League Of Legends/Arcane: Earthbound

The days passed as Adam, Ashe, and Tryndamere continued their journey toward their home. The snow had started to lighten, and the sun broke through the clouds more frequently, making the journey feel less like an endless slog through the harsh wilderness and more like a trek through a winter wonderland. Adam had begun to get used to the colder weather and the routines of life in the Freljord. He'd even grown accustomed to the food, though he still wasn't a fan of the heavy stews and dried meats they often ate.

One morning, as they set out from their campsite, Tryndamere had a more serious look in his eyes. "Today, we'll teach you the basics of survival in the Freljord," he said, his voice gruff and serious. "You need to know how to find food, how to start a fire, and how to shelter yourself from the cold if you get separated from us."

Adam, who had spent much of the journey trying to keep up with their pace, gave a small nod. He wasn't sure how much he would be able to contribute, but he was eager to learn. He wasn't a survivalist by any stretch of the imagination—back on Earth, he wasn't even sure he could survive a weekend in the woods without his smartphone—but in this world, he had no choice but to adapt.

As they traveled, Tryndamere showed Adam how to identify animal tracks in the snow. "Look here," he said, kneeling down and pointing to a set of deep, wide prints in the fresh snow. "This is a snow boar. You'll know it's a snow boar by its broad hooves and the way it walks. The boar is aggressive and fast. You don't want to get too close if it's near you."

Adam leaned down to inspect the tracks. They were large, almost like hooves but more spread out, with jagged edges as if the boar had been running through the snow in a hurry. Adam nodded, trying to commit the information to memory.

"Alright," Tryndamere said as he stood up. "Let's move on. Keep your eyes open."

They spent the next few hours navigating through the dense trees, the snow lightly falling around them. Adam found himself walking in a kind of comfortable silence with the two of them. Ashe, with her keen senses, took the lead as Tryndamere kept an eye on Adam, making sure he wasn't falling behind. After a while, they reached a small clearing. Tryndamere motioned for Adam to kneel down beside him.

"Time to learn how to make a fire," Tryndamere said. "It's essential to staying warm in the Freljord. We'll need to gather wood and dry grass."

Adam watched closely as Tryndamere demonstrated how to arrange the wood in a small teepee shape, creating a little pile. Ashe gathered twigs and small branches around them, adding them to the base. Adam felt awkward, unsure of how to contribute, but he was determined to learn. He tried to mimic their movements, gathering bits of dry brush and adding them to the pile, but nothing seemed to work.

"You have to make sure the base is dry, Adam," Ashe said gently, seeing his frustration. "If the wood is damp, the fire won't start."

"Yeah, I know," Adam muttered, brushing his hands together and making sure to pick the driest pieces he could find. After a few attempts, Tryndamere handed him a flint and steel.

"Here," he said gruffly. "Strike it like this. Use the flint against the steel, and a spark will catch the dry brush."

Adam did as instructed, and after a few failed tries, he saw a small spark catch on the dry kindling. His eyes widened as the small flame grew, the warmth spreading outward. He felt a surge of accomplishment.

"Good," Tryndamere grunted. "But it's not just about lighting a fire. You need to know what you're burning. If you burn the wrong thing, it'll poison the air, and you'll be worse off than before."

Adam's brow furrowed. "Poison?"

"Aye," Tryndamere said, glancing around at the trees and underbrush. "Some plants here in the Freljord are deadly. You need to learn to spot them. Like this one." He pointed to a vine creeping up a nearby tree. "This one is called 'bloodthorn.' It's toxic if you burn it, and even worse if you eat it."

Adam took a mental note. The last thing he needed was to poison himself in a world where survival wasn't guaranteed.

The day continued with lessons on how to build shelter. Tryndamere taught Adam how to weave branches together to create a makeshift roof, while Ashe explained how to use animal skins to line the inside, keeping the cold out. Adam was slowly starting to get the hang of things, though he was still clumsy compared to the two of them.

Later that evening, they set up camp in a quiet spot by a small stream. As the fire crackled, Adam sat back, his fingers tracing the outline of his GameBoy.

"Hey, I know you're probably getting sick of it, but…" Adam hesitated. "Can I ask you two something?"

Ashe raised an eyebrow, and Tryndamere didn't even look up from the fire. "Ask away, boy."

"About your home," Adam said, the question rolling off his tongue before he could stop it. "What's it like? What's it like for you two there?"

Ashe was quiet for a moment, looking into the fire. "It's a place of strength," she said softly. "The Freljord isn't easy. The people here, they're tough. They have to be. We are a land of warriors, and we survive by the strength of our blood."

Adam nodded, his curiosity piqued. "What about the people? How do they live?"

Tryndamere's deep voice cut in. "The clans are separate, boy. Each has its own culture, its own customs. But they all respect strength. Power is everything in the Freljord. You either become stronger, or you die trying."

Adam shivered, not from the cold but from the raw honesty in Tryndamere's words. The Freljord was a brutal place, and it made Adam realize how sheltered he had been back home.

As they continued on their journey, Adam couldn't shake the feeling that this world was both beautiful and terrifying. As they traveled through the land of the Freljord, the air began to warm, the snow began to thin out, and Adam found himself growing closer to his companions. Every day, they shared more about their world, and Adam began to understand the harshness of it. The Freljord was a place that bred warriors.

One day, as they walked through a dense thicket of trees, Ashe suddenly stopped, her hand shooting out to grab Adam's arm. "Quiet," she whispered, and Adam immediately knew something was wrong.

They ducked down low, moving behind a thick patch of trees. Ashe quickly threw a small bag of dust over them, and the strange smell hit Adam's nose immediately. It was awful, sharp, and pungent, like rotting meat and sour milk.

"What's going on?" Adam whispered, wrinkling his nose.

"Stay down," Tryndamere muttered. "There's a caravan ahead. We don't want to be seen."

Ashe's gaze was fixed ahead. Adam's heart was racing as he crouched low, trying to keep as quiet as possible. In the distance, he could hear the sound of clanging metal and the rumble of cart wheels. And then, through the trees, he saw them—large figures lumbering toward them.

Adam's eyes widened as he saw what they were—large, bipedal bears. They were covered in heavy armor, and some of them were carrying axes and swords. Their faces were fierce and intelligent, and they looked like they were on a mission.

"What the hell?" Adam muttered under his breath.

Ashe and Tryndamere glanced at him, noticing his shock. Tryndamere's deep voice rumbled, "You've never seen anything like that before, have you?"

Adam shook his head. "I mean… I've heard of bears, but they're just animals back home. They don't walk on two legs. They don't wear armor or carry weapons. What the hell is this place?"

Ashe's eyes softened with understanding. "Where you're from… there are no other species?"

Adam shook his head. "No. Just humans. Just us. No magic, no creatures like this. Just humans. And we don't have the ability to do what you can." He motioned to the snowy landscape. "We don't have the ability to make fire with our hands or… whatever it is you do. Everything's different there."

Tryndamere gave a grunt, looking back at the caravan as it passed by. "Humans rule your world?"

"Yeah," Adam said, swallowing the lump in his throat. "At least, they try to. But the real problem is... we're not really incontrol."

"Control?" Ashe asked.

Adam nodded. "Where I'm from, countries are always in conflict. We have machines that can destroy entire cities in seconds. Nukes," he added.

The words seemed to hang in the air, and Tryndamere and Ashe both frowned in confusion. Adam took a deep breath and tried to explain. "Nukes are bombs that can destroy cities. They're so powerful, they can wipe out thousands of people. Entire cities. And they're in every country. So no one uses them. They just build more and more bombs, and everyone's scared to use them because everyone would lose."

Ashe and Tryndamere were silent for a long time as they processed this information. Adam felt his chest tighten with the weight of his words. "That's why we don't use them. Because if we did, the whole world would be destroyed."

After a few moments, Ashe spoke softly. "Your world sounds… dangerous."

Adam nodded. "Yeah. But it's also… paradise in some ways. We have enough food to go around, plenty of places to live, industries, machines that make life easier. But it's still broken. The poor still suffer, and wars still happen."

"And magic?" Tryndamere asked.

"None of that," Adam said with a laugh. "It's all just science and machines. We don't have magic. No wizards, no sorcery, nothing like here."

Ashe gave him a thoughtful look. "But what about the way people treat each other? You mentioned suffering, war... but what about how people treat each other?"

Adam paused. He knew what was coming. "There's a lot of racism," he said quietly. "It's hard for people to get along because we're all different. Different colors, different cultures, different backgrounds. And some people think they're better than others, and they treat others like crap."

"Why?" Ashe asked, genuinely puzzled.

Adam sighed deeply. "It's mostly because of greed and narcissism. People think they're better than others, so they treat them as less than human. That's what leads to things like slavery. We've had slavery in my world."

At that, Tryndamere grunted. "We've had slavery in the Freljord, but it's not practiced much."

"Yeah," Adam muttered. "But it's a part of history. The ugly part."

Ashe looked at Adam with sadness in her eyes. "You've been through a lot."

Adam shrugged. "I guess so. But that's just how it is where I'm from."

For a long while, the three of them were silent, each lost in their own thoughts. The caravan of bear-like people passed, and soon, they were alone again in the wilds of the Freljord. The weight of the conversation hung in the air as they walked on, each of them trying to understand the world of the other.