A small courtyard opened between high castle walls. Severe and gray, they offset the lush flowers and tropical plants overflowing from the gardens in the courtyard. Trickling, a brook ran down the center of the room, flowed into a waterfall, and spilled into a placid pool at the bottom. Faint green light encased the entire garden, sealing it off in a steep, oval dome.

“The palace servants told me a spriggan blessed this place long ago, hence the dome. It’s there to protect the plants, and ensure they survive the harsh winters. Will this work?” Felix asked.

Eleda turned, taking it all in. She reached a hand forward and touched the barrier. Her hand passed through. Startled, her eyebrows flew up. “Oh.”

Curious, Mouse pressed his hand through the barrier as well. For a brief moment, the barest of resistance met his push. Past it, heat and humidity enveloped his hand. He blinked and stepped across the barrier, into another climate.

Birds chirped. Bugs buzzed. He looked around and found himself in a deep jungle. Green stretched in all directions.

He stepped backward. A faint soft sensation passed over his skin, and he returned to the castle. “Wow.”

“It’s incredible, isn’t it? I can’t tell if it’s an illusion or not, even as much as I’ve studied.” Felix held a hand over the barrier, almost petting it, a longing expression on his face.

“It’s a bit different to the forests I’m used to, but it should do,” Eleda said. She started to step past the barrier.

Felix caught her arm. “Wait. Hold my hands. The barrier is a bit unstable. We might not be able to find one another if we cross it separately.”

Eleda nodded and took his hand. Felix held his other hand out to Mouse. He hesitated a moment, then took it. They stepped into the green curtain of light.

This time, they came out before a small lake. The thin trickle of water that had stood in for a brook on the far side of the barrier rushed past, a full-sized stream. Wide lily pads sat on the surface of the lake, accompanied by waxy-petaled white lotus flowers. Lush plants pressed close to the water, and a thick tree canopy darkened the sky overhead. Shorter plants with wide leaves obscured the ground. Everywhere Mouse looked, green leaves and gnarled branches stretched eagerly toward the sun. Greedy, the plants crowded into the open space over the lake and blocked out the sunlight even there, save a small patch of gold in the center of the water.

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“Then, if Your Majesty would watch closely.” Eleda curtseyed. She walked out into the water, her lightweight green dress billowing on the surface of the lake. Deeper and deeper. The water climbed to her knees, then her hips. The golden sunlight fell on her face, warming her dark skin and sparkling off her golden hair ornaments.

She closed her eyes and tipped her face back, smiling gently. Stretching her palms upward, toward the sun, she said, “Today, we appeal the Sun Goddess, that she will bless us with her glory.”

The sunlight intensified. Gentle beams grew brighter and brighter, until they blazed pure gold. A dazzling glare reflected off the water, painful to look at. Mouse lifted his hand and squinted past it, then turned away. It hurts too much.

Beside him, Felix covered his eyes with his hands. He peered through the barest gaps in his fingers, face scrunched up around it. “I can’t see anything.”

“Look away, you’ll sear your eyes,” Mouse advised.

“I want to see,” Felix grit out.

Mouse yanked Felix away from the light. “That’s a god you’re messing with. He only appears to his devotees. If you try to look at him without his approval, you won't have any eyes left.”

Felix frowned at him, eyes reddened, tears pouring down his face. “If I get the Sun Goddess’s approval, I can watch?”

“Uh… the Sun God only approves of sun elves,” Mouse admitted.

Felix pouted. In Mouse’s mind eye, the puppy put its ears back and gave him a droopy-eyed stare. He clenched his hand behind his back, resisting the urge to muss the puppy's ears.

The light faded. Eleda reappeared, cloaked in a golden glow. She turned and smiled at them, then sighed out a long breath of sunlight-soaked air. “The Sun Goddess gifts us magic every year, like this. Although we can continue to cast magic without the yearly blessings, the Sun Goddess often boosts a caster’s inherent pool of magic, and can even provide new spells and inspirations to particularly devout followers.”

She cast a superior look at Mouse, smug. Mouse rolled his eyes. We couldn’t see anything. You proved nothing.

“Can you cast a spell for me? One you wouldn’t mind sharing,” Felix asked.

“Certainly. Watch closely.” Eleda climbed out of the lake. She brushed her soaked skirt down, then stood straight and gestured. Sunlight glowed around her, and the skirts dried, plumping back to their usual strength.

“Your casting isn’t that much different than ours, but there are a few nuances…” Felix commented. He jotted down a few notes in his booklet.

After a moment, he put his pencil away and smiled at them. Offering his hands, he said, “Shall we?”

Mouse smiled and took Felix’s hand. On his other side, Eleda took his hand as well. They followed the path back from the pool. Green light glimmered, and once more, stone walls rose around them. Mouse turned just to be sure, but the garden remained small, the lake a tiny pond, the river a trickle.

“Is there anything else? Do you have mantras? Songs? Rituals?”

“Indeed. We sun elves…”

Felix grilled Eleda all the way back to his rooms. There, they settled, and Felix continued to question her. More than once, she stood to offer examples. Bright flashes of light burst out one after another.

Bored, Mouse stared out the window to soothe his aching eyes. He really doesn’t get tired of this, does he?