My life on Earth ended in me gallantly giving my life to save others.
Just kidding. That sure seems to be the popular thing among 'transported to fantasy' type novels, but in actuality the way I left earth was a bit more embarrassing. You see I was in the bathroom... Reading a web novel on my phone... While taking a dump...
Yep worst way to be summoned into another world. I was just sitting there minding my own business when all the sudden I was assaulted by a mind crushing headache, and then there was a sensation like my brain was being ripped out, and that was it. No magic circle or anything.
Now I didn't know I was being summoned at the time. The thoughts running through my head at the time were somewhere along the lines of 'the fuck is this....' and then next thing I knew I found myself falling on my behind.
The first thing that meets my eyes is a man, approximately 40 with graying black hair and a scruffy fully gray beard that makes him look like an old geezer. The strangest thing about him is his sickly gray skin.
Looking around I see that I am in a large courtyard sitting on top of what I can only guess is a magic circle. The courtyard is surrounded by overgrown gray stone buildings, and the sky is heavily shaded by a canopy of trees, some form of giant oak by the looks of it.
Old man grayskin exclaims something in a language I don't understand and has a look of surprise plastered all over his face. He slowly walks over to me and stands right in front of me. I decide that I should probably greet him so I try and stand up, only to notice that he is towering over me. Was this guy a giant of some sort? Or did I become a midget?
I look at my hands to see if they hold any answers. I noticed several things: 1. My skin tone is now different. I had always been whiter than I would have liked and got sunburn pretty easy, but now I had an almost olive skin tone. 2. My nails had turned solid white, instead of the usual transparent pink. And last but not least 3. My hands where now those of a child. MY HANDS WHERE THOSE OF A CHILD! Not that I wanted to get any older, but I didn't really want to get any younger either. Seems I will have to go through puberty again.
Looking further down past my hands I took a look at my body. It looks like my body has reverted back to that of a six year old. Damn, seems I am going to have to wait awhile for my... Feet... To grow back to original size. WAIT A SECOND, I WAS NAKED! I swiftly covered the important spot with my hands and looked expectantly at old man grayskin. He quickly pulled off his own ragged gray cloak and placed it over my shoulders. Underneath he had been wearing what appeared to be blue wizard robes.
Old grayskin pointed to himself and said "Audric Aldrich"
To show I understand I pointed to him and say "Audric". He nods and points to me.
My original name is not so good for a fantasy world hero, so I think I am going to make one up. Even though I have never heard the language he spoke before, it seemed quite similar to a Latin based language, similar to the romance languages. And his own name seemed similar to an English name... So let's see... Maybe something Norse sounding?
I point to myself and say "Ambrjrn"
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Damn, that might not sound as cool as I thought it would. I have an idea though, if this Audric fellow is really the man who painfully yanked me from earth and everything I know and love, I was going to bestow on him a fate worse than death...
Pointing at the old man, I said "papa"
Silence, the old man's face slowly shifted to one of surprise, and then sorrow. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh of acceptance. Reaching over he ruffled my hair. I tried to give him an innocent wide toothy grin that made my ears lay back.
Wait a moment. Why do my ears have a sensation like laying back? Reaching up with my hands, I began to feel around my ears. I began to panic a bit; my ears were different! Old man Audric seemed to understand that I was surprised about something, so he stretched out his right had which had a golden ring on the ring finger. Tiny letter like symbols began to glow blue on the ring before *poof* a highly polished metal plate appeared in his hand. Now that was pretty neat, but now was not the time to be concerned with that.
He held the plate out for me to see. It did not have a perfect reflection, but it was enough for me to make out the important details. First off was my hair, it was now as white as snow, which stood in stark contrast to my now tan skin. As for my eyes, they were now a icy blue, almost silver. But the two most important details were 1. My facial structure had completely changed, higher cheek bones, squarer jaw, thin white eyebrows, and an almost Greek nose. But the biggest change, number 2. Was that my ears were now TRIANGLES!
Now you may be thinking of elf ears, but that was not it at all. More like a small triangle sticking straight out of the side of my head. Or maybe it would be better to describe it as a half cone shape. What is more, is I can move them, up, down, backwards, and even forwards a short ways.
I sank to the floor and put my head in my hands. I had never put much importance on appeance, and it wasn't like my new appearance was bad looking or anything, but loosing my appearance was a bit like loosing apart of myself. I needed a few moments to process this.
Old man Audric crouched down beside me and waited. Several minutes passed before Audric stood back up.
"Ambrjrn... •••••• •••• ••••• •••"
Looking up at him, I pointed to my now triangular ears and said:
"[I don't understand]"
Audric trued again in what sounded like a different language, once again I gestured that I did not understand. He began to go through a repertoire of languages, some sounded like they could have come from earth, others not so much. But I did not understand any of them, so he finally gave a sigh of defeat. Audric simply gestured for me to follow him. I got up and followed after him, the bottom of the oversized cloak trailing after me.
We entered one of the old buildings that made up the walls of the courtyard, inside we walked along a corridor for a short while before Audric turned into a doorway to the right. Inside was what one must have served as a gathering hall. Now it seemed to be Audric's living quarters.
On my right in a corner against the far wall was a pile of fabric and firs, probably his bed. In the left corner was a small fireplace made out of hardened clay that had its chimney running out of the ceiling. All along the left wall was stacked firewood, and scattered all across the floor were scrolls and books, arranged as if someone was studying them.
Audric gestured for me to sit down on the pile of firs, which I did, and then he proceeded over to the fireplace. He started to gather smaller pieces of wood and place them in the fireplace, once done he held our his hand and a small red flame appeared before it. I was excited, but not entirely surprised after seeing the storage ring.
Before he does anything with the hovering flame, Audric turns to me and points to it, and says a single word. He then spreads it across the wood in the fireplace and steps back. He then gestures to the flames that are now consuming the wood and says the same word again. I get the idea and point to the fire while repeating the word. Audric smiles and nods.
After that Audric removed food and a pot from his storage ring and proceeded to cook some stew. It seems that I was summoned late in the evening and it was already growing dark outside. We ate, he spread out some firs for me to sleep on, and thus my first day away from earth ended.