I cast my spear at the dragon’s eye. The pupil is haunting, magnificent, and terrifying – a swirl of chaos and danger. But I’m here to blot it out, to stab that swirl and shatter it into a thousand pieces. Like the heroes of old before the monsters of Madregon!

Except I’m incompetent and miss the dragon’s head entirely.

Oops.

The beast rears back and I duck behind the parapet. Dragon fire sizzles across the stone wall and my fellow soldiers burn alive around me. I quiver at the sight of their charred bodies and do my best not to vomit.

I fail.

This evening’s pizza spills from my mouth and I’ve never felt more certain I’m about to die. And just eighteen years young too.

What a shame.

I want to run, hide, cry, anything but stand my post. But stand I do, not because I’m brave but because there’s nowhere to go. I got pulled through a portal with no way back to Earth. I arrived in this uniform, in this army, and the only way to survive is to push through my fear and fight.

“Fear is the mind killer,” I mumble aloud. According to Dune at least.

The dragon spins round again. Its tail slams into the wall, sending shockwaves through the stone like an earthquake does on land. The waves send the remaining soldiers splattering in all directions. Some even tumble off, falling to their doom some thirty feet below.

I struggle to my feet, and help a comrade to stand as well. His chain mail is scalded and his helmet scorched. It could be worse.

“Are we going to die?” he stammers as tears soak his quivering lips.

I force a grin. “Not while I’m still a virgin.”

My comrade gawks. “A joke? Now?”

I shrug. “Seems as good a time as ever.” And for a moment I believe it. For a moment we are just two chums lounging on the castle walls. The same castle I played in the pc game and even dreamed of ruling during those crazy times when I wished it was real.

Be careful what you wish for.

“What’s your name?” My comrade asks.

“Ethan. Yours?”

A roar drowns out his answer. The dragon’s angry now, like it’s offended at our continued existence. Wings spread wide, it screeches again and swoops toward us. But those eyes. I feel like the creature is staring right at me. “You’re next,” it seems to say.

I duck again, anticipating the same stream of fire as before. The beast curves away though, Iike some dog-whistle has called it back to its master. I exhale deeply, thankful for the reprieve.

Not dead yet.

But there’s no rest for the desperate. Siege towers rumble forward, their wooden wheels creaking through the blood-soaked dirt below. These wooden behemoths each house scores of lizards: armored reptiles from the barren lands to the west. All tools of the sorceress. All weapons of her will.

“Draw your swords!” my captain calls out.

I grasp my hilt and unsheathe my blade. I first held a sword four hours ago, standing in formation without a clue as to what I was doing. Unfortunately, neither did my comrades either. I’m among conscripts here: merchants, tailors, and other journeyman who have no business defending the wall. Our trainers taught us the basics and the clerics called down the blessings of the Maker.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The king must have no other choice.

My sword glistens in the torches behind me and in the moonlight above. More blades unfurl to my left and right. We shine together as the first tower door drops and the lizards storm toward me.

Of course they come for me.

They boast thick, purple skin, accentuated by golden plates of armor that cling to their chest and legs. Their broadswords are long and their shields are ridged and sharp. They are also tall. Very tall. At over seven feet they soar over us common men.

The first one brings his sword down and my parry is slow. The broadsword strikes my blade and knocks my weapon away. Greedily, the lizard launches a killing strike but I scuttle out of the way. A conscript comes to my aid and smites the lizard’s arm, but his stroke is wobbly and weak, and only scratches the leathery hide.

The lizard turns and skewers the man in the gut. I step back and trip over a fried corpse, toppling into a mixture of ash and blood. The lizard steps over my body and busies himself with men who can actually keep their feet in combat.

Not the best start I admit.

Mustering my courage I see a lizard’s back and leap. I throw my body at the creature and curl my arms around its throat. The jaws snap back at me but I cling to its skin like my life depends on it (which it probably does actually).

He lurches to and fro but I won’t be loosed. Then I move with him, throwing all my body weight to one side just as he does and the reptilian giant stumbles, loses his balance, and falls on the edge of the parapet. With a final kick I launch him off the battements and exult in triumph at my minor victory, thrust my fist into the air.

The moment does not last long.

A nearby lizard swings and crushes a soldier with his blow. The bloodied body slams into me and I topple backward myself, nearly following my own lizard off the battlements and to my own death. Fortunately, I grab onto the edge before plunging to the ground. Hanging like a fool, my head swirling with confusion and pain, I look over the courtyard and to the keep beyond.

In that tall tower lies the king himself, the ruler and guardian of the great human Kingdom of Astria. I wonder what he’s thinking now; if he regrets how poorly he’s managed this war.

Lord knows I never ruled this poorly in the game. Of course I also had save points…

I hear the footsteps of retreating men and know they’re abandoning the wall. The lizards pursue and soon the courtyard is swarming with enemies. I pull myself up and crouch among the many human corpses.

At least I’m safe for now. The lizards pushed ahead so quickly that they didn’t bother looking behind, especially not to go back for some nobody.

And that’s all I’ve ever been: a nobody. Graduating from an average high school in Nowheresville, USA with decent grades and no clear direction in life I didn’t attract attention on Earth either. I tried to get into state university but they rejected me as fast as most girls did and the only thing I liked about community college was my D&D group. It just seemed like I didn’t fit in where I was and every time I reached for a different door it slammed in face. Until I saw the portal at least. That damn thing just swallowed me whole.

The castle keep’s doors open. From within that royal sanctuary come the King’s guard. With gleaming silver armor, white horses, and broadswords held high dozens of knights stream forth from the base of the mammoth tower. The retreating soldiers stop and for a moment so do my enemies as the finest knights in Astria thunder onto the battlefield.

But then the dragon returns.

Rising over the eastward wall the beast roars as it approaches the maelstrom. It looks meaner somehow this time. And atop it rides…

The sorceress.

She’s as pale in-person as she is in-game and is clothed in the same black and purple dress. Skin tight and cut straight across her chest she looks alluring even at this distance. Her black hair weaves across her shoulders and her purple eyes glitter unnaturally. In her hand she bears a scepter with an onyx stone atop it.

Her connection to the dark realm.

She wields the weapon now and from that darkness explodes black ribbons of flame: an unnatural heat that scalds everything it touches. I watch in horror as the glorious armor of Astria melts upon the knights. The men scream and their horses perish faster than if they’d been swallowed by the dragon itself. The lizards roar in delight and renew their attack.

The sorceress soars across the field and I fear that she’ll come around for another pass. I fear that she’ll see me, still hanging back from the action.

But the sorceress swoops behind the fray. She circles round until she reaches the base of the tower. I can just barely make out her figure as she slides off the beast and I know there’s only one reason to land near the keep.

She’s going to kill the king.

Once the king is dead the sorceress will rule all Astria. Including me With no way home my fate is linked with these people, these humans who are complete strangers but who I know so well. They don’t deserve this. No one deserves this.

I take a final look at the battlefield. My foes are swarming the defenders, pushing them into small groups that grow smaller and smaller every minute. I swallow hard.

We may lose the army but I can still save the king.