The Endless Forest

Eri blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light level. The hallway she found herself in slowly brightened with the glow of magical lights, revealing raw stone walls and floor.

“This is the entrance,” Felix said from her right.

Before she could respond, Kyrith’s head appeared above them, prompting the two of them to make room. The dragon’s body materialized as they cleared the area.

“Oh! This is dense!” He said, his body shivering slightly.

Felix had brought them to the Sanctuary, as he called it. Eri was curious about it and she apparently had some questions…

“It is. Be careful, it affected Zira quite a bit our first time here.” Felix responded, gesturing for the two of them to follow.

The entrance led directly into a hallway. It was a tight fit for Kyrith, but thankfully it didn’t cause any issues.

“Fea made this?” Eri asked, sounding a little incredulous. She was in the middle with her partner behind her.

“Yeah. But this,” he gestured, “Isn’t what is impressive. Just wait, we’re almost there.”

“Right…” She muttered, still unsure how to take all this. The dense mana didn’t help. It wasn’t exactly stifling, but it left her feeling uncomfortable.

They continued their trek, passing several rooms. Her curiosity had her peeking in one as they passed, but there wasn’t anything of interest.

Suddenly, they came to a stop. In front of them was a solid wall.

Eri tried to speak, “Where–”

Felix simply placed his hand onto the wall. A moment later, the wall opened up…

“Here we are,” Felix said with a nod.

Her jaw dropped, Kyrith gasped.

Before them was a massive cave…

Daylight shown down onto the floor, coming from the equally impressive opening above them. The circular shape of the cave held rows upon rows, levels upon levels, of what was unmistakably dens made for dragons.

How…?

Ramps led up to platforms, those platforms made up the various levels. She was struggling to comprehend the scale of what she was seeing.

T-this is truly a sanctuary.

“I told you it was impressive,” Felix commented with a chuckle. “You can go in– But! Stick to either the first floor or the ground. The rest aren’t finished…”

Eri gulped and stepped past. The sheer scale, the sheer size of…everything was awe-inspiring.

“F-Fea did this?” she asked again, this time with wonderment.

“She did… But she wasn’t able to finish it,” he answered. There was a bittersweet tone to his voice, as if recalling a memory.

Enough room was created for Kyrith to make it past them. “Wow, this place is huge!” He swung his head around. “Do you think we can finish it?! This would be a great place for us to call home!”

Felix smiled. “That’s actually why I brought you two here–”

Kyrith’s attention was already pulled away. He started moving, going deeper into the cavernous space…

“You want to finish this?” Eri asked, still shocked and not quite noticing her partner wandering off.

“I do, but there’s no way I could do so on my own. I wanted your advice and opinion…” He trailed off awkwardly.

“I… I doubt there is anything I could do to help. Something like this would require miners, at least.”

Letting out a sigh, Felix walked forward a few feet before stopping. “Yeah, I kinda figured that… But, what about in Bernel? Could they have someone who could help?”

The village? No way. “Doubtful… You’d need the dwarves, or possibly the gnomes. Either one would have experience in something like this. Us elves mainly stick to logging, or above ground mining. This would be too much for us.”

Eri frowned as she continued. “Unfortunately, getting one of those races to help might prove to be a challenge… They aren’t very keen on your presence.”

“That’s what I was afraid of. Seeing how neither one of their sages wanted to help with recruiting…” Felix said, the dejection written plain upon his face.

She winced at his sight. “It’s a delicate situation. Neither race is very trusting, especially of a human… I do think we can start to win them over, however. With the eggs hatching soon, it might be enough to prove your intentions to them.”

“So what am I supposed to do? Drag four newly hatched dragons and their partners all the way to them?” He asked, letting his frustration through.

“Felix–”

“No, I’m sorry.” He said, shaking his head. “I’m just mad at the situation, I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

There was a pause before he continued. “Luckily, I did sort of foresee something like that being an issue. For now, I think the Sanctuary will have to wait and I will have to go with my second idea.”

She approached Felix, “What is your idea?”

“I was thinking of building either an extension to the hatchery, or a separate building. Some sort of dormitory for both dragons and their partners to stay in. We’re going to run out of living space rather quickly.” Felix answered with a slight shrug.

“Now that is something I think us elves could help with,” she said with encouragement.

“Really?”

Eri nodded. “Still, it might be a tough sell. But nowhere near as bad as trying to convince the dwarves or gnomes. I think if we go straight to Chief Yorlen, we might be able to convince him. If he spreads the word, we might be able to get some of the tribes to pitch in.”

Felix perked up. “Right, I don’t think I left a bad impression. Most seemed to just accept me being there during the celebrations. Or at the very least, I wasn’t ran out of the village.”

With a slight laugh, Eri nodded. “That’s true. But we shouldn’t get our hopes up just yet. I think we have a good chance, but he’ll expect something out of it in return. We should think–”

She blinked and looked around, only now did she realize Kyrith wasn’t with them.

Eri, come over here! There’s even more eggs!

Eri froze in place, not quite sure what she just heard her partner say. I’m sorry, did you say you found more eggs? Like, dragon eggs?

Yep!

Zira grumbled internally. While Felix took Eri and Kyrith into the Sanctuary, she was stuck back at the manor. Before her were the four other elves, all looking unsure as she stared down at them.

“Do you have any questions?” She asked, feeling a mixture of awkwardness and frustration.

The elves looked between each other before Yedril slowly raised his hand.

“Yes?”

“What is it like being bonded to Felix? I mean, do you and him have arguments–”

Zira let out a deep rumble in the form of a laugh. “Of course we have our arguments. We even had some fights.”

“Really?” Yedril asked, looking a little surprised. “That’s… How does that affect the bond? I would’ve thought arguing would hurt it.”

This is going to take a while, she realized, laying down to get more comfortable. “I can only speak for me and Felix, but our bond is quite strong. Felix said it before, you have to be able to trust your partner.

“Even though we’ve had our arguments and fights, it’s always been from a position of caring for one another… We just have our differences on what that looks like. We’ve been improving, however. And don’t forget, trust goes both ways.”

“I think I get it…” Yedril muttered, staring off into the distance.

Zira watched him for a moment before speaking up again. “Any more questions?”

Lorem was next and he suddenly looked determined. “How would a bond affect my relationship with Noria? It is no secret I am courting her and I worry how that would affect my soon-to-be partner.”

Noria went rigid, blushing a scarlet red. Solanna cocked an eyebrow, while her brother blinked in confusion as he came back to reality. However, Zira grew quiet…

It’s obvious why he is asking me, but what to say? She considered her words carefully, very carefully. “Relationships…will be tricky. Perhaps because the two of you have been courting before hatching your eggs, it won’t be an issue. I would still explain it to both as best you can.”

Lorem nodded. “When do you think it would be best to talk with them?”

When indeed…? “I honestly don’t know, but perhaps once they start asking questions. Learn from mine and Felix’s mistake on this, don’t wait.”

“Mistake?” Noria asked aloud, before realizing what she meant. “I-I’m sorry–”

Zira sighed, sounding more like a growl. Poor Noria looked as if she was about to faint.

Maybe it’s for the best that I get this out of the way. If they can learn from us, then… “I doubt it will surprise any of you, but Felix is courting Eri. Though, both seem to be doing the smart thing and taking it slow.

“Anyway, when I was freshly hatched, I did not understand what romance was. Nor did I understand why Felix would ever love someone other than me. It…led to a lot of confusion for me. We got through it, and now I understand.” Even if I still have feelings on that topic.

“I-I see…” Noria said after a few moments. She still looked a little shaky on her feet.

Solanna was the next one to speak up. “Do you have any advice on how to best care for them?” She spoke with indifference but as Zira turned her attention to the elf, she could see a burning curiosity hiding behind her eyes.

“Attention, they will want a lot of it,” Zira smiled. “Be prepared to be made a pillow, or have them pull your laundry out and sleep on that. Kyrith was notorious for that one…

“But as for any special care to consider? Besides building trust between, work together as often as you can. They will come to appreciate that.”

“What is up with Felix being made your pillow anyway?” Yedril asked with an amused expression.

She let out a rumbling laugh. “Punishment– At least, at first. Now, it is more of a ritual.”

“Punishment?”

She shook her head. “I’ve told you, we’ve had our fair share of arguments. Who do you think won most of them? And who do you think lost most of them?”

Yedril chuckled. “I understand, but now I’m curious. Are you worried about crushing him?”

“Not really, we can tell when each other is in pain. I never drift off into sleep until I know he’s comfortable.”

Oh, I should probably tell them about that. “One more thing about bonding– Actually, I’m surprised neither me nor Felix has brought this up until now…”

Zira waited until she had everyone’s attention. “Once you and your partner grow more confident with each other, there is something quite special the two of you will be able to do. You will be able to combine your minds together.”

“What do you mean?” Solanna asked, but the question was written on all their faces.

“Exactly that. Felix likes to call it melding, but the term doesn’t matter. What matters is that you and your partner will become one. Two bodies, but only one mind.”

Noria’s eyes widened. “Wait…” she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

Zira gave her a curious expression. “I know that is a bit of a shock, I apologize for not bringing it up sooner. The concept is…hard to explain though, and should not be tried until you have solidified trust between the two of you.”

The small elf shook her head, pulling herself out of her stupor. However, it was Yedril who asked the next question. “What is it like?”

She thought for a moment. “Hmm, I think the easiest way to explain it is like this: You lose the concept of ‘I,’ and gain an understanding of ‘us.’ There is no you or me, only we.”

The four elves pondered her words. Meanwhile, a distant noise from the hatchery caught Zira’s attention. A moment later, she heard Felix.

We might have figured something out…

Watcher kneeled, closing his eyes in prayer to the empty eggs that stood before him.

He had been listening, he had been guided and given instructions. Now, the fruits of his labor were beginning to show. There was still more to do, however…

Master! Guide Watcher– Guide me! Hear Watcher’s prayers, show Watcher next step! Eggs hatch soon, Watcher use power… I bring elf and egg together, like Master want! Please, old Master… Please, answer Watcher calls!

His pleas grew silent, he hadn’t heard her voice since the eggs imprinted. Now, he was growing desperate. Watcher feared he had somehow angered her…

A calm wind blew through him. With it, a soft melodic voice hummed and tempered his nerves. A soothing hand landed upon the top of his head, gently petting it.

Shh, Watcher has done well, the wind answered. I had given you all my available power and had to rest. But now? Now, I feel it. I feel them stirring. Soon, Watcher… Very soon, I will be able to provide you with more.

Watcher felt the tension leave his body. What of New Master? Will Old Master help?

He felt the melodic wind once again. Of course, we will need his help just as much as he will need mine.

The hand slid down to the side of his snout, visions flashed in his mind.

A shadow reveals the folly of revenge.

An ancient evil moves, guiding a blind man.