"The Kier"

**Before you read**

I'm aware that this story contains a lot of alien terminology. This is because I usually write stories for myself, and don't really show them to anyone. Over the years I've created a vast and strange universe. Because of this, I hold a large volume of knowledge that no others do. I'll do my best to clarify exactly what these unknown things are.



**Okay, here we go**

I was walking down the glorious Mors-Alta Plaza1 in the Market district of Chains2, when I was suddenly assailed by the scents and sounds of a completely different place. The heady aroma of sweet and sour, fried and oily, raw and roasted emanating from pots and pans stirring in the hands of eager vendors, the hefty bellows of big-bellied merchants peddling their wares from streetside, the wistful sound of triggertaurs3 and papstalls4 strumming and tooting their tunes of blissful rhythm, the cheery sound of Ichthi5 children running about, playing games and running their hands along metal fences blending with the bardic tune of amateur performers. I suddenly stopped, turned heel, and spun round for good measure. I was home! Back in the damp  road-rivers of Belkin’s flooded district6! But how did I get there, one step toward the expansive desert sprawl of Chains, the silvered flags7 of my destination within a hand’s grasp, and the next, thousands of miles away, back to the twisting, densely packed streets of my homeland! I’d wandered for a moment, before asking one of the residing salesmen how in the name of Videl8 I’d gotten here. “Excuse me, Sir. I seem to have appeared by some mystical device, in the middle of the street. Did you happen to see anything upon my appearance in this place?" … No response. The short, well-fed man simply blustered on about high quality wares, at apparently low prices. I decided to tap him to get his attention. Perhaps he was simply just far into his work, or by the same means I was transported here, I had been made purely unobtrusive in some way. “Excuse me, I need to ask yo…” My voice trailed off in a mix of awe and horror at what my eyes had beheld. My hand, solid and opaque as it was to me, had passed straight through the wailing man’s shoulder. I immediately jerked my hand back, nearly tripping over my own foot in fear. I took a step back re-actively to keep my balance. I stood there motionless in the street, grasping my hand, gawking at it like it'd become some sort of five-tongued snake monster... I stood there gawking like a fool for a period of time I would rather not disclose, but I'm quite glad I came to when I did. Glancing bewildered toward my surroundings, I suddenly realized that I had been standing in the direct center of the street... A busy street... A currently busy street... I managed to eek out a pathetic whimper before every muscle in my body tensed up in a futile effort to protect myself from the barreling carriage racing toward me with no-doubt bone crushing force. My entire body scrunched up, my right leg curled behind my posterior, and my arms shot out to the carriage's direction, whilst my head craned away and my eyes closed, making for a strangely flamingo-like display. I opened my mouth, and this time I managed a far larger scream. No sooner had my eyes closed, screaming all the while, had they opened again, not to the sound of troubled onlookers and shattered bones clattering to the ground, but the sound of laughter, clapping, and the barmy boasting of a street performer. Said performer, a red-haired light skinned example of the Alder Race,9 was saying something in a language I couldn't understand. His voice lilted strangely, like he was rapidly changing emotions. I took a step back, (Regarding my surroundings this time.) and took in this strange figure who was talking in my direction. The way he moved was alien, somehow being equal parts comical and intimidating. His chest, along with his entire midsection, was contorted into a seemingly unbalance-able crescent, his arms hung to his sides limply as he looked slightly over his shoulder, never entirely facing one way or the other. Nearly everything about his character looked... off. His dress was as strange as everything else. Silken blue pants, tied tightly at his waist with a sash in a golden color.  It would look quite regal, if his shirt wasn't completely missing, and he wasn't prancing around on dirty, bare feet. He wore a beautifully ornate mask of gold and silver, and even inlays of what appeared to be allurite10.



**More will be added.**

Footnotes
1  Large market mainly having to do with weapons.
2  Prison-colony used by Giant country-sized city, Belkin, to house it's worst of the worst.
3  Similar to a guitar, with internal strings operated by triggers lining the outside.
4  Woodwind instrument consisting of multiple interconnected chambers, rotated from the outside in order to change the pitch, volume, and harshness of the sound.
5  Fish-like wise race mainly persisting in the northern lakes, and Belkin's specifically tailored flooded district, due to their critical dependence on the presence of water for survival.
6  District of the massive, country-sized city of Belkin, flooded with water from rivers redirected specifically for the purpose.
7  Chains has a guard armory with Belkin's flag on it. Belkin's flag is laced with silver mesh.
8  Videl is the name of the goddess responsible for the creation of the world.
9  The race most like humanity on Macairin. They are known for their skill in thaumiturgy, and thaumiturgical crafting, and favor diplomacy in all situations. Alike to humanity in outer structure perfectly, though vastly different in internal anatomy.
10  Super strong alloy of multiple different heavy elements native to Macairin. Valued  as currency universally for it's incredible rarity, as the process for it's creation is insanely complicated, and it cannot be transmuted alchemically like