Tal stepped back from the map, a single blue dot of light marked an island. Untamed Lands, read the name.

“The Endless Forest,” The High Prophet whispered from right behind him.

“Father? What do you mean?” he asked uncomfortably. There was something about the pious man’s tone that sent a chill down his spine.

“The Endless Forest, that is what the heathens call it. As you can see, Brother Tal, it is actually an island.”

“That’s an island? It… It looks rather large to be one.” What is this about? Is this Felix there?

His premonition flared up, warning him of–

“Indeed. In the past, many argued that it was a small continent. One with untapped resources and natural beauty. The heathens fled there after we pushed them from our home, our Holy Lands.”

The High Prophet stepped up next to Tal. “It is…unfortunate that we were not able to finish the war then. Now, it appears our ancestors' failure shall be ours to inherit.”

“Inherit?” Tal felt another warning, another sense of unease.

“You are our Champion, Tal. You already know.”

He winced at the words, the cold truth behind them. He, along with his entire family, were doomed to be the country’s Champions. They were sacrificial pawns, they were damned.

They were pariahs.

“The Heretic,” Tal whispered.

The man whose choice sealed my fate.

“Correct, Brother Tal. But fear not, you have a chance to finally end this.”

He turned around to face the High Prophet. “What do you mean–” Wait… The vision of the man flashed into his mind again.

“It appears you have answered your own question, but… Yes, Tal. The man from your vision is the Heretic. He is Felix.”

“How? How did you know about that?” he asked, completely shocked.

The High Prophet smiled brightly. “Brother Tal, I know everything about you.”

“Every…thing?” Tal took a step away, sweat forming. His blessing begged him to run, to get away from here.

“Yes. I know of your opinion of me. I know of your resistance to becoming the Champion. Even of your visions… Brother Tal, I know your–”

–Thoughts.

----------------------------------------

“Ow!” Felix yelped, feeling a sharp talon poke his arm. A small amount of blood trickled down as he rubbed it. A shadow fluttered over him and he narrowed his eyes at the creature. Above him was a pixie dragon.

It’s already turning out to be a long day, he thought. Between last night and this morning, he hadn’t found the time to relax. It was starting to get to him, especially right now.

Felix’s original goal had been to find Zira and have a nice quiet nap with her. He absolutely needed it. Unfortunately, he came headlong into his current predicament…

“Hmm, interesting. Very interesting… High concentration of mana.” The pixie dragon, Yarnel, muttered after rubbing a drop of blood between two taloned fingers. He licked it and nodded with satisfaction.

“What was that for?!” Felix shouted. Meanwhile, Zira let out a hissing snarl. Even Ithea looked done with this dragon.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” the pixie dragon waved a hand dismissively. “Just confirming what I already knew–”

“If you already knew, then why did you do that!” Zira growled out, both with her projected voice and her throat. The air became considerably colder.

Yarnel floated back up above them. “Please, one must always confirm their observations.”

This is getting out of hand… Felix thought to himself, quickly checking the wound. Thankfully, it was just a small scratch.

Let me kill him, Zira demanded.

He was sorely tempted to let her try, but… Not yet. As much as I want you to, he is the one who wrote those notes. We might yet need him– Also, I think Ithea might beat you to it.

The dragon woman was visibly murderous. More than normal anyway.

Bah! I will gladly help.

Now, that was saying something. Never had he heard Zira say she would help her mother with anything. He needed to do something before either one attempted to kill the pixie dragon.

“Yarnel, are you here for your notes? If you want them back, I can fetch them for you,” Felix asked, doing his best to remain diplomatic.

“Hmm?” The pixie dragon seemed distracted. “Oh, I suppose I only told Ithea… Indeed, I originally came here looking for them. I expected you to find them and read them, not that elf.”

“Noria?”

Yarnel nodded. “Yes, her. Anyway, I’ve determined that it isn’t a problem.”

Felix looked towards Ithea for help.

She sighed. “He’s interested in those four eggs.”

“Ah, yes. I wanted to observe them hatching. It has been centuries since we’ve had any hatchlings, and I missed Zira’s and Kyrith’s…” The pixie dragon actually looked depressed at that.

Don’t let him, he will only cause trouble, Zira suddenly warned. If he doesn’t care about his notes, then he has no reason to be here.

Felix didn’t respond, but took her words into consideration. He got an inkling of an idea… “Alright, I’ll make you a deal–”

Both Zira and Ithea hissed.

“–If you can promise me that you will stay out of sight and out of the way, then I will let you stay and observe all you want.”

The two other dragons began voicing their objections, but he ignored them and focused on Yarnel.

“Oh?” The little dragon sounded amused. “And why should I accept this deal?”

“Because, if you cannot behave yourself, I will have her deal with you.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Yarnel glanced over to Ithea, but Felix shook his head. “Not her.”

“Then who–”

“Fea.” He reached into his soul and ‘borrowed’ some of her mana, letting it radiate out. The cold air was instantly replaced with a radiating warmth.

For the first time since Felix laid eyes on the dragon, Yarnel froze. There was a hint of awe and fear hiding within his expression.

“Impressive…” The dragon said, sounding distant. “Truly impressive.”

“If you can promise me that you will behave and remain hidden, I will let you stay until the eggs hatch. However, afterwards, I would like to speak with you… In private.”

“Speak with me? I suppose you would have some questions that only I could answer.” His normal condescending tone was back, though much more subdued.

“Yeah, and while I’d love to ask them now, I’m already quite exhausted. Both yesterday and today have been quite stressful… I would like some peace and quiet before we start hatching those eggs.”

Felix finished by holding out a hand. “Do we have a deal?”

Yarnel considered him for a moment before floating downwards and taking his hand. “We do. I promise to…behave and to remain out of view of others. I will not intervene in any situation, either.”

They shook on it, and Felix felt a bit of his mana get yanked from his body. Startled, he let go and furrowed his brows. “What was that?”

“Ah, that was us forming a contract…” The pixie dragon responded with a toothy dragon smile. “Nothing to worry about.”

Before he could open his mouth to speak, Yarnel vanished. Blinking, Felix shook his head and turned to the other two dragons–

Ithea was gone.

Letting out a sigh, Felix approached Zira and banged his head against her sturdy chest. She watched with a mixture of agitation and worry.

He spoke out loud. “Sorry, I know you wanted him gone– Wait, is he?”

He is. She seemed quite certain but her attention was directed solely on him. Are you okay?

My arm? It’s fine, just a small scratch… He got the impression that wasn’t exactly what she meant. Look, I just want to spend some quiet time with you. Can we do that? I will even be your pillow.

Zira took a moment to respond. Of course, but perhaps I could be your pillow? It seems like you need it more than I do.

He shook his head, rubbing it against her scales. No, I don’t mind… In fact, I’ve gotten quite used to it. He let out an empty laugh and stepped back.

Zira looked down at him, worry echoing through their bond. Felix…

Please, I just– Last night came back to him in a flash. He was back in the den, standing over the elf's body. He just couldn't think of him as Yedril. All that calmness he felt as he worked on saving the young elf’s life, was gone.

Cold reality hit him.

The elf– Yedril had been hanging by a thread– No, he had been hanging on by a single ember. A dying ember…

I-I almost failed. He… Yedril almost died. Felix fell to his knees, trembling. If I wasted another–

He felt Zira nuzzle him. I am here, let it out.

Felix threw his arms around her snout, resting his head against hers. He let his tears fall, uncaring of who could be watching.

You did not fail. Yedril is alive, you saved him.

But–

Shh, just let it out. I will take your pain.

Their minds touched and they became one.

----------------------------------------

Yedril cracked his eyes open and found himself staring up into the sky. Confused, he turned his head and waited for his vision to clear.

Next to him, his sister slept. She had all but curled around his right arm, making it difficult to move it without disturbing her. Turning the other way, he realized they were still in the hatchery. In fact, he could just feel something call out to him…

The egg, he realized. It was calling for him, it wanted him to come closer…

Sitting up, he worked slowly and carefully to free his arm. A moment later, he succeeded and crawled away.

I did it, the egg will hatch soon! he thought to himself. The night was a blur, and the morning seemed like a dream. Had he really woken up then? Yedril wasn’t sure, and the thought was quickly abandoned as he reached the den.

There, he came to a halt. A faint warning telling him not to enter, yet he could see the egg. It wanted him and he wanted it.

Stricken by indecision, he hadn’t noticed the person approaching him.

“Yedril?” It was Eri, and her sudden appearance startled him.

“Yeah…?” He wheezed out, fighting off a coughing fit. A water skin was soon handed to him.

“Slowly, small sips only.”

Gladly taking it, he almost ignored her warning until she spoke up again. “I said, slowly.”

Catching himself, he gave her a nod and followed her instructions.

“Good. Now, why are you out of bed?” she asked sternly.

Yedril took one last sip before he answered, his voice still sounded raspy. “I…don’t know. The egg, it was calling to me.” He paused to let out a cough. “I just…wanted to come and see it.”

His eyes trailed over to the nest. There he could just make out its shape in the dim light of the den.

Eri didn’t immediately respond.

“Is this…normal?” He took another sip.

She sat down with a sigh. “I’m not sure. For me, I was too nervous. I had to rely on Felix the entire time to know when it would hatch.”

“Nervous?” Yedril asked, throwing her a curious glance.

“Yes… At the time, I was worried if I made the correct decision. I wanted to be a sage.”

Wanted to be? “What do you mean? Aren’t you Aluin’s appr–” The words died in his throat as he saw her painful expression.

“It’s a long story… However, I am no longer his apprentice.” The tone of her voice made Yedril immediately switch topics.

“I, uh, don’t know what I should name her–” Her? Do I know its gender?

Eri gave him a surprised look as well. “You know it’s female?” she asked.

Do I? He felt like it was right. “Maybe? It feels right to me, but maybe I’m just wanting it to be a female?” He dwelled on it as he took yet another sip from the water skin. “I don’t really know, and I don’t really care what gender it is.”

Eri continued to stare at him, as if processing what he just said. Suddenly, she seemed to make a connection. “Well, perhaps it will be? But what were you saying about a name?”

“Huh? Oh, I was saying I don’t know what to name her,” he answered awkwardly.

She gave him a soft smile, “I wouldn’t worry about that. When Kyrith hatched, his name came to me then. I hadn’t even considered a name until that moment.”

It was Yedril’s turn to be surprised. “Really? His name just popped into your head?”

She answered with a nod. “I’m pretty sure it was true for Felix as well. I remember him shouting Zira’s name the moment before she hatched.”

He leaned back, shifting his arms behind him. I wonder what that is like. I wonder what the bond feels like.

“Can I ask you a question?" he asked, hesitantly. “It’s about your bond with Kyrith. I know it's a sensitive topic, and I apologize if I offend you, but what is it like? What does it feel like to have another person’s mind bound to yours?”

Eri took several long seconds to answer, clearly deep in thought about his question. “Well,” she started off tentatively. “It is a deeply personal question… But I can understand why you would want to know. I suppose you do have a right to know, to understand. The question is, how to explain it?”

Yedril sat there patiently until she spoke again.

“Ah, I think I have a good analogy for you. Tell me Yedril, have you ever shared in the excitement of accomplishing a great task? Something you could never have done alone?”

He was about to shake his head, no, but stopped. I suppose me and Solanna crossing the forest would count. They hadn’t been exactly excited, mostly they were exhausted. However, they both had shared in the relief of making it.

“Yeah, I suppose I have. Is that what it’s like?”

“No, not quite. But take that feeling, and double it. Then do that for all your feelings, all your thoughts. You are always experiencing that, and they are too,” she explained.

Yedril closed his eyes, trying to grasp what she was saying. It was a difficult task… “I think, I understand.” He didn’t sound convincing.

“It’s okay…” Eri let out another sigh as she stood up.

“You will.”