Nero paid no attention to Eleanor falling, his entire focus fixed on the small blue stone.
Eleanor still watched suspiciously as the stone emitted a faint blue light. For everyone else, this was the end of the spectacle, yet Eleanor saw how incredible amounts of aura flowed out of the stone into the air. He looked up and noticed a small point in space, not much larger than a feather. As the blue aura of the stone streamed toward it, the tiny spot slowly but steadily began to widen until it silently tore apart. Like a man violently ripping a hole into a painting, the aura tore open space itself, allowing a view into an entirely new world.
It was dusk in this new world. The sun was setting on the horizon in a beautiful red glow. Like a storm, the auras of the Polykenas surged behind them as they prepared for a potential attack. Nero handed the stone to Xersies.
With a cold look, he stared at him, though he did not need to say anything. Xersies was to keep the stone, and if Nero did not return to the gate within a month, he was to personally come looking for him. Nero trusted that, in that case, Xersies would make the right decisions.
After that, he handed him his crown. He kept the black cloak, but rolled it up and placed it into an old bag. The cloak was far too masterfully woven, the symbols too noticeable for him to wear it openly. Nero nodded in satisfaction and slung the bag over his shoulder.
He looked at Eleanor. "Ready?" he asked. There was no nervousness or excitement in his voice. Only cold absence.
Eleanor nodded. Nero's aura spread out as darkness enveloped both him and Eleanor. Eleanor had to suppress the urge to resist and instead allowed it.
The darkness lifted them from the ground, and together they flew through the opening into the other world. For a brief moment, they hovered high in the sky.
"Do you see the two of them?" Nero pointed at two humans who were attentively looking at the ground.
Eleanor nodded in agreement. "Can you sense their aura?" Nero asked. Eleanor nodded again. "The woman is clearly a wind mage; her aura moves around her like a storm. I have seen it with some Polykenas before."
"And the man?"
Eleanor shrugged. "I am not entirely sure. His aura is like a gentle current of silver liquid flowing around him. It almost looks like… metal."
Nero nodded. "A wind mage and a metal mage. So that must be Isabella and Tark then, two of the mages Fril has been hunting. Shall we go greet them?"
Nero did not wait for an answer. He simply landed on the ground a few hundred steps away. Eleanor watched as Nero drew in his aura, reducing it to a tiny flicker. Eleanor looked up at his star and tried to do the same. He did not manage it quite as well, but the star visibly shrank. As long as they did not use magic, they should be relatively safe, unless they encountered someone with the same strange magic as Eleanor.
After walking toward the two for some time, they were finally able to hear voices. "…you ever seen a Reil like that creature? We do not know what it is capable of," the woman, Isabella, said.
"I mean, by the holy one, it killed twelve of us before we were finally able to drive it away. We are the last survivors, and even we barely made it."
A pause followed, neither of them speaking, before Isabella sighed heavily. "Let's stop here for today. We will continue tomorrow."
Eleanor heard Tark respond with a frustrated growl. He leaned forward slightly to hear more, but brushed against a small bush that rustled. Eleanor bit his tongue; the sound had seemed as loud as a cannon shot.
He looked at Nero, who didn't seem to be upset, "I think this is our cue to introduce ourselves," he simply said.
"You know your role?"
Eleanor nodded. He took a deep breath and straightened himself. Then he stepped forward, Nero following closely behind, pushing through the bushes. With another loud rustle, the two emerged into a clearing. In front of them stood Isabella and Tark.
The two didn't look much older than Nero and Eleanor, though of course, one mustn't forget that this says nothing about their actual age. Isabella had ash-blonde hair tied into a short braid. She wore long pants and a thick wool shirt. On her chest was a scratch that must have been made by three incredibly sharp claws. The wound had already crusted over. Tark was in an even worse condition. His right hand had been severed, replaced by a metal prosthesis. Eleanor could see how parts of Tark's aura periodically flowed into the prosthesis to bring it to life.
Eleanor panicked that the two might realize they were actually mages and attack them at any moment, but he did his best not to show it. Instead, he acted surprised, as if he were a normal human unexpectedly encountering two others like him in a strange place. Nero stepped slightly back, pretending to be a frightened weakling, his expression flawlessly convincing.
"I did not expect to meet other humans here," Eleanor said in a steady voice. Immediately, both pairs of eyes focused on him, Nero seemingly completely ignored.
Eleanor saw how their auras swelled as they observed the two with caution and suspicion. Then Tark pulled a small jagged stone from his pocket and threw it to Eleanor, who caught it instantly. He knew what this stone was. It was a peculiarity of this world, used by humans to verify that someone else was truly human. Most houses had one hanging at their entrance, and all guests had to undergo this test before entering. Fril had told them quite a bit about this custom, so they would be prepared.
Eleanor said nothing. Instead, he pressed one of the edges into his palm and let blood flow into the many holes. He watched as the stone greedily consumed it. The aura of the stone shifted slightly before calming again.
Eleanor handed the stone to Nero, who also pressed it into his palm. He flinched slightly, as if the pain affected him. He let his blood flow into the stone before tossing it back to Tark.
Tark observed the stone for a moment before turning his attention back to Nero and Eleanor.
"Who are you?" he asked, speaking for the first time.
"Just two travelers who got lost in the woods," Eleanor replied, holding Tark's suspicious gaze.
"Where do you come from?" the woman asked cautiously. "Better yet, where are you going?"
Eleanor frowned, pretending to be confused. "With all due respect, I don't think that's any of your concern."
Then Nero unexpectedly nudged him lightly in the side. "Maybe they can help us!" he said to Eleanor, looking at him intensely. Eleanor was shocked by the level of acting Nero displayed. If he had not known better, he himself would have fallen for it.
Nero had whispered just loudly enough for the others to hear.
"Help with what?" Tark asked curiously. Eleanor looked firmly into Nero's black eyes, who returned his gaze without wavering.
Then Eleanor sighed as if giving in. "We come from Shergien and were actually on our way to Purtal, but we got separated from our group in a storm. We wanted to meet again in Tissling…" He hesitated briefly. "But it could be that we got lost."
Nero cleared his throat. "We definitely got lost. We have been wandering through the forest for three days now… and I am pretty sure we have already passed that stone three times," he said, pointing at some random rock.
Eleanor let his shoulders drop in defeat. "You are right." He looked at Tark and Isabella with a crooked smile. "You would not happen to know in which direction a small village named Tissling is, would you?"
Tark laughed when he heard that and saw Eleanor's expression. "Luckily for you, we were just about to head back there, but first…" Suddenly, Eleanor noticed a change in his aura. A small metal spear shot out of his palm directly toward Nero, who fell back in feigned shock. Eleanor was actually shocked, but quickly overcame the initial surprise. "What in the name of the holy—" he shouted, while hearing Nero say, "W… what was that supposed to be?" Eleanor growled angrily. He grabbed the still-floating metal spear, but immediately cut himself on it. Startled, he let go. Tark made a motion, and Eleanor saw how the aura drained from the spear. It then simply fell to the ground.
"I am sorry, you two, but you can never be too careful," he apologized.
Eleanor reached out his hand to Nero, who took it with a grateful look. After helping him up, he looked at Tark. "So you're a mage, huh? No wonder you're out here alone in the woods!"
The two simply nodded, not elaborating further.
"Why are you out here?" Eleanor asked with feigned curiosity.
"We are searching for someone," Isabella answered. "You haven't happened to meet anyone or seen any traces, have you?"
Eleanor tilted his head slightly. "Other than our own, no. I don't want to overstep, but who exactly are you looking for in this forsaken forest?" He, of course, knew who they were searching for, but it was only natural to be curious.
Isabella sighed in disappointment. "It doesn't matter; we had no luck anyway. Oh, we are being so rude. We haven't even introduced ourselves. My name is Isabella, and my one-handed friend here is called Tark."
Eleanor grinned broadly, as if it were his greatest fortune to have met them. "This here is my little brother, Nero, and you can just call me Eleanor."
But then he could not stop himself from adding, "I have to admit, I really think a higher power made sure we met here!"