Out Of This World

Out Of This World is a book by Marc Veralis. It can be found in the Royal Library in Empo Sar.

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Out Of This World by Marc Veralis

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Out Of This World It has been suggested, by various scientists and scholars alike, that the world of Erasan was not so unique and original in its creation. Followers of this opinion base their views on the existence of another set of worlds which are thought to have come before Erasan. By methods which I am forbidden from describing, I personally was able to travel to these worlds for a short period, and learnt much during my time there. In this book I have documented the first of my findings of this strange land, which is beyond a shadow of a doubt: out of this world.

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The worlds Whilst these worlds are very similar in many ways to our own and might even be confused at first glance, I have come to understand that there are many profound differences between them. For instance, whilst the rivers and streams of this strange world run from the hills into the sea, there is no rain to return it to the mountains; and whilst the icy tentacles of winter grip the northern regions, no snow is ever seen to fall. Perhaps the lack of weather is just as well, considering this world's apparent fascination with flat roofing. These worlds may not have felt the touch of Phobos, at least to the extent that Erasan has, however they do have their own unique set of nemeses. One young lady I talked to mentioned a terror of the world which I believe is known as "Femor Bras". Although I was unsure of the spelling because of her accent, and didn't feel it polite to ask further questions about her lingerie problems. However I do know that Femor is a location, so perhaps a notorious lingerie—maker lives there. I would assume that said bra—maker is a somewhat inferior craftsman, and thus creates havoc; I got the impression that they are somewhat plain in design, but perhaps also involving particularly tight clasps, which I can imagine being highly distressing.

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The people I found that the people of these mysterious worlds have almost the same view of their worlds as we do of ours. However their lives are apparently very different in many respects. In particular, I noticed that certain symbols seem to be of particular importance to the people of these worlds. For instance, a hovering red or white skull beside a strong individual is often seen as a warning to keep away. However a similarly coloured skull hovering by a weaker individual is more often than not perceived as an apparently incontestable and entirely justifiable reason for their immediate brutal assassination. I came across a similar practice myself during my time there, when a very friendly gentleman invited me to a party with his friends. However when I accepted his invitation and was proudly inspecting the hovering blue shield that had consequently appeared above my shoulder, the party became raucous surprisingly quickly. Perhaps they had had a sudden change of heart, or I had somehow insulted them by correcting several of their frankly unforgavable spelling and gramatical errors, because the gentleman and his friends began attacking me. Fortunately I was able to make it to the temple where I was safe. However they seemed to have lost interest by the time I had left their party and, after giving my thanks to the Priest for his hospitality, which he dutifully ignored, I was able to make my way from the temple in peace.

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More puzzling still, although the inhabitants of these worlds are able to walk, talk, sleep, wield great weapons and weave a devastating array of spells to crush or blast their enemies into oblivion, they are incapable of sitting down upon a chair or bench! I even heard word that many warriors and magicians are part-mechanical! Quite peculiar, I must say.

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Afterword It has also been suggested that even this perplexing world was not the first of its kind. Perhaps an inhabitant of the strange world of which I speak may one day read my words here. Or if they ever find Erasan, maybe they will even write their own account of our world, which I'm sure to them would be equally strange and alien.

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