Unchosen Champion

Charlie was gathered with her assigned party. They were preparing to return to their true bodies on Earth after receiving 10 days of training. She had become a ‘Chosen’ for a faction called the Endless Empire. One minute she was walking to her apartment with groceries, and the next she was being offered a sponsorship in exchange for representation. She would have thought it was a joke if not for the strangely beautiful, but mean looking, purple alien woman who was doing the offering and the explaining.

Charlie was never the assertive type, so when offered guidance for facing an unknown future, she timidly accepted it. What came next was a whirlwind. On the first day, they power leveled all of the Chosen to level five through virtual reality simulations that they shortly explained were powered by mana. They gave her directions on how to properly distribute attribute points and guided her through selecting her class.

The instructors became particularly infatuated with her after her affinities were revealed. She had the Wind and Rain affinities. Apparently, if in the future she gained the Lightning affinity, all three would evolve into the Storm affinity, something that had only happened once before in the Empire’s recorded history. The battle mage that had achieved the feat was something of a legend on the battlefield, so they gave Charlie special attention.

The class she chose was Aeromancer, a ranged spell caster that manipulated the winds and weather. She was happy that her favorite choice was also the one suggested by the instructor. They intended to build a party that would be dedicated to protecting her and maximizing her abilities. Charlie wasn’t comfortable being elevated in such an arrangement and she hoped she wouldn’t be thrust into a position of leadership and responsibility. She didn’t really want to fight at all.

The instructors directed her to put all of her points into Intelligence, but she only spent two or three points in Intelligence for each level. She saved the rest, wanting to put them into the defensive stats but unwilling to do so without permission. She was lucky that she didn’t need to spend any points in Acumen. All of her skills would already cast instantly, though the effects were delayed by one thing or another built within the spell. Some required additional mana to charge and others needed time to build up before releasing their energy.

After she had selected her class and skills they brought her to someone who was meant to be the first to join her party by choosing a complementary class to her Aeromancer choice. This person was another with an affinity that led to special attention. But even before they arrived Charlie heard cursing from their destination. A girl was vigorously refusing an instructor’s directions, declaring that she wouldn’t do what they told her, and for them to shove their directives where they didn’t belong.

Her first impression couldn’t have been worse. Charlie steeled herself to meet someone uncompromisingly belligerent.

Despite Charlie’s preparations she wasn’t ready when she entered the doorway. The defiant woman was astonishingly beautiful. She had smooth olive colored skin and long dark brown hair that flowed down her back and shone in the magical lights of the alien facility. Charlie was instantly jealous, and then immediately ashamed of it.

The woman cast her green eyes toward Charlie and raised her dark eyebrows. Charlie noted the girl’s black eyeliner and bronze eyeshadow were perfect despite them being abducted over 24 hours earlier. Charlie felt like a slob. Charlie quickly looked down and thought with a figure and a face like that, the woman belonged on a magazine cover instead of an alien briefing room.

Charlie by comparison had a similarly dark skin tone but she was dusted by freckles that she self consciously believed looked like imperfections. Her short hair didn’t quite reach her shoulders and it was unkempt, often windblown since she was outdoors a lot, and a boring brown. She thought the less said about her slightly boyish figure the better, though at least that had improved a little since high school. She was too shy for most to notice the hint of blue in her stormy gray colored eyes that she inherited from her mother.

Charlie heard the woman’s double hoop earrings chime as she whirled back to the instructor, “Look what you did, you scared the poor girl! You better start apologizing!” Then she rushed over to Charlie’s side, “Hey, it’s alright sweetie, my name’s Camila. What’s yours?”

“Oh.. I’m Charlie…nice to meet you…”