The bellow of a beast, more of a high pitched shriek, shattered Marshall out of the darkness of sleep. Out of sheer instinct, he threw himself to the side, just as an unnaturally massive boar shot across where he had just been laying, tearing up the thick grass and mud beneath it. The raw force of the wind just from it's trampling actually knocked Marshall back a few extra feet.

"The hell?" he squeaked, struggling to his feet. "How is that even... no pig gets that big! It has to be like twenty feet tall!" He shivered, his eyes focused on the tusks that were longer than his own body, curved and covered in bloody gore. "How the hell am I even here... I was just in the antiquities section.. what the hell is happening?"

He must have said that a bit too loud as the boar turned, eyes a crazed unnatural orange. "REEEEEEEEEEET!" It screeched before rushing toward him and to his horror he could not move a damn muscle.

'This is it, this is how I die...'

And he could not even close his eyes, he was frozen. He was going to die and it would be agonizing.

"YAH!" Another raw voice bellowed, this time coming from his right. It shattered the spell of fear, allowing him to turn to see blue blur rushing toward him, grabbing him around his waist just moments before the beast reached him and pushed them both to safety. They rolled across the grass, landing on their backs. "Urgh... that hurt." The voice said.

Turning, Marshall was even more stunned to see a handsome face. It belonged to a young man with what appeared to be scales etched on his face, blue skin and a M shaped hairline of short hair. His eyes were all green, no whites. He looked like Marshall's own interpretation of a mermaid, sans tail.

"Thank you, but we have to... you're hurt!" he saw it then, orange blood leaking from the man's side. "The boar got you..." He reached out, hands over the man's wound. "We have to stop the bleeding, you'll die without some help!"

And then, blood red light erupted from Marshall's hands, both he and the fish man hissed in pain, pain Marshall felt burning across his arms and sinking into his own side. He felt it, the man's pain, the searing heat of the healing, the terrible reminder of their near death. The pain was immense, but in that understanding came healing and they both let out a long sigh as their anguish was soothed.

As the light faded, Marshall felt weak, tired and swayed on his feet. The Fish man saved him once more, grabbing him. "How'd you... we'll talk about it later, but I need to kill the beast." He hissed, the thing had turned around to face them once more, grinding the soil and mud with it's hooves. "It is protected by divine means, it would need divine power to pierce it's skin."

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Oddly, somehow, the answer came to Marshall in the form of a magnetic tug. His senses turned to the place he first awoke, where the blade lay that apparently took him there. It was covered in mud, but still beautiful and shimmery. "That blade, I think it's divine, it's what took me from my world to this place."

The man, oddly, nodded with a peaceful smile. "If your healing powers are any indication, then maybe you're telling the truth." And he bolted, screaming to draw the boar's attention. The boar moved at inhuman speeds, but the Fishboy was also inhuman and managed to grab the blade in time, rolled under the boar and thrusted himself up with the blade, piercing the skin easily before the blade reached it's insides. He rolled the side to avoid, before squished.

Light, bright white light erupted from the blade as the boar shrieked it's dying hate once more. The light seared through the creature's flesh, its crumbled away until nothing was left but the blade, glowing with the same commanding light that radiated across the field and sank into Marshall's skin and bones and soul.

Marshall stood then, still tired but feeling draw by the light. He reached the blade, grabbing it's handle and pulling it close. Warmth flooded him, pride and love and power filled it's essence. He knew, somehow, that the creator of the blade approved of him.

"I cannot hold this blade, I have no idea how to use it." He turned to the Fishman, only now realizing there were dozens of other people looking inward from the trees and walking toward them. They were wearing what looked like robes and rags and tunics, old fashion artifiacts really. Actually, the Fishman was walking toward him, eyes bright but also wearing a brown tunic. "I am a healer, even here I guess... I hate fighting, but I know it's needed." The blade pulsed and he knew what it wanted. "Can I trust you to help me?"

The Fish man nodded. "That I can do, Blessed Healer. Name's Anton, and you are?"

"Marshall... so... um... where am I? I mean, the last thing I remembered was touching this blade by accident and waking up here."

A hiss filled the air, from the various people. One moved toward the front and faced him, an elderly woman with wide gray eyes and ash colored skin. "You are in the Divine Realm, where the gods live and breathe, where their powers hold fast." She looked at him up and down. "You have clearly been blessed by a god of great power, enough to have healed Anton from a wound created by a Beast of Artemis. Who blessed you is unclear, but time may tell... come with us, children, for we must reward you both fro your parts in slaying the beast terrifying our realm... and perhaps, if the gods are willing, explain to us how you got here."

Anton, in a sweet motion, put an arm around Marshall's waist. "You said I could be a Guardian if I played a part in slaying that beast, that anyone that did could be a Guardian. I claim this one. His powers are incredible, and they saved me. I will be his Guardian."

Marshall flushed. "I would appreciate that, I'd rather not die from any more monsters."

The woman nodded. "A wise choice for I sense your fates are tied regardless... very well, come along, it is time to celebrate."

And the people broke out into cheers, leading Marshall toward what he would later see was settlement ringed by a stone wall. It was only then, with fear fading, that he realized fully how utterly different the world he was in was...

'Oh great, at least I can heal myself if something goes wrong... shit...'