"The stars have sent us a Messiah, our mother will be avenged and her vision will be complete..."

“What…?” I did a double take before letting the words sink into my mind, that was English, “They’re speaking English…? Am I back on earth…?”

“Wh-who's there?” I asked receiving no reply. I was surprised at what I discovered once I approached the bush. Emerging from the bush were two hunched figures in dark blue cloaks. One was larger than the other. The larger stand up to about my hip while the other, up to my knees.

The cloaked figures glanced at each other before peeling back their hoods revealing two impossibly colourful creatures resembling short-snouted equines. The quadrupeds simply looked up and stared deeply into my eyes with a pair of their own.

I can only gasp as they revealed their faces, not of fear, but one of surprise and shock. I can safely say that they were both the cutest things I have seen right after rabbits.

The larger equine has cream coloured fur and smooth long chestnut mane. And the smaller equine has deep cyan fur and short white messy mane which droop low to cover his left eye.

“Greetings oh great one, we are honoured for us to have you here,” The larger quadruped spoke, her silky feminine voice rang through my ears as she bowed down in respect followed by the smaller counterpart.

”They’re speaking English… Tiny alien horses just spoke to me in English… This is definitely not earth anymore.”

Before I could respond, the larger equine spoke, “Oh no you’re hurt, come, let’s go to our home before sundown,” she said as she took notice the multiple cuts on my clothing and the blood seeping through my white clothing. She motioned me to follow her as her small companion followed along after pulling its hood up.

”Should I go...? Well, it’s help with a chance of death or blindly walking through an alien forest with a high chance of death,” with no other alternatives of sources of help, I decided to follow the pair towards their supposed home.

I followed the pair closely; the forest was strangely quiet ever since I landed here. With all the trees and other plants around, I expected the tweets of some birds, the sounds of creatures in the forest in the day or the sound of crickets during the night, but there was nothing but the occasional rustle of the trees and the gentle breeze.

I quickened my pace and decided to try to learn more about the two equines and the forest, “So… Uh, how are you?”

”Wow, is that the best I can do?”

The two equines glanced at me before Rose responded politely, “yes we’re fine, how are you?”

“Well, I’m good despite all the cuts and rough landing…”

“...”

“May I ask what your names are?”

“Yes, great one, my name is, Rose Thorn and this is our little brother, Cobalt Rust… Perhaps we can uh... Get to know your name…?” Rose asked hesitantly as if I would be agitated by her request.

“Oh yeah, sorry for not introducing myself first, my name is, John Wusheng, nice to meet you,” I said as politely as possible.

“John Woo-sheng? That’s a unique name.”

“Nah not really, John is a pretty generic name from where I came. My family wasn't the best with names…” I trailed off, ”I wonder where they are right now... Are they alright? Are they together? Are they looking for me?”

“Are you alright, great one?” Rose asked worriedly as she softly nudged my leg with her hoof.

“Huh? Uh yeah, I’m fine. Also, why do you call me ‘great one'?" I asked curiously, "I'm not a God or deity.”

“Well, your species has come here to our divided planet, many times in the past and brought us gifts of knowledge along with many other things. Our elder will tell you more once we get to our home...”

“You don’t have to call me 'great one' just call me John. Also, you don’t have to be formal or too polite. I think it’s better if we get to know each other as ourselves.”

“As you wish gr-uh, yeah sure…” Rose said awkwardly.

The walk was slow and somewhat dangerous with the occasional obscure roots jutting out of the dirt. But overall, it was calming… At least calming enough to keep my head from thinking about my family for a while.

As we walked through the forest, I noticed my environment changing. The smell of trees slowly turned damp and sour, “Uh… Rose? Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes?” Rose said glancing back at me.

“What is that smell?” I asked as the smell became more pungent by the second.

“Oh… That’s the smell of the bog, why do you ask?”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I said pinching my nose close in an attempt to block out the smell.

“Oh sorry, gr-John, but we must hurry back if we want to make it until sundown, this is the shortest path we can take. The creatures of the forest are more active during the night, and they aren't too friendly with strangers. The last one got eaten by a hydra. So they might eat you too,” Rose Thorn said casually.

“Eat me?! Hydra?!”

“Yeah, they aren’t too friendly with strangers so they might get a little rowdy. But there's nothing worry about, as soon as we introduce you to them I'm sure they won't bother you anymore. Come on! Our home is just up ahead!”

“Uh… Alright then let’s hurry up…” I said picking my pace and catching up with them.

“No worries, it’s only a short walk to our home,” Rose waved the air with a bright smile, ensuring me.

“Right…” I said no longer complaining about the smell.

We soon reached a gorge where Rose’s and Cobalt’s supposed home is.

“Alright! Nearly there, we just need to get to down to the right hole,” Rose said as she looked down. I looked down over the edge of the gorge to see what she meant and it was then I noticed that there were some holes dug out into the side of the gorge.

“How… Do we get down to the right hole?” I asked, there were no paths, ladders or any rope to safely descend down into the hole.

“Oh don’t worry. Now whatever you do, do not panic. We've tamed the gorge’s guardians and trained them to listen to our call,” Rose said as her cream hoof reached up under her neck and pulled on a brown thread attached to a wooden whistle around her neck.

“How did you… Grab the whistle with your hoof...?” I asked in wonder.

“Oh simple… Uh… I… I actually don’t know, how do we grab things with our hooves?” She asked looking at cobalt who shrugged in response.

“Well anyway, let’s all go home,” Rose said changing the subject as she blew the whistle creating no sound.

“Uh… is your whi-HOLY WHAT?!”

Before me stands multiple Crimson serpents with amber eyes and pink spots dotting along the sides of their bodies.

“Uh…” All pairs of amber eyes immediately snapped onto me the moment I let out a small whimper of fear.

I began to take small steps back as the serpents approached me, “don’t move, they can smell fear, show them bravery and courage, stand your ground and they will see you as a worthy addition to the family,” Rose whispered to me while Cobalt simply nodded under his hood.

”Stand proud… Stand proud?! They are going to EAT me! I thought nervously before taking a very deep breath, steeling myself and standing my ground. Trying to fight against my fears as my body shouted at me to run. I groaned under my breath as my body shook from the amount of adrenaline flowing through my veins.

The large serpents approached even closer and are now mere inches away from my face. ”Fuck fuck fuck shit shit shit, GO AWAY!” the closer they got the harder it was to stand still and face the threat without shaking, ”STAND STILL DAMMIT!! Your father wanted you to be a MAN and you will be one!!!”

With those thoughts in my head, I clenched my fists tightly, mustered a shaky smile and idiotically reached out towards the closest serpent in front with my hands. The moment my fingers made contact with the nose of the serpent’s nose, all my feelings of nervousness seem to immediately vanish and replaced with absolute calmness, I just simply stopped shaking for no reason.

I let go of the breath I didn’t realise I was holding and simply rubbed its nose, I felt it’s warmness through its scales and breathed a small sigh of relief. ”Huh, it’s actually kinda harmless, I thought as a small proud smile appeared on my face.

I turned to see Rose with a face of awe and Cobalt with his hood down who began clapping with his tiny hooves.

"You are just like him... So young... Too young to be thrown into this unending war... Stay strong little sapling, we’ll protect you from the blizzard. But for the time being, welcome you to our family..."

”Huh?! Who...?” I cried in surprise as the serpents simply stood there waiting.

“What’s wrong?” Rose asked.

“The snake just spoke to me!”

“Uh…” Both equines looked at each other, “no it didn’t,” Rose denied as Cobalt shook his head sideways.

“Yes it did, heck I heard its voice!”

“Um, maybe the elder can explain this? This is the first time this ever happened, the guardians usually just stare at new members not get that close to them,” Rose said

‘Wait, you mean to tell me that you just stood there with the risk of me actually getting eaten alive?!”

“Uh… No, not really,” Rose said sheepishly, “you could actually run, they won’t chase you if you leave the gorge.”

“Right…” I trailed off looking back at the serpents.

“Well let’s get on,” Rose said as Cobalt followed after her.

“Get on… Where?”

“On the guardians, of course, they’re taking us down to the right tunnel… No, they won’t eat you if they’ve accepted you… I think.”

“You think?” I said taking a deep breath before I hesitantly hoist myself up on one of the serpents, holding on as tightly as I can. The snakes seem to instantly accept my weight on the back of its neck without complaint.

The moment my crimson ride moved, I tightened my hold even further in fear of falling off the edge. The serpent moved down the cliff elegantly and stopped in front of a tunnel entrance.

Within the entrance, I could see the figure of Rose and Cobalt standing in the darkness, “You have to jump to get in!” Rose called out.

“Uh… Can’t the serpent just enter the entrance so I can get down from it safely?” I called into the tunnel.

“No, they can’t without you turning into a scraped up mess on the ceiling!”

“Ugh… Everything is trying to kill me,” I groaned to myself as I slowly inched myself towards the serpent's nose. I slowly got up to a crouched position once I reached the forehead of the snake and leapt off the snake while apologising for any pain I caused it from my jump.

I landed on the stone floor which echoed through the tunnel, “Oh yeah, we’re gonna have to fix that if you were to stay with us,” Rose whispered as she cringed at the loud echo.

“Fix what?” I said normally, creating another echo.

“Sshh, whisper, you need to be quieter if you want to stay here.”

“Oh ok, sorry for being loud.”

“It’s alright, it’s your first time here so I’m sure everyone will forgive you,” Rose said turning around and walked deeper into the dark tunnel.

“Was it really that loud?” I whispered catching up to her.

“Yeah, it kinda was,” Cobalt spoke unexpectedly.

“... Oh yeah, I just noticed, why didn’t you speak while we’re out there?” I asked curiously.

“I don’t trust the light, not after what it did to me…”

“What di-” I was about to ask before Rose interrupted me.

“Alright, we’re here!” Rose whispered as we stopped in front of a wooden door, it was slightly hard to see due to the lack of light in the tunnel.

”Why did I ask that?! Well, I technically didn’t ask it, but why? He must’ve had a traumatising experience and I would’ve brought up bad memories if it weren’t for Rose’s interruption, I’m gonna have to apologise for that.”

Rose reached up to the door with her hoof and knocked in a strange manner, scraping the wood or simply tapped the door eliciting a soft knock.

*Scrape scrape… Scrape scrape scrape… Scrape scrape scrape… Scrape knock… Knock scrape knock knock… Knock knock… Scrape scrape knock… Knock knock knock knock… scrape… Knock knock knock scrape scrape* (1)

The door suddenly flipped open revealing a large armoured eagle standing in front of a small candle, its sudden appearance made me jump out of my skin. The bird was holding a short staff with a curved blade that is nearly as long as the handle, the surface of the metal seemed to bend and absorb light around it creating a strange fog of darkness.

The eagle’s eyes scanned us and widened as his eyes landed on me, “I apologise for taking so long great one,” The avian bowed as he apologised, his voice smooth and deep. revealing the rest of its body to me, I could see a furry back, a pair of wings folded to its side and a lion’s tail that is curled upwards. ”It’s a gryphon! Oh, right it's also a different planet” I reminded myself.

I blinked at him before whispering, “Oh no it’s fine, you didn’t take long at all. You opened the door so quickly I got a bit scared,” I quietly chuckled.

“I apologise for scaring you, oh great one.”

“Uh… You don’t have to call me great, my name is John Wusheng… Just call me John,” I awkwardly introduced myself.

The avian nodded as he stepped aside allowing us through.

One would think that the candle light would make it easier to see in the dark, but in this situation, it made it harder since my eyes were in the process of adapting to the dark. Rose and Cobalt’s soft footsteps or should I say, “hoof steps,” were the only thing that is allowing me to walk straight.

“Follow us carefully, there is a maze up ahead, we wouldn’t want you getting lost now don’t we?” Rose spoke as Cobalt grabbed my hand with his front hoof. It was a strange sensation, there was nothing clamping my hand onto his hoof, my hand seems to be magnetised to the flat surface of his hoof.

The maze was pitch black, it doesn’t matter whether or not my eyes could adjust, there was simply no light, “how are you guys able to see? It’s pitch black!”

“We are gifted by our mother,” Cobalt whispered as he led me through the maze.

“It also wouldn’t be completely pitch black if you didn’t make such a loud noise, you triggered the defence system,” Rose quipped.

“Duck down, John!” Cobalt exclaimed as he yanked me down with his hoof.

“Wha-”

*Whoosh*

“What was that?!” I exclaimed in a whisper as I felt an object whizz over my head with great ferocity.

“That was one of the traps from the defence system, It could’ve taken your head off if I didn’t pull you down ” Cobalt explained.

“Oh… Uh… Thank you,” I managed to say as the realisation sunk in, ”I nearly died… In that very moment, I could’ve died… Just gone… Forgotten… What have I gotten myself into now?”

“No problem, we’re taking the long way to avoid as many traps as possible. The good news is that there is only one more on the route we’re taking, but the bad news is that this last one requires us to run… How are you at sprinting?” Rose asked as I hear her hoof steps slow down.

“Uh… I may be a nerd but I’m pretty agile,” I joked before telling the truth, “no, I’m not even decent… According to many sources.”

“Well, those sources aren’t going to matter because here we are,” Rose stopped walking, “now, what you want to do is to sprint and keep doing so until I tell you to stop understand?”

“Yeah…” I said nervously.

“I'll go first,” Rose said as I hear her back up slightly before launching herself forward.

As her footsteps get quieter I can hear a chorus of hissing noises reminding me of pressurised air being released through a small nozzle. The sound seems to trail her before stopping, leaving only the echoes of her hoof steps.

“I may not be able to see it, but… Was there sharp objects being thrust out of the wall or ground as Rose ran by?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“Not to scare you or anything, but yes there was many.” I hear Cobalt scuff his hoof on the stone floor. My fears were confirmed.

“Great… So my turn?”

“Yeah… Good luck, don’t worry, as long as you keep running you won’t get hurt,” Cobalt said as I felt the magnetic effect disappear.

I hesitantly crouched and positioned my body where one of my legs are bent while the other is nearly straight with both my hands touching the ground.

”God… Please let me live through this one… I just need to run as fast as I can right? No pressure…” I lied to myself as I took another deep breath.

Here we go…

3…

2…

1…

GO!!”

With a sharp exhale, I exploded forwards and sprinted into the darkness blindly. Unable to judge the direction of where I’m running or know the distance I have left to run, I simply pushed myself faster. My legs burned as they roared for me to stop as my heart pounded against my ribcage like a drum.

I couldn’t tell how fast or how long I’ve been running for before I feel a hoof tap my shoulder, “Stop,” I hear Rose whispered as I ran past her before stopping myself.

Out of breath and sweating, I collapsed onto my back wheezing for air, “I am definitely not an athlete, and chances of me becoming one are very slim.”

“Oh don’t say that. You were even faster than me, and I’m not a scout for a reason you know?” Rose said as she patted me on my shoulder.

Before I regained my breath, I heard another set of hooves galloping towards us, “are we ready to go? Also, that was pretty fast for a nerd, were you in some sort of track team once?”

“No and no…” I wheezed catching my breath.

“Come on, we don’t want to miss a new moon tonight,” Rose said tapping me on my chest.

“New Moon?” I asked still wheezing, ”New Moon? Is that some kind of tradition here?”

“Well it’s the only time of the month where new members are allowed to truly join,” Rose explained.

This made me pause for a second, ”why are they so eager to let me into their secret home? She called me a Messiah and ‘the great one’ before. This seems very suspicious... I should be careful around them,” I thought as I tried to hide my suspicions by quickly changing the subject.

“Uh… Right, so how far do we have left?” I quipped.

“Not far, just a few more paces and we should be there in no time,” Rose said. By now my gut feeling is telling me that I should book it the hell out of here before anything bad happens.

“Right then let’s go,” I groaned, picking myself off the floor and dusting myself.

Cobalt grabbed my hand again and began leading me through the maze. ”They can see well in the dark, running away now is a bad idea since I can’t even see anything, I have to play along until the right time.”

“We’re here!” Rose said, shaking me out of my thoughts. I can see a large reinforced wooden gate with a pair of lit torches on each side lighting up a small area ahead.

Rose hurried towards the door. Cobalt lets go of my hand before catching up to her as she knocked on the gate in a similar fashion as before.

I slowly approached the pair before crouching low beside Cobalt, “So uh... Tell me, what does the welcoming include?” I whispered over to Cobalt.

“Well it’s considered to be very sacred so I can’t tell you, but it’s nothing bad trust me,” he said calmly as his large eyes peered into my own.

”Is he trying to read my emotions? I think he’s trying to read my emotions, doesn’t that only work in movies or something? Plus I’m a completely different species, maybe it’s an alien skill…” I thought curiously as I hear the door slowly slide open.

I looked up to see a line of four different armoured species, each carrying a weapon that seemed to suit their physical bodies. To the left, I see a griffon in black cloths and a hood that cast a shadow over its eyes, it wore a cloak which I suspect to carry a plethora of weapons and on its arms strapped a pair of bladed black bracers.

Next to the Griffon stood a pegasus with a spear with a broad tip, attached to the side of its Romanesque armour. The pegasus was glaring at us, or me at the moment.

In the front, stood a tall Minotaur, wearing a deep blue cloak with white trims; his arms crossed, looking down at my much smaller stature compared to his own.

The last species stood even taller than the minotaur, it was a red dragon, clad light grey armour, its spikes extended out of its head and down its spine like a mohawk. The armour followed the spikes and ended off with a barbed tip at the tail. The dragon held a large shield made out of a skull of a large unknown creature on its left arm. And a large broadsword with a glowing red ruby ornament in the centre of its guard.

”I think I just peed myself a little…”

The minotaur stepped forward and quietly spoke in a deep voice, ”Rose, Cobalt… You have returned...”

“Yes, high priest,” both Cobalt and Rose bowed.

“And I see that you have brought a…” The minotaur finally brought his attention to me. “Can it be… Our great Messiah…?”

“He could very be general, he has just landed here the night before…” Rose spoke, still bowing to the general.

”Okay… This is definitely a cult or something close… I think I really fucked up this time,” I thought planning my next moves, ”but what to do next? Rose and Cobalt will try to stop me from running away, the dragon will kill me in one blow, the griffon will rip me a new one, the Pegasus will probably catch up to me the fastest, and the minotaur will impale me with its horns. I am outnumbered, not to mention that it is evident that multiple members can see in the darkness. In other words, there is no escape.”

“Greeting oh great one, I am General Steel, Black Steel, welcome to our home where those who are denied or abandoned by the world find a place to call home,” he now spoke instead of whispered.

“Hehe…” I nervously laughed, “Uh… My name is John, John Wusheng… Nice to meet you.”

“Well, come in, I hope you’ll find a home here,” the minotaur laughed as the guards sheathed their weapons before turning around and walking through the gate.

”I think it's safe to say that I am at that level of deep shit where I can’t pull myself out anymore…

Author's Note

(1) I tried to be smart and made a code, this can be translated by the way. The first clue is: Dit and Dot

I didn't put much effort into fixing my grammar into this chapter, I only fixed some issues.

The dialogue and interactions also felt forced, please comment on this, give me some suggestion on how to improve them.