The Endless Forest

Felix opened his eyes and quickly felt four pairs of eyes staring back at him. Two were in front of him, Aluin and Zira, and they had a similar look upon their faces. Bewilderment.

The third pair was Ithea’s and she was still somewhere on the porch. However, the fourth pair he wasn’t sure. It felt like someone was staring at him from the second floor of the manor.

Eri? He questioned himself.

You fine…? It was Zira.

Huh? Uh, sure? Why– Oh, right… Yeah, I’m fine.

The dragon pressed further. You give me spook, what you do?

I wanted to investigate our bond more, I figured doing so while meditating would tell me more…

And? She wasn’t going to let him wave it off.

Sighing internally he explained. Well, I found the spot but there was nothing there. I decided to poke around some more and ended up crossing over into your mind. And wow, that was an experience…

Anyways, like normal, I could feel your thoughts and emotions, but they were much more defined and…bright–

Zira cut him off. Bright?

Yeah, bright. I’m not sure how else to describe it… You could probably take a look through my memories later and you’ll see what I mean.

I do that. Zira responded.

With that done, he brought his attention to the elf. “Are you alright?” He asked.

Aluin blinked and shook his head. “Yes. Sorry, I was deep in thought.”

“In thought? Did something happen?”

“Indeed. You started showing signs of a mana high, but it suddenly stopped.” The elf squinted his eyes subtly. “It appears to have solidified… Fascinating.”

“It…what?”

“He means you did something you weren’t supposed to do.” Ithea said from right behind him.

“Huh?” Felix was utterly confused, and a little terrified… He hadn’t heard her move at all.

Aluin spoke back up. “What you did is something I’ve only seen dragons do. It’s how they harden their scales.”

“Oh…” He was still lost, but the ever present sensation of a predator staring at his back kept him quiet.

Luckily, Aluin seemed to have picked up on this. “Ithea, please stop intimidating him.”

“Hmm? Intimidating? Me?”

Aluin was not amused.

“Fine,” she said. “But I wasn’t trying to intimidate him, I only wanted to study his mana… It’s quite interesting actually. I can taste both yours and hers. Quite potent stuff, no wonder Zira hatched for you.”

Hearing her name, the dragon growled.

“Oh child… You really are my daughter.” There was amusement in Ithea’s voice.

Zira hissed.

Ithea ignored her, and spoke directly to Aluin. “I would like to test him now, I believe he should be able to handle most things I can throw at him.”

Felix gulped, and Aluin sighed.

“What exactly do you have in mind?” The elf asked, rubbing his temple.

“Hmm, I want to test his reaction time and–”

Felix flinched and tried to duck, a sense of danger urging him. A hand appeared right next to his head, hovering a few hair's breadth away.

“Oh, interesting… He does have some danger sense. Good.”

“Ithea!” Aluin shouted, fuming.

“What?” She asked, dropping her hand. “Surely you noticed it too?”

The elf narrowed his eyes. “Of course I did. However, I didn’t need you to confirm it.”

Ithea finally stepped out from behind Felix, and stood between him and Aluin. “You know, you brought me here to help train them. So are you going to let me or not?”

“I brought you here to assist me.” Aluin spat out.

“And I am. So, let me test him.” She shrugged before turning to face Felix. “What about you? Don’t you want to know just how far you can take things before someone gets hurt?”

Felix winced at that, it was quite clear who that ‘someone’ was. Still, he could feel Zira pleading with him to not get baited and fall into this woman’s trap.

It was a tough call. On one hand, knowing his boundaries would be quite beneficial. But on the other hand… This woman was crazy, plus she seemed to have a bone to pick with him in particular.

Felix sat in contemplation, chewing on his lower lip. Ithea was content to wait for him to answer her question, while Aluin and Zira both were pleading with their eyes to not go along. But just the memory of seeing Zira laying on the ground, writhing, and not being able to do anything about it, was enough for him.

With a silent prayer, he stood up. I’m sorry Zira, but I can’t help you unless I too grow stronger…

It pained him to ignore her desperate pleas, but he had made up his mind. He looked Ithea directly in the eyes. “Let’s do this.”

The dragon woman let her wicked smile show. “Very well, follow me.”

She began walking deeper into the woods. Felix began to follow, but was stopped with a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to do this, she is just wanting to take her frustration out on you. I will–”

“I know.” Felix said, cutting off Aluin. “But I need to get stronger, I can’t protect Zira like this.”

Aluin grimaced but removed his hand. Zira let out a whimper, and he reached down to pat her head. “It’ll be alright…I think. She can’t kill me at least.” That did nothing to calm the dragon, but it would have to do for now.

He straightened himself, and followed after the crazy dragon lady…

They traveled deep into the forest, at first moving slowly. However, at some point Ithea began to pick up speed. The brush and trees only picked up in density as they continued, and it became increasingly harder for him to keep up.

Suddenly, she vanished. It was just a quick blink of the eye and she was gone. Felix knew something was up, a strange prickling sensation told him that much. He slowed to a stop and observed his surroundings.

The leaves far above him shook in the wind, the trees themselves surrounded him with the thick brush rustling with each step under his feet. A familiar earthy aroma flooded his nose. There was no sign of Ithea.

Cautiously, he took one step, a branch snapped under his foot. He froze, expecting something to happen. Nothing did.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he continued moving. Taking small and careful steps, he kept his ears focused on the sounds around him. Still no sign of the dragon woman–

A distant scream made him freeze.

It didn’t sound like the crazy woman, but he couldn’t be sure. After taking another breath to calm his beating heart, he began to make his way towards the direction he heard the scream.

Another shout sounded through the forest, it was closer and sounded like it was coming towards his direction. He dived into some brush near the closest tree from him, and waited.

Not long after, he could hear the sound of someone running through the brush. Peaking out slightly, Felix could see some movement. It looked like a short lizard-like creature decked out in a patchwork of armor.

A kobold… Felix let out a sigh and relaxed.

But why are they running? He decided to not reveal himself just yet and continued to watch.

By now he could hear the huffing from the poor creature as it looked behind itself. It let out a squeak and immediately picked up its pace.

Oh shit, it's running from something! His heart rate skyrocketed once again. Felix gulped, whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

Meanwhile, the kobold was aiming right past Felix’s position. He got an idea, and could only pray it would work.

Getting into a crouch, Felix waited for the kobold to run right past him. It didn’t take long.

The moment the kobold was right in front of him, Felix reached out and grabbed it and threw it onto the ground.

The poor thing tried to shriek, but he slammed his hands down onto its snout. Felix shook his head, hoping the frightened kobold would stop struggling.

Sadly, it wasn’t working and he could now hear more rustling coming from the direction the kobold ran. A snarl sounded out only a few feet away, and Felix made the decision to simply throw himself upon the squirming kobold.

Something must have clicked for the poor thing as it immediately stopped fighting him. Well, let’s just hope it wasn’t too late…

From his position, he could just see through the brush. A large terrifying figure emerged, growling.

A wolf.

A massive wolf.

A massive gray wolf, with long sharp teeth. It howled, and instantly three more appeared next to it.

Dire wolf…

Felix’s breathing became rapid. The only thing he knew about them was they were scary, that’s the only knowledge he received. There were four of them, now slowly entering the area.

We’re doomed… Something told him they had amazing noses and would scent them out.

For the first time since meeting her, he wished the crazy bitch would show up. But so far? She hadn’t… Damn it! She’s probably watching all this from somewhere nearby! He felt oddly enraged by that, something began to bubble up in him.

He started thinking a little clearer, we need a distraction… He scanned the ground next to them and found a small rock.

Slowly, he reached for it with one hand. Grasping it, he peeked through the brush again and waited until the dire wolves’ heads were down.

When the moment came, he tossed it over him. His hope was that it would land further away and send them that direction. Unfortunately, they were apparently not fooled in the slightest.

As one, they all growled and looked directly at his hiding spot. One of them snarled and leapt at them.

“RUN!” Felix shouted, and rolled off the kobold…

A moment later the monstrous beast landed right on the spot they had just occupied. The kobold had managed to get out of the way just in time and was now scampering to its feet.

Another snarl brought his attention back to the wolf. It was big, really big. Even crouched as it was, readying to strike again, it was taller than him. The three others slowly began to fan out, clearly hoping to surround them.

At this rate, neither him nor the kobold would make it out alive. He had to act, and act now.

Felix could feel his entire body tremble in fear, his throat felt dry, and his mind was screaming for him to run. But even so, he caught a glimpse of the kobold. It had managed to put some distance between it and the wolf.

But that wasn’t all.

Felix watched as it unsheathed its sword, shaking almost as much as him, and raised it towards the wolf.

With a half-shriek and half-yell, the little kobold charged the wolf.

Seeing the attack coming, the dire wolf merely swiped at the kobold, sending it tumbling to the ground.

Felix had a choice, as the beast glanced between him and the downed kobold, run or fight?

No, there isn’t a choice… Even if I run, the others…

With that settled now he had an ultimatum, fight and die, or give up?

His fists clenched, and a howl sounded from one of the other wolves. They were preparing to charge him…

Past the fear, Felix felt that bubbling sensation again. It felt like…anger. It started to simmer, and with it all his frustrations.

The memory of Zira… The fear of Ithea… Even the first few moments of his arrival here… It all welled up inside of him.

He blinked.

When his eyes opened again, his mana sense had returned. He could see the ambient mana swirl around them all. Another glance towards the kobold told him it was alive, for now… It had taken a nasty swipe and was bleeding.

However, that still didn’t stop the little guy, and Felix was sure it was male now. The kobold wobbled up, spitting blood. The beast that had swiped at the kobold, stood above its prey.

The three others were charging now, aiming right for Felix. Everything boiled over inside.

With a roar, he charged the first dire wolf, just as its massive paw began to raise. With his fist pulled back, the next moment he slammed it into the beast’s side.

Felix did not stop.

As his fists made contact, he began to pull at the wolf’s mana. Just like a void dragon, sucking mana to fuel itself.

The wolf staggered and fell to the ground, it wasn’t dead and Felix didn’t have the chance to finish it off.

The second dire wolf lunged at him, hitting him and tossing him into a tree. Felix grunted but didn’t falter. Without really thinking, he sent some of the new mana towards his wounds. They began to slowly heal, but it was enough.

He dodged out of the way as one of the wolves lunged for him again. It slammed into the tree instead, letting out a howl of pain.

Getting back onto his feet, Felix noticed he had the attention of all the wolves left standing. Behind them, the kobold had found his sword and began stumbling towards the furthest one.

Felix let out another roar, and charged again towards the one who had run into the tree. It tried to meet him, but Felix sidestepped it and tugged at its mana instead.

The beast let out another howl of pain and became disoriented before falling. Felix watched as the other two ran at him, except one of them stumbled and fell, letting out a yelp in the process.

The kobold’s sword was sticking out of its side.

That left just one. Felix threw out his hand, and with it sent forth his mana. It collided with the wolf, but its momentum carried it onwards and into him.

He landed hard, almost knocking the breath out of him as the beast landed on top of him. It apparently wasn’t out of the fight either, and started swiping at him.

Its huge paws slashed across his chest and arms. Even more enraged, Felix started pulling at all the surrounding mana, feeding it directly into his body. It was becoming unstable.

A sudden surge of mana exploded out, sending the wolf on top of him flying. Gasping, he felt searing pain throughout his body. But he did not give up, not yet.

The beast was still not down.

He rolled over onto his chest, struggling to get his hands and feet under him. There was a growl nearby.

After a moment, he wobbled onto his feet and turned to face the last remaining one. It was injured, it was frightened, but it was just as angry as Felix was.

It was going to be a fight to the death.

“Bring it–” He coughed, sending a new wave of anguish through him. Even his voice was hoarse and tired.

The dire wolf limped towards him, the same malice in its eyes as when he first met Ithea. He tried to reach for his mana, but once more all he found was pain. Wincing, he too limped towards the beast.

When they got within a few paces of each other, they both prepared to leap. Then the moment came, with the last of their energy they lunged for each other and–

The dire wolf howled in pain, falling to the ground. Surprised, Felix landed right on top of it. It thrashed, knocking him off, but it was over.

The beast was dying, there was a hole in its stomach.

Once the realization set it in, he laughed. His chest hurt… His whole body hurt, but he was alive. He had won…

His vision began to blur and spin…

Purple entered into his view, but fog began to roll in through his mind. His eyelids felt heavy, and all he could do was to close them…

***

Felix dreamed.

He dreamed about…something. It was distant, distorted… It was vague. There were sights, sounds, and even smells. The clattering of steel on steel, the heat of fire rushing past him. Roars and cheers echoed out.

Someone was winning, smoke filled the sky…

Yet he could only feel dread. Something wasn’t right, the cheers were not of his own side…

He could feel the stare of men around him, all wondering if it was his fault. He thought he saw pointed ears on a few of them…

The room they were in rattled with an explosion.

He looked out a window, seeing a small fireball where some houses had been. Another explosion and the room he was in was obliterated…

More sights, more sounds… Fear was high this time around. He was locked into a deadly duel with his fellow humans. How he knew they were humans, he didn’t know.

They were winning, and he was alone. Just behind him laid the most important door to the most important room, holding the most important person.

He could not let them make it in.

A moment of distraction. He felt a kick land upon his chest, sending him flying backwards and into those sacred doors…

Felix felt a warm hand grasp his shoulder, a familiar snout nuzzling him from the other side. He cracked his eyes open.

He was no longer dreaming, he was back in the manor and staring up at a familiar ceiling. Zira was on his left, whimpering and nuzzling him. Eri was on the right, tears running down her face. Light streamed in through the windows, casting strange shadows in the room.

Doing his best, he reached and patted the dragon’s head while he smiled up at the elven woman. She sniffled, but her eyes widened when she realized he was awake. Zira, on the other hand, only nuzzled him more.

He took a deep breath, feeling the aches and pains. His arms and chest were bandaged. The elf tried to say something, but the words got caught in her throat.

He chuckled through the pain and gave her an even warmer smile. There was something different about him now, something that he couldn’t put into words. He tried anyway.

“I live again.”