So I couldn't take it anymore. All the op oc stories have finally driven me off the deep end. The it came to me. What would really happen if you got sent to a different plane? The first answer is you die. Th second is you try and survive. I thought that'd be pretty fun actually so I got to work and this is the result. No planeswalking, no powers, just trying to get by one Ravnica. If it's enjoyed I'll continue, if not, I'll probably continue anyway. It's good practice.
Somewhere in the multiverse there exists a room that's neither here nor there. It wasn't part of any house or temple nor devious torture chamber or labyrinth. It was merely a magical room. It appeared when needed, left when bored, and adjusted the world around it to fit its being. Not really a creature but much more than a construct the magical room flitted about. In and between planes of existence much like a small child in an aquarium. Moving from one exhibit to the next and admiring the denizens within. No one really knows if it can think, feel or if it's even able to use such higher mental functions. After all, it's a magical room.
More interesting than the room itself is what's going on inside the room. Oh yes, things happen inside it just like any other of its kind. Talking, breathing, choices made and deals struck. Amazing things can happen and indeed have happened within those wandering walls. Trades from riches to immortality, grudges harbored and old scars mended, religions born and gods slain. If those walls could talk they'd have countless stories to tell. Or would they? It might be a secretive room after all, who knows?
But I digress, all stories for another time. For now we would do well to focus on the two currently residing in the room. For that's where the story really begins.
Picture a glass box floating in space. Stars in every direction, some brighter than others, floating past with only the thinnest barrier between you and them. That is what the room looked like inside, or maybe that's what it chose to look like for that particular occasion? In the middle of the floor stood a table with two individuals seated on opposites sides.
To the far side sat a man dressed to impress in an astoundingly deep purple three piece suit with unnaturally white tie. His dark hair was slicked back against his head until it flared out around the back of his neck. The man's face could be described as dull. He was someone you could meet in the most exciting of circumstances and still forget his name the next time you met. The only thing that would give him away would be the ear to ear smile that revealed a sharks grin of unnaturally pointed teeth.
Across from him sat someone not so extravagant. A young adult, no older than 22 with a mess of brown hair and skinny build leaned back against his chair. A plain black t shirt and a pair of brown cargo pants contrasted greatly against the well dressed being across from him.
The two stared at each other and let the stars pass by before the young man spoke.
"So what you're saying is that I get five years on any plane of my choice."
"Correct."
"And no one will freak out while I'm gone."
"You'll be considered... on an extended vacation."
"People are just ok with that?"
"Magic kid, I don't have to explain shit." The youth looked out to his right, pondering for a moment.
"Do I get any type of start up?" The purple man's smile sagged only slightly.
"Define start up."
"Like a base and an allowance." His grin quickly returned to full strength.
"Housing, a week's worth of provisions, and an initial financial cache will be provided. As a bonus you'll get neat little guide covering the basics of your chosen plane." It was the youths turn to raise an eyebrow. The well dressed man clapped his hands together still smiling heartily.
"Come now, you wanna go to a completely different world and not know how the basic economy works? Banks, trades, taxes, mana data, info on the different races? Damn kid, I thought you were smart."
In truth he hadn't thought about that. To be fair it's not really the first thing you think about when someone asks if you want to go to a different world for a small chunk of your life. He quickly nodded and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I gotchya. Alright, since we're on the topic of basics. What about the native language? How am I supposed to deal with that?"
"Magic's got it."
"Kay, reading the language?"
"Maaaaaaagic."
"Back ground info? I can't just tell them I'm from another world."
"Three guesses to what handles it and the first two don't count." The youth let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in his chair to ponder. The purple man merely rested his elbows on the table and cupped his chin in his palms smiling like an asylum patient.
"Alright, for recap. I get to choose any plane I want to visit and go there. Once there I HAVE to stay there for five years. Everything at home will be taken care of and I'll come back like I was on a vacation. On the new plane I'm stuck there. No planeswalking, no over powered bullshit, just stuck there as I am now. A young man fresh out of college and hoping to make a mark on the world." He paused to shoot his colleague a look, making sure he was on track.
"Dead on so far kiddo." Came the smooth reply.
"BUT. While I'm on the plane I can learn magic if I feel so inclined. At the end of five years I'll be whisked back to my world with all my memories and skills intact. Hey, does that mean I can do magic at home?"
"I wouldn't know." He replied slyly.
"Shit. Eh, we'll see I guess." Once more he went into thought, this time staring at the ceiling and watching a shooting star streak by before winking out of sight.
"Hey, what happens if I die?" He looked down and noticed the man's features had taken on an almost gleeful cover. His smile was impossibly wide with a deranged glint surfacing in his eyes.
"That." He said with a voice of constrained excitement. "Is unknown until it happens." He quickly caught himself. "If it happens.."
"Uhhh huh." Yeah, it was obvious he knew, but it wasn't worth the pointless questioning. Besides, he was a bit freaky.
"Alright. I'm in." The purple man had smoothed over his once manic features into something more approachable before pulling out an odd shaped pen and a rolled up sheet of what looked like leather. He unrolled it along the table and quickly scribbled a few things down.
"You're plane of choice?" he asked.
"Ravnica." said the young man with finality.
"Ohhhh, good choice, good choice!" He said excitedly as he began to scribble along the material.
"Alright then, here's the pen, just sign here along the line." He slid the contract across the table along with the pen before folding his hand around his face again.
The paper was like a very thin leather as he predicted, but felt far stronger than it looked. Nearly the entire thing was covered in writing so miniscule that following a sentence was impossible. Not to mention the entirety of the type was a deep crimson which burned the eyes if it was looked at for too long. He peered up over the document to shoot the odd man a look that simply said, really? He merely smiled and shook his hands as if shooing him forward. With a sigh he quickly scribbled his signature while noting the odd tingling in his writing hand.
He slid the contract back across the table and leaned back crossing his arms.
"That's it right? So how we getting there?" The well dressed stranger was just smiling and looking over the contract while he answered.
"Why Andrew my boy, you're already there." The world began to blur like an oil painting in the rain. "Time to wake up." With the quickest snap of the fingers the young man burst upright. His sheets and pillows falling askew as he took in his new surroundings...