“Plu, are you sure this path leads somewhere?” Niko called from the edge of the giant cliff they'd just climbed. He was breathing heavily, clutching his knees as he tried with great difficulty to catch his elusive breaths. 

“Of course! All paths lead somewhere! Besides, it wasn't that hard to get up here, and if we have to go back down it'll just be easier.” She smiled, as though she had any idea how tiring it was to drag your body up the side of a cliff without falling to your death. 

Stupid winged creatures. 

Niko sighed laboriously, trudging after the flittering sprite as he took in the view from this height. A giant forest spread beneath them, trees and fields interspersed and colored far more brightly than anything Earth could ever hope to grow naturally. 

The sky stretched overhead, bright stars freckled throughout it even in the middle of the day. Each one appeared almost neon in color, like a rainbow trying to decide where to build it's house. 

They came upon a lake, small and clear nestled right next to the edge of the cliff. How it had never fallen off the side was a mystery. 

“What exactly are we looking for, anyways?” Niko called to the Flair getting further and further away as he stumbled along. 

“Some place more civilized. You don’t want to sleep outside tonight, do you?” 

Recalling their run in with the ravenous beast in the middle of a field Niko had been using as his happy place to get away from stress, he felt a shudder rattle along his spine. Now he had to find a new happy place. Great. 

“Fine, fine. Whatever you say.” He muttered, trudging along like tar as his leaden legs stumbled beneath his sweaty body. He had never done this much physical activity in his life. 

One would think a world filled with strange magic would make transportation easier on the body. 

Alas. 

The lake shimmered like glass, and Niko wondered for a moment if he might be able to walk on it. Perhaps it would shatter like a mirror, and he’d find something unknown inside. A breeze brushed through his hair, tussling it softly and bringing some much needed cold to his overheated brow. 

Feather-like leaves hung above their heads, purple and blue like dripping flower buds. The bark that hung like strips of woven fibers were rough under his fingers as he brushed across them in wonder. Niko had never seen such artistic flair in nature, though he hadn’t really been exposed to it much. He used to live in a city, where the only nature was the cultured kind people kept like pets and the parks that were almost too perfect to even be considered a part of nature. 

Tall grass littered the ground in patches, colorful rocks slipping underfoot and twirly sticks crunching as Niko walked along the misshapen path Plu decided to follow in search of precious civilization. It had been a stick that he feared the most, before the Trelluf decided to charge at him without any real reason. Niko had been a literal ninja and it still found him sneaking away. 

He huffed at the memory, feeling oddly angry that it had ruined his perfect sneaking technique. 

Nevermind it totally wanted to eat him. It was a monster after all. No one said anything about it being able to detect ninjas. 

Niko ran his hand along one of the magical trees, thinking for a moment he would like to grow one. If he ever gets into a position where he has free time, space, not running for his life or plummeting to certain doom. Maybe something to consider. 

“Niko! Look what I found!” Plu called from ahead, tiny body sparkling a soft, sputtering pink. It was like a tiny explosion everytime she had an emotion, lighting up the world and forcing everyone to acknowledge whatever demands she wanted to make. Niko followed said demand, finding Plu floating above a strange pedestal located at the center of a clearing. It was a copper bronze color, circular and emitting a golden glow. When he got closer, he found a symbol carved into the type, the entire thing filled with light. 

“What is it?” He asked, looking to the creature by his head that was also examining the object. 

“I don’t entirely know. It reminds me of something I saw in a mural once, near the capital. It depicted a metal stand like this one, that would glow everytime something capable of changing fate got near it. Or something weird like that. It was a children's story, meant to make people hope for something better in times of strife and chaos.” Her hands waved as she talked, as though to better demonstrate the illustrative purposes the mural represented in its depiction of storytelling. 

“I wonder what this one does? I mean, it doesn’t just glow for fun, right?” She muttered, hand on her chin as she spun around it, examining every piece of metal with a probing eye. 

Niko leaned closer, trying to decide if the symbol looked more like a wonky apple or a fish. It really was obscure. He put his hand near it, brushing the tips of his fingers against the glowing lines as he inspected it. The glow was warm, beating softly like a heart. A breath escaped him, eyes wide as he ran his hand along it. 

The glow pulsed, brightening with every inch his face got closer. Plu fluttered nearby, muttering softly to herself as she tried to figure out the strange structure and what purpose it might serve. In the quest for civilization, it was clearly made by the hands of people, even if magical means had been involved. 

“Owww!” Niko creamed, pulling his hand away as he felt a sharp sting on his palm. He clutched it close, a large gash along the middle as blood seeped from the wound. The symbol on the pedestal turned as red as his blood, brightly lighting up the entire clearing with its sharp glow. 

A moment later, his wound started to stitch itself back together, skin cells dragging each other along as the blood steamed away like fog. 

Niko watched the process in fascination, unsure if he should be concerned or happy about it. He rubbed the spot where the wound had been, finding perfect skin as though it had never been wounded in his entire life. 

Plu fluttered closer, inspecting the hand like it was a map that might lead to treasure. 

“That was bizarre.” She said, looking at the pedestal that now had a deathly red glow, like it had stolen the blood just for the color. Niko considered touching it again to see if anything else would happen, but remembering the pain it had caused completely unprovoked, he thought better of that plan. 

“Maybe we should just go.” He said, looking to the guide that was still enamored by the strange artifact. Her eyes flitted to his face, before looking at his hand again. She sighed, nodding as they left the weird metal thing to glow with its stolen prize. It was just a few drops of blood, so there wasn’t any real harm done. 

As far as they were aware, and what could it do, follow them across the world with its one metal leg? 

It was a while later, having been walking under the hot sun that glowed like an orb of bluish red, that they found something else that practically screamed civilization. At least, in the form of people, not so much their attitudes or actions. 

A group of cloaked men, each with a weapon and threatening stance surrounded a group of travelers. By all intents and purposes, it appeared to be your classic highway robbery, though more in olden days time, with magic at the ready and swords the primary weapon of use.