View The Island of Cirantha Here

This is the first book of my series “The Forgotten Tale“. A MASSIVE story that spans seven books and one prequel. The story follows a group of heroes who have entered (isekai style) into another world to help save them from a threat they aren’t equipped to defeat. The journey is filled with triumph, loss, victory, death, grief, and resolution. You won’t regret it!

Chapter 1

Winds swirled in every direction as the sky resonated astral energy and projected the colors of the galaxies across the plane. The ground was flat and spread out 100 feet in every direction before falling off into the void underneath. Despite looking like the wind should be ripping everything apart with turbulent force, the air in the direct cavity was still. Mathius sat in wait as seven individuals stepped out of portals that originated in various locations across the realms.

Stepping out of the first portal was a giant man whose skin was as black as obsidian. He had cracks that seemed to spread all around his body and emanated a faint bluish glow from within. The glow was most obvious from underneath his breastplate. His eyes were a little hazy, almost giving him the appearance of blindness, but his darting glances from person to person indicated that couldn’t be true. He wore heavy plate armor and wielded a giant maul in his hands.

Stepping out of the second portal were three individuals. It was clear they knew one another well enough as they all arrived as a group, but none of them were remotely alike. One was an older elven wizard. He was skinny in stature but stood with pride and poise. He wore nothing but some simple robes to cover his body. He had a staff fastened on his back that was jet black and resembled a spider at the top. He held a separate bluish staff in his right hand and tucked a wand behind his tall pointy ears for quick access. The only other thing he had on him besides a satchel to carry his goods was a wooden spoon on his hip that he seemed particularly fond of.

The second person to step out was a demonic-looking devilkin. She only measured around five feet tall, but she was mighty. She wore hardened armor, and on the center of her breastplate was a faint embossment of a dragon. She carried many weapons, a greatsword on her back, a longsword in her left hand, a shield in the other, and a small crossbow on her hip that she would use if she could not reach her enemies. Her tail reached out behind her and two horns curved out from the top of her head. Her devilish looks were offset by the softness of her eyes and her approachable demeanor.

The final person to step out from the portal was a dragonkin. He was a roguish type, wearing a hood over his head and walking partially hunched over as if to be sneaking around. He had a short bow wrapped around his body for easy access and two blades sheathed on either hip. He carried a mace in his hand that he held in front of him like a torch as it emanated light magically. Under his hood were the eyes of a serpent, and his head resembled that of a snake with dragon-like scales along his body. His fingers had small claws at the tips in place of fingernails and his breath fumed with a hint of acid on each exhalation.

From the third portal stepped a fierce-looking man. With a decorated spear in one hand and a shield in the other, it was evident this warrior had seen a great battle. The hide of a dragon that he wore on his body was proof of that. Aside from his face, his skin was shallowly covered in a dense fur that could repel water should he find himself submerged. As he stepped out of the portal he looked to his right and saw the other four people, then quickly looked to his left as two more portals opened.

From the fourth portal stepped a slender elven woman with long white hair. She carried a bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows on her back. She also had a silver-furred direwolf accompanying her with every step. She wore what appeared to be furs harvested and fashioned herself, and they looked warm enough to heat her in the coldest of winters. Her eyes were a deep blue and she carried herself confidently as she entered.

From the fifth and final portal stepped an elemental-looking man. He had lived for many years, more than most could dream of, but still looked like a young adult. His skin radiated the energy of the seasons as he looked around at the others in the area. Leaves hung from his armor and wore a fresh shade of green that breathed life into his aura. He had a spear strapped to his back and held a sickle and shield in either hand. He smirked as he looked around at the various people before him and spoke with a thick accent as he said, “‘Ello there.”

“I know you all might be very confused, but I have pulled you here to me to make a request,” Mathius suddenly spoke, his voice projecting ethereally as though it were echoing from every direction.

Mathius stood in front of the group, a ghostly outline of his real self, projecting himself into their plane of existence. He was translucent, and glowed with a bluish hue, but was visible to everyone and meant them no harm.

“My world is in danger, and I need your help,” Mathius continued. “You’ve all come here for different reasons, from different paths, and have different goals, but I gathered you here because I think you can help me.”

The seven warriors listened with hesitation but were receptive to what he was saying. They kept an open mind and waited for him to finish.

“A great evil has descended upon my world, and I feel we are ill-equipped to combat it. We have successfully fought off many great evils, monsters, and catastrophes before. However, this time the menace is elusive. I have pulled you here to ask for your assistance in vanquishing this threat, for I fear my power alone may not be enough to stop it,” Mathius explained.

“What kind of threat are we talking about?” the man with fur asked with a lisp in his speech that made it difficult for him to make the ‘th’ sound.

“Someone has entered into Paxanthus and they are opening up portals… or rifts, into my world and different entities are coming through that my people are not equipped to deal with. These creatures that have begun to trickle through possess strength that the people of my world are not accustomed to, and I am afraid that we will all be overrun if we do not do something soon.

The power needed to open these gateways into other planes of existence is foreign to me. We Paxanthians have the potential for great feats of elemental strength, but the type of power needed to do this is outside of even my understanding. It took great focus to even catch you in this world between worlds long enough to have this conversation.” Mathius let a couple of moments pass before he spoke again and asked, “With what little knowledge you have of my world and the threat looming over my people, will you help me? If so, I will push you through to my world. If not, I will respectfully return you to your own. The choice is yours.”

The elemental man walked up to Mathius and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him gently before he placed his hands on Mathius’ shoulders and said, “Phe’d jamost glad untasen rema, demant se creatures emen umana world.”

Mathius had a bewildered look on his face but could assess that he meant well. He knew that these people were from various stretches of far-reaching planes of existence and that a plethora of languages existed that would be unknown to him, but he still was caught off guard.

The man chuckled at the expression on his face and said, “I’m sorry mate, I’m used ta speaking in me native language. What I said was, I’d be glad to help you, and the creatures of your world.”

The otter-like man smirked at the joke, recognizing with certainty that he was not in any hostile situation, he reached into his pocket and grabbed his favorite rock. It was a small round pearl that he began to idly swirl between his fingers as he watched everyone and listened quietly.

The elemental man let him go as Mathius nodded his head in thanks. He then walked over to the others in their group and said, “We might as well introduce ourselves if we’re going ta be tackling this here adventure together. Me name’s Elroven, me calling is ta help keep a nat’ral order for the creatures and beasts across all planes. I came here because I felt a great disturbance that beckoned me. What about you, big fella?”

The giant man looked at him with a scowl before he spoke, his voice deep and guttural, “My name is Fergus Mountainborn, and I will not be joining you.” He turned his attention back to Mathius and said, “I know not how I came to this place, but I am meant to be somewhere else and would like to return. My god has no use for me in your world. I would likely be more trouble than help.”

“As you wish, Fergus,” Mathius said as he held his hand out and a portal opened up behind him.

Fergus picked his maul up off the ground and looked around at everyone before he stepped into the portal, “May your enemies be crushed beneath your boots.” He then stepped into the portal and it closed behind him as he disappeared.

Elroven chuckled and said, “Well that was short-lived.” He then looked at the dragonkin and said, “What about you lizard man?”

The dragonkin looked up and spoke bluntly, “I am Nadarr, an expert thief.”

“Quick and ta the point, I like it,” Elroven chuckled again. He then looked at the devilkin and asked, “And you, horned lady?”

“I am Larissa, a devilkin from the underworld. I fight to protect those around me. We came through this portal because of a map that was given to us by a ghost. There used to be one more of us, but he stayed back with Raskr, a druid we met who asked us to kill a dragon,” Larissa rambled.

“Well, at least you’re familiar with us druids,” Elroven said, a little taken aback.

“Forgive my friend here,” the elven man grunted, “she gets a little carried away sometimes. But yes, our former companion was a druid, such as yourself. He decided to stay back and help out other druids to deal with a dragon cult.”

“Ah, nasty bunch, those dragons. Good on him though, that’s a respectable thing ta do,” Elroven stated. He then walked over to the elven man, immediately flicked his ears, and said, “These are cute, what’s ya name?”

“He rode a crocodile once,” Larissa blurted.

The man jerked his head back as he slapped Elroven’s hand away and scoffed, “My name is Professor Ludwig, I am a practitioner of the arcane and clearly the only mature one among my current company. And yes, I did ride a crocodile once”

“Well young one, that’s pretty impressive,” Elroven winked.

“I am 430 years old, thank you very much,” Ludwig responded proudly.

“And I am 520,” Elroven grinned.

“I see,” Ludwig said through a squint. “Nevertheless, I am interested in exploring this new world, seeing what wonderous things I can learn. We’re on board with helping.”

“I love ta hear it,” Elroven smiled. He then turned toward the elven woman and said, “And what might your na-”

“Let me stop you there,” she interrupted. “I will not be joining either.”

“Well, that’s no fun, why not?” Elroven asked.

“I have important matters to attend to, and I need to get there immediately. I am not quite sure how I ended up here instead of my intended destination, but I needn’t doddle any longer. So, if you would,” she said as she gestured to the area next to her and looked at Mathius.

“Of course,” Mathius obliged as he opened a portal. “I wish you luck on your journey.”

“Yours as well,” She nodded respectfully as she and her wolf stepped into the portal and vanished as it closed behind her.

“Well, hopefully you are not going to run off as well, furry one,” Elroven said as he turned toward the otter-like man.

“My name is Lutras, of de Sartuuk. I am a warrior, trained in battle. Dis spear is crafted from de very life of my rival after I slew him in combat. His poison lives to be my weapon and his hide now serves to protect my own,” He answered proudly as he placed his pearl back in his pocket. “I too am curious to see what lies ahead. I shall join you in dis new world.”

“Then it’s settled. We shall go and see ‘bout this problem of yours, but what’s your name?” Elroven asked.

“Forgive me, my name is Mathius. I am the Overseer of Paxanthus. When I send you through to my world, I need you to come find me. You will not be arriving where I am, but rather on an island northeast of the main body of Paxanthus. It is called the Island of Cirantha and is the only location where our world has a strong enough connection with the other realms to transport you. Look for a man named Aveena, he will guide you,” Mathius explained. “Are you ready?”

Everyone nodded in agreement and Mathius raised one of his hands. The winds that appeared to be moving around them suddenly became apparent as a gust began to rush over them. The world itself appeared to thin and stretch as visuals distorted in everyone’s eyes. Suddenly, everything went completely black, but they could feel themselves hurtling through space at relentless speed until everything went soft, and a warmth crawled over their bodies.