Chapter 1 - Arrival

“-are you?”

Cold steel pressed up against the bottom of Tetsuo’s jaw, and yet his mind was completely occupied with how he’d be getting home. His arms struggled to lift his body off of the ground, as he attempted to ignore the burning sensation covering his body. He squinted, trying to see ahead, but the setting sun prevented him from seeing anything.

“Answer the question man. Tell me, do you know where you are?”

Tetsuo froze as he felt the metal blade glide under his chin, the sharp point resting at his throat. A figure stepped forward, casting a silhouette that allowed Tetsuo to properly assess his surroundings. In front of him stood the wielder of the blade: a young man with his hair tied back, looking down on him with a self-assured grin. His leather armor was decorated with silver linings; a crest emblazoned on his chest depicted a golden lion with the head of a serpent. Behind the man stood a woman whose watchful eyes were barely visible behind her soot-covered glasses. Despite the filth, the same crest was visible on her vest and on the bandana holding her hair back. The three of them were surrounded by lush hills glowing an endless velvet green, a soft breeze blowing patterns dancing across it. The grass under his hands tingled with energy, and each breath of air sent chills through his body.

“I-I… don’t think so? Where am I?”

As he coughed the words out, the spectacled woman lit up with a wide smile. She began to bounce around, her loosely fastened belts and pouches echoing her movement with their clatter, and playfully punched the young knight in the shoulder.

“Looks like you lose! Of course, it’s to be expected.” The woman nodded to herself in agreement. “Naturally, my advanced intellect and superior skills of observation gave me the ability to foretell that this moment would come to pass. It was inevitable, really, your defeat was assured from the second I was born.” She raised her chin while triumphantly pushing up her glasses.

“Man… you know you got lucky right? We were bound to find one soon anyways.” The knight sighed as he pulled his sword away from Tetsuo’s throat, letting him relax his posture and breathing. The woman paid no mind to the knight's remarks as she danced behind him. The knight ran his fingers through his hair pushing back his bangs. “Well, whatever I guess. He seems harmless enough. I’ll take it from here so you can go and do whatever it is you wanted to do.”

“Aw, thanks! You’re so generous!.” The woman swung a leather bag onto her back. “I’ll catch up with you guys later anyways.” She turned to leave before pausing for a second and turned back around waving. “Oh and you, stranger.” Tetsuo fell back and watched as her body rose, hovering a few inches off of the ground. “Welcome to Alvania!” Her shouting became distant as she slid across the surface of the grass, accelerating towards a hill in the distance.

“Show off,” the knight muttered while rubbing his nose with his hand. “Well, a job’s a job.” The knight reached into his leather satchel and tossed a smaller bag to Tetsuo’s feet. He then pulled out a small pouch that jingled as he bounced it. “That’s some basic stuff you’d probably like to have. This here’s your new wallet. I’ll keep it for you in the meantime.” The knight tucked the new wallet away, prompting Tetsuo to frantically search his own pockets, only to find them completely empty. “Oh yeah, sorry man. The only things you get to keep are whatever you were wearing before you got here. I hope you didn’t have anything too important.”

Tetsuo slid his hand into his back pocket, before scanning the ground. He then froze, his heart racing as he reached for his left hand. He slid his thumb against his ring finger feeling the familiar bump of his ring. He twisted the ring around his finger, feeling its comforting warmth, before steadying himself and letting out a sigh of relief. The knight in front of him turned and looked somewhere vaguely in the distance, giving Tetsuo an opportunity.

“Alvania,” he muttered to himself. Quietly, Tetsuo wrapped the bag’s strap around his hand, cautiously dangling it at his side. He readied himself and spoke. “Look, I’ve got somewhere I need to be. Where am I exactly? Where’s the closest subway? How do I get back to-”

“Huh?” The knight turned to look at him, eyeing the makeshift sling around Tetsuo’s hand. “Come on kid, don’t be like that. Why don’t you just take a second, relax, and come with me. You can ask me whatever you want after.”

Tetsuo watched as the knight's hand began to hover over his sword. Raising his empty arm in front of him, Tetsuo assumed a resolved defensive stance. “I’m leaving.”

The knight let out a deep sigh. “That’s not really how this works.” The knight brandished his sword, and tapped its blade on the ground. Geometrical symbols began to glow red as embers flickered out of the edges of the sword. Tetsuo took a hesitant step back. Satisfied with his dumbfounded expression, the knight returned the blade to his sheath and let out another deep sigh. “Look whatever you were doing, or wherever you needed to be, I get it. Just please make this easy and follow me. It’ll start to make more sense if you do.”

The sweat in Tetsuo’s hands began to seep into the handle of the satchel and his breathing became shallow and uneven as his senses began to return to him. “You don’t know how much is at stake right no-”

“Of course I don’t!” The knight interrupted. “But you don’t even know what’s going on. Last chance or I’m knocking you out. Just come with me already.”

Begrudgingly, Tetsuo lowered his fist and unwrapped the satchel from his hand. “Did you see a small box around here?”

“No. Sorry.” The knight turned and began walking towards the hill the woman had disappeared behind. Tetsuo could hear him quietly mumble, “Man, when's this summoning going to end?”

Left with no better option, Tetsuo sighed and slung his bag over his shoulder and jogged over to catch up with the knight's pace.

As they walked, he gazed up into the sky, taking in the environment he found himself in at last. In contrast to the city he knew, the sky was painfully open with nothing but the clouds to obscure it. Within the violet creeping over behind them were traces of cosmos and stars, more vibrant and natural than any neon sign he had seen before. He was scared of this vast unknown he found himself in and yet he couldn’t find it within him to deny the beauty of it. Tetsuo took in a large breath, inhaling from deep within, and with the clear air that flowed into his lungs, he felt that same tingling from when he first arrived.

I bet Bianca would still say the city is better than this.

He caught himself smiling for a brief moment before he returned to the reality of the situation. Between Alvania and talk about summoning, Tetsuo understood that he was, at the very least, somewhere far from what he knew as home.

“Hey, hurry up! If you fall behind, I’m charging you 5 Sivs if you get my pay docked!” The knight’s shouting interrupted Tetsuo’s thoughts as he ran up the hill. Tetsuo followed suit, surprised by how light he felt while scaling it. The knight stood, waiting at the top of the hill, where Tetsuo joined him, greeted by what lay beyond the horizon. Tetsuo paused, transfixed beside the knight. He felt his heart sink as his eyes trembled, and every question he had seemed to catch in his throat, choking him.

Far from where they sat stood a giant maze-like city. The walls seemed like they could barely contain the houses within, with roads that seemed to be formed by convenience rather than intention. A wide path led straight to the centre of the city, evenly dividing it into two sides. At the center stood a massive stone castle that imposed itself above the rest of the buildings. Beyond the city remained smaller towns gathered around clusters of forests or small bodies of water, and beyond that more hills that hid the horizon.

The knight turned to look at Tetsuo and cleared his throat. He placed his hand on Tetsuo’s back and lightly pushed him. And then he spoke.

“Well kid, this is Alvania. Your new home.”

He took a few steps forward as his heart ached with regret. The memory of her gentle voice was drowned out by a strong gust of wind. Tetsuo stared out at the world, no longer his, and collapsed, fearing he’d never see her again.