by Ian Rodgers
“That was where I was before I arrived here,” the man mused as memories came to him. This time, they did not sear him as they returned. But the flashes ended as quickly as they came, leaving him none the wiser about himself or anything else.
“Crap,” he muttered in annoyance. He then looked around at the floating islands in the sky and rubbed his chin in contemplation. “How am I going to get out of here without wings of my own?”
Before he could continue that line of inquiry, he saw a distant shape coming towards him. Squinting, he could make out that it appeared to be a humanoid figure, only the legs were cloaked in a miniature tornado – and that seemed to be what was propelling them forward through the endless sky.
“Huh, that’s kinda neat,” he murmured. “I wonder if I can do that as well?”
As the person approached, he could make out more details: Three black horns were on the creature’s head, curved backwards over the skull. A wild mane of blood red hair covered its head, while the skin was an ashen grey and covered in black and red glyphs and tattoos. Lastly were his distinctive eyes that glowed purple with golden pupils, and narrowed into a perpetual frown along with his lips.
The person zoomed over and floated in front of the nameless armored man.
“Have you seen a bird fly by here? Small, with seven wings, each a different color?” the traveler inquired loudly over the whooshing sound made by the tiny tornado covering his legs. “It had to have been nearby! I felt a large amount of Divine energy from this area not too long ago!”
“Yeah, I did see a creature matching that description. Don’t know where it went, though,” the amnesiac replied with a shrug. “If I knew, I’d definitely tell you.”
“Oh, really? You’d honestly tell me where the Celestial Dove went?” the figure scoffed in disbelief. “Tell me the truth!”
The man who couldn’t remember his name twitched as a powerful magic settled onto him. He could feel it permeating his armor and his mind. Still, he ignored it in favor of venting angrily about his hatred of birds.
“Of course I would! I hate birds! I hate them!” the man retorted irritably to the avian’s pursuer. “Cursed things are nothing but trouble! Filthy little flapping vermin… hate them all!”
“Whoa, that’s a lot of hate!” the strange entity uttered in surprise, a glint of respect dancing in his eerie eyes. “Impressive, but I can tell you truly don’t know where the Celestial Dove went… ah, well, I’ll find it eventually. Farewell, mortal!”
“Wait, before you go, can you tell me where I am?” the nameless man pleaded. The figure snorted in disbelief.
“What, seriously? This is Aerum, the Elemental Plane of Wind. Did you use the wrong portal, or something?”
“I think I did,” the black armored man muttered.
That caused the entity carried aloft by a whirlwind to bark out a harsh laugh before shooting off into the distance, leaving only a few parting words: “Sucks to be you!”
The amnesiac grit his teeth in annoyance, but didn’t bother to retort. Instead, he resumed glaring out over the world, pondering how to get off the barren scrap of land.
Until a certain seven-winged bird alighted on his helmet again.
“You?! I thought you’d left already!” he spat in anger. “OI! Mister Whirlwind, the bird’s back! Take it away, please!”
Sadly, the mysterious traveler was already gone without a trace. So, he was stuck with the accursed feathered beast roosting on his head.
No matter how many times he tried to grab, shove, or shake the damn thing off, it clung to him with a tenacity that would have been impressive, had it not been a filthy winged rat.
“ARGH! GO AWAY!” the man screamed, flaring his Shapeless Raiment wide open in a desperate attempt to intimidate the unimpressed bird.
However, instead of getting the Celestial Dove off of him like he’d hoped, he found himself being hurled into the air by his own cape, which had unconsciously morphed into a pair of purple wings!
“Oh, wow, it can do that?!” the man without a past exclaimed in excited shock. As his cape drew him higher into the sky, a few more memories entered his mind: glimpses of flying over fields and trees, through mountains and storms! It was mesmerizing, and when they faded and stopped coming, he’d recalled with perfect clarity how to manipulate the Shapeless Raiment.
“HA! I’m free!” he cheered, zooming off of the island he’d been stuck on and flitting through the expansive sky of the Elemental Plane of Wind like a native denizen.
A chirp broke through his happy thoughts, and he scowled under his helmet. “How is this bird still perfectly fine atop my head?!”
Trills that sounded suspiciously like laughter joined him on his aimless flight.
Chapter 2: Traveling towards the light
I awoke to someone screaming. Not a scream of terror or fear, sounds I’d become accustomed to while posing as an adventurer back on Erafore, but one of shock and disgust. Sadly, that was also a sound I’d grown used to hearing whenever I was in my natural form.
Before my groggy, sleep-addled mind could process everything around me, I was lifted and hurled away like a sack of smelly trash. I hit the golden surface and bounced a few times before coming to a halt.
“OW! What was that for?” I demanded angrily, glaring at the now awake and panting half-orc who had pitched me across the golden disc.
“Why were you sleeping on my back?” she demanded, only for her face to scrunch up in bewilderment. “Hey, wait, you’re still talking!”
“Uh, yes, I am,” I replied slowly. “I did so earlier as well.”
“By Cynthia’s socks, then it wasn’t a dream, and you’re real,” the Healer uttered in disbelief. I coughed awkwardly as she continued to stare at me with a piercing gaze.
“Is it really so surprising to find an Ooze capable of speech?” I asked helplessly.
“Yes,” she replied bluntly.
“Well… okay, yeah, I guess it is rare. I’m one of a kind, after all,” I sighed. I then perked up and bounced back towards her, stopping a foot away from her. “Let’s try this again: Hi, I’m Jellik! Some people call me Jelly! Not only am I a Royal Ooze, I’m also a Chosen One of Nia! Like you!”
I extended a tendril towards her. When she just stared dumbly at it, I wiggled it in front of her right hand. Hopefully she’d understand what I wanted with that gesture!
“Err, right, okay,” she said slowly, as if waking from a dazed state. She took my pseudopod and shook it gingerly. “My name is Ildora Halfmoon. I prefer to go by ‘Dora.’ In case my skin color and robes didn’t give it away, I’m a half-orc Healer. And, much to my chagrin, I too am a Chosen One of Nia.”
“See, isn’t this better than rudely throwing someone around? I know I prefer this over that,” I said, chuckling a little. Unfortunately, I didn’t successfully hide all of the hurt in my tone, and the Healer flinched back as if struck, a contrite expression on her face.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, head down, and I could taste the dejection and self-loathing oozing off of her. “I should be the last person judging anyone else by their looks.”
“Well, good to know two of Lady Nia’s choices for heroes are socially awkward,” I said with a faint laugh. “Hopefully the third of our group won’t be completely bonkers.”
For a brief moment I could have sworn I heard a loud, amused snort echo through the back of my thoughts, and a sinking feeling wormed its way into my core. From the look on Dora’s face, she too had heard the sound and felt the same plummeting sensation.
“That’s not a good sign,” she muttered with a shake of her head. I couldn’t help but agree with her assessment.
After a few more minutes of self-pity I decided it was time to get up and do something. I bounced a bit to grab her attention, and then pointed a tendril up at one of the random, passing golden discs.
“Do you want to come with me? I’m currently looking for an important person somewhere on this Elemental Plane. I wouldn’t mi
nd the company, but I don’t know if you have your own plans.”
“I came here randomly,” Dora said with a pained look in her eyes. “My companions are either safe back on Erafore, or lost in the Aether. As for myself, I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing.”
“I see,” I replied hesitantly. “That sounds like a story.”
“Hardly a pleasant one,” she spat out. She looked at me with an appraising stare. “Who exactly are you looking for?”
“Lady Shyla, the Innocent Light,” I answered truthfully.
“One of the Six Heroes of Chaos?! Why?” Dora inquired, surprise written all over her face.
“Part of my Chosen One training. Unfortunately, I and my trainers miscalculated, so I’ve gotten a bit lost in the Aether recently. I’ve already met two of the Heroes, but out of order. Hopefully I can get back on track after meeting Lady Shyla,” I explained.
“You have someone training you how to be a Chosen One?” the Healer asked, envy in her tone.
“Not really, mostly just him trying to make me stronger so I can survive whatever the World Rebellion throws at us when we eventually return to Erafore,” I responded. “And honestly? His idea of ‘training’ was throwing me onto an alien world and forcing me to escape it on my own. Not something I’d recommend to anyone.”
“But you’ve gotten stronger, right?” Dora asked, and I could sense a fiery ambition burning in her soul. I bobbed up and down, simulating a nod.
“Yes, technically…”
“Then I want to accompany you. Maybe Lady Shyla knows a way for me to improve my own powers as well. Besides, she was the Healer of the Heroes, right? She probably has a library of spells I can learn that’ll help,” the half-orc said passionately. She then folded her arms, as if daring me to deny her.
To her surprise, I agreed readily. “That sounds great! I was hoping you’d decide to come with me! Honestly, I miss traveling with others, and being alone is not something I like. Plus, we Chosen Ones ought to stick together, right?”
“Y-yeah, I guess so,” Dora replied, taken slightly aback by my upbeat manner. She then looked around at the vast expanse white nothingness dotted with golden discs.
“So, how exactly did you plan on moving around this plane?”
“Well, I can fly,” I responded, showing off by hovering a few feet off the ground and then zipping around before landing back in front of her. “How about yourself?”
“I do not know how to do that,” she said blankly. “I don’t think I can learn to use the Fly spell, either. I only have Light magic at my disposal, and I don’t know of any spells from the Element that can let me do what you did.”
“Hmm, that could be a problem. Do you have any magical artifacts that can simulate flight?” I asked, and she shook her head.
“Nope,” she replied with a shake of her head.
“How did you get around in the Aether so far without knowing how to fly?” I asked, curious. I knew that I’d never have been able to get anywhere fast without being able to soar through the skies of the various Elemental Planes.
“Well, it’s not like I’ve been to a lot of places that needed it,” Dora said. “First place I went to was the Lost City of Targua, and then after escaping it, I ended up in a magical resort. After that I wound up in Gaeum, then I was in the Abyss for a while, and lastly, before I ended up here, I was in the Elemental Plane of Dreams. Not really places the capability of flight was needed.”
“That sounds like you’ve had one heck of a journey,” I whistled, impressed. “That you got through it unscathed speaks well to your own skills, as well as those of your companions’.”
She shrugged modestly, but couldn’t hide the blush that crept over her face at being complimented. She then coughed to get my attention.
“Maybe we should focus on finding a way off this platform?” she suggested. I bobbed in agreement, and tried to think up a solution. Only one came up, and it was an odd one to say the least.
“I suppose you’ll have to ride me,” I said after some contemplation, and she sputtered in shock.
“I’m sorry, what?” she demanded. In response, I grew out several feet, so I was no longer the size of a ball. Then, I twisted and morphed myself into a vaguely equine shape. I was still purple and featureless, though, so my shape sort of resembled a balloon animal, but a lot squishier.
“Hop on! If you’re on my back, I can carry us both with the Fly spell!” I suggested. Instead of immediately getting onto my new form, she simply continued to stare. Had I eyes, I would be rolling them.
“Is this really so shocking?”
“I just… can all Oozes shapeshift? I don’t remember any of the Oozes back home being capable of such.”
“It’s not really shapeshifting, more like I’m moving my body around and distributing my form as I please… actually, now that I say it out loud, it is sort of like shapeshifting, isn’t it,” I mused to myself. “Huh. Well, anyways, to answer your question: no, not really. I mean, any Ooze can do so, theoretically. Because I can do it, so too can they! But regular Oozes are… dumb. Like, dumber than animals. Smarter than plants, though.”
“I guess that makes you special,” Dora said as she got up and shouldered her Bag of Holding.
“I like to think we’re all special, in our own ways,” I said, trying to affect a philosophical tone, but it clearly didn’t work as the Healer snorted at my words.
“Giddy-up, Squishy!” she said, kicking my rubbery flank with the heels of her boots. I huffed, but slowly lifted the two of us into the air with my magic.
“Hold on tight!” I instructed. Her eyes widened and she looked around frantically.
“HOW?!” she screamed, hastily wrapping her arms around my ‘neck.’ “There’s nothing to grab on to!”
I laughed, a tinge maniacally, and shot off into the sky, Dora’s shrieks echoing across Luminoth.
~(o)~
“Never! Do! That! AGAIN!” Dora shouted, smacking my ‘head’ violently and repeatedly. It didn’t hurt at all, so I let her vent her frustrations some more. Even as she bopped me, I continued to fly, just at a slower pace as apology for the rough take-off.
“Come on, I wouldn’t actually let you fall,” I chuckled, my gelatinous body jiggling with my mirth. “I put up sticking charms before flying to make sure there’d be no slipping around and falling off.”
The half-orc continued to scowl, unimpressed with my trick. She huffed and folded her arms petulantly, leaning back slightly before casting a curious glance at the realm around us.
“This place is really… empty. This whole plane of existence feels so sterile and lifeless. Which is odd because Light magic is the essence of life,” she noted. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but endless white light and floating golden discs. Some were small, no bigger than actual coins. Other were continent sized, and supported what appeared to be settlements wrought from the very gold they stood on.
Despite the presence of habitats, and by extension the assumption of living beings of some sort, there was nothing different to be felt or seen. It was all the same, existing in a sterile, boring order. Whatever creatures dwelled on the Elemental Plane of Light were likely as dull as their home. Ironic, all things considered.
I couldn’t help but nod my ‘head’ in agreement. “Yeah, this place is somehow plainer than the Elemental Plane of Wind. At least in Aerum, there was weather, different shapes and types of floating objects, and a day-night cycle. We’ve been here for a while and it’s still as bright out as it was when we arrived, far as I can tell.”
“That’s going to get old really quick,” Dora muttered. “I like being able to sleep with the lights off.”
“Same,” I agreed, busy looking around for someone to ask directions from.
“Where exactly are you taking us right now?” the Healer asked after a few minutes of silence.
“Well, I’m hoping to find the Hospice, the Multiverse’s greatest hospital and medical facility. That
’s where Lady Shyla lives and works, according to her friends,” I explained. “Sadly, I don’t know where that is, or how to get there, so right now I’m looking around for someone who might be willing to tell us they way.”
“How about down there?” Dora suggested, pointed down to a golden disc that had a tower and other buildings built atop it. It looked like a military barrack from the way it was laid out.
“Hmm, there do seem to be people – or something – milling about,” I hummed, noting the tiny specks moving around atop the surface of the shiny plate. “No harm in trying, I suppose.”
I dove, and began to approach the garrison. As I drew closer, I was able to pick up the magical signatures of the inhabitants. Most were weak, probably no more than D-rank in terms of overall power. About a thousand creatures were living in the settlement below.
However, I was immediately on guard when I detected a massive amount of power deep within the compound’s central tower. It was Light magic, but it was still, not rippling or shifting like the aura of living things normally did. It was like looking at a massive spell.
As we got closer, the entities dwelling in the compound detected us as well, and I could see creatures starting to ascend into the sky to intercept us. Among them was the source of the overwhelming power I’d sensed earlier.
“Um, should we be worried?” Dora asked as she spotted the beings approaching us.
“I don’t think so,” I replied. “Looking closer at them, it seems we’ve encountered a garrison of Archons. As long as we’re not demons or devils, or have evil thoughts or even Dark magic, we should be fine.”
For some reason, Dora gulped loudly and began to fidget on my back. Before I could ask her what was wrong, the Archons arrived.
Archons, beings of Order and Light, are powerful entities that guard the Aether, acting as defenders against devils, demons, and the Void itself. Despite their status as guardians of reality, it is rare to see them outside of their own domains. They only move when they sense disturbances in the Balance, and would act with haste to resolve any issues. And, like Angels, Archons are champions of Good.
