Chapter 1: Chapter I: Behind the Reality Couch

The portal hung in the air before Rory, gaping and ominous like an ethereal maw ready to swallow him up. The edges of the circular void swirled and distorted the air around it like a heat wave on black asphalt. The temperature that emanated from it was cold though. Like if a fridge had been left open much too long or a fan had been cooling the room silently in the back.

The sounds of brass horns displaced his thoughts. It sent a shiver up his back to hear them blasting from unseen instruments. This was the sign that his fate had been sealed. It was his turn now.
It was customary for the younger people of his world to experience this sudden change in their lives. An adventure thrust upon them without warning on occasion. A summoning to another world where most returned for the better. It had become a right of passage for everyone he had grown up with. You were seen differently on the return home. More mature and refined or simply more respected. 

Several of his friends had endured their journeys already and returned home with wild tales of distant lands. Events that you’d read about in your comic books and creatures sometimes that were unimaginably too exotic to explain in words alone. Rory was content though. He knew someday he’d go on his own journey but the desire wasn’t so great. He didn’t mind the slice of existence he had cut out for him and was living in currently.
Another blowing of the horns rattled his ears. A woman in a rather fashionable suit was standing twenty or so meters away. Clipboard in hand with fingers pressed to her ear piece as she spoke. He couldn’t make out what she was saying but he knew she was an officiant. Someone to confirm the temporal displacement when one began their journey. Another nail in the coffin. This wasn’t just an accidental wrong place, wrong time, someone else’s portal. This was his.

With shaking hands, Rory fished his cellphone from his pocket and nearly fumbled it to the ground. It felt like his whole chest was squeezing his heart. Breathing was difficult but he fought the haze to at least do the responsible thing.
The phone rang. Once. Twice. There was a sick taste in his mouth. Did he just throw up a bit? Oh that taste was definitely the hot dog he had for lunch. He mentally scolded himself to keep it together. Then the despair gave way to anger and he was gritting his teeth. His free hand now clenching so tight his nails dug into his skin painfully. Finally, a voice answered on the sixth ring.

“Hello? Rory? Is that you?”

His grandfather’s voice brought him some calmness and a tinge of melancholy as well. They were his last living family member he had aside from his friends. Leaving them behind already began to swell his heart with a sinking sadness.

“Hello? You there, boy?”

“Yes.” Rory sniffed, realizing he was on the verge of tears. Embarrassing. He wiped his nose and eyes clean with the cuff of his flannel. “Sorry, Pops. I just, uh, I just…”

Rory couldn’t find the words to speak. He was choking quietly on the sudden overwhelming feeling. He had no idea how long he’d be gone. Could be weeks. Months. Sometimes years for people. His grandfather would be alone and he himself didn’t know if he could stand not seeing them for so long.

“I heard the horns all the way down to the shop! I bet Maggie last time we played Knuckle Bones and guess who won, huh? Not Maggie! You know Maggs. Always trying to tell fortunes with die but never could predict your Grandpa had skills!.” There was a cackling laugh from the other line before it simmered down into a soothing tone. “Having a hard time going on aren’t you?”

Rory’s grandfather was perceptive when he wanted to be.

“Just like your mother.” He continued. “It took her a while to get there but I knew, I knew someday she would go on a journey. We’re just late bloomers kiddo. You, me, your Mom. No shame in that. Just means we take our time to grow and that we don’t rush things. She was always so stubborn and on fire. She didn’t want to go but she still ended up taking it. I remember the night she left, we argued about her not coming home with eggs again. I didn’t see her for months after that argument-”

“Pops.”

“I’m getting to the good part now, hold on just a moment.” There was a soft sigh from the other line and then quiet for a moment.

Rory stared at the portal and winced.

 

“Now, she came back several months later. Brought the eggs with her as well this time. I told myself. This isn’t my kid. My daughter is too wild for this sort of thing. Then not even a year later she had you. Shoulda seen her face, kiddo. The moment she had you in her arms it was like she was a whole different woman. She melted like a chocolate rabbit in the summer. You know! It’s because we’re Lapine Folk!” There was another laugh on the receiver that trailed quickly into a cough.

“Grandpa, sorry. I just need to talk.”

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“Sorry, Kiddo. Go ahead.”

“I’m not sure when I’ll be back.” Rory shivered at the words he was saying but saying them out loud helped him swallow the harsh pill he’d been handed. “I don’t think I’m ready. I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to go, Pops.”

“Rory, it's alright. You can be scared.”

“I’m not scared. I’m just-”

“Rory, listen to me. You’re a smart kid. As long as you try and stay safe you’ll do just fine. I’ll keep praying for you the whole time you’re gone. One more thing though.”

“What’s that?”

“Bring back some eggs. Any kind will do. Just choose whichever one you like most. I want you to take care, okay? If you write anything down like you like to do then let me read it after you come back. Have a great time, Kiddo. I know you’ll do great.”

“I will. I promise.”

There was a click and the call disconnected and with it the same warmth Rory felt when he heard his Grandfather’s voice. Already he was feeling homesick.
The portal beckoned silently. Looming somehow even closer and taller than it had originally when it appeared. Maybe it was because Rory felt small now. Smaller than anything he could possibly imagine. Forced to finally gaze upon the grand machinations of the universe that did not feel the need to explain itself to him just yet.
This was it. Rory steeled himself and committed to taking his first steps. If he was going to do this it was going to be under acceptance. There was no quarter for hesitation anymore. Best to face it head on rather than cower even if his heart thumped and pounded to escape. To feel at ease in his own bed, under familiar blankets, surrounded by the same calming imagery he’d spent years decorating in his own corner of the world. Cold wind brushed against his fur, tickling his nose as he neared the ominous entryway.
His right foot entered the portal first. Then his left foot right after. There was a whooshing sound as the portal quickly closed behind him. Leaving him alone in an unfamiliar and dark realm. 

To his delight the air was crisp and refreshing to breathe. Almost too sickly sweet as it seemed to cling to his lungs with every breath he took. He hadn’t considered if the atmosphere could kill him until now but something in his mind accepted that this was similar to the oxygen back home just more coated in a heavier dankness. His breaths fogged in plumy clouds before him, dissipating quietly with each new breath.

Looking himself over he burned hot with a realization. He was naked. Where had his clothes gone? That also meant everything he had on hand before he came in. Everything material was gone from his possession. His curiosity changed directions though once he noticed how odd his body now looked. Not the part where he was heroically in the nude but rather the fact his body looked almost translucent.
The solid coloring was less opaque and he could see through his hands as he examined them that the other side was almost see through. Was he a ghost like he’d seen in horror movies? Running a hand against his chest he felt that he was solid but that he didn’t look exactly solid. Raising his hands up, he turned them over and examined his fingers again. They were there but shimmering. Almost like his whole form was existing but not. 

He clapped his hands together hoping to maybe to strike some normal feeling like pain or warmth but instead he got a bright flash of light that caught him off guard. His hands didn’t sting either. That was more odd to him than the flash. No pain. Just the pressure of solid things on solid things.
Rory clapped again and the flash reappeared. Experimenting quickly, they snapped their fingers and a smaller flash with a smaller burst of energy leapt from his index and thumb. They did this a few times trying to make sense of the moment but were also entertained by the strangeness and newfound glee. Snap. Flash. Clap. Big Flash.

“...hear…now?”

A voice echoed around his head. No, that wasn’t correct. It was simultaneously in his head and outside as if someone was standing next to him. It echoed as well. Reverberating inside his head and out. It was a very disorienting feeling.

“..llo? Are you there? I-…almost…”

The voice skittered like a horrid connection. Rory tried to reply but found nothing came out of his mouth but deep mouthfuls of warm air. He rubbed his neck trying again and again to formulate a response but only getting more and more fearful with every attempt. He tried snapping, clapping even. Maybe it could see the lights? Maybe someone could find him if they’re trying to talk to him?

“Hello? Hello? Oh! Yes okay we have a connection now! Listen, at the moment I can not see you. More like feeling where you are. I know that’s a bit off putting but try and trust me if you can. My name is Khian. I’m the one trying to get you out of there at the moment.”

The world rumbled around Rory. He was tottering now, feeling something shaking beneath his feet. Like as if a whole plate was moving beneath him.

“Please just hold on. I’m so excited to meet you. I can’t wait until we can talk in person. I’m sure you have so many questions and I’m more than ready to try to help answer. For now though, you’re in a realm between realities. Yours and mine. Think of it like a hallway between two doors. I feel it’s a more appropriate metaphor because hallways are longer and doorways seem just too small- Oh! I’m sorry. I’m rambling. Nervous. Wait okay. I got you now. It’s going to feel weird but you’ll find yourself being tugged. Just try and relax. Maybe mind your tongue in case you bite down.”

Rory felt a pressure on his chest. Like someone had harnessed him with rope and was pulling back. Having no other real option, he tried to relax in that grip.
There was the sound of thunder. The solid ground beneath Rory vanished and he began to fall. Faster and slower all at once as if someone had hit the fast forward and slow on the tv remote. He could feel himself in two places at once, simultaneously existing in two different places. The double dipped feeling in his gut made him want to vomit. Before he blacked out, Rory saw a large inky eye staring at him with a vertical pupil as a voice he presumed was Khian’s spoke out.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

---

“I recall meeting the Adventurer for the first time when I arrived into town on yet another botched attempt at assistance to the community. The villagers continue to scorn and make mockery of me about the recent expenditures into fixing the irrigation systems. I had not foreseen the damages to be so severe that my own inventions would shatter the piping wiping a good garden of crops. Yet they turned coat as quickly as they meekly asked for my help. Oh woe be the one known as Athelheim. Naught follows but a miserable trade! Rubbish. The stench of gossip lingers longer and worse than that of liquor on a man. I can’t rid myself of it despite my earnest endeavors. This Adventurer came to me for assistance. Me! Me of all the townsfolk. I denied them. Warned them that my company bid only ill will despite the attempt at heroics. Should they carry company with one as myself they’d find their reputation as well in the muck. They refused. We fought for hours. They were stubborn but drank me under the table and then some. Brutish and strong headed. They were my best friend. One of the only few friends I had left at the time. A true partner in the obtuse crimes and shenanigans we delved into together. I recount days now of our adventures. Listening and watching them again and again. They were most likely my happiest days in my life. Even now I miss them terribly.” - Athelheim

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