Prologue

At the western entrance to a large city, several men in matching armor stood guard. Their swords were sheathed, the atmosphere relaxed. One of the guards had dog ears and a tail, but otherwise looked human. Traveling merchants and returning residents trickled into the city after a brief inspection by the guards.

One man drew some attention as he approached the checkpoint on foot. A guard whispered to another, “What’s with those clothes? I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

The man wore neither coarse traveling robes nor typical nobleman’s garb. His outfit looked delicate and form-fitting. The fabric’s colors were unusually vibrant. The short-sleeved shirt was light green and displayed a decorative white emblem on the chest. The pants were a bright blue with three stripes extending down the sides, one each in light blue, orange, and red. His shoes were also uncommonly colorful but sported bright white laces. The man was of average build, had short dark-brown hair, and appeared to be in his thirties.

“Halt. You need to present identification before entering the city,” said the guard. The man in colorful clothes came to a stop and scratched his head while gazing up at the wood and stone walls. He had to look up quite a bit to take in the sight.

The man spoke in an ever-so-slightly strange voice as though he had an accent, but it wasn’t clear what type of accent it actually was, or even what was being pronounced differently. “Excuse me, which city is this?”

“Huh? This is Bretten, the capital. Didn’t you walk here?” the guard asked.

The man responded, “I see! This works. I’ll stay here for a while.”

“…Like I said… I need to see your identification.”

“Sorry, how do I get that?” the man asked.

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“Hah?” the guard cried. He paused, hoping the man would clarify, but the silence quickly became unbearable. “If you don’t have any proof that you belong in this city, then leave.” A couple of nearby guards gestured as though they were preparing to draw their swords on a moment’s notice. The man didn’t seem to notice or care about the change in atmosphere.

“Uh… how do I obtain that proof?”

“All right, I’ve had about enough of you. Get out of here,” said the guard. He wondered, ‘Why doesn’t this guy just go to some smaller town first?’

The man turned to face the other way, but he did not start walking. After a moment, he raised one hand as though he was gesturing to somebody far in front of him. He smirked as though he was up to mischief, about to do something naughty he’d always wanted to do. “Sorry, I’m out of patience. «Summon Forest Creature of Legend, The Hydra Avatar, Gaia Zygós».”

The guards were startled by the sudden and unexpected use of magic, so they each drew their swords as they took a couple of steps back. A moment after the man’s chant was complete, a loud noise and rush of air forced the guards’ eyes closed. When they reopened their eyes a moment later, they saw a multi-headed creature with green scales and draconic features peering down at their city from atop its four massive legs.

With no sense of scale, it was difficult to estimate how tall the beast was, but some of its necks actually disappeared into the clouds entirely. As the guards fell on their butts in shock, the man turned back around and spoke softly. “Either I enter this city or my hydra enters this city.”

The guards didn’t hear a single word he said as they sat there, jaws hanging open. One of them was bleeding from pressing his hand onto a fallen sword, but he didn’t seem to even notice.

After a few seconds, the man spoke again. “I’ll take your silence to mean I can come in.”

The man strolled around the guards and proceeded towards the open gate. A few moments later, the ground rumbled a bit. The man stopped and looked over his shoulder to see the guards suddenly panicking and running in his direction, to the city. The hydra had lifted one of its enormous feet off the ground. The man tilted his chin up towards the multiple gargantuan heads. “Oh, right. You stay here.”

The man resumed his comfortable pace and followed the panicked guards towards the open gate. The hydra slowly lowered its foot and released a low-pitched whimper of disappointment. The ground shook a little more violently this time when the foot made contact with the ground, causing a couple of the guards to harmlessly topple over.