Dev wasn’t sure what time it was when he woke up the next morning, but it was a much gentler waking than he'd had the previous two mornings. The beds in the temple weren’t luxurious, but they were still a good sight better than the ground.

Last night, after Lucy also had a go at the dragons, they had talked about the difference, eventually coming to the conclusion that one of the dragons must be detectable through aspects, and the other through axioms.

A little bit before sunset, they found access to the roof, and the three went up there to see the next island come by, being treated to the sight of what looked like an oceanside paradise floating through the void.

Dev got out of bed, stretching. A good night’s sleep didn’t fix the aches of the previous two nights.

He went out into the common room, where he found Jay and Lucy eating half a cold ration bar each.

Jay jumped up. “You ready tp teach us foraging? I’m tired of cold ration bar, and we’re running out anyway. I want a hot meal.”

“Let him eat first. Then we’ll take him down the mountain for foraging.”

Dev quickly tore into another one of his ration bars. He, too, was eager to make the offering and potentially get his first technique.

After he finished, they made their way out into the dim light of the morning eclipse, each carrying their empty bag for plant collection.

It was pleasantly cool outside as they made their way down the mountain. The sun came out from behind the moon right as they reached the tree line, giving them plenty of light to work with.

“Where do we start?” Jay asked once they arrived. “I can’t wait for hot food and a magic trick!”

Putting Jay’s irreverent attitude aside, Dev had been thinking about that on the way down. “We’ll start below the trail. I was foraging above it on my way up, so we might as well be below it.”

They went into the forest, and Dev started showing them the available food, starting with potatoes. He found some small plants with their characteristic purple flowers. “Now, these are wild potatoes. To harvest them, you just need to grab the plant by the base and pull it up.”

He did so, revealing a small potato.

“Do not harvest the leaves or flowers of the potatoes out here, as they may be poisonous. Potatoes are closely related to deadly nightshade.”

They continued, also finding and showing them garlic and carrots.

“Do all edible plants have some shade of purple on them?” Jay exclaimed.

“No,” Dev said, rolling his eyes.

A few minutes later, as he was showing them how to identify onions, Lucy froze.

“Somebody’s watching us,” she said.

Dev stiffened and moved closer to them, looking around at the trees.

“Where are they?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t know. My concept doesn’t tell me that. Just that they’re watching.”

Dev listened intently, but only heard the sounds of the forest.

“They left.”

“Are you sure?” Jay asked.

“They can’t see me, at least.” She tried moving around the area. “They didn’t see me in any of those places. We should be fine.”

Warily, they returned to their foraging, keeping a closer eye out, which is why Dev heard a branch crack as they harvested a small blueberry bush they found near the road.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Hello, strangers!” a cheerful voice called out from the direction of the road, “Are you going to the monastery as well?”

Dev glanced at Lucy, who shook her head, whispering, “This isn’t the same person.”

“Who are you?” Dev called out.

“Michael. I’m heading up to the monastery because I have an anima affinity. I figured that that was the best place for it on the island, and finding something for my lightning affinity would be rather dangerous, so here I am.” He smiled at them.

“Are you traveling alone?”

“Why do you want to know?” He asked warily.

“Are you in any way connected to the person who was watching us earlier?”

Michael looked confused.

Dev sighed, “Do you mind coming over here?”

As he approached, Dev looked to Jay. “I think it’s time you showed me your empathy.”

“You sure?” Jay asked, “It's a really intense experience.”

“Yes,” Dev said, gesturing him over.

“Okay, but I can only keep it up for a few minutes.”

Jay walked over and placed his hand on Dev’s shoulder while Lucy kept an eye on their surroundings. Suddenly, Jay’s hand ignited in a gentle pink glow, and Dev could feel a surge of nervousness coming from Jay before it cut off. As Michael stepped into range, he could also feel his anxiety.

“Oka, we’re going to have to question you while reading your emotions. Is that okay?”

“Fine,” Michael said, with a hint of apprehension radiating from him.

“What is your name?”

“Michael,” he answered.

Jay whispered to him, “That’s what truth feels like. The calm emotions with very little anxiety. It’s when the emotions fluctuate that they are lying, usually.”

He then turned to Michael. “Tell me a lie.”

“There are no moons.”

This time, Dev felt a flicker of other emotions. “I felt that.”

“Good, we can move on to the important parts,” Jay said, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.

“Are there other people traveling with you?”

“No,” Michael said, nary a fluctuation in his emotions. “Why do you ask?”

“Someone was watching us earlier. Next question: Why are you going up the mountain?”

“I want to get anima techniques.”

Again, Dev noticed no fluctuations.

“What aspect do you have?”

“I don’t have an aspect. I have an axiom.”

“Prove it.”

Dev felt Michael concentrate for a minute, and then a surge of what felt like inspiration struck him.

“It’s epiphany. Epiphany. Epiphany,” he cursed, “I can’t get it to stick to my voice.”

“Isn’t that an advanced technique?”

“Yeah,” he said, “But it’s so cool.”

“Leaving that aside, one last question: do you intend us harm?”

Dec felt a flash of hurt from Michael as he answered, “No. Why would I want to hurt you?”

Dev glanced at Jay to confirm his assessment. “I think he’s being honest.”

“He definitely seems to be telling the truth.”

Suddenly, Lucy called out, “Hey, was the forest always this quiet?”

They all listened, and Dev felt a creeping fear coming over each of them, as nobody heard anything but branches in the wind.

“Bleep! Warren warned me that things like blueberry bushes are often claimed by local predators. Lucy, can you detect anything watching us?”

“I can only detect people watching me. There’s nobody out there.”

“Shit! Are we being hunted?” Michael asked.

“Maybe. Let’s get out of here. Nice and calmly, back to the temple. We’ve got what we came for, anyway.”

They got back on the trail and slowly made their way back up the path. Right as they cleared the upper tree line, they heard sound begin to return to the forest.

“Well, that was tense,” Michael commented. “What next?”

“Next, we grab the first inheritance in the temple. I don’t want to be caught defenseless again.”

Everyone agreed, and they quickly hiked the rest of the way up the mountain. Once in the temple, they immediately went to the sanctuary, not even stopping to let Michael put his stuff in a room.

“Now, how is this going to work?” Jay asked.

Dev paused, then answered uncertainly, “I guess we place the fruits on the altar? Who’s going first?”

“You should. You figured it out and had the skills in foraging to put it into action,” Lucy answered.

Everyone else agreed, and Dev stepped forward after grabbing some blueberries from his bag.

As he approached the altar, suddenly the baby dragon’s mouth opened. He hesitated, then changed his plan and placed the berries in the dragon’s mouth.

“Ow!” As he placed the last blueberry, the dragon had clamped down on his hand, biting him without drawing blood. Suddenly, he felt an electric tingling spread from his hand, then down into his soul.

As he was drowned in an everlasting swirl of color, he heard a voice in his mind. Dreams of Heaven and Earth, granted. Honor to the Dreaming Prince.