Chapter One

Light shined in my eyes. "Hmm.. Su chtē hwēch goza ," I heard. I swatted the light away, disappointment in my chest. I sat up. I looked around, I seemed to be in a room full of books and potions. What..? A man with the face of a deer was standing before me. He wore a cloth made of what looked like leaves. His whole body was that of a deer but one thing, his hands. They were human-like. "Gush pisda wiv" He said in a chippy voice. He patted me on the back.

"Kapach jungak!" I heard a female say. A woman, the same as the man, walked around him. She gave a big grin. "Pshia!" She said. She looked me up and down. "Cnfer bok mni," she said. What the hell is going on..? I looked down at myself. I seemed to look the same. I looked up at them. "Where am I?" I asked. They looked at each other. The deer man walked over. He tapped me on the forehead and said something. "Hmm.. I think that will do it," He said. "What the hell?" I asked. "I performed a language spell, I'm glad I can finally use it!" He said.

The girl hopped over gleefully. "What's your name!? How did you get here? Are you really a dwarf!?" She asked. I was dumbfounded and felt slightly overwhelmed. "Nova, I don't know, and no?" I said. She seemed to be taking everything in. "Okay then what are you?" She asked. "Zaphrie, calm yourself," the man said. He pulled her away from me, sitting her in a chair. He walked over to me. "Welcome little dwarf," He said. "Not a dwarf but okay," I said. "Do you know of this place?" He asked. "No," I replied. He thought to himself.

"Well.. You should get dressed into new clothes. I'll grab you some," he said. He stood up and walked out. The girl looked at me, wonder in her eyes. "Can you use magic?" She asked. "I don't think so," I said. "Hmm.." She began to mutter to herself. The man came back in. He held black clothes in his arms. He handed them to me. "You must wear this.. If people see you they will want to sell you," He said. "Sell me?" I asked taking the clothing. "Yes, dwarves haven't been seen for eons," he said. "I'm not a dwarf though," I repeated. "Oh, well any one can make a mistake, especially if all they want is money," he said. I stood up, removing my shirt. "They will be even more inclined if you are an unknown species," He added.

His words faded. The girls' mutters stopped as well. I turned to look. The two scanned my body, at all my scars and wounds. Some were still fresh. The girl reached out to touch, but I moved away. "Let's not," I said. She drew back slightly. "Right.." she said. I put on the clothes. They fit snuggly. The muscles I gained from my past seemed to be refined by the material. "Make sure to keep the hood up," the man said, fixing my hood. He placed it over my head. "Your ears will give you away, this way people will think of you as an elf or something of that nature," he said. "Why help me?" I asked. "A creature such as yourself is rare, it would be a shame if your light was snuffed out so quickly," he said. "What a shame…" I repeated. He handed me a mask. "Your magic seems to pour out of you, this mask shields it, not allowing others to see the magic you withhold," he told me.

"Magic?" I asked. "Yes, you seem to have an overabundance of it," He replied. Magic huh? What a weird concept… "I'll head out now, sorry for the inconvenience," I said. The man smiled. "I wouldn't be able to help you with much except housing and food," he said. "That's alright, I've been in worse conditions outside," I said. Robin kicked me out when there was a typhoon… "I'll walk you out then, would you like any food or w-" I cut him off. "No thank you, I'll find that myself," I replied. He nodded. "Awww.. I wanted you to stick around a little longer," the girl said. The man and I walked out.

The surroundings were of woods. "A hermit?" I asked. He chuckled. "No, no, I am the doctor for a couple of nearby towns, I try to remain in the middle of them," he explained. "Hm.." I replied. He pointed to the north. "That is where the palace is, where many magicians, doctors, and the such live," he replied. Maybe I can ask one how I got here… "Thanks," I said. I felt a quick movement in my pocket. "Anyhow, good day, I hope to see you in the future," The man said. He walked back inside. I looked in my pocket, what looked like gold and copper lay inside. Clever old man…

I began to walk North. I need to get to the city. I looked down at my hand. Magic huh? I held my hand out as I walked. I thought for a moment. How would I use it? I looked around my hand. I have an overabundance of magic… What should I even do? I've read books on this kind of thing, but if I have to use the power of friendship, I'm going to succeed this time in killing myself… There was a noise to my left. I immediately backed away. Who knows what this place contains… A small creature resembling a bunny hopped out of the bushes. I stopped.

The bunny had three red, beady eyes. It was white and smooth looking. I crouched down. "Hey there," I said. I put my hand out slightly. It sniffed in my direction. "You seem quite harmless," I said. Then, it seemed to be offended by my words. It thumped, and the bush turned to ice. "Okay, not so harmless…" I muttered. I sat down. "Now I have to learn magic… Especially if you can, I'll look ridiculous if I can't and you can," I said. It didn't respond. "Of course, I am talking to a rabbit," I said. No response. I stood back up and carried on. After a while, the sun began to set.

I could see lights flickering in the distance. I began to walk faster, not knowing what came out at night. I made it to a gate, large and has spikes on it. There were two guards. Alright… I stopped short of the woods. Okay.. They may not let me in if I don't have any identification… Should I say I can't remember who or where I am? I mean at least one is true. I put on a face of fear. I began to dart towards them, stumbling and falling. "Help! Help!" I shouted. The guards ran towards me. "What is it!?" One called. I fell to my knees. "Where am I!? What day is today!?" I shouted. The two crouched down. "Calm down, tell us what happened!" One said. "I- I don't know! I woke up in the woods! I don't know who or where I am!" I shouted.

The two seemed to calm down a bit. "Alright, let's get you up," One said. They pulled me up. They brought me into the town, weaving through the empty streets. They pulled me along as I looked around. Stalls, closed with easily broken locks. Stores, tall and clean. No trash anywhere. It looked like houses you would see back home. They looked run down slightly, not as well made. "We'll get you to a doctor," One said. I just came from one…. "N-no doctor! They are bad!" I said. The two looked confused. "Then where shall you go?" One asked. "J-just a place to stay.. That will do.. I think solitude will… be best for now…" I said. I tried to make myself sound helpless. The men looked me up and down. "Alright, there is a tavern around the corner," They said. I nodded. They brought me to what looked like an old bar. We entered, noise filled my ears. There were very large, giant-like people there. Then there were those who looked like animals on two legs. Folks with wings, and then elves.

The men brought me up to the counter. "Consa! Are you here?" One called. There was some rustling. From under the counter a small boy crawled out. "Yes sir?" he asked. One of the men pointed to me. "He needs a place to stay, would you mind?" He asked. The boy looked at me as I him. He had pointed ears and small wings. He wore a tunic. Black and white, decorated by red flowers. Black pants tightly snugged him. "Sure! Let me ask my mum," he said nonchalantly. He walked away, his hands halfway in his pocket. "Ma!" I heard. "What do you want boy!" She called back. "Some guards wanna talk!" He shouted back. "Guards!? You mean there are guards in my tavern!?" She shouted back. Heavy footsteps approached. A woman with long ears and large wings came out. She wore a long, red dress cut on one side to show leg.

"What can I get you gentlemen?" She asked. "This man here don't know who he is, mind giving him a room for a couple days?" The guard asked. She looked me up and down. "Long as he don't cause trouble, sure," She shrugged. "And he works for it," She added under her breath. "This is-" One of the guards began but she intervened. "Come on darlin, let's get you fixed for the night at least. Follow me buttercup," She said. I walked around the counter and followed her to the back. We walked up some stairs after a while. I stopped for a second, taking in my surroundings. There was a slight dust in the air. "Come on back here buttercup. Your room is this way," She said. Buttercup? She brought me to a closed room. As I opened the door, the dust seemed to have only been a disguise.

The room was clean and large. A large, white bed lay on the wall. A long dresser with pots of flowers sat at the opposite of the bed. A nightstand with a lamp lay next to the bed. The lamp was old fashioned, one that used fire. It flickered about. "Get comfortable," She said. "T-thank you ma'am… I'll repay you for this," I said in a quick tone. She smiled big. "Good! Make sure of it," She said. She walked out and closed the door behind her. I took off my shirt. I left the mask on just in case people can sense magic from below. I sighed. I looked over, a window was propped open. I looked outside of it, the city was large. No one walked outside though.