The Sparkbringer

Chapter One

   “Honey, I’m home,” I called sarcastically, pushing the door open with my body, hands occupied with grocery bags and my uniform.
   I closed the door behind me with my foot, throwing down the grocery bags onto the small counter. I sighed heavily and flopped onto my bed, my work uniform finding a home on the floor. I shoved my face in my pillow, screamed out my frustration, and stood again.
   “Beef or chicken,” I mumbled to myself, walking over to the bags of groceries. “I had beef yesterday… Chicken it is.”
   I pulled out a package of chicken flavoured instant noodles, and began boiling a pot of water. While it was boiling, I put away the rest of what I had bought; more noodles, cereal, and milk.
   When my food was finished, I sat down on the edge of my bed and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels. News, sports, more news, boring talk show, random children’s movie, more sports.
   I settled on a random basketball game and ate my late dinner. After I finished, I flipped through the channels again, hoping something different would be on. I came across the same things as before, so I sighed, turned it off, and laid down to sleep.

  
   Waking up, something felt odd. My bed seemed far more comfortable than usual, and the odd smell from the walls wasn’t present anymore. I flickered my eyes open, to find myself in an unfamiliar environment. I studied the ceiling first, it was made of poorly stripped logs.
   Confused, I sat up, and at the end of the wooden bed stood a tall, burly man with white hair and a beard. He looked like Santa, if Santa worked out religiously.
   “What did I eat to have a dream like this,” I scoffed, pushing myself up.
   “Clovis, you are not dreaming,” the man spoke, his voice was deep and powerful. “But please, dress yourself before we speak.”
   He looked away as I looked down, realizing the clothes I fell asleep in were no longer on my body. My face flushed as I frantically scanned the room for something to cover up with. There were carefully folded clothes on a small shelf to my left, so I ran over to them. I didn’t bother analyzing the shirt and pants, but they felt like cotton. I fumbled putting them on, my face still beet red, and I turned back to the man.
   “So,” I cleared my throat. “What weird situation am I getting thrown into tonight?”
   “I ask that you take this seriously, Clovis,” the man locked his eyes on mine. “You are not dreaming. Everything you are currently experiencing is real, and so you should treat it as such.”
   I started to consider the fact that I may not be dreaming, that I may actually have just woken up in an unfamiliar setting with a strange man watching me. Having enough with the uncertainty, I raised my hand and slapped myself across the face as hard as my body would allow.
   “Ow!” I shouted, the intense stinging in not only my cheek, but also my hand.
   “Enough,” the white haired man bellowed. “Now that you are convinced, care to let me explain why you are here?”
   Rubbing my cheek, I mindlessly responded, my thoughts spinning. “Yes.”
   “Good,” the man’s tone lightened slightly. “Let’s begin with an introduction, shall we? I am Lerus, King of Gods, creator of all.”
   “Wait, God is real?” I jumped in. “You’re God?”
   “What? No, I-” He stopped mid-sentence and sighed. “All Gods, Goddesses, and Higher Beings from all religions and faiths exist. Whichever a mortal chooses to believe in, that Being guides their afterlife in the way their faith dictates. I govern all faiths, all worlds, creation and destruction.”
   I blinked slowly, my brain working overtime to process all this information.
   “Now then, the important explanation,” Lerus sighed again. “Clovis Webber, I have brought you from your home world of Earth to the world of Annora as a Hero. At birth, you were chosen as a Hero, destined to travel to a world that is not your own and rescue it from a great evil.”
   “I’m what?” I asked, the colour leaving my face. “I’m… What?”
   “Perhaps you should sit down,” he gently took my arm and sat me down on the bed. “I know this is a lot of information to take in all at once, but I believe you can manage.”
   “Sure,” I responded nervously, staring blankly at the floor. “Hey, wait, why can’t you just rescue the world or whatever? You’re a God!”
   “Gods are forbidden from interfering with world-altering events,” Lerus informed me, crossing his arms. “That is why mortals are chosen to be Heroes, hand-picked and marked at birth.”
   “Because that makes sense,” I rolled my eyes, standing back up and pacing. “Alright, so, let me get this straight. I was chosen at birth, for you to take me here, and fight some kind of evil?”
   “Yes, exactly,” Lerus nodded. “And it’s a demon you’ll be fighting. This world is what you would call medieval, so it will either be steel-to-steel combat, or magic.”
   “I’m living a video game,” I chuckled to myself out of disbelief. “Alright, then I might as well get right into it. Where do I start?”
   “Here,” he gestured upwards with his hands, and out of the air appeared a piece of paper and a large book. “Take this map, and this spellbook.”
   I stared in wonder for a moment before moving to take the items from his hands. The map was drawn in what looked to be charcoal on a thick piece of parchment, and appeared very detailed for what I had been told was a medieval world.
   The book, however, looked like something straight out of a fantasy video game. The cover was brown and appeared to be leather, and in the cover was a golden thread, woven in and out to give it detail. It looked worn, like it has been read many times before, and carved into the leather of the back cover was a lightning bolt.
   “This map will guide you through the land,” Lerus informed me as his figure began to fade out. “And the book will teach you everything you need to know about your magic. I suggest you get yourself a suit of armour and a fine sword, you’ll need it. There is a bag of gold on the table in the corner, it will be enough to get you what you need for now. I must take my leave, I trust you will be able to pave your way. When you free the world of its evil, you will be transported to your home. Farewell, Clovis, and best of luck.”
   “Magic? Wait,” I called after him as he became more and more transparent, fading away. “Could you at least tell me where I am?”
   He gave no answer, and was gone, leaving with nothing but silence.
   “Great,” I gestured in frustration. “Real helpful.”
   I stood up, pulling on the leather boots that were left by the door. I grabbed the cloth bag of gold, assuming it was the currency of this world, and put my hand on the doorknob. Map folded into my pocket and spellbook under my arm, I took a deep breath.
   “Here goes nothing.”