The Frigid Forest

"Ok, that's interesting. Unexpected, but interesting."

As it turned out, the unknown was pretty much a normal world. Anterion made note of the trees he could see from inside the exit corridor, a little surprised by the fact that there wasn't any major difference between the forest that one might expect within the human world and the one currently visible. That didn't mean there weren't differences, but they were hardly substantive from what he could see.

The first major change he noticed came when he exited the corridor proper, only to feel a blast of cold air hit his face. This wasn't simply a cool breeze either, but a frigid arctic blast cold enough to present serious danger to an average human. And yet, the sun seemed to be shining, the canopy as green as ever despite it all. It seemed as if the creatures here were hardier than they had been in the world he had once called home, at least in this area."

"But is that a difference from the species, or is this world just weird?"

Anterion wasn't sure what to make of these changes, but he did know one thing; When in doubt, analyze. Without a second thought, Anterion walked up to one of the plants: pinching the bark of the tree between his thumb and index finger, the demigod peeled away the bark without any issues.

"They seem to be only around as durable as normal trees. Hrm."

Curious as to the nature of the tree's resilience, Anterion scooped out a part of the tree's inner bark with his finger. Sure enough, as he dug deeper into the tree's inner core, he found something quite interesting: touching something warm and slimy, Anterion pulled out his fingers to find them covered with some sort of green sap-like substance, distinctly hot to the touch. Even stranger, it was glowing, not with heat, but some sort of… bioluminescence? It wasn't clear, but it was worth analyzing. He considered asking Delvis, but…

"Nah, that wouldn't be any fun."

Before he could attempt to make any more analysis, Anterion noticed another oddity nearby. Further beyond where he had been inspecting the tree, he could see what seemed to be an artificially carved pathway going through the forest. Too clean to be anything natural, it could only mean one thing: the presence of civilization. Anterion took a moment to consider his options; Whatever he did would likely set the tone for any future interactions he had in this world.

[…Well, may as well try and make a good first impression.]

Either way he went, the road would likely lead him to some measure of civilization. No tracks were visible, so it probably hadn't been traveled recently, so there wasn't even a guarantee of actually seeing anything but a bunch of ruins. However, in his view, any information was useful, and if there were ruins, they could at least provide him a base of operations to work off of for the foreseeable future.

"Guess it's settled then!"

Anterion couldn't help but grin a little as he stepped onto the road, feeling the crunch of pebbles, dirt, and gravel under his feet. Physical form was nice. After his moment of enjoying nature, Anterion took his first step on the road.

Anterion continued on the pathway for at least an hour, judging by the movement of the sun. Of course, that assumed that the sun itself was moving in a pattern consistent with that of Earth (as in, the patterns of his original world). For all he knew right now, this planet rotated significantly slower, or it rotated in the complete opposite direction. For all he knew, the sun could legitimately a fireball being towed along by a god's chariot in this universe. The possibilities were endless.

"Kind of glad I lost my superknowledges and omniscience in the accident. It would have been boring to know all the answers right away."

Anterion mind raced with possibilities regarding the unique properties of this world. So many things might be different, it was hard to even imagine what things could still be new to him. If even the trees seemed to work under different rules, then there was so much that he could-

ZAP!

Distracted as he was, Anterion barely noticed the burst of electrical coming his way, only just dodging out of the way. The electrical surge would strike just behind him, impacting with such power that it left a crater, showering him with rock fragments. The demigod, holding his staff at the ready in anticipation of some sort of attack, only to find a young teen in heavy furs, his panicked expression visible even through his heavy clothing.

"Oh God! Really sorry about that, didn't mean to do that at all, honest! I wasn't expecting anyone to be out here of all places."

Anterion lowered his guard a little upon seeing the perpetrator. Not only was he young, he seemed to be genuinely remorseful. In the face of such an honest mistake, the demigod could only sigh.

"It's… it's alright, yeah. I was just coming to uh… mapmake, yeah! I was just mapping the roads. They're so underused and all, I thought it might be good to get an analysis of the area since it's been so long since anyone has, you know?"

"I seeeeee…. Well, I'm glad you're alright though! At least, I think. Aren't you cold in that getup?"

The young man squinted at Anterion's outfit, making the deity acutely aware of just how underdressed he was compared to the human populace in this area. Of course, it wasn't an issue for a god like himself, but, he didn't want to arouse suspicion about his true nature. Scratching his head, he found himself on the back foot in coming up with an excuse

"It's… it's a magic item! I got it as a gift a long time ago, nothing particularly strong, but it gets the job done."

From the looks of the device that he'd seen the teen use, it seemed to be more magical in nature than anything, so magic likely existed here, at least in great enough quantities for him to make excuses. Much to his dismay, however, it seemed like the accidental assailant knew more about magic than expected.

"A magic item? That's incredible, I've never seen spellcraft on that level! An item like that has gotta be making use of at least 3 of the disciplines, and it still looks so clean. PLEASE tell me you know the guy who made this?"

Anterion was taken aback by the immense enthusiasm that he displayed for magic. Then, it hit him like a brick: Some guy firing off magic lightning in the middle of nowhere, he'd have to be some sort of crazy scientist to do something like that.

[It's official, I'm an idiot. Alright, well, I can work with this. Godly skill, don't fail me now!]

"Look man… even if that wasn't something personal to me, and even if I knew enough to tell you… you literally just almost killed me with a magic lightning gun. Do you really think I'm feeling all that charitable right now?"

"Ah… yeah, I'm still really sorry about that… Hey, lemme make it up to you then! What's your name? "

"…just call me Andrew."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Elias, if you're wondering. You seem like you're not from around here, and it's probably been a long journey and all… what do you say to me showing you to the village, get back to some level of civilization. I'll even toss in a meal at the local inn. Lisa makes this incredible black pudding, and you have to try it if you come!"

"Hrm…"

All things considered, it was a tempting offer. While he didn't want to put himself in a situation where he might piqué anyone's interest or have too many questions raised about his origins, he was still lacking in information about this world. And, he had left to go and discover information this universe in the first place, so… "Andrew" extended an arm, offering a handshake.

"Well, if you insist… I guess I could spare a little time to look around, get a feel for the area. I was on my way already, cause I had to get it on a map yknow? But it would be good for me to have something on there that would be a bit more in-depth, so I'm alright with it."

Elias simply looked at the hand with an uncertain expression; Anterion took a moment to understand, before slowly stowing away his own hand and coughing lightly to clear the air.

[Right, he wouldn't know what a handshake is…]

"Right, sorry. That was just a gesture of agreement from my culture, I forgot it's not common here."

"Nice! Man, I wasn't expecting to learn so much today. Alright, I promise you won't regret it. Just let me do my thing, and I'll guide you all the way to my place. Any questions? Comments? Requests?"

"…Keep the lightning blaster pointed away from me.