Elves are magical beings. Magic can fix most things, but people at his door wasn't one of them. Marvin was pacing aimlessly around his room when he heard a knock.
"Who is it?" Marvin yelled. He didn't normally get people wanting to see him. The castle was large and he was just a random boy. The only reason he lived in the castle was because his father was part of the War Council, a group of powerful people who planned the war and talked strategies. "Dof," the person at the door answered. "I carry an important message from Lady Kor. May I come in?"
"Please do," Marvin replied. The stranger, Dof, opened the door and came in. He was a tall man, with a strong posture, and silver hair.
"What is the message?" said Marvin. A message from Lady Kor! It must have been urgent for her to send a message to him.
"She requests that you meet her in the library," Dof said. In the library? Marvin thought.
"Did she say why?" Marvin said, still unsure of the situation.
"No," Dof replied. "She wants you to come immediately.
"Okay," Marvin said. "You may leave. Do not worry, I know the way to the library." Dof bowed and left the room. Marvin started out the door. He always went to the library, especially when he was bored. Using his magic, he conjured a small light to help him see in the dark hallways. When he reached the library, he extinguished his light and walked in. Lady Kor was sitting at one of the tables reading a book. She was an elegant female, with long brown hair held back by a gold crown. Lady Kor wore a white and gold dress. She looked up.
"Ah, there you are," she said in a kind voice. "You were much faster than the others."
"Others?" he echoed. So there were more people coming.
"Yes," Lady Kor said. "I sent out for five elves, including you, and you are the first to arrive." Shortly after, another elf walked in. He had silver hair and wore a green tunic.
"Hey," the elf said. "What's this about?" Lady Kor told him that he, Marvin, and the others were needed for a mission. Two elves rushed in, then a third one. They were heavily panting, as if they had ran to the library.
"What's going on?" one of the three elves asked.
"I will tell you the extent of it later," Lady Kor replied. "For now, why don't you introduce yourself?" So they did. The second elf to come in was named Oliver, the others were Nathan, Roy, and Zak. Nathan had brown hair and wore a blue robe. Roy wore a orange shirt and had orange hair as well. Zak had black hair and wore a black shirt. They were all muscular except for Marvin. He'd rather study than get buff, but he also felt a little out of place.
"So why are we here?" asked Zak.
"I am sending you five on a mission," Lady Kor said. "Do any of you guys know what Earth is?" The other four shook their heads, but Marvin nodded.
"I read it in a book one time," said Marvin. "But it really didn't give any information about it at all."
"Earth is a different world, across the universe," Lady Kor began. "We elves know nothing about it, except that it contains humans, which are like elves, but without pointed ears."
"So what does this have to do with us being here?" asked Oliver.
"Like I said, we know nothing about Earth." She stared at all of them, making them shift uncomfortably. "I need you to go to Earth and see if there are any threats that could harm our world, Arimelia. I trust you guys to survive there and find out all the secrets of humans."
"But how do we get there?" Nathan interjected.
"You have to activate a portal," Lady Kor replied. "It will take a lot of focus and magic, but you will be able to do it. The portal is hidden deep in the jungles of Arimelia. I will give you a map to find it."
"Why us?" Roy asked. "Why did you choose us to do this dangerous mission?"
"Because you all have the capabilities to complete this mission," Lady Kor replied. "Marvin has the brains and is smart, Oliver is fierce and will be able to defend you, Nathan is the best out of you at magic, Zak is loyal and will get things done, and Roy...I just don't like the number four so I added him to make it five, but he can also help in some way.
"You will come back whenever you are done, and do not worry about your parents, I sent them all letters explaining this and they know it's the right thing to do, for if the humans grow too powerful, they might overthrow Arimelia somehow." She looked at them. "Here is the map to the portal, but before that, say goodbye to you parents for now, you will come back when you have the secrets of the humans." They said they goodbyes, with a bit of crying, then set off with the map and instructions to activate the portal that Lady Kor gave them. Marvin sighed. One moment he was at home in his room, the next he was leaving his parents to go on a dangerous mission with strangers. They didn't talk to each other until they left the castle.
"It's really crazy, isn't it?" Nathan said. "I'm proud to go into his mission but also sad to leave Arimelia." The others nodded in agreement. The trip didn't take long, Nathan used a tracking spell to locate the portal. The portal wasn't really a portal, it was more like an altar.
"Hmm," Oliver said. "Are we at the right place?"
"It has to be here," said Roy. "Tracking spells never fail."
"How do we activate it again?" said Zak. "What did Lady Kor say? I forgot."
Marvin relayed the instructions. "We need to have an elf with strong magic." Marvin said. They all turned to Nathan.
"Okay, I'll do it," said Nathan. He stepped up to the altar and murmured the ancient spell. None of them dared to speak, in fear that he would mess up. Sweat started to gather on Nathan's forehead. All of a sudden, a flash brighter than the sun lit up the forest, and a bang followed. They covered their eyes, then silence followed. Marvin looked up. A blue portal was behind the altar, looking as though it had been ripped into the world.
"Woah," Marvin breathed. The others looked up and gaped at the sight. The portal was large, and emitted a faint humming sound and a strong glow. They looked at each other, then walked in. The world flashed, then the portal closed behind them. They appeared in a alley, filled with light.
They were in Earth.