Cal and his friends were playing in the woods behind his house. It was a game of football, and Cal’s team was winning. His team always won; he was the star of the younger football league.
Joining him were his fellow young athletes: Timothy, Wyatt, Andy, Levi, and Tanner. They were also his best friends.
Wyatt threw a pass in Cal’s direction, but it sailed over his head deeper into the woods. “Seriously, man?” he laughed. “Not even close!”
But when he ran to retrieve it, he saw a shimmer a short distance away. Cal went toward it and found the sword in the stone.
His friends followed him. “Who put that there?” asked Levi. “Is it part of some sort of scavenger hunt?”
“I don’t know.” Cal shrugged. “I’m gonna try to pull it out, you know, like in the movie.”
“Dude, it’s nothing,” complained Andy. “Can’t we get back to the game now?”
But Cal put his hands on the hilt of the sword and, with one strong tug, pulled it out. He waved it around a little, then as his friends laughed, he held it upright with a fist at his side in a mock heroic pose.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning struck the sword, leaping to all six boys and knocking them unconscious.
When Cal awoke, he felt very sore. He groaned...but why did his groan sound so deep?
He raised himself to a sitting position, but everything seemed off. He saw the sword lying off to the side. What had happened?
Nearby was a pool of water. Cal dragged himself over and peered at his reflection. Except it wasn’t his reflection. It was that of a very attractive young man, with a strong chin, bright blue eyes, and blond stubble shading his cheeks.
Actually, it was a pretty accurate representation of what Cal would look like at age 16.
Cal shot to his feet. He looked down at his body, which was much taller and clothed in a tight leather jerkin and boots. He felt very strong, and appeared to be quite muscular, though in a lean sort of way.
He turned around, and there were 5 more bodies laying on the ground. They seemed to be young men in knight’s armor. He rolled one over to check if he was breathing (which he was), when he realized that this guy, who was built like a lineman and had curly black hair and a thin black mustache and goatee, had to be his friend, Tanner.
One by one he checked and found all his friends. How was this possible? Where were they? How had they been transformed?
Cal suddenly felt memories pour into his head. He remembered a second life, one as Prince Cal of the kingdom of Morgonia. He had been raised to rule, to marry a good woman, and to be the greatest warrior in the land. But his love had been kidnapped by an evil witch threatening the kingdom. He and his elite corps of knights and closest friends had searched, but instead he had attacked the witch and- his stomach churned- been fatally wounded. Now here he was, reincarnated in the body of another Cal, which had been transformed to be of use.
His friends- his knights- began to wake and stand up. He remembered both versions of them and knew they too would soon learn what was at stake. He remembered how he had formed this group of knights: Levi was his younger brother, the second-born prince who was trained as much as Cal himself. Timothy and Tanner were the most skilled of his personal guards. As for Wyatt and Andrew, they’d been two skinny peasant boys longing for adventure when Cal met them when they were 13. With training, they’d become the most famous of the group, for both their social rise and their physical transformation into the most talented (and stunningly handsome) marksmen in the land.
“Alright men,” Cal declared, in his new deep and powerful voice. “We have a lady and a kingdom to save!”