The Not-So-Subtle Welcoming

I died.

How I died is entirely irrelevant as I knew almost immediately that my new life would have nothing to do with the old one.

"Welcome, Summoned Heroes!" An offensively sagely-looking wizard of an old man said.

Looking around, I deadpanned as I slowly started counting…

One, the setting was the regal-looking interior of what was almost certainly a castle or mansion. Within a few seconds of my continued scanning, I could also see a middle-aged man clad in robes sitting upon a throne; a king or emperor, perhaps.

Two, beside me, there were six others standing in the center of what I could only describe as obvious Magic Summoning Circles; that or the wizard was an asshole for adding to the implications that made the basis for my assumptions.

Three, while us seven "Summoned Heroes" wore what I considered standard casual clothes, common for twenty-first-century Earth, everyone else looked like extras from a mish-mash of historical documentaries. I swear, there were people dressed in silk robes, metal armor, tattered rags… One guy was only wearing a loincloth; though, in fairness, he did have more than half his uncovered body covered in tattoos.

"Now, I'm sure you all must be confused," the wizard suddenly said, drawing me out of my thoughts. He also proved his words to be wrong as he explained, "But, the truth of the matter is, each and every one of you has died and been summoned to our great Yyvel Empire."

I could hardly stifle a snort as I thought, 'Not very subtle if I do say so myself. Then again, nothing about this surreal situation has been, so...'

"How each of you died is a personal matter, which you can decide whether or not to disclose on your own time." The wizard continued, "But, to get to the point, the one thing you all have in common is the strength of character in your souls. It's what our Summoning Magic targeted to pull you out of the cycle of rebirth and continue your short-lived original lives as heroes to our world!"

The wizard then stopped speaking entirely, presumably either for us to digest the absurdity of his claims or to let us ask him questions.

The blond-haired boy to my immediate right, thus shyly said, "Uh… This is kind of a lot to take in and, er…" He became increasingly timid and bashful as he spoke, "Not that I don't believe what you said about us dying, but, um… What do you expect us to do? I mean, you have your magic and stuff, but… I was just a seventeen-year-old recent high school graduate from a world without any of that before coming here."

In response to the boy's question, I swear I saw the wizard's face twitch and morph into a condescending look for the slightest of moments before he started laughing and casually said, "Worry not young man, for in this world, the quality of one's soul lends a person innate benefits, regardless of their origin! Unless we, the Council of Summoners, failed, then each of you should have Creeds of the highest quality."

"Depending on what they are, you could be the strongest of warriors, god incarnates of magic, but regardless of what Creed you end up with, it should be helpful towards our empire's expansion out into the new continent," the wizard said.

"Ho? And how do we end up finding out what our Creeds are, or whatever," the red-headed woman, who had been summoned next to the blond-haired boy, asked. I could have been imagining things, but she seemed a little unhinged with that manic look she had in her eyes.

The wizard matched her smile in intensity as he flicked his wrist and fanned out seven plate-like crystal cards in his hand. Enthusiastically, he said, "With these, of course!"

After handing each of us what I now knew to be crystal card-like mirrors, he explained, "With these Soul Mirrors, anyone can unravel the state of their being. However, one can only know their own status through the mirrors, so..." His eyes gleamed with ominously dark blue light, "Please read out your name and Creed for us to figure out how best to allocate our resources and integrate you faster into the empire-expanding process!"

'Ah shit,' I thought. 'It's not looking like this is the typical whimsical otherworldly setting for a power-trip fantasy novel. This motherfucker is actually using magic, or something, to force us into compliance...'

The right-most Summoned Hero along our line, a dark-skinned man with impeccable dreadlocks said, "My name is Tavarius Archibold-Bevery Harris." Being forced to look at him along with the others, I could see that his eyes lost their light as he emotionlessly said, "My Creed is that of the [Innate Phenomenal Sage]."

"Wonderful," the wizard said, before coldly continuing by saying, "Next."

To Tavarius's left, a woman with brown hair and green eyes said, "My name is Emma McCormic Loy. My Creed is that of the [Innate Hero of Destruction]."

To Emma's left, another woman, one with short black hair and blue eyes, said, "My name is Octavia Trebol Johnson. My Creed is that of the [Innate Tribulant Archer]."

To Octavia's left, a man with brown hair and even lighter hazel eyes, blinked. He was obviously the only one of us consciously still in control of his actions, but I could understand why he went along with everyone else and read, "My name is… Arnold Armstrong Aroline?" Shrugging his shoulders, he added, "I can't really recall ever being called that, but then again I can't recall having any other name. Anyways, my creed is called, [Innate Controller]."

"Ah yes," the wizard chimed in, addressing the kingly-looking fellow on his throne as he explained, "From the one account I know of a previously summoned Controller, the Creed grants its user the benefit of immunity from being controlled by any manner of supernatural force."

After receiving a nod from the man on the throne, the wizard commanded, "Continue."

The black-eyed black-haired manic woman that had brought this interrogation upon us, now tamely said, "My name is Hongyue Yesha. My Creed is that of the [Innate Sword Fiend]."

The boy to my right, followed the routine that had been established, as he calmly said, "My name is Alex. My Creed is that of the [Innate Cultivator]."

"Tch," many people, including the king and the wizard, clicked their tongues in disappointment.

Then, upon being ordered by the wizard, I couldn't help it as my eyes peered down to see the Soul Mirror in my hands and my mouth opened to say, "My name is Quarth."

What the fuck kind of name is Quarth? It didn't even sound remotely close to any of the other Summoned Heroes' "relatively" normal names!

"My Creed is that of the [Innate Botanist]."