Chapter Text
The first thing Aether felt was cold. It was very, very cold. So cold that he could barely move. But he had to. Had to get up. He found himself in a pile of snow, with more falling on him with each passing minute. Where was he? Of all the places in the universe, why did he have to land in this one? Damn that god who banished him here. Damn her for separating him from his sister. His sister. Where was Lumine?
The blond traveller sat up and rubbed his eyes. How long had he been out? An hour? A year? Could be anything. He's lived so long, he can barely place events in the correct order. He just knows that his sister was by his side all that time. All that time until now.
He fully stood up and dusted the snow off. More fell, and he tried shaking it out of his long hair. Aether's plait felt unkept and scruffy in his hair. The band at the back didn't give off any light. Odd. Did this mean that his powers were gone? No food, no powers. He checked for a weapon. No sword either. Fuck. And no sister either. He had to find his sister.
With his objective in mind, the outlander started walking through the snow, unsure of where his journey would take him.
Everything about this world was strange. With no weapon or powers, Aether had to keep his distance from all who looked hostile. There were blobs of slime that chased him, and he observed a mage in a shield commanding some masked tribal monsters to attack an adventurer. Would Aether have saved him? No. He needed to find his sister. Plus, he didn't have anything that could be of use to save him. A heart-wrenching scream from the victim ended his life. Aether continued his walk.
The next turn of events was a strange statue in the middle of nowhere. This statue was a single pillar with a woman on top. The woman was in a cloak and was sitting on a throne that seemed to be made out of ice. It radiated might and power. And it was drawing Aether closer.
“Don't do it,” said a small voice in his head. A voice that sounded like his sister's. “That's the wrong way.”
The voice was starting to annoy him. A lot. His sister wasn't even here. If she was, he would sense it.
'Fuck off,' he thought, and reached out to the statue.
He touched it.
Aether felt a surge of power course through his veins. The cold seemed to bother him less. He felt more determined, too. Was this the power of this forsaken land? The outlander also noticed that parts of his clothes started glowing a pale yet piercing blue.
So this was the power of this land: the power of the elements.
There was a stone tablet in the ground next to the statue. It read, “Long live the Tsaritsa!” Aether assumed that this “Tsaritsa” was the stone woman above him. A new objective quickly formed itself in his mind:
Find the Tsaritsa.
Wait a minute. He could read the tablet. He understood the local language. And since there was a tablet, civilization would not be far away. He could find a weapon, find a job, find some food, find a guide. A smile made its way to Aether's face. Find his sister.
With newfound confidence and power, Aether continued his journey. Enemies no longer scared him. In fact, they seemed afraid of him now. The slimes stayed clear, the mages, and their subordinates, left him alone. A weird flower creature tried to attack him, but was met with shards of ice to the face. It died quickly. Aether grinned. Oh, he was going to enjoy this world a lot.
A local had very kindly shown Aether the way to the Tsaritsa's palace and given him a map. That local now lay dead in front of the outlander's feet with an ice shard through his chest. Couldn't afford to have the news of a mysterious traveller possessing ice powers reach the Tsaritsa before he did, could he? It would ruin all the fun of a dramatic entrance.
The final words of the local were “No vision.” Aether would have to look into that later. For now, he had to find his way to Zapolyarny, the capital city.
“Halt!”
Aether turned around. A man in a hooded coat with red armour was approaching him. He looked hostile. At that realization, the outlander smirked.
“Why should I?”
Oh, this—this would be even more fun.