The Dreamer's Fall

Chapter 59 - The First Kingdom

Arthur remained in a defensive posture on the grass as his eyes darted around frantically, searching for the mysterious stranger.

"Young master, are you okay?" Foster asked as he carefully approached.

"I'm... fine." Arthur replied after calming himself. "It's getting late. We should return to camp."

Arthur was still curious about Elrinth Forest, yet his instincts told him that the stranger was a dark omen. While he wasn't necessarily superstitious, he didn't argue with his instincts when dealing with such unknowable matters. Instead, he took one last glance around the area before returning to Aithon and climbing atop his back.

The first time he saw the stranger in Munn, it was hard to deny that he had really met a god. Arthur tried, but try as he might, he was only left with two logical conclusions. Either he was losing his mind, or he had truly met a god.

However, this encounter felt far different. There weren't any magical theatrics like fiddling with time or exuding aether in such a way that made Arthur feel like he was drowning. He only saw the hem of the stranger's robe in the periphery of his vision, yet it vanished like an illusion when he tried to focus on it.

The more he thought about it, the more uncertain he became about whether he even saw that much. That thought made him feel even more nervous. Unsurprisingly, the field of psychology was all but ignored on Nithe, so if schizophrenia ran in his family, he'd be on his own with managing it.

After returning to the main camp, Arthur entered his bedroom with Kyren and Rennar before speaking. "I might've encountered that god again."

Kyren's eyes perked up. "Really? Did he say anything else?"

"A god?" Rennar asked disbelievingly. "What are you talking about? When?"

"Ah, I haven't told you about that. I met a strange individual in Munn..." Arthur replied, briefly summarizing his first encounter with the mysterious stranger. "This time, I'm less certain. I'm unsure if I saw him again or if I'm losing my mind. He was there one moment and gone the next but didn't say or do anything."

"What did he look like?" Rennar asked enthusiastically. "Did he have long ears?"

Arthur shot a puzzled look toward him. "Long ears? Like an elf?"

There wasn't a word for elves in Nithian as the staple fantasy race appeared to have never existed on the planet, so Arthur used the English word despite Rennar's inability to understand it.

"Yes." Rennar ignored the foreign word and squished the top of his ears with his fingers. "Were his ears long and pointy like this?"

"I don't think so?" Arthur replied, trying to recall the stranger's facial features but finding himself unable to do so. It was as if trying to recall a stranger's face from a dream. One moment, the face appeared familiar, like an old friend, but the more he focused on it, the more he became certain it was wrong.

Rennar shook his head and appeared disappointed with his answer. "Then you didn't meet a god."

"What does that mean?" Arthur asked. "I may not know much about the Elrinth gods, but I'm pretty sure none have long, pointy ears."

"That's because they're pretenders." Rennar scoffed. "Your father has done a disservice to you by allowing a descendant of Aellyr to believe the Theocracy's ignorant lies."

"Wait..." Arthur was stunned. "Are you saying the true gods of Elrinth Forest were elves?"

"You keep using that word; I don't know what it means." Rennar replied, looking annoyed.