The beginnings

In the between realms

Diana

As she walks across the forest glades in the late summer evenings, she resembles a sapling: slender, tall, and with a lightness of step that makes her blend in with the surroundings. Barefoot, she gently wends her way through the wood, completely at home in the arms of nature. She wears a long asymmetrical green dress, with hints of grey, which swishes gently as she moves, as does her waterfall of silvery hair, which she wears loose down her back. Her violet eyes are true windows on her soul, conveying every aspect of what she feels, which can be as changeable as the environment in which she lives. The wisdom of the dryads is fabled, but she sometimes finds her tutors’ strictures on controlling her passions hard to follow. Though she loves the forest like a family member, having never left it she sometimes longs to experience something more- but for tonight she is tranquil. Today, she finally felt she experienced the calm, centred state she had been trying to master for a decade. Connected to all the creatures and plants around her, for now her world seems at peace.

*

He is dressed in normal clothing-at least normal for this world: leather with iron plating-save the iron mask which conceals his face. Through it, you can just catch a glimpse of the white sclera of his sunken eyes, which surrounds piercing gold pupils. For the past 2,261 human years he has resided in the slums of Einifan, but its filth and corruption has long since ceased to affect him.  He remains undeterred from resisting the malicious aura of the city. He has witnessed the ravages of the monster we call war, which blighted his youth several thousand years ago when the three planes  of existence collided:  norferin, a fiery realm of vast destruction, its denizens taught from birth to value the strongest warrior;  siadepra, an airy world of peace and tranquillity where wisdom reigns supreme; and  dinsemtyassanin, a dark and twisted realm which may sometimes surprise even the most experienced denizens of the area with pockets of joy and happiness.

*

When a conflict rages through a world, the scars are more than just physical. The destruction is evident across the ruins of the amalgamation of architectural styles which marks every settlement across this world- or rather, this combination of worlds. Despite centuries of research, it is still unknown exactly why three alternative planes of existence, previously unknown to each other, came to collide. It seemed to happen overnight: the very reality that the denizens of dinsemtyassanin were living was warping and twisting before their helpless eyes. New settlements formed around the towns; and suddenly beings believed to be only fairytales were there, coexisting with the ‘normal’ humans- though the line between normality and insanity, in this world, is difficult if not impossible to draw.