This was the second time he visited the city of Iria, but still awed him the same as the first time he visited the place. The giant walls protecting the city, the bustling marketplace, where people not only traded goods, but ideas as well. It was a peaceful city, filled with ideas and magic It was home to countless libraries, and the Magic Academy. It would take more than a lifetime to read through even one of the libraries here.

Hiro Kouen, young Phoenix Knight, wasn't sure what he wanted to now that he was here. The last time he was here, he was with Sapphire Rose, daughter of the Life Goddess, Angela. He was dating Sapphire at the time, though they broke up recently. The city reminded him of her. Shaking off the thoughts, the tall young man wandered in the crowd in the marketplace. He had jet black hair with crimson highlights, his eyes were a stunning shade of sapphire, He was a teenager, still young,, despite how tall he was. He wore a black cloak mad with with fiery red phoenix feathers, giving an appearance similar to his hair. Beneath his cloak, he wore an ornate suit of red and gold armor, with the crest of a phoenix on the chestplate.

Hiro saw a market stand that was selling all kinds of magic trinkets and books.  He started to move in the direction of that market stand through the crowd, when he bumped into someone who he didn't notice.

"Oh!  I'm terribly sorry, I must have not paying attention," he said apologetically.

While she truly had been enjoying her time at the Academy so far, Caitlin had other things on her mind.  She had decided against using the apple Xunatar had given her, and just last night the thing had withered into nothing.  She had sat into the early hours of the morning, trying to decide what it meant.  It could be any number of things.  She doubted the demon-lord had fallen, but Caitlin knew she could not eliminate it as a possibility.  Perhaps she had lost his favor?  He was a deity of chaos after all, and it wouldn't surprise her too much.  Perhaps Xunatar had changed?  When she was sure of her privacy, Caitlin had resolved to send a message to him, mostly to see just what was going on.  She truly enjoyed his company, and she did hope that he had not fallen. 

But those thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind as she wandered around the marketplace.  Being the daughter of a merchant, she had a keen eye for goods.  She had already purchased a few small trinkets, and a new tome to study once she got back to her dorm room.  For once it wasn't about magic, but about the fallen gods of this land.  Caitlin had resolved to learn as much as she could that was wholly foreign to her, which turned out to be quite a bit.  Just being in the Academy surrounded by people of all cultures and walks of life had been a revelation in and of itself, especially for a sheltered village girl.

She saw another stall with more books, and headed towards it eagerly.  But she didn't always watch where she was going, and collided with a young man who seemed to be headed for the same stall.  He was taller than she, which wasn't hard, and looked around her age.  The armor he wore seemed to mark him as a warrior of some kind, but Caitlin had a feeling he wasn't wholly human, given the shade of his eyes and his hair.  "No, it's my fault.  I saw more books, which always gets my attention.  As if I don't have enough to read already," she said with a laugh.  Caitlin was quite glad she had disguised herself as human for her foray into the market, horns tended to scare people off.  "I'm Caitlin, by the way.  I'm studying at the Academy, how about you?" she asked, curious about the young man.  While she didn't often introduce herself to random strangers, anyone headed for a stall with books was worth at least a brief conversation.

The person who he bumped into was a young woman, somewhere around his age, at least he PRESUMED she was around his age, in Revaliir, nothing was as it seemed!  He blushed slightly, saw that she was pretty.  She also looked vaguely familiar.  Like someone he saw a long time ago, but he couldn't exactly place her face.  "Ahh, a book lover?  I don't mind the good book, magical or otherwise, I wish I got into reading sooner.  I had . . . a friend who was deeply into books, and I helped her with magical research," Hiro said with kind laughter in his voice.  Sapphire did introduce him to a lot of books while they were together, and his father had him read too, between swordsmenship lessons.  "Though I've been busy lately.  I have to train my body, but also my mind as well.  You can probably tell by my armor, I can fight with a sword, but I use fire magic too."  She seemed very kind so far, and she wasn't afraid to chat with a stranger.  She introduced herself to him as Caitlin.

Years prior: A young child sat in a crib.  He had a shock of black and crimson hair.  He looked up through the bars of the crib.  His Father, sat across from a short woman, with crimson hair and blue eyes,  They chatted, drinking tea, laughing.  The child saw his Mother, bring out a tray with snacks.  His father placed his hand on his Mother's hand and thanked her for the food.  She smiled and asked the crimson-haired woman if she needed anything else?  She asked for more tea.  The Mother went to fetch some more tea.  It was a pleasant scene.  Everyone was happy and laughing.

Some years later: an older version of the same child walked up to his Father, who was sitting down, tears running down his cheeks.  His Mother was by his side, comforting him.  The lad asked his Father what happened.  Why was he crying?  DId someone die?  The Father looked at his son, and told him his Aunt had died, she sacrificed herself to help the people of the land.  The land of DaeLuiin where they lived.  She was a hero.

Even late still: The young lad, now nearing being a teenager, approached his Father, who was looking wistfully at a portrait on a dresser.  There were photos of their happy family and friends.  His Father had lost many of his friends in the past, whether through death, or through disappearance.  The lad asked about the pictures.  His Father responded, telling him about Uncle Blaze, who was his best friend, there was Judge, a God who died, who many people, including Father, looked up to.  Judge died after saving the world.  Then, there was his Aunt who died a hero.  His Father wasn't related to her, but he took her in while he was a Deity of Fire, and took care of her.  She was like a little Sister to him, or the Daughter he never had.  He retailed the stories of their adventures, how she learned from him, and how she replaced him as Fire.  He was proud of her.  Her name was Caitlin.  Caitlin McKenna.

"It's . . . a pleasure to meet you, Caitlin.  My name is Hiro, Hiro Kouen, Phoenix Knight," he stated, proudly, with a smile.  Red hair, blue eyes.  Short stature.  This could be the biggest coincidence in the world, but she was nearly the spitting image of that woman in the picture, though this Caitlin was younger, than the one in the portraits.  His fuzzy memories showed an older woman.  This girl, this Caitlin, was his age.  Maybe she happened to be the daughter of his Aunt Caitlin, or maybe it's a coincidence.  Another possibility, could be that she was the mirror of his Aunt Caitlin from DaeLuin, the world he came from.  That Caitlin died, she was part fire dragon, and became a Fire Goddess who his Father had treated like family.  He mourned her when she died.  Maybe this was a "doppelganger" or alternate version of the Caitlin from his memories.  Either way, he introduced his full name, if she knew his father in some way, the last name might give it away.  "I'm an adventurer, I guess, a warrior originating from another world.  I'm passing through this land, going where ever the winds blow me.  They happen to blow me here to this town."

She nodded, she could appreciate the idea of training both mind and body. "I've no aptitude with a blade, nor the desire to learn. I prefer to keep anyone who might wish me harm as far away as possible," Caitlin said. Her interest was piqued at the mention of fire magic, something else they had in common. She did have to remind herself that she had only met this person, and it was far too early to know if she could trust him. But another acquaintance, someone who could be useful to her later, that wouldn't hurt anything. "I have a bit of a talent for fire myself, though the Academy is helping me hone that, and learn what other things I can do," she said. Caitlin was careful, she didn't want to give away too much.

There was a hitch in his voice when he introduced himself, which was odd. The name meant nothing to her, though she nodded her head in a bow.   A knight who used magic, interesting.  She found herself wanting to learn more.  "I've never heard of a knight who also uses magic.  That being said, I was born in a rather isolated village in the Highlands.  I'm only starting to learn about the wider world," Caitlin added.  That was true, though she knew more than most from her old home.  The idea of a wandering warrior was something out of a book, especially the part of being from another world.  "Another world?  How interesting!  Tell me what it was like there, would you kindly?" Caitlin asked.  Her excitement was not feigned, the idea of other worlds had always been in the back of her mind, but now she had a chance to ask someone directly.

"I find being able to use melee weapons compliments my fire magic.  imagine fighting someone in a melee, and you swing your sword, they prepare to block, and flames come out of the blade.  A hot blade is able to cut better than a regular one, and it keeps blood from collecting on your weapon.  Anyway, I have aptitude for both fire and swords, so it'd be kinda crazy not to take advantage of both.  My father, he has similar talents.  He also called himself a Phoenix Knight, and he was so strong."  Hiro listened as she explained she had talent in fire, and the academy was helping her hone her skills.  "Ahh, another fire user!  I never attended an academy like that before.  My father taught me what I know about magic and swordsmanship, and what I've read of course.  Both my father and my mother, they both were aligned with fire, so it flows in my veins.  Blood too of course," he said with a laugh.  She asked him about the world he came from, he figured he'd sate her curiosity.

"In the world my family came from, it was called DaeLuin.  It was similar to this world, some of the same people, or different versions of them existed there as in here.  I guess they call that a Parallel World or something?  Like, Lady Angela existed as an Earth Deity in DaeLuin, same as here.  Lady Moliira existed there too, she was Wind, my father, Sabishii, he was Fire at one point, but then the World Tree of that world, decided to give the power to his pupil.  Her name was Caitlin McKenna, and she became the new Fire Deity in his place.  When he spoke of her, he called her family, but, but they weren't related.  He took her in when she lost her family.  What a coincidence, though, she had the same first name as you.  Unfortunately Aunt Caitlin, passed on, she died a hero, though.  She helped people, and was great person.  She had dragon blood in her veins.

"There were a lot of fights and wars in that world.  There were giant monsters that occasionally attacked the world, my father told me there were monsters he called 'Titan-class' threats, that rivaled the Gods themselves.  There was one that was called Blustersquall, that was a golem of some kind that had storm-based powers, it could make a storm that would envelop the world.  There was one called the Sun Wyrm that tried to burn down the World Tree itself, multiple times, it radiated incredible heat and light from its body.  None of the Gods got along too, the conclave of that world constantly were bickering like a a dysfunctional family.  Eventually, the last thing I remember from the world, as it ending.  Something happened that all the Gods were falling, they were being replaced by new ones or some such, but people didn't believe in them like the old ones.  Maybe the World Tree actually died?  I don't know.  The details, I don't remember all of them, except fire was raining from the sky, the ground was shaking, and portals opened up around the world taking people to different worlds.  I got separated from my parents, and ended up here in Revaliir with some memory loss, it took some time to remember what I remember about that world and what happened," he sighed looking down, then back up at Caitlin, smiling a little bit.  "But it's okay, this world, my new home, I like it better than the old world.  Things seem more peaceful than the old world, which was embroiled in wars constantly, drama, and chaos.  I miss the old world a bit of course, but this world is better.  Sorry if I gave you more than you asked for with that question, you asked me what the world was like, and I gave you my life story," he said with a laugh.

He had an interesting point about using fire in a melee fight, but Caitlin had little desire to figure that one out for herself.  She had other ideas that she preferred to pursue for her own defense.  "My brother is the soldier, not me.  I'll leave the swordplay to him.  Slinging spells is what I'm good at, and I can only get better," Caitlin said.  Swords had never really interested her, though Caitlin had to admit that it may have been a lack of opportunity in her upbringing.  Liam had done the best he could for her, but there was only so much in the small village that could be hidden.

There were so many words coming from Hiro that she had to silence her own myriad trains of thought to catch everything he was telling her.  The names Angela and Moliira were familiar, though her eyes narrowed at the deity of Fire he mentioned.  An odd coincidence with the last name, but she wasn't going to say anything.  She'd heard tales now and again of doppelgangers since she had left the village, the thought she might have had a double was interesting.  But she knew she didn't have dragon's blood, Caitlin was certain she would have figured it out by now.  The idea dismissed from her mind, she listened to the end of his world, and how he entered hers.  "Oh, there's plenty of drama and war and chaos here.  It just depends on where you go looking.  I have to imagine I caused quite a bit of drama when I left the village in the middle of the night, dowry in hand.  Being married to the village idiot was not something I wanted to stay around for," Caitlin said, making a face of disgust.  She never planned on going back there, but perhaps to see her brother.  And even that was not certain.

"Are there other worlds, beyond this and the one you came from, you think?  Being able to travel between worlds… imagine what could be found," Caitlin said, her voice turning to a musing tone for a time.  How one would even find their way to other planes without going by accident was beyond her, but there was another line of thought forming in her mind, something else to research, something else to ask Xunatar about.

Caitlin said she was good at slinging spells, while her brother was good at swordplay.  Hiro nodded.  "If you're mage, Caitlin, then yeah, best to stick to maging.  You wouldn't throw a wizard to the front lines of a battle with a sword in his hand, and stick a bunch of heavy armor on him."  He was lucky he could use swordplay and magic, but not everyone could do that, and a pure mage could probably use more types of magic than he could, since he was a "Phoenix Knight," a kind of spell-blade.

He figured he was probably going to overload her with information, but she was able to listen to what he had to say.  She explained to him there was plenty of drama, war and chaos in Revaliir, if you know where to look.  "I'm sure there is, but it seems there's less . . . world ending catastrophes going on here.  There was a time when the Deity of Water flooded much of the land, and my father, he went to her to convince her to stop the flood, she had lost control of her power or some such, meanwhile, all the other deities were pulling up to her shrine, ready to lay siege to the place, and Dad was the only one trying to solve it peacefully.  There were a lot of things going on that could potentially destroy the world.  Local squabbles between nobles and peasants, for example, aren't on the same level as something that could kill everyone on the planet."  He listened to what she had to say about potentially being married off to the village idiot.  "Yeah, that's not right.  One should have the choice to marry one who they choose, someone they love, I feel.  Arranged marriages aren't right, especially when it's unwillingly.  You're right to reject something like that.  Even if it probably caused drama."  Caitln wondered about other worlds besides Revaliir, and the world he came from, DaeLuin.  Hiro nodded.

"I know there are other worlds besides our two worlds.  There's many other worlds.  When I came here, I was alone, and I spoke to one of the other Deities of this land, a Goddess by the name of Lady Moliira, she was able reach into my memories so I could remember what happened to my world.  Not only that, she was able to track down my father, who had somehow landed astray from where I landed.  He landed in some other world entirely, when he fell into whatever void between worlds.  Apparently, the world he landed in, or at least the part he was found in, had a person known as a Collector, who captured rare creatures and beings from other worlds.  Father, he had been placed in a cell, alongside many other cells with other people, and creatures, and each were marked with the worlds they came from, and I couldn't pronounce some of the names of the worlds.  Someone just up and plucked people from other worlds, and held them like slaves . . . no, more like one have a collection of fine porcelain, or dolls.  It was like a zoo.  We started freeing the entire facility, including my father, and my dog, Ember, who happened to be there too.  She's a rare breed of dog, a dachshund, that is, a badger hunting dog, that has a touch of elemental blood in her.  She's adorable.  I'm lucky to have found her.  We did as much damage as we could, rescued everyone we could, then escaped to Hoja Mesto with everyone in tow.

"Later, my Father, he approached another Deity, Lord Drae, who he convinced to help him find Mother, who they found out, was stuck in the void between worlds.  Turns out it's possible to make a hole between realities in places where voidstorms happen, like Koschei Forest.  But it takes a tremendous talent and power to do so, and a great amount of risk to the person doing it.  Any stray magic can cause a catastrophe, and it draws monsters to the ritual.  I wouldn't suggest attempting it."  Hiro explained the story to Caitlin with confidence.  He wasn't making stuff up, in case she had any doubts about his authenticity.

He seemed to have set his father on a high pedestal, which only led to disappoint in her experience.  But Caitlin wasn't about to say that, she wanted to know a bit more about his old world.  He showed sympathy for the situation she had fled, and Caitlin felt it only right to explain something of this world to him.  "Not everyone gets to chose, people are married to each other for economic gain, to save themselves or their children from starvation.  But that wasn't my case.  My father wanted to better his standing in the village.  I did not want any part of it.  Men have all the power, women have to do what we can.  And I was able to flee," Caitlin explained.  She didn't mention the help she had, or the bracelet.  That was her secret to hold.

While Hiro had some very interesting information, he tended to go off on tangents quite a bit.  And she was growing tired of listening to him talk.  She had other things she needed to accomplish, but how to do it?  An answer came from an unexpected source, the guards were chasing a man carrying some kind of glowing stone.  People were moving out of the way, and from the shouts, the man had stolen it from one of the shops.  Well, there was an easy way to stop the thief.  She didn't particularly care, but she needed the interruption.

A fireball erupted from her hand, and slammed into the leg of the thief, causing an abrupt end to his flight.  As the guards surrounded the howling man, Caitlin turned back to Hiro, acting as if nothing had happened.  "I know better than to go beyond my skills, unless I'm certain of the consequence.  Traveling through holes in reality will have to wait, but perhaps in time," she said, her tone turning musing again.  Perhaps Xunatar would have an idea as to how she could proceed, he seemed to know quite a bit about many different topics.  And she had been meaning to write him anyway.