1. Macabre Marmalade (COMPLETED; EDITING)

XXII (10.1)

The world materialized around him. Like a game loading the texture too late, breaking the immersion of the illusion. Todor couldn't feel his legs or arms. As a matter of fact, he had no body to feel at all. The first thought that came to him was: This is a nightmare, should I be scared? He could see the nature, smell the flowers and somehow feel the warmth of the sun. Which triggered his second thought: Shouldn't I have a body to feel all these things? What is going on?

The view in front of him was of a valley that spread around him. The slow-moving river snaked through the fields of unknown crops, sunlight glittering on its surface. The gentle wind moved the foliage with a slight rustling sound. Todor finally remembered that he had a similar experience of out of body travel when he used Mind Space through the mind link stone. Am I in Mind Space now? He thought to imagine himself having a body which would conjure the form he wished. Nothing happened. Guess not ... but something very similar.

The man appeared next to him. Or at least next to his immaterial senses. The newcomer was tall and with broad shoulders, standing confidently with his arms behind his back. The stranger turned and looked at him. Todor noticed that he had thick long hair gathered in a heavy braid. The man's eyebrows were bushy and as thick as his hair. Under his eyes, large dark bags sagged as if he hadn't slept in a week. Somehow his eyes pierced the nothingness where Todor's awareness floated.

The man shook his head and looked back at the valley below them. Heavy braid swinging on his back like a pendulum for a second.

"They came and brought magic with them. Two nations at war with each other. Long before my birth, long before we learned to record time," the stranger said in a deep, scratchy voice.

Todor listened not wanting to interrupt. He wanted to shout questions at the man. Things like: Where am I? Who are you? How did I get here? But he had no mouth, so he just listened.

"We don't know what happened. They told us they created us. We didn't believe them. I didn't believe them. But their power was unquestionable. They had the knowledge and powerful magic, and they used it brutally. Against each other, against us, if we didn't listen, against anything that didn't follow their image of what should be," the man stopped for a second then waved his hand over the valley.

The two large armies appeared as if created from nothing. One was made of large, tusked people with red, green and gray skins, wielding huge axes and swords made out of stone. The other army was made of willowy people with long ears, encased in golden armor which made them look far more imposing. In both armies, Todor could see people in robes or people almost naked that held arms in the air. The talking man lowered his arm suddenly and the armies clashed.

The sound of battle came bringing the cries, roars, and snarls mixed with metal hitting metal, arrows flying through the air, and lighting and fire exploding among them.

"They said that something evil forced them to come here. Both blamed the other one for the evils creation. We were simple people. Some believed them and worshiped them as gods, even fought alongside them," as soon as the man said that, armies of two clashing people got filled with groups of humans in furs, carrying stone spears and hide shields. They fought on both sides, bleeding and dying as fast as any other fighter in the melee. Sometimes even fighting each other, carrying banners of opposite factions.

"But we learned their tricks. And we created our own tricks," the man said moving his arm again and the battle bellow vanished, replaced by a crude stone tower. The man and Todor somehow moved to the location of the tower as soon as it appeared. At the giant door of the building stood twelve people, six men, and six women. They wore different clothing, some carrying pieces of the gear worn by competing factions Todor saw earlier. Some being almost naked. They had different skin tones, different eye shapes, and different body builds. What made them the same was they were definitely all human.