Gregory hated his name. The name Gregory felt old, like it was from the middle ages. Greg wasn’t much better. Greg was the name you gave innocent bystander number five. His middle name was Quentin. He didn't mind Quentin that much, but it was too long. So Gregory always introduced himself as GQ. He liked that name. It was short and sounded unique.

His day so far had been unique as well. The morning started out normal. GQ woke up in his normal bedroom to his normal dad. He got on his normal bus to go to his normal school. First period was study hall, so most students slept in but GQ didn't have a car. So he was stuck in study hall.

The teacher hadn't bothered to show yet. It's not like it mattered, there were only seven in the class right now. Definitely not enough people to cause trouble. He laid his head down to get some sleep.

GQ had settled into just the right spot for sleeping when his chair, and desk, disappeared. He fell straight on his butt. Embarrassed, he looked around for whoever had played the prank and instead found marble pillars and intricate ceilings.

He and the others in study had been summoned to another world. There was a lady that came to greet them, but she screamed at the blue guy kneeling in the middle of the room. She called him a demon or something, GQ was still getting over the shock of teleporting.

However, the spell the woman cast got his attention. A bubble was forming around her and GQ was not getting caught in a fight this early. He scrambled towards the door, barely jumping out as the spell finished and took anyone still in the room.

Apparently the woman was princess Anith Kitchonia and she had bravely sacrificed herself to banish the demon threat that appeared to prevent the summoning of GQ and the others. The one talking to them now was Grand Magister Ratha and she was partly responsible for summoning everyone.

The kingdom of Kitch was facing a threat never seen before. Creatures with strange skin, horns, and tails were attacking the citizens. Kitch had started to call them demons based on the terrible damage they inflicted. That was why they summoned the heroes. GQ and the others were destined to vanquish this evil and kill the demons.

There was something about the way the Magister spoke. Or maybe it was the way she moved her hands. But GQ and the others found themselves spellbound by the story. They all almost cried at the plight of the citizens. By the end, all of them were eager and ready to help defeat any and all threats to Kitch.

The Grand Magister only smiled, thanking them all so very much for coming to save them in their hour of need.

Gregory had finally had something interesting happen to him in his fifteen years of life. After the grand Magister showed him how to access his status, GQ threw himself into training.

He practiced sword techniques and studied his enemy. It turned out that pretty much anything that didn't look like a citizen of Kitch was a demon. The felt strange to GQ but the Grand Magister assured him of any doubts he had.

The training was hard at first and he wanted to give up, but every time the Grand Magister visited he would get filled with energy. He found that the others were the same. Casey was learning the bow, Sarah was taught all about how to heal someone, Linda was being taught tracking and other skills, and Daniel was learning how to use two-handed weapons. Casey made a joke that they were being made into a balanced party. Gregory didn’t really get it.

Soon the group was sent out around the kingdom to perform tasks for the various governors. They exterminated giant rats, killed goblins, and even fought off some demons. The governors were always grateful for the help, calling the group their, “Heroic Hammer.” Sometimes though, Gregory noticed that only the governors seemed happy about the completed quests. The Grand Magister made sure to ease any doubts he had at their weekly meetings.

Finally, the magister declared the Heroic Hammer ready. They sent them out on an expedition. A goblin king had appeared to the south, with a multitude of lords and knights. The Hammer was tasked with assassinating the king while Kitch would send an army to keep the lords and knights busy.

Greg and the rest were ready to take on the mission. They were heroes after all.

Azure woke up to the chirping of birds and a bright sun shining down on his face. He blinked and wiped at the corners of his eyes. A good night’s sleep felt amazing after everything, even if he was on the floor. Standing up, he saw that Lau was already outside. The Kupua was practicing something. It looked like a dance.

“He’s mimicking the trees.” Whispered a voice.

Azure turned and saw Liza next to him. “I thought it was a dance.” He whispered back.

The two watched for a few more minutes before Anith and Lin joined them.

“I wish he could join us after the next village,” Anith said. The words were almost a sigh. “Having an elf with us would be divine.”

“Didn’t he call himself something else? A Kupua?” Azure questioned.

“An elf is an elf, even if this one is more golden than others,” Anith stated.

Finally, Lau finished his practice and walked over to the group. “See you all slept well.” He said.

Everyone nodded. Lau moved past the group and back into his cottage. “Like said before. Can take you over to the village outside the forest. It is a long travel, so everyone must be sure to prepare.” The tall man grabbed woven baskets and leather bags. Handing them out, he directed each person to forage for berries and other edibles. He made sure to show everyone what was safe to eat beforehand.

Most of the day was spent collecting enough food for the journey. Lau wanted at least a week’s worth of food in case foraging along the way wasn’t enough. By the time he was satisfied, the evening had arrived.

“God I’m covered in sweat and I’m still wearing my school clothes.” Griped Liza. Her clothes used to be a clean t-shirt and cream-colored pants. Now her pants were smudged with dirt and the shirt had even ripped on the bottom.

Lin wasn’t doing much better. He had worn a t-shirt as well but had blue jeans instead. Now his shirt and pants were covered with grass and berry stains. Anith had worn a white dress, which was now marked in multiple colors. Azure noticed that her hair at the ends was starting to curl. He counted it lucky that he had such durable clothes now, even if they itched a little.

With the food collected, Lau separated it all into bags. “Everything is ready. Will follow the stream for as long as possible and then fill these when leaving it.” He held up something that looked like a deflated bean and was a yellow, fleshy color. It looked like Anith wanted to complain, but she held her tongue. With no other issues, the group finally set out of the forest.

Travel was slow, especially since no one except Lau and Liza had done any extensive exercise. Lin and Anith kept wanting to take short rests. Lau wouldn’t have let them if it wasn’t for Azure. The man had no stamina at all. For whatever reason, his body would not allow him to do more than half an hour of physical exercise before giving out. His muscles would shake and Azure could no longer control himself. Luckily, whatever caused it would go away after a few short minutes of rest. But the constant stopping and starting dragged out the journey.

Along the way, Anith taught Azure, Lin, and Liza about the world. She told them about how Kitch sat between two kingdoms. The first was Chakka, home of what Anith called Treemen. Lau interrupted at this and said Chakka was home to the Kasha, people of the sacred grove. Both he and Anith then talked about how the Kasha built wonderous stone buildings around immaculately kept forests.

The second kingdom bordering Kitch was the land of Ryum. Anith called their people Goblins, and they built wonderous cities into the hills and mountains on their land. Lau called them the Muuki and told of how they were great whistlers and miners. Much of the metal and stone they mined went out to Kitch and Chakka. The village they were heading to was part of this kingdom.

Finally, Anith talked about Kitch. The kingdom was at the end of the land, surrounded on two sides by great waters. On their left grew hills and mountains, which led to Ryum, and on the right was Chakka and the great forest. The three kingdoms enjoyed an easy peace, as each had their own threats on other borders. Kitch had to deal with pirates and now the demons from overseas. She then went on to explain how the demons threatened all life and had insidious corruption powers that enslaved the minds of those around it if given enough time.

Azure was suspicious. As Anith explained more and more it became clear that only the elves seemed to be immune and only they were attacked. As such elves had become important figures in the kingdom. Nobles would hire them as advisors and many were given other positions of power. It all sounded amazingly convenient for the elves.

As Azure was pondering this, the forest started to clear up. The group was now heading into Ryum and the small village. As they looked up to the blue sky, a black smudge of smoke marred the landscape. Their eyes followed the pillar downwards, where in the

distance sat a smoldering village.