READ INTO BEFORE READING THE STORY
…because if you're like me, you're first thought will be jumping straight into the good stuff. But it is imperative you read this first.
Firstly, I would like to clear up some of the title information. One, I have listed this under "Misc" because of the scale of the project. This is a story about not only time, but dimension and universe travel and as such, we will be visiting all sorts of different movie, TV show, book, and game universes over the course of this novel. We will see Marvel, Warriors, Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, Inheritance, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, 39 Clues, Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, Ranger's Apprentice, Undertale, Minecraft, Tomodachi Life, and a whole lot more before the story wraps up, and that list is just a tiny tip of the enormous iceberg I am cramming into this ambitious project. Thus, I have put it under Misc to contain all those titles. But keep in mind that chances are, your favorite in any entertainment category will be featured eventually.
Also, I have listed this under Teen to be safe; if you're the kind of person who laughs at horror, digs violence, and eats up romance then you would probably put this in the K category, but because I can't say the same for everyone, it's going in T.
OC's are wonderful ideas, in my opinion, but apparently not everyone feels the same. If you don't like OC's and want more of your favorite classic characters, then you'll have to wait out the first few chapters of the story before I start introducing those characters as heavy hitters, and even then they won't be as featured as my main characters who are OC's. You have been warned.
Secondly, if you would like to see a book or character featured that I have missed once our story starts rolling along, please leave me a comment in the reviews and I will try to include your suggestion in the story.
But enough from me! Let's dive right in. I hope you all enjoy this crazy project, Adventure.
PART ONE: "The Legacy"
Chapter 1: The Last Eladrin
Sebastian – 2018 – Earth-7640
"Sebastian, for the last time, you're going to be late!"
I wallow around in bed for a few more seconds, then I force myself to my feet. I am greeted by myself in the mirror by my bed. My dark hair is unkempt, as usual, but it only takes a few brushes with my fingertips to get it into an acceptable state of neatness. I'm nearly six feet; taller than some, but shorter than most of the guys at my high school, which is mildly annoying. My pale skin seems darker for some reason; it must have been the sun yesterday at the beach. I'm immediately drawn - as most people are - to my unnatural eyes. A deep, inhuman, peacock blue; looking into them for too long is disorienting, even for me. I always have to look away after a few seconds for some odd reason.
My dad was the same, only his eyes were green, more rich and deep than spring grass. His hair was odd, too; brown like mine, but with eerie gold streaks in it. And not gold, as in blonde, but real gold. Like someone had melted down a gold bar and used a paintbrush to put it in his hair. He claimed it was dyed, but I knew better. It was inhuman, too.
My mom tells me next to nothing about him before they married. She says he was an important business man and wasn't here often, but when he was, they talked a lot, and eventually started dating, and then got married. That's all I know. My dad was only with us until my seventh birthday, and then he disappeared. A lot of people said he was murdered, but my mom always contradicts that. "Gone," she says, "not murdered." The only reason people say that is because he dealt with a lot of "interesting" (for want of a better word) foreign companies that, ah, didn't like to be told no, shall we say. He must've turned one of them down on a transaction and they, well, weren't happy. But even still, my mom refuses this.
"Sebastian!" She yells again.
"Coming, mom!"
I change as fast as possible and attempt to clean myself up for school. My junior year of high school is nearly over, and my seventeenth birthday is tomorrow. I'm hoping to do something special, if we're not too busy.
My mom works at the library on the other side of town, and she makes enough to get us by. My dad left us a lot of money when he disappeared, so if we run out by the end of the month we use some of that. But my mom tries to avoid using it if she can.
I speed down the stairs of our comfortable two-story house. It wouldn't be big for a standard family, but it's huge for the two of us. We don't own too much, so there's a lot of empty space. That doesn't stop me from tripping over a box at the foot of the stairs. Swearing silently, I check myself over to make sure no damage is done. I seem alright, so I dash into the kitchen around the corner and greet my mom.
She's a bit shorter than me, and her hair matches mine. She has a slight frame, not particularly strong, or athletic. Unlike my father and I, her eyes are normal. Just brown. Nothing more.
"Good morning, dear," she says, handing me my satchel. It's made from worn leather and has a simple metal clasp on a strap to keep it shut. It's one of the few things of my father's that I have. I keep my lunch for school inside, and whatever book I decide to smuggle into class.
"You better run off. I'll see you when you get home," she says. I give her a long hug, as always.
"Bye, Mom," I say tiredly.
"Bye. Don't stay too late."
I wink at her. "You know I won't."
I'm off. The walk to school isn't too long, it's just down the street. I just go to the average high school here in Southern California. It's a good-sized suburban neighborhood with a population of around a hundred thousand. The high school is large and imposing. The people there are anything but average, however; my mom's brother, Uncle Pierre, would call the students there "fruity". The teachers are very robotic, as if they want to finish the lessons as soon as possible so they can leave (which, of course, I'm sure they do).
The parking lot is swarming with students, which means that (thankfully) I'm not late. But this also means that I'll run into some of the unfriendlier types on my way to class. I head to the locker room without too much trouble, but it's on my way to class when I run into trouble.
"Watch it, Clover," says Josh, the Senior head jock as he slams into me. I fall to the ground. He and his gang of idiot delinquents laugh stupidly as they continue down the hall. Clover is my mom's surname, the only one she'll let me use. I've long since given up asking what my dad's surname was. So I use Clover.
A hand taps my head gently, and I whip my head up. A girl, probably a little shorter than me, holds out a hand. I take it and she pulls me up.
"That looked rough," she says. She looks completely unfamiliar to me; I don't think I've seen her here at all. She has waist-length brown hair and pale tawny skin that seems to shimmer in light, like copper. She's wearing jeans and a flowing purple blouse, which matches - and I do a double take - her eyes. Her purple eyes are not too dissimilar from mine; I find them very hard to look at for too long. However, to my surprise, she stares into mine confidently, almost defiantly.
"It was expected," I reply.
"Not very popular?"
"No," I say, ducking my head as I tend to do when I'm nervous. I hold out my hand, which has since dropped. "Sebastian."
"Henna," she responds, shaking it.
"Like the tattoo?"
She stomps her foot in frustration. "Why does everyone think that? No, like the plant. Where do you think they got the idea for the tattoo from?"
"Henna is a plant?"
"Yes, that's why the tattoo is commonly patterned with leaves and vines. And that's what they use to do it."
"Oh, that makes sense."
She smirks. "Of course it does. Are you going to English?"
"Yes," I answer. Some silent moment of understanding passes between us, and we head off for English class together.
Professor Bucy, my English teacher, is waiting at the front of the class, which is just beginning. He takes no notice of me as other students are milling in as well. He's got short sandy hair and blue eyes, and a playful smile that always warms up the room. He's by far my favorite teacher, and the nicest.
"Hello class! I assume you've all read the homework assignment?" He begins with a grin. He gets many drowsy "yes Mr. Bucy"s in return.
"Aw, c'mon, don't tell me you all didn't sleep well enough last night," he says playfully. "Can anyone remember what the assignment was on?"
More "yes Mr. Bucy"s in return.
"And can anyone tell me what it was on?" He asks, stalking the classroom. He pauses by my desk. "Sebastian?"
Some people snigger. It annoys me a bit. Since his first day here, upon his being hired at the beginning of this year, he has always put me on the spot, expecting me to know more than the rest of the class. Especially when we go over mythology, which was, of course, last night's assignment.
"Uh, something about elves?" I try feebly. "How there are different races and some are more superior than others?"
"And the most superior race was?" He asks, still looking down at me. I give a slight shrug. He turns, disappointed. "Anyone else?"
Henna raises her hand, and he calls on her. Apparently she's not new after all. "The Eladrin are the most superior race of elves, not only because of their extreme magical ability, but also because of their uncanny ability to change appearance with the seasons," she answers, never once taking her eyes of me. She looks almost frustrated.
"Very good. And what else did we learn about Eladrin?"
Once again, Henna answers. "That they lived cut off from the world, unlike the other races, who did trade and business with Humans and other fantasy races."
"Very good."
We spend the rest of the lesson discussing more on the elves, and then move to grammar. But by the end of the lesson, my mind is drawn back to the topic of Eladrin. I read last night that another Mark of an Eladrin was their inhuman, yet human like traits. I ponder that until the bell interrupts my thoughts.
The rest of the day goes normally. The usual guff at lunch break, having to hide in the hidden closet to escape Josh and his gang, a boring round of social studies. It's near the end of school when things get interesting.
First, the sky goes dark. Rain was completely unexpected today; it said all sun for a week on the weather app. And the weather app I have on my phone is very accurate. Before long, it starts to rain. And then we hear thunder, and, by the time school is let out, we see lightning.
Well. I wasn't exactly prepared for this weather. Most of the other students weren't, either, but they have cars to ferry them home. I've got to walk.
I stalk out underneath an overhang at one of the school classrooms for a little while, but then I realize that I need to get home and waiting here isn't going to help me at all.
"You look like you could use a lift," says a voice behind me. I turn around, and I see a slight young man about my age, maybe a little taller. He has black hair and eyes to match, pale skin, and he looks almost malnourished. Upon closer look I see streaks of grey in his hair. Dyed? Maybe.
He holds out his hand. "I'm Cristoff. I think we might have English together."
I knew I recognized him. "Hi Cristoff. I'm Sebastian."
He smiles; a taut, forced looking grin. "Nice to meet you Sebastian." He pulls out an umbrella, seemingly from nowhere. "I can walk you home."
I feel slight suspicion, but I take the offer as a genuine hand of friendship. "Thanks." Even so, I keep one hand on my pocket to pull out my knife if needed.
He expands the umbrella and we walk out in the rain under it. He walks with a bit of a limp, but it doesn't seem to hurt him much.
We exchange small talk on the way to my house, which I purposefully give the wrong directions to. I'm still not sure if I trust this kid, so I'm redirecting him to the neighborhood next to mine so I can walk from there. He seems very interested in the weather, and he makes all sorts of comments about the rain and the shapes of the clouds. As he talks, I almost notice something strange about his voice; a sort of low hum that almost resembles static when he talks. It's not robotic, but it doesn't sound quite human. The closer we get to my destination point, the happier I am to be closer to getting rid of him.
Finally we come up on the random house I picked when we entered the street. I tell him I can make it from here, but he insists on walking me to the doorstep.
"No sense in having you drenched for your mother," he says. "I don't think she'd appreciate having to clean the carpet and make dinner all by herself."
I stop cold. "What?"
He shrugs. "What with the absence of your father."
This dude must be some sort of creepy stalker. I go for my knife almost immediately, but some weird force rips it from my hand. In the split second it takes me to take out the knife, he's whipped out a sort of small stick and flicked it, causing the knife to fly to the ground and the blade to shatter in its sheath.
"A fighter," he says with malice, the static in his voice becoming more and more noticeable. "Ulysses promised me well."
I am too shocked and too confused to do anything, so I just stand petrified as he looks me over with his cold, black eyes. The grey that I thought was dyed starts to take over the rest of the color in his hair, and his ears start to… no… they begin to form points?
"Enough!" shouts someone behind me. Suddenly, a ball of orange spark-like energy flies past me with a sound like crystals and hits Cristoff, causing him to fly backwards. I turn, and I see Henna, the student I met today from class. Behind her is…
"Mr. Bucy?!"
He too pulls out a stick, which I now recognize to be a wand of sorts, and he waves it in a circular motion towards Cristoff. Golden bands anchor his legs to the ground, and they extend to bind his hands together behind his back.
"You have no right to be in this universe," says Mr. Bucy.
"The A.U.C. has a right to be in every universe, as its name implies," Cristoff replies, his voice now dark and menacing. His form has become thinner and sharper, and his eyes shine with hatred.
"But not here," replies Henna. "Not with the Last Eladrin present." She motions to me, and I just look on in stunned silence.
"The last El…?!" I begin.
"We will get our hands on him; Ulysses is patient. He can wait," Cristoff interrupts. Then, with a twist of his head, he bites on a circular metal piece of his coat. As soon as his teeth make contact with it, it encases him with water, splashes to the ground, and he and the water disappear.
"We should have known that he'd have a Flick on him," says Mr. Bucy, putting his wand inside his trench coat.
"Excuse me," I say in a very small voice.
They look at me, expectant.
"Er, who are you who is she who was he why do you have wands is magic real are Eladrin real are you real is this a dream and can I go home now?"
Mr. Bucy smiles, something that on a normal day would brighten the atmosphere. Funnily enough, as soon as he does, the rain slowly stops and the clouds begin to clear. "You must have so many more questions; all of which we can answer when we get there." He walks towards me with Henna, who pulls out a similar looking metal disk as Cristoff's.
"Take me where?" I ask shakily as they each stand on either side of me.
"Hyperion Institute of Minecrafting and Dungeonology," Henna says in a superior voice, almost as if annoyed. She flicks the disk and watches it land on the ground. A thin line of water radiates from it and surrounds us, and then the water defies gravity and raises above us, encasing us but not splashing down. When it finally does decide to collapse, we fall with it, and I yell as we descend into darkness.
Was that exciting!? I sure hope so.
The next chapter will feature D&D themes as well as some Minecraft content, and you'll learn more about the plot then too. I'll try to have it up by next week but I can't guarantee anything seeing as though this is a big project and I have a lot of other tasks to wrangle as well. But please stay tuned and consider following the story; I think you'll be excited to see what comes next!
- Arrayave :D