Riche awoke to himself, lying in a grass field.
A persistent gnawing pain sharpening through his head, it was painful! Unbearable! But, after a few seconds, it began to wither, releasing a feeling of soft relief through his body.
"Augh, my head. What was that?"
A warm breeze grazed his ear with a warm touch, sounding like a calming ocean breeze. As he felt the wind, he opened his eyes, looking at a clear blue sky above him.
He blinked a few times, and a ripple of confusion overcame him.
"Where… where am I?"
The sky stared back at him for seconds, until, using his hands, he pushed against the grass below him until he was sitting up.
As his eyes glanced in front of him, he noticed the vast field of grass, full of swaying blades that moved gently with the wind.
Riche was amazed. No matter where he looked, there was only grass; nothing in the distance posed itself as visible; it was only the bright blue sky and the radiant green grass below him. He had never seen such a pure place before!
However, when he turned his head around, in the corner of his eye, he noticed there was something other than the grass.
A range of mountains spanned east and west, endless, just like the grass below him. Though he could clearly see its size, the mountain range was distant, far away like a painting in the distance.
Suddenly, a sharpness berated his head again, and he put his left hand to his temple, squinting his eyes tightly.
The pain was again unbearable.
"Augh, what's happening?"
After a minute or two, the pain started to fade, and he opened his eyes again, scanning the field, noticing he wasn't the one there.
There were hundreds of other people, no, thousands, thousands of others that all spread out on the grass.
Why are there so many people here? And why am I here with them?
This confused Riche even more. not a clue pointed to what had happened, the last thing he remembered was the sudden green light, and the expanding green sky, but after that, he couldn't recall anything else.
He noticed the numbers growing, as one by one, people began to stand.
Each and every person looked different, like they were from different parts of the world. They all have different looks with their unique clothes or accessories. Some wore armor, some wore robes, some wore just normal clothes, and others, well, next to nothing. Obviously, some had their preferred ways to pass the night, but though they were different, they all shared one thing in common: the same look of confusion on their faces that even Riche wore.
Riche stood up, and as he did, a gust of warm wind heavier than the breeze erupted. Riche quickly put his hand on the top of his hat, closing his eyes as the wind spread across his face.
As he opened them, a shout echoed afar from a very confused man who seemed distressed.
"What the fuck is happening!? Where am I!?"
A few turned, including Riche, but no one made much of it, as they all shared the same thoughts as the man.
Nobody knew what was going on; they had all been suddenly brought to this random location without warning or any direction on what to do, which might've been expected in a situation like this.
People began to look around at each other, and some began to move to wander the field. Some had their patience, though, and just stood still waiting for someone or something to explain what was going on, but nothing ever came.
Eventually, from the people who moved, talking began to erupt, including a conversation that sparked from behind Riche
Curious, Riche listened to the conversation. He heard a man and a woman talking, both clearly confused.
The two discussed where they were, and by listening to each other's explanations, they both knew they had no idea. One of them said something about an annoying ringing noise that hurt to listen to, and the other mentioned the sky turning green and how it looked like the night had suddenly disappeared.
Hearing this, Riche batted an eye and turned to face the two, curious as to who they were.
So, I wasn't the only one who saw that sky. Everyone here must be in the same situation then. I'm glad I'm not alone in this.
The two looked quite young, but still older than him. The man had a darker skin tone, and the woman had a paler skin tone matching his. Despite these, they seemed like normal people; nothing about them seemed special at all, kind of like Riche.
He turned back around and began scanning his eyes across the field. He still felt confused. He had determined one thing, but that led to nothing. A flood of possibilities entered his mind.
Could I be in another country? Maybe a different continent? I mean, I don't remember there being such a mountain range near the continent of Honnel. But again, that sky…
He sighed and began muttering to himself as he stared down, with his hand across his mouth.
"What should I do now? There's nothing here and no information to point to where we are. There are people around me. Maybe I should talk to them. But, hearing some of them talk, they don't seem to know anything. Should I just wait? I mean, a guide could come, but is that likely? I don't know."
Forcing his eyes back to the field, he looked up and then to the sun, feeling its heat that lay on the field.
He pulled the collar of his shirt forward, loosening it slightly, then took off his hat, ran his right hand through his sticky hair, and then snugly fit his hat back on.
Man, it's getting hot. My body is too weak to handle this heat. I really need to find some shade.
Turning his sights back to the people around, he noticed people starting to leave; some went straight, hoping to find something, and others wandered.
Desperate to get away from the sun himself, Riche began walking wherever he could; he didn't know which direction he was headed, but it didn't matter since there was no way to tell where he was going.
Unfortunate for Riche, the direction he headed was furthest away from anything else.