Chapter 1: It Begins With Hi...
Darkness, Darkness, and Pain are all I could remember. All that mattered. But that was before I woke up in this place. Oh forgive me, I haven't introduced myself yet, I am Dummkopf, Anthony Dummkopf at your service, or I will be as soon as I get out of this forest. Anyway on with my story.
The pain was the thing that woke me up., The only thing that I could sense around me. However, as I listened and waited, stretching my senses around myself, I heard more. The wind in the Trees and the swish and sway of the grass. I opened up my eyes, and the first thing that my brain registered was the bright light filtering through the green foliage of the trees above me.
“ What the hell happened to me?” I Muttered and even that much movement hurt. After a few minutes, I tried to move again and was met with little pain. As I gingerly got to my feet I noticed my surroundings. They reminded me of a forest I had visited when I was young with...someone. I couldn’t quite remember it exactly. But, before I could continue my pondering on what had happened, I felt a head-splitting pain that crashed upon my brain as if I had just stood up under a metal pole and smashed into it. I could feel the pressure constricting my Brain. As I clutched my head in pain and fell to my knees, I felt the flesh of my right knee and jeans slide smoothly through a blade until it hit Bone. I looked down and Screamed. I had knelt upon a sword and I could feel the blade slowly being warmed up by my blood. Collapsing to my left, I Felt the blade remove itself from my leg and felt the gelatinous ooze of both blood and cartilage slide out of the gash.
In a fevered haze, I clutched the gash. Thinking quickly, I took off my shirt and used my arms to tear strips of cloth from the bottom of my shirt, then used said strips to bind and bandage my knee. Soon with a final tug and a muffled scream, I finished binding my leg.
I could feel the adrenaline in my system, flowing through my entire body and a throbbing in my brain as I looked at what I had done. Without hesitation, I had stopped the bleeding and bound a wound worthy of a doctor's own work, in less than five minutes. As I tried to rise to my feet the pain that shot up my leg was too much and I collapsed again, thankfully not into the sword. Looking around I spotted the sword and actually looked at it for the first time.
Its edge was still partially covered in my blood, but even with that detail, the sword was beautiful. The blade was made of dark silver, titanium alloy, the cross-guard was small like that of a Katina's but in a spiral shape. The Hilt was made of purple-heart wood and had a midnight blue sapphire and emerald inlaid grip, and the pommel was made of a black metal that looked stronger than the blade itself, it also had a solid black metal chain of the same material and had two, inch wide rings in the chain, one in the middle and one on the end. The scabbard that lay beside the sword was just as noticeable. Embedded in the black leather there was a blood-red metal that was in a rhombus grated pattern.
I crawled towards the sword and sheath, picked up the sheath and used it as a cane to get up. Then after regaining my balance, I attached the scabbard to my belt and then reached down and grasped the grip. As soon as my fingers closed around the grip, time seemed to stop. A disembodied voice thundered through my head.
“WHO DARES TOUCH MY BLADE, THE BLADE OF ASHES !?”
“ Wha-Who-Who are you?” I shouted back.
“I AM ASHEN RING, WHO ARE YOU ?” Thundered Ashen Ring.
“I am Anthony Dummkopf...” and trying to remember any sort of achievement that I could have completed realized. “and I can’t remember anything about myself !” I replied lamely.
“REALLY? Now that is interesting, very interesting indeed, Is there anything that you can remember, Sir Anthony?” asked Ashen Ring in a quieter voice.
“Yes, I remember a forest that I visited when I was young with someone, or something, that and darkness.” Anthony solemnly replied
“Hmm, well I think that you were taken from your world by some very intense dark magic, based upon the trace residue still in your cells. Also, I can sense that you have an insatiable desire to protect others in your soul...But I can also sense that you have no idea how to do that, short of giving your life.”
“ WHAT?! How can you know that!!? No one could have known, I have never told anyone!” Screeched Anthony in befuddlement.
“I have just told you, I sensed your virtue, also you told me on another plane.” Replied Ashen Ring patently.
“In another plane, what the hell do you mean by that?... And, How on earth could you just ‘sense’ my virtue?” Exploded Anthony.
“My dear boy, you are displaced in an alternate dimension and are not on earth anymore, you are on the planet Equis. As for how I ‘sensed’ your virtue, I can see the magical potential inside your own body and soul through my own magic, and I must say, you have an inconceivable amount of it.” explained Ashen Ring.
“So you are telling me that I am not on earth or even in the same dimension anymore, and there is ‘Magic’ in this dimension.” inquired Anthony sarcastically.
“MM-HMM. AND YES THERE IS MAGIC.” replied Ashen Ring.
“Right, I believe that along with Flying ponies and The tooth fairy! And there is no such thing as MAGIC!!” screeched Anthony.
“THERE IS SENTIENT PONIES THAT CAN FLY AND SOME OTHERS THAT USE MAGIC IN THIS WORLD. THERE MAGIC, AND TO PROVE IT EVEN FURTHER I WILL ENCHANT YOUR NECKLACE TO TURN YOU INTO YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL AT WILL.” Declared Ashen Ring.
“Whatever. A black panther is my favorite animal. And when it doesn’t work I get to make you do one ridiculous thing in front of the entire world and if you are right then I will kiss your feet in front of everyone, and do one ridiculous thing of your choosing.” Stated Anthony
“ALRIGHT THAT SEEMS FAIR” agreed Ashen Ring in a smug tone.
It was at this moment that Anthony Dummkopf felt a shiver of fear runs down his spin because unknown on to him magic really did exist on Equis.
“NOW, I HAVE THE DESIRE TO RETIRE AND I THINK YOU MAY NEED THIS SWORD IN THE FUTURE SO, I FIND YOU WORTHY OF POSSESSION OF MY BLADE, AND SINCE THE BLOOD HAS BEEN GIVEN THE BLADE IS YOURS. YOU MUST PULL THE SWORD OUT OF THE DIRT IMMEDIATELY OR YOU WILL DIE IN TWENTY THREE SECONDS. UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, GOOD LUCK ANTHONY DUMMKOPF.” declared Ashen Ring, before time resumed to normal speed.
“Well that was weird, But what the heck” I muttered, “I would prefer not to die so ...” I pulled the sword out of the earth and felt a warmth and tingle in my fingers as if they had fallen asleep. It was heavy but not too heavy. I looked at the blade in my hands and noticed a reflection of the blade behind me. I spun on my left leg and came face to face with a creature that looked to be a manticore.
The manticore was easily five feet and had huge wings that were open to their twelve-foot wingspan. The lion head growled at me as I stumbled back. I started to walk back slowly, once I was a good ten feet away I spun around and started to run, every single step I took there was a throb of pain in my leg but thankfully not a crippling jolt of pain due to the huge amount of adrenaline in my system. However, that was not enough to hide nor stop the pain that burned across my back as the Manticores Claws sliced my back to ribbons. I heard the SHLEEK of the claws dig into my back and bounce off my false ribs in my back over my scream of pain. I swung my body around and with a yell of pain and furry cut the manticore’s neck and chest open with a mighty SHLAKE! With a giant gurgling spray of crimson blood I was covered from head to toe in the gore but before the beast died, His scorpion tail shot forth and stabbed me in the right thigh.
The beast fell to the ground with a thud and I pulled the tail out of my thigh with a wet squelch I could already feel the poison taking effect it was like a thousand bee stingers being stabbed into my leg at the same time as a thousand more were stabbed into my veins.
“ Shit, I really need to get out of here and get help now or I’m probably gonna die,” I swore I could also feel the strips of skin on my back burn as the blood slowly dribbled down by lower back and start to soak my pants in red splotches.
‘I WILL ENCHANT YOUR NECKLACE TO TURN YOU INTO YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL AT WILL’.
“That’s right the old dusty said that I can change Into a Black panther” and with that thought, I put the sword away and brought out my necklace It was a bronze shield with a green marbled stone set on it. I took the necklace in my right hand and ‘willed to’ become a panther.
The Pain that erupted through my entire was unimaginable as my muscles rearranged themselves underneath my skin. As they contracting and expanded the wound on my back started to gush and spray blood across the trees and forest floor behind me, while my bones broke and rearranged themselves to fit the form of a panther. When the process was complete I let out a feral howl and gazed into the dark trees.
My hearing and smell and sight were all enhanced and sharpened I could hear the twigs snapping a mile to my left, The sword was across my back and this made the gashes burn even more. Then a voice that screamed for help as well. Without a moment's hesitation, I bounded off in that direction. As I flew over the ground, I hoped I wouldn’t be too late and jumped over roots, lunged above the low hanging branches and on to the trees. It was amazing. It was like I was born a panther my entire life. As I climbed the trees in a pinball-fashion of jumping from one trunk to another, I was soon reaching the cries for help and jumped into a clearing where there were, to my surprise a group of wooden wolves, now surrounding me as I landed into the middle of their semi-circle.
I looked behind me to see six horses or ponies I couldn't tell, the blood loss was starting to affect my vision. I shook my head to refocus and I turned my attention to my stunned enemies. I Roared with all my might. It sounded like a dragon, If I do say so myself and then I touched the necklace with my paw and transformed back into a human, which didn’t hurt at all to my surprise. I heard six gasps of shock and horror from behind me as I drew my new sword and said
“ Come on then, Who’s first?” The pack parted for a much larger wolf that must have been the alpha. “So you want to start this off? So be it.” I lunged, Plunging the sword into its chest. The wooden wolf had some pretty ‘interesting’ claws I thought as they sliced and skinned my arms and shoulders as they left Long, thick splinters in my flesh, clawing fruitlessly as it gurgled ...tree sap? from its mouth and chest. Within moments it died and slumped off the blade with a sticky crunch.
“Who’s next?” I asked the remaining wolves. They all glanced at each other and then at the body of their leader and turned-tail. Running off into the underbrush. “Dam right.” I said as I turned to the six ponies, I put the sword away, and said “Hello, My name is Anthony Dummkopf, and I am at your service if you could tell me how to get out of this forest and to the nearest hospital.” before I collapsed to my knees and then faded out of consciousness.