I guess I should mention that while all the characters mentioned in this chapter are mine I don't own the worlds some of them come from and that later the story will move into being more of a fanfic because of the world the main story is set in, anyway I hope you enjoy my first attempt at any kind of published work!
Voidian Knights
Prologue: Can you hear it?
--
Can you not hear it,
Can't you hear it calling?
Can't you feel it pulling on your very essence?
I heard it, I felt it
And I answered that Call
In more ways than one.
--
A figure lay in bed, restlessly trying to sleep in a room where various items hung from the ceiling and clutter gathered at the edges except for a clear path between the bed and the door.
The figure, finally giving up on sleep, sat up and looked about the room that was fitfully lit by curtain filtered full-moon light before turning to the left to look up at the red glow of the bed head clock, 3:00, it read.
Drawing the curtain aside revealed the figure to be a male with pale skin and unkempt dark hair from the figure's attempts to get comfortable. The pale moonlight only made this contrast harsher.
As the figure watched the moon his eyes changed colour, from a rippled and graded grey, to a deep blue with hints of green.
Lamenting somewhat at the earliness, the figure proceeded to prepare for the day.
--
Krrr Riol, a dappled grey-black Nephilim and Avernite adventurer, was fighting a group of Avernum's denizens with a band of fellow adventurers.
He had just commanded some beasts to join their assault and nocked a fresh arrow when the Call reached him and he vanished from his world, never to be seen there again.
--
Jroa Tlaw awoke suddenly, his luminescent green eyes darting about, taking in his surroundings. He was at the bottom of a long shaft, various pieces of basic Dragon Clan armour lay about him.
He relaxed and scales became skin, claws became fingers and toes, the beginnings of a frill became ribbed ears. His tail vanished and his bronze mane became indigo hair.
He shivered and quickly donned the clothes and armour left for him. Both he and his equipment were unaged despite the unknown amount of years that he had spent in a hibernation meant to potentially last centuries. Lastly, he grasped the shield and sword and used the residual magic in the shaft to escape.
It was the Call that had woken Him.
--
Griffin Pelment, Elemental Warrior & Captain of The Gatemaker, sat in contemplation, a half-dozen tiny suns frolicking amongst the fingers of his upraised right hand.
"You do know that that is a bit disconcerting, right?" Jenna asked. This was an opinion which was supported by Ota and Com. Claire and Sam, however, were unaffected by his simple display, a fact that Griffin was happy to point out to them.
"That's because Claire is in Research Mode and-" Jenna began.
"And Sam has the hots for you." Ota interrupted. He was pointedly ignored by Griffin and a now blushing Sam.
Griffin suddenly vanished, and moments later The Gatemaker locked on to Griffin's ethereal trail and followed him to this new world.
--
Kara Lorrud sighed as she pocketed the jewel that she had taken from its' display case just moments ago.
"Barely worth my time," she commented, "and the security was really lax too. Maybe I should go and wake them up and see if they can provide me with a bit of fun... Why not? The night is still young."
So she proceeded towards the Guards' Barracks, so that at the very least she could get some enjoyment from her latest theft, stopping by the Armoury on the way to procure a number of good quality knives and daggers.
"At least the weaponry is decent; well balanced enough to be thrown with reasonable accuracy as well."
It just so happened that the Call reached her when she was teasing the entire barracks full of guards, and she grinned at them wickedly as she answered.
Weeks of psychiatric fieldwork followed, & the mystery of where the worlds greatest thief vanished to, and even the location of her treasure hoard is still a popular topic of discussion in that world.
--
Have you ever been called to something
Really called to something
By your very soul,
By your spirit, by your blood,
By the very essence of who you are.
Have you ever felt such a calling
That had to be answered, regardless
A calling that draws you to a place
Or person and doesn't tell you why
Just that something must be done
In this place or with that person.
Just to leave you stumbling, unbalanced
Confused, searching yourself for
Answers but finding only questions
Why is this place important?
What's so special about that person?
Why can't I just be free of it all?
But my blood still calls
My spirit still seeks
And my soul still yearns
Who ... What ... am I?
--
The figure dressed himself all in black, even down to the sneakers on his feet. He put an almost identical outfit, as well as a pair of sturdy black boots, a length of rope, a number of items that could be loosely referred to as Craft Tools, a packed lunch and some writing implements in a backpack.
It was only once this bag was slung over his shoulder that The Call reached him and he vanished from his world forever.
--
Rethan Gates stood watching a battle. As a Power Balance he was a neutral to this war. As a Power Balance he was immortal, and these mortals were killing each other practically in his backyard.
If his balance had been Water and Fire then he'd have frozen or drowned one side & incinerated the other by now; if he'd been Earth and Air one side would have choked & the other been crushed.
However, his balance was undeniably Life and Death, so he stood and watched them slaughter each other with mounting annoyance.
When he could take no more he stormed in, killing with but a touch and driving mad with but a glance.
He soon came to where the armies' commanders were fighting and demanded that they both withdraw from the field.
One arrogantly refused, slashing at Rethan, leaving a shallow cut along his forearm.
Rethan screamed from the intense pain torturing his arm and raised his scythe, unleashing a shadow of death that instantly killing the offending commander and his entire army.
The other commander, upon seeing this, quickly tore her tunic up into bandages and bound the injured appendage of the still shaking Rethan.
"Forgive us, Milord. We shall clean up the field and then leave the area," she said, bowing to Rethan.
Rethan smiled upon this commander, one eye closed, and all on that side of the conflict were given the strength of life to recover from their injuries and their dead rose again. The side that had been given Life built a pyre for the side given Death.
Rethan was returning home, wincing in agony as his arm tried to rip itself apart when The Call reached him and he was gone.
--
Will Hreasure was wandering while lost in thought, as it seemed to him that he was practically a wind elemental as well as an air elemental. He had just reasoned out, not for the first time, that they must just be two names for the same thing when, as usual for Will's revelations, something happened to make him forget it completely (in truth this was probably the fourth time he had come to this conclusion).
By now those of you who have actually been reading these accounts will no doubt realise just what distracted Will this time, so I'll point out now that the only forms of life in Will's world are Elementals, from Fire, Water, Earth, & Air/Wind to Stone, Metal, Mud, Lightning, Wood & Quintessence.
Now, as you probably guessed, Will was distracted by The Call, but he still answered and vanished from his world.
--
The next world we come to is called Ardania by its inhabitants.
It is a rather interesting world, with a strong Heroic presence, a few signs of visitors from beyond, and individuals who don't always acknowledge time as a constraint.
Rax Drakko is one such individual. He will sometimes stir up time by instinct, mostly to escape his creator; a Wizard who had magically combined the DNA of Humans, Fire Dragons and Ice Dragons. Rax, a Warrior of Discord, was the result.
Rax was once again cornered by his creator, and his thoughts slowed as a result of his conflicting powers of Fire and Ice.
He had begun to instinctively bend time to allow his escape when The Call reached him, and though he would be seen again in this world of his origin, he would only be visiting.
--
Eight of our heroes have been gathered but two remain.
The Werewolf, Temva Lyahn, a static form hybrid, was out hunting with his brother Jack (who happens to be a static-form wolf) and their cousin Sahra, who, unlike the two brothers, could actually shift her form anywhere between complete Human and complete Wolf.
Sahra's form was in constant motion, a snarling wolf in pursuit one moment, a stalking human huntress the next, herding a trio of deer with Jack to where Temva lay in wait, an arrow nocked to his bow.
Once the deer were in range, two of them were instantly felled while the third was only injured, having only been struck by half an arrow instead of a whole one.
Hunter and Huntress froze as the grazed deer escaped; Temva had vanished without a trace just as he had loosed the third arrow.
For hours afterward the forest was filled with howls, but these calls went unanswered because of a Call that was answered.
--
Weaver Chance looked through a window in the fabricated reality around him. On a whim he imagined himself a cup of coffee into existence and took a sip.
"Don't get too carried away describing the scene."
What?
"I know your there, narrating this, don't get too carried away."
Uh, Okay. Weaver watched the events of the multi-verse, he had seen nine different incarnations of himself answer the call of worlds in distress and already knew that he would be joining them-
"Kay, the time has come."
"And what time would that be, darling Twer?"
-on their ques-
"The time to interrupt the Narrator & answer The Call of worlds in distress."
"Oh, leave them alone, they're just trying to do their job."
Thank you!
"Your welcome. Would you like me to pack you some lunch before you go, dear?" Kay added mischievously.
Weaver chuckled "No no, I'll be fine." He rose and-
"They don't need all the details."
Fine, Weaver rose and said farewell to his wife before answering the Call.
"That's better. Good bye Kay, my darling wife, I shall return when my task is done." And with that he vanished.
"Sorry about that, he can be difficult sometimes."
I'm very aware of that fact. I'm wondering how much trouble he'll be as this story progresses.
"I wouldn't worry about that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a large picnic lunch to prepare."
Of course, I'll see myself out.
--
Who ... What ... am I?
--