FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

His day started like every other; he woke with his alarm, got out of bed, made it back up, trudged into the bathroom. He got a shower, brushed his teeth, all the normal things expected of a man in his forties. He walked into his kitchen, frying up some eggs, a strip of bacon, and a biscuit, as well as a half-slice of cheese; a quick and simple breakfast.

He sat quietly at the table, the apartment was dark with the exception of the lights in the hall and kitchen. The sun was peeking through the windows, and it was early. He hated early mornings, but he was the senior librarian, so he didn't have much choice. He was always the first to arrive and open up the building. He loved his life, he didn't deny that, but he always felt trapped. Sure, he'd made a place for himself, but he'd never really dated, and he'd not been able to sustain any kind of meaningful relationships. His family wasn't close; more combative than loving. So when he graduated, he moved out, went to college, got a degree and started working at the library. He'd found solace in the books there; a kindness that he didn't know in his normal life, a love in the stories he read, and friends among the pages.

As he thought back over the last two decades of his life after getting hired at the library he couldn't help but smile. It hadn't always been easy, but it was fulfilling. He'd taken over as senior librarian when the previous one had retired about a decade ago. He'd heard the man had passed a few years after, kind of sad, the man was a good boss.The job itself wasn't too strenuous, just meticulous, which suited him just fine. Even in his youth, he had a mind for details.

He put his dishes in the sink, washed them up, put them into the drainer. He picked up his things; phone, wallet, keys, the essentials, and then headed out the door, locking it behind him. He only lived a few blocks from his workplace. It was easy to get around in the city by foot, only needing a taxi or bus for longer across town trips. He didn't even own a car, there wasn't ever much need for it. Most things he needed he could walk to, after all.

As he walked down the street, he felt chill bumps rise up along his arms and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It wasn't uncommon in the fall, the cold could really cut through your clothes with a good breeze, But this, it wasn't the feeling of a fall breeze. No, it was more like something directing him. He'd turn to walk his normal daily route and a breeze would catch him full in the face, urging him to turn another direction, just to keep the colder air at bay. He felt the faintest pull to get him to look to take another route, so he acquiesced to this gut feeling. His path led him down a slightly different street, but honestly, they looked the same. He approached a bus stop where folks were standing and waiting, a few older folks, a mother and child arguing, a young couple holding hands. It made him smile seeing young love, even if he never got to experience it himself, he enjoyed seeing others happy.

But he noticed the bus, as it approached wasn't slowing down. He'd lived in the city long enough to know the sounds of a bus slowing as it approached a stop. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the child and parent's argument intensify, the child screamed at the mother, before jerking away, hard. Doing so, caused the child to fall back into the street.

He acted before he could think, dashing toward the falling child. His hands scooping the boy, and tossing him towards the mother and couple, as they were nearest the front of the line, then there was nothing but dark. Panicked screaming, a fading warmth, a strange sense of weightlessness, then… Nothing at all. Just darkness.

When his senses returned to him, his form wasn't mangled, he wasn't bleeding, and he didn't hurt. He was wearing a long white robe, and the room he was in was warm and had a soft white light permeating it. There was a table with several chairs on one side, the other side held a single chair, somehow, he felt that was for him. He settled into his seat and glanced around, briefly pausing as an empty plate and cup materialized before him. He scratched his head a moment, before speaking.

"Hello? Is the kid okay? Is there anyone there?" He called out, but in that wide, white void, there was no immediate response. He was only greeted by nothing more than a soft, ambient hum. After a moment, a pile of fresh, steaming fries appeared, filling the plate before him. He had been thinking about wanting some fries, so perhaps that was how it worked? He shrugged, sipping from the cup, plain water, and salty, crispy fries, definitely a good snack, at least.

He was so focused on the fries and introspection that he failed to notice the seats on the other side of the table beginning to gradually fill, one by one, the people seeming to simply materialize into their own assigned seat. The seats were set in groups of three. Three to the left, a clear defined space between them, then three more, another larger, open space, and the final three chairs. By the time he noticed, about six of the nine seats were filled. He stared, awestruck, and honestly a little afraid, watching as these....beings phase into existence, each looking quite different, but similar to something he'd seen in video games, movies or other fantasy themed things. What the heck was going on here?

The being seated at the center raised his hand and everyone looked to him silently, then he nods to the being on his right; a beautiful angelic-looking woman, sporting short, blonde hair, and fair, feminine features. Radiant green eyes settled upon the man seated across the table, capturing his attention, keeping him fixed on her.

“Gregory Kane, you have... Passed on from your world." She states simply. "You gave your life to save another, and by doing so, you've shown you have a kind heart. As such, Agan has offered you the chance to reincarnate in our world, Ialea. Now, you don't have to take this offer, you may of course instead go on to your afterlife, but we believe this would be a waste of your potential. You have a great capacity for empathy, so we extend this offer. It is a land of magic, powerful beasts, wise mages, and fierce knights, much like the fantasy novels you are thinking about right now, I'd wager. We offer you this, and the blessing of we, the gods of Ialea."

The man looked down in thought, though it wasn't really something he'd even have to take time to consider. But he wanted to at least feign a little thought about it. He then sat up and nodded firmly, certain of his decision. "I would like to accept."

The goddess, bathed in warm light smiled and clasped her hands together gently. "Wonderful! Which blessings would you like?"

The man tilted his head inquisitively. "Blessings?"

She smiled warmly and nodded. "Yes. In our world, those who are born are blessed. By both their race, their season of birth, but, on occasion, a god may offer a blessing as well.." Her smile remained warm and kind as she spoke. "Because of your self-sacrifice, you are offered the blessings of five of us." She turned to her right, and gestured to the first individual, far at the end of the table, the rest of the room dimmed and the light over the specific individual highlighted him.

The farthest to the side was a goblin, his eyes sparkled with curiosity and wonder. "First is the god of goblins and technology, Thuellor." He was a goblin, of smaller stature. His eyes laser focused, his hair black, greasy, and unkempt. His skin a deep, dark green, those eyes a menacing red. The goblin wore simple leather looking clothing, appearing to be lost in thought, though he at least nodded towards the man.

“Next is the goddess of the dwarves and earth, Balanos." As Byasa said, the dwarven woman flashed a warm smile in his direction. Her hair was long, and a deep forest green in hue, well matched by her dark, earthen complexion. Her darker hair was braided thoughtfully and draped over a single shoulder. Hey eyes a striking green, like a vibrant forest's leaves. The dwarven deity wore heavier clothing, thicker, with plates of metal sporadically placed, though it wasn't polished, the metal was worn, but well kept.

“Finally there is myself, the goddess of archas and light, Byasa." As Byasa spoke, she smiled, as she often had during their discussions. “I am Agan's adjutant to the deities of light, and right hand woman, in charge of all creation" She had short blonde hair, and sharp green eyes. Her skin was ebony in color, a distinct contrast to her hair and eyes, but beautiful nonetheless. Behind her, it was obvious she was an angel, or at least, angel-like given her white, feathered wings. She wore a simple white robe. It had no ornate sigils, no complex weaving. It was simple and delicate. It also looked quite soft to the touch.

“Next is the god of humans and water, Hudabo. He sits beside Agan as a neutral god." The second deity looked like any other human. He barely regarded the man. But he did at least acknowledge his presence. His skin was pinkisk like the man's own. His hair a dusting of brown, as well as his eyes matching his hair color. The man looked like any other you'd see walking down the street, nothing about him seemed divine. Much like the goblin before him, he wore simple leather clothing.

“To Hubado's left is Agan, the leader of all the gods and the god of the void." The woman explained. “He leads us and resolves all matters as final judge. His word is law, and we all accept his decisions.." The being in question didn't look like a person, per se. More the shape of a person, but there were no features discernible. The skin was gray in color, but if you stared hard, you could see what looked like stars glinting across his skin, or, perhaps more accurately, within his skin, as it seemed whatever you could see, was moving within his form. He had no hair, no eye color, he was an entity that looked like a human, but was merely the night sky as it moved. Agan wore nothing.

“Finally, on the other end is the goddess of ice and elves, Kruos. She sits on the other side of Agan, neutral in all things, like Agan and Hubado." The god to the immediate left of Agan was a woman with long, flowing blonde hair which shimmered beautifully. Her features were fair and feminine, her build slight, her ears pointed and sharp. Her eyes were clear and blue, they looked as deep as the ocean, and gave off an intimidating pressure when under her gaze. She wore soft blue colored robes, and while she gave off no warmth, her smile was bright and cheerful when she looked at the man. She even canted her head to the side, making her hair spill off of her shoulder, it looked similar to the sparkles he recalled seeing as child when the snow caught the sun just right and glinted in the reflection.

“Beside him, continuing down the line, is the god of demis and darkness, Knephair," Byasa spoke softly, perhaps in an attempt to not anger this deity. “He is my opposite. He is the adjunct of the dark deities, and Agan's left hand in all matters of destruction." The man had long, black hair, sharp facial features, and brown, ringed horns atop his head, curling like that of a devil. His eyes were brown in color. His skin color was almost a pale white. On his back were a pair of bat-like wings, black in color. He wore dark robes, similar in style to Byasa's own.

“Beside him is the goddess of beastkin and wind, Anemabe." The goddess grinned, her mouth opening slightly and baring her fangs. She looked more like a tiger than a person. Though humanoid in shape, she was clearly a beast, and she seemed to revel in the fear that the man gave off looking at those fangs. Her eyes were yellow in color, and her...well, not skin, but her fur, was golden orange with black stripes, she had the look of a predator, and she knew it. She wore leather clothing similar to the others before her.

“Last, but not least is the god of orcs and fire, Aethos." The man she spoke of looked strong and burly. His muscles were fully on display, his armor, while metal and spiked, was also open and likely only for decoration, as with the numerous, obvious holes in it which showed off his physique, and offered little real protection. Whether it was because he was a god and felt no need for real armor, or it was to show off how strong he felt he was, the man couldn't tell. His skin was dark green, similar to the goblin, but clearly a different shade. In contrast to the other gods, he lacked any hair at all, his head smooth and almost appearing to be polished His eyes were a deep red, akin to the color of fine rubies, and while some might fine the color beautiful; on a man with hi frame, they were intimidating.

The goddess Byasa explained.. “I'm certain you know what orcs, goblins, elves and the like are. They are common races spoken of in many worlds, and in the worlds they aren't common, they are known of in stories, song, and art. Think of it as memories of other worlds bleeding over into your own. Earth is without magic, none of us are quite sure why, so your world draws magic to it, and it comes in dreams. It comes in ideas, flashes of inspiration. You suddenly have an idea for a painting? It was likely something from another world pulled towards your own. An idea born from another world, but given purchase in the mind of a human."

Byasa continued. “Beastkin is the only race that encompasses a larger portion of races. Beastkin is anything humanoid, but not already mentioned. Creatures like monkeyfolk, or tengu, the feline races, like Anemabe herself. Minotaurs, lizardfolk, gnolls. Human-like, but clearly not human." Byasa went on. “You can see that I myself, look like an angel, we call our race Archas, and my opposite, Knephair, is a Demis, what you'd likely associate with a demon or devil. We each are in sets of three, to maintain balance. Three good, three neutral, and three evil. The neutral gods are the arbiters, any disputes that arise, they act as judge. Agan's word is final, but for lesser arbitration, Hubado or Kruos presides over the affair."

After all the introductions, he smiled and nodded his head, regarding each. "Might I know what the blessings entail before I decide? I'd like to know what I'm getting into before I just agree to it all."

The goddess smiled and nodded. "Of course. Each of us governs a race, and an element. There are lesser gods for other facets of the world, but as for the ones who decide the course of Ialea, we are the ones in charge of that. Each of us gives different abilities. Each of the primary elements gives you that specific kind of magic." She gestures to her side, the goddess of earth in particular. "Balanos, grants those with her blessing the power to grow plants using their mana. They make good farmers, and druids, in-tune with the earth and plants." She smiles. "I grant healing magic, those with my blessing can heal themselves and others. We offer you the choice of five of our blessings." Kyasa went on to speak. “Having only one blessing is uncommon, and a product of unfortunate timing of someone's race overlapping with the similar time of year, two is the most common. The race of the individual allotting one element, and the time of year augmenting them with a second natural element. Three is rarer, and typically a blessing we intentionally bestow on an individual we anticipate of creating some change in the world itself. Agan has decided you deserve five."

She smiled just a touch. She clearly expected him to ask why, and before he could articulate the question, she spoke. “You don't know it, but your actions had long reaching consequences in your world. That child you saved, went on to become a firefighter, he saved many lives. All because you put yourself into harms way and saved him. You inspired him to be the hero he saw in you that day. The young couple saw your sacrifice and went out of their way to help others, in your memory. They were quite wealthy, believe it or not, and they opened many outreach centers, realizing that wealth couldn't help anyone if it action wasn't taken. The truck driver, burdened by guilt, went on to improve the city's standards for vehicle evaluation, and kept them in better condition so such a tragedy would never occur again. Your sacrifice brought about three significant changes to the city around you. So, as thanks, we offer you three more blessings then normal, as was Agan's decree."

He raised his brows at the presented number, sure that five was a considerable amount, considering there were only nine gods before him. "Five? That is more then half of you, are you sure that is fair?"

She smiled and nodded her head. The other gods had been silent during their discussion, only choosing to regard him when their name was mentioned. "Agan has decided this himself, he believes you have the capacity to do much for our world, for great growth and change. You will be given two boons, as is our custom, based on your race and time of birth in our world. So worry not about that, we'll do our best to give you a wonderful life in Ialea. For now, focus on what blessings you'd like."

He sat in contemplation for some time, pondering the pros and cons of different match-ups of magic. Could you mix magic? Combine elements? He felt he'd asked too many questions already, and he didn't want to incur the anger of these deities. They had shown him such kindness so far, but who knew how long such a gracious period would exist. Any moment, the wrong question might lead to an immediate termination of his very being. "Uh, well, I'd definitely like to be able to heal. That would be very useful. I'd also like fire and lightning."

She smiled warmly and clapped her hands together. "How wonderful! I'd be more then happy to give you my blessing! I'm sure Thuellor and Aethos are quite happy to hear it as well! We are truly honored to be picked first." She materialized a pen and parchment in front of her and wrote something down, though he was unable to see just what it was.

He pondered a few moments more. "Well, uh, I really like beastkin, so, I would like Anemabe's blessing as well, and, well..." He looked at the group, carefully regarding each of them. "Last, but not least I assure you, I'd like the blessing of Agan."

The sound of writing on parchment stopped suddenly, the whole room's gaze focused on him, and he felt it, in his very soul. Like they were going to bore into him and tear his soul apart from the inside out. Agan's face shifted, just a sliver, a smirk on his face. The other eight assembled gods did not seem amused by the man's choice, but Agan himself did. Byasa's expression lightened after a moment. "W...well, we've never had someone ask for Agan's blessing before, and, to be honest, he rarely gives it. But as, he has taken a liking to you, he has agreed to share his blessing with you. Do you have a preference for the race you'd like to be? How about the class you'd like? You can name anything, even something completely original to yourself. Fighters can use magic here, wizards can be competent with weapons. Nothing impedes your life going forward. Only yourself, and your imagination.Magic is wide and varied in Ialea. I'm sure you'll make quite a mark in the world."

The man shook his head softly. His first thought was, how Byasa had said 'before'. This gave him the implication that others had come before him, and truthfully, he wanted to ask, to dig into the deep secrets of the world. The gods themselves sat before him, and while only one spoke to him, none seemed particularly hostile towards him. "I think I'd like to be an orc. On Earth, the stories always involve humans and elves saving the world, sometimes othes help, but it's always those two seen as the heros. I've never much liked Humans or Elves though. I've never liked them in stories I'd read." It was slight, but he felt the rooms temperature drop just a little, before it evened back out, and he could've sworn he saw the goddess of elves' expression change, albeit as quick as he could blink, it was gone.

"Something like a beastkin would be really cool I think, but I'm not terribly picky, I'm just happy to have gotten this chance to live another life." He smiled fondly, and the goddess of light nodded and returned to writing on the scroll, though she looked somewhat uneasy as she did so.

He considered the potential classes that might be more fitting for him, but that was not such an easy choice to make. Considering his time as a librarian, and coming from a 'mundane' world, he was not skilled with magic, and he was average in his past life, at best. “I don't think any class I can come up with will matter so, I won't worry about it. Just uh, adventurer I guess, I can't really think of anything I'd want to be. But thank you for the offer."

"Well Gregory, I think that settles it all. You will retain all your memories of Earth. We think these will be an asset to your life in Ialea, and we hope you lead a wonderful, pleasant life. When we see you again, it will be at the end of your life, though I hope it is not for many, many years." She smiled warmly. Her gaze shifting to the side slightly for just a moment, before she clasped her hands together once more, and the room went dark.

Only a few moments later, he felt warmth around himself, then searing, painful light covering his face. He heard voices, unfamiliar and strange. His vision wasn't great, but from what he could see, the people seemed to be… Green? With something white protruding from what he could only assume were their mouths. They reminded him of orcs from the books that he had read!He felt small, frail, and… Cold. Did that mean he was just born? He opened his mouth to ask, but all that came out was a loud, wailing cry. The man holding him gave what he could only assume was a toothy smile and looked around the hut. A shaman, midwives, his father who was holding him, and his mother who was squatting all roared at his cries. The man holding him, lifted him and declared.

“GURAK!" The room roared in unison again and warmth washed over him, a foreign, but familiar sensation he hadn't known in decades in his previous life, a feeling long, long since forgotten, if it ever even existed at all in his youth.

Life was going to be different here, it was going to be better, he was going to be who he wanted, live the life he desired, and nothing could stand in his way now! He was an orc, he was going to be big, be strong, be unstoppable!

But a chill crept over him as he ruminated to himself. The hut's door wavered slightly and a coldness he couldn't place, but felt familiar washed over him for just a moment before warmth embraced him again. The eyes of his father, staring into him, grinning big and wide at his newborn son; a warmth no chill could overtake.