Gateway to Ithria

Orak JaVrei’s surroundings slowly slid into focus. He could feel the cold hard ground below him; like stone, but bizarrely smooth, flat and perfectly level. He blinked a few times and strained his eyes to try and focus on what looked like a giant rectangular rock, but it couldn’t be, as it was reflecting like a fifty foot high mirror. Once his eyes had settled, he was shocked to see how alien this world really was. He had seen it through the window, but nothing could have prepared him for the mayhem he now saw. The giant mirror was a multi storey building, but every inch of its walls were made of glass, and its edges were straighter than rulers. Orak looked either side of him and saw dozens more buildings in every direction, all as spectacular as each other. Glancing down at the peculiar stone ground, he saw that it was pitch black and formed a path that stretched out as far as he could see, both in front of and behind him. There was a constant roaring on either side, and beyond some partial barrier he could see flashes of light streaking past, faster than any animal he knew could run. Something rumbled past him, and Orak shot to his feet when he saw how close it had come. His eyes followed the creature and his jaw dropped when he saw it in detail. It wasn’t a creature at all, but a bright red machine, zooming along the flat like a cart losing control down a hill. A horn sounded, but like no call to war or warning he had heard before. He spun around to see another of these peculiar machines hurtling towards him. Frozen to the spot with fear, he mustered the strength to move. He leapt away to one side with one mighty bound but was a fraction of a second too late.