Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon

the aroma of the trees. He heard the songs of birds and the wind rustling the leaves. He was only just starting to feel at home in this world, and already he had to leave.
    “Will I ever come back here, to Britain, I mean? Will I see my friends again?”
    “Maybe. You can be called to intervene in any legend from any era. Who knows where we will end up next time.”
    “We?” Samuel echoed.
    “Well, of course, silly! I’m your fata. Where you go, I go. You should be glad to be under the care of a veteran protector like me!”
    Samuel winced at the fairy.
    “I beg your pardon? I almost died last night, remember?”
    “Yes, I do recall that you were feeling a little under the weather,” answered Angeline, before both of them burst into laughter.
    “Seriously, I’m glad to have you by my side, Angeline. I will miss you.”
    “And I will miss you as well, Sammy.”
    Samuel looked at the dice again, trying to summon the will to cast them and leave this world, a place he had always dreamed of finding. This was every role-player’s fantasy: to fight real battles in ancient Britain, saving the day and defeating dragons. It was harder to leave than he had anticipated.
    “By the way, when I was unconscious, I heard a voice,” he suddenly recalled.
    “What did it say?” asked Angeline.
    “It said this legend was only a test and more dangerous adventure awaited us.”
    “Did the voice identify itself?”
    “No. It only said it was a friend.”
    Angeline put a hand under her chin, looking up.
    “Maybe it was a Parca,” she said.
    “I thought they never picked sides or directly intervened.”
    “You’ll learn, my young friend, that people in this world tend to break the rules far more often than they make them.”
    “So I’ve noticed.”
    Angeline smiled at the Lorekeeper and flew closer. When she was next to Samuel’s face, she leaned in and kissed his cheek.
    “Go now. The time for us to meet again will come soon enough. Until then, I suggest you read over the ancient legends. As you know, I cannot tell you anything regarding the stories once you are here, but nothing prevents you from already knowing the storyline before you arrive!”
    “Good point. I guess I will see you later, then, Angeline.”
    “You bet!”
    Samuel took a few steps aside and looked around one last time, making sure no one had crept up behind them or was watching him from the trees. When he was sure they were alone, he took a deep breath and cast the dice on the ground. Both landed on a rock and didn’t move. The sigils had now reappeared and were glowing unusually brightly.
    A reddish light emerged from the ground where the dice were and enveloped the body of Samuel. The young boy looked up at the fairy, who waved at him. He waved back.
    The world around him spun, slowly at first, then gaining speed. The red light surrounding Samuel turned green, then blue. Faster and faster the world spun, until finally he lost the feeling in his limbs and, soon after, his whole body. Just like he had experienced when he was in between two worlds, his physical form completely vanished, leaving only his consciousness behind. He could see everything and nothing, every color and only black. He smelled a thousand flowers and none, heard every existing instrument and then complete silence. All his senses were stimulated, even though he had no nerves to stimulate. Just like the last time, he felt he was brought to the brink of madness and then violently rescued, before he passed out in complete darkness.
    Finally, the world stopped turning and he felt his body again.
    He opened his eyes.
    Above him, a fan attached to the ceiling rotated slowly. He turned his head to the side and saw familiar furniture: the desk, the workbench his dad had made for him and, on the other side, his bed.
    He tried to get up, but his head was suddenly assaulted by a sharp pain, not unlike the lightning he had taken to the chest, not so long ago. Apparently, he had passed out and fallen to the ground, knocking his head on the hardwood floor in the process.
    “Sam?” yelled his mother from the first floor. “Are you okay?”
    Samuel tried to sit up again, this time more slowly. He held his head with one hand.
    “Yes!” he answered, “I’m fine!”
    He stood up.
    He was back in his bedroom.

CHAPTER 18

    Samuel took a moment to fully comprehend where he was. He peeked outside and saw the sun going down over the horizon. The weather was still warm and comfortable,