I look at him for a moment before standing from the sand and water that had bathed me, following behind him as the coarse sand slowly gives way to soft dirt, not that I can actually feel it. It seems to be more of a phantom sensation, the idea that I knew what it felt like rather than actually feeling it, the faint sensations filled in with memory. “My name is Carl, I’ve lived in the nearby village my entire life. Those girls you saw earlier, that was Kate and her friends. We’ve been friends since childhood. She runs a barber there, though I don’t suppose you’ll ever need a haircut.”

I chuckle a little at that before taking in the woods around us. The wood seems damp almost, very humid like forest on Earth. There are forms of life around me that are exotic, cupcake shaped mushrooms that colours allure so easily, and birds coloured on completely opposite ends of the spectrum flying in pairs. It's so beautiful. Then I hear it, a tune, the most wonderful tune, pulling on me like I am but a string that someone is tugging in their direction.

My newfound friend’s voice fades away slowly as I begin to step towards the beautiful sound, then a hand touches my side and I whip around to face my friend once more. He looks concerned, and his eyes dart to me and then behind me, apprehension seems to cloud his eyes as he opens his mouth to speak, “I wouldn’t go that way if I were you, or anyone.”

I look at him, eyeing him warily as he begins to walk away before I decide to ask, “Why not?”

He stops and looks at me for a moment, clearly trying to decide whether or not to tell me before giving me a nod in the direction I was walking in. “Your species were defeated when the hive mind was destroyed, but some things still remain active. That over there is one of the remaining active artefacts which we would like to destroy but…”

He looks down at the ground behind me for a moment, and I see him gulp down a good amount of saliva as he looks back up, “There are many mines surrounding the artefacts, and for that reason we can’t get to them.” I stand for a moment and complement how close I just was to possible, and likely death. “Come on, we're close to the village now, it’s not far.”

As I appreciate my surroundings once more I find myself surprised at the tree bark, it seems darker and greener than any of the tree bark from… Earth? Just where exactly was I now? “What trees are these?”

Carl gives me a funny look before gesturing to the forest around us, “These trees are what the Lyventian continent is known for, in fact this was where one of the greatest battles between our kinds was fought, not that there weren’t other battles here as well. It was here that we fought the Great Battle of Guilgenheigm.” “Guilgenheigm?”

Carl is about to continue when he looks up, before turning back to me and announcing, “We’re here.” I begin to walk forward again, wondering why he still hasn’t moved yet when the sight greets me. Ahead of us is nothing but fire and smoke, a village straight out of mediaeval times stares us in the face, and we arrived just in time for the raiding. Outside the blackened and charred huts there were women and men alike crying out, beaten and broken.

Children stand lifelessly, chained together in straight lines, their eyes locked onto bodies scattered throughout the village which were now being gathered and thrown into a pit. To me, the sight was all too familiar, with the exception of child slavery that is. Next to me I hear a muffled cry and quickly dive down and take Carl with me, covering his mouth with my hand, while pushing a slender metal finger to my face, trying my best to signal him to be quiet. He stares at my blank metal slate of a face for a moment before shaking his head as tears streak down his face, and just barely I can make out a name as he whimpers, “Kate.”