Black.

He was surrounded by darkness. Now, that wasn't something new. Not exactly. But this was a new kind. It wasn't the heavy blackness he was used to from all these years. This void was cold, yet it wasn't damp or anything. It was chilling and he didn't like it. There wasn't the slightest bit of a breeze. He wasn't afraid. Of anything. It was preposterous to assume he feared something as trivial as his surroundings. Even if he couldn't see them right now. Nor hear anything. Not even the beating of his heart. So maybe, just maybe, this was getting uncomfortable, as much as he hated to admit it.

Once again he was checking his surroundings. Nothing had changed. Nothing was there to indicate how much time had passed. It could have been mere seconds or it could have been years. The latter was rather unlikely, but how could he know? He was floating in this... vastness. He couldn't feel anything. No floor to rest his feet on. No ceiling to... well, there wasn't one, so no need to find a use for it, either. Where was he? How had he ended up 'here' anyway? He had no recollection whatsoever before waking up here.

He felt a power surge through his body. It was dark and foreboding. It was... familiar. And it soothed him, knowing it was still there.

Suddenly, he was plummeting down. It was down right? There was no telling to prove this thought. But he was falling. Fast. How big was this place? It felt like an eternity and he wasn't getting anywhere close to anywhere. It's wasn't like a ground would show up all of a sudden. That would probably end bad.

How silly, what was he expecting anyway? That an all consuming, incredibly bright light appear? Because that was what happened. It was burning his every pore. His very being. His consciousness was slipping away from him. But instead, a new sensation was tugging at his mind. It was inviting him. It felt unbelievable, if it wasn't for that unbearable pain scorching him from the inside.

Another searing flash burst out in front of him, this time swallowing him whole. Enveloped in this unbearable dazzling light he finally gave in. In the very corner of his mind he could still feel something - no, someone - glaring at him. Scanning his every being. Who he was. Who he would become. And then it was gone. The only thing it left was anticipation.

And then the darkness came back. And he embraced it longingly. Because the darkness was where he felt the safest. Where he was the most powerful. Where he could finally rest after all this flashing. He could feel the tension leave his body as it went limp.

As he reopened his eyes only to be greeted by a clear night sky, thousands upon thousands of stars gazed down at him. He was lying on a ground that seemed to be a vast grassland. How had he gotten out of the void? How was he still alive? And upon further inspection he didn't recognize any of the stellar constellations that were unraveling themselves above. Where in Earthland had he landed? Was this Edolas? He couldn't have possibly ended up somewhere else. There was no such magic he knew of. And surely he was one of the most knowledgeable people to ask if it came to that.

He was shocked, to say at least, that he could barely lift himself up. For how long has he been in that space? Motionless?

Sighing, he resigned himself and lay back down on the floor. Gathering energy was one of the most plausible things now. It was still nighttime and he really didn't want to confront possibly hostile creatures, humans even, in this weakened state.

'This is pathetic,' he bitterly thought. 'How did I get here?'

It was beyond him, had someone sent him here? That clearly was an option but who in the world could have mustered enough energy to support a spell this strong that even jumping... dimensions... was possible? Or was he being ridiculous and this was a dream? A really humiliating one at that.

Marveling at the bright moon another wave of nausea crashed over him. Clenching his eyes shut he waited for the terrible feeling to leave his body. But it just wouldn't. It was digging itself into his brain. The brightness was invading him again, this time more aggressively. As if... as if it was seeking for something. No, not seeking. It was...-

He couldn't grasp a focused thought, it was impossible for him to even consider anything related to finding out his circumstances. That had to wait until this - whatever it was - was gone. He really, really hoped it would take its leave rather soon.

Images began to flash in his inner eye. Symbols and runes he couldn't make any sense of. Flashing in a bright hue of blue. Appearing, only to fade into nonexistence after mere seconds. Was this, this light showing him this?

It didn't help. AT ALL. How was this supposed to help him if he couldn't even decipher the runes? They were complete gibberish to him. Was this some kind of unknown magic? Something even he didn't know yet? This was getting more ridiculing by the minute. If it didn't stop RIGHT NOW he would go insane, if that was even-

'No no no no nononoNO,' He repeated over and over, like a mantra. As if it was the only thing it could make the searing pain stop.

And then, as if to mock him, it just stopped. As if it was just his imagination playing tricks on him.

Gasping, he opened his eyes again. His heart was racing, only slowly calming down. A soft breeze stroked the grass all around him. His hair was blown into his eyes and only now did he notice that dawn was breaking. How long had he been lying there? Withering in pain? Immersed in his thoughts? How inattentive of him. Anybody could have crept up to him. Once again he gave a gentle push and this time he even managed to sit up. Looking around, taking in his environment noticing even the slightest movement of a nearby rodent. This place was vast and mostly uninhabited that much he was sure of. He seemed to have appeared on some sort of hill, or small mountain at least. Underneath him, in some distance, there was a village.

'Weird. I can't remember such a place on Earthland. Was I really...? Could this really...?' shaking his head as if to clear it of such vague ideas he groggily tried to stand up.

Gaining a higher position would enable him to study this place easier.

Shakily he stood up, unused to being so out of it. It seemed he had ended up somewhere close to nowhere.

'Great. Just great,' came a cynical thought. 'Not only am I stuck here,' he snorted, seeing there wasn't anything eye catching to pinpoint his location, 'I don't even know what I should do next.'

He was right, except the small village he had seen before there weren't any bigger cites nearby.

'This could become a problem.' He groaned and ran a wary hand through his messy black hair.

Sighing, he set off, heading for the only location where he could gather some information, maybe even eat, and then look for one of the more developed areas in this land.