October 31, 2020 - Near Nevada, Iowa

It had only been about two weeks since Hadrian had arrived in this place, but he felt fairly comfortable. Before they had all abandoned the town like rats from a sinking ship, the citizens had accepted him fairly well. Given everything else that had happened since he had emerged from a tear in the fabric of reality, Hadrian had to say that the humans here were quite accepting of his differences. Or at least most of them were.

He shook that thought aside and glanced over at the human that accompanied him on his patrol. Rock was a more than capable companion and had seemed to be adapting well to the changes in his life. He was searching the fields on his side of the patrol path with a grim expression on his face. With the reins in one hand, his other held a shotgun that rested on one thigh.

Hadrian was armed with his trusty sword and a second shotgun. Though he hadn’t quite obtained any expertise with the weapon, it hardly required accuracy. He had to admit that guns were a powerful weapon, but he wasn’t sure how they’d stand up to the weaves that the elves could bring to bear.

It was closing in on dawn when they crossed the highway moving quickly now to swing south along the path of their patrol. They had been completing the patrol circuit twice daily for the past week. The Azmaelans had solidified their hold around the Rift and built a damn city almost overnight. The orckin was determined to keep an eye on the elves as closely as possible. As the horses finished crossing the highway, the sharp clop of their horses changing to a soft thump, there was a rustle of sound and a human with a gun stood up from a small clump of brush. His horse snorted and tossed its head, but the other horse panicked, half rearing and shrilling out a neigh.

Rock fought for control as the strangely dressed man kept his gun trained on Hadrian. The stranger’s face was painted in smears of green and black and his voice was rough and clipped with a strange accent. “Hands where I can see ‘em. Both of ya.”

Hadrian lifted both hands, one still holding the reins.

Rock growled out, “You’ll have to bare with me a moment, you spooked the damn horse.” Finally he had the horse under control and he raised both hands, letting the shotgun rest across his thighs.

“You know,” Rock said after looking the stranger up and down. “I expected to see you guys a lot sooner.”

“Stow your weapons please, sirs.” The stranger said. “We’ve got you covered.” He nodded toward what Hadrian could now see was another pair of soldiers behind the horses. “The captain would like to speak with you, if you’ll follow us.”

Hadrian looked to Rock for an explanation and the young man nodded his head. “We’ll be happy to come with you, Corporal. It’s okay, Hadrian. This is our army.”

The orckin felt a swirl of relief sweep through him at the words. The others had been so certain the military would come eventually and here it was.

The corporal made a couple of silent gestures and the two other soldiers turned away. “Right this way.”

They followed the corporal for about thirty minutes, heading south and slightly east before they came to a stand of trees. It was more than just a windbreak, but not enough to be called a proper forest. More it was a patch of scrub brush and trees that encompassed around a half acre of land. Inside the treeline, scattered in bare patches of ground were numerous low slung camouflaged tents. Most of the soldiers were near the edges of the copse, keeping an eye out for enemies. In the middle was a man in his mid thirties, clean shaved, with close cropped brown hair. He was looking over a topographical map of the area. The corporal led Hadrian and Rock right to the captain and his map.

“Sir, we found a couple of locals on patrol this morning.”

“They’ve set up patrols?” The captain said, standing up. “Holy shit, if the locals are running patrols, what in the hell have we walked into?” He didn’t wait for a response, instead he just gestured for them to join him on the ground around the topographical map. “Sit, sit. Tell me about what happened.”

Rock looked at Hadrian, then looked back at the captain.

The captain smiled and offered a hand. “I’m sorry. I’m Captain James. And you are?”

“Dr. Alan Stone,” He took the hand and shook it. “Phd, not MD.”

“Commander Hadrian Tien of the Ograkillian Army.” Hadrian said.

“I hate to be rude, Commander, but what are you and what the hell is the Ograkillian Army?”

Rock sighed. “He’s orckin. Listen. It’ll all make sense, or at least more sense, once you hear the whole story.”

Hadrian shook his head. “I don’t think it makes much sense at all, but it is the truth and we must live with it.”

“Hadrian isn’t from here.” Rock said.

“Obviously.” The captain's voice was droll.

“I guess it started in his world. There was an army..” Rock trailed off. “Why don’t you tell it, Hadrian?”

“For generations, the Azmaelan Empire has been the enemy of Ograkill. This was just the latest campaign in a long series of them.” Hadrian began. “The High Commander had led us to routing the remains of them Empire and we were chasing them down with the hope of capturing them and putting a stop to the madness. They ran toward what we call the Wild Weaves, which lay at the border of the Outlands. We thought they were going to put up a last stand or even flee into those dangerous lands.” He shook his head. “Instead their spellweavers wove a spell of such power and intensity that it ripped a hole in the very Weaves themselves. Somehow that hole let the Azmaelans flee through it and unfortunately I was trapped here with them.”

“Rock witnessed the opening of the rift and the arrival of the Azmaelan Empire. I was, of course, greatly outnumbered. It seems I was the only soldier who was trapped on this side. I saw no sign of others.Only the Azmaelans.”

When Hadrian stopped speaking, Rock immediately picked up the narrative. “At first they just barricaded themselves around the Rift. They shot people who got too close with bows and arrows. Nothing huge. The police tried talking to them. They refused. It was the next night that everything changed. The local news had been covering the events. There was a blast and the power went out. Cellphones died. Cars stopped working.” Rock shook his head. “That’s when they started using magic. It was over pretty quick after that. Police gone. Almost everyone in Nevada left within a few days. Then the Imperials built a fortress around the rift. We’ve kept an eye on them since, but they’ve only really been sending out scouts since then.”

The captain went from attentively listening to looking incredulous to complete disbelief. When Rock stopped talking, he was silent for only a bare moment. “Okay, your cosplaying friend aside, you expect us to believe that this all stems from a Rift to another world?”

“I know how unbelievable it sounds, but it is the truth. Listen, it’s not really safe out here. We’re pretty close to the Rift and their city. Why don’t you and your men join us at the farm tonight? It’d be a better place for you to set up your base and Hadrian knows the Azmaelans better than anyone. He can definitely give you insight about their tactics and weaknesses.”

The captain looked from one of them to the other. “This is ridiculous.”

“Suit yourself, captain. Believe it or disbelieve it, this is the world we find ourselves in.” Hadrian said. “I understand your reluctance to believe what has happened. There are things that we can show you that will help you come to terms with the new way of things.”

The captain got to his feet, pacing in short laps in front of the two men. Finally he heaved a breath. “Fine, we’ll be there after dark. It’s probably not wise to move our soldiers in the daylight this close to the enemy.”

“That makes sense. We’ll let the others know you’re coming.” Rock said.

“Can I send a couple of soldiers with you to scout a site for us?”

Hadrian nodded his head, “Good plan, captain.”

“Corporal, find me Jump and Miller. Jones, escort these two to the perimeter and wait for Jump and Miller.”

“Yes, sir!” Came two almost simultaneous responses.

Jones was apparently the taller of the two and he led Rock and Hadrian to the edge of the patch of brush. Once they were out of earshot, the captain began an intense discussion with the two soldiers he would be sending along with them.

Jump was a young woman, probably early twenties, with light brown hair and a cheerful smile. Miller was a dour man in his upper thirties with a pencil thin mustache and surprisingly, greying black hair. Both were built like soldiers and carrying the appropriate gear by the time they made their way over to Hadrian and Rock.

After a round of introductions, Hadrian helped Jump climb up behind him and Miller mounted up behind Rock. The trip back to the acreage took much longer than the trip to the soldier’s camp. Once they had crossed the highway, all four dismounted and rested the horses. There had been idle conversation throughout the ride, despite their diligent attention to their surroundings, but after they passed the highway, Hadrian and Rock relaxed somewhat.

Miller kept an obvious distance from the horses once he was allowed to dismount. His dark eyes were constantly moving, taking in the scenery. “So nothing works around here?” He asked after a while.

“Nothing that had any sort of electronics in it.” Rock answered.

“They’re calling it the Null Zone.” Jump said, glancing back over her shoulder with a wide grin. “Sounds like we’re in a comic book or something.”

“This whole thing feels like a comic book or a story to me.” Rock admitted. “It’s like we’ve been thrown back in time or something.” He shook his head. “We’ve been milking cows by hand for fuck’s sake.”

Jump laughed. “Sounds absolutely primitive.”

“It’s actually been kind of nice to be honest. You don’t realize how much free time you really have until all of the electronics have died.” Rock said. “Though I have to admit, we were really lucky all things considered.”

“Lucky?” Miller asked.

“Yeah, lucky. We weren’t in a city, solely reliant on grocery stores.”

“Dame Gwendolyn grows a great variety of vegetables and fruits. She puts up quite a lot of preserves in the fall. We’ve been helping her put away the last of this year’s harvestable goods the past couple of days. The neighbors left much of their stock in her capable hands when they left for the city.” Hadrian said.

“They left for the city?” Jump asked.

“Almost everyone has. I’m not sure what happened over in Ames and the smaller towns around, I haven’t really checked on them. I’ve been more concerned with the locals.” Rock said. “We’ve been working around the clock securing and fortifying the acreage. We’ve been trying to bring in as many extra supplies as we can manage. We’ve actually been expecting someone to come, preparing for it even.”

“Really?” Miller said, dropping back to walk next to Rock.

“Hadrian decided to stay around because he’s really the only one who knows anything about the Empire. He thought waiting for the cavalry to arrive would be the best way to ensure that whatever response the military makes would be wholly appropriate.”

“I see.” Miller’s tone was more serious.

“I’ve been involved in multiple campaigns against the Azmaelan Empire. I thought that my experience would be helpful for the military of this world.” Hadrian said.

“So you’re no shit, for real, not human?” Jump asked, “I couldn’t see any signs of makeup or latex or anything while I was riding with you.”

As always, Hadrian’s face seemed made for frowning, the fierce shape of it, the lower fangs lending it a certain amount of threat. “I am indeed not human. My kind are known as orckin.”

“So you’re an orc?” Jump asked.

Hadrian’s greenish-tinted ears flicked and his red-brown eyes narrowed. “No. I am not an orc. I am orckin.”

“What’s the difference?” She asked, her tone curious. She winced, “I mean, if you don’t mind answering.”

Hadrian’s wide nostrils flared and for a moment he thought about not answering, Instead he said, “We can trace our ancestry back to the orcs, but we are not orcs. Just as the elfkin that the Imperials have brought with them are not elves.” He sighed heavily, ears drooping. “If we can liberate the elfkin…” He trailed off.