The Endless Forest

A stormy sea, Hatred attempts landing.

A roar of defiance, Hatred repulsed–

A flash of light, screaming. Fighting. Fear takes hold, it was just a precursor…

Magic fails, panic.

Where is– Who? Who am I looking for?

No time… Must fight.

Friends rally, Hatred pushed back. Friends are win–

A roar cuts through, rage and pain.

Panic, where is–

Friends stand before a fallen… Rage and sorrow fill the air.

“WHERE IS–”

Friends turn, eyes wide.

“I’m sorry…”

***

Zira awoke with a start. Her heart raced, yet the reason escaped her. A hazy dream was all she could remember.

She took a moment to calm herself before inspecting her surroundings. She was in a small clearing somewhere in the forest. She could vaguely recall getting up and moving after Kyrith’s excessive whining forced her to find a new spot, one much quieter…

Lifting her head up further, she spotted the manor not that far away. Zira promptly laid it back down and sighed. An air of tension surrounded her, like there was something wrong…

She reached through her bond and felt Felix’s mind. He noticed.

You okay? He asked her.

Hmm I’m fine… I think.

You…think? She felt his concern flow through the bond.

I– Yeah, I’m fine. Probably just the effects from teleporting, but I’m doing much better now. She let a bit of confidence show.

Alright, I only asked because I felt you twitching around.

Just your imagination. She said with false bravado.

Felix mentally rolled his eyes at her. Anyways, we will be having dinner at the manor tonight. Tomorrow, we will have it in the hatchery, is that alright?

Why not tonight? A hint of frustration was let through, she didn’t like eating alone…or at least, alone with Kyrith. He had a tendency to be a noisy and messy eater…

Oh, you’ve been resting all day and Kyrith has been complaining about headaches. I just figured you two would want some peace and quiet tonight. Besides, Noria and Aluin are exhausted.

Noria? What happened to her?

She, uh, helped with some new dire wolves that Tracker and Gern brought back. One was pretty bad off, and she burned up a lot of mana to get it stable.

Zira listened patiently, but she got the feeling that Felix was leaving something out. And then…?

W-what do you mean? That’s it. He wasn’t sounding very confident.

You had to rescue her, didn’t you?

No! I just…had to restrain it. No big deal, just a few superficial scratches. Nothing to worry about.

She ‘stared’ at him with narrow eyes.

That’s what happened! You can take a look at my memories.

Zira began to feel a headache coming on. Fine.

Fine? He asked, confused.

I will eat alone tonight… But tomorrow, after dinner, you will be my pillow.

She could feel him sighing through their connection before he agreed. Alright, you got yourself a deal… He trailed off for a moment before speaking up again. Zira, are you sure you are okay?

She growled, I’m fine! She quickly pulled away from their bond. Really…I’m fine. She thought to herself, yet that tension would not leave her…

Felix let out a sigh as he sat down at the table, letting the discussion with Zira fade to the back of his mind…

Things had finally settled down, at least for the moment. Both Aluin and Noria were still weak from over-taxing their mana, but at least both had enough energy to come and join the rest of the group in the dining room.

The room itself was now crowded. There was barely enough space for everyone at the table, just another problem he had not foreseen. Originally, he planned to host their dinner outside or in the hatchery. But with the two weakened elves and both dragons still dealing with the after effects of the teleport spell, he thought better of it.

Still, he felt bad about not including the dragons. Not that there is anything I can do about it, they both need some time alone to recuperate…

His thoughts trailed off as several kobolds suddenly filed in, taking up what precious little space was left. No one minded though, as the kobolds were all carrying trays piled high with food.

Multiple stomachs growled at the site, including his.

As plates were laid down in front of him, Felix could not wait any longer. Three days… I’ve gone three days of barely eating. He lamented as he tore into the food. In fairness, he did eat a lot more than the average person.

The others eyed him cautiously, but his hunger outweighed his care.

“You’ll have to excuse him, his appetite is…considerable. But please, don’t think of him as a glutton. It is not his fault,” Aluin apologized on his behalf.

A couple of the stares turned into curiosity.

“He mentioned something about that the other day,” Yedril responded, looking at Felix in a new light. “I just didn’t know to what extent.”

In that moment, Felix found enough strength to pull himself away from his food. “I honestly don’t know why, but I have an appetite of a dragon.” That wasn’t entirely true, he had a good idea why but he decided it would be wiser to not tell them.

“That’s…impressive,” Lorem said, looking down at his own food.

“Did– What was his name again? Chef? Did he make all this?” Asked Solanna incredulously.

Felix nodded and took another bite before answering. “Him and his cooks…. Go on, give it a try. I promise it’s delicious.”

Surprisingly, it was Noria who took the first bite.

“Wow…” That was all she said before she began to eat more vigorously.

Seeing her reaction, the spell was broken and the rest of the elves started digging into their own plates.

The dining room went silent, save for the clanking of silverware and glasses. It was like a trance. Everyone, save for Eri and Aluin, had thrown etiquette out the window.

But that was only the first course.

Felix looked around at the satisfied faces of the four volunteers. They were all slouching in their chairs and either rubbing their bellies or picking at the few remaining crumbs on their plates.

He smiled, as another wave of kobolds entered. More trays and more plates…

“How much food is there?!” Yedril asked, shocked at what he was seeing.

“Plenty,” Felix responded with a laugh.

Eri clarified, “Eat to your heart's content, but don’t be afraid to stop. None of the food will get wasted.” Her lips curled into a smile as she nodded towards him.

Laughter erupted around the table.

“Oh ha ha… Very funny.” He feigned insult, even as he picked up a roll.

More laughter followed…

A stormy sea…

Panic, fear… Someone remembered something. Something startling, something terrifying.

What was it again?

A revelation… A call to arms, faraway. Troops moving.

Where?

A land lost long ago, a time lost long ago.

Why now?

Time is flowing, time is not a friend. The future whispers to them…

The next morning, Felix woke with a yawn and got out of bed. The sun was barely peeking out once again, but today was going to be rather busy…

He cleaned up and got dressed, then sent a wake-up call to Zira. Time to get up–

She responded with a mental groan.

Come on, Zira…

Please… Just leave me be and let me sleep. She begged him, something that was entirely out of character.

A little concerned, he peeked through their bond and found her shifting uncomfortably. Hey, are you al–

Fine! I’m getting up! She suddenly snapped, causing him to physically reel back.

Okay… Well, I’m going to gather the others. We’ll be there shortly.

He let out an exasperated sigh. Looks like Zira woke up on the wrong side of the bed…

He made his way out of his room and towards the converted dorm room. The door was open, and he walked up and knocked on the doorframe before entering. There was only one elf in there.

“Good morning,” A tired looking Yedril said. The elf rubbed his eyes and stood up.

“Not used to early mornings?” Felix asked.

Yedril shook his head, no.

“Well, you’ll have to get used to it sadly. Have you had a bath yet?”

“Not yet, I’m waiting for my–”

Solanna entered the room, her hair wet. “It’s your turn.” She gestured towards the guest room.

“Thanks…” Her brother mumbled and trudged past them.

Felix waited for him to leave before turning his attention to Solanna. “Where are the other two?”

“Downstairs, I think. Noria said something about checking on her notes… Lorem decided to go with her.”

He nodded. “I see. Well, meet us downstairs when you and your brother are ready.”

“Sure thing, though it might take him a little bit. It was hard enough for me to get out of the bath. I doubt he will be any better.”

Felix chuckled. “That’s fine, but we got a lot to go over today.” Not to mention I have to get back to my own studies… He mentally sighed and started making his way to the stairs.

Downstairs, he found Noria and Lorem in the library. Various items were laid out onto the table, and they were in the process of storing them back into their respective crates.

“Good morning,” he repeated his greeting as he entered the room.

“Morning,” Lorem responded.

“Oh, good morning,” Noria said, slightly distracted.

“Everything good?” He cocked his eyebrow as he watched her.

“Huh? Oh, yes.” She stopped what she was doing and faced him. “I was looking for my journal. I wanted it so I could take notes.” She picked up a leather-bound book and smiled as she held it up. “I managed to find it.”

Felix smiled back. “Smart. I myself tried to take notes but turns out…I’m bad at it.” He shrugged. “I do try my best though.” He rummaged into a pocket and pulled out several pieces of parchment that were folded up.

She let out a little laugh before suddenly cupping her mouth. “S-sorry… Perhaps I could help you with that?”

Felix put his hand up to his chin in thought. That wouldn’t be a bad idea. “Perhaps. I could also use some assistance with record keeping, but I won’t force that on to anyone. Poor Watcher tries his best, but he’s just not good with numbers…”

“What exactly does Watcher do?” Lorem asked, finishing up with the crates.

“A lot, actually. He’s mainly in charge of keeping track of the eggs, but he also keeps the hatchery spotless. Then there is the village… He’s still the kobolds’ leader– Or Chief, I suppose you could call him.”

The large elf nodded. “He seemed rather smart to me, but I guess that’s why he’s the Chief.”

“Smart? He’s been a pain for Bernel village since forever,” Noria interjected, waving her hand dismissively.

“That’s right, you mentioned something about that before.” Felix added. “But I didn’t know you knew who Watcher was.”

Noria plopped down into a chair. “I didn’t know his name, but that silver-gray color was a dead giveaway. He used to lead raids into our village.”

“Oh–”

Her expression changed to horror as she realized what she implied. “What I meant is he would get a group to sneak into our village and steal. A, uh… A lot of us felt bad for them and would leave things out that we no longer needed…”

Felix relaxed his stance. “I see… Still, stealing is wrong. I will have a talk with Watcher about that later.”

“It’s fine!” She nearly shouted. “They’ve…been rather quiet recently. Now I understand why.”

He opened his mouth but Lorem shook his head at him. “Right…” He trailed off at the sound of footsteps. A moment later, Solanna and Yedril joined them.

Giving a quick nod to the brother and sister, he gestured towards the kitchen. “If everyone is ready, we’ll make our way over to the hatchery.”

Ithea watched with minor annoyance as Felix led four elves towards the hatchery. She was up in her tree, rousing from a long slumber…

The days had gotten long and warm, and when the others had left for the elven settlement, she had chosen to laze about. There hadn’t been a need for her to do anything, and she certainly didn’t want to deal with the groveling kobolds.

But…that wasn’t entirely true. At least, the lazing about part. No, she had gone on a little adventure herself for a day. She went back to catch up with the news from the other dragons that protected their little home.

Unfortunately, she had the misfortune of running into one particular individual that she would have rather avoided…

Damn him, always poking and prodding where he shouldn’t. She frowned at the thought. I suppose I should be thankful that he’s always so busy, less he comes for more…experiments.

Ithea killed the thought, not wanting to dwell on the nuisance any longer. She had managed to get the latest information and fly back without causing too much of a scene. She focused back on the group as they entered the hatchery.

Hmm, I suppose I will have to introduce myself at some point… But not now, I’d rather not deal with them period. Maybe I can get that damn Sage to end the contract and I can be done with here–

A memory came back to her.

‘There is still time to fix this…’

She huffed at Nevram’s words. In truth, she hadn’t done much to fix her relationship with her daughter. Something that was secretly eating her up on the inside. I’ve had months… MONTHS! Yet I cannot connect with her…

Her shoulders drooped, I’m not cut out for this mother stuff– A thought occurred to her. But I might know someone who is…

A predatory smile flashed across her lips. She turned her attention towards the manor and frowned. This won’t be easy…for me.

The first lesson of the day was understanding what a dragon was. What should be a simple task, was actually a deceptively difficult one.

The problem that Felix had was limited knowledge. His unfinished notes were the most complete source of information, and that wasn’t much.

Aluin had been the most informative, but even the Sage’s knowledge was sadly limited. It also didn’t help that Ithea refused to assist him, either out of pride or her own ignorance. He wasn’t sure.

What all this told him was one of two things, that categorizing dragons wasn’t something that was done much in the past, or that it was simply a matter of lost history. Whatever it was, he vowed to change that…

“…So far, the easiest way I’ve been able to tell is by looking at the egg itself. The colors are a fairly good indicator to what type of dragon will hatch, and the size will tell you roughly the mental age of the hatchling.” Felix said, concluding his long winded lecture.

“But what about pixie dragons, as you called them? How would the size of the mother affect the hatchling's growth while in the egg?” Noria asked, raising a hand.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know. So much history has been lost.” He said in resignation. “It’s clear that neither Zira or Kyrith are pixie dragons, and I’m not entirely sure if there are any…”

She looked dejected.

“But… That’s what I aim to fix. I want to rebuild our knowledge of dragons, and I’ll need your– All of your help.” Noria perked up as he continued. “It won't be easy, nor complete, but I hope to lay the groundwork so that others can expand it. Will you… Will you all help me with this?”

“I’ll help!” Noria shouted, suddenly sounding fired up.

A few chuckles came from the group, but Felix could see everyone nodding as well. He smiled before switching back into his lecturer's voice.

“Good… Now, let’s talk about something…less depressing and more interesting. Bonds.” He cleared his throat. “I know I told you about them already, but let me go into more detail. This is important.”

He paused for a moment, making sure he had everyone’s attention. “The first thing you need to know is that bonds are personal. They are an extremely private affair between you and the dragon that forms one with you.

“Asking someone about their bond is akin to asking them about their love life, it’s personal and none of your damn business. With that being said, I don’t mind sharing some of my experience with you all.”

He stopped, taking a moment to organize his thoughts.

“When you and a dragon form a bond, the idea of privacy changes. Thoughts, both yours and theirs, will naturally leak over. Now, this can sound scary but that is why bonds are formed on trust. In fact, for one to form at all, that trust needs to be there.”

Both Yedril and Noria raised their hands. He chose Yedril first since he already answered one of Noria’s questions. “Yes, Yedril?”

“How do you know when a bond has formed?”

Ah… I should address that. “A good question. From mine and Eri’s experience, it started when Zira’s and Kyrith’s eggs imprinted onto us– And before anyone asks, think of imprinting as marking. We don’t fully understand it, but an egg will mark you.

“We affectionately refer to this as being ‘safe.’ You can thank Zira for that–”

There was a grumble from behind him, the amethyst dragon making her displeasure known. He chose to ignore it and continued.

“Anyway, you won’t feel the imprint, but you can detect the egg reacting to your mana. If it does, then it has imprinted onto you.

“The bond, itself, then forms upon hatching, at least as far as we’re concerned. Now, you will feel that, it's like an unscratchable itch deep within your mind. The sensation goes away quickly, but that is how you know it was successful.”

Noria raised her hand again.

“Yes?” Felix asked.

“If bonds are based on trust…then what happens if that trust is betrayed?”

He pursed his lips. “Then the bond will either weaken or break, depending on the severity. It’s imperative that, if you and the dragon wish to maintain the bond, then both of you must be able to trust one another.”

As one, the elves went still in contemplation.

Wanting to stop any of them from getting cold feet, Felix quickly added, “It’s not that bad. Me and Zira have made mistakes, taken missteps, and yet? Our bond has continued to grow.

“It’s a wonderful and comforting feeling as well. I can safely speak for myself, Zira, Eri, and Kyrith; none of us regret forming our bonds.”

“He’s right,” Zira said, speaking up for the first time. “While we love to argue with, and tease each other, we do it from a place of understanding that goes beyond words.”

Felix was surprised by her honesty. “Wow, Zira… When did you start studying philosophy?” He grinned slightly at her huff and turned to face her. “No, I really mean–”

He never got a chance to finish his sentence…