The Endless Forest

Felix stood up straight, subtly smoothing out his clothes. Zira was next to him, looking as proud and regal as possible. In front of them was Uzreg, still holding the piece of egg shell in his hands.

Things had settled down, but after Ithea had vanished, Felix’s mood had soured. Still, he did his best to maintain a smile. This was a big deal for the kobolds after all…

A drum sounded, creating a slow tempo. A few more joined in, adding layers of complexity. He had no idea where they were, but they somehow echoed through the open air. A gust of mana buffeted them in time with the beat.

“Is cue,” whispered Uzreg. The kobold started moving at the sound of the drums.

Felix and Zira both waited a beat before following. As the drums sounded again, they followed after the kobold, their pace set by the tempo.

Eyes were on them, even a few whispers could be heard as they passed. Felix paid them no mind, but he could feel the atmosphere had shifted after Ithea’s display. It only served to frustrate him even more.

Eventually, the three of them made it to the shrines. Both were carved from a single stone each, intricate patterns of dragons carved and etched into them.

The one directly in front of them held Zira’s egg, nearly perfectly reconstructed. Meanwhile, the other shrine was empty, obviously meant to house Kyrith’s egg.

I guess they really were in a hurry… But then I’m amazed they even got his shrine ready.

He could feel Zira’s awkwardness at seeing her egg.

What’s wrong? I think your egg looks beautiful. I’m honestly glad they reconstructed it.

It weird to think about, look as if another dragon will hatch, she said.

Felix was forced to bring his attention back to the ceremony, two new kobolds came out and made their way to them.

“Uzreg, kobold take piece, add it to egg.” One of them whispered, holding out their hands.

“Take extra care, kobold no make mistake now.” Uzreg said, carefully placing the egg shell into the newcomer’s hands.

With that, the two kobolds bowed before making their way to the shrine. They quickly huddled behind it and began working. After a few moments, Felix briefly wondered how long it would take.

As it turned out, not long at all.

Suddenly, the two kobolds came back and bowed again to Uzreg. “It done,” they said in unison.

Hearing the good news, Uzreg returned the bow and then quickly turned around. “Masters…” He gestured over to the shrine. “Inspect?”

Felix and Zira both looked at each other, shrugging internally. “It will be our pleasure,” Felix said, looking back at the kobold.

Uzreg stepped out of their way and once more bowed. Taking it as their cue, Felix and Zira approached.

Impressive, Felix thought. I can’t see a single seam… I wonder what it looks like with mana sight.

Zira added her own commentary, it smell like egg… I no taste mana.

He nodded to her then used his mana sight. The world turned colorful once again, but Zira was right. There wasn’t any mana coming from the egg itself. Turning it off, he brought his attention back to the old gray kobold.

As if sensing his intentions, the drums started quieting down.

“Very good,” he said, wanting to keep things as formal as possible. “Both me and Zira are impressed, we can’t find a single crack.”

“Thank you Masters!” Uzreg shouted, letting one of his rare genuine smiles show.

One of the two other kobolds quietly came up behind Felix, tapping him on the arm.

“What is it?” He asked in a whisper, bending over to hear what the kobold had to say.

“Call Uzreg. Have Uzreg kneel, then grant title.”

“Easy enough, anything else?” I actually have an idea… Zira didn’t like the sound of that.

The kobold shook his head and stepped back.

Understanding what he had to do, Felix cleared his throat. “Uzreg! Come, kneel before me!”

The old kobold snapped out of his revelry, and hastily came before Felix. “Yes Master!” The kobold shouted as he kneeled.

“Hold out your hand.”

Uzreg obeyed, and Felix took the hand into his. He could see and feel the scarring, remembering what the kobold had done for him.

Looking up and to the crowd, Felix collected his thoughts before speaking. “Kobolds! Listen and

watch carefully!” He gently squeezed the kobold’s hand. “Tonight is a special night, not just for Uzreg, not just for me or Zira. No, it is also a special night for all of you.

“Uzreg,” He said looking down at the kobold, “you have saved my life. You have assisted twice now, with both me and Eri, in hatching eggs. Your devotion has not gone unnoticed, your guidance has not gone unrecognized. You are the model kobold, one everyone here should seek to imitate.

“Uzreg, from this day forth, you shall be known as… Watcher! Now, stand! Make the world know your new name!”

Uzreg, now Watcher, leapt to his feet. The kobold turned to the crowd and raised a fist. “I AM WATCHER!”

The crowd erupted in cheer, deafening Felix. He ignored the pain, along with all the thoughts from before.

As he smiled and joined in the celebration, little did he know… A battle was fixing to take place not that far from here.

“Ithea…” Eri muttered, the temperature continued to drop.

The dragon woman either hadn’t noticed her or didn’t care. Instead, Ithea wiped the frozen tears from her face and stepped off of the porch, making for the forest in front of her.

Kyrith growled again, as the dragon woman came closer. He was only now starting to shiver.

“H-head for the manor,” Eri chattered to him and bravely started to make her way over to the other woman.

“Ithea, what’s–”

Ithea froze in place, almost literally. “Ah, there you are…” Slowly, she turned around. The air warmed ever so slightly. “Where is Aluin?” She acted as if the world around them weren’t freezing.

“Gone… What’s...wrong?” It was becoming unbearable. Meanwhile, Kyrith had ignored Eri’s order and had followed her. He continued his growling, though by now it was mostly his teeth chattering.

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. I’ve just decided it's not worth the pain of dealing with that damn human. I wanted to tell him I quit and he can void the contract… I’m leaving.”

Besides the temperature, Eri sensed there was more going on than the dragon woman was claiming… A lot more.

Activating some of her mana, she prepared to deal with the coldness. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t work on the younger dragon as it would be sucked away in mere moments.

Fueling a warming spell she knew, she could already feel it taking effect. It wouldn’t last long with Ithea in her current state, but hopefully it would last long enough to figure out what was really going on.

Please, Kyrith! Just get back! It isn’t safe… She sent to him, trying desperately to get something over their bond. She didn’t have time to see if he listened.

Ithea began walking away.

“Wait!” Eri shouted. “He’ll be back tomorrow… Why not wait until then?”

“No!” Ithea yelled back. “You can tell him yourself, he doesn’t need me to void the contract.”

“Can you...at least tell me w-what happened?! He’s–” Eri felt her stored mana dip drastically.

The dragon woman laughed, turning around to face her. “You want to know? Fine… Not that it matters anymore, that contract would have never stopped me anyways.”

Ithea appeared right before her, causing her to stumble back in surprise. “Felix isn’t just some random human… I’m sure you’ve figured out that much. But you don’t know who he really is–”

Ithea winced in pain, her face contorting into a snarl. She kept going. “Felix… Is… The… CHAMPION!” She roared, as arcane lines formed like blue veins around her body.

They were only there for an instant before Ithea collapsed to the ground.

C-Champion? Warmth returned to the world.

“Ithea!” Eri fell to her knees, immediately turning the other woman over. Leaning her head on Ithea’s chest, she listened carefully for the woman’s beating heart.

There! She could hear it, but it was weak and fading.

However, before she could do anything else, Ithea’s eyes shot open. Startled, she sat up and nearly fell over.

In a raspy laugh, Ithea coughed. “I…told you… It wasn’t…going to,” she gasped for air, “kill me.” Her eyes flicked over and landed upon Eri.

“Tell me…child, what do you…know about…pain?” She took another breath.

“W-what?” Eri stammered.

“Pain… Loss… Anger… What…do you…know about…them?”

“A lot, actually.” She said the words without thinking, regretting it almost instantly.

Ithea laughed again. “Do…tell,” she said after her laughter turned into a coughing fit.

Eri’s hands balled into fists, she felt Kyrith nuzzle her side. The young dragon whimpered, clearly frightened.

She reached over and began stroking his head. “I thought I told you to go back to the manor.”

“He…won’t leave…your side. You two…are bound.” Ithea interjected.

She could feel a small smile forming on her face. “I know…”

The dragon woman shifted, wincing in pain, to get a better look at Eri. “Now…tell me.”

Eri sighed. “My family– My entire tribe… They were slaughtered. Humans had managed to make it into the forest, and… They found my tribe.”

She paused for a moment, the repressed memories flooding back to her. She could hear them, the screams, the pleas…

She could see a group of her childhood friends, corralled. Three humans were tormenting them while more continued to pillage the rest of their camp.

A young Eri was up in one of the massive Sky Trees, hiding among the branches and leaves. She had climbed up there earlier in the day to read one of the few books they had in peace. Now, it had become her sanctuary as the world below her turned into hell.

She watched her father slay two humans, but another snuck up behind him. He crumpled to the ground.

Her friends wailed and cried for their parents until, one by one, they were silenced. Soon, the camp grew quiet…

“What…did you do…then?” Ithea asked, pulling her out of the memory. If there was any pity, the dragon woman didn’t show it.

Kyrith whimpered again, unfurling his wing and attempting to wrap her in them. She began to pet him, feeling his worry leak through their bond.

“I… Grew angry.” Eri said, after a few moments. “Another tribe took me in… But my anger and hatred isolated me. I was weak and scared, so I decided to become strong and fearless… It was a foolish plan.”

She took a deep breath. “Eventually, I was all but kicked out. They only let me stay because they pitied me, but I knew my time was limited and I had already learned what I could from their warriors.

“So I set off, looking for the one person who could train me.”

Ithea spoke up, “Aluin…”

“Yes… I spent months searching for him, fighting everything that got in my way, until I found him.”

Eri laughed. “Honestly? I don’t know what I expected. The oldest of the Sages, famous for never taking an apprentice. He would never take such an angry teenage girl… But I was stubborn, and even if he wouldn’t train me, I was going to learn from him.”

“Hmm…? What did…you…do?”

“I stalked him, shadowing and watching his every move. I spent almost an entire year like that, and it’s not like I had anywhere else to go… And sure, he could teleport, but I just waited near his little hut.

“It was slow going, I spent what time I could learning from watching him. Then when he would disappear, I spent that time training. Eventually, he started to cave. He’d come out and offer me tea and other treats–” Eri stopped and thought about that time, realizing something.

“Though now that I think about it, I guess I was already becoming less angry. But it wasn’t until he finally gave in and took me under his wing. That’s when I finally began to understand what anger does to one’s self–”

“You become…like me.” Ithea said, interjecting.

“Perhaps…?” Eri muttered. “But what I found underneath was just that scared child hiding up in the trees. It terrified me– Still does. I lost my confidence then. Even after meeting Fea– The Queen, I still kept myself in a cocoon.” She shook her head.

“But now,” she looked over to Kyrith, “I think I’m ready to come out.”

Ithea began to shift, grunting as she moved.

Alarmed, Eri shouted, “What are–”

The dragon woman struggled, but eventually sat up. Her lips curled into a sad and fragile smile.

“Perhaps it’s time I did the same…”

Felix was sleeping comfortably on his bed, lightly snoring. Zira was curled up next to him, resting her head on his chest and purring.

The early dawn light filtered through the windows, casting shadows into the room. It had been an eventful day yesterday, and now all the pair wanted to do was rest.

Unfortunately, they were not alone in the room.

Felix let out a surprised yelp while Zira growled. They were unceremoniously dumped onto the ground, the mattress they were sleeping on was now partially on top of them.

“Get up, we have training to do.” A familiar voice called out.

“Huh?” He grunted, blinking his confusion away. Standing over them was Ithea, looking frigid as ever.

“Get up and get dressed, we will begin your training today. Both yours and hers. I will wait out back. Don’t take too long, or else I’ll have to punish you more.”

Before either one of them could process what was happening, Ithea left.

What was…that about? He asked Zira.

I do not know… I no like though. She responded with trepidation.

Same… With that, Felix stood up and assessed the damage.

From what he could tell, Ithea had picked up the mattress and flipped it onto the ground. Luckily, most of the bedding had gone with them, padding their landing.

With a sigh, Felix got to work putting the bed back together while Zira stood off to the side and stretched. Once done, he made his way to the bathroom and cleaned up. However, with the dragon’s warning, he opted to keep it simple and just wiped his face off.

Feeling a little refreshed, Felix threw on his clothes and the two of them made their way outside. There was only one curious thing to note as they entered the kitchen, it was empty. There wasn’t a single kobold in sight.

Think they were scared off by her? He asked, half-sarcastically, half-seriously.

Yes… Was Zira’s only response, he could feel a sense of dread forming.

Reaching down, he gave her a comforting pat. We’ll make it through this…somehow.

She whimpered in response.

Let’s just get this over with… I wanted to finally open that portal today. He opened the back door and stepped outside and was immediately greeted by Ithea.

“You sure know how to take your time.” The air grew cool around them as Ithea spoke.

Felix frowned, he wasn’t going to take the verbal abuse. “We’re here, what do you want?”

“I told you, I’m going to train you. Now come, we’re going to see just how strong you really are.” She turned around and began walking away.

Seeing no other choice at the moment, both him and Zira followed her at a distance. The dragon woman led them towards the edge of the clearing, stopping a hundred feet away from the trees.

“Right,” she started, opening and closing her hands. “First, let’s see if you can hit one of those trees. Shouldn’t be too hard, just use your mana.”

Felix frowned again. “I’ve not been taught any ranged spells. Actually I’ve only been taught basic things like mana control and a few things for utility.”

“Oh? Did you misunderstand me? I said, just use your mana. I know you can manipulate it, so do it.”

He sighed. This really is going to be a long day.

“Fine, but you have to stop sucking it all away…”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry about that. It’s subconscious.” There was a hint of teasing in Ithea’s voice making it hard to tell just how genuine she was. Either way, the air began to warm.

Knowing her, not at all… He let the thought fade as Zira sent her agreement.

He closed his eyes, and began concentrating. The mana within stirred almost instantly, and he quickly expanded it outward away from his body.

Activating his mana sight, he could see his own mana as it connected with its ambient counterpart. He started gathering it, slowly forming it into a ball. It struggled the more he gathered and compressed it, until it became unstable.

From there, he only had one idea to make this work, though he wasn’t confident. Still, he had two void dragons on standby…

Felix pushed it a little further, concentrating hard to release it at the right moment. That moment came as his own mana began to lose control. Feeling it giving way, he parted it slightly–

WHOOSH!

The concentrated mana exploded forward at incredible speeds, causing a shock-wave that sent him crashing to the ground. Disoriented, he blinked and in the distance a loud explosion sounded.

A few moments later, a Sky Tree crashed onto the ground…

When Aluin teleported back to the manor, he nearly collapsed from exhaustion. It had been a long night of debate, none of the Sages had gotten any rest…

That doesn’t include the contract activating… His thought was interrupted by humming.

He was standing in front of the entrance, and from the library, he could hear a beautiful and melodic song being hummed out. There’s only one person… He thought, stepping into the library.

“Aluin!” Eri shouted out in surprise, and partially in embarrassment.

Curled up on the floor next to her, was Kyrith. The young dragon looked up sleepily, letting out a yawn in the process.

“Did…something happen?” He asked cautiously. She never sings, hums…or does anything with music.

Eri’s cheeks flushed and she quickly averted her eyes. ”Sort of, but I think it worked out in the end,” she admitted.

“Anything I need to be concerned about?” He pushed the issue.

The other elf seemed to think carefully before finally speaking up. “Well… I think Ithea activated the protections in your contract…”

Aluin took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before exhaling. “I was afraid of that… The contract is still intact, though, so I know she’s still alive. What happened, exactly?”

“She said that Felix…was the Champion. Though, I’m not sure what she meant…”

He had to do his best to hold back his anger, even going so far as to use a fraction of his magic. Still, outwardly, he looked rather calm.

“I see… Well, do me a favor and forget what she told you. I trust you, but there are certain things that are best left forgotten. Do you understand?”

Honestly, I wish I could just wipe her memory… That past is long dead, yet it will continue to haunt us all… Especially Felix.

She looked at him confused but nodded anyway. “I understand.”

“Also, and it should go without saying, but I want to make it very clear. Never mention that word around Felix.”

“I understand,” she repeated.

“Good.” He let some of his anger slip…

“Now, where’s Ithea?”