Chapter One: Welcome to the System
“What’s that noise? I don’t remember going to bed, did I fall asleep somewhere?” I thought to myself as gibberish chanted in a multitude of voices crashed in on my foggy, muddled brain. I’ve never been a morning person, but still, when I wake up I'm always wide awake, the brain fog was disorienting and unusual. I tried to open my eyes but they felt glued shut. Lifting my arms they felt heavy and weak as I tried to rub my eyes with my palms but found that my eyes were covered in some sort of rough cloth that was certainly not my normal blanket or sheet. The fact that the chanting hadn’t faded away like the last remnants of a dream but had in fact gotten louder, finally shocked away the stupor and lifted and I was in a fully awake state just as the gibberish reached a crescendo.
*Chime* Skill earned Comprehend Language(Common).
“What!” I yelped in confusion as a strange message appeared, floating in my vision even behind my closed and covered eyes.
I shot, bolt upright or at least I tried to, my body felt different and weighted down. Frantically, I tore at the cloth over my eyes trying to see what was going on as the gibberish chanting changed into words I could understand.
“Welcome Summoned Prince, Welcome Lord of the Yamakai!” a multitude of voices chanted with reverence again and again.
Finally, able to pull the cloth from my face and clear my eyes of the gunk that had held them closed I could see the world around me. I sat on some sort of stone slab on a dais, in some sort of cavern, surrounded on all sides by human-like monsters, lizards, birds, wolves, dogs, bears and others I had no name for, all looking at me with rabid devotion in their eyes and chanting incessantly. I could almost feel my eyes go wide and I was stricken motionless and dumb by the terror of the sight before me. But my subconscious still helpfully supplied I guess we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. I caught motion out of my peripheral vision. I slowly turned my head and saw a blurry green blob approaching. Blinking my eyes frantically the blurred vision cleared just as the blob spoke.
“Welcome My Lord.” The blob was in fact a short, elderly, hunch backed person, possibly female from the voice, in a moss green robe with purple trim, shuffling slowly towards me with head bowed.
Finally finding my voice I stuttered out, “what, who, where?” Getting my first look at her, yes, definitely a her, face as she raised her head to look at me I realized she was some sort of cross between a woman and a green-white leathery lizard. She had vibrant purple eyes, scaly skin like a lizard but with mostly human facial features. “Who are you? Where am I?” I shouted at her.
“My Prince, please calm yourself, it is understandable for you to be disoriented, but you're home now and among your people.” She made a small motion around us towards the still chanting monsters. “I, Elder Summoner Leema, have summoned you from beyond this sphere in our hour of greatest need, at the prophesied time, to serve as our champion, our liberator.” she bowed deeply with those words hands and arms spread out from her sides.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
Her bow was the last thing I saw before, overwhelmed, my eyes rolled up in the back of my head and I fainted dead away.
In what I can only describe as some sort of strange out of body experience I woke up floating in darkness that resolved into a cavern with walls colored in a swirled mess of red, black, blue, and the occasional vein of silver. It was as if the walls were somehow made of paint that had been mixed by a finger painting child. Smooth in some places bunched up and runny in others. I tried to look down at myself but it was like I was just a pair of eyes floating in an empty space. I could feel my body but I couldn't see it. Then once again just like before I woke up surrounded by all those monsters, words appeared before my eyes which I couldn't look away from.
System Message: Welcome Vet-vek Ravenblood!
I stared at the bold words floating before me. My numb, uncomprehending brain tried in vain to make sense of what was going on. I whispered “Vet-vek, Vet-vek Ravenblood,” my name. I’d used it for decades through various games. Chatrooms, and forums, a name I'd become so used to, and used so much that I answered to it as readily as my real name. I shook my mental head losing my train of thought, “My real name? No, Vet-vek is my name.”
System Message: Interface displaying
Name: Vet-vek Ravenblood
Tier: 0
Race: Djinn
Title(s): Outworlder, Summoned, Prince of Yamakai
Achievement(s): Summoned Champion
Rank: Prince
Profession: None
Class: None
Free Points Available: None
Free Points Spent: None
Attributes:
Physical attributes:
Strength: (6)* bonus from Title(s): Outworlder (1). Summoned (1)
Dexterity: (7)* bonus from Title(s): Outworlder (1). Summoned (1)
Stamina: (7) * bonus from Title(s): Outworlder (1). Summoned (1)
Mental attributes:
Intelligence: (6)
Perception: (7)* bonus from Skill(s): System Interface (1).
Wits: (5)
Social attributes:
Charisma: (6)+1 * bonus from Rank Prince (1), *Title: Prince of Yamakai gives plus 1 to all Demi-Humans
Manipulation: (4)
Appearance: (5)
Luck: (7) * bonus from Titles: Outworlder (1). Summoned (1)
Skills:
Common: Comprehend Language
Special: Interface (basic)
Racial Skill: Boundless (special)
Unique: *error*
Actions:
Spells: None
Qi Abilities: None
System Message: Exiting Headspace.
“What’s going on? Is this some sort of game? What are you doing to me? Why can’t I move? What’s happening?”