Forming the Parties

The next day, we heroes were summoned back in front of the Emperor, a large group of adventurers waiting in line, as well as those seven Centurions that were certain to join us. The throne room seemed crowded compared to to yesterday, more people wanting to see the fabled Heavenly Heroes. Emperor Galerius was dressed in a new toga, more luxurious than the the one he wore yesterday. "Good people of the Turpilian Empire, the Seven Heavenly Heroes have gathered here today to prepare them for their journey. These brave adventurers have gathered here today to help these legendary heroes on their adventure of saving our world." He started, each Centurion beginning to walk towards their respective hero. Each wore a cape that matched the color of their hero (Anlong's follower's cape was teal, Killian's was orange, so on..).

My Centurion's cape was red, but it appeared rather tattered, and his body armor, while similar to the other six, seemed to be of a lower quality. The metal didn't seem as bright as the others, and not as well formed. The face mask he wore seemed to be of low quality as well, there was a scar over the eyes, giving the mask strange markings along the cheeks. Looking past the mask, I saw the eyes of the Centurion, a deep emerald green, similar to my own eyes. He pounded his had against his chest, saluting me. In his other hand was a pouch filled with metal. He handed it to me, and I opened it, seeing a number of silver coins.

"The heroes will each be given a pouch of 1500 silver pieces." The Emperor continued, as the Centurions moved behind us, lining up. "After this starting sum, the heroes will receive 800 silvers after every Swarm attack. Of course, they will have to make their way through our world to grow stronger and more capable." He waves his arm around, holding a golden staff in his other hand. "Now, these adventurers shall make their decision and pick the heroes they wish to follow." After saying this, the large group of people began moving around, walking around us and making their picks.

This was odd? Shouldn't we choose who joins us? I mean, it is our party that is being formed, and we would be the leader of the group, right? After a few seconds, the parties were chosen, and I turned to see who joined me aside from my Centurion, and as I feared.

It was only the Centurion. That was discerning.

The other heroes looked around and saw that none of the adventurers didn't join me, and even the people watching the formation seemed surprised. The Emperor rubbed his chin, a sense of uncertainty in his eyes. "Well, this was not expected."

I turn around, facing Galerius. "Uh, sir, what's going on? How come no one chose to follow me?" I asked, my Gauntlet raised into the air. I couldn't help but see a few people recoil in fear, and I looked around to see that there was true terror on their faces.

The Emperor sat down, sighing. "It would appear that there are rumors of the Gauntlet Hero. False tales of a rebirth of a bringer of destruction." I grew confused. Rebirth of a bringer of destruction? What was all this about? "Legends tell of a former Gauntlet Hero who betrayed the people of the world and threatened to destroy the very planet itself. It would seem that this past has put a shadow over your reputation." He stands back up, tapping the end of his staff to the marble floor. Everyone turned and focused on him, and he raised his hand high. "Let it be known that this Gauntlet Hero, Sir William Cooper, is not the same as The Harbinger. That old hero is not this new one. Do not treat this man with any distain simply because of the past of the weapon he wields."

My heart didn't feel so heavy, but I was still uneasy of the fact that the only person who had joined me was one who was assigned to me. Then I heard Anlong clear his throat. "Excuse me, but I will not be needing all of your aid. If one of you could work with Sir Liam, I will reward you greatly." Gasps filled the room as the four adventurers behind him looked to one another. Then, a hooded man stepped out, softly placing his hand to his chest. Anlong nodded to the man, and he moved behind the Centurion. At least now my party was more than just two. Akenamo and Perevalora look to their followers, but none of them make any moves. The other three don't even bother to try and prompt their followers. The Emperor nods towards Anlong, then sat down.

Once Anlong had given me one of his followers the Emperor nodded, sitting back down. There had been 28 adventurers, and if it was to be split evenly, each of us heroes would have at least six followers in total. "So, now that this is resolved, Sir William and his party shall receive an extra 500 silver pieces. Now, go onward and become the heroes this world needs you to be." Our followers saluted, and then Us heroes did so before turning around and leaving the throne room. The first three to leave were Killian, Klaus, and Richard, their larger parties somewhat intimidating. Klaus had seven followers, and oddly enough they were all blonde haired and blued eyed. As much as I wanted to make a joke about this, I held my tongue. Killian had five followers, but they seemed somewhat distant to him, or rather he was distant towards him. Richard had four followers as well, talking to them with ease. The next to walk out was Perevalova, with her five followers. They all seemed to be of a lower class, as the high class people in the room seemed to glare at them. Then Akenamo and his three followers, then Anlong and his three followers.

I looked back to my two followers, the Centurion and the hooded man and nodded, looking towards the Emperor one last time. He seemed tired of this and didn't acknowledge me with a nod. I shrugged and walked away, my group following me out of the room.

As the doors closed behind us, a servant lead us through the halls towards the exit of this palace. My two companions were rather silent, only the sounds of breathing coming from them. It was a little uncomfortable, so I decided to try and break the ice. "So, thanks for joining my group, sir..." I said towards the hooded man, who raised his head, revealing to me that he had feline-like golden eyes.

"Leo. The name's Leo, sir." He replied, showing his sharper teeth. I could also see that he had a lot of hair covering his face, giving him a mane.

"A suiting name if I say so myself. And you are?" I turned to the Centurion, who did not reply. All he did was raise his right arm, showing me his own gauntlet which had some writing on it, listing off a bunch of names. The last name on the list was 'Julius'. "Ah, well, a good name. Not much of a talker, are you?" I asked, and he shook his head in response.

"You won't be hearing much from him, sir." The servant leading us commented, drawing my attention back to the front. "He had his tongue cut out a long time ago. His family has always been discriminated against since they are the Gauntlet's Centurion." I shook my head. This world seemed to be cool, but it was feeling closer to ancient reality than to some fantasy world. I turned back around to Julius, seeing that he had lowered his head.

"I'm sorry your family was discriminated against." I said, only getting a nod in response. I wanted to know what exactly happened with the past Gauntlet hero to get the people of this country to hate on him. Eventually we reached the courtyard, seeing a lush garden and a magnificent fountain in the center with a statue of a woman. She held a gladius and a shield and looked like a soldier. "Who is that?" I asked, looking to the long hared figure.

"That is the goddess of war, Bellanora. She is the goddess who protects us, or rather she used to." The servant explained, stopping in front of the fountain. "Good luck on your journey, sir Gauntlet Hero." She said, bowing before walking away. The other heroes were in the courtyard with their parties, getting to know one another. I turned to look at Leo and Julius and pounded my chest.

"Alright, lets head out into the world and be the heroes this world needs." I said, getting a not from both of them. As they moved towards the entrance of the palace, I looked towards the statue and the fountain, seeing that there were some coins along the floor of the fountain. I tug in my pocket, feeling a coin. I pulled it out, and saw that I still had some change from my world, and my lucky silver dollar I carried with me. I pocketed the dollar and pulled a quarter out, flicking it into the pond, walking towards my party as that foreign coin sank and joined the collection of copper pieces.