Zack lifted his head from a bed of swampy damp grass. He looked around confused, this wasn't home.
He stood up brushing the leaves out his hair and brushing mud off his arms.
"What the fuck?" He hissed and suddenly his attention was caught by a snapping stick. He took a moment to take in the sight before him.
A creature the size of 2 horses combined, its body covered in rock like armor that covered mossy green scales that swirled round all its angles and muscles. It turned on all four limbs to stalk closer, the shadows obscuring any other features than its 2 milky orange eyes. Zack quickly turned.
He could feel its large feet rattle the floor as it gave chase. He weaved between trees and soon found himself hip deep in muddy water that made his movement sluggish and slow. The sounds of the creature catching up from behind him making his heart race faster. He crawled up the side of the bank and suddenly heard a rough accented voice.
"Come on!"
Zack spots the leather gloved hand and grabs it which then easily pulls him up. He feels the stranger lose his footing and falls back with Zack landing in his grasp. The stranger's arm coils round him as he shields him from the approaching creature.
As he closes his eyes tight and yells out in fear, another set of large scaly legs land above them. He looks up to see a similar creature. Only this creature had another set of limbs and a tail that had a sharp point.
"A DRAGON?!" He yelped as its wings uncurled in a threatening pose towards the milky eyed dragon.
The black dragon roared causing Zack to cover his ears and the Milky eyed dragon to slowly retreat. The dark dragon then looked down to him and the stranger. The stranger stands and Zack gasps at their attire. It was a man with old torn boots, muddy trousers and a large coat with a hood. But these coats looked too gothic to be any modern style.
Zack watched as this man ran his gloved hand on the dragon's snout and chuckled.
"Thank you, Bud. Didn't know there were more dragons around the swamp." The man then turned to face Zack and he felt his blood run cold. "Well, you are an odd sight. What are you?" He asked approaching Zack.
Zack held his breath looking at what he could only describe as the Grim Reaper himself.
"Talking skeleton!" He yelped standing up and tripping on a stick, as he swung his arm up to catch himself a rock flung at the man and he ducks.
"Woah!"
The man puts his arms up in a universal sign of surrender. Despite this man looking like a skeleton the way his clothing followed the angles in his muscles made him blink a couple uncertain times.
"Woah, Woah. Calm down. What's wrong? Never seen a reaper before?" He said, offering Zack a hand.
"A Reaper? Am I dead?"
"No trust me, You seem pretty lively to me." He huffed before jumping. "Oh! I'm Grimzon. Nice to meet you…"
Zack looks spooked still, stunned at the thing before him. Grim seemed to observe him.
"So… are you like… a short wizard?"
"A wizard?" He shivered before looking around. He looks up at the sky and gasps. 'That's a huge moon!' Not just one, there's another smaller moon beside it?
Grim looks confused before speaking.
"Where are you from?"
"Earth!"
"Yeah we all are. Thank the mother for letting us live on her i guess. But like a town? Your accent makes me think you are from Laugion. Did I guess right?" Grim then looks more concerned before speaking, "Wait… You aren't from VADLAU. Are you?"
"VADLAU? What's that?"
Grim stared in disbelief. He looked amazed. "OH MOTHER! You… You are a cave man!!! And the earth holder! YES!" Zack stepped back, despite this reaper's excitement he felt off, like he was lying. Grim looks back and begins to talk.
"Well, Caveman. If you would allow it. I will answer everything if you help me with what I need." Grim asked, holding Zack's hand and somehow making him feel safe despite also feeling off.
Grim began to explain that this land Zack had appeared on was called VADLAU by the different people who lived there. It was home to many despite being only as big as Earth's Europe. It was a land of magic and fantasy.
"So unicorns?"
"Very hard to spot, they are shy and live on the outskirts of southern Valliell. But yeah."
"Uh Smurfs?"
"What?"
"Little blue guys who are always happy?"
"Sounds like a Muffit to me. Their creatures are around 2 Vallien apples tall. Never seen a blue one though. They run on love and daylight." Grim explained.
"Close enough. What about demons?"
"Which type? Mortal or Immortal?" Grim laid back snacking on some berries he had in a small pouch.
"Ones with horns who work for Satan?"
"Well I don't know who Satan is. But yeh the mortal demons have horns."
After a while Zack has gotten a basic grasp on where he was and had made the poor man worry enough after pinching himself so many times already.
So, apparently Zack had magically appeared on a whole new planet where the mythical creature said to be stories on Earth was real and thriving as their own world without humans.
"I'm not from here." He huffed suddenly and Grim nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah. Figured that out already. I had to describe to you the world I grew up in like you just came from the moon. It's amazing though! A real caveman! Are there more of you from your home?" He said as he lent on his dragon who Zack had been told was called 'Oscuro'. The dragon itself was napping its tail swaying every now and then, it was unnerving being around such a creature.
"Yeah, a lot. Humans are the dominating species on Earth."
"Earth?" He began to laugh which felt eerily forced. "I assume your ancestors came up with that one?" He cleared his throat before apologizing. "I'm sorry, it's just. Only a cave man discovers a safe new home and calls it something it's made of!"
"Oh? Well what is your ball of dirt called."
"As mentioned. VADLAU. It stands for every major section of our land. Valliell: the center of it all filled with valley's, forests, one large swamp… AKA here. Arctillia is an icy plain that is hard to love if you aren't born there to begin with. Desecton is a large dessert, again hard to love if you're not born there. Laugion is the section of ocean at the top of our maps. Any other water is classed as Red Waters because no one dares cross the Red Sea. There is then Aybesia; it's like a rim of nearly all of Vadlau and hardly anything grows there. It's like a waste land. Finally is Urifell, the underground. It's huge too. With it so close to the mothers heart they are really warm in there and can even rival Desecton's heat."
"That's a lot to take in." Zack looked down and saw rocks starting to gather round his ankles and he jumped.
"Does it to you too, huh?" Grim asked as he helped brush the rocks away. "Our powers manifest with will or emotion. I, not having emotion, only learned a month ago I had these powers after almost being killed over it."
"Killed?!"
"There are greedy people here. Hunters, villains and violent creatures. They saw I had a gift and wanted to hang me on their wall like a trophy." Grim hissed looking away, clearly remembering something he wished he hadn't.