"Behold our Hero!"
The declaration of King Belreid filled the hall and echoed through the castle. He grinned ear to ear, not taking his eye off the man at the center of the hall, who looked back at him through the helmet, unable to move the rest of his body.
"FATHER!"
The King turned to face his daughter as an energy blast tore through the air, striking the King's right arm, blowing it off and traveling through the walls of the castle escaping into the night sky. Screams of women and gasps of men filled the room.
Aurelia drew her sword and leapt at the cloaked figure on the other end of the hall, who drew his sword in return, and the two blades collided, creating a shockwave that pushed the spectators back.
The King fell to the ground as he held his shoulder screaming until he lost conscious. Watching the clashing of swords, the Royal Guards surrounded the King, to ensure his safety.
As the battle between Aurelia and the assailant continued, the guests backed up to the edge of the hall; Aurelia kept advancing, strike after strike, keeping the assailant on the back foot. The assailant, realizing his predicament, kicked Aurelia in the stomach, sending her reeling backward, and threw his sword at her face. Aurelia slammed her sword on the floor to stop herself. Just as she looked up and saw the blade approaching her, she brought up her sword, barely deflecting the oncoming blade.
As she looked ahead, the assailant had charged up another energy blast, this time aimed directly at the hero standing in the circle. Aurelia landed in front of the hero as the blast tore through the air and collided with her sword. She reinforced her arms and sword as she charged up mana in her blade and with a twist of her body directed the blast up in the sky and quickly followed up with an energy slash let out by her sword.
The slash collided with the assailant and slammed him into the wall as he fell down unconscious. She stood over the assailant before sheathing her blade. "Guards, place him in the cells and escort all the guests to their rooms."
The guards took the assailant away as Aurelia looked at the hero. "Why is he not moving?"
The mages looked at the hero before shifting their gaze back to the princess. "We do not know, your highness. It could be because of the summoning that his senses are not working as they should."
"Move him and his contraption to a room in the Royal wing. Notify us the moment he moves." "Yes, your highness."
Aurelia moved to her father's side as the sage stopped his spells and shook his head. "I am afraid the attack was imbued with sacrificial powers; we saved his life but the damage cannot be undone."
Aurelia blankly stared at her father before closing her eyes. "Carry him to his room."
As the King was carried out of the main hall.
The King was laid down in his bed; the queen sat by his side, worry and fear evident on her face. Aurelia stood to his right, and a knight in white armour from head to toe stood at the king's feet. "Reinhardt, how could this happen?"
The captain of the Royal Guards, Reinhardt, stepped forward, getting down on his knee. "My queen, the assailant, entered the hall using a magic rune during the chaos caused by the summoning; his magic went unnoticed and the moment he arrived, he attacked the king."
Aurelia stared down at her father's missing arm. 'If only I had detected his presence sooner than maybe….'
She felt a hand land on her shoulder as she looked up at her mother, who comforted her daughter. "It was not your mistake; it happened because it was meant to be."
Aurelia nodded as she held back tears, hugging her mother. "What happened?"
The two separated as King Belreid regained consciousness; he tried to rub his forehead but noticed that he no longer had a right arm from the elbow down.
"Father!" "Bel!" The King covered his ears with his left hand as he gritted his teeth. "Silence!"
At his command, all mouths were forced to close themselves as he moved his hand. "My head feels as if a war is raging inside, so keep your voices down."
He finished the sentence as he gritted his teeth and rage filled his eyes, only for his eyes to just as quickly widen as he grabbed his head. "What is happening?"
Aurelia and Anessa grabbed a hold of him; Reinhardt turned away from the bed, heading for the door. "I shall bring the sage." "No! I am well; I do not require the sage." Reinhardt stopped and stood guard at the door. "As you command."
The king embraced his wife and daughter to reassure that he was fine, he then let go sitting with his back on the bed frame. "What happened at the banquet? Are the guests safe?"
His eyes widened in shock as he grabbed his daughter by the shoulder. "Is the Hero safe?" Aurelia held her father's hand and guided it down in her lap. "The guests are safe. I took down the assailant who attacked you. The Hero is currently in the room at the end of the royal wing."
The King smiled, as he could not control his emotions. "This is wonderful news; did the hero say or ask anything?"
Aurelia shook her head as she lowered her gaze, uncertain how she was going to mention the hero's state to her father. "Father, regarding the Hero…."
Just then, the door opened and Prime Minister Vaughn stepped in, hands on knees, struggling to catch his breath; he bowed the moment he looked at the King. "Your grace." "Prime Minister, you seem exhausted. What caused such unrest?"
Vaughn tried to speak, but his breath fell short as he gasped for more air before finally answering. "Your grace, the Hero is moving."
The King smiled as he stood up from the bed walking towards the sofa. "Bring him here this instance."
Vaughn bowed, exiting the room. Aurelia looked at her father puzzled, by his decision. "Father, please rest. We can do this tomorrow."
The King looked back at Aurelia, shaking his head. "We have plucked that man from his world and brought him here to save ours; he must be confused, scared even. We owe it to him to answer his questions with honesty."
The King smiled as he sat on the sofa beside the fireplace, leaning forward, his left arm supporting his chin; Aurelia stood behind him to his left and Anessa to his right. Reinhardt stood to the King's left, his hand on the handle of his sword.
Footsteps could be heard approaching the door only to halt on the other side. The door was swung open as Vaughn entered the room and bowed before stepping to the side and gesturing towards the man behind him hidden in the shadows. "I present to you the Hero."
The man walked into the light as the King stood up in shock and Anessa covered her mouth with her hand. A smile spread across Aurelia's solemn face.
The man before them was a replica of Kanah from the hair on his head to the nails of his finger. The only difference was his unfamiliar garbs and a serious face in contrast to Kanah's relaxed and cheerful face.
Aurelia stepped forward from behind her father and called out to the man. "Kanah!"
The man looked at her, the seriousness fading off his face as his mouth was left agape.
The King came forward as he could not believe his eyes. "Are you Kanah?"
The man was pulled back as his seriousness returned. "No."
Aurelia gasped at the sound of his voice. 'Even the voice is just like his."
The man stepped forward, stretching his left hand out towards the King, who returned the gesture, shaking the man's hand. "My name is Raghav, Raghav Suryanshi." "I am King Belreid, the only son of Delreid and the 32nd ruler of Istreid Kingdom."
King Belreid let go of his hand and gestured toward the sofa opposite of him. "Please take a seat." Raghav nodded as he sat down. "Thank you, and I must apologise; I am not well versed in the English language; it is not my native tongue; it is called English here as well, yes?" His seriousness echoed in his collected and calm tone.
The King leaned back, waving his hand slightly as he chuckled. "No, need to apologise, and yes, it is called English in our world as well. I am sure you have questions you want answers to."
Raghav nodded, gazing at the figures present in the room, starting with Reinhardt. 'A knight, he must be the King's personal guard; his hand is on his sword; I should refrain from making any sudden moves, hmmm, long brown hair and hazel eyes.'
Then at Prime Minister Vaughn. 'Nothing special about him, a typical old adviser for a king.' After that, the Queen, Aurelia and the King. 'It looks like the Princess favoured her mother's blue eyes and blonde hair instead of the King's brown hair.'
Raghav stopped to look at Aurelia for a few moments until the King interrupted his thoughts. "Are you well?"
Raghav straightened himself. "Yes, I am well." He then placed his hand on his chin. 'I should begin by asking him about his arm and of the fight I saw in the Throne Room.'
Raghav placed his hand down as he looked the King in the eye. "Sir, Your arm, I wish to confirm what I saw in the Throne room was true and not my mind playing games on me. I saw a blast of energy blow your arm off and the princess fighting him at unnatural speed. What was that?"
The King looked down at his missing arm, then up at his daughter before facing Raghav. "Your mind played no trick on you; Princess Aurelia fought the assailant using an energy that exists within our world called Mana. It will take a long time to explain; I promise to explain it later; for now, ask your other questions."
Raghav nodded, taking in the information he received; he leaned back, crossing his legs, and lifted three of his fingers. "I looked around the throne room when I got the chance and saw marking burned into the ground around me forming a circle, mages around me and the way you proclaimed to the people 'Behold our Hero' I know my coming here was no accident so I have three questions."
The King nodded, his face solemn as he gestured Raghav to continue. Raghav took the gesture for what it meant and asked his questions, putting down a finger with each question. "First, how did you summon me? Second, why was I summoned? Lastly, where am I?"
The King looked at Prime Minister Vaughn. "Yes, your grace?" "Ask the head mage to come here." "As you command." Vaughn bowed before leaving the room. The King shifted his gaze towards Raghav. "The mage will better explain how you were summoned."
"I see." The door opened and in came Vaughn, with the head mage walking carefully, not to step on his long beard as he bowed to the King. "Your, grace."
The king raised his hand as the mage stood up, he then extended his hand towards Raghav. "This is Raghav, the hero; he wishes to know how he was summoned."
The mage turned to face Raghav as he bowed slightly. "Greetings Raghav, the hero. I am the head mage Olda." Raghav stretched his hand out for Olda. "Pleasure to meet you, sir." Olda shook his hand as he gathered himself.
"Regarding your question; you were summoned to our world using an ancient spell that allowed us to bring you to our world from a different universe."
Raghav moved his tongue around in his mouth and closed his eyes. "Why me?" He then opened his eyes, lifting his chin up looking at Olda. Olda waved his hands in front of him. "We did not look for you specifically; the spell required us to place a paper in the summoning circle upon which we wrote the qualities we were looking for. Among those were, Honour, Righteousness, Valour, Purity, Justice and Truth. The spell chose you itself because it must have felt these qualities from within you."
Raghav nodded, satisfied by the answer, before looking back at Olda with a small smile. "Thank you, Olda." Olda smiled as he bowed lightly, then turned to the King and bowed deeply. "Your grace."
The king acknowledged Olda with a slight bow of his head. "Thank you, you may leave."
Olda bowed once more before leaving the room. As the door closed, Raghav turned to the king, who looked down at the table. "That explained the how; now tell me why?"
The King looked up at Raghav, his throat running dry as he reached for a glass of water on the table and as he grabbed it, a realization hit him as he looked at Raghav with an open mouth. "I apologise; no one offered you anything to drink; would you like some wine or tea?" The king rubbed his dry lips with his left hand.
Raghav raised his hand as he brought a slight smile to his face. "It's alright, I don't mind, I can understand how it must have slipped the mind and I must also make clear I don't drink alcohol or tea. Just water and milk."
The King took a few deep breaths as he swallowed the saliva in his mouth and placed the glass of water in front of Raghav, who took the glass and lowered his head slightly before drinking the water.
Aurelia looked at Raghav, a turmoil in her mind. 'He looks like him, talks like him, but he is different; his face lacks the warmth that Kanah has the positivity. The only thing that he shares with Kanah beside his appearance and voice is that smile; though it is only partially present, it is just like his.'
Raghav finished the glass of water, placing it on the table as he shifted his gaze to Aurelia who looked down to avoid his gaze.
The King was having trouble finding the words to satisfy Raghav. "I… We…" "It's alright, don't force yourself; if you cannot answer it right now, then I'll wait for when you can."
The King looked at Raghav with his mouth open and his eyes wet from the emotions swelling inside. He rubbed his eyes as he felt a hand land on his left shoulder; he looked back at his wife, who comforted him as he held her hand. She then looked at Raghav. "I know you must be desperate to know why you are here. So thank you for being patient."
Raghav nodded as he smiled at the queen. "It's nothing; I could not let him suffer so much stress after what had already happened to him. But if it's okay with you, may I know where I am?"
"Yes, you may." The queen then looked at her husband as she rubbed his shoulder, comforting him. He then faced Raghav with a serious expression and a shift in his attitude matching Raghav's.
"You are on the planet of PANERIA."