Prologue: Shipwrecked
Grez sifted through the ashes desperate for a sign that things could be fixed. But ashes did not provide clues nor could they be used for anything constructive. The only positive he could count at the moment was that the air on this planet was breathable.
Thinking with amusement that on this world, he would be considered an alien, Grez thought through his choices. The most logical would be to search for signs of life. There was a nearby stream and the green trees looked like they had been grown by unnatural means. Perhaps the life forms here were advanced enough that they could offer aid. He had not fled a doomed planet to be stranded on another after all.
To get his mind off his current predicament, he considered what would happen if hostile entities were encountered. Trained heavily in using his fists, it was doubtful that he would be in immediate danger. Thanks to said training in his youth meant that he could run quite far and for an even longer period of time.
Before Grez left the spot where his completely destroyed ship had landed, he marked it in such a way that he could easily return. Though, who knew when that would be? Refusing to be deterred, he refused to look back and chose a random direction to walk in.
It seemed luck was on his side. Not long after he started moving forward, a smell filled his nose that excited him. Heated food meant intelligent life! Pushing his legs as fast as they could go, he raced across the rolling hills. It did not take long to see a village in the distance surrounded by what appeared to be farm land.
Intelligent life indeed. Hopefully, the natives would not be hostile to strangers. Grez considered tucking in his tail. It was unlikely that the people here would bear such features. His race was gifted with some unique traits and this was one of them.
Unfortunately, the crash had jostled his memory slightly and the name of his own species eluded him. However, what did matter was that what little remained told him that he was a prince of his home planet. While the man had no intention of telling everyone to bow before him, there was no way he was going to be sleeping like a beggar.
With strong eyesight, Grez saw a sign telling him the villages name. By sheer luck, the letters were similar enough to his own language that he could read them! Discounting the extreme unlikelihood of such an event, he wondered what sort of town “Krento” would be.
The town lacked walls as well as much of the technology that he was accustomed to. It was Quite clear that he would not be getting help to leave this planet by staying here. However, there was something else that caught his attention as he approached the main village road: The two guards who stared at him with suspicion. Neither one had a visible tail and through the corner of his eye, it was quite plain to see that both these armed individuals were looking at his.
“Halt stranger!” One commanded. “We rarely get visitors here. State your purpose.”
Grez doubted telling them he was from space would be a great idea. He lied while telling as much of the truth as he could in his gruff voice. “I am lost and am trying to get my bearings.”
“You are not helping your case.” The second guard stated. “Pat him down.” Grez suffered the humiliation of being searched. But he had no visible weapons. And that was something in his favor it seemed.
“Will you please tell me where I am?” Grez asked again.
“You are in the Empire of Spatia good sir. Are you so lost that you forgot an entire half of the world?”
“I suppose so.” Grez responded warily. He wanted to get away from these two and do some exploring of his own. “Where can I get a drink?” These two were testing his patience and every instinct told him to fight these scrubs.
“There.” The guards both pointed towards a large building labeled “tavern.” His eyes traced the town in better detail as he looked for the quickest path there.
There was little chance of anyone building their houses out of stone and also understanding space travel. Grez would need to find out more about this “Spatia” as well as what the guards meant by Empire
The tavern might hold the answers. Or at least a passable drink for his parched throat. Even if all there was to sip on was piss water, it was better than dealing with the obnoxious guards. Those two even followed him with their eyes right up until he entered the tavern. He never could have realized how much his life was about to change.