The Endless Forest

Oralyn closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in. This is it… Gods, how did I get here?

Felix.

The man, the human, was a force of nature. That much was clear to her, however, to think he would find a way to break her mask and to expose her raw emotions? To find a chink in her armor and crumble it? To show her another way, another path?

Not once did she think he could do that.

And yet, he has. He didn't even mean to… Or, could it be? Was I too fragile and set to fail from the start? Maybe, but I had to hear it from someone like him in the first place. A slight smile spread across her lips.

Maybe he was the force of nature I needed? She didn't know, but Felix was right. She was destroying herself, ripping herself apart for the sake of her people.

'You don't have to do it alone…'

I don't want to do it alone. But I shut away my emotions: my empathy, my depression, my…happiness. I didn't have to do that. I didn't need to be so cold and callous. We can do it together. We can rise together. We can–

Oralyn let out a gasp as her hand touched the egg. It's cool, metallic surface comforting to her.

"Good. You're doing good," Felix whispered next to her. Unfortunately, his voice wasn't the only one she was hearing now. A crowd had started to form…

"What's going on?"

"Is that Oralyn? What are they doing?"

"Hey wait! Is she going to hatch an egg?!"

"She's with Felix–"

"Ignore them and focus on the egg. Listen for it."

It? What does he mean by that? She did not voice her question and instead only followed his guidance.

Letting out a rather excited breath, Oralyn tuned out the noise and let it fade away from her mind. It's only me and you…

Thump… Thump… Thump…

It was faint, almost imperceptible, but she swore she could hear a heartbeat…

"Call for them. Give them a taste of your mana."

Thump… Thump… Thump…

It was definitely the dragon's heartbeat and now her own heart was beginning to race. You can do this.

She did her best to let a trickle of mana flow, something she was unaccustomed to. "Hello…"

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Keep at it, it's starting to respond to you," Felix encouraged.

Oralyn swallowed her nerves away. "My name is Oralyn… Would you… Would you accept me?"

Gods. What am I saying?! It took all her concentration to not visibly cringe. She pushed through.

"I'm…not the easiest of people to get along with. I know that. But, I am trying– Trying to do something important. However… However, I need help. I need a friend, a companion–"

She paused, her body quivering from the pure strain of concentration. This was surprisingly taking a lot out of her. I need to keep going! I can feel it, something is happening!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Her breathing became erratic, her mana being drained away at an alarming rate. She was starting to lose focus.

The visage of Calinna's face appeared in her mind, smiling. Then it was gone, replaced by the scene of her death. She tried to shake it from her thoughts but in its place was Julous. The man she was forbidden to love.

Tears streamed down her cheeks for the second time today. There were many regrets she had. Many thoughts never shared. Perhaps if she had professed her love in time, things could have been different between her and him. Perhaps if she hadn't been so cold to her one true friend, Calinna would be alive and not just a spirit.

Her actions, her bottling of emotions, is what brought her to this point. And, it was here where she was begging for a third chance. Am I worthy of it?

There was only one way to find out.

"Please!"

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

"I need a partner!"

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP–

Oralyn let out a surprised yelp as a cold metallic sensation swept through her body. She fell backwards only to be caught by an excited looking Felix.

"You've done it!" He shouted, pulling her up to her feet.

"I… What?" She was in a daze and that feeling of metal was still coursing through her, leaving her numb.

"You did it! The egg– The dragon inside! It's imprinted onto you–"

Crack!

Felix's eyes widened as he looked past her and towards the egg. "Quickly! Pick up the egg! There isn't much time and we've got to get it to the Hatchery!"

He let her go and, still numb, she stumbled over to it.

"Careful! It's starting to hatch but we can't let it do it here!"

She bent down and attempted to pick it up but it was surprisingly heavy. "I, uh… I need some help…"

He didn't skip a beat and swung around to the confused crowd outside. "Watcher! Just this one time, get in here and help her carry the egg back!"

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The kobold appeared on the other side of the egg, seemingly from thin air. "Watcher help Tricky Master! Ready?"

"I think?" She wrapped her arms around the egg.

"Lift!"

A hum overpowered the noise from the crowd and a bright flash nearly blinded her. However, when she recovered, she realized the egg was cradled close to her chest.

Huh? It doesn't weigh a thing– Her thought was interrupted by the sound of ice creaking.

"Come on! I'll clear a path for us!" Felix grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the den's entrance.

A wave of air and– Mana? She was still too dazed to really know for sure, but something swelled around her as Felix yelled at the top of his lungs.

MOVE!

The crowd instantly parted, giving them enough space to easily run through. And that's exactly what they did…

The next few moments were a blur as she and Felix raced through the Sanctuary and into the hall. The inky black portal was ahead of them with people entering and leaving.

GET OUT OF THE DAMN WAY!

That pressure slammed into her again almost making her recoil from his grasp. But Felix held on with a firm but careful grip…

"Where are we going again?" Oralyn asked as they reached the portal.

"The Hatchery!"

She blinked, her mind slowly working. They vanished from the Sanctuary and appeared back into the clearing. "Why?"

BECAUSE– He cut himself off and shook his head. "Because we don't want to hatch in the Sanctuary."

"Why not?"

Her question seemed to catch him off-guard as he suddenly stumbled. "Do you remember the other day, when I showed you all the Sanctuary?"

She gave a slow nod.

"Do you remember how the little jewels were acting– Before I used the teleportation enchantment?"

Oralyn cocked her head to the side. "They were quite rowdy…"

He let out a laugh. "That's one way to put it… But that was because of the extreme mana density of the place. They get rowdy, as you put it. Just think what it would do to a freshly hatched dragon. I don't think we want that…"

He began moving again, this time at a brisk walk. They soon rounded the corner and entered the Hatchery.

"Wait here for a moment. I'm going to go fetch some bedding…" Felix disappeared before she could respond. Meanwhile, however, Watcher reappeared at her side. He reached up and put a hand upon the egg.

"Egg not have long… Minutes or less…"

"Is…that good?" she asked, finally starting to regain her senses properly.

"Is good. New New Master healthy."

That brought a smile to her face. "Good–"

CRACK!

She looked down and went pale. The egg was now covered in hundreds of cracks. Gods! It's going to hatch!

Panic built up inside her and her heart began to race once again. Without Felix she did not know what to do…

"Here! Set it down on this!" Felix stormed into the hatchery, throwing down a thick blanket.

Relieved by his quick return, Oralyn kneeled down and gingerly laid the egg directly in the center. "What now?" she asked, hoping everything would calm down.

It wouldn't.

"Now…" Felix plopped down next to her. "We continue where we left off."

He gestured to the egg. "Touch the egg and give it more mana, call for the dragon inside."

She peered nervously at it. There was still plenty of disbelief and shock in her mind. "Will it… Will it really hatch for me?" Should it?

He put a comforting hand upon her shoulder and stared into her eyes. "Oralyn, it has imprinted– Marked you."

"But what does that mean?" she pushed, trying to make sense out of everything that's happened.

"It means they have chosen you," he answered confidently before looking back at the egg. "As you can see, it's on the brink of hatching but it needs encouragement. It's probably scared or startled by us rushing it out of the Sanctuary."

"It is?"

"Maybe?" He gave a shrug. "Hard to say really, but Zira told me that she could sense things while she was in her egg– Oh! That reminds me, I should warn you about this next part."

He shifted on the floor until he could look at her properly. "When the dragon hatches, the two of you will form a bond. Let me quickly explain before you ask anything… This is something very important and very private."

There was a moment of silence before he continued. "The bond that forms, it allows the two of you to…communicate. That's probably the best word for it… You will be able to share thoughts, emotions, memories– You'll be able to enter into each other's minds and see and feel and… Become one."

Oralyn did her best to take in this knowledge but it was too much, too quickly. Every part of his explanation only added to her confusion and disbelief…

"I don't understand," she finally admitted.

He gave her an understanding look. "I know, it's a lot. Frankly, it'll be easier to understand when it happens." He let out a slight chuckle. "The original volunteers didn't really get it until their partners hatched too, and they had more time… You don't, unfortunately."

His eyes lit up. "I nearly forgot! When the bond forms, you will feel like your mind is itchy. Do your best to ignore it, it'll go away quickly."

That caused her to raise a brow. "Itchy?"

"Yeah, like there is something in your head that you need to scratch but you just can't get at it. Anyway…" He tilted his head back over to the egg. "We shouldn't keep him waiting any longer."

"Wait! What if something goes wrong? My mana… I'm not a mage nor am I experienced in using it like this."

He gave her a confident smile. "Don't worry about it. I will make sure nothing happens to you or the egg. You have my word on that." And, as if to prove his point, she felt the air around her growing denser, almost chokingly so.

"Right…" She didn't sound anywhere near as confident, but her attention slowly fell back to the egg. "Here goes nothing then."

For one last time, Oralyn reached for it, for the baby dragon inside…

She let out a gasp. She could feel its excitement, its anticipation. It wasn't scared or startled. No, it was waiting for her. She would not let it wait any longer.

"Please! Hatch for me!" she shouted, closing her eyes and letting the trickle of mana flow forward.

THUMP! THUMP! CRACK!

"Keep going!" Felix called out, encouraging her on.

"Please! Please…" Her head was starting to ache and she almost lost concentration.

Please… Please… Please, hatch for me…

Her mind drifted, wandering off into her memories once again. But, unlike the heartache from before, this time she chose to remember the good ones. The time she and Calinna had first met. The relief of Julous being pulled out of the flood waters, alive. The moment she realized she would be given the opportunity to better her people's lives…

All of it… All the good and the bad. All the ups and downs. They led her to right here, right now. To this exact moment in time, to this exact place, to do something only a select few would ever get the chance to experience.

For the first time in her life, she truly felt awed…

Come to me! Please! Hatch–

Something grew within her mind, expanding beyond its outer limits. An itch, one that she desperately wanted to scratch, nearly consumed her focus. But she had been warned about it and the dragon within the egg still remained.

I NEED YOU! PLEASE– A name whispered into her mind. "MORZAN, HATCH AND COME TO ME!"

THUMP! THUMP–

The egg shattered.

With the last of her strength, Oralyn opened her eyes and smiled. A baby dragon, with a coppery-iridescent color and faint square spirals embedded in its scales, let out the tiniest and most defiant roar possible.

Then, its stomach grumbled…

He looked up to her expectantly. Hungry.