I Rain - 2

The rain. The pitter then the patter of the water hitting each blade of grass, so audible and so calming he didn't want to wake up. But alas, his eyes opened slowly. 

"Grass?" He thought, whilst recollecting the past night. 

He knew he slept on his bed, that hard-cushioned bed of his. Where the only glimpse of rain he gets were from his bedroom window. But this was queer, grass gave the back of his head sharp grazes; somewhat uncomfortable. 

Slowly, he stood up. Looking at his surroundings. 

His eyes met the green of the plains and the greyness of light rain. This environment was far away from the urban environment of his city. This smell of air was nigh nostalgic, alike the times he spent in the countryside. An unforgettable serenity, the rain almost lulling him to sleep.

But he snapped out of it; "W-where... Am I?" He took a deep breath. "This isn't my home! Was I kidnapped!? But why put me through the trouble of riding out of that damned city to some countryside and not just some back alley! Well... I should maybe not be complaining." He said, somewhat annoyed.

He looked up, a tree shadowed him from the light rain. The tree, he recognized, was too big to be true. Like it were some folk legend, a legendary tree one'd say judging by the size of the tree branch that hung over him which had the same girth as his body it seemed.

Had he slept? He didn't know, time passed fast yet slow. The sky hadn't cleared for what? An hour? Then, the first rays of sunlight shone through the field. "Finally." He smiled gleefully. The sun illuminated brightly that grass field on that far horizon, a mesmerizing sight of green.

He couldn't measure the time, in instinct, he reached for his back pocket, feeling for his phone. "My phone!?" It wasn't there! Well, he rationalized, a kidnapper would for sure get rid of any communication tool to the outside world. But it was mildly infuriating. 

"I want my phone back."

[REQUEST INVALID]

A voice? 

"What!? A voice!?" He looked behind him, expecting someone to be standing over him, but it was only the tree's trunk. "Hey, you!" -He stood to his feet- "Show yourself! What do you mean 'request invalid!?'"

[PHONE CANNOT BE CREATED: WRONG ERA]

"Wait a second..." He tilted his head.

"What in the world!?" He, finally recognizing the idea of a voice seemingly in his mind, was utterly shook to his core. "Has a chip been implanted in my brain? No, my rectum? Have I been kidnapped by probing aliens!?"

[NO...]

The voice sounded... Weirdly amused. 

His heart raced, whilst his mind was stuck thinking of the many scenarios that could and maybe, at that very moment, be happening to him. He eased himself, breathing slow yet inhaling as much air as his lungs would allow. 

"OK..." Regaining control of his mind he says; "Voice in my head, who, where, and what are you doing my head?"

[REQUEST INVALID]

"What? What do you mean...?" His heart didn't stop beating fast nigh it even began to beat faster. 

[REQUEST INVALID: PROMPT INCORRECT]

"T-then what's the correct... Prompt?" 

[BY SIMPLY SAYING THE OBJECT OF YOUR WANT]

"I remember that my previous prompt was... A phone. I mean what even could you do?"

[OBJECTS CAN ONLY BE CREATED IF IT EXISTED FROM THE YEARS; 1900 to 1950]

"Created?" He questioned, a comical gulp.

[YES] 

"Well hey listen, I'm not that knowledgeable in tech but I don't think there's ever been a 3D printer that could replicate something without... You know... Electricity? I've also never seen technology about voices in someone's heads. And also, also. Where am I?"

[REQUEST INVALID]

He sighed in disbelief whilst his face was disappointed. 

"Well hey, why not just suspend disbelief." He fawned his brain to think of something from those times. "Ah! Why not give me an M1 Garand!" 

[REQUEST ACCEPTED: CREATING M1 GARAND]

Miliseconds after, nothing happened. He just watched the field of grass before him, mesmerized by the earthly smell. But just a blink after, he felt weight push down on his thighs, looking down;

"Its an M1 Garand!" He smiled joyously and immediately went for the gun's handle. 

But, a question arose whilst he lined his eye to behind the gun's sights.

"How?"

He lowered the barrel. "This is just a dream right-"

"No, why is it so vivid. I've never had dreams like this." He interjected himself.

"Is this death? The afterlife? What a weird version of Heaven? Hell? Purgatory? Where am I?

[YOU ARE IN AUFERSTAN] 

"Auferstan?" He questioned before saying immediately; "You just answered something outside a prompt!"

[REQUEST INVALID]

"..." 

"Yeah right..."

He looked onward, to where the green plains where shadowed over by the cloud's gray benevolence.

"Auferstan?" He thought, "Is this a new world? Am I in a coma, with this being a dream?"

But, to no avail, there came no response from 'that' voice. And not to the "Request Invalid" that he thought would come. 

"Free reign." He said. "This world, this power. This gun." I am powerful! Wait"

He thought deeper; "I don't even know what technology this 'world' (he refers it to) has. But if anything, still am I grateful for such a fanciful dream!"

He got up and stood as if he were a soldier in a march. 

"I would like a very stylish looking military uniform!"

[REQUEST GRANTED: SS UNIFORM]

"The SS uniform? Indeed it's stylish, but I can't condone wearing something with the symbolism is carries."

[THE SYMBOLS ARE REMOVED]

The uniform, after a blink; was on his body, worn as if he slept with it on.

"Hugo Boss." He smirked at himself, feeling the cloth on his arm and breathing in the fresh laundry smell.

"I might as well get some essentials, food and water?"

[REQUEST VAGUE]

"Hmm..." 

"Then I'll get an American MRE?"

[REQUEST GRANTED: C-RATIONS AND BOTTLED WATER]

The C-rations he got were not what he expected. It was canned! 

"Does this even taste good..." His stomach growled yet his mind deterred. 

No, no it was not. He instead summoned bread packed with meat inside.

The water container he got was surprisingly cold, he opened the cap and proceeded to drink it's contents. "It's water alright."

Looking at his surroundings, there was but grass and field, there was a small hill far far out the horizon, too far to walk for minimal prize, the forest would be a first however, and was undoubtfully way nearer. He gathered his things; "I shall head for forest, and search for civilization!" He struck a weird pose.

With a rifle; the M1 Garand equipped, a pistol; the Luger holstered to his right hip, he marched ahead bravely to the forest, He was both confused and relieved that the weather was cold, very cold, as in northern cold even though there was not one snowflake in sight. The waters didn't freeze, and it even rained an hour earlier! 

But he simply accepted the fact and continued to venture towards the forest. 

"They look like pine trees." He remarked as he neared ever closer to the trees.

Stopping a few inches from the tree, he thought; "There isn't a single pine cone in sight. This isn't a pine tree, but it looks like it for sure." Whilst examining it's body, his eyes were then distracted when he saw from the corner of his eyes; "A dirt road!"

A jump of excitement, he hurried onto the road's seemingly muddy path. The road had no barriers and not even the occasional lantern or torch that one would expect. 

In his minute journey on the path he encountered small insects, that had such small a size with species he'd never before encountered back home. 

"A wolf's footprint?" He looked at the round-like print that was left on the mud road ground. "Or maybe a horses' footprint. It looks too round and too big to be that of a wolf's."

A shadow. It loomed over him and his discovery. 

"What-" He turned around nervously with his M1 Garand readied to shoot.

A man? The man got startled when he suddenly moved with his iron object pointed directly at him. "Ah!" The man shouted, "Good sir, I mean... I mean no harm...!" 

He looked at the man, there was no knife straddled on his hip, no bow to his back nor sword to his hand. His clothing was simple, dirty, and had a farm-look to it. 

"Who are you! Identify yourself!" He shouted to them man. 

"I'm Alrife! Just Alrife good sir... I didn't mean to alarm you." The man looked very startled, shaking too. But the man was by no means weakly looking, just at a look and one would notice his physical attributes. 

"Alright Alrife..." He lowered his gun but backed away a couple of steps, to a reach that the man wouldn't grab hold of his gun. "I... I'm..." He struggled to give himself a name he long knew. 

"Why can't I say my name!" He thought. "I know my name, I know my name! Why can't my mouth form my name?!"

The man who stood looking at him was clearly awaiting an answer from someone who look so deep in thought. 

"I am Hierd Die Grace." 

"What in the name of the man who lives above did I just say?" He questioned himself, "Hierd Die Grace!? What in the lord is that name!?"

"Ah my Good lord, Hierd Die... Grace..." The man looked troubled reciting the name he just heard. "I want to... Know why you're.... In the Alman Forest..." He said before immediately saying after; "Ah! Forgive my bluntness, I just... I just don't know how to... Speak... Properly... To you, Good lord." 

"I was lost, the path to where I wished be had gone mysteriously. I need your help finding a town for I can lodge." He used his high-school drama days, where English was dramatized to amount serendipitous and fancy.

"Ah... You need lodging good lord?" He looked troubled before saying; "If I have right, my village, which is... Just forward the path which... You currently tread is there at your service..."

"I see, then let us continue then." 

"This village... Is this gonna be the same as Gulliver's travels? Small houses or big houses? Am I to see horses that talk? By God would I love to see that. But I suspect this'll be but a normal medieval village."

( * )

Peering from the vegetation, he caught glimpses of the village infront of him. "It is exactly as I thought, medieval villages have medieval structures."

The village was very old-looking, and was wooden through out, the village had a couple stone structures but most if not all (as he saw from the path) were wooden. 

Hierd came out of the forest, along with Alrife at his front. The villagers who first saw him were interested, intrigued by the new face. A noble? A knight? Who was he? The blonde man clad in black. But what Hierd saw only were scared faces. 

"Take me to your village head." He blurted out to Alrife. 

"If you wish Good Lord, Hierd." Alrife answered with due haste, wanting not to waste Hierd's time with whatever business he thought the man had.

The village's main road was unexpectedly at the middle. The children looked at Hierd with curiosity, the adults were non-the-wiser and too were they curious as they looked at a black-caped man with a hat that had a skull at its mid-point. 'A knight!' One thought. 'A noble!' Another thought. 'A leader!?' Once more another thought! But none were sure of what position the stylish man was in. Neither did they know of his intentions.

At the village head's front door. Hierd picked off the button of his gun's holster, readied for any attack that may come his way. "We're here, Good lord. But please... Wait, I need to... Call the elder..."

Understanding, Hierd simply nodded. But not even a second longer the door had already opened. Standing before him was an old, wiry looking man. His hairs have started to grey and his pupils were eagerly greeting Hierd.

Hierd raised his hand for a greeting.

Hierd smiled, questioning; "You must be the Village head?"

"Yes, my good sir; I am the village head of this village, The Venit Ille's only; Naturvege. It is a pleasure to have you here."

Hierd's grin widened.