Chapter 1:
A Rude Awakening
“…………….”
What? What was that? Not that understanding whatever was being said was the biggest of my concerns, but it would be nice, wouldn’t it? What would be the biggest of my concerns at this moment? Well, probably the fact that I have a splitting headache as well as the fact…
I don’t remember anything.
Wake up… Yeah, I probably should. Wait. I wasn’t thinking of that. Where did that come from?
“………………….”
“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re trying to communicate… Wait, what even ARE you?”
As my vision became clearer, the little device on the creature’s… claw let out a sharp click.
“This is better?” the creature asked.
“I… I guess!!” I replied, trying to collect my thoughts.
“Worry you not. I no hurt you. Human?”
What… did that even mean? Human? I remember that. That’s what I am. A human.
“Yes.”
As soon as the confirmation left my lips, the creature bowed to me.
“Human! I call rangers.”
Oh no. I don’t know if these are friendly yet. This one said it won’t hurt me, but hell, these “ranger” fellas might do some damage. Not to mention the fact… I’m completely naked. Where the hell am I even?
“Wait here.”
With no choice but to comply, I looked around. The sun’s warm rays reached through the dyed glass windows, painting whatever I was seeing green. The statue towering above me displayed a somehow familiar to me sight – a human woman holding a crossbow. Why was it here? Well, one thing is for certain now, these creatures have some sort of connection to humans, and considering this statue, it’s probably a good one. Thank whatever deity exists now, they’re not going to hurt me… yet.
“Well, I’ll be damned, this calls for a celebration!” – a voice chimed behind me, severing the thread of thoughts. “A real, actual human!”
“I’m sorry but… What are you… people?”
“Well, as you can tell, not human.” – replied the voice with a chuckle.
With a look behind me, I confirmed their assumption. This one is different though… somehow. Light armor, an emblem on the helmet right above their tear-shaped eyes, this creature certainly looked like a part of some military unit.
“So… you’re a ranger, right?”
“Yep, the guy responsible for bringing your lifeless body to the temple, no less.”
My… what? Lifeless body? Did they think I was… dead? And wait, the temple? You’re telling me these things have a God? Is it the woman? What the hell is going on here?
“I know you probably have way too many questions right now, but what you really need is rest. Come with me.”
And since complying with these creatures has so far done me more good than harm, I obliged. Venturing deeper into what it just described as “a temple”, with more questions than my aching head could handle, the one question I kept coming back to was “Where did the thought to wake up come from?”