I woke up to bright lights and a strident whistling.

“Luc! Wake up!” Inrak yelled. “You will want to go early otherwise the wait will be long.”

My host had turned on the magical lights inside the shop. She was tidying up the books and the furniture, humming something far too cheerful so early in the morning.

“You seem to have slept well,” I said, folding my pallet and leaving it behind the counter. She gave me a big smile.

“Yes I have! Your story has given me much to think about and I am eager to hear what Pamasteron will say. You will come back to tell me, I hope! Do you remember the way?”

“I do, thank you.” I had made her repeat it three times yesterday to be sure. “I will come back if I am able.”

“Good! Then go! Go! You get to meet your first God! How exciting!”

Outside, the sun was beginning to rise. The sky was a nice blending of red and orange. I stayed there a moment, watching. We had the same on Earth, but it was no less beautiful.

This was going to be a good day! I had a spring in my step as I began to walk towards the centre of Sturron, where the temples were located. I felt hope. If anybody could help me, it would be a God, whatever that word meant here. And I would meet a God! An actual, talking, one. It was indeed exciting.

The streets were beginning to fill with bleary-eyed workers. Some shops were opening and I could smell a sweet scent that reminded me of a bakery. I did not stop to look for it though. I had no money and a deity waiting for me.

Soon enough, I found myself in the temple district. It was impossible to miss. Every building was different. There was one all white, with marble columns, like an Ancient Greek temple. Another was just a tall tower with small slits placed at regular intervals. Next to the tower were cypresses surrounding a fountain garden. It all looked like the projects of architectural students, waiting there to be graded by their professor. Some temples had people of all species waiting in front. Others were empty.

Inrak had described the temple I was supposed to find, but I thought it surer to ask the first human I saw. The lady pointed me in the right direction, two streets away, tucked between a standard church made of grey stone and a series of thin columns that were all perhaps 3 meters high and set up in a random pattern. The temple itself just looked like a house. There was a small courtyard, with flowers and a gravel path from the street to the door. Nobody was waiting outside, but I could see three shapes lying close to the front wall. One of them hard horns peeking from under the woollen sheets.

Hesitantly, I walked up to the house and, after smoothing my clothes flattening my hair, I knocked.

An armadillo child opened. I needed to learn their name too. He looked me up and down and then promptly ran away. I hoped he wasn’t a priest because that was not a great start. The door opened on a long corridor painted with strokes and patterns of many colours. It was so filled with people sleeping that the child had to jump a few times before disappearing in a side room. Nobody paid any attention to me. This was definitely the weirdest temple I had ever seen. Even churches that welcomed refugees at least tried to give them beds. Still. I entered. I needed to see this Pamasteron. And anyway, it did kind of fit the House of the God of the lost, the orphans and the wanderers. If I had known he existed yesterday, I probably would have come to see if there was a place for me here. Finding Inrak’s bookshop had been extremely lucky.

Avoiding the sleepers, I advanced. I stuck my head in each room I passed, but they were mostly full of sleeping people. Some were waking up, others were packing bags. I softly called to one Schalass, asking where I could find the God. She (I think) pointed somewhere further inside and went back to her task. At the end of the hallway was a small alcove with a clear fountain. I was trying to decide whether to go left or right when the armadillo child came back, pulling a man by his sleeve. When they saw me, the man patted the child on his armoured head and approached me.

“Welcome to the House of Pamasteron. How may we help you?”

“Hello, I would like to speak to the God if it is at all possible. I was told he was the only one who could help me.”

“Yes, that is often the case with our God,” the priest said, smiling. “He is one of lost causes. Come with me then, I will take you to his altar. You may have to wait a while though.”

“That’s fine. I don’t have anything else to do really.”

And, hopefully, he would send me back home and that would be the end of this unintended trip. I hoped it would not take too long. To Margaux, I would have just disappeared on my way to work. She was probably worried sick. It would do her no good in her condition.

The priest led me to what must have been the main room of the temple but looked like any living room. There was a table and some chairs were placed around it and around the hearth. It was not particularly big, though at least nobody was sleeping here at the present. The man showed me a seat and told me to watch the fireplace. “You are the first petitioner,” he said, “so as soon as you see a light above it, you can come closer and ask the God your questions.” I thanked him and settled down to wait.

A few people were cleaning the room. One Pterar, who looked younger than Inrak, was showing something to some kids gathered around him. Finally, after maybe twenty minutes — and wasn’t I glad that my watch had stopped working after my initial fall, a white light materialized above the mantel.

As I got up, the light seemed to grow bigger and bigger, until it engulfed the whole room. Then, in a flash, another room appeared. It was a cozy study, with shelves of books against the wall that went up to the ceiling. The floor was covered by a green carpet. An old man was sitting in an armchair. He had white hair, wrinkles on his forehead and a bunch of pockmarks on his cheeks. He motioned me to the seat in front of him.

“Hello, Luc,” he said in a deep voice. “Welcome to my House.”

“You know who I am?” I asked, startled. That was a stupid question. He was a God. Obviously he knew who I was. But the God just smiled.

“You came into my home to ask for my help, and so I know a few things about you. But please, tell me, why are you here today?”

I took a breath and tried not to look to tense. I had to think of this as a job interview. Shoulders down, don’t play with your hands. Look him in the eyes and be articulate.

“Well, sir, I am not from this world, and I would like to go home. It happened yesterday. One moment I was walking into my office and the next I was falling in the harbour of Sturron. I don’t know how or why. To be honest, I don’t really care at this point. I just want to go home. My life is there. My wife is pregnant. I was told that you were the one to turn to. Can you help me, sir?”

The God Pamasteron watched me. I could not read any expression on his face. Then he shook his head slowly and my heart fell.

“I am sorry, Luc,” he said. “I cannot send you back. I felt your arrival here, we all did. But if any of my brethren caused it, I do not know whom. Nobody claimed it. We even had a meeting about it, if you must know.”

“So what, you can’t do anything at all?” I asked, despair creeping into my voice.

“In terms of sending you to your world, no, I cannot. And I would bet that no other God can either. This does not smell like one of their machinations. I am sorry, Luc. Truly.”

I felt like the sky had crashed on my head. If no God could help me, then who could?

“The Portal Mages!” I shouted. “Can they do it, maybe? A Goblin told me they can teleport people great distances.”

Pamasteron pondered my question, seemingly unbothered by my yelling.

“Aether Mages, you mean. I wonder. In theory, if both our worlds were connected to the Aether, it could be possible. But your Earth has no magic at all so it seems doubtful to me. And I know of no mage capable of such a feat. Still, it would probably be your best bet. It is the only magic that deals with the Aether.”

I sat back, frowning. How did he know the name of Earth and that it had no magic? I had only spoken to Inrak about it. When I asked him just that, he only chuckled.

“You come from another world, Luc. This is not something that happens. About a third of us had an ear in that bookshop yesterday, myself included. It was most interesting.”

This left me slightly unsettled, but it was far from the priority at the moment.

“So what do I do?” I asked. “How do I get back home?”

The God looked at me with pity in his eyes.

“I do not know. I am sorry. If you are absolutely determined, you could try to learn Aether magic. But truthfully, I do not believe you will ever succeed in travelling to another world. You may not want to hear this now, but I think you will have to come to terms with the fact that you are stuck here and make the best of it. You are a man of finance, coming from a magic-less world that likely was far more advanced than this world is in many ways. You could become a man of power and riches. I would help you if that is the path you so chose. In accordance with our Laws, I would grant you levels in the Accountant class equals to your knowledge of the field. You would instantly become one of the highest leveled of the Finances and Bookkeeping classes in the city. You could have a great life.”

For half a second, I entertained the idea. To become powerful in this world would certainly mean having access to magic I could not even guess at. But a great life here would not bring me back to Margaux and our future child.

“I want to go back home,” I told the God. “I will do anything.”

The smile he gave me was so sad it terrified me. It was the smile of a man that had seen many hearts broken and lives lost and who could do nothing but pick up the pieces afterwards. It was the smile of a God who knew I would fail.

“So be it,” he declared. He seemed to sit straighter and an aura of power emerged out of him. “This is the path you have chosen. It will not be an easy one and you will not achieve it alone. I will do my part today. I am restricted by our Laws, but nobody will gainsay my right to do this.”

Suddenly, a voice sounded in my head. Tears filled my eyes. It was a voice I knew perfectly. The voice of my wife.

*You have gained the Class Aether Mage.*

She continued.

*You have gained the Class Student. You have reached the level 1 of the Class Student. You have gained the Skill Fast Learner.*

It took me a moment to gather myself. I had not expected to hear Margaux’s voice. It was such a beautiful voice too. It carried every emotion she had like ripples on a lake. She could not lie, my love, though she often tried at cards. But you just had to look at her and shake your head and she would start laughing and admit everything. She was so bad at it. It was adorable. I missed her so much.

Pamasteron cleared his throat and I got out of my own head.

“A mage normally starts with the generalist Mage Class before specializing between level 10 and 20,” he said. “This will aid you to begin your quest. You will still have to learn the basics though, and the other magics will be harder for you to grasp. The Fast Learner Skill is very useful to acquire and retain new information. It will help you greatly.”

“Thank you, Pamasteron,” I said, sincerely. Even if he had not sent me back, at least he had put me on the first steps.

“You are welcome, Luc. I will keep an eye on you. Do not hesitate to come back and see me. There are some limitations on the advice I can give, but they are far less stringent than the Laws concerning direct intervention.”

As he finished his sentence, the room around us became light again. Suddenly, I was back in the temple. More people were present now, and one stood up and looked at me. Oh right. It was their turn now.

In a daze, I traversed the now empty corridor and left the building. But as I looked out at the sky, I stopped and sat next to the door, my back against the wall. I stayed there for a while. I did not meditate. I could not manage the concentration. I just breathed and watched the street. People of various species were coming and going. My head was empty. I could not even think.

After a while, I got up. Nothing had settled yet and my mind was still full of fog, but I had to move. I found my way back to Inrak’s bookshop. She was entertaining a customer so I browsed the books without really looking at them. How was I going to learn to do something that baffled even the Gods of this world? I had to get to that University, surely they could help me. But would they? I didn’t have the years and the money it probably took to enroll and study there. Perhaps I could tell them who I was and where I came from, but I would just become a curiosity wouldn’t I? If they even believed me. I had no illusions about it. They would just squeeze me for all the information I could give them about Earth and technology. And if they bothered teaching me anything at all about Aether magic, what could I truly learn there if no present portal mage could travel to another world? Should have I taken Pamasteron’s offer to set me up with a high level in an Accountant Class? Should I just give up? Forget my old life, my wife, my family, my friends, and just accept this new, strange one?

“You came back!”

Inrak’s yell pushed me out of my contemplation. She was standing behind me, the customer having left without my realizing.

“Well? What happened?”

“Pamasteron can’t send me back. He said he doesn’t know how I arrived and that no God has the power to reverse it.” I told her the rest, about his proposal and the Classes he ended up gifting me. I also told her of my doubts about going to the University to beg for their help.

“I don’t know what to do, Inrak. I don’t know how I am going to get back home,” I finished.

“I am sorry, Luc.” she said. “I had hoped that the Gods could help you. As for your new Classes...”

She paced up and down, humming. “You are correct that the University is not so easy an answer to your problems. Some students and mages are regular customers here. I talk with them. I believe that the instant they discovered your origins, you would become a pawn in their power plays. It is one of the best centre of knowledge on this continent, but I do not believe you are ready yet. But I may be able to help after all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, even if you don’t have the Class, you are a bookkeeper. A great one according to the Gods.”

“I’m just a normal accountant. That was just his way of helping me.”

“Nevertheless,” she replied. “It may surprise you to learn this, but I am not particularly fond of the managerial side of this shop. I just like collecting and well, I need to sell some of them to buy new ones. Besides, I am getting older and I was thinking of getting an assistant to do some menial chores. So you could stay and work here in this shop. I would share my food and even provide you with a small stipend if you are as good as the God thought. You can’t be worse than I am anyway.”

I was touched by her offer. I don’t know where I would be if I had not found her shop yesterday. But there was a problem.

“Thank you, Inrak. It is kind of you. But I need to learn Aether magic to go home. How will I do that?”

“Hmm… It is not that kind,” she laughed. “You have not seen my accounts yet. And you did not listen well. As I said, I have many books about magic in store for some students and professors at Winory, and even a few mages here in Sturron. If you worked here, you could read everything to your heart’s content. It will probably not be enough, but it is a start, no?”

I thought about it. In a way, I did not have much of a choice. It was that or finding enough money to pay to join a convoy to the University and putting myself at the mercy of the mages there. Here a least I would have some time to learn more about this world and the magic. Could I do it in two months though? I doubted it. Still. This appeared to be the only way I could do it at all.

I bowed to Inrak like she had shown me yesterday.

“It is a start. Thank you, Inrak. I accept your proposal.”

She cooed gleefully.

“Excellent! I will show you where everything is today. Most of the magic books are upstairs. We will select a few of the basic ones and I will see if I have anything about Aether magic. It is not the most common one, but I should at least find something. And you will manage my money! This will be great!”

I thanked her again, though I could not match her enthusiasm. How long would it take me to find a way home? Months? Years? A lifetime?