Longest chapter yet! It's just over 1600 words! Don't forget to vote guys, it helps me out tons

I can now check off dying, being raised from the dead, and world jumping from my bucket list.

Question.

Who the frick puts those things on their bucket list?

"So what's our next move?" Aspen asks. "Surely Quinn's not stuck here forever."

"I'm not certain, but I know a man who might be able to answer some questions," Cullen responds. "Though we aren't really on the best of terms, not since the accident..." He sighs. "It's worth a try, there's not much else we can go on."

"Well, as long as it gets me home sooner," I say.

"When do we leave?" Aspen asks.

"Now's better than later, Gahm isn't the safest place at dusk, and it's early enough now that we'll get to the next town with time to spare. Just let me gather my things."

Cullen walked towards the cluttered mess of a cupboard and searched through, pulling out different items as he went.

"What did he mean by 'it isn't safe at night?' " I ask Aspen.

"Well, dusk is when many of the Creatures stir, and they are they aren't... the friendliest. But they shouldn't bother us during the day," she reassured me.

"Not bears, I assume?"

"No, they're called Cryptids. Creatures with a sickening lust for blood." She cracked a smile. "But we'll be fine, one of the worst ones was killed by Javvar. That's what the whole parade was about."

"That's great," I laugh weakly, this is going to be fun.

"Ok girls, I'm ready to go. Let's try and make this as quick a trip as possible." Cullen says, walking towards Aspen and me.

As we walked through the woods, Cullen taking the lead. As we ventured on and off the path, my anxiety spiked. For some reason, the small thin line that cut through the woods seemed like a safe haven, as if nothing could cross that lane. I laugh at the thought.

I'm gonna die.

"There's no other way to get there, is there?" I ask hopefully, a piece of me wishing we could just teleport out of this death trap.

"If we took the other way we would arrive in three days," Cullen responds, looking back at us. "And I assume you want to get home as soon as possible?" he turns back to the trail, picking up the pace.

I walk close to him, not wanting to get lost. The trees around us stood like silent sentries, the canopy so thick it blocked out any ray of light trying to get through the guard's blockade. The forest was old and antiqued. Many of the old statues had started to rot, and the ground seemed to mold slightly to my feet as we walked. As we got deeper into the woods, the light seemed to vanish, the shadows starting to engulf our surroundings.

Now, more than ever, I wished for a flashlight. A warm feeling swept over my hands, a tingling effect flooding through my arms. I looked down. There were vein-like cracks covering my palms and fingers, emanating a warm glow.

And of course, I screamed because that is not frickin normal.

"Holy crap I'm glowing! Why the frick am I glowing?!" Cullen and Aspen stop and look at me, shocked.

"Did you eat any berries off the trail?" Cullen asks me, like a father scolding his five-year-old.

"No! I'm not stupid!"

Cullen examines me, very confused. "Your realm has no magic, correct?" I nod in response.

"Why am I glowing!? Does this forest got magic abilities to make my hands glow?!"

"Well, it's not just your hands, your eyes are glowing as well, and it is not the forest, the forest is just wood. Wood can't make you glow." He steps back, scratching his head

"I say we keep going and I'll look into it when we arrive. I'm sure they have a library where I can research." We keep walking, and eventually, Cullen asks me to walk in front of him to light the path. I feel stupid acting as a human flashlight.

As we walked we came across a few creatures, mostly small, thankfully. A tiny deer with rabbit ears and a fox tail crossed the path an hour into our walk. It stared at us briefly before running into the wood.

"What was that?" I ask. "It was so cute!"

"Ashen faun, pretty common species. Not the best pets, to be honest. It's a deer, rabbit, and fox hybrid. You didn't see it open its mouth though, but if you did, you wouldn't be calling it cute," Aspen replied, smirking.

"Well, fangs aren't a big deal if that's what you're talking about, as long as they don't bite me,"

"Eh, not my idea of 'cute.' But, if you're into that kind of thing I would recommend a maned wolf, it's a pretty good hunting animal and is quite affectionate. They are actually omnivorous, probably only forty or so percent of their diet is actually meat."

"Yeah, we have those back on earth. A kid in my fourth-grade class did a presentation on them, they live in South America." I sighed. "The small dumb things you can remember from school and yet it takes me thirty minutes to remember what eight times nine is."

Both Aspen and Cullen laughed, the noise killing the forest's silent hum of wildlife.

"I have a question, though," I say.

"Yes?" Cullen replies.

"My world doesn't have magic, so how did those weird gods send me here?"

"The Divines are ancient, and their magic is old. Their beings are woven into each of our worlds, and in a way, they connect us. One explanation could be the fact that sea gods do not have a body of flesh, their being is the water itself. Many sea gods are underappreciated, and they usually go unnoticed, like two ants fighting in a stampede. If they used their ancient magic in your world, the rules of no magic usually don't bind them.

All of our worlds have magic too, in a sense. Magic is energy and how we use it. Your world is all humans, so your race cannot perform magic without taking the energy from something else. They are not born with a spark. In other realms, humans can take advantage of being able to use the energy from other things, but in your world, you cannot."

"What do you mean by 'taking energy?'" I ask.

"There is a reason most look down on humans using magic. Your race must take the energy, the life from another object to perform a spell. That can be pant life, bugs, animals, people. Many have tried to find a way to use magic without this, but no way has been found.

Most magical creatures are born with a spark. A conductor, almost. These creatures are born of an element, whether that be one of the big five, or some subcategory like the moon, the sky, the void, ice, and so forth. They are a part of this element, and the element is part of them. These elements are an endless source of energy and they can draw from it, using it to perform magic. Aspen and I are Gahmish elves, so we draw our energy from the earth. Unlike our sister kind, like moon elves and sun elves who draw theirs from the sky, under the moon and sun."

"Wow," is all I can muster. "So I can't do magic," I say, slightly disappointed

"You can, but it's not ethical."

A few hours later a few beams of light managed to seep in through the canopy above, and Cullen announced that we were getting closer.

"That's probably the best news I've heard today," Aspen sighed.

"It shouldn't take long, the end of the forest is coming up, and then it's just a ten-minute walk to the nearest town."

When we came to the edge of the forest, the surrounding area was all grass. A worn gravel path was visible in the distance, and farther along was what looked like a small city.

"That's Summerhold. The town's blacksmith will know where Asmir is, or his last known location."

"Wait, you mean Asmir, as in Asmir the Lyrian? One of the Eight greatest Mages in the Fringes' history?!?!" Aspen's eyes glowed with amazement as if she just got a new book that she'd been waiting months for, or when I found out Twenty One Pilots came out of hiatus.

"Yes," he chuckled. "That Asmir."

"Guys, I really want to get to Summerhold, I need to get back home."

"Yes, let's focus on what's important," Cullen agreed, and we started walking once again.

As we approached the road, a few people could be seen in the distance, huddled around a large... smudge? (I really need glasses). As we got closer, the large thing they were huddled around became clear. It shared some similarities with Cullen's machines, magically sewn together, and beautifully crafted. It was an ordinary horse carriage, but it was mostly made of metal, and nothing was there to pull it.

"Hey! Sir! Do you mind helping us out? Our cart broke down and I can't seem to get it running again. I'm no technical magician, but you sure look like one," the man called out to Cullen.

"Well, you guessed right! I was one the best technical sorcerers during the Great Stonehelm War, made some of the finest war machines out there. This should be a piece of cake!" Cullen smiled pridefully.

As we got to the side of their cart, Cullen bent down to take a look underneath. As soon as Cullen was low enough one of the men took out a large stick and struck him on the head.

Aspen screamed as Cullen crumpled to the ground, a small line of blood trickling down where the man had hit him. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. The three men turned towards Aspen and I. The two on the side grabbed and pushed us into the cart, shoving a gag in our mouths. They tossed Cullen in the trunk of the cart.

Hello my fellow frens, peeps, and dudes! how do you guys like the chapter? Am I doing a good job at leaving you guys on cliff hangars? Again, don't forget to like!