Eranae's consciousness drifted again, slipping back into the realm of awareness. She had begun hating it, the realm of oblivion felt so much better. There she didn't experience floating in turbulent, cold water but then she realised that the water now was neither cold nor turbulent.
She slowly opened her eyes and found that she was lying in a spring completely naked, with her hair open and back pressed against a rock. The water was soothing and warm and her wounds and soreness seemed to vanish.
Wait a second, she thought, wounds and soreness? Eranae realised that she was out of lifesong, for the first time in as long as she could remember. Not being able to regenerate reflexively left her feeling vulnerable. She had read about this before. Lifesong was of the physical realm and abandoned the body when the soul passed beyond into the realms of infinity.
Her eyes snapped completely open and she focused them to scan her surroundings. Eranae was in a spring of hot water, without any clothes or even her hair band, and the area was veiled by steam rising from the spring. This felt an awful lot like the descriptions of the Isle of Retribution, where souls of the dead were stripped of all material possessions and cleansed in divine waters before they were judged and retributed.
Then she noticed a figure sitting atop a rock on the far edge of the spring. Was it Kanral the Wayfinder? Era thought, the spirit that guided the souls to the halls of judgement. The figure seemed to turn towards her, perhaps noticing the movement of her head. He warded off the steam with a wave of his hand, revealing the face of a young Nanar man instead of that of a spirit.
This was not right, Era thought. She was supposed to have died, her soul transported to the Isle of Retribution, her lifesong returned to the mortal realm. Then how in the name of spirits was she feeling exhausted and painful. She hadn't realised earlier but the very prevalence of sensation meant that she was back in the real world. This was wrong. Era had felt dying, she had felt the pull of Infinity. Then why in the world had she resurrected!
Rising from the rock, the man jumped down and slowly walked in her direction. He carried something in his hand. Probably no older than twenty, he wore a heavy attire which included a full sleeved belted tunic over a...pair of trousers, Era tried to ignore that and concentrated on other features. His hair, that appeared to be matted from afar, now appeared to be tied into a couple of dozens of braids, each occupying only a few strands. It was the common Nanar fashion, though a bit more intricate. His light brown skin seemed to have the color of honey and appeared to glow as came closer and squatted on the part of the shore which was right beside her.
"You are finally awake," He said in slightly accented Cerhini, with a smooth voice that was eerily calming, "Eranae Varinus Celenor."