Fated Return

I awoke to a strange feeling, a scream of pain still lingered on my lips. My body was not my own. It was stiff and lumbering, the sound of scraping rock reached my ears every time I moved. I lifted my heavy arm to see it encased in stone. The last thing I could remember was that of fire, burning and raging all around me, then I was here.
 
Looking around I was surrounded by others in this gleaming white room, a Centaur, a Dwarf, a Human, and several others that I did not recognize. As I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening to me, to us, the double doors I had not noticed on the far wall opened. Intricate in design, swirls flowing across the wall from the frame, moving, mosaic patterns covered the doors themselves. Light blazed in through the doors, blinding me and causing me to raise my arm to shield my eyes. I blinked, and the light was gone, in its place was a woman of infinite beauty, her features in a constant state of flux, but all my mind could register was that she was the bar when it came to perfection.
 
"Greetings all, you are most welcome in my abode. Many of you have traveled from afar and may find yourselves amongst strange companions. You need not fear I have brought you here."The need to speak, to know, to find out what was going on, left me. A sense of peace and that understanding would soon be given filled my soul. "Fate has brought you here for I have need of your bravery and heart. Each of you sacrificed yourselves in the service of something greater than yourselves, I ask this of you once again. A great evil is upon this land, a blight amongst the Gods. The Phoenix Lord ravages this land, and no God can raise a hand directly against the Lord." She moved in closer, speaking as if to me alone. "You are to be my Champion, to fight this scourge and release this world from the Phoenix Lords terrible grip. The road ahead will be fraught with peril, you and your companions must succeed if this world is to survive."
 
She now stood before me, extending her hand. "I give you this as a token of my favor, wear it in acceptance of this accord. You shall be given a new life, a second life. Unfortunately, the destruction of your body was more than could be restored, the beast you defended against was more than you knew. I give you this, construct, in replacement of that body, may it serve you well in the forthcoming conflict and protect you as your mortal body could not." In her hand was a swan, made from a black material that flowed like liquid, but yet held its shape as if contained. I reached out to remove the swan figurine, only to find it disappear as I touched it. A piercing feeling, between my eyes, caused me to shudder. "The boon is granted, our accord is met. The symbol of the raven that now adorns your forehead shall be the mark of our agreement, may it preserve and protect you in the coming days." I blinked my eyes at the pain, only to open them and find she was once again in the doorway as if she had not moved.
 
She addressed us all once again. "Soon you will find yourselves on the world below, a place has been prepared for you, it was once a hall of mighty heroes, may it be once again. As I have said, I can't intervene directly, but through you, my emissaries, we may defeat this foulness and restore the world. The hall you will awake unto is prepared and waiting, serve well and glory shall be yours." With that she burst into a sudden blast of white light and all-around disappeared.
 
I awoke once again, to find myself surrounded by the same strange fellowship, but now in Vast grass field, smoking billowing up in the distance.