Re: Alternative Volume one

Chapter 1 part three

Maybe that's because to her, the only reason she saved him, was to continue her duty as a protector and savior...heroes in mythology tend to be pretty prideful when it comes to their duty. Not sure how it applies to historically real heroes though. thought Dimitri.

That's not a way to life your life...Not everyone in the world will be grateful when you save them...she should know that...you spend your time saving others but in the end...who will save you? continued Dimitri as a sense of sadness clamped itself to his heart.

Sure, in the past he had been the same way, satisfied with the feeling of helping others but years ago he had made the realization that in the end, he wouldn't be able to save everyone all the time. In fact, the very people he aided rarely offered assistance in return, often leaving him for dead in the situations he would need assistance in.

"Hurry up!"

A voice rang out, knocking Dimitri out of his thoughts. As he looked up he saw that Arnett had gotten notably farther from him and she had just reached the entrance to the den which was being guarded by two burly men.

He quickly sped up his pace and found himself face to face with a very annoyed Arnett, her stare being cold as ice.

She brushed her ponytail to the side and motioned for the two men to step aside which they did without hesitation. "Look, I already warned you to follow me, I only have so much patience for prisoners so do not push it, you have no excuse for falling behind."

"Right, sorry, I got lost in thought over this place. Anyway, is this the elder den you were talking about earlier? It looks pretty decorated so it must be."

Arnett blinked a few times, sighing. "For a prisoner you seem far too relaxed, do you not fear death?"

"It's truth that death is a pretty scary thing but I mean as long as I cooperate to the best of my abilities and show you I'm no threat. I have nothing to worry about do I? After all you let me live once and that was in the heat of battle, it shouldn't be too far-fetched to believe I can walk out of here alive."

The subsequent silence from Arnett created a spike of anxiety in Dimitri. A cold sweat beginning on his back, which spread over his body, droplets of sweat appearing on his face to make matters worse. The beginning tell-tale signs of fear starting to manifest, threatening to overtake his mind once more however before it could...

"...possibly."

Arnett spoke, the tone of her voice indifferent but reassuring and in that same moment all of Dimitri's anxiety faded away. Not even the sharp stare from her bringing back the feeling of fear he had not moments ago.

"I should say right now, that I cannot guarantee your safety, the elder is much harsher to Etherians then I, if you were human I could see you being spared, welcomed even but I wouldn't get my hopes up. "

"You say that like you believe me to be one of those "Ethreeians". " replied Dimitri.

"I wonder if she is counting me as well? I was human but I'm a spirit now." Added a voice jokingly inside his head, which surprised Dimitri who projected his agitation in his mind for Joan to feel.

Where in the world have you been! You could be helping me get out of this pickle!

"Sorry! I just realized after our last conversation that my soul tethering was behaving rather strange."

Soul tethering? Sounds important...what is it.

"Hmm...simply it is what anchors me to you, what keeps my existence on this plain. Originally it was the site of my death that acted as my anchor but you somehow disturbed that and forced me to anchor to your person."

I did what now? I was just wondering in a forest an-wait. That doesn't make sense, I was teleported to a different world! There is no "site of your death" cause there is no france!

"Different world? Are you ailing in the mind? How could I, a human hero, exist inside another plane of existence that I do not originate from?"

How should I know! This place is nothing like earth but you are telling me I was walking around France? I don't see berets or baguettes anywhere or the Eiffel tower!

"While it is true this land is unfamiliar, I was hoping you would fill in the blanks. Also. What is a Eiffel tower?"

Dimitri paused his thoughts as the French hero finished stating her points, a growing sense of curiosity and suspicion taking form in his mind as he managed to learn something new about his situation.

No, I don't know what's going on either. So to be clear, I am supposedly in France, around your site of death, I took you somehow, I'm going to assume awakened you from your eternal slumber et cetera et cetera and because of that, screwed up your...Soul tethering?

"That about sums it up, it was quite fractured I might add. Even with a strong mana source, in its current state I wouldn't be able to do much let alone invoke my form or magics. Now, please excuse me while I go back to attend to that, possessing your "mero" damaged it even further. I do not wish to disappear so I will be needing to fix that."

With that the voice of Joan disappeared, but with her words all that was left were more questions.

I called her to answer questions, not to make more! Good grief.

Without realizing it, he had entered the area behind the curtains and as he became aware of his surrounding he noticed that it was very dark, the only light coming from a small hole maybe three inches in diameter in the middle of the room.

"Take a seat in front of the light. The elder will be here shortly to begin the trial and judge you. Any sort of action you take without being told, will lead to punish or most likely death. The elder's guards don't very much like unexpected motion from enemies. "

"Well it sounds like a grand old time then...so I am going to participate in this trial to achieve what ends? Not that I am saying in any way I will not participate just simple curiosity" Dimitri asked, sitting down where directed.

Arnett raised her chin, pointing it past where he was sitting, her hands behind her back and said, "It's a trial not a "grand old time" as you put it. Simply, while to me you are probably an inhuman species like say an elf, dwarf or maybe a daemon, our elder is very careful when it comes to...eliminating potential humans. So, rejoice that your appearance has bought you more time to live.

"A trial to prove my inhumanity huh? Sounds exciting..."

And she just mentioned elves, dwarves and something called a daemon...Joan said this was earths France! I don't remember seeing tall beautiful elves or stumpy bearded dwarves anywhere!

Dimitri was able to keep a natural face about what he was just told, but that was only because of the analytical power he had as a modern gamer. But even with that going for him, he was still confused and even as he tried to deduce a logical overview of where exactly he was, he realized for once he couldn't make sense of the situation.

Eventually though, Dimitri tossed all his speculations and theories aside. Deciding it would be better to observe and learn then to guess. Taking peace in accepting the situations as it was and nothing more.

In the meantime, while Dimitri thought, the blackness further down waved and a hooded figure appeared, similar to the one he saw earlier only his garments were much more ornate and held an aura of authority about them. Two more hooded figures appearing behind him a second later, positioned to his left and right.

The figure rolled up his sleeves and you could make out the bottom half of an aged face from beneath the cowl that covered his features. A neutral, almost uncaring expression on his lips.

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