Arthur stirred in his bed as he woke; discomforted by odd smells hitting his nose. He startled as his eyes focused and his tiredness was replaced by a surge of adrenaline. He realized he wasn’t in his apartment where he had gone to bed last night. He could only describe the room around him as the interior of an old shed, but adorned with pelts of various wild animals. There was no lighting in the room, and only the dim light of early morning passed through the gaps of a window that had a thin hide stretched over it.

Arthur had already scrambled out of the bed. The anxiety of the situation made him hold his breath reflexively. He heard stirring from the bed he had just gotten up from; and his heart sank. He Looked over at the person that was still wrapped up in a thin blanket; in a bed that looked like it was just a frame with cloth and animal furs stacked into a lumpy mattress. Arthur had no idea where or why he was here and he had woken up in someone else’s bed; without even a hangover as a clue. He hit the door without a second thought and sent it flying open, and he started running

Only a few yards away from the door he had slowed to a stand. Arthur stared at his surroundings. He barely even registered the small medieval-style village he was standing in, surrounded by people clothed in odd ways who looked in confusion at Arthur. He was looking over the vibrant land around him, thick forest could be seen between the gaps in the ramshackle housing that comprised the tiny town he was in. The golden light of the sun shining through the canopy of trees seemed to form a wall of wilderness to one side of the village. Arthur turned around and looked out over the massive clearing that stretched beyond the village.

“I’m dreaming.” was all that fell out of his mouth as he witnessed a literal shining city on the hill. In the middle of the sea of grasslands he could see a beautiful castle that had architecture close to that of a cathedral, the color of the stone was slightly tan and reflected the morning light in a warm and appealing way. All around the walls of the immense structure, the city stood, though he couldn’t see any details from the distance he was at. All he could see was the golden fields of wheat that ringed the city and the specks of color made by stained glass windows of the palace that stood tall over the lands around it.

Arthur was brought back to himself as someone grabbed him by the wrist. He whipped his head around and saw the face of a tall man looking down at him with concern. He wore dingy clothes made from coarse cloth. He had pale skin and his hair was dark brown and short. The man recoiled a bit when he saw the expression on Arthur's face. “Are you mad at me? You got up and almost busted the door on your way out!” Without thinking Arthur snapped back “I don’t fucking know you!” his whole body tensing up as he tried pulling his hand away. The stranger tightened his grip and Arthur’s face twisted in rising anger. The man seemed to react to that expression in particular and tried to grasp his other wrist quickly, but he was too slow. Arthur growled as something came up deep from his soul. Something that wouldn’t allow him to feel trapped or threatened by this man.

Rage Activated

Arthur twisted at his hip and slammed his closed fist as hard as he could into the stranger’s cheek. The result was entirely unexpected to him, who had always been on the weaker side. The force of the blow was felt all the way up through his shoulder like his arm was a bat that he had swung against a metal pole. The man’s grip fell away from Arthur's wrist as he crumpled onto the gravel path below them, unconscious. Arthur then looked around with a shocked expression as the random townsfolk who had stopped their morning routine to watch the scene started cheering. He noticed that a decent amount of the people looking on had armor on, with some sort of weapon on their belts. Though there was still dried filth on some of their leathers and chainmail, he could see the clean and well maintained edges on the spears and axes that some carried without a scabbard. Questions started spinning in his head. The pit in his stomach began growing.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Rage Deactivated

“Yeah, I must be dreaming.” he muttered to himself as he read the partly transparent blue text box floating in the bottom half of his vision. Before the downward spiral in his head could bloom into a full blown panic attack, a boisterous laugh echoed from down the path. Arthur turned and watched as the small crowd parted to let through a man who stood at least a full head above everyone else in sight. He was a sandy blond with a short thick beard and long hair in a tight braid on the back of his head. He looked in his late forties and was ruggedly handsome. As if a well-worn Viking worked part time as a model. He wore thick black plate armor, unlike most of the gear in sight, what he wore was clearly high quality. Though it was old and the marks of battle scarred every section, the lines of gold set into the dark metal were still visible. The only weapon he seemed to be carrying was an oddly large dagger akin to a small broadsword hanging from his waist, its polished silver-colored guard and light wooden handle contrasted against his almost gothic suit of armor.

The warrior was also trailed by a man of much smaller stature in a flowing robe that was a washed-out lavender. Arthur noticed his skin was an almost white shade of grey. his expression could only be described as annoyed boredom that only worsened when Arthur became focused on the pointed ears and silvery-white hair almost hidden by his hood. He snapped back to attention as the giant reached down and slapped Arthur on the shoulder, still chuckling he said “Hah-hah well, Atreus. What’d he do this time?”

Weirdly enough, Arthur couldn’t help but be put slightly at ease by this man that radiated authority and strength despite the deep smile lines on his face. though not nearly calm. His laugh and hearty slap broke some of the tension in his heart. He hesitated a moment, and all that came to his mind to say was. “I’m not.” he lifted his head to make eye contact with the large man who was looking back in confusion. The hooded man behind him stepped up. His accent was almost regal, and Arthur could tell that his tone was practiced, but slightly hushed. “You’re not what ?” he then lifted his hand in a smooth gesture, and another two odd blue text boxes appeared in Arthurs' vision.

You have been affected with Magic Survey

You have been affected with Detect Hostile

The large man’s smile faded fast, and he became quiet as the mage quietly said something to him. Then he put the smile right back on and said loudly so that all the others who hadn’t wandered off after the small fight would hear. “Well, I say it’s time for some breakfast!” and started back down the path, a hand still gripped on Arthur's shoulder. The mage followed him like a shadow now, obscuring the fact that he was being manhandled from the villagers. A few were trying to wake up the man that was still on the ground, he slowly formed a black eye, and someone wiped up the small amount of blood off his face. Arthur didn’t really bother to struggle, a big part of him was still trying to process everything that had changed. He did get increasingly concerned as they brought him closer to the edge of the village, hoping what he prayed was an extremely vivid dream wouldn’t end in a magic-themed execution a few dozen yards into a forest.

Instead of some sort of holding area, they took him to a particularly squat building at the very end of the gravel path that stopped as it reached the end of town. Arthur noticed that the woodwork on the building was well maintained, and a wide chimney made from pale bricks stuck out of one corner of it. But Arthur would have to squat just a bit to enter the door, which confused him. “What is your name?” The large man said with an eerie flatness to his voice. He slowly removed his hand from his shoulder. Allowing the smaller man to face him, Arthur picked up on the serious tone he was trying to convey. “Arthur Tyson.” and met his eyes. He hesitated and slowly raised his hand to shake his. The mage visibly twitched and locked his eyes onto Arthur’s hand; he also flinched. Arthur guessed that if he had moved his fingers in a weird way the mage would have assumed he was trying to cast a spell and promptly disintegrate Arthur. The fact that he had no real idea what magic could do terrified him. He was snapped out of the thought that it couldn't possibly exist in the first place when the Warrior grasped his outstretched hand and shook it once. He could have gripped hard enough with his armored hand to break Arthur’s own if he wanted to. “My name’s Euld. Just Euld.” and graced Arthur with a smile once again “Now, do you have any idea why you now inhabit the body of one of my warriors?”