'Why did this happen to me?' I had only this question on my mind at the time, being ported straight into this hell of a wasteland Isn't my usual Sunday routine. Currently I have no idea where I am and how exactly I came here. And I'm telling you I don't have the slightest piece of explanation either. My head hurts, my the rest of my body feels like I've been riding the nuke like major Kong... That comparison sucked, but hey I've got nothing better.

I have been sleeping soundly, 'till a few hours ago. If it had not been for the sudden Sandstorm that had to fuck me right in the face and wake me up in the most confused state I have ever been.

So I woke up, In the middle of nowhere, completely confused about how in the Hell I could have gotten here, and to top things off I was lovingly greeted by a nice and gentle sandstorm.
Of course you don't know how to react to that. But my evenings watching Bear grills survive in the most surreal scenarios has paid off, so my first step was to improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

I failed, horribly

Being blinded by the sandstorm did not help either, sand was getting into my eyes and in my mouth and ugh just everywhere. I curled up into a ball and waited for about an hour, then It stopped.
The first positive thing about this fucking day. I dug myself out and began to check myself.

After I found that I'm quite alright if you don't count my burning eyes and dry mouth.

My first objective was to find some sort of water, because I found out the hard way, that drinking your piss is not as easy as ol' Bear makes it seem. There must be something to drink somewhere or else I'm fucked. So I started walking and walking

As the minutes turned into hours, the scorching sun turned unbearable and I mean there is literally nothing but small rocks and beige colored dirt around me, not even mountains or some shit, and no watering hole or oasis. I seriously doubt that I'm going to survive this bullshit scenario. To describe me... Well, there's not that much to it, I am average height actually a little short and a little overweight Latin American guy yeah that's It as I said not much to it. It's getting late anyway, might wanna look for a place to sleep.

Let me recall how I got here in the first place...

It all started with the desire to make a change. It was Saturday night and homework, as always, has been absolute shit. So I was there, bored out of my mind, I liked to do good in school actually, but I wanted to enjoy my weekends to the fullest so I can't stand homework. But there was just nothing I could do. No party's going on, I thought maybe Felix wanted to hang out, He is my best friend after all. But a quick look to my watch quickly let that thought die, like hell he's going to hang out at 4 am.
I laid on my bed and took a look throughout my room.

'Nothing exciting left to play' I thought to myself as I looked to my abandoned PlayStation and PC, thought about ways to quench my desire for entertainment. It was too late for the good shows so I decided not to watch TV either.

Do you know that feeling when you're just wanting to do stuff but there simply is nothing, kind of depressing actually that I don't really have anything to do except playing video games or watching porn. I never had a girlfriend either, I'm super-cool with any of the dudes. I mean I am so good at befriending guys you wouldn't believe, but sadly the same didn't go for girls, everyone I ever liked had either rejected me cold or started going out with one of my friends before I could get a chance. I guess It comes naturally when every other boy in your class is a hunk and is 5 Inches taller than you. To give you a picture I'm 5 foot 4.
And to top things off I'm also pudgy and lemme tell you that does NOT help. After thinking about my life for a minute I came back to the main problem.

What to do?

So I just thought and thought and some time went by until the sun started to rise... Holy shit it's dawn already? I stayed up longer than I thought. I rarely ever experienced a nice sunrise so an idea hit me...

I can go on a walk! I know, I know that sounds anticlimactic and awful. But keep in mind that I have no clue what else to do.

For the first time in my life, I wanted to do something as boring as taking a walk, seeing the sunrise may help my mood for now well better than to linger in my room. So I quickly got out of my pajamas and went to grab my coat, since It was quite chilly outside. I put on my shoes and opened the door, went outside and walked down the street.
I was headed for the park just down the next street. I looked at a nearby clock to tell the time... 6 am huh guess I really stayed awake a long time today. The fresh cold morning air filled my lungs and kept me wide awake and refreshed as I walked past the blocks of this district.

The sky was a tone in a beautiful orange color.

"I really made the right decision, I need to enjoy the small things in life more." I smiled as I started to walk slowly again. I didn't really say something so corny but I can't really remember so yeah, you get the idea.

Heading towards the park I saw many people rush to their work or getting a coffee.
I don't exactly know why I had this desire to go on a walk but it just felt like the right thing to do...

I let out a loud yawn "Fuck I'm getting tired." Past me said.

After a few minutes of walking down the boardwalk, I finally arrived at the park. I've never actually been to a park by myself, I walked down the path, admiring the beautiful color of the leaves as they dropped and landed on the ground.

Long story short I ended up seeing a hill and thought for it to be the perfect place to start looking at the sunrise.
As I went up I suddenly felt very tired I didn't know why it happened so rapidly or so sudden but this feeling of tiredness just overcame me. I blacked out I don't remember anything after that...

And I'm not bullshitting you, that is how it happened.
Next thing I know I'm in the middle of fucking nowhere and without any orientation, as to where I'm headed.
Well there you have my half-assed backstory, I know but that's what happened.

About 7 hours passed and I still can't find any goddamn water, I feel like I'm going to die soon.
But I didn't give up yet I want to survive and to find the fucker or whatever it is that brought me here.
I'm so gonna murder the shit out of the first living thing that I see, I am so fucking angry. Then I saw something, a tree. A tree in the desert, that can mean only one thing... Water.
I mustered up all of the strength residing within me and sprinted like I never did before, the dunes giving in to my stomping feet don't make it easier actually.

I ran as fast as my tired feet could carry me, until the shining body of water was in the line of sight.
There it was, a nice clean puddle.

Without question, I sank my head as far as I possibly could in the refreshing delight in the form of water.
I spent about 30 seconds drinking without worrying about breathing or anything of the sort really, that is until I opened my eyes after finishing my last gulp.

3 massive bulls were staring at me, faces of disbelief and shock. They had an appearance like a Minotaur, but that would be silly a Minotaur? No way... unless I'm finally descending into madness. However, that was not the case, since one of them began to speak.

"Oi Terry, what is that thing?" The largest one of the group asked, his eyes not departing from my face. He had black fur and curved horns, green eyes that shined like the brightest of emeralds, and he also had a giant sword bound to his back.

Terry responded, scanning me in the process "I don't have the slightest idea War, though it might be some kind of ape. Looks like half a Centaur if you ask me."

He was covered in brown fur with red eyes, he was the smallest one but had really large horns. A big scar ran across his left eye, creepy. I am legit about to pass out like I'm petrified.

"What are you waiting for then, capture it! It might be super rare!"
A white Minotaur with short horns said I'm presuming she is female because of the slimmer body build and the feminine voice. Suddenly, before I could react, The one named 'Terry' lunged at me with his all of his massive body.

My eyes went to pinpricks as this giant bipedal being threw itself at my dehydrated form, out of pure instinct I rolled over. He fell to the ground with a thump and a grunt. His eyes went back to me, now having stood up to my full size, I noticed something... I'm taller than him. It seems as if my eyes have deceived me considering the size of these three, well given my point of view back then that was quite understandable. That didn't change the fact that he was still big and full of muscles. I needed to think of something fast.

"That thing is Huge!" The black one commented, his gaze full of newfound concern.
I stand there now, holding a somewhat clumsy posture and probably looking like an Idiot.
Then the best Idea of the day hit me. Why not try talking to them.

So I opened my mouth and said the best thing I could come up with to sound like a sentient being.

"Wow there fellas, surely there's no reason we can't be civilized about this." Ah brilliant, quoting master Kenobi at a time like this. So like me, to do that.

The Bull stopped It's charge at me and its eyes opened wide.
"Steel, It talks!" He said aghast. Now he was observing me with his eyes and slowly unsheathed his Falchion.
Terry's look hardened and he took a stance.
"Who are you and where do you come from?" He asked with malice hidden in his voice. Before I could respond he opened his mouth again. "And for starters, what exactly are you mate?" He stopped so I could respond.

"First off what's the big deal? Why so hostile?" I asked first before backing away slightly.

"The deal? In the bloody hell would someone that is not a spy, or an assassin do so far out in the howling desert?" He came closer again, threatening me with his Impressive sword.

I had no idea, and I felt that that answer would not suffice.
"Well first off, I'm a human, don't know If you've ever heard of us but back where I come from we are the dominant species." I quickly searched for more to say.

"The reason why I'm so far off in the middle of nowhere is that my caravan got attacked." Nice one man, bring up even more questions. Sweat was beginning to flow down my face.

"I'm the only survivor and I am unarmed so there is no need to threaten me," I said with a stern tone, trying to intimidate my opponent a little bit.
Looking into his eyes I see that it did not quite work. He instead hardened his gaze.

"Is that so? Attacked, by whom?" He asked raising his blade against my chest and staring me down. I've never ever had my heart pound so much in my life. The thought of dying after enduring that hell was not welcoming at all.

"To be honest with you, I was knocked out by whatever it was Immediately, the only thing I heard was the blurred out battle cries of the other guards and whatever attacked us. Luckily enough I was unharmed and escaped with a few bruises." I said with as much conviction as I could.

"Hmm, alright so you're a man of the military then? May I ask your rank?" He finally put his sword down
"And you forgot your name boy, you better spill it or I won't trust you." Great, that worked out I guess that is a little bit luck to compensate for the shit that has transpired today.
I have to make up a name, hmm but what.
"Sergeant Melkor of the 3rd Division under the Kings banner," I replied after thinking about it a good 10 seconds. God I'm so gonna die in this place. Using the name of my favorite Villain blended in perfectly.

"Well, its certainly good to know you're not a spy, Sergeant." He sheathed his sword and started to walk back to his comrades. Which was still staring me down? I sat down as a sign of relief and let out a sigh.

"Can you show me the way to the next town, I won't make it alone I'm afraid," I asked the group, seeing that as my best chance of survival.
"Uuh, I don't know Terry, I don't trust him, he's completely alien to us." The Black one said. He turned to me and looked me dead in the eye and said.

"Prove that you're a soldier and you can stay with us, however, If I find that you lied to us, I will rid you of your spine." I was about to panic, goddammit I knew this was too good to be true. Well better prove it to him than to die alone in the desert.

"And how would you suggest to prove myself?" I asked, fearing the possible answer that would surely not be a good one. If watching Medieval films had any kind of effect then I think I know what's coming.

He stares at me with his green eyes and slowly begins to smirk until he says...

"By a duel..."

13 weeks later in a land far away from the recent happenings...

[Canterlot Palace]

Three Princesses were consulting in the celestial throne room.

"We have to send scouts and search parties to look for Chrysalis, if we don't find her in time we might have a way bigger problem in a few months," said Princess Twilight

"T'is true sister, we have sensed a big increase of magic in the outer sectors of the changeling badlands." said the second alicorn in the room.

The light in the room was dim as the oldest of the three began to set the sun. While she knew this was not something to be dealt with lightly, the issue was pretty much over. And a new uprising had begun in the lands far beyond her borders. Something she had feared for long.

"Dear sister, Twilight you know that under Thorax's rule, the changelings have all reformed. Without them, she is powerless and we also have to focus on more important tasks at hand."
She said without turning to look the other two Princesses in the eye, instead, focusing her gaze into the west.

'Much more Important...'

"By a duel..." Said the black beast, I just now met.

How nice, I the luckiest guy on earth literally have not just woken up in the most hellish environment possible, wandered around for who knows how long, and just lied myself out of the deadliest situation I've ever been in.

NOOOOO it just has to get better. I mean, sure you have to have some kind of proof, but a flippin' duel? What happened to the whole I share my backstory with you and we Instantly become best friends part? I guess we'll skip that today, in order to make my current hell of a situation even worse.
So, being the collected and calm being that I am, I'm sure I can get myself out of this situation.

"I beg your pardon?" was my actual response, in a somewhat shaky and stuttering voice, though not so much that you could actually tell I was pissing myself just now.

"You heard me, lets duel, just me an' you right here right now." He started to grin and his eyes became even more fierce.

"Look, you even have my sword, since you're such a big one. I'll just use Terry's." He wiggled his eyebrows, I bet he thinks I'll just pussy out on his challenge. Fucking asshole, bet he thinks I'm a pussy. You know what? FUCK IT if I end up dying anyways I will go out with a bang, maybe I'll win. Ha not likely, not likely at all.

"Alright, let's do it, you and me right now. No lethal cuts or stings though, I wanna continue living my life." I said, trying to sound as though as possible.

From someone like me it probably won't have the same effect as from someone who is actually tough. He nodded and then threw his sword to my feet like it was a stick. He then walked over to 'Terry' and yanked his Falchion out of its sheath with his powerful arms. God even his veins have veins.

I proceeded to take the great sword out of the scorching sand and grasp it firmly. You might not believe it but I actually have experience with sword fighting, not such big ones usually, but as long as we don't fight to the death it will be fine, I hope. I started to stretch a bit and looked around, nothing but desert for miles and miles to come. The other two minotaurs looked at me as if it was already the day of the funeral. Anyways, I can't get distracted now, War looked at me like I look at a nicely done steak, which is probably not a good sign. Do these guys eat meat, I hope not.

So after a minute or two, we were facing each other, I raised my mighty greatsword and went into a sideways stance, in order to have full power, at little energy cost, cause fuck me that thing was heavy. Whilst my opponent had no problems of the sort, none at all, he looked like he did this at least every Tuesday. The anxiety coming over me right now, oh lord help me.

He was wearing light leather armor, a loincloth and sandals, nice combination if you ask me, gotta get some armor myself when I'm done with this shit. Gotta survive somehow, might as well make sure you stay unharmed.

"Are ya ready?" He yelled, taking a stance of his own, seemingly getting ready to charge. Oh what have I gotten myself into? Why

"As I'll ever be." Was my reply. I was scared, like legitimately afraid to face off against this beast. Well, if I strike first maybe I'll be able to actually hit him and win maybe.
He was getting ready to take a big swing at me. He then proceeded to jump forward towards me.
Oh boy.

I had an idea that could counter this attack, he was open wide and his arm was too far drawn back.
So my first step was sidestepping in to close the distance between me and him.
I swear if this works....I'm buying this guy a drink later. He seemed taken aback by my course of action, and his eyes focused on mine, a little unease in them.

So I jabbed the knob of my sword with all the power I could muster, and I hit directly in the nose, giving off a crunch and a little drizzle of blood, while the power of my attack and the fact that he was jumping me like a buffoon, caused him to drop to the ground a few feet away from me.

Damn, guess I'm buying him a drink if I have the money for it. But that must've hurt, I'm a little shocked it had this much impact, I mean he dropped like a sack of potatoes.
He got up, wiped his nose and threw the blood on the ground.

Ok, ok so he got up, worrying but only slightly. I held my stance and glared at him, now feeling a bit confident, I mean that was awesome wasn't it? Ok, don't get cocky now.

"That all you've got?!" Dammit can't I keep my mouth shut for once. Well, It does feel good.

Then I saw the sight that chilled me to my chubby core, that motherfucker was wearing a huge, shit-eating grin on his face. Fuck me he's enjoying it so far isn't he?

He said nothing, instead decided to charge me again, this time much faster though, I swung my blade in hope to catch him off guard while running, I missed though, or rather the guy dodged my blow wit a swift movement towards the ground. I had no time to react after that, he swung his massive arm towards my abdomen.

Did you ever get punched so hard it made you wanna throw up? I definitely didn't, I instantly hurled as his fist shoved itself into the lower regions of my belly like a hammer into foam. There wasn't any vomit though, probably because I haven't eaten in forever, so I guess that could've been worse? I was just gasping for air right now.

No time to think about that though, I can't get distracted now.
After a second of doing nothing, I decided to fucking knee him in the chin since he was bent low.
The blow connected with a solid thud and my opponent went staggering back a few inches, falling on his hairy ass. Finally taking a deep breath.

God my belly is on fire, the pain is almost enough to make me throw this right here and now.
But mama didn't raise no coward, so instead I gave my best war cry and charged him this time. I ran towards the sitting Minotaur who was just getting up, seemingly surprised to see me, since he did not dodge my strike towards him.

I raised my massive sword over my head and slashed down, with the broad side of course.
It connected with his thick skull and let out a metallic ringing sound. That has to be it, I mean that HAS to be it.

I was once again proven wrong by the universe. (dammit Steven)
He was of course stunned after that, but then he stood up again like it was nothing. Except for the fact that there was blood coming out of his mouth now too.

"Good one," He said, huffing and puffing "actually gave me a headache there." He now swung his sword at me, using his full body weight for support.

I swiftly brought my blade against his, the loud impact of the clash was ringing through my head.
Both of the blades swung back, I took the initiative and went for a low swing towards his right side, he swung also, deflecting the blade just before his torso. That left him open, so I decided to try something and side kicked his rib cage.

Somehow that worked too, it did help that he was so short though.
He once again staggered back, can't he just drop already?
The raging bull however did not intend on doing so.

I slashed downwards with the great sword, trying to end it for good.
Then he did something unexpected, he bashed it away with his blade, using his momentum to shoulder tackle me backward. Then he brought his sword up diagonally across my chest, slicing through my cloth and skin. I actually couldn't believe it. He cut me open, not so much that I could suffer serious effects, but I was bleeding and everything.

I was mad, literally livid right now, not only did it hurt like a bitch but he also broke my terms.
He is going down. I don't care about proving myself anymore, no I'm winning this.

That black piece of shit was again wearing this shit-eating grin. He let his guard down, he was getting cocky.
I just sprang in front of him, faster than I could've hoped and punched him in the throat, as hard as my flabby arms could muster. Which was surprisingly much?
He coughed and wheezed madly, understandable of course, but I'm not showing mercy now.

I smashed the handle of my sword against the side of his skull. He fell, still wheezing.
The pain in my chest, the mad rage I'm in right now and I currently had the upper hand, gave me another rush of energy.

This is awesome, I don't know why, but this is somehow fun, I've always wanted to fight someone with swords. The thrill, the pain, the satisfaction of beating the shit out of somebody. Yep, absolutely going Insane.

My opponent managed to get to one knee and started to laugh

"HAHA! Now you're fighting for real boy!" He said between laughs and coughs. Then the massive mountain of hairy meat got up again, showing his bulging muscles and his bleeding face.

"Come on! Bring it then!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Getting ready to charge again, and most importantly abandoning all reason and sanity.

"Aye Sergeant!" We both began to run at each other with as much that was left in us. The sweat that had build up on my forehead, now streaming over my whole face.

He charged again like a train on steroids, but silly me who was into it now did the same.
I spun around and let momentum carry my blade, it flew with speed and ferocity towards the charging beast.

He reacted just a split second before catching the blow with his sword. And thus our swords clashed. We stared each other down like two predators fighting over territory.

I released the hold, hopped back and swung downwards with the Claymore.
He again caught it just before it could impact on him.

He attacked from below, but I somehow managed to dodge his sword and land a kick in his stomach, though he seemed almost unfazed by it. Then the burning in my chest became more and more intense.
Now the hard part started, defending.
He started to pour down a barrage of attacks on me, left, parried, right parried, down, dodged that one, his swing from downwards came close to cutting me again, just gracing the remains of my shirt.

It was when he wanted to attack left again, that an idea hit me. Just as he was about to strike, I rammed my sword handle against his hand, disarming him. I reacted quickly, I kicked him in the gut again, so he was stunned.

Then I took my great sword and plunged the tip into his right shoulder, piercing his armor and flesh, earning me a yell of pain from him.
I then proceeded to throw myself, including the blade at him, so we both fell over.
He was still yelling, when I was on top of him and held my Claymore against his throat, putting just enough pressure against it to prove a point.

I then said. "Stay. Down." Nice, I always wanted to say that.

Fucking hell my whole body was aching. If I ever manage to get home somehow, I will tell the tale of how I, the dorky, short fatso have bested a beefed-up steak in battle.

Then I stood up and reached out my hand to the beaten warrior. He grasped it and I pulled him up.

Then, looking me in the eye again, he let out a hearty laugh. He then proceeded to hug me.

"Terry I like him, got a real fighters spirit." He continued to crush my bones with his packs.

Oh happy day, just what I need after a beat down a sweaty, hairy man hug.

"Welcome to the squad, mate!" He finally let me down. Thank god almighty, I live another day.
"Aye," Said the now quite shocked looking fellow Minotaurs

"Well then, shall we make our way to the next town?" I asked out of breath.

"We most definitely shall! And now that you're joining us, we can take you to our camp Melkor! I bet the boss will have great use for you. " Said Terry and an optimistic tone in his voice.

Ah nice, it seems all you need to do here in order to get people to like you is to beat them to a pulp.

"Wait, join?-"

And that's how I somehow became a mercenary warrior.

I hate walking, a lot. Now more than ever, considering it's been another 2 hours since we've set foot into the blazing horizon. Thankfully though, they have supplies like water and I even got to eat some bread, now I finally learn to appreciate small things. My flesh wound has been sloppily bandaged with some alcohol and some herbs I have no idea about, but let me tell you It does not feel like putting on a fucking plaster. I have also abandoned my shoes and my shirt, the shoes because they were drowning in my gross sweat, and the shirt because it was hot enough already.

We came by some places that looked like they weren't designed to end your life, but instead seeming like life could and will flourish there. There was a mountain pass to our right, that had dirt and grass to some extend, a little stream that flows down the brown, smooth rocks. That was nice for a change.

But back to my problems!

I still don't know where I am, or who these 'people' are exactly. Maybe I should ask. Yep, I'll do that, why didn't that come to mind earlier Its been like 3 hours already since I've met them.... and beat one of them half to death.
The heat was almost unbearable, and the sweat that was dripping into my fresh wound, making it sting like crazy didn't help either.
I decided to break the ice with these guys and ask them about our current situation. Hey What could go wrong, I mean they willingly accepted me into.....whatever this is.

"So, I have several questions," I said.

"Aye? Oh well, ask away, we've got time." The brown Minotaur said while turning his head towards my direction.

"First of all, who exactly are you?" I think that question was appropriate, considering I was probably going to spend some time with these fine gentlemen.

Turning around with a smile on his face, he hit himself on the head, then he got ready to answer the question.

"Of course, how could we forget to Introduce ourselves, let me fill you in on the team! Well, there's the big guy with a hole in his shoulder, named Raging War. The best warrior of the Squad, and our professional for heavy weapons. " He pointed to the black minotaur of the group.

The fellow he talked about didn't say anything, just weirdly smirked at me.... this guy seriously gives me goosebumps, and not the kind you'd want.

"Then we have Durant Steel." He gestured to the female walking beside him. "She is the one responsible for any kind of ranged combat, she has all of the bows and arrows and one heck of an aim."

She looked over and wore a big smile "Nice to officially meet you new guy!".

"And lastly there's me, Reigning Terror, the brain behind the team, just lemme do your thinking and all should be fine." He gave me a genuine smile, actually kind of nice to know these are decent people, I was kinda worried they would eat me at some point, but I think I can sleep at night without having to worry for my bowels.

The breeze that was slowly brushing against me and the others, was actually relaxing and comforting, and an exchange from the hell resort that I have been through these last few days. Having someone to talk to, while also feeling protected is a really nice change of pace and one that I gravely needed.

We have walked for quite some time now again, the sun was slowly setting, the orange glow emitting from the distant horizon complimenting the distant mountain lines to our left. I have to give this place some credit for Its beautiful weather and sky, it surpasses the one I know.
Terry signaled for us to make rest near some trees, that gave a little shade. Hell yeah, finally some shade on my aching loins.

War sat down, and brought out his claymore. To no surprise he started to sharpen it with a whetstone.
Steel just leaned against a tree, while also checking her equipment and taking out something to nibble on.
I just rested on the ground next to a bush, which smelled pretty good. Like, an exotic flower, kind of hard to describe.
At least I'm traveling with company now, this could have all turned out a lot worse.
Terry sat down beside War and pulled out a map, which immediately brought up my interest in the second question that I had.

"Where are we?" I know, I know pretty fucking smart question. But I gotta learn about my surroundings somehow don't I?

So he whipped around his map and showed me our current location. We are near some sort of river, and we are almost at our destination it seems, hence to the big red X marking our target. Nice I could use some actual beds and hygiene.

"The place you are currently In Melkor is the land of refugees and outlaws, the great land of Orin, ruled by Diamond dog organizations which are hated by the whole population. We are currently traveling to the town of Dorne, the filthiest piece of land you'll ever find anywhere, But It's our home, which lies an hour or two north-east. Once we are there, we'll meet up with the rest of our Warband, and you can officially join us in our mercenary quests. As of now you are not hired yet, you'll need to prove yourself to the chieftain, but don't worry we'll handle that for you." Terry said, smiling at me.

"When you are assigned to a squad, you can choose a weapon and a set of armor, we look out for each other kid, and once you're part of the family we will protect each other until the end of the world."

He gave me a reassuring look, with a stern look in his eyes.

Somehow I kinda liked the thought of a life like this, friends, everywhere and watching out for each other, meanwhile getting to live the adventures I've have always dreamed of.
And of course, I can use them for my success and stuff, I think I will enjoy my stay in this world from now on. My motivations are simple, live my life to the fullest.
I reached into the bag they gave me and pulled out a bottle of water, I had a sip and stared into the distance and the setting sun, ah how I enjoyed this little moment right now.

Weird feeling being in a new land and all that stuff, but you know, I just gotta roll with it for now, and the idea seems pretty fun. My chest pain was almost gone too.
It is in moments like this I wish I had a guitar to play, but sadly I never really learned it, a shame really, I love the guitar, hmm maybe someday. But as of now, I'll have to be content with what I've got.

It has gotten dark by now, we packed our stuff and got ready to move again, It actually wasn't that cold, considering the nights in a desert are supposed to be freezing.

Terry took out a torch and held his hand above it.

"Ignite" Just when he said that his hand lit up and a fireball came out, igniting the torch. What the actual fuck?

I was just standing there with my jaw on the ground, he turned to me and let out a snarky laugh, "What's the matter kid, never seen magic before?" He asked me in a joking way.

"No, I didn't believe it existed, where I come from there is no such thing as magic. A legend at best." I just was at a loss for words.
I wanna learn that I soooo want to learn that.

So of course I was instantly in his face.

"Can you teach me?" I said in the most hopeful tone I could possibly take.

"Huh? You wanna learn magic, most people look ill upon it you know?" He said, his voice concerned.

"I was never so sure about anything in my life!" I was bursting with envy and enthusiasm.

I always had a thing for magic back in America, oooh the days of Skyrim being just a dream are finally over, I'm gonna git gud in this world! This is literally a dream come true for me.

"Well, if you're this determined, who am I to deny a young novice his wish?" I could kiss this guy right now, but I should probably not, I doubt these guys are Italian.

"Thank you Reigning Terror!" I said as genuinely as I could and gave him a warm smile.

"No problem kid!" He gave me a smile in return "You can call me Terry by the way."

We then marched into the night and onto our destination, the moon which I saw surprisingly little during the rest of my stay here in Orin, funny actually, since I am a person that enjoys a night when it's at its best, and the stars ignite the sky.

Huh...
Where is all this poetry coming from? Sometimes I surprise and scare myself.

As we walked we once again wandered through seemingly endless hills and hills of sand and rock, nothing but sand and rock and occasionally dirt. But as we walked the flora and fauna grew richer as we went by land.
More and more interesting sights to see, like a formation of rocks, that housed a cave full of glowing mushrooms or some fungus. We walked further and soon came across a small stream, that was filled with all sorts of amphibians, like toads or snakes. It's Interesting how lively it becomes once you change the habitat.
I drank some of the water, while also looking out not to swallow any lifeforms.

We continued along the river and It was pitch black now, except for the occasional star.

At some point I began to see some lights glowing not so far int the distance, must be a campfire, so I told my companions about it.

"Guys, there's a campfire to our left, could be bandits or something like that." I pointed out while tapping on Terry's shoulder

He turned around and looked me in the eye, not sure what to make of this situation I kept quiet.
He seemed to think about the situation, about the pros and cons, you know what I mean.

"Good thinking Melkor, if they spot us, they might chase or hunt us down, it's best if we surprise them. Thought like a real mercenary kid, you're learning fast!" He unsheathed his falchion while War just grabbed his claymore and Steel took out her bow.

"Guys, do you have a spare weapon?" I asked the group.

"Here, you can have this." War just tossed me a katana, a slightly short one, but I won't complain.

"Give it back though, you'll get your own weapon once we're there brother." He gave me a wink... ugh.

Terry signaled for all of us to get low and slowly move over to the bonfire.
We covered the ground between us and the camp pretty slowly.

God above, am I really gonna experience my first real fight right now? I am scared and anxious, but also pretty excited.
I just gotta try and take out some of these guys stealthy, as Solid Snake would.
And no stepping on twigs or something like that, clumsy as I am it wouldn't surprise me though.

Steel positioned herself about 25 meters away on a hill where she had a perfect overview of the camp.
While we still crept forward towards the campsite.

We lay down in the sand, and we saw the full site.

Terry and War analyzed the situation.

"Yup, rouge diamond dogs, carrying gold and gems around. About eight of em'. We can take them easily, if Steel gives us cover, It will be a breeze." Said our tactical leader.

There was a lightly armored dog standing guard next to the fire. The rest were sleeping in their tents or resting against the treasure.

"Steel will take out the guard, if he alarms the others before he dies, use the confusion and kill as many as you can, got it?" He looked at me, waiting for my response.
"Got it" I nodded with eagerness

Then it all began, I drew my katana and waited for Terry's signal.

He raised his hand and Steel shot her arrow, it soared through the sky so fast, it was almost impossible to see.
It hit its mark, with a gross wet sound the arrow pierced the neck of the canine, and he released a horrible sound, before falling with to the ground like a wet sack.

Then we started our offensive.
I jumped up from my position and hopped over the dead guard, and I locked onto my target.

I sprinted towards the one nearest to my position, he was just waking up. Poor bastard, I jumped up with my katana facing downwards, he only got one glimpse at me before I penetrated his chest with my stab, leaving him breathless and dead before I knew it. Holy shit, I just killed someone! no time to think about it! Stay focused.

I sheathed my short blade and took his bastard sword, which had a better weight and length.
War was in a fight with two of them, while Terry tossed aside another dead one.
Now the whole camp had been woken up, and this was the part where things got fun.

I quickly rushed to the help of War, as I got tackled by a brown mutt, with some heavier armor on, this one was made out of strong leather. He pinned me to the ground and my arms tried to hold him off, but he was too heavy, like for a dog. He tried to bite my neck and shoulders, but I was holding against him with my sword.

I reached to my side and found my katana in its sheath, while he tried to chew my face off, I grabbed the blade and rammed it into the side of his ribs. He howled in pain and lost focus of the moment, that's when I kicked him off me, he crashed into a tent.

I quickly got up and ran towards him, he shook the blow off but I was too fast this time, I gave a good slash with the sword. I hit the throat, and blood was gushing out like crazy. He tried to fight back, but then he just fell over dead, god I have a talent for this.

I quickly shrugged my morals off and turned around to see that War was grabbing one of the dogs by the windpipe.
The other one of the attackers had an arrow stuck in his back. As I searched for Terry, the gruesome sound of a windpipe being crushed filled my ears. Dammit, I didn't want a bloodbath this early, I just thought we should make sure we aren't caught by them.

Another one rushed towards me, this one white, he held a spear in his hands.
You could really tell he was about to shit himself, like genuine terror was written all over his face.

He poked the tip towards me, but I sidestepped it and brought my sword down, slamming it to the ground.
Looking down, he gulped and ran towards me, screaming all the while.

As he got closer, I readied my sword and stepped forward, Impaling the poor dog.
The bandit didn't realize he was being pierced by a sword and just tried to get to me, so I pulled the sword out and he tried to get to me again.

That normally works in video games, but he's still alive.

He coughed up blood and his march came to an end, while letting out a ghostly whiff, he too fell to the ground.
Terry came from the back of the big camp and brought out a head, oh god, come on this is tasteless!

"That's all of em!" He said. "Good job team! Especially you Melkor." He smiled at me. And then he broke my back with his hand, no I'm just kidding but the pain from that back pat was Insane.

I have to say, accomplishing something like this really fills me with confidence, fear, and somehow joy.
And knowing that I'm not going to be all alone, makes this a lot easier to adapt to.

War came out of a tent, looking down

"I only got one kill, what's the deal with that? And they were total pushovers! I alone could take dozens of these! Damn diamond dogs, it's like I'm fighting children!" He was pretty frustrated about that huh.

Steel joined us too, and we began out loot.
There was quite a bit of gold and jewelry, we split them, I got about a hundred pieces of gold, and all the rubies, which were 25.

"Come on guys, Dorne is just behind that hill back there!" Steel gestured to a certain location and we then continued our journey. The coolness of the night began to slowly fade away, and the blood on my body began to dry.

The sun was rising, and the warmth of the day came back to us, filling my spirits with energy, although I am pretty tired from walking and fighting so much. I have fought now with these guys and I will continue my story from here on, with them probably, I really hope I can trust them.
We then climbed the hill, and we saw the city of thieves and crime.

"There you have it kiddo, Dorne, you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." Said Terry, in a weirdly familiar way. We then proceeded to walk towards it.

The city stretched pretty far for a criminal place, it seemed like there were at least a few thousand lowlifes here.
There was a crude wooden wall around it and the gate was guarded by dogs clad in armor that looks like it has been in use for quite some time already. Overall these guys did not seem motivated OR qualified to be on guard, as half of them weren't even paying attention to us approaching.

After a few glances and stares from the guards, we entered the city gates and I was immediately reminded of the slums in India or Brazil, not the kind of place where you'd raise your kids but also not the worst thing possible, but one could tell that this particular town was filled with a lot of shifty individuals.

Somehow I didn't feel as uncomfortable as I probably should have, which may sound weird but I have seen definitely worse, ever seen a german public bathroom? Ugh...

Of course when you are the only human around you get all kind of weird stares pointed at you, overall I had a bad feeling about this place. Just a big old uneasiness creeping down my spine.
We made it into a dark and shifty alleyway. Great, this is how robberies start, BUT then again we are armed.
We didn't get much to see of the cities at all except the dirty streets and the smelly bars until we've reached our destination.
Before I stood a pretty big building, like an old Mexican villa but very worn down, and decorated to the brim with trophies and skulls and other charming decors.
We then entered, and it didn't take long before I was immediately greeted by about 50 other Minotaur's who stared at me like I was the next big attraction at the zoo.

and I thought, well this is going to be fun!

As I continued to be stared at by a few tons of weapons and muscle, a certain kind of fear has overcome me, the kind of fear you only get when being stared at by someone who seems suspicious of you. Now imagine that fear times fifty, and each one of them could easily kill you.... yeah what fun. I have been in these types of scenarios before just never this, well intense. Goddammit what have I gotten myself into again? Do I have some sort of death wish? Well I guess this would be better compared to slowly starving and, or dying of thirst way out in the desert. It was my idea in the first place to join the talking cows, good thinking you fucking idiot! *sigh* I just hope I'll manage to survive today.

Think about it, how could I, a complete foreigner, a species of which they have never even heard of nor probably ever seen one, compelling to these brutes? I gotta think of something clever, something dashing, something only a genius could think of!

I didn't have anything.

'Dammit!'

So after a few moments of silence and quite a lot of awkward tension and menacing stares, Terry started walking towards his fellow minotaurs, and somehow I felt relieved, would he stand up for me? Will he protect me from the quite possible mauling that awaits me? I'm sure Terry has got a solid plan to explain this situation and introduce me to the gang, after all they might just be wary because they have never seen someone as handsome and charming as me, yeah that should be it.

As a deafening shout filled the halls...

"WE HAVE BROUGHT FRESH MEAT FOR THE HORDE!" Terry stated in a pretty calm manner. dude my ears!

Great, wow just feed me to them already, they look hungry enough! Fucking asshole, what a great senpai he is...
there is no way that bullshit will work though-

My line of thought was suddenly interrupted by an enormous cheering and chanting from the entire hall.
"BRING THE LIQUOR!!" They yelled

Well, guess I was wrong.

After a few hours of drinking, shouting and getting to know each other, Melkor did seem to fit in well enough, he was damn tall, the Minotaurs were also pretty tall. He liked fighting, the Minotaurs liked fighting. It was because of this that the tension was easy to break and fun was allowed to be had. He made a few new acquaintances. Like Jerb the Rock, who was by far the tallest of the bunch and towered over Melkor like a, well like a tower. He was big and gray, and also the leader of his own squadron, just like Terry.
Jerb and Melkor instantly liked each other and they drank like no other in the mansion that day.

Our protagonist did quite well for his first impression, he even got challenged to a duel by the master of arms, after he had heard of War's defeat at the hands of young Melkor. Of course both Melkor and Sheathed Blade were quite too drunk to hold a proper duel so it was rescheduled. Terry, War, and Steel did take quite a liking to the Human over the past few days, he had guts, was quite capable, and he had manners. It was that night that Terry went to the boss and signed up Melkor for the horned Dragon mercenary association, as a member of his Squad. And so he finally belonged to the group.

The next morning was quite tough for our hero though.

"Goooood fucking, Jesuuus, what was that brown liquid? I never thought anyone could get so drunk!" He complained to no-one in particular.

"I'll never drink again." He stood up and took in his surroundings, most minotaurs had gone somewhere else or were cleaning up the mess they had made, the big hall was in quite a bad shape after the occasional roughhousing of tonight's activities. But worst was definitely the smell, the smell was quite bad. The scent of alcohol, sweat and vomit did not mix well together.

The boy took a look at himself and was quite surprised. "Where the fuck are my pants!? Oh god nooo..." he had feared the worst or rather the wurst.

He started to look for something to hide his magic sword. The Hall they were partying in just a few hours ago seemed to be quite massive. He had not noticed its entire scale before. The decorations were a bit strange, to say the least, these guys sure liked to stuff large predators and collect all kinds of weapons in their hall, Melkor ended up finding a pair of shorts that somewhat looked like his, only more torn and ripped, and kind of wet, ew. 'better than walking around with my junk out and about' he thought and put on his trousers to hide his shame.

He then sat down and poured himself some water. Shortly after he had found his pants, Terry walked in and looked at him with the kind of smile that would immediately piss you off.

"Well, well, it seems like you have finally awoken youngling. How are ya holding up?" He said with a laugh

"Oh shut up you old mule, I'm just not used to the strong liquor you guys have got, it's wayyyy too strong for me to handle right now, I've never drunk anything like it! Especially that brown stuff. What's it called again?"

"Brinsbury Whiskey, the best kind in all of Orin. Be grateful you could have any, some folk would kill for this stuff." His tone was quite hurt, maybe even insulted.

"Yeah alright, I'm sorry Terry. I did not think you guys were suckers for the fine stuff." Melkor said jokingly.

"Not a problem kid, you're a horned dragon now! We'll take missions again starting tomorrow!" Terry said gleefully.

"Oh that's right, I'm an official member now! When do I get my equipment?" He was quite excited about having some adventures with his new pals. How could he not? This was always the sort of life he had wanted back home, he envied the heroes in movies who would go on epic quests and fight grand battles.
For him, this was a dream come true.

"Right now, that's why I'm here to pick you up kiddo," Terry said. "We are heading for the armory, I'll buy you some new armor, but you gotta pay for the weapon yourself, that clear?"

"Chrystal sir!"

They walked through the place and had a little talk about the town. It was known for being a hive of outlaws, crooks, bounty hunters, mercenaries and other types of scum. "There ain't no one in this town who can't kill someone" that's how Terry phrased it.

The horned dragon association was the only Guild who was approved of by the town lord, Dreyfuss Rex, a corrupt ruler who did not give a damn about Dorne and ruled with an iron fist. He has quite a defensive force stationed at Dorne due to it being quite far away from the next big city and also near the border to the neighboring country, which Orin was apparently at war with, a country run by centaurs and satyrs or something, either way, Melkor didn't care.

He and Terry entered the armory and encountered Sheyla, a female griffon who ran this smithy which was also kind of a weapons shop.

"Terry what is that bird doing here?" Melkor asked him quietly.

"Never seen a griffon before have ya?" Terry whispered back "That's Sheyla, she runs the armory and happens to be the best blacksmith in town" He stated boldly.

"And you better remember it!" She said. She had a pretty gruff voice for something so feeble.

"Melkor, the newest member of the Terror assault squad, nice to meet you." Melkor bowed 'since when can birds talk? This place is getting weirder and weirder, what's next, talking magical unicorns?'

Terry interrupted his train of thought "The boy needs a weapon."

"How much has he got?" She eyed him up and down.

"About a hundred gold pieces." He pulled them out of his bag.

"That's about enough for some standard swords and maybe a bow, nothing special though," Sheyla said in an unenthusiastic manner.

"I have also got these rubies" Melkor proceeded to take them out.

"Now that'll get you farther, with that much you could have any weapon I have in store." She smiled at the sight of the shimmering gemstones.

"I think I'll have the finest sword you have right now." He said confidently.

The griffon walked to the back of her store and brought out a pretty big sword in a pretty unique style, with a nice handle to protect the hand and a shining silvery blade. Despite its design it is quite large and has a grip capable of being gripped by two hands.

It is indeed a beautiful sword made with passion. Melkor did enjoy looking upon it.

"This is my personal creation, it will cost you all your rubies and fifty gold pieces." She said proudly.

"DONE!" and so Melkor did indeed buy himself the finest sword in the shop, ready to be tested out.

Terry looked at him and smiled. "I hope you don't lose that thing, it was quite expensive after all but damn if it isn't impressive" he eyed the blade once more "We'll be going now feathers!" And so Terry and Melkor left, while Sheyla threw something after them, perhaps she did not like the nickname given to her by Terry.

After getting his new weapon, and meeting a new species, Melkor had already forgotten about how badly this day started.

"I really like this sword, I think it suits me." He commented towards Terry.

"It does, it is quite unique, so are you. By the way how do you like it here? Is this place much different than where you are from?" The bull asked "I imagine it must be quite...... difficult getting used to 'us' hehe, you did well last night though!"

"Oh shut up, I'm doing juuust fine. Dorne is quite like a few places back at home, though a bit smelly in comparison."
The Human started to look a bit downcast after thinking about home, it was a very quick change of pace and he never really said goodbye, he could possibly never go back and talk to his loved ones. He could never ever see her again.....

'I just have to forget who I was and I'll be fine I am Melkor now and I'll make the best of this new life, maybe I'll conquer the world or something haha.'

Terry seemed to notice the obvious frown on Melkors face, when an Idea hit him, "Haven't I promised you to teach you magic? I can evaluate your proficiencies back at the old magus tower if you want."

"OH sure, I totally forgot! Alright let's do some magic n' shit!" Melkor instantly perked up and swung his shirtless, now pretty firm body towards Terry, perhaps with a little too much excitement as he nearly tripped.

Feeling down was a daily routine back at home for him, he had not been the most handsome, he was quite short, not to mention all the vicious friendzoning he was a victim of. He was really looking forward to learning about magic, and getting new clothes, but mostly magic.

"Listen, Terry." He said.

"What is it kid?"

"I just want you to know how grateful I am for taking me in and everything, I've lost my people, my stuff, even myself in that desert, if it weren't for you I would have never made it. So thank you Terror."

Terry just looked at him and smiled, he had not expected such a comment as of now.
"Since when were you this gay kiddo?" He let out bluntly.

"Fuck you old man," Melkor replied with a smile.

The early morning has turned into an afternoon by now, and it has come that all the leftovers were eaten, the last cups were drunk and even the tiniest bit of remaining vomit was cleaned from the halls. Melkor made a lot of plans deciding what to do with his magical powers and imagined where his true potential would lie within this world.

He also made plans to get a new set of clothes tailored, his pants were gross and his shirt just a torn piece of cloth by now.

Melkor gazes into the future with confidence and hope.
Oh if he only knew what would await him

Well to start this off, Melkor did not have the slightest idea of how magic worked in this world, for him, magic was about pressing a button and then seeing how the character on the screen did some magical stuff, so he went into this kind of thing without any prior knowledge of anything, although he had no lack of excitement that's for sure. He almost lost his cool on several occasions, I mean, he rarely kept his cool anyway. Overall he was just trying not to look like a little kid inside of a toy store filled with free stuff.

And so Mel and Terry walked towards the magical tower or as much of a magical tower as you could get within this shithole of a Mansion. One could describe this place as dusty and run down, looking at the old paintings and the cobwebs all around the place, perhaps one could even say it was forgotten at some point. Walking through spiderwebs, walls of dust and filth would certainly scare some people off. The human didn't care about all this though, he just wanted 'ze magicks' and he wanted to use them in an epic fuckfest of explosions and gloriousness.

'I really hope I get something cool, maybe dark powers! Or zapping people with Lightning!.....In time you will call me MASTER!' His thoughts trailed off, while he was grinning from ear to ear. Mel started to get a slight spring in his step, bouncing up and down, while doing his best not to giggle like a little girl. A few odd glances were all he received from his new teacher. Terry was, to be honest kind of awkward around the frilly human, he was really not the best at magic and most definitely not the best at teaching. He had spent many years studying the blade to such a masterful degree, that he didn't need magic to kill someone, so he used it very sparingly. There is an overall disdain towards magic in Dorne and the surrounding cities.

They climbed the stairs for a while, and soon found themselves at the top. "This is some tower you have here."
Mel said, while also trying not to let the Minotaur catch on that he had to catch his breath. A nod was all he got as a response though. He went on to look outside the window, gazing at the city down below him.
He was up quite a bit, at least thirty meters or so, luckily he wasn't afraid of heights. While looking down he also noticed that the streets were mostly abandoned, strange for such an urban town he thought. 'Well, I mean, could be normal for this region or this world I don't know their lives.' he shrugged it off and waited silently for Terry to open the door.

Quite a minute passed while Terry was looking for the keys to the door, and an awkward silence was unavoidable.
Then after a little while, the daydreaming human had heard a lock turning and the cracking of old wood, it seems Terry did find the required key and had opened the door while Melkor was thinking about his cool new magic powers.

As they went inside, quite a lot of rats escaped the room and startled poor Melkor, who cried out in surprise. "WAAah!" He let out a manly yell of manliness.

"You alright there kiddo?" Terry asked.

"Yeah, yeah sorry. Just slightly nervous and a bit pent up about this whole magic thing n' stuff hehe. Where I come from, there is zero to none of it and it is generally believed to be a myth, so you'll have to excuse my excitement, Terry. Are you certain I could use it?" The Human sheepishly grinned hoping for a positive answer.

There was a long sigh. "Kiddo I don't know jack about your species so we'll just have to find out." He stepped inside the mysterious room and lit a few candles with a match. It had been abandoned for quite some time it seems. "I and only a few others are the only ones who have any interest in the subject of magic so our old magus tower soon was abandoned. You'll have to excuse the spider webs and the many books lying around." He then found a chair to sit in and opened a very old looking book. "Here, this thing is called Magic for everyone." He coughed a few times and put on some reading glasses. "Take a seat son, this might take a while."

So Melkor sat down with high expectations.

"So basically, there are two kinds of magic users in this world, the channelers and the bound. The channelers have some sort of object or body part, from which they channel their magic. Unicorns for example, or changelings. The bound are you and I, the casters bound to the restrictions of their bodies and affinity for magic. Your affinity determines the magic you can cast. For example I have an affinity for earth and fire magic, that is a double affinity, not rare but most people only have one. Channelers are not bound by these restrictions though, because they can use their channeling object, understand?"

Melkor nods vigorously.

Terry just rolls his eyes and continues. "So to test your affinity, you have to place your hand on this." He pulls out a giant glass sphere from out of nowhere and puts it on the ground. "This will sense your magical energy and tell you which kind of magic you can use."

Melkor went forth and gulped for a second. "This is not going to hurt is it? I have a gut feeling that this could hurt." He turned around to face Terry who just took his hand and slammed it down onto the globe and immediately you could see sparks flying everywhere, as well as an electric sound that came from the orb.

Melkor cringed at the sudden forcefulness and he yelped as the glowing sparks went flying towards his face. Shortly after he opened his eyes again and saw that the orb was glowing in a crimson red, while being surrounded by small bursts of red electricity. Melkor just stared in amazement.

"Terry what does this mean exactly?" He tried to figure out which element could be related to such a pure red.

Terry just looked in disbelief. As he tried to get a better look inside the bowl, he scratches his beard.
"Judging from the Lightning and the clouds, this should be storm magic. But the color isn't right."
He just got up and started to look around in the massive assessment of books that were just laying around.
There had to be something related to this. Right?

As Melkor grew more and more worried and even annoyed, the orb started to shake, and the glowing and lightning started to intensify.

Terry came out of the pile of books, holding a particularly dusty one in his hands.
"Found something, that could help." He opened it and pointed towards a page, while also putting on reading glasses.

"The issue is simple, you are experiencing the rare phenomenon that your magic is fused," Terry says as he continues to point at the orb. "You clearly have an affinity for storm magic, but also for fury magic, so both of them, somehow fused together."

"So what you're saying is... I can shoot angry lightning?" Melkor looked confused for a while, but then his expression brightened again. "Angry lightning sounds Awesome!" He proclaimed.

Terry just sighed at the presentation of stupor unfolding before him. "No, dumbass it means that you both have storm magic, and fury magic, but both are connected and thus enhanced!"
He takes a breath and calms down, this time speaking with less power in his voice.
"Storm magic is the evolution of lightning magic and thus, is really powerful and can be used for offense. Fury magic is the evolution of rage magic and is very rare, it basically strengthens your body and enhances your strength, the angrier you get, the two are connected somehow, I just don't know what the effect will be." Terry shrugs and closes the book.

Melkor just looks like he has heard the most awesome news ever. Well, this was the most awesome news ever to him! He was a mage, with powerful lightning and stuff!!

"Oh god, I just don't know how to process this... How do I do magic exactly?"

"You start out by Imagining the desired effect of your spell, the next thing you do is assigning that spell to a word from which you shall release it, at least for your storm magic, the fury magic should activate on its own, now that you know of it. The power or effectiveness of your spell depends on your will or your emotions."

Terry raised his hand and focused. Melkor started to watch closely.
There was a glow coming from his palm, that grew bigger and bigger, then Terry said "TORCH," and his hand was ablaze with a great flame, that burned with passion.

"This is pretty much the extent of my magic power since I rarely use it, but you, you have potential kid." He smiled at Melkor.

Melkor was just amazed, and he started to grin widely. "I want to try." He got up from his chair and focused his mind...

He Imagined the lightning striking forward, in a powerful zap. As he felt it was ready, he yelled "Shock!" and the lightning went loose, or so he wanted.

What came out of Melkor's palm was little more than a cute, little spark, that singed the wooden floor a bit.
Terry wanted to laugh a bit but tried to hold it in. A few chuckles were still heard.

"Hey quit it, I'm just starting out, you prick." The laughing continued, as the minotaur in the room kept growing louder and louder.
"hehe... sorry. That was just so SHOCKING." and now he just fully went bananas and lost his cool. He was laughing like crazy now, how dare he? This actually made Mel angry.

"Fuck you, old man." Melkor hadn't noticed that his skin started emitting steam and that his body grew hotter.

"Whoa, there cowboy you should watch your temper." As Terry noticed his new pupil was steaming from his body, and emitting quite a bit of heat, he stopped his laughter and held his hands up defensively. "Calm down, I didn't mean anything by it."

Melkor was confused as to why the old man had started backing down until he saw his image in a mirror, and gasped in awe. 'I look handsome when I'm angry, lemme try something...' Melkor then turned around and fixed his gaze upon an old dresser, that was pretty much empty.

"What are you doing kiddo?" Terry asked worriedly.

Melkor just took a breath and raised his hand. He brought it down with superhuman speed, and the old wood of the dresser gave away beneath his strike. He also shouted something stupid while cleaving the dresser in half.

Upon seeing his new strength, Melkor was overcome with joy, and all of his anger instantly vanished.
"DID YOU SEE THAT??!!" He yelled with too much ecstasy escaping his throat.

"Yeah, that was awesome, but why did you shout...ora while doing it?"

"You wouldn't get it, Terry, that is reserved for people with good taste, who can also punch things."
He just smirked, knowing that reference was stupid, but he owned all of the references from back home, so he had to respect some of them.

"Okay... let's just go down and grab something to eat, shall we? You can train more than enough in your spare time, you've also got that duel with Sheathed Blade coming up tomorrow, so be sure to get ready."

Oh shit, he totally forgot to agree to duel the biggest and worst minotaur of them all, of course Melkor didn't think twice about the issued challenge when he was drunk. That which hath made him drunk hath also made him bold, and stupid. So he was dreading tomorrow.

Melkor just kept silent as he followed Terry in shame, oh what a day it had been.
And what a day tomorrow shall be.

So, Melkor has magic, it is also magic that can be quite powerful when used in the right manner, he thought about it all night, while also trying to conjure more than just a few sparks out of his hands.
To be honest, he was quite overwhelmed by the whole situation, he knew he wanted strong and awesome magic, so why was he so confused as to what to do with it? Yesterday had been quite a lot to take in, him having some type of super rare magic effect, that no one in the whole association had any idea about, and the Whole affair of him having to fight Sheathed Blade. Not to mention the god awful food that evening, he absolutely despised Brussel sprouts, and guess what, dinner was ALL Brussel sprouts. Overall, an interesting day for him, but also not too great.

He didn't get quite enough sleep either since he was a little overeager to master his powers. Of course, it's stupid to think that he can master it over night, but let him dream.

Other than the problem of doing magic right, was how to survive today, Melkor hadn't planned to be fighting again today, at least not against the master of fucking arms. So he woke up and immediately greeted the morning by punching a wall. He wasn't in super angry power mode, so it hurt quite a bit. "OW fuck." He muttered angrily. He glanced around his room a bit.

It wasn't as bad as you would think, it had some nice dressers, a few shelves for books and quite a lot of pots for plants he did not yet have. There was also a cozy bed and the fact that he didn't have to share it with one of his new brethren.

After waking up Mel decided to do some morning exercise, which continued for some time until he was exhausted and gasping for air. He got up and wiped his sweat with a towel, before brushing his teeth. Yeah, imagine how surprised he was to find out these savages cared for their dental hygiene.
"Man, I still don't know shit about this place."
He looked at himself in the mirror before taking a small razor out of a drawer.

Clean-shaven, and exercised, he put on the new clothes Terry gave him. They were way too wide for him now, but at least it was better than the naked alternative.
After putting on the rest of his new armament, and attaching his new sword to its scabbard, he went downstairs towards the main hall of the Horned Dragon Association.

In the dining area there was not as much commotion as he expected to be. Actually, apart from the five other people, there was only his new friend Jerb, sitting in silence.

"What's up big stuff," Melkor called out to him. He strolled over to the giant grey minotaur and sat beside him, with a plate full of corn and bread.
"Hey Melkor, what's up?" He greeted the human with a big smile, seems he was all alone until now.
"Nothing much just woke up, did some workout, you know. The usual. But what's going on here? Where is everybody? Isn't now supposed to be breakfast time?" He looked around again to confirm his suspicion.

"Well, most members have some type of job to do, or they are on assignments. My squad is currently being treated in the medical wing after that incident with the Griffins of west Dorne. Nasty stuff I tell ya, never ever steal a griffin's eggs, especially not the eggs of a group. Never seen anything move so fast in my life." He shudders and shakes, probably imagining the horrors he saw in that situation.

"I think, I don't wanna know about it." Melkor just took a bite out of his cob of corn. "Why were you stealing eggs anyway?" It just didn't seem wise to steal eggs

"Money of course, city consul Dreyfuss wanted those eggs so he could raise them for his troops." He took a mouthful of his food, which seemed to be some sort of stew then continued to speak afterward "They make great warriors if they are trained properly. Because of their ability to fly and their talons and stuff. A force with griffins is superior to a force without them. So he paid us about 500 gold for each egg we managed to deliver to him."

Melkor chocked after hearing the price. That was a lot of potential money from just one job. He had to cough a few times to speak again. "So how much did you get in total?" He eyed his grey friend with interest, while also trying his best to chew his food with caution now. He had no interest in dying to corn, at least not yet.

"3.000" Jerb answered nonchalantly while also continuing to eat without sparing the impressed Mel a glance.

The human just gulped, that was actually quite a sum. He imagined what kind of awesome gear he could get himself. He just had to make some money and train so he could live a great life. God knows he had no intention to stay in this shithole of a town, which was also in the middle of a bloody desert forever.

"Yeah, it was a good job offer, but quite the risky one. The reward could have been higher if you ask me." His gaze shifted over to Melkor, who was still deep in thought and stroking his stubble.
"Anyway, what about you? Has your team got any assignments yet? The Terror squad has always been great at causing chaos wherever they go. And you seem to be as at least as destructive as the other ones." He then smiled and gave Melkor a pat on the back that knocked him back into existence.

"Oh, yeah I guess so. Back home I was a simple Seargent who accompanied caravans and stuff." Melkor had to make all of this backstory shit up on the go since he had to have a believable story, he couldn't just do the old 'I lost all my memories' bit, although some of these buffoons would probably fall for it.

"This kind of work suits me a lot better I think. It's also a lot more exciting." He then gave Jerb an ambiguous look and clenched his fist.

Jerb then laughed with his thunderous voice that could rival that of any movie trailer voice ever. After regaining his composure after a few moments, the bull stopped and put his massive hand on Mel's shoulder.
"I'm just glad you took this change of pace so well shorty. I hope we'll fight alongside each other many times my brother." He then got up and began to strap his weapons back on, by god there were a lot of weapons.

"Well, I gotta go on my patrol now." He started to walk out. "WAIT!" Melkor called out louder than he wanted. "um, could I accompany you? I have to kill some time until my duel tonight, and I actually wanted to see the city and go outside for a bit, If that is ok with you." He asked kindly.

Jerb casually smiled and then gave a nod.

The sun shone brightly over Dorne on this morning, much too brightly if you asked Melkor. High heat was not something he was particularly fond of, especially when combined with walking and wearing thick clothes. The streets were actually not that active this time of day, of course, he saw a few patrols of the local diamond dog consul, but other than that, inhabitants were a rare sight. Even if he saw someone, he was met with either an intense stare of hatred or just plain confusion as to what the frick he was. The people he actually saw weren't talkative either, they mostly just sat in silence at their market-stands or just walked hastily down the street, only to make a turn into one of the many alleys and hidden passages that graced the city. Infrastructure was not something you could expect in Dorne, the place was a mess, confusing street layouts, organized as well as unorganized crime everywhere and the buildings just looked like they could fall down any moment. Dorne was a filthy place, and that was putting it kindly.

Melkor and Jerb had been walking for just five minutes now and already he regretted his decision of patrolling with him. He was particularly shaken when he learned that these patrols Jerb takes, could actually take multiple hours and because he would get lost without the big guy, the choices were to endure this boring stroll through filthy and unfriendly streets, OR get buttfucked by strangers in an alley.

Both options were awful in their own right but Melkor decided to follow the minotaur and keep walking with him.

"Sooo Jerb," Mel was trying to start a casual conversation. "how long have you been part of the HDA?"

The tower glanced over his shoulder and down to Melkor, while also maintaining his pace. "Well, I don't exactly remember when I joined, but I was but a young lad back then, about your height." He answered with a snicker.

"Oh haha, very funny you tall freak. You and that drunkard Sheathed Blade are the only ones that are actually taller than me so you must be an abnormality to the others." Melkor countered. He hadn't exactly noticed but he did seem a bit taller than he was back home, his arms and legs seemed longer than they have been, his whole physique also seemed... longer. He didn't think of it other than just his imagination or that everything in this world was just smaller than on earth. But maybe this strange dimensional rift or whatever it was, made him taller somehow? As weird as that sound.

Melkor was lost in thought, so he didn't manage to catch everything of the story his friend started to tell him.
"When I was a lad I ate four dozen eggs, every morning to help me get large. I just wanted to be the strongest guy around, it has been my dream and goal since I escaped my mother's womb. When the blazing heat of Orin touched my soft fur, I didn't cry no I shouted a warcry louder than a dragons roar." He told this with such intensity and passion that he lost himself in his story and didn't notice the merchants stand he walked right into.

A loud bang was heard, and dozens of nice pots and other fragile merchandise was shattered and spread all over the rough ground beneath.

Jerb just froze and opened his eyes. "Um, oops?" Melkor couldn't believe the destruction his companion had caused by just walking. He just bumped the stand and everything was immediately annihilated, it was honestly the most impressive thing he had seen in a long time.

The merchant behind the stand was smart enough to dive out of the way before the impact, otherwise, he maybe would have experienced the same fate as his pots. But now the guy was fuming. He stood up and Immediately started screaming and clawing at Jerb. The merchant in question was some sort of feline anthropomorphic cat with fine clothing and some jewelry.

"Oh fuck. Jerb, look at what you did. That poor cat has no more stuff to sell." Melkor tried to sound concerned but he couldn't help a few chuckles escaping his stoic expression.

"Look, sir cat. I am truly sorry for walking into your....uh your stuff, could you please stop ruining my clothes now?" He didn't sound as if he actually gave a fuck.

The cat guy spoke up. "You will pay for ruining my precious antique vases. I will kill you where you stand you buffoon." He didn't stop his clawing while speaking, he just went on and on. Jerbs clothes were really messed up now and his expression grew more and more annoyed.

"Ok, I tried being nice, but if you don't stop scratching me with your pathetic claws, I will break them AND your arms." He now looked down at the attacker with a menacing stare.

"You would have to catch me fir-" Before he could finish the sentence Jerb had already grabbed his arms.
He then gave a wicked grin, and looked over to Mel.

"What do you think Melkor? Should I teach this little kitty cat a lesson about manners?" He asked friendly, seeing Jerb mad was actually quite scary, not scary like a ghost or something paranormal happening, but actual 'run for your life scary'.

Melkor kept his cool though and just answered in monotone. "I don't care, go ahead." He did care, he didn't want to draw that much attention, but he also knew that it was not wise to deny Jerbs wish of breaking some bones, lest it might hit himself. That would be most catastrophic.

A sickening crunch resounded through the streets and shortly after, an ear-piercing scream of agony filled the air.
It seems our short-tempered friend has made short work of those puny feline arms. The sound alone was enough to make a grown man cringe. Melkor had luckily averted his eyes, so he didn't have to see that display.

The cat merchant now lay on the ground, still twitching and writhing in pain, while also mumbling that he'll let his assailant be burned on the stake, you know, the usual revenge talk. Though he was really hard to understand him with all the foam that was coming out of his mouth.

"Ok, had enough big guy?" Melkor sternly asked. It didn't have to come to this, of course, he knew Jerb was short-tempered, but this was a tad much.
His friend, however, was in a really cheerful mood, with a smile as bright as the sun. Weird. He turned to look at Melkor and just have a thumbs up, still retaining that bright smile.

"You know that this could have some consequences..."

'It definitely could.'

"Don't worry about it. He got what he deserved, I even apologized to that little shit licker. Ah well, I'm certain there won't be any trouble-" Jerb continued, starting to resume his march of doom.

'There is gonna be soo much trouble' Melkor just groaned internally and also continued to walk alongside his patrol partner.

Melkor had now been patrolling these streets for more than three hours, and Jerb was showing no signs of intending to stop anytime soon. After that whole merchant business, nothing of interest really occurred, aside from the few glances Melkor got from the guards that passed the duo from time to time. It was now around noon, so the heat got even more intense than it had been before, which also served to sour the mood of our human further and further.

"Hey...Are we gonna be done anytime soon? This heat is driving me crazy. Can't we at least take a break, I need some water or I'll die of thirst." You could hear in his voice that he had enough of walking these sheer endless streets. Whenever you think you've reached the end of a road, there was another turn into another road, which also led to more alleys and more roads. Fucking diamond dogs man, can't build cities for shit.

"Hang on you baby, we're almost done anyway, so let's keep moving. Any water you're gonna get here won't be drinkable anyway." The endurance of this guy was just astonishing. How he had been able to walk this far in this crazy heat, had been an enigma to the dried up Melkor. Then again, he was probably used to stuff like this.

So they continued marching. Onward and onward, with no visible goal in sight.

Overall, the experience was dreadful, the only saving grace was hearing Jerb tell all of his crazy war stories and ridiculous tales of his childhood.
He even claimed to have wrestled a dragon into submission, and that was only the second most unbelievable thing Melkor had heard from his friend. While complete bullshit, these stories were entertaining, and even somewhat educational.

Melkor had learned that there are indeed far more continents than the barren wasteland of Orin. There were quite a few, but the most interesting he had heard of were Pleona, home of the great jungles and Lizardfolk and Ursupan, which was known as the mountain land up in the far north, which was also home to many species, Including the griffins.

But indeed the place that left him the most baffled, was a continent called Equus. Apparently, the whole continent was pretty much ridden with kingdoms and principalities run by ponies. Melkor had seen and heard some shit in these past few days in this world, but this took the fucking cake.

"So you're telling me, that there are ponies, that run whole Kingdoms. Proper, organized kingdoms?" Melkor asked again to be sure.

"Well, I've never seen one myself. Word says they are not too keen on visiting diamond dog lands, especially this rotten continent. The whole place is at war actually, we're just in neutral territory."

"I still can't believe that these ponies have whole kingdoms and stuff. Crazy if you think about it. And what are they like? Do they walk on all fours or are they some sort of weird bipeds like the diamond dogs ore that weird cat guy back there?" Melkor's interest was piqued, if only a bit. This topic was by far not as entertaining as the other stories Jerb has told. But it was just interesting to Melkor, he had seen and known ponies back home, so how was it that they also existed here?

"Like I said, never seen one. They do say that they are pacifists who think themselves superior to other species. Assholes." Having said that, He spat onto the street to truly show his disdain.

"Yeah, they sound horrible from what you've told me, big guy. So... how long are we gonna keep patrolling for? My legs kill me and the sun will burn my skin if I'm not careful, not to mention this incredible thirst that I've built up this entire time. There doesn't seem to be any trouble around so-" He then suddenly felt a hand on his chest, that held him back from walking forward. It was Jerb who stopped his advance, and his glance was focused on the nearly empty street before them.
The reason for their stopped march was standing right before them.

"Well well, look who it is. The giant cow that attacked the young master." A group of the same race as that merchant earlier took up almost the whole street. They wore torn cloaks and scarfs that covered their faces, there were about seven, and every one of them had at least one weapon. This was not good.
The one that spoke before stepped forward and drew his dagger.

"So, the boss want's you dead, understand? The monkey can leave, he only wants you." He then went into a stance that seemed like he was ready to pounce.

'He did not just call me monkey' Melkor internally raged. How dare that pussy call him a monkey? Ape, fine yeah, he could see some resemblance. But he was not a fucking monkey.

"I told you there were gonna be consequences Jerb..." Melkor just said in a deadpan voice, while also exhaling through his nose.

"I know. I need to watch out whose arms I break next time." Jerb said, his voice showing no actual signs of regret.

Mel breathed in calmly.
"OOOOH YOU THIIINK?"