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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Prologue

The tunnel under the great oak tree lay untouched as ever, damp, dark, and dreary. But only when you go through you notice something peculiar. Something odd.

But to this day, no one has ever passed through. The tunnel still lies under the great oak tree, the soil cold and hard between the roots. No living creature has ever even known of its existence. That is, until the new owners came to the house. Until now.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 1: A New House

Eli Miller sat in the old Toyota’s back seat. They were moving to a new house in Vermont. His parents were all cheery and happy, but Eli was rather subdued. From what he heard, his new house was nowhere near the coziness of his home in Michigan. His old home. Eli tried to be positive, but, as he knowingly thought, he would have to wait to find out.

The Toyota took a sharp right and a quick left as Eli’s father parked the car in the long, winding driveway. Eli kicked open the car door and looked up at the house. It seemed like it was built in the late ‘90s, and wasn’t that old fashioned. Eli stared at the fall foliage. Eli smiled. Maybe, maybe this house would be okay.

Eli’s mind changed the moment his father unlocked and opened the front door. He saw nothing but a staircase and a hallway to the kitchen. Nothing else. He did not like his new house. He tried to be optimistic. Sure, it was large and roomy, but it wasn’t his taste. It was too… empty. Of course, all new homes are empty, but this was too empty. Personally, he liked his old house in Michigan a lot better.

The one thing that he really truly liked in his new home in Vermont was that big tree. Right in the center of his backyard, the canopy was so big that the sunlight was tinted tawny gold in the afternoon. Three and a half stories tall, this large oak was so tall that you could see it from anywhere. Eli wished that one day he would climb to the very top and sleep in the canopy. Little did he know that he would very very soon.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 2: The Strange Night

Eli hauled the last of his junk into his room and threw it on the roll-out mattress. The movers were coming sometime this week. He hoped they would hurry up. An empty, un-personalized room to him was just as bad as no room at all.

Rain poured out Eli’s window. A storm was brewing. Eli picked up his random toys and figures off his bed and arranged them on his windowsill: a knight, an elf, a king, and a wizard. Eli shook his head and smiled. “Fantasy is fantastic,” he muttered to himself, looking at the elf.

He pulled his curtains shut and flicked off the light. Lying down on the bed, he stared at the window. A faint outline of a tree was visible, bright orange. Eli blinked his eyes and got up, pulling the curtains apart. The large oak tree seemed to be… glowing.

Eli rubbed his eyes and looked again. Looking past the heavy rain, he stared at the tree. A faint orange glow was coming from the roots of the tree. Eli wrinkled his eyebrow. A flash of lightning blinded him for a split-second. Eli jumped backward. When he looked out his window again, the glow was gone.

Eli lay back down. What was that glow? Am I hallucinating? Why am I so scared? I’m 12 years old! These thoughts swirled in Eli’s until finally, he promised himself. I’m going to investigate that tree tomorrow. Something is wrong around here.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 3: Mission Yardwork

Eli’s eyes fluttered open. He sat up against the wall. His tiny digital clock read 9:07. Eli cursed himself. He was going to wake up at around 8:00! His nightmares had really gotten to him. Eli brushed his teeth and changed his clothes. He changed into a worn out, year worn T-shirt and torn jeans-nothing new.

He ran down the stairs and gulped down his cereal-Fruit Loops. “Dad!” His dad opened the office door. “I’m going out to kill the weeds around the big oak,” Eli told him. “Okay Eli, wear some gloves. Don’t hurt yourself-those roots are everywhere. Glad to see you’re helping,” Eli grimaced-helping.

Eli put on some gloves and opened the screen door. He took a shovel the previous owners had left them and charged to the tree, forgetting about the door. He jumped over roots and dodged flowers and bushes. Finally, Eli got to the trunk of the big oak tree.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 4: Eli’s Odd Find

Eli started digging up the mulch and soil around the tree, making mountains of dirt. Finally, he lost hope. He had dug everywhere, only to see and feel rocks and roots. In anger, Eli slammed his shovel against a large rock stuck in the dirt. CRACK! The voice echoed. Eli gasped, not in pain, but in amazement. The rock was hollow! Something was there!

With newfound determination, Eli brought his shovel down like a sword. He kept swinging. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Finally, the rock split and crumbled. Eli looked down and smiled. His head was doing the happy dance already! Eli lowered himself into the ground.

A tunnel! So this is where the orange light was coming from, Eli thought. Pushing the shards of the destroyed rock aside, he climbed inside. He thought of his parents. Who cares! They know I can take care of myself! With that comforting thought, Eli Miller crawled into the darkness towards who-knows-what.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 5: The Tunnel’s Embrace

Eli clambered on through the tunnel. It looked untouched and unnaturally smooth. Eli moved on, using his other senses instead of his eyesight, for it was pitch-black. The tunnel smelt damp and wet. He must be 2 or 3 meters under by now. Roots curled and got caught in his jeans. Eli had to do an alligator crawl, and he could not turn around, for the tunnel was so narrow and low.

Finally, Eli reached a smooth wooden panel. With all his strength, Eli pushed. The door toppled. Eli felt a bone-chilling sensation. And then, just as suddenly as it had come, it was gone.

Eli felt a rumble, and it slowly got louder. Dirt started falling and Eli crawled frantically. The tunnel was collapsing! He saw a tiny white dot-light! He crawled for his life, but the dirt and rubble collapsed on him when he was an inch from the opening. Eli pushed with all his might, once, twice, thrice, and finally, the debris exploded, making the beautiful sunlight shine on him once again.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 6: A Whole New World

Eli climbed out of the tunnel, coughing and gasping for breath. His arms were cut from all that pushing, and his legs were sore and bruised. He brushed the dirt off him and exhaled. He looked at the remains of the tunnel-no going back now.

Eli wondered where he was. The air was crisp and cool. He heard water-there was a river nearby. Eli finally noticed his thirst and hunger. He would have to look for berries and find that river. And finally, he turned around, ready to face whatever came at him, bear, tiger, or elephant.

But Eli was nowhere near ready to meet this creature. It had pale skin and golden hair which were half hidden by a pointy green hat. Its eyes were minuscule and he squinted oddly. It looked strangely like… an elf. Eli bent forward to get a closer look, when the elf barked, “Stay Back!”

Eli jumped backward. The elf had drawn a bow and it was pointed right at him. “Do you work for the demons, human?” Eli wrinkled his brow. “Demons? What Demons? I come from planet Earth, and there are no demons there!” “Where am I ?” Eli added as an afterthought. The elf seemed to believe Eli. “Follow me.” the elf barked. “What is your name, human?” Eli trembled at the elf’s gaze. “Eli. Eli Miller. And yours?” “Aymer.” The elf replied, “Aymer Zolfin.”

Now introduced, Eli saw dark circles under the elf’s eyes. “You look tired,” Eli said modestly. “Is there any way I can help? I promise I will if I can.” The elf looked at him quizzically. “If you want to help, Eli Miller, then you have a lot to learn, my friend.”

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 7: The Fire Demons’ Revenge

Aymer took Eli to a great tree, where he met thousands of elves. Although most were joyous, Aymer quickly explained that Eli was a friend, not foe. Eli was really thankful for that, he didn’t like his chances against a few hundred elves.

One evening at dinner, Aymer and the other elves started to tell Eli their problem. “So, Eli, you asked us on the first day we met you-two days ago, how you can help.” said an old elf named Xacarian. “First, you must understand the problem and feel the importance.” “So,” piped a young elf named Jairus, “we elves have ruled over the trees and rocks and rivers for the entire existence of this forest. We elves have not been challenged for generations, and everyone in the forest: wizards, dragons, and pixies all have lived in peace.”

Aymer continued, “The few times we have been challenged, it was by the fire demons from the pit of Vatlour. Each and every time they tried to overthrow the elven throne, they were destroyed greatly by us and our forest allies. Yet this time, they are fighting harder, with new allies, and they may defeat us. We are also fighting hard, but they are slowly but steadily advancing toward our tree palace.”

“Unless we defeat them-and soon-it won’t end well for the elves of the Twisted Realm.” Xacarian finished. A cold silence fell upon the room.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 8: The Lessons

Ever since Eli learned about the war between the elves and the demons, he had been obsessed with helping the elves. Tonight, after a long day of making arrows and polishing bows, he slept atop the tree canopy. He thought of his home-his parents would be worried sick with thoughts of kidnapping and everyone in Vermont would probably know by now. He thought of the tunnel and the tall tree in his backyard. Well, I got my wish. And Eli closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The next day, Aymer told him he was going to have lessons. He gave him a schedule written in his rather bad handwriting:

Archery: 9:00-10:30

Sword Fighting: 11:00-12:30

Lunch: 1:00-2:00

Chores: 2:45-4:30

Free Time: 5:00-7:30

Dinner: 7:30-9:00.

Bedtime: After 9:00

Eli looked at the small wooden clock placed on the branch-9:00. He climbed down the tree and met an elderly elf. The elf introduced himself as Novixus and handed him a bow and a quiver of arrows. “To keep?” Eli asked, and to his glee, the elf nodded. Now all Eli had to do was shoot a target a few hundred feet away. Novixus got the bulls-eye each time, and Eli’s best shot landed a few meters to the right of the target. By the end of the lesson, Novixus was shaking his head in dismay and dismissed him ten minutes early.

Eli was not so bad at sword fighting though. He got sparring pretty easily, and the elf teaching him, Quaxus, said his technique was “not bad.” When he tried to duel with Quaxus though, Quaxus ended up winning in 10 seconds when Quaxus’ sword went an inch from his body and Eli dropped the sword like a scaredy cat.

Lunch was filling and hearty, but the chores were awful. He had to wash leaf blankets, scrub wooden dishes, fit heavy, bulky armor on heavy, bulky elves, and worst of all, go hunting in the dark, creepy forest. All he managed to catch was a hare, which made the other hunters laugh compare to the large animals they caught.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 9: Battle Approaches

Eli had lessons for the next few days. He became pretty decent at sword fighting and managed to hit the target-board in archery. But by far his favorite activity which he did every day was to go swimming in the large Lake TIbernatux.

One day, during lunch, a messenger elf burst into the room. The king elf, Wertixoqum, looked up from his meal. “What is wrong, Braxil?” “Oh, King,” Braxil stuttered, “The demons are approaching! They’ve surrounded us! Only five miles away!” The King’s expression grew serious. “Aymer!” he barked, “Alert our sentries at once. Tell them to fire a few arrows to let those demons know we’re prepared! Hopemn! Set up our guards and front lines around the tree! I want it five to six elves thick!” Aymer and Hopemn rushed to follow the king’s orders, while the rest of them-including Eli, rushed to grab some weapons and help.

Eli ran to the armory, grabbing his sword along with his bow and quiver. He ran outside, stood on a thick branch near the top of the tree, and looked. He could see smoke in the distance and an occasional red spark. He climbed higher and stared at the horizon. The forest was ablaze.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 10: The King’s Final Orders

The fire demons steadily marched forward, setting the surrounding forest and hills on fire. There were hundreds of them, and while the elves looked ready to fight, it was clear they weren’t prepared. Some of them hadn’t sharpened their swords or strapped on their armor.

Eli drew an arrow and fired. He shrunk back, as his arrow nearly missed an elf. The elf looked back at him-Aymer. Eli smiled and waved weakly. Aymer just shook his head.

Suddenly, the quiet stare off between the elves and demons erupted in chaos. Elves jumped forward to meet the demons, wizard allies made force fields to keep the demons away from the great tree, pixies darted here and there distracting the fire demons, and dwarves threw pails of water at the demons with little effect.

With strength Eli had never felt before, he jumped off the tree and charged, his sword drawn, to meet a demon. He took the demon by surprise and slashed him in half. The burning body fell and disintegrated. Eli looked around. Aymer was fighting for his life against a trio of demons, Quaxus was lying on his side, in obvious pain, Xacarian was shooting arrows from the safety of the treetops.

Dozens of elves lay on the ground, either dead or injured. Eli could do nothing to help, as there always were demons at him, and Eli’s sword was smoking. Suddenly, an eerie silence fell upon the battlefield. Eli looked at the tree. The king of the forest had entered the scene.

Demons forgot about all the forest warriors and started charging at the King. Wertixoqum was picking them off with his lance one by one, yet hundreds of them were still coming. The King was fighting tens of demons at once, he was going to be overrun, “FIGHT!” The King bellowed, “FIGHT FOR THE FOREST!!!” And with that, the king was overrun in the stampede of fire.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 11: Eli’s Suicidal Plan

Eli stared at the elves, and the fallen lance. The king was dead. It was over. But inside, he knew it wasn’t. He saw the bodies of Quaxus and Novixus lying at the edge of the tree, never to move again. Jairus lay wounded, crawling toward the tree, his leg burning.

But although it should be over, it wasn’t. And Eli was not going to leave without keeping his promise to Aymer. He would help these elves, even with the cost of his own life.

Eli saw a stretch of blue in the distance, reflecting the golden flames-Lake Tibernatux. He saw the elves, and the demons, who were cheering. Eli’s expression grew steely. He drew his bow and fired an arrow-hopefully, hopefully, his horrid aim won't ruin his plan. But to his amazement, the arrow landed right on the shoulder of a fire demon. They looked at him, surprised, and Eli screamed at the top of his lungs, “IT’S NOT OVER YET!! COME AND GET ME!!”

Every single demon on the scene faced him and started to charge. Eli used his speed and agility to dodge past bodies, flames, and fallen trees, straight toward the lake. All the demons were following him. He climbed a rock formation at the edge of the lake and stood tall. The demons were a hundred feet from him, fifty, ten, five, and the moment they were on top of him, Eli jumped.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 12: Eli’s Last Words

Eli screamed as he fell, but it was necessary. He had to provoke those demons to follow him. “YOU WON’T CATCH ME!!” he screamed, “YOU WON'T WIN THIS ONE!” It had the effect Eli needed, all the demons jumped down after him.

Eli hit the water with a huge SPLASH!, and Eli fell into the warm water, piles and piles of demons fell on him, pushing him deeper and deeper into Tibernatux. One demon fell right on Eli’s face, and Eli felt his nose break. Warm blood rushed out and mingled with the water.

Eli was sinking, he was going deeper and deeper, he was not going to make it out, he was going to die here, he was never going to see his parents again, he was going to die… Eli closed his eyes, his breathing slowed, and he started to sink deeper and deeper into the water, probably not to come out alive.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 13: Aymer’s Daring Rescue

Eli coughed. Surely this was heaven. He died, right? He lay in a warm bed with white sheets. Hadn’t he died? His question was answered when an elf entered the room-Aymer. He was still recovering from the battle but looked happy.

“Ah, I see you’re awake!” Aymer said. He wore a string of leaves around his head like he had seen the King once wear. Eli wondered-Aymer has been crowned King?-but kept it for later.

Eli merely nodded, but then said, “I thought I died in the lake. What happened?” Aymer smiled. “Once you destroyed all the demons-very smart plan-we realized you did not come up. We all thought you were dead. I volunteered to dive down and fish you out.”

“When I got to the bottom, you were on the rocks, bleeding. You lost a lot of blood. I brought you out-you’re very light by the way. You were not in good condition. Your face was pale, your lips blue, but you were alive.” Aymer said. “We have taken care of you. You’ve been out for what-two days, three?”

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 14: The Tunnel Again

The next few days were a blur. The elves finished digging the tunnel. King Aymer awarded him the Leaf Badge for Heroism-the best award an elf (or human) could receive. After all his goodbyes to all the elves, each of whom praised him for his valiant efforts and sacrifice, he was ready.

A crowd of elves had gathered, old, young, and battle-hardened. He lowered himself into the tunnel and then turned around to look at King Aymer. “Remember Eli,” he said, “that time works differently here. And thank you. Who knows what the fate of this forest would have been if not for you.” Eli smiled and nodded, and climbed through the tunnel.

Eli crawled and crawled through the smooth narrow tunnel. A while on, he felt the smooth slab of wood. He smiled, embracing the bone-chilling sensation. That must be the portal. Eli crawled on until finally, he felt shards of rock from his backyard.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Chapter 15: Homecoming

Eli climbed out of the tunnel and picked up his shovel. He started walking to the screen door which was still open. Eli thought of his parents-they must be frantic with thoughts of kidnapping! Eli shut the screen door behind him and met his mother in the kitchen. Instead of looking relieved though, she looked angry.

“Eli Miller! Where have you been? You told your father you were out to pick weeds, but you didn’t return for four hours?” Four hours? More like two weeks! What happened here? Eli thought. His mother continued, “What is the explanation for this?” Eli stuttered, “I -I um, met a friend. His name is um-Aymer, and he asked me to go play with him at his house. Oh, and that’s why I didn’t deal with the weeds.” Sheepishly, he added, “Sorry.”

But his mother was no longer mad, but on the contrary, bemused. “Oh, Eli, you found a friend? On your first day here? How nice.” Eli smiled. I am great at excuses, he thought.

But then he wondered about the time. He was in the Twisted Realm for two weeks. But he was only missing from here for 4 hours? But then he remembered Aymer’s last words to him. Time works differently here. Eli smiled.

Eli walked around the empty house. It was kind of nice here. The scenery was beautiful, although the golden fall leaves gave him the thought that they were burning. But other than that, it was great here. It truly was his home. Eli was back at last.

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shahmilav-blog · 5 years

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Epilogue

Over the next few days, Eli actually did pick the weeds, all the while remembering The Twisted Realm. Eli wore gloves and picked and picked, no longer sore from the battles against the fire demons. Eli shivered. He had never really gotten over how close he was to dying at Lake Tibernatux. Although he would love to meet Aymer and his elven friends again, he did not want to visit the Twisted Realm again. Eli was working on closing the tunnel entrance, packing it with dirt and rock.

Eli’s life returned to normal now. The movers came and dumped all their stuff in the living room. Eli made his first human friend in Vermont, a kid named Darryl. Darryl looked nothing like an elf, with tan skin and dark hair. Every day, Eli would go to Darryl’s house and talk fantasy. Darryl loved fantasy almost as much as Eli did.

One night, after some serious video-gaming with Darryl, Eli looked outside. His Leaf Badge was sitting on his nightstand. It was rainy and stormy, but there was no outline of the tree, just a shadow. Eli smiled, shut his eyes and fell asleep, dreaming about his adventures. Eli’s fantasy figures shone in the moonlight: his elf, his king, his knight, and his wizard. Eli was finally home.

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