The Time Traveler and the Immortal

Technical Difficulties

Everything was finally in place, Amara had spent months studying and gathering all the elements she needed for this moment and all her dedication was about to pay off.

She sat in the centre of a dark room surrounded by a complicated system of prisms, mirrors and lenses. Cross-legged and on the floor around her, an eight-pointed star was etched into the stone slab that made up the floor.

She took a deep breath. It was almost time.

Slowly, she started gathering power. The sun was almost in position and she needed to be ready when sunlight flooded into the darkness.

She started preparing the runes she’d committed to memory through hundreds of hours of study into a mental image, ready to project it onto the floor.

The light flooded the room so quickly that it shocked her, she almost lost her concentration. But she steeled her will and cast her mental construct down over the star now lit up by the precisely placed lenses, each line a different colour.

“STOP… DON’T DO IT!”

The sudden shout almost cut her concentration. Amara tried to ignore the unexpected intrusion and slowly focused the energy she’d been building up into the final elements of the spell.

At the same time, there was crash, followed by the unmistakable sound of glass shattering.

She could already tell, her construct had been compromised and her spell was about to fail catastrophically.

She braced herself for the pain. With such a complex and powerful casting, the magic backlash was intense. It was like her whole body was being torn apart at an atomic level.

She screamed, but it sounded strange. And as she went to breathe in she realised she couldn’t, it was as if her lungs were trying crawl out of her mouth. It was suddenly freezing cold, she could feel the warmth being sucked out of her body along with an unfathomable pain. More pain than even a massive spell kick-back should warrant.

She was adrift in the void between worlds. “This is how I die” she thought calmly, drifting weightless for a few moments that felt like an eternity.

In the next instant she was standing on solid ground again. The sudden brightness a shock as she was buffeted by a violent rush of air as it rushed into the void around her, and then she collapsed under the unexpected weight of her own body.

An Unexpected Guest

Cynan rested against an old gnarly oak tree attempting to catch his breath while Pætryc pressed his ear to the ground, listening for any hint of a horse in pursuit.

They hadn’t stopped for two days and nights. Barely pausing for a breather as they made their escape.

“Has he given up yet?” Cynan asked hopefully.

Pætryc just held up a finger, indicating he needed silence. He continued for a few moments before grunting and rolling onto his back letting out a deep breath.

“I think we’ve given ‘em the slip little man” he offered to his companion, “at least for the moment. I don’t see old Lectyr letting us off so easy.”

“No. I don’t suppose he would” Cynan muttered under his breath. Aware that they were now marked for life.

“Welp, maybe we should start looking for a cosy hideout so you can catch a little glimpse at the back of those pretty eyelids Kye” Pætryc offered before laboriously getting to his feet and dusting off his clothes.

Cynan was too tired to respond, all the energy had left his body. He put his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. A moment later, he was startled as he felt a wet splatter across his face.

“Knock it off you wanker, I don’t have the energy for your games” he blurted out as he looked to see what Pætryc had splashed him with.

His friend stood shocked with an arrow piercing his neck.

Cynan wiped his face and was stunned to realise he was covered in blood.

Pætryc slumped to the ground, rapidly bleeding out. Cynan stared in stunned silence at his friend as standing in the background, Lectyr stood with another arrow readied.

He was tall, well over 6 foot, with short, disheveled light brown hair. He was quite ruggedly good looking and had a very charismatic presence although, his smile had never put Cynan at ease, even at the best of times. His broad shoulders cut a very intimidating figure in the forest clearing.

“That’s disappointing” Lectyr said calmly as he casually took a few steps forward, “I wanted a good long chat with the lad. I guess it’s just you and me now.”

He drew his bow. “Hold still now, I’m an amazing tracker, but as you see, my bow skills are not the best.”

He let loose, striking Cynan in the right knee. The impact from the arrow so sudden it took a moment to register the excruciating pain. He held back a scream, and started sobbing in despair.

He barely registered as Lectyr continued talking in measured tone. “See, wrong leg, and I was aiming for your thigh. I really need to spend more time at the range.” He stated in an almost self-deprecating tone.

While Cynan sobbed and squirmed in pain, trying to hold back a scream. Lectyr quickly closed the distance between them, kicking his captive in the head.

He awoke not long after to find his hands tied behind his back as a length of rope dropped to the ground next to him. Lectyr came into view, picked up the slack and casually started reeling it in.

He flashed Cynan a smile as the rope went taut and he felt his arms begin to take the strain. Once he was off the ground, Lectyr tied off the rope on the tree Cynan was now suspended from.

“Don’t go too far boy. I’ll be back with my horse in an hour. Probably” Lectyr called back over his shoulder as he walked back the way he came.

The muscles in his arms and shoulders were strained to breaking point already and it had only been a few seconds, and the pain in his leg was unbearable, Lectyr had left the arrow in his knee and every tiny movement just intensified the pain.

It felt like much longer than an hour, but eventually Lectyr reappeared leading his horse instead of riding. Without saying a word, he hitched his horse, and started rummaging around in the saddle bags.

Finally, he found what he was searching for, a small medallion.

He walked over to his prisoner, unsheathing his dagger on the way. Without fanfare, he stabbed Cynan in the abdomen and quickly shoved the talisman inside the wound.

It sealed back up almost instantly and in the next moment, the pain in his leg intensified by an order of magnitude. He gasped in pain, struggling to catch his breath.

“It hurts, don’t it?

It’s a healing medallion, I’ve been keeping it for something special and this seems like a good time. It should keep you good and healthy for a long time before it’s power is used up.” Lectyr offered almost cheerfully.

Stepping back, he unclipped his whip and gave it a test crack.

Out of nowhere, there was a crack like thunder and a sharp rush of air.

Cynan, in disbelief watched as his tormentor, flashed out of existence, leaving only his right hand holding the whip to fall to the ground.

A few feet away, a young woman suddenly appeared. She wasn’t much taller than Cynan, only around 5 foot tall himself, she had long black hair tied in a thick plat and was dressed in what looked like a scholars robe, though a little tight.

She was perhaps 20-25. She wasn’t pretty, so much as cute. She had a very childish figure and appearance.

Her large brown eyes were slightly open with the look of peace on her face that suddenly changed to surprise just before she slumped to the ground, unconscious.

As the shockwave from her appearance dissipated, a strange light radiated out around her and slowly passed through Cynan.

He didn’t feel tired any more, and he heard something drop to the ground beneath him. Looking down, he saw the arrow that was piercing his knee was now on the forest floor in two pieces. His knee no longer hurt.

A strange sensation began in his stomach where Lectyr had inserted the amulet. The strange light had apparently supercharged its effect. He was still hanging with his hands behind his back though.

There was nothing he could do but wait for the unexpected guest to wake up.