Defenders of Destiny Book One: Conflux

Chapter 1: The Stranded

The army was fast asleep after a day of conquering. Blood had been shed by the gallons and the sand on the beach was coloured red. Carrion birds and scavengers crowded the shore, searching for any chunks of flesh left behind. The bodies had been buried but not all body parts had been accounted for. Above, amidst the dark night sky a star twinkled and blinked.

And disappeared.

Aragol Silversheen, High General of Tiranor, sat on the edge of his large bed within the keep of the city of Belgaria. It had been a long day and a good night's rest was in order. He felt his shoulder where his wound had once been, completely gone now, and glanced at his sheathed blade, Dragon's End, resting along the wall beside his bed. There was mystery to that sword. He should have an arm in a sling and his gut on fire with infection yet both wounds were vanished and he felt no pain anywhere. He eyed the sword for a few moments before it became difficult to keep his eyes open and lay back in his bed.

With a yawn he was asleep.

It did not take long for him to begin dreaming. He saw a shadowy figure, a silhouette perhaps, and it was getting closer. It looked human, mostly, and seemed to move with purpose. Light suddenly appeared from somewhere and he saw a face. The man's face appeared to glow and stern eyes from within a square face of seriousness bore into his soul.

"You will do," the voice said in a cacophony of all tones and volumes at once. It was as if a massive crowd spoke with him. He reached a hand for Aragol.

Aragol woke up immediately, his face sweaty and his breathing rapid. He reached for Dragon's End but found that his blade was not there. With a pat to his side he discovered that it was attached to his belt. He also saw that he was dressed in his steel breastplate over light leather armour, blue cape, thick leather boots and leather gauntlets. With a look around he realized that he was no longer in his room, or in Belgaria for that matter.

He sat in a clearing of tan-coloured cracked earth within a forest of massive mushroom trees. There were some of various sizes and heights and a strange bitter smell tickled his nostrils. He looked up and saw a purple sky, tinged with dancing auroras of various colours. He had a sinking feeling that he was not in his own world and he instinctively reached for his sword once more.

What lurked behind the thick and wide stalks of this mushroom forest? What dangers surrounded him? He saw an old path, perhaps just a game trail, leading away from him and further into the forest. He followed it for a short distance.

"Do not leave," the multi-toned voice called out from somewhere. "I am in need of speaking to you all."

All? Aragol thought. He quickly walked back into the clearing and at the far end were seven other figures standing there, eyeing one another with various expressions ranging from wonder to panic to distrust. He removed his hand from his sword and walked to them, raising his weapon hand to show that he meant no harm. They appeared as confused as he did and he judged them no threat.

"Hello," he said to them. "I am Aragol Silversheen, High General of Tiranor. You wouldn't happen to be Draconans, would you? Is this some sort of arcane trick?"

"The hell is a Draconan?" asked a large and quite tall dark-skinned man of muscle with extremely short brown hair. He wore a sleeveless white shirt and blue pants of a tough-looking material Aragol had never seen before. "The name's Boog, by the way, and no, I don't think anyone is whatever you asked we were..." He seemed to wear a perpetual frown.

Aragol nodded to him and looked to the others. "Do any of you have any idea what we are doing here?"

"Dude," said an incredibly pale young woman. She was tugging on her long dark hair and her dark eyes darted from one area to another, fearfully searching for any danger. She was dressed in a baggy red and black shirt of a light yet smooth material with large white letters in the front below what looked like a red and black leaf with a figure atop of it. Aragol thought he saw tiny holes throughout the entire shirt, perhaps to allow the skin the breathe, he thought. Her pants were loose-fitting, a light blue and made of the same material Boog's pants were. Her footwear consisted of heavily-used grey shoes with a white band around the bottom. A brown bracelet with a gold plate with lettering etched into it hung around one of her wrists. Pierced into one of her ears was a small gemstone that appeared to change colour in different amounts of light. For the moment she was still and it sparkled a deep blue. "All I was doing was getting the quad ready for another rip and I closed my eyes as I stretched and before you know it I'm here. I've never heard of mushroom trees before. Are we still on Earth?"