I was sitting in an almost correct, yet unsettling, replica of a British entrance hall. Small details like the letterbox not having an internal opening, and the plastic light fittings being strangely matt rather than the faint gloss of plastic. And even, now that I touched it, the carpet having stiff bristles like a doormat rather than soft loops like real carpet.

Everything was wrong.

And was going wrong.

I looked up at the celling, and instead of spiky artexing there were ornate patterns and designs which reminded me of historical palaces. And the light bulb, that too, was wrong. There were no filaments, instead there was a glowing ball, which did not hurt to look at, housed inside a solid glass ball.

Alis nestled against me, clutching me as if she did not want to let me go. Her pretty freckled face wasn’t gazing at me, though. She was looking at Celameth. I wasn’t sure just what was going through either of their minds right now.

Aggard talking to me had not helped me.

In fact, she just made things muddier and less clear.

Now I knew just why Aggard was so lonely, and even though I had sworn to her I would be her sword, I realised now just how large the task I had ahead of me was.

Alongside that, I was torn about what to do with both Celameth and Alis.

Now I knew just what Celameth required of me. But being the staid, boring Englishman I was, I could not think about having a relationship with her just for the sake of her getting pregnant and then abandoning her. For me not to do that, I needed to have a full-blown relationship.

Maybe not marriage.

My parents had never married, neither had my sister. But I needed to build some stability into the life of our children. Especially if they were to shoulder the burdens of ruling.

Then that meant Alis would have to be left without me.

I knew I cared for Alis and could not really leave her. And I really didn’t want to leave her. Nor did I want to cause her harm. Which led Aggard to bring up the point that I really needed to effectively start a harem…

‘Hallvard, there is something I need to discuss with these two here. Would you be willing to give us some time and space?’

He glanced at Celameth and then nodded. His stoney face, behind the wild black beard losing the tension it held since he had entered the tower. Without saying anything, he rushed outside. The cold air clashing with the warmth inside the tower for a moment before the tower’s warmth devoured the cold air.

‘Please come upstairs. We should be more comfortable up there to have this discussion.’ Celameth said, pointing up the stairs which wrapped around the rounded wall.

I stood and headed up the stairs, allowing the two of them to follow me.

Upstairs, the carpet ended in a semi-circle, beyond which lay a wooden floor. The floor was simple planks as the other wooden floors I’d seen here, instead it was comprised of lots of shorter wooden tiles forming a herringbone pattern.

This herringbone wood flooring filled the entire circular floor, with the exception of where the stairs were.

Unlike most of the wood floors I had seen in this world, this wood floor had been polished until it gleamed. A series of multi-coloured spotlights shone down upon the centre of the floor. Hanging in the centre of the floor was an ineffective mirrored disco ball, as all the lights were pointing at the floor rather than at it.

Hugging the far wall of the tower, looking completely out of place, were three booths from an American-style diner. Complete with leatherette seating and laminated tables.

So this floor was a mixture of a disco hall, a sports hall, and a diner.

It seemed like they had seen lots of images from my world but not really understood what they were seeing. And, of course, they had no idea of how it all went together.

Up here there were no heaters, so the air was cooler than down in the hallway ground floor. Not that it was cold enough to feel cold, especially layered up with our winter gear and armour.

Without waiting for Celameth to tell me what to do I strode across the gym flooring, my boots thudding against it as I did so. I slid into the booth. What I felt was not the failing padding covered with vinyl leather. No, it was real leather and stuffed with a dense and comfortable filling. It really was comfortable and somewhat sofa-like.

The tables too were not the cheap laminated wood grained tables I expected. Instead, they were real wood, carefully sanded and varnished until the grains were not easily felt under my tapping fingers.

Alis tried to sit next to me, but I pointed to the other side. She slid in next to Celameth.

‘Okay,’ I said, before sighing. I rubbed my forehead. ‘The only reason I am alive, and here, is because of Aggard. All I have ever strode for is to ease her loneliness; to ease her pain. Everything else is secondary, even my own comfort.

‘I am alive because of her, and so I live for her. Which means I am more than willing to do her bidding. Even if her bidding is uncomfortable.

‘Alis, the reason I am alive, and in this body, is that Aggard needed this body. There is something special about this body.’

She hid her freckled face by looking at the table surface, letting her fiery red hair hide her from me. Next to her, Celameth’s cute unisex pale face looked straight at me. She was so unlike Alis. It did not help that her buzz cut flaxen hair was paler and less noticeable than Alis’ fiery red hair. It also did not help that Celameth had pointed elven ears.

‘Celameth, I understand you will soon undo the blessings Aggard has given you and change that body into that of a female. Just so that you could have children.’

Celameth nodded, not looking away from me. ‘You are not the only one who lives her life for Aggard. My long life has led to this moment. I shall forgo my title of the First Watcher and start the lineage of the Final Mothers.

‘Our time is almost over. You humans are the only children of the Younger Gods. Only Aggard remains of the Elder Gods, and she remains her as the sole Guardian of the Younger Gods. When the Younger Gods can stand without the aid of the Elder Gods, she too will go.

‘That is her destiny. That is our destiny. In the meantime, we have to purify and sanctify the Isles of Dunkeltal.

‘To fulfill our destiny we require one born of both Younger and Elder blood. That is you, Klarric. You are a child of the Fallen Gods. An Elder God who forsake their divinity and their life as a god. In doing so became as one and lived as one with humanity.

‘We require you, a Fallen, to take the mantle of The Fallen Paladin, to lead the crusade in cleansing the Isles from the cursed blessings of other Fallen Gods.

‘So please, Klarric, aid us. In the past century, you are the only candidate that Aggard has found. Time for the Isles is running short, the Cursed Blessing is spreading amongst isles which once were safe.’

‘If I was to do this,’ I said, talking as much to Aggard as Celameth, ‘would that mean that Aggard would be free to return to her loved ones?’

No answer came from Aggard.

Yet Celameth replied, looking down at the wooden table, ‘that is our understanding.’

I was not convinced by her evasive answer. Yet there was only one answer I could give: ‘Then, for Aggard’s sake, I’ll do what I can to complete the trials she has placed upon me.’

As I swore that I felt a gentle presence fill me with gratitude.

Now my direction had been set, a different difficult discussion about my future needed to take place.