In a dusty room at the edge of the city, something momentous was happening. At the center, a small pinpoint that reflected the might of galaxies coalesced. It expanded in a circle, pulling in all the nearby light, until a familiar portal floated an inch above the dusty floorboards.

A lone figure catapulted through the opening like a smooth stone skipped over water and impacted the floor with a creak and a thud. Dust clouds filled the room,

Causing the figure to cough and wheeze violently. After the dust settled, a young man with unmarked skin and coal black hair sat upon the wooden floor. It was as if all the wear and tear of time had been stripped from him, leaving his features near perfect.

Jack examined the room, or at least he tried to. The portal had disappeared before the dust settled and all he knew was darkness. His heart began to race and his breath became ragged. He attempted to move his arm and found it unresponsive. He tried the other arm, only to be met with the same result. Now he was starting to imagine all sorts of horrible scenarios. Am I paralyzed? Have I been broken and discarded in this dark pit of… Wherever. He could feel the rough grain of floorboards breaking off splinters into his skin, so at least he wasn’t paralyzed. Soft urban sounds seeped in through the cracks but Jack had to strain his ears to pick it up. He was in a city.

As soon as the panic set in, anger began to take its place. Why did the Sentinel just drop him here? Couldn’t the majestic and powerful Sentinel have picked a better spot, like somewhere populated, or bar that at least illuminated? He needed light!

Summoned by his desperate plea, a golden light arose from his sternum as a small pinprick. Then, as if drawn by the hand of an artist, the light expanded till it took the outline of a feather. This was followed by another feather and another. In a very short time, his whole upper body was covered in glowing, golden feathers. All at once the outlines began to fill inwards and take substance. They all formed a magnificent golden coat made in an alien fabric that seemed both smooth as silk and as flexible as moving water. The glowing feathers were part of the embroidery, giving the illusion of a luminous bird in flight. It’s beauty took his breath away and alleviated his fears.

Bang! The sound of a thick door being slammed shook the floor boards, causing the dust to fly once more. Jack heard uneven footsteps and heavy breathing just a short distance away. It was difficult to pinpoint which direction they were coming from. He worked his mouth to call out for help. Nothing came out. His voice hadn’t started working yet. He went through another body check and found he could wiggle his all his fingers and toes. Scratch that, one of his hands twitched, so at least he had that. He failed to see how a spasming hand becoming immediately helpful and started casting about for anything that could help him, the feathers had created just enough light that he was barely able see the whole room. Nothing. The room was empty.

Crash! The dust was kicked up again as the only door slammed against the wall, only this time Jack was forewarned and held his breath. Light pierced through the opening, highlighting a human figure. The harried intruder wasn’t so lucky. He fell to his knees as he coughed his lungs out. The lantern in his hands clanked as it was set down hastily, bringing the stranger into stark clarity.

It was a young man. A teenager really, but something about his demeanor made Jack feel that he should treat this man as an adult. His short-cropped hair was platinum blonde bordering on white, course sun-tanned skin spoke of a harsh life spent outdoors, and his eyes were a jade green.

The stranger managed to get a lung full of air after no small amount of effort and peered towards Jack. His eyes widened in a sense of recognition that Jack found a little unnerving.

“Who are you? Where am I?” he asked the stranger. His voice rasped like a man on the brink of dying from thirst.

Said stranger straightened himself and put his best foot forward, literally. The other, he was holding gingerly. Maybe he landed bad when he fell?

“My name is Casper and you are in the city of Eternity. Capital city of the Eternal Empire. May I presume to ask if you are the Adjudicator?” Casper's eyes fell to the golden coat.

The coat must have some cultural history if he recognized me right out of the gate. Jack mused.

“I am. My name is Jack. Jack Hearth.” He paused awkwardly. “Would you mind helping me up? This new body is giving me trouble. I still need to break it in.” His control had spread to his hands and feet but it would be a while before he had enough coordination to walk straight. He wanted out of this dark cesspit now!

Casper gave him a wide grin. “Certainly.”

...

Jack always wondered what a secret tunnel would be like. Would it be filled with secret spy holes to gaze out of, or lead through dark and spooky caverns, or even the spooky walkways of an ancient manor? No, he wasn’t that lucky. This one was just a really long, skinny basement that resembled an airport terminal. Nothing to look at here folks, boring. After about 10,000 miles, at least in his professional opinion it was, the rickety ladder leading out of the tunnel was finally in sight.

For most of the trip, he had leaned on Casper for both his physical needs and knowledge. He was barraged with an array of information about this new world. He knew the name of the city he was in, Eternity, the general form of the government, and just how much Casper liked some girl named Vera.

He had noticed a few other details about his companion as they traveled. He was tall, freakishly so. Standing at two meters despite not having hit his twenties, Jack hoped that Casper was an outlier because looking up at everyone was going to suck.

As they progressed, Jack was able to do a little more with each step. By the end, walking almost felt normal. Listening to Casper distract him with his description of the morning's events helped. This Eternal Empire had sought him out in order to control him. As revenge, the Sentinel had placed him in a spot where this Emperor couldn’t find him. Casper had described the ‘wards’ to him but he didn’t understand any of it. All he knew was that Casper was taking him to meet one of the city's underground leaders for more information.

Casper waved his torch at said ladder and explained that they could climb it.

“I’m confused, do you actually think that after coming down here I forgot what a ladder was or are you just pointing out the obvious?” Jack asked Casper.

“No, I am saying that we do not need a signal before going up. The entrance of this side is hidden in a ruin and well hidden, so no chance that the imperial guards are lying in wait to pounce on us as we ascend.”

He was finally getting used to Caspers way of talking now. Like a university professor that thought it was a good idea to spend a decade slumming it. Or I guess it’s the other way ‘round for Casper.

Upon reaching the stairs Casper handed Jack the torch before quickly ascending into the greater world. Daylight poured down on Jack and his eyes once again burned. Am I light sensitive now or something?

That provoked a whole slew of questions he had been putting on the back burner since he got here. A quick physical exam, difficult to do while holding a flaming stick, told him a lot. There was no other way to say it, this new body sucked. He was weaker, slower, shorter and far, far too sensitive. A brush against the wall during the trip made his whole arm flare up like he had road rash. Was his skin made of paper now?

Then there was what he was wearing. These were not the clothes he had put on that morning and it wasn’t just the coat. No, he had put on a dark tee shirt and cargo pants that would withstand the inevitable tar and grease from his job. This wasn’t even close. He now wore a coat woven out of brilliant red, orange and yellow threads and linen pants. The sleeves of the coat were elongated to give the impression of burning wings with down feathers on his torso. He could only assume the rest of the design was on his back. He would examine it when he had the time.

“Are you done admiring yourself? Get up here before we lose daylight.”

Jack peered up surreptitiously to get a good view of Casper mocking his earlier actions. That’s it, blinded by the light or not I am going to kill him. There was just one problem. “How do I climb a wooden ladder with this torch? Seems like a bad idea to me.”

Casper face palmed and pointed to a bucket of water hidden in a small alcove to the side of the ladder. “Stick it in there and leave it on the floor. The next person using the tunnel will need it. Torches don’t grow on trees, Jack.” Jack thought he heard the blonde man mutter something about legends and common sense, but he couldn’t be sure.

At this Jack examined the torch in his hands. He was right. It wasn’t just wood like he had thought. The fire itself was only burning an oily patch at the very end of it. His body shuddered as the flame suddenly reached towards him and… Into him? He closed his eyes and started to turn away when he realized it didn’t hurt. In fact the torch was now somehow unlit and his body felt… better somehow. Some tingles on his arm were the only evidence that something strange had just occurred.

Shadows crept in from the tunnel and began to encircle him. He dropped the torch and awkwardly climbed the ladder as quickly as could. It was easier than he thought it was going to be. Just another unexplained thing to add to the list I suppose. As he climbed, his sleeves pulled back to reveal completely unblemished skin.

The view at the top of the ladder was not great. Ruin was about the best way to describe it. The once former home was about twenty feet by twenty feet with dilapidated clay walls and rubble everywhere. Sunlight peeked through the dilapidated roof, illuminating dark green weeds that sprinkled ground and vines hung down from the walls. The hearth could only be identified by an empty spot in the center filled with ash.

“This way.” Casper pointed to an opening that looked like it went into an alley. “Due to your strange clothes, we will have to be more careful than we otherwise would have to.”

They passed through the entrance and into the alley the buildings he could now see were in the same condition as the one they had just left, rubble and weeds were the predominant feature. He only got a glimpse of the street when Casper yanked him into the shadows.

“Do you want to make a spectacle? sincerely doubt word of you has spread this far. If the guard around here finds you then say goodbye to all of your belongings. You will be a lucky man if they leave you your britches. That is before they started beating on you to learn where you got something so rare.”

Jack opened his mouth to reply…and Casper was already gone. With a sigh Jack hurried after. They went from one alley to the next, to the next, and the next. It was a maze made from nothing but alleyways and abandoned homes. How did we get this far without encountering a single street he thought when his hackles started to rise.

Jack felt a tingle at the back of his neck. His instincts screamed danger! Years of looking out for number one in an area famous for muggings and gang fights taught him that aggression was the better part of valor. Nobody messed with crazy. With a swift turn, he sent a full roundhouse to the area that was directly behind him. What he found was a dirty kid in a patchwork smock, not the threat he was expecting. They had fallen, end over tea kettle, after losing their balance. The result of over-committing, leaving no room to evade.

The kid did one more roll before coming to a stop against the vine covered wall. They shook their head before glaring up at Jack full of that indignation that only those that can’t shave yet are capable of.

“Arthur, you rat!” Casper whisper-yelled at the small child from off to the side. He marched on the child and took on a pose that reminded Jack of the mother hen in a nursery rhyme.“Hand back whatever it is you took before I tell Mother Siobhan that you interfered with a Crossing!”

The kid stammered for a bit before finally becoming sensible enough to protest. “Big bro I didn’t see you there. When I saw the swell just wandering around the junction… I just couldn’t resist.”

“Hand it over!” Casper held out his hand, palm open. The message was clear. The kid reached out and placed a small pouch in the outstretched hand, then used it to lift himself to his feet.

“Where did that come from?” Jack asked. He too walked over to stare at the small pouch.

“From your sleeve pouch idiot.” The kid, no half pint, told him with a snort.

At that he started examining his sleeves. Ahh, there it is. Nestled between what he had dismissed as the seams was a small opening. The button that had once clasped it was now undone. A quick reach inside revealed several small objects, but that wasn’t important. What was important was that he had POCKETS! The lack of something familiar had slowly become more and more bothersome as time wore on. Everything was new, but now he had something familiar that he could grasp for comfort.

Casper handed him the small pouch. “Is everything still inside? Arthur is known to steal everything that is not nailed down.”

“I didn’t even know I had pockets. Let alone things inside them.” Jack admitted with embarrassment.

“Couldn’t get the strings open.” Half pint added from the side before giving me another glare. He’s good at that. “It has some kind of magic seal that I couldn’t break. It isn’t Magi work. I would have recognized that.”

“Really!” Casper replied. He seemed impressed by Halfpints assessment. “I should probably introduce you. This is one of my foster brothers, Arthur. He is one of the best thieves in the orphan ward, or Halfpipe junction, and is very dear to me. Arthur, this is Jack Hearth. If he is who I think he is then the imperials are in for a very rough time.”

“Whatcha mean?” Arthur, Halfpint, asked Casper, not sounding impressed.

“You know that ritual they have been preparing in the castle for the last few weeks? The one that was supposed to summon the Adjudicator. Well,i was up in the medical ward when the ritual attendants were being carted in. The ritual failed and they were punished by the Sentinel itself. This news was top priority, so I ran off to find father. I found him laying down on one of our most secret tunnels into the city. He had no idea where he was and had that getup on.” At this he gestured at his robe. “That is the most expensive robe I have ever seen, and I once saw the emperor on parade.”

With no warning Arthur quickly turned and swung at Jack, movement so fast he became a blur. Muscle memory kicked in, allowing Jack to awkwardly block the blow and grab the boy’s arm. What he saw made him shudder. The arm in his hands was covered in scars and welts. Jack knew these marks. A belt had made these. The same scars once covered his own back. They were gone now, and somehow that just made him angry. Suddenly the cold look in Arthur’s eyes made much more sense. He let go and pretended that he had seen nothing.

Arthur wasn’t fooled by the overt nonchalance. “The Adjudicator is just a story meant to scare rich kids into giving the church money. No one is coming down from the heavens on a flaming bird to save us. He must be a plant from the empire.” Then he was gone. The only indication of his passing was a hazy blur going back the way they had come.

Casper sighed. “I apologize for his behavior on his behalf. Hope is a rare commodity in these parts and it is almost more hassle than it is worth.” He pointed down the direction they had been going. “We are almost there. Our destination is at the end of the next alley.” As they continued their journey Jack had to wonder just how kids were in a similar situation to Arthur