The Unexpecting Journey

by dquiroga

chapter 2 The guide part 1: the dream/ a whole new world/ first encounters

The dream

As I begin to regain consciousness, I felt a sharp pain in my head and a burning sensation on my eyes. ‘sh@# that was intense.’ I placed my hand on my head covering my eyes. As my senses return to me, I felt a strange feeling, like something was wrapped around my body, holding me. However, I wasn’t bound. With my other hand, I try to feel what’s around me. To my surprise, there was nothing, not even the ground. I was floating.

With this realization and the burn in my eyes dissipating, I moved my hand away from my face and slowly opened my eyes. All I could see is blackness. Yet, it wasn’t dark because I could see my hand, as if it were daylight. I then examined the rest of my features. To my relief, my body was intact and I had all my gear. The only thing out of place was that I was wearing the amulet that we found. Thinking about the other two, I desperately began searching for my friends.

I then see Jordan on my left about a yard away, and Taphy on my right about the same distance. They were also wearing their amulets as well. With my best sense of judgment, I decided to wake Jordan up first. I swayed myself forward, trying to put myself straight in proportion. However, I had no idea how to actually move around. Using every movement I could think of, I was slowly levitating to Jordan. ‘Man this is embarrassing.’ After running, swimming, and swaying, I finally made it to Jordan.

“Jordan,” I said, attempting to wake him up, “Jordan wake up.”

I could see Jordan pained expressions, while regaining his consciousness.

“(groan) My head.” Jordan moaned clenching his hand over his forehead, probably feeling the same pain I felt.

“Good morning sleeping beauty.” I said jokingly.

He then removed his hand from his forehead, and slightly opened his eyes, looking toward my direction.

“Daniel?” he asked probably haven’t fully regained his vision yet.

“Yeah, it’s me buddy.” I replied, putting my hand on his shoulder.

“W-what happened?” he questioned, obviously still disoriented.

“I don’t know,” I replied, “and before you ask I don’t know where we are either.”

I could see that he was regaining his vision, because he was opening his eyes, examining his surroundings. I then helped him straighten up; so that we were both upright. Luckily, he wasn’t panicking, but he sure was confused.

“Jordan, I know this is weird, but I need your help with Taphy.” I requested.

Jordan looked at me for a few seconds and nodded. We then moved slowly to Taphy.

We placed ourselves on each side, and then I began to try to wake him up.

“Taphy, Taphy get up.” I said, shaking him a bit.

“I don’t want to go to school…” Taphy moaned turning away from me,” Five more minutes.”

If I had a gallon of water right now, I would have dumped it on him. Inhaling large amounts of air, I decided I would bombard him with words instead.

“TAPHY, GET YOUR LAZY @SS UP!”

Taphy then squirmed a bit in surprise, only to stop to hold his head in pain. I probably gave him a migraine.

“Sh#t you didn’t have to yell.” Taphy said with a pain expression, probably still hearing the ringing.

He tried to push himself up, but he noticed there was no ground to do so. Before he could panic, Jordan and I quickly grabbed him so he wouldn’t try to tread.

“Taphy, look at me…” I said trying to keep his attention instead of the fact that we are floating in a void, “You have to stay calm.”

Taphy just kept his gaze at me, not wanting to look down.

“Where are we…” he asked breathing heavily, “A-are we dead?”

“No, you’re not.” A voice answered before I could.

Startled, we turned to the direction it came from. My eyes then locked on a figure that stood two yards from us. It looked like a knight from the medieval era. It bore silver armor covering his body from shoulder to toe. His Brest plate had a symbol that looked like the sun. His helmet, which is also silver, was made in a way to mask his face. His sword was sheathed in his belt on his right side, and his shield was tied to his back. What truly caught my eye was that he wore the same golden amulet that we were wearing. However, unlike ours, his contained a symbol.

We grabbed the handles of our weapons, preparing for another fight.

“Clam yourselves young warriors,” he said calmly, “My name is Sir Nathanial Cortez, and I am not here to fight you, but to welcome you.”

We floated there unknowing how to react to his greeting.

“May I ask what your names are?” he asked.

“My name is Daniel…” I answered relaxing myself a bit, “and these are my friends Jordan and Taphy, and before we can continue; can we stand normally, instead of floating.”

Seeing that he was standing told me that there is some sort of ground to lay our feet on.

“Of course.” He said, raising the palm of his hand.

When he closed his hand, the feeling that was around my body was gone. We suddenly fell to the ground that the knight was standing on. Jordan and I landed on our feet but, unfortunately, Taphy was still in his laying position (THUD).

“Ow.” Taphy said still laying on the ground from the sudden drop.

After Jordan and I helped him up, we then compose ourselves from the awkward moment.

“Thanks, so where are we welcomed to?” I continued.

“I welcome you to the world known as Europa…” He said waving his hand making a map appear out of thin air. “In fact, you would be here, in the country of Gryphonia.”

He pointed at a certain spot on the map to show the location. ‘Europa, really.’

“Ok?” I said confusingly.

I turned to my friends to see their reaction on this revelation. Jordan just shrugged at me, and Taphy just stood there dumbfounded by this information.

“I know this information is a lot to take in,” Nathanial said, “but you must understand you three have been chosen for this. Those three medallions will give you power to help you stop an evil that will try to plunge our worlds into darkness.”

“Wait power, evil, I don’t understand?” I said confused by the amount of information.

“You will in due time…” he answered, “Your journey will be long, and you will make many friends and companions along the way.”

He then lifted his hand to the map. It was then rolled up, and he waved his hand towards me, making the map float to my direction.

“Take this; it will serve as your guide for now.” He said as I grabbed it.

A light from behind us caught my attention. I turn to see a large hole that exceeds a white glow.

“Farewell, young warriors.”

I turn my gaze back to Nathanial, only to see him raise his palm towards us. We were then pushed by an unknown force, into the worm hole. Once more, our vision was white; then black again.

---

A whole new world

I slowly opened my eyes to see the same roof of the previous room we were in. However, this time I didn’t feel any pain, but my body felt a little stiff. Slouching myself to a sit up, I groaned as my body aches. I noticed that I was holding the very map the knight Nathanial had given us. ‘So it wasn’t a dream… wait and that means we are in-‘I began to examine the chamber once more. Everything looked the same except for one little thing. ‘Where are the doors?’

I examined the room thoroughly, but I still couldn’t find the doors. Before I got up, I could hear Jordan and Taphy wake up from their slumber.

“Did you guys dream about a knight who talked about other worlds, gave us a map, and pushed us into a worm hole?” Taphy asked rubbing his head with his hand.

I only responded by showing the map.

“Oh, well that answers my question.” He said.

“Good, now answer mine; I spy something that’s not here anymore.” After hearing my question they began to examine the room.

Their eyes begin to open widely and turn to face me.

“The doors!” they both yelled in unison.

We began examining different corners of the room, searching for any possible exits. I was on one side of the room, Jordan was on the other, and Taphy was examining the altar, searching for any hidden buttons or latches. Ripping away the moss and algae, I could see that the architecture was quite plain. It was pretty obvious the exit was hidden, but how to reveal it was unclear. I ripped away another patch of moss to reveal an image of a hand. It was carved in a way that it left an imprint on the wall deep enough for another hand to fit into.

“Hey guys, I think I found something.” I said examining the hand print.

I decided to place my right hand into the palm print. Within a few seconds, my hand began to glow white on the wall. I jolted my hand away, hearing the echoes of hidden mechanisms from the wall. My hand continued to glow, but my attention was fixed on the wall. It began to rumble and roar as it rises from its place. After the loud sounds and dust clouds from the stone walls rubbing against each other, it finally stopped to reveal a cave. At the other end, I could see a light, probably sunlight.

I then looked back at my hand. The glow was fading away, and, instead of being fearful, I was curious. ‘How did that happen?’

“Well that was weird.” Jordan said once the glow dissipated from my hand.

I began to remember what Nathanial said about our medallions. ‘The medallions will give you power-’ I began to dig in my jacket for my medallion. When I pulled it out, I noticed there was something different about it. It had a symbol on it, but it wasn’t like what Nathanial had. ‘What does this mean?’ I could hear Jordan and Taphy digging for theirs to see if they were any different. When we examined the other two, they both had symbols, but all three were different.

“Well, they’re not blank anymore,” Taphy said stating the obvious, “but I have no idea what these markings mean.”

“Neither do I, but right now, let’s just get the hell out of here.” I said putting the medallion back into my jacket.

“Amen to that!” Jordan said.

We walked out of the empty chamber and into the cave, making our way towards the light of the other side. After walking a couple of feet, we could hear the rumbling of the wall, closing behind us. We glanced back, but, seeing that there was no danger, we continued at our regular pace. Once I heard the wall close, I took a deep breath.

“Looks like we’re not going back that way.” I said after exhaling.

The walk out of the cave was uneventful, but the comfort of daylight was well appreciated. As my eyes adjusted to the brightness, I could feel the cold breeze of the wind and the warming heat of the sun-rays. I took a view of the scenery, and I was amazed by the different landscape. Based on our altitude, I could see a forest of large oaks. In the distance, I could see mountain plains surrounding the area. It was obvious, we weren’t in Bialowieza anymore.

I decided to check the compass and GPS once more. The compass was no longer spinning, instead it was pointing north. However, the GPS was still showing static. I wasn’t surprised that it didn’t work though. In matter of fact, it confirmed the suspicion that we are not in our world anymore.

“So, now what?” Taphy asked.

“Well, we can start off by getting of this rock,” I said putting the two devices and the map in my backpack, “then we will look for a town to gather information and restock our inventory.”

We then walked toward the edge of the cliff to see how far of a drop we need to make.

“Doesn’t look that far, we can easily rope down.” Jordan said.

“Good, lets just hope the locals are friendly.” I responded.

---

First encounters

I always enjoyed the isolation. To be able to stop and think, relax and not worry, or just to get away from it all. They always expect so much from me, but does anyone ever ask what I want? Everyone sees me as the daughter of the royal family, and so they react with respect for my title. Yet, I want every gryphon to see me as me, and I want to earn that respect, not given to me as if it were mandatory. (SIGH) I just want to have my own life.

I continued to preen my feathers, trying to enjoy the quiet. (SNAP) ‘So much for being alone.’

“Who goes there, show yourself!” I demanded aggressively.

“It is just me, my lady.” A gryphon guard appeared from the bushes.

“You couldn’t leave me alone for five seconds.” I groaned, by the sudden intrusion.

"Forgive me, my lady, but it is my sworn duty to protect the royal family.” He said still keeping his posture.

“How many times do I have to tell you guards to stop calling me lady. I have a name you know…” I said harshly,” Now I hope you have a good reason in disturbing me.”

“I apologize, Miss Gilda, but I strongly suggest we continue on to Highfeather. The king will be worried for your safety.” He responded.

“For your information, I can fend for myself. I am not a cub anymore,” I retorted, stomping on the ground with annoyance, “and my father can handle me being gone for an extra day.”

I then turned my back on him and sat down.

“If there is nothing else important you wish to say, then leave me be.” I ended, going back to preening my feathers.

“As you wish, Miss Gilda.” He groaned, growling under his breath.

Once I knew he was gone, I took a deep breath to try to calm my nerves. I knew he was just doing his job, but the fact that I’m being watched like some new born cub just irritates me. I’m sure he wasn’t enjoying it either. Every time I try to do something for myself, my father would keep an eye on me, by sending his guards to keep watch. I know he does it to protect me, but I’ve trained in combat. I was able to best all of the recruits, and was awarded for being best in class. Yet he treats me like I can’t hold my own.

After a few minutes, I was finally able to regain the peace I was experiencing before. However, it did not last long.

“AHHHHH!”

I heard a scream in the distance. It came from the direction where the guard left and there was only one thing that I could think of, that can bring such trouble. ‘Bandits!’ It’s strange to think that bandits would get this close towards Highfeather. Yet, this place is quite isolated, making it a good hiding spot.

I quickly rushed to the aid of my fellow griffon.

“AHHHH!”

The scream was close, and I could tell it was one of agony. I slowed down to try to stealthily intercept. I ended up reaching towards an open clearing. In the middle, I could see the guard, and He was badly beaten. Without thinking, I quickly rushed to his aid.

“What happened, who did this to you?!” I said, examining his wounds.

He was bleeding badly on his right shoulder, and he had multiple bruises all over. I noticed he still had his sword in his belt, which told me he was ambushed.

“N-no, you h-have to… get away… it’s a trap.” his warning was said to late.

Three projectiles, possibly arrows, came out of the bushes on my right, and I wasn’t fast enough to react. However, the guard swerved his hind legs to trip me. The projectiles swooshed passed my head, stopping at the trees. Regaining my balance, I placed myself in a fighting stance, being ready to fight.

“Come out and fight you cowards!” I yelled out, trying to intimidate these bandits.

After I said that, the bushes began to shake, as the attackers emerged from the shadows. Only they weren’t bandits, I didn’t know what they were. They were black as night, bipedal, had two arms, and they did not carry any weapons or armor. What disturbed me the most was that they had no faces either. It was blank and black. One of them had blood dripping down its arm. I guess that was the one that caused the injury.

There were only three, and, seeing that they had no weapons, this could be an easy fight.

“My lady, you must flea, they are too dangerous.” The guard pleaded, finding the strength to get up.

“Dangerous, they don’t even have weapons.” I said chuckling at the thought of them being dangerous.

“Don’t let their forms fool you, I’ve seen what they can do…” he said, “Please my lady you must try to escape. I will try to hold them off.”

I was confused, what did he see that made him fear these creatures? Before I could ask, one of them began to charge at us.

“Run, my lady!” the guard yelled, drawing his sword.

He began to swing his sword against the creature, yelling for every time he swung. Unfortunately the creature was too fast and his injuries were slowing him down. Before I could help, I witnessed the danger the guard warned me about.

After maneuvering to the side, the creature’s arm began to change form into a lance like structure. It strikes, piercing through the guard’s chest. I watched in horror as the lance pierced out the other side. With the guard’s final effort, he grabbed the lance and pierced his sword through his opponent’s chest in the same manner. The creature’s arm reformed back into its previous form, causing the creature to go limp on the sword. The guard then pulled out his sword, which is now covered with black liquid, and allowed his opponent to fall to the ground. The ground was now stained black from the creature and red from the guard. He then dropped his sword as the blood continued to drip down his body.

“Forgive me, Gilda.” He said before falling limp to the ground.

The guard had fallen, taking one of those creatures with him, and now I stand alone against two. The next creature finally made the next move. It charged at me, turning both his arms into lancers. I was able to dodge his attack but he was relentless. I was able to find an opening and clawed him, but doing so left me open as well. Unfortunately, my attack didn’t prevent him from striking. I could feel intense pain on my back from his lance cutting across it. I jolted away, putting myself back into a defensive position. I could see the claw marks I left on its chest. I grinned at my achievement, but my accomplishment was short lived. Simultaneously, his wounds were fading until there was nothing there. I couldn’t even see a scratch. My mind began to race, because my situation just got worse. I can’t beat them with just my claws. I needed a weapon. ‘The sword.’ I could be able to knock him down, but I don’t know about the other one. Luckily, it was just standing there during the fight, but I doubt it’ll continue to stall much longer. I had no choice; I have to get that sword.

The creature charged and strikes at me again. I used this moment to grab his lance and throw him. I then proceeded to run towards the guard’s sword. I could hear the other creature beginning to charge at me. I was quick enough to grab the sword, and block the creature’s attack. I stumbled back, trying to get my footing. It tried to attack me from above, but I easily blocked it. However, I could hear the other creature, trying to flank me from behind. I dodged his strike, and used my wing to disorient him. With the opening he left, I mercilessly sliced off its left arm, spilling his dark blood on the ground. Unfortunately, the other creature took the opportunity to take a slice at my wing. The pain was unbearable, that me screams couldn’t measure up to. Luckily, it did not slice my wing off, but it stunned lock me for a moment. The other creature was quick to bounce back from my attack, and slashed at my arm that had the sword, disarming me. He then kicked me on the chest, sending me towards a tree. I gasped for air, from the sudden attack, but, before I could react, I was kicked in the face, leaving me disoriented. Then the creature took a grasp at my neck, and plastered me into the tree trunk.

The creature’s grasp was so strong, that I had hard time breathing. It then raised me until we were eye level, if he had eyes. I was gurgling from the strain he was putting on me. My vision was fading, but I could see the creature bring up his other arm, which was already in lance form. ‘This is it; this is my end, to die by the clutches of these monsters.’ I took a glance at the one I disarmed, literally. If it had a face, it would have looked quite upset. I smirked at that thought, hoping to piss them off. I could see him retract his arm, preparing to end my existence. ‘I’m sorry dad.’ (BANG)

The side of the creature’s head exploded, after the sudden bang. I was released and plummeted to the ground. My vision was fading. I could hear more bangs, seeing the other creature react as if he were being hit by multiple projectiles. He fell to the ground just like the other one. After a few seconds, three more figures appeared from the brush. They seem similar to the creatures that attacked us, but they looked different. One of them was coming towards me, but my vision was going blur. It was trying to communicate with me, but his attempts were muffled in my state. Then my vision blurs to darkness, and then I passed out.

Author's Note:

finally we are in the world of equestria (sort of). i have been debating on where the journey would begin. i had decided to start off with the gryphons, with none other then Gilda herself. the original idea would have started in equestria, with another major side character, but i couldn't think of a way to go about it (in a good way).

anyway our characters have encountered another kind of creature. what were they, what were they doing there... i guess we'll find out soon enough. and who is this Nathanial fellow i wounder...

P.S. if you decided to skip the previous chapters, please note that the first few chapters was to setup some of my main characters and a few plot points. i would encourage to read those chapters just for those points, but you can still continue on with little trouble.