An Owl's Rise

"It appears that you found this place as I foresaw you would. I have left everything here for you, Evie."

Eyes going wide and her mind going blank, for a moment Evelyn thought she had misheard what this projection had just said.

Yet just a moment later it said, "Oh and just in case it was not obvious, it is me, Mason, your brother."

Hearing this Evelyn's mind that was frozen began racing, and her heart started beating faster.

Her brother who she had watched die, had also ended up in this strange world.

He looked completely different having golden hair opposed to his former brown hair, a thick beard that matched, and this man was far older than Mason ever had been, looking to be around thirty.

Yet the way he spoke, how he called her by her nickname, it was exactly like how he had been.

Anyway, her appearance was even more far removed than his since he looked to have been reincarnated as a human, while she was an owl.

"I am sure that you have a number of questions, and I will be sure to answer as many as I can in the time I have. Unfortunately, I cannot be here to meet you in person and have left this recording of myself to explain what I can."

"First as I am sure you have come to realize this world is very different from our first world. Here there is magic that can create phenomenon that would be impossible on Earth. That is how I knew to leave this place here for you."

"I will not bore you with all of the details right now as the amount of time I have to record this is limited, but I developed a type of magic that allows me to peer into fate. Of course, it is not all powerful, but it did lead me to finding that you would be here. Though it did also show me that if I did not intervene, your fate was to die a violent death."

Gulping, Evelyn did not fully grasp what her brother was saying, but she definitely did not like the prospect of being killed again.

"That is why I tirelessly searched for a way to make sure that this would not happen to you, but as it so often is, fate was cruel. In order to prevent your fate from leading only to death, I had to steal a certain item from my family in this world and gained their ire for doing so."

The projection then paused for a moment and directed Evelyn's attention to the side of it where the floor began to open up.

Then coming out form the ground in a clear box very similar to the one that had once held the Aethersphere, was a crimson flame.

It was currently not moving and was completely still. But looking at this flame Evelyn almost got lost in its beauty.

Yet that was not all, as she quickly realized that this flame was what the Aethersphere had been directing her towards.

Even in its current suspended state she could feel that it held immense power.

"This here was my family's greatest treasure. I do not truly know much about it, other than that it is one of the sixteen heavenly flames said to have fallen to this world from a higher realm thousands of years ago. But what I do know is that with this magical flame in your possession your fate changes drastically. It is no longer set in stone that you will die and has become muddled. Even I am not sure what your fate will truly have in store for you now."

Pausing once again, Evelyn watched the projection begin to shudder and she saw what looked like tears running down its face.

"I truly am sorry Evie. I wish I could have been here for you myself, but it was just not possible. I do not know how we came to end up in this world after that monster killed us, but I was reborn here centuries before you. By the time you see this recording I will no longer be of this world."

Evelyn's heart dropped as soon as she heard that her brother, who she had just found out was reincarnated as well, was already gone.

It was just another cruel circumstance to add onto all of the loss she had incurred over both of her lives.

"However, while I may not be here to personally help you out, I have left everything I could to assist you in your new life. This world has any number of magically imbued items and I have procured as much as I could for you here. Truthfully it is not a great amount, but it should hopefully give you a jump start on your advancement in this world. Though as for what may be the most valuable items I have left you other than the heavenly flame. It would have to be is these."

After the projection of Mason said this, one of the shelves in the room lit up and illuminated a number of books.

"I have left what knowledge of this world to you as I can here in these books. And since I am not sure how long you have been here or at what level of literacy you have achieved, I have written you a guide on how to learn the langue of this continent. Also, one of these books is my own diary in which I have explained more about my new life for you."

"Oh, and you do not need to worry about the other room you first arrived in. I put that there as a decoy on the off chance someone found this place before you. Explaining all of the details would take too long but I did write it down in my dairy if you are interested."

"Now it looks like the time I have left to record on this device it coming to an end, so I have a couple more pieces of advice for you. Do not stay in this place for more than three months. If you stick around here for longer than that, something disastrous is going to happen, though I do not know what exactly it might be."

"Looks like my time is coming to an end here. I have done all I can for you now and hope that it was enough. Please do your best to survive Evie, and this time you will hopefully have a happy life."