Chapter 1: First impressions of another world!

Astonishment covers me like a thick veil as I wrestle around the grass under me thinking that I have gone mad. Words continue to escape me before I attempt to stand up. After I am finally up on my two feet, I bend my knees in a running position before I hear a loud voice behind me.

"Hey! I wouldn't run anywhere if I were you, aren't you wondering how you got here?"

after freezing in my current position for a few seconds I eventually turn my head to see the person who was talking to me. He was an old burly-looking man with a white goatee that accompanied his head of hair. He wore what looked like a military uniform that was designed by some fan of historical warfare, particularly pre-Korea. His outfit was a mix of blue and red with a bunch of patches sewn onto his right side. If I had to guess they were for some military achievements.

He didn't look anything like the girl whom my eyes met upon awakening, so I had no frame of reference as to if they knew each other. I didn't want to stay where I was, but I figured that I should listen to him, it would do no good to run off into an unknown terrain and starve to death.

"Good, now just sit back down so my daughter and I can explain the situation to you. If we get that done now it will save us some time."

I eventually give in and sit down. I didn't notice it before, but the terrain is awe-inspiring. The grass is healthy and the forests that are within distance look to be full of life. My first thought was that I was looking at a place that had not experienced the industrial revolution. As I ponder the older man starts walking toward me and he sits next to the girl. They both are sitting across from me with their legs crossed while giving me serious looks.

"I know this has come as a surprise, but I must let you know that this is necessary. There is a war that is about to happen, and you may be the only one who is able to turn the tide.”

I hear the words that are coming from his mouth, but I am unable to fully comprehend the meaning behind them. Turning the tide? The only thing that goes through my mind when hearing that is the countless hours of wasted time that I have put into my life. Other than being an accountant the only significant part of my life I can think of is my personal studies of the occult.

“Is it because of magick?” I asked hesitantly.

“You are a sharp boy. The oracle chooses whom to summon and the oracle has not been wrong in the past, say, 3,000 years.”

What immediately came to my mind was Pythia, otherwise known as the oracle of Delphi. This would explain why they weren’t too surprised at my image. They were expecting someone who has a particular interest in magick.

“But, why me? Surely, I’m not the best magick practitioner in my world, there must be people better than me.”

“You can argue that with the oracle if you please, but I do not recommend it. You should know that it was not I nor my daughter who chose you, but a force far beyond all comprehension. We call it the oracle.”

I began to put some of the puzzle pieces together. I am here because of some higher intelligence. However, I am not sure what this entity is. If I want to know more, I realize that I must ask more questions.

“If the oracle is powerful enough to summon me, why doesn’t it solve the issue itself?”

What happened next I did not expect. The old man glared at me angrily for a second before he composed himself.

“I apologize, I just realized we have not introduced ourselves yet. I am Herigast and this is my daughter Nanna.”

“Pleased to meet you, I am Kawabata Kenta.”

“Now that we have gotten that out of the way I can start to explain everything.”

After hearing Herigast give an authoritative expression with the word “everything” I quickly understood that I should shut up and listen to his next words very carefully.