Twelve hours ago:
Maria Wroblenska stood at the counter of the small computer-repair shop she had opened along with her brother shortly after they had immigrated to England from Poland. What she saw was something new, and something that would barely have been imaginable a few months ago. An elf had come to their shop with a computer problem.
Maria had seen elves from afar, briefly, and found them somewhat disturbing. However, a customer was a customer and from what she had heard elves had surprising good credit. She looked at the laptop the elf had brought in. The elf was pointing at the data stick in the USB hub. "It's stuck." she said, laying the laptop on the counter.
Maria took a closer look. She couldn't see how it was stuck. It looked like it should be released. She cautiously took hold, and gently pulled on it. It resisted, then came out suprisingly easily.
What the heck? Suddenly it seemed like the roof had come off the tiny storefront as the room was suffused with light. The data stick had transformed into a sword. And something about Maria felt different.
"Pendragon" said the elf. "Protector of the Land of Logres. The veil has been torn, and your people have need of you again."
"Pendragon?" Maria responded "You mean like King Arthur?"
"Arthur was Pendragon, now you are, and you wield the sword Excalibur. Your people need you."
"Oh, this is about those werewolves! You want me to fight the werewolves!"
"Exactly!"
Maria looked down, and saw she was now covered with reddish armor.
"You can turn the sword back into a data stick if you want to carry it around more easily." the elf explained. "Oh, and one other thing."
"What?" asked Maria, but she felt she already knew.
The elf held a small mirror in front of Maria's face. Maria saw the face of a young man. "The Pendragon" the elf said "must be a male."