Chapter One- The First Drop

“Damian, wake up!”

 

That, paired with a sharp blow to the side of my head, made my eyes snap open, and had me up and on my feet in seconds. Three days had passed since our unorthodox arrival, and the portal had closed. It’s a bit of a win-lose situation there- we were alive, and had been spared a second blast, but we didn’t know anything of our home.

 

The only thing we could do was accept we were stranded here. We’d set up in a camp a few miles outside of town- the one elf-lady had been the only one friendly enough to talk to us. Her dialect was strange, but Mike deciphered it for us, and translated. She’d directed us to a place to wait- outnumbered, in a strange new world; we’d had no choice but to obey.

Well, no good choice.

 

The sun streaming in through the opening of the cave we were holed up in, I let my eyes adjust for a moment before looking around. Three days and no word yet. I wondered why we were here for a brief moment, then sat back down on a rather large rock. Paige was reading a book, something about "Fyre Magicks". I dunno, maybe somebody had dropped it off. But she seemed enthralled in it- then again, I’d never seen her reading before.

 

Her hand was out beside her, propped up with a fist in the air, and I watched for a moment, pondering if I was really seeing sparks come from-

 

“There’s three of ‘em coming!”

 

No time to wonder. I just checked if my knife was in the sheathe I had rather crudely made, and stepped out into the sunlight. Sure enough, three people were riding towards us on… were those cats? It looked like they were riding panthers- cobalt blue panthers. There is nothing more terrifying than seeing a person riding a panther right at you.

 

As they came closer, I recognized the Elven lady from yesterday… weird. Spend three days here and you accept that there’s an elf. But yeah, she was coming at us, flanked by two guard-looking people, some sort of armor covering them, and spears in hand. I did not decide to pick a fight with this group. ‘specially because I was both outnumbered and outgeared. For those of you out there saying I should fight, they've got spears. And armor. I've only got a knife. I’m dumb, but I’m not stupid.

 

Eventually, the lady got off her panther, and started talking in rapid-fire gibberish- and somehow, Mike was able to shoot right back with it, and the two conversed for a short while before Paige ‘cleared her throat.’ Then she finally started speaking English, albeit with a thick accent.

 

“My name is Acer Laminas.”

 

Ooookaaaaay. Awkward name, right there. I knew ‘Acer’ mean sharp, but sharp what?

 

“I am this village’s leader. You come at a bad time, otherworlders- the war is almost at the worst.” I cast Brianna a glance, but she was riveted on the lady before us. “The rift you entered through was not natural. You are not native to this realm- it’s quite obvious. But you may be able to assist us.

 

“So far, we have stayed out of the war, but it threatens us. We need Proelia- Warriors in your tongue.”

 

Now, I don’t know about the others, but it sounded like this lady was trying to recruit us to an army to me. That in itself got me- the lot of us were sixteen, some of us barely even that. We were younger than most of the civilians in the town itself. And she wanted us to fight in a war?

 

“I’m in.”

 

The baffled looks I got from the rest of the group were priceless, then they faded into a grim determination. Brianna’s green eyes shone with it, and Paige started cracking her knuckles. Mike… well, he just stood there. I don’t think he’s a big fighter, but he was cool all the same. It seemed everybody was cool with it, so I spoke again. “We’ll need weapons. Something for the each of us to use, and use well. How many smiths are there?”

 

“Enough.”

 

“And metal?”

 

“We have the material you call steel, as well as something called Caedis. It’s lighter and stronger than steel, but more expensive.”

 

Her words were almost soothing as she spoke, as if she’d known this would happen. It was strange, but we had no choice but to fight so we could figure out a way home. I was unsurprised when Paige and Brianna spoke up; I was already mulling over the sword’s design.

 

Then the chatter died down, as everybody looked at me- I must’ve been asked a question. I was lucky, because she repeated herself- “So we have a deal?”

 

I looked up, brushed the long brown hair out of my eyes and nodded. Leave a war to go fight in somebody else’s. Funny how things worked in life. But this Acer fellow must’ve been satisfied, because she mounted her panther thing and spoke again- “I’ll be back at moonhigh tomorrow. Be ready.”

 

Wait, be ready for what? I almost asked, but shook my head. This wasn't the time, and she’d explain tomorrow. I hoped.

 

Instead of pursuing it, I walked over to Brianna, looking her over quickly- same long black hair, same pale skin, same green eyes. But she seemed weary. As if she’d grown several years in the matter of… three days. Still, she shone with that sheer determination, as if she’d been wanting to fight this whole time and let it show now instead of before. “I’ll need a bow.” Her voice, honey-sweet, was a sound for sore ears. I could only nod halfheartedly, before walking over to Paige.

 

She seemed more affected by this than Brianna had been. She was riled up, a stallion waiting for the gates to open. I was right about the sparks earlier- every time she flicked her fingers, little jets of fire erupted from the ends. I couldn't help but laugh with her as she shot the little bolts around, and I knew she’d be fine without anything, so long as she kept this fire stuff up.

 

All we needed now was the weapons, and we’d be set.

Reviews

[Joshua Hunter]

I really love this story. The whole concept is amazing, and I can already tell this world you created is going to be awesome! I like it also because it does not feel like I am reading just another story, it is like this character is actually sitting here with me telling me his story. I love this and really cannot wait for more! GREAT JOB!

[Christoph Poe]

What the hell? This has to be the most fascinating piece of writing I've read in a long time. My curiosity has peaked on a strange level. It's just...weird? I feel like I just read a dream, an interpretation of a dream, and it felt real.

I'm lost for words. I can't say anything is wrong or right about it. I just loved it, and I want to read more.

So, I'd guess you succeeded as a writer considering you caught my attention so abruptly. Well done.

--Christoph Poe