Some Other World

Let's Find The Differences

I took Jordan's notes to Nasuada, and she called a meeting with as many of the spellcasters in the camp as possible. I spent the first half of the meeting translating everything into the common tongue, because Jordan had been writing in Ancient Greek.

I'd thought that would be the hard part. Silly me.

The spellcasters launched into a debate immediately about the spellwork they would need to do. Many of them were Elven, so I understood little to none of what was being said.

Angela sighed and sat down next to me. "I'm sure things are much similar in your world most days."

"Well, at least I can understand them in my world. Most of the time." I shrugged. "What are they all yelling about?"

She paused for a moment, listening to the conversation. "They're debating the words, mostly. The Ancient Language, the language we use in this world for magic, is very particular. The smallest slip and things can go extremely wrong."

"Like Elva?" I raised my eyebrows, smiling a little.

Angela grunted. "Eragon's fault, though he was young and inexperienced and most likely didn't know better. Yes, like Elva. His blessing turned to a curse with the tiniest change of words, and it will take a massive amount of magic to repair that damage, which will put both her and the spellcasters involved in quite a bit of danger."

I grunted, leaning back in the chair I was occupying. "Magic is much more complicated here than it is in my world."

"Tell me about your world."

I looked at her and she smiled. "No use in listening to them bicker, is there? They'll come to a decision and when they do they will inform us."

"Fair enough... what do you want to know?"

"Anything. Everything. I've always liked a story." Angela shifted in her seat until she was sitting crosslegged.

"Well... lets start with differences." I sat up, thinking for a moment. "On Earth we're a lot more... um... I don't know how to put it without it sounding offensive, but we're more advanced in a lot of ways. The wars that happen here, they're nothing like what happens where I'm from. The technology is so different. 

"We have cars, they're like big carriages or wagons but they have a machine in them that supplies energy and they drive without being attached to anything. And planes! Huge metal machines that fly through the air like dragons, but they're not alive and they're driven by people."

Angela grinned. "I would love to see that."

I paused, then smiled. "Maybe if we can figure out these portals, I'd be able to show you. There are some trade-offs to all of those things though..."

"Like what?"

"Earth is dying." I shook my head. "There's so much pollution, poisons in the air and the ground and the water. When I got here, I'd never seen anything so green and beautiful."

"That's horrible." Angela frowned. "Natural beauty is a wonder that should be preserved."

"Yes, well on Earth people don't understand that." I rolled my eyes. "People. They're the worst."

"How so?"

"Everyone's rude, it's always 'me first and you don't matter' with others, the country I live in is especially violent and so many people die every day."

"Does the government not care?"

"Not at all." I snorted, crossing my arms. "They're corrupt and disgusting and it's very rare that they actually care about what's being done."

"What happened that a man as young as you is so cynical?" Angela shook her head, frowning softly. "I remember being twenty years of age, I was certainly too optimistic for my own good."

I shrugged and leaned back. "I've been fighting for gods who don't care about my life since I was twelve. Ten years of being told you're expendable, after a lifetime of being the odd kid out, it kind of ruins a person."

"Percy?"

I looked up, returning my attention to the table. The chatter had died down, and Nasuada was looking at us. I could tell from her eyes that she had heard what I said, but she didn't say anything about it, just tapped the parchment laying on the paper.

"They think they have a final draft of the spell. They'd like you to go with them to test it, they plan on going outside of the camp."

I nodded, hauling myself to my feet. "Sounds good, lets go."