Ilian slowly looked around his room. He had just been shown here after finishing dinner with Castria. He notices that while it is plain, and clearly just a small rickety shack built around a tree, with mud supporting the sticks and filling the gaps between them; it seems to hold the temperature very well.
As he looks around, he sees a small writing desk, a bed, and a bookshelf that is currently empty. It appears that they laid out fresh clothing for him to wear the following day, as well as fresh bedding for the bed.
He doesn't really mind that they didn't give him a nice room, after all, a bed is a bed and when you need to sleep, you'll sleep where you can. Especially if you've experienced being in an active war like he had.
He changes into the bedclothes that were laid out for him, and as he pulls back the blanket, he sees a small bracelet with a note sitting beside it that says "Wear this tomorrow. Thank me later. -Castria"
The bracelet appears to be made out of small wooden beads with holes in the middle, and twine ran through to hold them together. He thinks this is likely just Castria being eccentric, as is common for those of her race, and sets it over on the writing desk before lying down to get some sleep.
-----
He wakes just before dawn, and seeing as the sky is starting to brighten, he hurriedly changes into the clothes that were laid out for him. He notices that they seem to be rather fancy in appearance.
This style reminds me of the nobility. Nobody else ever really wore things that look so fanciful. Whoever I'm meeting today must be rather important. He thinks as he notices the gold trim along the edges of the deep emerald green robes.
Just as he is about to step outside to wait for his escort, he remembers the bracelet and quickly slips it on. He feels that it is important, although he is unsure why. As he slips it on, he has this feeling like cold water running through him, cleansing not his body but his very soul.
He decides not to linger on this too heavily and steps outside. Just as he closes the door behind him, he hears soft footsteps and sees a small woman that has a very wild appearance with amber eyes and messy brown hair, walking up to him.
"Good morning, I take it you are my escort? I don't believe we have met; my name is Ilian." Ilian says warmly.
"Actually, we have met, you just don't recognize me. My name is Aurora; I'm the werewolf that scared your friend yesterday.
"But it is a pleasure to meet you again." She says with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"And yes, I am your escort. Come, we're headed to the conference room in the temple." She instructs as she takes off at a fast trot, headed toward the temple.
"Hurry up, or they'll be waiting on us!"
Ilian rushes to keep up with her, and within minutes they're entering the temple, and following Castria to a secluded area that can only be reached by descending the staircase behind the altar.
As they descend into the main trunk of the tree, Castria leads them to a small meeting room where only the three of them, Xephor, and a man he didn't know, could fit.
As Ilian took his place at the small table, Castria remains standing to introduce everyone.
"So, would anyone like to volunteer, or am I going to have to help everyone get acquainted?
"No volunteers? Alright." She says and points to Xephor. "This is Xephor, Demon Prince from Twilight Hollow."
She turns and points to Aurora, "This is Aurora, Werewolf pack leader from here within the heart of the Vale."
She turns to point to Ilian, "Ilian, general of the angelic armies, from the country of Celestialis."
She then points at herself, "Castria, Nature Sorceress also from within the Vale."
She then turns to look at the final guest. "And the reason we are all here today, the deity of order himself, Varyn, shaper of the stillness."
As she finishes the introductions, she goes to sit, and Varyn stands up.
"Friends, I'm sure you're all curious why I gathered you all here today. It's quite simple really. You're all destined to save the world." He says with a smug look on his face.
Ilian looks at the others, confused at this huge bomb that was just dropped on them with absolutely no context. As he makes eye contact with them, he sees that they're all just as confused as he is.
The room is completely silent for a couple of minutes, before Aurora clears her throat, and says "I'm sorry, but could you elaborate a little bit?
"You can't just have us all meet you here and tell us we have to save the world with literally no context." As she finishes speaking, she stares intensely at the deity in front of her.
Varyn grins. "Well, it didn't take you long to ask me the question I was waiting for. You see, the overlord of chaos, Xyrath the Infinite Dissonance, has been gathering his forces to try to overturn the order of this world.
"This left me no choice but to call forth the greatest champions from the four great races and burden you with this task. You see, no other grouping would have a greater chance at not only surviving, but saving the world, than the four of you.
"I have already given the details to the king of Celestialis, as well as the king of Twilight Hollow, to let them know that the two of you," he points at Ilian and Xephor, "will be gone for an extended period of time, on order of the Divine."
He says with a grim look on his face. "I know this is not what any of you expected to hear, but it's what is necessary for the survival of your family, friends, and nations."
Ilian, finally understanding what's going on, just nods along refusing to say anything. It's like I'll never get away from war, he thinks. He notices that the others are doing the same thing, not wanting to anger the god of order.
Finally, he can't take the silence anymore and stands up. "So, you just drop this massive bomb on us, then expect us to just go along with it?
"What's in it for us? Aside from the whole 'you'll be a hero' shit. I serve Celestialis, but I don't serve the whole world for free."
"Ah! A feisty one. Well, I prepared for this exact thing." Varyn says, tossing Ilian a small amulet with a glowing yellow stone.
"You may not know this, but you have the gift of light and holy magic. You just never had a catalyst to utilize it. Now, focus your energy into the amulet, and uncover the wealth of knowledge within.
"I created this to give you an edge, honing your magic to the same degree as your swordsmanship."
Ilian's eyes widened in shock. But that's impossible. My family hasn't had the blessing of light in over 15 generations. He thinks to himself, as he extends his energy into the amulet.
Just as Varyn said, the moment he activated the amulet, knowledge started to flow into his mind.
He suddenly understood the various uses of light magic, from bending rays of light around himself to make himself invisible, to concentrating them into a beam of pure destructive energy.
The very last thing he learned, after several long minutes of information flowing through his brain, was how to use light magic to create a holy blade.