Dressed in comfy mountain-cat fur coat and thickly soled leather boots a man, six feet tall, slightly chubby, and sporting an unwieldy beard, ambled down what the people of Alagaesia apparently considered roads– stepped on dirt. This time of the year though, it was more aptly described as stepped on snow.
It was still leagues better than the treacherous terrain of the Spine and for that Rand was eternally grateful. Solid and smoothish paths to walk on were truly one of the finer things in life. Even if they could be better.
I'll fix that though. I'm not sure I even want to take this world all the way to the twenty-first century, but pavement should be doable when I'm an influential rider. Eco friendly pavement though. Now that I'm undying, I can't let people with shorter lifespans fuck up the world for me a few centuries from now. Meaning electricity will have to be solar and wind powered. No dams, and no fossil fuels.
Although, it would be interesting to see what kinda stuff I can dig up. They have humans here, along with standard earth animals, so this place is probably just an alternate Earth. The map in the books even looked a little like Europe, so the rest of the Earth continents likely exist.
Hmmm….
Did the elves come from Africa or one of the Americas then?
A gust of wind blew, and Rand smelled his own oder, and his face twisted in revulsion. All thoughts of the world's geography vanished from his head, replaced by a baser desire.
God, I can't wait to take a bath. He thought, dreaming of warm water washing away weeks of dirt and grime that he had accumulated. Weeks.
Brom hadn't taken much persuasion to allow Rand to stay with him, but unfortunately, that didn't mean that Rand could just march into the village and sleep in a warm bed. For much of the same reason Rand had decided to stay behind in the Spine in the first place– his dragon.
Whether it was one day or three, or even a week, Rand felt deeply uncomfortable leaving his new companion behind and alone. Brom had no good solutions either, so Rand had stayed in the forest until his dragon was big enough that no woodland predator would be able to pose a threat. Then another week just to be sure.
Of course, after Brom had visited, things had gone much, much, better. They'd ended up moving camp a little deeper into the Spine, and along a small stream so they would have plenty to drink. That, and his dragon's predatory instinct, meant they were much better off food wise. Brom even checked in on them.
Every few days, he would sneak out of the village under the cover of darkness, and bring some provisions. Tea, bread, and even a tent.
Honestly, Rand felt he could have stayed there longer, but with his dragon the size of a donkey, it wasn't Rand doing the protecting any more. He likely never had been, for even an infant dragon was more than a match for the less magical creatures of the world.
But, he couldn't stay in the Spine forever. With winter fully set in, it was time to rejoin civilization. Besides, he and his dragon's bond had grown strong enough now that they could communicate over the distance of a few miles.
Even if there conversations weren't exactly what Rand had imagined them to be.
"What about, Alduin?" Rand projected through their link, suggesting what must have been his hundredth name. Somewhere in a forest, a glimmering white dragon rolled its solid gold eyes.
"I will not be named after some villain."
"But he's the World Eater, how cool is that?"
"It is a work of fiction."
"Yeah, but so was this world. Who says he's not real, somewhere."
"All the more reason not to take his name."
"Fine, Albion?" Rand asked instead, projecting an image of a fearsome white dragon.
"I will not be named after a character in a titty anime."
"But he was cool!"
"No."
"Apophis?"
"You will reduce me to a mere worm? For shame!"
"He was an evil god, trying to eat the sun or something."
"No."
"Jeez… What about Jesus?"
"No."
"But–"
"NO."
"Jeez. No need to raise your voice, buddy." Rand sighed.
"We are talking telepathically."
"Point. What about… Zeus?"
"The horny god of the skies?"
"Yeah, it could be cool. He has a beard, and he throws lightning and stuff."
"No."
"Apollo?"
"Another horny god?"
"I don't think so." Rand quickly rooted through his mind, and showed his dragon everything he knew about the Sun God.
"No."
"Hmm. What about Lews! I could be the Dragon Reborn, and you be the Dragon! It's perfect!"
"I do not share your sires fondness for the Wheel of Time. No."
"You haven't even read the books!"
"NEITHER HAVE YOU!"
"Now you're yelling again, but fine. How about… Kilgharrah!"
"A bitter dragon, imprisoned by humans? You truly think so little of me?"
"I just want you to have a cool name, and it's not like anyone will ever know where it came from. So how about, Thanos?"
"He was purple."
"Point… What about Bahamut?"
"It has mut in it."
"..."
"Why do you want me to pick your name again?"
"I can't very well name myself now, can I?"
"Debatable. Anyway, the village is near, wanna circle back to this conversation later?"
"Sure. I saw a bear when I was hunting yesterday, and today I will feast on it's flesh. We will be out of range."
"Sweet, stay safe. Love you!"
The, yet to be named dragon sent back an image of it rolling its eyes.
Grinning, Rand let their connection fade to the background as he finally stepped into the village. He was a little surprised that they didn't have a guard watching for suspicious looking folk, but it made sense in hindsight.
The North of the continent already had a sparse population. On top of that, Carvahal had little going for it. Worse, or perhaps better depending on who you asked, the township was located in an out of the way valley, separated by a mountain chain from the broader Empire. Making it an unpopular destination for most.
With such a paltry amount of visitors, it didn't make sense having people constantly on guard.
Yet, it was also the rarity of visitors that immediately silenced all chatter, and had what seemed like every eye in the village trailing him with suspicion, on guard. A few of the men even armed themselves; doing so discreetly with whatever tools they had on them. While a mother quietly muttered something in her daughter's ear. The kid gave Rand an odd look, before she ran off towards one of the bigger buildings.
Rand felt his heart race in anticipation, but outwardly showed no sign of being startled. Walking deeper in, he stopped a few steps short of the center square, and made a show of looking at each building, a discerning expression on his face.
A few seconds later, a door flew open, and a burly man, his skin bursting at the seems with muscle came striding straight towards him.
"Can I help you, traveler?" Horst asked.
Rand flashed him an easy smile. "I'm Rand, and that would be kind of you. I'm here in search of my uncle, if you can point me to his home, I would be grateful."
Horst scratched at his beard, and searched Rand's face for any sign of familiarity. Finding none, he sighed in irritation. "Well, spit it out lad. What's yer uncles name?"
"Brom."
Horst's eyebrows climbed their way up his forehead. "Well I'll be, I never knew the man had any family. All these year's no one has ever visited, and never has he mentioned them.."
Rand frowned. "In different circumstances, that might have remained true. Unfortunately, my father, Brom's brother, recently passed away. While they haven't seen each other since he left home those years ago, my father wanted me to pass on a message to him. It was his dying wish."
"A message?"
"Aye."
"Well alright then." Horst slapped Rand on the back. "I'll have someone find Brom, but while we wait, let us get you a warm meal."
I forgot how close knit these people are. Rand thought, as Horst led him to the town's bar. Well, other than Sloan. Even when the first Ra'zac came, they all kept their mouths shut. Then when they came again, looking for Roran, instead of selling him out, they hid him in the forest. I guess some of that applies to Brom too. They won't take me at my word in case I'm not who I'm supposed to be.
I'll bet anything that they're checking with him right now, and if Brom denies having a brother– well, I'll learn that he died in his sleep, or went over to the next town or something.
Luckily, Rand had worked out the plan with Brom beforehand, and there wouldn't be any problems. So, he'd enjoy his meal, indoors and on a table, the first since the first since he had found himself here.
It's not much, but it's progress, and pretty soon my training will officially start. Magic, here I come.