Hey Guys! Fair warning this is a rather short chapter, but i'm planning on making the next set of three a bit longer, and then we can get into the real meat of the story. But for now I hope you enjoy, and I plan on having the next chapter be much longer!
Sitting atop the majestic world tree of Teldrassil, which bore an entire ecosystem of its own, was the great tree of Aldrassil. Sung into its leafy core was a series of living quarters and rooms, which housed those who lived in the nearby region. Laying in one such room, with sunlight streaming in from a porthole window, was a young, shirtless human. A stylized fairy tattoo on his gently raising chest.
Above him stood two beings who were strange and exotic to the human. A massive, broad-chested male, with purple skin and a long, flowing green beard stood to one side. On the other, was a thin, beautiful woman with purple hair, her skin was similarly tinted, and she wore a loose, thin white robe that seemed to float on her skin. Said woman growled and poked her finger into the slumbering humans chest, letting out a growl through her fanged teeth. "I told you he's healed! There's nothing more we can do!"
The man stuck his chest out and pointed down as well. "If that's true then why is he still unconscious."
The woman rolled her eyes. "I told you, he's just sleeping." she said in an exasperated voice. "You'll just waste your energy if you keep pouring energy into him! Just let him rest!" she demanded, stamping her foot down. The resulting noise made the man wince, his eyes fluttering for a moment as he struggled wake.
The two above him continued to argue, both of their voices pushing the man closer to wakefulness. His eyes fluttered, before finally flickering open. He laid there, blinking in confusion at the alien looking purple people argued above him. It was the woman who noticed first, and her attention immediately turned away from her argument. "You're awake!" she exclaimed happily, bending over him.
The man suddenly scrambled back, pushing his back against the wooden wall as he stared, blushing slightly at the shock of the beautiful creature bending over him, her breasts lightly sagging from her chest into the loose fitting fabric of her robe. She blinked in confusion before the man blinked at her. "W-Where am I?" he asked. He tried to summon his magic, just in case he would need it, but it didn't come. W-What? the ice mage thought, his panic and confusion doubling. The woman giggled and stood up, her companion staring in confusion at the mans reaction.
"Aldrassil." the bare-chested man grunted, only compounding his confusion.
"In Teldrassil, in case you've never been here before." she giggled, a beautiful, pure sound, like all elven laughter.
"Teldrassil?" the man asked in confusion, forgetting about his magic for a moment and relaxing. Whatever these purple people were, they clearly weren't hostile.
The two elves traded a glace. "The Night Elf homeland."
"Night Elf?"
The two of them blinked in shocked, "You're sheltered, aren't you?" the male night elf said, his hands crossing over his broad chest.
The girl looked at him in annoyance. "I don't know how to describe it… well… if you don't know where you are now, do you know where you came from?"
Memories hit the human like a brink. He remembered holding hands with his guildmates. He remembered a bright-white light, then he remembered darkness. "Tenrou… I was on Tenrou…" he grunted.
"Where's that?" both of them said in unison. A silence fell over the room then as they realized they had no idea what either of them were talking about. It was the male elf who spoke next, narrowing his eyes at the man. "Are you a demon?"
"A demon?!" the human blinked in confusion. He remembered Deliora and snarled at the man. "No." he growled.
The girl winked at him, "Well you could be an incubus." she purred in a playfully flirtatious tone.
The man blushed at her playful flirting as the elf let out an exasperated tone, "Shanda."
"Oh, I'm just joking." She sighed in an annoyed tone, shaking her head. "Learn to take a joke Mardant." she sighed, walking over to a chest of drawers in the corner of the room. She reached in and pulled out a blue robe, before setting it by the mysterious man. "Here, we couldn't find your shirt but you can have this." she smiled at him.
"Thank you," he responded, as he pulled the robe over his chest, rolling his shoulders and finding the robes were quite comfortable. "My name is Gray Fullbuster by the way." He introduced himself.
"Well I'm Shanda, the resident Priestess of Elune for Aldrassil." she smiled and pointed to the man. "This is Mardant, he trains young druids." she introduced both of them as well.
"Nice to meet you both." Gray responded, bowing his head to both of them as they were introduced.
Shanda smiled and nodded. "Likewise, you're welcome to stay here for as long as you need until you're ready to leave. Although your case has intrigued Lady Whisperwind. She wants us to take you to her and Shan'do Stormrage as soon as you're ready."
Gray was about to ask who that was, but decided he would probably just end up more confused. The two of them made their leave together, leaving Gray to stretch and stand. "I probably get something to eat…" he muttered, cracking his neck before noticing a pitcher of water on the table. He frowned, picturing Juvia for a moment. I hope she's okay. he thought worriedly, sighing and shaking his head. If he was alive, it made sense that everyone else had to be as well.
When he stepped outside, he blinked. He was in a natural wonderland! The room he was in had been built onto a massive tree that was at least as big as the tower tree over Tenrou! The entire area was blanketed with an eerie, pinkish light that made every being glow with a soft luminescence. As Gray started to walk down the ramp, he smiled, feeling peaceful in this place. It's beautiful here. he thought, just as a strange white orb flitted past him. He reached the bottom of the ramp and turned left, noticing a hall had been built into the tree.
Gray walked in, only a few people were awake already, and as he explored, he passed by another elf. She wore a similar robe as himself. A light, sky blue vestment, only hers was deep cut, revealing a good deal of cleavage. There were a few children sitting by her. Gray assumed some kind of lesson was going on. He decided to pause for a moment and investigate, watching as the woman spoke in a strange tongue.
Suddenly, his blood ran cold as she watched the woman summon a bolt of frost around her fingertips, it shot into a nearby pillar and shattered, leaving frost to flurry to the ground. Gray decided to try something. Trying to remember the spell as best he could, he focused whatever energy he could feel in his body and spoke aloud the same incantation.
He felt an orb of ice forming between his fingers, and while at first, he was overjoyed a moment later, it shattered in his hand with more force than he imagined, making the once-ice master fly back and land on his ass. He grunted in pain as he did so, just as the teacher giggled. "And that children is why you're always careful with your pronunciations." she giggled. "We're done for today." She announced, and the children all let out a collective 'awwwww!' she giggled at them all, patting them on the head and smiling.
The woman then made her way over to Gray and offered him a hand. "You shouldn't try spells without first knowing how to properly channel your mana." she giggled as Gray took her hand and stood.
"Yeah well I'm kinda new to your version of magic…" he muttered.
The woman was confused, but decided not to make anything of it. She looked at Gray, measuring him up a bit, before she smiled and pulled out a tome. "Here, it's not much, but this spell book contains all you need to start you on your journey to become a master of frost."
Gray frowned, "I'd love to take it but… I'm afraid I don't have any money to pay you back at the moment…" he grunted, blushing lightly in embarrassment.
What happened next surprised Gray. She pulled out a small bag of coins and handed it to him. "Here then."
Gray gasped. "W-What's going on? Why ar-"
The woman held up her hand to silence him. "It is the way of the Kaldorei to help those who need it. And I'm hardly bankrupting myself. Ten Gold pieces is hardly a fortune, but it will be enough to buy food and supplies on your way to Darnassus." As Gray went to speak, she silenced him. "I was here when Shanda got the news of what to do with you." she giggled, but then smiled at him. "Read the book… learn from it. If your frostbolt was anything to go off, you're going to need it." she cooed, resting her hand on his shoulder for a moment. "Elune-adore child." she cooed gently, then walked away.
Gray blinked as all this went by so quickly. Unsure of how to react to her kindness and generosity. "Where ever I am… maybe it isn't so horrible." he smiled, before turning around. The road ahead was winding, and he could tell it was going to be a long walk. As he started onward, he cracked open the tome, reading the strange and archaic spells, keeping him entertained for the road ahead.
I apologize for the rushed ending but... this was a chapter i wasn't too motivated for, since Gray is going solo for a bit. But once again, the next chapter will be a good bit longer, and involve far more character interaction, so until then, later!