Why doesn't this damn mark have a translation feature?
As Cassian held his hands above his head, attempting to signal a lack of threat, he could hear the group conversing in an alien tongue. Each of these figures was human-like, at least on the surface. They were all small in stature, creeping closer to Cassian's meagre height. Though what they lost in height, they made up for in build.
The arms currently pointing swords at him were built like tree trunks, for God's sake!
While nonsensically shouting at him, they all looked towards one person. Quickly making it apparent who their leader was
This individual was clad in a showy suit of metallic Armour, adorned with gold and silver engravings forming an emblem symbolizing a dead dragon slain by an avalanche of arrows. Revealed by the lack of a helmet was an androgynous, human-like face adorned with lengthy, flowing golden hair. All in all giving the impression of an angel form.
Cassian's first reaction was to study the man for traces of the familiar luminescent glow, scarred from his previous encounters with mark-bearers. Thankfully, he didn't find what he was looking for. At least not visibly.
Looking around, Cassian had evidently crash landed into a military campsite of sorts. To his left, loosely erected shelters lined with fur formed a semicircle- surrounding a roughly assembled fire-pit. Over an open flame, the meat of a sizable animal was being roasted, slowly turning by an unknown mechanism.
"Uhh, Peace- friend!... good?"
Throwing out buzzwords, despite clearly not sharing a language with these people, Cassian tried desperately to convey positive intent. Unsurprisingly, nothing came of this. The circle of figures continued to bark orders at him, which he could not understand.
Their leader, being the only one to remain quiet so far, held up his hand. At once, the abrasive group grew silent. Breaking this silence, he softly spoke in the same unknown tongue, causing two of the group who surrounded him to withdraw their weapons and run into the nearby tents. Moments passed before they returned bearing a spool of simple rope.
Oh, for crying out loud
Had he escaped one prison to fall right into the confines of another?
Completely ignoring Cassian's pleas, the man ordered two of the surrounding group to hold him down while they bound his hands together. Hauling him to his feet, they roughly pulled him along to where the fire was, then sat him down next to a nearby tree, before tying more rope around the tree to fasten him to it.
"Gee, thanks."
He sarcastically mouthed at them while they manhandled him into a seated position. Practically mummifying him with rope. Their alien language remained completely incomprehensible, but Cassian could swear he heard nothing but mockery and insults coming from their mouths.
—------------------------------------------
It had been approximately an hour since Cassian was blithely attached to the damn tree. All this time, the only thing he could do was watch the people within the campsite go about their evening. He frequently noticed hostile glances shot in his direction, but other than that, they treated his existence as a falsehood.
To be fair, if you played devil's advocate for the unknown group, Cassian had literally materialized out of thin air, dropping straight into their campsite. So, although being tied up yet again was the opposite of what he wanted, he couldn't exactly blame them.
Interestingly enough, after his observations, Cassian was now sure that these people were human in all but name. They looked the same, they ate similar food, they behaved the same- even down to the rampant paranoia upon having a stranger crash into their campsite.
This created new questions that needed answering.
If you were to go by the theories of science, then the same formulae of life arriving at the same evolutionary conclusion in two different parts of the universe was nigh on impossible. The steps life on Earth took to get where it is now, if replicated elsewhere, would need everything from the chemicals in the atmosphere to the events of history to be the same.
Religion might actually have had the right idea.
Cassian had already encountered something akin to a divine being. With this in mind, it was not so far-fetched to say humanity as a race had been designed by a godlike figure. This could also explain why he had traveled so far through the fabric of space, yet discovered his exact species within this new realm.
The group's leader once again shouted something. But this time, there was an urgency within his voice, breaking his previous aura of nonchalance. Responding to this call, the others around him threw themselves to the ground, covering their heads in a braced position.
What th-
Immediately after this occurred, the world rotated.
More accurately, the land they were standing on was rotating in a clockwise direction. It was as if a giant mechanism had begun to move, with the land around him being nothing but decoration on this complex machine.
The land itself groaned as it twisted sharply, throwing around anything not bolted to the ground. Even the soldiers braced upon the ground got thrown by the motion generated by this event. Surprisingly, the fire remained untouched. A pale sphere surrounded it; within that pale environment, it took on a completely still appearance. Not even the previously dancing tendrils of flame moved; it was like they were paused in time.
"Should have been tied to a tree, idiots!"
Cassian laughed, partly from the absurdity of what he was witnessing, and partly from the comical image of his new captors getting flung around the campsite. Really, they had done him a massive favor by tying him to this tree. Had they simply chained him to something, he would have been in a world of pain right now.
The twisting motion continued to attack the land for an indeterminate amount of time. Until, with a grinding sigh, the motion of the world came to a halt. Causing the bruised and battered soldiers to rise to their feet with bitter expressions adorning each of their faces, hiding the obvious pain underneath.
Like it was the most natural thing in the world, the soldiers got to work repairing the campsite and digging out their belongings, which had become trapped under the fallen tents.
Cassian wondered whether what had just happened was localized to this specific location or a worldwide phenomenon of this realm. Being the inexperienced 'pilgrim' he was, there was no way to tell what the rules governing this world actually were. His only reference to the normality of this was that these soldiers looked as if they were intimately familiar with the occurring event.
*alien murmurings*
A figure had approached him. One of the nameless soldiers holding a dusty wooden bowl. In it sat a gruel-like slop, giving the impression it was entirely inedible. Completely ignoring Cassian's disinterest in consuming it, the man proceeded to put the bowl to his lips and pour its contents inside of him.
It tasted awful.
Not to mention the fact that the clumsy action had thrown more of the substance down him than it had allowed him to eat!
Smiling faintly, he nodded at the man, feigning a polite thanks. Ignoring this gesture, the individual quickly walked away.
Letting out a pained groan, he went back to his thoughts. Cassian's mind had fallen on the idea of attempting to escape more than once. However, beyond the difficulty of removing his binds, he was in a completely foreign world. Leaving this campsite has the chance to subject him to any manner of miraculous events, like the clockwork rotation that just occurred.
Honestly? It was safer to stay bound. At least, for now.
On top of this, Cassian's body had returned to a state of relative normalcy. The distinct separation of body and soul that had taken place after returning from the Astral realm before was not present. Instead, his being was in a state of complete unity. A unity that was hungry, tired and more than a little overwhelmed. One thought took priority over everything else.
Compared to some of the places I've slept in the past? This tree is practically a luxury resort!
Unaware of his surroundings, Cassian shut his eyes. Welcoming the soft and tender embrace of sleep.