The Eldest and Cale squatted together all day; they had lost all sense of time. Every now and then a message reminded the Eldest how late it was, but he left work for once.

Together with Cale, they talked for a long time about the coming wave in three years. In the process, the two had noticed one thing. Because they had repelled the second attack, they were on a completely new timeline. It was entirely possible that the creature would attack sooner or more inconspicuously than Cale had known.

Therefore, they came to a decision. Every mage and Anuxer was to be required to learn from the Chronicles of Creature Lore. They also wanted to train the crowd in their fighting skills so that they would have a higher chance of survival.

While the Eldest made some notes, Cale watched the man before turning his gaze outside. The day was already coming to an end and he felt bad for barely doing anything for Grischa today. But there was nothing more he could do. It was useless for him to read any stories which could possibly be about the Kormandent. Therefore, Cale decided to give the search party four days before he would give Aletta permission to use Mana Transfer on Grischa. The healer from Frignez thought that her Holy Mana might be able to kill the creature. But Cale was afraid that Grischa would not survive the attempt. His mana budget was so out of whack that he was afraid a fourth source would bring the house down completely.

"Why do you think the Dragon Queen is doing all these?"

Cale's words were surprisingly calm as he enjoyed the fresh scent of the cool air. They had opened the window and left it open for 10 minutes as well. Although the room would take a while to fully warm up again afterwards, the stuffy air was not healthy. Besides, Grischa was wrapped in two blankets, so the short time shouldn't bother him much.

"I don't know. She is a complete mystery to me. I also don't understand why she passed on the work when she could conquer the whole country with ease herself", the Eldest replied without turning away from the work.

"Perhaps she has no strength to do so?"

"No strength? The Dragon Queen? Didn't you mean she had killed all of you."

"Good point."

Cale couldn't help but think of his encounter with her. The tall, majestic dragoness with the incredible mass of mana was seared into his memory, as was her amazingly tender voice. How could someone who gave such a peaceful impression be so evil?

"What is the Holy Island like?", the Eldest spoke up after no real response came from Cale.

"Strangely peaceful and beautiful. It was pretty quiet, though the dragons were always circling over our heads. The island is amazingly large and has unique flora, I've seen things there that I haven't seen anywhere else in the world. But the only thing that interrupted the beautiful appearance was the tremendous feeling of dominance. You could feel the Dragon Queen's mana for miles around. She herself was three times the size of the Magistrat. Just unique and frightening at the same time", Cale explained calmly before recalling William and hissing reluctantly. Did he have to think about it again right now, of how she he had burned then alive?

"How is she different from the dragon in the vision?"

"They are completely different. The dragon in my vision radiated a whole different aura and its exterior was also different. He was much smaller and completely black, and his personality was also different from hers. But the Dragon Queen seems rather cold and calm, but the dragon from my vision was cheeky, pushy, almost childlike."

"Childlike? A dragon?"

"I don't know how to describe it better. He was just a feeling that I had at that moment. Something between being annoyed and being happy."

The feeling was very surreal for Cale. He could remember looking the dragon in the pitch-black eyes before turning to Sylve. You could barely make out the individual villages, but towns Vlores and Kradno were clearly visible despite the distance. The fields and trees were green, so Cale guessed in retrospect that it was spring or summer. He still remembered feeling a sense of relief before turning around once completely and letting his gaze wander over the creature plain. He couldn't really make out much more than the land and the desert in the distance. The capital city of Exarion was too far away from the mountains, but as his eyes swept over the desert, he could have sworn he recognized the rooftops of the trading city of Persiven.

He remembered well how the dragon next to him spoke up in response, but he could detect no sense of hostility in his words. The strange, powerful dragon next to him was strangely intrusive, but Cale ignored it. Whatever situation they were in, there was no sense of hatred.

But besides the fact of why there was a dragon at his side, Cale found this situation disconcerting for another reason. His insight had never changed, which meant that this vision had to refer to the future of his first life. But how could this be if he had died? Was he in reality, perhaps still alive and stuck in some kind of dream? Or had he lost his Igrikum and simply could no longer comprehend reality? Had he himself perhaps unwittingly become a soulless mage? How much of what Cale was currently seeing was even real anymore?

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"Have you ever faced the dragons again in the other timelines?", the Eldest raised his voice after a few minutes, and Cale could hear the man turn away from the documents and relax.

It was surprising how openly the Eldest spoke to him. The man was clearly interested in solving the mystery surrounding time travel and incredibly helpful. Only now did Cale realize the Eldest's true character. Behind his upscale, almost dismissive manner was a person who was good-natured and constantly wanted to learn new things. Somehow this behavior reminded him of Aaron, but equally he could not compare the 3rd seat to the Eldest at all. There were moments when Cale wondered if Aaron even possessed anything like feelings.

"Only in the distance, but never as close as on Holy Island. To be perfectly honest, I've always been afraid of them, which I guess comes from not knowing if this life will be my last. All these decades have made me jaded, but I haven't become tired of life."

In all likelihood, his fear was unfounded. His fear of death was only for the Dragon Queen. Other dragons that had unintentionally approached him were a lot weaker than her. With his current skills and Igrikum, Cale should be quite capable of withstanding an attack from them. Even if he didn't want to provoke it.

"Didn't you ever try to look for the black dragon from your insight?", the Eldest quietly spoke up. Slowly, Cale turned back to the man and propped his chin on his arm before letting out an amused clearing of his throat.

"No. Not once", Cale replied.

"Just a theory, but what if this dragon isn't our enemy?"

Cale looked at the mage in wonder. Every child knew that dragons are the natural enemy of mankind. They only bring ruin to the land and its inhabitants, which is why none dared to come to the Holy Island. The Eldest knew this, yet made such a statement? Was his assumption based merely on Cale's insight?

"Rebellion?", Cale merely replied.

"Perhaps, yes. I know it's all speculation, but what if this dragon doesn't follow the Dragon Queen? What if there are different parties among the dragons, just as there are among us humans?", the Eldest explained. Cale had actually never toyed with this thought before. A dragon who was on the side of humanity? Could that be? It would at least explain why Cale felt no hatred towards him, but who was this dragon and where did he currently reside? Was he hiding in the mountains of Sylve?

Surprised, Cale held his breath.

"What if the dragons that are in the mountains of Sylve have all fled from the Dragon Queen's influence?", he interjected a moment later.

"You mean all fourteen dragons are refugees, Caleb?"

After the statement, Cale replied nothing. Thoughtfully, he looked down at his documents as he neutrally reviewed the events. It was a fact that dragons were spreading to Sylve and Winstest. It was also irrevocably apparent that the creatures were attacking humans. However, the High-Magician had not taken into account one very obvious thing in all his lives.

The dragons themselves do not attack humans.

Originally, Cale assumed that the dragons were too fine to lead the attacks, but what if they are not? What if the creatures don't even know that dragons are hiding in their backs? All his lives, his wrath was directed only at the Dragon Queen, but not all creatures are the same. Dragons are obviously just creatures that have a mind of their own. Perhaps there are actually some among them who oppose the attack?

"Maybe all these lives have made me so stuck on the idea that dragons are the enemies of humanity, which is why I couldn't look at the whole situation neutrally. I've never seen a dragon actually attack humans, except for my first death."

"Which you more or less provoked", the Eldest added. "I must say, in all my years I've always heard the rumors too, but never seen a dragon actually attack anyone."

The Eldest and Cale exchanged skeptical glances. Both had grown up believing that dragons were triggers for disaster. But soberly, it had been the humans who presented the dragons as the scapegoat. Both seemed unsure about these thoughts, but there was a very clear indication. Cale's insight.

"Do you really think that could be? Aren't we just committing high treason against humanity with our thoughts?"

"It doesn't have to be that we're going public with the thoughts", the Eldest quickly replied. "And even if we did, I wouldn't really care what they think. I'm just trying to remember what the dragons used to do, but they didn't leave Holy Island until about 10 years ago."

"They left the island much earlier, but they also kept a lot more quiet about it."

"Sure?"

"Pretty sure, yes. I once lived in Krya for a few years shortly after I was reborn, and I'm pretty sure I saw dragons even then."

"Krya?"

"The big city in Caplens, where Duke of Caplens also resides. Pretty close to the mountains, actually", Cale clarified, briefly considering whether he had a map in his null magic. But he didn't, which is why he got up and started looking through his bookshelf.

"So you're basically telling me that the dragons have been active for significantly longer?"

"I think so. Although I can't say exactly when."

"Don't you think that's kind of weird?", the Eldest interjected as Cale found a book with the current maps from Sylve and turned backwards in irritation.

"What? That the dragons seem to have become more active after my rebirth?"

"Yes."

"Somewhat, yes. But that could just as easily have been coincidence, or we humans just didn't realize what was happening. It's always said that the island became too small for the dragons and that's why they scattered in all directions, but whether that's really true is the other question."

"In my opinion, the dragons are something you should pay significantly more attention to than you have so far. Maybe later I'll ask Aaron if he remembers how the dragons behaved back then."

"Aaron? Why him?"

"He has quite a hatred for the dragons, though I can't tell you why. Some of the things he does seem strange to me", the Eldest replied, running his hand through his beard thoughtfully. "But he had started keeping a close eye on the dragons at some point. It's quite possible that he noticed something, but that I missed it at the time."