His name was kael.
He walked beside her through the maze of streets, explaining things that made little sense: vehicles that moved without horses, lights powered by hidden energy, and people who loved their entire lives without touching a blade. Ariya listened in tense silence, absorbing every detail like a hunter mapping an unfamiliar terrain.
"You're taking this surprisingly well," kael said at last.
"I'm not," she replied. "I just don't have the luxury of panic."
He smiled faintly at that.
They stopped at the edge of a wide bridge overlooking a river that shimmered with reflected lights. Ariya leaned against the railing, staring at the water below. It looked real enough. Solid. Certain. Unlike everything else.
"Why are you helping me?" She asked suddenly.
Kael hesitated.
"Because I know what's like," he said. "To wake up somewhere you don't belong."
She turned to him sharply. "You crossed the veil too?''
He nodded once. "Years ago."
For the first time she'd arrived, Ariya felt the iron grip of fear loosen slightly. She was not alone in her confusion --- not entirely.
"Can I go back?" She asked.
Kael's gaze shifted to the river, reflecting a thousand fractured lights. "Maybe. But veils don't open easily, and they don't always return you to the same place-- or the same time."
Her chest tightened.
She thought of the forest, the unfinished hunt, of the life she had known. Had it vanished the moment she stepped through the circle of the blackened soil? Had she?
"I'll help you find a way," Kael said softly, as if sensing her thoughts. "If that's what you want."
Ariya looked at him, truly looked this time. There was sincerity in his eyes--- and something else. A quiet loneliness that mirrored her own.
"I don't even know this world's dangers," she admitted.
He smiled though it didn't quite reach his eyes.
" Then it's a good thing you met someone who does."