysus- and more specifically, its expansion project- to succeed.¡±


    Terrasin would not say more on the subject, Colonel Hamon was simply not important enough to be on the list of people who need-to-know. The truth was that hunger killed almost as many as the Demons. There was not enough food, not enough people to work the fields, and what was lost to waste and corruption exacerbated the problem. It wasn¡¯t just food either. Exact numbers were hard to find, but mine output was falling and the number of smiths was falling as well, so the price of worked metal was going up. Similarly, the prices of wood, stone, cloth, alcohol, meat, and wax were increasing.


    The history of the last eight hundred years was of the slow decline of human production precipitating sudden, violent, loss of territory as the cost of supporting the forces needed to hold that larger territory exceeded what humanity could afford. An unstoppable decay that was hidden by the noble families because the knowledge itself would drive most people either to despair or desperation, and neither could be afforded if humanity was to survive.

 Chapter Six - A Waking World

    **Lucas Jaeger**


    Lucas woke up in an unfamiliar place with an aching shoulder and experienced a moment of disorientation. But it did not take long for it all to come crashing back into him. A new world, a different world. The morning light did not look any different, even if the room it illuminated was not something that would be seen in the modern world outside of a novelty resort.


    The room was well furnished, the stone floors and walls covered by plush and well designed carpets and tapestries. Beside the bed, which was surprisingly to Lucas comfortable considering the technology available, was a wooden nightstand with an unlit candle in a silver candle holder. By the window there was a small table and two chairs and against the opposite wall were a chest and a wardrobe.


    It was not unpleasant, but the difference between what he woke up to today and Lucas had woken up to every other day of his life was jarring. Sheer force of habit had him reaching towards the nightstand for his phone, before remembering that he had left it in his car for the meeting with the banker. Just as well, he supposed. It was not like he could charge it or had service here.


    No, he just had demons and stab wounds here.


    Lucas groaned, that was the most he could suppress his sudden desire to scream his lungs out and then go back to sleep and hope that it all went away. Ockham''s Razor was hardly a catch-all, but it was a decent rule of thumb when you lacked any other evidence. It was far more likely that Lucas had gone batshit crazy than a young girl had used a magic ritual to drag him into a world where rocks and rivers fly and demon shark-mantis creatures existed. On the other hand, just like he had decided yesterday he had nothing to navigate the world with other than his own senses.


    That thought had him laughing at the irony- he had always found questions about reality from philosophers to be ridiculous at best. Plato did a decent job, but it seems odd to worry about subjective reality when there is an objective reality to discover. Perhaps that was the difference between a philosopher and a scientist, but now here he was wondering how far he could trust his senses.


    Well, as he had thought before, it was all he had besides a practical streak which told him that before worry about shadows on a cave wall he should find a pair of pants. Lucas had been stripped, something he was not precisely sure how to react to. Given the fresh bandages on his shoulder, he guessed he had been given an examination in case he was hurt somewhere.


    Lucas got up with a wince, mentally adding a sling to the list of things he needed to get. Holding his arm still until the wound healed would be a pain both literally and figuratively without one. Unfortunately, whomever''s clothes he was stealing were not quite his size.


    ¡°Bit tight around the waist and a bit short,¡± Lucas mumbled to himself. ¡°Can hardly put them on with one hand and then I feel like a fatass. Wonderful start.¡±


    He was not even going to try a shirt yet, he would probably need help with that. Instead, he went to take a look out the window and try to catch his bearings as much as he could. However, what Lucas saw drove his attempt to use banal practicality to keep his sanity right into a ditch.


    Past the walls there was a mass of monsters- thousands of them. Sure, the majority of them were small goblin like creatures, but they were herded by larger ones including more than a few of the shark-mantis things Lucas had become unfortunately acquainted with. Lucas felt the rising fear and panic in his chest, and had to force himself not to hyperventilate.


    If they were fucked, they would hardly have let him sleep until now, right? Lucas tried to convince himself, and did not do a very good job. Sure there are some scary freaks there, but it is mostly ugly midgets. They had numbers, but the defenders had a wall- in fact, how did the monsters intend to get in?


    Presumably, they had a way and weren¡¯t about to charge the wall and then mill around beneath it like video game characters with fucked up pathing AI. However, just as presumably, the soldiers were prepared for it or there would be more panic and he probably would have been woken up.


    Lucas closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and held it for a few seconds before releasing it slowly. He then turned and left the window, watching would do him no good. Don¡¯t worry about the army, he told himself. Instead, keep to a practical plan. Clothes that fit, including shoes or boots, a sling for his arm and some form of breakfast. Maybe some kind of weapon, as well. Except that he would have no idea how to use them, so maybe a club for now?


    Surely a double doctorate scientist could figure out how to use a blunt object to smash heads.


    Lucas left his room, and found himself in some kind of sitting room. Honestly, from he remembered of how the castle looked from the outside he was surprised that it had quarters like this. The thing that caught his attention though, was the duo of maids who were whispering to each other by a window. Well, presumably they were maids- they were dressed like servants of some kind with plain linens.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Lucas called out, and the two jumped and screamed in fright. He raised his hands- well, the one he could- and stayed where he was. It was probably unnecessary, but he could imagine people being highly strung right now. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to know where I could find slightly larger clothes, would you?¡±


    The only response Lucas got at first was the two young women¡¯s faces draining of blood. Maybe fifteen seconds later one of them wailed and both threw themselves on the ground, much to Lucas¡¯s shock. The girls were now sobbing and seemed to be begging him for mercy, he had no idea why though.


    ¡°Lord Hero!¡± The one on the right wailed, ¡°please forgive us!¡±


    Oh, of course, that¡¯s why. Lucas sighed, annoyed and frustrated that his time would be wasted with this kind of thing in a situation like this. His every interaction with people here had been tinged with a level of respect Lucas would expect to see for some sort of god, and fear like the same.


    ¡°Both of you shut up and get up,¡± Lucas¡¯s patience from less than a few minutes ago had already been worn through. Well, he had never claimed to be patient with people, just bacteria cultures. As for these two, he pointed at the left one at random. ¡°Now what, precisely, am I supposed to be forgiving you for?¡±


    ¡°F- f- for shirking our d- duties and looking at the Demons, Lord?¡± She answered tentatively, clearly just taking a shot in the dark and hoping that it did not get her hurt.


    ¡°First,¡± Lucas sighed again, hoping that the end of this got him socks at least. The stone was cold. ¡°I am not your employer, whether or not you do your duties- it is not my responsibility to notice or care. Second, if your employer expects you to work through a monster siege- well, that just sounds foolish, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°And finally,¡± Lucas gestured to himself. ¡°I just want to know where I can find clothes that fit. If you tell me that, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±


    Well, he would like a guide, but despite his frustration he felt like he was bullying these young women. Maybe, given the fact Demon goblin monsters were about to attack, he should just skip this and bully her into getting what he needed. In fact, Lucas almost certainly would have done that if he was not busy convincing himself that rushing was not necessary. Down that mental road was panic and panic would not help him get what he needed any faster.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    The last question, which had originally been his first, caused the two maids to glance at each other and tense up again.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry my Lord,¡± the right one spoke again. ¡°But we brought the clothes we thought would best fit, there probably is nothing in all of Northgate your size.¡±


    Fucking wonderful. Lucas thought, but said, ¡°I don¡¯t suppose there are any alternatives?¡±


    ¡°I will go get you a robe, my Lord!¡± The right one said eagerly, and Lucas half suspected she would simply run away. Not that he would blame her, so he let her go easily. Not that he was holding them here or anything despite them seeming to think that he was.


    ¡°If there are not clothes in my size,¡± Lucas sighed yet again, pointedly ignoring the loud horn outside. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose there are any boots or shoes that would fit?¡±


    Surprisingly, the maid thought there was and between the two maids Lucas ended up with a rather eye-catching red robe and a worn pair of soldier¡¯s boots. The maids had to help him with the robe, and he got rid of the too tight pants after that. He couldn¡¯t claim that having a breeze between his legs was something he was comfortable with, but better that than having the same area crushed.


    They were guiding Lucas to the kitchens, flinching as the horns grew louder and were blown more frequently, when they ran into Terrasin who had been coming to look for him. Lucas noted with some amusement that they threw themselves on the ground before Terrasin too, maybe they were just excitable and were unsure about how to greet socially superior people? Not that Lucas thought that he was, not in the same sense any way. He figured he was superior to people in the way any highly educated scientist might, but all he really expected from that is that people who weren¡¯t educated take him at his word when he said something on his own subjects.


    ¡°I just heard that you were awake, Lord Jaeger.¡± Terrasin dipped a curtsy towards him, ¡°I¡¯m glad you are, because we are leaving as soon as we can.¡±


    Lucas was, if he was honest, rather relieved. He did not relish sitting in a stone box and relying so heavily on people he had never met, nor had much reason to trust, for safety. On the other hand¡­


    ¡°I realise that your group lacks any real numbers right now,¡± Lucas did not let him think about why they didn¡¯t. How many people had died yesterday in the flight from that ruin? ¡°However, don¡¯t you think that perhaps you should stay and aid them in the battle? I don¡¯t know where we are going, but I don¡¯t think I would race that carriage I rode in yesterday against those shark-mantis monsters. If they fall here, I imagine we would simply be run down.¡±


    ¡°Northgate won¡¯t fall so easily,¡± Terrasin replied as she took over for the maids in leading him, though not towards the kitchens any more. ¡°Lady Versi could explain better than I, but this fortress was built to handle whatever could be thrown at it from Demons that could feasibly travel the Skyriver from Uri.¡±


    ¡°I see, that is certainly reassuring.¡± Lucas said calmly while in his mind he was shrieking at the thought of even bigger kinds of these ¡°Demons.¡± How big do they get? Best to never find out, he supposed.


    Still, mindless hordes did not form ranks. There must be some intelligence organizing them, and that intelligence would undoubtedly have some kind of plan. Then again, he would also expect the leaders here to be aware of that intelligence as well.


    There were more horns now, and a loud roar that almost drowned them out. The battle was beginning, and he was heading in the opposite direction. Lucas did not mind this much, but he did feel a bit bad knowing that they would be taking soldiers with them.


    ¡°Can you ride, perchance?¡± Terrasin asked, breaking Lucas out of his thoughts.


    ¡°If you mean a horse, no.¡± Lucas replied, ¡°well, I can get on and direct it to walk- possibly even in a direction I want- but anything more than that is basically impossible for me.¡±


    Lucas had been on a horse a few times in his life, and he did remember how to get them to move. But that was about it, and frankly, he had a hard time getting even tour horses to follow the trail at a walk. Any idiot could be thrown on a horse and have much the same success.


    Unless life or limb depended on it, however, Lucas had no intention of getting on a horse now. He only had a robe and boots on and he felt like some kind of ancient streaker, and more to the point, Lucas was intelligent enough to realise that trying to ride a horse without pants on would be extremely painful at the very best.


    ¡°Then we are only left with one option,¡± Terrasin mumbled to herself and sighed, then perked up. ¡°Please forgive me, Lord Jaeger. I fear that the current situation has left me a little stressed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you dropped the ¡®lord¡¯ from my name.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t really acknowledge her apology, because if he did he would probably explode at her. She wasn¡¯t torn out of her world by some kid and put in mortal danger with unknown responsibilities dropped on her towards an unknown people. Lucas was sure she had her own issues, but really. ¡°What I certainly do not appreciate, however, is lacking understanding about what is going on. Telling me where I am going and why would be a good start.¡±


    Terrasin caught the hint, but seemed to be hung up on the first thing he said.


    ¡°My Lord, I could never call you less.¡± She sounded genuinely upset at the suggestion, ¡°I do not think you understand what you mean to us.¡±


    ¡°Terrasin, call me Lucas.¡± Titles like that just rubbed Lucas the wrong way, especially when he was confronted by it. Part of it, admittedly, was just because the whole thing was confusing. ¡°And it would be hard to understand what you want from me after some partial conversations when I was half-delirious. Which is, as you might expect, why I as-¡±


    A loud explosion interrupted Lucas, and he felt the ground itself shake slightly. He wondered which side had unleashed it, his suspicion was that he would not like the answer though.


    ¡°We are heading to Lyus, one of the largest cities in Francea.¡± Terrasin spoke as she sped up her pace. They passed through a pair of doors in the back of the keep and emerged into an idyllic looking town. The atmosphere was ruined by the sounds of the battle, but Lucas could imagine it being quite quaint normally. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you can do, I know you said that you did not feel you would be useful, but I have faith in you as the Hero. While I would love to head back to my own country immediately, but the truth is that there is no faith in Heroes in the South. We need Francea to be some sort of demonstration, something to bring that faith and morale back to the human countries.¡±


    ¡°No pressure, I know you explicitly said that you doubted you could help much, but please perform a miracle.¡± Lucas said sarcastically, stepping into yet another carriage. A much more solid one that he doubted would be able to be taken apart and moved by Skyriver. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I have perfect- perfectly strange- faith in you and I also took you from your life and resources and now essentially own you because don¡¯t even own clothes, save for a single stolen robe.¡±


    Terrasin never got to reply, because the carriage was suddenly blasted to the side and both of them fell down onto one of the carriage doors that was now sliding along the pavement with an absolutely horrid noise. Lucas had the misfortune to land on his bad arm and gave out a bark of pain- but now was not the time to care about that.


    There were screams from the village houses, had the Demons overwhelmed the fort so soon despite Terrasin¡¯s confidence? A group that split off from the main force to spread terror and confusion? No, Lucas needed to think of this like the strategy games he used to play. The overall win condition for the Demons was, well, his death. Of course, Lucas felt he was a fake lure. They were coming for a hero, and Lucas hardly thought his skillset qualified.


    He¡¯d think about that later, for now, Lucas helped Terrasin up and considered the options. Terrasin¡¯s forces would be further ahead, the soldiers of Northgate were further behind. The attacker was most likely waiting for Lucas or his companion to to climb up to the only door that wasn¡¯t blocked, and when they popped their head out they¡¯d lose it.


    Lucas was not keen on that, and the slide had damaged the carriage roof. A few good kicks later and they had a hole. Not immediately dying on exiting was a good sign, and a nearby alley mostly shielded from view gave the pair an opportunity to run.


    ¡°Any idea what that was?¡± Lucas asked in a low voice as they moved through the back alleys, noting that they were just as disgusting as he expected medieval-esque back streets to be.


    ¡°No,¡± Terrasin frowned. ¡°And to be honest, I¡¯d rather not find out. We are not far away and I doubt Lady Versi would have missed the commotion, even if the commoners were not in the streets right now.¡±


    An ominous clicking sound seemed to come from the walls themselves and raised the hair on the back of Lucas¡¯s neck. Creepy did not do the sound justice. It was clearly an organic sound, but one made by something very heavy and very fast. The pair said nothing more and just ran.

 Chapter Seven - A Disturbing World

    A skittering, clicking, clacking sound chased Lucas and Terrasin through the narrow alleys. They were only a few minutes away according to Terrasin, but her dress and shoes- not to mention her far shorter legs than Lucas¡¯s- and before she could complain, Lucas threw her over his shoulder and ran.


    ¡°Holy fuck you are heavy,¡± Lucas grunted. ¡°When the hell did I get so old? I used to be able to lift a girl like you as if it was nothing, unless that dress happens to weigh and extra twenty or thirty pounds?¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­¡± Terrasin coughed in embarrassment as Lucas ran, and Lucas took that as confirmation that the dress was fucking heavy. On the bright side, that meant that he wasn¡¯t as out of shape as he thought- but he was certainly going to start working out after this. If he had known he would have ended up in a place like this, Lucas would have kept up the running exercises he had done in high school.


    Terrasin sudden screaming told Lucas that he should probably not look back, and to be frank the sounds that it made as it followed them had already spooked him to a point of near terror.


    ¡°Duck!¡± Terrasin shrieked into his ear, and Lucas did not question it. A white glob shot past where his head used to be and hit a nearby wall, sticking to it with a slight hissing sound. The sudden shift almost caused Lucas to lose his balance and drop Terrasin, and the slowdown let the thing catch up to be right on his heels.


    He could see the end. A straight line in this direction eventually opened up into a street, and beyond that, empty air with only a railing between the road and it. If Lucas could make it to there, their soldiers would be see them and aid them. However, whatever was behind him would certainly catch him before then.


    ¡°Lord Hero, Lucas,¡± Terrasin¡¯s voice was no longer panicked. If anything, it was simply determined and grim. ¡°Drop me and I-¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Lucas interrupted her and tossed her into a nearby garbage pile that looked somewhat soft. That single look of absolute betrayal when he would not let her finish her words and so easily tossed her aside was priceless. An unfortunate reminder that he was a rather sadistic bastard.


    He also was not the kind of person who could simply leave a woman in danger like that. He hadn¡¯t seen what was chasing them like Terrasin had, but despite the louder sound due to the size, Lucas would not be much of a biologist if he had not realised roughly what was chasing him by now. All he needed to do was to take advantage of Terrasin as a distraction and¡­


    Lucas turned on his heel and jumped on top of the gigantic spider that had been chasing them. Ignoring the fact that it had a human head, holy shit why did it have a human head!? Lucas refused to think about that, instead he gripped the things back and hung on for all his life as the thing let loose a horrendous shriek.


    That he was still alive after ten seconds confirmed Lucas¡¯s suspicions, the thing could not reach its own back! His brief moment of self-congratulation was ruined when the creature moved to slam him against a nearby wall. Lucas, meanwhile, was doing his best to hold on and kick a certain part of the monster.


    Leaving aside that this thing had an actual human head, the part Lucas was clinging to was the spider-demon-thing¡¯s cephalothorax, but that was not particularly important. What was important was that the cephalothorax was connected to the abdomen by a small pedicel, and that most of the organs in a spider were located in their bulbous abdomens. Although it was technically part of the cephalothorax, the last segment of it, it could be considered to be the weakest part of a spider.


    Not something that mattered when all you needed was a shoe and a step to kill them, but now Lucas found himself betting his life on it. His last stomp caused a cracking sound, but that could have been his ribs when the beast smashed him against a wall. It hurt. Horribly. But if he let go now, he would die and it turns out that fear of death was quite a motivator.


    Another stomp, another crack, and Lucas felt warm fluids on his legs. It shrieked again, but it was already weaker than before and it soon died due to what effectively amounted to suffocation. Or just blood loss, Lucas supposed, but the reason it actually died was that oxygen could no longer reach the freaks brain.


    Soldiers had come running, that knight of Terrasin¡¯s had sprinted down the alley, sword drawn, and was now looking warily at the dead spider as he helped Terrasin stand up. She seemed shaken, but otherwise ok.


    ¡°By the Gods,¡± she gasped, it really was a High Spider!¡±


    ¡°A juvenile,¡± the knight agreed grimly, and then with grudging respect he nodded to Lucas. ¡°Good work there. Those things, even the young, are no joke.¡±


    ¡°This thing is a kid?¡± Lucas exclaimed, looking at the corpse. The thing had to be roughly two point four meters long! He did not even want to try and figure the length of the legs. Looking at them just disturbed him.


    ¡°Adults are much, much bigger.¡± Sir Forus explained, ¡°too big to actually get here, in fact. The adults need bigger Skyrivers, though often times the things can just jump. They have a variety of magic and abilities all their own as well, a single adult is a walking disaster.¡±


    ¡°Lord Jaeger,¡± Terrasin came up to Lucas and bowed. ¡°You saved my life again, thank you- I won¡¯t forget this debt I owe you.¡±


    ¡°Or, you could call me Lucas- like I asked- and we could drop the whole debt thing.¡± Lucas waved the courtesy away. ¡°Are we ready to go? I have to admit that this High Spider thing has convinced me to get the hell out of here, and as fast as possible.¡±


    The knight frowned at the disrespect, but with Lucas still dripping gore from his kill as proof of his heroism he said nothing and escorted them out of the alley and to the dock. Lucas, meanwhile, was considering how badly they were misinterpreting his actions. That High Spider had waited to attack the carriage; it was not a dumb beast. Terrasin might have been willing to sacrifice herself, but Lucas figured that she would merely momentarily distract the thing. After all, it was not here for her. True, there was certainly a part of him motivated by chivalry- but it was not enough to move him by itself.


    As he limped towards the slipboat, he resolved to fix this misunderstanding as soon as possible. Lucas did not want people getting the wrong idea of his motives. Clarity is important, perhaps one of the most important things involved in human interaction.


    Before he left, Lucas looked back over Northgate. He had barely arrived before being chased out, and he somewhat regretted not being able to take a look around. Or maybe that was simply the anticipation of future regret during his roughly fourteen day journey.


    ¡°Well at the very least I hope there is something to eat when I get down there,¡± Lucas mumbled to himself. It was better to focus on his hunger than the pain, he was sure he¡¯d have huge bruises by tomorrow all along his sides and back. Waiting to eat until he reached the next sky island, Low Goldengrass, turned out to be a good idea.


    ¡°How the hell does a river have a corkscrew in it?¡± Lucas complained as he retched off to the side, thankful that he had nothing to throw up. ¡°This whole place is like what I imagine a bad trip would be like.¡±


    ¡°Not very good on skyrivers?¡± Forus seemed much too satisfied with Lucas¡¯s misery, ¡°well, not many people travel very far, I suppose.¡±


    Lucas, of course, responded with eloquence and grace as befitted his status and education, ¡°fuck you, asshole.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    If nothing else, the statement had the element of surprise as the knight appeared to have no idea how to respond as Lucas dry heaved again.


    ¡°I travelled quite a bit in my own world,¡± Lucas managed to straighten up, exhausted. ¡°However, none of our rivers were like glorified amusement park rides sans safety measures!¡±


    ¡°Sir Forus,¡± Terrasin interjected, trying to keep the peace. ¡°Records from the first two Heroes say that there worlds were much different from ours. There are neither sky islands nor Skyrivers. Rather, the ground sits upon more ground.¡±


    ¡°Well, I have no idea about their worlds,¡± Lucas finally had a chance to eat breakfast and planned to take it wholeheartedly. ¡°However, my own is spherical, but of such great size that it appears flat to those who walk on it. Rivers flow into oceans, and none of them float in the air.¡±


    The knight was vaguely interested in Lucas¡¯s story, but Terrasin¡¯s eyes were just about glowing. Lucas was not entirely sure he wanted to talk about it though. It would not take long for him to miss the comforts modern life afforded him if he thought about it too much.


    ¡°Now that I¡¯m done trying to heave up air,¡± Lucas changed the subject instead. ¡°Could I get something to eat as we get on our way? I very much wish I had been woken up sooner, but I suppose there is no point in looking back at that now.¡±


    A soldier passed Lucas a wrapped meat thing. Much like a burrito or wrap that he might have found in his world, however the meat had clearly come from one of the fish Lucas had noticed in the floating rivers. Professional curiosity had him wondering about how an ecosystem like that worked as he thanked the soldier and absently took a bite.


    It was good, tasting like fish but with a lighter and fluffier texture. However, more interestingly, part of the taste was very familiar. A very slightly lemony, minty, taste that paired very well with the fish, and that even hidden among other tastes and scents was very recognizable.


    ¡°Does this have thyme in it?¡± Lucas asked rather incredulously, not really believing his own taste buds or nose.


    ¡°Indeed it does sir,¡± the soldier who had given it to him replied nervously. ¡°It very much helps to add flavor when the taste of fish grows boring- did you not like it?¡±


    ¡°No, it is quite good- but this is thyme!¡± Lucas exclaimed, now incredibly confused. ¡°This is basically impossible, it should not be here!¡±


    Of course, his confusion was contagious. The people around him, busily setting up the carriage again, paused at the spectacle of a tall man who had fought and killed a High Spider in single combat, staring at a fish wrap as if it was a world wonder.


    Which, of course, it actually was. Lucas had not really thought of it before now- what with injury and being chased by monsters occupying his thoughts- but things like humans, horses, and thyme really should not be here. They were all things that had evolved in his own world, and the first two had extremely well documented fossil records. Of course, he had been brought here, but he had changed his clothes in the transition and suddenly became shackled. If he had simply been teleported, that would not have happened, right? He was not a physicist, but it did not take a genius to figure out that if he had been moved from place to place he would have brought what he was carrying with him.


    Lucas, while perhaps not arrogant enough to call himself a genius, very much thought of himself as highly intelligent. Now that he stopped to apply that intelligence to what he knew about his own appearance in this world, he would bet a large amount that it had involved some kind of human sacrifice. Which had fascinating biological implications by itself, because he still looked like himself.


    More importantly, it implied that things could not be directly brought over from his world to this one. For that matter, Lucas was not sure that the previous heros had come from his world at all. The Demon King certainly had not.


    Yet, there were humans here. Horses as well, and herbs like thyme- all of which most assuredly evolved on Earth. The chances of something similar to any of those evolving in a similar world to Earth¡¯s was actually pretty high. Convergent evolution was a well documented phenomena, and was to be expected.


    However, the exact same thing evolving in a world that had a wildly different geography? It was not technically impossible, but the odds were so low that it might as well be. The difference between an infinitely low chance and no chance was mathematically significant, but practically the same in the real world.


    ¡°Lor- Lucas,¡± Terrasin corrected herself quickly as she asked. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°It is difficult to explain succinctly,¡± Lucas replied, still bewildered by the wrap in his hands. ¡°But does the word, evolution, translate for you?¡±


    Terrasin frowned and shook her head, ¡°It did not, what does it mean?¡±


    Lucas just shook his head and took another bite as he thought about how to respond. Much like when he was asked about his education, he did not think his audience had the knowledge to understand the tools necessary for him to explain everything. No, he was overthinking, a critical flaw of his. They did not need a breakdown of the specifics, but a general overview.


    ¡°Evolution, in this context, is change over time in a species,¡± Lucas spoke after he swallowed. It really was quite good, despite being baffling. ¡°Driven, generally, by the processes of natural or artificial selection.¡±


    Gesturing to the wrap in his hands, he continued. ¡°Considering the rush, and my own distraction, I did not give much thought to a few things until I took a bite of this. The short version is that with vast quantities of time- millions, if not hundreds of millions of years- one species can change into another, or even divide into two new, species.¡±


    ¡°For the moment, how this process works is not very important. However, I can tell you that I know for a fact that humans, horses, and probably thyme- though I must admit to not being sure if there even are fossils of it- all evolved on my world. The chances that I would find the exact same species in a completely different world, with completely different geography and environments, are so incredibly slim that the realisation that these things are here almost floored me.¡±


    Lucas then had an amusing thought, which he shared with a chuckle. ¡°Actually, honestly speaking and despite all other evidence to the contrary my senses provide, it is far more likely I am insane and none of this is real than that I would find a species that is the same as one from my own world. Not that I have anything I can do besides trust that my perceptions of reality are correct, but there you go.¡±


    The soldiers and nobles around him were quiet, mostly from confusion if the looks on their faces had anything to say about it. Terrasin, though, had a pensive look.


    ¡°So at one point,¡± she said slowly as she began to lay out a deduction she made. ¡°There must have been a way to travel between our worlds in the flesh.¡±


    It was, Lucas thought, a disturbing conclusion, albeit the only rational one that did not include declaring himself insane. Modern humans, homo sapiens, are a species roughly two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand years old; the beginning of recorded human history was somewhere between four thousand and ten thousand years, depending on how you defined things.


    Magic seemed to, very definitely, not exist in his world- though his own presence here called that into question. Lucas, however, still believed that his world lacked magic regardless because otherwise it would have been discovered. The history of the scientist traces itself back to alchemists and seekers of magic, but for all the effort nothing was ever found. Which implied that if humans had been spread to other worlds, they had either done so through technology or through some outside force.


    While the subject of prehistoric humans having some kind of advanced technology made for great stories and careers for more than a few wackjobs trying to pass off pseudoscience to the ignorant, Lucas was very much aware that prehistoric humans likely had little more than the most basic of stone tools. Ergo, some outside force was responsible for all of this.


    Lucas did not reply to Terrasin, instead he pushed all of those thoughts out of his head. He could do nothing about it, and by all accounts- presuming time was relatively the same between his world and this one- whatever or whoever had placed humanity and other species here had done so well over four thousand years ago. It had nothing to do with him, or the current situation, and he lacked both the education and tools to even begin to try and investigate possibilities. So he would ignore that and finish his fish, and damn any other thoughts that-


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Lucas said with a frown, speaking over a soldier who was telling them that the carriage was complete. ¡°How the hell do you people have thyme and not know of its antiseptic properties? Is it a rare herb here or something?¡±


    They had, after all, tried to bandage an open wound caused by a monster without any disinfectant. Yet Lucas was fully aware that thyme was perfectly capable of fulfilling that role. Not as well as most modern drugs perhaps, but it was perfectly serviceable.


    Terrasin looked at Lucas in confusion, pulled out of her own thoughts by Lucas¡¯s sudden expletive and jarring change of topic.


    ¡°I¡¯m not certain what ¡°ann-tie-sep-tic¡± means,¡± the lady replied anyway, despite the oddness of the question. ¡°Thyme is not particularly rare, however it is not common either. We barely have enough space to farm as it is; herbs are quite expensive and something only enjoyed by the upper classes.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess I have some more explaining to do,¡± Lucas sighed as he got into the carriage again, though he was grateful that he had the chance to explain as a distraction from his earlier, far more unsettling, thoughts.