Two things became Immediately clear when Karson opened his eyes. Things were different, as if the reality he knew had a different coat of paint applied to it. It was a strange feeling, but it became quite clear moments later as his being acclimated to this new body and world around him. Looking down at himself, instead of his 6'4 pale skinned slightly overweight body, he had found himself about 5 inches shorter with pale but slightly tanned skin that was likely due to being outside in the summer sun recently.
A silk silver pair of pants and shirt rested comfortably on his body, and medium length slightly curly red hair rested against the bed he lay upon. His body was much more firm and even had a respectable amount of musculature.
Looking around the room he was in, he noticed the rich red wallpaper that had olive vine of gold leaf adorning it. A large gold adorned basin stood a good several feet next to the large bed he found himself lying upon, a glass oil lamp sitting unlit resting atop it. Next to it was a well polished dark red wooden desk that was carved with the heads of lions at the four corners.
The soothing smoky scent of some sort of smoked drug hung in the air, and his eyes scanned the rest of the room, past the ornate red furniture and unto a small table on the other side of the bed. Sitting lazily against a white ceramic plate was a wooden pipe that released a soft wisp of smoke every few moments.
It seemed that he had a tendency for substances in this world. Well not him, but the man he became. Rolling over twice, as the bed was quite big, he reached the edge and picked up the pipe, looking down at the smoking leaf powder inside. Dumping the powder onto the plate and pressing his thumb down upon it, he winced at the momentary pain and smothered the lit herbs.
While controlled substances were acceptable in mediation, he didn't want to be intoxicated upon his arrival. He still felt the soothing effect that detached him somatically.
It was hard to fight the effect, but he managed to gather some of his thoughts amidst the haze he was subjected to.
Following that, he began to notice things around him.
He woke up in the body of someone affluent for one. This was both good and bad. The good was that he wouldn't have to starve or face the harsh elements for the time being. Also, he had money.
The bad was that if he woke up somewhere on a different continent, it could set him back for a long time. Traveling across the ocean by ship in this world was not the convenient luxury cruise liner that one might take in the modern world.
The best of the best would cost an arm and a leg even for the most prestigious of Noble families and diplomats. Then came the issue of the crew, the vessel, and most importantly the time it took. Long intercontinental voyages were wrought with danger. Pirates, buccaneers, massive swells, sea monsters, and even going too far off course were a few out of many. That was also assuming that there as a seaport nearby, that it had a voyage to said continent, and that that voyage was happening within a short time window.
Hopefully he was in the Saderan Empire.
As the thoughts swirled and propagated in his mind, a gentle knocking on his door snapped his eyes to the door.
"Master Avilius, the wine you ordered is ready. May I come in?" The timid voice of a young woman could be heard from behind the wood, slightly muffled, giving it a weakness that he picked up on, even in his addled state.
Straightening up out of reflex, He realized that his earlier assumption of Nobility or high status was correct. This woman, if she could even be called that standing behind the door was almost assuredly a servant, perhaps even a maid.
"Yes, come in and place it on the table" He casually spoke to the servant. Showing too much respect to a servant was demeaning and would give him a bad reputation. Though her soft and weakly timid voice clearly portrayed an image of fear to him, it wasn't his problem.
It was slightly disturbing how casually he had accepted his role. Perhaps it was remnants of the host's personality shining through, or it might have been all him from the start.
"Y-Yes Master Avilius. R-Right away"
The well oiled door swung gently open and the light from the hallway poured into his dimmed room.
A young girl, no more than sixteen or so wearing what looked much like French maid attire pushed a small cart in, on which sat a glass bowl of red wine with several glass cups.
She had deathly pale skin, nervous green eyes that darted around the room for the briefest of seconds as she entered, as if she expected something to come flying at her any second. Her long silvery hair was tied in a bun behind her bonnet. The wine in the bowl quivered as her small hands quivered on the cart.
Clearly she was abused, likely commonly by her fear, possibly by me and even others in my family.
Looking her over again, she had a thin build with hardly any of really anything to be honest. Her breasts were near nonexistent, and her cheeks were not exactly sunken, but weren't in great condition. Also, she looked quite exhausted.
Seeing me eye here like that, she flinched, but she was clearly trained well enough as to not stop her commands even at the face of her own fear and discomfort.
It was a stark dichotomy between me and her, as if we were two diametrical opposites interacting for the briefest of times. The haves and the have nots, unlucky for her, I was the have. She was the have-not. Though if one thought about it, a woman in a world like this would be living better than the common whores of the alleyways that slunk like foxes and cougars ready to offer their services for night in a bed, or even a loaf of bread with some paltry cheese.
Looking at the wine, the smooth red texture and gentle rippling was as much a comfort for me as it likely was a displeasure for her. She rolled the small cart over and placed the wine bowl on the table at the window to my left, a good twenty-five feet from the bed. An empty glass bowl stained with the last traces of wine at the lips sat there, likely from recent use.
"Master Avilius, can I take away the empty bowl?" She asked, deep in a bow, likely hoping to leave this room as fast as possible.
"Yes, Do so" He said, waving away her concern.
She gently placed the wine bowl on the table, and placed the glasses next to it in a small square.
"One more thing" He said, causing her to flinch. It was clear she had regular beatings if she failed at her job.
"Tell me, who am I? I give you permission to speak your mind" He said, curious on what his position was.
She flinched and gripped her fists tightly in fear as sweat poured from her brow, before nervously answering.
"Y-you are Master Avilius Aurelius, Eldest son of The Honorable Senator Caelius Aurelius of the esteemed House Aurelius, Master". At this point she was shaking like a leaf in a harsh fall gust at the end of a thin branch.
At that moment his head began to feel like it was burning as countless memories flashed through his mind, memories of Avilius and his twenty three years up until now.
Feeling like this wouldn't end anytime soon, Avilius jerked his arm out and pointed to the door.
"Get out" He growled, and even though it was in pain instead of anger or malice, the maid clearly would not know that and bowed deeply and scurried out, the cart in tow.
overlordwarhammer2019: Thank you, I'm glad you touched on the Russia part. I have some stuff planned for Russia.
Don Orbit: Oh hello, I wasn't expecting you of all people to read this, let alone comment. So thank you for that.
Dave: Thanks, I'm trying to make it a bit over the top.
Guest: Sorry bro. In this fic, the Empire is getting saved. If you want to get Empire bashing, Read literally every other GATE fanfic that isn't expressly saving the empire, AKA 98% of all GATE fanfics.
feriyen: Thank you kind stranger.