Chapter Text
Scott was grateful when a knock came to the door.
“Come in!” Scott called, over the voice of the Assistant Head of Blacksmithing, who fell silent, finally. That was a hard job to accomplish even with Owen’s help. A messenger poked their head through the door, looking scared. Scott then remembered the policy for meetings in this room was to only be disturbed in an emergency and regretted his relief.
“Y-Your Highness.” The messenger bowed. The nametag read Sina, de/dem/dey. Dey looked young, probably new to the job. “There is a situation that requires your immediate attention.”
“What kind of situation?” Scott prodded gently. Dey swallowed.
“I-I was instructed to tell you privately,” Sina said. Scott nodded and stood.
“Excuse me, my attention is required elsewhere.”
His Council did not bother arguing. Such a message could not be anything good. Scott heard one of them suggest a break as he left. Of course it came up as he was leaving for more work. Scott rolled his eyes and beckoned the messenger to follow him into another meeting room, this one empty. Owen mouthed “good luck” at him before the door closed.
“A-a group of scouts found an unconscious person in one of our rivers… Doctor Ragne says they’re royalty and requests you to come immediately.”
Scott immediately left the room. Thankfully, his Council was down the hall in the other direction.
“Take me to them. Do you know anything else?” Scott asked. Who was it? How badly are they hurt? Do you know what happened to them? Images of his friends, badly injured, flashed through his mind.
Sina hurried ahead.
“A little. The doctor doesn’t recognize them and wants to know if you do and what needs to be done next.” Sina said. “They are still unconscious and cannot answer questions. She doesn’t know when they will wake up.”
That made Scott frown. “There are only ten Empires and Doctor Ragne knows all the Emperors and their immediate family. How can they not be recognized?”
Sina shrugged. “They appear to be from another land entirely.”
By this point they reached the Med Wing and Scott politely knocked on the doorframe. A nurse hurried over, a look of relief on xeir face.
“There you are. Come in, come in.” Xey ushered him and Sina in. “This way.” The nurse led him over to a private room. “Doctor Ragne requested that as few visitors as possible be allowed, to keep the news down. You and her are currently the only ones allowed in. The four of us and the scouts are the only ones that know.”
“I understand. Thank you.” Scott knocked on the door. Doctor Ragne called for him to enter.
Scott slipped through the door and shut it behind him. His eyes landed on the doctor first, a woman who’d been the Royal Doctor since before Scott was born and had most of her gray hairs from treating him and his brother. She looked puzzled and tired. Scott looked over at the person lying in the bed.
Scott didn’t recognize them in the slightest.
They were also badly injured, wrappings around their ribs and over their shoulder, arm bound in a cast, more bandages than Scott could count, and the doctor cleaning a nasty scrape on their cheek.
“Good afternoon, Doctor Ragne,” Scott greeted. “How are they?”
“Sprained ankle, broken arm, more scrapes, cuts, and bites than skin, and bruised ribs, which is somehow a better condition than they should be in,” the doctor said without looking up. “That might be to their nature, I thought they were human at first but I have some evidence otherwise.”
“Oh?” Scott stood on the other side of the bed and looked down at the stranger. They were kind of cute, with brown-blonde hair, round features, and lean muscles under the bandages and blankets.
“Mhm. Sharp teeth for one.” The doctor pulled down their lower lip to reveal that indeed, most of the teeth looked sharp enough to cut. “And claws. Something weird with the palm.” She held up the uninjured arm—or rather, the less injured, from all the bruises and scrapes—and showed Scott the way the nails curved into points and how the palm’s thick web of skin went a little further up the fingers than was usual. “And the ears.”
The stranger’s ears might have been mistaken for human if they weren’t so flat. Most of the curves and lobes were smoothed out.
“And finally, these ridges.” The doctor traced from the top of their forehead through their hair. “They’re very hard to find, but I’ve found them all over. Arms, back, legs. I don’t know what they might be. Before you ask, no sign of Corruption. One of the first things I did, and I checked very thoroughly. So did the scouts. Not a hint of red eyes or any strange bulges in their body. You’re welcome to check yourself.”
Scott hummed. “I trust you. How do you know they’re royalty?”
“Educated guess. And I knew it’d get your attention. There’s what they were wearing.” The doctor pointed at a table with a bundle of clothes, armor, and jewelry on it. Scott looked at the jewelry first. It wasn’t gold or silver or any kind of metal, but wood, and that caught Scott’s attention. He picked up an armband and turned it over in his hands.
It was carved delicately. Set in it were small pearls and shards of orange stone Scott didn’t recognize. The pearls and stones were uneven and asymmetrical, putting them at odds with the rest of the armband’s design. On purpose then. Interesting.
Scott looked over the rest of the jewelry. Another armband, with a matching pattern, and wooden pins for the clothes. There was also armor, designed like overlapping scales. It was flexible but sturdy. Scott fired his sharpest shard of ice at it and it slipped off. Strange, considering it looked like something, possibly multiple somethings, were able to dent it.
Scott spread the armor out. It was like a tunic, good to cover the torso, upper arms, and thighs. Bracers and greaves made of similar scales were there too. A belt made from scaled leather held daggers and darts with green feathers in styles Scott didn’t recognize. He hummed and put them aside.
The helmet was the strangest part. It was designed to look like a large fish, its mouth open to its stomach around the wearer’s head, and dorsal fin missing in favor of an open line from between its eyes all the way to its tail, the only other thin connection between the two halves. Its eyes were black pearls that glittered dully, like unpolished obsidian, and its tan scales were probably quite beautiful if they were polished as well. The fins were limp around wires holding their shape. Scott touched them and decided they were some kind of silk. He wasn’t sure what fish it was, but if he had to guess he’d say a cod.
The actual clothes were a simple one-shoulder green chiton and pants, and a netted tunic. Scott hummed again.
“I don’t recognize any of this.” Scott said. He lifted the fish-hat. “This could be a crown. A weird one—a really weird one—but it looks valuable.”
The doctor sighed. “Do we know if there are more people deeper in the continent?”
“It’s entirely possible, but we don’t know for sure.” Scott put the fish-hat down. “Not with the Nether between us. I wonder how they could have crossed?”
The Nether was a fiery wasteland, where it wasn’t oceans of lava. Trying to cross it was a death wish, trying to go around by ocean would run you aground on cobblestone generated by the meeting of water and lava, assuming you survived the sea’s temper, and it was full of creatures that would happily burn you alive.
Safe to say, no one went in there.
Doctor Ragne hummed. “Wherever they’re from, they had a hard time at some point. See these scars?”
“Scars?” Scott walked back. He hadn’t noticed before, but there were thin scars over their neck and across their chest. Scott looked back at the clothes and noted they would leave much of the chest exposed under the armor.
“I’ve seen a lot of scars in my life, I don’t know what could cause these. They’re incredibly clean so they must be intentional, but I’ve never seen this before.” The doctor traced one of them. It had a slightly janky cut that looked vaguely familiar to Scott but he couldn’t for the life of him remember where he saw it. The exact scar was repeated down their chest, only altered in size, and the other side had the same but flipped.
“That is weird.” Scott said.
The stranger twitched. Both Scott’s and Doctor Ragne’s full attention snapped to them. For a moment nothing happened, then they twitched again. Their brows pulled down and they whimpered, hands curling in.
They made a sound between a cut-off scream and a sharp gasp, and their eyes popped open. Scott was taken off guard by how big and dark they were. The pupils shrunk and liquid brown irises blinked at the ceiling as they steadied their breathing.
“Hey.” Doctor Ragne took charge and gently caught their attention. Their eyes snapped to her. “How are you feeling?”
They opened their mouth and seemed to take a moment to remember how to speak. Their voice was raspy from disuse. “…Water?”
“Yes, you can have water. We have some right here. Can I help you sit up?” Doctor Ragne offered her hands. The stranger paid her no attention. They’d spotted the small cup on the table and were sitting up and reaching for it in a second. Doctor Ragne put her hand between them. She didn’t look pleased at how fast they were moving.
“Drink slow.” She handed them the cup. They downed it in a second. Doctor Ragne pinched her nose and glared at Scott.
“Worse than you,” she muttered. Scott smiled winningly at her.
The stranger stared at their cup like they couldn’t believe it was empty. They turned it upside down. They gave Doctor Ragne the saddest eyes Scott had ever seen. It wasn’t even directed at him and he wanted to give them a pitcher.
“Can… can I have more?”
“In a minute.” Doctor Ragne was immune to such looks from her patients. “How else are you feeling?”
The stranger scrunched up his face. “Weird.”
“Weird how?” Doctor Ragne asked.
“…Wrong.”
She hummed. “Can you explain that for me a little more?”
The stranger did not. They’d finally spotted Scott standing off to the side and stared at him. Scott awkwardly waved. He watched their eyes trace up his antlers and down his wings with a look of awe. Doctor Ragne waved her hand in front of their face, making them jump.
“Can you explain how you feel wrong?”
They blinked at her. “…No.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“Water? Now please?” The stranger held out the cup. She sighed and nodded.
“Yes, water. Your Highness, you can talk with them.” She took the cup and opened the door. Scott heard her talking with the nurse. He took a couple steps closer to the stranger.
“My name is King Scott of Rivendell. I use he/him. That is Doctor Ragne, who is she/her,” Scott introduced. “Can you tell me who you are, what you are, and where you’re from?”
The stranger opened their mouth and stopped. Their eyes glazed over. Scott watched them, suddenly uneasy.
The stranger closed their mouth and swallowed. They suddenly looked scared. “I… Jimmy. I think… I think my name is Jimmy… and I’m a guy.”
Scott raised an eyebrow. “You think?”
Jimmy gave a tiny nod.
“Okay, Jimmy, what about where you’re from?” Scott asked. Jimmy opened and closed his mouth a few times, a helpless look taking over his face.
“I don’t… I don’t know,” he whispered. “I… I can’t remember.”
“You can’t?” Scott said. “How about your race?”
“Uh…” Jimmy looked down at his hands. He looked back up and shrugged. “I don’t know?”
“Do you know how you came here then?”
Jimmy’s eyes glazed over as he thought. He shook his head.
“Do you have any titles?” Scott tried. “A last name?”
“I don’t… I don’t know.” Jimmy said.
“Do you have any family? Or friends?” Scott was this close to pleading.
“I don’t know.”
Scott could feel a headache coming on. The doctor sat down with another cup of water. Jimmy’s attention honed on it.
“Will you drink it slow?” she asked. Jimmy slowly nodded. She handed it over.
Technically, he did drink it slower than the first time. It was still empty in seconds. Doctor Ragne sighed.
“Good enough. So you’re having memory issues, are you?”
Jimmy nodded.
“Can you remember anything?” Scott asked.
Jimmy thought about it. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. “…Um. My name is Jimmy?”
“Anything else?” Scott tried.
“Oh. No.” Jimmy shook his head.
Doctor Ragne held out her hands. “Can I have a look—oh, thank you.” She put the cup on the side table. Jimmy followed it sadly with his eyes. “Can I have a look at your head?”
“Sure?” Jimmy let her look him over, only jerking his head away when she got too close to his ears. She apologized and he let her poke through his hair.
“You definitely don’t have any head wounds or trauma. How you lost your memories, it wasn’t that way.” The doctor said.
“Is that bad?” Jimmy asked.
“Anything that takes away memories is bad,” Doctor Ragne said. “Your Highness, do you have any other questions for my patient?”
“Yes.” Scott strode to the table and held out the fish-hat. “Do you recognize—”
The next thing Scott knew, Jimmy was yanking it from his hands.
“Don’t touch that!” Jimmy yelped. He fell over.
“…Okay.” Scott held up his hands. “I won’t touch the fish.”
Jimmy nodded, dazed. He blinked at nothing, looking just as baffled as Scott felt. He was shivering. Not a surprise; even warm rooms here could be cold to foreigners and Jimmy was just in bandages and a medical skirt.
“Young man, stay in bed! You are injured and moving around will make it worse.” Doctor Ragne scolded. Jimmy winced and tried to get up. Emphasis on tried. He looked shaky and wobbly and just fell over again. His legs were covered in bandages and whatever wounds he had there had to be bad.
“Let me help.” Doctor Ragne held out her hands. Jimmy shied away from her and she backed up. Jimmy got to his feet this time but pitched into Scott. Scott caught his arms. He worried for a second Jimmy would freak out about his fish-hat again, but he just stared at the floor confused.
“This isn’t right,” Jimmy mumbled. Scott exchanged looks with Doctor Ragne.
“I should hope you don’t have a sprained ankle and more scrapes than we have snowflakes often enough to be used to it,” she sighed. “Come on Jimmy. Back to bed.”
Jimmy realized he was being supported by Scott, started out of his grip, and somehow sat on his bed without help. He looked the fish-hat over and hugged it with furrowed brows.
“Do you know what’s going on?” Jimmy asked.
“We don’t,” Scott said. “You were found in one of our rivers, wearing all this—” Scott gestured to the table of clothes— “which suggests you are possibly royalty and certainly in a fight.”
Jimmy stared hard at the clothes but didn’t otherwise react, not even when Scott lifted a bracer to show him. He just got a shrug.
“I don’t know.”
“Okay.” Scott put it back. “Do you have an idea what caused those scars on your chest?”
“Scars?” Jimmy looked down. “Huh?”
Scott traced the line of one on his chest. “They’re literally all down your front.”
“Oh! Those are… that’s not right.” Jimmy cautiously poked one. He pressed his hand flat to it. His frown deepened. “That’s not right.”
“Why?” Scott asked.
“I don’t know.” Jimmy shrugged with a disturbed expression on his face.
Scott resisted the urge to sigh. “The fish-hat, what about that?”
Jimmy looked offended. “It’s not a fish-hat!”
Scott kept his triumphant look off his face. Now they were getting somewhere.
“What is it then?” Scott asked eagerly.
Jimmy opened his mouth and stopped. Scott’s hopes plummeted.
“I don’t… know.” Jimmy said sheepishly. “But it’s very important! You can’t touch it!”
“I won’t touch it,” Scott said. “No one’s going to touch it.”
Jimmy had recognized the fish-hat though. Scott tried it with the other jewelry, handing him an armband. “Do you know what this is?”
Jimmy turned it over in his hands. “Pretty?”
“Anything else?” Scott prodded. Jimmy frowned.
“It’s just an armband made of wood, freshwater pearls, and amber. Nothing fancy about it.” Jimmy looked at him. “Is it mine too?”
“Freshwater pearls? Amber? You recognize it,” Scott said. Jimmy’s eyes widened and he looked at the armband again.
“I mean… it’s obvious, isn’t it?” Jimmy said after a moment. “I don’t… I don’t feel anything about it. It’s just an armband.”
“I’ve never heard of amber before. And the shape of this doesn’t look cut, the grain follows the curve. It’s very unique,” Scott said.
“It’s really not. You just gotta soak the wood soft and dry it in shape,” Jimmy said. Scott pointed at him.
“You’re doing it again. You know about it.”
Jimmy threw his hand in the air, almost tossing the armband. “I don’t know! I just—!”
Jimmy wiped his eyes.
“You need to rest,” Doctor Ragne said, without leaving room for argument. “Your Highness, you may come check on my patient later.”
Scott nodded.
“What’s going to happen to me?” Jimmy asked. He looked between them with fear in his eyes.
“For now, you are a guest of Rivendell,” Scott said. “When Doctor Ragne releases you, you can have a guest room in the palace until we figure out where you’re from.”
Jimmy nodded. “That-that sounds good. Thank you, Aeochamon.”
Scott’s wings flared out. “What?” he choked.
Doctor Ragne looked between them, confused. Jimmy blinked.
“A-Aeochamon? Isn’t that… aren’t you his?”
“I am. But how do you know that? How do you know it in that language?” Scott demanded. Aeochamon… only a handful of people had ever called him that, Aeor and anyone who worked for gods, and the only one who used it these days was Xornoth. Gods, priests, and Champions were the only ones who knew the language—and the only ones able to learn it.
Jimmy shrank back. “I-I don’t…”
“You don’t know. Fantastic.” Scott muttered. “I will… leave you to rest. Good night, Jimmy.”
Scott hurried out, more rattled than he wanted to admit. For Jimmy to know that language, he had to work for a god, either as a Champion or priest. Champions could recognize each other on sight and Scott did not recognize him, which left priest—but while priests could speak the Godly Tongue, they couldn’t sense Champions, so that didn’t explain how Jimmy knew him.
Scott stopped outside the medical wing and glanced back at the private room. He couldn’t help but feel like whoever Jimmy was, whatever he was, they were about to be in over their heads.