My fingers, moving slowly, they try to grasp the roots above. With bleeding nails, I fight against the currents of luminous waters below. The eternal river, light that never fades, one who drinks even an ounce loses his mortality forever.

My greed brought me here, now I might be destined to drown, until the end of time.

"Help..." - Were my last weak words, before I let go of hope. My last call was nowhere to be heard.

At least, that's what I thought. Nothing existed in the wells of aether, and nobody could follow me. These rivers would only carry me deeper until I would reach the primordial ocean. My vision quickly faded.

"Why are your eyes closed?" - A faint voice of a small boy echoed in my aching skull. - "What happened?"

"Leave him, Marc." - Another feminine voice joined. - "It's an Earthbound."

"Goodbye, Earthbound." - The boy said, and his voice disappeared.

I woke up, in a fishing net, on a shore of blue orchids. The first image I saw, was two blue suns setting on the horizon, behind the lilac clouds. My return was no longer possible, the infinite celestial vault separated divine planes from temporal realms of existence.

Eternity, bound me to this place with its shackles, but I marched on with my head up high, giving up my old names and titles. From now on, the Earthbound was what would they call me.

---

Strolling across the meadows of tall, blue grass, I came across a ring of stones. Aether fairies danced around or rested on the heavy slabs. Were they dangerous? I hoped not, their enthralling appearance caught my attention.

Slender, translucent figures acted like a prism – where the colors of the rainbow settled, flowers would bloom at an instant. Their six wings carried glittery dust with an otherworldly smell of vanilla-scented rain.

I carried on, slowly, as If not to scare them, but they paid me no heed.

At least, not until I reached the altar of the ring, where a mass of fairies sat with their faces turned to the stone, murmuring softly.

That's when I noticed it, a hanging, bleeding hand. That's when I broke in a cold sweat and panicked. That's when they sensed fear. They no longer were interested in their poor victim, but instead turned, with their vile mouths wide open, in a crooked smile. With their sharp teeth dripping with blood, with their black sclera directed at me.

So I ran.

So they pursued.

Their entire hive, biting at my arms, legs, neck, and cheeks. Feasting on my perpetually regenerating, immortal body.

The pain was immeasurable and I wanted to drop, but If I did, my fate would be sealed. I ran through the plains and through the hills. Day and night, night and day, it would never go away.

I vaguely remember spotting six lights far in the night sky, the fairies halted and would not go near. They stared at me with bloodthirsty hatred, while I dropped, crawling and crying, begging for rescue.

“Shoo... shoo...!” - Her croaky, harsh voice was more pleasant to hear, than even the concert of the monster with a hundred arms. My savior, an old, hunchbacked hag thrashing with a walking stick.

“Thank you! Thank you!” - I grabbed the hem of her patched dress, wiping my tears with her soap-smelling cloth.

“Now, now... stop lamenting. You'll make Grandma's skirt soaked.” - Her rebuke lacked any form of kindness or understanding, but I was forever grateful. I couldn't let go, so she pulled herself out. - “My, my... what a clingy son. Don't you have any respect for personal space?”

“I'm sorry, ma'am.”

“Don't call me that, call me Grandma.”

I didn't delve into why. Her request was sacred to me.

“You smell like an Earthbound.” - Grandma spoke. - “You one?”

“I... I might be.”

“No wonder you don't know the paths.”

She sounded dismissive, but I firmly believed in her compassion. Yet, it felt like anything I would say to her, would sound like an excuse, so I said nothing.

She simply headed back to her lone home.

I simply took the same path.

“Earthbound, are you following me?” - She soon screamed, almost piercing my eardrums.

I couldn't look her in the eyes, feeling ashamed by being in her mere presence. It was no wonder, that my voice remained silent.

“Are you trying to rob an old Grandma, or what!?” - She inquired, she wouldn't leave it be.

“No, I would never do such a thing to Grandma.”

“Then why are you sneaking like a luckless rat with holes in his pocket!?”

“I... I...”

“Stop stuttering and answer me like a man!”

“I have nowhere to go. I thought... you might...”

“Oh, for heaven's sake! Speak louder! I can barely hear you!”

“Can I stay with you!?” - I stated, bluntly.

She lifted her wrinkled eyelids and examined me, like If she tried to estimate the value of some merchandise. - “Can you work?”

“Yes, ma'am! I'll work hard to repay my debt to you!”

“Oh, son! Don't even think about it!! You are not indebted to me!” - She protested, rather firmly, then added in a demanding tone. - “You want to stay here? Be prepared to pull your own weight, and a little more on top of that. It ain't a charity.”

“Of course!”

“...and the day I see you lazing off, is the day you're gone, understand!?”

“Understood!”

“Good. For your information - If you fancy some sleep, Earthbound, rest in the shed. I have no bed for you.”

The earthly physiology was no longer my concern, yet the tiredness from running weighed on me. I accepted the offer, unsure what the next day will bring.

---

Six months have passed. Unbeknownst to me, the fated day had come. The day that in the future, would shape the realms beyond the impenetrable veil.

“Son!” - Grandma grumbled over my bed, as she tended to in the mornings.

“A few minutes, please.” - I said as I turned on my back, only to have my face smacked by a cane.

“Not even seconds for you, ingrate!”

“Ouch! What's that for!?”

“You only eat, then sleep all day. It's time you did some work!”

“...but Grandma, I'm working! I move hay bales, I dig waterways, I even clean your toilet!”

“That's not a work! That's merely a common courtesy!” - She smacked me again, but harder, in the skull.

“How cleaning toilets is a common courtesy!?”

“Don't argue with the Grandma!” - She was ready to smack me again, but resigned once she saw me pleadingly shielding myself with my arms.

“Okay, okay! I'll work, just don't hit me!”

“Good, come.”

She led me to her house and left the door open, but I was reluctant to enter. I was not allowed there.

“Are you waiting for me to smack you again!? Come inside!!” - She shouted.

Her home looked just like I imagined it. Nothing, but an old women's house. Dusty, cluttered with sentimental junk. I entered the hall where Grandma waited, noticing spools of cyan yarn, aether fiber, a spinning wheel, and a loom.

“Sit.” - She instructed. - “You will weave.”

“...but ...I don't know how!”

“Stupid! I will teach you obviously!”

Although I used to be a student of the arcane, the sight of machinery was overwhelming to me. If not for the guiding hand of Grandma, I would be never able to figure out their functions, let alone even prepare the yarn for weaving.

Slowly, I would learn, and Grandma would throw more and more demanding tasks at me. Knots in aether cloth became more intricate, and new restrictions were put on me.

Yet, I didn't know, what I weave for. Months passed, until one day, Grandma approached me in silence, simply uttering. - “I have nothing else to teach you.”

That's when I finally mustered the courage, to ask. - “...but Grandma, I don't even know, what are we weaving!”

“Ohh! You stupid, incompetent brat!” - She smacked me with the cane, twice. - “All this time, and you did not comprehend the magnitude of responsibility that was thrown at you!”

“Oh, sorry Grandma, sorry! I shouldn't have asked!”

She smacked me again, in the skull. She knew well that it was where I hated it the most. - “YOU SHOULD'VE ASKED, A LONG TIME AGO.”

“Sorry, Grandma! Sorry!”

“You weaved souls! Thousands of them! They floated to the upper planes. To be born, to live, and to die and return to fiber.”

“What!?” - I was shocked, but my shock was nothing compared to Grandma's disappointment. She just sat in her chair, exhausted, and began pondering.

“Earthbound. My role in your journey is over. It saddens me, but you must leave.”

It was the first time that Grandma showed a hint of care about me, the first time she came apart.

“...but Grandma! I can still work!” - I protested, that place was my only safe haven.

“Oh, you stup... you youngster. You need to fly, while you still have wings. You were never of any use to me here, but If you put an effort, the fate of countless worlds will be molded by your hands.”

“Grandma! Don't toss me out!” - I begged.

“I'm not tossing you out, moron!” - She stood up, waving her stick in anger. - “I'm sending you to get a real job!”

“...but I thought...”

“Shut up! You think too much! Everybody wants to think, nobody wants to work! I bet you were a so-called thinker your whole miserable Earthbound life!”

She kind of had me. I wasn't a fan of physical labor. What could I say?

Grandma moved a hand to her purse and took out an envelope. “Here. Have this letter! Don't lose it.”

“What is it, Grandma?”

“I'm sending you to a friend, you'll start an apprenticeship.”

“Apprenticeship?”

“You're as dense as a brick, aren't you? Do I need to spell it out for you? A-P-P-R-E-N-T-I-C-E-S-H-I-P. Do you know what it is?”

“I... have a vague idea, but why?”

“Ohh...” - Grandma rolled her eyes. - “...don't make me repeat myself. Just... get out!”

“...but”

“GET OUT!!!”

...and so, I got out. The next morning, Grandma found me sleeping in the shed and it was not until she beat me until I bled, that I got to explain myself.

I still didn't know where to go.