Prince Elim returned to consciousness in fits and starts. He heard voices, low and melodious, but couldn't understand a word of what they said. Strange lights flashed before his eyes. He was lost in a sea of light and color, with no sense or reason.
It was the smell, of all things, that brought him back to his senses. It was sharp, pungent, and overwhelming. He woke up with a start, retching and coughing.
"What the *hell* is that stench?"
The smell vanished, and he heard what he could swear he could describe as a "cackle". "Ah," a creaking old woman's voice said, "so THAT'S what it takes to wake our sleeping guest."
Elim shook his head to try to clear it as his senses came back to him. He became aware first that he was lying in a low wooden bed with a straw-stuffed mattress and a fur blanket. Without the stench from earlier, he could smell the unmistakable scent of smoke from a burning hearth. He was in a wooden room lit by sunlight streaming through a high window and by the crackling of a fire. And next to him, unsurprisingly, was an old woman.
He still wasn't sure what had happened. It was hard to tell where reality had ended and dream has begun. He still had a clear image in his head, of that red-headed woman with the giant sword, but that was impossible. He'd heard tales of clans of warrior women leaving in the wildlands, of course, but everyone knew those were just stories. Dragons and orcs and beastmen he could accept, but women who could fight? Preposterous.
"Where am I?" He demanded. "Who are you?" He looked down. "And where the hell are my clothes?!"
The old woman cackled again. "Awfully curious, aren't we? All your questions will be answered in time."
Elim glared at her. "I'd prefer if they were answered now."
The woman smiled condescendingly. "Well," she said, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. My name is Sophia, and you are in the village of the Amazon tribe."
Elim stared at the crazy old woman. "...and my clothes?"
"Were in the way. Your wounds were quite severe, you know. You're lucky to be alive."
She poked him in the chest, and he took another look down at his body. To his shock, his injuries were completely healed. There wasn't a scar in sight. His whole body was as smooth as a baby's skin.
Wait.
Slowly, it began to dawn on him that something was very, very wrong.