It is oftentimes on unremarkable days that remarkable events occur. It was sunny the day that Drake Smith disappeared. He was 14 years old, and relatively average in most respects. Bright for his age and an avid reader, but no cancer-curing prodigy or savant in some area. He was well-liked by his peers and teachers, often regarded as a good student with a bright future ahead of him. When he vanished into thin air, there was a county-wide manhunt searching for him. They looked for Drake Smith everywhere they could think of: the local creek, empty warehouses, his relatives, butcher shops, etc. The problem was, of course, that Drake Smith was in none of those locations. Drake Smith was… elsewhere.
Drake, an uncommon name, was paired with Smith, a relatively common name, by his parents to offset the mundaneness of his surname. They had hoped that by going with Drake over John, he would be remembered better by those that encountered him. It is unknown whether this would have helped him later in life, as he lost his surname rather early in his long life.
This story, of course, follows Drake after he has disappeared– a relatively more interesting story than his life beforehand. This story, in fact, follows Drake long after he disappeared. After he attended the University of Valoria and mastered the arcane arts, after he mended the Dragonheart Forge or killed the lich Thryssa, and after he slayed the Pit Fiend Zaltharax.
Before the more pertinent parts of the story begin, it is important to understand the history of the Neverborn God– to understand why it is that he came to exist in Aloria: the fluke that broke the world.
Kiriel Arkwright, last surviving member of the Arkwright house, stood amongst seven mages– each one situated on one of seven circles lined with seven runes each. These seven mages chanted seven words in repeat, glowing symbols appearing in the air between them all as they focused to channel mana into a spell of epic proportions. As they chanted, their will echoed into the world– they called for a hero, a man of great potential and knowledge to lead their house to greatness. They called for someone who would go on to do great things with the Arkwright name attached to his own.
Unbeknownst to them, they called for Drake Smith.
As the intensity in the air reached a crescendo, cracks appeared in the world in the center of their formation. From a universe away, they kidnapped Drake Smith. He vanished on his way home from the bus stop, unseen and unheard by anyone in his exodus. As he stepped from one concrete square of the sidewalk to another, he stumbled instead into a dank stone room with eight unfamiliar people dressed in odd clothing surrounding him. He was, understandably, a tad confused. Luckily, Kiriel Arkwright was there to greet him.
“Greetings, Summoned Hero! I, Kiriel Arkwright, welcome you into my House with open arms. While I am sure this might be overwhelming, I will endeavor to make your transition into this world as easy as possible!” He boomed in a cheerful voice.
These words were not as comforting or enlightening to Drake Smith as Kiriel had hoped. Then again, Drake Smith’s appearance was not as comforting or inspiring as Kiriel had hoped, either. Instead of a powerful adopted son for the sterile Lord, he had a relatively average earthling to raise.
After private tutors and lessons failed to find any sort of genius in the young adopted Arkwright, Lord Arkwright did what many parents on both worlds do when confronted with a directionless child who hasn’t quite shown off any genius– he sent him to college.
The University of Valoria was the most prestigious academic institution in Aloria. Students from all six continents studied there each year, sorted into classes and ranks based on their affinity for magic or other skills and tutored in both generalized and specialized classes. When Drake Arkwright, the mysterious new son of a previously-considered-sterile Lord, showed up with a strong affinity for spatial magic, House Arkwright regained some air of potential. Vultures paused in their circling, debtors refrained from calling in their debts, and other nobles paused in their schemes to take Arkwright holdings (this latter effect was really more of a slow-down than a pause, truthfully).
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
When Drake Arkwright proved himself a dutiful student with a knack for magic and an enthusiasm that few could match, people began talking. It was uncanny the way the boy devoured anything and everything related to magic. He studied it, practiced it, and dreamt about it as though he hadn’t grown up with it– an absurd notion, as everyone knew.
Drake Arkwright graduated as a Rank Four Spatiomancer with a Primary in Unusual Magics and Secondaries in Zoology, Enchanting, Runic Languages, and Contract Magic– a rather impressive spread of certifications.
With these qualifications, House Arkwright ascended rapidly. Lord Kiriel, who had been a rather good man to Drake despite the circumstances of their introduction, was mollified by Drake’s success. It was not the industrial revolution he had imagined– Drake had not arrived with knowledge of magic or technology beyond their world, unfortunately– but with an accomplished mage wearing the House’s name as his own, others felt that House Arkwright was on the rise again. With everyone feeling that way, it was only natural that it should occur– perception is reality, after all.
When Lord Arkwright fell ill with a sudden, debilitating illness, Drake was beside him every day until he passed. Although bitter about the loss of his original family, Drake had moved on relatively quickly in the eight years since his arrival in Aloria. While living as an Arkwright, Drake had lived a comfortable life and gotten to learn magic and skills he wouldn’t have every considered otherwise– they would have been impossible, after all. The only thing he really had left from his old life was his grandfather’s pocket watch, an heirloom he’d had on him when he vanished.
This heirloom, in fact, was one of the reasons he had decided to Primary in Unusual Magics. As he gained expertise in Spatiomancy, he began to feel a resonance within his pocketwatch, which still accurately told time in this new world.
For years after Lord Arkwright’s death, the newly-minted Lord Arkwright played the political game of Valoria. But for someone who had spent almost every waking moment since arriving learning new skills at the University or under tutors of his House, the life of a noble was droll to the extreme.
With no real interest in sitting around in and attending balls all the time, he delegated his duties and took to gallivanting around the world as a wandering adventurer and involving himself in areas where he was most definitely unqualified at first.
When he mapped the Shifting Labyrinth of Zhor’Lath, he gained a reputation as a lucky adventurer, someone with a good head on his shoulders.
When he disappeared from the world for three months and returned with treasure from the Lost City of Glass, he gained a reputation for cunning and skill beyond almost anyone his age.
When the King of Valoria passed with no heirs and Drake led the worthy candidates to the Vault of the First King, it was said that he knew forgotten secrets.
He escalated his deeds, completing forgotten quests and involving himself in conflicts the world over.
He joined the vaunted ranks of the veilwalkers, strange mages said to travel between worlds– within this universe, anyways.
He saved the Temple of Zarathul, pulling it from the oceans and restoring it to its former glory.
After he destroyed it, though, he vanished for a while– Fifty years, in fact. Vanished from the public eye, anyways. Although not held accountable for the deaths the event caused, he was not known to leave the Arkwright estate at all. He adopted heirs and generally left the estate’s upkeep to the staff and little lordlings and ladies.
Fifty years ago, to the day, Drake Arkwright became the Neverborn God. Today, though, something interesting happens. Today, at 11:43PM (Post Mid-day), Drake Arkwright stepped through a portal somewhere deep in the Verdant Expanse on the Narathis Continent.