Brilliant red light made her vision go white, then the force that had dragged her forward let go and she dropped, and she landed face first on something solid.

  “Ow,” she muttered, blinking her eyes open attempting to adjust to the sudden brightness. As she did her hands felt along the ground, it wasn't cold like the strange void had been, it was warm and the rough texture was somehow familiar. Running her fingers along the strange divots and lines it finally clicked. The ground felt like wood, not polished floor boards but raw and unprocessed. Blinking a few more times she was finally able to make out the scene around her.

  Several wrist sized branches jutted out from the wood floor she stood on, tipped with bright red fern-like leaves. Taking a closer look she realized she was not in fact standing on a wooden floor but a massive tree branch. Looking upward she saw the expanse of a bright red canopy, so large it blocked out the sky. Glancing downward caused her stomach to drop. Not only was she in a giant tree, but the particular branch she stood on was very, very high up. The ground below must have been thousands of feet away, the pattern of colors she assumed were roads and swaths of greenery reminded her of the view out an airplane window.

  The height gave her a sudden sense of vertigo causing her to take a few steps back from the edge. In the attempt to put distance between her and the nauseating drop, she failed to realize how close the other side of the branch was, until her foot found air instead. Her arms shot out, flailing wildly in an attempt to regain her balance, but it was too late. She fell backward off the branch.

  The rush of the wind as she fell was so loud she wasn't even sure if she was screaming as her body twisted and spun so fast the world around her was nothing but a blur of red and orange. It was too high, there was no way she could survive. She tried to aim for another branch in hopes it might break her fall, but she couldn't even tell witch direction she was facing much less pick out a single branch. Was this it? After fighting her way through that hell she was going to just fall to her death from a damn tree? Tears welled in her eyes as she squeezed them shut, not wanting to see the end coming.

  It was quiet, the wind rushing past her was gone. Had she hit the ground? From that height she guessed death would be so quick her brain probably wouldn't even register the impact. So did that mean she was dead? She slowly opened her eyes to see red. Shifting she found she was lying face down, again, in a swirl of misty red clouds. Hesitantly she made her way to her feet. The ground, or clouds, beneath her felt spongy and like they moved subtly. It felt like trying to stand up on a moving boat. With a good deal of concentration she managed to stand. The swirling red mist was all around her and she could no longer see the tree.

  “How am I even standing right now?” her elementary science class had taught her clouds were made of water vapor, thus considered a gas and not solid, therefore you couldn’t stand on them. That lesson had killed her fantasy of riding around on a cloud like one of the characters from an animated show she watched every Saturday morning. But here she was, standing on what clearly looked to be a cloud. Guess Miss. Johnson didn't know as much a she thought.

  “You are here because I wished it,” a low voice broke her from thoughts of her childhood. She franticly scanned her surroundings but all she saw was more of the bright red clouds. “Don't be afraid. I mean you no harm,” the voice was masculine and deep, with the slight rasp of age tinging it.

  “Ya, totally going to trust the creepy disembodied voice,” she mutter to herself. A chuckle reverberated through the smoke, it was warm and reminded her of her grandfather, putting her at ease despite her better judgment.

  “You are an interesting one to be sure. That is the reason I plucked you from your fall. There are some things I need to address before I allow you to continue to the path,” she perked up at this.

  “Path? That weird voice in the creepy void said something about divergent paths. Is that what your talking about?” the man chuckled again, a mixture of surprise and amusement.

  “You are quite sharp. That will serve you well in the future. You are correct, there was an error in your initialization. You did not convalesce with your Vaettir and diverted the path. While you did ultimately resolve the error and perform convergence with Pyrak, I have some concerns still,” at this she shifted uncomfortably, what did he mean by ‘concerns’? Was he going to send her back to that torturous place and do it all over again?

  “Please remain calm. This will only take a moment,” then the beeping sound resonated in her ears again. Her heart pounded against her chest at the sound.

  Scanning soul.

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  The monotone voice from before rang out and she had to count her breaths in and out to quell the panic it incited in her. Her skin prickled and itched slightly, but there was no pain. A small exhale of relief left her, she could deal with a little itch. The beeping trilled on for several minutes before it stopped.

  Scan complete. No soul corruption detected. Vaettir soul stable. Player soul stable.

  What? The weird voice and the man had both referred to something called a Vaettir. What was that? Whatever it was it had a soul apparently, but what was that about a player soul? It had been scanning her, so did that mean those souls were inside her?

  “Good, now with that out of the way,” the rumbling voice broke through her spiraling thoughts, “You must reaffirm your commitment to the path. Do you accept the path of Pyrak?” the mans voice had gotten deeper and more solemn, like he was asking her something important. She shook her head, this was too much, she had too many questions.

  “Wait, I don't understand. What's a Vaettir? You said you scanned me? Do I have two souls? How is that possible? What the hell is going on?! Where even are we?!” her voice rose in pitch with every question and she knew she was starting to ramble but couldn't help it. This was someone she could actually talk to and spoke back. She had to get answers.

  “This is your path child. The truths you seek will be revealed in time but you must affirm your choice. Do you accept the path of Pyrak?” the voice pitched downward, more serious and the warm paternal air to it was gone. She should have taken this as a warning but the way her concerns were so casually brushed off made her blood boil.

  “How am I supposed to choose something I know nothing about?! I don't owe you anything!” she shouted back, a part of her begging to keep quiet and do what he asked knowing antagonizing whatever he was would only end badly. But she couldn't help it, all her pain and confusion had morphed into rage and she finally had a target to aim it at.

  “Do not challenge me child!” his voice rumbled like a storm and the previously calm clouds had darkened to a blood red and roiled around her. She may not have known what this man was, but it was clear he was powerful. And she had just pissed him off, “I am offering you the chance to reaffirm your destined path. But I can take that choice away and cast you into the dark realms if I so choose,” a cold shiver of fear ran up her spine. While not sure what the ‘dark realms’ were, she was certain it was the last place she wanted to be.

  “I will ask one last time child. Do you accept the path of Pyrak?” his voice made the world around her shake and she knew what her answer needed to be if she wanted to get out of this in one piece.

  “I accept,” the words came out shaky and her voice was thin. The clouds rumbled and flashed like an electrical storm.

  “Speak up child! This road is no place for the meek or weak willed! Do you accept the path of Pyrak?!” the voice was like a clap of thunder and the clouds rumbled with a newfound intensity. She gritted her teeth. What was his problem? She gave him the answer he wanted hadn't she? But apparently that wasn't good enough. He wanted her to show she meant it? Fine then.

  “I accept the path of Pyrak!” she screamed the words into the blood red storm, nearly shrieking them, doing her best to put in every ounce of pain and fear she could muster. He wanted her to mean it, wanted passion? Then that's what she was going to give him.

  There was silence as the clouds calmed and dimmed back to their original autumn red. Then the man laughed a low chuckle that grew to an uproarious laughter.

  “Well done my child. May the path of flame and blood guide you well. I expect I will not forget you any time soon,” his words left her confused for a moment, before the clouds beneath her feet parted revealing the view of the ground far below once more. Then she was falling again.

  She opened her mouth with the intention of cursing out the disembodied asshole, but could only manage a terrified shriek. The canopy of the tree stretched out above her as she plummeted backwards, and time felt somehow slower watching the vibrant red leaves sway above. It would have been peaceful if it weren't for the fact she was falling to her death. A moment later she made contact with the ground. But despite the considerable height it felt more like falling backward onto a bed then a several thousand foot drop onto hard ground. Hesitantly she moved her fingers and gripped soft grass. Rising to a seated position she took in her surroundings. She was at the base of the tree surrounded by short burn orange grass. The trunk of the massive tree was covered in knot holes, and now she was on the ground she saw streams of people emerging form them.

  Though people might not have been the right word. While humanoid in shape, two arms, two legs and a head, they looked as if fire had been pressed into a human shaped mold. They appeared identical, with no hair, defining features, and no variation in build or height. She glanced down at herself to see the same fiery skin, a hand flew to her head and found it smooth and perfectly round.

  “I just grew my hair out . . . “ was all she managed to say in her shocked state. Before she could say anything else a figure appeared in front of her. It was a man, with the broad physique of a bodybuilder; clad in gold loose fitted pants and an open vest, a bright red sash floated about his waist.

  “Welcome child! I am Nardi, guide to the spirits. It is time to follow your path,” his deep growling voice declared as he gestured with the large bardiche in his right hand. She stared up at him, not saying a word, far too distracted with the dancing flames where the man's hair should have been. “Are you well child?” his voice contained a note of genuine concern as he looked down at her.

  “Ummm, I’m not really sure. . . “ she shook off her confusion. Maybe this guy could give her some answers? It was worth a shot, and at least he was someone she could actually see. “Nardi, was it? I’m a little confused,” she rose to her feet to face the man, not an easy feet as he had at least three feet of height on her.

  “I don't know how I got here or what's happening. Or really even where here is, much less how to leave. Can you help me, please?” her voice broke a little on the last word, the fear and confusion her rage had overwhelmed was finally flooding back to her. Nardi nodded and gave her a sympathetic look.

  “Of course child, no need to worry. Many spirits are in a state of confusion when they first crossover. Here, let me guide you. It is what I am here for,” she brightened at his words, a little confused by the term ‘spirits’ but decided to ignore it for now. What mattered is he was someone who knew what the hell was going on and actually seamed to want to help her.

  “Thank you. This has been a nightmare and I just want to go home,” the towering man placed a hand behind her back and they walked away from the tree.

  “Do not worry, all will be well. The path will take you where your soul is meant to be,” he guided her through the grass to a well maintained dirt road lined with people made of fire. They casually strolled along as the ground morphed from well packed dirt to pristine cobbled stone. With Nardi guiding her they took their first step along the path.