I took another step back from the cold mist, whipping my head around to take in my surroundings. Water spattered my clothes as I turned, startling me yet again. Running a claw through my emerald hair, I found it soaked with dew. When had that gotten there? A more focused glance around me revealed the landscape had changed much more dramatically than I'd first thought. The clearing called the Garden seemed very… Alone. Evening shadows permeated the surrounding woods, and something felt very off about them. The very sight of the spaces between the trees made me shudder. Was something out there?
With great effort I was able to tear my eyes away from the eerie woods, turning back to the tree itself. Mist continued to pour off the tree's flawless exterior, congealing around the patches of thick grass and about my clawed feet. I let out a breath through my mouth, and watched in confusion as a puff of white accompanied it. Was it really that cold? It could be dangerous if I stay too long.
A sudden snap drew my attention, redirecting my gaze back to the roots and the sword tangled amongst them. The silvered blade leaned lazily against the trunk of the tree, somehow free of the age-old glass roots that had held it in place for recorded memory. It was entrancing, seeing the sword without a lens of distorting glass in front of it. Rivulets of water slid languidly down the length of the blade, tracing the indecipherable runes along its length and disappearing into the soil when they reached the planted tip of the longsword. I blinked, trying to shake my trance.
I watched, mesmerized as the soil beneath the blade gave, causing it to tip towards me. Still partially upright, the sword drooped at an angle with the hilt nearing my hand. It was as if the ground beckoned me to take it. Could I?
I reached out, and stopped at the sound of wind rustling through phantom leaves. A quick glance backward revealed nothing but the daunting blackness of the wood. I turned back, and grasped the hilt.
The sun set.
”You will have your wish, child.”
I opened my eyes. For one heart-stopping moment, I felt I couldn't see anything, but after a few seconds my eyes seemed to return to normal. I blinked away the blurriness and exhaustion, and struggled into a sitting position.
I was not in the Garden anymore. The ground I sat on was black and hard, like stone. Instead of a dark clearing, I sat alone on what looked like a strange lane or path, with a grassy slope on one side and an unfamiliar lake on the other. The path I stood on was made up of this black stone, with a yellow line traveling down the center. Hanging lights that shone without a flame shone dimly onto the road, though it was still difficult to see. I scrambled to my feet, leaving a darker spot on the already dark stone where I'd been laying. I was soaking wet, somehow, as if I'd been swimming with my clothes on. At least I wasn't cold- on the contrary, I actually felt rather warm. The air had turned from cold like winter to humid and hot like summer. Just where the hell was I?
I looked around for the sword and found it missing, along with every other piece of evidence connected to the incident at the Garden, save my traveling clothes and I. Even my (admittedly empty) backpack was missing. “Figures,” I mutter, “The only time I ever resolve to leave for good, I enter a coma twice and lose track of time, space, and personal belongings.”
“Uh, hello?” A decidedly male voice called. I spun, raising a claw in an attempt to appear threatening. I probably just looked like a skinny, tiny, unhappy wet girl trying and failing to wave.
“Who goes there!?” I barked, regaining some of my confidence, but still feeling lost and a step behind the world. It was just one thing after another today, I supposed. “Show yourself!”
A figure in a strange coat and blue (blue!?) trousers approached me from the hill, slowly ambling his way down the slope to me. Definitely a young man, judging by his gait. I couldn't see his face- too dark out to see. “You alright? Looks like you fell in the lake or something.” He frowns, looking me up and down. I quickly pull my arms to my chest. Wh-what did he think he was he looking at?
“Are you a student? What's with the outfit? Are you cosplaying Frodo?” He asked me in quick succession. What on Earth?
I fumble for a response, still wondering if I heard him right. Student? Cosplaying? Frodo? “I.. Uh…”
His frown deepens. “Hey, can I see your student card? I don't think I recognize you. Sorry, you're probably just a first year or something, but I gotta be sure. If you don't have it, I gotta take you down to the Info office.”