The king, his grand beard and mustache elegantly combed and braided, sat hand in hand with his young, beautiful queen clutching her elegant gown in anticipation. The court ministers, courtiers, knights, and wizards were all gathered for the ceremony in the great hall, a dozen men and women all gathered to witness and bring about their kingdom's salvation. The time was right, the stars aligned, and the seer had spoken: the demon king's return was nigh, and with it the ancient rite to summon a warrior from afar to vanquish his evil.<br/><br/>The magic circle glowed a pleasant blue, the once inanimate paint now lifting off the floor and spinning to the wonder of the crowd. The thoughts and prayers of all present had successfully drawn a powerful and blessed soul. The trio of elder mages and priests all nodded in unison and raised their hands, chanting the ancient words to begin the summoning. The head night stood by close to the king, holding the sacred blade in hand just in case. He was wary of of the rite, and fully expected to use the holy weapon on anything that appeared if it looked at his liege-lord wrong.<br/><br/>But the seer, standing across from the wizard and priest as the third mage in the ritual, overflowed with faith. The chaste youth closed her eyes and felt divine ecstasy fill her the more she chanted, imagining a great and handsome warrior to easily smite their demonic foes with all the fury of the goddess. When she heard the room gasp, she opened her eyes to see who the holy mother had sent as her chosen. The king practically jumped out of his throne to see into the circle better while the queen eyed the space through the crowd nervously biting her lip. And the head knight had his hand on the holy weapon prepared to draw in the event of disaster.<br/><br/>But no one was quite prepared for who did appear in the center of their circle. The wizard and priest staggered back in shock and fatigue, and the blue rings of magic faded back down to the floor as mere paint once more. The ritual was over, the sacred magic spent. Now there was no more divine power left to try again if they failed, but that didn't seem to be the case. Something - someone - was there at the very center of the circle. Someone strange and... beautiful!