Dragons, Dystopians, and Denial

There it was again: Aerik doesn't exist.

Elias rubbed the side of his head in thought. "You guys keep saying Aerik doesn't exist," he said. "What, is he supposed to be dead or something?"

"I'm sure that would bring no greater joy to some people," Aerik said, striding back in the room. He settled down on the hearth opposite them, smirking. "But mostly, we just try to get people to forget I ever existed at all."

"I am so confused," Elias admitted, tired of the cryptic answers. "What do you mean?"

Aerik took a deep breath and then sighed. "It's complicated."

Jayk looked between them, then took pity. "Aer..."

Aerik looked at Jayk, then back at Elias. "Oh, very well. I'm not giving you any details... but my job is basically..."

He hadn't actually tried to explain his job before.

"Aerik knows a lotta shit about a lotta people and a lotta places," Jayk cut in. "He's like... like... a wishing well."

Aerik looked at him skeptically, not quite sure that he liked that comparison. "Something like that... I guess... but instead of coins, I gather information, and then give it to the people who need to have it. And no one else. And it's easiest to do that if I'm a ghost, so I don't have people trying to get information from me that doesn't belong to them."

Only one question resonated in Elias's mind as Aerik continued on with the cryptic answer: "Why?"

“The universe isn’t something that you can set in motion then forget about.” Aerik shrugged. “Humans need mediators, whether they think they do or not. And kings are much, much too stupid and arrogant to be trusted with that task. We actually do what’s good for humanity, not just for their treasury. And. I don’t exist. So, it’s pretty safe to trust your secrets to someone who doesn’t exist.”

Elias rubbed the side of his head. Of course Aerik existed. He was just being too damn cryptic for him to understand... And what was this about protecting humanity? If it wasn't for his already-small pride, he'd ask him to please explain everything like he was five.

"Can you... give me an example? Of information and what you do with it?" he asked, deciding to just pretend that he knew what he was talking about when Aerik said he didn't exist.

“I mean... you’re walking testament,” Aerik answered, scratching his chin before gesturing vaguely. “Most people don’t know alternate universes exist. I guard the portal to Earth. No one can coke or go without passing through Kaidren and I first.”

To be fair, Elias didn't know alternate universes existed either. He barely understood the concept, and he was from another world.

Did that mean he didn't exist either? This was so confusing.

"Why protect it?" he asked. "And what other stuff do you protect?"

“Think about what would happen, Elias,” Aerik answered patiently. “Would you like Femola or Scelinons wandering into Earth freely?”

Oh. The portals went both ways. Elias was under the impression that it was a one-way portal.

"Oh," he said, then decided to voice that thought out loud. "So it's not just one way. People don't just step out of portal. They can also step into the portal."

“Yep,” Aerik answered. “That’s why I gave you the option to go back, if you wanted. You still can. But your powers...”

"Right, that..." Elias glanced at Jayk. He hadn't told him, but he was clearly smarter than him. He could maybe fill in the blanks.

"So, what kind of other stuff do you protect?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

Jayk perked up when Aerik mentioned powers, and was even more intrigued by Elias’s discomfort at its mention. He cut in before Aerik could answer, “what powers?”

"This isn't really fair, you know," Elias said defensively, deciding to be more stubborn this time. "I'm not from this world, and I'm completely clueless on how anything works around here. Why do you have to mine me for information when I'm only asking simple questions just so I can understand what's happening?"