Prologue

500 B.C.
"Any famous last words", the soldier spat violently as he strung the rope around Flamel’s waist, both constricting him and securing him against a stake. Flamel remained silent, his face expressing all his emotions. "Well then, if you don’t have any we’ll start then." The soldier threw a flaming log into the pile of dry wood at Flamel’s feet. The flames engulfed Flamel and screams erupted from the bonfire. But through the screams a deep voice echoed, stating a paragraph that would change the world forever. Four swords , one of wind, one of fire, one of water, one of earth. Once together, they will make the fifth element, the most powerful of them all. Two humans, the most mortal of beings, shall each receive two, as well as a unique ability, and a master. But if they shall not meet, stray off the path, they shall perish and evil shall take the world." The soldier stood there, a smile on his face. He was happy, and he wasn’t the only one. The crowd smiled with him. They had finished this threat.
They were happy because they thought Nicholas Flamel was a wizard. He was being burned at the stake because he was convicted of being a wizard.