Novanto's Notes: Don't own MARVEL's Doctor Strange, yadda yadda, Marvel comics belongs to the amazing Stan Lee, blah blah blah, the usual boring disclaimer...

Now that that's out of the way, this, my dear readers, is my audition to the first-ever Original Character Tournament on this site, hosted by the Master of Transformers Prime fanfictions, rapidFyrez! The tournament is known as "The Calling" more information can be found on their profile! Enjoy my audition, the debut of new character, Orion Hecatson!

It was yet another rainy night in Florida. A young man stood alone in a darkened room, lit only by a burning fireplace. His short black hair brushed the back of his pale neck as a long blue bang hung before his gold-colored eyes, which were covered by a simple pair of glasses. His name was Orion Hecatson, and he was no ordinary person. He was a sorcerer, and had trained under the Sorcerer Supreme himself for seven years.

When Orion was twenty, he had found a pair of gleaming stones: an emerald and a sapphire. Upon picking them up, he saw a vision of six figures, each one formed of a different classical element; blazing fire, rushing water, blinding light, suffocating shadow, mysterious mist, and dark earth. Soon, a man named Wong contacted him, and invited to train his new abilities at his master's home. Orion accepted, and left for New York and the Sanctum Sanctorum. There, he met Doctor Stephen Strange and became an apprentice, making sure to follow the rules, and assisting him or Wong when necessary.

As the years passed, overcoming each obstacle that the sorcerer put in his way with confidence and skill, he found more and more gem pairs, until six years had passed, with a complete set of fourteen. He spent another year learning to manipulate them to his will, until he could do so with a single thought or twitch of a wand. Soon after, Orion took his leave of the good Doctor and his servant. He returned to his home in Middleburg and found a job as an editor, continuing to practice his magic in the privacy of his own house, occasionally defending his home from creatures that sought to consume him and the energy of his magic.

The room was mainly wood, covered with bookshelves, and had an ornate rug covering the floor. Underneath a window, through which shone a rising full moon stood a desk. On it sat a sheaf of paper marked with gentle blue ink, a jar full of pencils and a pen, a music player that emitted soothing, New Age songs, and a laptop in the middle. Across the room stood a glass case on a pedestal with a brass plaque that read "Hallow Stones". On the plinth sat a red velvet cushion, on top of which where fourteen spherical jewels, in two rows of seven, separated by a length of wood. The top row was sapphires, while the lower was emeralds. Each one was engraved with Egyptian hieroglyphs, Greek letters, and Norse runes. The stick was actually his wand, a hazel body, eleven and 1/4 inches in length, with a shed phoenix feather magical core. Next to the pedestal stood a simple wardrobe that looked like one in the house of Professor Digory Kirke. A length of black fabric was visible through the slightly open doors.

Near the fireplace sat a plush armchair and side table, on which sat Orion's favorite book. Above the mantle, a copy of the Mona Lisa smiled down at the occupant, and below it sat a picture of Doctor Strange. Orion stood with his front to the fire, gazing at a large glass model of the inner Sol system, which slowly spun around the center.

What was unique about this model was that instead of clockwork, this was a magical item gifted to him by Strange immediately before Orion finishing his apprenticeship under the Sorcerer, with each planet in its correct place and orbital plane, along with natural satellites. Along the edge spun the asteroid belt. If looked at properly, one could see the rest of the galaxy and solar system, with the planets beyond Saturn barely visible, stretched out on the other side of the sphere. "Looks like an eclipse soon!" Orion said to himself with a faint smile, touching the sphere and transferring a hint of gold magic into it to accelerate the positions and zoom in toward Earth and Luna, watching as the moon's shadow cross over Florida within the next day. "I bet I can use it to extend the range of the Outside Step..." he muttered casually.

The Outside Step was a strange ability where the user would briefly step outside of the universe as a means of teleportation, but it was slightly less dangerous than the standard Teleportation spell that caused the user to dissolve and reform elsewhere. Instead, another danger was that of being trapped Outside. All those who attempted it were never seen again. The gems however, somehow managed to stabilize the opening, at the cost of greatly limiting the spells range from "anywhere in the known universe" to "around six feet away in any direction", presumably for added safety Handy for a quick get-away, but overall, not as useful as the standard spell.

Resetting the model to the present moment, Orion stretched and strolled over to the wardrobe and patted it fondly. "You and me are gonna do great things tomorrow." he told it fondly, before going to bed. On his way, he plucked a book from a shelf, "Legends of Warriors." Inside its pages were strange tales of a mad god who lived on a dark ship that sailed the stars near a blazing inferno of light. Orion flicked through the pages as he sat in bed, reading more and more of the tales of ancient people who battled creatures and others to receive a wondrous prize. According to the stories, even heroes like the demigods Perseus and Hercules had once fought in the tournament. "Hmm... I never noticed this story..." the sorcerer muttered, pausing before reading aloud. "The Legend of Rowan, Horus, and the Caretaker, huh? sounds interesting..." Orion flipped to the chapter in question and began to read.

"5,000 years ago, when the Gods of Egypt still reigned supreme and Ra still sailed above in the Boat of One-Thousand Years, the mighty warrior Heru-Ur, Horus the Elder, mistakenly teleported using a set of sapphires and emeralds... huh. That's odd." He glanced into the still-open door. "Sounds just like my set... anyway..." Orion returned his attention to the book. "...using a set of sapphires and emeralds engraved with hieroglyphs and other strange symbols. He was taken to a construct among the stars near a hellish-looking scene, that resembled the three rings of the lost city, Etl-Enty - Atlantis.

"However, the Atlantis Horus knew had been made of shining white and smooth marble, and had long ago sank beneath the sea. This place was black metal, covered in spiky sections, and wreathed in stellar fire. As his body and mind hurled closer, he briefly felt an emotion he thought he'd never feel again: Fear. But Horus was a warrior, and refused to let that fear make him close his eyes, preferring to face his death proudly and without looking away. Suddenly, his travel veered off from the straight line he was headed in, aiming instead for a small opening on the outermost ring. When Horus landed, he interacted with a strange creature he could not describe, and referred to it as the Caretaker. The being instructed Horus to fight, and fight he did. Horus fought strange monsters that looked to have crawled from his nightmares, humans and humanoids who wielded swords made of brilliant light, and even living statues before being incapacitated by a tree-like creature that struck him in the back.

"Horus woke up some time later to find the tree creature winding a bandage around his wounds. "Why are you helping me?" He asked. "You could have killed me and moved on. Why didn't you?"

""Because that is not the way of my people." It replied. "It is custom to help a fallen warrior either heal or guide him into the next life if he cannot be healed or chooses to die instead."

"Horus nodded. "A worthy action." he complimented. "Perhaps I can repay your actions by assisting you in this tournament."

"The Tree creature nodded. "Alright. You may call me Rowan."

""And I am Horus." The two shook hands, and Horus morphed into a falcon to sit atop one of Rowan's branches. As they battled more and more of the competitors, they exchanged tales of their homelands. The duo fought until Rowan was the sole remaining victor. "We have done it, mighty Rowan."

""Indeed we have, Horus. Indeed we have." A loud noise sounded throughout the station.

""Congratulations, Tree Warrior." A croaking voice laughed out. "Kindly make your way to the center of the station to retrieve your prize." Rowan complied, and soon met the Caretaker himself. He appeared to be a thin spidery being, covered in translucent grey skin that looked thinner than the thinnest papyrus. His face had large black eyes and when he smiled, it was with dulled teeth and stretched madly. His hands ended in sharp claws, and his legs split in two at the knee into four feet that, Horus presumed, only held the Caretaker up due to his frailty. "Welcome to my lair, competitor. Unfortunately, your companion must be sent back now, as he cannot accept the prize. Say your farewells."

"Horus looked to Rowan. "Fare well brother. May we meet again in the next life." he intoned with a faint smile.

"Rowan nodded. "And the same to you, friend. Good bye." With that, the world dissolved into a brilliant red light as he was sent back to Egypt, where he recorded this tale in his personal writings, revealing it to no-one."

There, the story ended, and the tired sorcerer closed the book. "Sounds tough if it was able to beat Horus the Elder... but I bet I could do it!" he yawned, swiftly falling asleep.

As Orion dreamed, he saw a vaguely humanoid creature before him. Instantly, he sensed this was no mere dream. "Who are you?"

"Greetings, Sorcerer Orion Hecatson... I am the Caretaker. Your deeds in defending Earth from evil have earned our attention... Your skills and magic have earned you an invitation to a friendly tournament hosted every fifty years to... foster trust and coöperation among the universe. The winner of this tournament will receive a fabulous prize, although this year's prize has yet to be chosen."

"Wow..." Orion bowed his head. "Please continue."

"Should you choose to decline, you will awaken tomorrow morning with no recollection of this message. But if you accept, your teleportation spell will send you here. So... what do you say?"

"Well... I did have plans for tomorrow... but the people there were strong enough to defeat Heracles and his Egyptian counterpart! What chance do I have against them?" the human asked, frowning.

"Your skill in sorcery should give you an edge in the fight..." the Caretaker commented politely.

"True... but what would be my prize if, by some incredible chance, I won?"

"Anything your heart desires, of course."

Orion looked away from the being and thought it over. "Very well, I accept."

"Thank you. Use your spell during the eclipse. You will be sent here instantly. And may I be the first to welcome you to Station S-6-S." With that, the dream faded, and Orion awoke.

"Today is gonna be a long day..." he muttered, a tired smile on his face as he tossed aside the covers. "A very long one."

The day of the eclipse soon dawned, and like many others, Orion stood outside that morning in waiting, although for a different reason than them. He wore his full sorcery outfit: a long black tunic bearing a simple spiral galaxy helix symbol, belted along the waist with a midnight blue band bearing three quartz gems positioned to resemble Orion's Belt. Under both was a simple pair of blue jeans. Over his eyes were a pair of goggles with an elastic strap and special lenses to help his nearsightedness and dull red boots. A pouch hung from his belt that contained the fourteen gem spheres, and his wand was strapped to his thigh in a holster.

As Orion got ready to perform the Outside Step technique, he cast his mind back to the first time he had used the spell. He had just found the third pair of spheres to add to his collection. The instant he touched it, he felt a familiar surge of magic and was pulled into a vision, rearing back slightly and gasping instinctively.

He had seen a black-clothed figure holding up three sapphires and three emeralds up. The six spheres formed a slender hexagon, and peeled apart like a zipper into what looked like a thin portal, through which he and the jewels went through, reappearing a short distance elsewhere. "Wow... I gotta try that!" Orion grinned as the vision faded, running back to his room at the Sanctum Sanctorum and collecting the other five gems. Organizing them into the pattern he had visualized, he channelled energy into them. At once, the gems did as requested, forming the alternating hexagonal design, through which the twenty year old stepped, reappearing six feet from where he started. "Whoa, man that was weird!" He shook his head. "I gotta tell Doctor Strange..."

The Sorcerer Supreme looked impressed at what Orion had accomplished, and examined the gems when the younger magic-user had presented them. Apparently, they were called "Hallow Stones", and four more pairs of sapphires and emeralds than what Orion possessed existed around the globe, as well as the name of the spell he had preformed with them: the Outside Step. Each year following, the sorcerer-in-training was permitted to spend a month searching for another pair, honing his skills to do so. Pair number four was found in a cave and protected by a very small swarm of Winged Mark, an offshoot of the far larger swarm which the Ancient One had defeated several years prior, and was defeated by Orion using a crude axe. The fifth was hidden in a Hindu temple, requiring stealth to acquire. Sixth was in Brazil, encased in a tall tree. The final pair was in Tibet, frozen in a cave halfway up the side of Everest itself.

Orion then spent a year mastering the Hallow Stones, meditating with them in different patterns every night, and practicing with the magic deep inside them every day. Soon came the time when Orion could simply cast a thought out to the jewels, and their faint voices would reply in eagerness, waiting for the chance to unleash their power in whatever way he found necessary.

Smiling fondly at the memories, the now 29-year old male pulled out the six stones he had used that day, watching as the glyphs on them morphed into the proper configuration of Greek, Norse, and Egyptian. "Everything's ready..." he murmured quietly, holding out the stone, three in each hand, waiting for the eclipse to begin.

A few minutes passed, and finally, the Moon passed completely in front of the Sun. Orion thrust the gems forward, forming the thin, zipper-like portal Looking through, he saw naught but a deep metallic blackness, so unlike the velvety comforting dark that was the Outside. The gateway vanished behind him, and a bolt of crimson light shot into the sky with a sonic boom.

Light years away, near the Inferno nebula, floated a strange black space station. It's center is a single large bulb with a three-mile diameter resting in its center. From there, sixteen spokes sprout out a total of six more miles where they were intersected by massive rings, each one a mile in diameter. There are a total of three rings, all of them as steely black as the station itself and covered in spikes, just as Horus had described it 5000 years ago, although seeing it in person was more chilling in a way. Station S-6-S almost emitted an aura of evil. Orion's teleportation beam zoomed closer and closer, heading for a docking bay near the exterior ring.

Inside the bay, the hexagonal pattern Orion had stepped through earlier reappeared, and with a flash of red light, released him as the exterior doors closed. The gems zipped into his pouch, making a clinking noise against the others. "So... this is Station S-6-S, huh." he commented as he waltzed into the station proper. "Whoa... looks like the inside of Notre Dame... if it was.. evil." the sorcerer muttered as he checked his supplies. In a backpack was a magical tent and some food. Briefly, he pulled out a green apple and his wand. "Hydros!" Orion muttered, shooting a blast of water at the fruit and bit into it with a crunch. "Food's still good, and the wand works." He sat down and placed the apple in his lap. He opened his pouch and counted the Hallow stones, all of which were present and accounted for, judging from the inaudible thrumming of their energy against his mind. "Got all of 'em! Okay, now to find a map..."

With that, Orion finished his apple and incinerated the core before strolling off through the techno-Gothic architecture, unaware that he was being watched by a monitor nearby. He strolled through the station until he found a window and looked outside. "Whoa." Outside, the Inferno nebula blazed like the fires of Hell itself. "Dear Ra, where is this place?" he muttered to himself quietly. "It wasn't on the globe, or on any other star charts..." Orion shuddered. "Even if I could breathe in space, I'd hate to be out there. Looks like Surtr's palace." He turned and walked away, glancing around at the walls. "Now where's a terminal when you need one?" he asked himself as he pulled an iPod out of his pocket and began listening to it with one ear bud in.

Deep inside the station, the Caretaker, exactly as Horus the Elder had described in his tale, watched the sorcerer wander around on one of the sixteen screens before him. "He has promise... but that won't be enough to survive!" The being laughed madly, his voice echoing throughout his chamber.

Novanto's Note: The planisphere Orion owns is based on a fascinating piece I saw in Norfolk's Chrysler museum: the "Astronomical Calendar Sphere" by Stanislav Libensky. Trying to figure out what trick of light made it work the way it did gave me a headache! I tried looking it up; got no results. Stay tuned to find out who Orion's first opponent is!