JAY MYERS

Jorik and the others led us towards a large city with a walled perimeter. After walking for three hours, we finally had reached a large bridge with an imposing portcullis across the other side of it. As we approached, a man on top of the wall noticed us and called out for us to state our business. Jorik bellowed back “Upon the king's name, I have found those who had been summoned!”

I glanced at Jorik, unsure as to what he had meant by that but remembering he had said it would all be explained inside the city, I withheld my questions. I had no choice but to follow Jorik and be in the dark for the moment. I appreciated Jorik and his companions saving my ass with the wolves, but I didn’t trust them. “By the gods, is that you captain? A thousand pardons. Open the gate!” the man shouted. I glanced at Jorik, a hundred questions swirling in my mind but I held my tongue. As more details came to light, I became more suspicious of our group's saviours.

With a loud grinding noise, the large portcullis slowly rose. As we entered the city many armoured men cheered. Our group followed Jorik and walked through the streets towards a large, imposing castle. I noticed people watching our group from alleyways and side streets as we walked down a large road. At last we stood in front of a huge castle. I couldn’t believe my eyes as my gaze raced across the expansive structure. Sporting tall walls, with numerous turrets shooting up at regular intervals. A huge complex of buildings interconnected with each other grew taller and taller as the buildings rose in a tiered fashion, leaving the last building to be the tallest. Numerous towers shot up from the castle.

Jorik led us inside a large hall filled with elegant tapestries and furniture. We continued through and finally ended the long trek at a pair of large doors with multiple armed men guarding it. Jorik turned to us and stated in a clear and authoritative voice “You are about to meet the king of our nation. Do not speak unless spoken to and show the utmost respect.” With that Jorik nodded to the guards and they struck the base of their weapons on the ground.

Bang, bang, bang.

A guard then shouted “The search party has returned with the summoned!” Hearing that word again, I thought of all the stories I had read with people getting transported to another world, but dismissed it immediately thinking I was jumping to conclusions. There could be a reasonable explanation for this, I was sure of it.

“Greetings brave heroes! Welcome to the City of Altheim! You have been summoned here to assist us in a war against the demihumans who plague this land!” The king spoke his proclamation and I shook my head. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, it had to be some joke.

I looked around the room and saw men and women in fine silk robes standing in a line on my left. On my right stood a line of armoured men ending in the four people I knew: Faendal, Jorik, Av and Eomur. In front I saw the king standing in lavish robes with a shiny, gold crown atop his head. Next to his large throne, three smaller seats housed a beautiful woman wearing equally lavish clothing with a smaller jewelled crown, what looked to be a girl in her teens and a young boy. The king smiled and noticed our apprehension, it seemed I wasn’t the only one who held reservations. He announced with a rich voice “I see many of you need to be convinced of the truth in the words I have spoken.”

He smiled and continued “Grandmaster, would you be so kind to show them a demonstration of your magical prowess?” Eomur answered at once “Of course your majesty.” I watched as Eomur, who was apparently a grandmaster, walked over to an empty space in the large chamber. He muttered something we couldn’t hear and struck his shiny stick once on the floor of the chamber. Light pooled in the gem and shone brightly, a flash of light shot out from the gem and a bout of fire floated above it. I stared as the fire crackled and flickered in midair.

The king smiled and said “Thank you grandmaster. As you can see this is not your world, it is ours.” Eomur bowed and returned to his place amongst the right hand personnel. I felt movement beside me and glanced to my side to see Jade sidling up next to me. Her expression showed worry and fear as she looked up to me, her big brother. I patted her head and whispered “Don’t worry Jade, I’ll keep you safe.” Jade relaxed and leant against me. I wrapped my arm around and pulled her into a one-armed hug. I cautiously watched those in the room and saw many smiles among those present. I didn’t like what I saw. Kaidan stepped up to the front and said “Your majesty. I would like to help you in your war, but we are civilians in our world. None of us are soldiers. We wouldn’t be much help to you.”

The king smiled and announced “In your world you may be weak and ordinary but in this world that is not the case.” The group shifted uncomfortably as they waited for the king to continue. “We have prayed to the gods of light and they have answered our call.” The king looked around the room, his smile widening now showing teeth. “The gods brought us the heroes we desperately needed and have blessed them with divine strength and powers.”

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“Here you go hero.” I glanced up at the soldier who had handed me a strange spherical object that was dull and gray in colour. Everyone in the group had received the mysterious object and held it out on their palm as they were instructed. Jorik, captain of the Royal Knights, stood before them issuing instructions. He told us that it was a status stone and when bonded, it would tell us important information as well as our affinities and skills. The members of the group were to prick their finger with a dagger and let a few drops of blood hit the dull stone. Following the instructions, the group went one by one and Jorik took notes while examining their stones. Kaidan went first and let the blood drip onto the stone.

“Woah” Jorik gasped as the stone caught fire and let out a roar. Kaidan, not getting burnt, stared in amazement as the fire changed colour from a reddish-orange to a blue flame. The stone shone with what looked to be scales. Jorik took notes and said to Kaidan “You have an affinity for powerful fire magic. You will be able to cast powerful flame spells with a little practice in the near future.” Kaidan smiled and laughed as he examined the blue flames.

Jorik went down the line of friends. Joey had summoning magic, Damo could use ice magic, Cal could use light magic, Jake could use strengthening magic, and so on. Jorik paused in front of me, I was second last in the line. I pricked my finger and let a few drops of blood land onto the stone in my palm. The stone shone brightly, and Jorik watched in anticipation. I noticed shadows forming at the bottom of the stone invading the light and I saw cracks begin to show on the surface. A moment later the stone shattered in hundreds of pieces and fell to the floor. Jorik stood still and I saw a stiff expression on his face. Jorik said slowly, “Ah well this is unexpected and disappointing.” I waited for him to continue but he didn’t. “What is?” I asked hesitantly.

Jorik looked at me and said “When a status stone shatters, it means you have no affinities and are unlikely to ever gain them in the future. It means you have no power.” I was confused as I was the only member of the group that had encountered a problem and looked over to Jade. I asked Jorik cautiously “Does it run in the family?” Jorik laughed and told me it didn’t and moved on to test Jade next. When Jorik stopped in front of Jade, she replicated what everyone had done previously and let a couple drops of blood drip onto the stone. I saw the same shadows swirl around the base of the stone and it too shattered after a moment. As the fragments of the stone fell away, Jorik jotted something down in his notes. Jade looked saddened by her results but stood tall and accepted what it meant for her stone to shatter too. “You guys are useless. The useless siblings.”

I looked over to my right and saw Grant pointing and laughing at my sister and I. Before I could respond, Jorik bellowed “Silence! This man took down a few greenland wolves without any powers. I am sure he can still fight well without them going forwards.” Grant stopped and shrunk back into the line. I watched as Jorik defended me, but I didn’t feel grateful. Instead my suspicion started to increase the more I interacted with them all. I noticed the notes Jorik had been writing now faced me. I leant forwards and read them.

Hero’s Affinities

Kaidan

Draconic Magic

Becca

Taming Magic

Joey

Summoning Magic

Clarissa

Elemental Magic

Damo

Ice Magic

Emma

Barrier Magic

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Cal

Light Magic

Mia

Water Magic

James

Combustion Magic

Alex

Healing Magic

Grant

Lightning Magic

Ben

Wind Magic

Jake

Strengthening Magic

Paul

Mist Magic

Mitch

Gravity Magic

Mason

Volcanic Magic

Josh

Geo Magic

Dan

Fire Magic

Cass

Telekinetic Magic

Jay and Jade

No Magic

I lay in the bed provided to me in the castle dormitories. I thought over all I had learnt from my time with the royal family and all of the interactions I had with the rest of the kingdom’s personnel. Jorik was the captain of the royal knights. He was in charge of the most powerful knights in the kingdom and was in direct service of the king. Faendal was the captain of the ranged soldiers. That included archers and soldiers who operate siege engines such as ballistas and catapults. Av was, I’m not sure what she does, and Eomur was the grandmaster and in charge of all of the mages within the kingdom. I wondered why the top brass were sent to collect us instead of a normal patrol of soldiers but came up with no answers.

I don’t have enough information.

Over the next few weeks, our group trained with the royal knights and mages to enhance our abilities and train with the appropriate weaponry. Although I had been taught archery, blade work and many other useful combat skills. Hefting and swinging a large broadsword was something new to me. I trained as much as I could, incorporating my existing skills and techniques with the new ones I was taught by the knights. Even though I had no magical powers, I could still rival my friends that did. In the evenings, I visited the Royal Archives. I read about the history of the world and the races that inhabited it. I found that the world we had been summoned to was called Lacia. I poured through numerous historical texts but none of them spoke of the origins of the name. It was as if the world itself had willed it into existence.

I read about the demihumans too. In every text they were depicted as despicable creatures who were impure and savage. The books mentioned bloody wars, where the humans fought many different tribes of the beasts and drove them from their domains. It continued this way for about a month when Jorik announced that they would be heading out on an expedition to the Shearmouth Caves in three weeks. We would train against weaker monsters with the support of the knights to acclimatise us to taking the lives of beasts and working together as a team. Three members of our group refused to go and decided they wouldn’t fight in the war. Although they were disappointed, the kingdom didn’t force them into fighting. The friends split into two groups: The Heroes Party and those who chose to stay behind. Since I didn’t trust anyone in the kingdom, I decided it would be best for Jade to accompany me to the cave along with the heroes. Although the monsters could be dangerous, it was even more dangerous to leave her alone in a strange and suspicious city.

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“Master Jay, if I could speak with you for but a moment?” I turned to see a man in elegant robes standing to my right. I walked over to him and asked “What is it that you need?” The man smiled at me. “By the king’s orders we are to magically test those whose status stones have shattered. That being yourself and your sister.” I said nothing as I rested my hand on the hilt of the sword I had been given. “Hold on a moment Master Jay. I came to speak with you to ask if you would willingly allow us to perform the tests on you and you alone.”

I hesitated and then asked “What do you mean?” The man replied “Well if you were to sign this magical contract stating that we could perform the required tests, we would not involve your sister in any of this. How does that sound?” I had nearly forgotten but I remembered that apparently I had no powers. “How can I sign a magical contract if I don’t have magic?”

“Ah, well you see everyone has mana, but not everyone has an affinity. Meaning not everyone can channel their mana for complex or combative purposes, but they can sign a contract such as this.” I was wary of the supposed tests, but if this meant that my sister could be left alone, then I would do it. “How do I sign this magical contract of yours?” The man smiled and explained how to do so and what a magical contract is. He told me that a magical contract was one that etched itself onto my soul. If I were to break such a contract, it would mean my death. The contract was set to go until the day before we left on the expedition to Shearmouth Caves.

“Come this way please,” the man said. I waited a moment before following him. I followed him towards a tall tower, we entered and headed up the stairs and into a circular room filled with instruments and other robed people. “Please lie down onto the table, the experiments will begin momentarily.”

Experiments? I thought to myself. That sounds a little different than a test.

I lay down on the table and straps were tied around my arms and legs. I was full of apprehension and was scared of what was to come. The robed man held up a rod that crackled with lightning. “Let’s begin experiment number one.”

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JADE MYERS

Something is happening with Jay. He hasn’t been himself for a couple weeks now, and the deadline for our trip to the Shearmouth Caves is fast approaching with only one week left. “Jay, can I speak with you?” He turned and looked at me.

His eyes, they seem so bleak, so… dead.

“What are your plans for this evening?” He considered my question for a moment before answering. “I need to help the researchers and then I’ll head to bed.” With that he said his farewell and left in the direction of the tower the researchers base themselves in. Something is wrong but if he doesn’t want to tell me on his own initiative then I’ll have to find out on my own. After we get back from the upcoming expedition I’ll investigate. More pressingly, I’m really worried about the upcoming spar that’s scheduled for tomorrow. Jay is facing off against Jake in a ‘practice’ match where the fight only stops when one side surrenders or cannot continue. In the beginning, Jay had outclassed all of our friends with his innate talents and knowledge of combat. However, the gap closed and widened instantaneously when his opponents began to channel their magical powers when sparring, and it widened in opposition to my brother. They use the word practice but lately it has just been extremely one-sided against my brother and those with ill-intent capitalise on it.

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JAY MYERS

The day passed quickly and now I stood waiting for the match to begin. Sparring against my friends has not been going very well from when they started to use magic and enchantments in the matches. My sister had protested on my behalf but had been shut down as this was the point of the practice matches - to further their groups magical prowess along with the weapons they would use to fight. Disallowing the use of magic would be counterproductive to their goals. I am facing off against Jake today, something I haven’t been looking forward to. Jake and I have never gotten along well ever since I kicked his ass when I caught him looking my sister up and down one night. I had made it very clear that she was off-limits for him and if I ever caught him again I would not be so lenient with the next punishment. The intimidation had worked wonders and there hadn’t been any problems but magic. It has changed the entire dynamic between us and I can’t lie, I am a bit worried that I won’t be able to overpower him if something happens with my sister.

Something has changed with everyone, they’ve all become a bit more impulsive. Not everyone of course, Damo was fine. Nothing much had changed between him and I but some of the blokes… I hope I’m just overthinking it. That cliche line with great power comes great responsibility had never been more true in this situation. Of course back in the old world, or should I say my world that was for those who were in power. Governments, militaries and so on, but now my friends have the power. I don’t though, it was made abundantly clear and the experiments by those sick researchers has done little to change that. At least my sister doesn’t have to deal with those sickos, the thought of it made me fume. Noticing movement in my peripherals, I glanced up to see Jake strutting across the training grounds. Yes, strutting. That fool was nonsensical but he was stronger than me. His power literally being, strengthening magic, but I won’t let that deter me. I can still come out on top if I use my brain and my prior experience in fighting.

Jorik stood off to the side about halfway between us. He threw a coin into the air, and when it landed the bout would commence. I watched as it rotated through the air, the sun shining across its gleaming surface. My vision flickered as I saw a blurred figure on fire, burning while screaming. Then it was gone. Clink! The coin had reached the ground and Jake had begun to move across towards me. His body shone blue as he began using his strengthening magic on his entire body. Dazed, I tried to mentally shake off whatever had affected me but my movements felt sluggish and delayed. I managed to raise my arm to block Jake’s approaching fist. Crack! The bones in my forearm shattered and I was knocked backwards onto my rear. My thoughts still felt muddled and I had trouble trying to move my body. Before I could do anything I saw Jake’s foot descending in what seemed to be a kick aimed at my chest. Crack! Several of my ribs broke and I began coughing. Why can’t I move? My body still wouldn’t respond to me and now I was getting beaten up. Several punches and kicks later, I saw Jake’s fist rocket towards my face and everything went dark.