What Ground

“I don’t think the character movement looks right. It needs to be more impactful as he swings his sword down.”

Leo peered down his glasses as he analyzed the character movement sample in front of him.

“Take into consideration the size of Haruko’s sword. That thing is ginormous! Not only should his movements reflect that, but his face should look like he’s carrying a heavy-ass sword and swinging it with everything he’s got. There’s gotta be an ‘Ooomph’ when he slashes. Right now it’s like he’s swinging a tree branch around.”

“I still can’t really picture what you’re going on about. It looks fine to me.” Takumi retorted as he started fiddling with his precious character rig and repositioned his glasses. “What do you mean by ‘Ooomph’?”

“Okay that’s fair, let me show you.”

Leo walked towards his collection of weapons that he had on display in his office and chose a rather large looking blade that was an exact replica from his favorite anime show. The sword, 'zangetsu', must’ve weighed around the same as Leo. With an effort Leo took his stance and focused on an imaginary target in his office. Then he slashed the air and a gust of wind flew through the office causing papers to fly and ornaments to shiver in place.

“Just like that.” Leo said as he put 'zangetsu' back into its showcase.

“Damn Leo!” Takumi said his glasses half skewed. “That was amazing! Where’d you learn to do that?”

“I had a lot of practice when I was younger.” replied Leo.

“Well I kinda see what you mean. I’ll talk to the animators and see if we can make the character’s movement more weighted. Maybe I’ll add some juice to the animation so that it reflects the force of the swing a bit more, even though we’re still prototyping at this moment.”

“Sounds great, thanks Takumi! I’m excited to see what you come up with.” Leo said as Takumi got up to leave.

“If you have any other questions about the character’s movement I’ll be happy to help out.”

Leo got up and opened the door for Takumi patting him on his shoulder as he left his office.

Leo stood at his door and observed the hustle and bustle of the office. Artists were frantically drawing while programmers were arguing about the most “efficient” method of performing a task. In the corner a couple of game designers were going over their game design document, making sure everything is streamlined. Leo overheard one of the game designers sigh and say “It sounds great on paper, but if I take this to the programmers they’ll lynch me.”

Smiling to himself, Leo closed the door and went back to his desk to try out the latest build of the game he’d been supervising for the past two and a half years, 'Quantum Saga', a turn based RPG inspired by retro Japanese RPGs. As Leo booted up his latest build he glanced over to his collection of weapons and stared at one weapon in particular; an ornate two handed bastard sword with a ruby encrusted hilt. “‘Where’d I learn to do that’ eh? If only I could tell the truth about my childhood.”

Leo started up the build and began playing the newest version of 'Quantum Saga'.

Leo was a short, stout man of forty five years. He was balding and had thick horned rimmed glasses. His belly, or as he would like to call his ‘cookie pouch’, protruded from his body and made him look like a pregnant expecting mother. Most everyone liked Leo, calling him the 'office dad'. He cared for everyone in his office and was always ready with a piece of advice if anyone ever needed one.

“If I were to tell people that I was once a chosen hero who saved mankind they’d chuck me back into the psych ward…” Leo thought to himself. “I mean I spent ten years in Alvania, but when I came back it was only a couple weeks later. Nobody would believe a thirteen year old telling them he’s actually twenty-three and that he’d been fighting the demon lord for the better part of a decade. That sounds insane even to me, and I’ve been through it.”

“Although, I do wonder what ever happened to Elvie and the king. They were always looking out for me. I mean, I was going to marry Elvie once I defeated the demon lord…but who could’ve known that I’d be teleported back to my world after I’d finished my task?!? That just seems like sloppy craftsmanship, whoever came up with it.”

The latest build of 'Quantum Saga' finally compiled and Leo began his QA testing.

“And when I got back, geez louise! They put me in juvenile detention as a runaway. Once I told them what I’d been through they assigned me a psychiatrist and I had to go to the freakin juvenile loony house. I mean… it’s not like I blame them. If I’d been told the same story today by my kid, I’d probably think he’s high on something. Still… I did save mankind in another world. I had expected a bit more gratitude. And the feeling of being ten years older than you are hasn’t really worn off, has it? I feel like I’m in my fifties rather than in my forties... not a great feeling.”

Leo stumbled across some bugs as he was trying to slay the mountain trolls in 'Quantum Saga' so he wrote down a few QA notes for the programmers.

“You still put too much weight on your front leg when you swing your sword, Leo.”

Leo leaped out of his seat and turned to the voice that came from behind him.

“At least you seem to have kept your quick reaction, even though you’re as fat as a pig.”

Standing in front of Leo was a scarred, armored old man. His jet black eyes pierced directly at Leo, and his long gray beard swayed to a non-existent wind.

“Sir Lorand!” exclaimed Leo.

“Your services are needed once more, Leo. So I’ve come to collect you.” Sir Lorand said in a gruff voice. “You’ve gotten way out of shape! But I’m not old enough to not be able to whip you back into the fighting machine you once were.”

Leo stared for a moment, not believing the sight of his mentor standing in front of him. "Is it really you Sir Lorand? You've gotten old!"

"Yes it's me, Leo. And you're one to talk. Looking at you no one would believe that you were once revered as the hero who slayed countless demons. What happened to you my old friend? You've gotten fat."

"It's called being in your forties and eating too much." Leo smiled as he tapped his stomach.

“Wait, I can't go with you, Sir Lorand! I have a life now. I’m a project manager. What am I supposed to do if I go along with you?”

“That’s not my problem, figure it out!” Lorand barked. “I was instructed to bring you back to Alvania by lady Elvie. The demon lord has been resurrected.”

Leo’s face lost all color. “How is that possible?”

“Some cultists sacrificed themselves and managed to summon a lower level demon named Delmocast." Lorand sighed as he continued.

"Delmocast ransacked the realm and collected enough life force to bring back the demon lord.” Lorand moved towards Leo and put his hand on his shoulder. “Your services are needed, Hero. Brace yourself, and rise! Rise and save mankind once more!”

Leo sat motionless for what felt like an eternity. He then took a deep breath and opened up his email.

“Hey John,

I have a family emergency that I need to attend to. I’m sorry for the short notice but I’ll be gone for about two to three weeks. If you need anyone to cover for me talk to Takumi, he’s more than capable of being able to complete my tasks. Also I won’t have any internet where I’m going so unfortunately this will be the only time I’ll be able to send you an email.

See you when I get back!

-Leo Warner”

“Okay Sir Lorand, let’s go.”

The old knight nodded towards Leo and murmured an enchantment. A great tear in the office appeared and beyond the tear Leo could see a lush meadow dancing in the breeze. Leo walked towards his bastard sword and plucked it from the wall.

“Ready?” asked Sir Lorand.

“Yup. Let's do this.” said Leo, and together they entered the meadow.

“That sure is a nice breeze right there.” Leo said as he stood in the middle of the meadow and took in a deep breath. “I’ve dreamt of this literal moment, Sir Lorand. Oh how I’ve missed this place.”

Leo turned to look at his old mentor, giving him a sad smile. “They told me I was crazy. That it was all in my head. I was sent to an institution for years, you know. They did all sorts of things to try and ‘cure’ me of my ‘delusions’. It was horrible. Worse than having to fight the demon lord and his horde. Worse than dying, to be quite honest.” Leo paused and stared into the distance where he could see the outline of a city on the horizon. “I never let them convince me that it was all in my head. I did play along with them though or else I’d still be locked up in that loony bin.”

“Now I’m back… I’m finally back!” Leo bent down and grabbed a handful of grass, feeling its texture as he let the blades fall between his fat fingers.

Lorand remained silent for a moment, contemplating Leo as he slowly began to walk towards him. “Look, Leo… It wasn’t my choice to send you back to your world after you defeated the demon lord. I was ordered to do so by the king.”

“What do you mea-?” Leo began to ask, however Lorand put up a hand to interrupt and took a deep breath.

“The king was aware of the love growing between you and princess Elvie. He wanted to support your union, however the nobility would have nothing to do with it. There was a plot, Leo. Such treachery that neither the king nor I could've imagined possible.”

Lorand sighed deeply and looked up towards the sky.

“An unknown group of nobility had devised a plan to assassinate you when the demon lord had been vanquished. I and a group of knights loyal only to the king sought after those who had come up with this ridiculous scheme and tried to put a stop to it. However at every turn we were met with a dead end, or rather a dead lead.”

“Despite knowing of your intention to marry princess Elvie, and sacrificing so much to save our world, the king decided to protect you by sending you straight home after you defeated the demon lord. He knew that if you had known about any of it, you would be angry and resentful, and most likely protest against his decision. I was ordered to teleport you back to your world without your knowledge.”

“After I teleported you back, the princess became quite irate and threatened to take her own life. She had to be monitored for months on end after you left. She blamed the nobility and her own father for your departure, and vowed to get revenge against the people who sought to kill you.” Lorand continued as he made his way to a nearby rock and sat on it.

“A few years later, the king became ill and ascended to the afterlife, leaving the princess the throne of Alvania. During the coronation every nobility, lord, lady, duke, duchess, and whatever leftovers were in attendance as she became queen.” Lorand stretched out his legs and began to massage his left thigh.

“During her speech she mentioned you, Leo. She talked about your bravery, and sacrifice. She also mentioned the treachery of the people who sought to take your life after you’d saved the kingdom. See… in all those years queen Elvie never forgot. She had myself and a group of trusted knights continue our investigation into those that meant you harm.” Lorand said with a wide smile.

“We found them, Leo! Oh, we found those dirty, slithering snakes. Once we had informed the queen she devised a plan of her own that would earn her a nickname feared and respected throughout the land. On her coronation day she produced a list of individuals that she wanted front and center during her official ascendance to the throne. After her speech, every single one of those people were executed on the spot, leaving only a pool of blood to soak her majesty’s dress earning her the name; ‘Bloody Queen Elvie’. Stained in red, the queen stared out onto the remainder of her subjects and proclaimed that this was the fate of any who had treacherous desires.”

A look of immense respect was visible on Lorand’s face. “And with that our new queen took the crown and began her reign.”

“What the actual fuck?” Leo said after silence fell between the two. “So you’re telling me that all of that happened while I was gone? Geez louise, brother! I mean… I’m glad that you guys got my back and everything, but that sounds super intense, Sir Lorand. How many people ended up being killed?”

“Well, at the coronation about fifty people were executed.” Lorand said as he scratched his beard. “Then afterwards the queen went after their families, friends, and anyone close to those fifty. So all in all, I’d say roughly a thousand or more people ended up dying because of those fifty and their stupid plan to kill you. The queen was quite insistent that we be thorough about it. So it didn’t matter if it was a child or an elderly, they all died. That’s why no one has really caused any trouble for the past forty years.”

“Wait a minute, forty years? It’s only been thirty-two by my count. And, holy crap! Elvie did all of that?” Leo said, running his hand through his balding head.

“Well actually, since you were first summoned here it’s been about fifty years. I don’t look this old and gray because I want to, Leo. Time works differently between your world and ours. You might’ve aged thirty-two years back in your world, but we didn’t get to go back in time in ours. No, my friend, we kept on aging. When you left you were a couple of years older than the queen. Now, she’s in her sixties! A proper old grandma if I’d ever seen one. Personally I’m still a young seventy-four year old buck!” Lorand said, pounding his armor plate with his fist. “And yes, she did all of that. That’s how much she cared for you, Leo. After everything you did for us the queen would’ve burned down the entire kingdom just to find out who wanted to harm you.”

“Still, a thousand or more people… that’s a lot of people, Sir Lorand.” Leo said as he started to wipe his horned rimmed glasses clean on his shirt. “And here I thought I had it bad, having to go to the loony bin.”

Repositioning his glasses Leo looked at his old mentor. “Did Elvie ever… did she end up getting… you know… married?”

A grimace flashed across Lorand’s face. “Yes, Leo. She ended up getting married a few years after her coronation. I don’t think she ever loved her husband the way she loved you, but they did have a good marriage.”

“Who did she marry?” Leo asked looking down at his ‘cookie pouch’.

“Lord Edgar from the Dukedom of Northford. A good man. An honest man. He loved and respected queen Elvie till his dying days. He respected you as well, and the relationship you would’ve had with the queen. He never tried to replace you.” Lorand said softly.

“I know Edgar. You’re right, he was a good man. We’d spar together back when I first came here. He used to be quick with a joke and fierce on the battlefield. I always liked him.” Leo said, kicking a pebble by his feet. “Did they have any kids?”

“Three. Two boys and a girl. They’re all adults now, but they’re good kids. Queen Elvie named her first son ‘Leo’, after the brave hero who saved our kingdom.” Lorand said as he got up from his rock.

“Thank you for telling me all of this, Sir Lorand. You, the king, and Elvie have always looked out for me. A guy couldn't ask for better friends or people in his life.” Leo said with a smile.

“Cheers, Leo.” Lorand nodded. “I’d say the same about you, my fat old friend!”