I blinked several times, my eyes adjusting to the darkness in my bedroom. I sat up slowly, glancing at the clock on my dresser. It was only 4:30 am, meaning I had only slept for a mere two hours before waking once again. My dream had all but faded from my memory, except the unpleasant vision of blood and a strong feeling of distress, which wasn't unusual for me. What was unusual was the fact that I couldn't recall the details of my dream.
I slid out of bed, rubbing my eyes as I debated on getting up or attempting to go back to sleep. A dryness in my throat commanded that I journey to the kitchen for a glass of water so I stumbled out of bed and down the hall to the kitchen. Within minutes I was happily sipping my water as I thought back to my conversation with Casimir and Grandpa. I was putting up my glass when I heard a rustling from upstairs. I stepped out of the kitchen to look up at the loft above the living room.
"Hello?" I said hesitantly, afraid I had woken Maya or Azar who might be sleeping above. Casimir peered through the railing, waving when he saw me.
"It's just me," he said in a way of explanation.
"Where is everyone else?"
"Azar is sleeping in Master Enki's room and I think the others went outside to sleep," he said.
"Outside?"
Casimir laughed lightly, explaining, "It's not uncommon, they love nature."
"Oh," I said, shifting slightly in my stance as I imagined them sleeping in the trees. "What are you still doing up?"
"I couldn't sleep, you?"
"Same old thing. Had some strange dreams, except this time I couldn't remember much," I yawned as I spoke, glancing back up at the loft. Casimir smiled at me from between the railing and I hesitated before asking my next question. "Okay if I join you?"
"Please," Casimir replied. I climbed the steps to the second floor, taking in Casimir's set up of blankets and pillows laid out on the floor.
"Comfy," I commented as he scooted over to make room for me, moving some of his books and piles of notes. I sat down, crossing my legs as I grabbed one of the decorative pillows to hug. Without thinking I decided to help Casimir organize and grabbed a stack of paper piled close to my feet. I glanced curiously at the pages as I handed them over and the young man noticed. I felt embarrassed for prying. "Sorry I should have asked."
"No, it's fine. We said we'd tell you everything," Casimir noted with a sad smile. "Although this would look like a lot of gibberish to you since it's written in Terrarish."
"Terrarish, huh? You know, I was wondering, was English hard for you to learn?" I asked, curious.
"No harder than any other language," he admitted. I was betting he knew a few. Casimir reached over to grab a random sheet of paper, holding it out for me to take a closer look and it did indeed seem illegible. The symbols and letters resembled fancy-looking English, with more accents and wavy lines, but he was correct in the fact that I couldn't understand any of it.
"Let me guess, this is written in your language? Terrabbit?"
"Terrarish, and yes it is," Casimir replied with a chuckle. He placed the note over to his side, stacking it neatly with the others.
"It looks familiar, a lot like your..." I trailed off suddenly because I was going to say 'your tattoo' until I thought better of it. Unfortunately, I had glanced directly at Casimir's right shoulder when I was speaking and his eyes narrowed in confusion. I swore to myself, debating if I wanted to confess to me spying on him while he undressed a few weeks ago. Casimir made the decision easier for me when he asked directly.
"Have you seen my birthmark?"
"It's a birthmark?" I blurted out, slightly mortified at being caught but still wildly curious. Casimir's face was flat when I asked and I let my head hang in shame. "I'm sorry, I may have caught a glimpse of it when you were changing once."
"I see."
I raised my head to look at the young man, my cheeks red. "I didn't mean to and I'm really-"
He shook his head as if to say he didn't mind, sighing slightly. "Please don't worry about it. It is a sign of my blessing."
"You have a blessing too?" I asked, blushing slightly. "Since you're solar is yours from the sun god?"
"Ah kinda, mine is from a god on the solar spectrum," he admitted. "I don't really like talking about it, sorry."
"Oh yeah, sure," I muttered. I was wildly curious but would respect his wishes not to speak about it. I wonder if his gift is worse than monster summoning blood, I thought. "So, uh, if you don't mind me asking, is Casimir Reynolds even your real name or...?" I said, glancing over at him.
"Casimir Ren is my real name," he replied with a soft smile.
"Oh, good," I nodded, with a relieved grin. "That seems so less confusing than Grandpa's real name, Enki. It's strange, one word like he's a celebrity or something."
"Well, his full name is Enki Dagon Van Der Aart."
"What?! Seriously?!" I cried out. "Is it normal to have a name that long on Terra?"
"Somewhat normal, if you are a person of a higher class."
I scoffed slightly. "Class?"
"Oh yes, there is still very much a class system back on Terra, especially in Eirene," Casimir mumbled.
"Hm, maybe I don't want to go visit," I joked and the young man chuckled. I looked past him to see a map sitting on top of his pile of papers, it looked like one of the neighboring cities. "Is that your sightseeing map?"
"Oh, this?" Casimir asked, reaching for the map hesitantly. He pulled it into his hands, staring at it for a moment before handing it over to me. "It's more like a map of possible enemy activity."
"A map of what now?"
"The Dark King, well, more like the Dark Prince Alpheus, has been sneaking through the portal over the years. They are trying to set up bases to expand their territory it seems."
"Dark Prince Alpheus?" I repeated as I stared at the locations on the map. I could see different spots circled, crossed out with small sticky notes crammed all around. It was concerning to see so much of the city dotted with marks. "Who is he? And why does it look like they own half the city?"
"Sorry, it's confusing," Casimir apologized, pulling the map back towards him. From the sound of his voice, I think he regretted showing this to me. "These marks are for strange incidents that happened, wraith sightings, and kidnappings."
"Kidnappings?" I said hoarsely.
Casimir sighed loudly, rubbing under his eyes as he did, he looked tired. "I hate dumping all of this information on you like this, I need a better way to present all of this."
"What like a presentation with slides and notes?" I joked, laughing nervously. Casimir thought about what I said, a serious expression on his face and I punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Hey dude, I'm just joking."
"Oh," he replied, seeming disappointed.
"Just give me the important stuff," I asked. "Then we should probably get some sleep."
Casimir smiled wryly at me, a sigh escaping his lips. "Okay, well it's hard to decide what is important, forgive me if I miss anything."
I had a feeling I would be playing catch-up for a while but I nodded my head, gesturing for Casimir to continue with his explanation.
"Earth and Terra are connected by small portals located in a few key locations. Passing through these portals is forbidden except for just a few people," he began.
"Who are the lucky few?" I interrupted.
"Some believe that only the gods and people with royal blood may pass without judgment," Casimir replied sternly. I felt my throat tighten, wondering what that meant for Casimir, Azar, and Maayan. "The gods put restrictions in place to limit the amount of magic that can pass through the portals. So if someone from Terra crosses over to Earth their power is greatly diminished and it only grows weaker the farther away from a portal you get. Magic is sort of taboo on Earth."
I wanted to ask why but didn't want to disturb the young man's lecture so I just nodded.
"Dorothea made the portals this way so that humans would not be too greatly affected by Terra's magic or its people."
"Dorothea, that is your main god right?" I asked.
Casimir nodded. "She is the Elder God, the creator, why?"
"Are you telling me she actually created the portals? Like someone saw her do it?" I asked incredulously. That seemed far-fetched, even for a world with magic.
Casimir chuckled. "It's just lore, stories passed down by the people. Some take it more literally than others."
"Okay, I guess. So if Dorothea created Terra and the portals, then did she also create Earth?"
"Our stories say that the Earth was created by Dorothea using the essence of her children Gaia and Caelestis, in an attempt to make a sanctuary for their love. Humans were a creation of their union."
I scoffed loudly. "Ha, I dare you to tell a super religious person that their planet was made by a female god as a love nest for pagan gods."
"It's polytheistic gods actually," Casimir corrected me, adjusting his glasses as he did.
"Right, my mistake."
"It is interesting how religion has changed over the years on your world," Casimir muttered. I glanced at Casimir, wondering how much of our Earth's history he had seen for himself. I would have to ask him another time because I was still stuck on these portals.
"So you have two worlds, both vastly different with a bunch of portals to connect them," I pondered out loud, trying to stay on track. "Why have portals at all? If they were so worried about humans being hurt by the Terrarin why not just keep them separate?"
"Excellent question," Casimir replied as if I was a student in class. "Myself and many others believe that Dorothea never meant for the two worlds to be so separated. It seems that somehow, over the years, the people of Terra got it in their heads that passing over was forbidden. False prophets for the gods claimed it was a sin to travel between the two worlds and that humans were a lesser species, not worthy to dwell in Terra. Many believe humans carry disease and corruption."
I opened my mouth in shock a little, slightly upset to be considered the 'lesser species'. Sure I couldn't use magic like the people of Terra but I didn't think that made me worthless.
"So what happens if you break the law?"
"If a person of Terra crosses over and tries to come back they are considered tainted and they will be killed," Casimir said, his face tense.
"What?!" I yelped, a little too loudly.
"Only if they get caught," he added quickly.
"That still seems extreme," I muttered, my eyes falling back onto the map. "You've been talking about portals but what does that have to do with the kidnappings?"
"We believe the Dark King's minions have been crossing over and kidnapping humans for some kind of experiment, mind control most probably."
I threw up my hands in exasperation at his comment. "Mind control?!"
Casimir smiled slightly at my reaction. "I told you it was a lot of information."
"Is that even possible, controlling someone like that? It just seems so far-fetched," I grumbled, squeezing my pillow tightly.
Casimir was quiet for a moment, his face almost unreadable. I panicked and attempted to sense his emotions, forgetting at the moment that I could not. I wondered if I could get a better read through touch but was afraid to reach out and test my theory. The last few times I touched Casimir's skin I went into overload and fainted.
"I know it seems impossible, but it's real," Casimir stated softly, his hands clasped together. There was another long pause before the young man continued. "I say mind control but that's not right. It's more like they program you to be their puppet, blocking or deleting memories at their choosing to make you obedient."
The raw feelings in Casimir's voice were something I had never heard before, I had obviously hit a nerve with this topic of conversation. I continued to watch him carefully wondering if he would elaborate any more on the topic.
"I think it's time for bed," he said finally, moving to stand up.
Although slightly disappointed I agreed, reluctantly standing up as I tried not to stare too deeply at the mysterious young man. I thanked him for all the information and as he wished me goodnight I felt a strong sense of melancholy flow over me which I knew did not come from Casimir as he remained silent to me. This feeling followed me as I returned to my room and tried to get some sleep.