The man vanished and everything went pitch black, then white, then colours started to mingle; everything was very confusing. Suddenly the air could be felt, sounds could be heard and images were forming in front of the boy; he was alive again. At first glance this new world did not seemed so different. There were trees, birds and little river, and next to it a road sign that pointed in a particular direction and spelled "Cante".
"It must be the next village's name"- thought to himself the boy- "Now that I have come to think about it, that is a strange language and I can understand it. I guess it is that person's doing". The boy looked around and started to walk heading to the river. His aspect remained the same, or so it appear to be in the river's reflect, but there were something off about himself. Although he was tall, white, black haired and his face features were the same, there was something amiss but he couldn't know exactly what. The boy noticed that he was wearing something like a dark-bluish robe that covered him until his knees and some sort of leather pants and very heavy boots, the clothes were thick but comfortable. He felt a little bag in his robe inner pocket, he fetch it and inside there were several gold coins and a letter. The boy show no interest in the money and opened the letter directly.
"Estimated Sir;
You have now arrived to this new world where you will be set in a journey of wonder and discovery. Your objectives have been previously instructed by the entity that brought you here, this note only contain the final instructions. You may notice that all your punctual memories have been removed to ensure a better adjustment to your new life, worry not, only those of people and their specifics have been erased, all your pasts knowledge have been preserved. You may choose to name yourself as you see fit, for a better acclimatization we recommend one that is not too different from those commonly used in this world. Your body have been physically perfected to improve your quality of live, which is to say, that any bone imperfection or joint malfunction have been corrected; also, any chronic disease or persistent suffering have been eliminated. Finally, you have been granted with a certain amount of money, you may choose to roam around and find your own way, or simply head directly to the nearest town and proceed as previously instructed. Good fortune in your future endeavours."
The boy was stupefied, this letter, or whatever it was, didn't came from the man he knew, nor did he remember any instruction from him. As he was trying to understand what was going on, he noticed that additional sentences were starting to appear.
"I apologise, again. I should have informed you about this before. Although you were not meant to become an incarnated, this world have recognise you as one, and, as such, you have been granted the welcoming package. Incarnated are usually send by upper beings with a specific agenda, yours is your own. Due to your unusual circumstances you possess memories that you shouldn't, hold on to them and don't let them be taken from you. One last thing, head to the next village, Cante, and fill the ORP (Outstanding Relocated Person) form in the governors manor. Farewell."
"There is definitely something off here but I'm not going to worry about it now" -thought to himself the boy- "Right now I have to come up with a name. I could use Calanhar but according to the information I have of this world it's not a human name."- he pondered for a while and finally made out his mind - " Since Calanhar won't do, I will only take its first part Cal, but I think I'll use a K instead". As a former gamer in his previous world the boy usually used as nick Calanhar, so, he thought it fit to this particular situation.
After some consideration the boy, now named Kal, headed straight and without delay to Cante. He was somehow exited to discover new things in this world and as he was approaching to the village he abruptly stopped.
"Oh shit. I haven't even tested what I can do with the space magic. I should at least try to get comfortable with it before mingling with the dwellers. I don't know how barbaric or despicable people in this world might be, but as a former resident of earth I'm certainly not used to complicated ruffles."- pondered once more.
Kal went to a side of the road, to keep himself out of sight, and practice his magic. He found that there was not much he knew, only basic information of space magic was stored in his memories, as for the practical side, it was barely enough for him to learn some sort of blink. He calmed himself and tried to feel his own magic, how it flowed and how it behaved. After a couple hours of error and trial he figured out, more or less, what was he capable of. He could comfortably use blink, small distance teleportation, once every 7 seconds but once he did it 5 times in a row, he had to rest for half an hour before he could start to walk properly again. He sensed his depleted magic power replenish itself with every breath but a weird sort of hunger also awoke. Although his magical power was, within an hour of rest, fully restored, his body felt tired and very hungry.
"I guess that I have to reach town and have a proper meal before continuing, I might pass out if keep on." He reflected
An hour of walking passed and he could see in the distances the village called Cante, and though he had formed no expectations of it, it was somewhat disappointing. The village was surrounded with a shabby wall made mostly of stone and wood, it looked rather small and there was nothing interesting, at least at first sight, to be seen. Once he got closer he could see a three meters door standing as gateway with two guards at each side of it. People came in and out unmolested, by foot or in stagecoaches. When he was nearby a guard, he asked where he could find the governor and the guard signalled him a three storey house in the distance. After a few minutes of walk Kal started to feel a bit dizzy, the stench of the streets due the lack of sewers was unbearable.
Kal was near of the governor's manor, if it could be called that, and he didn't know what to think. It must be said that in comparison with the rest of the houses, this one was by far the best, but still, it looked like it was about to fall apart. The entire village houses were made of grey stone and red tile roofs but they looked as if five hurricanes in a row passed through them; the governor's manor was in a slight better shaped but not so much.
Once Kal stood in front of the manor's door a guard stopped him.
"State your business"- said the guard
"Hmmm. I am here to fill an ORP form." – said Kal not very convinced at his own words.
The guard look at him up and down and finally said "Very well, follow me".
Once they entered Kal could see that the house was better in the inside that in the outside. The furniture was comfortable and seemed of good quality, there were many paintings and decorative objects, poorly placed though, all over the place. They reached an office and a short, chubby old man greeted him. He signalled Kal to sit and show him several documents. Apparently there was several things to be signed and the governor seemed anxious about it. Kal never knew much about laws in his past world but he knew very well about scams and how people liked to take advantage of ignorance.
"Although I don't remember much, Mister Governor" said Kal.
"Please, call me Fiodor" the governor suddenly interrupted.
"Alright, Fiodor"- said emphatically Kal- "I don't remember much but my own name and a few other things, but I am quite certain that I don't have to sign a form regarding the future of my belongings after my dead."
"Oh! I am so sorry, sir" -said the governor- "I confuse the forms. It happens when one comes to an age. You surely understand."
Kal knew this governor was up to something but there was little he could do, he depended of the ORP form, which by the way, he didn't even know what it was. He decided to give it a try but if it turned out to become complicated, he would have to go and try in someplace else. While Kal was absentminded thinking the guard grabbed him from behind and the governor let out a malicious smile -"It seems that, if you are not willingly giving me whatever your possessions are, I'll have to grab them myself, or well, with his help" said Fiodor while conjuring fire in his hand.
"Do you even know what an ORP form is?" -continued his monologue the governor-"Every time some of you, mages or important people, are in mortal danger or you have fled your kingdom and come to ours, you are granted a new start. The council of magic wipe out your memories and changes your appearance and send you to some place far away from whatever thing you are running from. Then, you come to a town like this, sign the form and get awarded with commodities that I will never dream of having in my life, even though I have carried in my shoulders this wretched village for years."-the governor started to look agitated, he caught his breath and continued- "The thing is, sir, that whether a master mage or former nobleman or whatever important figure you used to be, you are just an empty shell, and with time I learn that most of you, even though you might have been quite powerful, are as idiots as toddlers; a side effect of the memory whipping. Sometime ago in despair, I killed and robbed one of you and while I was expecting a prompt retaliation, from whatever forces are behind you, it never came. It turns out that you are left completely at my mercy, and ever since, I have been doing this to those like you. Since you come here without background or identity, the money you carry is what determines your future, either as a low nobleman, a landlord or even a high graded military man; the more money you give, the better the position. So, who would you… or better said, WERE meant to be" said Fiodor with a smug smile.
While the governor was focused giving his, very enlightening and informative speech, Kal was not just sitting idle. He was focusing his power to blink out of the situation. Although the governor seemed to have some sort of magical capabilities, he appeared not to be very powerful, and being confident of it Kal planned his way out. Once the governor dangerously approached him something, completely out of the chubby man's plan, happen. First, Kal disappeared and appear behind the governor's desk, grabbed all the papers there and immediately blinked out of the room. Fiodor was dumbfounded, although some of his previous victims were able to use some low level magic, which was the reason why cautiously used the guard, he would never thought of someone using space magic in their usual condition.
Kal blinked a couple more times and started running but then he remembered something, he was starving. Before he could think of escaping the village he had to find some food and in order to do so he went straight ahead to some trades post that were along the streets. He also realised at that point that he had no idea how money worked and though he had been previously given some information regarding this world, that particular subject was omitted. He saw a group of soldiers running in his direction and he tried to mix himself with the multitude. While trying to dodge his pursuer's gaze he tripped and bump his head against something oddly hard and fell to the ground.
"What you're doing down there little fella" said a 2 meters tall wall of a man with a jokingly smile.
"Little!?"- Kal thought – "You are the one who is exaggeratedly large and… bulky!?" Kal was not small, he was 180cm tall and weighted around 75kg. He wasn't particularly strong or athletic but he was certainly not little, of course, coming from such a monster whose hand could envelope Kal's head completely, it was an understandable statement.
"Are you planning to stay down there? Or is it just that you like admiring the dirt closely?"- said the man laughing- "Oh! I see your problem"-winked at his men when he saw the guards approaching- "You angered that fat man, the governor. Good for you. Here, let me help you out. Whoever messes with that rat is a friend of mine" he said loud enough for the guards to hear.
Kal stood up, since he was still half-seated in the street, and went next to his new "friend". Although he had just met this guy, he did not seemed like the schemer type, but he wasn't going to just blindly trust a stranger. He planned to use whatever time he had while the giant man confronted the guards to regain some strength and blink out to safety.
"Good afternoon master Gil" -said respectfully the leading guard- "We have been looking for this man. He is an ORP and his memory whipping have cause him to suffer from hallucinations and he is not mentally stable. The governor would be very grateful if you were to cooperate in his returning" finished the guard.
"So, an ORP ah!?" said Gil, which was the giant man's name, while staring curiously at Kal.
"Is it true, little one? Are you mentally ill?" asked Gil.
"Whether I am mentally ill or not, it's beyond their intellectual capability to demonstrate" -said seriously Kal, then continued- "It is terrible to have no memory and be left at drift, roaming aimlessly throughout this world" –complained Kal exaggeratedly, half-smiling- "So, naturally, my behaviour might have been perceived as erratic, and though I am grateful to your master, I am no worthy of wasting master's governors resources. Since master Gil have graciously accepted to help me, I see no reason as why the governor has to spend so much of his precious time with me" finished Kal his award winning performance.
The guards were left speechless staring at each other without knowing what to do. The prospect of Kal becoming an important figure in the future, as it was most likely to happen, and coming back to seek revenge tormented the governor, so, he decided that before that could happen Kal had to be killed.
"You heard the kid, he is with me, so, move. I don't have time to play with dogs" cried Gil. The guards immediately ran off as if their lovers were in dire need of help and Kal couldn't help but let out a smug smile.
"Thank you master Gil, I will do my best to repay you as soon as I can. Right now I have to go to…" said Kal while walking away but he was stopped by a very amusing Gil who was adamant to let him go. In that second Kal realised that he might have skipped the pan to land directly into the fire. He knew little about this world but one thing was clear, powerful people tended to do their bidding, and this fellow Gil was capable of scaring the town's guard with a mere stare, so, he was either someone very influential or very powerful, the latter more likely.
"Now that you have stated that you are under my care, in front of so many people, I cannot let you go just like that. Would you imagine what will become of my reputation if you were to be found dead moments after I allegedly offered my aid to you!?" said Gil with a stern look.
"Well…I, don't worry master Gil. I can take care myself" replied Kal.
"Nonsense. You are coming with us. Besides, I'm planning to collect that favour you were offering before right now. Don't worry, I won't ask anything unreasonable. Dangerous? Possibly! But never unreasonable" laughed Gil while Kal was lamenting his bad fortune.