Caius was just about finished humming the theme song from a show about a half-ghost boy, when the door to the interrogation room slid open, allowing three people into the room once more, two of which he recognized and one he did not. Rhea had come back, an armful of some colorful packaging, with the bark skinned guard from earlier and a man with a stone-like complexion who held a tablet and a mug. He sat in the chair across from Caius, furiously typing on the tablet. Rhea dumped her little packages onto the table, and the guard once again stood behind him.

  “Good news Caius!” Rhea starts “I argued your case, and you are basically totally free!” She raised her arms in celebration.

  “Yay.” Caius said without as much enthusiasm, “I would celebate but I can’t actually move my body.”

  “Oh crap. Aeryn, would you…” she gestured to the guard behind him. Caius saw her pull out a small cylinder, and felt the straps that held him in place retreat into the chair he sat on. “Ah good okay. I thought you might be hungry, and while it is too late to get anything from the canteen, I thought I would introduce you to some local snacks!” she gestured to the pile of packaging that Caius realizes now is junk food. Picking through the pile, he picked a pink orb that looked like a small Snoball. Pulling apart the wrapper and popping it into his mouth, it squeezed as he bit into it. It had a pleasant taste like strawberries and cream and started to fizz like Pop-Rocks. Rhea smiled and nodded in encouragement.

  “It’s pretty good.” Caius said, and started hunting for his next tasty victim. “Whose this guy?”

  “This is Elias, your caseworker. He will be handling your integration and helping where you need. If he ever looks up from his other work.” She said, definitely directing that last comment at the typing man. He was bald, and had long pointed ears. His jaw was strong, and hints of powerful teeth peeked through his lips. It took him a moment to realize they were talking about him and grimaced.

  “Ah, sorry Rhe. You know how damned busy it gets working with the Pursuit Agents.” He swiped on the tablet before setting it down and smiling at Caius. “Hello, I am Elias Beck and I will be your caseworker. Generally I operate in Pursuit Agency Regulation, but I am being pulled into this. Apparently I fit the requirements set by the Director, and we do not have people ready to handle random humans being summoned into our world.”

  Elias looked like a hard worker. He had the attitude of someone who ran around the clock often, but still managed to keep his head above water. His clothes had the look of being worn for several days straight, a crumpled and slightly unbuttoned shirt and a loosely hanging tie. Somehow, he still managed to smile, showing off those intimidating teeth in as non threatening of a manner as he could. Caius instantly liked the man.

  “Happy to have you on board Elias”

  “Of course. Now, do you have any questions before I give you a basic rundown on this world and the basics you need to know?”

  “Just one.” Caius said, pointing to the table, “Want any munchies?” This made Elias smile.

  “I can tell we are going to get along just fine.”

  “Alright.” Elias started after they had shared a bag of a chip-like snack. Rhea had left the room to do some of her own work, leaving just the two of them with the guard, Aeryn. “Welcome to the world of Orris. I understand you come from a planet called Earth, and you have no magic there?” Caius nodded in the affirmative.

  “We only have humans there too.” he said through a mouthful of a sour taffy-like candy.

  “Oh, wow, so we must kind of freak you out, huh? Well, all of the races have a single ancestor. That ancestor is most like the humans of today. You guys are sort of the genetic default of all the races.”

  “And what are you?” Caius asked, swallowing his most recent mouthful

  “ I am a gargoyle. Rhea is a kitsune. Aeryn behind you is a dryad. Marina, who I understand made a bad first impression with you, is a huldra. There are a bunch of us all over, but the most populous tend to be the vampires and therianthropes, shape shifters of all kinds who end up lumped together under one umbrella. For most of our history, we lived separated, in insular societies made up of our own species.”

  “What brought you together? It seems pretty racially diverse up in here.”

  “Well, about 1600 years ago, there was an invasion. We call this event the Incursion. Portals opened up all over the world, and demons came through. The war lasted about one hundred years, devastating population numbers. Eventually, we came together as natives to fight them back.”

  “Wow.” Caius popped a little yellow seed into his mouth. “I guess nothing solves racial divides like the end of the world looming.”

  “Hah! If only. We still deal with some racial tensions now and then, but most people have at least one or two ancestors not of their own species. After we won though, some of the largest cities in the world had been destroyed, along with giant swathes of land. They were so totally brutalized, mana doesn’t even naturally settle there. Beyond that, a lot of the natural predatory fauna were used by the demons in the war, creating stronger and more aggressive species. So, slowly, we gathered in large cities all over the world. There are about fifty cities now, and it has been a slow build. We realized over time that so many heavily cultural societies mixed poorly, and started to build a system of laws that allowed for the best interaction among the people. We created the Incursion Accords, which have been added to over time. For about two hundred years, we have had the Bureau of Paranormal Enforcement and Regulation, BPER, and the licensing system. Everyone is registered by soul signature, and magic is regulated heavily. All races, except humans, have some intrinsic racial abilities which are as regulated as possible. Therianthropes are not allowed to shift aggressively or in a work space unless they have certain licenses and such. Anyone who breaks an Accord, if detected or reported, a case is formed and handed off to one of our contracted agents, independent groups that are licensed to use their magic or abilities to investigate and potentially arrest Accord Breakers. Those are Pursuit Agents, and generally that is my department. Oversight, regulation, and licensing for them. I personally liaison with about twenty different groups.”

  “Sounds like an intense job. So wait, it kind of sounds like humans get stiffed in the magic department. That sucks.” Elias shrugs in response.

  “Yeah, sort of. They have the same ability to learn spells like anyone else, but they also don’t have the inherent weakness of some of the other races. Some of our strongest Archmagi are humans. They have to work a little harder than others, but they have the most potential.”

  “I guess that sort of makes up for it. Wait, I'm not from here, will I be able to do magic?” His question was laced with equal parts excitement and hesitation.

  “I truly don’t know Caius. Magic is a basic part of our world, it seeps into everything and has always existed. We could do some tests, but that will come later.”

  “Alright, sorry, it's just magic is a myth in my world and every kid, and every adult secretly, wants to be able to cast spells and such. So, what does my future look like here? Rhea mentioned integration.”

  “I get it, magic is fun, and kind of addicting to use. We have to get you registered, create documentation that basically says you exist, and then set you up in one of our subsidized properties. There is going to be about six months for you to learn as much as you can, get settled, and find some form of employment so you can live on your own. There will be some monitoring because you are an unknown element, and we will be having occasional meetings to track your progress and I can offer advice. I will be working from my end to see what I can do for you, but it is going to be up to you how successful this experiment is.”

  “Okay…” Caius said, leaning forward and interlocking his fingers, “I think we have missed something really important. Why aren’t they sending me home.?” Elias grimaced, pulling at his collar like it had suddenly gotten very hot in the room.

  “Well, um, we can’t.”

  “Can’t? Or won’t?”Caius asked, a little aggression leaching into his tone.

  “Can’t. Sorry Caius, We don’t know how you got here. Summoning magic was done thousands and thousands of years ago, but generally it only connected to smaller pocket dimensions attached to our world. The Fae Wilds is one of the larger examples of that, and there are static, open portals to and from there. Best that we can tell, with the limited information we have, your world isn’t attached to ours on any physical or metaphysical level. Beyond that, when we beat back the Incursion, a giant, self-sustaining enchantment was put in place that feeds on the ambient mana of our world. We call it the Ward, and it stops any and all cross dimensional magic attempts. What happened to you shouldn’t have been possible at all. One of the Accords put a stop to developing any form of summoning magic, and tampering with the Ward is a capital offense.”

  “But it was possible, it did happen!” Caius stood, his voice raising as he rose himself “I was wrenched away from my own world, and most of my own identity was stripped from me!” He was yelling now. Several moments pass, and he breathes heavily. Elias seems unsure what to say, and Aeryn was definitely preparing to put him down if it was needed. But as quickly as the anger appeared, it drained away. Caius collapsed back in his seat, head in his hands. “I have no idea who I am.” he said quietly.

  Elias stood slowly, coming to some sort of decision. He walked around the table, crouched down next to Caius, and just placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “I am sorry son. We looked into the mage who summoned you, and he was some kind of savant. His notes were devoid of any actionable information, and now that he is brain dead, we have nothing to build off of. But I promise you, if there ever comes a time where we figure out a safe way to send you back without causing a second Incursion, I will be fighting to get you there.” It took a few beats, but Caius took a deep breath, raised his head and nodded.

  “Thank you Elias. It's-it’s just hard. I feel like I am fully adrift, unanchored to anything.”

  “We can set you up with a therapist if that would help?”

  “No, I think this is something I have to work through on my own.”

  “Alright but if there ever comes a time that you feel like you need one, I will make sure the BPER pays for it.” Elias stood again and returned to his seat. “Do you need some time, or would you like to get started?”

  “Let’s just get started. Give me something to think about besides this.”

  “Okay!” It had taken about ten minutes to get his soul signature and log him into the Soul Registry. The scanner was a very small device that looked like one of the thermometers that a doctor touches to your head. “Let’s make you exist. First name, Caius. Last name, we are giving you Ward, as you are technically a ward of the government for the next six months. It will say a lot about your situation whenever someone looks at your documentation.”

  “Caius Ward. I like it.”

  “Great! Age, twenty five.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Oh, the age of your soul is apparent during scanning.”

  “And here I thought I was an old soul.”

  “Ha ha, very funny. Race, human. Now, smile!” Elias raised the tablet and snapped a picture of Caius.

  “There is no way I look good in that.”

  “No one looks good on their IDs.”

  “Huh, seems like a universal constant.” It takes a few more minutes for Elias to blaze through the paperwork, and in under half an hour Caius goes from an otherworldly unknown to a full blown citizen of Noctwyn. At the bottom of the tablet, a small card is printed out, black and silver, with his face and all of his information on it. For the first time, Caius sees what he actually looks like. He has a moment of cognitive dissonance, not recognizing the face printed on the ID. His skin is tan, his hair curly and a light brown. Two piercing blue eyes stare out, over a slightly crooked nose that has definitely been broken once or twice and not set in time. A mole under one eye and a couple of freckles mark his face, adding a little character. Light stubble dusts his chin, and a scar sits vertical next to his mouth. He realizes Elias has stopped talking, allowing him a moment to center himself. Studying the ID, he sees a few geometric shapes on the side of it that are empty, like they are waiting for a sticker or something.

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  “What are these on the side?”

  “Those are different things you can get certified for. The license will be filed in our system, and a mark will be added to your ID. That way, if a Pursuit Agent stops you for some reason, you can quickly show what certifications you have.”

  “Is there a spot for being certified as a Pursuit Agent?”

  “Actually that is one of the few things the ID does not hold. Pursuit Agents get their own badges.”

  “How come?”

  “It's a safety measure. You can identify yourself as a Pursuit Agent without revealing your identity. Most PA’s have a pseudonym that they operate under. And if anyone ever looks at your ID, they can’t tell if you are a PA.”

  “I guess that makes sense. Cuts down on retributive acts I assume?”

  “Ohhh yeah. When the system was put in place, it cut down on revenge actions by about 80%. It still happens every now and then, but usually because people aren’t being careful on the job, or go around outside of the job talking about what they do.”

  “So it's like an idiot filter. I get it.”

  Elias hands him a wallet that already holds a few cards in it. They were thin and metal like his ID, and looked very similar to a debit card, but with a small glowing crystal set into it instead of a chip. “That top one is a card that you can use to buy pretty much anything, but the account is limited. That second card should pay for any food items, again, with a limited amount on it. Each one is refilled monthly. Your rent is covered as part of our subsidy program, but all three of these programs only last the next six months. The BPER will also front any application costs for licensing in the same time period. So if you want to get your basic casting license or something, it will be free.”

  “This is a lot. This is honestly more than I expected.”

  “We try to do our best by our people. Now, you are a fully unique case so there is some more attention and leeway given. I should let you know now that we will have someone in our Seer division scrying you near daily.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It means someone is going to be watching you, magically, from afar, for a while every day. It will be at different times every day, and will be until we determine that you pose no threat to Noctwyn.”

  “Jeez, alright Big Brother.”

  “I am not totally sure what that means but okay.”

  “How often are we going to be having check-in meetings?”

  “I am going to aim for every two weeks, I'm a pretty busy guy. This is being put on top of all of my other work. However,” Elias pulls out a metal square. “I don’t know if you have an equivalent on your world but,” He unflips it and a glowing screen pops up, “This is a ManaCell. We use it to contact people and look up information on the Nexus. Oh um, the Nexus is like a book you can tap into and it has a lot of information that anyone can access and-” Caius holds a hand up to stop him.

  “I understand. We had something very similar to both this device and the Nexus.” Obvious relief crosses Elias’ face, which Caius understands. He had no idea how he would try to explain the internet to somebody.

  “Oh good. My contact is already in there, so if you ever desperately need something or want to move our meeting up, you can call or message me. I will try to be as available as I possibly can.”

  “This seems like almost everything I need to survive for the next while.”

  “Almost everything? I didn’t miss anything and we tried to be as thorough as possible…” Elias picked up the tablet with a small frown, quickly scrolling through Caius’ file.

  “No, you were all very considerate. But, if we want me to go anywhere,” Caius raises a foot and plops it down bare on the table. “I am gonna need a pair of shoes.”

  The shoes in this world were pretty interesting. It seemed like they had forgone socks and just added a lining directly into the shoes. The pair they has rustled up for Caius were a pair of sturdy combat boots. They had been extra stock for the internal guards of the BPER. They had also found him a couple pairs of heavy black cargo pants that also seemed like part of the uniform. A few shirts, short sleeve tees and a pair of button downs had been pulled from some form of lost and found. Elias had lent him his own jacket which was pretty nice. Elias was bigger than him and it had lots of pockets, which Caius found himself liking. All of these items had been stuffed into a bag that seemed like a cross between a duffel and a backpack. Caius had opted to change into the cargo pants and a shirt that had a graphic of a winged-lady, a tengu apparently, and a caption “Just wingin’ it!” scrawled above her.

  Wiggling his toes, enjoying the comforting feeling of being fully dressed for the first time in his very short memory, Caius sat in the passenger seat of Elias’ car. They were headed to the apartment building he would be staying in, one which the BPER used to house nonviolent Collared and some people that benefited from some of their subsidy programs.

  “So, am I gonna be living on my own?” He asked Elias as the gargoyle finished quietly singing along to a song on the radio.

  “Uh, no, no you won’t. I specifically requested you be in one of the two bedroom apartments. My hope was that a roommate would provide a different sort of perspective than I or anyone you would meet from the BPER would. Most of the people that live here have been through some hard times, so they can give you what is probably a more honest point of view of our world. Here,” he sent a message to Caius’ cell. “This is the publicly available file on your roommate.”

  Caius opened his cell and started to peruse the file. At the very top were two pictures of a man, one where he appeared to be about eighteen, and the other in his late twenties. In the first picture, he is smiling broadly, clean shaven, and excited to be receiving his ID. His hair, dense, black, and curly, is coiffed and shiny from the addition of some form of hair products. Below his face you can see the top of a nice button up with a silver lapel pin in the shape of a wolf.

  In the second picture, his hair is long, frizzy, and unkempt. A beard is thick on his jaw, but four large stitched scars separate the hair on the left side, obviously recovering from some sort of accident or altercation. The lapel pin is now set as an earring in his left ear, and the look in his eyes is different. A look of defeat and hurt, So different from his first picture. Wrapped around his throat is a deep purple metal collar inscribed with red runes.

  “Name, Milo Quinn. Age, twenty-eight. Race, Mixed Therianthrope. Status: Collared. Case in review.” Caius starts to read aloud. Elias glances at him briefly with a small look of shock on his face.

  “Wait, Quinn? I can’t believe they actually Collared a Quinn. He must have pissed off someone important.”

  “Is the Quinn family well known or something?”

  “That's an understatement. The Quinns operate one of the larger Pursuit Agent Companies. They call themselves Gravehound, and date back near the time of the Incursion. They operated when we called them bounty hunters and they have at least a small branch in every city. They only hire therianthropes, and generally integrate them into the family via marriages. Noctwyn holds one of their oldest branches. The fact that a Quinn is Collared is wild.”

  “That Vexely woman threatened me with that, what exactly does it mean to be Collared.”

  “What a bitch.” Elias scoffed. “A victim of a serious crime and she wants to Collar you. The BPER produces a specific magic item that works sort of like the manacles we had you in, except on a larger scale. They suppress any and all magic, taking away intrinsic abilities and learned ones alike. It fully cuts people off from their mana pools, and non-humans from their bloodlines.”

  “That seems intense!” Caius exclaims. “Doesn’t like, all of your society run off of magic?!”

  “I don’t know how crimes are punished in your world, but generally we believe in some form of rehabilitation. Most non-violent Accord violations are Collared for a period of time, and the low-risk violent offenders are Collared for extended periods. We have case workers that they report to, very similar to our situation, but they generally only check in every few months. They are the ones who decide when and if people are de-Collared. They are waayyy too busy to deal with you. They are probably one of the few departments more overworked than mine. Most repeat offenders are sentenced to mana crystal mining, along with the murderers and high level Accord Violators.”

  “Do you guys ever use execution as a punishment?” Elias got real quiet after this. It took him a few minutes to respond, staring straight out the windshield.

  “Occasionally. When the top brass wants to make some sort of statement. Usually serial killers, or those that practice some dark, twisted magics.

  The conversation died down after that. Caius wanted to ask about what sorts of magic were considered dark and twisted, but there was a weird energy about Elias. He was obviously lost in some memory, and not a pleasant one. Caius looked back to Milo Quinn’s file.

  He had his Basic Casting License, his Intermediate Casting License, his Conditional Transformation License that apparently allowed him to use his shifting abilities for non-violent work. He had been in the process of getting his Warform Permit which would have allowed him to use his shifting in jobs that require more aggressive work like bodyguarding and Pursuit Agent. But before he had his final interview for the Permit, he had been involved in some sort of altercation in which he had shifted. The fight had sent him to the hospital. The details of the fight were redacted, so this was all he was going to get. All of that work to get those licenses, and he couldn't even use any of them anymore.

  “Aaaalright, this is the spot.” Elias’s voice brought him out of his contemplation. Looking out the window, they were deep in one of the more densely packed areas of the city. It was early in the morning, strips of color just poking through the edges of buildings.They idled in what was basically a large alley, giant buildings flanking them on either side. They didn’t look too bad, more like old hotel buildings that had been there for a very long time. A few metal doors lined the alley, leading to service areas or storage. Following the edge of the building all the way up, the architecture had shifted style slightly over time. The most modern looking part of the building was actually out front, which was a convenience store of some sort that they passed as they turned the corner. Elias led him a door or two down to where uniform windows rose up about twenty floors. Above the entryway was a metal sign that read “Hearthstone Flats” that hung at a slight angle.

  The lobby was sort of homey, with soft colors and well worn chairs sitting in the corners of the room. An artistic but obviously old lighting fixture hung from the ceiling, giving off an orange glow. But none of this is what drew Caius' eye. Behind a massive wooden desk, sat an equally massive person. Easily eight feet tall, skin that was grayish-green, and big fuck–off tusks that jutted from either side of his mouth. He stood as the two entered the building, showing off a slightly pudgy body that definitely hid about two hundred pounds of muscle. He looked like he had played defensive line for thirty years before competing in ‘how much beer can I drink’ competitions for another thirty.

  Caius froze in the doorway still not quite used to the different races yet, and definitely not ones that were as physically intimidating as this specimen. Elias nudged him forward and whispered in his ear. “He's part troll and gargoyle I think. Definitely one of the more intimidating bloodlines out there. Come on.” and looped an arm around his shoulders.

  “You would be Grendel I assume? Landlord of the complex?” Elias asked as they crossed the room”

  “You assume correctly.” The voice that came from Grendel was much softer than Caius would have expected. Still deep, but it was like someone wrapped a weighted blanket around his ear drums. It was somehow comforting while also being incredibly intimidating.

  “You should have been contacted about a new placement?” It was phrased like a statement but Elias asked it like a question. Maybe he was deferring to the intimidating landlord.

  “Yes. He will be rooming with the Quinn boy. Room 508.” Grendel said each sentence with immense gravity. He bent slightly, and pulled an orange tinted metal card and what looked like a modified soul scanner from a drawer. Straightening, he gestured to Caius.

  “Come.” Caius approached, some of his prior tension leaving him. Grendel held the scanner to his forehead for a few moments. A small chime sounded and he inserted the card in the back. A second chime signaled for him to remove the card and he handed it to Caius.

  “Room 508. I am here.” He sat back down, pulling a paperback book from a different drawer and ignoring their presence. Elias and Caius stood for a few seconds, exchanged a look, and silently headed for a lift on the far wall.

  “He was…very to the point.” Caius said once the doors had closed. “Is that troll or gargoyle thing?”

  “I think that was just a Grendel thing.” Elias shot back with some humor in his voice. “He gives me the vibe of some of the older inhabitants of Noctwyn. Some citizens have been around since the Incursion itself.”

  The lift let out into a well lit hall, with runic lighting lining the tops of the walls. The floor was carpeted with a red material that felt like it was cleaned a lot more than Caius would have guessed for a place that looked the way it had from the outside.

  They stopped in front of the fourth door on the right, the last door in the hall. The door number was nice and clean, filigreed on the door in a gold script that looked like actual gold. The door was locked with a card scanner, a device that looked a good deal more modern than the rest of the complex and stood out.

  “That card should be keyed to your soul signature now and will only work for you. It is pretty common security for most places.”

  “And what stops someone from just kicking down the door?” Caius asked as he slid the card into the scanner.

  “The eight foot troll in the lobby.” said a voice from inside as the door swung inward. It opened to show the man from the file, much more clean shaven and in a better physical condition than he had been in the second picture. His hair was tied back in a bun, and he wore a black tank top and loose gray pants. “Grendel messaged me and let me know you were coming up. Come on in.” he stepped back and stretched out his arm in a welcoming gesture.

  The place was cozy, a small living room separated from the kitchen by an island with bar stools. One hall led directly away from the front door, and Caius could see three doors. The living room had a thick brown couch that looked extremely comfortable with a matching chair, and a large screen sat across from it. An image stood still on it, two people mid sentence. Ah, he had been watching a show or something. A bookshelf stood in the corner, stuffed to the brim with reading material. The kitchen looked bright and well stocked, and very clean. In fact, every inch of the place was immaculate.

  “Did you know I was coming and clean up? Thank you.” Milo looked around with a little surprise.

  “Oh, no. I just like to keep my space tidy. This is nothing. I'm sure my mother would find at least twelve things I could do better.”

  “Well hey, this is better than I could have hoped for. I’m Caius.” He stretched out a hand to him. Milo took his hand in a tight grip and smiled. “Glad to have you here. I’m Milo. That room has been empty for way too long, I could use some more energy in the place.”

  “I’m Caius’ caseworker, Elias Beck.” He spoke up from a perch he had taken up by the door. Milo’s eyes went to Elias before flicking to Caius’s neck and quickly going back to Elias.

  “Good to meet you sir. BPER is always welcome here.” He seemed unable to keep his eyes from twitching back to Caius’ neck. “If I could ask…” he started.

  “Caius is not a Collared, obviously. He is sort of a special case. I won’t tell you about it if, but he is allowed to tell you if he wishes. I’m just here to make sure he gets settled in.”

  “I’m allowed to tell people?” Caius asked, surprised. “I assumed the world would implode or something if I went around blabbing.” Elias laughed at that.

  “We couldn’t really see the use in keeping it wrapped up. Vexely argued against it, but we came to the conclusion it would be harder to integrate if you couldn’t say why you need to learn how things work.”

  “Okay dude, are you Fae royalty on the run or something?” Milo asked, his eyebrows looking like they were trying to hide in his hairline.

  “It’s almost that exciting.” Elias said with a smirk. “Caius, I gotta run, I have to see a few people before lunch. I’ll see you in a week for our first check in and then we can move to bi-weekly after that. Mr. Quinn, please help our friend here settle in. Good day boys.” He stood, clapped Caius on the shoulder.

  Once Elias had made his exit, Milo turned and walked straight past Caius into the kitchen and started to pull things out.

  “Would you like to know what my situation is?” Caius asked cautiously, setting his bag down on the couch. A laugh rang from his roommate and he spun toward Caius with a spatula in hand.

  “You’re damn right I do! I just need some food and something hot to drink before we get into this. Want some?” Caius pat his stomach in thought.

  “I’ve never had hot food before, so sure.” and sat at one of the bar stools.

  “WHAT?!”