A Thousand Years in the Making

No one can shoulder the weight fo the world by themselves.

"I don't understand," I said slowly.

Mathew sighed. "I figured this would be where it got tough. I understand that it is a lot to bear, but you must help us."

"Wait, what am I supposed to do? I am not an elf and I have no magic to give you."

"We don't need magic. We simply need your cooperation." This was starting to make less and less sense.

"But what am I supposed to do!?" I could feel myself getting agitated.

"Before the women began turning into shadow,we found that they had strong bonds with the elves. Since there is no such thing as a female elf, you can obviously guess that many of us had female human friends. On one occasion, an elf and a woman were attacked by a pack of shadow. At some point during the fight the woman was able to transfer her own energy to the elf and they survived. I believe that you are capable of doing the same." Mathew paused to let it all sink in.

"You want my strength?" I asked.

"In a way, yes," he replied. "You must remember that without you, we will not have enough strength to save ourselves and the remaining humans."

This wasn't just an adventure anymore. I am not sure it ever was to begin with. This was life and death, and I was stuck in the middle of it all. Something sparked inside of me and I thought of my life back home; my family and my friend Laura. What would I do if they were still here?

'I would save them,' I thought.

"For now we shall rejoin the others," he said as he slowly got up from behind the desk. Had he not been hunched over with the cane, he could have easily towered to a height of at least 6'7". I stood up and pushed the chair back under the table. Mathew waved for me to assist him and we headed out the door.

I held his left arm for support as we trudged down the hall. We might have gotten their faster had we notpaused due to a fit of violent coughing. Finally, we stopped in front of a door and walked in.

The library was very large and every wall held books from floor to ceiling. In the middle of the room was another large table that was identical to the last. The elves were seated around the table and leaned over to look at a map. They all stood as we entered. Mathew made his way to one side of the table and I was instructed to sit by Genji, who was towards the end.

I sat down and looked around the table. To my left was Genji, Seth, and Yoru. On the other side were Mathew, and an elf I had never met before. I guessed that he would be Eric.

He was a tad shorter than the rest and much skinnier. You could tell that he was the book worm out of the bunch. He had light brown hair, sort of like a dirty-blonde. It was kept in a ponytail at the base of his neck that stretched down all the way to the middle of his back. A small pair of round glasses rested on his nose. His features looked very delicate, almost like a girls. He also wore a light-tan tunic with a single brown stripe down the left side. Instead of a belt he had on a red sash. Green eyes peered at me from behind his spectacles. They lit up as I peered back. A look of excitement burst from his face. It looked as though he had trouble controlling himself.

"Well," started Mathew. "What have you found?"

Yoru reached forward and pointed at a spot on the map.

"We have confirmed the presence of shadow in the surrounding area of forest as well as the neighboring desert. If we travel along the river east,we should be able to reach the mountains within a week."

"How soon until they arrive?" asked Genji.

"Three days at least," he replied.

"Three days?! That doesn't give us much time," Seth turned to Yoru. "How many are there?"

"Two hundred at most," he said.

"If you look at it, they are still outnumbered." This was the first time I had heard that elf speak. His voice was small and light.

"Eric is right," said Mathew. "This time we will try to hold our ground. After the attack we will retreat to the mountains."

"Elder-" started Genji.

"There is nothing to worry about. I believe this will be our victory. But more shadow will arrive, and that is when we must take our leave." Everyone was quiet. Apparently, the elder's word was law. "Genji, Eric, it will be up to you to determine the most efficient escape route. Yoru and Seth, you two work on a strategy. They may be outnumbered, but they aren't known for playing fair."

"Yes sir," they all replied in unison.

"Arisa, we shall talk later, but for now, we could all use some rest."

I hadn't realized just how long these meetings were. My energy seemed completely drained; most likely due to the shock Mathew had given me earlier. We all retired to our rooms and I was left sitting on my bed, trying to piece together everything I had heard. Most of it I only vaguely understood, but I had the feeling I wouldn't be left in the dark for long.