The Man Who Would Be King

A large orb of fiery light appeared in Central Park, with some of the vegetation surrounding it burning or decaying. The orb eventually expanded to the point that it exploded. The explosion had a 20 foot radius knocking back any civilians within that radius. There was a bright shade of orange in the shape of a man that you could barely see at first glance, eventually his visage became clearer, and everyone saw a man in Red star metal chain mail armor, the man had a simple steel breastplate with a bleeding heart insignia, and a Golden crown on his head.


Mannis is panicking, what sort of world did they send him to? Large buildings that made some of his homeland's finest castle's look like a fishwive's cottage. People in carriages that go at unbelievable speeds by means of no doubt sorcery, and these people wear some of the most daft clothing Mannis has ever seen,


Now isn't the time to be panicking, I need to get my bearings, and go to a secluded area before I draw too much attention to myself

It was just then that he noticed just how much attention he had drawn to himself, people he could only assume were peasantry staring at him with either awe or fear, with the latter being the people he knocked down when coming from his own dimension. He ran as fast as he could from the public eye, going where, he obviously didn't know, but somewhere where people weren't staring at him. He just hoped no one called the town guard, he would hate to have to describe this complicated situation to a mind of a simpleton. He eventually found something that looked like an exit and ran as fast as he could for it.

Ingrid was in the park reading a book when the incident occurred. She did not need to be magically attuned to sense the disturbance when the unlikely newcomer made a literally explosive entrance. She was sitting on a bench near the exit and so did not witness the event first hand, but upon seeing the unusually-clothed man fleeing the scene and heading in her general direction, she was able to put two and two together. She closed her book and, making eye contact, spoke as he walked close to where she was.

"Lost, traveler?" She smiled kindly.

Ingrid's first thought was that the man had a peculiar way of starting a conversation and wondered if it had to do with the place he came from.

"Getting lost is merely the result of poor preparation or complacency. I suppose I'm sometimes guilty of the latter. Which was it for you?"

"Though it rarely matters in my case really. I have a knack for getting to where I want go and even if I cannot, I can always return to familiar places."

An allusion to her ability as she did not want to mention it just yet. It was quite clear the man needed some assistance, and though she did not really have anything to lose, it was just typical of Ingrid to keep her cards close to her chest.

Ingrid raised her eyebrow.

"My first advice would be not to out yourself as a heinous criminal to the first person you meet. I am by no means a righteous and understanding saint. But perhaps that's a good thing for you. If I had been one of those heroes, you would be in quite a pinch right now."

"I'd like to think of myself as being more open minded than most. But even I have to think twice after hearing that confession."

In truth, the man being a criminal hardly bothered Ingrid. It was interesting to find someone who had traveled from a different dimension, a feat she herself had yet to try. However it would be very disappointing if he got caught and locked away so soon before she could learn more. Disappointing, but still not something she would risk her own neck for. Giving advice was free. He would have to figure out the rest himself, or else convince her somehow to extend more her hand of assistance.

ignore

"You would be surprised at how much some people care about things that happened in far away places or even ages ago. Visitors from other worlds or realms like yourself are hardly unheard of. In fact, just a few months ago this world was at war with an alien force from another galaxy."

As far as his story about being from another dimension goes, it looked like Ingrid could safely consider that a fact. His tale about political intrigue and betrayal however was something that should be taken with a grain of salt. There was always a bias on the part of the "victim" when it came to such issues. But since the other party was not available to comment, the only other way to unearth the truth was to get to know more the kind of person that he was.

"Vigilante outlaws? Not in the slightest. Though perhaps there may be a few around. In this world, heroes are recognized as protectors of peace and order. They work together with local law enforcement to apprehend criminals and then turn them over to the proper authorities. That would be the textbook explanation. Methods and policies vary with each individual but in general they are a force of good acknowledged by the public and the government."

Ingrid paused to think if she had anything else to add.

"Ah, if you believe you are a little different because you possesses unique or special abilities, I would advise not to think too highly of yourself from now on. Superhuman powers are exactly why there are so many heroes around. Of course the other side has them as well. That's just the kind of world this is."

For a world that possessed the means for dimensional travel, magic having a strong stigma was quite an archaic mindset. It was something Ingrid only knew from reading books.

"Should I interpret this in that what you call Vectura is not magic? Otherwise I find it rather strange that people in political power freely wielded things that possessed a stigma. You would think people would support leaders they believed in and not ones they found ominous."

A thought crossed her mind that maybe it was because this man possessed powers that he was betrayed and cast out here.

There was the linchpin she was looking for. There were a number of reasons why magic would be associated with stigma. A strong gravitation to science and technology was one of them. But perhaps their idea of science was not yet that refined. For instance, his words seemed to imply that anyone born with powers was considered magical. Here, metahumans are scientifically known to be a mutation of natural occurrence. As a mage herself, it was easy to tell the difference, but not everyone was as attuned to the flow of mana.

"Perhaps you did come to the right dimension then. Everything you see around you here is a product of science and technology. I mentioned that people with special powers were not uncommon, especially in this city, but it is still the normal people that run the world. Science and technology helps them do that."

"From your story alone, it is difficult to deduce if they were magical or not. This world distinguishes between powers of magical origins, powers possessed naturally, and powers born of science. If I  had to say, true magic is actually the rarest. So while I see where you are coming from in thinking it ironic, that opinion may actually be a product of ignorance. No offense. I understand some cultures use magic to define anything they cannot explain."

Mannis shrugged, "Maybe, though I think I'd know magic when I saw it, being born with it and all, though my form of magic might be strange to some, though I'm willing to guess that you've seen many forms of magic by now?"

Ingrid managed a small smile. "Indeed I have. Magic is quite close to my heart. Few things please me more than learning or discovering something new about it. I guess it should not be a mystery to you know why I elected to speak to you while the other people around chose to shy away."

"Which reminds me, it would be best to continue this conversation elsewhere. A commotion like earlier is hardly the best first impression you could give to the people of this city."

"Remus, fetch the car please." She spoke, tilting her head slightly backwards.

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a suit seemingly stepped out from the shadows, bowing his head in acknowledgement of her command and then disappearing once more. Just a minute later, a black limousine pulled over near the park exit closest to them. Ingrid stood up and beckoned her new acquaintance to follow. Waiting by the car was the butler, holding the door open for the two of them.

"By the way, I realize we have yet to be formally introduced. Ingrid Lowen, pleasure to meet you."