“Ok, who's ready to fight the Vos?” Shouted the dark-furred manwolf. “Come to the arena maggots! Hit me before I destroy you and you'll get a something good.” He then somersaulted off the stage and began running towards a huge coliseum when suddenly-

“Vos! Get back here. We can do the individual assessment AFTER orientation. Honestly I don't see how Ragnel puts up with you. “ The person who said that looked like a woman with fox ears and tail. If you looked closely you could see her whiskers. She had a small bust and a petite behind. The dress she wore looked calm and elegant. Her face had the same expression. She looked beautiful enough to seduce your heart in a second and make you want more of her but that mystical look in her all black eyes would make you want to stay away.

“Oh c'mon. We gotta see what they can do. How else would we know if they're trash or not?” She looked at him with malice in her all black eyes. If looks could kill he'd be dead. “Ok, Ok! No need to get so mad!”

Vos then began to walk back towards the stage. He stood beside the woman but slightly behind, indicating who was in charge.

“My name is Lani Fey and I'm one of the five generals of the Resistance..”

When Lani Fey said there was five generals everyone gasped and looked on in surprise. If these were just two of them then what were the others like?

“Oh I see, Vos forgot to mention that there were five generals. What else did you forget to mention?”

You could see the sweat building on his fur! He was shaking! Is this lady really that powerful?

“I….. uh… haven't even started the orientation yet…….”

He said that last part in a whisper but because he's so loud we still heard him.

“You will get what's coming to you. Now let's continue on with orientation.”

She paused, cleared her throat and moved on.

“Again, my name is Lani Fey. And this childish dog you see is Vos. We're just two of the generals of the Resistance, otherwise known as the World Defense Force. We are the last stand, we are the only hope. I know all of you went through some hardships to get here. Not one of you had a chance to relax. I know this because I once was just like you all. A new soldier in the W.D.F. I was confused, didn't know what to do, my family died and I had no purpose. Three days after I got the brochure I came here, even more confused and on edge but I eventually put all that behind me and worked towards the greater good. That is what you all have to do. Work towards the greater good so that your family and friends can live on. Now onto the finer details.”

“All of us are Tamers. No need to hide that fact. But as far as what you've tamed and what skills and stats you have keep that secret. The demons have spies everywhere, and they'll always be looking for a crack in our defenses.”

She said that last part looking directly at me! This will not end well……..

“Because of this you will not be asked anything of your status and you are not allowed to expose anything. Unless of course a general or higher asks you personally. Unless that happens don't expose anything!”

She almost yelled that part, she scares me!

“All of us are all different. Our skills and stats reflect out attitude and personality. The beasts we keep around us reflect our passions and how we fight. We must always remember this. When it's time for you to contract your second beast it must be compatible with your first one. They must compliment each other. You can't put sparrow wings on a pig and expect it to fly. Now with that out of the way we can talk about teams. We will split you all up into teams of five. It gives weaker individuals a chance for growth and doesn't allow powerful Tamers to monopolize the rewards. In these teams you'll learn to work together and strengthen each other. There are no trading members. There are no replacements. You are stuck with them until they die. Treat them well and keep them safe. You will be with them for a long time. You must get acquainted with the ethereal plane.”

Vos immediately gave a big grin. His tail was wagging! Can I survive this?

“The ethereal plane is where we are right now. It's the gateway between your world and the underworld.”

She said your world. Hmmm.

“The space is vast and if one is not careful he could be lost for eternity. So be wise and not wander far. This is the place you will fight the demons. But before we get you into your teams and teach you to fight the demons” Vos’s tail wagged even harder. “You must go through the individual assessment. Vos here will guide you to the arena and assess each of your strengths and weaknesses away from prying eyes.”

“”OOOOOOWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” Vos howled with excitement and took off towards the arena entrance. Man I'm gonna hate this.

“Alright, go along now. Catch up to that battle-crazed mutt.”

I couldn't help but snicker at that. The whole group of us walked on towards the arena. I've finally had a chance to look around. The place is really like a fortress. A large, stone wall covers the whole perimeter. Shops and other buildings are set up here and there. The largest building is the Inn. It was three stories tall. Not nearly enough to hold a million people! The whole place wasn't really much to look at.

We continued walking until we reached the gate leading into the waiting room for the arena.. I looked up at it. It was like the Roman Colliseum but smaller and broken up less broken. It was really small. We entered into the waiting room………….. My earlier thoughts were immediately abolished. The waiting room was immense. Weapon racks and tables full of weapons adorned the walls. Spears and swords and shields as far as the eye could see.

“Special Spatial magic was used to make this area bigger than it appears. All of the buildings in Fort Earth are like that.” Lani Fey came up behind our group. Surprisingly it wasn't packed. I was one of the last ones in. Looking around really slowed me down.

“Fort Earth huh? Excuse me miss Fey but where are you from?” I asked the beautiful general Lani Fey! I actually talked to a pretty girl!

She eyes me curiously. With a sly grin she asked “Who might you be, to ask a person of high rank, such as myself, such a personal question?”

“I'm Bishop Riley and you better enjoy your position as general because someday I'm gonna be at the top.”

“Optimistic lad aren't you? If you can pass the assessment then I might believe you. Vos is fast and tough but extremely reckless. He's still the most capable fighter we have though so be careful.”

We then heard Vos's rough voice. “Alright maggots, grab whatever weapons and armor you want then one by one I'm gonna destroy- I mean assess all of you. Good luck.”

“I better go prepare then.”

I walk away from Lani and go over to some of the tables, examining their weapons and armor. It takes a little bit but I finally found what I wanted. I grab a leather vest, leg guards arm guards and several knives. I strap two to my sides, two to the inside of my calves and two to my back. Just to make sure. I also have my claws too and Nessie's [Solar Flare]. And if shit really starts to hit the fan I got [Spirit's Protection]. Although I plan on keeping the last two as my trump cards, a little unexpected surprise for that mangy mutt Vos.

“Alright you musky worms, you're gonna receive a number and that number is the order in which I pulverize- I mean assess you.”

[Number 13653. Good luck!]

“Will number 1 please come inside the arena. I promise to go easy on you.” Vos said that with enough sarcasm to even make me roll my eyes.

A huge Minotaur walked forwards. The eight foot monster carried a sword the was as tall as I was in one hand and had a huge sheild in the other. If I didn't know better I'd have guessed he ripped a piece out if the wall and used that for a sheild. Shit I'm glad he's on our side!

Since I was done making my preparations I went outside. Reason being, I wanted some information about this place. That and I wanted to level up [Bask]. If I could get that skill up then my speed and energy would increase. I'm not exactly sure what energy is but I know that speed is gonna help me keep up with Vos. I'm probably not gonna be able to match it anytime soon but if there is anything I can do to make myself better I'll do it. I don't want my people to lose their someone special.

I leave the waiting room of the arena and liook for a nice, sunny spot with some people around it. This place isn't exactly crowded with people so it did take some time. I finally found a girl sitting under a tree eating lunch. She looked like a normal girl. Straigh,t black hair a cute face that shows she's been through a lot and kind of a boyish figure, she wasn't the prettiest thing but she looked really reliable. Curious……..

I wave and she waves back. I walk over to the tree and sit down in the sunlight.

“Tamer?” She asked.

“No I just like dressing up like this” I answer.

She chuckles and says, “You’re a little different, aren't you? Tell me, why did you come talk to me?”

“What, a big lizardman can't talk to a girl just because he wants to?”

She roles her eyes. “You Tamers are always trying to get something outta somebody else. Whether it's money, power, sex, information, I know you're trying to get something and with those claws and scales, it's definitely not gonna be sex.”

“Oh darn, I guess I better go bother the girl who had a fish tail. Ah my dreams have been crushed.”

She gives a big grin and laughs a little. “But seriously what do you want?”

“I want information on this place. It's strange how all of this is here. I'm pretty sure you can tell me why.”

“Sorry bub, but those secrets are above my pay grade. I can tell you a few things though.”

“Anything would be helpful”

“The ethereal plane is a lot similar to your world but at the same time it's completely different. It used to be a place where people from other worlds gathered and celebrated but not anymore. The people you see here, including me, aren't people. We're Nomads, but I think you'd prefer to call us ghosts or spirits.”

Spirits? This is getting more interesting.

She continued talking “We travel between the worlds and here. Here we show our real form, we can be hurt and even killed in our real form. But on other worlds we're close to invincible, but it takes a lot of energy to hold our form on other worlds so we usually can't stay long. We deliver messages to certain important people.”

“So y'all are interdimensional mailmen?”

She chuckles ”Yeah that's about right.”

“So what do the Nomads do here?”

“We usually run the facilities and stuff. Tamers used to do it but how can somebody fight demons if they're selling cashews?”

“That makes a lot of sense.”

“Yeah. I also heard something from General Ragnel that you might want to hear, that's if you can pay the right price.”

“I guess Tamers aren't the only ones who are always looking to gain something. It depends on what you want. I'm kind of broke right now but I can always pay you back later.”

“Sounds like a deal” she sticks out her hand, I grab it and we shake.

“Alright, I overheard General Ragnel talking about the skills and stats. He said-”

BOOM

There was a crash not far away from us.