The Truth and Some Answers, Part 1

Adell made his way up the tower. He asked for directions at some point, and the man he asked gave him a questioning look. Adell's eyes were still blue, after all. He was probably wondering what someone that wasn't a sorcerer or a researcher be doing trying to meet a Greater Sorcerer, but Adell didn't mind it much. He was unsure how long the potion's effects would remain active before they faded and Adell's eyes were purple again.

Regardless, he made his way up, now knowing where his destination lay. He went up many floors, though not by the staircase. When he tapped a wall he thought would hide a staircase, he instead would a circular platform lined with glowing blue and purple. On the wall was a screen with a long range of numbers, which Adell assumed may be floors. He clicked on the 100th, and it shot up, depositing him at the 100th floor. He stepped off, glad that he discovered this machine. It saved him a great deal of time, not having to climb so many flights of stairs to get here.

He walked through the corridors, and as he did, he wondered what Terralt's master summoned him for. He thought about it, but didn't know enough about Terralt to come up with a guess. His rudeness maybe? But its not as if Terralt started being rude just yesterday. The people he'd interacted with had already deemed the attitude normal, whether they found it unpleasant or not.

His questions would be answered in the next few minutes, though, because he was now rounding the corner that led him down the hallway to Terralt's master's door. He stood in front of it, not opening it just yet. He wanted to prepare himself, mentally, for having to face one of the people that likely knew Terralt best. The door slid open right that moment, however, so Adell was forced to step inside.

The moment he did, the door slid shut, and Adell looked up to take the room in. The entire back wall was a window that looked out at the many towers that dotted the landscape. A Rahdal flew by. In front of the window was a desk facing the door, and in front of the desk were two armchairs. On the left and right walls were enormous, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Some of the shelves had small, round floating lights on them, illuminating the spaces the sunlight flowing from the window couldn't reach. There were no other lights on.

Behind the desk stood a tall, skinny old man, his palms placed on the desk and his violet eyes boring holes into Adell. He didn't seem happy. But he wasn't sure he was mad, either. Adell suppressed the part of him that wanted to run all of a sudden and came closer to the desk, but didn't sit down.

The old man sighed and lowered his head, gesturing for Adell to sit down. As he did, the old man asked him something Adell wasn't expecting to hear. "Those damn blue eyes. You went to the ring again last night, huh? Didn't I tell you to limit your time there? How many nights has it been already? I know I was in an accident yesterday, but can't you even pay a visit to your grandfather instead of running to that underground rat hole to pound someone's face in?"

Adell didn't know how to respond. This person wasn't just Terralt's teacher and mentor, but also his grandfather? The same grandfather that Levath's father put into the hospital? There were too many thoughts going around his head, but his mind was stuck on the last thing the old man had said. "I didn't fight last night. I just stayed there for the night."

"Well, that's something at least." He raised his head and looked Adell in the eyes. "You. How did you survive?"

Adell didn't understand the question. "What do you mean? Weren't you the one in accident yesterday? Why are you here and not in the hospital recovering?"

The man chuckled. "Terralt, are you serious? I used a recovery spell, of course. Unfortunately, it took too long to finish so I couldn't participate in the spell yesterday, which is why I was so surprised when I came here this morning to here that you were chosen to go in my place. So I ask you again. How did you survive?"

Adell didn't know how to respond. The brown-haired sorcerer he'd met yesterday had said the same thing. Was Terralt really so terrible at magic that everyone worried about him like this? The old man continued, however, and immediately proved the opposite to be true.

"I know you're talented, Terralt. It's a shame you refuse to utilize that talent because of your stubborn hatred for it, but regardless. You're the most talented sorcerer I've seen in the last three generations, but that doesn't mean you have the skill and the magic capacity to survive a dangerous spell like that. I know exactly how skilled you are at magic right now, despite all of your attempts to practice it as little as possible, and I know you would never survive that spell, not even if you took another five years to train. So why are you still alive?"

Adell didn't say anything. He was wondering now if he should just give up the act and tell the old man the truth. He would probably have the answers he so desperately wanted, after all. And it wasn't like Adell knew what to say to stave off his suspicions, either. If everything he said was true, then Terralt really did die like Adell suspected. Didn't Terralt's grandfather deserve to know the truth, regardless of what would happen to Adell? This was the first one of Terralt's family members he came across. Their relationship seemed a little strained, but they were still grandfather and grandson. Adell couldn't continue lying about Terralt's death. He would regret it if he did. So he sighed and broke the old man's gaze, staring at some Rahdal flying around a neighboring tower.

"You're right. Terralt died during that spell. My name is Adell. I'm 15. I was in my own world, one very different from this one, and then something happened and I found myself in Terralt's body. I'm not entirely sure why I'm here, or how. I was hoping you could tell me."

He finally had the courage to look up at the old man, and saw that his face was frozen in shock. He sat down in the chair behind the desk and placed his head in his hands. He didn't say anything for a while, but Adell thought he could see his shoulders shaking. After a long time, the old man lowered his hands, his eyes glistening with tears, and stared at him again. Adell could tell that this time, he was looking not at Terralt, but at him. At Adell. He hadn't realized until now how badly he needed someone to look at him, and not at Terralt. He almost cried himself, but stopped. It wasn't the time.

The old man spoke. "I don't want to believe you. I want to believe in the impossible chance that you're Terralt, and just playing a sick joke on me, and that you used your talent to survive that spell, but I know better. I also know that you, Adell, must be very confused and scared at this situation. I can't even begin to imagine how another soul was pulled through along with Leon's. In any case, introductions need to be had. My name is Rement Velacroh. Call me Sorcerer Velacroh. You are not in another world. This is the same world you lived in before."

Adell was relieved that he introduced himself. It was annoying, having to guess someone's name from whether it was mentioned in conversation or not. He had many questions, but the one he asked now was his most pressing one. "Yes, I assumed the same when I went outside and saw that the moon was the same one I've always known. But… everything is so different. I don't recognize anything, so what can this be other than another world?"

"The future, young man. This is the future, 2,000 years after your time."

Adell hadn't been expecting that answer. Traveling to another world made more sense than traveling through time, at least to him. It was no wonder he couldn't recognize where he was. 2,000 years. The number was so large he couldn't really begin to process what this meant for him, apart from the sense of loss he felt at being so far away from his own time. "But… how could that happen? Why am I here? Why am I in Terralt's body now?"

Sorcerer Velacroh sighed. "That's what I would like to know. Could you tell me everything that happened before you came here? Don't leave out a single detail. I may be able to figure out what happened with you and the spell if your memories hold any clues."

Adell nodded, and began telling him about his last memories from his own time: memories that started at the Menelo-Renast.