Screaming sounded off in the darkness.

‘Someone’s hurt, I can hear it, I can… feel it. There are other people here too, they’re afraid of something. Afraid of… the screaming?’

I couldn’t see anyone, yet I knew they were there. Male and female voices were calling out to someone, yet their voices were distorted and uninterpretable. My body was nonresponsive to my commands and I just sat there in the darkness on the verge of panic. I tried to calm down and gather my memories, but the awful screaming disrupted any train of thought. Finally something happened after a minute and bright light blinded my sight. As soon as my eyes adjusted I saw pieces of broken glass scattered over a floor. I gazed into one of the glass pieces and saw only one discernible feature in the reflection.

The color red.

I bolted straight up on my bed when I heard a knock on the door. Sweat clung to my body as I sat there trying to calm down from the nightmare. I took slow deep breaths and tried to wipe the sweat off my body with the bedsheets. As soon as my heart rate settled back to normal, I tried to figure out what happened in my dream and dreaded what it could mean.

‘The last time I had a dream, it came true. I dreamt that a griffin and a monstrous beast would meet each other in combat. Was this dream like that one? A vision of the future offered by the Force as a way of warning? If it was, it sure was cryptic.’

Another knock on the door reminded me that I needed to answer it, so I got up and stretched my naked body. I decided to sleep in the nude cause there was no way I was going to sleep in a full set of armor. The armor in question was laid out on a guest table in the far corner of the room after I took nearly a half an hour last night trying to take it off. It was difficult but worth it in the end when I got to finally see all of my new body and boost my ego in the process. The tusks from the Aper Major sat leaning against the table as well, the morning sunlight shining off the smooth ivory.

The room I was given was the ambassador suite to minotaur guests of the royal family and it satisfied all my needs. A spacious bathroom, an excellent view of the city, and an assortment of comfy furniture with fluffy pillows on each one. I tried to tell Princess Takada that I could just sleep on the ship, but she insisted that I stay in the castle because I was considered a guest of the royal family now, instead of an illegal trespasser. Although, I suspected that she wanted to keep me away from the ship in case I just up and decided to take off with it and leave the island. I felt like the room was too much for just me, but all my concerns were thrown away when I laid down and simply melted on the luxurious bed.

When I finished my stretches, I moved to the guest table and put on the boxers I had underneath the armor. It was the only article of clothing I had that didn’t take more than five minutes to put on, and moved to answer the door. I opened it to find HK-55 with his mechanical hand raised, just about to knock on the door again. HK followed me back to my room last night, insisting that I have a bodyguard at all times in this foreign environment. 2V-R8 and my varactyl stayed on the ship thankfully, waiting for my return. HK put his hand down and started to explain his interruption.

“Greeting: Good morning master, apologies for waking you, but some of the feathered meatbags are asking for an audience.”

“Who are they?” I asked

“Answer: The leader of the group calls himself Boreus, and he says that he and his companions have brought you a large selection of foods for your breakfast this morning.”

My belly rumbled as I remembered that I haven’t given it proper nourishment for over two days. I managed to ward off my hunger with the Force, but nothing would satisfy my body more than actual food. I grinned and told HK to allow them in and I sat down on a plush couch with a coffee table in front of it, waiting for my guests. Five griffins in black and white server outfits pushed in a line of carts filled with food and my mouth watered at the sight. Every cart had a full array of foods from one specific food group each. Grain, vegetable, fruit, protein, and dairy products of all kinds were laid out before me.

Each griffin stared at me with curious eyes, awed to finally see the alien that had fallen on their lands. Even Boreus stopped to stare, now seeing me without my armor on. Most people would be embarrassed to be seen nearly naked in front of so many people, but I wasn’t ashamed of my body even before its drastic change. In fact, now that my body was so well defined with lean muscle, my vanity demanded that I show off my body every chance I get from now on.

‘It’s sad I won’t be able to show it off to any girls back home,’ I thought gloomily.

Boreus was at the head of the line of food and cleared his throat to bring everyone at attention before speaking to me.

“Good morning sir, the kitchen staff and I have worked up a large selection of food for your personal choosing. It is our hope that you’ll satisfy your hunger and provide input for what you would like for future meals. Given our lack of knowledge on your species’ diet, we have prepared food from every known food group. We beg your forgiveness however, if none of it is to your liking,” he said with a bow along with the rest of the serving staff.

I got up from the couch to get a closer look and smell all the delectable foods. I found bagels, sweet potatoes, grapes, even slabs of steak amongst the carts of food. My smile could not have been wider. With the Force, I levitated a dozen plates from one of the carts and returned to my couch with a random assortment of food on each plate. I set them on the coffee table and tried one of the bagels, moaning in pleasure from the taste. I caught sight of a pitcher of milk and levitated it over along with a glass to pour the contents into. After a quick sip, I addressed Boreus and the server staff to thank them.

“This is all perfect, thank you so much. My species are omnivorous, so I can eat all these foods with no problem at all. If I had to give you my preferred foods, it would rank first as pasta for grains, meat of any kind is fine for protein, corn for veggies, and apples for fruits. Ahhh, this is so good,” I said while trying a baked potato.

This got me a few smiles from the serving staff and Boreus addressed me once again.

“Her highness Princess Falca has also requested your presence in the medical quarter after you have finished your meal. She said that the item requested shall arrive soon, but insists that there is no rush whatsoever. When you’re done, the staff will take care of what’s left and I shall personally guide you to the medical quarter. We will wait outside to allow you to eat in private until you have need of us,” Boreus finished as he waved off the castle staff with his wing and headed towards the door.

HK saw them out and closed the door to leave me to my privacy. After nearly two days without it, food of any kind was like ambrosia to my mouth. After nearly half an hour I had gulfed down nearly half of what I picked up from the carts and patted my belly in content. I got up and moved towards my armor to prepare for my meeting with the princess and stopped halfway to look at myself in the vanity dresser mirror. It started to hit me that I really wanted to keep my body the way it is and I decided I would try and form an exercise routine during my stay here. Back home I was so busy with school work, friends, and my other hobbies to even put in the effort to make my body stronger like my sister did. I exercised now and again to keep thin and keep my cardio in check. Now though, I’ve been given my dream body without even putting in the effort and I’ll only keep it unless I take steps to make it that way.

‘That means I can’t eat to my heart’s content anymore,’ I thought disappointingly as I looked towards the cart full of food.

I shrugged it off as a minor sacrifice given how the body I saw in the mirror would be my reward. I moved to the table holding my armor and began the grueling process to put it back on. It took less time however, since I learned how to move around all the new features from last night. What were once pieces of styrofoam and plastic are now pieces of metal plating and life support systems. Beyond the physical material of the armor and robes, I could sense an intense concentration of the Force lined within its confines and I could feel it amplify my power as I put it on. By the time I finished, the armor hugged my body snugly and hardly impeded any of my movements despite the extra bulk it gave me. I latched both my helmet and lightsaber to opposite ends of my belt and moved to exit the room.

HK and the other griffins stood at attention outside and I felt kind of guilty for making them wait on me for nearly an hour. It was their job though, and as soon as I told them that the food was to my satisfaction the serving staff moved into my room to take the food carts away. I told Boreus to take me to Princess Falca and he led me and HK down a corridor lit with the morning sunlight and glowing blue stones on the wall. To pass the time, I asked Boreus why the glowing stones were lit in different colors in other parts of the castle and he said it was a means to help guests and staff find their way about the castle. He told me that green stones represented the medical quarter, blue stones represented guest quarters, purple stones represented the royal quarters, red represented the armory and guard barracks, gold for the kitchens, and white represented the public areas such as the galleries and the throne room. In the four towers surrounding the main citadel however, it was an entirely different story. Lights and furniture within each tower were the same color from each respective tower’s rooftop. Each tower represented an isle surrounding the Heartland Isle and Boreus gave me a general description of each.

The tower with the golden rooftop represented the Summer Island, it was the second largest of all the isles and it mostly tended to the Shattered Isles agricultural needs. Princess Falca helped her uncle rule the island and it was where she started her political career after she left the military. Boreus spoke of the princess with such pride I could tell that he relished his job as her butler. He went on to tell me about all the different types of food that were grown on the isle and told me how different sections of the island were separated into different environments and weather patterns through weather control and other types of magic. On one last interesting note, Boreus told me how the Summer Island acts as home for some of the best winemakers in the world. What was really interesting though, was that Princess Falca owned one of the wine vineyards and made her home there most of the time instead of here at the castle.

The tower with the white rooftop represented the isle that held most of House Hialla’s military. The Preserver Island was a desert island filled mostly with sand, sparse foliage, and open spaces. It served as the perfect spot to train recruits safely as griffins came seeking glory, adventure, or just wanted to protect their people. It housed the majority of military naval vessels and it contained plenty of military aircraft as well. The island was the last line of defense between the rest of the Shattered Isles and whatever foe may come close to its borders.

The tower with the red rooftop represented the Island of Gaiety, where griffins and members of other races all come to enjoy all forms of entertainment. Restaurants, parks, saunas, theaters, even pleasure houses could be found all over the island. The main attraction however was the Titan Arena that housed thousands of guests daily. It was there that warriors of any kind of discipline can test their might and display it for all the world to see. Patrons can gamble their money on the fights as they enjoyed hefty amounts of food and alcohol. I made a mental note to visit this island as soon as possible.

The fourth and final tower had a royal blue rooftop and it represented the smallest of the isles. The Nether Island was a focal point of powerful magic and it was here the College of Mystics made its home. It was proudly one of the few institutions that taught magic to other races besides unicorns. Its students primarily focused on alternative means to use magic and its mages have acted as consultants to House Hialla on every issue regarding magic. Its greatest contributions to the kingdom have been in the creation of magical commercial goods such as the glowing stones and many other inventions I have yet to see. This was undoubtedly where Prince Hyde spent most of his time.

“Each tower houses minor nobility members of House Hialla who represent their respective island and actively work with the royal family on matters of state,” Boreus told me at the end of his explanation.

“So what does the Heartland Isle provide for the kingdom besides house the crown city?” I asked.

“The Heartland Isle has a little bit of everything, although its major qualities is that it houses the majority of our kingdoms population and its acts as the center of commercial trade in the kingdom as well. Our best universities can be found here for matters of general education and its main flight school has branches throughout the isles and the colonies on the mainland.” He answered.

The mention of the colonies caused another question to seep into my head.

“So what about the colonies? Why don’t they get a tower here at the castle?” I asked

“Ah yes, the colonies on the mainland receive an enclave in Horaca where they may come up to the castle and discuss matters with the king as well. Most of the colonies act as trade hubs between the Shattered Isles and the mainland, so we keep their nobility within the city itself where matters of trade occur the most.”

‘It makes sense I guess, but I know some human cultures that would have plenty of issues if a part of its population didn’t have a representative tower along with the rest of the kingdom. However, griffins aren’t humans, if it works for them then who am I to judge?’

As we got closer to the medial quarter I asked Boreus if there were any other royal family members I haven’t been made aware of yet. I told him I already met Prince Hyde and Princess Takada yesterday, and he told me that besides the king, I had yet to meet the second eldest of the royal siblings. The vulture-like griffin told me that Prince Thistle spent most of his time on the Island of Gaiety. I asked him what he was like, and Boreus paused for a few moments before saying that I would better understand who he was if I met him myself. Throughout the whole conversation Boreus had neglected to mention a queen yet. I was about to ask about Princess Falca’s mother but we had just arrived at the emergency room and Boreus opened the doors to allow me thru and stayed outside along with HK.

Both Prince Hyde and Princess Falca were discussing something but stopped to see who was at the door. When the prince saw me I saw his eyes widen and he left his sister’s side to bolt over to me. Using his wings he floated in the air to keep himself at eye level with me and spoke in an excited tone with a glint in his eyes.

“Great new, great news! The potion was easier to make than I thought. My friends in the alchemical department had no problems, no problems at all. Oh, this is so exciting! Testing magic on an extraequestrial lifeform. Granted it’s not a powerful potion, but the chance to see how magic reacts to your biological systems is so exciting. Did I already say this was exciting?”

“Hyde calm down, you’re getting yourself too wound up again. Sorry Jack, this an opportunity of a lifetime for him,” Princess Falca apologized trying to explain her brother’s behavior.

I waved it off, I completely understood how Prince Hyde was feeling right now. I myself couldn’t wait for things to settle down so I could practice my new mystical abilities for a day or two.

“Its fine I understand, so before we go through any of this I need to know if this potion is safe or not. I’m not putting anything in my body until I know exactly what the potion is made of and how it’s going to give me my face back. So your highness, how’s this going to work?” I asked.

Prince Hyde gradually took in a deep breath and slowly hovered to the ground as he exhaled. He only came up to my thighs on all fours and I couldn’t help but compare him to his sisters again. I knew he was their brother by the falcon and lion portions of his body, but he was such a runt when I compared him to them. I didn’t want to assume his age, but if he was attending a prestigious griffin college, then he must be reaching some form of maturity by now. Prince Hyde reigned in his excitement and explained the potion to me with a hint of enthusiasm.

“The liquid gel in the potion is hydrophobic and keeps the potion’s potentially dangerous contents from interacting with your system. However, it does not keep its magical properties from seeping into your body. Once the potion has gone through your system and the magical properties are absorbed, the potion’s contents will simply be a part of your next urinary cycle. This potion isn’t so much a polymorphing concoction as it is a magical reversal remedy. It was created to reverse any spell that may be placed specifically around your facial area. If it works we should see a harmless bodily reversal around your head, if not, then nothing will happen and we may need to get creative and try other means to regain your previous visage. Either way, this will be a fascinating experiment nonetheless,” Prince Hyde explained.

Princess Falca chimed in as well.

“And if anything does go wrong, then we’re in an emergency room with plenty of medical personnel on standby. But if you’re still unsure about this, then it’s more than alright to refuse the potion Jack.”

I had given this some serious thought last night and I came to a conclusion before I fell asleep. While this new face was handsome and all, it still wasn’t my face. My eyes were different, my cheek bones were different, but I knew they weren’t what defined me and who I was. Instead, if I ever get back home, I want my original face to be the one seen when I return to my family. They deserve a chance to see their son’s face again, not a total stranger’s. However, if this potion fails then that’s it, I don’t want to waste these griffin’s time and energy on something that isn’t an easy fix. Instead I want to focus on finding my sister, find a way home, and master these new powers as I explore this new world.

I gave them my answer.

“Okay, I want to try the potion, but if it doesn’t work then that’s it. I’ll live with my new face and get on with my life. Sorry your highness, but experimenting on face reversal is going to be a one-time thing for me. I’m sure we can find other things to experiment on me though,” I told Prince Hyde.

“Its fine, I already have seven other experiments I would like to discuss with you later. Now then, let’s get started shall we?” Prince Hyde said with a shrug.

Prince Hyde directed me to one of the beds to lay down. I shifted around a bit in my armor to get comfortable and Prince Hyde took out a glass vial from a satchel next to Princess Falca’s bed. He moved next to me and pulled off the potion vial’s cork before he gave me a warning.

“I won’t lie to you, I’ve drank several other potions in the past to know that these things taste awful, so prepare yourself. Also, remember that you have to drink every drop. It should take a few minutes for the magic to take effect. Do you understand everything I’ve told you?”

I nodded and he handed me the potion. I braced myself and swallowed the horribly bitter potion. I managed to keep myself from vomiting, and after a minute nothing happened. After a few more minutes I noticed a slight glow in my peripheral vision and Prince Hyde happily told me that the magic was taking effect. The glow started to get more intense until light covered my vision as well. As soon as the light began subside, I saw Prince Hyde staring at me in awe with a small mirror in hand. I was about to ask him for the mirror until the light began to intensify again. This time however, a burning pain began to stretch across my face.

It started fast and unexpected, as every part of my face began to hurt at once. It was unbearable and I was about to ask the Prince what was happening until I felt pain beginning to stretch all across my body like it did in the void. It was horrible, it felt like my skin was melting and I clawed at my hair to feel it fall off with practically no resistance. I saw a large wad of my hair sitting in my hand and that was when I began to scream.

I jerked and contorted in pain as my very bones began to grow unnaturally and I fell off the bed to hit the ground still screaming bloody murder. I unsteadily stood up to see a very scared prince drop the mirror and shatter on the stone floor. I limped closer to him and begged him to stop the pain.

“IT HURTS! IT HURTS! PLEASE AAAAAAAAHHHHHH, MAKE IT STOP!!!”

He backed away afraid and soon I couldn’t see anything at all as light blinded me and I felt my eyes catch on fire. I quit limping to fall on my knees and just simply sat there howling in pain. I felt the Force roll off of me in waves and I could do nothing to stop it. The Force echoed from my screams and I desperately wished for the pain to end. Loud crashes and other uninterpretable screams sounded off between my howls but I was too far gone to care.

When the pain finally ended I opened my eyes to see glass shards scattered over the floor. I stayed on my knees for a minute breathing deeply trying to calm myself and keep my body from shaking. Once I got a hold of myself, I grasped one of the glass shards with a clawed gauntlet and slowly brought it up to look at my face. As soon as I saw the color red I dropped the shard as I realized that another vision had come true. I looked around the emergency room to see flipped over beds, shattered windows, and crushed medical equipment scattered everywhere. I panicked when I saw Princess Falca’s bed turned over as well and adrenaline flowed through my system as I got up and searched for her. She wasn’t far from the bed and I walked over to find her lying down nursing her wing until her head shot up to look at me. Surprise and a hint of fear stretched across her face and she tried to get up on her three good legs to try and meet me halfway.

“Jack… your face, are you alright?” She asked me worried.

“I think so, the pain’s gone now. Like it never even happened at all. What happened? Where’s Prince Hyde?” I responded.

Panic gripped her face and her eyes searched the room to find her little brother. She called out to him and I heard a whimper from underneath another bed. Prince Hyde crawled out looking relatively unhurt and I heard the princess sigh in relief. The prince stared at me in confusion and sadness and his beak flopped up and down trying to form words.

“I don’t understand… it was going so well. The potion could never have done that, wha… why?” He said trailing off into a series of uninterpretable mumbles.

I just now heard the banging from the door and after a few more harsh pushes the wooden door covered in debris was pushed open by my assassin droid to reveal Boreus and a group of guards and medical personnel. The guards gawked at me fearfully and pointed their weapons at me while barking orders for me to get on the ground. HK got in front of them and pointed his rife at them in warning. Not wanting to fight, I told HK to stand down and slowly started to raise my hands above my head until the princess barked at them.

“Ancestor’s sake, stand down! Stop pointing your weapons at him! He’s been through enough. Hyde, what happened, why did this happen?”

The prince was still staring at me with his beak wide open and he didn’t appear to hear his sister. The princess limped over to him carefully favoring her gel covered hind leg, and shook his shoulder to snap him out of it.

“Hyde! Get a hold of yourself, do you have any idea how this could’ve happened? Why did he have such a severe reaction to the potion?”

The prince stopped to look at his sister then looked back up to me again trying to find the words.

“The potion was doing its job, it was reversing whatever caused his face to transform. Nothing like that should have happened… unless… if the spell that transformed him reacted to the potion. Jack, whatever spell caused you to transform, it’s still a part of your body,” He told me.

As I tried to process everything that happened, the med griffins flipped a bed back over and tried to get Princess Falca back into bed. Hyde and a few others continued to stare at my face and I got fed up not knowing what they were staring at and tried to look for a better mirror.

“Can someone help me find another mirror,” I asked.

They all broke out of their stares and tried to help me. One of the med griffins tugged at the robe portion of my armor and she offered me some sort of makeup kit she had tucked away in her lab coat. I opened the kit to find a small mirror and I stared at my deep red face and my new batch of hair.

I had the face of a sith pureblood. The original Sith, the species that practically had a symbiotic relationship with the Dark Side and terrorized the Star Wars galaxy for centuries. My beard was gone and had been replaced by bone spurs that jutted out from my chin and across my jaw. My finger traced the firm bone around my eyebrow and I slowly felt it all the way down to my cheek. I checked my mouth and I found some ferociously pointed teeth. My golden eyes practically remained the same from my previous form and I remembered where I last saw this face. It was the original face of my sith warrior character before I changed him into a human.

‘Instead of giving me back my original face, the potion changed me into my character’s original species when I first played as him,’ I thought trying to make sense of all this.

I gave the med griffin her kit back and I tried to take off my left gauntlet to see the extent of my transformation. My hand was deep red as well and my nails were replaced with small black claws that looked like they were designed to focus on latching and holding on to prey. I rubbed my toes against my boots to feel slightly elongated claws as well and I put my gauntlet back on. The knowledge that I wasn’t even human anymore began to wear on my mental state and I walked over to the wall to lean on it and steady myself before I keeled over from the shock. I constantly repeated a mantra in my head to try and reassure myself.

‘I was raised by loving human parents and my mind is still my own.’

‘I was raised by loving human parents and my mind is still my own.’

‘I was raised by loving human parents and my mind is still my own.’

‘I. AM. JACK KRIEGER.’

Once I reminded myself that my species didn’t define who I was, I noticed that some of the med staff hesitantly tried to approach me. The female that handed me her makeup kit got closer and spoke up.

“Sir, you’ve just been through a traumatic experience, you need to rest. Please lie down,” she said as she pointed to a bed that was turned upright for me.

“Statement: Master, I agree with the feathered meatbag, your processors must be overheating from your total organic overhaul,” HK said in agreement.

I nodded in agreement and moved to lie down but stopped halfway when I heard marching down the hallway outside. I sensed a familiar presence and it was made clear who it was when I saw Princess Takada march through the open door with more castle guards. At first she didn’t recognize me, but when she recognized my armor she knew who I was. Her face was ablaze with anger, and she roared her question throughout the room.

“WHAT IN TARTARUS HAPPENED IN HERE?!”

Her eyes roamed across the devastated room looking for answers until it stopped on Prince Hyde.

“What’s your worthless tail doing here?” Takada asked her brother.

The little prince averted his eyes from his sister and he tried to explain what happened.

“I-I was trying to…to… help our new visitor. He went thru a polymorphing of some kind before coming here and I tried to, I mean, I and my colleagues, made a simple magical reversal remedy to reverse whatever magic was used on him. We wanted to try and at least get him his face back. His body reacted violently to the potion, and uh… he couldn’t control his powers as his body was transformed and it caused- “

“So you’re to blame for this,” Takada interrupted.

“I... I…,” Hyde said at a loss for words.

“Leave him alone Takada. He came to check on me last night and I was the one to ask him if a remedy could be made. This is my fault,” Falca said trying to defend her little brother.

“Be quiet Falca, you’re already in enough trouble as it is, you don’t need to defend him for his failures,” Takada said dismissing her sister.

“Don’t brush me off, I was the one who suggested the potion and I’m responsible for causing Jack so much pain. So don’t you dare try and pin this all on our little brother,” Falca argued as the med team tried to keep her from leaping off the bed.

“Fine then, so not only did you disgrace our House by getting your tail kicked by the very creature that represents our family crest. You also physically deformed the first alien guest to our world as well! By the ancestors Falca, do you plan to bury our House in shame?” Takada asked her sister.

The two sisters had a yelling match where neither side of the argument could be interpreted. I tried to think of a way to diffuse the argument but my mind couldn’t come up with anything in the heat of the moment. As the argument went on I felt another presence coming towards the emergency room through the Force. This presence was similar in strength to the three siblings in the room and as soon as it got closer I saw another griffin enter the room. He was as big as Takada, and he had the same lion and falcon features as well. His plumage was a dazzling golden color that blended well with his lion pelt and his eyes had a fierce steely iris color that demanded obedience. He wore a bronze colored chestplate with a purple scarf hanging around his neck. He took one look at the arguing siblings and let loose an earthshaking lion’s roar.

All the guards and the med staff ceased what they were doing and bowed to him while the three siblings stood at attention and bowed their heads a little. HK and I stood awkwardly amongst the prostrating griffins and were unsure of what to do. The newcomer stared at us for a few moments with analyzing eyes before he returned his attention to the royal siblings. He spoke in a lecturing tone with a deep baritone voice.

“After an urgent emergency meeting took me away from my Isles, I left my kingdom in the claws of my very own cubs. When the meeting was over I and my guard flew overnight when word reached me that an alien visitor was what had fallen on my lands. I thought when I returned to the castle, I would find my cubs hard at work trying to deal with a situation they had no training or experience in. Instead, I find out that one of my daughters had almost been killed by the Aper Major and was in the medical quarter with broken bones and a dislocated wing. I return to the castle to hear horrific screams echoing across its walls. At the center of all of this, I find my cubs bickering in the middle of the wreckage of my medical quarter, and our newest guest bearing witness to all of it. Am I interpreting this wrong in ANY way?” The newcomer challenged.

No one spoke up and so he continued by speaking directly to me.

“Honored guest, I am King Grinnail, please forgive me and my cubs for our behavior. Please, will you return with me to my throne room to discuss what has happened?” The now proclaimed king asked me.

The female med griffin got up from her bow and addressed the king before I could answer.

“Forgive me for interrupting you’re majesty, but the honored guest has just been through a severe trauma. I beg that he be given time to rest first,” she pleaded to the king.

“Is this true, do you need time to rest?” He asked me.

‘I don’t need to rest, I need his help to find my sister. My body may have changed again, but I can still move and talk.’

“I’m fine you’re majesty, I don’t want to waste any of your time,” I answered him.

He nodded then turned his attention to his cubs and the med staff.

“I want you all to safely move Falca and whatever medical equipment she needs to her old quarters here in the castle. Hyde, go with your sister and stay with her until I come to speak to you both. Takada, you’re coming with us to help explain all of this,” he said before he turned and walked away.

Takada and her guards trailed her father and I moved to follow them as well before I made a quick stop and addressed both Prince Hyde and Princess Falca.

“This isn’t either of your faults, this was just an accident. Trust me I’m fine, I’ll see you both later,” I didn’t get the chance to see their reactions as I moved to follow the king along with HK.

As we moved along the familiar corridors of the medical quarter I told HK that I wanted to speak with the king alone and I told him to wait and guard the ship until given further orders.

“Resignation: Very well master, even though I advise heavily against it, I’ll follow your orders,” the assassin droid said unhappily.

The throne room was massive. Eight wide pillars stood on both sides with a griffin clad in steel scaled armor posted near each one. In the center of the polished white stone floor sat a black circle with a shield, almost as big as me, in its center. The shield had the Aper Major’s head depicted in its center with a background of gold, red, white, and royal blue. The throne itself sat on an upraised dais at the end of the room. The seat was composed of a bushel of twigs forming a nest with a violet cushion in it seating the king. The throne’s backrest was made of a pair of familiar but older looking tusks that led me to believe that they were from the Aper Major that fell to Hialla centuries ago.

After I introduced myself, King Grinnail sat in his throne with his daughter seated on the steps of the dais. The king cleared his throat before speaking to me as I stood before him a few meters away from the dais.

“I would like to apologize again for your treatment here in my kingdom. The messenger that told me of your presence told me that you saved my daughter and dealt my kingdom a great service by defeating the reincarnation of the Aper Major. Such actions deserve respect and awards and I’m humbled that you haven’t taken your ship and left my kingdom already. My daughter Takada told me that you were responsible for the destruction of my medical quarter due to the effects my son’s potion put you through. I must say, your tolerance for pain must be unlimited if you can survive such a horrific transformation. I hope your new body isn’t too foreign to you.”

“Actually you’re majesty I feel just fine. Five fingered hands, two legs to walk on, and muscles just as big and strong as they were before. I may have more predator features now, but I still think and act like the human I was before I came to this world. Besides, there’s also a bright side to this situation, my skin is now my favorite color,” I said trying to reassure the king that I wasn’t too upset.

“You’re taking all of this surprisingly well,” the king said astonished.

“I’m trying to use a practical mindset through all of this. So far it’s helping me cope with my situation.”

“I see, nonetheless, you have yet to be properly rewarded for rescuing my daughter. State your wish, and I’ll do whatever is within my power to grant it.”

I smiled as I already had a wish in mind, and I got on my knees to bow before stating my wish.

“All I want is help in finding my sister you’re majesty. I’m aware that another object fell towards Equestria and I believe it to be my sister. This is all I want, nothing more.”

King Grinnail looked surprised again by what I said and he shared a quick look with his daughter before answering.

“There is no need to bow, I’m not your king, and I would gladly help you in your quest to find your sister.”

A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders as I realized that I now had resources to call upon in my search.

“Thank you you’re Majesty,” I said standing up again.

“Now I have a request for you. Please know that you are under no obligation to accept, as the ancestors as my witness, you have my word,” he said and I nodded for him to continue.

“Your skill, your power, your technology, these are things my kingdom has never seen before. Takada has told me how you were able to catch and deflect projectiles faster than the eye can track with your blade. How you were able to lift an airship larger than a building with just your magic alone. The technology you wield and possess is awe inspiring and I would be honored if you accepted my offer to serve me and my kingdom and allow my people to study you and your technology.”

‘Wait what?’ I thought wondering if I heard him right.

“I of course am willing to reward you greatly for this as well. I will announce you as a citizen and member of my House and give you status and plenty of wealth to use as you see fit. Even though you’re not a griffin, by slaying the Aper Major, you may choose to take on the title as Warden of The Isles and command your own branch in my military.”

I waited a few seconds before asking him a question.

“I-I’m deeply honored your majesty, but what would be my duties as Warden?”

“As Warden, you’d be answerable only to members of the main royal family and be my right talon. Of course, I wouldn’t give you duties and missions immediately should you accept. After a year or two, you’d only be Warden in name and during that time you can start to learn and understand how to live in griffin culture and civilization. You’ll receive whatever training you need and as the name implies, your main duty will be to protect the kingdom of the Shattered Isles and its people from any foreign threats,” He answered.

I stood there for a couple minutes digesting his offer. He was offering me, a foreigner, a high seat of power in his very own kingdom. All I had to do was get to know his people and allow him to take a peek at my new toys. After finding my sister, I would have a home and a future to look forward to if I can’t find a way back to my planet. I just had to be a Jedi and be a keeper of the peace. With these new skills and powers, it may not be that difficult. However, I have to be careful here, I wouldn’t want some of the technology on my ship to fall in the wrong hands.

“I’ll agree to your offer, only if you agree to a few conditions,” I said.

“Name them,” he said without hesitation.

“First off, there are powerful weapons on my ship that I think should remain unstudied for the time being. Please let me explain the wisdom in this, my droid HK-55 has a weapon the people of my world call a blaster. This is a deadly and highly effective weapon, and before I was dropped into this world, my own people had a primitive but just as effective version of the blaster as well. It allows anyone the capability to defeat nearly any foe with little training and I’d like for you to imagine such a reality where griffins everywhere had such weapons. Take one of your guards in the throne room for example, it probably takes years of training and constant practice with a sword to be your guard, correct?

He nodded to answer.

“Now imagine them with a weapon that could kill someone from hundreds of meters away. He or she would be a force to be reckoned with by themselves. But, now imagine if every griffin had these kinds of weapons. After a week of training, every griffin with a blaster could be a force to be reckoned with and be a challenge to even the best of your guard. This is a weapon that even my own country couldn’t properly control in its distribution. This is a powerful weapon you’re majesty, and I hope you won’t push the issue on this. It wouldn’t sit right with my morals if I gave your people better capabilities to hurt others and even hurt each other.”

I seemed to give them plenty to think about as I gave them a picture on the consequences of having access to such weapons.

“That’s not to say you can’t study the technology of other parts of my ship. There’s a sick bay on my ship with medical technology your people might find some use in. The strength of the durasteel that makes up my ship could also be of great use to your industry as well if we can find out how it’s created. What is perhaps most important of all is the computer technology that runs the ship. This is a ship that is capable of traveling beyond your solar system, and while it may take many lifetimes to even understand it, let alone recreate it. It still has the capability to advance you farther than even my own species,” I finished.

King Grinnail turned to his daughter and asked for her input.

“It sounds more than reasonable father. Besides, even knowledge of the concept of such weapons sets us ahead of our rivals in weapons development.”

“I agree, very well, we agree to your condition Jack Krieger. Whoever I send to study your ship will not be allowed to study any of its weapons and you of course can observe and make sure that they don’t look at anything their not supposed to. What are your other conditions?” He asked.

“Actually this last one is more of a personal request than an actual condition. Please don’t be harsh on Princess Falca and Prince Hyde for what happened in the medical quarter. They just wanted to help me, and I agreed to take the potion. I was the one who lost control and wrecked your property with my powers. I could have hurt them or worse and I’m just glad that they’re alright. It was all just an accident that none of us could’ve predicted.”

He seemed to contemplate my words and I think I saw the hint of a smile on his beak when he answered.

“I’ll consider your words when I go to speak with them after this meeting. But, I wish for you to respect how I treat my own cubs.”

“I will, I just wanted you to know. I agree to become your people's Warden, so what happens now?” I asked.

“Now I look for your sister and prepare to present the kingdom their new Warden. By the end of the week I’ll announce you to the Shattered Isles and what you’ve done and hopefully I’ll have found your sister by then. Until then, rest, practice your abilities, enjoy all the hospitality my castle has to offer you. But before I leave you to tour the grounds, I must have another name to go with your title as a lord in my House.

“What's wrong with just Lord Jack or Lord Krieger,” I asked.

“It’s an old tradition, griffins who ascended to griffin noble Houses through acts of martial might have to have a name that represents their strength. However, we’re already bending traditions by having a non-griffin as Warden, so you may keep your original name in your title if you wish.”

“Okay that’s fine, hmmm, how about… Wrath… Lord Wrath.” I said taking on the name of my character’s former Darth title.

“Very well, a week from now you’ll be known throughout my kingdom as Lord Wrath, Warden of The Isles.”

“Father, it shouldn’t take a week to find the sister. Princess Celestia has undoubtedly already found his sister if she fell on her lands. A quick letter to her will probably quicken the search to less than a few days. Why should it take week?” I asked my father.

After Jack had left the throne room, father started to drum his claws against the twigs on his throne as he considered the events of the meeting. Before he spoke to me he told the guards to leave the throne room and leave us in privacy.

“I want to get to know him a little better and try to get him to form some roots before he flies off to see his sister when we find her. When I better understand his character, I’ll give him his sister’s location in a reasonable amount of time. He’s not a griffin and therefore has no loyalty to our people just yet. I hope the time and fortunes I offer him will be enough to garner his loyalty. If not, then I hope our engineers and scientists can gain enough information from his craft if he decides to leave us.”

He stopped drumming his talons and a genuine smile formed on his beak.

“I also can’t wait to hear all the stories he has to offer. I especially can’t wait to hear how he defeated the Aper Major.”

I considered his words and I could see the logic in them.

“I’ll issue a gag order until the announcement then. Only the main family and the castle staff can know of his existence. We can’t let word reach Celestia that we already found him. There’s another issue we need to discuss as well. How did the meeting go with the House Ridara ambassador?”

His smile was gone and he started to look frustrated.

‘Oh no’

“They aren’t stopping. King Stormbeak hasn’t stopped increasing his already massive forces, and he keeps using the return of Nightmare Moon and Discord as an excuse. With the return of the Elements of Harmony, it means that more dark forces are bound to rise and he says he wants his kingdom prepared should the bearers fail.”

My feathers bristled at this news.

“Really? So his army is being prepared to defend his kingdom, not for invading and conquering when Celestia’s distracted?” I asked with a roll of my eyes.

Father let out weary sigh before answering.

“Let us hope for the former,” he paused to stare at the door where our newest guest had just left, “and prepare for the latter.”

The guard escorting me took me out to my ship and he left me on my own when I told him that I would be fine from here. He left to return to his post and I found HK standing guard just outside the ship’s ramp. I told him that I wanted to inspect the cargo hold and my possessions and he led me up the ramp. 2V-R8 walked up to me and he gave me the current status of the ship. It was hardly different then it was yesterday, but he asked me if he should be worried that the griffins might ‘shower their droppings all over the haul.’ I gave the droid a firm look and told him no. I asked him to prepare me a manifest of all the items and technology on the ship and he left to do his job.

HK and I continued to my cargo hold and my captain’s locker and I found my cave varactyl resting against one of the crates. She ran over to me nearly knocking me over in the process but I braced myself and held my ground. After petting her feathers for a few minutes I let her know how much of a good girl she was and she followed me over to the locker. I made a mental note to find out what she eats in the future and took hold of the handles on the main portion of the behemoth sized locker. With a gentle tug the locker opened to reveal racks of weapons and other valuables

I found lightsabers and vibroblades I left behind as I found newer and better ones throughout the game lining one of the weapon racks. Strangely enough, I found double-bladed lightsabers and blasters that I only used with other characters on the other racks as well. I even found armor and items I only used with the Sith Warrior along with items from the Sith Inquisitor, The Bounty Hunter, both Jedi characters, and even the smuggler character. I had the accumulation of all my loot from every character in swtor. Out of all the treasures I found, my eyes were drawn towards the artifacts in the very center of the locker. Holocrons, Jedi and Sith alike.

I knew of the knowledge they were supposed to possess and I carefully pulled one of the Sith holocrons from the locker. I admired the ancient symbols adorning the four-sided pyramid and I could sense the Force pulsing from its core. I gently set the holocron on the durasteel floor, then sat down before it. I crossed my legs and began a deep, slow breathing to try and get into a meditative trance. Gathering and focusing the Dark Side, I projected a wave of dark Force power to engulf the small relic. The Holocron began to sparkle and shimmer in response.

I held my breath in anticipation, unsure what would happen next. A small beam of light projected out from the top, the particles scattered and diffused. They began to shift and spin, forming into a cloaked and heavily armored figure, its features completely hidden by the hood of its heavy robe. The figure pulled back its hood and revealed a bald man with a breathing mask covering his mouth.

A voice spoke out, crisp and clear.

“I am Darth Malgus, leader of the Sith Empire’s armies. What do you seek from my holocron?”

I sat there amazed that this was still happening, that this was reality. I gave him my answer.

“Teach me.”

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the lack of an author's update in the last chapter. Anyway, besides continuing the plot, this chapter was made to show how much of an MMO character Jack has turned into. Also you all finally get to know Jack and Katy's last name.
I hope you all enjoyed and I can't wait to start on the next one.