At his side stood his younger brother, behind them several soldiers hand picked for this mission. It was imperative that the team was small and that they only interfered with what they were allowed. The lands they were heading into were dangerous, but fragile. The slightest change could seriously alter the course of history. Now standing outside of the Dragon Gates, Fujin Yumi in hand, the archer made a mental note of the items on hand. There were only a few things on his person aside from his weapon, such as a concoction and a salve gifted to him by Azura. She had told him that it would be best used on an ally should someone else be severely injured. Something he certainly appreciated given their lack of a healer for this journey.
Steadying himself with his allies, Takumi stepped into the Gates, prepared to travel the planes. This should have been the easiest part, but he found that the usually warm embrace of draconic magic was now burning at his form. Like an angered beast of fire it tore and bit into his body. What was once a dark landscape blazed with white light, forcing the archer to press an arm over his eyes. As the pain began to hit an unbearable level he could feel fierce winds rushing by him and then everything stopped. Breathing ragged from the silent screams the Gates had torn from him, he slowly lowered his arm.
The sight that greeted him was nothing but an inky black abyss. Darkness had consumed the area in a way that wholly disconcerting. It felt as if he were floating within this void. Weightless and cold. Terrified, hazel eyes glanced about for his brother, friends, anybody really. Finding nothing, he could feel panic truly setting in, but that was when he fell. Wind rushed past his body, pulling at his clothes, hair, and anything else it could. Pulling his Yumi tighter to his chest, he watched helplessly as he was flung through what appeared to be a golden ring, only to crash into dark green grass.
Gasping in pain, the archer rolled onto his side. His brain felt rattled within his skull and he could taste blood. Any sounds that could have possibly been around him were drowned out by the beating of his own heart. Even his gaze was blurry and unfocused for several long moments. As his senses began to slowly return to him, a golden ring - not unlike the one he fell through - fell into his line of sight. Rolling to a halt just in front of his chest.
Shaky hand reaching forward, the item was retrieved and clutched just as tightly as he held his Yumi. While attempting to sit up sent a sharp jolt of pain through his right arm, he couldn’t just continue to lie there. Spitting a glob of blood into the grass below, the archer furrowed his brows. Hopefully that wasn’t a bad omen. The last thing he needed was internal bleeding. Startled from his thoughts by the sound of a voice, Takumi’s head whipped to the side. Said motion making his head hurt more than it had before.
The creature standing in front of him as unusual as it was green. The clothing adorning it’s form was strange, certainly nothing he’d ever seen before. Large spikes protruding from the back of it’s head gave it an appearance he’d liken to that of a hedgehog. Maybe an echidna? Most striking however were the eyes it was peering at him with. Their color was akin to that of ice and they were just as piercing.
Whatever this thing was, it was far taller than it had any right to be.
Finally, what the stranger said hit him. Gaze flicking down to the ring tightly clutched in his hand, a frown appeared on his features. There was no way he was handing this over without at least getting some answers first. Bringing his attention back up to the other, he spoke. Voice a bit shaky and pained, but nowhere near unintelligible. “What is this thing?”
