Michael Blackwood

The walk to the dining hall was a peaceful one. From what I could see, Skylar and Rebecca were drooling over each other's outfits. When I looked over at Dylan, Calvin and Levi, they all had expressions on their faces that indicated they were excited to eat dinner with an actual princess. I, however, followed close behind, unable to think of anything to say, and lowered my gaze.

“Dinner with a princess, huh? Dylan, do you think Levi is gonna try and flirt with her like he flirts with girls back home?” I heard Calvin say. When I looked at him, he was smirking.

“Honestly, I’d be surprised if he didn’t try to, considering how he can be sometimes,” Dylan responded with a small chuckle.

“C'mon guys, give Levi a break. Besides, it’s not like the princess would ever flirt back,” Rebecca said over her shoulder, stifling a laugh, then looked at me. “What about you Michael? How are you feeling?”

I met Rebecca’s eyes, and answered quietly.

“Yeah this is all… exciting, I guess.”

I noticed Skylar slow down a bit to match my own pace, look at me, then spoke.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be ok. I promise you.”

As we continued walking down the hall, I proceeded to look around. The walls were lined with torches. They weren’t lit by fire, but what looked like pure energy. They cast an otherworldly glow on the walls. It made this whole situation feel just a bit more alien to me.

When we finally entered the dining hall, I let out a gasp. When I looked at the others, they had also opened their mouths in awe. The dining hall was a large circular room, with a domed ceiling. Just like the hallway, torches lined the walls, lighting the room. In the middle of the dining hall, sat a circular table with 7 seats around it. Sitting in the seat furthest from the door, was the princess herself.

As we finished entering the room, the princess stood. She was wearing a gorgeous white dining gown, laced with golden lines making patterns throughout and was a sharp contrast to her jet black hair, which made her otherworldly beauty stand out even more.

“Welcome to the Grand Spiral Tower everyone,” she started to say. “Please have a seat wherever you feel most comfortable. Michael, I would like for you to sit next to me, if that's ok.”

“Um, yeah sure,” I replied sheepishly. “If everyone is ok with that.”

I looked around at everyone, who all nodded in agreement. As I did, I caught a glimpse of Rebecca giving the princess what seemed to be a forced smile.

As we sat down, the princess spoke again.

“Tonight for dinner, the staff working in the kitchen prepared a luxurious meal. We will start with glazed grot fruit slices, then grilled spotless cow tenderloins served with seared vegetables for the main course and finally for dessert, we will have creamy milk flavored ice. All of which are very rare delicacies in this part of the country.”

I looked down at my plate, and bit into a glazed grot fruit slice. As soon as I did, I realized that it tasted almost identical to a combination of both apples and pears. It was sweet, but also had a hint of bitterness.

When the main course came out a couple minutes later, the room was suddenly washed in the scent of meat, spices and herbs. Some of which smelled familiar and some which didn’t. None of us said anything as we were served our food, and I ended up picking at my food, even though I thought I was hungry. After about a minute, I noticed the princess glancing at me through my peripheral vision.

She then sat her fork and knife down on the table.

“I’m sure the six of you have plenty of questions,” she said. “Please, do not be afraid. Ask as many questions as you like and I will do my best to help you understand.”

We all shared nervous glances before someone finally spoke. I recognized the voice as Levi’s.

“Ok, care to explain just what the hell a ‘thread’ is?”

I saw Skylar shoot him an annoyed look.

“Levi, don't be rude. We may not be on Earth anymore, but that doesn’t mean you can be disrespectful.”

“I can assure you, it’s quite alright,” the princess said with a small laugh. “It’s not everyday people are summoned here to our world and I’m sure the six of you are far more confused than your attitudes may suggest.”

I looked at the princess and she gave me a small smile.

“You asked what a thread is,” the princess looked at Levi. “Everyone in the world of Solmorne, the world you are now in, is born with an affinity to a specific thread. Think of it as a tether. It means that your soul has a natural alignment to a specific thread and ties each individual to the universe. Each thread falls under one of five domains. Genesis, Entropy, Energy, Continuum, and Psyche.”

She paused, looked at each of us individually, then continued.

“These five domains, and by extension, threads, define the structure of our universe. When one can harmonize to their thread and awaken it, they are granted the ability to use it in a way similar to what you might call magic. These people are known as ‘Thread-Weavers’, or just ‘Weavers’ for short.”

She waved her hand over the table, and glyphs made of white lines started hovering slightly above the table's surface.

“These are some basic depictions of a few threads. Some give you control over fire, or ice, and even body enhancement.”

Calvin asked the next question.

“So everyone has a natural affinity for a specific thread. Does that mean that’s the only one they can use?”

The princess smiled at him, and nodded.

“That’s a good question. Everyone has a natural affinity to a specific thread. Because of that, it is impossible to use another thread, as everyone only has one affinity.”

Dylan raised his hand next.

“You said every person here is born with a natural affinity. We weren’t born here, so why would any of us have one?”

“Even though none of you were born here, a thread tied itself to each one of your souls the moment you were summoned through the rift.”

I felt my face brighten a little at hearing this.

Then, she spoke again.

“Although in Michael’s case, I can’t be too sure that he’ll awaken his.”

She looked directly at me, making direct eye contact.

“You weren’t supposed to be summoned at all, and because of that, you might not even be able to awaken your thread,” she said. “The last time people were summoned from another world was over a thousand years ago, so as far as we know, something like this has never happened before, someone being accidentally summoned that is.”

I looked back down at my plate, unsure of what to say to this.

“So you’re saying that I might not even be able to join my friends. It would be too dangerous,” I managed to say.

“At the beginning, I will grant you permission to accompany them, but only on missions that I know you’ll be able to survive. Of course, if a mission seems to be too dangerous, we will make sure that you are taken care of at the castle. And that’s only if you don’t awaken your thread.”

I looked back up at her.

“So if I awaken mine, I’ll be able to go with them?”

“Yes of course,” she then looked at everyone else. “The test each of you will undergo tomorrow will determine which thread has attached itself to you. And after identifying which one each of you possess, we will awaken them so you may start training.”

“Hold on, you’re saying that we can’t even use our threads yet?” Levi started to raise his voice.

“Yes, that is the case. Many people in our world never awaken their threads. Those who do, do so through meditation. This is also known as ‘Harmonizing’ to your thread. Once awakened, the person's level of harmonization is tested, and depending on how much they can do, puts them into a certain class. However, their level of power is stagnant. Unchangable. This is what makes the summoned heroes different. Because the summoned heroes are chosen by the gods, not only are their threads far more potent, but they will always possess the ability to grow in strength.”

She then took a breath.

“Once your threads awaken, we will do everything in our power to help strengthen your harmonization as quickly as possible.”

I heard Rebecca speak next.

“So not even you know which threads each of us have?”

“Yes, that is correct. threads attach themselves at random. You could have a father who can control lightning, while your mother can control metal. However, that doesn’t mean you’d have one or the other. Threads don’t rely on bloodline.”

“What exactly will these so-called tests consist of?”

I looked at Skylar, who had been silent up till now.

“Tomorrow morning, the six of you will be escorted to the testing chambers. There, the test each of you will take will consist of meditation,” the princess said in reply. “You will look within yourself and try to sense the thread bonded to your soul. From there, you will connect with it, and it will awaken. And when it does, markings will appear on your body. The bigger and more complex the mark is, the stronger one's harmonization. For most people in this world though, they are never able to connect with it, therefore their thread never awakens.”

“What if one of us isn’t able to connect to it?” Dylan asked.

“Because you were all summoned here, it is impossible for any of you to not awaken your thread.”

Then finally, I asked a question.

“Because I was summoned by mistake, does that mean there’s a chance I won’t be able to awaken my thread? And if that’s the case, is there even a way to tell which thread I have?”

“For the first question, I’m not entirely sure. I could say that because you were also summoned, albeit by mistake, you would still awaken yours. But you being summoned is unprecedented, something never seen before in this world. So I have no clue what will happen. And as for the second question, even if someone doesn’t awaken their thread, it still gives off a unique energy reading that determines which thread is bonded to their soul.”

So there’s still a chance that I’ll get to help my friends.

After that, dinner continued normally. None of us had any more questions to ask, and the conversations between us became more natural. I started to eat a little more, but I still didn’t have much of an appetite.

“I must say princess, the dress you’re wearing looks absolutely stunning on you.” Levi said playfully.

Skylar gave him a look, which I noticed looked like she might’ve been jealous.

The princess chuckled.

“Why thank you Levi. I’d be lying if I said you didn’t look quite dashing yourself,” she turned to the rest of us. “That goes for all of you though, not just him.”

I laughed at her evasion of Levi’s flirting.

After the main course, dessert was finally served.

So this is milk flavored ice. It kinda looks like… ice cream.

I took a spoonful and tasted it.

Yeah this is exactly like ice cream, just a slightly different texture.

“Wow this is exactly like ice cream, don’t you think Michael?” Rebecca said, and I noticed her looking at me.

Can she read my thoughts all of a sudden?

“Yes actually, I was just thinking that.”

The princess looked at Rebecca curiously.

“Ice cream?”

“Yes, it's a dessert from our world that is very similar to this. Except it comes in a bunch of different flavors. There’s chocolate, mint chocolate chip, and a lot more.” Rebecca said excitedly.

“Very interesting. We may have to experiment with multiple flavors in the future.”

After dessert was finally finished, the princess stood up.

“Thank you everyone for attending dinner tonight. Tomorrow morning, you will be taken to our test chambers, so please be sure to get a good night's rest tonight. I will be overseeing all of your tests. Especially yours Michael. I’m very curious about you indeed.”

Rebecca let out a small cough.

I saw Skylar shoot a glance at her, as if she knew what was currently going through her mind. Rebecca looked over and gave Skylar a small smile, but I had no clue what she was saying to Skylar with that expression.

“I’m sure you all remember your way to your rooms. Once you become more familiar with this place, you will no longer need attendants to escort you around. Goodnight everyone. I’m looking forward to your tests tomorrow.”

With that, the princess left the room.

Calvin spoke up.

“Well then, shall we get going?”

He then stood up, and we all followed him.

——————

After I had returned to my room, I struggled to fall asleep. I was extremely nervous about the following morning.

I don’t even know how to properly feel about this entire thing. Skylar said that no matter what happens, I’ll always be a part of the group. And yet, I feel so… isolated.

“I just have to believe in Skylar’s words. I’ll do my best to continue fitting in. Even if I don’t awaken my thread,” I said out loud, even though nobody was listening.

Skylar’s words earlier that night definitely helped to reassure me, and before long, I began to relax, and felt my eyelids get heavy.