With the sun setting over the kingdom of Navasan, a group of robed figures made their way towards the cathedral; walking single file through the streets of the capital. It was a familiar ritual; the vigilants changed shifts twice a day, at dusk and dawn - to ensure that the promised hero would never arrive in an empty room.

  As the evening procession reached their destination they found a riotous crowd had gathered, and guardsmen had taken up post at the cathedral gates. Inside, an unexpected scene had begun to unfold.

  A crowd of robed vigilants sat at the foot of an altar, atop which stood a stone pedestal and carved statue of the hero - into the base was carved a name in script which none had been able to decipher. It was not until the daylight vigilants stood from their prayers and prepared to exchange with the night shift that they realized the inscription had changed - the words still unreadable, but clearly of a different language.

  One of their number had departed to report the change and the city guard was called to keep order, only allowing the next group of vigilants to enter. But still, business as usual must go on; with the setting sun the changing of the watch would occur, those participating in daylight prayers lowering their hoods as they departed, making way for their replacements one by one.

  And so, despite the disturbance, the vigil carried on into the dead of night; the guards returned to their usual posts, and the crowd slowly dispersed. All was quiet in the cathedral, disturbed only by the sputtering of torches- and the cracking of stone.

  The vigilants raised their heads to watch as the unfamiliar sound began, to see cracks forming across the statue of their hero. Slowly at first, pieces crumbled to the ground to reveal flesh and fabric beneath until, all at once, the stone was jettisoned away; a large chunk striking one of the vigilants as a form notably larger than the original statue emerged - revealing not their youthful hero, but a man of older age, with graying brown hair and a large mustache.

  “What’re y’all starin’ at?” the apparent hero asked, crouching down in order to step off of the pedestal he had arrived on, “Is this supposed to’ be some sorta church?” Big Bill questioned, brushing bits of rubble and dust off of his shirt as he spoke. “Are y’all priests?”

  Muttering made its way like a wave through the crowd of vigilants, confusion spreading as they nervously eyed the strangely dressed man - though a few of their number were more concerned about checking on their companion who had been struck in the face by a piece of marble until, at last, one of the robed figures approached with notable caution, slowly lowering her hood as she spoke; revealing sapphire eyes and long red hair.

  “My lord, this is the cathedral of awakening. I am Leyre, chief of the Vigilant Priests.” the woman offered, “We are those who await the hero’s arrival - forgive our confusion, but you are- larger than we expected.” she stated cautiously, clearly trying to choose words which would not offend the new arrival.

  Big Bill gave an understanding nod, he’d figured something like this would happen, “Y’all’re probably waitin’ for that Hiroki fella. Sorry to say, but he ain’t comin’. Ya’ get me instead. I’m Big Bill Jones. And drop that’ ma’ lord nonsense. Ain’t no messiah, just a rancher.”

  “I see. Well, if you are he who was sent, then who are we to argue with the wisdom of the divine?” the vigilant woman offered, turning to the others, “We must prepare-” she stopped herself, glancing over at Big Bill, who was waiting patiently, “We must prepare to announce the arrival of our hero… Big Bill.” she suppressed a sigh. Realistically speaking, this man was more than suited physically for the journey ahead, but he was a far cry from what they had been expecting, and seemed a bit too unenthused about the entire process.

  “While y’all are makin’ preparations, Ah’ was told there’d be some tools waitin’ for me.” Big Bill stated, walking over to the crowd of vigilants. “Somethin’ ‘bout a chest.”

  “Yes. M- Mr Bill. The hero’s chest will be presented to you at the welcoming ceremony in a few days.” Leyre explained, but was met with an annoyed scowl.

  “Aw naw, git it now. Ain’t got time for no ceremony.” Big Bill stated firmly, “No offense to y’all, but Ah got a job ta do. So if ya can just git me my belongin’s I’ll be on my way.”

  Leyre stared at Big Bill with clear confusion and annoyance in her eyes, “I’m afraid that’s beyond our control - the hero’s chest is held in trust by the royalty.” the priestess explained, crossing her arms, “Such is the will of the gods - that the hero must win approval of the kingdom before he may embark.”

  “Bureaucracy” Big Bill groaned, “Fine, ah’ll play along for now.” the large man agreed, nudging his way through the crowd and towards the doors, “Let’s git movin’ then, I ain’t got all day.”

  Leyre shared a nervous glance with the other vigilants before following Big Bill out of the cathedral. “I must ask, Mr Bill”

  “Big Bill” the large man corrected, “Or Mr Jones.”

  “Right, Mr Jones. I must ask, why are you… here? The prophecy was quite clear - a youth would arrive in the temple of awakening, someone who would learn the ways of our world on his journey to become the hero of legend.” Leyre explained, “I doubt not your potential -you are clearly mighty- but you are far from what we expected.”

  “Funny story ‘bout that; kid was ‘bout to be run over and I pushed him out’ the way, got hit instead.” Big Bill explained with a chuckle, “Wouldn’ call myself mighty, just hard livin’ and good eatin’. You folks ever heard of bull ridin’? Hell of a sport. If ya’ ain’t built right, ya end up dead.”

  “I’m afraid our world has no such practice.” Leyre denied, shaking her head, “We have a creature by this name, Bull, but I can’t say if they are the same as in your own world. They are fierce beasts - it would be unwise to attempt to ride such a thing.”

  Big Bill let out a roaring laugh, “They ain’t exactly friendly where I come from, that’s what makes it fun.” he explained, slapping the priestess on the back and sending her tumbling forward.

  And that seemed to be the last straw for the already-stressed priestess “Why did you do that?!” Leyre shouted, slowly standing up, “I’m trying to be civil, Mr Jones, but you’re making this very difficult. You are NOT the hero we were promised. You arriving gave one of my priests a concussion, and you’ve already decided to skip the welcoming ceremony. I’m not sure you understand just how serious all of this is. And then, right when I’m starting to think we can work with you, you strike me?!”

  Big Bill sighed, rubbing his forehead, “Ah’m sorry, Miss Leyre, it ain’t like that.” the large man explained, extending a hand to help her stand, “Weren’t no attack on your person, back home that’s a friendly gesture. I’m use to folks bein’ a bit heftier - didn’t think it’d send ya sprawlin’ like that.” the large man explained, “Back on the farm, even the lady folk can haul’ a bail a’ hay on each shoulder.” he offered - though he was clearly exaggerating a bit. “I know things’re a bit shaky for you folks, that’s why I’m in a hurry to get to work. Sooner I get things dealt with, sooner y’all can get back to business as usual and sooner I can get home.”

  Leyre pushed his hand away, finishing standing without his aid. The priestess was clearly a bit flustered, needing to take a few long breaths to calm herself down before speaking again, “I’ve dedicated my life to preparing for the hero’s arrival” the priestess finally offered, turning away from Big Bill and starting the walk towards the castle once more, picking up her pace to get the journey over with as quickly as possible, “I’ve studied healing, memorized the prophecies and the tales of past heroes. As chief of the Vigilants it was to be my duty to accompany the hero on his quest. But you- ugh.”

  The pair then fell silent - Big Bill could tell when someone needed to be alone, and not talking was the best he could do with Leyre showing him to the castle. Once they got there, he’d make sure she had space to process.

  Trinity Castle, the seat of power for the kingdom of Navasan, was a titanic structure - dwarfing the cathedral in which Big Bill had first arrived and bearing little resemblance to the castles he had seen in his own world.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The structure was composed of three wings, joined at the middle by a circular annex, and it was through this annex that Big Bill and Leyre entered. By the time they arrived, word of the hero’s appearance had already reached the residents and a crowd was gathered to await his arrival - a blend of guards, castle servants, and Vigilants who had come from the Cathedral were filing into the annex.

  “Interestin’ castle y’all’ve got here.” Big Bill observed, staring up at the structure for a few moments before following Ley’re inside, “Any particular reason for the name Trinity?”

  Leyre nodded, “Navasan was founded by three separate races - humans, dwarves, and beast-folk. Three races, three royal families - they rule by majority vote.” the priestess explained as she entered the central annex.

  “So each of them gets their own bit, and the middle is shared space?” Big Bill intuited. Once inside the annex it was easy enough to tell which wing belonged to which race - aside from the doors where they had entered, there was three large ornate doors in the annex, each of which was flanked by statues.

  The wing directly across from the doors Leyre and Big Bill had entered through was marked by a pair of statues which were most likely humans, a man and woman each wearing an ornate suit of armor; one carrying a long axe and the other carrying some sort of spear.

  To their left, dwarves; shorter than the humans and quite stout of build - again a man and a woman, wearing thick, slab-like armor and carrying hammers.

  It wasn’t the statues at the entrance to the third wing which caught Big Bill off guard, but the crowd standing around them. One more versed in fantasy would likely have expected it, but Big Bill stared in utter confusion - a blend of animal-like humanoids; be they birds, reptiles, or mammals stood waiting, intermixed with humans bearing the traits of animals. Those must be the Beastfolk Leyre had mentioned.

  Upon noticing Big Bill and Leyre, a representative from each of the three groups approached the pair. “Greetings, Chief of the Vigilants” a human woman in a simple gown offered, “And greetings as well to… our hero.” she added hesitantly. “We are advisors to the royals. We meet with those persons who seek an audience.”

  “The rumor spoke truth, he is not… quite as we expected” interjected the Beastfolk’s representative, a red-haired man with dull grey scales covering his arms “Can’t say I disapprove of this version, the promised hero always struck me as a bit… puny.”

  “Aye, this one’s built like a stone dweller.” the dwarven advisor -a dwarven woman- agreed, looking up at Big Bill.

  “Pleasure to meet y’all, I’m Big Bill.” as he introduced himself, the rancher reached out, shaking hands with each of the representatives, “I’d love to chat, but I got business to deal with. If y’all can point me towards the… throne room of wherever it is you folks meet with visitors. I’d like to skip the red tape and get on my way.”

  The human and dwarven advisors scowled, shaking their heads, and the dwarven woman spoke, “I’m afraid that’s not an option, Hero. The royals won’t be seen at this hour.” she stated firmly while looking towards the human woman for support.

  “It is as she says, the crowns will not hold audience this late into the evening. They must sort out matters brought to their attention earlier today.”

  “Well I can’t exactly stand ‘round all night with nothin’ to do.” Big Bill crossed his arms, just a bit annoyed by this turn of events.

  “If the others find it to be acceptable, the Beastfolk will gladly host our new hero until morning” the scale-armed man offered, “There is presently an unoccupied suite in the ambassador’s quarter of our palace.”

  At the beast man’s offer, the human and dwarven women shared a glance before nodding in agreement.

  “Very well. I’ll see Big Bill to his room, then. Good evening to you.”

  “I must return to the Vigilants dorm, with the hero arriving I must prepare an announcement for the public.” Leyre explained, taking a step back from Big Bill and the advisors. “Farewell until morning.”

  After being denied an early audience with the royals, Big Bill had been escorted to a private suite in the Beastfolk’s wing of the castle to wait until morning. On the bright side, this place had a well-stocked liquor cabinet and decent selection of local literature.

  It had been years since he’d been alone in bed, too used to his wife’s company, and Big Bill found himself unable to sleep - instead sitting down to read with a glass of something that resembled whiskey. The book he had selected was a retelling of the deeds of this world’s past heroes; three glasses in, and half way through the book, Big Bill was starting to understand why the priests were so confused by his presence.

  Before the unwitting hero could finish that thought, a knock came at the door and he rose to answer it, finding the one familiar face he’d found in this world standing outside wrapped in what looked to be a bed sheet - and carrying the familiar scent of wine. “Can I help ya, Miss Leyre?” Big Bill inquired.

  “Shutty'' the drunken priestess mumbled, shoving past him into the room, “ruined everything…” having apparently had one too many she stumbled over the ends of her sheet while shuffling forward, falling face-first towards the ground. She didn’t quite make it though, as Big Bill caught her by the shoulder and pulled her back to her feet, walking his guest over to the table where he had been drinking.

  Leyre quickly fell asleep sitting at the table so, with a shrug, Big Bill picked up his book, finished his drink, and continued reading until morning.

  By the time sunrise came Leyre had sobered up, sitting in awkward silence until Big Bill noticed she was awake and addressed her, “Think I figured out why y’all ain’t exactly thrilled with me.” the large man offered simply, setting the book down and sliding it across the table, “Six heroes ‘fore me, same pattern every time. Young man, little dumb but with a good heart, jus’ right to learn how things work in these parts.” he observed.

  Leyre nodded, giving a quiet reply, “There’s never been a hero as old as you, it’s all wrong.” the priestess confirmed, “I spent my life preparing, and I was chosen as the vigilant chief - the one who would accompany the hero on his quest.”

  “And ya fell in love with the idea of him, right? Four times outta six, the priest what went with him ended up entangled with the hero they got.” Big Bill guessed.

  Leyre blushed, staring down at her feet, “You’re not the hero we- I expected. You are a handsome man, though, I think-”

  “Imma stop ya right there, Miss Leyre. First order is I’m married, hell I got three kids your age.” Big Bill stated firmly, cutting her off at the pass. “Don’t get caught up in dreams, life ain’t always how we plan it.”

  “I’ve spent my life expecting to join with our hero, I can’t go back to the Vigilant Order at this point, so if you don’t need me I have nothing.” Leyre returned, tears welling up in her sapphire eyes.

  “Lemme tell ya a story, Miss Leyre” Big Bill offered kindly, “When I was your age, I’d had it in my head to join the military - was all set up to enlist in the Marines once I finished school.” the large man explained, “My pa did it, so did pawpaw. But when I sit down with my folks to tell ‘em, I get one hell of a talkin’ to. See, Pawpaw had four brothers an’ three sisters - and I got two uncles and an aunt.” the large man explained, “But I ain’t got no siblin’s. If anythin’ had happened to me, that’s the end of the family. ‘Course I got three kids of my own now.”

  Leyre gave an understanding nod. “It isn’t uncommon for a family to die out because their only heir went to war.”

  “Mhhm. And that set me right, I gave up on enlistin’ and stayed home at the ranch. Best call I ever made.” Big Bill continued, “‘bout a month after, we get word some newspaper is lookin’ to write a story ‘bout our ranch. We got a darn good reputation, so they were curious on how we raised our cattle. We was all set to host some old timer, but when the car pulled up out stepped the purdiest thing I ever did see that’s how I met Cheyenne.”

  “Your wife?” Leyre inquired, sitting up as she realized where the story was going.

  “If I’d gone off to the corps, she’d have been there and gone ‘fore I finished basic training.” Big Bill confirmed, grinning broadly, “Life don’t always go accordin’ to plan, but that ain’t bad. Somewhere out there’s a fella that’s a better match for ya than that Hiroki kid. And you’re more than welcome to come with me until ya’ find ‘em.”

  Leyre stared at Big Bill for a moment and smiled, “You’re right - guess it’s a bit silly to get so attached to someone I’ve never even met. Who knows if we’d even be compatible.” the priestess agreed, “I’d be glad to travel with you, Mr Jones. You’ll need a healer, and someone who understands the local customs. If I happen to meet someone along the way… consider it a bonus.”

  As they were finishing their conversation the sound of bells drew Big Bill’s attention, and the large man stood from his seat; crossing the room to pull open the drapes covering the windows of his temporary room. Morning had come at least as the sun peeked over the mountains in the distance, “We’d best git movin” he declared, returning to the table and pulling his denim jacket off the back of his chair, quickly shrugging it on. “I’ll meet you downstairs, don’t take too long gettin’ dressed.”