A short time later I hear footsteps approaching over the rocky ground. Looking up I see Xander heading back towards me, his arms laden with sticks. I rise to my feet and take some off his hands.
"Thanks," he says.
"All good"
"I figure we should light the fire at the entrance to the cave and sit a little further back but not too far. That way if anything comes out of the forest it will either be afraid of the light or we will at least see it before it can attack us."
"Sounds like a plan." I say bleakly.
I watch him place the sticks around in order to build the fire, before he reaches into the pack and pulls out what I had assumed was a rock. With a muttered word he places it so it is touching the sticks and I watch in astonishment as the sticks instantly burst alight.
"So …" I begin hesitating slightly. "Are we safe enough for me to maybe get some answers?"
"I guess. So long as we both remain alert I see no problem in giving you some answers now."
"Well okay then. Firstly, where exactly are we? I'm guessing that its the standard we're not on Earth anymore situation?"
"That guess would be correct. We are, hopefully, somewhere in the Kingdom of Everaya in the Realm known as Hephaestia."
"Hephaestia? Would that be any relation to the Greek god Hephaestus?"
"Well look who is smarter than she looks. You are correct. The god Hephaestus created this realm. All realms are created by a god, the humans from your realm managed to get at least that correct."
"So if this realm was created by Hephaestus, who created mine?" I ask, ignoring his comment about my intelligence.
"Your world is known to others as Terra and was created by the goddess, Gaia."
Digesting this bit of information, I blurt out "That could be where the term 'mother Earth' comes from".
Xander laughs a little and shakes his head. "Maybe" He says.
"So my next question, how the hell did you control me?"
"Well … That one is a little harder to answer." He says, reaching up to rub his chin. "It will require a bit more of a lesson on this realm."
"I suppose we have time for that" I say, putting a slightly pleading tone into my voice.
"I suppose we do." He answers and begins to explain. "In my world, people can either be born with or without abilities. I am lucky enough to be born from a long line of what we call Uncommons. This classification, I guess you could call it, means that as a person with abilities, or a mage, I do not fit into any of the six main classifications."
"Mages? Abilities?" my mind begins to reel with each new revelation.
"Yes, as I was saying, there are six main mage classifications. Builders, Elementals, Leapers, Jumpers and Enchanters. Before you ask, builders have the ability to build structures based on the materials surrounding them. Elementals deal with at least one of the five main elements. Leapers can travel between realms. Jumpers can transport both people and objects within a single realm; and Enchanters work with the others to place their abilities into objects so that others can use them."
"You mentioned Uncommons, So what is your ability if you don't fit into any of these?" I ask, eager to learn more.
"Occasionally, though it is rare, an Uncommon will be born. My ability is as you have experienced to influence others to do my bidding, unlike most Uncommons I also have a secondary gift of Seeking. That is, I can usually find the things I seek."
"Let me guess anyone born without these 'abilities' is viewed as lesser?" At this question, Xander visibly squirms and an uneasy look flashes briefly across his face.
"Well uh, that is to say that they too aren't important in their own way."
"So people without abilities, people like me, aren't as important?"
"They aren't like you though" he states. "You have abilities."