Mouths salivated as I walked out of the kitchen with two plates balanced in my hands. Three steaks seasoned with herbs I’d never seen before, but smelled great and tasted better, sat enticingly upon the large tray balanced in my right hand. Steamed vegetables surrounded the steaks which added greatly to the alluring aroma. My other hand held a regular sized plate full of sliced potatoes that I had also seasoned and grilled, a personal favorite of my own making. As I set the plates down upon the table, Fes’ eyes went from me, to the food, back to me, and then back to the food without a change in her expression. I sighed within my mind at her honesty. Men face sexual harassment just like women, its just socially unacceptable for us to complain about it. Not that I was going to complain. Fes was a good looking woman and I’d totally tap that.

After placing the grub before the two salivating beauties, I returned to the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine. A good dinner isn’t complete without good drinks after all. As I was returning to the table with the bottle in hand, I chuckled a little as I recalled my sister always telling me I’d only get lucky in my dreams. She was wrong of course, as being able to cook a dinner just like this has gotten me laid more than spending any amount of money at a restaurant. But if tonight proceeded smoothly, she’d be partially right in a sense, as this was a dream.

As I poured the ladies their wine Fes gave a content smile. “Its strange, I have heard the prayers of millions and even answered quite a few of those with my blessing. Yet not once have I had someone offer to do something for me in exchange.”

“What can I say? I’m a simple man. Life is all about give and take. You can’t just ask for something and not expect to have to return the favor at some point.” The two Goddesses raised their glasses of wine as a toast to my words.

“At least you don’t have to deal with what I do, sister.” Sahrai spoke as she chewed. I don’t know what disappointed me more, the knowledge that she was a food talker, or the fact that I still found her greatly attractive despite it. “My followers offer souls in exchange for power all the time! Just what exactly am I supposed to do with people’s souls?” She sighed. “Its even worse now with the coming of the Demon Lord. Cults are out in full force all hoping for me to give them a hint of power.”

“Goddess of Darkness’ worshipers do evil deeds in the name of their deity? Who’da thunk it?” my jape was swiftly rewarded with a piece of steamed broccoli colliding with my face. Sahrai’s glare was ruined by the slight smirk creeping upon her face accompanied by the sound of Fes giggling. All in all, the dinner passed amicably as we enjoyed my fine cooking. But once the food was done, it was time to get down to brass tacks.

“Alright you two. Its about time we had a little Q&A session.” I picked at the meat stuck in between my teeth with a knife as I spoke.

“Queue and ay?” Fes questioned. The two sisters looked at one another curiously.

“Question and answer.” Recognition dawned upon their faces. “At the forefront of my mind, why am I here? And why me?”

“As King Lebbik previously said, signs are pointing to the reemergence of the Demon Lord in our world. You were summoned to defeat them, saving countless lives in the process. As for why you were summoned.” Fes shrugged.

“Ah it must be fate then.” I rolled my eyes. “Alright then. Next on my mind, can I go home?”

“No.” They both stated simply.

“Why the hell not?” I slammed my hands on the table, more out of shock than anger.

“Its…” Fes began.

“We cannot do so at this moment.” Sahrai crossed her arms and regarded me with a self-assured confidence that only served to make me a bit ticked off. Women, cant live with em, cant live without em.

“Again, why the hell not?” I gritted my teeth.

“What my sister means to say is that you were summoned to our world to fulfill a purpose.” Fes stated as she motioned for both of us to settle down. “You must defeat the Demon Lord before we can send you back home.”

“I never even agreed to do such a thing.”

“Technically you did.” Sahrai smugly stated. “When you spoke with King Lebbik you ‘deigned to help, no matter the trial’. At that moment, you were bonded to this world through your promise. Only once you defeat the Demon Lord will your purpose be fulfilled. If you didn’t make the promise, then you could have been returned without issue.”

I scratched the back of my head and leaned back in my chair. “Got me with the small print there then. Fucking lawyers.” A weak laugh escaped my lips as I recalled the whole meeting with the royal family when I was first summoned. “So…I’m stuck here?” Nods were the reward to my question. I sighed and looked to the bottle of wine. “Well…fuck.” I uttered as I sat up, grabbed the half full bottle, and began to chug the rest of the contents. “I think I’m gonna need a few more of these. So how long until this ‘Demon Lord’ manifests so I can off them and be done with this?”

“We do not know. But based on our observations of the flow of magical energy, it will happen sometime within the year.” Fes answered with an apologetic bow of her head.

“A year huh.” I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. ”And how long are the years in this world?”

“Four hundred and thirty days.” Sahrai stated.

“Hmmm. Thats a bit over a year in my world.” I took a swig from the bottle of wine. What would happen to my shit if I was gone for a year?

Goodbye car, that thing would get towed and sold within a month. The bank would totally sell all my shit and then resell my house. Bastards. My friends would still be around though, so I could crash at one of their places as I got my rear in gear. They’d just badger me nonstop about disappearing for over a year. The girl who I had thought about going steady with was totally going to bounce. I mean, I wasn’t actually going to go steady with her, but the thought was there. That had to mean something at least, right? Ah well, I wouldn’t blame her for looking for a new guy. I’d do the same if she disappeared for over a year. The only good thing about this arrangement was that I didn’t have to show up for work for a year. Chester can blow me for all I care.

The worst would be my parents though. I expected my face to be on every milk carton in the country within a week of my disappearance. My mother would have a heart attack if I missed one of her calls. I keep telling her that I’m a grown man and don’t need to be checked up on so often when she calls every other day, but she just says ill forever stay her ‘snuggy-boo’.

“Wellp, I’m off to get more wine. You ladies don’t mind me raiding your reserve right?” They shook their heads as I stood up. “Alright, back in a bit.”

After I had brought out another two bottles of wine the three of us sat in a comfortable silence as we slowly drained the bottles. Each of us not wanting to interrupt the other’s thoughts. Despite drinking so much though, none of us were acting any different. I even still had all my clothes on and didn’t even feel the slightest bit tipsy! Shame. Alcohol isn’t fun if theres no danger of doing something you’ll regret later. Kinda like driving those three-wheeled motorcycles, those things scream ‘midlife crisis wuss’. You may as well just buy a new car instead. I’d certainly respect those people more if they did, instead of some damn motorcycle with a glorified training wheel.

As I took a deep drink from my glass of wine I closed my eyes and began to recount my situation. Always helps to keep your thoughts organized after all. So here I was, stuck in a strange land in a kingdom that wanted me dead and forced to pit myself against a physical embodiment of destruction. And from what the two Goddesses have said, this isn’t the first time a Demon Lord has invaded.

“Hey,” I began, breaking the silence between us. “The other times this Demon Lord has been reborn into this world, you guys summoned heroes back then as well, right?”

“Yes indeed.” Fes responded. “Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering what they did their first few days in this world.”

“Well, normally by now they’d be trained by whatever kingdom summoned them if they lacked combat experience.” Sahrai stated and took a drink. “Though with my intervention in your summoning, that avenue has been taken from you. My apologies.” I was surprised that she sounded so regretful.

“Eh, I’ll manage. Cant say that my summoning hasn’t been eventful eh?” I motioned towards my dress, causing Fes to crack a smile and Sahrai to laugh. “Though I’ve never done any sword fighting before. But I’m plenty confident in my fists. Plus I’ve got Dark Magic.” I took another quick sip of wine. “Speaking of which, mind giving me the specifics on that?”

“Of course. When I tried to explain it to you last time we were interrupted. But first I must clarify something. Dark Magic is a general statement to describe magic that many in the world consider evil. What I have blessed you with is the ability to use Death Magic. This class of magic is but one part of the whole ‘Dark Magic’ spectrum. With Death Magic, you will be able to make things decompose at a rapid rate with spells such as Decay. But you will also be able to conjure the dead to assist you in battle. However-”

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I stopped listening and had to put my glass on the table. My hands, no, my whole body was shaking! “You m-mean I’m a necromancer?” Fes and Sahrai glanced at one another in surprise at my outburst, but I paid them no mind. My mind was filled with images of the world in flames. Legions of skeletons marched at my command, bringing ruin to my enemies and all who have wronged me. This world was starting to look alright as I imagined my unstoppable horde.

“Yes, that is one name for-” Sahrai began but was interrupted when I jumped out of my seat.

“Oh fuck yes! I am so fucking ready! Oh man, that Demon Lord is so fucked! Don’t worry ladies, I got this! Skeleton spam for days baby, woo!” I ran around the table, pulled Fes to her feet, and began to dance. It didn’t matter that she stood still and stared at me with a strange look. My spirit was soaring sky high.

“Harold.” A faint voice called out to me but I was too busy busting a groove to care.

“Harold!” Sahrai shouted, breaking me from my reverie.

“What?”

“You weren’t listening.” She huffed. “I was saying that the Blessing of Light from my sister may affect your Death Magic. Decay seems to work the same, but that is only one spell. For summoning, normally you’d be able to conjure as many of the dead as your magical power allowed. But with my sister’s blessing, I’m unsure if you’ll even be able to summon the dead at all. Light and Darkness are opposites after all.”

A cold chill crept its way down my spine as her words set in my mind. In an instant, my world was shattered. I fell to my knees. No legions of undead? No skeleton spam? What was the point of being a necromancer if you couldn’t conjure up a metric fuck-ton of minions?! What was I going to do, rely on spells like Decay my whole time in this world? That wasn’t a Necromancer, that was some sort of Dark Wizard, which was infinitely worse and infinitely more boring. With hopeful eyes, I stared up at Fes.

“Please say it isn’t true.” She shook her head,

“Sorry.”

“Can you take your Blessing back?” I begged. But again, she shook her head.

“The Blessings a Summoned Hero receives are permanent.”

Men never cry. Sadness is not an emotion that we experience at any point in our lives. Soul-crushing disappointment though, thats definitely an emotion that I was feeling at this very moment.

“Oh cease your whining. It ill suits you.” Sahrai scoffed at my fragile emotional state. Doesn’t she know that words like that can cause the younger generation, such as myself, to require months of therapy later on in their lives? “And get up, we can test if you’re unable to conjure the dead.” In an instant I was upon my feet and ready for action.

“Alright, lay it on me. How do we do this?”

The two Goddesses stood at my question. Fes smiled and snapped her fingers. In an instant, the three of us stood within a graveyard full of marble mausoleums. Sunlight shone upon each building, making them appear far more radiant than they first appeared. Birds sang in blooming trees that grew around the grounds. Healthy green grass littered with flowers grew in-between marble pathways that led all around the graveyard to each crypt. Paragraphs of golden words were printed onto the side of each building, detailing the accomplishments of the person entombed within.

“Welcome Harold, to the resting place of this world’s greatest champions.” Fes beamed proudly.

“Eh, I’ve seen better.” Sahrai snorted in amusement and Fes looked as if she had deflated a bit. “Just kidding, this place looks amazing Fes. When I die, you can make one of these for me, alright?” The sparkle in her eyes returned as she nodded furiously.

“Leave it to me!”

“So if is where the champions go, what about the villains?”

Sahrai snapped her fingers and a small portal appeared next to me. The smell of brimstone flooded my nostrils and the sounds of horrible suffering clogged my ears as I peeked in. Hundreds of people wailed within the flames of hellfire before my very eyes. I had no idea who these people were, nor what they did, but I felt the need to put in my two cents by hocking a loogie their way. I watched the mass of phlegm sail through the scorching air and fall down onto some poor bastard’s forehead.

“Direct hit!” I whooped as I withdrew my head from the portal. “Alright, my curiosity is sated.” In an instant, it winked away. With it went the smell of brimstone and the cries of the damned. It felt good knowing that bad people were punished in this world for their misdeeds. “Now then,” I cracked my knuckles. “Lets get to conjuring!”

The three of us entered a nearby mausoleum that was very spacious on the inside. Further in the building stood a marble statue of a man in heavy armor wielding a massive sword with both hands standing as if he were about to swing at some unseen enemy. Sitting at the base of the statue was a coffin made of polished red wood that reflected the inside of the building.

“Arngrim Canathast, known to many as Bylhath’s Bane.” Fes explained with a smile. “He was a farmer when he was a boy. But an earthquake had awoken a slumbering dragon in the mountains near where he lived. In a rage, the dragon burned his village to the ground. Arngrim barely survived such an onslaught, and from that point on devoted his life to slaying the great beast Bylhath in my name. His heroic spirit inspires the people to this very day.”

“Sounds like a total badass.” I glanced at Sahrai who looked indifferent to everything around her. “Whats the matter Sahrai, no champions that do great deeds in your name?” Her responding scoff said it all. “Hey don’t be like that, I’ll be your champion any day. In fact, I’ll dedicate my taking down the Demon Lord in your name.” I winked at her. She may have rolled her eyes, but when she stood a little taller I knew she was pleased. Women are like cats, you have to scratch them just the right amount in just the right place. If you don’t, they’ll bite you.

We stood before the coffin in a moment of respectful silence. I may be an ass at times, but even I knew when to behave. Fes gave a grateful nod my way and together we gently took the lid from the coffin and set it to the side. What remained of the once great man was nothing more than a skeleton and his massive great sword clenched in his hands pointing down towards his feet.

“Now then, for our test you’ll animate the remains of Arngrim here. Contrary to what the fools in the Church of Light believe, animation of the dead such as reanimated skeletons and corpses, in no way disturbs the souls of the deceased. You are merely controlling their remains as your puppets. In fact, Arngrim’s spirit has already reborn in the world. Currently, hes enjoying a peaceful life in a fishing village and destined to marry his childhood sweetheart.” Her eyes stared off into the distance in some wistful manner. She then took a deep breath and continued. “As for summoning wraiths and other malevolent spirits…a sacrifice is required to summon those to the mortal realm.”

“Sounds like you should quit and find a new job. Goddess of Darkness totally doesn’t suit you.”

“Can one quit being a Goddess?” Sahrai gave a sorrowful smile.

“Of course, just look at Earth, numerous Pantheons of Gods and Goddesses disappear all the time. Granted, ours probably never existed in the first place, but still. Point stands.”

“Regardless, let us test your ability to manipulate the dead. First you must hold out your hand towards your target like so.” Sahrai half-heartedly held out her arm towards the skeleton. “Then you simply say the phrase ‘Raise and Serve’.” A dark cloud of energy flew from Sahrais outstretched hand and engulfed the skeleton formerly known as Arngrim. A few moments passed until the energy subsided and the skeleton sat up in its coffin. “To break your hold on your target simply say ‘I release you’.” And just like that, the skeleton went back into it’s resting position.

“Alright, I got ya.” I rolled up my dress’ sleeve on my right arm and held it out towards the skeleton.

“Raise and Serve!” A resounding ‘boom’ shook the mausoleum as a torrent of golden and black energy shot out of my arm and into the skeleton. “Holy fu-” Was all I managed to cry out before the energy pouring into the skeleton exploded, sending me flying out of the crypt.

—————————————————————————————

Far to the east in the Halwyn Kingdom lay the town of Blue-Gill Bay, named so for the fish that are caught in plenty in the clear ocean waters. At the edge of one of the docks sat a young man with his fishing line cast out, eager to bring home the day’s catch that would be served for dinner.

“Rolt!” he heard the voice of his childhood friend call out behind him. She must have finished her chores early. He reeled in his line and set aside his fishing pole before standing up and turning around and bracing himself.

“Maybelle!” He uttered out just in time to catch his friend crashing into him. A fit of giggles filled the air as he caught her. He loved her, well and truly with all his heart. But he never knew just when he should confess that feeling to her. Her blue eyes matched that of the ocean he loved so much, that he could stare into them for hours.

“You caught me!” She giggled as she untangled herself from his arms.

“I always do.” Rolt grinned as he stared at the girl that was constantly on his mind. She wore the white sundress that he had purchased in secret. He had to hide it well, as Maybelle knew all of his most precious hiding spots. But his effort was not in vain, for when he had given it to her on her birthday her surprised face was worth far more than the money he had spent.

“Rolt…I…I have something to tell you…” She mumbled and her face turned bright red. Hammering like the drums during festival, his heart beat at a rapid pace and he felt a strange pulling sensation. His mouth felt dry like the deserts that the trades told tales of. In embarrassment, Maybelle turned around and began to speak once more.

“W-we’ve been friends our whole lives…” Maybelle began to speak earnestly, but Rolt could barely hear. He clutched at his chest where his heart was beating painfully. But one moment the beating was painful, and the next it stopped completely. All he could do was stare at the girl he loved so much for one last moment before his legs gave out from under him.

“What I mean to say is…” Maybelle turned around with eyes clenched tight. “I love you Rolt! I want to be with you forever!” She opened her eyes just in time to see her friend collapse onto the dock with his hand clenched at his chest. “Rolt! Rolt! Are you okay? Rolt!” She shook his body, but no response came from the boy she loved.

“Noooooooooooooooo!” She wailed out into the sky. An unseen purple mist coalesced around the poor girl that wept raggedly.