boy, you're an alien [Thoth]

It seemed like there had been years of preparation leading up to that exact moment, and in a way there had been. Years of planning. Years of designing the greatest magic their world had ever seen, the magic that would rip every last bit of mana from the earth itself.

On a more personal level, he'd spent weeks packing what anything and everything he'd thought he'd need, practicing every possible spell. Before the casting even started he'd laced his brand new staff with an automatic translation spell, several spells for resilience to keep this staff going longer than others, and even one that would keep the rain off him if he happened to come out where it was raining.

That was assuming he'd even come out on a world where it could rain. Realistically, there was a chance he would come out on a dead world, nothing but an empty husk. There might not even be any oxygen. He might pass over to another world and then immediately die, for all he knew.

It would be wrong to say he was praying to arrive some place safe, but he was certainly hoping.

That said, when it finally happened - when everything suddenly faded to black - Enelen felt like he'd accidentally left his stomach back on his own world. As he shifted, sliding between worlds, he felt like he was going to puke or maybe cry. Or maybe scream.

And then, just as quickly as it had started, it was over. With no visible transition, he was suddenly in a forest, surrounded by trees. Without even realizing it, he found he'd been holding his breath and took a deep, gasping breath, fingers clutching his staff so tightly it might have splintered if it hadn't been reinforced.

Air. Breathable air, at least close enough to his own world's air that he didn't feel any different. He took another deep breath, and all his worries melted away.

He was safe. He'd manage to land in a habitable world that didn't look all that different from his own. He didn't even have time to consider the possible risks, let alone the odds of it happening, when abruptly there was someone else there.

Surely no one could blame him for letting his guard down, but he actually let out a little yelp of surprise, wheeling around and nearly falling over. But what he was looking at wasn't a monster or some kind of horrifying nightmare... it was just a girl, almost his height but seemingly a few years younger than he was. She also looked distinctly human, and his eyes widened in surprise. Had he actually managed to land on not just a habitable planet, but one with living, breathing humans.

So it was with considerable excitements that he greeted the girl, being perhaps a bit too formal. "Hello! You are a local, yes? To this place?" He was not entirely clear on what 'this place' was, truth be told, but he didn't want to say 'this world' in case he'd landed on a world which was not aware there were other worlds.

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Tag to @"Nephthys" ​

He hadn't even noticed she was eating. In fact, there were a lot of things he wasn't noticing, but the whole thing was rather overwhelming. There was one sun in the sky, just like his world. The earth seemed similar enough, as did the woods. The girl looked human, and while he didn't exactly recognize what she was eating, it looked similar enough to foods from his own world.

She seemed pleasant, but Enelen was not exactly the most discerning person. He hadn't had a lot of exposure to people who meant him harm,which made him particularly trusting despite his teachers recommendations that he be a bit more careful about who he trusted.

He was even more delighted to hear that there was an academy on the island. Schools were, after all, the place he'd spent his entire life. They were his very reason for existence. They were also, unsurprisingly, a good deal rarer and more grand on his own world, which made the whole thing seem like a stroke of amazing luck to have landed so close to one.

"A school? Nearby?" Perhaps he'd spoken to soon. "No, I am not a student yet." The key word being yet. He would join the school, one way or another. He'd approach the grand mage (assuming they even had a grand mage), plead his case, and join academia once more. This world had even more to teach him then his own. "You are a student there, yes? What's it like?" He was so eager to hear that he was paying very little attention to his flimsy attempts at not drawing attention to himself. He'd planned to try and be subtle and act as if he belonged there, but that was clearly not happening in the long run.

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Tag to @"Nephthys" ​

He deflated the moment she announced that the academics were lacking, despite her warning not to take her word as law. Academics were literally his life. He wanted to go to the very best schools, to learn everything the new world had to offer.

It was very, very obvious that his cover was blown. So blown he could only wince as she peppered him with questions that were so obviously... well, trying to find out exactly what he'd originally planned to keep secret. Really, it hadn't even lasted a full ten minutes, and he let out a little huff of air and resolved himself to answering.

"I'm from another world entirely, seeking refuge. I'm just a human. My name is Enelen, and I am -" He was forced to pause, trying to remember his own age. "Nineteen."

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Tag to @"Nephthys" ​

Enelen was... well, not very hard to get information out of. He was no safe. No, he was more like a barn door that swung open at the slightest breeze. He'd always lived a life of being... well, open. He discussed things thoroughly. The only secrets he kept were small discoveries, and even then he didn't keep them long before releasing them to the world.

She certainly looked excited, which was... well, it certainly helped him relax at least. He liked excitement. He loved academic excitement. He was nothing if not curious, and curious minds attracted each other.

They counted ages by the same way, and considering he was likely on another earth - which had been the most likely target - it was likely that they were actually three years apart. Of course, it was possible that the sun took longer, or that a year meant different things, but generally if his universal translation spell was translating right over, it probably meant the same thing. If a year wasn't really a year, or at least a close approximation, it would probably have come out as gibberish to him.

Or at least that was how it was supposed to work.

"My home world is also called earth - or at least something similar. I have a universal translation spell that automatically translates what I hear and what I say into the local language, so while I call it something other than 'earth' most likely, the word is the same so the planet is likely the same." If it wasn't earth, but something else... well, the only way that would make sense was if the inhabitants of the original earth moved to a different planet and also named it earth. "But I'm not familiar with the Manta Carlos Islands. But that might just be my unfamiliarity with geography." It wasn't as if he'd memorized a map of the territories in his home world ahead of time. It likely wouldn't have mattered.

"The earth of my world was dying, so we used the remainder of it's magic to send out those who wished to leave to other worlds. Specifically we targeted other magically active locations, in hopes that it would lead us to other civilizations like our own, as opposed to alternate realities where earth is nothing but a dead husk." In theory, the spell would not travel time at all, but human development couldn't be counted on to run parallel in every universe. "What is unique about this place?" He wasn't entirely clear what she meant by the language barrier. Had she already known about his spell?

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Tag to @"Nephthys" ​

He wasn't quite sure what the gesture was. It was like she'd drawn something in the air, which wasn't a gesture he was familiar with. A different branch of magic? Writing things in the air? Or just a default spell that let her write in a discrete book by writing on air?

Just there? He didn't quite understand what she was saying when she first said it, his brain slowly trying to wander through the thing. Magic was rare? People didn't believe it? He stared at her, his mouth open slightly into a little 'o'. Did she mean to say that magic was rare?

Of course, even with that explanation, he still assumed everyone had magic. He just assumed it was more suppressed magic, less refined, with less people aware of it. It had taken millions of years of human development before magic had really started showing, and even then magic was hardly a natural part. It had to be taught to be used. So, in his mind, everyone was capable, they just weren't at the same level of his world.

"Everyone has magic. It's a huge deal for us, learning how to use it. What kind of magic you use - which school you focus on - is probably the most important thing that distinguishes you from others. It's like..." He paused, struggling to find a comparison that he felt would work. "Did this world ever have countries? It's like that." It was possible they'd never had countries, or they might have some equivalent. If they did, he'd get the right term and all would be well. That was the magic of translation, after all.

"I suppose it's fortunate this world had a magically active location then." But it wasn't really lucky he'd gotten there. The nature of the spell had launched them towards the most magically active location, so if there was only one settlement, they'd land near it.

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Tag to @"Nephthys" ​