Lakrelm Chronicles: An Eternal Hope

Chapter 1: A Wish Come True

BOOM!!! The force of the blast shook the walls of the science lab.
"Agh Arnan," I said "I told you you added too much Flare Dust."
"Sorry Eleana," Arnan said "but maybe if the instructions were in english, I would be able to understand them"
"Just because some of the words have more than three syllables," I said "doesn't mean it's not english. How much do we have left?"
"Um..." Arnan said as he peered into the bottle "none, I just used the last of it."
"Ok," I sighed "looks like we need to go into town to get some more."
We cleaned up the mess we made and went on our way. The journey into town was always a marvel to behold; the trees lining the road glowed with oranges, yellows, and reds, the river reflecting each like a shimmering creature, the constant flow almost giving the feeling that each leaf was its own individual being, moving of its own accord. We walked slowly, side by side, leaves crunching under our feet. It was a lovely walk, so of course it wouldn't last long. Behind us, I heard a sound like thunder, and I knew that meant one thing: an army.
We stopped in our trek long enough for them to catch up to us, although I don't know why. Perhaps I was curious as to why a platoon of about a dozen soldiers were running around in Navonia, the war hadn't spread this far, although it was getting closer. As they approached, I noticed that the crest wasn't ours; a tree with roots holding a gemstone. It was some kind of creature but I couldn't quite get it. As I was thinking I noticed the captain looking at me with eyebrow raised, I realized he had asked me something.
"Sorry, what did you say?" I asked
"I said have you seen a boy running around here?" He asked, his eyebrows fluttering even more
"I haven't seen anyone else on this road sir," I said "How about you Arnan?"
"I haven't seen anyone either," Arnan said "what does this boy look like?"
"Brown hair, green eyes, and about...your height." the captain said, pointing at me
"Sorry, no one by that description has passed through here, but we'll keep an eye out for him." I said
"Thank you very much," the captain said "If you see him, look for the building with our crest on it in the next town."
"Will do," I said "oh and speaking of your crest, what exactly is it?"
"Ho ho," the captain said, "let me show you,"
He spread his arms wide and in the midst of the gold and green scales of his armor...was a red dragon and a black dragon, intertwined with each other as if in a dance...then I knew where these soldiers were from: Dragonia, the Navonian's rivals since the world had begun.
"Have a great day!!!" said the Dragonian captain, as him and his company marched on to the capital of Navonia.
As the last of them crested over the hill, I heard a rustling in the trees and a voice saying
"At last they've left, what a relief."
As Arnan and I looked up in the waning of the day, we caught a silhouette of a boy, perched precariously on the edge of a branch no bigger than my arm, on one foot.
"Who are you," Arnan called
He jumped down, his orange mantle billowing out behind him. Amazingly, he landed with the grace of a wildcat. Something about this boy seemed familiar, the brown hair, green eyes, and his height. It had only dawned on me when Arnan exclaimed
"You're the boy those soldiers were looking for!"
"Yep, that's me," the boy said with, I think, a hint of humor.
"But why didn't you say anything, who are you anyway, and how did you just happen to be in the tree we were under?" I asked
"All will be revealed in time, but for now, how about we make camp for the night," the boy said
Arnan and I looked and we couldn't believe our eyes, it was already getting too dark to see, both of us silhouettes. Camping in the woods would've been fine if it was just Arnan and I- we used to do this all the time- but with a complete stranger who dropped out of a tree causes some hesitation on my part. Before Arnan or I could respond however, our mystery guy had already started a fire...within half a minute! Arnan was impressed. I on the other hand was getting more curious by the second.
"Well, you guys coming or what?" the boy asked
"My parents told me not to camp out with strangers, especially boys; I don't know if I should..." I said
"Oh come on Elana," Arnan whispered "It might be fun"
"I don't know...we don't know a single thing about him," I whispered to Arnan "Why do you suppose the Dragonian Guard was looking for him"
"And how will we know him if we don't stay besides..." Arnan said "There are dangerous creature in the night you know."
"Ok fine." I said "let's go"
We walked to the camp to find our boy had gone missing. We looked everywhere and found absolutely nothing except some twigs, the fire pit, and a strangely shaped boulder.
"Whelp he's nowhere to be seen." Arnan said
"Oh I knew he couldn't be trusted." I said
"You knew who couldn't be trusted?" A voice behind us said
"Ahhhh" Arnan and I screamed in unision
We turned to face the voice but it was the boy...standing where there was none just a second ago
"Wh-where did you come from?" Arnan stuttered "Are you a wizard?"
"Ha ha ha" the boy laughed, "nope, just an ordinary boy like you Arnan."
"So," Arnan said, "where did you come from?"
The boy smiled at that "Let me show you he said
He turned to the boulder...and disappeared!!!
"Where did you just go?" Arnan asked
To my shock and surprise, the boy's head appeared through the boulder
"He has become a rock!" Arnan exclaimed "Oh where's a wizard when you need one?!"The boy came back out, and I caught a glimpse of light peek through.
"How do you keep coming in and out of a boulder?" I asked
"Heh heh," the boy chuckled, "let me show you"
He turned around and put out his hands...and split the boulder!!!
"Come on in." he said
Arnan and I looked at each other, shrugged, and went inside.
"Welcome to your temporary home," the boy said.
"What is this mysterious structure?" Arnan asked
"Well," the boy said "I call it a tent."
"How did you obtain this...thing?" Arnan asked
"Well," he said with a smile "I invented it."
We both looked at him shocked.
"Wait, I have a question to ask," I said "We never told you our names, how do you know Arnan's?"
"Well Elana," boy said with a stern face, "I've kinda been following you since you left Wythehil's lab."
We found that a bit odd.
"Why were you there," I asked "And how did we not see you?"
"Well," the boy said "like you, Wythehil is my teacher in the art of science."
"But Wythehil has no other student...he only has the one lab too." I mentioned.
"Who are you really?" Arnan asked
"Ah, we get to the grand question," the boy said "I have been known by many names but you may know me..."
"As Elwyn Mcmasters."