As the night stretches on and the candles melt away, Sovereign mulls over his options in this new world. He starts remembering what the old woman Liana told him the other day. She said he was found in a forest's outskirt in the kingdom of Nascor. She tried asking him questions about where he was from, and how he came to be in this situation, but Sovereign decided it would be in his best interest to feign ignorance.
He tried getting some information from her about this place without sounding like a stranger to this world. She told him that he is currently in a village north of the capital of the kingdom and that he is currently in her home with her daughter and son-in-law. She also said most people in this village are proficient in healing magic and that is why he was brought here.
Losing sleep over this, he covers his face muffling his scream. He sighs with a heavy heart and lays back on the bed. "What am I gonna do now" he mutters as he closes his eyes trying to get some sleep, but the stress keeps him awake.
As the sun shines on a new day Maya enters Sovereign's room with a bright smile holding a plate with a loaf of bread and some water. "How are we doing today sir Sovereign" she says as she puts the food on the table beside the bed.
She is a beautiful young woman average in height with brown long hair and black eyes, but her ears are long, pointy, and a bit sharp at the tip. "I honestly do not know" Sovereign answers gloomily as he sits upright towards the food. He gazes at Maya curiously wondering why her ears look the way they are. "My father was an elf you know," she tells Sovereign confidently.
Sovereign coughs up the water he was drinking at the sudden reveal. "Sorry?" He questions Maya as he wipes water from his mouth. "I saw you looking at my ears, do not worry I get this look all the time, half elves are quite rare in these parts," Maya tells him as he smiles for the first time since he arrived in this world; he feels a sliver of joy after all this hardship, yet he is still full of regret for he feels the price for it was too great. It was his wish after all.
"So, tell me what's up with your eyes?" Maya asks Sovereign as she sits next to him on the bed. "What's up with them?" Sovereign asks Maya in confusion. "Come on you know; your eyes belong to a demon" Maya says to Sovereign in joyful frustration. "Demonic?" Sovereign asks in shock. "So, are you not a demon?" She asks as she leans in for a closer look. Sovereign gets flustered and gently pushes her away.
A laugh is then heard across the room. "Jackie! Come out right now!" Maya yells at Jackie as he gets out from behind the door. Sovereign, now baffled by the play unfolding in front of him, feels nostalgic for the times he and his brother used to bicker with each other.
"Apologies friend, my wife loves interrogating patients all the time" Jackie apologizes to Sovereign as he tries to keep in his laughter, he is then Immediately slapped on the back of his head by Maya. "What was that for?" Jackie asks Maya as he turns to her and rubs the back of his head. "How many times did I tell you not to spy on me huh?" Maya says to Jackie as she drags him by the ear outside the room.
He is a well-built tall man I think he's going to survive a little scolding Sovereign thinks to himself before standing up. He sighs heavily and looks at the window on the side of the room. "On the bright side this view is stunning," he says to himself as he leans on the window.
After a short while Sovereign decided it was time to leave the room. He opened the shaky wooden door and stepped outside. He takes a walk around the small living room intrigued by the tools and trinkets placed all around the place.
"I see you have recovered splendidly," the old woman says to Sovereign standing right behind him. "My god!" Sovereign shouts as he flinches away from her. "You know it's rude to scream at an old lady young man," the woman says to him. "I am so sorry; I didn't mean to" he apologizes to the woman. "I am just joking young man. You don't have to be so tense; you are safe around here." She tells Sovereign as she takes a seat around the dining table.
Sovereign sheepishly takes a seat across from her and hesitantly tries to ask her for advice on his situation. "Sovereign dear, go ahead and speak your mind, I won't bite," she tells Sovereign in a comforting tone trying to create a safe space for him to speak freely.
"What am I supposed to do now, I have nothing and no one," he says as he musters up the courage to ask for her help. "I appreciate all that you have done for me now, if I could repay you in any way, I am in your debt," he says to the woman hoping that she would have a use for him so he could stay under a roof for a while longer.
The old woman takes pity on the man, seeing truth and sorrow in his eyes, reminding her of her late husband and how lost he was when she first met him.
She smiles and calls for Jackie. "Yes mother, you called for me?"Jackie says as he steps down the stairs. "Aren't you and Maya trying to find a third member for your group?" The woman asks Jackie. "Yeah, we are still looking" he answers as he stands next to Sovereign. "How about him?" The woman says to Jackie as she points at Sovereign. Sovereign gets taken aback at the suggestion, considering he does not know how to fight.
Jackie turns to Sovereign and asks, "Can you fight kid?". "I can learn" Sovereign answers uneasily. "Very well you are in, your training starts tomorrow," Jackie tells Sovereign as he grips his shoulder. "It's settled then; Jackie come with me," the old woman tells Jackie as she goes upstairs. "Don't let me down kid" Jackie smiles at Sovereign and follows the old woman upstairs.
Sovereign lets out a heavy sigh as if a ton of weight has dropped off his shoulders. He now feels that his streak of bad luck is finally ending. As he looks at his hands a single tear rolls down his cheek but this time it is not one of sorrow but that of joy.
Upstairs Jackie and Liana are sitting in the room on the bed next to each other. "Did you notice it?" The old woman asks Jackie while looking on the ground. "Notice what?" Jackie says and raises one of his eyebrows in confusion. "His mana I don't sense it" the woman answers in a troubled tone. "What do you mean? Is that even possible?" Jackie says as he stands up looking perplexed and scratches his head.
In this world, every living being whether it is capable of magic or not possesses mana, and since Sovereign is an outsider, he was born without it.
"First, he survives a fall that should've killed him, then he recovers from injuries that would've left him disabled for life, and now you're telling me he has no mana?" Jackie exclaims to the old woman as he paces around the room. "I want to help this young man," the woman says to Jackie.
"We know Mother," Maya says as she opens the door. "who's spying now?" Jackie teases Maya. She stares daggers at Jackie scaring him and then turns to her mother. "He reminds you of him, right?" Maya asks her mother in heartfelt tone. The woman looks at her daughter eith tear-filled eyes and nods in approval.
In the meantime, Sovereign was in his room lying on his back smiling. He was given a purpose in this new world, an opportunity he could use to get back on his feet and find a way back home. "Sonny, hold on a little longer," Sovereign says to himself as he closes his eyes, finally falling asleep.