Ené walked through the city mall, browsing various stores. Her soft blue shirt allowed the cool conditioned air to pass through, her cropped royal blue leggings swaying with her steps. Soon after exiting a cozy bistro, she got a call. Sighing briefly after looking at the contact, she pondered ignoring the call. Deciding against that, she answered.
“Hey Carl, what’s up?”
A young man’s voice replied on the other end, “Hi Ené, I was calling to see if I could get you to help me with a computer problem.”
Ené furrowed her brow. “Carl, it’s almost 10 pm, it’s well past my working hours, you know that.”
“I know I know, I just-” Ene interrupted Carl’s excusing words, “I’m not gonna come to help you after hours-”
“Wait wait please!” Carl interjected, somewhat desperately. “I’ll pay you triple!”
This made Ené pause, and she let out another, less exasperated sigh. She considered in silence for a moment, before Carl’s “Please?” prompted her to respond.
“Alright, then,” she spoke. “I’ll be over in 20 minutes - don’t order food, I already ate.”
“Got it!” Carl beamed. His radiance of happiness could practically be felt through the phone.
After those 20 minutes had passed, Ené did indeed go to Carl’s place. It was a fairly short drive, his neighborhood just around the corner from her own home. He lived in a cozy house; too big for one person, Ené thought. She pulled into his driveway, then set down her motorcycle’s kickstand and shoved her helmet into its lockable bag. She didn’t even need to ring the doorbell - Carl was already waiting for her on the porch, the door open with a hot coffee in his hand. His blond hair seemed to carry a fairy’s glisten, refracting his porch light’s illumination. He turned his brown eyes towards her.
His face lit up as she stepped forward, the thin soles of her flats clacking damply against his rock pathway.
She stepped forward and greeted Carl casually, opening the screen door while asking him, “Is it the usual one?”
“Yup,” he responded. “She’s been freezing up on me this time, and getting too hot to run for long.”
“That’s no good. I’ll take a look at it.”
“Please do!” Carl followed Ené through the house to his malfunctioning computer, smiling the whole time as if he’d been on a roller coaster. He eagerly watched as she located and remedied problems on his desktop.
What interesting creatures. Carl Rotoussé isn’t so bad, either. I still think I have a prime choice, however.
Soon after fixing the problems and receiving payment, Ené seemed eager to get home. Carl requested she stay longer, to hang out, and suggested they watch movies. Ené declined and gave the reason of needing to feed her cat, Candid.
“You know,” Ené started, “If you wanted to hang out, you should have asked earlier. It’s late now, anyway.”
“Oh, yeah… you have a point,” Carl admitted sheepishly.
It wasn’t all that late, truly. I mean, midnight? That’s not late for any of you, is it?
Anyways:
Ené bid Carl a fond farewell, him watching her with obvious disappointment in his eyes. Ené started up her mechanical vessel. It roared gently, the low hum vibrating her body as she sat on its seat and collected her protective helmet from its side bag. She stored her purse safely in that same bag before she took off into the streets. Driving at a modest pace through the neighborhood, it would take her a mere 2 minutes to get home from Carl’s house. That is, of course, had she not noticed a gleaming red glint sparkling in the corner of her eye.
She heard a faint voice in the back of her mind, speaking ever so softly.
“Find me,” it uttered.
As if my godly hand had reached down by her side and clenched hers, she hit the breaks sharply. That motorcycle contraption could stop on a dime, and that it seemed to do. Though this dime was no currency, but rather, a polished crimson pearl sitting in the damp grass. Ené, for what she thought was no reason at all, stepped down off of her bike and knelt in front of the gem.
She picked it up.
It felt cold in her hands, with bits of wet mud stuck to it. “Did someone lose this? It’s so pretty, what a shame…”
Ené grabbed the end of her shirt to clean it off. It gleamed beautifully under the warm light of the streetlight behind her.
While cleaning the gem and muttering to herself, her head filled with a high-pitched noise. The void of sound around her caused such a small pressure that it created a ringing in her ears, so faint yet roaring to her.
At that moment, the gem lit up, shining brightly. Ené was caught off guard and had barely a second to yell out before her body was carried off in a flash of light.
At that moment, Ené Eldenghard left Earth.
Her body was cold, yet completely numb; her eyes wide open, yet all she could see beyond her was a white scape as she seemingly hovered in the air motionless.
Her irises were a piercing icy blue, her hair a stark gorgeous white.
Ené peered out over this vast landscape with nothing but a pearl grey beyond the haze, and perhaps the silhouette of a tree nearby.
Ené noticed a feminine figure looking dead at her. The figure, wrapped in pearl gold satin wraps, floating just beyond their skin, stood just out of hearing range.
It appeared to be a woman with watsonia white-hued skin, covered head to toe in gleaming yellow markings. Her Multicolored eyes looked straight into Ené’s own. The woman’s hair flowed in a gentle swirling motion, the aurora coloration of it mesmerizing.
Ené stared at the figure with confusion, unable to understand what she said as she introduced herself.
Not a moment after the figure attempted to speak to her, Ené blinked away again. Her vision became a blurry milky white for the millisecond she spent in “the gap”, as I like to call it.
It is the space between spaces, you see. A place where logic is logicless, and mass is not mass. Somewhere to put the “what” but not the “who”, for a brief moment, if that makes sense.
Oh, but I suppose a regular human reading this wouldn’t understand what I mean. Perhaps reason it out to whatever makes sense to you.
Anywho…
Ené then reappeared a foot above the grass bed of Windleaf forest, her hair & eyes returning to their normal hue.
That was quite annoying. I suppose I miscalculated how the distance would translate; she ended up a day away from where I intended to send her. To make up for this oversight, I contacted the being I chose to be Ené’s first anchor to Rivemm.
I shifted and compressed my form to appear before Riné Montemeau, the princess of the slime creature kingdom. Only a monarch controlling a single city rather than the entire kingdom’s ruler, but also the being I took a Kri from: a fitting match to the role I needed to be filled.
I appeared before Riné. Her eyes widened and sparkled as she gawked at my shining visage.
She stood before me, her pink body forming thick gobs of long hair running down her back. Her rather large chest seemed to spill upwards out of her maroon dress, her deep magenta corset holding them up. Her shimmering golden tiara jutted up from her scalp; she held her hands clasped together in white silk gloves. Her feet were poised together, the points of her deep red heeled boots poking out under the body of her gown.
She looked simply starstruck! Who could blame her though?
Riné instantly dropped to the ground, kneeling as low as I’ve ever seen a royal go. She stammered her words to me before I had the chance to speak: “Lady Henyoki! I-it is truly a-an honor to meet you! I cannot be humbled e-enough! H-how may I be of service?”
She glanced from my eyes to the ground. She was unsure of what I would consider rude, though truly those trivial things don’t matter to me one bit!
I cleared my throat and began to speak in my best “goody goddess” voice: “Greetings Riné Eioi Rikaia Montemeau, princess of the slime kingdoms, vessel to the foxen ladies. I have a duty to bestow upon you. Will you accept what I ask of you?”
“Yes, my creatress. I will accept whatever task you ask of me,” Riné replied eagerly.
I smiled. “Good! Then you must turn your attention to the Drow forest of Windleaf.” I uttered my words as I weaved an illusion, showing Riné a live image of Ené, who was still in the forest wandering about in a panicked state. “This is Ené Eldenghard, a human being from a realm known as “Earth”. She has been transported to Rivemm but moments ago.
I would like to entrust you with the duty of keeping watch of her. Aid her in what she needs, and give her a place to rest her head. Teach her what it means to be in this realm. I entrust you the title of Ené’s mentor.”
Riné nodded acceptingly. “ Yes, of course, my lady. I will happily accept this duty, especially due to her being a human! I’ve missed seeing them around.”
“Yes, I’m sure you have! I have high hopes for this one.”
“Lady Henyoki, if I may…”
“Yes?”
“I see bright crimson energy emitting from her chest, is that…”
“Yes, it is what you’d call a power stone. The one that used to reside here, in fact.”
Riné’s eyes widened; I could sense the cogs turning in her mind. Taking a quick peek inside, she was thinking she had brought Ené here. She overestimates her abilities, but no matter. It served no purpose to correct her - I simply needed her to fill this role.
After speaking briefly with Riné, I bid her farewell and left the mortal plane. I then continued to observe…
Riné took little time to make her way to Ené, enacting an illusionary spell to cast her image in front of the girl. Ené, upon taking notice of Riné, stepped back and stumbled, almost tripping on her own heels.
The princess swiftly moved towards Ené, clearly excited over her existence.
“A human! A real-life human!” Riné exclaimed, leaning in far too closely.
Ené, backed against a tree, put her hands up and faced away. “Who the f-fuck, a-and what the fuck are you?!” she shakily yelled out.
Riné stepped back. “Oh I am terribly sorry, I have forgotten to introduce myself.
I am Riné Montemeau, princess of Siliva City, daughter to “The Maroon Mage King”.”
Ené remained silent.
“I do not expect you to know who that is, of course,” the princess began, “ but I am here to help. I was sent to you. I know you’re very confused.” Riné then pointed in the opposite direction. “If you head straight that way, you’ll reach a wide dirt path. Follow that path, and turn right, to head north towards Siliva City. I am only an illusion in this state, but in physical presence, I can help you with what you need. Please, come find me at Siliva Castle, and I will welcome you warmly!”
Her image then faded away, waving to Ené with a fond smile.
Ené stood in one place for a while, contemplating her options. She was clearly taken aback by a creature such as Riné - which is understandable, seeing as Earth does not carry such beings.
Ené sighed deeply and made up her mind. She began her trek to the dirt path Riné mentioned.
This part is quite boring: It’s only Ené power-walking her way to Siliva City. I’ll simply gloss over it.
After half a day of travel, Ené finally made it to a point where Siliva City was in view.
A beautiful towering city before her, floating platforms - connected by long arching stairways - carried dense living quarters. The castle sat in the center, atop the surface. The city itself was a giant set of rings around the center castle, gates separating the districts.
Ené stopped for a moment to ingest the beauty and formidity of it, preparing herself to press forward.
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