The night arrived and one of the Arnebians knocked on my hut's door.
"Sir, the table is set." A young male voice came from the other side.
It was best to not keep the elders waiting so I got off the bed made of leaves and wooden logs and exited the hut to see the source of that voice. It was a young one but to me, distinguishing between different Arnebians was impossible. I could not tell their faces apart. They all looked like rabbits.
"I am Sven. It is an honor to meet you. It is our first time seeing a human." Sven said.
"First...? I know no one can enter the forest but surely you can leave, no?" I asked but the kid shook his head.
"There were some who left. Long time ago. They wanted to see if her majesty's powers worked and what their conditions were. But when they made the humans enter the forest, they suddenly vanished and ended up outside the forest, unharmed. But those who were conducting the experiment later claimed their felt uncomfortable when they had exited the forest. Some even fell sick. And so no one tried to do it again. None of us leave the forest and none enters the forest. You are the first! and so elders are excited. Some even think her majesty personally chose you." Sven told me.
I do remember elders telling me about the experiment but it seems like it was not a recent experiment but falling sick? So Arbenians are essentially caged inside this forest under the pretense of protection? Or whoever this princess is... could it be that she might not be as benevolent. I had to stay vigilant but in reality, I had little chance of escaping so I must play dumb.
...
The torches were lit circling around the open area where all the tables and caldrons were set. I could smell some sort of vegetable soup being cooked but why do they have caldrons...? Such an isolated tribe shouldn't have access to something like this. Upon inspection, the caldrons were definitely not primitive but I failed to see any blacksmith or furnace in the small village.
"So... How did you get these?" I asked one the woman stirring the caldron.
"We meet with humans at the edge of the forest to trade goods." The woman answered.
So it seemed they were in contact with humans? Maybe they're not as isolated but then again my reference point was something told to me by a child.
"So... When will the ruler of the blood moon descend?" I asked and the woman looked up in the sky.
"Once the moon covers the entire sky. It will take some time. So please have a seat and enjoy the festival."
I nodded and decided to sit amongst the three elders of the village.
"So, lord Aryan, you have appeared here from a different world. We barely have any reason to not believe you. But have you heard of elemental energy?" Rurik asked in his husky and hoarse voice.
"Hm? Like magic?" I asked and he nodded.
"You see, us, the blessed children, have special powers that are different from the rest. So I would suggest asking her majesty for such powers. They'd allow you to traverse the forest." Rurik told me.
"Is there any reason for that?" I asked.
"As you see, her majesty doesn't descend often. Many never even get to see her for their entire lives. So her words and presence hold a lot of value. Last time she appeared she informed us that some catastrophe will strike us and a star will descend down to assist us. Its been over 150 years since that prophecy and you are the first one who has entered this village, so, it is very plausible that the star is you. And coincidentally, we have noticed movements in the forest that shouldn't exist. This forest is for us and we do not eat meat and so there are very little number of foreign animals in the forest. So movement of any kind can not be overlooked." Rurik told me as he poured me a cup of what seemed like fruit juice.
"Conditions are being met. I understand. But I'm not a warrior and given your diet, I doubt any of you is much of a warrior either. So, even if I get this special power you speak of, there is no guarantee that I will be able to assist you." I responded.
The three elders nodded as if acknowledging the possibility.
"We will see when that happens. Think of this as just a safeguard." Yngvar said.
...
As we were enjoying our drinks and meal, I heard a strange noise. It was a muffled and heavy vibrations. It was something everyone had noticed and they fell to their knees as purple fog oozed out of the ground and the sky turned blood red. The ground beneath us started to form cracks and the rocks rose up into the sky. I looked up and instead of a moon, I was confronted by something was something of a sort of eldritch horror. The night sky split in half opening up a rift from withing emerged a blood red eye.
"Oh~ the blessed children of ■■■■■■, bow before your majesty." A voice came from the rift. A voice that carried reverberations and echoes. It felt as though the source of the words was more than one.
I felt a certain sense of dread as I was unable to move. Unable to run away. The presence of that eye before all-encompassing. As if there was no place where I could hide from whatever was in front of me.
"I see. The star of ■■■■■ has landed on our abode? I am pleased to lay my eyes upon a being of other world." The eye spoke. This was Selene?! The name made it seem like she would be a beautiful woman and not something straight out of Lovecraft.
"I am Aryan. What's the purpose of summoning me here? Am I the only one?" I asked trying to sound as kind and polite as I could.
"Oh? You are not the only one. There were more who were summoned. The reason is unknown to me. ■■■■■■ decided it was time to bring you into the world but some of your friends came too as a result. ■■■■■■ is sick so their powers aren't at their absolute peak so mistakes happen. They decide everything and us... three moons are to follow their order." Selene answered.
She spoke so naturally that it seemed something external was keeping her from saying certain words. Star of what? Who is 'they'? It seemed even a god could not say those words.
"So... I have a question: What exactly are you?"
"I am Selene, the ruler of life and eternity." She answered.
"A god? Shouldn't gods be above everyone?"
"The favored think of me and my coordinates as 'gods' even though we are not the highest order. ■■■■■■ is ■■■■ ■■■ and their commands are absolute."
"And... one more thing. What is this power the Arnebians speak of?" I asked.
"Hm? I suppose it is only essential that I bless you too, my child. The power of Ether. Consider it... the fundamental form of energy used in this world. It neither inferior nor superior but it is a power closest to ■■■■■■." Selene answered.
"So why are Arnebians locked inside this forest?"
"To protect them. My children are special. And so I do not desire for outside world to taint their innocence. They will stay here... in security of their majesty, me." Selene sounded a bit possessive and the blend of different tones, reverberations and echoes didn't help whatsoever. Every fibre of my body was telling me to not act too frank with her. She seemed nice enough but it was becoming obvious by the minute that she wasn't to be messed with.
"I see... I'll take the powers. That's all..." I didn't want this conversation to go on for longer anymore. I was straight up scared of her.
A small light emerged from thin air and thrusted itself into my chest. I fell to my knees feeling sick as my stomach churned. The pain was too much for me to handle but it happened all so suddenly that I threw up before everything faded to black.
...
A few hours prior:
A dimly lit room occupied by a couple dozen masked men raised their staff and there emerged fourteen students and the teacher from the magic circle placed on the ground.
"The summoning was successful!" One cheered.
"Where... Where are we?!" Katlyn frantically looked around.
"We are not your enemies." An old man wearing a crowned and a cape walked into the dimly lit room. "Welcome to the kingdom of Eyrndopia. I am the ruler of this nation, Mienalik Eyrndora. We are currently in a town named Kenba. It is one the edge of the empire." The king spoke.
"And.. why are we here?" Trystan asked.
"Currently our nation is under threat of an otherworldly disaster. Tonight... a blood moon will appear in the sky and that will be the beginning of the last days of our planet and so to protect us, we begged our titans to give us a path. According to them... outlanders have power to rival our world. Please... help us defend our planet." The king knelt before them and lowered his head.
All the students felt confused because it was too much to handle. Being teleported to a different world and now suddenly they are asked to save the world?
"Wait... where is Aryan?" Katlyn asked.
"Maybe because he was in the toilet, he didn't get summoned?" Jacob, one of the loudmouths said. He always had a crush on Katlyn so he sounded extra happy that Aryan was no longer there.
"So is there any way for us to go back?" The teacher, Choi, asked.
"Yes... there is a gate in the heavens that can send you back to your world but for that you have to defeat the impending doom. You see... our gods are infected by this otherworldly power and so we can not contact them. Sending you back is, for now impossible. But I'm sure once the gods awaken, they will acknowledge your sacrifice and praise you." Mienalik said.
"We... we need some time. My students are scared, they need time." Choi sighed. It was too much for him too but the students had barely entered their twenties. In no way, shape or form could they handle the upheaval of their life.
The students and the teacher were taken to a different area where they could rest for the time being.