The Avallon Chronicles (BOOK I)

19 | Which is Which?

"What is your purpose here?" asked a man with a familiar voice.

"Alvier? Is... Is that you?" he spoke, slowly turning himself around.

"You're Majesty?" said Alvier.

Wil sighed in relief. "How many times do I have to tell you that you should just call me by my name? Without any title, just Wil, okay? I am not crowned as Emperor yet anyways," he grinned.

"Forgive me, You're... I mean, Wil," Alvier replied with an unconvinced expression painted on his face.

"What are you doing here, by the way?" Wil asked curiously, "Wait! Is that you or the forest just playing with my mind?" Wil asked curiously.

"Good question! Now, how am I supposed to know that you are the future Emperor either?" Alvier spoke.

Without warning, another Alvier appeared out of the bushes. His face, his clothes, his body... He's a replica!

"Two Alviers?" Wil gasped.

"Come behind me, You're Highness. He's an imposter!" commanded the other Alvier.

"No, Wil. He's the one impersonating me!" said the first one he saw.

For a moment in his life, Wil did not think that he would someday be stuck in choosing a decision that would either save his life or take it.

"Who's the real one? I... I don't know," he whispered with sweat beginning to drip down his forehead. The first Alvier he saw had his weapon while the other one didn't have any.

"Stay away from the future Emperor, you imposter!" exclaimed the Alvier who just arrived. He pushed himself towards the other Alvier and fought him with only his bare hands. The first Alvier defended himself with the rapier he gave Wil, trying to hit the other one.

Both of them got great skills in fighting. For just a few seconds, the first Alvier's rapier fell to the ground, leaving him unarmed.

"Go inside the cabin, Wil! I have to deal with this imposter first," said the first one he met.

"O... kay?" Wil spoke, unsure of what to do. He was about to step towards the cabin's door when he was interrupted by the second one.

"No, You're Highness!" the second one shouted. "It might be a trap!"

Maybe I'll just hide behind those bushes while they're fighting, he thought. Besides, I'll be safer there in case none of them is the real Alvier.

He dived towards the bushes just beside the cabin. There, he stayed and watched the movements of the two Alviers to see if there was something familiar.

"What do you want from the future emperor? And why are you impersonating me?" one of the Alviers asked, still fighting with each other.

"No, why are YOU impersonating ME?" said the other one.

Both of them have the same fighting movements. How can I know which is which? Wil thought, confused about what was going on.

As he was busy watching the fight, he noticed something shining inside his bag. He opened it with curiosity and saw the crystal ball that the ancestral rulers gave him. The ball was gleaming brightly with an astonishing blue color lighting up a small portion of where he was at.

"What's... What's happening here?" he asked, confused about what was happening.

"There's something I would like you to know about me," said one of the Alviers as he kicked the other one hard towards a tree. "No one messes up with the real Alvier."

At the time the Alvier he attacked hit the tree, he immediately turned into the same strange creature that appeared to Cithara and impersonated the future emperor, too.

"No, this can't be!" Alvier gasped in fear as he watched the creature's transformation into its real self. He stood on his ground, picking up Wil's rapier from the ground and defending himself with it as if he met something perilous.

The creature was about to dash towards him when all of a sudden, something made it stop, running away towards the shadows as fast as he could.

"Y-You... You can come out now, W-Wil," Alvier called, panting.

The blue light from the crystal ball slowly faded as Wil came towards Alvier.

"Are you sure you're not an imposter, too?" Wil asked.

Alvier rolled his eyes, and a smile came onto his face. "I am the real Alverius Eldrevion, Wil," he grinned.

Wil let out a laugh. However, it was immediately cut off by the worries and curiosity he was feeling.

"What kind of creature was that, Ade?" Wil asked. "I don't recall Vio telling me stories about that."

"It's an Amaergon," Alvier answered, slightly panicked. "But... But I thought they were all defeated by the early Avallons."

"Avallons fight those things?" Wil asked, sounding worried and a little surprised.

"They did," Alvier responded.

"But how did they do that? I mean, not that I'm afraid. I just... you know... just curious," added Wil.

"Well, they practiced every day, so they succeeded in defeating their enemies," Alvier spoke.

"For almost two hundred years, I thought that those Amaergons were already locked up for eternity. How come there's still one roaming around? And... it's still doing its job."

"It's job?" asked Wil.

"Let's head inside first, You're -" said Alvier. "What I mean is, let's head inside first, Wil."

"So you're the real Alvier! The one I met first," Wil beamed as they entered the cabin.

"Yes, now you may sit down," Alvier replied.

"Back to the question, Ade. What exactly is an Amer... Amera..." Wil asked, "I mean, what exactly is that creature's one job you're saying?"

"Well, Amaergons are stronger forms of medurens which sucks up other creatures' magic to gain immortality," Alvier responded, interrupted by Wil's curious, innocent face.

"And... you know... use them to have more power than any other creature in Enchantria." He seemed to know more but remained silent.

"I'm sure that my team and I can handle that thing!" Wil beamed. "I hope so," he breathed, whispering to himself.

"I know you will!" said Alvier. "Anyways, I'll be heading back towards Sepphora at the break of dawn tomorrow. At night before I leave, I'll go visit someone and I'll head straight back home."

"You're leaving me alone here? W-What if that thing comes back?" Wil asked, sounding frightened.

"Why, are you... afraid?" Alvier asked, looking at Wil with a serious face from head to toe.

•○GLOSSARY○•

🗡Amaergon
- a stronger form of a meduren

⚔️️Vio
- Elven word: Father