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Chapter 3: The Stranger

"This has to be done! We have no other choice! As long as you live, we still have a chance..."

...

With a quick intake of air, the man's eyes shot open. He was immediately greeted by a beige colored cloth ceiling above him. Hearing a sound off to his side, he turned his head to look over but winced as he did. His entire body ached and burned at the feeling of movement. He decided that instead of immediately moving, he would opt for a quick glance around. From what he could see, he appeared to be in some kind of tent. Mustering his strength, he slowly turned his head to face the door of the shelter. What he saw next made him believe he had passed into the afterlife.

There, standing only a few meters away from him, was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Covered only by a shining white dress, her slender figure swayed graciously and she moved around the tent, preparing blankets and other necessities. The woman paused, looking around a moment before using a delicate finger to push a strand of platinum blond hair out of her eyes. They seemed to glow with a piecing blue that placed him in an entranced state. The woman suddenly noticed his stares, making her stop what she was doing.

"Oh, your awake," she spoke, her voice like velvet to his ears. "How are you feeling?" Elsa asked walking up to where the man was still laying comfortably. He opened his mouth to speak but was surprised when no sound came out. Clearing his throat, he tried again, this time managing to produce a raspy tone.

"Am I dead?"

Elsa gave him a strange look, "no?... But we thought you were." She replied picking up a small vase and pouring some water into a glass. "You've been asleep for a couple days now. We were worried you weren't going to wake up."

Fighting the pain, the man slowly lifted himself up to a sitting position, nearly passing out in the process. "Easy," Elsa motioned with her hands. "Don't push yourself." She walked over and held the glass of clear liquid out to him.

Taking a deep breath, he stabilized himself before taking the cup from her. "Thank you," he whispered. The man took a long gulp before continuing again, this time with a clear voice. "Where am I?"

"You're in Northuldra," Elsa replied, taking a seat on a nearby chair.

"Northuldra? What is that?"

A confused look crossed Elsa's face. "You don't know what Northuldra is?" The man simply shook his head. A moment of awkward silence passed between them before Elsa started again. "Who are you? What's your name?"

"I'm... I..." reaching up, he placed his hands on his head. "I... I don't know."

"You don't know your name?" She asked with a surprised expression.

"No, I don't," the man stated again. "I don't remember anything... I..." He placed his hands over his eyes in frustration.

Making use of the silence, Elsa now got a better look at this unknown stranger before her. The same as before, his hair was a dark black which complemented his tan skin color. His features were sharp and toned. Clearly this man had known a life of hard work as was evident from his slim but muscular build. The thing that had caught Elsa's attention more than anything else however, were his piercing gray eyes. Something about them made her feel nostalgic. Like she had known him for a substantial amount of time. A sudden outburst snapped Elsa out of her thoughts.

"Where am I!?" He yelled, panic filling his eyes, "what's going on?" Quickly he moved to stand, getting only inches off the bed before almost collapsing.

"Whoa! hey!" Elsa quickly reached out to stabilize him, grabbing his hand in the process.

'Pulse'

Again she felt the strange warmth of her magic running circles in her body. After Sitting him slowly back on the bed, she pulled away and stared at her hands. What happened? Was it because she touched him? Elsa looked back up at the stranger to see if he had the same reaction. The man simply continued to hold his head in confusion.

"You should rest," she continued finally, straightening out her dress. "If you need anything, let me know. I'll be just outside..." With that, she turned on her heels and walked out of the tent, leaving the stranger behind her.

...

Upon leaving the tent, Elsa saw a very worried looking Honeymaren posted near the edge of their camp. She could tell by the way she shifted her weight constantly from foot to foot which Honeymaren tended to do when she was worried about something. Elsa caught her eye as she approached. "What happened? Did he say anything?"

Elsa shook her head in reply, "nothing useful at least. He said he doesn't remember anything."

"How about a name?" Honeymaren continued.

"Nope, not even that." The two women stared at each other in silence, not really knowing what to do or say about the whole scenario. Elsa had just brought a strange man back to their camp and told them that she pulled him from Ahtohallan. The whole thing took Honeymaren completely by surprise and left her speechless.

"Hey... can I tell you something?" Elsa asked, pulling Honeymaren a little deeper into the woods where their conversation couldn't be heard by the other villagers. "That man... I think there's something special about him."

"Special how?" Honeymaren questioned.

"I don't know exactly..." She continued, "it's just that when I touched him a moment ago... for a second I felt something. Like my magic just... connected with him or something." Elsa looked at her with unsure eyes. "Does that make any sense to you?"

Honeymaren shook her head slowly, "no... but I think you should be careful around him." She was whispering now. "He's dangerous. He has the eyes of someone who's experienced a lot of death and violence."

Elsa shot her a questioning look before a yell from the camp caught her attention, "Elsa!" A camp guard exclaimed, running up to the two women with heavy breaths.

"What is it? What's wrong?" A concerned look crawled onto Elsa's face.

"It's the stranger... he's gone."

...

Between heavy breaths, Elsa's eyes scanned the forest, looking for any sign of the man. All was quiet except for the sound of the trees rustling in the wind. Running a little bit further, she froze when a slight tingle ran down the back of her neck and in to her chest. For some reason, Elsa could feel that he was close by.

"We found him! He's over here!" a villager's voice echoed from a short distance away. Elsa sprinted in its direction, bursting through the tree line to find the man surrounded by the village guards. A panicked look filled his eyes as he held up his hands defensively.

"Get back!" he yelled at them, "I don't want to kill anyone."

Not listening to his warnings, the guards moved closer, Spears up and ready to strike. A sudden source of steam seemed to appear, rolling off the mans arms. lifting a hand in the air, the stranger produced an invisible spear that shimmered in the light. Its appearance strongly resembling that of the surface of metal on a hot day. With his other hand, he produced 2 more before launching them towards the 3 closest guards in quick succession. The spears accurately collided with the villagers, throwing two of them back onto their backs and the third into a nearby tree.

Elsa stopped dead in her tracks, trying to comprehend what she had just witnessed. This man, this stranger had used magic just a moment ago hadn't he? Magic like her's... Steam still rolling off of the strangers hands, Elsa stood motionless, mouth still stuck in an expression of bewilderment. All this time, she had thought that only she could use magic. She had thought she was alone...

Noticing that the situation was still not under control, Elsa forced her overwhelming emotions down before motioning to the guards to lower their weapons. "Hey! It's me. Just calm down. No ones going to hurt you," she exclaimed walking closer. At the sight of her, the man seemed to lower his guard for a moment.

Suddenly, the sound of a snapping tree branch startled a nearby villager who still had an arrow notched and ready to fire. The archers finger slipped, letting the arrow loose as it flew towards the man. His attention immediately redirected. Quickly, he held up a hand forming a shimmering, invisible barrier to which the arrow easily bounced off of. Still in a state of confusion, the man rapidly formed another spear, hurling it in the direction of the archer.

Before the projectile could reach him however, Elsa jumped in front of the villager, shooting her own ice magic directly at the incoming spear. The blue rays of her magic smashed into the tip, immediately turning the once dangerous object into a light powder that dissipated into the air in front of her.

Looking back at the man again, she could see that he had completely dropped his arms now, a look of pure disbelief sprawled across his face.

"You're like me..." She could see him whisper at her. Immediately after, the floor beneath the man seemed to spin in all directions. He wobbled for a moment before falling to one knee. The last thing he saw before blacking out again was the woman's graceful figure moving towards him.