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When I next woke up it was around dawn and there was a glass of water next to me. I reached over and grabbed it then tossed it down as I thought about my dreams of arguing with Blood again. I shook my head and slowly slipped out of the bed then looked down to see that my shoulder was scarred in the exact spot that Daemon had clawed the fuck out of me, I had a few burns from an argument with Drake I'd had while I was dreaming, and my chest was covered in scratches. I noticed that my bandages must have been changed then walked over to the wall and pulled on the shirt and breeches left there. I sighed softly and mumbled "How long was I out this time?" I studied the clothes and noticed they were obviously designed for someone bigger than me, and that they hung kind of loose on my frame. I sighed and mumbled "Well at least it means that I haven't been out long enough for someone to make me clothes."

I walked around the small room that Myka and Domi had left me in. It was a twelve by twelve room, had a bed, a chair, a table where the water had been, and was made entirely out of wood. I blinked and mumbled "I guess it could be a cabin, but why the hell would anyone be staying out in a cabin during the twenty first century, not that I mind." I shook my head at a loss for word then slowly slipped on my sneakers and walked out of the room. I started walking through the house, and found that it only had five rooms. There were three bed rooms, the largest of which I'd been staying in as I recovered, one of the two I hadn't been staying in was decorated to with feathers and other things boys would be delighted to have in their rooms, while the other was covered with herbs, flowers, and the tools of a healer's trade. I thought back to the room I stayed in and mumbled "Hunter, healer, and a young child who doesn't know what they want to do with their lives. Interesting, but again why would they have this stuff in the modern world?"

I shook my head and slowly walked into the main room which was actually split into two separate rooms. The one directly connected to the hallway that led to the bedrooms was connected to the front door, and then there was a door leading through a wall into a kitchen. I slowly walked into the kitchen noticing it had a wood stove, no sink, a simple counter, and a small table that could easily seat four. I stared at it for a bit then slowly walked outside where a rain barrel sat by the door and had a ladle sticking out of it. I grabbed the ladle and quickly drank some more water then started walking around the cabin. The area was heavily wooded, but by the kitchen was a small vegetable patch that looked as if someone took good care of it, as well as a small herb garden that had basil, and a few other herbs already growing. I took all of it in then slowly started to really see everything.

It took a few minutes for my mind to register that the trees' leaves were a multitude of colors, not the normal green I was used to, yet it was obviously the middle of summer. I noticed the shirt I was wearing was thick, yet it seemed to keep the heat off me better than a sleeveless t-shirt made of silk. I slowly shook my head not understanding how something that was pretty thick could exclude the heat so well, and then glanced down as I felt movement by my feet. I jumped about three feet to the side as a strange lizard that was covered in fur looked up at me and cheerily said "Kentova Desu?" It studied me with its head to the side and asked "Metsu Kera? No sura bensu?" I stared and mumbled "Is it a rodent, or a reptile?" The creature studied me and I asked "What are you?" It cocked its head to the side and said "Voria Kosu tengu umane." I blinked and said "You're an umane?"

It studied me and seemed to understand the last part so I pointed at it and asked "Umane?" It slowly shook its head then pointed one leg at me and said "Tengu umane, coru or no coru?" I sighed and said "I don't understand you little one." It studied me then walked over and I held out my hand. It hopped up and sat on my palm then suddenly bent down and nipped my thumb. I winced and said "What the hell was that for you little bastard?" It smiled and said "That's better, now I can understand you. So are you a human, because you sure don't smell or taste like one, but you look like one." I blinked as I realized I understood what it was saying and said "Again, what did you do to me?" It grinned showing its teeth which were dripping with a strange venom and said "I just gave you the ability to speak my language. I don't know what dialect you were speaking, but you won't get anywhere in this world if you don't know how to communicate."

I thought about that for a few minutes then nodded and said "You have a point, but how did you do it?" It smiled and said "As I said before I'm a Valley Changer. Our venom allows us to help any creature in the world understand all the creatures around them. Why couldn't you understand me before though? I thought all humans and Valley changer's spoke the same dialect." I stared at the little Valley Changer for a while then sighed and said "I seriously must be going mad to be talking to a furry lizard, but to answer your question... I don't think I'm from around here." He studied me and said "Obviously, but the question is where are you from?" I grinned and said "Oh that's an easy one I'm from Arkansas, in the good old USA. So where the hell am I?"

He stared at me and said "What were the two words you used that I couldn't understand, and you are in Chenari. Many call this the land of mages because the mage fellowship's academy is here and it attracts people from all over the world. It's also where most mages receive their assignments from. Did you hit your head or something?" I sighed and said "The words I said were Are-can-saw and U.S.A. Also I've never heard of Chenari, nor have I heard of any mage fellowship." He stared at me and said "What backward part of the world have you been living in? The fellowship of mages has been around for the last three hundred years helping the knights of Chenari keep peace and order throughout the kingdom, as well as the rest of the world." Suddenly the little Valley changer went quiet then said "Well they did before the war, now they're more fighting for their lives against the dark magus's army and trying to protect the innocent."

I sighed and mumbled "Great, just great, so wherever the hell I am, I'm in the middle of a war. I have a strange furry lizard talking to me, the terrain is nothing like the terrain back home, hell even the trees are different, so did Laurent really open some inter-dimensional doorway? If he did, how the fuck do I get home?" I glanced at the little Valley Changer who cocked its head to the side and said "You know, we never told each other our names. I'm Kisu Valisian son of Varia and Kimari. And who are you?" I thought about it for a bit then said "I'm Jake. Nice to meet you Kisu, now care to answer a question?" It nodded and I asked "Are you male or female?"

It fell off my hand laughing and I just barely caught it before it hit the ground. It looked at me and said "You see the color of the fur around my throat?" I nodded as I noticed it was a rich dark brown and it smiled and said "All males in my race have Green, Brown, Black, or Red neck and throat fur. So I'm a guy, although my name should have told you as much, Jake." I smiled sheepishly and said "I'm not that used to your language, so I kind of misheard what you said and thought you said Kinsa....." He fell over laughing again and said "That's my sister's name, but I get how you could mistake them for the same thing with how we pronounce stuff."

I nodded slowly and stretched then popped my neck and said "So what are all the creatures that can be found here?" He blinked and started crawling up my arm then sniffed the scratch on my arm and said "Well you met one, demican are very dangerous, and how'd you survive fighting with one?" I blinked and said "Are demican known as demons in other areas?" He nodded and said "I've heard them called that by mages, how would you know that name though?" I shook my head and said "Ok so there are umane, which are humans, demican which are demons, Valley changers like you, anything else?" He thought for a bit then said "The beasts humans ride, the Drakeni, the Vempires, the elves, the netari, and the ivani." I stared at him lost and he said "The beasts humans ride have four legs, hard feet, have hair all over, are big as you?" I thought about it and said "That could be a lot of creatures, what about descriptions of the rest?"

He thought about it and said "Vempires take many shapes, but most look like regular umane. They usually have fangs, drink blood, prefer the night, can be very persuasive, and hunt umane. Drakeni are big, they look a lot like my kind, but instead of fur they have scales, they have wings, some can breathe fire, others are good swimmers, and all of them shimmer when the sun hits them, they're also bigger than the beasts the humans ride." I mulled over his descriptions then whistled softly and thought "Shit he's talking about dragons, maybe horses, vampires, demons, and other creatures." He saw the look on my face and continued "The netari come in many shapes and forms but tend to be found around water, fire, trees, and in the air." I blinked wondering if he meant spirits and he finished "The ivani are different, I honestly don't know how to describe them other than that they spend all their time around the beasts of the world." I nodded deciding I'd have to find someone who knew what the Valley Changers called Ivani.

Kisu yawned and curled up on my shoulder then said "We're bound together now, by the way. I didn't think about it when I bit you, but after infecting someone with our venom, which is derived from our blood, we are permanently bound to them. So you now have a Valley Changer travelling with you, permanently bound to you, and giving you advice on how to deal with each race we run into." I grinned at him and stretched then walked inside and sat down at the table allowing Kisu to sit down in front of me and said "Why don't you tell me everything you can Kisu?" He looked at me and asked "About what?" I thought about it and said "Didn't information flow both ways?" He shook his head and I said "Alright then tell me everything you can about this world."

Kisu blinked and said "The only way to learn everything about this world is to go to the mage's library, I can however tell you everything about the...... did you hear something?" I nodded and said softly "someone just came in, why don't' you slip into my sleeve in case they have a problem with your kind?" He nodded and rand down into my shirt then slipped into my sleeve coming to rest on my wrist. I looked up from the table as the girl I'd seen when I'd first woken up walked in carrying a basket full of herbs and a basket of vegetables on her back. Suddenly her little brother followed her in saying "....Myka I think that dad's still alright, but shouldn't we go into town and get more supplies?" I blinked as I realized they'd been talking, which is why they hadn't heard Kisu and I's conversation. The boy continued "Tomorrow is supposed to be the trader's festival which means...." Then looked up and saw me sitting at the kitchen table. He blinked and said "Oh, you're awake, awesome."

I slowly stood and bowed to the two of them remembering something from a book I'd read long ago then said "Thanks for tending to my wounds, without your help I probably wouldn't have been able to heal properly, and I may have died." At least that's what it sounded like to me, what I actually said was "Tiane, fu teraso mera wondus, wiko heya mesu peore wou tan haver ele preop, ana mesu maya haver dieda" The girl stared at me then said "What language are you speaking, stranger?" I blinked and focused on speaking the same way they did then said "Sorry, I must have hit my head harder than I thought. If you're wondering what I said, it was thanks for treating my wound because without your help I may have died." She slowly nodded in acceptance of what I said while the boy just snickered and laid his supplies next to the stove.

He then walked outside for a few moments before coming back in carrying a bucket full of water. I made a note to ask where the bucket was, and then glanced at the girl as she said "So, why did you fall from the sky?" I thought about that for a bit then shrugged and said "Because I don't know how to fly." The boy laughed and said "Wow sis, he's as flippant as Dan Worrets when you're treating his injuries." The girl ignored him and studied me and said "Are you a mage, because I heard only mages know how to fly or teleport. Supposedly they learned both secrets from the dragons." I shook my head and said "No I'm just a guy who pissed off someone with a huge ego and got thrown into an inter-dimensional rift. I'm Jake by the way, and you are?"

The girl studied me and said softly "I'm Myka daughter of Mara, that's my little brother Dominick son of Damien. Our father left a few days ago, and hasn't been back since. To be more accurate he left the same day you appeared, care to explain how that is?" I shrugged and said "I have no idea. Hell I'm not even sure where I am, and up until a short while ago I didn't believe magic or any of the stuff you're talking about existed. I hoped it existed, but since there was no evidence that it did exist where I come from, I assumed it didn't." She studied me for a while then shook her head and said "You expect me to believe that someone who appears out of the greatest amount of magical power seen in this land in millennia has no knowledge of magic? I may only no basic healing and nature magic, but I can tell a powerful magic user when I see one, also you know a language that almost none know, but I recognized from my time at the academy as that of the Valley Changers. So who are you really?"

I sighed and shook my head not understanding why someone who was obviously intelligent would assume I was extremely powerful. As I opened my mouth to speak however the voice that came out was not my own, it was the voice of Roxim, and he said "My name is Jake as I told you, however my reasons for coming here are a secret. I can only say that I wish to help stop the monstrous sorcerer who is terrorizing your lands. To do so I will have to go to your academy and learn all I can. Do you think you could give me a map to take me there?" I slowly regained control and closed my mouth while Myka and Dominick stared at me in complete and utter surprise. I raised an eyebrow and said "Something wrong?" Myka slowly shook her head then went over to one of the cabinets and tossed me a map. I caught it and studied it then slowly stood up and bowed.

I smiled at the two of them and said "I guess I'll be on my way and not infringe upon your hospitality any further. If you ever have need of me, just find anyone who has run into me and have them send me a message for you." As I started for the door my stomach growled loudly and I stopped dead as Kisu stuck his head up out of my shirt and said "Couldn't we infringe upon them for either some cash, enough supplies to get to town in exchange for work, or something because I'm as hungry as you are." I thought about it then slowly nodded and turned around. Myka was hiding a laugh behind her hand while Dominick was staring at me with his mouth agape. I smiled politely and said "You think I could infringe upon your hospitality long enough to get a quick meal, and work in exchange for some travel rations?"

The girl studied me for a bit then said "If you help me collect some more firewood, split the wood we already have, and wash the laundry I'll give you a week's worth of supplies and you can eat supper with us. I'll also give you back your strange clothes and a few of my father's old shirts." I thought about it then nodded and held out my hand saying "It's a deal Miss Myka, however I'd also like the name of the closest town and how far away it is." She studied me a few minutes then said "Arinos is about three leagues away. By cart it takes a day and a half to get there and back, by foot it'll probably take you the better part of three days." I nodded in thanks then turned and walked outside. I grabbed their axe from where it lay beside the door and started off into the woods looking for any dead trees.

As soon as I was a few feet from the house Kisu hopped to the top of my head and said "You really aren't human if what they say is true. You fell several hundred feet, then you pull off that weird voice thing to get them to listen to you, then you persuade them to let you work for food. Amazing, so, what are you?" I glanced up at him then continued looking for dead trees and said "I'm just your average college sophomore who has a bad habit of getting into trouble despite trying to live a normal life. I mean up till I ended up going through that portal my biggest worry was getting below a C in any of my classes. Now I've faced a dragon, a wolf wants to rip my guts out, I'm bound to a Valley Changer, and somehow I have to get to the mage academy so I can go home."

Kisu stared down at me then said "What is home?" I thought about that for a bit then said softly "I don't know Kisu, I've never really had a place I called home, even when Z and I were hanging out and having fun it wasn't home, it was something else." I sighed and closed my eyes as I stopped and said "Home for me, would be finding the person I'll go at any lengths to protect, finding the one who's taken my heart and made it worth something. Otherwise, I'm just wandering from place to place. So I guess when I said home earlier I just meant I want to get back to my boring life, yet part of me hopes that I never go back because if I don't go back, I may learn a lot of new things."

Kisu stared at me for a bit then burst out laughing and said "Wow you sound just like me when I left the valley. My parents told me I was being foolish, but the fact is you can't learn anything by staying in one spot and going through the same boring routine day in and day out. Also it's even harder to not want to explore when you have a family that has had members travel then come back and tell you stories since you were a little one." I nodded in understanding then opened my eyes and stretched before swinging the axe and having it bite into the wood of a large dead tree that would easily make a good half years' worth of firewood for the little cabin. After about twenty minutes I'd managed to cut half way into the tree's trunk and my body was starting to get sore as hell. Suddenly I heard a voice in my head say "Let me show you what a real fighter can do, boy." Then my skin turned black as I watched, my vision started to be filmed over by a blood red haze, then I felt something burst out of my fingers. I growled and started hacking and slashing at the tree with my newly formed claws as the demon inside tried to take over.

I fought with Daemon for control for a good ten minutes as we attacked the tree, then finally it fell and I won our little battle of wills. I fell to my knees and Kisu ran over to study me. He smiled and said "You're back to normal, that's a relief. I didn't know you were fused with a Demican one. It makes you a lot more dangerous than I thought." I nodded and silently swore to myself that I'd have to gain control before the demon took charge. Suddenly someone walked out of the woods and pointed a bow at my face. I stared him in the eyes and dropped the axe then he said "Stranger you've just been drafted into the Knights of Chenari. My name is Kenro Setsu, and I'll be your new trainer."

I sighed and said softly "Are you calling me a beast?" He shook his head and said "No I'm calling you an untrained mage. You see I'm a nature mage, and the magic you were radiating caught my attention. It probably also caught the attention of every other magic user, and magical creature in the wood." He looked up as he said that and I followed his gaze to see a bunch of sprites floating around watching us. I blinked and mumbled "Ok you win, so maybe I do have magic." Suddenly Kisu hopped up on my shoulder and glanced at the guy. He grinned and said "Hello Valley Changer how are you?" Kisu grinned and said "I am fine, and yourself?" The two of them sat there talking while I tried to mull out what the guy meant by I was drafted into the knights of Chenari. Suddenly Kenro glanced at me and said "I take it back, you aren't my student, and it looks like you'll just be travelling with my unit back to the academy."

I stared at him for a few minutes then finally asked "Why?" He grinned and said "Because your little partner Kisu says you drew the magic from inside yourself, not out. That means you're a gods forsaken born mage, unlike me who's a trained mage. You can only be trained by someone who's like you. So, can I help you with anything Jake erasu?" I blinked and said "Well I owe some people I stayed with, some firewood." He waved a hand and the tree's limbs turned into legs which then started following us back to the cabin where Myka was staring in the direction we came from and Dominick was babbling about hearing weird noises from the wood. Myka noticed me and started smiling while Dominick just kept babbling about the noise. They both noticed the knight and the tree then Myka said "Domi, go inside. I'll handle this." He nodded and ran inside looking worried.

I glanced at Kenro and said softly "I don't know why they don't like you, but I'm following their example and not trusting you until you give me a reason to." He slowly nodded then Kisu curled up in my hair and yawned. I blinked as Myka glared at me and said "Why would you bring the knights here?" I stared at her and said "I didn't bring him here, he found me when I lost control." She blinked and looked slightly taken aback so I continued "He plans on having me go with him to the academy, I just wanted to do the chores I said I owed you before I leave. You won't have to worry about me after I repay my debt." I glanced at Kenro again and said "Wait for me at the edge of the clearing surrounding the house. I'm not running I'm doing what I said I would then I'll go with you, but you'd best hope that the people you're taking me to can help me control myself or we're all dead."

He thought about it then said softly "When we start on the road I can teach you basic control, but I'll go wait as you said." I nodded then motioned for the log to follow me to the back. When I got by the stump they were using to split logs, the tree collapsed and I picked up the maul they used to split wood then set up a smaller piece of wood and split it in half. I then split the halves again and went on like that till dark. At dark I stacked all the wood underneath Myka and Dominick's overhanging which was labeled as the wood shed then walked over to where Kenro was sitting with his head in his hands. He looked up as I walked over and I said "Let's head off." He nodded and the two of us started for his company, which waited outside the forest.

As we walked he glanced at me then said "The first step toward control is to imagine a blank space in your mind, then place an image on it. This works for archers, mages, and even swordsman when they're in a desperate situation. When you have the image in place try to focus all of your energy on it, then imagine a flame, a ball of light, or something simple. When you have that image try to focus the energy on it, and when it forms try to hold onto it for as long as you can. Then start to do more complicated things with the energy, like making rings, making it different colors, etc." I nodded slowly in understanding and stretched then popped my neck and did as he said. I started by imaging a solid black wall then placed an image of a wolf over it and started to draw my energy toward it. As the energy got close I imagined it combining with the wolf and bringing it to life. I'm not sure why I did, but that was the most practical use I could find for it because making a flame or a ball of light seemed stupid to me.

I blinked as Kenro suddenly let out a gasp and said "What the hell, I've never heard of silver wolves before. I followed his gaze and noticed that there was a wolf made of silver energy standing in front of us. It bowed its head to me then dissipated as I lost concentration. I grinned and started laughing while Kenro just stared at where the wolf had been. He looked at me and said "Did you create that?" I nodded and he said "Talk about learning control, also why is there such huge gaps in the back of your shirt?" I shrugged and we continued walking then he suddenly said "I guess I was a bit callous before, so let me restate it. Welcome to the knights, although you won't be among us for long with your skills. However if they do reassign you to our area, you'll probably be a commander, not a mere lieutenant like me." I nodded in understanding of what he said then the two of us continued walking in silence. Kisu looked down into my eyes and said "So, you think you can control that Demican if it gets loose?" I nodded deciding not to explain that the Demican had always been a part of me.

After a few hours of walking we left the woods and arrived at a heavily guarded camp. When the guards saw Kenro and let out a hearty cheer. One of them rushed up to us and said "Lieutenant we thought you'd been destroyed by whatever magic you were seeking." He noticed me and started to draw his sword asking "Who the hell is this foreigner?" I ignored his tone, and his half drawn blade as Kenro said "This is the latest student for the academy. He wants to learn control of his magic, which is already far stronger than anything I can produce. He made a full corporeal wolf appear in front of us with silver fur. So I wouldn't challenge him if I were you." The soldier quickly dropped his blade back into the sheath then ran back toward the camp announcing the arrival of the lieutenant and another magic user. The entire camp had gathered in the middle of the grounds by the time we got there and the commander of the division studied the two of us.

Kenro made me bow and said "Lieutenant Kenro reporting sir. This is the one who made the magic that I was feeling. He hasn't told me his name, but his Valley Changer says his name is Jake." I glanced at Kisu who just shrugged then sighed as they ordered a tent set up for me and I was left to my own devices. I sighed as a soldier led me to the tent while Kenro walked off talking to the commander. After they gave me the tent the young soldier said "Thank you for joining the army sir, I hope one day that I can attend the academy and help protect the innocent." I saluted him as he left then passed out hearing the different voices from my instinct discussing the recent change in events and Kisu talking about how things are going to work