Joey yelled as he fell through a dark portal that was strangely reminiscent of a black hole. Suddenly, he crash landed on rocky terrain, hitting his head against the rigid earth.
"What da heck is going on here?" he mumbled, his vision blurred and swimming. Joey sat up shakily, leaning against a boulder when he nearly fell. "Where am I?"
The last thing he remembered was sleeping soundly when, out of the blue, he had woken up for no apparent reason. A murmuring voice was carried by the wind into his filthy room, whispering strange words in a foreign language. Joey had called out to it, demanding its identity. But his only response was a giant, shadowy hole in the ceiling, sucking him to who knows where.
"Hey!" a brusque, manly voice shouted from his left. "How dare you assault my pigs!"
Joey looked around. A few small, fat creatures hobbled around him, squeaking quietly and sniffing at his shoes. "These ain't pigs…" he muttered.
"Hey!" the man said again, running up to Joey with a large stick in his only hand. "So we have another pig thief, eh?" he asked, his eyes burning with madness. "They're my pigs and my livelihood, so get out of here before I beat that blonde hair off your head!"
"I didn't come ta steal ya pigs, mista!" Joey said quickly, stepping over the pigs as he retreated.
The pig farmer cocked his head. "You're here… for work?"
Joey didn't see any other way to excuse his presence in the middle of the man's ranch, so he nodded. "Yeah, work! Dat's it!"
"So what do you want? Five gerst a day sound fair, plus room and board?" the pig-herder offered. Joey had no idea what a gerst was, so he nodded again. "Good. The feed's in the shed—spread it for my little piglets beneath the rock-shade. Come in at midday for noon-meal."
He began to walk off toward a wooden, cabin-like house in the distance. "Wait!" Joey yelled. "How am I supposed ta work for ya if I don't know ya name?"
"It's Wendel." Wendel replied, slamming the door to his house.
Tea groaned as she got to her knees. She found herself by a shimmering sea, her legs being gently lapped by cool, salty waves. Cactus flowers grew happily in the pink sand, and the sun smiled down on her.
"What is this place?" she mumbled aloud. "Is it another dimension or something?"
Tea stood and brushed the sand from her pajamas. Five silver frogs splashed about in the surf at her toes. "This place is neat, though…" she mused. "Just look around. It's beautiful."
Tea took a few steps toward a grassy plain. An unusually crooked house billowing multicolored smoke teetered under sapphire birches. "I wonder if someone could tell me where I am… let's hope they speak English."
Tea walked bravely up to the triangular front door and briefly rapped on it. "Get the door, Darius!" a harsh voice said, and a few moments later the door opened up, revealing a short, carrot-topped boy with circular glasses.
"Can I help…" he trailed off, and looking her up and down. Tea fidgeted under his gaze.
"Is something wrong?" she asked. "Please, can you tell me where I am? I'm a bit lost."
The boy—presumably Darius—was silent for a bit, and then slammed the door in Tea's face. "Master! Master!" she heard him yell. "I found a summoner!"
The door opened again, and a spindly, elderly woman stood before her. "Ah, yes, you're right, Darius," she said. The woman extended a hand, ushering Tea inside. "Come in, darling, come in. It's not often that summoners come to our doorsteps."
"Uh… summoner?" Tea asked confusedly. All she wanted was directions to the next flight to Domino. Maybe a map or something.
"Tsk, tsk…" the woman said, shaking her head sadly. "She doesn't even know her own powers. But this is wonderful! We can train a summoner right here and deliver her to the Guard! We'll be famous from now on!"
"Excuse me, ma'am…" Tea said politely. "But I think you've confused me with someone else. I'm just really lost, you see. And I'm looking for a way—"
"Listen to me, darling. You have a wonderful opportunity and so do we. We're not going to let you just throw it away. You can do your part for the Empire, dear. Don't you want that?"
Based on their demanding stares, Tea assumed that they weren't going to just let her walk away. "Yes… yes, of course, ma'am."
"Please, call me Aunt Teph., Teph said, walking off to make some tea.
From behind her, Darius growled. "She never let me call her Aunt Teph…"
Tristan sat meditatively on a stone, wondering what to do. A few minutes ago he had been dropped without warning in some sort of other world, and he didn't have idea how to get back.
"Alright, I guess it comes down to whether I should go left—" He turned to his left, which was a cobblestone road leading to a far-off city. "Or right," he said, turning to his right, where a rugged trail veered into the woods.
Tristan shrugged and hopped off the rock, beginning his trek down the path on the right. Most people would have chosen the road, but he figured that the country-folk would probably have a better idea of what was going on.
He meandered down the footpath for while, breathing in the rich, sweet scent of the blue leaves that he crushed beneath his feet. At last he heard a familiar voice.
"What da heck do ya want, ya stupid midget pigs!? I put da feed under da rock-shade and everythin'!"
Tristan looked around and finally saw Joey, yelling at a bunch of diminutive piglets. Another man came out, screaming at Joey to get off of his property if he was going to treat the pigs that way. Joey walked toward the path, looking dejected.
"Problems with the pigs, Joe?" Tristan asked.
Joey looked at him and seemed surprised. But he quickly got over that. "Those dings are crazy! They tried ta bite me!"
"Ooh, scary," Tristan mocked.
Joey growled. "Well we found each other. I guess da others are probably here too."
"Where could they be?" Tristan asked. "I mean, if this really is another dimension or something, they could be anywhere!"
"Calm down, Tristan," Joey said, sounding perfectly peaceful. "Since we found each other so quick, da others are probably near here too."
Tristan sighed. "If Joey gets it, then we're all in trouble."
"Where are we?" Atem asked, as they walked along the cobblestone paths of a bustling city.
Sern turned to him in shock. "Where are we?" he repeated. "This is the city of Shurken, the capital of the Plurenian Empire. Surely even a foreigner such as you would know such a thing."
"I grew up in a somewhat… secluded place," Atem lied. "I don't know much about the Empire."
"I'll inform you, then," Sern said, and cleared his throat. "The Empire is a glorious kingdom ruled by our lord Emperor Deibolos, emperor of the four races."
"Four races?"
"Yes. The humans, the Rashauni, the Fuerites of the Garuthier Forest, and the Dertans of the northern mountains. But interracial relations have diminished of late. The Dertans are reclusive, and we do not see hide or hair of them. The Fuerites fear enslavement and masquerade as humans constantly. And now the Rashauni have rebelled against our rule. It is a dark time for the Empire, and a time of much employment for the Guard. Our duty is to protect the emperor and the capital with our lives, and with the Rashauni insurgency we have faced many battles."
"What makes you think that I am cut out to work with the Guard?" Atem asked. "You barely even know me."
Sern sighed. "Our forces are waning, Atem. Every hand able to defeat a Rashauni is readily accepted into our forces."
Atem nodded. "I just hope I can be of some help."
"Ah! Here is our destination. The Guard's stronghold is adjacent to the Royal Palaces." Sern noted, handing his horse's reins to a stable boy. He led Atem in. "The best we can do is equip you with a sword. Our resources are slim, and we can supply you neither armor nor stallion. You will stand aside me in the Palace Meeting Sanctuary as we protect Wednesday's meeting from invasion or espionage."
"What… day is today?" Atem asked, feeling a bit foolish as Sern guided him to his living quarters.
"It is Monday, my good man! Were you badly injured in some way, or are you not fluent in this language?" Sern answered boisterously.
"Sorry," Atem apologized. "I'm a bit disoriented."
"Well, if you want to know more about the Empire and its workings, I suggest the library. I must go, but I will meet you at the stable entrance at dawn Wednesday." Sern bade him a quick goodbye, and took his leave.
"The library is probably a good idea… I'd like to know more about the races he mentioned," Atem thought, and wandered around Guard HQ until he fought a room filled to the brim with dusty books.
An elderly man stood stiffly at a deck, staring unrelentingly at a wall. "Excuse me," Atem said. "Can you direct me to a book detailing the four races?"
The man bent over—something creaked—and pulled out a leather-bound tome. Atem took it tentatively. "Thank you…" he said quietly, frowning as he saw the volume's size.
Atem went back to his room, sat on his bed, and opened it up. The first passage was about humans. Atem didn't need to know about that. The next was about the Dertans.
"The Dertans are beast-like creatures that live primarily in the Tertugash Mountains. Not much is known about their race, but we do know that the males carry the children, while the females are the main hunters."
Atem sighed. How could the book be so big if the passages were so short? Atem turned the page. This was about the Rashauni.
"The Rashauni are rebellious humanoid creatures capable of low sentient thought. They crave human flesh and are a serious risk factor for insubordination. Methods of killing: Decapitation, removal of the liver, or a blow to the brain."
A serious risk factor? This book must have been written a while ago. There was only one race left, and many pages to fill. The word "Charger" flashed across the page.
"Chargers are creatures of various shapes and sizes capable of being summoned by an experienced magician. There are four elements of Chargers and five classes. The members of the fifth class are able to take human form, and are rarely found in their true shapes. They have human-level intelligence and feel that their summoning is immoral. Thus, they have taken false names to prevent their use in battle. Also known as Fuerites."
That was what took up the rest of the book. Page after page was filled with the details of every element and every class and the rituals required to summon them.
"Whatever these Chargers are, they seem like powerful weapons in war," Atem thought. "But the fifth class has human-level intelligence… summoning them against their will would be making them slaves. I can understand why they chose the fate they did, but I hope that they won't regret their decision if the Rashauni invade their forest."
A/N - So, we've seen almost everybody so far, but that leaves us with one question: Where's Yugi? Stay tuned to find out!
