ã€ŠRyker&#x27;s Reincarnationã€‹


 Chapter 1

    I always tried to be a good person. I kept to myself and lived my life with respect and consideration for those around me. However, in a world filled with injustice and selfishness, I found myself growing tired of being overlooked and stepped on. It seemed I could ignore it most of the time and continue with my day. Sometimes it would anger me, but I would remember that it wasn¡¯t worth losing everything I had worked for just to give some asshole what was coming to him. Today¡ªor yesterday; I wasn¡¯t sure how long I had been dead¡ªI let my anger get the better of me, and my thirst for justice had been too much to ignore. As I floated in the vast empty void of nothingness, I reflected on my final day alive, replaying the events of how I spiraled toward my death.

    My alarm screamed, interrupting the peacefulness of my sleep. I rolled over to face the clock and waited a moment for my eyes to adjust to my surroundings. "5:00," the clock read. I fumbled with the buttons, trying to silence the alarm. Rolling back onto my back, I stared at the darkness, searching for the motivation to get out of bed and repeat the same day I had become accustomed to over the past eight years.

    After a few minutes, I looked at the clock again, and it read "5:06." I sighed, rolled over, and got to my feet. I made my way to the bathroom, turned on the light, and was temporarily blinded before fumbling my way to the toilet. As I peed, I remembered that today was the day we had our performance reviews at the office. Anxiety washed over me as I exhaled heavily, knowing I would be judged by three of my bosses in a small room and have to explain why I should be allowed to continue working there.

    I took off my pajamas and started the shower, waiting for the water to heat up. With my hand outstretched under the showerhead, I fantasized about how the performance review would go.

    "Good morning, Mr. Lane," my boss would say as I entered his office, with his two superiors standing behind him, observing his management skills. "Good morning," I would reply, walking in and sitting down in the chair in front of his desk, ignoring his outstretched hand and denying him the respect of a handshake. I saw him clear his throat and slowly retract his hand as he regained his train of thought. Meanwhile, I would sit there, leaned back, with my hands behind my head as if I were relaxing on a Friday night. "So, Mr. Lane, you''ve been with our team for quite some time now, I see," he would say, and I would respond with an eye roll and say, "Yes, sir, too long if you ask me." I smiled as I pictured all three of them exchanging glances, trying to figure out how to handle the situation.

    My daydream was interrupted when the water started burning my hand. I turned it down and proceeded with my shower. Afterward, I brushed my teeth and started putting on my slacks and dress shirt while glancing over to check the time. "5:36." I hurried, knowing I needed to leave by 6:00 to make it to work by 6:30. I didn¡¯t officially start work until 7, but I liked being early so I could hang out in the smoking area and not feel rushed to start my day. I went to the kitchen and started my coffeemaker, as I waited for it to brew, I slipped back into my daydream.

    My boss would clear his throat again and fiddle with his paperwork in an attempt to regain his composure. "So, Mr. Lane, your numbers have been pretty steady over the last quarter, and we do appreciate your hard work and dedication." "Then give me a raise," I would say, interrupting him. He would probably sit back in his chair at this point and cross his arms in a defensive posture, since the review was going completely differently than what he was used to. In an attempt to remain professional, he would probably say something like, "Well, Mr. Lane, that could be discussed at a different time. However, that is not the purpose of this meeting." To which I would respond, "There is no purpose to this meeting other than you three trying to intimidate into your employees. You want to maintain control over us and keep us scared of losing our income and our livelihood, all while you continue to pat each other on the back and rake in the profit at our expense."

    At this point, I picture him standing up and saying, "You need to calm down, Mr. Lane, or this meeting will result in disciplinary action." At which point, I would yell." Go fuck yourself, I quit!"

    The coffeemaker beeped, signaling that it was done, pulling me back to reality. I felt good, as if it had actually happened, but the small high of endorphins quickly retreated as reality set in: I would only be guaranteeing that I¡¯d lose everything I own and quickly find myself homeless if I ever tried something like that. Though, it was nice to dream.

    I poured my coffee into my thermos and took one last glance at the clock before exiting: "5:42." I made my way to the elevator and pressed the button for down. It dinged, and as the door opened, I noticed another man in a suit waiting. I walked inside, and he gave me a look, clearly annoyed that the elevator stopping at my floor delayed him by a couple of seconds. I stood in the opposite corner from him and watched as he started mashing the door close button in a hurry. I felt anger starting to brew inside me. "What''s this guy¡¯s problem?" I thought as the elevator descended. I quickly tried to correct my thinking to a more positive note. "Stop taking stuff personally. He''s probably just in a hurry, and it has nothing to do with you," I told myself as I sipped my coffee.

    The elevator stopped at the ground floor, and I waited as the man exited through the doors, which had barely opened enough for him to fit. "Good riddance," I thought as I watched him exit the building and turn left down the street. I exited the building and turned right, starting my walk to the first crosswalk of my morning commute to work.

    I pressed the button and waited for the light to change when I noticed someone walking up to me in my peripherals. I took a quick glance and saw it was a very shady-looking man who seemed like he''d been up all night. Probably A drug addict who was about to ask me for spare change. As he made his way toward me, I hoped the light would turn so I could start walking and avoid the situation altogether.

    "Hey, man," he said as he approached my right side. I took a sip of my coffee and tried to act like I didn¡¯t hear him, hoping he would stop talking to me. I knew this wouldn¡¯t work¡ªit never did.

    "Hey, bro," he said, this time right next to me. I turned my head toward him and replied, "What''s up?"

    He continued, "You got a dollar or something, man? I haven''t eaten anything in three days, man. Please." I hated these situations because I had a strong feeling this guy did this every day.

    "No, man. I don''t," I said, turning my gaze back to the crosswalk light, which seemed to refuse to let me cross until the situation was resolved.

    "Come on, bro," he continued. "I just need something. Can you buy me a bag of chips?" At this point, I started to get angry again, knowing he wasn¡¯t going to stop asking.

    "I don''t have anything," I said again in a more stern tone, without taking my eyes off the crosswalk light.

    He tisked and began walking backward, muttering profanities at me. "This is the type of stuff I''ve been talking about, bro. All I asked for was a dollar, and people can''t even do that." I took another sip of my coffee as I felt anger once again start surging through my veins. The man continued, "Maybe next time I won''t ask. I''ll just take it from you, and you won''t do anything about it."

    Now, my adrenaline started pumping, and I turned my gaze toward him. He was about 10 feet from me at this point, still walking backward and yelling. "Yeah, next time I see you, bro, I''ll just take what I need. I won''t even ask; I''ll just take it, and you won''t do anything."

    He then turned around and continued walking, and I could no longer hear what he was saying, but he was still holding the conversation as if I could hear him.

    The crosswalk light changed to green, and I started walking across the street, my hands shaking from the adrenaline and anger flowing through my veins. I took some deep breaths, trying to calm down, but the thoughts kept flooding in. "I can''t believe that guy, I probably should''ve beat his ass. He wants to get mad and talk to me like that? It''s not my responsibility to give him money."

    I caught myself spiraling into negative thoughts, and as I walked, I tried to shift my thinking to a more positive note. "Don¡¯t worry about it. Don¡¯t take it personally. You did the right thing. If you fought that guy, you would¡¯ve probably ended up in jail. Your the bigger man."

    I took some deep breaths and found myself at the front doors of my office building. I pulled my phone out and checked the time: "6:28." Perfect, I thought as I made my way to the side of the building and took a seat in the designated smoking area. I pulled a cigarette from my pack, lit it, and took a long drag.

    I sat there, taking drag after drag of my cigarette, feeling myself calm down as the adrenaline and anger slowly started to recede. Soon, another man walked up and sat down next to me.

    "Sup, Ryke the Dyke," the man said, and I immediately knew it was Andy, making his usual attempt at what he thought was comedy. I turned my gaze toward him.

    "Don¡¯t call me that," I said, feeling my temper start to once again elevate. I think he picked up on my mood, and his smile shifted into a more serious expression.

    "I was just kidding, Ryker. You good?"

    I realized how tense and guarded I was and immediately relaxed my face, sitting back in a more laid-back posture.

    "Yeah, I¡¯m good," I said, as Andy pulled a cigarette from his pack and lit it.

    "So, you ready for these performance reviews?" he asked. I took another drag of my cigarette before answering.

    "I¡¯m ready to get it over with," I said, exhaling smoke.

    "I hear that," he replied, then started browsing on his phone.

    "What¡¯s the deal with these?" I said. "They give us these reviews in an attempt to make us feel like we have to impress them or something? We show up at this place and work sometimes 60 hours a week, making phone calls, trying to sell these shitty insurance plans, making them enough money to give themselves $100,000 bonuses every year¡ªand yet, we¡¯re rewarded with barely enough to live on and a performance review every quarter where all they do is basically tell us we need to do better."

    Andy just chuckled and said, "Yeah, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer." Never looking up from his phone.

    "How old are you again?" I asked. This seemed to catch his attention, and he turned his gaze toward me.

    "47," he replied.

    I turned my gaze to the ground, wondering if tomorrow I would wake up with most of my life behind me.

    "How old are you?" he asked, breaking my train of thought.

    "Just turned 30," I replied.

    "You''re still young; you''ve got plenty of time to figure things out," he said as he put his cigarette out and headed into the building.

    His words lingered with me. I knew he meant it as a good thing, but to me, it felt heavy¡ªknowing that I still had a lot more time left to try to figure things out and survive, only to ultimately die and be forgotten.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "What''s the point?" I thought, looking down at my phone and realizing it was time to head inside.

    "6:45," my phone read.

    I stood up, walked into the building, scanned my badge to get through security, and made my way to my small cubicle. My old computer barely functioned, and the phone I spent 90% of my day on was sitting next it, waiting for me to try and sell insurance to people who didn¡¯t need it.

    My day was pretty standard up until lunchtime. I checked my emails and replied to all the questions and new updated sales tactics we were supposed to use. I made a few calls to people and was immediately hung up on, at least I didn''t waste too much time. As I was getting up and ready to clock out for lunch, my boss opened his door and yelled from his office.

    "Ryker, you''re next. Come in here."

    I pulled out my phone and checked the time: "10:56." I put it away and looked up to see him just staring at me from his doorway. "This asshole couldn''t wait until after lunch for this?" I thought as I slowly started making my way to his office. When he saw I was coming, he left his door cracked and went back inside.

    When I arrived, he was seated behind his desk with two of his bosses standing behind him, just like in my daydream. I couldn''t help but smirk a little as I entered and closed the door behind me.

    "Have a seat, Ryker," he said, pointing toward the chair opposite his desk. I nodded and sat down, crossing my arms. I really hated this, and in a way, I wanted my body language to say what I didn¡¯t directly tell him. Plus, with him and his two bosses standing there, ready to cast judgment, I couldn¡¯t help but feel my fight-or-flight instinct kicking in. I hated that they had this power over me.

    "I¡¯d like to start off by asking you how you think you did this quarter," he said, looking at me with an expression that made it clear he wasn¡¯t impressed. My anxiety spiked, and I cleared my throat before answering.

    "I think my numbers were pretty solid, sir. I sold one more insurance plan than I did last quarter."

    He continued staring at me for several seconds before looking down at some papers he had in front of him.

    "How about your attendance, Ryker? Do you think that has been... solid?"

    I immediately felt anger rising inside me again and knew where this was going. On average, I call out one day every 2 or 3 weeks, just to gain some sense of freedom and have a day to relax and clear my head. This guy was going to use it against me to keep me down so they could justify paying me the barely livable salary they¡¯ve been paying me for the last eight years.

    "I do," I answered, my tone stern and rebellious.

    He stared at me for a few seconds, which felt like an attempt to make me uncomfortable¡ªand it was working.

    "I¡¯m going to give it to you straight," he said, leaning back in his seat. "Your performance is satisfactory, but your attendance needs work. I want you to be proud of the work you do, and I want you to *want* to be here."

    His two bosses behind him nodded their heads as he continued.

    "I expect to see your attendance improve and your sales go up by more than just one. You¡¯ve been here for a long time now, and I expect you to set an example for the new hires and less experienced salespeople."

    I felt my fists ball up under my arms as he kept using the word *expect.*

    "If this company is going to succeed, we need everyone doing their part and making the sacrifices necessary to get us there."

    This time, I was the one who didn¡¯t break eye contact. I wanted to tell him that I already spent most of my time at work and wasn¡¯t about to work myself to death just so he could line his pockets and get a bigger bonus. I wanted to tell him right then and there that I quit¡ªand not only that, but I was going to call each and every person I sold this scam insurance to and educate them on how it was designed so that the company never had to pay out anything.

    But I didn¡¯t. Instead, I replied, "Yes, sir."

    He smiled and nodded, then motioned his hand toward the door. I got up and saw myself out, hearing him call someone else¡¯s name for their quarterly review.

    I pulled my phone out again. It read: "11:20."

    I only had 10 minutes left for lunch before I needed to be back at work.

    I sat there, contemplating whether I had enough time to run to the sandwich shop down the street or if I should just take my 30 minutes now and come back later than everyone else. I knew that if I did that, it would look like I came back late from lunch. Even if I explained why, it would still leave a negative impression on the people in the office who mattered.

    Fuck it, I thought to myself. I''m taking the rest of the day off.

    I took the elevator down to the lobby and headed out the doors, my thoughts spiraling again.

    "I wish I could¡¯ve told that guy off. Why does life have to be so hard? Why can¡¯t people just do their job and make a decent enough wage to live on?"

    My anger rose, and I felt upset with the way the world was. People weren¡¯t interested in fixing society¡¯s problems. They just wanted to step on others until their circumstances were good enough that the problems no longer applied to them. They¡¯d do whatever it took to get to the top, and when they got there, they¡¯d kick anyone else trying to climb up.

    I tried to take deep breaths to calm myself down. Just go home, relax, and sleep on it, I thought as I approached the crosswalk. I pressed the button and waited for the light to change.

    As I stood there, trying to calm myself, I heard a woman behind me say, "Please, sir, I don¡¯t have anything."

    I turned around to see a young girl in her early twenties walking hastily toward the crosswalk where I was standing. She was noticeably distressed, with a serious look of concern on her face. I looked behind her and saw the man who had asked me for money that morning, following her and trying to catch up.

    "I wasn¡¯t asking," he said, continuing toward her. "I said, give me your money before I take it."

    He looked much worse than he had this morning¡ªshaking all over. He must be on something, I thought, as I watched the woman press the button, as if it were a life-or-death situation. The man caught up to her and grabbed her arm. She gasped in fear, and in that moment, something snapped inside me.

    A strong rage built up within me, and it exploded. I didn¡¯t black out¡ªI knew exactly what I was doing, but in that moment, there seemed to be no other option.

    I grabbed the man¡¯s wrist and squeezed it as hard as I could.

    "Hey!" I yelled as I shoved him with my other arm. He stumbled back letting go of the woman and focused his attention on me.

    "What¡¯s up?!" he yelled, lunging at me. He grabbed me by the shirt collar and we both fell to the ground. We rolled around a bit in a struggle but I was ultimately stronger and angrier than him and was able to roll myself on top of him.

    I started punching him, letting all my anger and rage pour out.

    "She said, leave her alone!" I screamed, throwing punch after punch into his face.

    He struggled, grabbing at my face and then pulling his hands back down out of my sight. I continued punching and putting every bit of energy I had into punishing this man and showing him what happens when you try to bully and take from others. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach which started spreading and becoming more intense. I stopped for a moment, and the man bloody and coughing scrambled out from underneath me, running in the opposite direction.

    I felt a sense of relief¡ªalmost pride¡ªlike I had finally delivered justice to someone who deserved it. I looked down at my stomach and noticed a lot of blood staining my white dress shirt. It seemed to cover every inch of it, dripping to the ground.

    I quickly unbuttoned my shirt and saw several deep stab wounds and gashes across my stomach and lower chest. Then the pain hit me in waves, intense and overwhelming.

    "Sir, we called an ambulance. Stay calm," I heard a man say.

    I sank back onto my butt, and as the realization of what just happened began to dawn on me, everything around me started to dim. It became hard to see. I lay down, closed my eyes, and felt a sensation of falling. Then, after a few moments the falling stopped and the pain ceased. I opened my eyes to find myself staring into a black endless void.

    "Is anyone there?" I yelled, waiting for a response. The silence was disheartening, so I yelled again, "Am I dead?"

    A man''s voice responded, so close to my ear that I jolted and spun around. "What do you think?"

    I waited, scanning the darkness, trying to find the person who had spoken, but all I saw was nothing¡ªjust darkness.

    "I''m either dead, or in a coma and this is some weird dream," I said, hoping it was the latter.

    "No, sorry to break it to you, but you''re dead," the voice responded.

    It was hard to process. Other than only being able to see darkness, I didn¡¯t feel dead. I felt like I always felt¡ªexcept maybe lighter. I waited for a few moments, hoping the voice would speak again, but nothing was said.

    "So, where am I now?" I asked, hoping the voice wasn''t gone.

    "Well, it''s kind of hard to explain," the voice replied. "You''re not anywhere, really. You''re in the space in between." I tried to process this for a moment before speaking again.

    "So, is this like purgatory, where I await my judgment?" I responded.

    The voice laughed, then continued. "No, there''s no judgment here¡ªother than the judgment you cast on yourself."

    I waited, trying to understand what that meant.

    "So, are you God?" I asked, still trying to grasp what the hell was going on.

    The voice laughed again, then responded, "I can see how you¡¯d think that, given your current perspective, but no, I am not God. I''m just here to reassign you."

    Reassign me? What the hell does that mean? I thought, feeling completely lost and confused.

    The voice continued, "If you''re done asking questions, I can continue on with this. Or you can just sit here, floating, for a few more days until you''re ready."

    "Ready for what? What am I getting ready for?" I asked, really not liking how cryptic this voice was being.

    "Ready for your reassignment," it said.

    I let out a sigh, realizing I was getting nowhere. "Okay, I''m ready for my reassignment," I said, now curious about what this was all about.

    "Alright, I''ll get on with it then."

    It was quiet for a few moments, then the voice continued.

    "Ryker Lane, you spent your life in the shadows of others. You fought against the hands that held you back, but in doing so, you never saw the invisible threads you tied yourself to. You were so focused on the injustices you felt you suffered that you failed to see the choices you made which bound you in place. You became your own cage, and in that cage, you forgot that freedom was never about what others did to you¡ªit was always about what you allowed yourself to become. Your anger built walls, not bridges. You were blinded by resentment, and in your blindness, you attacked what you feared most¡ªyour own chance at peace. You could have let go, but instead, you clenched your fists until they turned to dust."

    "Hold on a minute!" I interrupted. The voice stopped, and I waited a few moments before continuing. "I did my best. I tried to make something of myself. I got tired of constantly being ignored and stepped on. I was tired of the injustice that I and countless others faced every day. In the end, I stood up to a bully who tried to take from someone they thought was weaker than them." I paused, briefly reliving that last moment. Then, I continued, "And I paid for it with my life."

    "May I continue?" the voice asked. I didn¡¯t respond; I just remained silent, and after a few moments, it began to speak again.

    "I¡¯ve seen your struggle, and I¡¯ve watched as you clung to bitterness, believing it was the only strength you had left. But I offer you a chance for something different. You will be reborn into a world where you will have power¡ªpower to shape your own path, power to influence the course of those around you. But know this: Power does not erase the truth of your heart. In this new life, you will face the same choices, the same tests. Will you use your strength to build, or will you use it to destroy? This time, you will not be a pawn in others'' hands¡ªyou will be the one who decides what kind of person you become. I will watch, and you will know whether you have learned or merely escaped."

    "Reborn?" I said. "So, I¡¯m going to live again?"

    "Indeed, if you so choose," the voice responded.

    I wanted to say yes immediately, but decided to think on it for a moment and ask a few more questions. "You said I¡¯ll be born into a life where I have power. Does that mean I¡¯ll be born into a royal family or something?"

    "No," the voice said.

    I waited for clarification, but none came. I sighed. "So, what does being born with power mean, exactly?" I finally asked.

    The voice responded, "It means you¡¯ll have the ability to gain power with much less effort than it took when you were on Earth. And once you gain that power, you¡¯ll keep it¡ªit will never diminish."

    I thought about this for a moment, but it still didn¡¯t make sense to me. "So, I¡¯ll be on Earth as a superhero?" I asked, kind of just guessing at this point.

    "No, you won¡¯t be a superhero, and you won¡¯t be on Earth," the voice said.

    I was shocked when I heard this. "If I won¡¯t be on Earth, then where will I be?" I asked.

    "You¡¯ll be on another planet in another star system. That''s all you can know."

    I paused for a moment, trying to let this sink in. I floated in silence, just me and the infinite void before me. I was being offered the chance at another life¡ªa fresh start where I would have the power to change my circumstances. I would stand up for what is right and deliver justice to those who deserved it. If I played my cards right, I could help create a world I¡¯d be proud to live in and be a part of.

    The voice interrupted my thoughts. "What you see as justice may be perceived as injustice by another. The world is not so simple, nor is right and wrong so clear-cut. The actions you take may have consequences you cannot foresee, and what you deem ''right'' might cause harm to those you never intended to hurt. Tread carefully, for perspective shapes all things."

    I was shocked for a moment by these words. Was this voice reading my thoughts? I decided to move on. "I''m ready," I said. "I accept your offer."

    Just then, I saw a distant light¡ªfaint but almost as if it were calling to me. I waited a while for something to happen, but nothing. "What do I do?" I asked.

    The voice responded, "I can only show you the door. You must walk through it."

    I stared at the light for a moment and began willing myself toward it. At first, it was slow, but the light grew brighter and seemed to draw closer. The more I focused, the faster I seemed to move, and suddenly I was thrust forward at a speed I thought impossible. The light consumed me, enveloping me from all sides. It felt warm and inviting.

    Soon, I began to regain feeling in my body, and within seconds, the light was gone. I found myself staring at a beautiful starry night sky

 Chapter 2

    I was lying on my back. I sat up and began scanning the area around me. Giant trees towered over me, and I was sitting on a soft patch of grass. It looked like I was in a forest, and I wondered if I might be just outside the city where I lived.

    I looked up at the sky again, and it appeared to be the night sky I was used to. I wasn¡¯t an astronomer who could identify star systems, so everything seemed normal to me. Maybe this was just a dream, I thought. Perhaps the blood loss from my stab wounds had caused me to wander into the woods and pass out.

    My doubts were dismissed when I noticed two moons in the sky. One was A bright blue with dark blue craters and larger than Earth¡¯s moon, and next to it was a smaller, red one with a red ring around it. The realization hit me then: I was on another world, and everything I had experienced was real¡ªnot just a dream. If I wasn¡¯t already sitting down, I might have fallen in shock from the overwhelming realization.

    I sat for a while, staring at the two moons, trying to accept that this was now my reality. "Was I the same too?" I stood up and began inspecting myself. I was wearing what looked like potato sacks someone had sewn together to make a shirt and pants. I lifted the shirt to inspect my stomach. There was no blood, but there were scars all over my lower chest and abdomen. They looked fully healed but were still there¡ªa grim reminder of how I got here. I pulled my shirt back down, not wanting to relive that day again.

    Next, I inspected my feet. I was wearing what appeared to be wooden sandals with leather straps holding them in place. This was odd. It seemed like the world I was on wasn¡¯t as developed as Earth, if this was what clothing looked like.

    After taking in my surroundings, I noticed how eerily quiet it was. There were no sounds of insects¡ªjust complete silence. Every now and then, I spotted what looked like fireflies, but what was strange was that they illuminated in different colors. I watched as they flashed pink, purple, yellow¡ªjust like on Earth¡ªand even black that seemed darker than dark.

    The trees were large and beautiful, as though they had been standing for hundreds of years. The grass around me was soft and inviting. I wasn¡¯t sure where to go or what to do, so I started walking. I figured heading in the direction of the moons was as good as any. It was hard to see, but after what seemed like maybe half an hour of walking, I saw flickering lights ahead of me. At first, I thought it was the strange fireflies again, but these didn¡¯t move. This must be some sort of civilization. I quickened my pace and made my way out of the forest.

    I stood in awe at what lay before me. The sun was rising, and ahead stood a great castle¡ªor what I assumed was a castle. In the center was a towering stone pillar, surrounded by smaller pillars. With the sun rising behind it, everything was outlined beautifully. It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale, a fantasy land depicted in an illustration.

    Around the castle were large stone walls, they looked about three stories high from where I stood¡ªdefinitely too large to climb over. Beyond that, I saw what looked like smaller buildings made of wood, perhaps homes or shops of some kind. I stood for a while, taking it all in.

    ¡°Hey!¡± a voice yelled from my side. I turned and saw what I could only describe as knights riding up to me on horses. There were six of them, all wearing full metal armor, like what you¡¯d see in a medieval painting or a history book. As they drew closer, the one in front immediately dismounted and walked over to me, while the rest stayed mounted, prepared for action at a moment¡¯s notice.

    ¡°H-hey,¡± I stammered as the armored man came up to me. He was a foot taller than me, and his suit of armor, along with a giant shield on his back and a sword hanging from his side that looked well-used, was intimidating.

    He looked me up and down for a moment before glancing at the wood line, scanning the area, then turning back to me. ¡°You don¡¯t look like a hunter. You don¡¯t have a bow or even a skinning knife,¡± he said. His eyes shifted back to the trees before returning to me. ¡°I don¡¯t see a camp anywhere where I could find such items.¡±

    His fierce gaze pierced me, and I felt a chill. "What are you doing out here so far from the city?¡± He grasped the hilt of his sword as if ready to strike at a moment¡¯s notice.

    My adrenaline spiked, and my instincts screamed at me to run, but I couldn¡¯t think. All I could do was blurt out the truth. ¡°I just woke up in the woods, sir,¡± I said. The soldier didn¡¯t move a muscle, and it was clear he wanted more than that. I hesitated, not wanting to tell him I was from another world¡ªthat would definitely be a death sentence and I wasn¡¯t in a hurry to get stabbed to death again.

    I couldn¡¯t think fast enough, so I stuck with the truth, hoping for mercy. ¡°I was attacked and left for dead.¡± I swallowed hard, the words coming out slowly. ¡°All I remember is I was bleeding a lot, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was in the woods, right over there.¡± I pointed back in the direction I had come from.

    The guard looked at me for a moment, then scanned the woods again. I continued. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure where I was, so I started walking and ended up here.¡± The guard¡¯s eyes moved slowly from the top of my head down to my feet, his posture still tense, ready to react at any moment.

    ¡°Show me your wounds,¡± he ordered.

    At that moment, I realized I had made a mistake. My story didn¡¯t add up, and it was clear he would think I was lying once he didn''t see fresh wounds. Reluctantly, I lifted my shirt and closed my eyes, bracing for whatever was to come. Several moments passed and I opened my eyes to see he hadn¡¯t moved. His posture seemed to relax slightly.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m surprised you survived that,¡± he said, and I felt the tension ease just a little. ¡°If what you say is true, then a hunter must have found you and healed you before continuing on with his hunt. You¡¯re lucky one of them found you.¡±

    I stood there, confused, but quickly let it go and responded, ¡°Yes, sir, those were my thoughts as well.¡±

    He straightened his posture and turned toward his horse. Without effort, he climbed onto it, despite the heavy armor he wore. He looked down at me and motioned for me to climb on. ¡°Climb up. I¡¯ll take you home. It¡¯s not safe out here without a weapon to protect yourself.¡±

    I immediately felt a sense of dread. I had no idea where to tell him ¡°home¡± was, but I knew I couldn¡¯t refuse. These soldiers conducted themselves as if they were the law, and disobedience wasn¡¯t an option.

    I approached the horse, uncertain how to climb on. I glanced at the other soldiers, who watched intently, as if waiting for me to make a mistake.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ve got better things to do than spend all day ferrying around lesser folk,¡± the guard said. I knew I had to act quickly.

    I jumped onto the horse, but my stomach landed just behind the saddle. I struggled to find something to grip onto, but the horse neighed and reared back. I fell to the ground, landing flat on my back. The soldiers erupted in laughter, and the guard immediately regained control of the horse, circling it back to me.

    Clearly annoyed, he reached his hand out for me to grab. I stood up, attempted to brush myself off and took his hand, and with surprising force, he pulled me up. I spun around and landed perfectly behind him on the horse.

    He gave commands to the other soldiers. ¡°Continue the patrol. I¡¯ll drop this one with the others and meet you just before the eastern border. If you see any Mythandor patrols, send one man back to alert the guard. The rest of you follow, but do not engage unless necessary. Wait for backup.¡± The soldiers nodded and rode off.

    The guard gave his horse a swift kick, and we headed toward the city with the castle. As the horse trotted forward, I felt myself start to lose balance again, so I grabbed onto the soldier¡¯s armor for stability.

    He turned his head and shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t fall off again, or I¡¯ll leave you here and let the gods decide your fate.¡±

    I gripped tighter and tried to wrap my head around his use of the word ¡°gods¡±¡ªplural.

    We rode for a while, and with another kick, the horse broke into a full sprint. It took all my strength to hang on, but after a few minutes, I started to get the hang of it.

    We soon arrived at a small town on the outskirts of the city. A few wooden huts dotted the area, with people working on a nearby farm. When the guard arrived, the people stopped working and looked up at us intently. I even saw one man gripping his pitchfork with both hands, as if expecting trouble.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    The guard turned back to me. ¡°You should be able to find your way back from here, I assume?¡± he asked.

    I immediately felt a sense of relief. ¡°Yes, sir,¡± I replied, then clumsily fell off the side of the horse.

    I took a step back from the horse, and the guard nodded. Without another word, he steered his horse around and, as quickly as we had arrived, he was gone, disappearing into the distance.

    I turned around and looked at my surroundings, trying to figure out what my next move was. However, I was interrupted by what I could only describe as a notification popping up in the corner of my vision. It read, "Horseback riding skill increased, level 1." I was taken aback as the words stayed for a moment and then faded away. "What the fuck?" I thought, and started reflecting on the whole ordeal I had just gone through. Suddenly, I had some basic knowledge of riding. I knew the proper way to climb onto a horse, how to steer, and how to shift my weight as I rode.

    "Oi," a man said, and I turned to see one of the farmers with a pitchfork next to me. He looked older¡ªmaybe in his forties¡ªbut his physique was that of an amateur bodybuilder. He wore simple clothes, similar to mine, but more worn and patched up. He still held the pitchfork in a defensive manner and asked, "You looking for something?"

    I shook my head and said, "No, I just caught a ride in from the woods."

    He looked a bit puzzled and asked, "What were ye doing in the woods? You don''t look like a hunter."

    I shrugged my shoulders and said, "It''s a long story."

    He rested his pitchfork on the ground and pulled out what looked like a homemade cigarette. He put his index finger and thumb up to the end of it, then snapped his fingers. A flame arose from his thumb, and the cigarette started smoking. He shook his hand, and the flame went out.

    "That''s a neat trick," I said, and he looked at me a bit puzzled.

    "Do you think I can have one of those?" I asked.

    The farmer smiled and pulled another one out of his pocket. He didn''t hand it to me right away, though. He just inspected it for a moment before saying, "I''ll give ye one, and I''ll also give ye a place to sleep tonight. We have a spare bed, and we''ll feed ye. But we could use some help on the farm, if you''re interested."

    I looked over the man''s shoulder and saw two younger men still working hard. They were using a horse and a plow to till the dirt. One guided the horse while the other tried keeping the plow in a straight line as the horse pulled it. They wore the same simple clothes as the farmer and myself.

    I smiled and took the cigarette from the man as an unspoken agreement that I accepted his deal. He nodded, then spoke again. "Those are me sons, Eldrick and Jorik. Eldrick''s the older one in front, Jorik''s the one handling the plow. He needs to learn how to do it properly and hasn''t quite grasped it yet after all these seasons. Me wife and daughter are selling some of our stock in the castle square. You''ll meet them later. I am Harald."

    He held out his hand to shake mine, and I quickly put the cigarette in my mouth, offering my hand in return.

    "I''m Ryker," I said as we shook hands, his grip was stronger than any handshake i''d ever had before. I quickly pulled my hand back and examined it, looking for damage.

    "I hope you''re up for this," he added. "This is hard work."

    I sensed his doubt in my ability to perform.

    "I can manage, and I''m a quick learner," I said.

    He continued taking drags of his cigarette and watched me with mine in my mouth, unlit. He seemed to be waiting for me to light it.

    "Do you have a lighter?" I asked, knowing full well he probably wouldn''t know what I was talking about.

    "No fire magic then." he said, then snapped his fingers again, producing a small flame. He held it up to my cigarette, and I took the first drag, which felt like the first drag of a cigarette I''d had in centuries."Magic..right."I said as I inhaled the smoke, enjoying the flavor.

    Harald motioned with his head for me to follow. I trailed behind him to the field, and as we arrived, his two sons stopped to greet us.

    "Keep those lines straight, Jorik," Harald said, pointing to the plow lines already laid down.

    Jorik stood up, catching his breath.

    "He¡¯s never going to learn, Pa. You should just let me do it," Eldrick said, a proud smile on his face.

    "No, he¡¯s going to learn at some point. I don¡¯t care how many seasons it takes," Harald replied, slapping Jorik on the shoulder.

    At that point, I let out a deep exhale of smoke that was louder than I had anticipated. The farmers all looked up at me. Harald broke the silence.

    "Boys, this is Ryker. He¡¯s going to help us with the plowing today so we can start seeding tomorrow. Teach him what you know."

    The boys nodded and shook my hand. As I stuck my hand out, one by one, I felt like they were also going to break it. I quickly pulled my hand back, and after a pause they just looked at their father.

    Harald spoke again. "Just try to teach him, and we¡¯ll see how he does."

    The rest of the day was pure hell. I spent time guiding the horse, which was a lot harder than it looked. The plowing itself was even more difficult. The plow was heavy, and there were several spots we had to redo because I wasn¡¯t strong enough to keep the plow in the dirt. It kept pulling out and gliding on top of the soil instead of cutting through it. After hours of this, I could sense the farmers'' frustration growing.

    I ended the day by simply watching them and fetching water from a nearby stream whenever they were thirsty. As the sun was setting, Harald finally said the magic words.

    "Alright, I guess we¡¯re done for the day. Let¡¯s head in for supper."

    I was starving and relieved to finally have this day behind me. I started toward the small house, following the farmers, but I could barely keep pace with them since I was extremely sore. When we reached the door, they opened it up and waited for me to catch up.

    The smell of whatever his wife and daughter were cooking wafted out, and it smelled out of this world¡ªdelicious to me. In a way, I guess it technically was out of my world.

    I walked in and saw a table already set with what looked like a giant roasted chicken in the center, generously garnished with potatoes and carrots, along with a giant pitcher filled with what smelled and looked like some sort of sweet wine. My mouth immediately started watering as I gazed at the delicious spread. Harald broke my hypnotic trance at the food.

    "Ryker, this is my wife, Alyndra, and my daughter, Lirael."

    I looked up and saw two blonde-haired women staring back at me. Alyndra seemed to be about the same age as Harald, but again, she had the physique of someone half her age. Lirael looked more like the younger sister of Alyndra instead of being her daughter. Both were very beautiful and would give any model back home a run for their money.

    "Nice to meet you both," I said, smiling, and then took my place at the table.

    Once everyone sat down, Alyndra began making everyone¡¯s plates, and Lirael passed them out. Harald was served first, his sons second, and then finally, me. Lirael handed me my plate, and Alyndra spoke up.

    "I made sure to give you some extra vegetables so you can recover from your day. I hear you had a tough time out there today."

    I looked up, and she just smiled and winked at me. I felt my face getting hot, but she was right. I made myself look like a fool out there today. I had never done any kind of physical labor like this before, and it showed.

    Once everyone had their food, we all began eating. The meat tasted like it was chicken and turkey at the same time. The vegetables were cooked perfectly and tasted like they were freshly picked that morning. The wine was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. It was like drinking fresh, juicy grapes and maple syrup with every swig.

    I took my time eating and savored every bite until my plate was clean.

    Once everyone finished their meal, they started retiring to their rooms. Harald stood up and said, "Come with me, Ryker."

    I got up from my seat, which felt like hardest thing I had done all day. My body was already sore and stiff from the day¡¯s work. I followed Harald outside, and he pulled out a cigarette, lit it with his finger snap, and handed it to me before lighting another one for himself. I followed him to another wooden shack with a thatch-type roof, and we stopped just in front of it.

    He turned to look at me and said, "Listen, I¡¯m going to be honest with ye, Ryker." He took a drag of his cigarette before speaking again, and I did the same.

    "I know you¡¯ve never farmed before in yer life, but I need help, and that¡¯s why I asked ye." He took another drag of his cigarette before continuing."I''m gonna need more from you if you¡¯re to stay. I need you to be better than you were today. Yer actually slowing us down, and I don¡¯t have time to hold yer hand the whole time."

    I started to say something, but he just held up his hand to let him finish.

    "Now, you seem like a decent enough man, and I understand that this was yer first day. I¡¯m willing to let today be just a teaching day for you." He took another drag and then looked out at his fields before continuing. "But tomorrow, I¡¯m going to need you to show me that I didn¡¯t make a mistake."

    He paused for a moment, looking at me, then continued, "Can ye do that?"

    I simply nodded, and Harald patted me on the shoulder before making his way back to his house.

    "I¡¯m counting on ye," he said just before entering the door to his house.

    I stayed outside and took in my surroundings for a while longer. The sun had already set, and the different colored fireflies were flying around, flashing their lights. I watched until my cigarette was gone. I opened the door to the shack and saw a simple bed. The frame was wooden and looked homemade, while the mattress and pillow seemed to be filled with hay or dead grass. I didn¡¯t care. I laid down and just stared at the interwoven thatch on the ceiling above my head.

    As I lay there, I thought about what Harald said. "I¡¯m counting on ye." I wondered what he meant by that. I guess it didn''t matter, I needed somewhere to stay while I figured out what to do next and this place was as good as any.

    My eyelids felt extremely heavy, and I drifted off to sleep. However, it wasn¡¯t dreams that I had, but more notifications.

    Farming increased to Level 3.

    Strength increased to Level 3.

    Fire magic skill increased to Level 1.You are now able to create a small flame from snapping your fingers together.

    I abruptly opened my eyes and sat up straight. "What the hell is going on?" I thought, trying to wrap my head around these notification things that kept popping up. Then I remembered what the voice from the void had said to me:

    ¡°You¡¯ll have the ability to gain power with much less effort than it took when you were on Earth. And once you gain that power, you¡¯ll keep it¡ªit will never diminish.¡±

    I stared for a few moments, trying to understand what he meant by that. I pulled my hand up in front of my face and, very slowly and deliberately, I snapped my fingers. A flame arose from the tip of my thumb, and I just stared in awe for a few moments. It didn¡¯t burn, and it was just like holding a lighter. I shook my hand, just as I had seen Harald do, and it went out.

    I laid back down in my bed and started trying to calm my breathing. As I began to drift off to sleep, all I could think was: This is fucking amazing.

 Chapter 3

    "Ryker, time to get up. We''ve got a lot of catching up to do. Breakfast is at the house," Harald said, banging on the wooden door to the shack.

    I jolted up in a daze and, for a moment, I forgot where I was. It came back to me as I looked around at the wooden walls and thatched roof. The sun hadn''t risen yet, and it was still dark.

    I climbed out of bed, and attempted to put on my wooden sandals, I struggled to strap them back on the way they were when I woke up yesterday, but I was able to secure them well enough, and as I stood up straight and stretched, I felt amazing. I wasn''t sore in the slightest, and I noticed strangely my clothes felt a lot tighter. My shirt came up a couple of inches above my beltline, and my pants felt like they might rip with every movement.

    It was almost pitch black inside, so I made my way out and inspected myself under the light of the two moons. I looked bigger, like I had been hitting the gym hard for the last six months. I liked it.

    I thought for a minute about how this was possible, and then I remembered the notifications I got last night:

    Farming increased to level 3

    Strength increased to level 3

    Fire magic increased to level 1

    I smiled at this realization, and snapped my fingers. A flame burned from the tip of my thumb. I watched for a moment before shaking it out.

    I made my way over to the house and gave a polite knock before opening the door. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. As I entered, the room fell silent. Eldrick, Jorik, Lirael, and Harald were already seated at the table, and Alyndra was making her way to the table with another plate of food. She froze when she saw me. They all stared for a few seconds longer than I would have liked, and I saw a slight smile on Harald''s face.

    "Well," Alyndra said as she unfroze and set the plate on the table, "those vegetables seemed to work."

    I smiled at her and took my place at the table. Harald resumed eating, occasionally glancing up at me, while Eldrick, Jorik, and Lirael continued to stare.

    "I don''t get it¡ªwere you sick or something yesterday?" Jorik said, looking almost irritated by my transformation.

    "Yes, he was, but now he''s feeling much better," Harald interrupted. "Now, finish your breakfast. We have a lot to do today."

    He gave me another glance, as if that was directed more at me than his children. I looked at my plate of food and was immediately taken aback. There were two eggs that looked twice as big as chicken eggs, three slices of fruit that resembled watermelon but were blue, and two thick slices of what looked like ham but tasted similar to deer.

    I immediately began eating. It was all delicious and unlike anything I had ever tasted. I ate fast enough to finish at the same time as everyone else.

    "Alright," Harald said, and everyone stood up from the table. As I stood and started toward the door, Alyndra grabbed my arm and said, "Here," handing me some folded-up clothes. "I was making these for Harald, but I think they''ll fit you just fine."

    I smiled, nodded, and headed to my shack to change.

    The clothes fit well and were nearly identical to what I had been wearing previously, only in a bigger size. There were also some leather moccasins that fit and were a welcome change from the wooden sandals I had worn yesterday. As I put on the moccasins, I thought about snapping my fingers and burning the sandals as a final insult to the uncomfortable footwear, but decided against it since the whole building I was in was flammable. I tucked the old clothes under my bed and headed out to the fields.

    I spent the day helping Hadvar and his sons finish plowing the field and planting the seeds. Today went a lot differently than yesterday. I handled the plow just as well as Eldrick would on his best day, and when the plowing was finished hours ahead of schedule, we began planting. Harald started explaining the seed placement and spacing, but somehow, I already knew what it should be.

    By the time the sun began to set, everything was finished, and I knew I had upheld my end of the agreement. The smell of Alyndra and Lirael''s cooking wafted toward me, and I was eager to see what kind of dish they had prepared. We all made our way back to the house and sat down to eat. This time, it was some kind of stew. It resembled a beef stew from Earth, with vegetables, but the flavor was distinct enough to feel new and exciting.

    The family seemed much more relaxed than they had the previous night. Eldrick laughed and teased his younger brother, who acted annoyed, though I could tell he was having fun. Alyndra and Harald shared a kiss after their meal¡ª the first time I had ever seen them intimate¡ªwhile Lirael remained focused on knitting something between each bite of food.

    After we finished our meals, everyone made their way to their rooms, except for Harald, who followed me outside.

    He pulled a cigarette out and handed it to me, just watching as I took it. I put it to my mouth, but instead of getting one out for himself, he just continued to watch. I flicked my fingers to light it with a flame, then shook it out. Harald started laughing as he pulled a cigarette out for himself and did the same.

    ¡°I had a feeling about ye when that guard dropped you off.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, taking a drag.

    He continued, ¡°Ye got dropped off by a guard, and instead of going home, ye just stood there looking as lost as a newborn Ashclaw.¡± He paused to take a hit from his cigarette. ¡°That was my first clue. Then I decided to test ye. I offered ye a place to stay if ye helped on the farm, and ye had no problem accepting.¡± He exhaled smoke before taking another drag, a smile playing on his lips. ¡°Then ye worked like Jorik did his first day in the fields, and miraculously, somehow, ye wake up the next day stronger and better at farming than Eldrick is on his best day.¡±

    He stared at me for a moment, puffing on his cigarette now and then, as if waiting for me to respond.

    ¡°I told you I was a fast learner,¡± I said, trying to still play it cool.

    Harald just nodded and smiled, as though he¡¯d anticipated my answer. ¡°Ye are not from this world.¡±

    I was shocked to hear those words come out of his mouth. How could this simple farmer from this primitive town know that I was from a different world? I looked down, kicking the dirt around, as Harald continued to watch me.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    ¡°You¡¯re a chosen,¡± he said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what that means,¡± I replied.

    Harald was happy to educate me. ¡°Sure ye do. Ye can learn things extremely quickly, and the only people who can do that are chosen.¡± He leaned in a little closer and whispered, ¡°You¡¯re not the first one, you know.¡±

    I stared back at him, shocked. Harald smiled again and turned his gaze to the sky.

    ¡°Seeing as you''re from another world, I think it¡¯s safe to assume ye know nothing of this place,¡± he said. I nodded in agreement, and he continued. ¡°Right now, you¡¯re in Kaedras¡ªthe very outskirts of it. Our ruler calls himself the Warden of Kaedras, and his guard, in charge of protecting this land, are called the Emberguard.¡±

    He looked at me, taking another drag of his cigarette. ¡°That¡¯s who dropped ye off here. And trust me, be glad they didn¡¯t figure out what ye were.¡±

    "What would have happened if they figured out I was chosen?" I interrupted still not comfortable with calling myself that.

    "Well, they would have brought ye to the warden, and ye would have probably been executed."

    "Executed?" I gasped. "Why would they execute me?"

    Harald looked at me with serious eyes. "Because ye threaten everything the warden has built."

    I waited for him to clarify.

    "When I was a child, the warden took power. He united all the humans. He personally oversaw the construction of Kaedras and protected us. He recruited and trained our Emberguard and made us a force to be reckoned with against the other races."

    "Hold on," I said, stopping him. "Why did you specify humans? And what do you mean by other races?"

    He looked at me, a bit puzzled, before realization hit him. "Ye don''t have other races where you''re from?"

    A bit shocked, I responded, "We do have other races, but they¡¯re all humans, just from different ethnic backgrounds, cultures, and with different skin colors."

    "Ah, I see," he said, before continuing.

    "To the east, there is a thick forest. No one is sure how far it goes, but it''s called Mythandor. The elves live there."

    I laughed and then stopped when I realized Harald was serious.

    "Elves?" I said, a smile on my face.

    Harald just looked at me.

    "Yes, elves. Why is that funny?"

    I stuttered a bit. "U-uh, sorry, it''s just that we have stories about elves where I¡¯m from, but they¡¯re just myths and fairy tales."

    Harald stared at me for a moment before continuing.

    "Elves are real, and we are currently at war with them. If ye ever see one, they will not hesitate to kill ye. In their eyes, we are not worthy of the power we currently wield."

    "Oh," I said.

    He continued. "To the south, there¡¯s the Fractured Sea. It has a chain of islands inhabited by a race we call stormkin. They look human, but if ye get close enough, you¡¯ll see lightning bolts inside their eyes. They are masters of lightning magic."

    I motioned for him to give me another cigarette, and he complied. I snapped my fingers and lit it, taking a long drag while trying to process all this.

    He continued. "To the northwest, there are mountains."

    He pointed in that direction, and I looked. You could barely make out the mountain peaks in the distance.

    "That¡¯s Khaerzul," he said. "Legend says it used to be inhabited by titans, but a chosen one killed them all long ago. Now, there¡¯s a race called the Ogruns that live there. They are said to be descendants of titans. I know nothing else about them, though. I''ve never seen one, nor has anyone I know."

    I continued smoking, waiting for more, but Harald seemed to be done.

    "Is that all?" I asked.

    "That¡¯s all I know of," he replied, which made me feel a bit uneasy.

    "What about the rest of the world?" I asked.

    "I don¡¯t know," he said. "These places I just told ye about are the farthest anyone has gone."

    We stayed silent for a few minutes. I just stared out at the fields watching the fireflies Trying to take all this in. The regions he described to me combined was probably the size of a single continent on earth, I wondered what else this world had to offer.

    "Tomorrow, I want ye to go into the city with Alyndra and Lirael. They''re going to try to sell more of our leftover stock from the last harvest. I have a trusted friend who works at the magic academy there. He can explain better than I can what you are and what being a Chosen means for you." He patted my back and started making his way toward his house.

    "Hey, Harald," I said, stopping him. "What did you mean when you said you were counting on me yesterday? Did you mean about getting the fields done?"

    He looked down for a moment, then back up at me. "No, I didn''t mean the fields." He turned and went inside.

    "Okay," I thought, making my way to my shack and lying down on my bed. I laid there for a moment, blinking slowly, trying to see if I got another notification. Nothing came. I had farmed all day, but my farming skill hadn''t increased.

    "Hmmm, that''s weird," I thought. "I wonder what I have to do to raise my skills."

    I felt my eyelids starting to get heavy, and I drifted off to sleep.

    I was only asleep for maybe a few hours when I awoke to a loud crash.

    I jumped out of bed and started putting on my moccasins. I ran to the door and listened. Another crash echoed nearby, followed by men yelling. It was the sound of battle. I cracked open the door and crouched low to the ground. I made my way around the shack and peered over Harald''s fields into the distance. I couldn''t see much except what the moonlight revealed. The woodline was visible, and I knew that was the direction the noises came from. I waited, trying to be as silent as possible.

    "Hey," Harald whispered.

    I jumped and spun to see him crouched beside me, with Eldrick and Jorik right behind him.

    "Fuck, you scared me," I said.

    Harald pressed a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet, and we waited. I scanned the woodline, and suddenly the trees were illuminated by the glow of dozens of guards, their swords bursting into flames. They stood in a defensive stance, and a few moments later, I saw several vines shoot up from the ground and ensnare a couple of the guards. They fought fiercely, hacking at the vines with their swords in an attempt to break free. The other guards ignored them, maintaining their positions.

    Then, several shadowy figures emerged from the trees and attacked the guards. The guards swung their swords at the shadows, cutting down many of them before they retreated back into the woods. I looked back at Harald, and he whispered, "Elves."

    I turned my gaze back to the scene and could make out what appeared to be a volley of arrows shooting from the trees into the guards. After the arrows struck, only three guards remained standing, and several swords lay on the ground, still burning. One of the guards yelled something, and the remaining three grouped together, their backs to each other.

    Another volley of arrows came from the trees, but the guards raised their shields and crouched behind them. One of the guards yelled again, swinging his sword toward the tree line. A giant wave of fire shot from his sword and clashed into the trees. I saw several shadows catch fire, frantically trying to put themselves out before collapsing.

    Once more, vines shot from the ground, trapping the remaining three soldiers where they stood. Two shadows ran up and cut them down. The swords all went dark, except for one, which illuminated a shadow standing over the fallen bodies. It stared eerily in our direction until the flame went out. Then, everything was dark and quiet again.

    Harald and his sons stood up. "We''re okay. The elves won''t bother us," he said, looking at me still crouched on the ground.

    "What do you mean they won''t bother us? One of them seemed to know we were here. They killed all the guards¡ªthere''s nothing stopping them from attacking us," I said, standing up slowly, my eyes still fixed on the wood line. Harald''s sons headed inside while he stayed a bit longer.

    "The elves never leave the forest. They''ll defend their land, but they''ll never lead an assault against us," he explained.

    I looked at him, puzzled. "I thought you said we were at war with the elves."

    "We are," he replied. "The Warden has declared war on the elves. He wants something they have, and they''ll defend it with their lives."

    I looked back at Harald. "You told me that if I ever saw an elf, he wouldn''t hesitate to kill me."

    Harald nodded. "He won''t hesitate, because if you see one, it''ll be because you''re on their land. You won''t see one as long as you stay out of the Mythandor Forest."

    Harald started making his way inside.

    "If they never leave the forest, then why were you concerned enough to come outside?"

    He turned around and replied, "I''m worried about being attacked by the guards, not the elves."

    He turned back and went inside. I watched the wood line for a while longer. It stayed dark for a time, but soon the fireflies started blinking their array of colors again. I made my way back to my bed and got comfortable. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

 Chapter 4

    I jumped awake and quickly scanned my surroundings. Daylight was filtering in through the cracks in the wood. "I must have gotten some sleep after all," I thought.

    I climbed out of bed and stretched before slipping on my moccasins and heading to the door. As I stepped outside, I saw Harald and his sons walking past to water the fields. Harald and Eldrick gave me a smile and a nod as they walked by. Jorik, however, kept his eyes fixed on the ground. I turned around to see him glancing back at me before continuing on his way.

    I knocked on the door and let myself in to find Alyndra and Lirael packing the last bit of vegetables into a large sack. "Perfect timing, Ryker," Alyndra said, struggling a bit to get the sack over her shoulder. I hurried over, took the sack from her, and placed it over mine.

    "I got it," I said.

    "You''re such a gentleman. Thank you," she replied.

    I followed behind her and Lirael as we made our way toward the large castle wall. It took us about half an hour to arrive, but I didn¡¯t mind. I had never seen the town before, and I enjoyed taking in all there was. We passed several small dwellings, all made of wood with thatched roofs, similar to Harald''s place. People were going about their daily chores¡ªwashing clothes outside in a dirty bucket, children chasing each other around with sticks. Even one woman was milking a strange-looking animal that resembled a cow with a lion''s mane and a rabbit''s tail.

    I leaned toward Alyndra and whispered, "What the hell is that?"

    She laughed and whispered back, "That''s a Marnifawn. It''s what we had in our stew last night."

    "Ah, okay," I said as we continued walking.

    I did notice that I mostly saw women and very few men. The men I did see were much older, like they were at retirement age. I thought about it for a moment and decided they must be out hunting or members of the Emberguard.

    As we approached the gate, Alyndra slowed down to walk beside me and whispered, "Only the Emberguard are allowed to have weapons, so they are going to search you and the sack. Just keep your head down and let me do the talking."

    I nodded as we approached. There were two guards standing in front of the entrance beyond the wall. One of them raised his hand and said in a demanding voice, "State your business."

    Alyndra bowed her head and spoke, "Good morning, brave knights. We came hoping we could sell our wares in the market." She pointed to the sack on my shoulder. One of the guards looked at me and extended his hand. I handed him the sack, and he opened it, peeking inside.

    "We''ll have to search you," the guard said, grabbing Alyndra more forcefully than I felt was necessary. He started at her feet and patted her down, working his way up to her head. When he reached her pelvic region, he began to slow down with his search. I looked at Alyndra, and she just closed her eyes. I watched as he continued, deliberately slowing in her personal areas. I felt anger beginning to build inside me.

    "Alright, your turn," he said. He yanked Lirael toward him and began the same process with her. Every fiber of my being screamed to lash out. I wanted to put these guards in their place. I glanced at Alyndra, and she subtly shook her head no.

    Then the other guard spoke. "You got a problem, boy?" He said, eyeing me. "You look like you want to say something to my partner over there." He kept glancing down at my waist, and I noticed my fists were balled. I immediately relaxed them. Alyndra spoke up.

    "No, sir. He just has a slight stomach ache, and it¡¯s painful for him."

    The guard got right in my face and began patting me down. Each pat felt like a small punch. When he finished, he took a step back and spoke again.

    "You may enter, but make sure you get that stomach ache looked at. You don¡¯t want it to cause you more problems in the future." He handed me the sack and kept his gaze on me until I entered through the gate.

    We walked until we were out of earshot of the guards and stopped. I began taking slow, deep breaths to calm the anger inside me. Alyndra just placed her hand on my shoulder and whispered, "choose your battles."

    I nodded, and slowly, my nerves began to ease. Alyndra and Lirael took the lead again, and I followed. The towers in the center seemed massive now that I could see them up close. We walked by the entrance to the main spire, which was by far the largest, and there was only a double set of doors with two guards standing in front. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn¡¯t a drawbridge. We made our way past, and there were several shops selling all sorts of things. Most were cuts of meat and fruits and vegetables I had never seen before. Some I recognized, like pears and oranges, but others seemed like strange hybrids of different fruits from Earth. One looked like a pineapple with cherries sticking out of the side. I had to stop myself from staring too long so Alyndra and Lirael wouldn¡¯t get too far ahead of me. The area was much more crowded, and the people¡¯s attire was much finer too. I wondered if I would stand out too much if I bought more comfortable clothing.

    We soon arrived at an empty stall, and I dropped the sack next to it. Lirael began unpacking the vegetables, and Alyndra motioned for me to follow her. I walked by her side as she began explaining things to me. "I''m taking you to one of the smaller spires. It''s a magic academy, mainly used for training the Emberguard in the ways of fire magic. When we get there, you need to walk in and tell them you have a message for Cedric." She paused as we passed a group of guards standing and talking nearby. Once we were past them, she continued. "If anyone gives you any trouble, tell them you''re on strict orders to give the message to Cedric only. When Cedric arrives, you must say this exactly: ''From the shadows, I step into the light.''

    We arrived just outside the door to the spire, and Alyndra glanced around before continuing. "Tell him that exactly, then do what he says. He will know what you are. I have to get back before someone starts asking questions about what we''re doing." She pulled me into a hug and smiled before turning and hurrying back in the direction we came.

    I took a deep breath, then turned to look at the giant spire with its small wooden door. I opened the door and stepped inside. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim interior, but once they did, I saw a small wooden desk with a candle on one end. A man in a comfortable-looking button-up shirt sat behind the desk, writing something in a book. He looked up at me and put his quill back in its ink jar. He stared for a moment, then shook his head. "Yes?"

    I immediately felt some anxiety and swallowed before speaking. "I have a message for Cedric, sir."

    He stuck his hand out, waiting for me to hand him something. "You can leave it here, and I''ll be sure he gets it."

    I felt a slight panic and quickly said, "Uh, it''s not written down. I''m just supposed to tell him."

    He pulled his hand back. "Okay, then what is it? I''ll make sure he hears it."

    I quickly spoke again, "I was given orders, sir, to tell him myself."

    The man rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well, Cedric isn¡¯t here at the moment, so you can tell me the message, and I¡¯ll let him know."

    I wasn¡¯t sure what to say. My thoughts raced, and I considered leaving to find Alyndra and tell her the plan didn¡¯t work. Then, for some reason, I thought about how the guards had treated them. My anxiety turned to anger, and my panic shifted to determination. I stood a little straighter, speaking more firmly this time.

    "I''m sorry to inconvenience you, sir, but I must see Cedric. This is a message of the utmost importance, so if you¡¯ll please bring him here, I can tell him and be on my way. I have many pressing matters to attend to."

    He seemed a bit shocked at my change of tone, nodded, and headed up the staircase behind him. I only had to wait a few moments before an old man with white hair, wearing the same style of button-up shirt and pants, appeared at the entryway to the stairs.

    "What is this message you have, young man?" he asked. I began walking toward him and he raised his hand and added, "Young man, my hearing is just fine. I do believe you are close enough."

    I stopped and noticed his defensive stance. Looking around for a moment, I leaned in closer and whispered as loudly as I could, "From the shadows, I step into the light."

    He stared for a moment, his eyes widening. "Are you certain?"

    I nodded.

    He waved his hand, gesturing for me to follow, and started up the spiraling stairs. I followed, finding it a bit of a challenge to keep up with the old man. I wondered if he was using some type of magic to make himself move faster. We continued up and up, passing several closed doors that led to the center of the spire. We also passed small windows cut into the stone, and as we climbed higher, I could see more of the landscape surrounding the area. It was beautiful, with open plains and forests stretching out in all directions.

    Finally, we reached a door at the top of the staircase. Cedric opened it, and I quickly followed him inside. He closed the door behind us and locked it.

    "Tell me everything," he said, hurrying to a desk in the middle of the room and searching through the drawers.

    "Well, I am from a planet called Earth. I died, and when I was dead, I spoke to a being who told me I would be reincarnated into another world. I woke up here in the woods, made my way to a farm on the outskirts of the city, where I met some people who clothed me, fed me, and I helped them with their farming. I gained knowledge of farming that same day, as well as a little bit of fire magic. I was told that meant I was a¡ª"

    "A chosen," he interrupted me, still searching through the drawers.

    I cleared my throat and continued, "Yes, I was led here to you and was told you could help me understand what that means."

    He seemed to finally find what he was looking for and rushed over to me. He had a book in his hand and started flipping through the pages, mumbling something under his breath. He finally stopped at a page, read it briefly, and then handed the book to me.

    "Read this. It should help you."

    I looked down at the open book. It read: To find the path, look not to the sky, but to the shadows. Where time bends and light falters, there the spark lies¡ªdormant, yet waiting. Speak the words that were forgotten, and you shall become what you were meant to be.

    I looked up at him, and he just stared at me intently. I started to speak.

    "Well i''m not sure¡ª"

    Just then, a menu popped up in my vision. I focused for a second, and I felt Cedric take the book from my hands. The menu displayed a list of skills¡ªhundreds of them: archery, lightning magic, earth magic, swordplay, stealth. Then I saw it: Farming. Underneath it, there was a small description: The ability to plow fields, plant crops, irrigate crops, and harvest fruits and vegetables. Current level: 3. To reach level 4, you must harvest 20 crops that you planted.

    "Wow," I said

    I scrolled until I found Strength, and it had a message underneath as well: Strength, The ability to exert force on objects or resist physical challenges, often measured by muscle power and endurance. Current level: 3. To reach level 4, you must defeat an enemy using only your hands.

    "Hmmm," I thought. I wondered if that meant beating someone in a fistfight or if I had to kill them with my fists. I kept scrolling until I found the Fire Magic skill. This one didn¡¯t have a description underneath; it just had an experience bar that was half full. I wondered why this one didn¡¯t have a specific task to complete.

    I started looking around, trying to make the menu go away, but it stayed. I tried focusing on Cedric between the lines of dialogue, but he remained blurry. I could just make out his outline.

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    "How do I turn this off?" I asked.

    He responded, "I have no idea what is happening to you. I just know this spell activates the chosen and guides them. I''m sorry, I have no more knowledge on the matter."

    I started to feel a bit panicked and scrolled through the menu, all the way to the bottom. I saw nothing but skills. I tried scrolling back to the top and saw a message in parentheses: To open and close the menu, blink 3 times in quick succession.

    I blinked three times, and the menu disappeared, bringing the world back into focus.

    "Thank you so much," I said, grabbing Cedric''s hand and shaking it with both of mine. He gave me a slight smile and headed over to his desk, sitting down behind it. He pointed to a chair opposite him, and I walked over and sat down.

    "We have much to discuss," he said, grabbing a kettle from his desk. He carefully poured some of the liquid into two cups and handed one to me. I took a sip; it tasted like mint chocolate chip ice cream.

    "Mmmm," I said, taking another sip before placing the cup on the coaster. "What is that?"

    Cedric was still sipping his tea and set his cup down as well. "Icycocoa tea. It helps clear the mind and aids focus."

    I looked at the cup and asked, "Is it a magical brew of some sort?"

    Cedric paused, "No, it''s just heated water and leaves from the icycocoa plant."

    "Right," I said, looking away, hoping the awkwardness of my question would pass.

    "I need to make sure you understand what you are," Cedric continued. I focused my gaze back at him and listened intently.

    "The history of this land, as long as it has been documented, always speaks of a chosen one. There is always a chosen among the rest of us. He is gifted with abilities that, with the right training, can become godlike. The legends say that the chosen are gifted these abilities by Luxarion, the god of gifts. That¡¯s who you met after you died in your previous life."

    I thought back to my meeting with the entity after I died. He specifically told me he was not a god. I decided to keep quiet about this to avoid complicating things.

    "When a chosen one comes here, they have the power to shape the land as they see fit. Upon arrival, they are at their most vulnerable. They are just normal people, but with training, they become very powerful, and none can stand against them. Some chosen ones have lived quiet lives, keeping to themselves."

    I smiled, liking the sound of this.

    "Most, however, find their way to becoming rulers. They use their powers to inspire others to be better and carve a path for greatness for their people. Or¡­" His face tensed a little before continuing. "They use fear and intimidation to rule and force everyone to bend to their will."

    He paused and took another sip of his tea. I did the same.

    "Usually, there is only one chosen in all the land. However, when another chosen arrives, it always intersects with the previous one."

    I thought about this for a moment and asked, "Is there another chosen here?"

    Cedric nodded, and I felt a shock shoot through my body.

    "The Warden of Kaedras," he said.

    I leaned back in my chair, trying to absorb this. Cedric continued.

    "Based on history, the newly arriving chosen will rise up and try to take the previous chosen''s place. This never goes smoothly and always starts a war. Whoever wins becomes or remains ruler. However, this is not the only option. There are records of the new and old chosen working together. Sometimes, the new chosen simply leaves the region, never to be heard from again."

    I just sat there, taking it all in. I felt a huge weight on my shoulders as he explained this to me.

    "It all depends on what the chosen ones decide to do. You must forge your own path and decide," he said.

    I stood up and walked to one of the windows. Cedric remained quiet, and I just stared at the landscape, taking it all in. It was all making sense now¡ªthe stories I¡¯d heard of the Warden bringing the humans together and building this city. I could see why he would do that. However, I wondered why he would start a war with the elves. It must have been to protect his people.

    Maybe I should meet the Warden, I thought, but changed my mind when I recalled how Harald told me I would be executed if he found out who I was.

    "How long has the Warden been here?" I asked.

    "The Warden has ruled for the last 50 years," Cedric responded.

    He probably does have the power of a god at this point, I thought, feeling a bit of fear at this realization.

    I made my way back over to the desk and asked another question. "Why has the Warden declared war with the elves?"

    "For power," Cedric responded. "The elves guard power of the Essence of the Ancients. The Warden wants this power for himself. When the elves refused to give it to him, he began his campaign against them."

    I blinked three times, and my menu popped up. I started scrolling and found the skill called the Essence of the Ancients. I blinked three more times and closed the menu.

    "Can you tell me more about how this leveling system works?" I asked. Cedric paused to think for a moment.

    "I''m not sure what you mean?" I realized he probably had no idea what leveling meant, and I thought of the best way to explain my menu to him.

    "When I read the spell to aid the chosen, I could see all the skills I can learn. Farming, for example, has grown to level 3, and there''s a description of what I need to do to make it grow. However, I learned a little fire magic, and it¡¯s only at level one. It has no description, but there¡¯s a meter that¡¯s half full."

    Cedric took another sip of his tea, thinking for a moment. "All I know is that the chosen can learn things easily up to a point where a non-chosen person would be considered very knowledgeable. To exceed that, they must accomplish certain things to improve."

    I nodded, remembering how my farming skill had increased to level 3 in a single day. After that, a requirement appeared that I needed to fulfill to advance. That must mean I just needed to keep using fire magic until it reached level 3 then I would have a specific task to improve it.

    "I''m sorry I can''t be of more help in that matter," Cedric said.

    "No, you¡¯ve been a great help. You answered my question." I took another sip of my tea, which was growing cold at this point.

    "So, what do I need to do?" I asked.

    Cedric leaned back in his chair, relaxing a little as he thought. "My advice would be to try and increase your skills as soon as you can. Once you do that, the rest is up to you."

    I nodded, reflecting on what I''d seen so far¡ªhow the guards acted, and how Harald had mentioned being worried about the guards the previous night.

    "Do you think the Warden is a good leader?" I asked.

    Cedric''s face turned tense. "I don¡¯t want to influence you with my opinions, so I¡¯ll simply give you the facts."

    He took another sip of his tea, sat up straighter, and continued. "When the Warden first arrived, there were several small villages scattered across this land. We worked together with the elves and even the stormkin, we lived simple lives. The previous Chosen would travel from village to village, helping people with whatever they needed. He would farm, hunt, fish, build, and train others. The Warden appeared and came to me, and I helped him on his path, just as I¡¯m helping you now. The previous Chosen found the Warden and guided him as well. He took him on as an apprentice and helped him level up quickly. It seemed like their intentions were to work together. However¡­" He paused, taking another sip of tea, finishing the cup before filling it again. He topped off my cup as well before continuing.

    "The Warden and the previous Chosen had an argument one evening. The next morning, they left a village, destined for another one that requested aid. The Warden was the only one who arrived and the previous chosen was never seen again. He started making laws and enforcing them. He gathered builders and constructed Kaedras, forcing everyone to move to this area and establishing the Emberguard to enforce his laws and protect the people."

    He paused again before continuing. "Anyone who disobeys his laws is executed. He claims he is chosen by the god Luxarion, and anyone who goes against a god or a god¡¯s chosen messiah deserves to have their privilege of life taken from them."

    I felt anger building inside me as Cedric spoke. "Everyone has their place, and in order for us to grow and be great in Luxarion¡¯s eyes, we must obey the Warden and do our part in his grand plan."

    I looked away for a moment, reflecting on how similar this sounded to organizations on Earth. The ones that used fear of divine punishment to manipulate people into acting as they pleased. I remembered the guard who had picked me up on my first day, mentioning the word "Gods" when we spoke.

    "Are there other gods?" I asked.

    "There were," Cedric said. "I fear they have abandoned us now."

    "What happened to them?" I asked.

    "We used to honor all the gods¡ªAelora, the Goddess of Light and Renewal; Vaelun, the Goddess of Justice and Order; Ilithara, the Goddess of Love and Passion. There were several, and we used to pray and pay tribute to all of them. However, the Warden assured us these gods were false, and that he was the physical embodiment of the one true god."

    I stood up, beginning to pace back and forth, trying to remain calm as I listened to this history. Cedric spoke again.

    "I¡¯ve helped you as much as I can. I wish you well on your path, and I pray you forge a path that you find just."

    I stopped pacing and looked at him. "A path that I find just," I thought. In that moment, I knew what I had to do.

    Cedric bowed his head slightly. "Forgive me, but I must return to my duties. Please make haste and leave this place. It¡¯s not safe for you here."

    I nodded, making my way down the stairs and to the base of the tower. I exited carefully, ensuring there were no prying eyes, and made my way back to Alyndra¡¯s market stall. She and Lirael were waiting. Lirael held the sack that was now empty, and Alyndra held a small sack of coins on her hip. As I approached, they both smiled, and Alyndra pulled me in for a hug. Lirael joined in, and I felt relieved to be back with them.

    "How did it go?" Alyndra asked.

    I just smiled and said, "It went really well. I know what I have to do."

    She nodded. "Let''s hurry home."

    I followed them, and as we approached the gate, the guards stopped us again.

    "Let¡¯s see what we got," one of the guards said, and Alyndra handed him the coin purse. The guard dumped the contents into his hand¡ªa small pile of gold coins. He started counting them and stopped when he reached 20. He put two of them back into the leather pouch and handed it back to Alyndra before dumping the rest into his own pouch, attached to his hip. He motioned for us to continue, and we started making our way back home.

    "What was that about?" I asked.

    "The Warden calls them taxes. He says that our lives are a gift from Luxarion, that we are here to serve him, and one of the ways we do that is by donating 90% of everything back to him."

    I just shook my head, feeling the familiar stirrings of anger. "Let me guess," I said, "All these donations go to the Warden, and he makes sure Luxarion knows what a good follower you are."

    Alyndra looked back at me and just nodded.

    "This is beyond corrupt," I said, and Alyndra quickly spoke.

    "Hush," she said. "People have been executed for less."

    I kept my mouth shut and just thought about everything I had learned as we walked. Whoever the Warden was, he clearly sounded like he was from Earth and was using religion to control people. I wondered if all the Chosen were from Earth or if he was the only one.

    Soon, we arrived back at the farm, and Harald was waiting outside, smoking. When he saw us, he smiled and hurried over, hugging Alyndra and Lirael.

    "It¡¯s so good to have you back. I love you both so much."

    Alyndra and Lirael responded, "I love you too," as they made their way into the house to prepare dinner.

    I noticed the crops we planted just yesterday already looked like they were halfway grown. I looked at Harald, confused.

    "How long does it take for food to grow here?" I asked.

    He turned and looked at his crops before answering.

    "Well, it depends on the crops, but usually a few days to a week."

    "Wow," I said. "That¡¯s really fast."

    He looked at me, puzzled, and asked, "How long does it take where you''re from?"

    I thought for a moment, realizing I didn¡¯t know much about farming on Earth. "I think around 30 to 45 days, but it depends on what¡¯s growing."

    His head jerked back a little, and he shook his head. "That seems like a long time."

    I nodded, then an idea came to me. I looked at Harald and said. "I need to help Alyndra and Lirael cook. I¡¯d like to start building my skills."

    Harald just smiled and patted my back. "Yes, please, go ahead," he said, motioning his hand toward the house.

    I spent the evening absorbing everything Alyndra and Lirael could tell me about cooking and baking, as well as helping to make a delicious cut of meat that resembled steak, with mixed vegetables. I learned that the meat came from the Marrifawn, the weird cow with a lion¡¯s mane and bunny tail. It was just a different cut.

    "It must be this world¡¯s version of a cow," I thought.

    After hours of prepping, seasoning, and cooking, it was finally time to eat. I had worked up quite an appetite at this point, and we all sat down to the delicious spread. I jumped a little when a notification appeared in my vision:

    Cooking increased to level 3.

    It faded away, and I smiled a bit. We all ate, and I devoured the meal. With my cooking skill increased, I could really appreciate the different flavors. I now knew that these cuts of meat were cooked to a medium temperature, which was ideal for this type of meat, and the vegetables were steamed¡ªjust enough so they weren¡¯t too soft. We drank mead made from red berries, which seemed to cleanse the palate so that every bite of meat tasted like the first.

    Once we finished eating, Harald motioned for me to go outside with him, which was becoming our custom. He handed me a cigarette and got one for himself. I lit my cigarette, and almost immediately, another notification popped up:

    Fire magic increased to level 2.

    I took a drag from my cigarette, and for some reason, I felt an urge to open my hand and push it in a motion. I stepped away from the house and pushed my hand open to the sky. A giant flame shot out and into the air, similar to what a flamethrower looked like on Earth.

    Harald quickly grabbed my arm and closed my fist, stopping the fire.

    "What are ye doing?" he said, his voice laced with concern. I felt shocked. He just stared at me, his eyes full of worry.

    "I-I''m sorry," I said, and he released his grip on me.

    "Ye have to be careful. Only the Emberguard use fire magic. What would happen if someone saw a random farm boy shooting flames into the air?"

    He had a point. I took another drag from my cigarette, then a realization hit me.

    "How do you know fire magic if they only teach it to the guards?" I asked.

    Harald seemed to pause mid-drag of his cigarette. He looked at the ground for a moment, then began speaking.

    "I used to be part of the Emberguard."

    "Really?" I said. "What happened?"

    He continued, "I was forced to do something I did not agree with. I had no choice but to carry out my orders. What I did never sat well with me and still haunts me to this day." He took a drag of his cigarette before continuing, "I asked to leave and was told no. I kept insisting, and was finally allowed to leave on the condition that me and my family move to the very outskirts of the city. We had to farm and still contribute, but we are considered lesser.."

    I remembered back to the day the guard found me and called me a "lesser" as well. Harald continued, "Lesser¡¯s are everyone who lives outside the walls. We don¡¯t have the protection of Luxarion, and if we¡¯re ever invaded by an army, or any kind of famine strikes, or any problem, really, we¡¯re the ones who will be sacrificed in order for the ones inside the walls to be protected."

    I just shook my head. "That is seriously messed up."

    Harald kept looking down and continued, "The Warden decides who is lesser and who isn¡¯t. They usually consist of people he believes cannot contribute that much to Luxarion, therefore they don¡¯t receive his protection."

    I just kept shaking my head at this madness.

    "Well," I said, "I need to train and raise my skills as much as I can. The sooner I can do that, the sooner I can possibly change things around here."

    Harald looked up at me, and I could see hope glimmer in his eyes.

    "I will help ye as much as I can," he said, finishing his cigarette. "Now, get some sleep. Tomorrow, we start your training."

 Chapter 5

    I awoke to sunlight peeking through the cracks in my shack. I got up and put on my moccasins, as per my usual custom. I made my way outside and just looked out onto the fields. Took a deep breath and stood there for a while, trying to be present in the moment. I thought back on everything that had happened so far and felt a bit of fear¡ªnot fear of death or imprisonment, but fear of failure. I felt a sense of responsibility to this world, and I knew a lot of people held onto hope for another chosen. Everyone deserves happiness and the right to live their own lives. No one deserves to live in fear. I decided then that no matter the cost to myself, I would bring the Warden to justice and treat him with the same respect he had shown his subjects.

    "Ryker," Harald said, snapping me out of my trance. "Come get some breakfast, we have a lot to do today." I nodded and made my way to the house, entering just behind Harald.

    "Good morning, everyone," I said as I entered.

    "Good morning," they replied, giving me a smile or a nod. Everyone except Jorik. I felt a bit bad for the kid and decided to try and speak with him at breakfast. I sat down, and Alyndra brought a plate of assorted fruits, two giant eggs, and something that looked like bacon. I held a piece up and asked, "What is this?"

    Alyndra smiled. "It''s called bacon. It''s from an animal we have here called a pig."

    I nodded, feeling a bit disappointed it wasn¡¯t from a new animal but still excited that this world had bacon. As everyone sat down to eat, I looked up at Jorik. He was focused on eating his food and gave me a glance, squinting his eyes a bit as if I was annoying him.

    "So, are you going to come train with us, Jorik? It could be fun; maybe you could teach me some things."

    Jorik didn''t respond; he just kept eating as if I hadn¡¯t spoken. Harald looked up at Jorik and said, "Ryker was talking to you, son. You''re being rude."

    Jorik still kept eating. I noticed Harald was about to say something else, but I put my hand up, stopping him. This was starting to feel awkward, and I didn¡¯t want to cause any unnecessary conflict. Plus, I could recognize that feeling of powerlessness. I felt bad for the kid, but if I could stop the Warden, I could bring about change that would benefit everyone.

    "So, what¡¯s the plan for today?" I asked Harald as I took a bite of my crispy bacon.

    "Well," Harald said, swallowing some of his breakfast, "You need to get as strong as you can, as fast as you can. I know a spot near the forest where we shouldn¡¯t have to worry about guards showing up or prying eyes."

    "What about the elves?" I asked, a bit worried.

    Harald took another bite. "I told ye, they won''t bother us as long as we don''t enter the forest."

    I nodded, still remembering the battle I saw between the elves and the guards. "I hope so," I said, and Harald gave me a wink to reassure me that I could trust him.

    We finished our meals, and I thanked Alyndra and Lirael for their wonderful cooking before making my way outside. Harald soon joined me, and we started walking in the direction of the forest. I eyed the plants in the fields as we walked by, and somehow I knew they would be ready to harvest, probably tomorrow. I felt a bit of pride at the different stalks coming out of the earth. We walked for what seemed like about an hour before arriving just next to the woodline.

    Harald said, "Give me a moment," and got on his hands and knees, starting to claw away at the earth, looking for something. I kept my eyes on the woods, still uneasy about being this close. I noticed something halfway up a tree that looked like a pair of eyes watching. I tried to make out what it was, but Harald spoke, breaking my concentration.

    "Here," he said, tossing a dirty sword in my direction.

    "Whoa," I said, barely grabbing it by the handle and swinging it around a bit to stop the momentum. Harald stood up, holding a sword of his own.

    "Alright, anyone who could be a threat to you is going to know how to use a sword," he said. "I''m not sure how this works with you Chosen, so just let me know when you¡¯ve had enough."

    He then charged at me with his sword raised high in the air. He came down with an overhead swing, and I held up my sword in defense. Our swords clashed, and the force of his swing knocked my blade into the ground. As I frantically tried to pull my sword out of the dirt, he quickly raised his sword and, what seemed like in a moment, had it at my throat. We both paused for a moment.

    "Well, the good thing is you can''t get any worse," he said, smiling as I freed my sword from the ground. Harald lowered his sword and helped me position myself in a stance. My left leg was forward and my right leg back. He made me bend over just slightly and hold my sword with only my right hand instead of both.

    "There," he said. "You stay a bit low like that, so no one can just charge and knock you over. And when you''re blocking attacks, you don¡¯t want to just stop their sword with yours. You need to redirect their blow away from you and in another direction. Does that make sense?"

    I thought for a moment. "Yes, it actually does," I said.

    Just then, a notification popped up: Swordplay increased to level 2.

    "Alright then, show me," Harald said.

    I smiled and nodded. Harald charged at me again with the same move. This time, as he came down, I quickly knocked his sword to the side, moving myself in the opposite direction and kicking his back. Harald stumbled a bit but quickly recovered and spun around, a look of shock on his face.

    "Yeah, I think you got it. You know, the rest of us actually have to practice more than once to get good at that."

    I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Hey, what can I say? I was chosen by a god."

    Harald smiled and responded, "Okay, let¡¯s see just how chosen you are."

    He charged again, except this time, he swung from the side. My sword was down, so as he came in, I slapped his sword upwards and ducked, moving behind him again. He spun his sword around, feet level, and I jumped over it, bringing my sword down toward his head. He stepped to the side, dodging it, and swung his sword in an upwards slash. I stepped back, and we both swung at each other from opposite directions. Our swords clashed together in the middle and came to an abrupt stop. As we stared each other down, another notification popped up:

    Swordplay increased to Level 3. To reach Level 4, fight and slay 2 opponents in a single fight.

    I stood up straight and relaxed my stance. "That¡¯s all we can do for now."

    Harald seemed a bit disappointed. "What do you mean, we just started?"

    I shook my head. "In order for me to level up again, I need to kill two people in a swordfight."

    Harald looked a bit confused and just said, "Okay, well, now that you have swordplay down, let¡¯s work on blocking."

    He put his hand out, and I gave him the sword back. He made his way over to the hole he dug and pulled out a shield. I followed him this time, and he handed it to me.

    "I can¡¯t have the sword?" I asked.

    Harald stood up with his sword in hand. "No, this is about blocking, not attacking, so get ready to defend yourself."

    I took a step back, and Harald just stood there for a moment. Again, without any warning, he charged and swung his sword in a sideways motion toward me. I lowered my shield a bit, and the impact of the sword knocked me to the ground. Harald walked over and offered me his hand, pulling me to my feet.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "Again, the stance I showed you with the sword will be the same for the shield. If you¡¯re in that stance, it¡¯ll be a lot harder for someone to knock you off your feet. I know you don¡¯t have a sword, but you need to behave like you do."

    I nodded, feeling like I should have known that, and got into the defensive posture. Harald squared up again, and this time, swung at me from the opposite direction. I quickly turned my body, shifted my shield to the opposite side, and slid a bit as the sword impacted the wooden shield.

    Another notification popped up:

    Blocking increased to level 2.

    I nodded to Harald. "I¡¯m ready to take it up a notch."

    He looked at me with a weird expression. "It means I¡¯ve learned the basics already, and you can come at me harder."

    Harald nodded and lifted his sword up high, coming down with a powerful slash. I raised my shield up high and stopped the blow. I did a thrusting motion with my other hand, simulating a sword thrust. Harald jumped back as if I was armed and swung with another blow from the side. I lowered my shield and stopped that, then swung my imaginary sword at his head. He leaned back and swung upwards. Instead of blocking it, I stepped back and allowed his sword to swing by, hitting him with my shield on the shoulder. He stumbled back a bit but quickly regained his composure.

    Blocking increased to level 3. To reach level 4, disarm an opponent with your shield.

    I smiled when I read this and decided not to say anything to Harald. "Come on, show me what you can do," I said, smiling.

    Harald rubbed his shoulder a bit and charged at me again. He swung several times from all different directions, and the speed at which he moved made me realize he had been going easy on me up to this point. I was able to block and dodge all of his strikes, and after I dodged a strike from below without losing momentum, Harald''s sword came up in the air, and he swung it down at me at an alarming speed. I raised my shield, and, timing it perfectly, I pushed up as hard as I could as soon as his sword made impact. It sent his sword swinging back at him, and Harald let go, watching as it spun through the air before landing in the dirt behind him.

    Blocking increased to level 4. To reach level 5, kill 2 opponents with your shield.

    Harald just stared at his sword for a bit before turning his gaze back to me. "You done embarrassing me?" he asked, making his way to retrieve his sword. "Depends on what else you want to teach me." I said as he picked his sword up and made his way back to the hole.

    He pulled my sword back out and handed it to me before retrieving a shield for himself. "Alright, let''s combine swordplay and blocking and see how you do." I didn''t say anything; I just took my stance. I waited for Harald to make the first move, but instead, he just stood there as well, waiting. I started to circle him, and he did the same in the opposite direction.

    I lunged at him, swinging my sword hard. He blocked it with his shield and then returned with an overhead swing. I ducked just in time as it missed my head. I swung my shield to try to stun him, but he spun around, letting the momentum of my shield blow right past him. I spun all the way around, using the momentum to come at him with another swing. But as he came into my line of sight, I noticed his shield was on the ground.

    He threw something, and I immediately felt pain in my eyes. I started backing up as fast as I could, trying to wipe my eyes but couldn''t because of the shield. I peeked my eyes open a little and saw Harald rushing toward me. I lifted my shield and charged into him with it as hard as I could. I felt the impact, and afterward, I immediately dropped my shield and began wiping my eyes.

    Once I cleared them, I opened my eyes to find Harald''s sword at my throat.

    "You cheated," I said, using the opportunity to wipe my eyes with my shirt.

    "Did I?" he asked, still holding his sword at me.

    Once my eyes were clear, I just stood there as Harald held his sword, then slowly lowered it.

    "You have skills, but that doesn''t mean you can win every fight. If I had been a real enemy, you would have been dead. Your skills did not save you."

    I just stared for a moment. "So, what''s your point?" I asked, my eyes still watering a bit.

    "My point is, don''t let your skills make you do something stupid. Even with your skills, you still lack experience, and that comes with time and practice. You couldn''t see me, but you still charged. You should have done everything you could to get away, so you could live to fight another day. You''re no use to anyone dead."

    Even though I didn''t like the idea of running away, Harald did make a good point. "Okay, then what now?" I asked.

    He motioned for me to follow and began burying our weapons back in the hole. I helped him cover them up. "The warden doesn''t allow anyone to have weapons except for the guards," he said as we patted down the dirt, trying to make it look like it wasn''t freshly dug.

    He turned and looked at me. "The last thing is, I can teach you what I know about fire magic."

    I felt excitement rush through me but tried not to show it. Harald continued, "Ye already know how to make a flame with your finger, and yesterday, ye shot flames from your hand."

    I nodded, trying to take this as seriously as possible. "If you focus and gather the fire energy in the palm of your hand, ye can swing your arm ye can shoot a wall of fire at a group of enemies."

    I watched as Harald balled up his fist and then opened his hand. There was a small flame in the palm of his hand. He turned, with his back to the forest, swung his arm behind him, and then forward very fast. A wave of fire shot out, singeing the grass in front of him for about 20 feet.

    Another notification popped up:

    Fire Magic increased to level 3. To reach level 4, kill 2 enemies with fire magic.

    Harald turned to me, and I nodded. I made sure to turn my back to the forest as well. I balled my fist tightly and started to feel heat inside. I opened my hand and looked down to see a flame sitting there. I hunched over a bit, reached my arm back behind me, and swung it forward quickly. A wall of fire shot through the field, just shy of reaching where Harald''s had.

    I stood up straight and couldn''t help but smile. I looked at Harald.

    "Magic is pretty fun, isn''t it?" he said.

    I grinned and responded, "It''s fucking awesome."

    He laughed and started walking back toward the house. "Come on," he said. "Let''s head home. That''s enough for one day, and we don¡¯t want to push our luck." I followed behind, still examining my hand in awe of what I had just done. We walked for about half an hour, and I noticed that Harald seemed deep in thought.

    "Everything okay?" I asked. He just shook his head slightly.

    "Everything is fine, just thinking," he replied.

    I nodded. I didn¡¯t want to push him, but I did want to help if I could. After all, he and his family had done nothing but help me since I arrived.

    "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

    Harald was silent for a moment, but then he continued. "When I was part of the Emberguard, my family and I lived inside the walls. We had a good life." I nodded as he spoke. "We just bought what we needed, and we lived in a nice house. Eldrick was studying everything he could about the history of the land. He wanted to live with the elves for a time and learn their culture. After that, he wanted to live among the Stormkin and learn their ways. Then, he planned to travel far and wide, see everything there was to see, and come back to write books about his adventures." Harald smiled as he remembered.

    "Jorik had plans to be part of the Emberguard like me. He would practice outside with a wooden sword and beg me to teach him what I knew." Harald looked at me. "I told him I would teach him when he got older, and I would place him under my command." He chuckled a bit. "And Lirael, she wanted to make clothes, design dresses for women, and shoes and clothes for men¡ªanything and everything related to fashion, she wanted to create."

    Harald¡¯s head fell for a moment, and I noticed what looked like a tear forming in his eye.

    "Then..." He swallowed before continuing. "One day, I saw the Warden for who he truly was¡ªa power-hungry tyrant." He paused for a moment, as if reliving something, then went on. "The Warden had a meeting with the elves. I, along with a handful of Emberguard, accompanied him to the edge of the forest. The leader of the elves arrived with some of his people."

    Harald wiped a tear from his cheek. "The Warden asked for the knowledge of the essence of the ancients. When the leader of the elves refused, the Warden didn¡¯t ask again¡ªhe told them. Then the Warden drew his sword on the leader. When he did that, the elves drew their swords in defense. I hoped that would be the end of it. But then... the Warden killed the leader of the elves. When he did that, we felt we had no choice but to protect the Warden, and we slaughtered them all."

    He stopped as we walked, trying to regain control of his emotions. It took him a moment, but he was able to speak again.

    "One of the elf children had a knife and rushed at the Warden from behind. The child was going to kill the man who had just slain his parents. I saw this, and I made the decision to kill the child and save the Warden, because it was my duty."

    He turned and looked at me. "With that decision, I left the Emberguard, and in doing so, I condemned my family and me to become lessers. I took my children¡¯s hope for the future away from them. I saved the life of a tyrant and took the life of an innocent. But most of all, in that moment, I betrayed everything that I stood for."

    Harald was silent for a while, and I just tried to think of something to say as we walked, but I came up with nothing. We stayed silent the rest of the way until we started to approach the house. Harald stopped and raised his hand, signaling for me to do the same. There was a patrol of Emberguard outside his home. He motioned for me to get low.

    There were six guardsmen standing outside the house, their horses tethered near the shack where I slept. We watched as one, clearly the leader, went inside Harald¡¯s house. I looked at Harald, but his eyes remained fixed on the situation unfolding before us.

    We continued to watch as Harald''s family came out, one by one. They stood in front of the soldiers with their hands behind their backs and their heads down. I felt adrenaline start to flow through me and looked to Harald again for some kind of guidance. He just kept watching, steady and calm.

    The leader came out of the house and seemed to be questioning Alyndra. We couldn''t make out what they were saying, but it didn¡¯t look friendly. He made his way to Eldrick and appeared to question him as well. This continued with each member of his family until the guard returned to his group of soldiers.

    They talked for a brief few seconds and then turned back towards the family and drew their swords.

 Chapter 6

    "Stay down," Harald said, jumping up and sprinting toward his family. I watched as the soldiers raised their swords, poised to strike. Fear and panic surged through me, and I began sprinting as well.

    As Harald neared, I heard him yell to the guards. "Hey, I''m here!" He waved his hands as he ran. The guards immediately turned, swords at the ready. I stopped and fell to my stomach. The grass concealed me, but I was close enough now to hear what they were saying.

    "Identify yourself!" the leader shouted as Harald approached.

    "I am Harald, and this is my family," Harald said, stepping in front of them.

    The leader moved closer, grabbing Harald by the chin and inspecting him closely. Harald struggled to catch his breath.

    "I used to know a Harald," the leader said. "He was a great man, one who served his Warden with honor." He stared into Harald¡¯s eyes for a moment before releasing his grip. "The man before me is but a shadow of that man. My, how far you¡¯ve fallen."

    The leader took a step back, and Harald, now breathing steadily, stood upright. "What is this about, Keiran?" he asked.

    The guardsman slapped Harald with his armored hand. I watched as Harald''s'' head shot to the side and he spit out blood. Alyndra started to rush over to him, but one of the guardsmen held his sword out, forcing her to stop. Harald rubbed his face briefly before lifting his head to the leader again.

    "You will address me with respect and remember your place as a lesser," he said firmly.

    I felt my fear begin to shift into anger. Harald continued, "I apologize, sir," giving a slight bow. "I forgot myself for a moment. What I meant to say was, how can I help serve the Warden''s brave guardsmen?"

    The leader stood still for a moment, taking it all in, then spoke again. "I was sent to investigate suspicious activity. There have been reports of a man staying with you who is not part of your family."

    He began pacing back and forth, the way a general might as he gives a speech to his troops. "I asked your family about him, and no one seems to know what I¡¯m talking about."

    He stopped and fixed Harald with a piercing gaze. "Maybe you can tell me where he is, so I may bring him to the Warden for questioning."

    Harald shook his head. "I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re talking about, sir. Perhaps someone failed to recognize one of my sons."

    The leader smiled coldly, a predatory gleam in his eye. "I¡¯m going to give you one last chance to tell me what I need to know. We have it on good authority that not only does this man live here," he pointed toward the shack where I slept, "but he sleeps in that room. It¡¯s possible he¡¯s a chosen."

    He resumed pacing as he spoke, his tone growing more insistent. "As you know, the Warden would want to meet this man for himself. And I, for one, am not going to return to the Warden empty-handed."

    He stopped again, this time holding his sword to Harald¡¯s throat.

    I knew I had to do something. My heart pounded, and the anger inside me surged as adrenaline took over. I started moving toward the guards, each step driven by a need to act.

    "So tell me where he is or I will kill you and your family and find him myself."

    I started moving a bit faster at this point. I had to get there. Even if I couldn''t take on these guards I could turn myself in and spare Harald.

    Harald put his hands up next to his face. "Sir, I beg you, do not do this. I know not who you speak of."

    The leader lowered his sword and him and his men got in a stance I recognized from my training, They were about to attack.

    I made myself move faster and at this point, I was done hiding and going at a full blown sprint.

    The leader spoke again. "I did warn you." He said and I knew I was out of time. "Hey asshole!" I yelled as I closed in fast.

    The leader turned around and just as he did I was on him. I lowered my shoulder and plowed into him as hard as I could launching us both to the ground.

    Harald quickly grabbed his family together and started corralling them into the house.

    I scrambled back to my feet as fast as I could. My shoulder throbbed and I felt like I just ran into a brick wall. The leader still lay on the ground and I jumped to him and started prying off his helmet.

    The other guardsmen all rushed at me and one swung his sword. I ducked as it passed by and finally freeing the helmet, I threw it at my attacker''s head as hard as I could. The force of the impact surprised even me, as it struck and the guard stumbled back into the guard behind him.

    I turned to the leader scrambling to get to his feet and began striking him in the back of the head. anger and adrenaline still coursing through my veins I kept punching until I felt a crack and he stopped moving.

    I reached for his sword but struggled to get it from his holster before another guard was on me. He swung quickly at my stomach and I jumped back narrowly avoiding it.

    He kept swinging back and forth and I lunged back again and again causing him to miss and grow tired, He finally lifted his sword high and swung downward. I stepped to the side and his sword impacted the ground next to me.

    I kicked his sword hand as hard as I could and it slipped from his grasp flailing through the air. Then kicked him as hard as I could with my other leg in his helmet, flipping him onto his back.

    Another guard swung at me and I quickly rolled back to the dead guard, unholstering his sword as I did. I got to my feet as quickly as I could and held my ground.

    The guardsmen did not advance. Instead, they stood in place, swords at the ready. Their swordless comrade behind me struggled to get back on his feet.  As he was regaining his composure I turned and swung my sword as hard as I could, and with my skill and a little bit of luck the blade struck true just in between where his helmet met his chest piece. His head was severed off with one clean fluid motion.

    I turned back to the 4 guards left with pure focus on my face.

    The guards watched with shock as their comrades head fell to the dirt and his body went limp and followed.

    One of the guards screamed with rage and swung his arm back behind him.

    I recognized the attack, balled my fist, then opened it, producing a flame, and swung with all my might. As the guard shot a wall of flames at me, I countered with a wall of my own. The two walls collided and then dissipated with a sound similar to a plane breaking the sound barrier.

    "I am a chosen, and if you value your lives, you will leave this place and speak to no one about what happened," keeping my gaze fixed on them.

    Without hesitation, the guard closest to me spoke. "If we return empty-handed, we''re dead anyway."

    I nodded and got into my fighting stance. "Then come and get me," the guards all charged at once. As the first one swung downward, I rolled to my side. The guards moved much slower than I did, their armor designed to withstand damage, not built for agility. His sword crashed down into the ground.

    The second guard, still charging, swung sideways at my stomach. I lunged backward as his blade whipped past me, then immediately lunged forward at him. I opened my hand and pushed quickly into the space between his helmet and chestplate. Flames poured out of my hand and the man screamed as I cooked him alive inside his armor. I then pushed him back and he fell to the ground, smoke and embers rising from every hole.

    The 3rd guard jumped over his cooked friend and charged with a straight thrust of his sword hoping to stab me in the gut. I slapped it out of the way with my sword, and countered with a sword thrust of my own. My blade found an opening between his chestpiece and shoulder armor. I pushed the sword hard until it was through his shoulder all the way to the handle.

    The guard screamed in pain and quickly dropped his sword and shield in a desperate attempt to pull it out.

    The last soldier and the first soldier now on his feet again, both charged at me from opposite directions.

    I quickly retrieved the shield from the ground as the two soldiers closed in. One swung from the side as the other did a forward thrust. I was able to spin and block both with the shield before bashing one of the guards sword arm causing him to lose his grip and the sword to go whirling into the distance.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    I quickly turned around, raised my shield and tucked my head behind it. I charged the remaining armed guard.

    I reached him before he could attack again and we impacted.

    The soldier flew backwards landing on the ground. I peaked behind me to see the guard still frantically trying to pull the sword out of his shoulder while the other was running as fast as he could to retrieve his sword.

    I turned back around and put the bottom of the shield at the guardsman''s neck. I raised it and came down as hard as I could. I heard a crunching sound as the force of the shield slammed through his throat and spine.

    I walked over to the guard still screaming and struggling to get the sword out of his shoulder. He had the sword about halfway out and I bashed the handle with my shield pushing it back into place.

    The guard cried out in pain, and I rammed the bottom of the shield into his open screaming mouth, snapping his jaw and cracking the back of his skull. His screams went silent and I pulled the sword from his shoulder.

    Fully armed, I turned and watched the last soldier retrieve his sword and start rushing toward me.

    I stood ready in my battle stance as he approached and as he swung his sword down on me, I stepped to the side yet again watching as it impacted the ground. I lifted my sword up and came down at an angle decapitating him as well. His body went limp and he fell to the ground.

    I felt myself breathing heavily and turned to look toward the house. Harald had managed to get his family to the door, but he hadn¡¯t managed to get them inside. The whole family stood there, staring in shock at the gruesome display they had just witnessed.

    I glanced around at the carnage, Then, some notifications popped up:

    Blocking increased to level 5. To reach level 6 disarm 5 opponents with a shield bash.

    Strength increased to level 4. To reach level 5 disable 5 opponents with your bare hands.

    Swordplay increased to level 4. To reach level 5 Kill 5 opponents within 10 seconds.

    The notifications faded, and Harald started toward the guards'' horses. "We have to leave now; it''s not safe here anymore." His family followed close behind. I began walking toward the horses but stopped as I heard slow clapping coming from behind me.

    "Well, I am impressed," a voice said,  a man wearing a full suit of armor¡ªminus the helmet¡ªstepped out from behind my shack. His armor appeared to be solid gold, with a long red cape flowing behind him. He was an older man, likely in his mid-fifties, with gray hair that matched his beard.

    He stopped clapping and stood with his arms crossed. "When I was told another chosen had arrived, I had my doubts, but after seeing that display, you can say I am now a believer."

    I gripped my sword and shield a little tighter, unsure of what was happening. "So who are you?" I asked.

    The man smiled. "Oh, how rude of me. Please forgive my manners. I''m not used to meeting people who don''t already know who I am." He bowed his head slightly and continued. "I am the Warden of Kaedras. And what is your name, good sir?"

    I swallowed hard and turned back to look at Harald. He and his family were frozen in fear. I turned back to the Warden. "I''m Ryker."

    He took a step forward. "And what part of the universe were you pulled from, Ryker?"

    I adjusted my posture a bit, trying to keep my arms and legs from tightening up. "I''m from Earth," I replied. The Warden''s face showed disappointment.

    "Ah, that''s a shame. I was hoping you were from the same world as me, but alas, I''ve never heard of Earth." He looked over my shoulder, examining Harald and his family. "Which one of you is Jorik?" he asked.

    Jorik started to step forward, but Harald put his hand on his chest, stopping him. "What business have ye with my son?" Harald said, defiance in his voice.

    The Warden smiled. "Well, I have to reward him for being true to Kaedras and showing his unwavering loyalty."

    Harald looked at Jorik, confused, and then looked back at the Warden. "Step forward, my boy," the Warden said. Jorik pushed his father''s hand away and began approaching the Warden with his head down.

    I felt anger building again and started forming a plan in my head on how to kill the Warden¡ªor at least buy enough time to get Jorik to safety. As Jorik approached, I stepped in between him and the Warden. "I don''t know what game you''re trying to play, but if you want him, you''re going to have to get through me first."

    The Warden laughed and began to explain. "In Kaedras, we have a law¡ªwell, several laws. But one of those laws says that anyone who finds someone they believe to be chosen should report it to the closest available guard."

    I turned and looked at Jorik. He kept his gaze focused downward.

    "Jorik did just that, and in doing so, has earned himself a reward of 20 gold pieces, as well as a place amongst the ranks of my Emberguard."

    I turned back to the Warden, who had a sinister smile on his face. "So, as I said, come boy, and receive your reward, then take your place inside the city¡¯s walls."

    Jorik pushed past me and approached the Warden. The Warden whispered something to him and handed him a small bag of coins. Jorik then continued walking toward the city gates.

    Harald stepped up next to me, and I looked at him, seeing his heart break into a million pieces. Jorik continued on until he was out of sight, never once looking back.

    "Now, onto the business at hand," the Warden continued. "I have a problem. You see, my problem is that I just witnessed another chosen massacre my guardsmen in my very own kingdom, and such a level of disrespect tells me any kind of friendship between us is going to be impossible."

    I looked at Harald again and saw the hole left in his heart slowly being replaced with hate. As the Warden spoke, Harald reached down and picked up one of the guards¡¯ swords and shield, arming himself.

    "And as for the rest of you, you knowingly harbored a chosen, and not only that, you tried to assist him in creating a rebellion against me," the Warden continued, shaking his head in disapproval. "I can¡¯t let this go unpunished."

    He pulled a golden longsword from its holster, along with a matching golden shield from his back. I dropped into my attack stance, and through my peripherals, I could see Harald doing the same.

    "So, it is by my judgment that I hereby sentence all of you to death, and shall carry out the sentence immediately."

    He started walking toward us. Harald yelled to his family. "Get on the horses and ride straight to the forest now!"

    The Warden lunged at a speed that seemed impossible.

    I had but a second to react and barely managed to raise my shield. His sword came down and cut the shield in half knocking me to the ground. Pain shot through my body as I struggled to get back on my feet every breath felt like a vice squeezing my ribs.

    Harald lunged at the Warden and he bashed Harald with his shield without ever taking his eyes off me. Harald flipped twice before landing face down in the dirt.

    The sight of that filled me with anger and in a rage I slashed my sword upward at the Warden.

    He stepped back as I continued slashing back and forth, casually avoiding every blow with ease.

    I clenched my fist, then swung as hard as I could, shooting a wall of flames at him. He countered with a wall of his own, and his fire plowed through mine, engulfing me in flames and launching me back ten feet before I hit the ground.

    I started rolling back and forth, extinguishing the flames before they consumed me. I looked toward the forest, and saw Harald''s family riding hard for the woods. They looked like they were almost there.

    I rolled back around to see the Warden still advancing on me, and Harald, back on his feet, rushing toward him from behind.

    Harald attempted to thrust his sword into the Warden''s back, but  the Warden spun just in time to slap the sword out of his hand and bash him with his shield once again. Harald flipped through the air and landed near the three horses still hitched to my shack.

    I started crawling away from the Warden as he approached. He stopped just at my feet and smiled. He raised his sword, and in a last-ditch attempt, I threw dirt in his face.

    "Ahhhh!" he yelled, dropping his shield to wipe his eyes with one hand while wildly swinging his sword with the other. I crawled fast toward him and rolled, narrowly avoiding one of his strikes.

    "Let''s go!" I yelled, running toward Harald and the horses. He mounted one, and I jumped onto the other.

    "Yaaa!" I shouted as Harald and I galloped past the Warden, who was just recovering. As we rode, I looked back to see the Warden raising both his arms into the air. Giant balls of fire shot out of his hands and into the sky. They streaked overhead like meteors, exploding and raining down smaller ones all around us.

    "Just keep riding!" Harald yelled as my horse ran erratically, dodging the baseball-sized debris raining down all around us.

    The debris became more concentrated, seemingly everywhere, and one struck me in the right shoulder, while another shot straight through my left leg. I screamed in pain, trying to hang on, but the horse was pelted by debris as well and flipped forward, throwing me to the ground. I slid to a stop and curled up, covering my face with my hands, trying to make myself as small a target as possible. I was hit a few more times with smaller balls that burned holes straight through my skin.

    It soon stopped, and I lifted my head to scan the area. Harald had suffered the same fate as me. He jumped to his feet, holding his arm, and pointed behind me and yelled, "We have to keep moving!"

    I looked back and saw the Warden on the last horse, riding hard and gaining on us fast. I scrambled to my feet and ran toward the forest as fast as I could. I pushed harder than I ever had in my life, and my body screamed in agonizing pain with every step I took. Harald was a bit ahead pushing hard  ocassionally glancing back to make sure I was still following.

    As we closed in on the woodline, another fireblast struck behind me, knocking me off my feet and face-first into the ground. I blocked out the pain and jumped back up, running as hard as I could. My lungs burned, but the woodline was getting closer and closer. I could hear the hooves of the Warden¡¯s horse getting louder and closing in fast. I glanced behind me to see he was uncomfortably close at this point. I focused back forward, still fighting.

    I saw Harald stop just short of the forest, looking back. I heard the sound of the Warden''s armor clanking from the movement of his horse, and then another blast struck near me. I was launched into the air, the world spun in all directions before I hit the ground hard.

    I faded in and out of consciousness, and when I awoke, I heard the sounds of battle. I tried to get to my feet but immediately felt pain shooting through my leg. I looked down to see it dangling just below my knee. It was broken.

    "It¡¯s okay, you''re safe now," Harald said as he lifted me up onto my good leg and supported me so I could stand. We were just inside the forest, and arrows were raining down onto the Warden. His horse lay dead on the ground next to him, and he was crouched behind his shield, as wave after wave of arrows flew over our heads, landing all around him.

    I saw shadowy figures rushing all around us, and soon several vines shot out of the ground, trapping the Warden in place. He slashed with his sword, struggling to break free, simultaneously using his shield to block the barrage of arrows landing all around him.

    The vines shot up again, grabbing him, and he slashed with his sword, ripping them off before turning around and running back toward the city. As soon as he did, the arrows stopped, and all seemed to calm.

    I felt myself starting to relax a bit and watched as the Warden ran, fading into the distance. I smiled and turned to Harald. "We made it," I said, struggling not to collapse from the pain of my multiple injuries.

    "Where''s the rest of the family?" I asked, scanning the area.

    "They''re safe, just over there." He pointed. As I hopped, leaning on Harald for support, something grabbed me from behind and pulled me to the ground.

    I saw shadows all around me, and I fought as hard as I could to keep them at bay.

    They forced a bottle of something to my lips and poured it into my mouth. I tried to resist, but I swallowed a good bit of it. I fought and struggled as best I could, but soon, it started getting very hard to move. I felt my body begin to fail, and one of the shadows stood over me, looking down as everything faded to black.

 Chapter 7

    I awoke to the sight of vines interwoven so tightly that light barely crept through the cracks. I sat up and groaned a bit as my muscles ached. Looking around, I realized the vines surrounded me completely. It was like a dome of vines with no doors or windows that I could tell. I stood up to better inspect my situation when I remembered my final moments in the battle with the Warden.

    I quickly inspected my leg and found that it was completely healed. I put my weight on it to test, and it felt as strong as it had ever been. I started checking for other injuries but could only find scars that looked like they¡¯d happened months ago. Other than some muscle soreness, somehow, I had made a full recovery.

    I turned my attention to the vines on the walls and tried my best to peek through the cracks. I could see nothing other than the occasional glimpse of someone walking by, as the light would go dark for a moment before returning.

    "Hey! Is anyone there?" I yelled.

    "Ryker, you''re awake," came a familiar voice.

    I felt a huge sense of relief wash over me. "Harald, I''m so glad you''re okay. How is Alyndra and the kids?"

    "Everybody is good, Ryker. You did good."

    I smiled, trying to see through the vines. "So, where am I? Can you let me out of here?"

    There was silence for a few moments. "I can''t let you out, I''m sorry."

    "Okay... and why is that?"

    A few more moments of silence passed.

    "I''ll let Eryndor know you''re awake."

    The light started shining through again, and I knew Harald had left.

    "Wait! Harald, what the fuck is going on?"

    I waited but received no response. I started trying to pull the vines apart. They were tough, and every time I made a bit of progress, another vine shot out of the ground and took its place. After several attempts, I gave up and sat down on the pile of leaves that had been used as my bedding.

    I thought back on the battle with the Warden. He was incredibly strong. It was hard for me to imagine, but seeing it firsthand made me feel a bit hopeless. If I were to ever have a chance of beating him, I would need to train for years. And even then, he would only grow stronger during that time. I replayed the whole evening in my mind, trying to think of something I could have done differently.

    Suddenly, the vines in front of me pulled apart creating a doorway and sank back into the ground. The light shining through was bright, so I put my hand up to shield my eyes. A figure walked in, and the vines grew back, closing behind him.

    I lowered my hand, and to my shock, an elf was standing before me. I almost gasped at the sight of him. He looked much different than I had imagined elves would. His body appeared human, but he wore armor made of sticks and leaves, almost organic, as though it had grown around him and fused with his body. His hair and head seemed to follow a normal human shape, but his ears were pointed, just like the fairytales had described.

    The most striking feature, however, were his eyes. They were twice the size of a human¡¯s and bulged out of his head. They moved independently of each other and were a light green color with strange, oddly shaped pupils.

    I stared at his eyes for a moment. They seemed somehow familiar, but I couldn¡¯t quite place it. Then it hit me¡ªhis eyes looked exactly like those of a praying mantis. He was a strange blend of plant, human, and insect.

    I realized I had just been staring at him and quickly stood to my feet. He remained silent, his eyes scanning me in different directions. I gave him a slight bow of my head as a sign of respect and waited for him to speak.

    "You are not welcome here," he said simply. His voice had a very subtle buzzing to it, like the sound of a bee or a wasp flying by your ear.

    I crossed my arms over my chest and tensed up a bit. "Am I your prisoner?"

    "You are not a prisoner," he replied. "But you are also not free to leave when you wish."

    I gave him a look of disapproval and decided to be straightforward. "Listen, I know nothing of your people or these lands. I know you and the Warden are at war, so in our desperation to not be slaughtered, we ran into your forest."

    I felt myself starting to get heated, but I knew it was best to stay calm. I took a deep breath. "I apologize for my intrusion, but I had no other choice."

    He kept examining me with his strange eyes, seeming to contemplate something.

    "When nightfall arrives, my people will bring you a brew that will put you to sleep," he said. "Then we will transport you to the coast. You''ll be far enough away from Kaedras that the Warden is likely to not find you."

    "Why do I have to be put to sleep? You have nothing to fear from me."

    He shook his head slightly. "The less you know, the better. But do not make the mistake of thinking we are afraid of a Chosen. We have defended this forest for thousands of years."

    I nodded, and the elf began to turn away.

    "Wait, what about Harald and his family?" I asked.

    He looked back at me. "They will be staying here."

    With that, he turned away again, and the vines shot back into the ground. As he exited, they grew back into place behind him.

    I turned around and sat back on the pile of leaves.

    "You okay, Ryker?" Harald said, returning.

    "Hey, yeah, I''m okay. What¡¯s going on? I''m very confused, Harald."

    "I can understand that, the elves don¡¯t trust the Chosen. They want to make sure you can¡¯t see their home and learn some things that you shouldn¡¯t be learning. They also don¡¯t want to kill you, so they¡¯re keeping you in this makeshift cage until they can safely bring you outside the forest. As for me and my family, we made a deal with them."

    My head jerked back, slightly confused. "What kind of deal?"

    Harald cleared his throat. "They knew who I was and what I did when I was with the Emberguard. I explained to them that I didn¡¯t know the Warden was going to kill their leader. I panicked and did what I was trained to do. I told them how I left the Emberguard, and me and my family were exiled from the walls to live as lessers." He cleared his throat again. "I thought they were still going to kill me, but they didn¡¯t. Instead, they offered to let me and my family stay and live under their protection until this war is over. In exchange, I¡¯ll help them in any way I can and help protect the forest from any invaders. Once the war is over, we¡¯ll be allowed to leave, but we must stay until that day arrives." He paused briefly. "I accepted their offer."

    I nodded and stared at the dirt for a few moments. "It does sound like a good deal," I said, a bit surprised at the elves'' generosity.

    Harald laughed. "Eldrick is thrilled. He¡¯s running around helping anyone he can, with a smile on his face the whole time."

    I laughed, picturing his excitement. "How¡¯s Alyndra and Lirael?"

    "Lirael seems relieved that we¡¯re safe. She¡¯s been trying to make jewelry out of twigs and leaves but can¡¯t seem to get it right. One of the elves cast a spell of some kind and had some vines grow around her wrist, with different-colored flowers blooming out. She was so happy, but she still wants to be able to make some herself." He stopped talking, and I waited for a moment. "And... Alyndra?"

    I heard him sigh. "She¡¯s relieved that we¡¯re out of danger, but she¡¯s still pretty torn up about Jorik. We both are."

    "I can understand that," I said, not really knowing how I could help.

    "How long until nightfall? I can¡¯t really tell what time of day it is from in here."

    I could hear Harald walking around, probably trying to get a good view of the sun. "not long."

    I thought about it and calculated that I must have been asleep for almost 20 hours straight. "I guess that battle took a lot out of me. I¡¯ve been sleeping a long time."

    "You were wounded very badly. The elves had to use healing magic on you for hours before you were stable."

    I rubbed my leg a bit, remembering how badly broken it was. "Thank them for me. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll get the chance."

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "I already have, but I will make sure they know you¡¯re grateful."

    We stayed silent for a little while, and I just sat there thinking. Soon, me and Harald would be going our separate ways, and if I wanted to see him again, I would have to kill the Warden and bring peace to Kaedras.

    "I guess this is the last time we¡¯ll get to just sit and chat like this for a while," Harald sighed. I heard him snap his fingers and light up a cigarette.

    "Oh, come on, that¡¯s not fair. I don¡¯t have any cigarettes," I said, and just then the vines in front of me opened up slightly. Harald¡¯s arm stuck through, holding a cigarette.

    "Thank you," I said as he pulled his hand back and the vines closed again. I snapped my fingers, lighting it, and exhaled.

    "So, that fight was pretty intense," I said, rubbing my leg.

    "We got lucky. Really lucky," Harald continued. "If we hadn''t made it to the forest, none of us would be alive." He paused, then added, "And that was just the Warden and a handful of guardsmen. Imagine the damage he and the entirety of his Emberguard could do."

    I thought for a moment. "How many guardsmen does he have under his command?"

    I heard Harald counting under his breath. "Three legions so far, so around 400 guardsmen, give or take."

    "Damn," I said, shaking my head, realizing the gravity of the situation. Harald continued, "The Warden''s power, and those under his command, grow every day."

    There was a brief pause before Harald spoke again. "We saw it grow by one yesterday."

    I turned and stared at the vines separating me from Harald, wishing there was something I could say or do to take away his pain. I heard him clear his throat, fighting to keep his composure.

    "Do you think the elves can defeat him?" I asked.

    Harald sighed. "If he were to attack the forest now, he would surely lose. But since the elves will not leave the forest, the Warden has the luxury of time. He can keep growing his forces and building his strength until he has enough to overwhelm the elves. It''s only a matter of time."

    I slammed my fist into the dirt. "Damn, there''s got to be something we can do. We can''t just wait for the Warden to come and kill us all."

    I tried to think of a plan¡ªany plan¡ªthat could give us some kind of hope of stopping this.

    "The Stormkin," Harald said.

    I paused, trying to piece together what he was thinking. "You said they lived on the islands of the Fractured Sea?" I asked.

    "Yes, The only chance we have is if you can find the Stormkin and convince them to join you, to fight the Warden and his forces."

    I thought about it for a moment. The elves did say they would take me to the coast.

    Harald continued, "The Stormkin are tough people. Don''t expect them to welcome you with open arms. You''ll have to explain the situation to them and make them understand that it is in their best interest to help you stop the Warden. They are not ones to be used as pawns for anyone."

    Soon, the elves showed up and entered my cage, the vines closing behind them. They handed me the brew, and I hesitated before drinking it.

    "Harald, you still there?" I said nervously.

    "I¡¯m here, brother."

    I took a deep breath, "Thank you for everything you and your family have done for me." My voice cracked a bit. "I will find a way to make the Stormkin help." I lifted the vial to my lips and gulped down the contents. One of the elves took the vial from me and motioned for me to lay down. I complied, and as everything started to fade, Harald spoke again.

    "I beleive in you, we will see each other again."

    I smiled and closed my eyes as I felt my body relax and drifted off to sleep.

    I awoke to the sound of waves crashing against the shoreline. The sun shone brightly, warming my face. I sat up to see a beautiful, clear ocean. I was sitting on a sandy beach. Turning around, I saw the forest about 100 yards away. I stood up and scanned the area, trying to get my bearings. All I saw was an empty beach as far as I could see. I looked the other way, and it was the same. I felt as lost as I did when I first arrived here.

    I stopped and scanned the horizon of the ocean. It appeared to be open ocean, but I did see one island in the distance. It looked far¡ªtoo far to swim. I needed a boat that could get me there. The problem was, I had no idea how to build a boat. Harald would know, I thought, but I quickly pushed that out of my mind. I was on my own now, and I needed to rely on myself.

    I looked back at the forest and the giant trees that grew there. I made my way to the edge of the forest and stood just before the woodline. "Hey, is anyone there?" I asked, but received no reply. I looked toward the treetops and scanned the bushes, seeing nothing. "I need materials to make a boat. If you could help me, I would be very grateful." Still, no response.

    I thought for a moment and decided maybe I could just take what I needed from the edge of the forest. I took one step inside, and vines quickly shot out of the ground, pushing me back onto the sand. I sighed and started making my way back to the water.

    I stood at the shoreline, watching the island, trying to see if I could make out any signs of civilization. From this far, all I could make out was a bit of green, but no smoke or anything that would indicate fire or life. I decided to just start walking. There was nothing else I could, so I walked.

    I walked the shoreline for a few hours until I finally saw something in the distance. As I got closer, I tried to make out what it was. To my surprise, it looked like a boat. I quickened my pace, eager to reach it, and noticed two people getting ready to push it into the water.

    "Hey!" I yelled, waving my hands back and forth to get their attention. I was still too far, and they didn''t seem to hear me. I started running as fast as I could, screaming the whole time and waving my hands. They pushed the boat into the water and began paddling away.

    I soon reached the spot where they had originally been and yelled toward the water. "Hey! Come back!" I shouted. They stopped paddling and turned their gaze toward me. I put my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. One of them put his paddle down and stood up to face me.

    "What do you want?" he asked, standing in a somewhat defensive posture.

    I straightened up, still breathing somewhat heavily. "Can you give me a ride to that island over there?" I said, pointing.

    "No, I will not. What business do you have there?"

    I started breathing normally again. "I''m looking for the Stormkin."

    The two men exchanged a glance. Then began paddling back, and their boat soon landed on the shoreline. They hopped off the boat and made their way toward me.

    Both men had white hair and dark, sun-kissed skin from years of sun exposure. They were both a foot taller than me, and they stood so close that I could feel a static energy emanating from them. The hair on my arms stood up, and as I met their gaze, I noticed both of their eyes were a light blue. Little lightning bolts flickered from their pupils, shooting outward. I also saw they both had their fists clenched, and I immediately knew these men were not friendly.

    I raised my hands in a gesture of peace and took a step back, but they quickly stepped forward again, closing the gap.

    "Please," I said, "I don''t mean you any harm."

    They examined me more closely before continuing. "Humans are not welcome here, so I suggest you run back to Kaedras and hide behind your Warden." I felt anger rising inside me. "I just need to speak with your leader, please." One of the men shoved me hard. "The only way your getting to that island is if you kill us." he said. At this point, I could visibly see little sparks shooting from his body. My adrenaline was running full blast at this point. I looked at the man closest to me right in his eyes. I could see a thunderstorm in his iris''s.

    "Fuck it." I said and punched him as hard as I could in the face.

    He stumbled and fell onto his back in the sand. The other one roared in rage and shot a bolt of lightning from his hand.

    I dove out of the way and returned with a blast of fire from mine. The man was engulfed in flames and quickly dove into the water to put it out.

    The other stood up recovering from my punch, lunged, and grabbed me. We both fell to the sand and began fighting for control.

    I came out on top and began reigning down punches. He covered his face blocking them as best as he could and a few connected, bloodying his face and dazing him.

    At this point his friend was running up to us out of the water and shot a bolt of lightning into me from behind. I felt my whole body tense up and the man escaped my grasp and quickly jumped up.

    I fell to the sand shaking as if I had just been tazed. "Your going to die now." The man I set on fire said, grabbing one of my feet and dragging me toward the ocean.

    The other followed and they both waded into the water with me floating behind them. He turned around and put his hands around my throat and pushed my head under the water all the way to the bottom. My head halfway in the sand, I tried to fight back but the other one also put his hands on my head. I opened my eyes trying to see, but being underwater and with the debris from the sand, I couldn''t make out any details.

    I tried prying their hands off me but every time I got a hand off another one took its place. I started to panic a bit running out of breath frantically trying to find a way out of this situation.

    Then a notification popped up in my vision.

    Lightning magic increased to level 1

    My heart raced¡ªevery inch of my body screamed with the surge and I pushed my hand upwards as hard as I could. Electricity shot through the water and turned it into an electrified storm.

    The men immediately let go and I shot to the surface gasping for air.

    I hurried to the shore and fell to my knees coughing and spitting out water. I stood up and turned around to see the 2 men standing where I left them still recovering.

    I stood my ground and one of the men turned to the other. "What were you thinking?" He said clearly thinking the bolt came from him. He started running toward me and shot another bolt of lightning at me.

    I shot my arm forward and answered his with one of my own.

    The bolts collided exploding and sending crackling sparks throughout the area. He stared confused as I charged and tackled him to the ground.

    He stuck his arm out again trying to cast another bolt and I caught him by the wrist and pulled his arm backwards putting all my weight and strength behind it. I heard it snap and the man screamed in pain.

    I turned to the other man still standing in the water and he immediately put his hands up in a disarming gesture. "Ok, ok you win." He said as I made sure to ready my fire wave, I wanted him to see the flames burning in my opened hand.

    "Come here." I said and motioned next to his friend. The man complied and made his way next to the man still screaming on the ground.

    I looked back at the boat and then back at him. "Are you going to take me to the island or do I need to kill you and just go myself?" the man immediately pleaded. "No need for that we''ll take you." I motioned toward the boat and the man helped his friend to his feet.

    He held his arm, trying to keep it as steady as possible to minimize the pain. The men climbed onto the boat, and I followed. The boat wasn''t particularly big, but the three of us fit comfortably. The man with the broken arm sat with his eyes closed, holding his arm, while the other struggled to paddle by himself. He looked at me as if he was going to ask for help but thought better of it when I gave him the meanest stare I could muster. He looked forward again and continued paddling, trying to get us past the waves. It took a while, but eventually, we made it, and the man opened the sails. The wind caught them, and we noticeably started moving much faster. I looked back at the beach, which was getting smaller by the second.

    "How long until we arrive?" I asked. The man answered without making eye contact. "A couple of hours."

    I kept my eyes on the two men, not wanting to give them the chance to attack again.

    "Where did you learn lightning magic?" the man asked, and I debated what I should tell him.

    "I just learned it. From you," I said, and the his eyes grew wide.

    "You''re a Chosen." he said.

    I nodded, and the man rubbed his hands over his face, looking concerned.

    "Why? You got a problem with that?" I asked.

    He sighed. "Darian''s going to kill me."

    I stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to clarify.

    "Who is Darian?" I finally asked, a bit annoyed.

    "That''s who I''m taking you to see."

    I nodded and replied, "I just want to talk to him. I''m not here to start trouble."

    The man kept rubbing his face. "When he finds out that you''re Chosen, he''s going to kill us both."

 Chapter 8

    As we approached the island, it seemed much bigger than I originally thought. Guard towers lined the coast, made of wooden poles with tiki hut-style structures atop them. They were spaced apart in such a way that there were no blind spots. As we got closer, the man spoke.

    "So, I have to let one of the guards know what happened. They¡¯ll take you to Darian, and he¡¯ll decide what to do with you."

    I nodded in response.

    When the boat made landfall on the beach, the man jumped out and waved his arms at the soldier. "Hey, I need help now!" he yelled.

    I glanced down at the man whose arm I had broken. He was passed out cold, probably from the pain. I looked back at the tower, and a soldier quickly descended a wooden ladder. He wore simple clothes, similar to mine, but on top, he had leather armor¡ªcomplete with a chest piece, shoulder guards, and leg coverings. He carried a long spear and had a wooden shield on his back.

    He approached the man, and they began talking, but I couldn''t make out what they were saying. The man turned and pointed at me, so I decided to introduce myself. I hopped down from the boat and made my way toward them.

    The soldier immediately pulled his shield from his back and assumed a defensive posture. "Stay where you are," he commanded.

    I stopped and raised my hands in the air.

    "Easy now, I¡¯m not here to start trouble. My name is Ryker. I came to meet with Darian."

    The soldier whispered something to the man, who immediately started running up the beach.

    "You just stay where you are and no sudden moves," the guard instructed.

    I sighed but ultimately complied. I watched as the man ran past small tiki huts where people were doing chores outside. He kept running until he reached a giant fence made of long wooden poles, about 15 feet high. He began banging on a gate, and soon it cracked open. He was ushered inside. I noticed a palm-thatched roof of a building within the walls but couldn¡¯t make out anything else.

    I glanced back at the soldier guarding me. He seemed focused and ready for action. I began to lower my hands and walk over to him.

    "I said don¡¯t move!" he commanded.

    I stopped walking but kept a relaxed posture.

    "This is not necessary, sir. I didn¡¯t come to start trouble. I just seek an audience with your leader, Darian."

    The soldier remained fixed on me. He then glanced at the boat, then back at me.

    "You hijack one of our boats and nearly beat two of our people to death¡ªone of them looks like he might be dead¡ªand you expect me to believe you don¡¯t want to cause trouble?"

    I sighed and looked at the boat. I could see the back of the man leaning against the railing. He hadn¡¯t moved since we arrived.

    "It was in self-defense. They attacked me first."

    The soldier just kept his gaze on me saying nothing.

    Just then, I noticed the large gate opening, and about a dozen soldiers came running out in my direction. They held spears in one hand and shields in the other, as if preparing for battle. All of them had white hair and tan skin, which seemed to be a distinguishing characteristic of the Stormkin. I slowly raised my hands as the men approached. Before I had a chance to say anything, they surrounded me and slammed me face-first into the sand.

    "Hey!" I yelled as they tied my hands behind my back with rope and put a blindfold over my eyes. They lifted me to my feet, and I continued, "I¡¯m just here to speak with Darian. I don¡¯t mean anyone any harm."

    Suddenly, someone landed a hard punch to my stomach. I fell to my knees, coughing and struggling to catch my breath. As I gasped, someone grabbed me by the hair and yanked my head up.

    "You should''ve never come here, Chosen," a voice said, and I was lifted to my feet. The soldiers had a firm grip on both of my arms and quickly began leading me up the beach. I could only assume we passed through the gates I had seen earlier, and we seemed to climb some steps before entering a building.

    I stumbled and lost my footing, trying to navigate while blindfolded, but the strong grip of the two soldiers holding me kept me from falling. We made our way through what seemed like a series of hallways before entering another room and stopping. I waited for a moment, then someone ripped the blindfold off my face.

    As my eyes adjusted, I saw a man sitting on a throne of sorts. The room was simple¡ªwooden floors and walls with a palm-thatched ceiling¡ªbut decorated with items such as a red rug that stretched all the way up to the feet of the man''s chair. He wore armor similar to the other soldiers, except his was much more colorful and adorned with jewels. He also had a spear and shield, but they rested against the side of the chair he was sitting in.

    "Darian?" I said, but the man just continued staring. Another man stood next to him and whispered something in his ear. He nodded, then focused his gaze back on me.

    "You attack peaceful messengers on the shores of the mainland. You beat them within an inch of their lives, and then you hijack their boat and intrude upon my lands." He paused for a moment before continuing. "You''re lucky we didn''t kill you on the beach where you landed."

    I sighed, trying to control my breathing, as anger began to cloud my judgment.

    "I defended myself. Your men attacked me first. I came here just to talk to you. I didn''t realize my presence here was such an insult to your people."

    I had barely finished speaking before he stood up and began shouting.

    "Your very existence is an insult to my people! My soldiers train day after day, month after month, until their skills are honed and they can bravely defend their land from invaders, standing tall and proud. Then a chosen one shows up, spends a day or two training, and soon he can defeat dozens of soldiers without breaking a sweat!"

    The leader stood for a moment longer, then took his seat.

    "Now the question is, what to do with you?" He stared, contemplating for a moment before motioning to another man beside him to come closer. They whispered for a few seconds, and then the leader waved his hand, dismissing him.

    I waited in anticipation.

    "You''re going to spend the night in the dungeon, tomorrow you will be publicly executed."

    My anger boiled over at that point, and for some reason, I felt like a different person. I started laughing¡ªnot just a standard laugh, but a loud, obnoxious one. Everyone stared, a bit confused, and I just kept laughing. The soldier next to me gave a me a strong punch in the stomach again and yet, I continued laughing he placed his hand on my shoulder and began pumping electricity into me. It shot through my body, forcing me onto my face. I lay there for a moment, and a notification popped up:

    Lightning magic skill increased to level 2.

    The soldiers lifted me back to my feet, and I could feel the energy inside me flowing. The electrical current and my anger were one and the same. Darian, the leader, stood up and looked closely at me.

    "His eyes, you fools! Cover his eyes now!"

    Without even seeing myself, I knew exactly what he was talking about. My eyes must have been shooting lightning bolts, just like the Stormkin did. Darian was now realizing that every time they attacked me, every time I was beaten, every battle I fought only made me stronger by leaps and bounds.

    The soldiers quickly blindfolded me again. Instead of holding my arms and helping me keep my footing, they just dragged me. I was dragged through what seemed like endless hallways and down a long flight of steps. Even though my shins and feet were aching from hitting every step, I made sure not to help them. I stayed as limp as I possibly could, and by the time we reached my cell, I could tell the soldiers were exhausted. They threw me inside and slammed the metal barred door closed.

    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    waited until it sounded like they had all left, then rolled over onto my back. From there, I sat up carefully and stood. I tried to lift my head and peek under the blindfold, but I could see nothing. I snapped my fingers and lit a flame. I waited as the ropes binding my hands snapped and burned, and soon I broke my hands free.

    I quickly pulled off the blindfold and inspected my surroundings. I was in a middle cell, surrounded by bars on all sides. It seemed to be underground, but the sand had been sculpted in such a way that it looked as hard as rock. I rubbed my hand on the wall and knocked on it a couple of times. It definitely was solid.

    I turned around and sat on the floor. I needed to figure out my next move. It seemed like it was time for me to stop playing nice¡ªnobody else was. I was going to use my powers to make sure I got what I needed. I just needed to figure out a way to escape and corner Darian somewhere, so it was just me and him. I smiled a bit, imagining the fear in his eyes.

    Then, I could talk to him like I wanted to in the beginning¡ªwithout worrying about being hauled off to a dungeon by a bunch of soldiers.

    "That''s a neat trick," a woman''s voice said, and I jumped a bit. I looked around and noticed a figure in the cell next to me. She had been so quiet and still that I hadn''t noticed her before.

    The entire room was dark, except for a single torch hanging from the wall directly across from my cell. It lit up my cell very well and parts of the other two, but she was standing in the corner covered in darkness. I stared in her direction for a moment, waiting, but she didn¡¯t move or say anything else.

    I stood to my feet and walked over to the bars separating us. I put my hands on the bars and focused on the figure, but still couldn¡¯t make out any details.

    "So, what did you do to end up in here?" I finally asked.

    She stayed motionless but answered, "You first."

    I sighed and made my way back to my spot on the floor, leaning against the bars.

    "I don¡¯t have time for small talk. I need to figure out a way out of here."

    The only thing I could come up with was to wait. If I waited until the guards came to give me food, or when they came to take me for execution, I could make my escape. I would need to take out the soldiers and put on one of their uniforms. Then I could sneak out of here, find Darian, and make him listen to me.

    My thoughts were interrupted again.

    "Why did they have you blindfolded?"

    I looked over at the cell next to me.

    "Because I am a chosen," I said. The woman then stepped out of the shadows and moved against the bars that separated us. She had white hair and tan skin, just like the rest of the Stormkin. However, she had what looked like tattoos covering her from head to toe. They were a light blue, resembling continuous lightning bolts all the way down.

    "Why are you here?" she asked.

    Without meeting her gaze, I begrudgingly answered.

    "I came to seek aid for a war against the Warden. I was hoping the Stormkin could help, but no one will listen to me. So now I have to figure out a way to get out of here and make Darian listen."

    The woman nodded and continued.

    "Why do you seek war against the Warden?"

    I just looked up at her and sighed. My patience was reaching its limit.

    "Because he is not a good person. He is a tyrant, a leader who threatens the lives of people I care about." I turned, facing the direction opposite of the woman, hoping she would take the hint and leave me to my thoughts.

    "Will you take his place as ruler?" she asked.

    Without looking, I answered.

    "I just want to save the innocent people he threatens. I have no desire to rule."

    It was silent for a moment before she responded.

    "Maybe we can help each other," she said simply.

    I turned my head sideways to catch a glimpse of her.

    "How is that?"

    she continued. "Help me escape and kill Darian and then you will have your soldiers."

    I stood up and approached her. Her eyes were so blue they were almost white. They looked like a thunderstorm in themselves¡ªmesmerizing, as lightning bolts shot from her pupils through her irises, around and behind. I could swear they glowed a bit with each strike.

    "What say you?" she asked, snapping me out of the trance.

    "I don''t understand. How would killing Darian help me get his soldiers to fight with me?"

    She smiled. "It won''t be his soldiers fighting with you; it will be mine."

    I stared, a bit confused, and she continued.

    "The Stormkin are not ruled by just one leader. The fractured isles are made up of several islands, each with its own ruler. Some rule multiple islands, and some, like myself, rule only one. Darian is the ruler of this island called Voltaris, and I rule the island just next to here, called Stormpeak."

    I felt a glimmer of hope flow through me.

    "Darian challenged my rule and laid claim to my island. Our ways, when two people lay claim to something such as this, are simple: they settle it with a duel. I arrived with a small envoy of soldiers to settle this duel, and instead, Darian sent his soldiers to do his fighting for him. They imprisoned me and killed my men. Now, I await my execution tomorrow alongside you. He will tell my people that he won the duel and rule Stormpeak without ever having to get off his throne."

    I nodded, starting to see where this was going.

    "You help me escape and make sure we find Darian so I can kill him. Then, help me return to my island, and I will repay the favor by joining you in your fight against the Warden."

    I couldn''t help but smile. I stuck my hands between the bars and grasped hers.

    "You have a deal," I said, shaking her hand firmly.

    She nodded, "Do you have a plan?" I started pacing a bit as I knew this was going to be tricky.

    "Well, I was thinking we wait until a guard comes to feed us, or¡ª"

    She lifted her hand, motioning for me to stop.

    "They will not feed us. I''ve been here for two days and haven''t eaten anything."

    I nodded and continued. "Well, when they come to take us to be executed, we can attack them."

    She raised her hand again. "When they come to take us for execution, it will be a dozen soldiers or more. They aren''t going to risk sending one or two to try and control a chosen."

    I nodded. That made sense. They¡¯ve already demonstrated this when they came to arrest me the first time. Not only was it about a dozen soldiers, but they had me blindfolded as well.

    "Well, what do you suggest?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

    She looked down at my hands for a moment before looking back up at me. "Can you do more than light a single flame?"

    I nodded, still not sure what she was getting at.

    "If you can get the bars hot enough, they will weaken, and you can try bending them."

    I couldn''t help but laugh. "I don''t think I can get the bars hot enough to bend, but even if I did, I¡¯d burn myself badly trying to bend them."

    "I can heal you," she said quickly. "I am adept in healing magic, and I can heal your hands just as quickly as they get burned."

    I thought for a moment. I guess it¡¯s worth a try.

    I inspected the bars of my cell closely. It wasn¡¯t much, but I could see they seemed to have been built decades ago. Then I examined the latch that secured the door in place. That could work, I thought.

    "Stand back," I said as I positioned myself about two feet away from the latch and locking mechanism. The woman stepped back, and I clenched my fist, focusing. I opened my hand, and a flame glowed in my palm. I raised my hand toward the door, and a stream of fire shot out, hitting the latch. I held it there, feeling the energy release from me.

    Several minutes passed as I continued blasting the lock with flames. The room was heating up quickly, and the door latch started glowing a bright orange. The woman, seeming to have heard something, ran to her door and tried peeking at the stairway.

    "Someone¡¯s coming! Hurry!" she yelled.

    I tried to focus as hard as I could. The room was almost unbearably hot at this point, but I forced myself to keep the energy flowing, as condensed as I could.

    Soon, a soldier emerged from the stairway. "Hey, what are you doing?" he called out, lifting his hand to shield himself from the sudden wave of heat.

    I immediately stopped and kicked the door as hard as I could. It only gave a little. I kicked it over and over again, feeling sharp pain in my foot with every blow.

    The soldier started making his way toward my cell door with his spear in hand. I continued kicking, feeling the door give a little more with each strike.

    The soldier jabbed his spear through the bars at me stabbing me in the shoulder. I screamed in pain and with one final kick the door finally flung open catching the back of his spear and ripping it away from the soldier''s grasp, Inadvertently this caused the spear to rip out of my shoulder taking a large chunk of flesh with it.

    I held my shoulder trying to slow the bleeding and started limping toward the soldier still trying to free his spear from the door.

    I moved next to him and stuck my still scolding hand underneath his leather armor and against his bare stomach. The guard screamed in pain and began slamming his fists into my arm trying to break it free. I focused and sent flames into his stomach and watched as he desperatly tried to escape, and then went limp and fell to the ground as the life left him.

    I started searching the soldier¡¯s body for a key, but found nothing.

    "The keys will be at the top of the stairs!" the woman yelled. I winced and began limping toward the stairway.

    "Wait!" she called out, and I turned to see her hand outstretched toward me. Her eyes were closed, and a green, smoky vapor emanated from her hands, surrounding me. It was so thick that for a moment, I couldn¡¯t see anything.As the smoke began to dissipate, a notification popped up:

    Healing magic skill increased to Level 1.

    Fire magic skill increased to Level 4 to reach Level 5 kill 5 enemies with fire magic.

    I looked down at my shoulder; the bleeding had stopped. I put some weight on my foot, It was still sore, but it seemed mostly healed. I nodded at the woman and ran up the stairway.

    The room at the top was empty, with a desk in the corner. I rushed over to it, searching through the drawers until I found a ring with three keys on it. Just as I grabbed them, I heard a soldier entering the room. He was halfway through the doorway when I charged, slamming my shoulder into it with full force, pinning the man.

    He screamed as his arm and spear remained stuck in the doorway. Without hesitation, I lifted my hand and blasted him with fire. The man shrieked in agony before abruptly fleeing, and I quickly slammed the door shut behind him. A small wooden latch clicked into place, locking it, giving us a brief respite¡ªthough I knew it wouldn¡¯t hold for long.

    I dashed back downstairs, unlocked the woman¡¯s cell, and she quickly emerged, sprinting up the stairs. Grabbing the dead soldier¡¯s spear and shield, I followed her.

    She was scanning the room for something when I caught up to her.

    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± I asked.

    She turned around, now holding a spear with a golden tip and a shield adorned with golden linings¡ªthough the shield had clearly been repaired countless times, losing much of its original design.

    Just then, the door shuddered, and we heard pounding from the other side as someone tried to force it open. The woman tilted her head from side to side, loosening up, then took a position about five feet back from the door. Shield raised, spear ready, she stood in a defensive stance.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± she asked.

    I simply nodded.

    ¡°Well then, open the door and get out of my way.¡±