That Time I Destroyed a Country as a Child E-Book

Tim A. Strache

• Herausgeber: novum publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 582

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

All James wanted was to study abroad. He never thought he'd die in the process, and certainly not from the common cold, no less! On top of that, a very strange entity sends him to a new world – with a shiny new body, a new name and new powers. Sounds good, doesn't it? Yes, but … He must do one tiny, simple task: Overthrow the Queen … while ensuring most of the country's populace remain unharmed. Follow him, as he sets out to use his wit and cunning, to trick his foes and use the Queen's own actions to his advantage. Join him, as he explores his powers, builds and destroys relations and uses his understanding of the people around him to play them out against each other in his fight against the Queen, her country … and his own conscience.

Leseprobe

Imprint

All rights of distribution, also through movies, radio and television, photomechanical reproduction, sound carrier, electronic medium and reprinting in excerpts are reserved.

© 2025 novum publishing gmbh

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[email protected]

ISBN print edition: 978-3-99146-931-5

ISBN e-book: 978-3-99146-932-2

Editor: Samantha Acker

Assist Editor: Edward A. Cantrell

Cover photo: Katalinks | Dreamstime.com

Cover design, layout & typesetting: novum publishing

www.novum-publishing.co.uk

Foreword

Special thanks to Edward A. Cantrell for linguistic assistance.

The Arrival

London. One of the wealthiest cities on Planet Earth and capital of the United Kingdom. Many stories have started here. Stories of brave men, of kings and queens and heroes and villains. This is none of these stories, for this story starts with an end.

***

James was not feeling good. He was feeling so utterly miserable that he couldn’t even be bothered to take off his clothes before going to bed. The symptoms he felt indicated that he had caught a cold, albeit far more potent than what he had read on the internet.

For a European, this wouldn’t have been much more than an inconvenience, but for James it was a major problem. He was merely studying abroad, and the change from the warm climate of South Africa to the cold rains of England had weakened his body defences. That, in combination with a few stressful months, meant that his immune system was on its rear foot.

Thus, as soon as he closed his eyes, he fell asleep, and, when he awoke again, he was no longer in his apartment. When he opened his eyes, he saw nothing but darkness around him.

At first, he thought that there might be a blackout, but then why didn’t he hear traffic? Sure, it was the middle of the night and thus traffic was relatively low … but this was London. At least the city centre should be busy, even at …

James realised that he didn’t know what time it was, so he turned over to look at his alarm clock. However, as he did, he felt like he was just wiggling in mid-air. He didn’t feel resistance from his mattress or the weight of his blanket. He also didn’t feel like he was rotating or moving any other way at all. Panic gripped him, and he slammed his hand down onto the mattress to see if it was still there, but his hand just continued on and on without being stopped. Next, he tested the blanket, by throwing his other hand down onto his belly. However, not only did he not hit the blanket, but he also missed his body.

He slammed both his hands down onto his belly, but they just continued on without resistance. It was as if his body no longer existed, as if he was no longer a part of reality. He crossed his arms over one another, continuing to stretch them out in opposite directions in the hopes that, at some point, they would inevitably block the other’s progress. However, not only did that blockade never come, but from his sense of location, he could actually tell when and where his arms passed through one another. The feeling made him nauseous, and the nausea was exacerbated when he stretched his arms to their maximum, and they reached not only through one another but also through his torso and the joints they were attached to.

James quickly repositioned his arms into a natural pose – at least as far as he could tell and gulped down his nausea. He forced himself to stay calm and tried to find out what was going on. However, before he could investigate anything, a voice suddenly spoke to him out of the abyss.

‘Greetings, James.’

James whirled around, looking in all directions in an attempt to spot the source of the voice, but around him there was only darkness.

‘Your feeble attempts at locating me are amusing, but entirely futile. You have left the material world, James. The concept of “location” does not apply anymore.’

James was a bit surprised at himself when he had very little issue with comprehending this concept. Though it left quite a few questions unanswered, it at least brought him certainty that he had died … from a cold.

‘Quite indeed,’ the voice told him. ‘It seems you are beginning to understand the situation you are in.’

James had to think twice about what the being just said. He could swear it was reading his thoughts. The voice chuckled.

‘That is correct. I am the ruler of this realm, James. I know everything that happens within it. From the arrival and departure of all the souls to every single tiny thought that passes through your mind.’

‘Ah,’ was all he could answer to that. ‘Well, I guess that means this is the realm of the dead, isn’t it? So, what happens now?’

He was surprised at how calmly he could say that. The news that he had died would probably drive another man insane … or would it? There wasn’t really a way for him to know since everyone who knew was … well, dead.

‘You are going to be reincarnated, albeit with a few alterations,’ the voice answered.

‘Alterations?’ James echoed. ‘What kind of alterations?’

‘You are not going to be reincarnated into your old world. You are also not going to be “born” in the biological sense. Instead, I will prepare a body for you to use, and I will grant you powers far beyond what would have been possible in your old home.’

James was taken aback for a moment and overwhelmed by what the voice said.

He couldn’t help but feel a minor surge of joy. Being sent to another world sounded like fun, even if a tad dangerous, but the promised powers should help in keeping himself safe. However, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed strange that he would be given such gifts.

‘What’s the catch?’ he asked, to which the voice let out another chuckle.

‘The “catch”, as you call it, is that I will give you a task to fulfil,’ the voice answered. ‘You see, in the realm I am going to send you to, there is a country. Said country is ruled by a powerful witch, who is worshipped by her subjects almost as if she is their goddess. This cannot be allowed to remain, so you were chosen to overthrow her rule. You may destroy her lands as much as you like and use whatever means you wish. However, that country’s population is to remain intact as much as possible, so keep your killing to a minimum. As for the other countries … you may do with them as you like, they don’t hold any value to me.’

James pondered over what the entity had said for a moment. He had read many stories and seen many movies and series about being reincarnated into another world, but being ordered to destroy a country? That was certainly new. That left one question, though:

‘Why don’t you do it yourself?’ he asked, though noticed pretty quickly that he might have overstepped a little.

‘Do not question the motives of us deities, mortal! Your primitive mind wouldn’t comprehend the answer, anyway,’ the voice boomed. Luckily, it didn’t seem angry, and James certainly wasn’t eager to change that. Though, there was another last question that popped to his mind.

‘Of course, of course, but … If I may ask … why me?’

The deity sighed and left James sitting in an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, before it answered.

‘You mortals always need some higher explanation for every little treat I throw at you … to feel special, to have something that makes you feel superior to your peers. Do you expect me to say that you were bred from birth for this very task? You don’t need to deny it, I can see it very clearly in your thoughts.

‘No, mortal, no. There are millions of others who show the same defining traits as you do, and thus a million others whom I could have chosen. The only reason that it is you and not one of them is that you happened to die at an opportune moment. Nothing more, nothing less.’

The deity paused for a few moments, before a swirling portal opened under James and started pulling him towards it.

‘I have indulged your questions for long enough now. It is time for you to be on your way,’ it said, before James was sucked into the vortex and lost his consciousness again.

***

He awoke in a large clearing with a small lake, in the middle of what seemed like a lush green forest. He tried to identify some of the trees, but none of them seemed familiar, though that might be because he actually had very little knowledge about plants, in general. What he didn’t have any issue identifying, however, was the bright blue sky above him.

He arrived lying on his back, facing up towards the sky. Grass was lightly patting against his skin, and he could feel the wind race between the trunks and over his face.

After a few seconds of looking skywards, he chuckled. The absurdity of the situation – of dying from a cold, only to then be sent to a different world by a deity that he didn’t even know the name of – was at the same time amusing and disturbing to him. However, at the same time, he felt something weird. Something like a chance that maybe this new world would finally bring a fresh breather into his previous string of misfortune, even before his fairly ridiculous demise. At the very least, he had a very clear given purpose now.

He decided that he should make the best of his situation for now, so he rolled over and tried to get up. However, not only did he find that his surroundings were seemingly a lot larger than he thought, but also that keeping his balance was unusually difficult. He assumed that he might no longer be human anymore and checked his back to see if there are wings or a tail or something. However, what he found instead let a short surge of horror jolt through his mind.

He checked his entire body and, when his findings only seemed to be validated more and more, he crawled over to the lake and looked at his reflection.

To his utmost annoyance, he found that the sudden imbalance and strange proportions of the place were related. What stared back at him through the water’s surface turned out to be a young boy of about 14 years of age, with blond hair and wearing a white shirt with a dark blue suit vest over it, a red tie hanging from his neck and dark blue suit pants on his legs.

James had to admit that he looked quite classy, like a young noble or something. However, noble or not, that left him with a rather big problem.

‘So you want me to fight an entire nation, but only give me the body of a child?’ he asked into the nothingness with a strong undertone of annoyance.

‘The age of the body itself does not matter, as it is only a vessel to keep your soul bound to this realm,’ the deity suddenly spoke directly in James’s head. ‘This particular body is made in the image of a boy who was given to me as a sacrifice by its parents. His name was Frozen Blood, so it shall be yours as well from now on.’

‘Frozen Blood? What kind of a na– Wait, what do you mean by “sacrifice”?’ James, now Frozen Blood, asked suspiciously.

‘As I have already told you, the motivations and actions of us deities are none of your business. Now go. This forest is magical in nature and houses many a beast that might prove too powerful for you in your current state. I suggest moving west. It’s the shortest path to civilisation.’ And, with that, the deity’s voice went silent, leaving Frozen Blood alone in the clearing.

‘Hey! No, you can’t just weasel away whenever I ask uncomfortable questions! Hello?’ he shouted, but no answer came. He realised that he was probably not going to get one, so he looked around. The forest looked the same everywhere, no matter where he looked and he also didn’t know the time, so he couldn’t just use the sun as reference. Seeing as he was probably going to need help, he sighed and spoke up again, though this time in a more respectful tone.

‘Um, please excuse my earlier outburst, sire, but could you please tell me where “west” is?’

He heard a branch snap to his left, and he whirled around to look at it. He saw the branch fall to the ground and split into three pieces that formed an arrow, which pointed into the forest.

‘Huh? … I guess that way … thank you, sire,’ he said and went on his way, following the arrow.

***

Trees, trees, and even more trees. It had been quite a while since James – or Frozen Blood, by his new name – had started his journey. Journey, in this case, being meant literally, as he was still wandering through the woods.

Trees, trees, and more trees yet. There were still no signs of civilisation, though. He was following the path the deity had suggested, albeit not because of blind followership. After all, he knew that deity for what was only about two hours for him. No, in the time he spent travelling, he had already thought of some reasons of his own to seek out civilisation. After all, how should he become the greatest bane in this nation’s history if he didn’t know anything about it? He needed information, and that was easiest to gather in the local settlements that hopefully had libraries or at least something close to it.

Information gathering was the easy part though. Actually using that information would be the tricky bit, but since that depended completely on what info he would find, he left those thoughts for later and concentrated on not getting lost.

Trees, some buildings, even– wait, what?! Finally, there were signs of civilisation in front of him! He released a relieved sigh, as his long march would finally find its end.

He ran over to the edge of the forest and found a small town just a few hundred metres away from the woods. A dirt road snaked its way from the town towards the forest but bent away to the left just before and instead made a wide turn around it. Above said road, at the town’s entrance was an archway upon which was a sign that read, ‘Welcome to Ermweir!’

This put some ease to his mind, as it meant two things. One, he was still able to read, which made it far easier to gather information. And, two, he understood the local language, which he found rather curious, given that it was highly unlikely that two civilisations, from different worlds no less, developed the same language completely independently from one another. Although he supposed that the deity likely had a part in this, either through implanting the language directly into his mind or by influencing this world’s development.

Either way, it was a rather large rock off his chest that language would not be a problem. However, that rock was just a pebble in comparison to the landslide that was the plethora of other problems he was facing.

‘One step at a time, though …’ Frozen Blood thought, before walking over to the dirt road and following it through the arched sign. Then, he crossed a bridge that arched over a small river and walked into the town.

Once he neared the first buildings, he noticed that, firstly, the state of technology seemed rather … mixed. There were modern-ish streetlights placed in regular intervals along the streets, which started out as dirt roads in the outskirts and grew more and more paved the closer he got to the town centre.

A similar development could be seen with the buildings around him. They started out as thatch-roofed half-timbred houses in the outskirts and ended up with a style akin to Earth’s late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century architecture in this town centre.

On top of that, he also saw manholes dotted all over the streets, including the outskirts, suggesting that the whole town had proper plumbing. However, the most modern vehicle he saw was a horse-drawn cart, with the exception that through one of the streets, he was able to catch a short glimpse of what looked like a train station, thus implying the existence of trains.

And lastly, to address the elephant in the room, the population was completely humanoid but not all were human. As far as he could tell, there were three different species present: normal humans like himself; High Elves who, apart from their long ears, were nigh indistinguishable from humans; and lastly, people with bird legs and wings on their backs, who referred to themselves as Harpies.

Frozen was a tad surprised about them. He knew of them from Greek mythology, though they were almost always depicted with only the head of a human and were exclusively female. These ones, however, had almost a completely human body with only the wings and legs coming from a bird and were both genders. Alas, he was in a different world, so he made a mental note that he should be careful about assumptions based on his old knowledge.

In the centre of the town, he found a large plaza with shops all around it and with market stalls filling the free space in the middle. Some of the goods they sold were completely unknown to him, though he was surprised at how many of the goods he recognised – and how diverse the level of technology really was.

There were stalls that sold modern kitchen appliances, irons with hilts that seemed like they were made out of plastic, TVs, radios and many other things that seemingly had no place in this world. However, Frozen quickly noticed that there was one major difference from these things to their counterparts on Earth: none of them seemed to need electricity. At least, he didn’t see any cords on any of them.

This suggested that they used another power source, which Frozen for now assumed to be magical in nature, maybe even pure magic.

Not all the goods sold on the market were magical in nature, though. There were also food items and furniture, which, while again made in a somewhat modern style, was clearly handcrafted. A stall with fruits momentarily grabbed his attention, and he contemplated getting an apple. However, he decided against it as, on one hand, he didn’t have any money, and, on the other, he had noted just earlier that his old knowledge may not apply, and he would really like to avoid learning that those apples weren’t actually apples.

He continued his stroll through the market, all the while not noticing the strange looks and even disapproving glares he got from some of the local townspeople. What he did notice, however, was a building on the other side of the plaza that had a sign that said ‘Library’ hanging above its door frame.

Splendid, he thought. A subtle and easy way to gather information.

He made his way over to the building and was just about to open the door, when he suddenly heard a deep male voice behind him.

‘Excuse me, young man?’

Frozen Blood turned around and looked at who called out to him. It was a middle-aged man who wore what looked like a dark blue uniform beneath blue leather armour and a metal breastplate. He also had a baton and a sword on his hips and a whistle around his neck. A local policeman, maybe?

‘Uh… do you mean me?’ Frozen asked back.

‘Yes, I mean you. Say, what are you doing here at this time of day?’

‘Uhm, I wanted to check up on a few things in the library. I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?’ Frozen tried to remain as polite and passive as he could, though him having caught the attention of the police after merely an hour in this town unnerved him slightly.

That and he very desperately needed information, before he could safely hold conversations – including with the police – as he didn’t know anything about the local mannerisms and those things that the locals would see as common knowledge.

Those things combined meant that this bobby was definitely not something he wanted to deal with at this point in time.

‘Well, that depends … To my knowledge, school is in session right now.’

Realisation hit Frozen like a brick. School, of course! He was a child, so he had to go to school! On one hand, he was glad about that, as it meant that this place had mandatory education, but on the other hand, it happened to be a major inconvenience to him right now.

‘Uh, heh heh, there has to be a misunderstanding, sir. I’ve actually left school two years ago and am now studying. That’s one of the reasons why I need to check the library, actually.’

Heh heh, smart move, I’ve got to say, he praised himself.

‘Oh, really? In that case, you should have a student ID, shouldn’t you?’

‘Or not …’

‘Umm, yeah, that’s the thing. My student ID is in there and…’

‘You can stop right there, kid. I’ve heard these excuses way too often already to actually believe them. Now, I’m afraid I’ve got to tell your parents about this. So, be a nice boy and tell me where I can find them, OK?’ the policeman said in an authoritarian tone.

Oh crap …! ‘My parents? Uhm, uh, they are…’ Frozen Blood stammered. He needed to come up with something quick, or else he might–

‘Ah, you know what, I’ll let Mrs Brisbourne deal with them. For now, I’ll bring you back to school. Maybe we can make it in time for afternoon class,’ the policeman said, leaving no room for argument.

‘B-But – woah!’ Frozen tried to argue anyway, only for the man to lift him over his shoulder and carry him off.

Oh, god dammit! he cursed to himself, as he saw the library slowly move away.

***

In Ermweir’s small town school, the bell had just stopped ringing, and Mrs Brisbourne was scribbling something onto the chalkboard. History class would start soon, and she wanted the children to know this particular topic by heart. After all, today they would be learning about their country’s founding history.

However, before she could even start, she heard a knock on the door.

‘Uh, yes, please?’ She called out, to which the door opened, and the local sheriff entered.

‘Mrs Brisbourne, I’ve come to bring you this boy I found skipping class today.’

‘A boy skipping class?’ Mrs Brisbourne repeated. She looked over to her class and counted through. Juliet, Emily, Phil, Charles, Robin, Lily, Anne…

After she had gone through her whole list and was certain that no one was missing, she turned back to address the man. ‘Um, excuse me, but I’m not missing … any … one …’ She found that he had already left, leaving her a boy with blond hair, who looked just as confused as she was.

‘Um … hello there, young man … You seem to be in a rather strange situation, aren’t you?’ she tentatively asked.

‘Yeah, that’s … certainly one way to put it,’ the boy replied, earning him a few giggles from the front row.

‘Uhhh, yes, anyway …’ Mrs Brisbourne turned to her class. ‘I… guess you can all welcome a new member to our class today. Say, what’s your name?’

Oh, this is gonna be good. Frozen prepared himself for the storm that was undoubtedly about to commence.

‘My name is Frozen Blood,’ he said, and the class responded by innocently singing, ‘Hello, Frozen Blood!’ Mrs Brisbourne almost toppled over when she heard the name.

This didn’t go unnoticed by Frozen. ‘Yeah, it’s a pretty weird name, isn’t it?’ he asked, though he truly only wanted to tease her a little.

‘Yes … Uh, I mean, no, not at all!’ she lied, forcing a smile at him. ‘Now … how about you take a seat and we start class now, hmm?’

Frozen nodded and looked around. He saw that there was only one seat left empty in the room, directly behind a human girl who had long red hair, brownish eyes and wore green dungarees and a yellow shirt. Maybe the daughter of a local farmer? Her tanned skin definitely suggested that she was outside a lot.

‘Hey there, Frozen Blood, Ah’m Anne. Anne Barnes. Nice t’ meetcha!’ the girl greeted him when he walked past. Besides the human farmgirl, two other girls were looking over and waving.

One was Robin Skye, a harpy girl with short brown hair and red-accented dark-grey wings, which seemed comically undersized. She had a skin tone that sat somewhere halfway between the darker Hispanics and the lighter Africans, presumably because of the increased UV-intensity up in the skies. However, it seemed unlikely to him that someone with such tiny wings could actually fly.

Her eyes were red in colour, and she wore a pair of short jeans and an orange shirt with, ‘No Risk, No Fun!’ printed on it in a slightly jagged font.

The other one, Lily Clover, was a high elf, judging by her elongated ears. She had pearly white skin and long blonde hair with a flower pin attached on the right side. Her eyes were bright blue, and she wore a white dress. It was also her, who spoke to him next.

‘Being new somewhere can be hard. Wanna be friends?’

Great, Frozen thought. Not only have I been stuffed back into school, but I also seem so miserable that three girls immediately want to be my friend out of pity. Ah well … on the bright side, it’s a first step towards establishing some connections. A small step, but a step nonetheless.

‘Yeah, sure!’ Frozen said, happily and took his seat.

Once he was seated, Mrs Brisbourne hushed the last remaining murmurs and started the lesson.

A New Place to Call Home

If one would have told James that he would have fun going to school again, he would’ve just laughed at the one to propose such stupidity. After all, school was the most boring activity he had ever come across. Not because he was ignorant of the importance of knowledge, mind you, but because he picked up on things way faster than normal people, so he only needed one or two periods for something that others needed multiple weeks to master. As such, he was constantly bored in school, which caused him to sleep through most of the lessons and still finish school with a B+ in everything except P.E. and arts.

Not this time, however. The first lesson he got into was about the founding history of the country he found himself in, which was apparently called “Mysvia”.

The story was just as colourful and diverse as the architecture of this town seemed to be, but, shortly summarised, there were originally three tribes fighting over the lands that now formed Mysvia: the Humans, the Elves, and the Harpies. None of them were even considering a peaceful solution, as they saw only the differences between them, until, from the heavens, a being descended that was equal parts Harpy, Human, and Elf, and united the three tribes under its rule. However, knowing that its life would not last forever, it decreed that its successor shall not be chosen by birth or race, but by the one thing that all three races had in common: their magical affinity.

Thus, once the being eventually died, the three races held a magical tournament, where all who dared to attend fought each other to their deaths. This form of succession was still in use at present, albeit with much less bloodshed. Instead, all applicants first go through a series of competitive games akin to the Olympics. Then, the last ten remaining face each other in regulated and refereed duels.

For Frozen, the story as it was taught by the teacher sounded more like a legend than an actual factual origin story, but then again, magic was apparently real, so he couldn’t quite be sure. Still, he doubted that three rivalling tribes could be united just like that and was quite certain that the process actually took several decades, maybe even centuries.

Apart from his issues with the story itself, though, he also found another problem with it, which affected him a lot more directly than the truthfulness of the story. He was tasked with overthrowing the Queen, who had gone through the tournament and came out on top and, thus, was likely to be highly proficient with magic in all applications, including combat. He had to stifle a sigh when this information sunk in, as it didn’t really make his task any easier.

Second period rolled around, and the class was split into two groups: those with high magical affinity and those with low magical affinity. The difference between the two was, simply put: those with high affinity could channel and use magic at will, in addition to their species’ benefits, and those with low affinity were stuck with the passive abilities their species had.

For Harpies, they were a lot lighter than they physically should be, allowing them to fly more easily and even walk on clouds. In addition, their magic provided them with strength, agility, and stamina to varying degrees.

The Elven race had increased healing abilities and lived to an older age. Also, each elf was born with varying degrees of increased intelligence and magical abilities.

The Humans and their abilities sat somewhere in between with their main trait being very adaptable, in addition to varying degrees of strength, stamina or magical affinity.

Frozen made sure to memorise these traits as well as possible, if only to avoid the questioning stares of Mrs Brisbourne, who had just asked him to join the according group.

‘What do you mean you’ve never been tested?’ she asked. ‘All children are tested before they even enter kindergarten! Are you trying to hide something from me?’

‘Well … I thought we’d already established that I am in a very strange situation,’ Frozen tried to evade.

Mrs Brisbourne sighed and rubbed her temples. ‘I know, but I hadn’t thought it to be this strange,’ she said. ‘Still, you’re not the first to miss their test, so don’t worry too much about it. Please, class, wait for a moment while I get the test kit.’

Mrs Brisbourne left the room with Frozen and the other children alone for a few moments. During that whole time, Frozen could feel the uncomfortable stares the other children were giving him, like they’d just spotted an alien in their midst. They would probably be very surprised to know that this was actually the case.

Mrs Brisbourne returned after a short while with a small bag, from which she pulled a crystal ball with a liquid inside and placed it on a table.

‘Now, Frozen, please come here and place both hands on the ball,’ she said, and Frozen did as he was told.

‘Now you have to cast magic into the ball. Can you do that?’ she asked but could tell from the look on his face that he didn’t know how. ‘Just concentrate really hard on the ball. It’s really not difficult at all,’ she assured him.

Frozen was a bit sceptical at first, but tried, nevertheless. He concentrated on the ball as much as he could and, to his surprise, something actually happened. The liquid inside the ball started swirling around and slowly changed colour from translucent white to a translucent purple, as if someone just put a few drops of food colouring into it.

‘Well done,’ said Mrs Brisbourne and wrote down a few things. ‘You have … a high magical affinity with a low expression, and your colour is purple.” She said as she wrote. “You should be able to follow the lessons and, with some effort, should be able to keep up, though you may have difficulty performing the more advanced spells.’

‘What does the colour mean?’ Frozen asked, hoping that it held some meaning to offset his seemingly low powers.

‘That is merely the colour that your magic will appear in when you cast it. For example, when you create a pencil and don’t specify a colour, then it will come out as purple. It’s, for the most part, purely cosmetic,’ she said, though noticed the disappointed look forming on Frozen’s face.

‘However, one of the Heroes also has purple magic as far as I know, so who knows? Maybe there is something special about purple?’ She tried to cheer him up a little, but it didn’t quite seem to work.

So much for my “special powers”, Frozen thought, in annoyance. Well, given that only a bit less than a third of the class has high affinity, I guess it can be called special. It’s just not going to help me against a queen who is probably a thousand times as strong as me, not to mention that apparently there are also Heroes I have to worry about …

‘I know that look. Don’t be disappointed. Having a high affinity is already a very special thing, and I’m sure with enough training you will become just as good as someone with a high expression. Now, go on and join your group so we can start the lesson.’ Mrs Brisbourne tried to cheer him up in a teacherly tone.

‘Yes, Mrs Brisbourne.’ Frozen answered, clearly disappointed and joined his group. Lily was also there and tried to comfort him a little.

‘Don’t be sad, Frozen,’ Lily started and was quickly cut off by him.

‘I’m not sad,’ he said in a dry tone. ‘Just … a bit annoyed, that’s all. I had hoped for more, if I’m quite honest.’

‘I can understand that, but … I mean, most in our class are just average, and there are also a few others with low expression, so you’re not alone!’ she tried to cheer him up, but Frozen was not going to make it that easy for her.

‘So how about you?’ he asked.

Lily shrunk a bit and tapped her fingers together, as she tentatively answered, ‘I … I have a high expression.’

‘Ah. Good for you,’ he said, without even looking at her.

Silence fell between the two, while Mrs Brisbourne gave some instructions to the low-affinity group. After a moment, Frozen sighed and turned over to Lily, who was still tapping her fingers and looking to the ground.

‘Sorry, I … I’m not mad at you, Lily, I just … need a few more seconds to get it out of my system,’ he told her, and she nodded and answered with a meek ‘OK’.

Despite the earlier disappointment, Frozen found the lesson to be quite informative and actually very enjoyable, even though he did have quite a lot to catch up on, given that he had arrived in the middle of the school year. It almost felt a bit embarrassing to see everyone else perform a few more advanced spells while he was stuck practicing simple levitation.

Luckily, the spell wasn’t hard to grasp. It literally boiled down to concentrating on an object and imagining it floating in whatever direction one wanted. Apparently, that same principle applied to all simple spells: concentrate on something and then imagine what you want to do with it. As such, Frozen had no problems grasping the spells and showed that when, not even five minutes after he was given the task, he successfully formed a purple aura around the small ball he was given and levitated it from one table to the other.

All in all, he found re-attending school most enjoyable if it remained as interesting as these first two lessons. However, he was thoroughly disappointed when the third period rolled around.

Frozen Blood loved maths. He really did. After all, when he was still James, he was studying mathematics. It had always fascinated him how something as simple as numbers could be used to describe the most complex of processes in the universe, and he was certain that even his little dimensional travel could somehow be explained mathematically.

However, this didn’t mean that he couldn’t grow bored with it, as especially the more repetitive side of mathematics had him sleep through one or another lesson back in school. As such, it likely is no wonder that he had difficulties paying attention here in Mrs Brisbourne’s class, too. On multiple occasions, his eyes momentarily fluttered shut while she was writing some new equations onto the blackboard, which Frozen Blood could easily solve without even looking at them. The only thing that kept him from dozing off completely was the incarnation of “annoying” that was sitting to his right.

Right at the moment when Mrs Brisbourne first turned her back, Frozen had felt something scratch on his arm, and, when he turned to look, he saw Juliet Marron, the girl to his right who was apparently so uptight that she wore a Tiara even during class, who scribbled on his skin with her pencil. He wanted to tell her off for it, but he was too dumbfounded by her audacity to actually say something, and, by the time he had regained himself, she had finished her little painting.

He didn’t look at it, and instead immediately gave Juliet a disapproving look, which she answered by sticking her tongue out to him.

‘Frozen Blood, are you paying attention?’ Mrs Brisbourne asked suddenly, drawing Frozen’s attention.

‘Euh, yes, I am, Mrs Brisbourne!’ he answered, though Mrs Brisbourne seemed not convinced.

‘Oh really? Then you can certainly tell me the answer to the first equation?’ she asked, pointing at an equation that seemingly had most of the other students by their ears. Frozen, however, didn’t even miss a beat with his answer.

‘58 plus 32 equals 90, Mrs Brisbourne,’ he said, visibly surprising Mrs Brisbourne with his swift answer.

‘Hmm … all right, I’ll let that pass for now. Still, try to pay more attention in class!’ Mrs Brisbourne ordered, to which Frozen Blood only gave a half-hearted, ‘Yes, Mrs Brisbourne’.

Finally, the bell rang and all the students jumped up from their seats, quickly packing everything together, hoping to be out before Mrs Brisbourne could utter those accursed words, ‘Wait, I’ve still got homework for you!’

Everyone in the room groaned when she said that but collected their respective worksheets anyway. However, when Frozen came to pick up his, Mrs Brisbourne pulled him aside.

‘I actually have some more questions for you, Frozen Blood. Firstly, who and where are your parents? I’ve tried to find them during the breaks, but it seems like no one even knows you.’ She asked, making Frozen Blood’s mind start to race, trying to make up a good answer, which he wouldn’t need to adapt later on.

‘Euh, well, you see … I’m actually … kind of a wandering orphan,’ he said, earning him a series of gasps from Mrs Brisbourne and most of the children present.

‘Oh, you poor little boy, I didn’t know that. Well, in that case, I will immediately contact the closest orphanage to try and get a place to live for you,’ Mrs Brisbourne offered, making Frozen Blood go wide-eyed.

‘Eh, I don’t think that’s necessary, Mrs Brisbourne. I’m pretty good on my own,’ he told her, but she wouldn’t have it.

‘Oh no, young man. Children need someone to care for them, and I won’t allow you to be an exception!’ she stated firmly. “Though, speaking of that, it will likely take a few days until I get a reply, and I’m afraid I don’t have enough room to take in another child.’

‘Oh, that’s quite all right. I can get by on my ow–’

‘Oooh, oooh! Ah can ask mah sis if he can stay with us!’ Anne suddenly chimed in from behind him.

‘Really? Oh, that would be great if you could do that,’ Mrs Brisbourne thanked.

‘Uh, yeah, that would be very nice of you,’ Frozen Blood said, as well, as he turned around and looked down at the farmgirl.

It occurred to him only then that he was a good bit taller than not only her, but also than about half of the class. The other half seemed to be about his own height and also physically looked a bit older than the others.

Huh, he thought. Mixed classes. Interesting.

***

‘Siiiiiiiis!’ Anne shouted, as she and Frozen Blood entered into the farm.

‘What’s it, Anne? Did y’all make tha pond explode again?’ a female voice asked from the kitchen, before she and a true hunk of a man came into the hallway to greet the girl.

The woman looked to be in her early twenties. She had long brown hair and was similarly clad to Anne, with green dungarees over a white blouse and a Stetson hat on her head. The man beside her seemed to be a tad older, maybe in his mid-twenties and shared her brown hair, only his was cut short. He wore a red checked shirt and brown cargo pants.

Both of them had fixed their gazes on Frozen, which made him slightly uncomfortable.

‘Oh, y’all have brought a friend from school?’ she asked, scanning him from top to bottom as if she was assessing him with a critical gaze.

‘Yeah! He’s an orphan, and Mrs Brisbourne is tryna get a home fer him, and Ah wanted t’ask if he ken stay with us until then,’ Anne told her.

‘Well …’ the woman said, after pondering a moment. ‘We do have that old guest room … I’d say he can, if Jack ‘n’ granny agree.’

Jack nodded his agreement beside her, making the young girl squeal and rush off into the kitchen to get the, hopefully, third agreement from her grandma. As soon as she was gone Frozen Blood suddenly found himself under the combined gazes of her siblings, who, from their perspective, were looking at their sister’s potential first boyfriend.

‘As for you, young man … what’s yer name, anyway?’ she asked, but before Frozen Blood could answer, Anne called back from the kitchen.

‘Oh, his name is Frozen Blood!’

Immediately, both adults went wide-eyed, looking at the boy in a rather disturbed manner.

‘That’s … quite tha name, ain’t it, Jack?’ she said, looking over to her brother, who just nodded slowly.

‘Eeeeyup.’

‘Yeah, really makes your blood freeze, doesn’t it?’ Frozen Blood joked, to which the farmgirl laughed uncomfortably.

‘Eh, heh, heh, yeah … it does,’ she quickly shook her head free again after that and proceeded to look at him more firmly. ‘But still, that there girl is our sister an’ if ya dare ta try somethin’ funny on her, then ya’ll get ta know how much we Barneses hold tagether,’ she threatened, eliciting another reply from Jack.

‘Eeeeyup.’

‘Do not worry. I have no such intention at the moment. And even if I had, I doubt that Anne is old enough to even have any romantic interest in boys … or other people, in general,’ Frozen Blood stated.

‘Yeah, Ah know, but still …’ her sister relented. ‘Ah don’t wanna see her come home cryin‘ ’cause some boy broke ’er heart, so be careful ’round her, ya hear?’

‘All right. Will do,’ agreed Frozen Blood.

‘Good,’ the woman said, before shaking her head. ‘But where’re mah manners? Name’s Rosy Barnes ‘n’ this is mah brother, Jack. We’re Anne’s siblings,’ she said and held out a hand for Frozen to shake.

‘Frozen Blood,’ he said, as he shook her hand. ‘Nice to make your acquaintance. Now, I suppose I should also announce my presence to your parents. Where can I find them?’

Suddenly, both siblings seemed rather uncomfortable, and Rosy answered with a hint of hesitation. ‘Uhhh, our parents are … on a very long trip, ya know, and, uhh …’

It was very clear to Frozen that they were not telling the truth, and one short look around the hallway quickly confirmed this.

‘Y’know, you don’t have to skirt around the topic of dead parents just because I’m an orphan,’ Frozen deadpanned.

‘How do you–’ Rosy started but cut herself off when Frozen pointed to the two picture frames on the wall that had black strips over their top left edge.

‘Oh,’ she said. ‘Yeah, sorry, Ah thought ya might be sensitive ’bout that topic, but ya seem ta be over it already.’

‘Yeah. Ah, well, it’s just another reason for Anne and me to get along,’ said Frozen, trying to lift the mood.

‘Maybe, though, ya better be careful with that. She was mighty young when our parents died, but she still gets sad sometimes when they’re mentioned,’ Rosy cautioned.

‘All right, good to know. Thanks,’ Frozen said, just as Anne came speeding back.

‘Granny said yes, too! Come on, Ah’ve gotta show ya where yer room is b’fore we can go outside with the others!’ she said excitedly, pulling Frozen Blood upstairs to where his new room would be.

Said room was actually not half bad. There was a bed, a small nightstand, as well as a wardrobe, a chair and a small table. It reminded him a bit of his dorm room, with only his laptop being amiss.

He didn’t have much time to assess his new home, though, before Anne looked at the clock and noticed the time. She whirled around and quickly dragged Frozen Blood along as she sped off into the farmyard.

There, hidden behind a few bushes and built into a low tree, lay a treehouse that the three girls used as their clubhouse. Anne dragged Frozen inside, where Lily and Robin were already waiting.

‘Finally,’ Robin groaned. ‘We thought you forgot about us!’

‘Yeah, sorry, Ah had trouble findin’ granny,’ Anne apologised.

“Yeah, yeah, all right. So, Frozen, are you ready to take the oath?’ Robin asked.

‘Huh? What oath?’ Frozen asked in confusion. A thought passed through his mind, but that was probably fuelled by the conversation he had earlier.

Robin blinked at him and turned over to Anne, who grinned back sheepishly.

‘You didn’t ask him?’ Robin asked in a questioning tone.

Or is it? Frozen questioned his own thoughts, before he asked, ‘Girls, can you please tell me what this is about?’

While Robin was still staring at Anne, Lily answered for her, ‘We want to invite you to our club.’

Yes, it was. Frozen concluded, before pushing the thought from his mind. ‘Ah. What’s that club about?’ he asked.

The three girls gave one another a short look and shrugged.

‘Uh, nothing, really. We just hang out and do stuff,’ Robin answered.

‘And we help Robin learn to fly,’ Lily added, which earned her a glare from Robin.

Frozen, meanwhile, took a short look at Robin’s wings and was quite certain that even with the inherent magic of a harpy, those wings would not create enough lift to carry her. Unfortunately, he apparently stared a bit too hard, as it was noticed by the girl herself.

‘Yeah, I know, they’re way too small to fly,’ she said, dejectedly, and looked back at her wings, flapping them a few times as if to prove it. ‘The doctor said it’s completely normal and that they will eventually grow to a normal size,’ she said and then turned around to look at Frozen with ambition in her eyes. ‘But I want to fly now, and my sis says that anything is possible if you try hard enough, so by the Founder, I will try until I fly!’ she swore, and the others cheered for her.

Frozen had to admit that he was impressed by her persistence. Also, he had a creeping suspicion that this was all set up by the deity that dropped him here. It all just seemed too strange that he happened to be brought to school into the exact class on that exact day that was practicing their magic and then had three girls befriend and invite him to their club. Something was definitely off about this, and he decided that going along with it would be the best way to learn what exactly was off.

‘All right, that certainly sounds like a cause that I can get behind,’ Frozen said, which made all three girls light up a little.

‘You want to join?’ Lily asked, gleefully, to which Frozen confirmed with a short, ‘Yep’.

‘Awesome! Then let’s get right to it. Are you ready to swear the oath?’ Robin asked, as she stood in front of Frozen Blood with the other two girls flanking her.

‘Heh, I was born ready,’ Frozen Blood boasted.

‘That’s what I wanted to hear. Now speak after me, I swear–’

‘I swear–’

‘To never stop improving myself–’

‘To never stop improving myself–’

‘And to never give up–’

‘And to never give up–’

‘And to never leave my friends hanging.’

‘And to never leave my friends hanging.’

‘Woohoo!’ Anne and Robin cheered.

‘Uh … wasn’t the oath we agreed on a bit different?’ Lily asked.

‘I dunno. I forgot the old one and just made one up on the fly,’ Robin said dismissively.

‘Doesn’t really matter anyway. We got a new member with us now!’ Anne cheered.

‘Yeah, you’re right,’ Lily said. ‘Though … I’m sorry, but we don’t have a cape for you yet. I’ll make one as soon as my brother lets me get close to his sewing machine, though.’

‘Oh, that’s quite all right. It’s not like the cape has any effect on me wanting to help Robin anyway,’ Frozen said to which all three Crusaders nodded.

However, Robin suddenly seemed to be pondering something, which immediately came to Anne’s attention.

‘Hey Robin, what’ch’all hatchin’ up there?’

‘Uh, you know … It’s just that I think it feels kinda weird to say his name. I mean, really, “Frozen Blood” has a really weird sound to it. I think we need a nickname for him,’ Robin said, already trying to come up with one.

‘What? Already thinking about nicknames? Don’t you think that’s a bit fas–’ Frozen Blood pointed out, though he was cut off by Anne.

‘A nickname? Huh … how about “Bloody”?’ She said, earning her a cringe from the other three children in the clubhouse.

‘No, definitely not,’ disagreed Frozen Blood.

‘Yeah, that one sounds a bit too … bloody.’ Robin added.

‘Then what about “Frosty”?’ Lily suggested.

‘OK, that one sounds just ridic–’ Frozen wanted to complain, but he was cut off by a not-listening Anne again.

‘Frosty sounds good. Ah take it!’

‘Great, I like it, too!’ Robin agreed.

‘NEW CLUB MEMBER FROSTY, YAY!’ all three then shouted together.

‘Heh, yeah … great …’ he said, unenthusiastically.

‘Oh, bollocks’ … ‘Frosty’ thought.

School Days

Frosty’s first night in Mysvia went, surprisingly, not bad at all. Even though his bed turned out to be nothing more than a hay bale covered with some cloth, he actually had a very restful night’s sleep. Even the night sky was comfortably close to what he was used to, albeit with way more stars than he could see in the middle of London. The moon was similar in size and shape as the one visible from Earth, though with a lot less craters scattered over its surface.

Overall, Frosty had a very pleasant night’s sleep, though, sadly, it is a universal rule that one always gets woken up from their slumber when it’s the most comfortable, and Mysvia is no exception.

Knock, knock!

‘Frozen Blood, get outta bed, you an’ Anne need ta go ta school!’ Rosy called through the door.

‘School? Euh, mum, I’m already out of school for two years now …’ Frosty mumbled, as he covered his head with his pillow.

After hearing him complain, Rosy opened the door and walked in the room with annoyance already showing on her face.

‘Ah take it from yer mumblin’ that ya ain’t gonna get up, so let me say it again. Ya have tah go ta school now!’ she commanded, which only elicited an annoyed groan from Frosty.

‘All right, it seems Ah need tah get the big guns,’ Rosy said, leaving the room and returning a few moments later with an old method that the Barneses had used for generations.

Splash!

‘AAAAH!’ Frosty screamed, as the cold water hit him, and he immediately jumped out of bed.

‘Ah see yer finally awake now. Good, ’cause ya need ta run ta school if ya wanna make it in time,’ Rosy pointed out.

‘What, school, again? Oooh, but I’m officially not even here! Do I really need to go?’ Frosty said, still groggy from his freshly awoken state.

‘Yep. There ain’t no one slackin’ off in this here house. Y’all either go ta school or help on the farm, an’ I doubt that you wanna help Jack pull that plough.’

‘Eenope,’ sounded from downstairs, where Jack was currently readying for his plough-pulling.

‘All right, all right, I’m on my way. Where’s Anne?’ Frosty asked, just before he reached the door.

‘She’s prolly already at tha schoolhouse. Ah told her t’go ahead or else she might be late.’

‘Oh, bollocks,’ Frosty cursed, before running off towards the schoolhouse.

‘And there ain’t no cursin’ either, ya hear?!’ Rosy shouted after him.

‘Eeenope,’ Jack agreed.

***

Maths, Mysvian (or English to us), P.E., History and Political Education. Sadly, as it turned out, the lesson about magic was an exception that happened only once a month. Every other day was actually filled with a completely normal school-timetable of subjects, as many of us probably know. As such, except for the last two lessons, there was little to look forwards to for Frozen Blood, which resulted in the exact same thing that happened back on Earth: boredom.

And even the breaks didn’t do much to make the day any more enjoyable, which was partially due to a certain pain in the ass.

Juliet Marron and Emily Samuels, the infamous duo of school bullies who come from wealthy families and make that everyone else’s problem, approached the group with their intentions clearly written onto their faces.

‘Oh, do you see that, Emily? It seems the Chaos Club has a new member,’ Juliet said to Emily, making sure that the group before her could hear her.

Frosty sighed and turned around, already having been annoyed enough when he was constantly harassed by her during the lessons. “You’re really growing annoying, you know? What’s your problem?” Frosty asked, with his annoyance practically seeping through his teeth.

‘Oh, my problem, you ask? No, no, no. It is not me who has a problem. You, on the other hand, still haven’t noticed that you’re in the presence of nobility,’ she said in such an arrogant tone that Frozen just had to teach her a lesson … and he already knew how.

He bowed down deeply, while addressing Juliet as if she was the Queen herself. ‘Oh, I am very sorry, your highness! Please forgive my lowly self, but I do not know how to identify royalty, for I have never seen any.’

As expected, Juliet was delighted by the attention she got and spoke in a somehow even more arrogant tone, ‘You may rise, peasant. Normally, saying that a noble was not distinguishable at first sight would be seen as an insult, but I’ll let it slide this time.’

She pointed at the tiara atop her head and looked very pleased with herself when she told him, ‘Here. This is what you have to look out for.’

‘Ah, I see! So, you’re special because you’re … wearing a tiara? That’s … useful, I guess?’ Frosty said innocently, internally grinning because she had answered exactly what he needed.

Juliet Marron gasped, before looking at Frosty angrily. ‘It’s not that simple, you plebeian! It means that I’m destined to become royalty in the future!’

‘Oh, really? Because, well …’ He took the tiara from her head, eliciting some protest from Juliet and Emily alike. However, since he was a good bit taller than them, there wasn’t really anything they could do about it.

He turned it around in his hands a few times and judged its weight, its feel and even snipped a finger against it, which made a hollow “thud” upon impact. It was just as he had expected, merely a toy.

‘If this thing is really meant to represent your future … I’m afraid it looks pretty cheap.’ Frosty pointed out, to which Juliet’s eyes slightly widened.

Frosty gave her back the tiara, and she looked it over just like he did. She tapped her finger against it a few times, seemingly only now noticing that it didn’t sound metallic at all. Her mouth fell open, and the tiara slipped through her hands as one could watch, in astounding detail, how her mind became stuck on her own ego.

‘But … But … But …’ she repeated over and over again like a broken record. Emily waved a hand before her eyes, but Juliet didn’t respond. So, she gave a last glare at Frosty, before pulling Juliet along, away from them.

‘Wait, was it really that easy to get rid of her? Huh … guess we just didn’t try hard enough yet …’ Robin remarked.

Yes, too easy. Maybe my special powers are psychic in nature? That needs investigating. Frosty thought but decided to play it cool in front of the girls.

‘Yeah, you see, bullies usually do so because they have that one thing they’re really insecure about and want to cover it up. You just have to find and exploit it,’ he explained calmly. ‘In her case, it seemed she was insecure about her own worth or superiority or whatever.’

‘Hah, Ah told ya she was jus’ jealous that our sisses ’re Heroes!’ Anne exclaimed, making Frosty whirl around, looking at her with wide eyes.

“Come again?” he asked, dumbfounded.

‘Yep,’ Robin boasted. ‘Our sisters are Heroes. Pretty awesome, right?’

So, basically, I’ve not only entered the lion’s den, but I’m LIVING IN IT. Frosty thought. Although … I’m also apparently friends with the heroes’ sisters, however many Heroes there are. Maybe my situation isn’t actually that bad …

‘I have a brother, though …’ Lily quietly protested, which Robin dismissed with a wave of her hand.

‘He’s gay, so it’s functionally the same.’

‘Not really …’ Lily disagreed.

‘Wait, your brother’s a gay elf?’ Frosty asked curiously, which got him a deadpan look from the elf girl.

‘Yep,’ she said.

‘Huh. Interesting,’ Frosty said simply.

‘What, that’s it? Everyone she told that until now laughed their butts off from it!’ Robin chuckled.

‘Us included,’ Anne added.

Frosty shrugged. ‘I’ve never met a gay elf before, but other than that … to each their own, I guess. By the way, Anne, from what you said, I take that Rosy’s a Hero, but what about Jack?’ He asked and Anne shook her head.

‘Nuh-uh, he ain’t. He’s plenty awesome without it, though. Ah mean, he ain’t talkin’ much, but when he does, ya bet even tha queen herself can learn from it!’ she claimed.

‘Not to mention that he looks like he’s pulling that plough all by himself,’ Frosty joked but was surprised by the answer he got by Anne.

‘Oh, he does.’ the girl said, innocently.

‘… Oh,’ Frosty remarked in an impressed tone. Somehow he felt as if he’d just barely slipped a very painful death the other day.

***

School, getting annoyed by Juliet Marron, club stuff, some chores Rosy came up with, sleep, school, getting annoyed by Juliet, club stuff, sleep, school, getting annoyed, club stuff, sleep …