Felix stood up from his chair and ignored everyone else as he approached the prisoner. The man was not moving, but he could see they were breathing.

“I used a spell on him, he’s only unconscious,” Nevrim said from behind him.

“I see that,” Felix responded, kneeling down next to the man. “Can you wake him?”

“Certainly.” The dragon-turned-human snapped his fingers.

In an instant, the prisoner jerked. He awoke with a gasp and immediately started struggling against his bindings.

“You’ve already poked around in my head! There’s nothing more I can tell you!” he shouted.

Felix put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Hey, relax soldier.”

“RELAX?! JUST FUCKING KILL–” The prisoner looked up at him and froze. Suddenly he began laughing. “No way! This isn’t real! What is the Champion doing in a prison?! This has to be an illusion!”

He waited for the man to calm down before speaking. “Unfortunately, I am no illusion. And, you’re currently not in a prison.”

That seemed to catch the prisoner’s attention as he finally looked about the room he was in. “So you say, but I’m still bound and that bastard is right behind you.”

“Hey now, I was kind enough to bring you out for some fresh air. I thought it would do you some good,” Nevrim commented.

The prisoner opened his mouth, but Felix shook his head. “Ignore him for now, just focus on me. What’s your name and rank?”

“Sergeant Ovidius, First Light Guard.”

First Light Guard… It had been a long time since he heard of that name. “I thought your unit was completely destroyed.”

“Not completely, as you can see. But my men were wiped out… Heh, I should be dead but I got lucky instead.”

“Lucky?” he asked, trying to recall everything he knew of them. Most of what he could remember was that they were scouts.

“We were one of the first units to enter the Wildlands. Too bad we were ambushed. I was thrown from my horse and knocked out. When I came to, I was already captured.”

“I see, so you were captured by the elves?”

“Yeah.”

Felix narrowed his eyes and looked back to the queen. “Why are you holding prisoners captured by the elves?”

“Him and the other prisoners were transferred here after we joined the war,” she responded, almost waving the question away. Felix didn’t quite buy it, however.

But it doesn’t matter now and this might actually be a bless– A good thing. For the plan that him and Nevrim had come up with, he was going to need an army. Or, at least a few good men…

That caused him to pause for a moment. The plan to use him to start a rebellion was almost entirely Nevrim’s idea. It had actually surprised Felix, he didn’t think the dragon believed anything he said.

I can only be thankful he’s the one that found me, I suppose. Of course, this would be only one small part of his atonement. But it would be a good start…

Felix brought his attention back to Ovidius, he was going to have to handle this situation delicately. “Anyway. Sergeant, would you mind if I used my blessings on you? I want to ensure you haven’t been cursed.”

“Cursed?!” Ovidius looked up to Nevrim suspiciously. “What in the Lord’s name did you do to me?!”

“I only casted a spell to make you unconscious,” the dragon-man responded.

“Bullshit! I bet–”

“Sergeant, ignore him and answer me,” Felix ordered.

“Sure thing, Champion. You can do whatever you need to.” Ovidius began to relax, however, it appeared another thought just occurred to him…

“Say, why are you here?” he asked.

Felix wasn’t entirely surprised by the question but he had hoped to distract the Sergeant until after he was done with his demonstration. “Well, that’s a bit of a complicated answer. However–”

In one swift motion, he planted one of his hands upon the prisoner’s head. As he did so, he quickly gathered up his mana.

The man immediately began to struggle, fighting to throw his hand off. “I KNEW IT! THIS IS JUST A TRICK! THIS–”

Nevrim appeared right next to Felix and pinned the Sergeant down.

“Thank you,” Felix said, already closing his eyes. “And Ovidius, relax. I am going to help you.”

“BULLSHIT! LET ME GO OR KILL ME! I DON’T WANT ANY MORE PEOPLE IN MY HEAD!”

He ignored the man’s shouts and curses, instead he began guiding his mana…

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Fea watched with a tense curiosity. She could see the changes in Felix’s mana as he began doing…something. What, exactly, it was, she wasn’t sure. However, what was clear was how strange it was acting.

He’s not using an incantation, she realized. An incantation didn’t have to be vocal or need any somatic movements, but if one paid enough attention to the mana, they could easily tell if someone was mentally preparing one.

But not here. His mana is moving in such a freeform fashion. Fascinating, she thought as Felix finished gathering it within his hand. The amount of control someone would need to perform such a feat was nearly unheard of.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

There have been others, but even then… That was what puzzled her, this was somehow familiar yet different. No wonder the humans named him their Champion.

Felix took a deep breath, steadying himself even as the prisoner continued to try and throw his concentration off. Then, in an instant, it happened. Felix’s mana pierced the man’s head.

The prisoner’s writhing ceased.

However, her attention changed from Felix and his mana to the room. A change was occurring, one that was subtle and almost imperceptible. But she was attuned to everything here, her own mana was imbued within every square inch of the Citadel.

There was nothing that could escape her notice.

The ambient mana, her mana, was thrumming. Slowly, Fea brought her attention back to Felix.

Her eyes widened and she nearly let out a gasp. His mana was but a trickle now, yet it was enough for her to see.

He’s tapping into The Great Spell!

She felt a curious stare coming from Aluin and quickly regained her composure. This is something I must study more of! she thought even as she settled down.

“Are you okay?” the Sage asked in a low whisper.

“I’m fine,” she mouthed and gave a reassuring smile. They turned their attention one last time to Felix as he finished.

The human pulled his hand away from the prisoner, letting out a heavy breath. “It’s…done. Gods, that was harder than I thought,” he muttered.

Fea stood up and approached. “But did it work?” she asked, doing her best to hide her newfound excitement.

He smiled as he looked up to her. “Only one way to find out… Nevrim, you can get off of him now.”

The dragon looked to her for confirmation and she gave him a subtle nod. With that, Nevrim pulled himself off the prisoner and stood up.

Taking a gulp of air, Felix gave the prisoner a rousing shake. “Sergeant?”

The response he got back was a groan, but soon the prisoner began to stir before finally snapping awake.

Immediately, he opened his mouth. “YOU MOTHER FUCK–” The ‘Sergeant’ froze, his eyes suddenly looking into the distance. Tears began to well up.

“W-what… What is this?” he said in a whisper.

“Your emotions, everything that was repressed and numbed,” Felix answered.

“Why…? How…?”

Felix gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder. “Take a moment, it’s a lot to take in all at once. I’ll explain everything once you’ve calmed down.”

He stood up then and addressed Fea. “It worked.”

She gave him a smile. “I see, then perhaps we can make this crazy plan work.”

Felix raised an eyebrow at her. “You trust me?”

She shook her head before gesturing to Nevrim. “I trust him. But! I think there is hope for you to seek atonement.”

That made the human relax. “Thank you, Your Highness. I won’t fail you, your people, or…” He glanced over to Aluin. “…The elves.”

At that, the great Sage approached. He stood there staring at Felix for several long moments before finally speaking. “I only wanted peace.”

The room fell silent at those words, even Fea wasn’t sure what to say to that. So, instead, she waited until Felix finally responded.

The human carefully considered the elf’s words before slowly offering a hand. “To peace then.”

Aluin looked down at the offered hand then back to Felix’s eyes. He took the hand.

“To peace.”

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“This is my room?” Felix asked, nearly stunned.

It was nearly an hour later and now he, Nevrim, and Fea were standing in another room. This one was supposedly a guest bedroom, but its sheer size and opulent furniture made him think it was meant for royalty.

“It is. However, guards will be posted outside your door. Don’t think you have free reign of the palace,” Fea said sternly. “While I believe that you haven’t lied about your reasons for surrendering to us, I cannot simply allow you to do whatever you wish.”

He nodded in understanding. Frankly, I’m surprised how quick her opinion of me has changed. “I understand. And thank you, Your Highness.”

She gave him a smile. “Don’t thank me yet. There is still more I want to know about you.”

“Oh?”

“I am…sensitive to mana. How you control yours, I wish to study it more.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is it that interesting? I may not cast magic the same way as most, but I doubt you’ll find anything of interest.”

“Hmm… I doubt that, I’ve already found something fascinating. I think I know why the High Prophet made you his Champion.”

Hearing that man’s name made Felix flinch reflexively. “That bastard made me his Champion because I was easy to manipulate. I was young, mourning the loss of my entire village, and impressionable.”

But Fea shook her head. “That may be true, but I doubt it was the main reason. Your ability is unique. One of a kind, I dare say.”

He didn’t really know how to respond to that.

“Felix,” she continued, “you can manipulate mana without having to use any incantation. And, you are able to tap into The Great Spell.”

“The Great Spell?” he asked, not entirely sure what she meant. I vaguely remember myths about them. But she made it sound as if there is only one…

“Are you not aware of the great spells? The one I am referring to is what some consider the first, the one that gave us magic. The Great Spell.”

“Ah. I am aware of them, though I didn’t know about that specific one. We don’t call it magic either, instead we call it blessings– Or curses. And we’re taught that they were bestowed upon us by our god.”

“Fascinating,” Fea said with genuine interest. “Anyway, I must go for now. However, I will invite you to dinner. If you need anything before that, please talk with the guards.”

Felix gave her a deep bow. “I look forward to dinner then. Please, take care, Your Highness.”

“I shall.” She looked to Nevrim. “Come with me, there is plenty we must speak about.”

“As you wish, Your Highness,” the dragon in disguise said.

You know, I wonder why they stick to those forms, Felix thought idly as the two made their leave…

He let out a deep sigh once he was alone. Now what? he wondered, slowly taking in the room. There were still several hours left to burn, but he knew he wouldn’t be allowed to just wander the halls.

Thankfully, up against the far wall, he spotted a well stocked bookshelf and a lounging area not far from that. Oh, perfect. Maybe I can find something about their history?

He made his way over to it and picked a book at random. It was a dark blue tome and he briefly inspected its title; Tales Intertwined.

Huh, a strange name… Curious, he opened the book to a random page, wondering what it was about. His face quickly began to redden.

Oh… Oh. OH! Suddenly, the name started to make sense.

Felix quickly slammed the book shut and put it back in its place. He glanced back towards the bed.

On second thought, I think I might just rest…