The Endless Forest

Felix quickly shielded his eyes as bright light flashed to life all around him. It wasn't just him, Eri closed her eyes and practically recoiled. The dragons, however, appeared to handle it better. They simply blinked before they adjusted to the blinding glow.

"Apologies, I forget that you humans and elves are more sensitive to changes of light," Yarnel said, sounding almost dismissive. He had teleported them to…somewhere and wanted to show off one of his projects.

"Yeah, it would be nice–" His voice died in his throat as he brought his hands down. Surrounding them was a room absolutely filled with glowing white crystals. From floor to ceiling, these crystals clung to the walls.

And it was no small room either…

The chamber he found himself in easily matched or, perhaps, dwarfed Yarnel's home. And, more impressively, in the center floated a large crystal. It slowly spun as wisps of visible mana lazily shot out of it, arcing towards the walls.

Felix gulped. "What… What is all this?"

"My crystal growth chamber– Well, I suppose now it's my mana well growth chamber. We're currently deep within the mountain that stored and channeled mana to the barrier," the small dragon answered, moving towards one of the walls. "It's impressive, isn't it?"

He was speechless.

"I'll take that as a yes. Anyway…" Yarnel stopped and reached for a cluster of crystals, before snapping one off. He began making his way back. "The trap I had Lorenzen set only required a small portion of the mana being stored. And seeing that we were going to destroy the barrier in the process, I felt it would be a shame to let all that mana go to waste on a simple trap."

He came to a stop before Felix and held out the crystal. "So, I decided I would use its activation as a way to pour mana directly into the mana well you created. That way, I could monitor everything from a safe distance. As you can see, it went better than expected."

Felix's eyes widened as he peered down at the crystal. The power radiating from it told him everything he needed to know. "You created more mana wells," he stated in disbelief.

The dragon took on a toothy draconic smile. "Indeed… Go on, take it."

He did, carefully grasping the mana well and bringing it closer to inspect it. The crystal itself felt surprisingly cool in his hands, as if it was drinking from his own mana. Only, it began to change. Soon it was warming him…

"What is it doing?" he asked, expecting Yarnel to know what he was talking about.

The dragon took on a rather excited look. "Something fascinating! A new discovery even! It appears that while they are still in their clusters, the crystals will continue to pull at the ambient mana. But, as you can feel, a few moments after being separated, it is now letting out its own mana. It has become a mana well!"

Incredible… "And…are the rest all mana wells?" he asked, still shocked by everything.

"Most are! Though, a few samples I have plucked failed and became simple mana crystals instead."

Felix looked up to him and then back down at the crystal. By the Gods… With these… There isn't anything we can't do!

To him, it looked like every problem he faced was already solved. Though, Yarnel's next words splashed some water on that.

"While this was a success, this first batch is quite useless. The amount of mana they produce is…lacking. That, and give it a squeeze."

He frowned at the dragon. "What?"

"Go ahead and squeeze it, you'll see what I mean."

Cautiously, he tightened his grip around the mana well until…

Crack!

In a bright flash, the crystal shattered. Startled, Felix dropped the pieces and pulled his hand away. It tingled… "What in the Hells?!"

"They're unstable and weak. Not only can you crush them, but if you draw too heavily from them, they can break as well. I've not yet had the time to inspect why. My current theory is they were created too quickly. Once I study them and determine what went wrong, I can start the second batch."

Felix calmed down as he flexed his hand and found nothing wrong with it. "Second batch? How long will that take?"

"Unsure. My plan was to grow only your mana well and then from that I would start producing more. This…" Yarnel gestured to the room. "…changed everything."

Hmm, these mana wells wouldn't be all too useful against the Holy Triumphant but… "I can still make use of some. I only need to stabilize Ovidius's soul and–"

"Only need to stabilize– Why do you make it sound like such an easy task?" Zeph asked, out of nowhere.

Felix raised an eyebrow. Seems there are things she doesn't know about me… "Like I said earlier, I've done it before."

She stared at him, dumbstruck before suddenly shaking her head and laughing. "And this is why I love humans! When presented with the impossible, they find a way around it!"

He couldn't help but smirk, even as he turned his attention back to Yarnel. "As I was saying, I could also use some for the…hatchlings. One of them, Zarrina, has been using her own mana to help her partner… It's a long story."

Yarnel put a taloned hand up to his snout in thought. "I see… And I did teach them how to pull mana from my crystals…" He perked up, his decision made. "I think it would make for an interesting experiment. It's not like I don't have plenty to spare… And, I suppose, you are entitled to some, seeing as you created the original mana well."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Perfect!" Felix started to get excited as he offered a handshake. Maybe I can test some out myself? He hoped so. Even if they were unstable, his mana manipulation might be able to do something about that…

The small dragon brought back his smile and shook his hand. "I can see you have some ideas of your own. I will make sure to get the best examples for you."

"Thank you! But, I don't know how successful my attempts will be," he responded, letting go. "Whatever you can spare will be good enough."

"I will see what I can do. For now… I shall collect some for Ovidius and then bring us back to my home."

Zephyria, once again, found herself amazed by humans. Not once had she ever heard of someone mending a soul, and yet, Felix claimed that he could do it. No, that he has done it! That's…

She could not find the words to express just how amazing that was. Nor did she let herself dwell for too long on that thought either. There was someone else she had eyes on.

It wasn't too long after coming back from the chamber that she made her move. She strode casually over to a, pretending to slumber, amethyst-colored dragon.

She put on a smile and gestured to a spot next to Zira's head. "This seat taken?"

"Yes," the other dragon grumbled, not even bothering to open her eyes.

That's fine, I figure you still didn't like me… Zeph had a plan though. She knew that the other dragon did not trust her, nor did she blame her. It was only natural after all. But…

She took the seat anyway. "You know, you and your mother are a lot alike."

Nothing. Zira went back to pretend-sleep.

"Yeah, she likes to ignore me as well. But that's okay! Because, deep down, I know what she really thinks of me–"

"Is it frustration? Or, is it annoyance?" The amethyst dragon muttered, annoyed herself.

"Both, actually!" she joked. This is progress… "But, really, she is thankful. Not many people are willing to deal with her. Most think she has a prickly disposition– Though, I never thought that of her. Just misunderstood.

"You see, she hatched without any parents. Her egg was left in the care of the nursery– Or, I suppose you would've called it a Hatchery. She was, effectively, an orphan."

Finally Zira cracked open an eye. "I thought that eggs could only hatch after imprinting."

Zeph nodded. "That is mostly true… However, hatching without imprinting is possible. It's extremely rare but it has happened. Your mother is proof."

A silence fell upon them as Zira mulled something over. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because! I hate seeing mother and child so distant from one another," she explained passionately, but then her expression turned somber. "That, and I care about her. Especially ever since Nevrim died…"

"Well, thank you for telling me…I guess. But, our relationship has improved."

Zeph shook her head. "From what I gathered, you two are merely not at each other's throats. That is an improvement but not really. The two of you should be–"

"I don't think we'll ever be friendly with each other. Nor do I really care. She may have laid my egg, but she is not a part of my family." Zira glanced over to Felix who was quietly discussing what he was going to do to Ovidius with Yarnel. "He is. And so is Eri and Kyrith, but not her."

I think now is a good time to shift the conversation… "Speaking of Felix!" she said, clasping her hands. "He is truly special. I hope you realize that."

Now Zira took on a defensive look as she narrowed her eyes. "I am aware. He is my partner."

"I know that! What I mean is he's–"

"Going to change the world?" the amethyst dragon interrupted with. "I know. He's already done so, in fact."

"Oh…" This isn't quite going the way I was expecting, but that's okay! She decided to change her approach. Taking a deep breath, she decided to admit something to Zira. "Honestly? I'm envious of you."

"So you do wish to steal him from me."

Zeph was taken aback. "N-no! Just… That… I've never wanted to bond with anyone before. But seeing Felix… Well, if he hadn't already bonded with you, I would've offered it."

Zira scoffed. "You've never bonded before? I find that hard to believe."

"It's true! Many suitors have offered but I never wanted it! I, uh… I'm strange, I know. But, I preferred to simply watch and observe."

"And yet, here you are, trying to make friends with me."

She looked away, embarrassed. "I never said I didn't like having friends… I just didn't find anyone who truly understood me– Anyway! I was going somewhere with all this!"

Composing herself once more, she took on a more serious expression. "Zira. Please keep Felix close to you. Protect him. At all costs. He still has more to do in this world and I fear what will happen if we lose him. That's what I meant about being envious. I wish I could be at his side to help him."

Zira fell into a contemplative silence, staying like that for an uncomfortably long time. But before Zeph could say anything else, she began to speak.

"I've known that I need to protect him. I've had dreams– Nightmares about him dying. That scares me. I don't want that to happen. But how can I prevent that? How can I become strong enough to save him?"

"I…don't know–" A thought occurred to her. "But perhaps with those mana wells that Yarnel said he'd supply, you could do something. You should talk with your mother too. She knows how to fight."

The other dragon let out a hiss. "I– We have. She only gave us a few lessons before disappearing. Is there not anyone else I can ask?"

She shook her head. "Don't blame her for that. It wasn't her fault she was pulled away… But, if you wish to learn how to use your aspect…"

"Aspect?"

"Your unique ability," she explained. "You're a void dragon, your breath alone can erase anything. But if you wish to make effective use of it, only your mother knows."

"Fine."

"Fine? You'll…talk with her?"

Zira laughed. "I will ask her to teach me. Any other discussion, I'm not interested in."

I guess that is a step in the right direction. "Okay. But, please, try to understand that she cares about you."

The conversation came to an end as Felix and Yarnel approached. The human came to a stop, giving off a severe emotion.

"We've come up with a plan. I'm going to start now."