It was strange how quickly the world around you could close in, settling an impossible feeling of weight on your shoulders. It wrapped around Eric’s head, slowing his mind, sealed in on his body, stopping him from moving. He tried to take in a deep breath but found that even that small feat was nearly impossible. It felt as though an invisible hand had clamped down on his form, paralyzing him completely. Was it possible for an ill omen or fear to completely paralyze someone?

But another voice inside him was saying that this was not the result of his feeling that something was wrong. Something else, or rather, someone else, was causing this effect. And that thought left him in no doubt about the identity of his attacker. From the corner of his eye, he could still see the sending stone glowing brightly. He could hear Samuel’s voice still, but the polite puzzled tone was gone.

“You’re an Ancient,” Samuel said. “No. You’re partly Ancient. But there are no part ancients in the world. We shall see about this.”

With a wrench, Eric was pulled through space, arriving at his destination faster than he could blink. With his stiff body, he couldn’t land on his feet, gracefully or otherwise. He tipped over and landed sprawled on his back. At the very least, his sudden teleportation seemed to have left the effects of the binding spell behind him. He jumped to his feet at once, looking around warily.

He had expected to end up back at Samuel’s tower in Milagre or perhaps the war room behind the throne of Tyrman. But, by the looks of it, he wasn’t anywhere near the palace or even within sight of the capital city. There was a small town, possibly a village, in sight, but he didn’t recognize it. And he wasn’t in the right mind to consider the matter further because the look in Samuels’ eyes terrified him.

Samuel had his blade drawn. The runes were alight, signifying that the sword was currently charged with mana. He had no chance of contending with that blade, even if his swords were technically magical. He could barely go toe-to-toe with Michael’s weapon, and he knew that the difference in power between the two spellblades was astronomical. Samuel raised the blade now in an undeniably hostile way, leveling it at the stranger he’d just summoned.

“Who are you?” He asked, his violet eyes gleaming gently over the faint light of Arcana’s blade. “How are you carrying Ancient energy without me knowing of your existence?”

Eric wasted no time in raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. The last thing he wanted, when everything had been flipped on its head, was to be shredded apart by Samuel. He knew he wouldn’t truly die, but he didn’t want to leave Elena and Emily behind. And what was more; his help was needed. He couldn’t afford to die, even if it was temporary.

“I can explain,” he said quickly, carefully choosing his words. “I’m not originally from this world. You summoned me here and created this body for me. You said that it was made out of Isip’s energy, so it counted as Ancient.”

There was the slightest hesitation in Samuel that told him he could continue. He wasted no time. “I don’t know what happened, but I was just talking to you. You clearly don’t know me, so that must mean that Oras sent me back to the wrong time on accident-”

Without warning, and in spite of the fact that the sky was cloudless, a bolt of lightning flashed down out of the sky and struck him. Or rather, it would have if Samuel hadn’t intercepted it with the very tip of his sword and absorbed the force completely. The archmage spun on the spot, extended one hand, and released the shaft of pure energy harmlessly into the sky.

“Do not speak of his name!” Samuel snarled, looking more anxious than angry now. “If you must refer to him, call him the Lost Ancient! Do you know nothing?”

“No, I don’t,” Eric said. For some reason, he could feel his own temper flaring as if to fill the space left blank by his fear. He took two deliberate steps away from Samuel, keen to put some distance between them. “You never told me about Ora-, sorry, the Lost Ancient. I didn’t even know that Grimr had a younger brother. I knew of his older one, but not this one. He is Grimr’s brother, isn’t he?”

For a moment, it seemed that Samuel would ignore his question. But he did finally nod, confirming the fact. “Precious few know about him. But just because you do doesn’t mean that you are trustworthy.”

But he did sheathe his sword, which was a comforting gesture. Then, with a twirl of his hands, he flattened the grass for a hundred meters. Easy as you please. Settling himself in a cross-legged position, he gestured for Eric to sit as well. “Speak. Tell me what you can, and I’ll decide after if I should destroy you.”

The tone was enough to send a shiver down his spine, but he obeyed, plopping down. It was a good chance to let his shaking legs recover. He took a deep breath, dove into the story of how he’d been summoned, and eventually learned that it was Samuel who’d done the deed. He made sure how to state that Samuel had claimed Arcana as the originator of the idea. At that point, Samuel had raised one hand, frowning thoughtfully.

“That is strange,” he said. “It’s the very reason I’m on this hill, to think through that exact problem. This morning, Arcana told me that I needed to find someone strong from another world to fight some incoming disaster.”

Eric nodded. “That’s right. And you chose me. I didn’t like it at first, but I eventually came around.”

“You’re from Earth, aren’t you?”

“Yes. My name is Eric Breeden. If you know about finding someone from another world, I can’t be too far apart from where I was supposed to be. What year is it right now?”

Samuel tilted his head as he studied Eric, thinking through some problem he wasn’t sharing. “Eight eighty-four.”

“Yep, six years,” Eric said with a nod. Then, “Wait. It took you nearly a year to find me?”

“Must have,” Samuel agreed with a shrug. “I can’t know why, but it’s comforting to know that I didn’t fail him.”

“So you do believe me.”

“Of course. You haven’t lied once since I summoned you. I’ve had a spell on you, so I know.”

Eric was pleased but couldn’t help adding, “I am at least part Ancient. I could be using Ahya’s magic to fool you.”

To his surprise, a smirk formed on Samuel’s face. “Impossible. I can tell by looking at you that you’ve never harnessed her magic. It has run through you once, to be sure, but not at your own behest.”

Eric shrugged this time. “I never took the time to learn. Haven’t really been around that long, in the grand scheme of things.”

“Tell me one thing. Do we succeed?”

Eric hesitated, just a second longer than possible, to avoid sounding anything but awkward. “Yes. But it wasn’t easy. I actually died once and was sent back to Earth. It was only by working together that Megan and I made it work in the end.”

“I summoned two people from your world?” Samuel looked incredulous and slightly disbelieving. Still, Eric hadn’t lied. “Must have been some problem.”

He saw Eric’s mouth open to explain further but lifted a hand. “No. Don’t tell me anymore. It would just complicate matters.”

“Ah,” Eric said. He’d seen enough movies about time travel to understand. “Don’t want to mess with the string of time.”

“Is that how you think it works on Earth?” Samuel asked, one eyebrow raised. “What has happened has happened. It cannot be changed. Once you return to where you belong, this will cease to exist. I will have no memory of your presence. The only one who will remember is you.”

“Well, me and the Lost Ancient,” Eric corrected, and Samuel nodded to confirm. “So you know about how this works then? You know how to send me back?”

He wasn’t surprised to learn that Samuel could perform magic that affected time. It was fitting. But as the Ancient stood, he said, “Of course not. Only one has that knowledge, as it is his unique trait. If you know enough about Ancients, you’ll know-”

“That traits cannot be taught or stolen,” Eric said quickly. It was one of the first things he’d learned about ahyan magic in that time when he’d been curious about it. “You told me, actually.”

A small smile came to Samuel’s lip. “Quite so. So he’ll have to be the one that pulls you back. Frankly, I’m surprised he hasn’t done it yet.”

“Maybe he’s lost me.”

“I doubt it, personally. He’s got a keen eye and can see you no matter where you are. All worlds are within his sight. He must have a reason for taking so long.”

“Oh,” Eric said, just remembering. “He said something about a plane being in the way. Said I couldn’t cross through at that moment because it would break some ancient rule.”

Judging by the surprised look on Samuel’s face, this was news to him. But all he said was, “That’s interesting. Still, I’m sure he’ll grab you soon. Ah. There it is.”

He was looking at the air around Eric’s body. A faint golden glow had appeared there. Dozens of golden threads appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around his form. Feeling queasy, Eric rose to his feet. He glanced up at Samuel and offered a small smile. “I gotta say, it was scary seeing you as a potential enemy. Thanks for not killing me.”

“My pleasure.”

In the blink of an eye, he was back in front of the dirty spot of the wall. It looked exactly as he remembered. Even when he glanced over, he could see that guard again. He hadn’t expected to be relieved that someone was watching him suspiciously. He let out a quiet laugh at the wild turn of events he’d gone through in the last half hour. Such a crazy experience and nobody else would remember it. Then he gave a start of surprise as he heard Samuel’s voice again. It was emanating from his pocket. He hurriedly pulled out the sending stone, which was cloudy once more.

“Eric? Something seems to have gone wrong with the World Shift.”

“You could say that,” Eric said. “Don’t worry; I’m alright. Just had an interesting encounter with the Lost Ancient. There’s something I should share with you, but it looks like I’m doomed to take the long route back.”

“Perhaps not,” Samuel said. “If you can find a natural reserve in Welsik, the druids of Grimr could bring you back. They owe me a favor. It seems you’re in the capital city of Weylas, so you just have to go north on the road for a while. The druids will expect you. Don’t tell them anything about your experience. In fact, tell no one until we meet again.”

“Understood,” Eric said. “See you soon.”

The sending stone went clear once more, and he slipped it back into his pocket. Suddenly, he was feeling very tired. It was almost midday here, but he suspected that, to the west in Tyrman, it was drawing close to night. Even Ahya had time zones, he’d found. He longed for nothing more than to collapse onto his bed and sleep in the arms of his beautiful wife.

“Always me,” he said quietly. Then he waved at the guard and set off for the north gate.