Prelude - Disce aut discede
He pulled on the lever. A spark ran through the wires to the boiler and flames erupted underneath it. Steam flowed trough the pipes to pistons in the heart of the machine that began to rotate an array of gears. The device picked up momentum until the two large rings began to spin and the runes along the rings started glowing. A speck of light appeared in the centre of the two rings. It grew brighter and larger as the whole room began to shake under the might of the apparatus. When it reached full working speed the centre of the orb of light opened up to to the cosmos and I could focus on the stars beyond it.
"Esterdell," he called out, barely audible past the drone of the machine. "Are you sure about jumping in again? You don't know what lies on the other side."
The portal began to suck air into itself. A few loose pages fly off my desk and vanish beyond the event horizon. I lean back to steady myself against the winds.
"Indeed, there could be hell itself on the other side." I put my hand on my chin, weighing up the risks again. "But must I remind you; I'm jumping in to learn. The answer to everything, everywhere can't be found on just our world, that is why I am going through with this."
"The answers you bring still don't give us the whole picture and you never bring anything back but scars. Why do you risk your life again?"
The winds have picked up significantly as I begin to slide closer to it. I grab hold of the railing and lean back more.
"You still don't see it? Don't worry, soon you will see for yourself the beauty of adventure and learning. Until then you have to stay here, practicing. How many days did you say I had?"
"One hundred and fifty days. In less than that time you have to come back."
"And why is that? Come on, we studied this, you know the answer."
"The uhm... the worlds are... they drift apart. One hundred and fifty three days and a connection can no longer be established, subtract three for caution."
"That's correct."
I drop down and sling my backpack over one shoulder. I grab the railing with both hands and start to slide my hands along the rail and shuffle closer. I lean one of my hands into the portal. Beyond it I could feel nothing. I pull back to see my hand still intact. I look over my shoulder to my student. He was looking down to the monitor in front of him. He then looked up to me with a worried expression that I have seen all too often. He threw his hands up and waved furiously and I returned a final wave goodbye as let go of the rail and get sucked into the portal. I sense my body being turned to dust as it is sent flying through oblivion. The familiar aura of my world becomes more distant as a new type of magic embraces me coldly. I ease my mind to be ready for the realm ahead.
My consciousness drifts back.
I move my muscles to make sure they are all still there; arms are there, but I can't seem to move my fingers. My heart begins pumping faster. Calm down, it's probably nothing. I can feel my legs as well but not my toes. Ok, it could be something. I can move my neck around and I tense the muscles along my back up to... a tail! Now it has to be something. I must be in some other body. I take a deep breath and try to keep calm. There has to be a reason for this.
Lastly I exercise my face. All still there; mouth, nose, ears and eyes. I open my eyes a sliver and light begins pouring in. Slowly they adjust and I open them fully. I make out dark grey cliffs ahead of me with small bushes dotted about. They rise vertically and must level off past that.
I raise my head up to look into the sky. A single star shines warmly on my face. I trace along the edge of the cliffs and see the bowl close in a full circle. Gazing closer to the floor I notice greenish-gray rock pillars that flatten out on the same level. They seem to form a path just above the ground that goes into a cave. The cave itself is a dark purple with a faint white glow, of which I cannot make out the source of.
As I continue to look down I see I am lying on the inside of this low plateau on flat, brown dirt with no visible way out. I come across what must be my new body covered in my torn lab coat, my chest rising and falling rapidly from my eccentric breathing. This species has four limbs and neither the front or back have digits, which would explain why I couldn't feel my fingers. The legs face forward, so they must walk on all fours. I have crimson red fur across most of my body and a brighter red tail that I can manipulate with surprising ease. Between my eyes I see my nose, which is blackened and much longer.
Ok, I'm not going anywhere unless I calm down and think about this logically. I shift my weight onto my stomach and extend my legs in four directions, then I start resting more of my weight on them. My legs shake somewhat as I try to keep steady and raise myself off the ground. Good, at least I can stand, but I'm not going anywhere fast. If memory serves, "quadrupeds walk using alternating and diagonally opposing legs." Now let's try it; I put back left a bit forward, then move front left ahead, then comes back right and lastly front right. I repeat the patter and increase the pace, needing only two on the ground at minimum. I keep close eye on the floor until I am confident I know where to rest them.
I slowly struggle over to the cave. Inside is a huge, glowing white tree with white hanging fruit. But as I look closer I notice it couldn't be a tree, It has nine 'branches' that appear crystalline with jagged edges. On five of the 'branches' are larger crystal shapes with gems of different colours and shapes embedded in them; an orange circle with two smaller green ovals, a purple rhombus, a red gem that resembles a lightning bolt, a light blue oval and the last one is four large pink ovals with two much smaller pink ovals above it. A sixth gem rests in the middle of this 'tree' that looks like a purple six-sided star. On the 'trunk' is two more symbols, one is a crescent and the other a sphere with tendrils radiating from it.
I trip closer to the tree, meandering past its jagged roots and over an out-of-place bright pink flower that lies wilting on the ground. As I get closer I feel magical energy radiating from it. This artifact must be important to the magic of this world, most likely a key ley line in the aura. But that is not important now, I need to get out.
I turn around and look above the cliffs and I see the tops of trees. I should need the fruits and shelter from them if I plan on surviving, but how do I get up there? I follow the path of the green pillars and I can see a stairway that leads to the top.
That's much too convenient, there has to be sentient life in this realm. Unless a perfect stairway is a natural formation, but a more likely answer would be some pilgrims that visit the tree and needed a way to traverse.
I stumble back to where I had woken up. There are several strands of cloth that had once been my clothes and lying next to it is my backpack with its straps ripped apart. I toss off the fabric that hung loose across me. I have to resort to opening my bag with my teeth, eww.
My other clothes and armor in my bag won't fit me, so there is no use in taking them with me. I pull out one of the smaller satchels and lift up the cover. Inside it is a collection writing implements, blank papers and a data logging probe. All of this would be great for studying the area, but I don't have my opposable thumbs to get started. "Ok, next satchel." This one just has a white box with a combination at the top. "Again, it would be great to have hands!" I shout at the sky.
They never answer back...
Attached to the sides are my weapons. One is a wooden staff engraved with runes along the hilt and a pedestal that suspended a glowing gem. The other is a sword with a slender blade that widens to a golden sunburst pattern with another gem suspended in it's core. I can at least sling my water canteen along my neck, but I will also have to leave my weapons here until I can make use of them again. I nudge the bags to the side, under a small overhang and walk to the stairs.
If you've never been inside another body, I should recommend avoiding the grueling task of climbing stairs. Finally at the top, I looked into a dark forest with a heavy mist hanging in the air. The trees are dense with low-hanging branches and many vines strung between them. There is also many bushes and ferns that occupy the floor with bright, multicolored flowers and mushrooms dotted about, these would most likely be poisonous, given the appearance of the forest. Looking to the left I see a cleared dirt path into the forest. This will be where the pilgrims would pass through.
I have wondered far into the forest, passing by many strange plants. I hear the howling of animals off in the distance as it becomes darker. On the side of the path there is a fallen tree that has been hollowed out. I don't know how far until the edge of the forest, so It would be best if I lie down in there to sleep. I hope that whatever was howling does not find me in here. I lie in the same position I woke up in; on my side with my legs curled up close.
My stomach aches from hunger. I rest the canteen to my chest, holding it in place with one of my forelegs. I bite on the cap and use my neck to twist it off. Gripping it with my teeth, I lift it up and drink. I did not realize how thirsty I was until the canteen ran dry. I put the canteen under my chin and let my thoughts drift away until I fell asleep.