London, 1791

  Ava Sutherland had never been one for excitement. Or, to be more accurate, true excitement. Her

  life, a mosaic of calculated experiments and precise measurements, was carefully ordered. Her

  Victorian London flat—a cramped sanctuary nestled between dusty tomes of forgotten theories

  and cluttered piles of mechanical apparatus—was everything she needed. Or so she had always

  believed.

  The apparatus before her was her pride and joy, a finely crafted marvel of Victorian engineering,

  constructed with a singular ambition: to uncover the secrets of realms beyond the veil of this

  world. The blueprints, hastily scrawled with equations only she could decipher, gleamed with the

  tantalizing promise of a groundbreaking discovery.

  “Well, Ava, you’ve done it again,” she muttered to herself, brushing an errant strand of dark hair

  behind her ear. She glanced at the strange machine—a complex network of gears, pulleys, and

  crackling wires. The faint hum of electrical currents reverberated in the air, as though the device

  were on the brink of something monumental.

  “Just a little more,” she whispered, adjusting the settings on the machine, her fingers steady as she

  worked the levers. A wicked grin tugged at the corner of her lips. “If I can just stabilize the flux...”

  And then it happened.

  With a violent whoosh, the air around her grew thick, and an intense, blinding light consumed

  the room. The acrid scent of ozone filled her nostrils, making her eyes sting and her pulse

  quicken. Her heart skipped a beat as she instinctively braced for something catastrophic. But it

  was too late. A vortex of swirling blue and green energy materialized in the center of the room—

  far larger than anything she had anticipated.

  She staggered backward, but the air itself seemed to have a mind of its own. The lab equipment—

  her precious instruments—shattered with a deafening chorus of snapping metal and shattering

  glass. The machine groaned, its final moments of power giving way to a terrible, screaming

  whine. Yet the portal—unnervingly persistent—refused to close.

  Ava had no time to scream.

  The force of the pull was irresistible. She tried to grab the edges of her workbench, to hold on to

  something—anything—but the universe, it seemed, was much stronger than she was. With one

  last breath of air, the world around her spun violently, and she was dragged into the swirling rift,

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  her lab, her life—everything she knew—vanishing in an instant. The world lurched, then spun,

  and before she could gather her wits, she hit the ground with a bone-rattling thud.

  “Ow,” she muttered, wincing and blinking in an attempt to clear her blurred vision. She groaned,

  slowly pushing herself into a sitting position, her head spinning. The Victorian composure she

  had always prided herself on rushed back as she surveyed her new surroundings.

  The trees were unlike anything she’d ever seen—tall, twisted, their bark a ghostly blue that

  shimmered under an unfamiliar moon. A dense fog curled around the ground, slithering

  between her feet like some living creature. The air had an earthy scent, tinged with something

  wild—damp moss and an almost metallic tang. Far off in the distance, a low, rumbling sound

  reverberated through the fog.

  “Ava Sutherland,” she murmured, her breath steadying. “What have you done?”

  She blinked again, as her mind began to process her surroundings. Her lab, her home, the

  comforting chaos of her tiny apartment—none of them were here. Instead, she found herself in

  the midst of a forest unlike any she had ever encountered. A sudden rustle of leaves shattered her

  focus. Ava froze, her heart skipping a beat.

  Out of the fog, lumbering toward her like some colossal apparition, came a creature. Massive.

  Enormous. Ava could hardly comprehend the sheer size of it. Its face was broad, tusks jutting out

  like the ancient fangs of some long-forgotten predator. Its green skin shimmered under the pale

  moonlight, and its muscular frame was draped in tattered leather armor.

  And, to her horror, it was looking directly at her.

  Ava’s heart hammered in her chest as she instinctively scrambled backward, her breath coming in

  quick, shallow gasps. This was no dream. This was a very real, very large, very terrifying monster.

  “I… I don’t suppose you could point me to a nearby portal?” Ava stammered, her voice

  trembling despite her best efforts to sound composed.

  The ogre (it had to be, surely) regarded her for a long moment, its expression inscrutable.

  Then, in a deep, gravelly voice, it spoke.

  “You… smell different.” it said, tilting its head to one side. It blinked, looking both perplexed and

  mildly offended. “Not Vael, then?”

  Ava blinked, struggling to catch up with the absurdity of the situation.

  “I—Whale?!” she exclaimed, her voice a little too high-pitched. “I just… I need to get home.

  Can you help me? Please?”

  The ogre’s eyes narrowed as it considered her words. Then, with a low grunt, it rumbled.

  “Home?” it asked, its voice deep and rumbling. “Where’s home? This is Vashkaar. You not from

  here.”

  Ava’s gaze darted to the fog-choked trees around them. She had no idea where “Vashkaar” was,

  but she wasn’t about to let her panic show. “How do I get back?”

  The ogre took a slow, deliberate step forward. Ava couldn’t suppress the frightened flinch that

  gripped her. But to her surprise, the ogre didn’t move to attack. Instead, it crouched down beside

  her, folding its massive arms across its chest, still studying her with an unreadable expression.

  “I’m Ugraum,” it said, its voice surprisingly steady for such a creature. “I can help. But first...” It

  sniffed the air, then looked at her with narrowed eyes. “You not smell right at all. You a mage

  then?”

  Ava stared at the ogre, her mind reeling. Mage? What was this creature even talking about?

  “No, I’m not a—” She caught herself before she could make her explanation. She had no idea

  what magic was at play here, or how the portal had opened. But there was no time for stubborn

  pride. “I… I’m a scientist.”

  The ogre cocked its head. “Scientist. Huh. What’s that?”

  Ava opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat. What was the point? “Never mind.

  Can you help me get home?”

  The ogre scratched its chin thoughtfully. “Maybe,” it rumbled. “But first, you come with me. We

  get you food.” Ava glanced warily at the eerie mist surrounding them, then up at the ogre’s broad

  back as he turned and began to trudge through the fog.

  “You know what?” Ava muttered to herself, dusting herself off. “At this point, what’s the worst

  that could happen?”

  And with that, she followed Ugraum into the unknown.