Aaron Drage sighed as he glanced out the dusty classroom window at the grassy footy field, wanting desperately for this class to be over. He was not an outstanding boy by any margin. At 17 years old, standing at roughly 170cm tall he was fair looking but not especially attractive, made worse by his overwhelming lack of confidence.
His hair was a scruffy black that he kept short with a kind smile he rarely showed, piercing light green eyes and a wispy bit of facial hair already growing in but not well enough to look good, best described by others as bum fluff which may have been the cause of him starting to shave at a much younger age than other kids.
He may have been reasonably intelligent and did well in most classes but that too was offset by his laziness and general lack of interest in school. He often cruised by, doing the bare minimum and managing to get reasonably high grades anyway, while occasionally bombing tests out of stress. To say Aaron was over worked or pushed too hard would be a great exaggeration though. In fact, Aaron was just like every other teenager his age.
He had a few close friends, wasn't bullied or pushed around at school and not totally unpopular. His personality was very much introverted, preferring to hide himself away at home which was where most of his issues lay.
Aaron wasn't raised in an abusive household. He wasn't beaten, nor held to unrealistic standards in his schooling. His parents had split two years previously, yet he didn't live in poverty and even had his own gaming equipment and dozens of books that he devoured voraciously to escape from dealing with his family. Their house in Perth was nothing fancy and while clearly badly maintained being a house full of boys it was still by no definition a terrible place to live.
His issues began with the loss of his elder sister Shauna. Only a few years prior she had been a dancing, radiant beacon of light in their lives before an oncoming bus had brutally stolen that life and potential away. She had been like the glue that held the family together and her loss was beyond devastating.
His younger sibling, Matt, who being 5 years younger was a horror to be around yet would constantly be left in his care by their father Adam who was often working until late. Any attempts to retaliate to his younger brothers irritating, belittling and quite often nasty behavior would have Aaron be the one to receive punishments and any attempt to tell his father (or his mother when they were over in Darwin for a visit) would fall on deaf ears or result in him being told to "get over it". Shauna would have had them both laughing gaily when she babysat the pair of them, but Aaron never picked up the knack, leaving him constantly feeling like he wasn't good enough.
The second issue was his often need from a young age to act as the adult. After the loss of their eldest daughter his parents Adam and Jennifer began drifting apart. Fights escalated and when his parents break up was far less than congenial, he had often been put in the middle to "decide" which parent was better.
The following messy proceedings which included night trips to houses in the middle of nowhere for screaming matches, secret recordings to try and trick him into saying this parent did this or the other did that, led to him becoming a forcibly mature young man.
And as he met his mother and father's strings of rebounds or short relationships that ranged from younger guys with substance abuse issues (in his mothers' case), to angry young women that threw bricks through the back window of his father car (in his fathers' case) he became increasingly jaded about love in all forms. A relationship became an idea he'd only read about, sounding like a pure and idealistic concept that was impossible in reality and meaningless unless it was perfect.
Aaron's father worked in the local council and had numerous people come visit at all times of the day and night for a few beverages and to discuss their many issues. Some genuine, asking for help in their professional or personal life. Others less so, usually just looking for a place to drink and air out their inconveniences with a local man that always had beer in the fridge.
Aaron often needed to assist by getting the men drinks and sticking around to chat to "be sociable" since he was so often locked in his room. He did learn a great deal about giving advice and helping with problems over the years from his father, yet his attempts to replicate that knowledge himself was sometimes far from successful. Most often due to the fact that despite believing otherwise teenagers DO NOT know everything no matter how well meaning they are.
....
School was Aaron's least favourite place to be. He often felt uncomfortable, like he was sitting in a cage, surrounded by so many other kids. His few friends rarely were in the same classes and his insecure and introverted behaviour made others less likely to offer friendship either. He was mostly quiet, daydreaming often during class about books and games and magical worlds he would rather be in.
Anywhere was often the choice over here and now. He dreamed of having magical powers and pretended he did, in a way. His exposure to so many different types of people with different experiences and backgrounds along with his introverted nature made him see things in people.
One classmate had once said it felt like Aaron could see into his soul. Whenever he saw somebody, their body language and expressions, he began to see what he could only describe as…. Darkness. Aaron was never sure if it came because of their intentions or their personality and the better he got to know someone the less he could see. Like his own impressions of the person were overshadowing his ability to see the truth in who they were. But the more darkness he saw in someone the further away he stayed.
"Aaron!" Miss Crawely called out amid their English class. "Are you with us or off with the fairies?"
"Huh?" Aaron suddenly snapped back to the here and now, somewhat dazed.
"Sorry miss! Yes I'm listening"
Miss Crawely nodded and continued with her explanation of their assignment, not noticing the snickers of his fellow classmates at being called out. Aaron's face began to burn up a delicate shade of red as embarrassment flushed through his system. Again, god I wish I could be anywhere else.
They often say in stories to be careful what you wish for. In this case, had he known what was in store then perhaps Aaron would have been too fearful to daydream in class ever again…
....
"We must summon new Champions, immediately!" King Allaan cried out.
He had just been painstakingly going through every detail of his army's demise and knowing that there were still FOUR demon lords out there while his armies and hero's were all dead, except for the brave Sage that now lay with his body broken on a healers cot filled him with fear.
Aegan's left arm was mutilated, even the healing magic he had been bathed in was barely able to make a difference. It hung limp at his side, beyond all repair. The gaping hole where his left eye had once been stood out sharply, burn marks decorated the rest of his face and his robes were coated in soot and ash.
"Yes, you must….." Aegans words turned to hacking coughs that he futilely attempted to mask. His body was more damaged than he realized, now the adrenaline wasn't coursing through his veins he found he had not even the strength to raise either of his arm's high enough to cover his mouth as blood and spittle flew from his lips and got caught in his beard.
Allaan's fear quickly turned to concern as he saw his last loyal Champion, only this morning a firm pillar of this kingdom now reduced to little more than a shadow of his former self. Consternation shadowed the kings face as his mind caught up to the gravity of what he was suggesting. Having given so much to this land, it was callous in the extreme to jump to another summoning as this brave man lay on what could well be his deathbed.
"Aegan… forgive me. I spoke without thought…" Allaan said kneeling down by his friend's cot "Summoning can wait, the cost…."
Aegan's hand slowly rose, shaking, and the king seeing his intention quickly took it in his own.
"Allaan" Aegan rarely called the king by name. Once when they were younger it was a common occurrence but lately it had been reserved for private conversations over wine as friends, not between king and champion.
"I know the cost, and it's one I'm happy to pay. My friends and I once dreamed of returning home to our world, but over the long years in this land we all knew that returning would not happen. Our families and loved ones have most likely long since forgotten us and the men and women we were would not be the same that returned. Now I am alone. The other burdens of summoning you will have to bear, but if my life can give you a chance to finally end this war and bring peace…"
Allaan was speechless. This was something they had never discussed. In the long years fighting with his Champions he had never noticed that at some point they had all… given up on returning home. It had been 40 years since the last summoning, only a couple years before his birth and yet… it had not occurred to the King that the men and women who had given their lives today had no intention of going back to their world. They had already given most of their lives to keep the people of this one safe and without family or friends to return to then they had nothing to go back for.
"I swear, this will be the last" Allaan wept, tears streaming down his sunken cheeks. "No more shall have to give their lives for us, we will defeat the demons and send every Champion back home safe and sound. I promise!"
Aegan smiled and squeezed the weeping kings' hand gently. Then, taking a deep breath, he summoned what little strength he had left and focused his one remaining eye on the man before him.
"Well lets get on with it"