Submission (#8864) Approved

Well, now he'd done it.

Okay, so like, yes, he should have been more careful about continuing to wander around at night, especially considering the recent reports (verified by his own eyes, no less!) of miasmic overwild borders in the area. And yes, this was technically, how do they say it? His fault. He didn't mean to cross the border, but he hadn't been thinking that hard about it! He was in fact only trying to chase a stray butterfly, and anyone else could have reasily been in his position! The strange light wall had been weaker where he crossed, more difficult to notice. And sure, the wildlife grew fewer in number and more in uncanny feature, and the plants became wilted and dark. By all reasoning, they should have tipped him off as he kept running but, well... if he was already here, he should make the most of it, right?

And where exactly was here, anyway? He was definitely just walking through the forests of Silveil a moment ago, but the sight before him seemed strange, illusory, and warped. He found it difficult to put into words and objective truth, but misease colored his steps as an alien feeling settled upon his back and locked around his jaw. The world felt wrong, almost as if he were looking at a mere reflection of it upon a wall. This wasn't Silveil, was it? He stood under the sky of eternal night that he was familiar with, but in front of him, on the other side, was...

"This isn't possible," he breathed. The sandy beaches of Palu'au sifted at his feet, warm grains dancing upwards as a salted wind blew through. The shore stretched out far ahead into an infinite sea, a window into an implausible reality. At his feet, the ground had abruptly changed from grass to sand, piled along a dividing line between the dunes and the dark of Silveil as if an invisible wall were preventing one from encroaching upon the other. He sieved the sand through his claws, disbelief on his face. He looked back, then forwards again. Repeating this motion a few times to be sure he wasn't dreaming, he then slapped his forehead and cheeks to be absolutely certain of the fact. Had he paid so little attention in class?! He had slept through a few geography lessons for sure, but it wasn't like he actually needed them! He was certain at the very least that Silveil shouldn’t have such a border, and he had never recalled anything from the teachings even close to this. No, no... whatever this was, it had to be something far stranger, perhaps something that evaded even explanation.

The area he had left behind seemed the same as it ever was. The moon was a hanging crescent in the sky, its silver light tending to the dark forests below and coaxing glowing flora to sprout from the swirling mud. Fireflies floated upon the drafts, rising and lulling in time with a spark. But the night, the twilight air, the hum of the luminescent fauna; they all stopped abruptly before the area that was surely Palu’au.

And as he sat there, oscillating back and forth, growing more and more confused by the moment, a novel feeling of nausea crept over him. It was slow and deliberate, but limb by limb he began to feel an energetic confusion that only exacerbated his current conundrum. Sounds were a bit too loud, colors a bit too bright. Something was flying, but he couldn’t quite understand what he was seeing. Something swam upon the waves, and even though he focused his eyes towards it, what lay before him felt indecipherable. He shambled forwards, trying to get a better look at whatever it was —

The disorientation grew further, and he found that he had to clutch his head every so often to make the vibration stop. "Aughhh! What's up with this place?" He felt so, so... weird! Reaching a tide pool, he dipped his toes into it in an effort to cool off from the unpleasant feeling. It worked in small degrees, the chill allowing him to think again through his haze. The mana here was of a perplexing nature, as if it did not understand what land it inhabited, nor which living creatures it was supposed to infuse. It rather felt like very different areas of the world were grabbed piecemeal, and flung unceremoniously into this shared space of peculiarity.

Dainsleif stopped in his tracks as a horrible realization dawned upon him. If the space in front of him was truly warped in some way, what would happen if he did not turn back..? There was no saying what awaited him at the far edge, if there was even an edge to cross over to. Perhaps this strange dimension was an infinite expanse, and the thought of losing himself in the emptiness beyond chilled him to the bone. No... no, perhaps if he returned the way he came, he’d still be able to find the way home. Unable to stand the uncanny sights a moment longer, Dainsleif began to back away towards the direction he came from, taking brisk steps, wary of the fact that any wrong moves could cost him. His paw soon touched grass again as it found the border between the two regions, and he turned around completely to break into a run. The pale ripples of the border shone faintly up ahead, and he continued onward, not looking back.