Chapter One

Chapter One

~Sharrlario, Eroth Forest~

            Olithir solemnly studied his reflection in the mystical spring of Edansyr. He was pondering the vision that just came to him from the transcendent waters of the spring hidden deep in the Caves of Faelyn on Beldroth Mountain. The time was drawing near. He could feel it in his bones. Never in his nearly ten thousand years had he felt something so poignant.

            An ominous darkness had been brewing over the volcanic peaks of Cymbiir for hundreds of years now. Amora was ready. Olithir knew this. He also knew that she was merely waiting for the optimum moment to lay siege on Sharrlario with her army of rock-spawned Darfins. Olithir did not worry despite the forthcoming danger looming over his kingdom, for he knew that the Prophecy would fulfill itself –he was certain of it. Every being in the kingdom of Eroth was awaiting it.

~Chicago, Illinois~

            Xander pulled the collar of his heavy winter coat up to shield his face from the biting wind as he stepped off the bus a couple of blocks from his apartment complex. He was eager to get home after spending the last eight hours in his cramped cubicle, filing claims at the insurance company he worked for. After reaching the building, Xander trudged up the stairs to his seventh floor apartment, and immediately upon entering the apartment, turned the stove on to cook some Ramen noodles, the only thing he could afford to buy at the grocery store on the way home. He switched on the television to check what would be on basic cable tonight.

            “Looks like Wheel of Fortune tonight Padma.” Xander declared to his tabby cat, which was lying stretched out on the sofa, adjacent to the television. Padma meowed in response and rolled over to resume sleeping. Xander, loosening his tie, collapsed on the end of the couch, causing Padma to leap to the floor.

            Every day it was the same, for Xander. Alarm goes off at seven, out the door of his building by seven thirty, in his cubicle by eight o’clock. Then it was filing complaints and claims from policy holders for the next eight hours straight. After work he’d scrounge up what little money he could find in his wallet to pick up something cheap to eat on the way home. Generally this consisted of Ramen noodles or McDoubles. Nothing ever changed. It was the same exhausting cycle day after dreary day. And this night was no different. Xander sighed dismally from his spot on the couch.

            Two hours later, asleep on the couch with the television tuned to channel three, Padma licking the remnants of Ramen from the bowl on the floor, a dream came to Xander. He saw a beautiful girl, unlike anyone he had ever seen before in his life. She had porcelain skin, very long, white-gold hair, and piercing emerald eyes. Her ears were pointed and her lips were red as roses. She spoke to Xander in a strange tongue that he had never heard before, but could comprehend with ease.

            “Come, Chosen One. Please come to me. We need you.” She pleaded.

            When Xander awoke the next morning, he felt disoriented, and almost melancholy that he was no longer seeing the beautiful girl. He wondered at first who she could be, but then figured she must merely have sprung from his imagination.

            “Besides,” he thought to himself. “Dreams mean nothing.” He sighed at the prospect of facing yet another day at the office. He ate his Apple Jacks slowly, hoping to prolong going to work for as long as possible. Eventually, and unfortunately, it came time for him to leave his small apartment for the world of filing insurance claims. It was still dark outside at seven thirty in the morning as he left his building for the bitter cold Chicago morning commute.

            However, as he was walking the two blocks to the bus stop, a flash of emerald caught his attention. He turned around to see a figure with an emerald colored cloak dart into an alleyway, being pursued by three hooded figures. His protective instincts kicked in and he sprinted across the street to the alley. Upon arriving, he saw a person, female, judging from her slight build, now hooded herself, cornered against the dead end of the alley. The three hooligans surrounded her. Xander ran forward and wedged himself in the middle.

            “Hey losers! Get lost!” he yelled at the scoundrels. He could see from under their hoods, a hot red glow where their eyes should be.

            Frightened, Xander backed up until he bumped right into the girl he was supposed to be protecting. She pulled him towards her even more. He tried to resist so he wouldn’t squash her against the wall, but the wall seemed to have disappeared and he seemed to be falling. As he fell, the hoodlums grabbed Xander’s legs while he clung tightly for dear life to the girl’s hand. Xander screamed and fell for what seemed like hours before he landed with a splash in a small, cool body of water. The cutthroats took charge then, clawing at Xander and the girl, overwhelming them. Xander thought he was going to die when he saw a bright flash of light. He heard a shriek of pain, and the hooded monsters scattered.

            Xander opened his eyes and realized he was in a cave, sitting in a pool of crystal clear water. The next thing he noticed was the tall, regal-looking man standing in front of him. He had long, white hair and wore forest green robes. His eyes were a piercing blue –icy almost. And the look on his face was one of severe disapproval. Xander turned to see the recipient of this glare and he gasped when he saw it was the girl from his dream!

            Her white-gold hair was in a single braid which stretched along her back and was half undone from all the commotion. Her dress, the same emerald color as her cloak and eyes, was soaking wet from the spring they were sitting in. As Xander further studied these two characters, he slowly came to the realization that he was not in Chicago anymore. In fact, he highly doubted that he was even on Earth anymore.

            “This has got to be a dream. I’m still asleep.” He thought to himself.

            “But you’re not dreaming Xander!” exclaimed the girl. “You really are in another world altogether!” Xander was flabbergasted. Had she just read his mind? He looked up at the tall man with the cold, blue eyes which were shooting daggers at the girl. Finally, he spoke.

            “How could you be so reckless Aloienne? You know better than to wander into the Earth Realm! You could be seen, killed, or worse!” the man shouted.

            “Father, I was fine.” Aloienne insisted. “And I had to go. To bring back Xander. Amora’s coming any day now, we need him Father.”

            “You know very well the Prophecy would have fulfilled itself without the help of a foolish young elf. You have tampered with fate. You are lucky to be alive. You know you could have killed him too.” The man reasoned.

            “But I didn’t. We are both just fine. Is that not what is important?” Aloienne argued.

            “Thanks to me you are both just fine. Now go home and change out of those wet robes. Do not worry about young Xander. I shall take care of him.” With that, Aloienne stood and glided out of the cave. Xander followed her out with his eyes, but could not see where she turned off to. The man sighed heavily to himself and then turned to Xander. “I am sorry for that young Xander.”

            “Um, it’s okay?” Xander stammered as he slowly go to his feet. “Uh, where am I?”

            “You are in Sharrlario. It is a world parallel to your Earth realm. I am Olithir, king of Eroth and the elves. Please, come with me back to my palace. We can give you dry, clean clothes and food. I have much to discuss with you –later.” Xander followed Olithir out of the cave and into the sunlight.

~Sharrlario, Eroth Forest~

            Xander was positively astonished when he stepped out of the cave. He was standing on a mighty mountain overlooking the greenest land he had ever seen in his life. Off to one side were towering mountain peaks. To the other side, a lush forest. Olithir turned towards the forest and began trekking down the mountain side.

            “The mountain which you are now standing on is called Beldroth.” Olithir announced. “We have just come from the Spring of Edansyr. It is our window to your world. It gave us the Prophecy that you would one day come to us.”

            “But, why me?” Xander inquired. “What’s special about me?”

            ‘You are The Chosen One.” Olithir answered simply, and said not a word more. Xander recalled his dream. Aloienne had called him The Chosen One also. But chosen to do what? Xander pondered this to himself until he and Olithir reached the foot of the mountain. Xander’s breath was caught in his chest when he saw the two pure white unicorns awaiting them at a stream.

            “Have you ever ridden before?” Olithir asked, climbing aboard one unicorn. Xander shook his head. Olithir nodded towards the rider-less unicorn. “This is Moonflower. He shall be your steed on our journey to Eroth Castle.” The unicorn looked up from the stream to stare at Xander. Moonflower slowly approached Xander, and turned so that he could mount him. There was no saddle, only a set of leather reins around his neck. Xander struggled to get on the steed. He could feel Olithir watching him. When he was finally upright, he looked at Olithir, who then turned into the forest. Moonflower followed with Xander atop.

            For hours they rode down the forest path. As light began to fade from the sky, the trees began to glow, almost eerily. Xander could tell these were the homes of Sharrlario inhabitants. Little balls of light flitted through the sky and tree branches. Finally, in the forest, carved out of an enormous gnarled tree, and glowing in the darkness, arose the sight of a palace. Olithir stopped his steed.

            “We are here. This is Eroth Castle. You may now dismount.” Olithir stepped down from the beautiful creature.

            “Um, is there a stable I should take them to?” Xander asked as he struggled to dismount.

            “No. The unicorns are not our pets, but our comrades. They roam the forest as they please.”

            Once Xander was firmly on the ground, Olithir took the reins from Moonflower. The unicorn bowed his head in respect to the king and pranced off into the trees. Olithir headed towards the vast wooden doors at the front of the palace. The carvings on the doors were ancient and beautiful, depicting great leaders and battles of the past. Words written in a strange language ran alongside the pictures. Another tall man awaited the duo in the foyer of the palace. He was younger-looking, with dark hair as long as Olithir’s. he raised his eyebrows as he saw Xander stumble in behind Olithir.

            “Your Majesty, he has arrived?” the man asked, bowing his head slightly to the king.

            “Yes, Ehlark. Thanks to my mischievous young daughter. Xander is indeed in Sharrlario.” The man turned to Xander. He bowed and extended his hand, which Xander shook.

            “It is a great honor and pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Xander.” The man proclaimed earnestly. Xander, suddenly overcome with shyness, said nothing, but nodded to the man.

            “Xander, this is Ehlark, my most trusted advisor, and dear friend.” Olithir introduced Ehlark to him and Xander nodded again.

            “He is a man of few words I see, Olithir,” Ehlark whispered comically to the king.

            “Of course, he is overwhelmed. He was attacked by Darfins on the way through the portal.” Olithir explained.

            “Darfins, you say?” Ehlark raised his eyebrows again.

            “Three of them.” Olithir nodded. “Now, where is my wife? I should like to see her.”

            “Out on the balcony when I saw her last. On the south side of the castle. Shall I call Erendriel to attend to the boy?” offered Ehlark.

            “Yes. Thank-you Ehlark. I will see you in the morning. It has been a long day.” Olithir moved past them but before leaving the room, he turned to Xander. “Goodnight Xander. I will explain everything to you tomorrow.”

            “Goodnight.” Xander managed to squeak. Then Olithir disappeared and he was left alone with Ehlark.

~Eroth Castle~

            Olithir opened the doors to his bed chamber and peered towards the balcony where his wife stood, statuesque, unmoving, staring. He silently slipped out onto the balcony and rested his hand on her right shoulder. She turned to look at him. She wore an expression of apprehension. Olithir was immediately concerned.

            “What is it, my dear?” he inquired. She turned back, to look out into the distance. The view from the balcony was magnificent. One could see the kingdom in its entirety, including Cymbiir, burning and scheming in smoldering secrecy on the outskirts of Eroth.

            “She is coming.” Olithir did not have to ask what his wife meant, or why her voice trembled so. He also knew that Amora was coming. When, exactly, he did not know.

            “I know. But he is here.” He replied, anticipating that this news would console his worry-stricken wife. Her eyes lit up.

            “The Prophecy? It has been fulfilled?” Olithir nodded in response. She smiled. “How wonderful! You must send him into training right away! Have him choose a champion to fight by his side! And –”

            “Estelar, my darling, you must calm yourself.” She silenced herself immediately. “I will do all of this in good time. I have not yet even told the boy the reason why he is among us. That must be taken care of first and foremost, in the morning.” Estelar nodded in agreement. She took Olithir’s hands in hers and kissed them gently.

            “I am just so exultant it is finally happening. I can see the downfall of Cymbiir already. The extinction of those heinous Darfins. This Prophecy will save us. I can feel it in the very heart of my being.”

            “You have not yet even laid eyes on the boy, my sweet. How can you tell this?”

            “I can feel it in my soul. We have waited for this for all time.”

            “Yes, and now for a short time, let us go to sleep. We both need our rest. Tomorrow is a big day.” And with that, Olithir and Estelar disappeared into their bedchamber.

            On the other side of the castle, Xander stood in silk pajamas, in an enormous bedchamber of his own. The entire palace seemed to be carved right out of an ancient tree. And it radiated the same bluish glow as the other trees in the forest. He was still convinced that this must be a dream. And that he would wake up any second, and have to go to work. But the more he saw, the more he wondered how he could possibly have imagined this up.

            “Maybe it is real,” he thought to himself. He looked up and saw Erndriel, the chamber maid Ehlark had assigned to him, drawing up a bath for him in the corner of the room. She stood up and walked towards him.

            “Your bath is ready for you, whenever you are Sir Xander.” She curtsied to him. “Should you need anything during the night, just call for me. Good night.” Xander nodded as she waltzed out of the room.

            He walked over to the bathtub, which was made of what looked like pure diamond. After such an eventful day, the warm water in the tub was so very inviting. He drew the thick curtain around the tub, undressed and eased himself in. the sweet aroma tingling his nose was of nothing he had ever experienced before. Xander allowed himself to relax completely. He was on the very edge of sleep when a small noise jerked him awake. He looked up into the face of Aloienne, the princess. And she was looking directly down at him. Suddenly feeling very embarrassed and exposed, he leapt out of the tub and quickly grabbed a robe off the floor. As he fumbled to cover himself, Aloienne laughed lightly.

            “Why are you so shy?” she asked as if it were perfectly acceptable for him to be in the nude. “You act as if I have never seen a naked body before.”

            Xander was speechless. Aloienne laughed again and turned to throw open the curtain and lay across the huge bed in the center of the room. She looked up at him from the be with a nefarious grin, then sat up on her knees.

            “You are very shy, aren’t you? The Prophecy didn’t mention that. But I am sure you will overcome it.” She said to him.

            “Are you allowed to be in here?” Xander choked out.

            “Absolutely not –but I do not care. I had to see you.” Aloienne chirped.

            “Why?”

            “Well, because I have never seen a human man before. They live on the other side of Cymbiir, and there is no way to cross the mountains for trade.” She explained. “Most elves do not like men too well anyways. They think you are barbarous and fragile. But of course an elf would think that.”

            “Why would an elf think that?” Xander inquired.

            “Well because men can only live to say 75 or 80 years. I am still young and am already several thousand years old.” Xander’s eyes widened in disbelief.

            “Several thousand?”

            “Well yes of course. How old are you?”

            “Erm, 27.”

            “You are young, like me. But unlike me, the Elders will probably listen to you.” She speculated, almost bitterly.

            “The Elders?” Xander prompted curiously.

            “My father, Ehlark, and the other members of Elven Court. They hold the ancient scrolls of our ancestors.” Aloienne explained.

            “Oh, I see.” Xander paused.

            “Do you have any questions for me? You have had quite an eventful day,” Aloinne giggled.

            “Well, first of all, how does this place even exist?” Xander inquired, stepping out onto the balcony of his room to peer into the lush forest the castle overlooked. “I feel like I’m in Neverland, or a dream or something.”

            “Neverland!” Aloiene chortled. “No silly, that’s several realms away from here!”

            “Realms? What is this I keep hearing about realms? Like, you’re saying I’m in a different world? On a different planet?”

            “Well, a different world of sorts. The universe is full of different realms.” Aloienne explained. “You happen to come from the Earth Realm, which is a realm without magic. There are hundreds of different realms with and without magic. Sharlarrio was blessed with magic in our realm.”

            “This is crazy,” Xander breathed and put his hands on top of his head. He looked down, and Aloienne was standing next to him on the balcony. ‘wow, she moves quick’ Xander thought.

            “What is crazy?”

            “This! Magic? Realms? I stopped believing in fairy tales years ago!”

            “Well dear Xander, maybe you should think again about those tales you think are make-believe. Because here you are.” Aloiene smiled up at Xander and placed her hand on his cheek.

“Well, you’ve had an extremely eventful day, and you need your rest. The Elders will want to speak with you in the morning. So I will leave you now. Good night –Chosen One.” She winked at him as she slinked out the door. Xander stood for a moment, then remembered he was still only wearing a bathrobe. He put on the silk pajamas Erendriel had given him and then he sunk into the unbelievably comfortable bed after blowing out the lamps that hung on the walls. Xander drifted into a deep sleep induced by the aromas of the elven bath salts lingering on his skin. He was sure that when he awoke, he would be back in his Chicago apartment on the couch with his cat and empty Ramen bowl.