Chapter 1

Vision blurred and ears ringing, Saranie hyperventilated. Her body was shivering from a cold and sweating like she was dying from the heat. Trying to get her bearings, she attempted to blink and clear her eyes, but it was too bright. Air was difficult to get into her body and she tried to adjust herself in a more comfortable position, only to learn that her hands were tied behind her back and she was kneeling on the ground. Concern spiked along with an absurdly high heart pounding in her chest.

Her hearing was the first to clear up. It started with metal and feet against the ground, then it moved to shuffling next to her.

"… my dudes. How are you all today?" It was a man's voice next to her. It was hard to make out and his accent didn't help with her adjusting ears.

Then all the sounds stopped. She couldn't move, not even move her eyes which did slowly adjust in this time. Even though she couldn't breath, she was just fine even if the panic was starting to set in. But the man still spoke even if she couldn't see him next to her.

"So I downloaded a bunch of mods for this realistic playthrough. Including the one Gennt put together recently, GenntsNpc - AI Overhaul and Randomly Generated NPCs, link in Chat. If you don't know it replaces and adds many new NPCs and goes great with his other well known mod for adding new and cool random starts into the game. They are a must have addition to the game for anyone who has been playing the game like me for the past six years."

Saranie couldn't understand what he was saying, let alone who he was talking to. If only she could move her head.

"I also got all the other mods for realistic combat; eating and drinking; weather; amongst all the other stuff. The mod list is in Chat if you need. Right now I'm just going to try and survive as long as we can and if I die, then we restart and go through another run." The man paused for a moment before going crazy with a cheer of some sort. "Woo! Gennt nice to see you here and thank you for the twenty credit donation. Let's see… 'I've always been a fan of your streams, Xercoid, for A Night's Embrace: Treyllo. My love for modding the game and seeing others review and play it has always been a great motivation and when I saw you doing this stream with my mod, I just had to show my appreciation. Thank you.' Gennt, thank you for that and I hope I can live up to your expectations. Everyone show your appreciation for Gennt in Chat and go download his mod after for your game. I already did a few tests with it and it works like a charm."

There was so much she couldn't understand. Too much information in one go with so much that just flew over her head. Though there was a little she could gleam off of him from the way he spoke. The person next to her expected to die, but was happy with it? Looked forward to it? Based on context, the man next to her was named Xercoid and then someone else, Gennt, who did something… It was hard to tell.

By this time her body was settling down, but with that out of the way, she still couldn't move.

"As you know Gennt's random start mod has a random character creation button. So I will be using that. So let's see what we get and I will go with the first thing that pops up." There was a pause, then the man spoke again. "Looks like I'll be playing as an elf… female, alright. Let's see those stats… a cleric huh? Sounds exciting. I don't like the cleric all too much, but in the later levels they unlock the ability to throw lightning and well… you know me, never gonna turn a fun build like that. Also if you see over there, we might have a companion right away. Looks like we started in the… Astern Caldera… we could do the Wraith Fallen quest line right away. Sound like a fun idea?" He paused for a moment. "Blan-Kester-007, no I won't kill them all. I don't want to die right away. The queen would have me killed right away. I want to at least get a little further so I don't have to restart. Gonna do a quick save, so let's get this started… Oh forgot to mention I will be doing a full stream today. That was why I didn't stream yesterday, because I wanted to be ready for this one today. After All, I might be in shape, but VR is still tiring."

A moment later the world returned to normal. Saranie could move her head and see. Actually getting her bearings on herself, not only were her hands tied, but also there was a gag over her mouth. She didn't feel injured. Considering how she was just moments ago, barely hanging onto life and closing a portal. Now she was fine, more than that really. Rejuvenated, if a little hungry. Her mana and lifeforce were there and fully ready to be used.

Now looking around, she was a large chamber. White and gold inlaid stone filled out the chamber with red banners and carpet on the sides. Knights stood at attention with a similar colored, full metal armor at the sides. If she had to guess from what she could see at least twenty on each side, if not more behind her. But in front, five knights stood diagonally, on each side of the throne, leading to the woman in front of her. Considering the expense and regal nature of the chamber, the woman was more subdued. A simple dress matching the colors, mainly white and gold with a wreath of red flowers on her head. Everyone stood at command, clearly trained. There was little she could do to escape from here… although if what she heard about this being the Astern Caldera was true by the man… woman next to her, she had never heard of this place before.

Of course that brought her to look at the woman next to her. Strong elven features. Long slender limbs, pointy ears and purple eyes. A tattoo of blue dots line the bottom of her left eye. She wore a set of leather armor that clearly stood out in this place, but other than that she was just there. Not tied up or even injured. As the woman, with the man's voice, turned to her. Clearly looking her over. Not in a strange or creepy way, but out of curiosity.

"Saranie… huh. I see the queen is still the same. I know the mod doesn't change certain key characters, but those are in the minority. What do you say Chat, save Saranie and get her as a companion?" The man… elven woman, somehow knew her name, then turned to the queen who began to talk.

"We gather here today to deal with this terrorist. Attempting to blow up the Fruldas Embassy and assassinate my general at the party." The queen stated it as a fact and as if Saranie was already guilty. Yes, the queen was looking directly at her. Then the queen turned to the… person next to her. "As the Fruldas Ambassador, what punishment do wish to give this one?"

The person next to her didn't answer the queen, just looking at some artifact on their wrist. It showed a bunch of strange symbols moving upwards in a super fast motion. Some include small pictures. As she looked closer she found they were words, but they moved at such high speeds that it was difficult to keep up.

"Alright, I'll recruit her." Then the person next to her, turned to the queen and spoke loudly in that accent. "On behalf of my people, I request to take her into my custody. She shall receive punishment with us."

"You wish to take her into your custody, Ambassador? While I understand she has attacked your people, we must not forget her aggression towards our nation." The queen spoke diplomatically, but there was a hint of a scowl on her face.

"This is the benefit of high charisma builds Chat." A mumble came from the person next to her, before addressing the queen. "I do not mean to disregard her attempt at attacking one of your generals, but she tried to destroy our land. Even if it was within this city, our embassy is on Fruldas land, therefore we can send her to my home for sentencing."

They keep mentioning the crimes she is accused of, but they were not done by her. All she did was close a portal, one to end a war, but now the strangeness of events is becoming too much for her. Terms and names that make no sense. Saranie feels numb to it all, only looking for her survival. That is all that matters to her.

"I can allow that, but she must face punishment for her crimes here."

"What do you suggest?"

"Since you are to send her to Fruldas, we will take a hand. The one that held the knife to my nation. Which hand do you wish for her to part with, Ambassador?"

"Keep the left hand." The elf next to her said nonchalantly.

At that her heart rate spikes as two knights walk over. She squirmed and bit down on her lip drawing blood. She casted a barrier around her with lifeforce, which gave off a rainbow like sheen, before using her mana to burn the ropes off.

Her armor was gone, leaving her in simple clothing and no weapons. She needed to escape and fast. There were too many knights around her and she was surrounded. In a split second she turned around as casted haste on herself allowing her to sprint fast. While she was better with the blade, she had trained with a wizard for a while learning many spells. Although she mainly stuck to mana dart as it was the one she was the most efficient with and she rarely used her lifeforce due to obvious reasons. Though she could tell it was different than before and she could worry about that later.

Her speed must have caught them off guard as the knights started moving to intercept her as she was about halfway to the large doors. Ones that she is going to have trouble opening. So she ripped the gag off her mouth, spitting her blood out in a large amount of raw lifeforce towards the door. It was a huge ball of swirling magical rainbow energy. It slammed into the door blasting it open, the shockwave slowed her for a moment and stumbled the knights around her long enough to make it past. Already she was worn out in less than a few seconds, but she had enough strength to make it out of… well she didn't know where to do, so she kept going straight.

This castle, clearly it was one, kept going on for a while. She took the first turn to the right, hoping to find a window at least to make it outside. There was no way she would step foot in a room with the amount of people chasing after her. Looking behind at least seven knights turned the corner, some firing magic and others using a bow to hit her.

*Tink Tink*

Arrows bounced off the hardened stone walls. Spells left either scorch marks or a patch of ice. Actually she could swear one spell had acid aimed at her as she saw a green beam melt part of the wall.

Then the first sign of hope. Shadows. Light was coming through a window to the left up ahead as she turned the corner. Using her mana, she fired a mana dart. It didn't break the glass, so she fired again using a larger amount and it broke, weakening it so she could jump.

"Don't be high up!" She screamed as she jumped through. Shattered glass fell with her.

Thankfully she wasn't high up, just a single floor or two meters in distance. Landing on the ground she heard bells much clearer now that she was out of the castle as she moved towards the wall ahead of her. Jumping over patches of flowers in a garden, a fountain, bench and bushes, Saranie made it to the wall where she used her lifeforce to make a great force of wind below her and she jumped on to the wall.

When they spoke of a caldera before, she never really knew what to imagine. There was one time in the past where she heard that word, but didn't really understand, but now she did.

Dark soil made up the background of this place. Green grass and farm land stretched out past the city, buildings that matched the colors of the castle and throne room. At the edge of the caldera, the rocky formations trapped the city with it's own natural high walls. To her right, further down, past the city and farm land, a large opening on flatter ground allows easy passage out of the caldera. Unless she planned on climbing the rocky edge, she would need to sneak past any fortifications there.

Then the world froze again. No sound. Not even the ability to move her fingers. It stayed like that for a moment, before it started again. Aware of it, but unable to do anything she jumped off the wall and casted slow fall to make her way into the city below.

---

After knocking out one of the guards on patrol in an alleyway, attempting to scatter those starving, she took the woman's armor, money and weapon. It was a spear, something she was very unfamiliar with and wouldn't be of use in her hands. Though it would complete her look for now.

Before she left, she put the guard in a barrel nearby and slit his throat. She couldn't have anyone know what she had.

There was a stand nearby selling bread, which she was thankful she had enough money to purchase. Even though a piece of bread cost a single gold coin, too much money, she learned quickly that there was no way a guard would keep fifty gold pieces on them. So it wasn't split between copper, silver and gold. Which was crazy and just fine for her right now.

With her food secured, she was going to need a place to stay. There was no way she would be able to make it out of this caldera today, considering the sun was just tipping over it's high point and the exit was much too far away.

So she had a plan. One that was going to require a lot of luck on her end.

Saranie walked casually through the city. Looking past the buildings and people for a tavern. She pretended to be a guard on patrol. To fit in and not cause alarm as was currently starting to happen. People were starting to scatter and enter buildings. Getting off the streets due to the bells being rung.

Thankfully the tavern stood out and it was big enough for them to be giving out rooms. Entering the place, she went over to one of the hostesses and asked to speak to the owner.

"May I ask what the problem is?" An older woman came over to her. She really hoped her plan would work.

"A prisoner escaped and we are searching the streets for this criminal. Have you seen a woman with blue eyes and sandy long hair come by recently?" She didn't know how she had gotten in the castle and if others in the city knew of her, so giving out her own description, if minimal, was the safer idea.

"No, I have not." The woman was calm, but she noticed she was nervous.

"Is there a problem?" Saranie asked in a loud commanding tone.

"No, none at all."

"Then you wouldn't mind giving me that table in the corner and a room, so I may keep watch. In case this criminal shows up?" She glared at the woman through the helmet she wore to cover her features. It was all an act to intimidate the owner.

"Yes, I'll get a room prepared for you shortly."

---

The light waned outside and night came shortly after. No one was left on the street other than the guards on patrol. Only a few patrons were in the main eating space chatting about different events, but she paid little attention as they ignored her. Thankfully the owner gave her free food and she pretended to be on the watch for the criminal, or terrorist as they called her. There were a few more times where the air stilled and she was unable to move, but otherwise things were fine.

It gave her time to think. Everything happened so fast and there was too much to comprehend.

First was how she got here. Even if she were to have teleported anywhere, which would normally take a great amount of time to teleport a person, there was no way that she could have done what she was accused of. One moment closing a portal and the next she was facing trial for a crime she had no memory of, let alone would ever commit.

This place too… Astern Caldera? She hadn't ever heard of this place. While she didn't have a map, she guessed she wasn't near anything familiar as this place would be used as a landmark considering how grand it is. Even the other place she heard from the people here was Fruldas, the one where that Ambassador was from.

Yes, that ambassador. Xercoid? That was… that elf's name. That person was a mystery. Actually thinking about it, that person was the only one who spoke while the world was frozen. Could move too as she remembered hearing their feet shifting on the ground.

'Whoever that person was-' She was thinking until that person walked in the tavern.

Entering the tavern was Xercoid. Now dressed in armor, different from the knights here, it was a lot more revealing than unnecessary, but metallic and form fitting. It was unnecessary and whoever the blacksmith that forged it must have spent a lot of time on it. There is no way she would ever attempt to make something like that without more practice or ever wear it. A large black and red shield peeked out from behind her back and a similar looking mace on her side matching the armor worn. A full set that had no scratches or had ever seen war.

Xercoid turned to her and walked over like the elf knew she was there.

"Hello Saranie!" While she had met people whose voices didn't match what she imagined, this was just strange. In the end, one couldn't change how they were born, so she just thought of this elf as a woman with a deep voice. At least until she was proven wrong.

"You're the… Ambassador. Xercoid, correct?" If she knew where Saranie was, by her actions, then there was no point in pretending anymore. Based on the previous inspection, she maybe could take this woman, but she was a complete unknown. So far has shown little attention to stance and seemed relaxed. Perhaps she had full confidence in herself and that was why she wasn't on guard. Talking it out was the way to go, letting her gain answers.

"Oh, my name. That's cool, nice job Gennt." Xercoid looked at the words moving at a fast pace on his arm, clearly surprised by her knowing her name. Then she turned towards Saranie. "So Saranie, I see you made a successful escape from the castle. If you join me, I can help you escape this city. I will help you out, what do you say?"

There was a lot going on right there. A waiter came over to deliver drinks as she was speaking. Made no mention or acknowledged the colorful words floating on Xercoid's wrist, which she kept just in eye sight. Did that mean she could see it and no one else could? Xercoid didn't act like he expected anyone to ask about it. At least she thought it to be strange, so she kept her eyes off of it and focused on the elven woman in front of her.

Now, Saranie did remember her saying that she planned to help her. But it didn't sound real to her. Back in the throne room, Xercoid worded it like she was expected to join her and that made her hesitate. Having help leaving this place sounded great and all, but this person was an unknown. Completely.

She was afraid.

"Why would you help me?" Asking that was the best. She was looking closely at Xercoid, movements and speech. This question would give her time to flee if things were to go wrong.

"I want to help you, because the queen wants to put the blame solely on you. She is disregarding the group of cultists that-"

"What?" Saranie jumped up in her seat. Cultists? Here? They were framing her?

Perhaps how she got here was that they dragged… No that wouldn't make sense. She closed the portal, they would have killed her and not concocted this plan for her. Something else was going on, but knowing they were involved made the difference. Before the Xercoid could speak up, Saranie spoke first.

"What do you know about them? Tell me everything you know!"

"Oh this is interesting. You see those dialogue options Chat? This is all new Chat!" The man looked to the artifact that he called 'Chat'. Saranie couldn't help but draw her attention towards it and she caught some of it.

[Drak01Saurusxx: Pick 3]

[N3v3r02301: She's hot!]

[HotttCreapee742: Saranie is cute! <3]

There were a lot like that. She was starting to recognize that those were names, strange as they were, and they knew what was happening. They knew about her.

This 'Chat' had a lot of weird things to write. A lot of them were just saying numbers. Few said '1', while most were going between '2' and '3'. It seemed like Xercoid was enthralled by 'Chat' that it disregarded her for a moment.

They, if those were real people, wanted Xercoid to choose something. An option. It was all about her, but she noticed things about what they said were just right wrong about cultists in the few that had more information. It was fast, but she was getting used to it.

They referenced the cultists as 'Cult of The Stars', not 'Cult of The Void'. There were a few mentions of Star-born, but she couldn't read that fast and Xercoid was turning her head back to Saranie, so she stopped looking at 'Chat'.

"I know the cult. They are looking to resurrect the Star-born. The Star-born is someone who would either bring stability or destroy the world. No one knows if this person exists, but they say there is an alignment of the stars happening soon where the one who is Star-born is revealed. Of course an attack on Astern and Fruldas to incite war would provide a distraction and allow the cultists to bring this person into existence." Xercoid ended her words with a wide grin. Then looking back towards Chat and speaking more. "Thank you HotttCreapee742 for the six month sub, thanks for joining the gang dude! Also for those joining me now, I will be taking a break after this conversation as it has been four hours at this point."

While she recognized the name, she didn't know what a 'sub' was. Anyway, these cultists sounded very close to the ones she knew about. But Xercoid made it sound like a war had not started, so could she help avoid what happened to her kingdom here?

"Xercoid… how do you feel about this cult?" She pulled herself back and asked cautiously.

"I agree Chat." She mumbled. "I want to kill them all for their attack on my people. As the ambassador, it is my duty to find the truth behind this attack. The start of which comes from you, as you can give me insight on the truth."

"I don't know anything about that attack." Saranie felt defensive about this. She was being found guilty for a crime that she didn't commit. "I wasn't even there!" Her voice was loud, but others were avoiding her as she looked at them.

Xercoid's face contorted in confusion. It took awhile for her to respond to Saranie. "I was there and saw you. The evidence is overwhelming against you."

"That… That's not possible. I was…" Should she tell Xercoid the truth? Wait, there is no reason to trust this person. Why did she feel the need to respond like she had? Getting emotional in public… something was wrong. "Who are you really? You're no ambassador!" Saranie started to shake and shiver. Something was absolutely wrong. She bit her lip that she healed earlier and cast a mental barrier. To prevent mental attacks. Her mind cleared up instantly. She reached out to Xercoid. Just as she touched her, the world froze again.

"I know it's a bit of a cliffhanger, but I got to get off. Sorry dudes, got to pee. I'm going to take a break for half an hour and then I'll be back."

Then Xercoid's hands moved to her face before, then she completely disappeared. Gone. Not a sound or gust of wind. Just gone.

The world was frozen, yet Saranie could now move. The people, sounds… were still frozen, but her. It was isolating.

It was getting late and she wanted to sleep, but if everyone was frozen, then she had time to leave. To escape… but to where? She didn't have a map and it wasn't possible to ask for one at the moment. Not to mention she had to deal with Xercoid when she got back. It did sound like she would be back soon.

Even if her mind was clear, there were still too many questions. Too many unknowns. She needed information at most and she did see a library a couple buildings away. She could hide out there and look up information there in the meantime.