Four… Only four.

Felix felt disappointed at the number. He had expected a low turnout, but this? It was depressing. To make matters worse, Zira was sulking as well. All the elves had taken an interest in Kyrith over her, no one had even dared to come talk with her.

They could only share in each other's misery.

“What are we going to do?” He muttered to himself, trying to keep from burying his head into his hands. He couldn’t show any weakness to the elves.

They were sitting in a clearing just outside the village. The four elves that had followed them were a couple of yards away, chatting among themselves.

“You know… This isn’t as bad as I feared.” It was Aluin, and he had a pitying look upon his face.

“Huh? How so?” Felix asked, sounding incredulous.

“What I mean is, most people would’ve come just to see me. And while I have no doubt at least two of them are here because of me, this is better than half the festival showing up”

“I don’t understand…” He shrugged his shoulders, he couldn’t help it.

“Felix, think about your so-called announcement. All you told them, is you are looking for volunteers.”

“Well… Yeah, I didn’t want to say…” He rubbed his neck awkwardly.

“No one but us knew what that entailed. You have to remember who you are dealing with, these people are quite comfortable where they are now. Why would they risk volunteering for something that was never explained?”

Aluin gestured with his head towards the small group. “Those are the people who are either desperate, or looking for change. To be honest, they are the only people you will get– Not that it is necessarily a bad thing, but you need to realize that.

“If all this goes well, I suspect we will get more volunteers in the future. But for now, you better make do with what you have.”

Felix nodded, feeling chastised.

“Oh, one more thing. I would suggest actually telling them what this is about. Now go, talk with them, and see if they will do for your little experiment.”

Felix sighed, and glanced over to where Zira laid. She was moping, but she was listening. She got up without a word and approached them.

You doing okay? He asked, knowing the answer.

No… I– Let’s just get this over with. She let out a snort in resignation.

He reached out and gently patted her. Alright…

He left her where she stood and began to approach the four elves. “Sorry for the wait,” he said, masking his mood. “I wanted to wait and see if we would get any stragglers, but I guess not.”

He came to a stop right in front of them. They were all staring at him, though their expressions were mixed. The shortest one was looking up at him curiously, while the tallest stared down at him with an almost challenging glare. Felix felt a shiver run down his spine.

Moving on to the last two, there was no doubt they were siblings, though whether or not they were twins, he did not know. They did look nearly identical though…

Felix met the brother’s eyes, and quickly the elf looked away shyly. The sister, on the other hand, kept making glances over to where Zira and Aluin were. Otherwise, she hardly seemed to notice him.

“Anyways, as I said during my little speech, I am Felix. It is a pleasure to meet you all.” He said, now starting to feel a little awkward, especially with the big guy staring him down.

“Lorem,” the tall elf answered, almost in a grunt. He quickly gestured to the small elven woman next to him. “This is Noria.”

Noria flinched at the mention of her name, but quickly recovered and bowed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“Oh, uh… No need to bow,” Felix said, feeling his cheeks starting to burn. He held out his hand for a shake.

It took the elven woman a moment to realize what he was doing, but she adapted. “I-it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she repeated herself, cautiously shaking his hand.

“A pleasure to meet you as well,” he commented back, before turning to Lorem. “And the same to you,” he held out his hand again for the elf.

Lorem stared down at it and furrowed his brow. With a quick movement, he took Felix’s hand into a crushing grip, giving it a single violent shake before letting go.

Wincing, Felix did his best to not show the pain he was in. To distract himself, he quickly turned to the last two.

“And you two are?” He asked as nicely as he could, subtly flexing his hand.

“Solanna, and this is my brother Yedril.” Solanna said, before her brother could even open his mouth.

He, once again, shook their hands and thanked the gods that neither one tried to crush his.

“Right,” Felix said after taking a few steps back so he could see everyone. “Let me start out by explaining what I need volunteers for.” He gestured over to Zira.

“Hatching dragons.”

Noria was the only one who gasped, while the others stared at him in confusion.

“What do you mean ‘hatching dragons?’” Yedril asked.

Felix sucked in a deep breath. “I mean exactly that, hatching dragons. I need help, but I can’t just get help from anyone. According to Zira, there is something that unhatched eggs look for. That’s why I came here looking for volunteers, I need to find the right people.”

He paused, thinking about the right way to go about this. He could ask Zira to just taste their mana but he felt he needed to get as much out of this as he could.

Maybe I can even find a clue… He thought with amusement.

“With all that in mind, let me start with one simple question. Are you still interested in helping?” He scanned each one as he asked his question, looking to see if there was any hesitancy.

There was.

Not that I didn’t think there would be–

Lorem was the first to speak. “First, may I ask one question for myself?”

Felix nodded.

“Will we be living and working at the Dragon Queen’s manor?”

“Yes. Though, I’m sure we can arrange something if you need to leave periodically.”

Lorem seemed to contemplate that, throwing glances down towards Noria. “Then yes,” he answered.

Felix smiled, sensing that the biggest source of tension seemed to have dissipated. He gave another glance to the other three.

Noria seemed to be silently panicking and just when he was about to air his concerns for her, Solanna spoke up. “My brother… He is…sick. If we join, can Aluin take a look at him–”

“Sister! Please! I may be sick, but I can speak for myself.” Yedril fumed, but quickly softened his expression with a smile as he brought his attention to Felix.

“Sorry for my outburst, but my sister is correct. I do have a debilitating condition, my body cannot produce near enough mana to sustain itself. However, I did not come here to beg. I came here merely to see Master Aluin. It has been my dream.”

Yedril bowed, “I’m sorry for wasting your time.” He stood back up and turned to leave. “Come on Solanna, let’s not cause anymore trouble.”

Interesting, I wonder…

“Wait,” Felix called out, causing the elf to stop in his tracks. “I think… I think I can help, at least temporarily.” He approached the sickly elf and held out his hand. “May I?” He asked.

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Yedril stared blankly at him for a moment before speaking up. “What are you going to do?”

“I am going to push some mana into you– I’ll do it slowly and you can tell me to stop whenever. It shouldn’t hurt, but I’ve not tried this on an elf.”

In actuality he had never tried this at all, but he could absorb mana and manipulate it. So why wouldn’t I be able to? He couldn’t think of a good reason why he couldn’t.

“Can you?!” Solanna spoke up excitedly. “Oh Yedril, you have to–”

“Sister, please…” Yedril turned his attention back to Felix with a more serious expression on his face. “Can you? Can you really do it?”

“I can,” Felix said with determination.

“Then please, do it.”

Felix nodded and placed his hand onto Yedril’s chest, activating his mana sight in the process.

The world suddenly swirled with color, revealing the ambient mana that surrounded them. Each person gave off a bit of their own, as it slowly radiated out and mixed. All except for one person: Yedril.

Frowning, Felix couldn’t help it. It looked wrong to him, the elf was almost devoid of any mana. Even Zira did not register to him this way, it only made him more concerned.

Elves need mana, just like dragons. That thought shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did. Still, he could not dwell on it right now, he needed to concentrate.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out with his own mana and directed it to the poor elf. He was quickly met with resistance, but it felt familiar to him and he knew why. This barrier was similar to when he condensed mana, the same sort of repulsion that formed when he tried to condense too much too quickly.

He slowed himself, pulling some of his mana back and leaving only a small tendril. He had an idea, and there was only one way to test it…

He honed the tendril into a sharp point and jabbed it forward–

Yedril let out a pained grunt, and began to slouch forward. Solanna grabbed a hold of her brother, and tried to say something.

Felix was not listening.

No, he was having a breakthrough, literally. His tendril punched through the barrier and made contact with…something.

It wasn’t exactly Yedril’s body, it was something deep within. Unsure what it was, Felix’s only option was to pump his mana into the elf. So he did…

Yedril let out a strained gasp, as mana flowed into his body. Felix, meanwhile, felt the elf begin to ‘drink’ his mana, gulping it down with each breath.

After a few moments, he began to feel lightheaded. I need to end this… Carefully, he stopped the flow of mana and began to pull back the tendril.

Suddenly that something, within the elf, grabbed a hold of it and began tugging it. Startled, Felix tried to fight it off.

It only pulled harder.

Frantic, he completely released his mana and quickly pulled his hand away. He ended his mana sight and wiped away sweat that had formed unbeknownst to him.

“There,” he let out a sigh, “that should–”

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!” Solanna screamed out, still holding her brother upright.

Surprised by her outburst, he took a step back. “I-I just gave him mana!” He held up his hands placatingly.

She opened her mouth, but was stopped when Yedril reached a hand around himself and touched her shoulder.

“Solanna…I’m…Fine.” The elf said weakly. “I just…need a…moment.” He looked up to Felix and chuckled. “That was…a rush.” He took another breath, and was already starting to look better.

Felix didn’t dare say anything.

“Alright… I think I’m fine.” The elf said, his voice still unsteady. “You can let go of me now, Solanna.”

“Are you sure?” She was not convinced, and she kept throwing glares towards Felix.

“I am, watch.” Yedril opened a hand in front of him and began to produce a simple light spell.

Solanna gasped out, the shock obvious on her face. “Magic! It’s been so–”

“Long? I know. Now please sister, let me go.” He waited for her to do so before bringing his focus back to Felix. “I…don’t know how to thank you. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to do this.” He held out his arm, showing off the light spell.

“Well… Uh, you’re welcome… But you should know, it’s only temporary, at least I think so. Your body will consume the mana, I think. After that…” Felix trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence.

“I know…” Yedril ended his spell.

“But you know, if you still want to volunteer, then I could help you. Maybe I could even teach you my mana manipulation? I’m sure Aluin would also help…”

Speaking of which, Felix glanced over to where Zira and Aluin were. The two were watching closely, amusement evident on their faces. What is so interesting? He asked Zira.

Oh, nothing… We were just taking bets, is all. She said, casually dismissing his question.

Bets?! For what?

On whether that woman would hit you or not.

Felix grumbled to himself, eliciting curious glances from the others. At least she is feeling better…

He cleared his throat. “So, are you still interested?”

The elf went into deep thought, while everyone turned their attention to him. Felix didn’t rush him, knowing how serious of a decision this was.

Finally, after some time, Yedril spoke. “I don’t know how much use I will be, but if I have to choose between being bedridden the rest of my life or this, the choice is clear. Yes.”

Felix smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you will be of more use than you think.” He turned to Solanna, “and how about you? It’s clear that you care for your brother quite a bit, but are you willing to volunteer?”

“Yes.” She did not hesitate to answer, but her eyes never left her brother.

“Very well, that just leaves one person…” Felix looked to them.

“Me?” Noria asked skittishly.

“Yes, do you want to volunteer?” He asked.

“What’s it like– I mean, raising dragons. What’s it like raising them?”

He laughed. “That…entirely depends on who you ask. It was challenging for me, and down right frustrating for Eri. However, if you ask Zira, she would tell you I’m the difficult one–” He heard a snort from somewhere behind him

“–Then there is Kyrith, he just likes to trick people into doing what he wants… And by that, I mean, he just wants everyone to play with him.”

She crept closer, listening to every word he said. “I’ve heard stories…about dragons and their companions. Is it true, that you can speak to each other telepathically?” Noria was practically whispering.

“It is…” He cocked an eye, a little surprised that she knew something like that.

“Does that mean…” Her cheeks started blushing. “Does that mean that they will know your every thought?”

“Yes and no, it's hard to explain. We have a connection, a bond, that allows us to share what we are thinking and feeling. We can keep our thoughts to ourselves, but it’s difficult. They tend to leak over our bond, unless we actively try to stop it.”

“Wait a second,” Solanna interjected, “what are you saying here? I thought this was just about hatching eggs, what does bonds and telepathy have to do with that?”

Felix shrugged, he was hoping to avoid answering that for now. Oh well… “Well, you will have to get an egg to imprint onto you for it to hatch. And that means you will have to form a bond.”

They all stared at him with a mixture of surprise, shock, and confusion. He couldn’t blame them, he was hoping to explain this after Zira tasted their mana and determined they were safe.

Lorem was next to speak. “I see, that’s why you said you were looking for the right people. That makes sense, you wouldn’t want the wrong person to get a hold of an egg.”

“Exactly,” Felix said. “Though I don’t know how they would hatch it, and I don’t want to find out.”

The four elves nodded in agreement.

“In any case,” he continued, “it will be up to Zira to determine if you are able to hatch an egg. So I will be going by her judgment, and nothing more. However, even if she says you can’t, I can still use your help.”

He focused back onto Noria. “With all that answered, are you still willing to be a volunteer?”

“Oh…yes?” She straightened herself and cleared her throat. “I mean, yes.”

“Good, now then… Any more questions before I call Zira up to test you?”

Yedril raised his hand.

“Yes?” Felix asked.

“How will she test us?”

“Simple, she will come up to you and you’ll put your hand onto her. She will do the rest.”

“Is it something to do with our mana?” The elf asked, sounding a little nervous.

“Indeed, but I can assure you, it won’t be too bad. Besides, if needed, I can give you a little more mana afterwards.”

“What if we don’t pass this test?” Lorem asked, looking even more nervous than Yedril.

“Hmm?” Felix put his hand to his chin. “That depends, we don’t fully understand how she is able to determine who is safe, as she puts it. So we don’t know if someone who fails her test will be able to try again in the future.

“Either way, I’m still going to need some help around the manor. There is a lot that needs to be done, and I can’t fully rely on the kobolds–”

“Kobolds?” Noria asked, surprised.

“Huh? Oh yeah, kobolds. They’ve built themselves a little village near the manor.”

“So that’s where they are hiding!” Her outburst caught everyone off guard, and only when they were all looking at her did she realize what she had done. “S-sorry… They, uh… They steal from the village all the time.” Her face was completely red with embarrassment.

That honestly doesn’t surprise me. “I see… I will have to have a chat with them about that. Now, are you all ready?”

The four elves all looked at each other as if deciding as a group. “I think so,” Solanna said.

“Great.” He turned to look where Zira was. Zira, are you ready?

It’s about time… She began to make her way over to them, stopping only a few short steps away.

“Now, who’s first?”