You know that feeling, that singular moment when you find yourself flailing about, and the next, you're on the floor, utterly clueless about the space in between? Well, that second moment did not come to me for a dreadfully long time. Instead, I was shocked sober with the nauseating feeling of free falling. I gripped Nora’s limp hand and tried to scream, but no sound came out.

We fell through darkness into a clear blue sky, skydiving without a parachute. Below us, blurry land masses grew more prominent with every passing second. A translucent gold light formed a bubble around us, cutting us off from the icy cold air whipping at our bodies and slowing our descent. We piled on top of one another at the bottom of the bubble as awkwardly as two people trying to share a revolving hammock.

“No. Not there. Over there.” I could finally understand the voice inside my head.

“What?” I mumbled, peeling my suction-cupped face off the bottom of the floating bubble.

“The wastelands. Head for the wastelands.”

To the west, I saw a large, brownish-yellow continent devoid of anything resembling vegetation. It did not strike me as particularly welcoming. “Why should I listen to you?”

There was no response. However, something seized control of me, and I bashed my body into the bubble, turning its course towards the west as we descended.

“Wait, stop!” Again and again, I hurled myself into the bubble’s side. I tried to get Nora’s attention, but from a side glance, she appeared to be unconscious.

“We need to get a better sense of what’s happening out there.”

After a few more bashings, the possessing voice let me go just in time for me to collapse.

The next thing I knew, I was lying face-up in a pile of sandy rubble. I felt dirty and disoriented. My right hip was particularly angry, so I rolled onto my left side. I think I forgot to mention I was feeling nauseated as well. Never in my life had I ever been so drunk before. What the heck was in that wine?

“Nora, are you alive?” I saw her form sprawled out on the uneven stone tiles around us.

“I think so. Are you?”

“I feel awful, so I’m going to say yes.” I sat up with effort, brushing rocky dust from my face.

Nora grunted as she used her staff to help her stand.

“My glasses! I can’t find my glasses!” I suddenly panicked as I realized they weren’t on my face.

“You can’t see a thing without your glasses,” Nora agreed as she started looking for them.

“Yeah, wait… everything’s crystal clear!” I marveled, temporarily forgetting my bruised hip and other complaints.

“Maybe you’re still drunk?”

“Maybe.” I looked around. The roof of the makeshift amphitheater we found ourselves in was mostly gone, with only a few pillars standing high enough to arch over us. Rubble was piled around all the edges. “I think there are several building code violations going on here. Which part of the faire are we in?”

“Who knows? Eura has the map. Where do you think she went?”

“Not sure.” I stood up, stretching and verifying that the rest of my body was quite sore. I examined my clothing, seeing it was stained with dirt. Worst of all was around my hip, where I think I landed the hardest. “It’s all ruined.”

“What?”

“My costume. Wearing white is just asking for trouble,” I sighed. “Do you think this will come out of my pay?”

“Rae… I think we have bigger things to discuss.” She pointed to a giant stone altar in the exact center of the amphitheater.

Within the throne room of the King of Nightmare

Raelynn Lightbringer

Knight Captain of the Holy Order of Gold

Chosen One of the Goddess

7th Appointed Hero of Legend

Wielding the Faith and Will of Euphridia

Felled Epiales

Origin of Evil

Eternally Accursed

May Euphridia’s light return you to us

I stared at the ridiculously sized altar. “Just how much money does Eura have?”

“You have to admit, it looks pretty realistic.” Nora put her hands on the altar. “I think it’s stone, or at least plated in stone.”

“It looks like she went through a lot of trouble for us. I’m all for inspiration, but I feel like we’ve tumbled into the uncanny valley.”

Two masculine voices abruptly echoed in from the surroundings, cutting off our conversation. In a panic, Nora and I nodded at each other, silently agreeing we didn’t want to have to explain to strangers why we were rolling around in the dirt, so we swiftly ducked behind the altar. As they approached our hiding spot, I prayed fervently that Eura had gone to get us a wardrobe change.

“I’m telling you, if another pilgrim brings red camellias, I will slice them clear in two! She didn’t die!” the first voice declared indignantly.

“No, you won’t,” the other voice disagreed gently. “You’ll just keep complaining about it to me, but that’s alright. You’ll feel better once you’ve overcome your excess anger.”

“Oh, I mean it this time! Blood spatter everywhere! Screams of agony and–”

“Hush now, we’re here.” They stopped talking, but I could hear at least one approaching the altar with heavy footsteps. Please don’t peek back here!

“It’s us again,” The deep but gentle-voiced man murmured.

The other voice sighed at first, then took a more aggressive tone. “What’s taking you so long to come back? I’m going to give you such a scolding, you know! Three times as much if you haven’t been practicing your fighting forms! I–” he halted abruptly and let out a frightening growl. I only thought wild animals could make such a noise!

“What’s this?” The gentle one’s voice suddenly turned hard. I heard a loud thud and saw that the floor tiles surrounding me rattled. Then, a whirlwind of white and gray descended on me, knocking me onto my back. The back of my head hit the stone floor, and I only saw white for a moment. Then I heard a loud sniffing.

As my vision cleared, a gasp caught in my throat. There, before me, was someone who seemed to have stepped out of a wild fantasy. “Raelynn!” He was shaking my shoulders roughly. The initial shock had rendered me speechless. His appearance was almost human but with undeniable tiger-like nuances.

His eyes gleamed with a distinctive golden hue. He had cat-like ears positioned at the top of his head, and his hair was primarily white with black stripes like a tiger's. A set of whiskers, delicate and almost imperceptible, sprouted from his cheeks.

“Where have you been?! Uh, I wasn’t worried, of course, but you upset Aleph! How could you do that to him?!”

Aleph? As in Aleph and Tetora? But that couldn’t be right; they’re not real! Real or not, he then crushed me with a fierce hug.

“Tetora, I think she’s in shock. That dark mage might have done something to her.” I turned slightly and saw a towering man with flowing chestnut hair and dull gray ox horns holding a giant hammer threateningly over Nora. She was frozen stiff, with her hands up as if under arrest. The tile in front of her was utterly pulverized. Had the ox giant done that as a warning?

I tried to gather my wits. “N-Nora wouldn’t do anything to hurt me! It’s you two that I’m afraid of!”

Tetora and Aleph exchanged a glance.

“On second thought, she doesn’t seem like she’s possessed,” Aleph noted, rubbing at his cropped brown beard.

“But since when is she afraid of anything?” Tetora complained. “What happened to my fierce little dragon?”

“Nora…” I squeaked out loud, but she failed to respond. Swallowing nervously, I tried my best to glare threateningly at Aleph. “Don’t you dare hurt my friend Nora!” The ox giant momentarily looked deep into my eyes as if searching for something. “I-I mean it!” I reiterated.

“Yes, I can see I was mistaken about your friend.” Aleph stepped back from Nora to give her room. Tetora, however, kept his grip on me. I saw his tail lash back and forth as he picked me up.

“Put… put me down!” I struggled.

“You’ve gotten weak! Can’t even break my hold! Time to train!” He carried me out of the ruined amphitheater over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“I’m not who you think I am!” I shouted. I freed my right arm and began pounding on his back as hard as possible. “You’re making a huge mistake!” If I had been in my right mind, I would have realized that I was the one making a big mistake. I was trying to beat up an anthropomorphic martial artist three times my size.

“To the left! I have a knot back there behind my shoulder blade! Maybe your mosquito bite punches will fix it!” He laughed happily and tossed me a few times in the air in what I could only imagine was misplaced exaltation.

“Nora!” I screeched, extending my now free arms out towards her. This time, she took a big breath, and I could see her brain resetting. Her eyes suddenly sparkled. No, Nora, this isn’t what you think! Don’t fall for it!

“You’re Aleph, aren’t you? Oh, I’ve read so much about you!” She was squealing now, her high-pitched voice hitting whole registers above what the average human ear could decipher.

Aleph nodded with a slow smile as he offered Nora a hand and pulled her to her feet. He then returned her staff and allowed her to use his arm for balance. Nora took it and followed behind me with a staggering gait, which became more sure of itself with every step.

“Where are you taking us?!” I demanded shrilly.

Tetora shifted me slightly. “To the village! We have much to celebrate!”

“Stop jostling me, or I’ll throw up all over you!”

“What, you’re feeling sick? When did you become so delicate?” He stopped walking but didn’t let me down. Aleph and Nora caught up to us. He must have taken the threat to heart, though, because he stopped tossing me.

“We need to keep moving,” Aleph advised. “It isn’t safe here.”

Tetora started down the dirt path again, and I let myself hang limply over his shoulder, arms splayed down his back. I had no idea what was going on here, but I figured I was stuck along for the ride. We were heading into a dark, sickly forest populated with petrified trunks devoid of branches and leaves.

“Ms. Nora, may I carry you on my back for the rest of our sojourn?” Aleph asked politely. “The forest floor is rather rough and somewhat difficult to traverse.”

“Permission granted!” She scrambled up his back. She was taking this much better than I was. “Can I–” she started.

Aleph cut her off. “I would prefer that you didn’t.” I saw she was staring intently at his horns. “Please put your arms around my neck instead.”

“Why don’t you do that for me?” I asked Tetora. “Then this wouldn’t feel so much like kidnapping, you know.”

“You always pull my whiskers when we do that. I’m not stupid!” Although he sounded indignant, I noticed he was hugging me tightly again. I knew he would explode when he realized I wasn’t actually Raelynn. 

Wait, why was I thinking like that? This wasn’t real, after all. They were just actors Eura had hired. They were doing an impressive job, but I felt her eccentric nature and apparently limitless funds were taking things a bit of a step too far now.

About ten minutes later, Tetora suddenly dropped me on my feet and extended his claws. Aleph also set Nora down, although much more gently, and stepped in front of her protectively.