A Journey of 1k Miles Begins with a Single Step

It had been a rather long day for Zhāng at Massachusetts General Hospital where he had just started as an entry level physician-scientist after having graduated from Harvard's medical school. However, after what seemed like an eternity, his day had finally come to a close, at least for that day. So, he bade farewell to his fellow residents and headed off to the hospital's parking lot, intending to have a nice quiet night of relaxation before turning in for the night. However, little did he know that fate, that cruel and fickle mistress, had other more intricate plans for him...ones that would change his life forever...in a very permanent sort of way.

Everything seemed fine for the time being, however, so he had no reason to suspect that anything strange and unexpected was going to happen to him. So, he was just driving along on the route to his medium sized bachelor digs when, all of a sudden, a thick mist...or fog rather started to roll in, obscuring his vision. He tried everything, from turning on the windshield wipers to heating up the car so that the windshield and the windows would stay clear and let him drive safely. Unfortunately, all his efforts were to no avail since the fog just seemed to get thicker and thicker by the minute. Eventually, his instrument panel had started to malfunction as well. Normally, this would have intrigued him due to his innately curious nature, but tonight he just wanted to get home as quickly as he could in order to enjoy his quiet night. So he was rather incensed at this queer development and got out of the car to see what sort of phenomena it was thst was obstructing his way.

"Curses!...What in blue blazes in going on here? Damn my bad luck, why does my life have to be so troublesome?"

He swore under his breath as he tried to see as best he could through the fog field. However, he couldn't see anything, not even his hand in front of his face, so he blindly groped his way back to his car's. driver side and tried to call for help, but his brand new iPhone also was out of commission, which struck him as really odd since it was, after all brand new.

"Tsk...my misfortune streak is running strong today...what a drag...oh well, nothing I can do about it now. I guess i better just start walking slowly forward and see where i end up since i seem to be uo a creek without a paddle right now..."

He muttered to himself as he brought out his mini emergency kit which he always made sure to keep in his car, just in case he ended up in some sticky situation or another. He then got his stethoscope out and after draping it around his neck and after stowing the emergency kit in the pocket of his white coat, he got out of his car again and slowly started to walk forward while keeping all his senses on full alert for the slightest hint of trouble. Several hours passed, or what seemed like it anyway, until suddenly without warning, he began to feel like he was falling, as if the road he had been on had simply vanished without a trace. If he had been anyone else, he would probably have been screaming his head off due to the rate of his free fall, which was rather alarming, but then...Zhāng wasn't the average joe. No, being the uber-eccentric man he was, his eyes were instead transfixed at the strange landscape which was now coming into view as he fell further and further.

A large black structure seemed to be looming in the distance, imposing in its solemn majesty.

My...that's...different...and this scenery...how very intriguing...it's like something straight of out of some strange fantasy...

He mused while trying to make out the details of said black structure and trying his best to catch as much air as possible to slow his descent as best he could in his present free fall situation.

It's a good thing I took those skydiving classes during college...well, not that I have a parachute right now to make use of them...oh well, I guess this is where my saga ends...Hades, here I come...

He thought while frowning deeply as he didn't expect to come out of this situation alive, let alone unscathed to any degree.

Rillian was crouching next to a small patch of flowers, carefully digging in the dirt to find the roots of the plant, which she suspected contained all the healing properties those plants possessed. She'd gathered quite a few local plants and had shown them to some of the natives of this land, hoping to gain more information about their properties and potential efficacy as medicines. The progress had been slow, of course, but Rillian didn't mind that. It kept her occupied, which these days was a blessing in and of itself.

A shadow fell just before her, a distinct spot on the ground where sunlight had shone a moment before. It reminded her of the sign of the City Watch flying over the palace on the backs of their mighty asrox, but such beasts were not native to Caido--as far as Rillian knew. She shielded her eyes and looked up, squinting to see what the falling object was as it made its way towards the ground.

Before long, Zhāng had reached the end of his fall and crashed onto what seemed like a dirt covered ground, but thankfully, the winds had shifted his trajectory just enough that he managed to land on the grassy part of the terra firma, albeit with quite a loud thud and managed to kick up quite a large dust cloud and even sent little pebbles flying everywhere from out of the impact crater.

If anyone were to look, they would find his limbs laying askew, though thanks to the thick grass and soft mud and dirt cushioning his impact, still alive and not dead as he had expected to be from his situation. His white coat as well as the rest of his semi formal attire was now dirtied all over and his stethoscope and other physician's tools now lay strewn all around him, most of them broken due to the crash landing. Of course, he didn't realize any of this because he was currently knocked out cold from the impact force of his crash landing.

Well this was a first. Loren had been coming to the Hollowed Ground from Halo. Shirtless, with just a pair of shorts, boots, and a bag on his back, he stepped out of the Spire and blinked in the sudden sunlight. Just about then, he heard a thump. Astra, who was by his side, bleated in alarm and pressed herself against the back of his legs. Sighing, he pulled out a flask and took a long drink from it. Letting it dangle from his fingers, he walked around to find a very wounded man right next to a woman. Luckily, the man was unconscious, so the Launceleyn just dropped to his knees, found an uninjured piece of skin, and placed his hand there. Then he sent a burst of healing magic into the injured man. It poured into the patient in a flash of sky blue light. As Loren did his thing, he glanced at the woman. "I take it this isn't your handiwork?" She didn't look like someone who'd just been in a fight. As he healed, he took another swig from his flask. LOREN Not quite an open book

As the object in the sky drew closer, Rillian's eyes widened and she gasped. It was not a bird or any beast, she realized, but a man, falling seemingly from the top of the Spire or from some location beyond it, perhaps. Regardless of how he'd come to fall, the reality of his landing was a sickening thud that had Rillian on her feet and rushing to his side in heartbeats.

She crouched beside the man and hastily pulled off the bandages wrapped around her palms, revealing scars that had been carved into her hands when she was a little girl. Now they were twisted angry red marks like suns that glowed softly as she began to murmur an incantation in her native tongue.

The magic moved through her veins and burst from her hands, a vibrant light that could blind those who looked at it too long. It touched the man's skin and sealed only minor wounds--here in this world, where magic felt different from the magic Rillian grew up with her whole life, she was hardly an effective enough healer to make a difference. But she tried, and hopefully this would be enough to keep him alive until she could fetch a better healer.

Rillian looked around her, trying to see if anyone else was nearby. If not, she supposed she would have to find a way to carry the man. Though he was a little smaller than she was, Rillian wasn't sure she could carry him all the way back into town. But she would try. She couldn't just let him die.

She saw another man coming towards them. Rillian hesitated when he approached, but she could sense the power that ran through him and realized that he was also a healer. She prayed he would be a more effective one than she was.

His accusation was unexpected, but Rillian did not gasp or protest. She merely met the man's gaze and said, "I saw him falling. From the tower, maybe, or from a Portal. I could not say. I do not have the skill to mend bones, though. Will you be able to heal him?" she asked.

After what seemed like quite a while, Zhāng finally came to, and had just enough in him to open and move his eyes around to do a brief scan of his immediate vicinity. What he found was not what he expected, for now there were two humanoid beings next to him, one a fully clothed woman and the other, a barely clothed man. Seeing as how there was no one else around, he presumed they both were the ones who had helped him. They both were seemingly engaged in still performing some sort of ritual, judging from the light coming from their hands, though since he was from a magicless world, he didn't know what it was they were doing at present. He tried to speak, attempting to test his vocal capacity since he could apparently still think clearly and move his eyes about some

"H...ello...th...ere...I...pre...sume you both ar...e the ones...who hel...ped me?..."

He spoke finally, revealing his voice to be an unusually rich baritone but yet somehow mellifluous one, although right now it was more hoarse and not very impressive sounding at all. That was all he could manage at the moment but even that surprised him a she didn't expect to be able to regain so much of his body function in such a short time after such a nasty crash landing

Hmm...whatever they did to me...must have worked...how...intriguing indeed...

He wondered silently, a part of him simply thankful to be alive, but the majority of him rife with curiosity about the two helpful strangers and their mysterious ability to repair him with seemingly no effort at all. However, he forced his curiosity down since he had more pressing concerns at the moment, namely, self examination to survey the damage he had sustained, if any was remaining at all. Thus, he began his head to toe self examination after closing his eyes

Ok...so far, cognitive ability seems intact, eye movement and visual ability seem intact...can't seem to move my neck yet...

And so it continued until finally he reached his vital organs

Now examining vitals: pulse check, lung function...not yet restored fully, must be careful...cardiac function mostly intact...liver and spleen seem intact as well...and finally kidneys seem mostly intact too...

Once he was done examining his vitals as best he could with his presently limited. capacity, he quickly examined the rest of himself and concluded that most of his basic functions had been restored, though the pain was still very much present and he didn't seem to be able to get back on his feet just yet. Add to that his seeming inability to speak very much and he realized he was. in for a rather long recovery period. However, that could wait, for now he had to thank his rescuers. He spoke once more, this time his voice seemed a little stronger and more like that of his usual self

"Tha..nk...yo..u bo..th...for hel..ping me...in my...ho..ur of need."

After that, he fell silent again since the strain of his current physical exertion tired him out again. While waiting for their reactions and/or replies, he wondered who they were and what this strange new world was as well.

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OOC:
italics are Zhang's thoughts

bold is Zhang's speech

Glancing up at the Spire, Loren let out a huff of laughter. ”Sure. Why not?” Shaking his head slightly, he shot the woman a tired, yet somehow manic look. ”Since you seem to have healing magic as well, hold him still and work on the smaller injuries while I take care of the serious stuff.” With that, he sent another pulse of healing magic through the strange man. As the other man woke from his unconsciousness, the Launceleyn gently, but firmly, pushed the strange man down, though he hadn't tried to rise yet. He was trying to speak, though, and that was just as bad. "You can thank us by keeping quiet until we've finished healing you." LOREN Not quite an open book

Rillian nodded at the man's directive, hesitant to trust him with the wild look in his eye, but she didn't have much choice if she wanted to help the injured man live. She placed her palms on the man's shoulders, infusing her magic into his skin. Once freed, it roved beneath the surface of the man's flesh, seeking out imperfections to make whole, bleeding to seal and bruising to abate. In her own world, she may have been able to heal the man on her own, but here, her magic could at least do this much to ease some of his pain.

She turned at the sound of a weak voice. Rillian's hazel eyes shone gold with the light coming from her hands.

"As the Master Healer said, it is best if you are quiet, my friend," she said, her voice warm and soothing like hot tea and honey. She hoped that the man would not be frightened or panicked by the pain and the strangeness of his surroundings. Her magic's bright white color dimmed to a soft gold as she also attempted to calm his mind, a trick that had been second nature in Eng'ahli, but here it felt like forcing her magic through a clogged drain, watching it drip small droplets at a time where it had once flowed freely.

Zhāng was about to thank the woman too, but he was instructed by both to keep still a d be silent while they healed him, so he nodded in the affirmative and fell silent while keeping as still as possible

Good, it seems i can understand them, and they can understand me in turn, or atleast speak and understand English...that would indicate that I am still on earth somwhere...except for the fact that these two people keep emitting this white light which seems to have a reparative effect on its target...hmm, this place is definitely not the earth I know at the very least...so then what in Heisenberg's name is it?...

He mused silently while watching the actions of both strangers keenly so he could glean more and more information about his new surroundings. Little by little, his body seemed to be healing thanks to the white light that was coming from the hands of the two strangers...he could actually feel his wounds closing up on their own without any need for anesthesia, suturing, or anything else which would be necessary to solve such a problematic state as his current one. Hell, even his limb bones which he knew had been fractured were beginning to be mended and the excruciating pain he had been feeling was also fading fast thanks to the strangers. It was truly marvelous to him and so he made a mental. note to investigate this intriguing phenomenon when his situation would allow for it.

Thankfully, the strange man subsided and didn’t speak further. Whether it was because of Loren's words, or the woman's, he didn't particularly care. He was just glad to have an easy patient for once (though that didn't stop him from taking a swig from his flask). Sending yet another pulse of healing magic through the other man's increasingly repaired form—three heals from him should take care of anything but the most life-threatening of wounds—the Launceleyn peered down at the stranger. "Since it seems this lovely lady didn't beat you up, let me give you a word of advice. I don't know what possessed you to throw yourself off the Spire, but I can assure you, life is worth living." Not Loren's best pitch, but he didn't have the best bedside manner these days. LOREN Not quite an open book

Rillian could feel the slight relaxation in the man’s body as the healing magic worked its way through his system. She observed the other healer’s technique as best she could while still concentrating on her own attempts to ease the injured man’s pain. While her focus would always be relieving pain, she wanted to learn about Caido’s magic too in the process. That would allow her to be an effective healer again, as she’d once been in her own world.

The other healer’s mention of her beating up people earned a rather displeased look from the golden-haired woman. She resisted the urge to scoff at the mere idea of her using violence again someone. She was a priestess—or had been. It wasn’t in her nature to cause pain to others.

She did clear her throat after the other man finished speaking. His rather ineffectual attempts at dissuading their patient from suicide didn’t match particularly well with the man’s earlier gratitude. She had her own suspicion that he had come into Caido similarly to the way she had. Though perhaps more unfortunately in terms of where the Portal had dropped him.

“You needn’t tell us how you came to fall if you I do not wish to,” Rillian said softly, her expression gentle and compassionate as he rested her hand on the man’s shoulder. “But if you do have questions or are not sure what happened, I’m sure we can talk it through with you.” She at least would be happy to do so to the best of her ability. Rillian couldn’t speak for the strange man who had come to help them.

Several minutes had passed since Zhāng fell silent last, and thanks to the combined efforts of both the strangers who were currently healing his injuries with whatever unknown ability they seemed to possess, he was feeling much stronger, and was nearly back to full operational capacity. Even his vocal cords seemed to have been repaired and he could feel that the areas where he had sensed bone fractures in his body were now mended back to almost normal condition. In addition, his vital organs seemed to have recovered and the pain was almost completely gone now. So, he tried to rise, slowly and steadily of course, to avoid reopening his healed wounds. This time, he actually managed to sit up successfully and for the first time, he was at eye level with the two strangers. The man had been speaking to him earlier, and from what he could discern, the man seemed to think that Zhāng had thrown himself off something he referred to as "The Spire". So Zhāng had tried to correct him, but the woman had started speaking before he could, so he chose to be polite and let her speak her bit first, taking everything she said in as best he could in his present condition. She seemed more polite than the man, albeit less skilled than he was for whatever reason, or at least that's how it seemed to Zhāng. She had even comforted him and assured him that he could ask whatever questions he wanted in order to learn about his new situation and surroundings. So, he replied in his normally unusually rich baritone but mellifluous voice, first to the man

"Thank you very much for the kind advice, good sir. However, I assure you both that I certainly didn't throw myself off any structure...like this...uh...Spire, was it? That said, I am very grateful that you took the trouble to come and heal my injuries. Someday, I will try to repay you for today to the best of my ability."

He bowed his head slightly to emphasize his grateful feeling to the man and then turned his attention to the woman who had continued to reassure him, to thank her as well

"My most sincere thanks to you as well, miss for having taken the time to come to my rescue. I think I will take you up on your offer of acquainting me with this strange new world I seem to have found myself in currently. Perhaps the good sir would like to join you in your effort to help me regain my bearings?"

He asked her with a polite smile on his thin, firm lips and looked at the man who was healing him up till just moments ago with the same polite smile to see if he wanted to join the woman in explaining his situation to him after which he fell silent, wondering what they would say and/or do in response.

As the woman began to speak, Loren glanced at her. Then, however, their patient began to sit up. "Easy, easy." Just in case, the Launceleyn sent a pulse of healing magic through the stranger to take care of any lingering wounds. Only then did Loren lift his hand from the other man. Taking a long pull from the flask, the Launceleyn stood up. "Don't mention it. And no need for repayment, just doing my job." There was something darkly amused about the words, but his tone was friendly enough. At the request to help acclimate the newcomer (or at least, what the Launceleyn assumed was a newcomer) Loren let out a huff of laughter. "I'm not really in the welcoming mood these days." He glanced at the woman and raised his eyebrows. LOREN Not quite an open book

At the other healer’s answer, Rillian had to work hard not to sigh. She’d known other people with the same sort of bravado about them, and she held less hope than she once had that they could be made to care about other people. Sometimes all the optimism in the world couldn’t change another person’s heart.

“Forgive me for the assumption, then, sir,” Rillian said curtly to the healer. She turned to the man who now sat up and looked about him with the sort of eyes she remembered well—an observer, she recognized, and the thought made her smile as memories of an old friend resurfaced.

“I am only recently arrived myself, sir, but I will answer any questions you have to the best of my ability. My name is Rillian. What is yours, if I may ask?” she asked with a kind smile.