Whatever simmered at the bottom of the pot wasn't going to win any Michelin Stars but in Nolan's mind it doesn't need to. The vegetable stew he worked on was rather tasty and filling, giving him lots of energy to his much needed body.
As he sat and ate he watched as the other villagers sat around chatting with one another or helping those too weak to eat. A few sat and ate silently as their faces were blank as the grief was still fresh.
Nolan scraped the bottom of his bowl and sat it aside.
'Not bad for an apocalypse soup.'
He leaned back against the half collapsed wall of a house as he stretched out his legs towards one of the fires that were started. The warmth of the flames felt good against his body as he closed his eyes and took a minute to rest.
And before he knew it he fell asleep, his body moving up and down in rhythm.
"You're going to catch on fire if you keep sinking closer to the fire like that." Lyris, seeing Nolan dead asleep, grabs him by the arms dragging him a bit away from the flames as in his sleep he had sunk close to the flames, the embers kissing his shoes.
Even with Lyris being careful to not wake Nolan he stirs in her arms, his eyes opening.
"No, Mom, five more minutes. I swear I'll get up." Nolan weakly swatted at Lyris, who rolled her eyes.
Setting him off to the side, Lyris sighed as she looked down at him. She took a seat next to him, and in his half-conscious state Nolan's head drifted sideways, landing on Lyris's shoulder.
She allowed it. Seldom.
Enjoying the peace, Lyris watched as Nolan caught some rest. The fire crackled softly. The surviving villagers had mostly turned in for the night, curling into whatever shelter they'd managed to find. The air smelled of smoke, damp earth, and the faint iron tang of blood that hadn't been fully washed away.
"At least he's a little cute…" she muttered to herself, pushing a stray strand of his hair out of his eyes.
"Cute, hehe." Nolan mimicked in his sleep, a joyful expression spreading across his face.
Lyris stared at him for a moment, then looked away before she could think too hard about what she'd just done. Her gaze drifted upward, past the dying fires, past the smoke, to the sky above.
The stars were wrong.
She'd noticed it earlier but hadn't wanted to sit with it. None of the constellations she'd grown up memorizing were there. No Arch of Solenne. No Lancer's Trail. Just an unfamiliar scattering of light stretched across a sky that looked almost right but wasn't.
This wasn't her sky.
"I wonder," she said softly, barely above a whisper, "how I'm supposed to get home."
The words hung in the air. The fire popped. Nolan's breathing stayed steady against her shoulder.
And then, from the sky above, like the light of a falling star, a bright glow began to shine. But it grew, radiating outward until the sky above her was bathed in white.
Lyris shielded her eyes with one hand, squinting through her fingers as the light slowly faded, dimming from blinding to bearable to something almost gentle.
"Okay, fine, fine, I'm up. Geez." The light had been bright enough to drag Nolan out of his sleep. He opened his eyes, blinking hard, and then his jaw dropped.
"Holy moly, is that an angel!?"
He shot to his feet, nearly tripping over his own legs.
From the sky, a figure descended. A woman with wings spread wide behind her, each feather translucent and shimmering like spun glass. She drifted downward through the air with the slow, deliberate grace of like she had all the time in the world.
Her entire body was translucent, not transparent, not invisible, but like frosted glass given human form. The firelight from below passed through her edges, bending slightly, casting faint prismatic refractions across the ground. Her features were smooth, symmetrical, and utterly expressionless. Her eyes were two points of pale white light set into a face with no pores, no blemishes, no warmth.
She touched down at the edge of the firelight without a sound. Her wings folded behind her and then simply…dissolved, fading into the air like mist caught by a breeze.
She looked like someone had sculpted a person out of moonlight and forgot to give it a soul.
'That's the most beautiful and terrifying thing I've ever seen.'
Lyris was already on her feet, her body positioned between the figure and the sleeping villagers.
Nolan fumbled for his short sword, his hands shaking. "Is—is she friendly? Please tell me she's friendly."
The figure didn't react to either of them. She simply stood there, hands folded in front of her, as if she were waiting for them to finish panicking.
Which, to be fair, took a moment.
"Please do not be alarmed," the figure said. Her voice was clear and even, like a bell. There was no inflection or emotion; it was like a robot was speaking to them.
"I am not a threat to you or your populace."
"Yeah and that's exactly what a threat would say. State your name and your purpose angel robot lady." Nolan points his sword at the woman, shaking in his grip.
"Your observation is noted, Sovereign. It is, however, incorrect."
'Sovereign?'
"My designation is Vespa," the figure replied. "I am a Veil-construct—a guide generated by the dimensional framework that governs this realm. I am assigned to newly recognized Sovereigns to provide orientation, answer questions, and facilitate your transition into your roles."
A beat of silence.
"So," Nolan said slowly, "you're a tutorial NPC."
Vespa's head tilted a fraction of a degree. "I am unfamiliar with that terminology, but if it assists your comprehension, you may use it."
"How can we trust your words?" Lyris says holding her hands out seeming ready to attack with what Nolan can assume is magic.
"I am unable to harm you," Vespa said simply. "I am unable to harm any living being. I possess no offensive capability. I cannot interact with physical matter beyond speech and limited visibility. I am, in essence, an informational entity. Nothing more."
To demonstrate, she extended one hand toward a broken wall of a house, her hand simply passing through.
'What the fuck'
"And what of the wings?" Nolan asked. "You had wings. Where'd they go?"
"Aesthetic manifestation for the purpose of arrival identification," Vespa said. "They serve no functional purpose."
"So the wings were just for show."
"Correct."
'Why does the tutorial NPC and the princess get drip while I just look like an iseakia protagonist.'
Lyris studied Vespa for a long moment and then slowly and reluctantly she lowered her hands.
"Find," she said. "Talk."
Nolan seeing Lyris stand down also lowers his short sword putting it back its scarab. The two stood side by side as they waited for Vespa to speak.
"To give you a simple introduction, this realm you currently inhabit is called the Veil," Vespa began. "It is a parallel dimension, a vast expanse of open sky populated by floating landmasses known as sky islands. This island is one of them. Yours, specifically."
"Were in the sky flying!?" Nolan goes wide-eyed while Lyris looks surprised at her answer.
"Correct we are as you say flying in the sky. For each sky island they are assigned to one or more Sovereigns, individuals selected by the Veil are given Sovereign rights. A Sovereign role is to build, expand and defend their island territory."
"Now hold on. How is this 'Selected' by the Veil 'thing supposed to work cause one second I was studying for my exam and then the sky exploded and I found myself here. That doesn't feel like I was selected, I was just kidnapped." Nolan raises a hand asking.
"The method of acquisition varies," Vespa replied unmoved. "Some are taken by force. Others are drawn to rifts in space. A few are born here in the Veil itself but most are like you uprooted from your world to the Veil."
"Oh great cause that makes me feel better that others are like me." Nolan rolls his eyes.
"I'm glad it does Sovereign, and I'm sure getting to awaken your Sigil also proves to be quite fortunate to you as well." Vespa nods her head.
'That's not what I meant! Wait what did she say...'
"Sigil what now?" Nolan looks at her puzzle.
"Sigil?" Lyris's head snaps towards Vespa, her eyes wide. "You said he has a Sigil?"
"That is correct."
"That's not possible, only Celestials can have Sigils, it's our racial trait." Lyris shook her head. "Humans can never have Sigils that's been long confirmed for ages."
"Hey I'm right her-"
"Answer me. How does a human have a Sigil?" Lyris stares daggers at Vespa.
Vespa smiles seeing the questions pour in as she seems to be delighted. "Your understanding of Sigils is based on your homeworld. As your homeworld houses mana where as his has no mana leading to no Sigil to awaken. All those humans you study were like that because they weren't born on a planet with mana, that's all. Everyone in the universe has a Sigil, it's just a matter of awakening it."
Lyris opens her mouth dumbfounded by the knowledge this being just sprung on her changing her whole wide world point.
"If true then…"
"Do not fret much, child, as your world's research was not wrong in the context of your world, it is just you needed to look past and take a look at the whole picture."
Lyris nodded as if she took everything to heart.
"Um hello can someone explain to me what the heck a Sigil is?"