Mariel’s consciousness slowly returned from the abyss. Her body felt very hot, but also stiff and unresponsive. Opening her eyes, all she could see was a haze that slowly materialized into a lumber roof she did not recognize. Her head felt heavy, but she managed to turn it sideways to see what was around her. She was in a bed, inside an unfamiliar lumber built room. Over by the lit fireplace, she saw her clothes hung neatly upon a line with a wooden tub placed underneath to catch the moisture.

“Mommy! Mommy! The stranger is awake!” A young voice shouted outside of her vision, and the sound of footsteps approached. Her heart raced at the prospect of being in an unfamiliar place, unable to move and apparently, without clothes.

A young girl, along with what appeared to be her mother and her father appeared in the nearby doorway. She was expecting them to be human, but discovered to her surprise their hair was light blue and their eyes shone in green for the child, and a mix of green and azure.

“I’m glad you’ve come to, kinsmaiden…” The man spoke, while making a gesture akin to a greeting. “You are down with a fever. Last night we woke to a series of tremendous explosions and rushed outside. We saw the sky was in turmoil, and crackling with magical energy.”

“I saw you fall from the sky!” The little girl exclaimed with awe in her voice.

“Yes, we searched for hours and by the time we found you, you were suffering from hypothermia… It’s quite a miracle you survived…”

“But, where am I?” Mariel interjected.

“This is Rafnas, a small village along the western slope of the Whitepeak ridge…”

“Whitepeak ridge?”

“Lady? Don’t you know where that is? Even I know that!” The little girl puffed out her chest in a moment of educated pride. “This is the demon continent of course!”

“The what?” Mariel’s eyes widened.

“Um, demon continent? Didn’t you hear me?”

“I did… Sorry, it’s just that…”

The woman sat down on the bedside next to her and tucked the sheets in properly. “Where did you come from dear?”

“The human continent…”

The astonishment on their faces was plain to see. After a moment of pause, the young girl said:

“I think the lady is telling the truth…”

“But still, that seems incredible… I’ve never heard of such an occurrence before… Then again, I cannot deny the possibility.” The man rubbed his chin while keeping his gaze well on the woman.

“I was raised there, and lived a very safe and happy life… Though you might not believe it.” Mariel sighed weakly.

“Then…” The girl leant closer. “Are you scared now? You are so far from home everything… I would really be scared, but you seem so calm.”

“I’m terrified. No really, I’m scared and confused inside… But, having you here is very calming… You are a sweet child, what’s your name?”

“Serani! And this is my mommy, Hiva.”

“Hi.” Hiva smiled while wiping the sweat from Mariel’s face with a small cloth.

“And my daddy, Corwil.”

“Welcome to our home.”

The mother finished up and removed the small bowl of water by the bedside. The three smiled and left her alone to rest up. After a short while, Mariel’s eyes became very heavy, and her mind slowly drifted into the warm embrace of slumber.

By the time she woke up, it was already mid-day, and the sun stood high in the sky. Her body did not cooperate with her still, but the family members passed through the room several times to keep her company.

Serani had been told to look after Mariel and help wherever she could. She had brought her some soup. The two ate together while looking at Serani’s rock collection of which the child was quite proud.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Serani looked at her while putting her rocks back into the leather pouch she carried them in.

“Sure, what do you want to know about?”

“The human continent! I’ve heard all sorts of awful stories about it, but since you are here, could you tell me about it? How it is to live there, and what’s the land like?” Is it made of lava and ash where evil spirits consume my kin for all meals of the day?

Mariel shook her head and shared her experiences. She explained the human continent was as diverse a as the demon continent. She quickly refuted some of Serani’s questions about whether or not humans consumed demon flesh as a delicacy, and if it was true that young children were turned into monsters by brandt manipulation. In the next barrage of questions, she covered how it was to live there as a different person and using careful wording when it came time to talk about slavery and torture.

“So they have a collar? A metal ring? That goes around your neck and make you dead? Weird?” Serani gasped and stroked her throat gently. “That sounds terrible! Is it magical? What’s it made of?”

Mariel was about to relate what Siravin had told her, but bit her lip. The gruesome nature she judged would be unnecessary, and instead explained it was a magical metal, that was very rare and sought-after.

“Has there been any other news about people like me appearing in the sky lately?” Mariel thought of Siravin and her parents and asked the question without thinking.

“Not that I know of… There were several loud noises so I guess? But why? Did you have any friends that got sucked in too?””

Mariel nodded and told Serani about her family and her newly found friend Siravin.

“Are you two a couple?” Serani asked in the manner that only a child would. Mariel shook her head.

“No, we barely know each other really, he’s nice but really mysterious and I can’t quite figure him out.”

“Oh well, I hope whoever he is, that he’s okay.”

“I do too.” Mariel sighed.

Another day went by as Mariel regained enough health to head outside. The small village Rafnas was a secluded village located along a mountain ridge justifying its name. A long path led down to the forests below, which stretched deep down a valley with high, sheer mountain on both sides. Another path led deeper into the mountains where the locals cut great blocks of ice and caught some rare variant of fish from a vast mountain lake for export.

Immediately after stepping outside, Mariel had been greeted by what appeared to be the entire village. The tightly packed crowd had then begun to bombard her with questions and words of admiration. A pair of mothers had even tried to introduce her to their eldest sons. Nearly enveloped by the crowd, she was hastily rescued by one who appeared to be a village elder and dragged into his house, shutting the curious crowd outside.

“I apologize child… It’s quite rare we receive any visitors out here, even less one that falls from the sky… You must forgive my village’s curiosity.” The elder led her into his living room and bade her sit in a comfortable leather chair by his fireplace.

“I, understand my arrival must have caused an uproar… I apologize.” She sank down into the chair.

“Dear, we have a visitor! Could you perhaps bring us some tea and refreshments?” The elder shouted before continuing.

“Now then… I would like to hear your tale.”

Mariel began to recount what had happened. This time she spared none of the more gruesome details, and the elder’s face reflected equal sadness and disgust over the terrible event. In the middle of her tale, the elder’s wife, an older woman with a very warm and caring smile brought them some yellow tea and jam-filled pastries. Both listened with deep interest as she covered the procedure of the spell cast and what had occurred afterwards. She finished up by describing her new friend and her family, earning nods of approval from both.

“Blood sacrifice eh? It is true that our kind first came up with it as a way to strengthen our authority back when our society was not nearly as advanced as it is now…” The elder mumbled to himself.

“Oh my poor dear… I hope your adoptive family is well… And that friend of yours too, Siravin was it?”

She nodded.

“I think you should travel down the valley to Rhonvel. It is the big port on the horizon, if any others fell out close by, they would have been brought there, especially so if they were humans.” The elder smiled before continuing. “But, you are also a fair young lady, and I would hate to see you hurt… You are of course welcome to stay here… We will get you a place to stay and soon, you’ll find yourself a gentle mate to settle down with?”

Mariel blinked. A part of her wanted nothing more than to stay in the village. A safe place without violence and oppression. She could make a future, settle down and live the happy life her family had always wished for her. But in order to do so, she would have to give up on everything and everyone she knew and loved.

“I… Will consider it…” She mumbled.

“Splendid! As always, please do not hesitate to ask for help! I will provide any assistance I can.” The elder placed his hand gently on her shoulder. “I know it’s difficult for you to decide, but we will respect any answer you give us, so take your time.”

She nodded, and the three spent some time idly chatting about whatever would come up as a topic.