The Endless Forest

Torm sat quiet as he stared into the campfire. He and his caravan had been traveling non-stop since they left Bernel Village, only pausing to eat and sleep…

He had barely uttered a word since then as well, seemingly lost within his own mind most of the time. At least, that was what most of his men believed. The truth was, Torm was more cognizant than they realized.

Aluin…

He clung to a boiling rage. It was all he had left, and he would have his revenge. Even if I can’t kill you, I swear, I will destroy everything you care for…

A cold wind blew through the camp, an odd thing in the middle of summer. Torm barely registered it. Meanwhile, the few guards still up as watch, shivered before going silent.

Odd… He blinked, realizing just how quiet it got. It wasn’t just the guards, even the crackling of the fire–

Torm jerked up in fright. He was surrounded in darkness, only the small area immediately around him remained visible.

A growl sounded out, causing him to whip around.

From the darkness the visage of a large cat appeared. It blended well in the blackness, only the outline of its face and its piercing yellow eyes were visible.

Another growl, its sharp feline teeth were now visible.

“Torm.” The guttural words did not come from its mouth.

“Y-yes?” It was the first word he had muttered all day. Too bad his rage couldn’t save him here.

The shadow panther, Torm realized, stepped out from its darkness.

“We have much to discuss…”

Zira stared out into the quiet hatchery. Night had fallen hours ago, and now, most were asleep. Yet, she was not.

Felix shifted next to her, muttering to himself. He was dreaming, a nightmare from what she could tell. Lowering a wing, she let it cover him like a blanket. The contact stilled him, but the horrible dream continued anyway.

This was not an uncommon occurrence.

Lately, she too had nightmares. That had been a new development, one that concerned her deeply. To make it worse, she could not remember them. Only vague emotions, sounds, and blurry images came to her when she tried to recall them.

However, what bothered her tonight, why she couldn’t sleep, was the same reason why Yedril was alive…

Zira felt her talons dig into the stone floors beneath her, gouging them. She did not care, the magic that filled this place would fix them in time. Her thoughts were on earlier today, when her and Felix’s bond had been disrupted.

Never have we been so thoroughly separated… The thought, the feeling, had disturbed– No, it frightened her.

From the instant she hatched till that very moment, she and Felix had always been connected. She knew not a time where she was so alone, save for the few sparks of life she had that pre-dated her hatching.

Even then, someone had always been there during those brief glimpses. Though, she did not know who…

When it happened, when she was separated from Felix, part of her was sent into a rage. The other part, however, had frozen in absolute terror. Zira wanted nothing more than to tear the den apart until she reached him.

But the terror had won out, perhaps thankfully so… That didn’t make it any easier for her, and she never wanted something like that to ever happen again. In fact, it only made her more protective of him.

I don’t want him to leave my side, ever!

But how?

Of course, she knew the answer. She’d seen it multiple times in the form of her…mother. Ithea preferred using a human form over her proper dragon one.

It hadn’t been lost on Zira, that she could do something similar. She simply never had a reason. It didn’t help that it felt wrong to her as well, like she would be betraying herself in some way.

Yet, now, as she stared down at Felix? She no longer felt that. However, she would need to learn how to do it first, which meant…

I will need to speak to her.

“Should I hold him down?” Felix asked quietly. Yedril was shifting around where he slept, a potential sign that he would wake soon.

“I don’t know… But considering this potion is supposed to help calm him, then I think maybe?” Eri answered back, matching his tone.

Felix frowned, This isn’t going to be fun…

He quickly glanced over to the den, his thoughts shifting to the eggs as a distraction. Two days… Hopefully, Yedril will be mostly good by then. Of course, that was an estimation, a guess really. But something, most likely Fea, told him that was about right.

Still, he hadn’t told anyone yet. He didn’t want to break the news until Yedril was up and coherent, it just didn’t seem right.

He shifted his eyes up to the false sky above them. It projected the late morning sun in a clear blue sky. It was just him, Eri, and Solanna here to watch over Yedril. He had made sure to send everyone else away.

“Anyways… Solanna?” He asked, kneeling down beside the elven woman. She was staring at her brother with dark bags under her eyes. She didn’t sleep.

“Hmm?”

“Are you sure you want–”

“Yes.” She said, never taking her attention away from her brother.

Felix nodded. “It’s your choice, but we might have to hold him down. Can you keep your composure?” He knew that was a rude and awful thing to ask, but given the circumstances? There was no time to be gentle. He was certain they would need to act quickly once Yedril woke up.

Solanna’s expression hardened, clearly offended. “Yes.”

“Good, then–”

Yedril suddenly stopped moving. Before Felix could blink, the elf began screaming and convulsing.

Shit! He latched down onto the writhing elf’s shoulders, trying to pin him. “Eri, hurry!”

Yedril’s eyes shot open, going wild as he continued his wailing. Felix had to wince as the elf was screaming right into his ear.

“I can’t pour it in! He’s moving his head too much!” Eri shouted. She was kneeling as well and trying to aim the vial.

“Solanna! Hold his head!” Felix commanded, turning to look at Yedril’s sister.

She didn’t move.

“SOLANNA!” He yelled over Yedril.

She blinked and snapped back into reality. “W-what?!”

“Hold his head for Eri!” He could feel the young elf under him trying to push him off.

In a panic, Solanna moved over and put her hands around Yedril’s head. “I-It’s okay Y-Yedril… Sis i-is here.”

For a brief moment her brother froze. It was just enough time for Eri to dump the contents of the vial into his mouth.

Eri tossed it out of the way and slid a hand underneath his jaw. In a quick motion, she slammed it shut. Yedril began fighting them again, but with the three of them, there wasn’t much he could do.

Felix heard an audible gulp from the elf. “He drank it!”

With that, he and Eri immediately let go. However, Solanna continued to try and hold Yedril’s head, even as he began battering her with his flailing arms.

“Shh, i-it’s okay… Y-your sister is here. Please–” She winced as one of Yedril’s arms hit her in the face, sending her tears flying. “I-it’s okay…”

Felix had to look away, it was too painful to watch. I’m just glad Lorem took Noria away from here. He didn’t know where they were going, but it sounded like they were going for a walk…

Time ticked away while they waited for Yedril’s thrashing to come to a stop. It took almost thirty minutes, a lot longer than Felix hoped for. Neither he nor Eri said a word in that time, not until things began to calm. All the while, Solanna never left her brother’s side.

“Is he resting?” He asked quietly to Solanna. She was back to running a hand through Yedril’s hair.

“I…think so.” She whispered. It was so faint that Felix almost didn’t catch it.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Yedril’s eyes cracked open. He held his breath and readied himself just in case he needed to act again.

“Sol–” Yedril’s voice cracked as he tried to speak.

With a gasp, his sister quickly tried to pull him into a hug.

“Woah!” Felix reached out and stopped her. “He needs to rest…”

She froze, conflicted on what to do. Eventually she nodded, and gingerly laid her brother’s head down onto his pillow.

Eri came to the other side. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

Yedril tried to laugh but it only caused him to cough. “B-bad…” He finally got out.

Felix let a weak smile show and patted the elf on the shoulder. “Do you need some water?”

“Yeah…” Yedril rasped out.

Eri had a water skin at the ready before Felix could even reach for his. “Slowly,” she said. “And only a little at a time.”

The sickly elf gave a weak nod and opened his mouth and Eri allowed him to drink. After a few rounds of that, Yedril was starting to sound a little better.

“Thanks…”

“You’re welcome,” Eri replied. She put her water skin away before she continued. “Now rest, we’ll check on you in a little bit.”

“Wait! What about…the egg?”

Felix answered. “You did it, all of you did. I have a good idea of when they will hatch– And I know what your next question will be. No one but me knows, and I wont say until everyone else is here.”

Yedril looked upset at that but gave another nod.

Felix stood. “Good. Now, as Eri said, get some rest…” He turned his attention to Solanna. “You too.”

Wishing to give the two siblings some space, he turned and made his way out of the hatchery.

Noria stared ahead as she and Lorem slowly walked through the forest. Birds chirped above them, high up in the canopy. The sun peeked through it, casting rays of warm light down onto the ground.

The shadows were cold.

They were holding each other’s hand, there was no romance, no love, in the act. They were simply getting away for a while.

“Will he… Do you think Yedril will be okay?” she asked, finally breaking the long silence. They had traveled for several minutes like this already.

“I do.” Lorem responded. There was none of his cheeriness in the words.

She came to a stop, forcing Lorem as well. “That was truly terrifying… I-I’ve never seen something like that, and I’ve dealt with those dying before.”

“Noria–”

“No, you don’t understand.” She shook her head. “You’re not as trained as I am in magic. You couldn’t sense it. Yedril… H-he was…a husk.” The words made her choke and she began to tremble once more.

Lorem pulled her into a hug. “Noria…”

She continued, unaware and not present. “I-I couldn’t feel any life. Not even while he was t-thrashing around. I-it was like watching someone’s soul gasping its last breath.”

Noria closed her eyes, she was back in the den. She remembered the trance-like state, the feeling of a heart beat… Then a coldness, the kind that only came to someone when they realized there was nothing they could do.

The sound of Solanna’s screaming, Yedril in his death throes… She could only stand there, beyond terrified. Not even the presence of Felix had been enough to shake her. It was only after Lorem had acted, dragging Solanna out, that she started to come to her senses.

“Hey…” Lorem’s voice was a distant whisper to her ears. “Felix saved him, even Ithea said Yedril will wake up. No one died–”

“That's just it!” she shouted suddenly and pulled away from his embrace. “Felix did the impossible! Yedril shouldn’t even be alive!”

Breathing heavily, she tried to calm her emotions. She hadn’t intended to yell at Lorem. “H-he did something… He did something well beyond what should be possible.” She stared up into Lorem’s eyes.

“It was a miracle.”