Master Realgar stepped up to the base of the tree, his hand outstretched and reaching. “Absolutely incredible!” he shouted as he made contact.

Yet Felix was not listening, he wasn’t even there. His mind solely focused on the roots deep beneath him.

He closed his eyes.

A fleeting yet panicked emotion passed by. He was almost certain it was Zira. Shh, it's okay… I’ll be back…

Deeper he fell.

Deeper the silence became.

Hello Felix!

A smile appeared on his face, even as the tranquility was broken.

Hello Calinna. How are you doing?

The guardian suddenly appeared before him. Good– Well, mostly good.

What’s wrong?

I think… I think it would be easier if you saw for yourself, she said, unsure.

Show me then.

Calinna stepped closer to him before raising her hands and putting them around his head. A flash of light happened next, bringing him straight up. Up and past his body. Up and past the forest. Up and high into the sky, where the world seemed to curve.

Felix saw the rainbow of color that was mana radiating out from the great, colossal tree. Its mana rose further still, pausing for mere moments as it fought against an invisible barrier.

From there it spread wide across the surrounding seas, but that was where something felt off. Like pressure building, something sought to contain and restrain it.

Gathering his focus, Felix looked further out. A growing storm was far out at sea. It was this growing storm that was fighting back. And worse still, behind it was yet another storm, one that was truly gargantuan. It remained stationary, but its sheer size blocked any from seeing beyond it.

Corruption, Calinna said.

Corruption?

He felt her nod. Yes, mana that has been corrupted. That is what is holding us back. That is what is stalling the future.

Felix furrowed his brow. There has to be something we can do…

She appeared in front of him again. There is, but… But I’m afraid to use it.

What is it?

His vision changed once more.

Felix found himself back at the tree, staring at a curious little object that grew from one of its branches. An apple.

If I release its seeds, I can send them wherever. But! They would be the seeds of chaos, I won’t be able to control them. The new might become the old once more.

Silence fell as he pondered her words. There was huge risk in using something like this, especially when no one could know what would happen as a result. However, there was something else he had to consider…

Time.

Time was not on their side. And worse, his connection with Calinna was growing tenuous. He could feel her struggling to keep it going, even if she didn’t say anything.

Tell me Calinna, you are the guardian of this tree. How far would you go to protect it?

With every essence of my being!

He nodded, coming to his decision. I feel the same way for my family, for my friends, and for the future. He paused as his eyes met hers.

Do it, we will face the consequences of our actions in time. But we have to survive first.

Her expression became solemn but after a moment, she gave him a bow. As you wish, Master…

Felix’s world flashed once more and he found himself back in his body. He stared up at the look of worried expressions that dotted his family and Sages. However, somewhere far behind him, he could hear the sounds of commotion and excitement.

“We should head back.”

***

The manor was a flurry of activity as Felix and the others made their way from the tree. A small group of dwarves and gnomes were already setting to work unloading even more wooden crates. However, what really caught his eye were the golems…

Wow, that was the only word he could think of to properly describe them.

The golems came in various shapes and sizes, some were quite fluid in their motions while others seemed to jerk and struggle to move or balance. Yet their colors were perhaps the most striking thinking about them…

From reds to blues, to greens and yellows, and everything in between. Curiously, the materials they were made out of varied almost as much. Finally, they were all adorned with patterns and symbols upon almost every inch of them.

“Impressive aren’t they?” The Sage, Josphel, said, startling him.

“Yeah…” Felix responded, trailing off.

“They truly are a work of art, and why so many outside of us gnomes want them. Well, that and they are quite useful.”

“But you won’t trade or sell any?” He asked, already knowing the answer. It can’t hurt to try though…

“No, they are not for sale or trade. You see, every golem is unique and bound to its creator.”

He nodded. “Eri mentioned that to me, but she did say there was a way to bind it to someone else–”

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“No.” The word was said with such finality that it reverberated through Felix. But the Sage was not done. “Tell me Felix, would you sell Zira?”

The question appalled him. “Absolutely not! She is–”

Master Josphel held up a hand to stop him. “Calm down, I am merely asking to prove a point.”

He took a deep breath and stilled his nerves.

“Selling Zira would be tantamount to slavery. The same could be said about the golems.”

Felix gave him a puzzled look before glancing up to one and watching it move around quite clunkily. “Really? Are they… Are they alive?”

The gnome shook his head no. “In order to make a golem, its creator must give it a small part of his soul. To sell one would require the death of its creator. The process Eri spoke of can only happen at that time.”

“Oh…” He quickly shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said with a bow, “I didn’t not know what I was asking and said something both foolish and insulting.”

Master Josphel chuckled, the first time Felix had seen him express anything other than scrutiny or stoicism. “It is quite alright. I knew you would have interesting questions. Master Aluin warned us beforehand about that.”

He felt relieved and, honestly, a little insulted upon hearing that.

Eri was laughing into his mind. Don’t take it like that, he was genuinely trying to warn them. You have no idea how strange you can be.

Oh ha ha… I’m sorry I woke up with no memories and knowledge of elven traditions.

Zira snorted. Felix, if that's all it was, I wouldn’t agree with Eri or Aluin. But, let’s be honest, you are insane and it comes out in various ways. Strange is just one of many.

Hearing the two laugh at his misery, he turned to the one person he thought would defend him, Kyrith.

Oh, don’t look at me! I always thought you were weird! But! That’s what I like about you, you are different…

Defeated and demoralized, Felix stared at the gathered dwarves, elves, and gnomes. He watched as supplies were handed out to the encamped elves, and the relieved look on some of their faces.

The two Sages took their leave, deciding to go help out. As they did, Eri approached him from behind and put her hands upon his shoulders.

“Felix,” she whispered as she started to massage his back.

“What?”

“How many times do I have to tell you?”

“Huh? What are–”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I love you?”

“A lot,” he said as straight as possible, but Eri was starting to pour mana into the massage.

“I love you,” she whispered right into his ear. It sent a shiver down his spine.

“Say it again,” he muttered, closing his eyes.

“I. Love. You–”

“Enough! Gods, it was bad enough when it was just one side…” Zira grumbled.

Kyrith nodded in agreement before leaning over to her. “Does he always have such dirty thoughts?”

“Does Eri?” she retorted.

“Only since they started courting, but it has been getting worse over time,” he said with a draconic shrug.

Felix and Eri both rolled their eyes. “Fine, we get it. We’ll move on…” He looked around. “Actually, where is Aluin? I think I need to speak with him.”

Is it about what happened at the tree? Eri asked through the bond. We were concerned back there. Are you going to tell us what happened?

I mean, you could look through my memories, but yes. First, though, we need to find Aluin…

Finding the elven Sage turned out to be a little harder than they thought. They assumed he had gone back into the manor, but a quick check revealed he wasn’t there. Finally though, they asked around. For some reason Aluin had gone to the hatchery…

I wonder what he is doing there? Felix thought.

Maybe he’s inspecting the portal? Eri suggested.

He nodded. A good point, I’ve been meaning to check in with Noria about it anyway. Hopefully, she’s there as well.

The four of them entered the hatchery and found the Sage right where they had expected him. However, the tense and serious look he had as he scrutinized the stone frame that made up the portal’s archway made Felix worried.

“I’ve tried everything!” another voice shouted. It was Noria and she was right next to the Sage.

“Hmm, the enchantments are quite dense. Honestly, we might need to speak with Master Realgar…”

“Is…something wrong?” Felix asked nervously.

“Felix! There you are, I’ve been looking for you!” Noria said in a mixture of excitement and frustration.

“Sorry, we were busy with the other Sages… Actually, we were here for Aluin–”

“That can wait, come here!” She practically charged up to him, grabbed his hand, and dragged him back to the portal.

“What– Hey…” He rubbed his wrist as Noria pointed to the archway. Eri and the two dragons snickered from behind, but they too decided to follow after a moment.

Regaining his composure, Felix asked the question on everyone’s mind. “So… Is it broken?”

Aluin slowly nodded. “There’s more to it than that though. Use your mana sight and tell me what you see.”

Confused, Felix did as he was instructed and his world once more became a prism of colors. Mana danced and moved with each draft, with each breath.

It was denser than he remembered. The tree, he realized. The tree had to be saturating the entire clearing with its mana. But that’s where everything stopped making sense…

The portal’s frame was a dull gray, any mana that touched it was simply absorbed. Strange. I’ve never seen anything like this before.

Most things, including inanimate objects, tended to have a slight amount of mana. It wasn’t enough to do anything with, of course, but he’d always assumed everything picked up some just by existing in it.

“I take it, you see something strange?” Aluin asked.

“I…do– What am I looking at, exactly? This wasn’t how it was before.”

“That is the mystery. For once I am at a complete loss myself. However, try something else for me while you are still using your mana sight.”

“Sure… What do you want me to do?” Felix asked, leaning closer and squinting at the frame.

“Watch as I give it mana. It is only a mere hunch, but I can’t help but wonder…” The Sage trailed off, and when he didn’t continue, Felix decided to speak up.

“I’m ready.”

“Right.” There was another quick pause before mana started gathering around Aluin’s hands. The elf then focused it, shrinking it down as small as possible.

With a swift motion, he slammed his hands into the frame.

Felix winced as bright and densely packed mana flashed, nearly blinding him. However, in an instant it was over–

Another flash, this one dimmer but still rather impressive. It too lasted for only the briefest amount of time. But it was there that Felix caught sight of something beautifully complex.

Traces, lines that went from one spot to another, made up most of what he could see. However, he did catch a glimpse of something more, runes.

Something inside him thrummed in response.

“I saw…” Felix went silent, acutely aware of his beating heart. He shook his head, but that only caused his vision to spin. My mana…

His realization was just how low he was. Between the ritual the night before and speaking with Calinna, he had used almost all of it up.

He ended his mana sight immediately. It didn’t help.

Felix!

He heard his name being called but it sounded warped and distorted.

Feeling dizzy, Felix did the only thing he could. He rested a hand on the portal.

It came alive.

There was a gasp from somewhere next to him, but all he could do was stare into the archway, into the portal.

What he saw was not the inky void he was used to. It was not a portal, instead he found–

“Fea.”