Grayson was dragged around the town by Fera. She showed him the communal building, the burnt remains of the mayor's house, and the walls. She took him out into the fields to visit the farmers tending to the spring crops, then back into the village and she showed him how people were already getting started on cleaning up the burnt ruins of houses for new houses to be built. Finally, she took him down to the forest where there was already an effort to chop down trees for additional lumber.

  Most of all, she showed him the people. Yes, their houses were burnt. Yes, there were plenty of injured. Yes, there were some dead. But none of them blamed him. Every single person was happy to see him. They bowed to him. They thanked him. They all said something that Grayson knew in his head, but not in his soul. He heard many variations, but the message was clear.

  "This all should have been so much worse. It almost was so much worse. But you stopped it. You brought them home. Thank you."

  When the horrors of the night before finally really caught up to him, he was standing in the forest with Fera. They were leaving the improvised lumber camp and had just stepped out of sight when it hit him again. This time, it was light enough that his neural network let it through. He sat down suddenly against a tree and Fera sat beside him, holding his hand. They sat like that for half an hour as Grayson simply... processed.

  Would he have done the same things the same way if he had known what he knew now? Yes.

  If the goddess of justice hadn't decided to take over his brain would he have killed all those people? Yes.

  Was it worth it? Grayson looked at Fera, who looked back at him, her normally excitable demeanor now far more somber. She didn't smile, she just looked at him like she knew exactly what he was thinking. Grayson pictured her in robes splashed with mud and blood, her face bruised, pain in her eyes, locked in a cage she could never hope to escape. He pictured the slave auction. The evil bastard who might have bought her and what such a creature might do with a pretty young girl. Instead a breeze blew and the sun shone through a new gap in the trees, lighting up her face, and she smiled at him.

  He remembered the smiles on the faces of all the people of the town. The people who were so happy that while some had lost homes, and yes, some had lost friends, the people who they had all considered gone to a fate worse than death were all here. They were all unhurt. And they would stay that way.

  Yes, Grayson decided. It was definitely worth it.

  Fera got onto her knees and hugged him gently, pressing his head into her chest. She kissed his forehead and he felt a warmth spread from her lips through his body. It felt like sunlight on his bones, in his muscles, and flowing through his blood. She pulled back and he looked up into her eyes. Eyes that instead of metaphorically glowing were literally glowing with golden light. When she spoke, Fera's voice was resonating with the same voice Grayson had heard from his own lips that morning.

  "Grayson Ketter, from a place further than any have come, but a location that any could travel to. Whose eyes have seen so many wonders, and whose legs have taken him to view the worst horrors of man's depravity. Know that you are blessed by Justice. I shall forever watch over you. But know Grayson. You are here, and here you will remain."

  The glow in Fera's eyes dimmed and she dropped back to sit in front of him, shaking her head.

  "Don't know what the hell that means aside that She likes you. She doesn't normally bless people personally." Fera sighed. "Are you feeling better? She said you were struggling with something, told me what I would do would help you, but damned if I know how."

  "You mean everything..." Grayson started and Fera nodded.

  "I was about to get ready to help everyone fix up the church when She called me. We were to prepare you a meal and show you the town. While we were running around, She showed me specific people, specific places, then She had me bring you out here. I don't know what it was all for, but She said it would help you and so I did it."

  Grayson leaned in and took Fera's hands.

  "Yes, Fera. It helped more than you could imagine. I never killed anyone before this morning. I had to know that... that I did the right thing."

  Fera gave a great exasperated sigh.

  "I already told you that. I told you that you saved us all didn't I? Come on, you have to learn to trust a priestly maiden when she tells you these things." She grinned at him. "But you let me get out of fixing up the church so I guess we're even." Fera winked.

  Grayson stared at her. She stood up, dusted down her skirt, then reached out a hand for him.

  "Come on. We should be able to secure a nice room to sleep in now. I bet they've got most of the church cleaned up and my Lady said She'd have a word with the other gods so we could rest. You've earned it, and because I helped you, I have too."

  Grayson took her hand and Fera hauled him to his feet. She almost overbalanced herself pulling him up and he caught her, pulling her close. She looked up at him and smiled before squirming out of his grip and dancing away. Grayson laughed and held out an arm for her as he started back off to town. She giggled and linked her arm around his. They started walking back to the village.

  "You know, I was wondering something." Fera started, pensively.

  "What?" Grayson asked.

  "I figured that your speed and strength came from my Lady but when you carried me back to the wagons, thank you for carrying me and screw you for that by the way, you seemed to go just as fast. Is that some form of magic?"

  "No. That's just me... sort of."

  Fera raised her eyebrow.

  "Sort of?"

  "Your language does not have the words to describe it."

  "What? I thought your language was our language. You speak it well enough, you barely have an accent." Fera said with surprise. "How could our language not have the words to describe something?"

  "Because there are things that simply don't exist here. Do you remember how your Lady greeted me?" Grayson asked placatingly.

  "From a place further than any have come, but that any could travel to? What the hell did that mean?"

  "It meant that I appeared in a meadow about 500 kilometers into the forest beyond the hills past the fields."

  Fera put her other hand on her hip and looked at Grayson meaningfully. "Do you mean South?"

  "Is that South? Are we North of the village right now?" Grayson asked innocently.

  "How do you not know?" Fera gestured wildly with her other arm. A moment later she sighed. "I guess you didn't know what a crusader was until this morning. Seriously though, how can you not know these things?"

  Fera stopped.

  "Wait a moment. Did you say you appeared? And what's a kilometer?"

  "Yup, I appeared there. Uh... how do you measure distance here? Whatever, approximately 12 days walk to the South. I appeared sometime yesterday morning."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "How?"

  "Fucked if I know."

  Fera stared at him, her mouth open, completely lost for words.

  "Anyway, before I appeared there, I was there but elsewhere." Grayson said cheerfully.

  "And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

  "It's possibly the best way to explain in your language where I was. I was in the same place, but it wasn't the same place. I guess the same place as it is in this world but instead of this world, it was my world, which isn't the same world." Grayson tried to slow down and explain it but Fera was clearly struggling to keep up. Grayson supposed that confirmation of multidimensional theory would be difficult for people who didn't have electricity yet.

  "So is it like another plane of existence? Like the afterlife?" Fera asked slowly.

  "Nope. It's another Earth, but not Earth. It's this plane but in another direction." Fera was rubbing at her temple. Eventually she sighed, pulled out of Grayson's arm and flopped into the grass at the side of the path. Grayson sat down next to her.

  "If it wasn't for my Lady, I'd say this was impossible. But she knows, Grayson. What now? Court mages would probably kill for information like this..." Fera trailed off then sat bolt upright. "Or pay a lot of money." She grinned.

  Grayson laughed, then got to his feet, pulling her up beside him. They continued their way towards the village, arms linked once again. Grayson spotted something high in the distance.

  "Hey Fera, are those pegasi?" Grayson asked while pointing into the sky to the East. Fera squinted in the direction he pointed.

  "Ooh. Imperial knights on patrol. Someone may have seen the fires last night or the smoke this morning. They're probably on the way to find out what happened. Tiber'll tell them the story. They will definitely want to meet you as a Crusader. You might even get a trip to the city." Fera elbowed Grayson in the ribs. Grayson looked at her.

  "Will you come with me?" Grayson asked. He sounded almost nervous and Fera laughed at him.

  "If you want me to come, then yes. You're a lord Crusader of my Lady. You're blessed and beloved by her. As one of her voices, I can go with you. It's your right as a Crusader."

  "Her voices?"

  "You see my eyes. They were brown once. As a voice of my Lady, they are touched by her, and her color shines from them." Fera said almost poetically, then immediately ruined it by continuing. "It's one of the reason's Perimis is best obviously. Golden is such a great color for your eyes. Way better than red or purple or some weird shade of pink," she stated authoritatively.

  "Well then, priestess Fera, voice of Perimis, should I be asked to visit the city, I officially request your presence." Grayson said, turning to her and bowing. Fera curtseyed back.

  "If you so request, lord Crusader Grayson, I must accept. Shall we go greet our guests?"

  "We could get there quickly if I carried you and ran." Grayson suggested.

  "Fuck no."

  It took the pair of them a further five minutes to reach the village. During the trip, Fera told Grayson a little about how the empire worked. It was mostly run by humans, with an aristocracy formed from various noble houses. Most of the houses were well respected. The houses paid taxes to the Emperor, and the regular folk paid taxes to the noble houses. In return, the houses patrolled the Empire, looking for bandits exactly like the ones Grayson had killed, or beasts. The knights were usually young members of noble houses, or their richer subjects because the knight had to buy and maintain their own equipment. That was the secular power.

  Under the Emperor was also the priesthood. The twelve Gods and Goddesses provided spiritual support to the people of the empire. Each God and Goddess was equal, and so were their priests. There were temples to all twelve in larger cities, but in smaller towns and villages, a single church usually served all twelve. The churches didn't really have an army per se, but they had Crusaders who fought with the power of the deity who chose them. Typically, the Crusader also chose the deity, devoting their life to the concept their deity embodied. Grayson was a Crusader and would hold the appropriate rank in the church, but he had never said a prayer to Perimis or even set out in her name. He'd make a lot of other Crusaders more than a little upset for that.

  Fera had a grin when she told Grayson that. She was apparently looking forward to the looks on their faces. The spark in his eye would serve as proof of the touch of Perimis. They wouldn't even be able to do anything about it because infighting was prohibited among Perimis' chosen.

  When they reached the village, a pair of knights were flanking the gates, still sitting on their pegasi. They wore full plate in a rich blue color with a single yellow stripe diagonally from their left shoulders to their right hips. Their helmet visors were up and their swords were in their sheaths. They didn't challenge the pair as they approached, but Fera walked up to one, looked him in the eye and showed her bandaged heart and mace icon.

  "Your Captain wants to see us, Sir Knight. I am the priestess of Perimis, and this is the Lord Crusader." Fera said, emphasizing Grayson's rank. The knight saluted with his left hand across his chest and bowed his head.

  "My lady, the Captain is in the house of your head man. I believe his name is Tiber. Good afternoon, Lord Crusader." The knight was polite enough. Grayson copied the man's salute.

  "Good afternoon, Sir Knight," he said respectfully.

  They made their way through the village towards Tiber's house. Fera stifled a yawn.

  "Only got around four hours sleep and that was on a damned wagon that kept going through patches of sunlight and waking me up." Fera grumbled as they walked. "I'm looking forward to spending some time in my bed."

  "You're not the only one. I had to walk all the way here, remember?" Grayson chuckled.

  "Yeah, but you're some weird kind of non-magic demi-god. Only the Gods know what your limits are."

  They reached Tiber's house and Fera identified them to the knight standing guard at the door. Her armor was the same as the pair guarding the gates. She had a kite shield leaning against the house beside her and a staff in her hand. She gave them a salute and let them in.

  Tiber was standing at his dining room table with a man who wore similar armor to the other knights. His armor had two stripes crossed over his front instead of one. He was looking at a map spread over the table. Tiber was pointing at various locations on the map and the Knight Captain was marking them with a glowing golden stone. When Fera and Grayson entered the room, he picked up a sheet of paper that held a rune that looked like a snake's mouth drawn by a modern artist who favored cubism. The result seemed more real than if someone had just taken a picture of a snake.

  "You have your assigned areas. Perform a search. Make sure nobody else is lying low in this region. I'll inform the Watchmaster and we'll have to sweep the entire Northern border."

  There was a sound like a hissed groan from the rune and the Knight Captain chuckled. He put the rune down and turned to Fera and Grayson. He stared into Grayson's eyes, then gave a salute and bowed.

  "Thank you, Lord Crusader, for your timely intervention. If you weren't here, those villains would likely have made it to the mountains before we caught up. The Empire jealously guards her subjects, and their lives are important to us. I, uh, understand that you are a new Crusader. Protocol dictates that I bring you to Gravistone to have your name and likeness added to the records. Would that be alright?" The Captain spoke respectfully, showing clear deference to Grayson. Fera had told him that the Crusaders were outside the command structure of the knights, but he hadn't expected the man to act as if Grayson outranked him. Crusaders could be anybody, but knights were all nobles or near enough. Then again, Crusaders were chosen by the Gods, so who knew.

  "Thank you, Sir Captain. Lord Crusader Grayson has formally requested my accompaniment for his journey. I was present when he was chosen by my Lady Perimis. As voice of my Lady, he has the right to such a request." Fera said, bowing to the Knight Captain.

  "Understood. Is there anything else you require, Lord Crusader?" asked the Knight Captain.

  "Sir Captain, Yesterday I ran a distance that would be twelve days walk, slept a mere two hours, then ran here to intervene. I worked at treating the injured for four hours, then searched through the night for the bandits. I destroyed them, rescued the taken villagers and returned them here. I have since been on my feet with only a single meal and bare moments to bathe. If you can spare a few hours, I need some damned sleep. Lady Fera here has slept scarcely more than I have. Were you to take us now, we'd fall out of the saddle long before arriving in Gravistone." Grayson said, channeling how his neural network had made him act in medieval times. Fera failed to hide her surprise. The Knight Captain bowed deeply to Grayson.

  "Then, my lord, we will wait here overnight. Sleep to your hearts content and we will leave for Gravistone in the morning." Grayson nodded to him.

  "Thank you, Sir Captain. If you don't mind, we'll take our leave." Fera said, bowing to the man, who saluted and nodded.

  Grayson provided Fera his arm and they escorted each other out. As they left, the knight standing beside the door spoke up.

  "Is it true, Lord Crusader? Did you really run a hundred leagues? That would be about twelve days of walking right? Did you really do that in a single day?"

  Grayson sighed.

  "Yes, Lady Knight. I did. Slightly more, in fact. That was before I chased down the bandits as well."

  The knight stood there for a moment, her mouth open before she managed to get out a single strained word.

  "How?"

  Fera came to Grayson's rescue, preventing him from having to explain his weirdness.

  "My Lady required him here, and so gave him the ability to arrive. He is a Crusader after all."

  The pair left, heading for the church. Grayson was given more of a tour, ate a meal with all the priests and their acolytes, then was shown the baths, and finally the room for visiting guests. The longsword that the bandit leader had used was sitting on a small writing desk in the corner, under a glowing stone. Grayson flipped a small cloth over the stone and settled into bed. It had been one hell of a day.

  An hour later, he was woken up as Fera came in to the room. She knelt by his bed and whispered to him.

  "Please. After today..."

  Grayson held open the sheets for her as she slid into bed beside him, then held her as she cried softly. Eventually, they both fell asleep.

  Like if you shrink a pebble and shove it-

  will be similar. Though some kind of human or at least humanoid governing body was bound to show up. A human empire goes quite well in hand with the main series, so I settled on that.