Chapter 2] Rebirth, and Recovery.

I fell for what felt like an eternity. No, it was more precise to say that I fell for what was likely two eternities. First came the void, and though I thought my time there was short, looking back I am able to recall decades, perhaps centuries of falling in that place. Then came that second hell, the realm of emotion made manifest, and horrid things beyond the limits of even my own imagination.

Both places were torment, both were agonizing, and I could not accurately say how long I spent in either realm. With no frame of reference for where I was, or how much time had passed, I am left wondering if either place was even real. No, I cannot doubt myself, not after having survived my time within the bowels of those twin hells.

After those places came not another hell, but a world, a planet rose before me like an oncoming train. Distantly I was aware that my body was in a sort of spacecraft of some kind and that said body was largely the same as the one from my second life, while still being different in a way I couldn't quite place. My time within that writhing hell had changed me, though my mind and memories were so muddled from my experiences there that I struggled to remember exactly what happened.

Before I could reckon with my newfound circumstances I had entered the atmosphere of this oddly barren planet. A moment later I slammed into the surface, and darkness returned once more, ushering me off into a fitful, dreamless sleep. After what could have been mere seconds, or entire years, I awoke with a stark, the sound of grinding shifting metal scraping at my ears.

I lay, half submerged in a strange greenish orange liquid the same consistency as gelatin. The acrid stink that wafted from this odd soup startled me to full wakefulness and I looked around with renewed interest.

I realized immediately that I was in danger, as my craft had not landed somehwere flat. Rather I was dangling from the edge of what looked like a cliff. Below yawned the many ringed hole of an enormous strip mine. Only this one was on a scale that I could scarcely comprehend, with the massive crater easily being several miles across. It was also deep, so much so that it had its own weather, evidenced by the fact that I could hear wind whistling through a crack in the glass.

With no time to think, and no time to plan, I reached up towards the hole in my protective casing. Grabbing hold of the jagged edge I ignored the fresh injuries I had just given myself and pulled hard. For a moment it felt like my strength was not going to be enough, then I felt something inside myself spark and all at once, I was able to tear off a jagged hunk of the thick glass.

Tossing aside the chunk, I pulled myself up to the opening I had made and squeezed my head, then my shoulders through the crack. The first thing I realized was that it was cold, very cold and I was completely nude. Concerns of modesty would come later, for now I needed to not fall into the deepest hole I had ever seen before.

With a heave, and a grunt I was able to drag the rest of my lithe form from the tube and out into the cool air. The moment of freedom was ruined when I heard a loud crack, alerting me to the fact that I had yet to reach true safety. With that thought firmly in mind I scrambled off the tube, and flung myself at the ledge with all the skill of a drunk at the end of a long night.

Though I was far from graceful, and my landing hard, I had managed to get away just before the ground gave way. I heard the sound of tumbling stone, and shattering earth as it cascaded down the side of the mine. After I gathered myself, I glanced over to find that I had only just barely avoided getting dashed across the rocks. Not even the pod which had survived the rigors of space travel was able to take the beating, its pieces scattering after it collided with a pillar of dark rock rising from the earth.

I winced, and tried not to imagine what it would have been like had I not been able to escape in time.

"Focus," I muttered to myself, giving my cheeks a light slap. "We aren't out of this yet."

Turning my attention upward, I found that I had landed near the mine's edge, though I still had a fair distance to go. Luckily for me, considerable time had passed since digging had stopped, and some of the hardier plants had taken root only a few feet above my head. Scrambling up the rocky wall was difficult for my already bloody hands but by then I was an expert in living with pain.

I used the roots and branches of these scraggly looking plants to clamber further up the side. Until at long last I managed to get out of the damned mine that had attempted to claim my life.

"Fuck you," I spat.

Grinning spitefully, I looked over my injuries and noted something peculiar. They had already clotted, and even now were growing warm, as if the healing process had begun. I knew then and there that this body, though it appeared much like my last one, was stranger and not without its benefits.

I was stronger, that was easy enough to realize and though I wasn't taller, I felt within myself great potential. My thoughts immediately turned to magic, and though I was able to construct within my mind the correct formula, nothing happened. Mana was present, that much I could tell, though it was behind a barrier or wall that my current self had no method of cracking.

"Whatever," I declared to myself. "I don't need magic."

The words felt empty despite the venom with which I spat them. I had grown used to the presence of magic during my second life, and now without it, I felt naked and not just because I was indeed, nude. With that thought in mind, I glanced around at my surroundings, putting the anxiety caused by my lack of magical potential aside.

At least for the moment.

I hummed to myself, dark worry worming its way into my thoughts. For although the mark of civilization was everywhere I saw no towns, no buildings, and not a single person.

There were however, many open pit strip mines much like the one that lay behind me. The roads leading from these massive craters no longer existed, having been long since broken down by time then swallowed by what little vegetation grew in such a desolate climate. And it was quite desolate, with everything from horizon to horizon resembling a blasted, overutilized wasteland.

"Someone didn't care about the local ecology," I murmurmured to myself.

Mounds of dirt that had been pulled from the earth created artificial mountains, while between them lay the deep valleys of the pits. Water was non-existent, and the air was brutally dry though not in a way that I had experienced before. During the southern conflict, when I had been deployed to that damndably dry continent I had experienced the blistering heat of the desert.

This was not like that, for although it was dryer here then even the top of a sand dune, this land was cold. It felt almost like the moisture in the air had been extracted, mined in the same unforgiving way the people of this world had mined their land. It was almost wasteful in a way, with the brutalized landscape stirring a wave of disgust from deep in my belly.

Swallowing that unpleasant flavor, I pushed on, ascending the closest dirt mountain and surveying all that I may see.

There atop that strange hill I realized several things in quick succession. For one, I could see much, much further than in either of my past lives. Even the effects of enhancement spells or a simple pair of binoculars couldn't compare to my unaided sight. Secondly, there were indeed people present, though they appeared primitive on top of being near the very edge of the horizon. Additionally, numerous strip mines and dirt mountains lay between me and civilization.

Finally, I realized that I was being watched though I couldn't figure out from where. Glancing around I noted that it was early morning, likely just after sunrise given the location of the slightly reddish orb slowly rising into the sky. For the moment at least, the stars remained visible, and it was when I glanced up at them that the feeling returned, stronger than before.

I spent several minutes searching the heavens for any sign of whatever, or whoever was observing me only to ultimately give up. Deciding that it was simply my own paranoia talking, I began to trod in the direction of civilization.

The wind was bitter, and the cold unpleasant but I was determined, and had little doubt that I'd make it.

Yet no matter how much I busied myself with the work of merely surviving, I continued to feel as though I was being watched.

"Being X, no doubt," I murmured aloud. "Well go ahead and watch. Watch as I crawl out of the grave you dug for me and reach the salvation you would deny me."

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The walk to civilization was long, but thankfully uneventful. Little grew here, with most plants being short stubby grass, dense bushes, and rather sad looking brown trees. Without much in the way of plantlife, there was little to support any animal life, made evidenced by the fact that I didn't see anything larger than a rodent.

I did come across a rabbit looking thing though it was so small that it barely seemed worth hunting. I doubted I'd even get much nutrition from the thing, and so despite my growing hunger, I ignored it and continued on. It wasn't long before I managed to reach a small group of houses barely large enough to be called a village.

The roofs of their homes were topped with red shingles not unlike the kind one saw in ancient and occasionally modern greece. The white plaster walls, and prominence of personal courtyards drove home this comparison. As did the short, wheat like grasses they were able to grow on what little arable land remained near the village. There were also several tall, narrow trees that reduced the ever present wind from a constant howl, down to a manageable whisper.

The people fit my assumption of the ancient Greeks rather well, only with some slight variance. The men wore a form of tunic made from what I assumed was a large rectangle shaped mass of fabric that they fastened around their shoulders or waist. The women wore something similar, only theirs was longer, usually going all the way down to their ankles or even the ground.

How they didn't trip over their own clothes was beyond me.

I abandoned my attempts at spying fairly quickly, as my stomach was growling, and my throat was so dry it was becoming painful. Approaching a pair of women chatting near a tree, I raised a hand in greeting and called out to them.

"Hello! May I ask for some help?"

The pair spun around and looked at me like I had grown a second head. I had begun to worry that something was on my face when they both hurriedly rushed towards me while speaking a foreign language I didn't understand. They spoke rapidly, with one crouching down in front of me and looking me over, while the other looked around, as if seeking out my neglectful parent.

"I don't understand anything you are saying," I remarked dryly.

That didn't seem to bother the duo, who concluded their inspection of me quickly before splitting off. One went off into one of the small homes neabry while the other continued to talk at me. From the way she spoke it seemed as though she was asking me a series of increasingly probing questions, while gesturing at the scars on my hands and the blisters on my feet.

Without the ability to answer with words, I pointed back the way I came, hoping that may help. It took a moment for the woman to understand what I meant, but once realization settled in, a deep frown spread across her face. Looking into her eyes I saw fear, distrust and pity war within her brown orbs, as if she was considering pushing me away.

In the end some maternal instinct must have won out, as she stood back up and grabbed me by the hand. I considered brushing her aside, but without anywhere else to go I was at her mercy. So I just followed along dutifully, allowing the woman to pull me into the small home.

I half expected to be clapped in irons, or forced into slavery only to be surprised when a sheet was draped over me. No, not a sheet I soon realized, but a smaller version of what the village women were wearing. It was tied about my body in short order, and soon I was no longer naked, though it was still rather breezy given the lack of undergarments.

"Thank you," I murmured, noting that the cloth was rough, and low quality but durable and warm. "I don't suppose you have any food?"

The two women were ignoring me however, and were having a heated conversation amongst themselves. As they spoke, I observed them, and the interior of what I assumed was their home.

They seemed to be of greek stock, though were more heavily tanned then the reproductions I had seen in museums and textbooks. It made sense, these women were clearly part of a small, poor village and could not spend all day inside, hiding from the sun. They looked to be about early forties, and no strangers to manual labor, given their caloused hands, and weather beaten faces.

Their home was a small two story affair in the shape of a capital L. The upper level must have been where they slept, as down here I could see only a fireplace, eating area, and a small area at the back where they stored supplies of some kind. The walls were made from stones no doubt plucked from the open air mines, and then held together with a primative mortar. A large floral themed rug covered the majority of the ground, while wooden shutters, rather than glass filled the windows.

It was rustic, primitive, but lived in, with clear care having gone into every last feature of the place.

My musings on architecture were set aside when the woman from earlier grabbed my hand and began to lead me back outside. The other female joined us, and together we made our way through the village towards a larger home set off from the rest. Villagers came to gawk at me, stopping whatever they were doing to stare at the strange girl being led through town.

It was an indignanty I would have rather not suffered, but there was little I could do about that right then. Resigned to my fate, and hoping that my trust was not misplaced, I made my way up to the larger house. There I noted that this was likely the home of a noble, or merchant at one point. Now however, it was in disrepair, with shingles missing, the courtyard wall having collapsed in one section and the walls of the domicile sporting several holes.

It had likely suffered a minor fire at one point, though the majority of the damage just seemed to be from a simple lack of repairs.

I was about to ask the two women what they were doing when an older man strode out and began to loudly berate the pair. They didn't back down however, shouting back at him and gesturing to me in an animated manner. I wanted to interject, but the language barrier being what it was I could do little but sit there, and hope my contempt for this entire situation didn't reach my face.

Thankfully after several minutes their conversation fell to a normal volume, and the man seemed to shrink slightly. It was at this point that I realized he only had one hand, and one eye, the other orb having been cut by out by something and the area covered by a black patch. His right arm was completely gone, the result of what I assumed was a battlfefild injury given his generaly grizzled demeanor.

Unkempt, but not in complete disarray, his appearance didn't exactly elicit much trust in me. Thankfully his face soon softened, and after much arguing, he acquised to whatever it was the women were demanding. He raised a hand, and bade me forward, gesturing to a spot before him.

After a moment of consideration, I obliged him, stepping in front of the man and staring straight ahead as if this were a military inspection. That seemed to give him pause, and he looked down at me with a bit more respect in his eye. A rough hand gripped my chin, and he turned my head one way and then the other before nodding to himself.

He released me and stood once more. He said something in their language, and waved the women away. The duo said something to me before giving my shoulder a squeeze and departing, relinquishing me to the care of this stranger.

I looked over to find that said stranger was walking back toward his home. He paused at his doorstep and turned back to me. With a sharp, barking order he motioned for me to follow him.

I did so, and trailed after him as he moved through the home, and out the back. There I found the partially fallow fields built into the side of the small hill behind his house.

He wasted no time and crouched down next to a row of grass like wheat and began to tend to the plants. Plucking weeds, and pruning dead leaves, it was obvious what he wanted me to do. So when he gestured to a row nearby, I merely nodded and followed his lead, caring for the plants as he had.

Crouched in the dry dirt, I couldn't help but feel a bit relieved.

Sure the food wasn't likely to be any good, and they had no modern amenities to speak of but I had at least found civilization. I was confident I could survive for some time out in the wasteland, but that didn't mean I wanted to. I may not have been the most social person in either of my lives but even I had to face the fact that so much time alone would not have helped my mental health.

After we finished tending to our rows he stopped me, and knelt down, inspecting my work. Once done, he pointed out a weed I had missed. Eager to stay in my apparent caretaker's good graces, I scrambled over and ripped it from the earth, tossing it in the pile with the rest.

The man nodded slowly and motioned back towards the home. Once inside, he retreived a clay jug of water, and a crusty loaf of some dark brown bread.

He tore off a section for me, then poured me a cup.

I pounced upon the substance like a wild animal, devouring the slightly grainy bread before swallowing the water. He chuckled, and gave me a little more of both before putting the water, and the bread away.

Cheapass. I thought to myself, only to sigh. I had barely done any work yet. I shouldn't have expected any further hand outs.

Across from me the man ate a brief snack before rising from his seat and walking back towards the fields. I followed him, eager to learn more and secure my position as his assistant.

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My name is Lagus, and for the last three months I had been the caretaker of a foundling that had wandered in from the pits. Initially discovered by the widows Ophellus, and Gorgis, the stranger was assumed to be a runaway. The moment I laid eyes upon her I knew otherwise.

Her posture was perfect, her eyes sharp, and she looked upon me without a hint of fear. There was none of the wild desperation, and barely contained terror that usually came when some exiled foundling wandered into our village. More importantly she followed orders like a soldier, doing what I asked without complaint nor excuse.

Watching her move amongst my newly restored fields, I noted that she carried herself with the air of a perfectionist. She may not have known how to care for the land for as long as I did, but she learned all I knew in little time. In fact it seemed as though she knew more than I did, as in her second week she had found a spring further up the hill and diverted its course down into the fields.

Armed with only the stone tools she had made, the girl had managed to carve out a deep enough channel that my crops were now irrigated properly. No longer would I need to pray for rain, or haul water from one of the wells in order to grow my food. I barely even had to lift a finger most days, as the girl rose at dawn, and carried out most of the chores I had shown her how to do.

Requiring no discipline, verbal or otherwise, I had rarely been forced to raise my voice. Though even when I had done so, the error seemed to be due to a misunderstanding rather than a failure on her part. This was good, as I was a failed soldier, not a parent, nor a teacher but thankfully she needed none of those things. All she seemed to require was food, water and a roof over her head and in turn she was eager to work the land as was required of her.

I was drawn from my musings as she completed her pass of the field, and was walking in my direction.

"I go. Fix wall," she stated, her accent thick but not unintelligible.

I just nodded to her, and watched as she walked over to the collapsed section of the courtyard wall. Picking up where she had left off yesterday, she began to arrange the rocks she had picked out for the job.

Tempted though I was to ask how she had learned the language so quickly, and with no lessons, I resisted that urge. She didn't care for questions, and wasn't much of a talker. Instead of bothering her with my idle curiosities, I picked myself up from my chair and made my way up to the second floor of my home.

I stopped just in front of the large wooden chest that rested at the end of my bed. Unlocking it with the key I kept around my neck, I opened it to find that everything was where I had left it. The armor that had kept me safe during my time as a mercenary lay at the bottom, while the shattered spear, and broken round shield were there as well.

As I stared down at the equipment ruined, and whole alike, I couldn't help but think back on those final days of the campaign. Defeated, maimed, and exiled, I had been content to come to this out of the way village, and simply wait for death to take me. I had not even considered the possibility that I would leave behind some kind of honorable legacy. Only a miserable shack that I had let fall to ruin and fields barely productive enough to sustain a single person.

"How things change," I murmured to myself.

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I, Tanya Degurechaff, straightened my back, wincing slightly as something popped.

"Damn wall," I murmured to myself.

Ignoring the twinge of pain that came from the base of my spine, I looked down the chest high barrier I had just finished erecting. Tall enough to keep out the Shale Hares, the rabbits I had seen during my original trek to civilization, but still short enough that a grown man could hop over, it was the perfect height. Sturdy, and encompassing the totality of Lagus' expanded farm lands, it would serve the old soldier for many years to come.

"You have completed another project," stated the gruff voice of my employer.

"I have," I replied, turning around and looking the man in the eye. "What do you think?"

"It is some of the most solid construction I've ever seen," he stated, pausing to give the stone barrier a firm kick. "I'm amazed you built it from worthless shale."

"Shale is an acceptable material as the wall need only turn aside pests, not a tank," I remarked.

"Tank? Another of your funny words I presume," Lagus half asked, half stated.

"It's…" I shrugged. "Not relevant."

The man nodded, and gestured back to the house.

"Come," he bade me. "The caravan will be here later tonight and before then I have something to give you."

I raised an eyebrow at the uncharacteristic bout of generosity, but said nothing. Instead I simply followed him into his newly restored home.

"Thank you again, for your work on the roof," Lagus stated. "Though I had grown used to the leaks, it is good to see them gone."

Again I remained quiet, knowing full well that the old soldier didn't like to dwell upon such remarks for long.

"Here," he stated, turning to me and offering me a bronze key in his open palm. "I would retrieve them for myself but knees are not what they used to be."

"What is this? Some kind of bonus for a year of labor?" I pressed.

"Bonus? Ahh yes, I suppose that is a fitting way of putting it," he muttered. "You went beyond my expectations and so it seems only fitting that I pay you what I could."

Though I was eager to see what my reward would be, if I had to admit, I needed, nor expected such a thing. It didn't rain frequently, but when it did the leaky roof made sleeping unbearable, and so I fixed it. The wall around the field reduced the amount of time I had to spend tending the crops, and remedying all the holes in the walls ensured rats could not find their way inside, keeping my bread safe.

Not only were my repairs borne of an overabundance of pragmatism, but I found a strange sense of joy in constructing the walls, and working on the man's meagre home. The sense of pleasure I gained was odd, and not something I had experienced in either of my past lives, though it was not an unpleasant change.

"Well, foundling. Go on," Lagus encouraged.

I knelt down and opened the chest. Eagerly peering within, I found a broken spear and shield, as well as primitive bronze armor not unlike the kind hoplites wore, as well as a short bronze sword.

"How did this all happen?" I inquired, pulling out all three pieces of the large round shield and glancing up at the man.

"I was…" The man paused, a brief flash of guilt and shame passing over his features. "Overeager in my desire to lead my company. In my arrogance I attempted to strike my commander while his back was turned. My betrayal was obvious in hindsight and I believe he knew my intentions."

He gestured to his arm, and eye.

"He took from me the ability to wield a sword, or even serve as a scout," Lagus remarked. "He could have taken more, but he pitied me, and after my wounds had a chance to heal, he exiled me."

I scowled, and bit my tongue, barely restraining my urge to call him a fool and a coward.

"I know that look," he exclaimed, chuckling to himself. "And you need not say it. I know I was a fool and I know I deserved worse."

"Why betray him?" I demanded.

"It is the way of things," he replied, as if it were the simplest thing in the universe. "Competition keeps us strong, or so I was told all my youth. Only the best should rule. If I had killed him I would have been better, it's as simple as that."

"But his back was turned. That's hardly a fair measure of strength," I pointed out.

"Are you sure you didn't come from Macadonus? They have such strange views there."

"No."

"Regardless," Lagus began again. "The ability to protect one's self even against the unseen is an important strength to have and had he not had it…"

He trailed off and gestured to his missing arm.

"Fair," I admitted.

I hefted the heavy bronze armor and glanced expectantly at him.

"You'll grow into it," he replied simply. "In the year you've been here you've grown further and faster than a willow sprout in spring."

I had to admit, he had a point there. In the brief time spent on this planet I had experienced a considerable growth spurt. I had to resist the urge to celebrate, as my diminutive stature was still a point of much of my consternation. Sure I wasn't as tall as my employer, but I had a feeling that would change in short order.

"I've prepared a bag for you so you will not starve during your journey," he continued, walking towards the door.

"Who said I was leaving?" I countered.

"This nameless village is too small for one with your ambitions," he dismissed. "Now come. Let us enjoy a little wine before you go."

I smiled, and walked after him. I'm going to miss you. You were an adequate employer, but a shit cook.