The Avallon Chronicles (BOOK I)

20 | The Arcane

"M-Me? Afraid? Certainly not, Ade!" replied Wil, giving a fake smile to Alvier. "What I truly mean to say is that I don't know how to defeat that creature yet."

Alvier grinned. "Well, you have your rapier. Here you go, by the way," Alvier spoke, handing back the sword to Wil. "And besides, you're not going to be alone."

"Really?" asked Wil, grinning. "Is that because you will remain inside my heart even though you are away?"

"No," Alvier replied with a wide smile. "It is because one of the Avallons is just nearby! See?" he added, showing off the crystal ball to Wil.

"How do you keep getting my stuff without me noticing it?" asked Wil, still grinning.

"It's just practice, my dear boy," Alvier replied.

"Anyways, how many Avallons do I need to find?" Wil asked curiously.

"According to this, you'll need to find..." answered Alvier as he adeptly swiped the spherical crystal side-by-side. "According to this, you have to find... one?"

"Wait, what?"

"Perhaps it's because the magical rings, which they normally use in battle, were now gone," said Alvier, confused about what he had just witnessed.

"I wonder who my partner could be," Wil spoke.

Maybe he's strong and also an astounding warrior like my father, he thought, imagining the possibilities of what the other Avallon will look like. Or maybe she's sweet and kind like my sister.

"Oh, look!" Alvier beamed, his eyes still fixed on the crystal.

"What... What is it?" Wil asked, surprised, with his daydream blowing away.

"I have good news and bad news!" Alvier added. "The bad news is, the Avallon that you are searching for can be found far from here, actually. The good news is, you'll have an assistant by your side."

"Well, that's great! I'm so excited to meet him!" Wil beamed, his emerald green eyes filled with excitement. "Maybe he or she will be a great help!"

"Are you heading to him now?" asked Alvier.

"Oh, ye- I mean, I guess... Maybe..." Wil replied, unsure of what to answer. The fear that the Amaergon might attack again still haunted his mind.

"I almost forgot! You might be wandering here for a whole day," Alvier gasped. "Why don't you stay here for a while and take some rest."

Alvier assisted him towards the bedroom. It was a little cozy for a cabin that could be found in a dangerous forest where no Everdailean ever dared to enter.

"You can wait here, and I will get you some food to eat. You must be famished!" Alvier spoke. He turned his back away from Wil and went straight into the woods.

"Alvier seems to be so strange this day," he whispered as he watched the old man walk away until he completely disappeared from his sight. "He surely is a mysterious man."

Wil dropped down his bag and his rapier towards a makeshift wooden bed. "What is this place?" he spoke.
He examined the whole room eagerly, curious of what he had put himself into.

His eyes were caught by a picture frame placed above a wooden side table with its glass cover cracked. The picture was painted on wood like most of the pictures made in Sepphora.

From there, he saw two young boys who seemed to be his age together with a young lady standing between them. The three were filled with laughter, as shown by their radiant smiles.

"Why do these three look so familiar?" he spoke, looking at the portrait with a sense of curiosity.

"Come on, let us eat!" he heard a voice coming from behind him spoke.

Startled, he turned away from the picture frame and looked for where the voice came from. His eyes widened when he saw the old man that he had just seen walking towards the forest standing up in front of him with a table full of food lying down before his eyes.

"Alvier?" he gasped. "H-How did you get back here so quickly? I just saw you leave a few moments ago!"

"They don't call me 'The Arcane One' for nothing," he grinned, accentuating his title to the young lad.

Inside his mind, Wil knew that it was abstruse. For him, the man was an abhorrent mystery.

He leisurely sat down at the table, his eyes wandering over the table.

"Go on, I'll eat with you! I have to get myself ready for my trip back home anyways," Alvier spoke, sitting down in front of Wil.

"You're the real, Alvier, right? You're not an Amaergon, are you?" Wil asked curiously, still aghast by what he had just witnessed.

"I am the real one. And great, you said the word right this time!" answered Alvier.

"Now, since you are the real one, can you please tell me something about my siblings?" he asked, "I didn't get a chance to talk to them since I visited the town where we formerly lived to celebrate my father's birthday."

"Sure! I assure you that every word will be sent to them right away!" replied Alvier.

"Tell them that I love them so much and I'm so sorry that I might miss my monthly visit because of this quest. Tell Den and Eon that they should stop fighting with each other. Tell Alisa that she shouldn't be ashamed of herself. And also, tell my older sister Caerwyn that I'm alright and that she doesn't have to worry about me," Wil stated.

"You love your siblings, don't you?" Alvier sympathized.

"I do, especially my big sister," Wil replied.

Alvier gave him a proud smile. "And, Ade," Wil added.

"Yes?"

"Why me?" Wil asked.

"What do you mean?" said Alvier curiously.

"I mean; I have an older sibling. I- I am not the oldest among Triev Elashor's children. My sister is more likely to be a ruler than me," he added.

"What are you saying? You're a great lad! You care for what your subjects desire and require," Alvier answered. "Here you are on a perilous quest just to save the kingdom and the whole Enchantria itself! You even did it alone!"

"About that, I..."

"What is it?"

"I..." Wil was about to express his real emotions to Alvier when suddenly his attention was caught by the hopes of Alvier's smile.

I can't tell him what I truly feel even though deep inside I am crying for help, he thought, I don't know what to do...