Klaen groaned, pushed herself up onto her knees and shook her head, trying to orient herself. People started to gather around her in confusion, having just seen a girl with slightly pointed ears and dressed in green and brown robes fall out of the sky a minute prior. 

She pushed herself to her feet, staggering slightly before regaining her balance. She looked around, waving away the people who approached her. 

“Where am I?” she muttered, her brow creasing. She approached someone who was recording the whole thing. “You there,” she said, pushing his phone out of the way. “Where are we?”

“N-New York,” he stuttered, backing up. 

“What realm is that?” she asked, tilting her head. 

“Uh, realm?” he replied, laughing. “We’re in the US. You know, New York City?”

She pushed past him and shoved the others out of her way, breaking free of the mob, most of whom were still trying to get pictures of the mysterious girl who dropped out of the sky. 

After breaking free of the crowd, she could finally get a good view of her surroundings. She was surrounded by buildings that stretched to the sky and roads filled with vehicles. She pushed through the crowds on the sidewalk, trying to find information. Not long after, she found a newspaper stand. She snatched up the latest issue, but threw it back down. “What language is this?” she asked the man behind the stand. 

“Uh, English? What else?” he said, lazily taking a sip of his drink. 

“These aren’t any glyphs I recognize,” she muttered, looking at the page again. She looked around at the people around her, all wearing clothes she didn’t recognize and carrying around small devices with bright screens. “What the hell is this place?” she said to herself, leaving the stand. 

As she walked, a thought occurred to her. Panicked, she drew upon her power, and to her relief, sprouts surged out of the ground. “Thank the gods,” she whispered. Her magic was still intact. 

She thought back to what had happened. A mysterious man, ambiguous instructions, an ancient portal. She swore. “That portal was meant to take me home,” she said, angered. She looked back at the intersection she had been dumped out at. “He’s going to pay for that.”