Fellowship & Fairydust

I awoke to find myself lying in a cot in some sort of room, surrounded by mountains and mountains of books. Not the kind that people read on their holo-screens, but actual books made from paper. I reached over to pinch– ow! Okay, I was. That means these books are real! Oh, I was so– wait. The whole thing from before! The freaky quake, the hole, and–

“Are you okay?” A voice asked me. Turning my head, I realized someone was sitting next to me. It was a woman who looked to be in her twenties. She had brown hair braided with a pink ribbon, and her green eyes were full of warmth like the land was smiling through them. Her outfit, while in a style unlike anywhere on Harthyn as dresses were only used for festivals and holidays, still reminded me of home because of the patterns. The way it alternated between pink and white helped calm me down despite my shock. “Wh-where am I? What is this place?”

“This is the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee Headquarters. Also Merlin’s home. I found you and your friend out in the fields after that strange earthquake, and asked some of my friends to help bring you to town.” 

Radiant Garden? The name didn’t make any sense to me. “Huh? Where on Harthyn is that, and how did we not burn up in the atmosphere?”

“Harthyn? Is that where you’re from?” The woman looked over me, and it was then that I realized I had been stripped of my outer space suit. While I was still clothed, I didn’t enjoy the fact that someone had removed something from me when I had been unconscious. “This is probably going to sound crazy, but you’re not on your world anymore.” 

“What do you mean?” Jason’s voice let us know he was awake too but had gotten out of his cot. As he grabbed a wooden rod, he held it up ready to strike. “Who are you, and how did we not die from that… whatever that was?” 

“My name is Aerith.” The woman introduced herself. “Please don’t be afraid.”

That made Jason laugh. “Afraid? We’re way past that. Now where are we and how did you find us? How did we not burn up in the atmosphere, and are you the Down–”

“Stop,” a new voice said, and I watched as my cousin froze in place. With a puff, an old man then emerged from some blue smoke. First braves! How did he do that, and what was he wearing? He had a long blue hat on and wore a matching robe. Nobody on Harthyn dressed like that. Not the followers of Gri, not the worshippers of Fushicho, no one. Taking the rod from my cousin, the new arrival just smiled underneath his mustache and long white beard until Jason could move again. “Now, I know you’re scared but there’s no need to act uncivilized.” 

“–trod.” He finished before he realized what had happened. “What did you do to me?” 

“I simply paused time around you so I could keep you from damaging my books or anyone. Mostly yourself.”

“Paused time? That’s impossible.”

“Oh, it’s just a simple basic spell.” 

That caught my attention. “Spell? Like magic?” 

“Yes, my dear. Now, let me introduce myself. My name is Merlin. You’ve already met Aerith. Be sure to thank her. She found you two and got the committee to bring you in.” 

“Bring us in from where? How did we not die from that space quake?” Jason wanted to know.

That caught their attention. “You were in space when you felt that tremor?” Aerith asked. 

“Yeah. Now how did we not die from it?” My cousin was fidgeting, impatient for the answer. I had to admit, I wanted to know too. 

“I see you’re awake,” a second new voice said. On the other side of the room, next to a large computer, stood a man with shoulder-length brown hair and a scar running across his face. He was dressed in a black jacket with a fur lining around the neck that was… whoa. Why was he wearing two belts in an x-shape over his jeans? Nobody back home wore belts like that. 

“Ah, Squall. Thank you for joining us.” Merlin said.

Shaking his head, the man corrected him. “It’s Leon. Now, in case you haven’t figured it out, you’ve somehow been pulled from your world into ours.”

Jason raised an eyebrow at that. “World? You mean you’re aliens on another planet?”

“Not another planet. A planet is part of a world, but requires time and distance to travel to them.” Merlin answered. “No, a world as in a parallel existence adjacent to yours. Maybe this will help clear things up.” Tapping his rod on a stool some books flew up into the air, making my eyes widen. “Imagine that each of these books represents a different world like this red one is your world while this blue one is ours. Each world is separated by a barrier that has many names. Some call it the Lanes Between, others refer to it as the Starocean, but whatever you call it keeps our worlds separate from each other. Now, this Spatial Tremor, as I think would be the aptest name for the phenomenon, had somehow ripped a hole in between our worlds, and you two were pulled through from your world into ours.” 

“But you can get us back, right? You know about all these other worlds, so you can send us home.” 

“Travel between worlds isn’t encouraged. Most do not know there are other worlds besides their own, and if they did it would be chaos. We’ve been at peace for only a year after one man brought turmoil to countless worlds in his quest for knowledge.” 

My cousin’s face fell. “So we’re stuck here?” 

“We’ll work on finding a way to get you back to your world, but it will take time as we don’t know where your world is located.” 

That was when I heard my holo-screen activate. Looking around, I found it on a chair with my helmet and other outerwear. Getting out of the cot I moved over to it and activated it. Immediately a holographic image of the professor appeared. “Clair? Jason? Are you there?” It was hard to hear, but it was Yeller. “Can any– hear m–? Thi– s Profess– ton Yell– Harth-n.” The static would mute some of his words, and sometimes buzz them out. Also, his image was being distorted, creating disturbing horror pictures I wouldn’t be forgetting. Still, it was easy to recognize the white patch in his grey hair, the golden eyes, and the blue tunic.

“It’s us, Professor Yeller. Jason and I are alive.” I smiled. 

The image fizzed before clearing up but still looked faded like the connection was bad. “Oh, thank goodness. I tried using photons to trace your holo-screens, and the gamble paid off. Where are you?” 

“We’re fine. I don’t know how to tell you, but we’re not on Harthyn anymore.”

“You’re in another world, aren’t you?” 

I gasped at that. “What? But how did you know?”

“It’s just a theory. One that I’ve been debating for a while now, but I won’t go into the details. I do not know how long this connection will last.”

Rolling up his sleeves, the old man just said, “Allow me.” As he chanted a bunch of nonsensical words, a blue mist and sparkles came from his rod that connected to my holo-screen and the computer on the other side of the room. In a flash, the professor’s face came onto the screen with a blink. “There. I don’t care what Cid says about using my magic on his infernal device. That should allow us to communicate freely.”

“Who are you? What’s this about magic?” The professor asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“My name is Merlin. This is Aerith and Squall–”

“Leon,” the other man corrected him. 

“Leon. We’re part of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, and we found the two young ones after the Spatial Tremor shook our world.” The old man continued to explain.

For once the professor raised an eyebrow. “Spatial Tremor?” 

“That’s what we’re terming the quake that hit our world and yours. Since it happened far above the surface of your planet–”

“I see.” The professor interrupted. “Seems an appropriate name. Now we need to find a way to bring my missing students back home. I don’t suppose you have a way to send them back?” 

“We do not encourage travel between worlds,” Merlin explained. “Even with our crafts and vessels, it would take time to find your world as no one has heard of Harthyn until this day.”

“I understand. Well, I do have an idea that could work, but it will take time to assemble. I can draw up the plans and send them to you. We can both build the same device to serve as a bridge, and when the time comes we can get my students home.”

“In the meantime, we can help your students get settled in here while they wait. I can help continue their education until your machine is ready.” Merlin offered.

With a nod, Aerith added, “The Committee can provide a place for Jason and Clair to stay for the time being.”

 With a nod, the professor said, “Thank you. That takes some concern off my mind. Jason, Clair, take the time to learn about this new world you’ve found yourselves in. I promise you will get home to your families, but be the first to experience something no one on Harthyn has before.” 

 

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