Frank tried to look around but found it difficult. He felt small and weak. Barely able to hold up his head. His other senses began to slowly come back to him.
"What in the hell is going on?" he thought. Unable to make sense of what he was seeing. He realized he was being held, but by whom? "A giant? Some sort of monster?" his thoughts were all over the place.
The man holding Frank appeared to be in his late 50's by Frank's estimate. He had heavily lined face that held a pair of strange eyes, one was ice blue and shined with some sort of spark or glimmer, a sense of power filling it. The other was pale white, having a milky pupil.
A scar ran from the mans grey hairline down through the eyebrow of his white eye and continued onto his cheek. It ran through his grey beard and stopped at what Frank assumed was a strong jaw line. The man was unusually muscular for his age, like a body builder on earth. His hair was kept in an unusual style. The sides of his head were shaved to the skin. Atop his head he had long grey hair. Parts of it braided or twisted and others untouched. it was held in a low, loose pony tail. A single thin braid fell down next to his good eye.
He had a somewhat large nose that was straight and pronounced. His face exuded strength and confidence. At the same time a smile crossed his face. A feeling of warmth and happiness came from that smile.
The mans skin was tanned and carried what appeared to be an assortment of tattoos. Some depicting what seemed to be animals that Frank was unfamiliar with. Others appeared to be only symbols like letters or runes. Finally there were twisting and interlocking lines, knots. Similar to Norse or Celtic knots on earth. The strangest thing about these tattoos was that the glowed with a very faint blue light. appearing almost alive.
Franks eyes widened, trying to take everything in. "Why am I being held and why cant I move?" he thought. He tried to voice his objection but all that came out was a soft whine, sounding like...."Like an INFANT!" He screamed mentally.
As this sudden realization struck he started to move. He was being handed to someone. He turned his small head and met the gaze of one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.
The woman he saw lay upon a bed, beads of sweat on her forehead. Her light, almost white, blonde hair drenched. She had a similar hairstyle to the large man that currently held him. Though only one side of her hair was shaved. The rest was was braided or twisted into small dreadlocks with small colorful beads placed throughout. It was tucked behind a small set of rather feminine ears.
Her eyes were a slightly darker blue than the old man, reminding Frank of Grace. The thought immediately painful. She had a small slightly rounded nose and full light pink lips pulled back into a smile that showed her impossibly white teeth. Tears ran down her tanned cheeks.
Her skin bore similar tattoos to the old man but were much smaller and vastly fewer in number. She was also quite muscular for a woman. Lean and firm muscle clearly visible in her exposed arms.
The look on her face was a mixture of pain and pure happiness as Frank was placed in her arms. The moment they touched Frank felt an instant connection. A warm and comfortable sensation swept over him. They locked eyes again and Frank saw the love that they carried.
"Who is this woman and what is going on" he thought. " Why is this happening to me? I should be dead."
As Frank lay in her arms, feeling safe and secure, the woman began to talk to the old man.
They were speaking a language he had never heard before and couldn't possibly understand. His mother's voice was soft yet firm, speaking in a manner that Frank knew instinctively implied their familiarity with eachother.
(AN: From this point forward an asterisk (*) before and after a sentence indicates a language Frank cannot speak/understand.)
* "He is strong Tarra. Look at his determination in holding up his head and meeting your eyes. He will be a great warrior, or powerful Shaman." said the old man.
* "I can see his strength Father, but now is not the time to speak of such things. Let me enjoy these next few days before we start planning his future."*
* "Forgive my excitement Tarra, It's just been so long since a boy was born into our family. I finally have a male heir to carry on our bloodline."*
Their conversation ended abruptly with the arrival of a third person. It was a large man standing well over six feet tall. His body bulged with muscle, his arms showing large strained veins and his skin carried similar tattoos to the old man. Though still fewer in number. The look on his hard face one of excitement and expectation.
* " Is it a boy? Do I have a son?!"* said the large man. Tarra nodded in reply.
The look on the mans face changed to pure joy. A small tear forming in one of his Bright green eyes.
" Who is this now? Frank said. Or rather tried to say. It came out as more of a coo. "I was just getting comfortable."
The man took Frank is his arms, raising him high above his head before bringing him down to eye level. The man appeared to be somewhere in his twenties. He had dark brown hair kept in a similar fashion to the old man and his wife. An assortment of braids and dreadlocks held loosely just above his large shoulders. His face was tan like the others and bore several small scars. His eyes were radiating energy as he looked into the eyes of his child.
He wore a calm expression as he spoke some gibberish to Frank. Frank studied him intently.
He wore a full beard having several braids held with similar beads to Tarra's. He had a prominent nose above a mouth slightly obscured by his somewhat long beard and mustache. All in all he was a strong looking and attractive man. He was smiling intently at Frank.
*"Erik, he needs to eat." said Tarra. "Now that he is here, you will have all the time with him you need. Now go, a celebration is in order for. our firstborn son. The first in my family in many years. Let the mountains and skies hear of our son's birth."*
"I'm really going to need to learn this language." thought Frank. "But for now I'll focus on trying to figure out how I ended up here and why."
Erik placed his son back into Tarra arms and exited the room as quickly as he came. Frank could hear him shouting something as he made his way outside.
"This place looks like something out of the history books." Thought Frank. "I feel like like I'm looking at the past."
The room he was in was small, made of cut white stone with a grey stone floor. It contained A stone table that held a metal tray. On this tray were various medical implements. Similar to what one might find in a modern hospital room.
The bed that Tarra lay upon was wooden with what looked to be a soft mattress. The mattress was covered with white linen. It gave it a clean look.
Aside from that there was a single wooden chair sat against the wall near the doorway. The doorway was adorned with various carvings. They were of a similar nature to the glowing tattoos that three people he had seen all possessed.
Twisting, intertwined knots converging at their peak to form the heads of two creatures. Various symbols that appeared to be some kind of letters or runes outlined the carving making it radiate a cool and calming energy.
The surprise and shock of the situation was starting to wear off for Frank. He had accepted that he was having a very realistic lucid dream and figured he should ride it out. Just to see where it goes. He was starting to regain his old attitude and mental state. Whether that was for better or worse was yet to be decided.
"If this is some sort of death dream" Frank thought. "I'd rather spend it with Grace."
The stress and confusion of his first day in this reality had become too much for his new, tiny body. Though he fought it with all he had, he fell fast asleep during his first feeding. He half expected that this would be the end of this strange dream and that either he would never wake up, or he would wake up in the afterlife. Should it exist.