Mike was walking through the woods near his house while listening to Elvis's "Fever" when a hissing noise suddenly started in his headphones. The volume spiked quickly past discomfort into pain. He ripped them off but the hissing didn't stop, it grew louder. His head darted around to find the sound he froze. The forest that had been there seconds before was gone. In it's place was white, sizzling energy, coiling and looping all around him. The hissing grew became a howling storm of white noise and looping energy whirling faster and faster.
Then as suddenly as it began, it stopped. He fell to the side and landed in a heap on what turned out to be an animal fur. Getting up slowly he took in the space around him.
He was in was a tent that looked straight out of Aladdin. It's tan canvas glowed with the sunlight outside and arched gracefully down from the tent poles. The ground was a dusty brown or maybe compacted sand. There were two people in the tent with him. They sat cross-legged on their own furs, observing him. The tent was sparsely furnished with only a flat tray with a simple tea set set in it's center.
The two people were an old man and a beautiful woman. The old man's wrinkled face and small frame seemed to put him in his seventies. He had a thinning beard and sparse hair on the sides of his head. He was staring at Mike with an intent look of curiosity. The other person was an extraordinary and beautiful woman who could be no older than 30. She had long, wavy, silver white hair that parted to show her distinctive features. Her eyes were a colorless blue that seemed almost grey. Her expression was one of complete exhaustion though she was also staring at him as if, well, as if he had appeared out of thin air. As Mike took her beauty in he noticed she was shaking slightly and a sheen of sweat covered her skin. She stared at him and seeming to be analyzing every inch of him.
Mike's eyes darted from one to the other as he tried to understand the new setting. The old man glanced at the woman before raising a hand in a half greeting half calming gesture.
"Welcome, hero. We hope the summoning was not too difficult for you?"
"The summoning? Where the hell are we?"
"Young man, you have been summoned to the land of Auroch"
Mike took this in without blinking. It seemed just dumb enough to be real.
"You summoned..me? Do you have a database that needs to be organized? An LLM that needs to be trained?" Mike's voice cracked despite himself.
The old man nodded slowly but turned to the woman instead.
"Ezra, the summoning has exhausted you, why don't you go and rest while I explain things and show our new guest around?"
"I should really test the hero's abilities.." She grimaced.
"But I don't think I could even make a flame right now.."
She got up slowly and shakily walked out of the tent. As she turned around and walked away, the view of her hips and ass swaying as she walked distracted Mike from the old man's words and as she bent over to exit the low canvas door, the curve of her ass pushed against her thin green wrap, confirming it's round perfection.
A few seconds after the ten's flap closed the old man cleared his throat.
"*Ahem*" "... I believe I was explaining the reason of your summoning?"
"Oh sorry I was just-"
"No need to explain, young hero." The old man smirked and continued as if nothing had happened.
"My name is Borix and I am the tribe's chief. You come from a land far away no doubt, with it's own problems and wars. But we have been summoned to help us with ours"
Mike remained quiet.
The old man raised an eyebrow "You don't seem too shocked. Have you been summoned before?"
"No, but.. let's say my world has some experience with this scenario" Mike said this while rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Wonderful wonderful! We may survive after all with such an experienced hero!"
He continued without pause "We may be the last tribe of humans in the world. We have been living in the desert to hide from the beast men and demons for many years. There used to be entire kingdoms of man, generations ago. But now it is just us. We were ambushed two days ago. Lynx men attacked our tribe as we were traveling to the summer plains. The men of the tribe stayed to hold them off as we escaped. They were supposed to meet us here but it has been two days. I fear they are all dead"
Mike swallowed "There are no more men?"
The old man sighed sadly. "Only a few old men like myself, and the few children. We fear the Lynx men could find us soon, and with the tribe defenseless I convinced Ezra to attempt a summoning. Although she is not powerful enough to summon a legendary dragons layer, we hoped that the summoning might bring us someone who could deal with a pride of Lynx men.." He looked hopefully at Mike. "But we can talk about that once Ezra has tested your powers. Let me show you around the camp."
They stepped outside and walked through a camp which was made of a dozen similar tents laid out in a rough circle. The women and children stared at him expressionlessly. There were women of all ages as well as some thin children held tightly by their mothers.
Borix introduced Mike to a few others in the tribe but Mike was lost in though.
Stuck in a world where humans are hunted to extinction, with beast men on out heels. My only hope is these magical powers I might have. But shouldn't I know, if I have them?
Noticing Mike's mind wandering Borix offered Mike a small tent in which to rest for the night.
The next day Mike was woken by Borix who had brought two bowls of some kind of grain porridge. It tasted of grass and flax seed. Not unpleasant, but a far cry from the bacon sandwich he would have preferred. The poridge was sweetened by some dried fruit. As they ate together Borix talked. "Today we will need to test you to discover your abilities. You may have talents you never had in your own world, Ezra will take care of that."
Mike entered the tent that Borix had pointed out and found Ezra sitting cross legged on a fur once again. She was as beautiful as the day before, but seemed rested this time. Her wrap showed tantalizing hints of the shapes inside. Her feet were bare and she was looking at him with an impatient stare.
"Uh hi, I'm here to do the test?"
"I know why you're here. Sit down" she gestured in front of her.
He sat down copying her cross legged posture clumsily.
"No, closer, we'll need to hold hands"
He shuffled closer until their knees touched and his hands were in hers.
She closed here eyes and he felt a surge of warmth and energy flow from her hands into his and then through him.
It was warm like sunlight and paradoxically also like the first sip of fresh water on a hot morning.
He felt the power moving into him, searching, seeking and finally moving back into his arms, hands, and then out into her fingers.
Then she let his hands go.
Some traces of energy remained, swirling slowly inside him but her power was gone. The lack of it left him cold.
"It seems you have no magical ability" She said bitterly, then brought her hands up to her face and rubbed her cheeks and forehead, disappointment visible. "I knew it. In my heart I knew I wasn't powerful enough. But I needed this, we needed someone who could turn the dark wind that is blowing us off the face of this world"
Mike sat awkwardly in the silence.
Finally she sighed. "Well, maybe you might still help us"
