Lynett Maedis

My name is Aileen Woods. Recently, something unexpected happened. I died. But that was not the "unexpected" part. Actually, I kind of awaited this - well, when you're sick, you are prepared for things like this to happen. No, the "unexpected" part was what came after. I was reborn. But that's not it. I was reborn in Erthia, a world that I created.

Right now, I am very conflicted about this. I mean, what would you do if one day, one of your creations suddenly came to life? This is supposed to be every artist's dream, but what if a random character you drew suddenly appeared next to you, in flesh and bones? You'd freak out, right? Well, in my case, it isn't just one character, it's a whole world.

It was a little hobby I had in my past life, since I had a lot of free time. I invented Erthia, a world of magic and swords. It's the kind of universe you see in every RPG game or novel. Yeah, the kind of world every kid dreams about.

I liked it, but I never thought one day that I would be living in it. And it is exactly because I was the one who created it that I know how dangerous it can be. Sure, there is magic, but there are also dragons, brigands, slavers, and wars. If I remember correctly, I think there is even a Demon Lord - yes, I know, there was once a time I was childish like this and I included such a cliché element. Anyway, not the kind of world where you can lead a peaceful life.

I would be lying if I said that I've never dreamt of becoming a hero, going on an epic journey to save the world, but this is the kind of dream you have when you're young and naïve. It's just like a child saying "I wanna become a superstar when I grow up". Moreover, after ten years of sickness and suffering, putting my life on the line for such an ideal purpose is the last thing I want. I already died once, no way I'm going to risk my new life like this. Right now, I just want a peaceful, normal life.

Anyway, in this life, I've been granted the name of Lynett Maedis. Most people call me Lyni though, it's like a nickname, and they say it's cuter. I like it better, to be honest. Lynett sounds a bit too girly and too childish for me. Just a matter of taste.

It's been six months since my rebirth, and I have noticed some things. I was born into a family of two. My mother's name is Azariah Maedis. She is a beautiful young elf. Well, I say young, but I'm not sure, really. She's an elf after all, she doesn't age like humans do. My brother, Aoban, is four years old, but he is quite a mature child for his age. He takes his role as a big brother very seriously. Whenever mother is busy, he stays by my side, watching over me. He's really patient - for a child, that is. I have yet to meet my father, but since I'm carrying my mother's surname, I'm guessing she's a single mother.

As I thought, our family is pretty poor. We're currently living in a cheap inn, the one I was born in. Mother doesn't really have a job. She does everything she can, running errands, washing dishes, helping the owner. She doesn't earn much, but it's enough for the three of us to live.

In the first months, I noticed something weird. Mother is really beautiful - she's an elf after all, all elves are beautiful, universal rule - but whenever she goes outside, she would wear a hood, partially hiding her beautiful features. It's such a waste. At first, I didn't understand why, but now I think I know: she's hiding her ears. Agraal is a human kingdom. So far, besides mother who is an elf, I have yet to meet another race. There seems to be strong discrimination against the other races, so it's no wonder mother is trying to hide the fact that she's an elf. The big question is: why is mother in a human kingdom to begin with? Besides a rare few kingdoms, the different races do not mix with each other. I'm curious. I'll ask her later.

Mother is being very careful in order not to get found out. When she went into labor, she categorically refused anyone in the room. The owner of the inn really panicked and insisted on calling a midwife, but mother turned down the offer, using the pretext that we were poor and didn't have enough money - which is not entirely false. Not convinced, the owner almost forced the door, but fortunately, the delivery was fast and I was born before it happened. Even after I was born, we barely went outside, since she was afraid that we would get found out.

I also noticed that black is not her natural hair color. It took me a while to notice that since I always knew her with black hair, but then at some point, her roots started changing color. Mother's natural hair color is sky blue, just like her eyes. But it stands out and it is basically shouting "Hello guys, I'm an elf!", so she started dyeing it. Just like on Earth, here, humans' natural hair colors are black, brown, blond, or red, while elves have brighter hair color. Recently, mother started dyeing mine too. I was born with blond platinum hair and golden eyes. It does not stand out as much as mother's blue hair, but it is still very unusual. Now I have black raven hair, just like mother. She can't hide my eyes since lenses do not exist here, but at least she can hide my natural hair color. Fortunately, my ears are much shorter than hers. They are still pointy elven ears, but they will be easily hidden once my hair is long enough. I'm guessing father is human, which makes me a half.

I'm not sure if I should be happy about this - I mentioned discrimination against other races, right? Well, it's even worse for halves. Aoban was luckier. He must have taken after our father; he looks perfectly human. Brown hair, black eyes, and round little ears. It's a relief, since mother is already ruining herself buying enough dye for both of us. Dyes are expensive, but we don't have a choice. Sorry for being born with platinum hair, mom.

Anyway, life as a baby is pretty boring. The first months were the worst since my muscles were still undeveloped and I lacked control. My body wouldn't move like I wanted, I could barely look around me. Fortunately, I needed a lot of sleep, so boring moments never lasted long. I must say I'm a pretty cool baby. I don't cry a lot and barely bother the others, except when I don't have a choice, but since Azariah is an attentive mother, I barely need to signal her when I need to be fed or changed.

Now I'm six months old. My days are longer, but my activities are still limited, as mother doesn't bring me outside a lot. Most of the time, when mother is working, it's Aoban's responsibility to watch over me. I like playing with him a lot. Well, I say play, but it's mostly him telling me stories and legends. Not that I complain, since it's a good way for me to gather information.

As I thought, this is Erthia. I already knew it, but I was kind of in denial until now, thinking that maybe it was just a huge coincidence. But the more I learn about this world, the more I'm convinced that this is indeed the world I invented, especially when Aoban tells me about the legend of the terrifying dragon Charizard that kidnapped the princess, how the prince charming rescued her, and how they married and lived happily ever after.

Uuuuugh. This is so cringe-worthy. I'm not sure what is the most embarrassing: the fact that I was the one who actually wrote such a cliché story, the fact that I named the so-called terrifying dragon Charizard, or the fact that people in this world actually believe in a stupid story like this. But now I'm starting to get really worried. This is one of the many legends I wrote back when I was still a child, because I thought it was "so cool". I had forgotten about it until now, but what if there were more like this? I really don't want to find more of my childish fantasies like this. Some things are better forgotten.

Aoban's stories also allowed me to understand the political situation a little better. Even though I did create this world, the only thing I never wrote anything about was the people. The reason is simple: it's too complicated. Creating a world is much easier than creating its inhabitants. It's a bunch of physical laws and constants, with a measure of randomness, but in the end, it's all about logic. On the other hand, people are nowhere near logical or predictable. This is why, besides a few legends about heroes and gods, I never wrote anything about the people of this world. I did create the different races populating Erthia, but it's just like a Wikipedia page, a bunch of information about their physical description or their attributes and that's it. So I knew pretty much nothing about the political situation or the country's history.

Agraal is situated in the Middle continent, which is primarily inhabited by humans, beastmen, and elves. Apparently, the humans have been fighting the beastmen invasions for centuries. While they lacked magic affinity, beastmen were known to have greater strength and agility, which made them dangerous melee fighters. They're also called demihumans. Because of their lineage and their reputation for being savage and brutal, they were treated like beasts. It is only recently, a few decades ago, after the war ended, that they were given human rights. However, because of their past constant fights, they're still strongly discriminated.

Elves, on the other hand, did not cause as much trouble. They live completely isolated and are hard to see. Apparently, they had the reputation of being self-centered. But since they were so rare, they were considered prime material for slave traders and often captured to be sold as trophies for the richest noble households.

Basically, humans clearly did not consider the other races as their equal - no wonder mother is so desperate hiding our lineage. But that's not all. There were also conflicts between human kingdoms. Well, humans sure are good at creating conflicts, whether it's with beastmen, elves, or their own kind. I guess some things don't change, no matter the world.

I'm really starting to worry about the future. Seriously, mother, what are you doing in a human kingdom? Isn't it very dangerous?

Oh well.