“Here is our fellow king, our newest member!” Omny announced with gusto to her group. Her heavy guttural tone reminded him of a growling bear.

“Call me James, please,” he said quickly before things could get too out of hand. “Happy to meet all of you.”

“We have Deril here, and Fif, Georg, Alki, and Piny.” Omny introduced each one with a pointed hand. The group was entirely human, three men and two women, who seemed particularly subdued by the vibrant presence of their cult leader. Light hellos echoed back from her words.

“Sit here next to me.” She said as she dragged a vacant chair from a nearby table without getting up. The romantic couple occupying it gave them wide-eyed looks but the cult leader paid them no mind. “James, James. I’m excited, do you want to know why?” Omny grinned from ear to ear. There was a dangerous feel about the look she gave.

James' eyes caught a wince from one of the women sitting opposite him and knew that he didn’t particularly want to know the answer. “Yes?” He replied carefully.

“I will mold you into a proper warrior! Look at all these muscles you got!” Her hand pressed onto his bicep giving it a good squeez. He avoided flexing it, restraining his urge.

If he had understood something about Omny’s personality it was that she didn’t settle for less than exactly what she wished for. He couldn’t outright deny her in front of her followers, or get out of it altogether. He was cornered. The logical thing to do would be to go along with it until he had an easy way out.

Still, it was not a terrible proposition, training of any kind was right up his alley– And he would get the chance to learn more about the fighting style and level of the warriors in the city. It was not a bad offer for him, on the contrary, maybe he should offer his thanks.

“Okay.” He replied, trying to shake her hand off his arm without being too obvious. Her grip was a heavy force pressing on his muscles. He suspected he would need both of his hands to pry hers off.

“Alki, guide him through the initiation. I'll be back soon.” She stood up, stretching her legs and shaking them into wakefulness. It took her only a few strides to exit the tavern, leaving an awkward silence behind her.

James looked around at the rest of the members of the cult. A few released their breaths as if they had been holding them afraid of attracting the attention of their leader.

“Hi,” Alki said warmly from across the table. She was the one who had winced at the proposal. Her smile separated her face in a long line. Brunette hair fell to her shoulders in waves and sunkissed marks decorated her pink cheeks. “She can be intense sometimes, but she won’t treat you badly.” She paused, raising her eyes in thought, and corrected herself, “Not too badly, a bit roughly maybe, now that you have made an impression.”

“I did that, didn’t I?” James wondered what had caught the cult leader's attention in the first place. Maybe his size. Damn it. That was it probably.

“You certainly did,” said Alki accompanied by her laughter. It was infectious, and James couldn’t help but chuckle himself.

It produced a few smirks from the rest of the group too, who didn’t choose to join in, however. Instead, they conversed among themselves.

“Your initiation,” Alki continued, “Is not something as impressive as you might expect.”

“Contrary to what you might expect, I have no expectations. I’ve never joined a cult,” said James honestly, and this time he didn’t feel so weird about it. These people seemed normal enough, visibly overwhelmed by the cult leader as he felt himself, which gave him a strange sense of kinship. They were not the typical cultists he had cultivated in his mind.

“Did Omny round you up off a guild or something? I hope… you are here consensually, right?” Alki asked appalled at the idea. She had probably noticed the less-than-stellar excitement James radiated for his initiation.

James thought of the pressure the cult leader had given him and decided against bad-mouthing her in front of her cult members. It might be far-fetched, but it could be some kind of test. He didn’t wish to start things off on the wrong foot with the cult members.

“More or less. I am not a local. I had just arrived in the city when I bumped into her.”

“Oh, that's a relief. Imagine if she did it again–” Alki said to Piny who had turned sharply to listen wearing the expression of a seal in painful agony.

“That would be a direhound of a shit storm that I would care less to face another time,” replied Piny with relief. Her black eyes closed shut and she pinched her curved nose, losing herself in what seemed like unpleasant memories.

James could very well guess the situation– More or less what had happened to him. “Honestly, I’ve never been part of a guild either.” He said offering his most charming smile.

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Piny eyed him in disbelief. Alki’s smile wavered as a thought crossed her mind. “Did your clan fail–?” She said letting her words hang in the air too afraid to express them.

“Never been in a clan.”

“He’s on the solist craze.” Georg butted in. Apparently, guessing James’s backstory was a rather interesting subject since it drew the attention of the rest of the group.

Deril eyed him closely in turn. “You are not from Daria.” He stated absentmindedly, possibly considering what other options were on the table. His long brown beard was brushing against the foam of his pint. It must have been going on for a while because there was more foam on it than left in the cup. “You from deep inland right? Somewhere where the dire don’t touch.”

“Bet you a silver he is from Daria.” Fif countered while his slim hand rummaged through his pockets. When it didn’t produce any results he added, “Never mind the bet, but I’m certain he is from Daria, look at his black shirt, there’s a quality you can't find even in Avi’Gale.

It was interesting to see how far off their guesses would land, but James considered first how to address his response. Telling them outright that he thought this was another world from his own, would be too much. Right? Except if that was not considered crazy here. Or if he was not in another world but a place in the same world. Or in a parallel universe. Or another timeline? No, that didn’t make so much sense. He crossed it out of the mental list of probable and impossible explanations.

“I’m from far, far away. I can say that. About that initiation…”

“Leave him be guys,” Alki interjected before the rest could continue pressing on the matter. “If he doesn't want to say... and I’ve got to fill him in before Omny’s back. Or would you rather explain to her why we got sidetracked?”

That shut up any protests that were coming her way. But didn’t deter them from continuing between themselves. As he silently waited for Alki to gather her thoughts, the rest were offering each other guesses as to his origins. He recorded everything into his memory. Any information might come in handy at some point.

“Since you haven’t joined any organization before…” Alki said, uncertain, “I'll go through a few basic things, just to make sure you know them.”

“Is it that strange?” James asked.

“It is. And you don’t look the craze-solo type either. You wouldn’t be here if you were one of them. So yes, I’m baffled. Why would…” She paused shaking her head, “Sorry, you don’t have to say anything. Stop me if I’m explaining things you already know.”

James nodded for her to continue.

“The reason why anyone would want to be part of an organization is the blessing you get bestowed for joining. Obviously…” said Alki, pausing long enough so he could ask a question, and when he didn’t, she continued, “Which is the easiest way to gain a blessing. Even a minor one makes a difference. The only other way to gain one would be hunting, and there as well, an organization would generally help you to acquire it.”

“I see, and what do I give back to the cult? Omny mentioned something about praying.”

Alki’s open mouth told him that his question was a mistake. She was disturbed by his ignorance. The rest of the group had stopped talking and just stared at him. Alki narrowed her eyes.

“You give your faith to the leader, and she gives back a part of it as a blessing. You are not from the blessed lands.” She said accusingly, “Or you are taking me for a fool.”

“I’m not fooling you, I promise that. Where I’m from things work quite differently. I appreciate your explanations, truly.” He said lifting his hands with his palms open.

“Alright,” said Alki a moment later with a lack of confidence. Her brows were still furrowed. She was still suspicious of him. “Omny will offer you minor blessings to choose from. She can give you any body-enhancing blessing you want. In exchange, you will give up a part of your faith. And then a bond will form between you two, for as long as you choose to remain in the Omny cult.”

“Body-enhancing– As in strength?” James asked.

“Yes. Strength, agility, and vitality are the most common choices for the simple folk. I chose vitality as did everybody else here.” Alki added. “But we do not partake in any fighting.”

James thought about it. A blessing that did something to enhance his body. How different would that feel? His one blessing of the Wayfarer hadn’t felt any different so far, so he was not sold on the benefits yet. “All I have to do is to form this bond with Omny? Not falling to the floor and praying?”

“Yes but– Well, there are a few who believe in proper praying positions, to empower the bond as they say, as if there was any difference. The cult leader, Omny is one of them, though. So you can choose for yourself what you want to do. Still, she seems to have plans for you. You might have to join in on the cult’s farming business.”

“Farming? I thought she said she wanted me to be a warrior.” James didn’t have any farming experience, and he couldn’t imagine how these things were connected.

“Oh, farming will definitely make you a warrior,” said Deril chuckling. “With a bit of farming on your shoulders, the leader will take you hunting for blessings in no time.”

“Farming Fghels is the cult’s main source of income. Omny will want you involved in it, I believe,” said Alki.

“She’s back,” Fif whispered looking blankly ahead and prompting everyone else to settle down.

—-

The bond settled heavily on him. It was akin to a weighted squat, where his whole body tensed as raw stress punched through him. His recital faltered momentarily but didn’t stop this time.

“Chose your blessing,” Omny ordered.

“Agility, cult leader,” James replied with confidence that was nowhere to be found.

“Minor Agility, mmm” She closed her eyes, lifting her cleft chin. “Done,” She said after a brief pause.

And then the world slowed down.

“You might feel disoriented for some time. It is the normal reaction before your body and mind can adjust to the enhancement. Hope there is no trouble in the tavern tonight”, said Omny grinning widely. Too wide. The manic gleam in her eyes had resurfaced, and there was a vibrating hum on the tail of her words.

His everything felt a fraction delayed as if he was having latency issues playing an online game.

“Oh,” he said.